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Morning Notes

Published May 26, 2022 at 7:30AM | Updated October 17, 2022 at 11:25AM

Deer in a local neighborhood (Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann)

Memorial Day Closures — County offices and facilities like libraries and community centers will be closed Monday for the Memorial Day holiday. Metered parking will not be enforced. But trash collection will continue as normal. [Arlington County, Twitter]

Tree Group Opposes ‘Missing Middle’ — “A tree-advocacy group believes proposed changes to Arlington housing policy could have a cataclysmic impact on existing tree canopy in the community. ‘Tell the county ‘no’ – do not enact policies that further reduce our tree canopy,’ the Arlington Tree Action Group (ATAG) said May 20 in response to a county-government proposal on possible zoning changes.” [Sun Gazette]

News

Smash and grab theft at Pentagon City mall jewelry store

By ARLnow.com

Published May 25, 2022 at 2:30PM

Arlington County Police cars (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A man armed with a hammer smashed and stole from a jewelry store in the Pentagon City mall Thursday morning.

Arlington County police say they were dispatched to the 1100 block of S. Hayes Street around 11:15 a.m. and arrived to find that “an unknown male subject [had] walked into the business, smashed the display cases with a hammer and stole jewelry.”

News

ACPD stepping up patrols of schools in wake of Texas shooting, Alexandria stabbing

By ARLnow.com

Published May 25, 2022 at 11:30AM

Police at Kenmore Middle School in May 2022 (file photo by Jay Westcott)

Expect extra police patrols around Arlington schools today in the wake of yesterday’s deadly elementary school shooting in Texas.

“ACPD officers are conducting extra patrols near Arlington schools,” Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage confirmed to ARLnow this morning, noting that “there are no known threats to Arlington County.”

Opinion

Morning Poll: Are you heading out of town for Memorial Day?

By ARLnow.com

Published May 25, 2022 at 9:30AM

Traffic on I-395 looking south as the sun sets (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The Memorial Day holiday weekend is almost here and with it comes the kickoff to the unofficial summer travel season.

AAA expects 39.2 million people will travel 50 miles or more this weekend, an increase of 8.3% over 2021. Most — nearly 35 million — will travel by car. Another 3 million will travel by air, a 25% increase from last year, the automobile association predicts.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 25, 2022 at 7:30AM

"End Road Work" sign in Ballston (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Welcome to Our Summer Interns — Two interns have joined ARLnow for the summer. Mavis Chan of the University of Missouri will focus on local news reporting while Pia Kramer, graduate of Virginia Tech and Arlington’s Washington-Liberty High School, will focus on audience engagement.

Passengers Spend Hours on Planes at DCA — “Thais Austin wanted to get home to the District after a weekend visit with family in Jacksonville, Fla. Instead, she said, she and other passengers were stuck on the Reagan National Airport taxiway for three hours Sunday night, unable to exit their plane… Hundreds of passengers on at least a half-dozen other flights reported similar delays after thunderstorms downed trees, flooded roads and left thousands without power in the Washington region.” [Washington Post]

News

Local NAACP tells County Board it supports plan to allow more residential housing types

By ARLnow.com

Published May 24, 2022 at 3:55PM | Updated October 17, 2022 at 11:25AM

Townhomes in the Green Valley neighborhood (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) The Arlington branch of the NAACP has come out in support of the county’s Missing Middle Housing Study draft framework.

The proposal calls for allowing small-scale multifamily housing in the residential areas of Arlington currently zoned only for single-family homes. The new “missing middle” homes — ranging from townhomes to 8-plexes, depending on the lot size — would be limited to the same physical size and footprint currently allowed for single-family homes.

News

Southbound GW Parkway blocked after SUV overturns

By ARLnow.com

Published May 24, 2022 at 2:10PM | Updated May 24, 2022 at 2:56PM

Crash on the GW Parkway in 5/24/22 (courtesy anonymous)

A particularly sharp bend in the GW Parkway near Key Bridge has claimed another vehicular victim

An SUV overturned in the southbound lanes around 1:15 p.m., blocking all lanes and causing a backup that still extends as far north as the Windy Run bridge as of 2 p.m. The driver was able to get out on their own after the crash and was evaluated for injuries by Arlington medics.

News

Arlington’s Covid case average near 200 per day mark

By ARLnow.com

Published May 24, 2022 at 11:45AM | Updated May 24, 2022 at 12:07PM

Covid cases in Arlington as of 5/24/22 (via Virginia Dept. of Health)

(Updated at 12:05 p.m.) After a two-and-a-half month, barely-interrupted march upward, Arlington’s average daily Covid case count has eased a bit over the past three days.

After reaching a seven-day moving average of 198 daily cases on Saturday, this morning the same metric was down to 193. At the same time, however, the county’s test positivity rate is continuing to rise, reaching 14.9% today, the highest point since late January, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data.

News

Va. congressional delegation puts weight behind Route 1 proposal

By ARLnow.com

Published May 24, 2022 at 9:45AM

Renderings from JBG Smith of a surface-level Route 1 through National Landing (Image via JBG Smith)

Members of Congress from Virginia are pushing the federal government to help fund proposed changes to Route 1.

The changes, while still being hashed out by VDOT and local officials, would lower elevated portions of Route 1 through Crystal City to grade, turning it into a lower-speed “urban boulevard.” VDOT is also mulling at least one pedestrian bridge or tunnel at 18th Street S., near the Metro station, to improve safety.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 24, 2022 at 7:30AM | Updated October 17, 2022 at 11:25AM

Rainy day in Ballston (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

‘Midsummer’ Starts Next Month — “Synetic Theater, the home of American Physical Theater and movement-based storytelling, announces the return of its acclaimed adaptation of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed and choreographed by company co-founders Paata and Irina Tsikurishvili. The production runs June 30 through July 24.” [Synetic Theater]

Local Donut Shop Expanding — “The owners of a Ballston doughnut shop and cafe are building out a commercial kitchen in Tysons to support a growing wholesale business and its own planned expansion… Charles Kachadoorian, a Good Company co-owner, said the shop has outgrown its capacity at 672 N. Glebe Road in Ballston, from which it produces sweets for its cafe, for other coffee shops to sell retail, and for its own catering business. It plans to expand across all of those avenues, Kachadoorian said, including with a new shop in Crystal City in the shorter term and one in D.C. in 2024.” [Washington Business Journal]

News

Police: Parking aide assaulted, more cars broken into

By ARLnow.com

Published May 23, 2022 at 2:30PM

File photo

An Arlington man is facing charges after allegedly shoving and threatening a county parking aide.

The incident happened Thursday afternoon along S. Lowell Street in the Green Valley neighborhood.

News

UPDATED: Arlington residents still without power after Sunday’s storms

By ARLnow.com

Published May 23, 2022 at 9:45AM | Updated May 23, 2022 at 6:07PM

Power outages as of 9:30 a.m. Monday (via Dominion)

Update at 6:05 p.m. — The number of outages in Arlington is now down to just 67, according to Dominion.

Earlier: More than 2,000 Dominion customers are still without power after two strong storms knocked down trees and power lines Sunday.