Deontae Murphy speaks to Wakefield High School juniors (staff photo by James Jarvis)
A Wakefield High School alum is raising awareness about free programs to help disadvantaged students launch careers in high-demand fields.
Deontae Murphy, a 2011 Wakefield graduate who now works for Amazon Web Services, spent three days last week speaking to more than 100 Arlington students in small group sessions. Mostly speaking to those in underrepresented groups, he shared details about free training programs, certifications and tuition assistance that can lower the cost of higher education and open doors to tech careers.
Newly approved CC2DCA route in yellow (Arlington County)
One won’t need to be a triathlete to take the future pedestrian/bicycle link between Crystal City and Reagan National Airport.
“It’s going to have a fairly consistent slope as you work your way,” said Kyle Kling, project manager for the county government’s “CC2DCA” trail initiative.
Construction and lane closures along the GW Parkway (via National Park Service)
An Arlington government advisory body seems generally supportive of advocacy efforts to preserve mature trees along the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
But, cognizant of what happened to another advisory panel when it took too aggressive an advocacy stance, members of the Arlington Park and Recreation Commission on Dec. 10 opted to take more time before deciding how to proceed.
A rendering of proposed development at the Melwood site as of December 2024 (via Arlington County)
Despite ongoing concerns from residents in the surrounding neighborhood, the Melwood redevelopment project near Crystal City appears on track to be green-lighted early in the new year.
“This project is going to be approved. It is going to be approved 5-0 by the County Board in February,” predicted Nicholas Giacobbe, one of several neighbors who voiced concerns about the proposal at a Dec. 19 meeting of the county government’s site-plan review committee evaluating the plan.
Santa checks in with the North Pole while awaiting customers at Ballston Quarter (staff photo)
Lines at DCA — “The lines are growing at area airports as the rush to get out of town for the holidays is in full swing. WTOP talked to flyers at Reagan National Airport who were headed all over the place… One flyer, who chose to remain anonymous, was headed down to Florida and described the lines at the airport as: ‘So far about what I expected, maybe a little shorter.'” [WTOP, PoPville]
Fisherman Catches Grenade — “A hand grenade was pulled out of the Potomac near Roosevelt Island by magnet fisherman. DC bomb squad and Park Police investigated and have declared it safe.” [PoPville, Twitter]
Mystery Stains on Clarendon Sidewalk — It’s unclear how what appears to be numerous drops of blood ended up on a Clarendon sidewalk. [Twitter]
Holiday Hope for Rescue Pets — Lucky Dog Animal Rescue welcomed 53 dogs and cats from overcrowded South Carolina shelters this past week. Five of the animals found their forever homes immediately upon arrival. The Arlington-based nonprofit continues to seek loving families for the remaining pets looking for their forever homes this holiday season. [WUSA 9/YouTube]
Courthouse Construction Concluding — “Still some construction work wrapping up at the N Courthouse Rd intersection but the sidewalks at The Wendy are now open!” [Twitter]
Party City Closing in Bailey’s Xroads — “Party City is planning to close all of its stores, more than a year after it exited bankruptcy, the retailer confirmed Saturday in an email to consumers. The New Jersey-based party supplies company has been struggling for years even before the pandemic.” [Axios]
New Year Festivities in F.C. — “Ring in the New Year in the City of Falls Church with free, family-friendly, fun festivities at the Annual Watch Night New Year’s Eve Celebration. The event will take place from 7 p.m. to midnight on Tuesday, December 31, at the intersection of Broad Street (Route 7) and Washington Street (Route 29) and indoor venues. The event is open to the public and includes live music and children’s amusements.” [City of Falls Church]
It’s Monday — Expect a mostly sunny day with a high around 35 degrees with calm winds that will later shift to the south at 5 to 7 mph. As for Monday night, the skies will turn mostly cloudy with a low temperature of approximately 27 degrees. [NWS]
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County Board members on Tuesday (Dec. 17) celebrated the 60th anniversary of Arlington’s neighborhood-conservation efforts, and lauded the work of the community’s public-health director.
60 Years of Neighborhood Conservation Celebrated: County leaders on Dec. 17 marked the 60th anniversary of the Arlington Neighborhoods Program.
Victor Salgado, Democratic candidate for Virginia lieutenant governor (photo courtesy Victor for Virginia)
An Arlington resident and former federal prosecutor is running for Virginia lieutenant governor.
Victor Salgado, the fifth declared candidate vying to be the Democratic Party’s nominee in November, knows he’s a political outsider. But he told ARLnow that possible federal policy changes inspired him to enter the political arena.
Kenmore Middle School field project (Arlington County)
Plans for a four-sports-field complex on the campus of Kenmore Middle School have started working their way through the county government’s advisory process.
One of the key challenges still to be worked through as the process moves forward: How to manage parking issues around the new facility.
Ice rink at Pentagon Row / Westpost (Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman)
New Startup Hub in Crystal City — “A group of partners including JBG Smith Properties, Amazon Web Services Inc. and Virginia Tech plans to launch a 40,000-square-foot business incubator space and accelerator program in Crystal City next year to support defense tech startups. The still-to-be-determined space will also house an office for a San Francisco venture capital firm launching a fund to invest in young companies operating with this focus.” [WBJ]
Local Picked for Ambassadorship — “Congratulations to Arlington Republican… Leah Francis Campos on her nomination as the next US Ambassador to the Dominican Republic.” [Twitter]
‘Fill the Cruiser’ Deemed Success — From ACPD: “Our Community Engagement Division elves have been hard at work over the past week collecting Fill the Cruiser stationary boxes, sorting 4,400+ toys donated by our community & distributing them to groups & organizations across Arlington for children in need ahead of the holidays.” [Twitter]
ACFCU Gets Big Grant — “Arlington Community Federal Credit Union, a member-owned financial cooperative serving Arlington, Falls Church, Fairfax, and Alexandria, Virginia, is proud to announce they were awarded $960,000 from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Financial Assistance Award program.” [ACFCU]
Overhead View of Collected Leaves — From Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services: “Don’t worry, the mystery drones are friendly and impressed by Arlington’s 50K cubic yards of leaves collected this fall by Solid Waste folks. Vacuum truck season has ended but yard waste is taken year-round from the green curbside cart and in paper bags.” [Twitter]
Officials Get Drone Briefing — “Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, and Gov. Glenn Youngkin received a classified briefing at the Capitol from the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, and the FBI regarding the ongoing investigation into the unexplained drone sightings in Virginia.” [Press Release]
Va. to Get First Fusion Plant — “Virginia could soon make history as the home of the world’s first nuclear fusion power plant, state officials and private sector leaders announced Tuesday. Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), a fusion power company founded in 2018 in Cambridge, Mass., unveiled plans to build the groundbreaking facility on a 100-acre site.” [Virginia Mercury, New York Times, FCNP]
D.C. Adding Population — “The U.S. Census Bureau released new population data that shows the District of Columbia’s population grew by approximately 15,000 people from July 2023 to July 2024, bringing the city’s population to 702,250 residents. This marks the first time since 2019 that DC’s population has surpassed the 700,000 milestone.” [PoPville]
Death Investigation in F.C. — “Police were dispatched near the intersection of Park Ave. and N Washington St. for the report of an unresponsive male on the sidewalk. Bystanders were attempting life saving measures upon arrival… Based on the preliminary investigation, the death appears to be from natural causes and there is no apparent threat to the community.” [City of Falls Church]
It’s Friday — Expect mostly cloudy conditions with a high near 43, coupled with a 50% chance of rain. Later in the evening, the chance of rain will lessen to 30% before 1 am, while temperatures will dip to around 32. The northwest wind will increase to 6-11 mph with gusts up to 18 mph. [NWS]
Parking meter in Ballston (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Parking compliance is up in Arlington, even as rates of parking tickets and traffic citations held relatively steady this year.
What’s behind the change? One new tool at law enforcement’s disposal this year, county and police spokespeople told ARLnow, is better data on where people are and aren’t paying to park.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin in Tysons (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
By OLIVIA DIAZ Associated Press/Report for America
RICHMOND (AP) — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposed a state budget plan on Wednesday to provide tax relief on tips and cars, measures his Republican administration touted as giving money back to middle- and lower-income workers.
A delivery driver was carjacked last night on the same block as Amazon’s HQ2.
The incident happened just before 6 p.m. on the 500 block of 14th Street S. in Pentagon City. Police say the driver tried to chase down his car after the suspect hopped in the idling vehicle and started driving away, but the suspect drew a gun and drove off.
