By OLIVIA DIAZ Associated Press/Report for America
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s Democratic-led Senate on Tuesday passed constitutional amendments on abortion and voting rights that were quickly lambasted by Republicans who could use the issues as the party tries to regain ground in November’s statewide elections.
A property owner in Crystal City is seeking the county’s blessing to add an outdoor beer garden to a vacant building.
Scapegoat Beer Garden, in the works at 556 22nd Street S. on Restaurant Row, hopes to gain approval from the Arlington County Board to start using two of three outdoor patios constructed — without permits — during the pandemic.
Changes to Arlington voting equipment could increase the number of candidates voters are able to rank.
Arlington voters are currently able to rank only three candidates when participating in ranked-choice voting. However, planned upgrades to voting systems would raise that number to at least five.
Plans for two new bridges over the Potomac River have moved “to the next level” with the announcement of a contractor to design and build the structures.
The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) last week named Long Bridge Rail Partners — a joint venture between three general contractors — as the organization responsible for finalizing designs and beginning construction on the “South Package” of the Long Bridge Project.
Construction contracts for new pickleball facilities and improvements to Central Library are on the agenda as Arlington County Board members meet on Saturday, Jan. 25.
It will be the Board’s first working meeting of the year, and follows a Jan. 7 organizational meeting at which Takis Karantonis was elected chair for 2025.
The future of ranked-choice voting in Arlington’s general elections remains undecided as officials await a report on public attitudes.
The Arlington County Board expects to receive said report at a Tuesday, Jan. 28 meeting. The results “will give us a lot to think about,” Board Chair Takis Karantonis, who has seen some of the data, said at an Arlington County Civic Federation meeting last week.
Metro Ready for Returning Feds — “Metro has the capacity to accommodate federal workers ordered back to the office by the Trump administration, one top transit leader says… NVTC member Takis Karantonis said he hoped planning efforts would help make the system ‘extra welcoming’ to those returning as commuters.” [FFXnow]
Beyer on Jan. 6 Pardons — “Trump pardoned the people who beat and tazed my constituent, Officer Michael Fanone, who gave a brain injury to my constituent Officer Jeff Smith days before he died by suicide, and who attacked and sprayed my constituent, Officer Brian Sicknick, with bear spray hours before his death from two strokes.” [Press Release]
Pepper Spray Incident at Bar — “500 block of 23rd Street S. At approximately 11:57 p.m. on January 18, police were dispatched to the report of trouble unknown. Upon arrival, it was determined the male suspect became involved in a physical altercation with the three male victims inside of a business during which he deployed pepper spray before fleeing the scene. The victims were treated on scene by medics.” [ACPD, Twitter]
Va. Bill to Protect Pedestrians — “State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) plans to introduce legislation this year that would sidestep debate over what counts as ‘careless’ or ‘distracted’ by punishing any driver who seriously injures or kills somebody who is in a crosswalk or otherwise legally on a roadway with up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.” [Washington Post, LIS]
New U.S. Attorney — “Erik S. Siebert was sworn in today as the Interim United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.” [Press Release]
S’mores Snafu Stymies Scouts — “A truck containing thousands of boxes of S’mores wouldn’t start this morning, holding up the annual troop pickup of cookie orders for the Girl Scouts Nations Capital at Cameron Run Regional Park (4001 Eisenhower Avenue). Not to worry — the S’mores truck officially arrived.” [ALXnow]
Beltway Closure This Weekend — “Starting on the night of Friday, Jan. 24, four of the six northbound lanes on I-495 will be shut down for one mile from the Route 7 interchange (Leesburg Pike) in Tysons to Lewinsville Road in McLean to accommodate construction.” [FFXnow]
Sports Coverage Change — Starting this week, ARLnow is shifting most of our sports coverage to Saturday. Some articles about big games will still publish during the week, however.
It’s Wednesday — Expect clouds to increase, reaching a high near 20, accompanied by wind chills as low as -3. Northwest winds of 5 to 10 mph will ease in the afternoon. As for Wednesday night, expect partly cloudy conditions with a low of around 12, accompanied by calm winds. [NWS]
Next month will mark the 50th anniversary of the permanent preservation of Arlington’s oldest existing residential structure.
The Ball-Sellers House, which began life in the mid-1700s as a two-room log cabin, was donated in February 1975 by its last private owner to the Arlington Historical Society. The society then refurbished the Glencarlyn home and opened portions of it to the public as its contribution to the nation’s bicentennial celebration of 1976.
A notoriously contagious stomach bug’s spread through Arlington has public health experts urging extra precautions.
An alert about a wave of suspected norovirus cases went out to Arlington Public Schools families last week as reported “norovirus-like outbreaks” have surged in Northern Virginia since late 2024.
A former Arlington firefighter is among the more than 1,500 people granted pardons under President Donald Trump’s sweeping decision yesterday (Monday).
Brian Holmes, who was accused of assaulting police officers while attempting to enter the U.S. Capitol in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot, falls under a blanket pardon Trump issued shortly after being sworn in as president.
Nearly 5,000 homes and businesses in parts of Arlington are without power this morning.
The outages are primarily affecting neighborhoods along and north of the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, according to a Dominion outage map. As of just before 9 a.m. Tuesday, the utility company said 4,866 customers were affected in Arlington.
Construction of the Pentagon’s road network in the early 1940s was responsible for the mass displacement of an African-American neighborhood in South Arlington.
A new historical marker aims to bring the history of that community — Queen City — and its residents to future generations.
