Maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there are similarities between being a judge in a courtroom and an actor on stage.

“It’s all really about trying to understand that all human beings are complex,” Judge William T. Newman, Jr. tells ARLnow. “They are not all good and they are not all bad.”


This year saw major changes to how Arlington County and Arlington Public Schools run community swim classes, to the surprise of some locals.

In July, Arlington Public Schools launched the APS Aquatics School for students and residents, while the county opened the Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center in August.


The new Silver Diner in Ballston is planning to open its doors this June, a company spokesperson tells ARLnow.

Signs and stickers advertising the regional chain’s summer opening are now on the windows of 750 N. Glebe Road, near the intersection with Wilson Blvd.


The self-proclaimed “world’s first decentralized pizzeria” is now serving up pies in Courthouse

Bitcoin Pizza, a “virtual restaurant,” opened on Oct. 31 and operates out of the kitchen of Fire Works Pizza at 2350 Clarendon Blvd. It is one of about 100 locations across the country and one of seven locations in the D.C.-area.


At long last the large Capitol City Brewing Co. space in Shirlington, vacant since March 2018, is getting a new tenant.

Astro Beer Hall, a two-level bar and coffee shop from the owners of Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken, will be opening in the space at 4001 Campbell Avenue next summer, according to a press release. In addition to 14,000 square feet of indoor space, the new beer hall will have a 80-seat outdoor patio.


The past month was supposed to be validation for David Peña and his taco eatery La Tingeria, a popular Arlington food truck.

La Tingeria recently opened at 626 S. Washington Street in Falls Church, ditching the usually-busy food truck — at least temporarily — for a brick and mortar restaurant.


(Updated at 9:30 a.m.) Is Amazon building a flagship grocery store near HQ2? Based on photos showing the inside of the under-construction store, it sure looks like it.

Nothing has been announced, and both Amazon and building owner JBG Smith have been tight-lipped about the thus-far-unnamed grocery store that’s coming to 1550 Crystal Drive, though rumors have swirled throughout the year that Amazon is behind the store.


The four-decade-old, Arlington-born Lebanese Taverna is launching a new membership service, providing customers with a “Chef’s Tasting” menu or a curated selection of Lebanese wines at home every month.

“This is a way to share our culture, like the things we do at home, the snacks that we eat, and the things that my parents used to make,” co-owner Grace Abi-Najm Shea tells ARLnow. “This is kind of deconstructing the food and the culture from the restaurant and bringing it to your home.”


After a four year hiatus from Arlington, CarPool will again start pouring beers in Ballston tomorrow.

The new CarPool at 900 N. Glebe Road — in the Virginia Tech building, next to Ballston Local — will open at 4 p.m. Thursday, owner Mark Handwerger tells ARLnow.


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