Author: ARLnow.com

Pentagon Memorial Closed Today — “The National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial will be temporarily closed to the public from 3 a.m. through 12 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 11, with the exception of any victim’s families, survivors, or survivor’s families, in support of the 25th Anniversary 9/11 Observance Ceremony.” [Department of War]

Metro Pausing for Silence — Metro’s general manager said all trains and buses will stop for one minute at 9:37 a.m. today, the moment American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon, as part of a moment of silence marking the 25th anniversary of the attacks. [Tom Roussey/X]

Pentagon Center Still Unbuilt — The Pentagon is the only one of the three 9/11 attack sites without a visitor center, and the four-acre lot for its planned $100 million education center remains empty. A groundbreaking is scheduled for tomorrow, with the center now projected to open in 2029. [Washington Post]

Rescuer Recalls Pentagon Search — Retired Army Master Sgt. Mark Williams entered the burning Pentagon with an elite rescue team hours after the attack, searching for survivors and for his mentor. “It took me 20-something years to be able to say, I did my best, and I tried,” he said. [WJLA]

Evacuating the Pentagon — Renae Ditmer was working in the Pentagon basement that morning. “The nearly 25,000 people that had evacuated the building in less than two minutes filled every square inch of the northeast side of the building down to the Potomac River,” she wrote. [ICT]

Senators Push DCA Flight Cuts — Sens. Tim Kaine (D) and Mark Warner (D) will introduce a bill next week to cap arrivals at Reagan National at 28 per hour. “The convenience of 535 members of Congress can’t outweigh the safety of 25 million people who use that airport,” Kaine said. [Washington Post, Tim Kaine/X]

Rosslyn Towers Plan Abandoned — Snell Properties is asking Arlington County to terminate its approved plan for two residential towers totaling 740 units on N. Fort Myer Drive in Rosslyn. “The total development cost of the project now significantly exceeds the estimated completed value,” its land use attorney wrote. [WBJ]

USS Arlington Crew Runs 5K — U.S. Navy Capt. Vince Libosi and 50 sailors from the USS Arlington visited the Pentagon Memorial on Sept. 5 and ran in the annual Arlington Police, Fire, Sheriff & ECC 9/11 Memorial 5K, taking first place in the Military Teams category. The ship retains close ties to its namesake community. [RunWashington]

Bus Fare Evasion Dips — Metro says the share of bus riders not paying dropped from about 74% to 63% after an enforcement effort, but remains too high. Evasion runs 79% in Maryland and 73% in D.C., compared with 37% in Virginia, the agency told its board. [Tom Roussey/X]

Arlington Transit Growth Lags — Arlington Transit ridership grew 1.1% in the last fiscal year while Alexandria’s DASH climbed 10%, according to state data presented to the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission. The General Assembly has directed a study of whether to merge ART, DASH, CUE and Fairfax Connector. [ALXnow]

Flags at Half-Staff Today — Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) has ordered U.S. and Virginia flags flown at half-staff on all local, state and federal buildings in the commonwealth in memory of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks. Flags will be lowered at sunrise and remain there until sunset. [Press Release]

Data Centers Drive Emissions — The Washington region is less than halfway toward its goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions 50% from 2005 levels by 2030, and data centers are the prime culprit, according to Council of Governments data. Data centers accounted for about 11% of regional emissions in 2023. [FFXnow]

Dominion Merger Hearings Set — The State Corporation Commission has ordered three in-person hearings on the proposed $67 billion NextEra-Dominion merger, the first Nov. 5 in Richmond. “This is not a case that, under normal circumstances, would warrant remote, in-person hearings. But this is not a normal case,” Commissioner Samuel Towell wrote. [Virginia Mercury]

It’s Friday — Rain showers are possible this morning, mostly before 9 a.m., with a 40% chance of precipitation. Then mostly cloudy skies and a high near 82. Winds will be light out of the northeast around 6 mph. Tonight will be mostly cloudy with a low around 68. [NWS]

New Legal Notice — Applying for wine wholesaler/importer license; objections due within 30 days. [Public Notices]

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Crystal City Tire Thefts — Thieves stole tires and rims from six vehicles in two separate parking garages during overnight hours, police say. The thefts were reported Tuesday morning in the 1300 and 2000 blocks of S. Eads Street. The investigation is ongoing. [ACPD]

GOP Chair Slams Relief Fund — Arlington County GOP chairman Matthew Hurtt is blasting the County Board’s newly approved $50,000 fund for families of detained immigrants, calling it a “slush fund.” [Fox News]

Free Books for Arlington Kids — Nonprofit Read Early and Daily is now the local partner for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, mailing a free book each month to kids from birth to age 5. Enrollment begins in October. [WJLA]

Falls Church Festival Turns 50 — The 50th Annual Falls Church Festival returns Saturday, Sept. 19, from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. on the City Hall grounds (300 Park Avenue). Admission is free, with more than 85 vendors, live music, rides, a beer garden and the Taste of Falls Church. [City of Falls Church]

New Rules at Area Schools — Phones are sidelined region-wide as the new school year brings fresh rules and security measures. Fairfax County students now tap IDs boarding buses, and Alexandria’s new elementary and middle school boundaries affect 1,400 students. [Axios]

Sotheby’s Buys TTR Brokerage — The Georgetown-based brokerage behind many of the region’s priciest home sales has been acquired by Sotheby’s International Realty, ending nearly four decades of local ownership. Terms were not disclosed, and the TTR name will be dropped. [WBJ]

Virginia Plates, Worse Drivers? — An analysis of a decade of D.C. crash data found drivers with Virginia plates are “over 20% more likely to be at fault” than those from Maryland or D.C. More than a third of them hold licenses from other states. [Washington Sun, Tara Golshan/X]

It’s Thursday — Mostly sunny today with a high near 90 and a west wind of 6–9 mph. There’s a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, mostly after 2 p.m. Storms become likely overnight, with a low around 69. [NWS]

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DHS Slams County ICE Payments — “Sanctuary politicians are taking Americans’ hard earned tax dollars to reward illegal aliens who break the law,” the federal Dept. of Homeland Security said, quote-posting ARLnow’s report on county payments of up to $2,000 to families of wage earners detained by ICE. [DHS/X]

Arch Opponents Escalate — “Veterans and Democrats are escalating efforts to prevent construction on President Donald Trump’s planned arch… arguing the project is illegal and would diminish the experience of visiting nearby Arlington National Cemetery.” Opponents say plans to build 20 hours per day could conflict with military burials. [Washington Post]

Car Windows Smashed — “During the course of the investigation, officers located four vehicles with their driver’s side windows broken. The victim vehicles vary in make and model.” The cars were on the 1100 block of S. Thomas Street and there are no suspect descriptions, police said. [ACPD]

School Bus Strikes Parked Cars — From an ACPD spokeswoman to ARLnow: “At approximately 3:37 p.m. on September 8, police were dispatched to the report of a hit and run crash at S. Walter Reed Drive and 9th Road S. The preliminary investigation indicates an Arlington Public Schools bus struck three parked, unoccupied vehicles resulting in damage. Following the crash, the bus driver continued their route and dropped off students before subsequently returning to the scene of the crash. No injuries were reported.”

Interfaith Resource Fair Today — The county manager’s office and Department of Human Services are hosting a resource fair for faith leaders focused on social safety net services today, 9:30 a.m.-noon. It’s open to Arlington faith leaders, staff, volunteers and congregants. [Arlington County]

Notre Dame Flights From DCA — “From September through November, American and Delta will add temporary service linking Reagan National and South Bend, Indiana, home of the Fighting Irish.” American plans to sell 912 seats across 12 flights; Delta is offering 444 across six. [WBJ]

Street Sweeping Next Week — It’s street sweeping season again. Crews will sweep Clarendon, Courthouse, Lyon Village, North Rosslyn and other neighborhoods the week of Sept. 14. “Be sure to move your car to a driveway, garage or non-sweeping street on your civic association’s scheduled street sweeping day.” [Arlington County]

State Digital Chief Named — Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) appointed Alexandria resident Andrea Fletcher to lead the Virginia Digital Service, a new team tasked with modernizing state systems and “preventing bad state contracts.” The governor proposed it after the state lost $52 million on a failed IT project. [Press Release]

NOTUS Becomes Washington Sun — The politics news site rebrands today and adds a $9.99-a-month paywall. Its newsroom has grown from 45 to 110 people this year, many of them former Washington Post staffers, as it expands into local news and sports. It will also publish forecasts from Capital Weather. [New York Times]

It’s Wednesday — Sunny today with a high near 89 and a south wind of 6–13 mph, gusting as high as 18 mph. Tonight will be mostly clear with a low around 72 and gusts up to 20 mph. [NWS]

New Legal Notice — ABC license sought for on/off-premises alcohol; objections within 30 days. [Public Notices]

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