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.
Arlington County is under a Flood Warning through 5:30 a.m.
Heavy rain overnight may cause flooding along streams and in flood-prone areas, forecasters say. D.C., Falls Church, Alexandria, and Fairfax County are also included in the warning.
(Updated at 11:15 p.m.) Hundreds — perhaps more than a thousand — braved 90 degree weather to march from Courthouse to Clarendon and back Thursday evening.
Police closed portions of Wilson and Clarendon boulevards at the marchers held signs and chanted slogans like “no justice, no peace.”
(Updated at 10:40 p.m.) A number of peaceful marches against racism and in support of Black Lives Matter are planned in Arlington through Sunday.
The first will be taking place from 5-7 p.m. today (Thursday), marching from the county parking lot in Courthouse to Clarendon to demand justice for George Floyd “and those who have been directly affected by systemic racism.” Some county offices are closing early due to expected crowds.
Updated at 11:10 p.m. — A Flash Flood Watch has been issued for Arlington and much of the region.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A
(Updated at 1:40 p.m.) Arlington County will be holding a virtual public meeting tonight to discuss a trio of road projects set for later this year.
The county plans to repave and re-stripe portions of Wilson Blvd in the Dominion Hills and Boulevard Manor neighborhoods, Potomac Avenue in Potomac Yard, and Clarendon Blvd in the Courthouse and Rosslyn neighborhoods. The work is expected to take place this summer and fall, following the current public engagement process.
Undeterred by the pandemic, a new outpost of a bánh mì sandwich chain is getting closer to opening.
As we reported in January, Lee’s Sandwiches is coming to 801 N. Quincy Street in Ballston, where a Subway sandwich shop closed last summer. Signs are now up outside the restaurant entrance, one of which says it is “coming soon.”
Black Lives Matter Live Chat with ACPD — “Yolande Kwinana will interview Chief Jay Farr and Andy Penn on the current situation regarding police brutality and what ACPD is doing to protect the Arlington African American people. I encourage Arlingtonians to send in questions during the live and in the discussion tab before the live chat.” [Facebook]
N. Va. Unemployment Rate Rises — “Northern Virginia’s unemployment rate hit 10% in April as business shutdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic ricocheted through the economy. A total of 163,158 Northern Virginia residents were unemployed and looking for work during the month, the Virginia Employment reported Wednesday.” [InsideNova]
Some currently closed amenities at Arlington County parks will be reopening Friday.
Arlington’s Dept. of Parks and Recreation announced this afternoon that park amenities which can be utilized safely while maintaining social distancing will be reopening. That includes athletic fields, batting cages, tennis courts, tracks and picnic shelters.
The number of new coronavirus cases reported overnight in Arlington was in the single digits for the third time in the past four days.
There are now 2,142 known COVID-19 cases in Arlington, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data, an increase of nine cases since Tuesday. Two additional hospitalizations were reported overnight, bringing the rolling seven-day total down to eight.
Arlington’s newest Pet of the Week is the duo, Sam and Marlowe, who were named after film noir detectives.
Here is what their owner had to say on their behalf:
(Updated at 11:10 a.m.) The mid-century rambler near Williamsburg Middle School that was home to astronaut John Glenn and his family has been torn down.
The demolition came just days after the death of Annie Glenn, widow of the former U.S. senator and first American to orbit the earth. She died on Tuesday, May 19 from complications of COVID-19, as a backhoe sat in the front yard of the place she called home for nearly five years, including during John’s history-making Friendship 7 mission in 1962.
(Updated at 10 a.m.) Despite what you might have seen on TV, the Arlington police officers who were sent to assist the response to protests in D.C. conducted themselves professionally, county leaders say.
In a half-hour phone interview with ARLnow, Police Chief M. Jay Farr, County Board Chair Libby Garvey and County Manager Mark Schwartz discussed the decision to send officers to help U.S. Park Police in D.C., and the subsequent decision to bring them back to Arlington — which is facing criticism from the local police association.
