Author: Dan Egitto

Dan Egitto is an editor and reporter at ARLnow. Originally from Central Florida, he graduated from Duke University and previously reported at the Palatka Daily News in Florida and the Vallejo Times-Herald in California. Dan joined ARLnow in January 2024.

News

Anti-ICE protest and vigil to target Trump official in South Arlington

By Dan Egitto
Anti-ICE protesters at a recent demonstration in Courthouse (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

Anti-ICE protesters are planning a demonstration near the South Arlington home of a top federal official tomorrow (Saturday).

A vigil and procession taking aim at ICE tactics, federal immigration policy and the actions of Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, are expected to take place in Alcova Heights.

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News

County staff seek to crack down on karaoke at Big Tony’s

By Dan Egitto
The exterior of Big Tony's Pizzeria & Dive Bar in Clarendon (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Karaoke nights at Big Tony’s Pizzeria & Dive Bar are going up for debate at an upcoming County Board meeting.

The retro-style Clarendon bar is seeking county authorization to host karaoke nights and DJs at 3100 Clarendon Blvd — but it’s facing pushback from county staff, who say that the establishment violated the county’s zoning ordinance multiple times by hosting karaoke without permission.

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News

New ‘near miss’ report targets street safety on Washington Blvd, S. Glebe Road

By Dan Egitto
FedEx Express van parked at a busy intersection with a pedestrian on the sidewalk and a brick church in the background.
S. Glebe Road and 7th Street S. (via Google Maps)

A new analysis of over 100 “near miss” traffic incidents in Arlington zeroes in on disproportionate issues on a handful of busy roads and intersections.

The report from Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets analyzed 136 incidents in Arlington where people said they were almost hit by vehicles. The data shows that “failure to yield” remains the most common risk factor, mentioned in 64% of the incidents, followed by vehicles speeding (35%) and running red lights or stop signs (29%).

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Around Town

Arlington Scouts rescue teens from sinking boat in rural Tennessee

By Dan Egitto
Three people wearing life jackets sit on a small motorboat on a calm lake, with a capsized white kayak nearby and a forested shoreline in the background.
The Jackson siblings on their grandparents' Pond Prowler (courtesy of Nick Jackson)

Three Arlington siblings came to the rescue of a sinking boatful of teenagers while on vacation in rural Tennessee this summer.

Declan, Cormac and Elsa Jackson — ages 10, 12 and 13, respectively, and all involved in scouting — were out at their grandparents’ house on remote Boone Lake on the afternoon of July 28. Declan and Elsa were fishing and had just finished helping a baby bird escape from the water when they heard a foghorn.

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Around Town

Rocoto’s Tex-Mex restaurant makes progress toward opening in Courthouse

By Dan Egitto
Brick storefront with a large sign reading 'Rocoto's Restaurant and Bakery' above glass windows and awnings.
The planned Rocoto's Restaurant and Bakery in Courthouse (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

After almost a year, some signs of progress are appearing at a planned Tex-Mex and Latin American fusion restaurant in Courthouse.

Signage for Rocoto’s Restaurant and Bakery is up at 2111 Wilson Blvd, and a liquor license was approved last week.

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Events

Celtic Festival returning to Samuel Beckett’s in Shirlington this weekend

By Dan Egitto
A previous year's Celtic Festival (via Samuel Beckett's/Facebook)

Samuel Beckett’s is hosting its annual Celtic Festival on Saturday, bringing Irish music, drinks and vendors to Shirlington.

The annual event will take place from noon to 6 p.m., closing off Campbell Avenue from S. Randolph Street to 28th Street S.

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News

JUST IN: Former Falls Church youth minister indicted on child sex abuse charges

By Dan Egitto
A gavel (via Joe Gratz/Flickr)

A former youth minister in Falls Church has been indicted on federal charges related to child sex abuse.

Jeffrey Taylor, who served as youth minister at The Falls Church from 1990 to 2002, is accused of sexually abusing multiple boys that he allegedly groomed “under the guise of spiritual guidance,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced in a press release today (Tuesday).

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Around Town

Los Tios Grill closes in Crystal City after seven years

By Dan Egitto
Exterior of Los Tios restaurant with a green awning reading 'Fine Tex-Mex & Salvadoran Food' and teal fencing against a stone façade under a blue sky.
Los Tios Grill on Restaurant Row (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

Los Tios Grill has closed its doors for good on Crystal City’s Restaurant Row, ending a seven-year run.

The spot for Tex-Mex and Salvadoran dishes opened at 515 23rd Street S. in early 2019, serving up bites like fajitas and quesadillas, plus drinks such as margaritas, sangria and draft beer.

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News

More lane closures coming to GW Parkway next week

By Dan Egitto
Along the George Washington Memorial Parkway (staff photo by James Cullum)

Closures are coming to the southbound lanes of GW Parkway starting next week.

For the past month, crews have been completing work along the northbound lanes of the parkway from 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays. Starting next Monday, Sept. 21, it will be the southbound lanes’ turn.

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News

Del. Lopez ‘incredibly grateful’ as protections for Salvadoran immigrants hold fast

By Dan Egitto and The Associated Press
Two men in discussion on stage under a large AMERICAS backdrop, with flags nearby and DORAL 2025 visible behind them.
FILE - President Donald Trump greets El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, left, at the Shield of the Americas Summit, March 7, 2026, at Trump National Doral Miami in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

Silence from the Trump administration on protections for immigrants from El Salvador has at least one Northern Virginia lawmaker breathing a sigh of relief.

A deadline to decide whether over 170,000 immigrants from El Salvador can remain protected from deportation passed this week without any public announcement. The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement saying it would make an announcement “at an appropriate time” and that Temporary Protected Status for El Salvador would stay in effect until then.

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News

Arlington County remembers 25 years since 9/11 terrorist attacks

By Dan Egitto and The Associated Press
An American flag drapes over the Pentagon in remembrance of those killed on 9/11 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Today (Friday) marks 25 years since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, that left nearly 3,000 dead and altered the face of Arlington and the entire country.

Across the nation, the milestone anniversary brings memorial rituals — wreath-laying, flag-flying, moments of silence, vigils and readings of victims’ names — and volunteer projects in tribute to a day that about half of U.S. adults remember as the most historic event of their lifetime, according to a new poll.

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