As of noon today, Dominion is reporting just over 3,850 customers without power in Arlington, in the neighborhoods surrounding Lee Highway.
Numerous traffic lights are out along Lee Highway, Williamsburg Blvd and Old Dominion Drive, according to scanner traffic.
Arlington police are looking for a man who allegedly ran over a two year old in a McDonald’s parking lot and then drove off.
Police say the driver hit the child with his Cadillac while in the restaurant parking lot on the 3000 block of Columbia Pike. The man allowed the child’s family to pull him out from underneath the car before speeding off.
School Board Candidates Not Ruling Parkland Out — Two candidates for Arlington School Board say they aren’t ruling anything out — including use of parkland — for the building of new schools. Independent Green-endorsed candidate Brooklyn Kinlay said it would “be a tragedy” to use parkland. Reid Goldstein, who has the Democratic endorsement, said the school system is “not moving fast enough” to address the school capacity issue. [InsideNova]
Ray’s Company Files for Bankruptcy — A company affiliated with the popular Ray’s the Steaks and Ray’s Hell Burger restaurants in Arlington has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The restaurants’ operations are reportedly not affected. [Washington Business Journal]
The candidates fielded questions from Arlington’s civic associations about various issues facing the county, including communication with residents and the commercial vacancy rate during a Civic Federation meeting last night. Arlington residents will vote for two new County Board members on Nov. 3.
Democrats Christian Dorsey and Katie Cristol both spoke in favor of the Affordable Housing Master Plan, which the Board will decide on this month, while independents Mike McMenamin and Audrey Clement said they would vote against the plan.
(Updated at 10:50 p.m.) Street parking in Arlington will now cost an extra quarter.
The 25 cent rate increase for parking meters went into effect on Sept. 7. The raise was approved by the County Board in May.
Why Car2Go Can’t Cross the Border — Car2Go car-sharing service is launching in Arlington on Sept. 19, but users won’t be able to drive from Arlington and park in D.C., or vice versa. The District, which also has Car2Go service, is worried about traffic congestion and a loss of parking spaces to Arlington Car2Go users. Arlington officials have also expressed concern about allowing D.C. users park on Arlington streets, but appear more receptive to opening the Car2Go border. [Washington Post]
Arlington Kid’s Letter Read on Tonight Show — As part of a “Kid Letters” segment last night, Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon read a letter from Caroline, who said she lives in Arlington. Caroline had a joke for Jimmy: “Which planet is God’s favorite planet? Saturn, because he put a ring on it.” Caroline also confessed that she has a crush on Fallon. [NBC]
The incident happened around 12:40 a.m., on the 5900 block of Arlington Blvd. Police say a 48-year-old woman was walking down the street when a man came up to her and tried to steal her purse.
A male friend of the victim, who was walking in front of her, intervened and tried to stop the robbery. A second suspect then stepped in and stabbed the 53-year-old man in the chest and slashed him across the face with a knife, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.
Power and traffic lights are out along a portion of Lee Highway on the western end of Arlington County.
Traffic lights are reported to be dark at the intersections of Lee Highway at N. Harrison Street and N. Sycamore Street. Police are monitoring traffic at the intersections, which should be treated as a four way stop.
Addressing “longer-term budget and service delivery issues” is a top priority of Acting County Manager Mark Schwartz, who says Arlington must think and act strategically as the county continues to grow and develop.
“Too often, we are so wrapped up in our day-to-day responsibilities that we lose sight of the importance of planning for the longer range,” Schwartz said in a press release that was sent out Friday. “These conversations will focus on what the future is for service delivery, staffing and management and how we make sure we are on the cutting edge of planning for that future.”
Petition to Rename DCA Nears Goal — A petition to rename Reagan National Airport “Washington National Airport” has gathered nearly 70,000 of its goal of 75,000 signatures. The petition is a progressive group’s response to Republican outrage over President Obama’s renaming of Mount McKinley to its original name, Denali. [CREDO Action, Washington Post]
Fire at Shopping Center — Arlington County firefighters battled a small blaze at the Lyon Village Shopping Center last night. [Twitter]
Del. Patrick Hope is calling on Virginia lawmakers and Gov. Terry McAuliffe to pass a bill requiring universal background checks for gun sales conducted in the Commonweatlth.
Spurred by the recent shooting in Roanoke, Virginia, Hope took to the Internet, creating a petition on Change.org about universal background checks. The petition received more than 20,000 signatures in the first 24 hours, Hope said. As of today, more than 28,000 people had signed.
Ballston Restaurant Makes Habit of Breaking Plates — Order the suckling pig at SER restaurant (1110 N. Glebe Road) in Ballston and the chef will chop it at the table with the blunt edge of a plate. After the chopping is done, the chef will smash the plate, as part of a Spanish tradition. [Washington Post]
Dem Dinner May Be Renamed — The Arlington County Democratic Committee is considering renaming its annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, given that the event is currently named after two slaveholding presidents. [InsideNova]
