Author: ARLnow.com

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.

Around Town

Next Day Blinds Suddenly Vanishes, Replaced By 3 Day Blinds

By ARLnow.com
Closed Next Day Blinds location in Virginia Square (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

If you were hoping for Next Day Blinds, you’ll now have to wait two extra days.

The regional window covering chain, which has a showroom in the Virginia Square area, has reportedly gone out of business. Instead, visitors to its now-defunct website are being redirected to a California company called 3 Day Blinds.

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News

Another Free Coronavirus Testing Event Will Be Held Friday

By ARLnow.com
Scenes from free COVID-19 testing at the Barcroft Community Center (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

The Barcroft sports complex in Arlington will again host a free coronavirus testing event this week.

More than 1,100 people were tested at the last mass testing event there, on May 26. Testing ended early after the event, which is sponsored by the state, ran out of tests.

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JUST IN: Major Power Outage Reported in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Update at 1:20 p.m. — “We have restored service to all customers,” says Dominion spokeswoman Peggy Fox. She said technicians are still trying to determine the cause of the outage.

Update at 11:55 a.m. — There are now just short of 5,700 without power in Arlington, mostly along and south of Columbia Pike. Numerous traffic signals in the Green Valley and Shirlington areas are dark.

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News

Feds to Take County Land By Eminent Domain for Cemetery Expansion

By ARLnow.com
Columbia Pike near the US Air Force Memorial at sunset (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The Dept. of Justice has filed a civil action that would seize nine acres of county land on the eastern end of Columbia Pike by eminent domain, in order to expand Arlington National Cemetery.

The suit appears to be part of the long-standing plan to expand the cemetery around the Air Force Memorial, and includes no indication of resistance from the county. Arlington endorsed the federal proposal in April, which realigns and upgrades a portion of Columbia Pike in exchange for the county-owned land next to the cemetery.

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Around Town

The Curtain May Have Fallen on Stageplate Bistro

By ARLnow.com
Stageplate Bistro on June 15, 2020

It appears that Stageplate Bistro in Ballston may have taken a final bow.

The restaurant at 900 N. Glebe Road was well reviewed but struggled to attract customers to the western side of the busy street since opening in 2017. It took a brief intermission in 2018 but reopened, before closing temporarily again earlier this year.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Special County Board Meeting Planned — On Thursday at 6 p.m., the Arlington County Board “will hold a special meeting for a listening session on racial justice, systemic racism and policing. The County Board special meeting will be conducted using electronic means.” [Arlington County]

County Commissions Still Mostly Inactive — “Faced with a growing rebellion over the lack of meetings by Arlington government advisory panels, County Board members and top staff on June 13 offered (slightly defensive) apologies – but not much of a roadmap forward. Board members were responding to a June 9 letter sent to them by 25 chairs of advisory groups, complaining that the local government has been lagging in re-starting meetings that largely have been on hold since the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March.” [InsideNova]

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News

Final Draft Design of Revamped Pentagon City Park Revealed

By ARLnow.com
Renderings from synthesized Metropolitan Park design (screenshot via Arlington County)

The design process for the revamped Metropolitan Park near Amazon’s future Pentagon City offices is nearing the finish line.

A final draft design for the park was presented last week, revealing a hybrid of the “Forest Walk” and “Social Gardens” concepts previously detailed by James Corner Field Operations, which designed New York City’s famous High Line. Amazon is funding the design work for the park, which is adjacent to its future HQ2.

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News

Man Killed in Shirlington Circle Crash

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 2:55 p.m.) A North Carolina man was killed in a crash in the Shirlington area late last night.

The single-vehicle crash happened on the Shirlington Circle ramp above I-395, just before midnight, and drew a large emergency response. Virginia State Police say a 55-year-old man died from injuries sustained in the crash, and a female passenger was taken to a local trauma center with non-life-threatening injuries.

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New Group Calls for Police Reform in Arlington

By ARLnow.com
Arlington police officers moving protesters in D.C. during June 2020 incident (screenshot via @thehill/Twitter)

(Updated at 2 p.m.) A newly-formed group is calling for a sweeping set of police reforms in Arlington, including cutting the police department budget by 10%.

Arlington for Justice, whose founding steering committee members include Arlington’s top public defender and a prominent local Black Lives Matter organizer, published an open letter to the Arlington County Board over the weekend.

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News

No New Coronavirus Deaths Reported Over the Weekend

By ARLnow.com

Arlington’s coronavirus data continues to look good, even while a resurgence of cases in the U.S. and China weighs on the stock market.

“The second wave has begun,” one medical school professor told CNBC today. But even while 22 states — mostly in the west and the Sun Belt — report an acceleration of new cases, Arlington and Virginia are looking to be in good shape, for now.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Black Lives Matter Protest Held Saturday — “As protests continue around the nation following the death of George Floyd, the Black Parents of Arlington group welcomed families and neighbors on Saturday for a special gathering and vigil for the man who died in police custody in Minneapolis in May. Over 100 people gathered at Drew Model Elementary School, some bringing signs while others wore shirts and face masks showing support for the Black Lives Matter movement.” [WUSA 9]

Dorsey Discusses ‘Defund’ Demands — “‘We’re getting a lot of letters with the ‘defund the police’ calls,’ says [County Board member Christian Dorsey, on the WAMU Politics Hour]. He says that over the past few years, the police budget has only risen slightly above inflation. He said he’d be open to cutting tactical weapons and gear.” [Twitter]

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