Traffic

Arlington County police are on scene of an unusual accident in the Rock Spring neighborhood, near Discovery Elementary and Williamsburg Middle schools.

The driver of a car apparently drove into a ditch in the median, just past the intersection of Williamsburg Blvd and N. Harrison Street, around 1:45 p.m. The car became stuck and is now awaiting a tow.


Around Town

March is here and so is a warm weekend ahead! If you’re thinking about moving or just want to get out this weekend, there are open houses across Arlington ranging from high-rise condos to townhomes.

According to Homesnap, there are currently 369 homes for sale. The median list price is $549,900 and the median sales price is $655,000. The average days on market is 76. In the last 4 weeks, there have been 130 new listings.


News

Police Holding St. Paddy’s Event — “On Friday, March 18 from 8-10 p.m., join officers on N. Hudson Street at Wilson Boulevard in Clarendon for the Don’t Press Your Luck anti-drunk driving event. This event is free and open to the public and is designed to highlight the effect alcohol has on motor skills.” [ACPD]

Sub Suspended for Russia Rant — “Arlington Public Schools has suspended a substitute teacher who, during a Spanish class, expressed approval of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine and urged students to read Russian-run propaganda outlets. The substitute, John Stanton, 65, made the comments during an eighth-grade Spanish lesson on Friday at Swanson Middle School.” [Washington Post]


News

Two men and one woman are behind bars after police say they stole items from a Pentagon City store and tried — unsuccessfully — to flee from officers.

The incident happened around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday on the 1100 block of S. Hayes Street. (That’s the same block as the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City mall, though Arlington County police typically do not name the businesses that have been the victims of crimes.)


Opinion

(Updated at 12:10 p.m.) Two years ago, stores in Arlington were being picked clean of face masks, as COVID-19 started to spread in the United States. Today, for the first time in a long time, masks are becoming optional in county facilities.

It’s been an unusual round trip from those early days of the pandemic, when healthy people were being actively discouraged from wearing masks.


News

Board Calls Out Youngkin’s Auditor Veto — “The Arlington County Board said Wednesday that Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s veto of its police oversight bill was ‘deeply frustrating.'” [WTOP, Arlington County]

Volunteers Clean Up Muddy Trail –From the Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail: “Before and after of the Gravelly Point mud puddle which was removed by volunteers on Saturday while edging the trail. Make a difference on the trail when you register for one of our upcoming volunteer events.” [Twitter]


News

Arlington County is making masks optional in county facilities — from community centers to County Board meetings — starting tomorrow (Thursday).

The county made the announcement this afternoon, following the lead of Arlington Public Schools, which made masks optional for students and staff on Tuesday.


News

A D.C. man convicted of raping a massage therapist in a Columbia Pike apartment building in 2018 has been sentenced to life in prison.

It was the second rape conviction for 63-year-old Salodus Zeloter Hicks, thus leading to the lengthy sentence from Arlington County Circuit Court Judge Louise DiMatteo.


News

Man Tased After Columbia Pike Assault — “The suspect was inside of a business, acting disorderly and aggressive towards other patrons, when he allegedly approached the victim and struck him in the face. The victim sustained minor injuries and did not require medical treatment. Responding officers located the suspect, who continued to act disorderly and resisted arrest. A brief struggle ensued, during which the officer deployed a TASER, and the suspect was subsequently taken into custody without further incident.” [ACPD]

D.C. Also Has Camp Registration Drama — “Hey… it looks like DC is having similar problems with @VermontSystems as @ArlingtonVA had last week.” [Twitter]


News

Yesterday was the deadline for all Arlington County government employees to get vaccinated, obtain an exemption, or get fired. So far, no one has been fired.

“We’re happy to report that as of today, all Arlington County Government employees are in compliance with the vaccine policy,” county spokesman Ryan Hudson told ARLnow on Monday. “Approximately 99% of permanent County employees are vaccinated, with 125 individuals having received accommodations.”


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