Launched in January 2010, ARLnow.com is the place for the latest news, views and things to do around Arlington, Virginia. The ARLnow staff byline is used for the Morning Notes and reporting done by an editor or other member of our full-time staff.
Meet well traveled Karma, Arlington’s latest Pet of the Week. This 13-year-old Old English Sheepdog/Bearded Collie mix grew up in Seattle, but now calls Arlington home.
Here’s what Karma’s mom had to say about her travels.
Lee Highway is in full retreat and near surrender as it falls back to the Courthouse area.
The Arlington County Board voted in July to change the name of Lee Highway to Langston Blvd, honoring the first U.S. representative of color from Virginia rather than the Confederate general. Recently, county crews have been replacing the Lee Highway signs along the Route 29 corridor, working from west to east, to reflect the new name.
Someone threw rocks at police cruisers a proverbial stone’s throw away from Arlington police headquarters in Courthouse.
The incident happened just before 10 a.m. last Friday, on the 2000 block of 14th Street N., the same block as the entrance to the police department.
APS Enrollment Down — “Despite intensive efforts to get them back, Arlington Public Schools has about 4 percent fewer students in class than it did pre-pandemic, according to new figures. Superintendent Francisco Durán on Oct. 14 said the school system’s official count for the 2021-22 school year is 26,911 students, based on enrollment Sept. 30 that will be submitted to state officials as is required by law. That’s down slightly from the 26,932 students reported on hand at the start of classes in August.” [Sun Gazette]
Update on Metro Woes — “While Metro aims to provide service consistent with the announced basic service plan through the rest of the week, customers should anticipate trains every 15-20 minutes on the Red Line and every 30-40 minutes on all other lines to account for any unplanned disruptions. There is currently no capacity to fill unforeseen gaps, which will result in longer wait times. Crews are working as quickly as possible to put more trains into service.” [WMATA]
(Updated at 9:30 p.m.) A person suffered serious injuries in what’s being described by police as a single-vehicle crash in Rosslyn.
The incident happened around 6:30 p.m. at the intersection of Wilson Blvd and N. Oak Street, near the Target store. Traffic camera footage posted on Twitter, below, shows medics attending to the injured person on the sidewalk.
The Arlies are back this week with not one, but two new categories. First, the results from last week’s voting.
Your favorite street for trick-or-treating is N. Jackson Street in Ashton Heights, followed by 14th Street S. in Douglas Park.
(Updated at 1:30 p.m.) Firefighters from Arlington and neighboring jurisdictions battled a house fire near Shirlington.
Fire companies were initially dispatched to the Windgate townhouse development on the 2500 block of S. Arlington Mill Road for a reported electrical fire. The fire turned out to be at the nextdoor Heatherlea condo complex, along 28th Road S.
A new restaurant called Surreal is coming to the private park space in front of a Crystal City office building.
“Surreal” will offer both indoor dining and outdoor dining in the park at 2121 Crystal Drive. It’s coming from “the renowned team behind DC’s critically acclaimed restaurants Seven Reasons and Imperfecto,” per a press release.
(Updated at 11 a.m.) Arlington police are investigating gunshots reportedly fired from a vehicle in the Shirlington area.
Described to first responders as a “drive-by shooting,” the incident happened around 9:30 a.m. on the stretch of 31st Street S. between the Shirlington and Fairlington neighborhoods.
A man walked up to an American flag outside of a home in the Arlington Heights neighborhood early Friday morning and lit it on fire.
Metro Delays All Week — “Reduced Metrorail service is expected to continue until at least Sunday, October 24, as the investigation into the October 12 derailment continues. Beginning tomorrow, trains will operate every 15 minutes on the Red Line and will continue to operate every 30 minutes on all other lines. Silver Line trains will operate between Wiehle-Reston East and Federal Center SW only.” [WMATA]
WMATA Knew About Defects — “Wheel assemblies on Metro rail cars like the one at fault in last week’s Blue Line derailment had failed 31 times since 2017 — and renewed inspections last week identified almost two dozen similar defects, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority pulled the 7000 series cars from service Sunday night, leaving the agency down more than half its fleet.” [Washington Post, WJLA]
Update at 4:40 p.m. — The suspicious package has been cleared and first responders are starting to leave the scene, according to scanner traffic.
Earlier: A U.S. State Department office building in Rosslyn has been evacuated as Arlington’s bomb squad conducts an investigation.
