A fire engine in the Ballston area was out of service last night due to understaffing at the Arlington County Fire Department.
Engine 102 was ACFD’s busiest fire engine last year, responding to over 3,400 calls. As the department continues to grapple with high vacancy rates, however, the equipment was temporarily “browned out” — impacting firefighters’ ability to respond to medical calls as well as fires.
Arlington’s elected leadership is not saying much about the future of the county’s Missing Middle policy — at least not from the dais.
Pressed to make some comment on what will happen with the residential zoning change — known alternately as Expanded Housing Options (EHO) — County Board members on Saturday (Oct. 19) opted to stay mum.
Arlington leaders believe people-power helped sway National Park Service officials to re-evaluate plans for clearing more trees and vegetation adjacent to the George Washington Memorial Parkway in the county.
The acting superintendent of the GW Parkway announced on Friday (Oct. 18) that a “full review” would be conducted before anything else happens in the verdant buffer area between the roadway and the Potomac River below it.
The Arlington County Board has tidied up a section of the county’s zoning ordinance that caused the Fairlington neighborhood fits.
County Board members on Saturday (Oct. 19) approved zoning amendments removing bureaucratic hurdles that had been placed on interior renovations and expansions of older townhouse and condominium properties.
Public Hearing Set for Deer-Culling Plan — Arlington County Board members voted 5-0 Saturday to advertise for a Nov. 16 public hearing zoning changes needed to bring professional sharpshooters to the county starting the winter of 2025-26 to address deer overpopulation. –Scott McCaffrey
Towing Changes Hearing Set for November — Despite concerns voiced by the chair of the Trespass Towing Advisory Board and several business groups, Arlington County Board members on Saturday set a Nov. 16 public hearing on a wide array of changes to the county’s towing regulations. –Scott McCaffrey
Boeing Strike May Be Ending — “Boeing and its machinists’ union have reached a new contract proposal, the union said Saturday, outlining a deal that could end a more than month-long strike that has hobbled the manufacturers’ aircraft production. The ratification vote is set for Wednesday.” [CNBC]
Alleged Shoe Thief Nabbed at Pentagon — From Dave Statter: “Police gather up about 20 pairs of shoes and arrest a man officers say was with that large haul at the Pentagon Transit Center last night. @PFPAOfficial officers spotted the man and confirmed the shoes were stolen from T.J. Maxx on S. Joyce Street in nearby Pentagon City. @ArlingtonVaPD soon arrived to help.” [Twitter]
Man Accused of Assaulting Cops — “3800 block of Columbia Pike. At approximately 12:31 a.m. on October 18, police responded to the report of a dispute inside a residential building. While conducting the investigation, the suspect disregarded officer’s commands and pushed an officer to enter the scene of the investigation and subsequently stuck another officer.” [ACPD]
Chicken at National Airport — From @WashProbs on Sunday: “A random chicken was spotted at DCA at 8 am this morning.” [Twitter]
MoCo Missing Middle Melee — “Deep blue and normally like-minded, Montgomery County isn’t a typical setting for political divides, especially one with angry shouting at public meetings where each side accuses the other of working to ruin Maryland’s most populous county… But introduce a plan to allow new housing types in single-family neighborhoods and fault lines start to emerge.” [Washington Post]
It’s Monday — Expect sunshine and a comfortable high of about 77°F, accompanied by a light northwest wind at around 6 mph. As night falls, the skies will remain clear and the temperature will drop to a cool 51°F with calm winds. [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.
Arlington County Board members today (Saturday) green-lighted the operation of a weekly farmers market in the Green Valley community that will start next year.
The action, voted on as part of the board’s consent agenda of non-controversial items, will allow a local non-profit to host up to 19 vendors Fridays from 4-7 p.m. from April to Thanksgiving each year.
Falls Church City Manager Wyatt Shields and his staff currently are attempting to juggle requests from various organizations to close streets for Halloween-themed events.
At least six have come in, double the typical number of street closings allowed on any given day, city officials say.
Decades of preparation were put to the test when Arlington’s public-safety community came face to face with chaos last December.
And that training and collaboration paid off when neither first-responders nor those in the general public suffered significant injuries from a house explosion following a tense standoff in the Bluemont neighborhood.
The two contenders for an open seat on the Falls Church City Council used the same word to describe how city leaders should address housing policy going forward.
“We have to attack it in different ways. We have to be aggressive,” said Laura Downs.
The first update in five years to Arlington’s Green Building Incentive Program is likely to have more stringent rules but also more pathways for developers to meet them.
The Arlington government in 1999 began providing incentives for developers willing to go beyond minimum requirements in environmentally friendly design. The program was updated in 2014 and again in 2020.
Nestle Says It’s Staying Here — “Nestle SA will revamp its operating structure under new CEO Laurent Freixe, the company said Thursday, including combining its Latin America and North America regions — but the changes won’t impact the company’s presence in Rosslyn. Nestle USA, which is headquartered at Monday Properties’ 1812 N. Moore St., is a market within the company’s North America zone. A spokesperson told me Thursday that Nestle is ‘committed’ to its location in Arlington in light of the changes.” [WBJ]
More on Jail Death Lawsuit –“The Arlington County Sheriff’s Office, which manages the jail, released a statement to WTOP saying that it is ‘aware of the lawsuit recently filed. … At this time, the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office has not been named as a party in the lawsuit,’ the office said. ‘However, we are fully committed to cooperating with all relevant authorities.’ Specifically, the lawsuit was filed against numerous individuals and organizations responsible for Thompson’s health care.” [WTOP]
Honor for Local Teacher — “Congratulations to @APSVirginia Statistics and Data Science teacher, Geraldine Maskelony, who received a Fulbright U.S. Teacher Award for the 2024 – 2025 school year! @APSCareerCenter @APSMath” [Twitter]
Endorsements for Rives — Independent Arlington School Board candidate James “Vell” Rives IV has gained endorsements from Dave Foster and John Vihstadt, the last non-Democrats to serve on the School Board and County Board respectively. “Vell Rives will add the fresh perspective and balance to the School Board that we so desperately need. He’ll also work to strengthen the APS auditor position,” said Vihstadt.
Covid Trending Down in Va. — “Overall respiratory illness activity in Virginia is low and COVID-19 emergency department visits are trending down. The state has had 61 deaths related to COVID-19, flu, and/or respiratory syncytial virus in the past six weeks. In the week that ended, Virginia had 1,742 positive COVID-19 lab reports.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]
It’s Friday — Expect a sunny day with a high temperature of around 67 degrees and a north wind around 9 mph. The night will be clear and cool with a low temperature of around 44 degrees. [NWS]
Flickr pool photo by Jason Gooljar
The owners of one half of a Bluemont duplex that was destroyed in a December house explosion are attempting to rebuild.
The previous occupants of the currently empty lot on N. Burlington Street went before the Arlington Board of Zoning Appeals yesterday (Wednesday) with a proposal to construct a single-family detached house there.
