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.
This week’s Arlington Pet of the Week is Baxter, a 10-month-old Golden Retriever who likes to go to the Shirlington dog park and watch Animal Planet.
Here is what his owner Rachel had to say:
Crews are starting construction this week on changes to an intersection in Courthouse.
The $640,000 project is intended to provide pedestrian safety improvements at the intersection of Clarendon Blvd and 15th Street N. One major change is the removal of a slip lane.
Wakefield Advances to Championship — The Wakefield High School boys basketball team has advanced to the Virginia Class 5 championship after defeating Edison last night 82-66. The team will face Varina tomorrow at VCU. Meanwhile, Wakefield senior forward A’Mari Cooper has been named Northern Region Class 5 Player of the Year. [Washington Post, InsideNova]
Metro Starts Selling Merch — Despite its reliability issues and subsequent image problem, Metro has launched a new line of clothing and gifts, sold online and at a new gift store at Metro Center. The reaction to the merchandise has been mixed. [WMATA, NBC Washington]
Update at 3:40 p.m. — Only 13 Dominion customers remain without power in Arlington.
Earlier: Parts of north and south Arlington are without power on this snowy Tuesday night.
The first episode of “Best House on the Block,” which stars a pair of Great Falls, Va.-based home renovation specialists, aired last year.
The pilot took a different turn from the usual house-flip shows that have dominated HGTV the past few years, featuring “underwhelming” houses.
Chalk up another name-brand restaurant heading to Ballston Quarter mall.
The renovated mall, which is set to open this fall, has announced an 18-restaurant food hall with the likes of Timber Pizza and Ice Cream Jubilee, plus the entertainment-oriented bar Punch Bowl Social.
Sexual Assault Suspect Was Maintenance Worker — The man arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a woman in her apartment in Rosslyn last year worked as a maintenance worker for an apartment building in D.C. Police say he posed as a maintenance worker in the Rosslyn building to get the victim to open her door, before forcing his way into the apartment. [NBC Washington]
New Uber Pickup at DCA — “If you are planning to take an Uber, Lyft or other ride-share service from Reagan National Airport, you’ll need to head to a new spot to be picked up. Airport officials have moved the pick up zone to the ticketing level (upstairs) at Terminals B and C.” [Washington Post]
Former Daily Show host Jon Stewart spoke at an event in Clarendon Monday afternoon.
The actor and comedian, who advocates for veterans issues and emceed a USO event in Crystal City two years ago, was in the neighborhood for the launch of the TAPS Institute for Hope and Healing.
Amazon officials visited Crystal City and Rosslyn last week as part of the company’s HQ2 search, multiple sources tell ARLnow.com.
Commercial real estate industry sources say the Crystal City tour happened Wednesday. The Arlington neighborhood, with its vacant office space and robust transportation options, has been mentioned as a frontrunner among D.C. area locales.
Some 330 Dominion customers in Arlington were still without power Monday morning, following Friday’s intense, prolonged wind storm.
Dominion crews worked throughout the weekend to restore electricity in Northern Virginia. The few hundred without power in Arlington was down from more than 14,000 as of Friday evening.
Partisans Stake Out Sides on Country Club Tax Bill — There are two very different political perspectives on the state bill that would greatly lower the tax bills of Arlington’s two country clubs. On one hand, a writer on the conservative blog Bearing Drift says Arlington’s tax treatment of Army-Navy Country Club (which is covered by the bill along with Washington Golf & Country Club) is “manifestly unfair, and… impacts an especially distinguished and patriotic group of older folks.” On the other hand, progressive blog Blue Virginia says the bill, which passed the Virginia General Assembly last week, should be vetoed by Gov. Ralph Northam (D) because it would “lavish big $$$ on super-rich people, weaken local autonomy vs state AND set a horrible precedent.” [Bearing Drift, Blue Virginia]
County Launches Online Payments for Building Permits — After years of grumbles from local businesses, starting today Arlington County is accepting online payments for building permits. Payments can only be made online when one is submitting permits via the ePlan Review portal. [Arlington County]
A suspect, alternately described as “highly intoxicated” or “possibly on drugs,” led police on a brief foot chase that ended in the frigid waters of Four Mile Run Friday night.
The man, who was acting erratically but not suspected of a crime, ran from officers — near the intersection of Four Mile Run Drive and S. Walter Reed Drive — and into the creek, but then was too intoxicated to get out, according to scanner traffic.
