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Baby, Stolen Gun Found in Car that Eluded Police

Published May 17, 2021 at 9:00AM

File photo

A teen driver allegedly eluded police before being apprehended near the Arlington Mill Community Center with a baby that wasn’t properly secured and a gun that was stolen.

The incident started Thursday evening around 7:40 p.m., when an Arlington County police officer conducting speed enforcement on S. George Mason Drive between Route 7 and Four Mile Run Drive spotted a speeding car.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 17, 2021 at 5:00AM

Proposed HQ2 ‘Helix’ Tower Is Too Tall — “Amazon.com Inc. may need to lop off the tip of its proposed drill-bit-like structure, the Helix, at its PenPlace development to ensure the safety of flights coming into and out of Reagan National Airport. Engineers working for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority determined the 15-story building is roughly 13 feet taller than the maximum allowable height for structures that close to the airport.” [Washington Business Journal, WJLA]

Homeless Population Down This Year — “The number of individuals counted as homeless across Arlington [this year] was down 14 percent from 2020 and declined by 26 percent since 2017, according to new figures from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG). A total of 171 individuals were counted as homeless – either in shelters or living on the street – in the annual ‘Point in Time’ survey.” [Sun Gazette]

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ARLnow Weekend Discussion

By ARLnow.com

Published May 14, 2021 at 10:00PM

Yorktown HS Varsity Boys' rowing team on the water near Key Bridge (Flickr pool photo by Jenn Vogel)

As predicted, the slow news cycle of the last couple weeks reversed this week, with more to cover than time to cover it.

With a County Board meeting this weekend and on Tuesday, and lots going on, next week’s coverage plan is already filled up through Thursday.

Schools

Marymount Announces Speakers for Commencement

By ARLnow.com

Published May 14, 2021 at 9:30AM

Marymount University’s commencement weekend is underway and is back to being an in-person event.

The university held last year’s ceremony virtually due to the pandemic. This year’s commencement will feature a trio of notable speakers: former Virginia Department of Education Secretary James Dyke Jr. on Friday, Black Entertainment Television co-founder Sheila Johnson on Saturday, and former Washington Post publisher Don Graham on Sunday.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 14, 2021 at 7:30AM

Construction site in Ballston (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Man Sentenced for Drunken Gunfire — “The Weedsport [New York] man arrested for publicly firing a gun in the Washington area days before the Jan. 6 Capitol attack was sentenced April 28 in Arlington County Circuit Court. Moses Geri, 39, was sentenced to two years in prison, with one year and eight months suspended… His sentence was issued days after the court rejected a previous plea agreement that would have made all 12 months of Geri’s probation unsupervised.” [The Citizen]

VHC Now a Level II Trauma Center — “Virginia Hospital Center (VHC), a community-based hospital providing medical services to the Washington, DC metropolitan area for 75 years, is proud to announce that it has received a Level II Trauma Center designation from the Commonwealth of Virginia, filling a critical community need.” [Press Release]

News

JUST IN: Local Coronavirus Cases Reach Lowest Point Since July As CDC Reveals New Mask Guidance

By ARLnow.com

Published May 13, 2021 at 11:50AM | Updated May 13, 2021 at 4:02PM

(Updated at 4 p.m.) A total of 75 new coronavirus cases have been reported in Arlington over the past week, after four straight days of single-digit case counts.

That’s the lowest trailing seven-day case total since July 26, 2020, and the first four-day streak of single-digit cases since late June 2020. It comes as new COVID-19 cases are declining in 37 states, including Virginia, while no states are seeing rising cases.

News

Police: Man Facing Gun Charges After Wakefield HS Incident

By ARLnow.com

Published May 13, 2021 at 11:10AM

Arlington police car (file photo)

A 40-year-old man has been arrested in connection to an incident in which a Wakefield High School student allegedly made threats of violence.

As first reported by ARLnow, Wakefield was placed in “secure the school mode” late Tuesday morning after a student — who was reportedly wearing a bulletproof vest — made threats during an altercation that happened off school property, according to Arlington County police. Officers swarmed the area around the school, located the student and detained him.

News

Lines Persist at Local Gas Stations, While Pipeline Restart Raises Hopes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 13, 2021 at 10:00AM | Updated May 13, 2021 at 10:33AM

The Shell station near the corner of Glebe Road and Lee Highway was out of gas this morning

(Updated at 10:35 a.m.) Arlington residents woke up this morning to another day of gasoline shortages and lines at gas stations.

While the Colonial Pipeline has been restarted after last week’s cyberattack, it could take days for gasoline supplies along the East Coast and in the Southeast to return to normal, the pipeline company says. In the meantime, trying to fill up in Arlington requires patience.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 13, 2021 at 7:30AM

Free Vax Shots for Kids Ages 12-15 — “Arlington County will begin to administer free COVID-19 vaccines to children ages 12-15 years of age who live or are schooled in Arlington beginning Saturday, May 15. This follows the expansion of Pfizer’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to children 12 and over… Approximately 8,000 children aged 12-15 live in Arlington. Arlington will offer Saturday through Monday clinics over the next two weekends for children 12-17 years of age to help meet anticipated demand for the vaccine.” [Arlington County]

Blowback Over Summer School Limits — “Arlington school leaders are getting abuse from both ends when it comes to criticism of newly announced summer-school restrictions. A group that has pressed Arlington schools leaders for a faster reopening of classes says new limitations show a continued lack of leadership, while at the same time the Arlington Education Association is blasting school leaders for throwing teachers under the bus on the issue.” [Sun Gazette, NBC 4]

News

Amazon Reveals New HQ2 Renderings as Hiring Picks Up

By ARLnow.com

Published May 12, 2021 at 11:40AM

Rendering of Amazon HQ2 Phase Two -- "Conceptual view of 'The Forest' plaza looking south down S. Elm Street view corridor, near Army-Navy Drive" (courtesy of NBBJ/Amazon)

Amazon is in the process of hiring for nearly 2,000 open positions in Arlington, while it also reveals new renderings of the planned second phase of its HQ2 in Pentagon City.

Additional renderings of HQ2 Phase 2 were released by the company this morning, showing a conceptual view of “The Forest” plaza from S. Elm Street — including the base of the lush, futuristic “Helix” tower — as well as a view of the S. Fern Street Plaza that will host community events and a number of retail businesses.

News

Potentially Rabid Fox on the Loose Near Lacey Woods Park

By ARLnow.com

Published May 12, 2021 at 9:45AM

An angry fox with a taste for human flesh is at large near a park popular with children.

Arlington officials say the fox bit two people — unprovoked — near Lacey Woods Park (1200 N. George Mason Drive) earlier this week and may be rabid. They’re warning residents to steer clear of any fox that “appears sick, lethargic, disoriented, or aggressive.”

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 12, 2021 at 7:30AM

Mom Inspires Sons to Join Vax Effort — “Quitting their jobs to help end the pandemic. That’s what some Springfield, Virginia men did after being inspired by a public health nurse who has been on the front lines responding to COVID-19. The nurse that inspired them to change careers is their mom,” who works at Arlington County Public Health. [WJLA]

Library Launching New Outdoor Storytime — “Outdoor Storytime is a fun and interactive program, presented by youth service librarians, and combines activities such as read-aloud stories, songs, rhymes, fingerplays and flannel boards. A kick-off event will be held on Tuesday, May 18, 10 a.m., at Central Library adjacent to Quincy Park, with special guest Arlington Public Library Director Diane Kresh.” [Arlington Public Library]