A fire in a small strip mall has blocked Glebe Road during the morning rush hour.
Firefighters were dispatched to a restaurant at 71 N. Glebe Road around 6:30 a.m. for a report of a business on fire. They found smoke coming from below the roof, fire in the basement and a hole in the floor, according to scanner traffic.
Police Chase Through Arlington — From Dave Statter: “If you heard a helicopter circling over Route 50 and Fillmore in Arlington around 2:00 a.m. this is the reason why. @VSPPIO chased a damaged car from the Beltway onto Route 29. This video shows the pursuit coming put of Falls Church into Arlington… the abandoned car was later found on Fillmore just north of 50.” [Twitter]
County Board Meetings Relocated — “Expect the backdrop of September’s Arlington County Board meetings to look a little different. Owing to renovation work in the board room at the Ellen Bozman Government Center on Clarendon Boulevard, County Board members will hold their Sept. 14 and 22 meetings at the [Arlington] School Board’s meeting room at the Syphax Center on Washington Boulevard.” [Gazette Leader]
Milestone for Sheriff’s Office K-9 — “The Arlington County Sheriff’s Office is proud to announce that Cpl. Camardi and K9 Logan have achieved a significant milestone in their service to the community. K9 Logan has been officially certified by the United States Police Canine Association (USPCA) in Electronics Detection after successfully completing the rigorous electronic detection trials.” [Arlington County]
Reminder: Back to School — “As students begin returning to Arlington Public Schools this coming Monday, Aug. 26, new initiatives are meant to encourage safer driving around schools this year… Ten new speed cameras have been installed near select schools, operating when school zone lights are flashing at the beginning and end of the school day.” [ARLnow]
It’s Monday — Showers and thunderstorms are possible after 2pm and again before 11pm, with a 30% chance of precipitation for both instances. The day will otherwise be mostly sunny and the temperature will reach a high near 90 degrees, accompanied by a northwest wind of 3 to 8 mph. During the night, partially cloudy conditions are predicted with a low temperature around 71 degrees. [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.
Patriots last won the championship back in 1980 campaign
A decades-long summer drought has ended.
The Arlington County Police Department has rolled out a new crime dashboard with up-to-date data on offenses and arrests.
The data hub, which went live today (Friday), includes interactive maps of offense locations, which users can sort by neighborhood, offense category, timeframe and police beat. It also delineates crime data by month and includes granular breakdowns of arrests based on offense codes and date.
Jury Duty Questionnaires Going Out — “The Arlington Circuit Court, which includes the City of Falls Church, will soon begin its annual juror qualification process. Juror questionnaires will be mailed in late August to approximately 35,000 randomly selected residents of Arlington County and Falls Church City. These questionnaires are used to qualify residents for jury duty which begins Jan. 1, 2025, and ends Dec. 31, 2025.” [Arlington County]
Rosslyn Office Building Sells — “Brookfield Corp. sold an I.M. Pei-designed office tower across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., for $143 million to the building’s largest tenant… the energy company Venture Global LNG.” [CoStar]
Flyover Planned Today — From AlertDC: “The US Military will conduct a flyover in the area of the Washington Navy Yard on Friday, August 23rd, 2024 at 10:00am.”
Modest Job Growth in Arlington — “Year-over-year employment increased in 300 of the 369 largest U.S. counties in new data. And while Arlington and Fairfax counties were among those rising, their rates of growth were less than that of the nation as a whole. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Aug. 21 reported that, for the quarter ending in March, Arlington recorded total employment of 175,200 and Fairfax 628,400 – increases of 1.1 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.” [Gazette Leader]
New Heart Monitors for ACFD — From the Arlington County Fire Department: “ACFD becomes first fire department in Virginia to acquire new LIFEPAK 35 cardiac monitors. Training on the new devices is on-going, with the devices set to hit the field shortly.” [Twitter]
Shirlington Bus Station Feedback — From Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services: “Share your feels on the Shirlington Bus Station and they could be used for expansion planning. Comments about the actual buses need to be sent directly to those transit agencies.” [Twitter, Arlington County]
More Funding for F.C. Company — “Falls Church’s Retension Pharmaceuticals Inc. has secured millions of dollars in funding to help get a new therapy for high blood pressure through clinical trials and to patients. The company said Wednesday it closed a $10.4 million Series A round to fuel a study for its lead drug candidate, designed to address hypertension — or high blood pressure — that’s resistant to other treatments.” [Washington Business Journal]
It’s Friday — Expect a sunny day with temperatures reaching up to 84 degrees and light, variable winds. As night falls on Friday, the skies will be mostly clear with temperatures dropping to around 61 degrees, accompanied by a south wind blowing at 3 to 5 mph. [NWS]
Willemssen led the Knights to five state championships
Suzy Willemssen’s highly-successful tenure as the head girls softball coach at Bishop O’Connell High School has ended after six seasons.
Renovations are in the works at the Costco in Pentagon City, possibly including a multimillion-dollar overhaul of the food court.
At a minimum, a store representative told ARLnow, the wholesale retailer is expanding its bakery. A permit application at 1200 S. Fern Street refers to new bakery equipment, as well as a “revised sushi layout” and possible plans for a new deli, new rotisserie, new coolers for meat and produce and “an expansion to the existing electrical mezzanine.”
Italian Air Force Flyover — From Hillary Howard: “The Italian Airforce streaks the sky over DC + Arlington with its colors. The show finished as the jets turned near the @USairforce Memorial.” [Twitter, Twitter]
Pushback on Towing Changes — “Proposed changes to the Arlington government’s ordinance on private-property towing, giving more power to staff and the county manager to suspend and potentially revoke operating licenses for towing companies, seems to be running into headwinds.” [Gazette Leader]
Frustration Over Ongoing Pike Project — “A major road project in Arlington has picked up in intensity and has a lot of people asking when it’s going to be finished. Transportation Reporter Adam Tuss reports the Columbia Pike Forward project has narrowed roads and closed sidewalks for quite a while.” [NBC 4]
Pile-Driving for Cemetery Project — “That thump-thump-thump you may be hearing in the vicinity of Arlington National Cemetery is expected to continue until later in the month. Crews have begun a pile-driving initiative at the southern area of the cemetery’s expansion zone, located at the eastern end of Columbia Pike.” [Gazette Leader]
Arlington Actor at DNC — From Del. Alfonso Lopez: “Fun encounter at the @DemConvention – Iain Armitage from ‘Young Sheldon’ (who lives in Arlington, Virginia!!) joined the Virginia Delegation last night. We sat together for the speeches from Michelle Obama and President Obama. Incredibly nice young man.” [Twitter]
Special DCA College Football Flights — “United Airlines will be offering special nonstop flights from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to see some of the biggest football games this college season.
This means University of Virginia fans can travel directly to South Bend, Indiana to see the Hoos take on the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.” [Patch]
More Diving Honors for WGCC — “Add yet another league championship to the long list, making the total now 26 straight Country Club Swimming and Diving Association titles won by the Washington Golf & Country Club summer dive squad. All have come under head coach Amy Kress, who has led the team for 29 seasons.” [Gazette Leader]
It’s Thursday — Expect abundant sunshine and a high around 79°F with a northwest wind at 5 mph. Thursday night will be mostly clear, reaching a low of approximately 58°F with calm winds. [NWS]
Flickr pool photo by ksrjghkegkdhgkk
An assisted living facility with up to 130 units could be coming to Langston Blvd.
Kensington Senior Living — which operates senior living facilities in Falls Church, Reston and several other sites around the country — filed an application earlier this year to redevelop 4500 Langston Blvd as a seven-story residential building with 114 parking spaces in a parking garage.
A 67-year-old Arlington man was arrested after a spat with a driver allegedly turned destructive.
The incident happened just before 7 p.m. on along the 3800 block of Fairfax Drive, near Oakland Park in Virginia Square.
Falls Church is attempting to move forward with a project to improve pedestrian and bicyclist access along W. Broad Street.
The multimodal improvement project calls for widening sidewalks, redesigning intersections and adding a new pedestrian crosswalk, with changes planned at the intersections of W. Broad Street and Virginia Avenue, Lee Street, Oak Street, Spring Street and West Street.
Spotted: Rosslyn at DNC — A photo of Rosslyn’s skyline was used as a backdrop at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, as pointed out on social media by the Arlington County Democratic Committee. [Twitter]
Flyover Planned Today — From AlertDC: “MPD reports there will be an Italian Air Force flyover in the NCR, over Washington, DC, on Wednesday, August 21, 2024, at 4:30 PM. The units will deploy red, white, and green smoke during its flight route.”
W&OD Trail Narrowed — “Be alert for a narrowing trail and trail striping work at Sparrow Pond in Arlington, as the restoration project there nears completion.” [Twitter]
Time Capsule Found in Cathedral — “When the construction crew began renovations at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington, they expected to find nothing more than dust and rubble behind the cathedral’s walls. Instead, they discovered a time capsule. Four months later, on the 50th anniversary of the Arlington diocese’s establishment, it was restored, with new items added Aug. 13 for a new generation to ponder.” [Arlington Catholic Herald]
Interview with Ellie Bird Chef — “If watching #TheBearFX left you curious about the inner workings of an award-winning family restaurant, read our interview with local chef Yuan Tang, who co-owns #EllieBird in Falls Church with his wife, Carey. Here’s how he keeps his menu fresh and fun.” [Arlington Magazine, Twitter]
Free Coffee in Rosslyn — “Grab a free coffee at #UpsideOnMoore’s Lightning Coffee as part of #NationalCoffeeMonth! Show the barista that you’re following Upside on Moore on Instagram to redeem your cup through August (Limit one per person, Monday-Friday from 7AM-5PM)” [Twitter]
A Look at Housing at N. Va. — “On just over 70% of the developable land in Northern Virginia, there’s only one thing you can build: a single-family detached house. That’s the lead finding of research into the region’s zoning restrictions from a group of scholars at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center.” [WAMU]
It’s Wednesday — Expect sunny conditions with a high near 76 degrees and a northwest wind blowing at 7 to 11 mph. As for Wednesday night, it will be mostly clear with a low around 57 degrees and a gentle north wind at 3 to 5 mph. [NWS]
