Author: ARLnow.com

VSP Arrests Cruiser Crash Suspect — “Arrest in trooper hit & run: A man trying to retrieve his Porsche 911 after it ran into a Virginia State trooper early yesterday on I-395 has been charged with felony hit and run.” [Dave Statter/X]

Arlington Man Arrested in Fairfax — “A 25-year-old man has been arrested after police allege that he forced his way into two Fairfax County hotel rooms earlier this week. Arlington resident Eric Isler was taken into custody yesterday (Tuesday), hours after the second of two incidents, the Fairfax County Police Department says.” [FFXnow]

Police: Man Threatens Boy — “The juvenile male victim was in the stairwell of a residential building when the adult male suspect approached and began yelling at the victim. The victim attempted to leave the scene when the suspect grabbed his hand, displayed a knife and made jabbing movements. The victim’s family entered the stairwell upon hearing the commotion, confronted the suspect and he fled the scene on foot.” [ACPD]

Crash in Crystal City — “Trying to make the left turn from the right thru lane is rarely a good idea, but many people like to do it. This vehicle came off the ramp from the airport road where there is no legal access to make the left turn onto S. 23rd St. from Richmond Highway.” [Dave Statter/X]

Toastique Opening Update — Branded signage has appeared at 244 19th Court S., where the D.C.-born gourmet toast franchise hopes to open next month, a representative tells ARLnow. The expanding eatery is currently working to open 19 new locations nationwide, including one in Reston. The new restaurant will be Arlington’s second Toastique, joining a Clarendon location that opened last year. –Katie Taranto

Waterfront Wine Party This Weekend — Seasonal outdoor restaurant Catboat Pizza Bar plans to host its first-ever natural wine party from noon-4 p.m. this Saturday at Washington Sailing Marina. Tickets come with bottomless pizza and pours from local wine distributors at $75 per person. –Katie Taranto

Hotel Renovation Complete — “AC Hotel Arlington National Landing is officially open, unveiling a multi-million dollar transformation. The reimagined property joins Marriott International’s AC Hotels brand portfolio with distinction, as it’s the largest AC Hotel in North America with 355 European-inspired guest rooms.” [Press Release]

Grant for Local Rescue Group — “Lucky Dog Animal Rescue is pleased to have received $15,000 in funding through a PEDIGREE Foundation Program Development Grant. This generous grant will support a new initiative called Project Paws in Homes, which will provide those who adopt Lucky Dog’s long-stay – or challenging –  dogs with the resources they need to make their adoption successful.” [Press Release]

Westover Profiled by Post — “In a rare configuration for Arlington, Westover has original 1940s-era single-family houses alongside duplexes, condominiums and apartments, all clustered around the commercial district along Washington Boulevard.” [Washington Post]

Senators Question FAA Cuts — “The tragic crash of American Airlines flight 5342 highlighted serious gaps in our aviation safety system and demonstrated the need for a robust and experienced analytical workforce at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Unfortunately, over the past six months, your agency has significantly reduced its workforce. We are deeply concerned.” [Press Release]

It’s Thursday — Expect sunny skies and a high temperature near 90 degrees, accompanied by a south wind of 3 to 8 mph. Thursday night will be mostly clear, with a low around 74 degrees. [NWS]

Another Residential Conversion — “JBG Smith Properties has pitched two new office-to-residential conversions in National Landing, replacing an earlier plan to build new office. The Bethesda developer filed an adaptive reuse site plan application Monday with Arlington County, outlining a proposal to transform the 11- to 12-story office towers at 1800 and 1901 S. Bell St. into multifamily over retail buildings comprising a total of 315 units.” [WBJ]

Big Raise for Defense Firm — “Rune Technologies, an Arlington-based developer of AI predictive software used for military logistics, said on Monday it has raised $24 million in a round of funding, led by Human Capital.” [Potomac Tech Wire, WBJ]

More Tech Tenants for GMU — “Three more tenants have moved into George Mason University’s state-of-the-art Fuse building at Mason Square in the Rosslyn-Ballston Innovation Corridor of Arlington, Virginia.  JSI, Corvex, and Oasis Hill strengthen Fuse as a center for collaboration between industry leaders, government, university researchers, and students.” [GMU]

First Pitch for Fudd — “UConn Huskies women’s basketball star Azzi Fudd is having herself an excellent couple of days. Last week, she announced her new podcast Fudd Around And Find Out, co-produced with Steph Curry’s Unanimous Media. And on Monday, the Arlington, Virginia, native threw out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals’ game vs. the Cincinnati Reds.” [Sports Illustrated]

Assault on Officer in P.C. — “An officer inside the Pentagon City Metro Station stopped the male suspect for fare evasion. The suspect began to act disorderly, ignore the officer’s commands and struck the officer. With the assistance of additional officers in the area, the suspect was taken into custody. No injuries were reported.” [ACPD]

VRE’s Vision for 2050 — The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission approved the VRE System Plan 2050, aiming for $1.4 billion in capital improvements, including potential expansions, though challenges remain. The plan is flexible and will adapt to economic and demographic shifts, with funding discussions set to follow. [FFXnow]

Bikeshare Costs Rising — Price increases to some Capital Bikeshare services, including a 26% hike on annual memberships, go into effect next Friday, Aug. 1. Thirty-day passes are increasing from $20 to $25 and low-income members’ free e-bike rides will now cost 10 cents per minute, among other changes. The hikes are intended to “ensure Capital Bikeshare remains an affordable transportation option” as the service experiences record-high ridership. –-Katie Taranto

It’s Wednesday — Expect mostly sunny skies with a high near 87 degrees, accompanied by a calm wind that will shift to the southeast at 5 to 7 mph in the morning. On Wednesday night, the skies will be mostly clear as the temperature drops to around 69 degrees, with a south wind of 5 to 8 mph. [NWS]

Ballston Development Approved — “Penzance, a leading owner, operator and developer in the Mid-Atlantic region for over two decades, has received approval from Arlington County for its proposed redevelopment of Ballston One at 4601 N. Fairfax Drive. The approved plan will convert the existing office building into a vibrant new residential community.” [Press Release, WBJ]

More on Crystal City Conversion — “JBG SMITH… has received approval from Arlington County to transform more than 550,000 square feet of vacant office space across two out-of-service National Landing office buildings into a 195-unit apartment building and a 344-room, dual-branded hotel.” [Press Release]

Food Hall Replacing Brown’s — “The oldest business in Falls Church will be replaced by the hottest new thing in food halls. Wonder, the food hall concept featuring recreated recipes from celebrity chefs and nationally known restaurants, has filed paperwork to open at 100 W. Broad St., replacing Brown’s Hardware, which closed earlier this year.” [WBJ]

Business Sustainability Partnership — “The Arlington County Board voted to approve a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between Arlington County and Ceres, formalizing a strategic partnership for the development and implementation of the Arlington Corporate Climate Leaders (ACCL) program to be launched later this year.” [Arlington County]

Crash at Tricky Intersection — “A driver running a red signal appeared to have caused a crash yesterday at the newly revamped intersection of Army Navy Drive & S. Hayes Street in Pentagon City… In the view from my driver’s seat, you can see how that right turn signal lines up with my car. I was in the same lane as the driver in the video.” [Dave Statter/X]

New Certification at MU — “Marymount University has launched its new Workday Pro Platform Administrator Certification, becoming one of only two higher education institutions in the nation to partner with global cloud-based software leader Workday to offer certification programs to the public.” [Press Release]

Economic Diversification Plans — The Northern Virginia Chamber has released a plan to diversify the region’s economy away from federal jobs, attracting investment and creating jobs in key industries like AI and biotech. The initiative aims to address economic challenges from recent federal workforce cuts and will advocate for strategies such as affordable housing and child care. [WBJ]

PSL Date Announced — “The unofficial start of fall has a date: Tuesday, August 26, when Starbucks will bring back the Pumpkin Spice Latte… the latte’s actual launch date is four days later than last year’s, and marks the latest release since 2022.” [Axios]

Smoke Today, Heat Later — “We could have just a bit of haze in the sky… courtesy of wildfire smoke from Canada. But it shouldn’t be enough smoke to greatly impact air quality… Enjoy this less hot and humid weather while it lasts. Sweltering heat is in the forecast for Friday and Saturday.” [CWG]

It’s Tuesday — Expect sunshine and a high of around 85 with a gentle northeast wind at 6 mph. Tonight the sky will be mostly clear, with the temperature dropping to around 68. [NWS]

Proposal for Fmr. Verizon Building — “Quadrangle Development Corp. has proposed converting a mostly vacant office building in Courthouse to apartments. The D.C.-based developer filed an adaptive reuse application July 15 with Arlington County, outlining a proposal to transform the 12-story office at 1320 N. Courthouse Road into 295 multifamily units.” [WBJ]

Big Blow for Shirlington-Based WETA — “Of Greater Washington’s stations, WETA, D.C’s primary Public Broadcasting Service member station and producer of “PBS News Hour,” has the most on the chopping block, according to annual financial reports required by the CPB. In 2024, WETA-TV received more than $34 million in funding from the CPB and nearly $11 million from PBS. That represents to 27.5% of its budget.” [WBJ]

Vehicle Break-Ins on S. Glebe Road — “During the overnight hours, approximately 8 vehicles inside a parking garage were broken into, including some by force. The vehicles were rummaged through and personal property, including sporting equipment and a firearm, were stolen from two of the vehicles.” [ACPD]

Fight at Columbia Pike Bar — “A fight a short time ago at the Pike Cornerstone restaurant in Arlington. It was still going on when @ArlingtonVaPD officers arrived at Columbia Pike and Walter Reed. They arrested a man the restaurant’s staff appeared to be trying to get out of the building.” [Dave Statter/X]

Van Driver Saves Man — “Shout out to the driver of a work van early Friday morning who stepped in to prevent a man, apparently in crisis, from being killed. The man was on foot, walking down the lane markings in the middle of I-395S north of the Pentagon. The van driver knew this was likely to end very poorly. They put their own safety at risk, positioning the van so that other drivers going at speed didn’t hit the pedestrian.” [Dave Statter/X]

Police Escort for ‘Thank You’ Walk — “ACPD assisted @PFPAOfficial in escorting Jordan Ramirez from @ArlingtonVaFD Station 5 to the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon as he spreads his message of gratitude to first responders and military personnel during his Thank You for Your Service tour.” [ACPD/X, Jordan Ramirez/IG]

HQ2 Jazz Band Performs — “A group of Amazon engineers, legal, and sustainability professionals entertained their fellow workers with the sweet sounds of smooth jazz at the tech company’s HQ2 campus in Arlington on Friday. The eight-piece jazz combo called HQBlue has been rehearsing in the evenings and during lunch in preparation for Friday’s performance in the lounge space adjacent to the second floor cafe in the Met 2 building.” [Patch]

It’s Monday — Expect a mostly sunny day with highs around 85°F and a northward wind at about 6 mph. In the evening, there will be clear skies, and temperatures will drop to around 66°F with a gentle northeastward breeze between 3 and 5 mph. [NWS]

Today’s Morning Notes are brought to you by Industrious. ARLnow has been in an Industrious office for years and we love the convenience — you get to focus on your work rather than worrying about brewing your own coffee or keeping the copy machine stocked. Industrious has several Metro-accessible coworking locations in Arlington.