News

The Barnes & Noble store in Clarendon was the scene of an alleged armed robbery today.

Police responded around noon to the bookstore at 2800 Clarendon Blvd, in The Crossing Clarendon shopping center, after a caller reported a crime that happened earlier that morning.


News

(Updated at 9:50 a.m.) Covid cases have held relatively steady in Arlington for most of September, as the weather turns cooler and flu season looms.

Just under 50 cases per day are being reported on average over the past week, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data. The test positivity rate has been falling and now stands at 11.6%.


News

Groundbreaking for I-395 Project — “Arlington County officials and representatives from VDOT and the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority broke ground Wednesday on a $19.9 million project to improve bike and pedestrian access at the Boundary Channel Drive and I-395 interchange.” [Patch]

Ribbon Cutting for Affordable Apartments — “The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) recently marked the grand opening of Lucille and Bruce Terwilliger Place, the nonprofit developer’s new affordable-housing development and new home to American Legion Post 139 in the Virginia Square neighborhood. APAH was joined by its partners, funders, supporters and the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs to cut the ribbon and commemorate the building’s opening.” [Sun Gazette]


Opinion

Hurricane Ian is poised to slam parts of Florida today and tomorrow before making its way north, potentially bringing heavy rain to our area.

Virginia often urges residents to have a hurricane preparedness plan, but we’re wondering whether Arlington residents actually do that. After all, it’s the coastal areas like Virginia Beach that are more vulnerable to hurricanes, while Arlington is more insulated from the worst of the impacts thanks to our inland location.


News

‘Coffee with a Cop’ Next Week — “Wednesday, October 5 is National Coffee with a Cop Day and the Arlington County Police Department’s Community Engagement Division is hosting two events to celebrate. Community members are invited to join officers at these informal events to ask questions, voice concerns, get to know their neighbors, interact with the Community Engagement Division and meet officers from other sections of the department.” [ACPD]

Trespassing at Vacant Hotel — “1600 block of Arlington Boulevard. At approximately 9:20 a.m. on September 26, police were dispatched to the report of a burglary. Upon arrival, it was determined a security guard was doing a check of a vacant property when he observed the two unknown suspects inside. When the security guard confronted the suspects, they left the scene on foot. Suspect One is described as a white female, approximately 45 years old, 5’4 wearing a light brown trench coat, white shoes and carrying a brown backpack.” [ACPD]


Opinion

Whatever you think of Arlington’s missing middle housing proposal — and there are those who strongly support and oppose it — you might find yourself agreeing with Mike Mount’s latest cartoon.

For opponents, suddenly living next to a multiplex building in what has otherwise been an exclusively single-family home neighborhood for decades may seem like the worst idea ever. For supporters, proposing eight-plexes off the bat, even if only on certain large lots, may seem in retrospect like a blunder that galvanized opposition.


News

MdF Fixes to Nix Six Plexes? — “Arlington County Board member Matt de Ferranti says he is opposed to including eight-plexes as part of plans to eliminate single-family zoning across much of the county, and is still up in the air on whether six-plexes should be included… De Ferranti’s is the lone County Board seat on the Nov. 8 ballot, and he is hoping to retain it for a second term.” [Sun Gazette]

Early AM Fight in Crystal City — “500 block of 23rd Street S. At approximately 2:45 a.m. on September 25, police were dispatched to the report of a fight in progress. Upon arrival, officers located the male victim who was transported to an area hospital for treatment of injuries considered serious but non-life threatening. The investigation determined the victim and an unknown male suspect had been involved in a verbal dispute that escalated into a physical altercation. The suspect fled the scene on foot prior to police arrival.” [ACPD]


News

Arlington police cruisers were “significantly” damaged in two separate DUI crashes in September, according to ACPD.

The police department said on social media that the crashes happened while “officers were working incidents along Arlington roadways” but “the cruisers were unoccupied at the time of the crashes and no officers were injured.”


Traffic

The Arlington Mill neighborhood was the scene of one of the more unusual crashes in recent memory yesterday afternoon.

Just before 4 p.m. Sunday, police and firefighters were dispatched to the intersection of 8th Road S. and S. Florida Street for the report of a single-vehicle crash involving an older Toyota Camry and an elderly driver. One of the first arriving units reported the car “completely up on the telephone pole, a good 10 feet in the air.”


Opinion

At 26.04 square miles, Peachtree City is just a touch smaller than Arlington County size-wise, though its population of 36,000 is a fraction of Arlington’s nearly 240,000. The master-planned community is best-known for its unique way of getting around: on almost 100 miles of golf-cart-friendly, multi-use paths.

There’s some suggestion that transportation planners across the country are beginning to see the benefits of adding golf carts to the modal mix. From a Twitter thread (and Slate article) last month:


News

Grumbles About Car Tax — “County Board members have been getting their share of comments, too. ‘We have definitely heard some concerns,’ County Board Chairman Katie Cristol acknowledged, as elected officials and their staff have been fielding complaints about sometimes significant increases in personal property taxes on vehicles, which come due Oct. 5.” [Sun Gazette]

Puerto Rico Dogs Arrive in Arlington — “Lucky Dog Animal Rescue and the Puerto Rico Alliance for Companion Animals are evacuating 30 animals from the destruction in Puerto Rico left by Hurricane Fiona… Moving these shelter animals to the mainland to find forever homes not only save their lives but allows PR Animals to repair their facility (which currently has no power or running water) and prepare for animals displaced by destruction.” [Twitter]


Opinion

The week started as summer and is ending, unmistakably, as fall.

On the plus side, we have a stretch of crisp, sunny days ahead, with the exception of some rain on Sunday.


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