Proposals to build more housing in Green Valley and a new restaurant and gas station in Claremont are slated for County Board consideration this weekend.
Potential sidewalk improvements to S. Carlin Springs Road and a reduction in the number of early voting sites are also on the agenda for the Saturday meeting.
Rosslyn Redevelopment on Hold — “Snell Properties is putting on hold its major redevelopment of the site of the former Ames Center office building in Rosslyn, waiting to see how Trump 2.0 affects construction costs and residential demand. The Arlington-based developer won county approval in 2021 to raze a 1960s-era office, church and gas station at 1820 and 1830 Fort Myer Drive to make way for two residential high-rises with up to 740 units. The office building has been demolished, but construction of the new towers is delayed.” [WBJ]
Fire in Arna Valley — “A car that caught on fire damaged two homes in Arlington on Monday evening. The Arlington County Fire and EMS Department said crews responded to the 2700 block of S Cleveland St. for reports of a fire… The fire was put out, but the heat damaged two buildings nearby.” [DC News Now]
Air Traffic Controller Arrested — “An air traffic controller has been charged with assault and battery in connection with a scuffle in the control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport last week, airport police have confirmed. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said its officers responded to an incident on March 27 where controllers got into a fight at the control tower.” [Politico]
Board Member on Mall Incident — “Arlington County Board Member, JD Spain Sr., said more conversations will be had [about the weekend violence at the Pentagon City mall] in the coming days among the board, County Manager Mark Schwartz, law enforcement, and businesses. However, he said one solution could be partnering with non-profit organizations and finding safer outlets for teens.” [WUSA 9]
Wrong-Way Driver Nabbed — “Where’s a cop when you need one? In this case, right there as a driver made a left turn to head south in the northbound lanes of Route 110 near the Pentagon. That driver didn’t have to worry about making any other wrong turns for the rest of the morning thanks to the nice @ArlingtonVaPD officer who gave him a ride and stored his car for safekeeping.” [Dave Statter/X]
County Touts New Incubator — ” Arlington County… [is] proud to announce the opening of Starburst’s National Landing Launchpad. The initiative, supported by a $200,000 grant from VIPC’s Regional Innovation Fund (RIF), will further position Arlington as a premier hub for aerospace and defense startups, reinforcing the region’s leadership in national security innovation.” [Arlington County]
Scooter Safety Tips — “Scoot cute in Arlington with 4 key safety tips 1. Use a bike lane (when present) 2. Ride with one person per scooter 3. Park the scooter out of the way of sidewalks or ramps 4. Wear a helmet & avoid hanging items.” [Arlington County/X]
It’s Tuesday — Expect sunshine and a high temperature near 59 degrees, accompanied by a northwest wind between 11 to 16 mph and gusts up to 25 mph. As the night progresses, there will be increasing clouds and the temperature will drop to around 43 degrees. [NWS]
Two teens were taken in custody after an unsuccessful armed carjacking attempt in Pentagon City over the weekend.
The incident, which happened early Saturday morning a few blocks from Amazon’s HQ2, was caught on camera. Local public safety watcher Dave Statter posted video of the suspects hiding in wait, then the would-be victims fleeing on foot.
An Arlington leader is among several local officials opposing a proposal to merge bus systems in Northern Virginia in a quest for greater efficiency.
Though the possibility of merging transit systems came up during DMV Moves meetings late last year, leaders including County Board member Matt de Ferranti expressed skepticism after the concept re-appeared during a meeting last week.
A group of protesters carrying a coffin draped with a Palestinian flag received trespassing citations this morning after entering a Rosslyn office building.
A crowd of about 30 people entered Arlington Tower, home of the Israel-based defense firm Elbit Systems, around 8:30 a.m. Monday, according to scanner traffic.
The population of every jurisdiction in Northern Virginia, including Arlington, increased between 2023 and 2024 for the first time in seven years.
The region as a whole saw its largest population increase in quite a few years, rising by 35,181, according to new estimates from the Northern Virginia Regional Commission. Arlington’s population estimate increased by just under 2%, while the region as a whole grew by 1.4%.
Arlington County’s heavily subsidized 55+ programming may get more pricey for participants in coming years.
County Board members have unofficially tasked the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) to examine the fee scale for the approximately 7,000 people — most county residents — participating in these programs.
Another Near Miss at DCA — “A Delta Air Lines jet narrowly avoided a mid-air collision with a U.S. Air Force T-38 military aircraft on Friday near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport – just miles from the site of a deadly crash in January that killed 67 people. Delta Flight 2983, an Airbus A319 bound for Minneapolis-St. Paul, had just departed DCA around 3 p.m. when a cockpit warning system… issued a “resolution advisory,” directing pilots to take evasive action.” [USA Today, Washington Post]
Plane Strikes Kite at DCA — “A United plane made contact with a kite while attempting to land at Reagan National Airport Saturday afternoon, witnesses told WUSA9. The pilot of United Airlines Flight 654 from Houston can be heard over air traffic radio, giving details about the kite to an air traffic controller.” [WUSA 9, NBC News, Spencer Allan Brooks/X]
Driver Nabbed After Crash — “We have new details of the man apparently trying to hide from police behind a planter in Pentagon City this morning. As you’ll see in the video, he apparently came from a car that wrecked at high speed on I-395N… The video shows police catching up to him about 45 minutes after the crash.” [Dave Statter/X]
Update: Egg Prices Down — An ARLnow article about high egg prices appears to have been published just as those prices started dropping. From Axios: “Egg prices are suddenly plunging as the bird flu begins to wane and imports surge to fill the gap… It’s down 63% from a record $8.15 in the Feb. 21 report.” [Axios]
It’s Monday — Expect isolated showers to develop into afternoon thunderstorms with a high near 79°F and south winds gusting up to 26 mph. Rainfall amounts may reach up to a quarter of an inch. Tonight, thunderstorms continue before 8pm, followed by potential showers until 2am, with a low near 45°F. Southwest winds shift northwest after midnight, gusting up to 24 mph. Chance of precipitation remains high, with up to three-quarters of an inch of rainfall possible. [NWS]
Today’s Morning Notes are brought to you by Industrious. ARLnow has been in an Industrious office for years and we love the convenience — you get to focus on your work rather than worrying about brewing your own coffee or keeping the copy machine stocked. Industrious has several Metro-accessible coworking locations in Arlington.
A house fire in the Fairlington neighborhood sent three firefighters to the hospital Sunday evening.
The fire broke out shortly before 5:45 p.m. in a townhouse on the 4100 block of 36th Street S., near the Alexandria border. While battling the flames, a firefighter fell through the floor — from the second floor to the first, according to radio traffic — and a mayday was called.
The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City was shut down Saturday evening after a series of large fights led to a massive, multi-agency police response.
The fights started breaking out among groups of teens and mall security around 6 p.m., according to scanner traffic. By 7 p.m., additional fights in the food court started escalating and all available officers were urgently dispatched to the mall.
Ash is falling on parts of Arlington and Fairfax County due to a “very large controlled burn” nearby.
“We live in Ballston and a few large pieces of ash have fallen in the past couple of minutes,” an ARLnow reader told us around 5 p.m.
After years of being involved in basketball at many levels, Arlington native Alex Eisenberg finally received the opportunity to be a high-school head coach this past season.
The Washington-Liberty High School graduate was in charge of the private-school Oakcrest School Chargers girls team in Vienna as first-year head coach.
