Dan Egitto | ARLnow

NEW: ACPD releases crime dashboard with arrest and offense data

Published August 23, 2024 at 11:30AM

ACPD's new crime data dashboard (via ACPD)

The Arlington County Police Department has rolled out a new crime dashboard with up-to-date data on offenses and arrests.

The data hub, which went live today (Friday), includes interactive maps of offense locations, which users can sort by neighborhood, offense category, timeframe and police beat. It also delineates crime data by month and includes granular breakdowns of arrests based on offense codes and date.

Schools

Cellphone storage pouch pilot coming to four Arlington schools

By Dan Egitto

Published August 23, 2024 at 10:30AM | Updated August 23, 2024 at 11:44AM

An iPhone (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Four Arlington schools will be distributing cellphone storage pouches to students this year as part of an effort to restrict mobile phone use on campus.

The pilot program will kick off in mid-September at Wakefield High School, H-B Woodlawn (middle school only), Swanson Middle School and Thomas Jefferson Middle School, APS announced in an email to parents Thursday.

News

Renovations planned at Pentagon City Costco

By Dan Egitto

Published August 22, 2024 at 3:30PM

The food court in the Pentagon City Costco (staff photo)

Renovations are in the works at the Costco in Pentagon City, possibly including a multimillion-dollar overhaul of the food court.

At a minimum, a store representative told ARLnow, the wholesale retailer is expanding its bakery. A permit application at 1200 S. Fern Street refers to new bakery equipment, as well as a “revised sushi layout” and possible plans for a new deli, new rotisserie, new coolers for meat and produce and “an expansion to the existing electrical mezzanine.”

Schools

New traffic safety measures coming with APS first day of school next week

By Dan Egitto

Published August 22, 2024 at 10:45AM

Arlington Public Schools buses (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

As students begin returning to Arlington Public Schools this coming Monday, Aug. 26, new initiatives are meant to encourage safer driving around schools this year.

Variable message boards sharing safety messaging and raising awareness about the start of the school year will appear along roads in Arlington in coming days. Ten new speed cameras have also been installed near select schools, operating when school zone lights are flashing at the beginning and end of the school day.

News

New 130-unit assisted living facility proposed on Langston Blvd

By Dan Egitto

Published August 21, 2024 at 3:30PM | Updated August 21, 2024 at 4:02PM

The current one-story commercial building at 4500 Langston Blvd (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

An assisted living facility with up to 130 units could be coming to Langston Blvd.

Kensington Senior Living — which operates senior living facilities in Falls Church, Reston and several other sites around the country — filed an application earlier this year to redevelop 4500 Langston Blvd as a seven-story residential building with 114 parking spaces in a parking garage.

Events

Welcome home ceremony for Arlington Olympian Torri Huske happening this weekend

By Dan Egitto

Published August 21, 2024 at 1:30PM

Arlington's Torri Huske winning gold in the 100 meter butterfly in Paris (via NBC)

A welcome home ceremony for Olympic gold medalist and Arlington native Torri Huske is happening at the Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center on Sunday.

Returning to her hometown after a record-setting performance at the Paris Olympic Games — where she won three gold medals and two silver medals in swimming events — Huske will deliver brief remarks and offer autographs and photos for swim fans under 18.

Events

Jazz Fest returns next month at the Rosslyn park now slated for major renovations

By Dan Egitto

Published August 21, 2024 at 9:30AM

Rosslyn Jazz Fest crowd (via Rosslyn Business Improvement District)

Arlington’s premier jazz festival is returning next month, at a venue now set to receive major renovations in coming years.

The 32nd Rosslyn Jazz Fest will take place on Saturday, Sept. 7 at Gateway Park. Featuring acts such as the two-time Grammy winner Ranky Tanky and El Laberinto Del Coco, which recently starred on NPR’s Tiny Desk series, the event promises an afternoon full of soulful grooves and lively heavy-hitters from 1-7 p.m.

News

New pedestrian bridge and picnic shelter included in planned Douglas Park renovations

By Dan Egitto

Published August 20, 2024 at 3:45PM

Douglas Park (via Arlington County)

Arlington is collecting feedback on proposed renovations at Douglas Park, a month after the County Board approved a 0.31-acre expansion of the recreation area.

Renovation plans at the five-acre park — in the neighborhood of the same name — call for replacing a wooden pedestrian bridge, a picnic shelter and site furnishings including picnic tables, park benches and waste bins. The project also aims to upgrade walking paths, improve stormwater management and remove invasive plants.

News

New 276-unit apartment proposal is third to enter pipeline under Plan Langston Blvd

By Dan Egitto

Published August 20, 2024 at 9:45AM

A rendering of a proposed development at 3130 Langston Blvd (via Arlington County)

New plans for a 276-unit apartment building are the latest and largest of three Langston Blvd proposals to enter the pipeline in recent months.

A site plan application filed last week would replace the longstanding Walgreens at 3130 Langston Blvd with a 12-story tower containing some 353,000 square feet of retail and residential space. This follows two other proposals along the corridor, including a 94-unit building at 1501 Langston Blvd.

News

Arlington’s 2050 Initiative seeks community input on county’s future

By Dan Egitto

Published August 19, 2024 at 3:45PM

Arlington 2050 community outreach (courtesy of Arlington County)

With four months to go in the Arlington 2050 Initiative, conversations about the county’s long-term future are still underway.

While the goals of residents for the next several decades differ substantially, county spokesperson Kristen Clark told ARLnow that one clear trend has emerged across engagement efforts: “Folks want to be together.”

News

New nine-story office building with public plaza is complete in Va. Square

By Dan Egitto

Published August 19, 2024 at 9:30AM

The new mixed-use building at 3901 Fairfax Drive (courtesy of Skanska)

Construction on a new nine-story office building in Virginia Square is now complete, concluding the decade-plus process of redeveloping the site near Arlington Central Library.

Thirteen years after Arlington Funeral Home closed in 2011 with the expectation of an office building taking its place at 3901 N. Fairfax Drive, developer and construction company Skanska announced last week that those plans have finally come to fruition.

News

Arlington affordable housing, workforce development prioritized in draft federal spending bills

By Dan Egitto

Published August 16, 2024 at 9:30AM

A February 2024 rendering of the proposed Goodwill redevelopment (courtesy AHC)

Roughly $4.8 million for community-based projects involving Arlington is included in draft U.S. Senate appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2025.

The bills, which have now passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee, would secure additional funding for affordable housing, workforce development programs and health care for low-income families in Arlington.