News

HQ2 Workforce Shrinks — “Amazon has fallen so far behind schedule in creating new jobs at its Northern Virginia headquarters that its workforce at those offices shrank last year, the company confirmed… Sullivan said Amazon has not abandoned its target of 25,000 jobs, though a company spokesperson later clarified that it would look to meet that goal by 2038. She called HQ2 ‘a long-term investment’ and noted that there are 1,000 open positions for the campus.” [Washington Post]

Fire Union Seeking Wage Hike — “47 firefighters were unable to go home to their families this past weekend. #ACFD is at critical staffing levels, and the challenges posed by attrition and vacancies have reached historic proportions. It’s time for the County Board to take decisive action.” [Twitter]


Around Town

Given the recent kerfuffle on Instagram over ARLnow’s use of an AI-generated image to illustrate a story, we wanted to update readers on our use of artificial intelligence.

AI technology is rapidly developing and the extent to which it will ultimately reshape the media industry is unclear. The CEO of a news organization down the street from us, in Clarendon, believes AI will “eviscerate the weak, the ordinary, the unprepared in media” and is part of “a very fundamental shift in how people relate to news and information… as profound, if not more profound, than moving from print to digital.”


News

Yorktown Baseball Coach Fired — “Eight months after being hired as the new head baseball coach at Yorktown High School, Josh Cook has been let go from that position with a bit more than a month remaining in the regular season. A school official confirmed that Cook, a 2013 Yorktown graduate and former varsity player for the Patriots, was dismissed April 9 because of remarks he made during an open-mic comedy routine at a venue that was a non-school and non-team function. Some of those remarks came to light on social media.” [Gazette Leader]

Pentagon Row Sign Removed — “Pretty surreal seeing the @PentagonRow signage coming down after almost 25 years but excited for what’s to come.” The shopping center changed its name to Westpost in 2020. [Twitter]


Weather

Update at 3:40 p.m. — The severe storm for which forecasters issued a warning dropped sizable hail over a large swath of Arlington, from Pentagon City to Ballston to northern residential neighborhoods. While the warning is expiring, the earlier Severe Thunderstorm Watch (below) remains in effect.

More from social media: 


News

At least nine people are facing underage drinking charges after police broke up a large teen party in northern Arlington.

The incident happened shortly before midnight Saturday on the 3900 block of Military Road, near Fort Ethan Allen Park and Chain Bridge. The dispatched address was that of a newly built home in the Old Glebe neighborhood that’s currently listed for sale for $3.5 million.


Around Town

Arlington and high-end yoga pants are a match of market and product that’s right up there with 17th century Dutchmen and tulips.

Thus it’s only appropriate that the foremost purveyor of the former would open a second Arlington location.


News

An older, 12-story office building in Ballston could become a seven-story apartment building.

Developer Penzance has filed a conceptual site plan to get early feedback on the project from Arlington County staff. The Washington Business Journal reported on the plan and an earlier acquisition of the building, at 4601 N. Fairfax Drive, near the ramps to and from I-66.


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