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Morning Notes

Published March 2, 2020 at 6:00AM | Updated March 11, 2020 at 11:13PM

Oakland Park in Virginia Square, with public art installation "Ridge" in the background (file photo)

Big Costco Crowds Over the Weekend — The Pentagon City Costco drew big crowds and long queues of cars over the weekend, as people stocked up on supplies amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. There were some reports of the store running low on items like toilet paper. [Twitter, Twitter]

Vets Visit Iwo Jima Memorial — “This February marks 75 years since the American flag was raised atop Mt. Suribachi, depicted in the famous photograph by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal. That photo became the model for the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. This milestone is the reason a group of more than 50 Battle of Iwo Jima veterans descended on the memorial this week.” [WJLA]

News

ARLnow Weekend Discussion

By ARLnow.com

Published February 28, 2020 at 9:45PM

It’s time again for the rarest of holidays: Leap Day.

Whether you’re expecting a visit from Leap Day William, doing something you wouldn’t normally do all the other 1,460 days in between, or just going about your daily business, we hope you have a unique and Leap Day-worthy Saturday — and a great start to March.

News

JUST IN: SWAT Team Makes Drug Arrest Near Virginia Square Metro

By ARLnow.com

Published February 28, 2020 at 5:00PM

Narcotics investigation and arrest in Virginia Square

Heavily-armed Arlington County Police officers made what appears to be a major arrest near the Virginia Square Metro early Friday evening.

A SWAT team, police K-9s and plain-clothes officers could be seen near the Metro station and the Virginia Square Towers condo complex, on the 900 block of N. Lincoln Street, around 3:30 p.m. Friday. Two people, a man and a woman, were detained by police outside the Metro station.

News

APS, County ‘Closely Monitoring New Developments’ with Coronavirus

By ARLnow.com

Published February 28, 2020 at 1:35PM | Updated September 23, 2020 at 11:23AM

As the global coronavirus outbreak spreads and the stock market sinks, both Arlington County and Arlington Public Schools are ramping up their public outreach on the disease.

While there are no confirmed cases locally, and only one “possible” case being investigated in Northern Virginia, local governments, agencies, hospitals and schools throughout the D.C. region are continuing to make emergency preparations.

News

Aging Apartments Near Golf Course to Be Redeveloped

By ARLnow.com

Published February 28, 2020 at 11:05AM

Rendering of Arlington View Terrace redevelopment (Photo courtesy of AHC, Inc.)

The Arlington View Terrace apartments, which mostly have views of part of the Army-Navy Country Club golf course, are set for redevelopment.

The Arlington County Board last week allocated just over $8 million — a $7.25 million loan from the county’s Affordable Housing Investment Fund and a nearly $1 million grant — to help fund the redevelopment of the aging apartment complex at 1420 S. Rolfe Street, in the Arlington View neighborhood on the eastern end of Columbia Pike.

News

New Poke Restaurant in Ballston to Open Sunday

By ARLnow.com

Published February 28, 2020 at 10:15AM

Go Poke in Ballston (courtesy photo)

Ballston is on the cusp of getting its second poke restaurant.

Go Poke is scheduled to open this Sunday, March 1, at the Quarter Market food hall in Ballston Quarter Mall. To mark the opening, the restaurant will be offering a 20% discount through Tuesday, according to a spokesman for the mall.

Schools

Yorktown High School Closed Due to Power Issue

By ARLnow.com

Published February 28, 2020 at 9:30AM

Yorktown High School students are enjoying a three-day weekend thanks to a power issue at the school.

An internal breaker blew, shutting off power to most of the building, according to Arlington Public Schools spokesman Frank Bellavia. APS is awaiting delivery of a part to fix the issue, and expects power to be restored by this afternoon.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 28, 2020 at 7:30AM

HQ2’s Employee Count Keeps Growing — “Amazon.com Inc.’s Arlington headquarters seems to get larger by the week. At latest count, there are just shy of 715 employees in leased office spaces in Crystal City and about 125 pending starts.” [Washington Business Journal]

MS-13 Members Plead Guilty to Shooting — “Two MS-13 members pleaded guilty today to their respective roles in a December 2018 shooting and stabbing that occurred in Four Mile Run Park on the border of Alexandria and Arlington. According to court documents, Juan Francisco Rivera-Pineda, 25, and Jefferson Noe Amaya, 24, both Alexandria residents… confronted the victim in the park, shooting him in the throat and arm, and stabbing him in the back. The victim was transported to the hospital where he underwent surgery and survived.” [USDOJ]

News

ACPD: No, We Don’t Call and Demand Payment Via Prepaid Debit Cards

By ARLnow.com

Published February 27, 2020 at 4:30PM

Arlington County Police Department badge on ACPD's jobs trailer

To combat a new scam, Arlington County Police are making it clear: they’re not going to call and threaten to arrest you unless you pay them with a prepaid debit card.

The department says it has received several reports of residents receiving unsolicited phone calls claiming to be from an Arlington police officer. The caller asserts that the victim has “an outstanding warrant for their arrest” for an unpaid fine and demands payment, threatening to arrest the victim unless a payment is received via — it’s then revealed — prepaid debit cards.

News

New Cafe, Coffee Roaster and Restaurant Coming to Pentagon Row

By ARLnow.com

Published February 27, 2020 at 1:30PM | Updated February 27, 2020 at 2:49PM

The former Starbucks space at Pentagon Row will soon be serving coffee once again.

The shopping center’s owner announced today that Origin Coffee Lab and Kitchen will be coming to the 2,000 square foot space between Basic Burger and Lebanese Taverna. It’s expected to open this summer.

Opinion

Morning Poll: Should the Property Tax Rate Be Lowered?

By ARLnow.com

Published February 27, 2020 at 8:55AM

Money (by Sharon McCutcheon/Unsplash)

With rising property assessments, the Arlington County Board sees no need to raise taxes this year.

The Board on Tuesday advertised a maximum property tax rate unchanged at $1.013 per $100. The question is: should the rate be lowered?

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 27, 2020 at 6:00AM | Updated March 11, 2020 at 11:13PM

Amazon Leases Former PBS Building — “Amazon.com Inc. is gobbling up more office space in Crystal City, signing a lease for another full building owned by frequent partner and current landlord JBG Smith Properties. The tech giant is now set to occupy another 272,000 square feet at 2100 Crystal Drive… The building is currently home to the Public Broadcasting Services’ headquarters, though the nonprofit announced plans last year to move to a different building within Crystal City.” [Washington Business Journal]

W-L vs. Wakefield in the Semis Tonight — “Having been blown out by the Yorktown Patriots a few days earlier, the Washington-Liberty Generals turned the tables on their Arlington rival, winning 66-61 Feb. 25 in a quarterfinal game of the 6D North Region boys high-school basketball tournament… Washington-Liberty will now face another big Arlington rival – the Wakefield Warriors (17-9) – in the Feb. 27 region semifinals at Wakefield at 7 p.m.” [InsideNova]