Dan Egitto | ARLnow

U.S. House passes budget with $5.9M for Arlington, focused on housing and recreation

Published March 8, 2024 at 1:45PM

Bridge 31, or the Trollheim Bridge, on the Mount Vernon Trail (courtesy Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail)

Federal funding is on track to bring more housing for many of the county’s most vulnerable residents as well as trail improvements and new playground equipment.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved on Wednesday $5.9 million in funding for Arlington initiatives in its annual budget. A little more than half of that funding — $3.3 million — is for housing for low-income residents, domestic violence survivors and chronically unsheltered people.

News

Arlington courts seek to reform alleged serial window smasher

By Dan Egitto

Published March 8, 2024 at 11:30AM | Updated March 8, 2024 at 11:59AM

Vehicle with windows smashed north of Courthouse (photo courtesy Rebecca M.)

(Updated at 11:45 a.m.) A man accused of shattering dozens of Arlington car windows with a BB gun in 2022 is now participating in a court-appointed reform program.

The suspect, who may be responsible for damaging up to 91 parked, unoccupied vehicles, is on the county’s Behavioral Health Docket and returns to a judge in Arlington County District Court on a regular basis, a clerk informed ARLnow.

News

Arlington plea deal offers man two years for shooting from car while fleeing police

By Dan Egitto

Published March 7, 2024 at 3:30PM | Updated March 7, 2024 at 5:32PM

Police looking for evidence where shots were fired along S. Wakefield Street in October 2022 (file photo)

(Updated 5:32 p.m.) A man accused of shooting wildly at law enforcement following a destructive, high-speed chase through Arlington and Fairfax County accepted a plea bargain on Wednesday.

Ricardo Singleton, 29, admitted in Arlington Circuit Court to firing a gun from his car while fleeing authorities — a pursuit that prosecutors claim ended after a gunfight in Fairfax County.

News

ACFD’s youth firefighting camp on the chopping block this budget

By Dan Egitto

Published March 5, 2024 at 10:30AM

Campers participate in a bucket brigade in Camp Heat 2018 (file photo)

An Arlington summer camp teaching teenagers firefighting skills could go up in smoke this year.

Camp Heat, which annually enrolls around 25 teens, is on the chopping block in the county’s budget draft. Cutting the free five-day camp to save $47,000 is part of a plan to maintain the Arlington County Fire Dept.’s current $76 million budget in Fiscal Year 2025.

News

Arlington considers removing immigration status requirements for low-income housing grants

By Dan Egitto

Published March 4, 2024 at 11:45AM

Nady Peralta, an attorney from the Legal Aid Justice Center (via Arlington County/YouTube)

Undocumented low-income residents might someday become eligible for housing grants in Arlington.

The county is “almost done” reevaluating immigration status requirements for its Housing Grants Program, Arlington County Board Vice-Chair Takis Karantonis said at a Board meeting late last month.

Around Town

The Giant at Lyon Village Shopping Center has closed, raising questions about plaza’s future

By Dan Egitto

Published March 1, 2024 at 2:00PM

A worker taking down signage at the Lyon Village Shopping Center's Giant in March 2024 (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

Workers lowered signage today (Friday) from the now-former Giant supermarket in the Lyon Village Shopping Center.

Several passersby watched with interest as the team unscrewed the letters G-I-A-N-T from the storefront at 3115 Langston Blvd. One visitor, apparently a would-be customer, walked up to the grocery store’s closed entrance and peered inside before returning to her car and driving away.

News

Report: D.C. area leads the nation for AI-related jobs and Arlington plays a supporting role

By Dan Egitto

Published February 29, 2024 at 1:30PM

AI-related jobs in the D.C. area vs. Bay Area (courtesy of JLL)

The D.C. area has surpassed the Bay Area in AI-related job postings, according to a recent report.

These new jobs are a clear sign of how the emerging technology is already impacting Arlington and its neighbors, per a Tuesday report by the real estate company JLL.

Around Town

Photos: County announces winners of DESIGNArlington contest

By Dan Egitto

Published February 29, 2024 at 11:30AM

Lubber Run Community Center (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

This week, Arlington County recognized a handful of public facilities projects and privately developed apartment and office buildings for their sleek designs.

Top projects in honored in the biannual DESIGNArlington competition received “The Excellence Award.” Others were recognized with “Merit Awards” and “Honorable Mentions” for promoting county goals “in affordable housing, biophilic design, public art, historic preservation, or education.”

News

County Board floats 2.5 cent tax hike, exceeding staff’s proposal amid APS budget concerns

By Dan Egitto

Published February 28, 2024 at 11:30AM

Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey in 2024 (via Arlington County/YouTube)

The Arlington County Board is considering a potential property tax hike that could be even higher than what County Manager Mark Schwartz proposed.

Board members yesterday (Tuesday) voted 5-0 to advertise hearings on a maximum property tax rate of $1.038 per $100 of assessed value, a 2.5 cent increase from 2023. That is 1 cent higher than the increase of 1.5 cents that Schwartz proposed in his $1.62 billion budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2025.

News

Construction of new Walter Reed pickleball courts slated to begin later this year

By Dan Egitto

Published February 27, 2024 at 1:30PM

The planned layout of new pickleball courts at Walter Reed Community Center, as of February 2024 (photo via Arlington County)

Construction on the planned pickleball courts for the Walter Reed Community Center is expected to begin by the end of this year.

The Arlington County Dept. of Parks and Recreation announced the next steps for the hotly contested project and unveiled 90% complete designs last week. The project is set to go out for bid this spring and a contract is expected to go to the Arlington County Board for approval in the summer.

News

County considers dropping 1960s-era parking minimums for gyms and shopping centers to help fill vacant storefronts

By Dan Egitto

Published February 26, 2024 at 3:30PM

Gold's Gym in Ballston (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Looser parking requirements could encourage more gyms and shops to fill Arlington’s commercial real estate vacancies, the county believes.

The Arlington County Board on Saturday unanimously voted to have staff research possible changes to the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance and advertise requests to amend it. In addition to slashing parking minimums for gyms, the county is considering whether to allow parking lots to designate more spaces for compact cars.

News

County mulls allowing gun buyback programs that give out cash or gift cards for unwanted guns

By Dan Egitto

Published February 26, 2024 at 10:30AM | Updated February 26, 2024 at 10:57AM

Arlington police officers (staff photo by James Jarvis)

The Arlington County Board is considering whether to authorize county-run firearm buyback events.

Buybacks would provide residents with cash, gift cards, vouchers or other payment in exchange for guns, according to a proposed ordinance. The voluntary events would be open to residents of Arlington and Falls Church.