Vernon Miles | ARLnow

Zoning Board to Double Up on Meetings in August to Address Backlog

Published July 17, 2020 at 3:45PM

Some Arlington property owners who hoped to make changes or additions to their property earlier this year have been left in the lurch, but there could be relief in sight as the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) prepares to add more meetings to address the backlog.

“The last BZA hearing was held in February and all cases were heard,” said Jessica Margarit, a spokesperson for the Department of Community Planning, Housing & Development. “Due to pandemic, the County suspended in-person public meetings in March. This did cause a delay in hearing BZA cases.”

Schools

School Start Pushed to September With Online-Only Classes

By Vernon Miles

Published July 17, 2020 at 1:45PM

It’s official: Arlington Public Schools will now open on Sept. 8, and classes will be held entirely online.

Superintendent Francisco Durán announced his decision to host online-only classes on Tuesday, at least for the first half of the fall semester, and spoke in more detail about the plan at a School Board meeting yesterday (Thursday).

News

Gender To Be Added to Identities Protected from Discrimination Under County Code

By Vernon Miles

Published July 15, 2020 at 3:55PM

Arlington County government headquarters in Courthouse (file photo)

A new change to the County Code under review at the upcoming County Board meeting on Saturday (Jul. 18) would add gender identity to the list of identities protected from discrimination.

The move follows the approval of a similar state-level change that prohibited discrimination in public employment, housing and credit to Virginians on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Around Town

Sweet Science Coffee Hopes to Open Java Shack Replacement in September

By Vernon Miles

Published July 15, 2020 at 2:15PM

Despite everything, Sandra Wolter is hoping to have a coffee shop up and running in the former Java Shack space by Labor Day (Sept. 7).

It’s been a long few months for Sweet Science Coffee, which Wolter co-owns. The local coffee brand launched its own location in D.C. after years in shared spaces just months before the pandemic hit the region. The hopes were to get the location up and running by March, but even the hoped-for September opening is tentative.

Feature

Crystal City Startup Secures $6 Million to Expand Defense Contract Search Platform

By Vernon Miles

Published July 13, 2020 at 11:45AM

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. Monday Properties remains firmly committed to the health, safety and well-being of its employees, tenants and community. This week, Monday Properties is proudly featuring 1000 and 1100 Wilson (The Rosslyn Tower).

Crystal City-based Second Front Systems, a startup that helps connect government agencies to commercially-developed technologies, recently received $6 million in seed funding to boost its startup technology assessment program.

News

County Board and Staff Push Back Against Stormwater Inequity Claims

By Vernon Miles

Published July 10, 2020 at 3:45PM

Nearly one week after advocates flooded the County Board with concerns that planned stormwater investments in the Capital Improvement Plan favor Arlington’s wealthier neighborhoods, staff returned to the County Board to argue that the proposed investments were addressing important issues below the surface.

The renewed push for improving the County’s stormwater capacity is tied to historic flooding that took place last year and devastated many Arlington homes and businesses. County Manager Mark Schwartz has proposed a $50.8 million stormwater bond, among other bonds, to be sent to voters in the November election.

News

Planned Changes to Parking Permits Postponed by Pandemic

By Vernon Miles

Published July 10, 2020 at 1:45PM

Amid the pandemic, Arlington County is sifting through which planning processes are ready to continue moving forward and which ones are being delayed.

The County recently announced that it is still moving forward with plans for updating guidelines for development in Pentagon City, a relatively time-critical issue with Amazon’s permanent HQ2 under construction nearby.

News

Arlington Starts Planning Effort to Guide the Future of Pentagon City

By Vernon Miles

Published July 9, 2020 at 3:45PM | Updated July 9, 2020 at 4:14PM

Aerial view of Pentagon City (photo via Arlington County)

(Updated at 4:1o p.m.) Arlington County is launching a new planning study to determine how best to shape the new density coming to Pentagon City.

As nearby Crystal City and Potomac Yard undergo new development spurred by Amazon’s second headquarters, the new study is intended to shape development around Pentagon City, where the permanent HQ2 campus will be located.

Around Town

Long-Awaited Bowlero Rolls Into Crystal City

By Vernon Miles

Published July 9, 2020 at 11:00AM

Bowlero Arlington (photo courtesy Bowlero)

After years of planning and some delays, Bowlero (320 23rd Street S.) in Crystal City is ready to rock and bowl.

The combination bowling alley and restaurant has hit a few snags, not the least of which was the most recent global pandemic, and staff said that’s also impacted the business’s opening.

News

Arlington Public Library Permanently Eliminates Late Fees

By Vernon Miles

Published July 7, 2020 at 3:30PM

With everything else that’s going on, Arlingtonians won’t have to worry about racking up late fees at the Arlington Public Library.

“On July 1, Arlington Public Library eliminated overdue library fines to make the library‘s collections more accessible to all Arlingtonians,” Arlington County said in a news release. “The goal is to increase access and minimize barriers for marginalized populations to use the library, particularly for youth and low-income patrons, which data shows are disproportionately impacted by overdue fines and stop using the library as a result.”

Feature

Rosslyn Startup Shifts from Travel App Developer to Online Identity Verifier

By Vernon Miles

Published July 6, 2020 at 3:30PM

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. Monday Properties remains firmly committed to the health, safety and well-being of its employees, tenants and community. This week, Monday Properties is proudly featuring 1000 and 1100 Wilson (The Rosslyn Towers).

Rosslyn startup Airside Mobile is rebranding to just Airside as part of a pivot from being a travel app developer to a company focused on securing data and privacy in online interactions.

News

Speakers Say Stormwater Bonds Don’t Live Up to Equity Goals

By Vernon Miles

Published July 6, 2020 at 11:00AM | Updated July 6, 2020 at 11:25AM

Flooding from July 8, 2019 storm in Arlington (via Arlington County)

Speakers at an Arlington County Board meeting on the county’s proposed Capital Improvement Plan hammered the plan’s perceived failure to live up to earlier talk of promoting equity.

The main target of most of the ire was the allegation that single-family home owners in North Arlington would receive outsized investment in stormwater protections under the plan, compared to proposed capital spending in the rest of the county.