Launched in January 2010, ARLnow.com is the place for the latest news, views and things to do around Arlington, Virginia. The ARLnow staff byline is used for the Morning Notes and reporting done by an editor or other member of our full-time staff.
Gun confiscated from Silver Spring woman at DCA (courtesy TSA)
A Silver Spring woman is the latest to face fines and a criminal charge after TSA officers intercepted a loaded gun in her carry-on luggage at Reagan National Airport.
The incident occurred this past Thursday, Aug. 8, when Transportation Security Administration screeners discovered a 9mm firearm loaded with six bullets, including one in the chamber, during a routine security check.
There’s a race to move out holiday merchandise early, aiming to get shoppers ready well in advance and, ideally, pushing them to spend more money.
Halloween is big money for retailers and last year sales were projected to reach $12.2 billion, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual holiday survey.
There’s a lot to like about Halloween, pumpkin patches, Oktoberfest beers and 12-foot skeletons — but is this all just way too early? Or do you welcome the autumnal vibes in August, actually?
The building housing Tatte, Life Time Fitness and other businesses at The Crossing Clarendon (Flickr pool photo by Jason Gooljar)
Local Olympic Rivalry — “Arlington County and Alexandria have long enjoyed some friendly competition — and now, that rivalry has made its way to the Olympics… That friendly rivalry has been competitive enough that Arlington County Board member Maureen Coffey (D) took to social media on Monday with a chart comparing her home county with its neighbor.” [Washington Post]
Road Closures for County Fair — “The Arlington County Fair will take place from August 14th–18th at Thomas Jefferson Community Center located at 3501 2nd Street South. The Arlington County Police Department will conduct the following road closures to accommodate the event.” [ACPD]
It’s Monday — Expect mostly sunny skies and a high of around 84 degrees, accompanied by a west wind blowing at 5 to 7 mph. As night falls, skies will turn partly cloudy and the temperature will dip to a low of approximately 66 degrees. [NWS]
Today’s Morning Notes are brought to you by Industrious. ARLnow has been in an Industrious office for years and we love the convenience — you get to focus on your work rather than worrying about brewing your own coffee or keeping the copy machine stocked. Industrious has several Metro-accessible coworking locations in Arlington.
Expect mostly sunny skies and a high of 87 degrees, accompanied by a northwest wind blowing at 6 to 8 mph. As night falls on Saturday, the sky will turn mostly cloudy and the temperature will drop to about 67 degrees, while the north wind maintains a speed of around 5 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you’ll be criticized anyway.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
We hope you have a great weekend, Arlington! Feel free to discuss the most-read stories of the week, the upcoming weekend events or anything else of local interest in the comments. 👋
Metro service has been disrupted at the Rosslyn Metro station due to a fleeing shoplifting suspect.
The suspect reportedly stole from the CVS on the 1700 block of N. Pierce Street around 10:30 a.m. and was spotted fleeing with merchandise in the Metro station. After a foot chase on the station’s escalators, the suspect fled into a tunnel in the direction of Foggy Bottom, according to scanner traffic.
People working in a Clarendon coworking space (file photo)
Arlington is one of the best places for working parents, according to a new set of rankings.
The website CoworkingCafe says Arlington is the No. 3 place in the country for a set of working parents to raise a family, bested only by D.C. and Seattle.
Rain and a local creek in the Rock Spring neighborhood (staff photo)
Big Best for Local VC — “Arlington venture capital firm Sands Capital has participated in a massive round of funding for an autonomous weapons company. Together with San Francisco venture firm Founders Fund, Sands co-led a $1.5 billion Series F round in Anduril Industries Inc., a 7-year-old Costa Mesa, California, startup that wants to help the U.S. fix what it sees as a weapons shortage.” [Washington Business Journal]
Human Rights Commission Peeved — “Already frosty relations between Arlington County Board members and those serving on the body’s Human Rights Commission seem to be getting worse, not better. At the commission’s July meeting, members expressed dismay that the County Board had not reappointed one of their ranks, Roland Watkins, to a new term. And they vented their discontent in a public setting.” [Gazette Leader]
Olympics Sundae in Huske’s Honor — “Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream is serving up gold medal-themed scoops that probably taste sweeter than the real thing. The Arlington and Vienna ice cream parlor unveiled a limited-time Gold Medal Sundae last Friday (Aug. 2) in honor of Arlingtonian swimmer Torri Huske, a Yorktown High School graduate who’s won five medals — three of them gold — at the 2024 Paris Olympics.” [FFXnow]
Local Youth Team in World Series — “The Southeast Region champion and state runner-up Arlington Babe Ruth Storm Black 10-under All-Stars are set to begin play in the Babe Ruth World Series, scheduled for Aug. 8 through 18 in Crown Point, Ind. Arlington will be one of 25 baseball teams competing in the Cal Ripken Division of the Babe Ruth World Series.” [Gazette Leader]
It’s Friday — Expect showers, potential thunderstorms, and a high of 82°F today, accompanied by breezy southeast winds at 20-23 mph and gusts up to 33 mph. There’s a 90% chance of precipitation, with new rainfall amounts ranging from three quarters to one inch. Tonight, showers and thunderstorms are likely before 11 pm, followed by a slight chance of showers until 2 am. Temperatures will drop to around 70°F, with southwest winds at 11 mph turning west after midnight and gusts up to 20 mph. The chance of precipitation decreases to 60%. [NWS]
Update at 9:10 a.m. — The ground stop at National Airport is still in effect, according to the FAA website, which reports current departure delays of up to an hour. Meanwhile, the earlier Flash Flood Warning has been replaced by a new Flood Warning.
Construction and lane closures along the GW Parkway (via National Park Service)
Construction and weather will make for an even tougher rush hour commute on the GW Parkway on Friday.
The Parkway is already down to one lane in each direction, plus a reversible lane for rush hour traffic, between Spout Run Parkway in Arlington and the Beltway. That’s due to ongoing major construction on the Parkway.
Expect showers, potential thunderstorms, and a high of 82°F today, accompanied by breezy southeast winds at 20-23 mph and gusts up to 33 mph. There’s a 90% chance of precipitation, with new rainfall amounts ranging from three quarters to one inch. Tonight, showers and thunderstorms are likely before 11 pm, followed by a slight chance of showers until 2 am. Temperatures will drop to around 70°F, with southwest winds at 11 mph turning west after midnight and gusts up to 20 mph. The chance of precipitation decreases to 60%, with anticipated amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, though higher amounts are possible in thunderstorms. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“The power of imagination makes us infinite.” – John Muir
A Falls Church City Council member has resigned amid investigations into her employment disclosures.
The Washington Post and NBC 4 reported yesterday that Caroline Lian resigned her post as deputy director for the D.C. Department of Buildings after it was revealed that she had a second full-time job that she had not disclosed.