News

Local Olympic Rivalry — “Arlington County and Alexandria have long enjoyed some friendly competition — and now, that rivalry has made its way to the Olympics… That friendly rivalry has been competitive enough that Arlington County Board member Maureen Coffey (D) took to social media on Monday with a chart comparing her home county with its neighbor.” [Washington Post]

Road Closures for County Fair — “The Arlington County Fair will take place from August 14th–18th at Thomas Jefferson Community Center located at 3501 2nd Street South. The Arlington County Police Department will conduct the following road closures to accommodate the event.” [ACPD]

Foxtrot Up for Auction — Items from the closed former Foxtrot location in Rosslyn are up for auction, according to a sign in the window. [Twitter]

It’s Monday — Expect mostly sunny skies and a high of around 84 degrees, accompanied by a west wind blowing at 5 to 7 mph. As night falls, skies will turn partly cloudy and the temperature will dip to a low of approximately 66 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.

Flickr pool photo by Jason Gooljar

Big Best for Local VC — “Arlington venture capital firm Sands Capital has participated in a massive round of funding for an autonomous weapons company. Together with San Francisco venture firm Founders Fund, Sands co-led a $1.5 billion Series F round in Anduril Industries Inc., a 7-year-old Costa Mesa, California, startup that wants to help the U.S. fix what it sees as a weapons shortage.” [Washington Business Journal]

Human Rights Commission Peeved — “Already frosty relations between Arlington County Board members and those serving on the body’s Human Rights Commission seem to be getting worse, not better. At the commission’s July meeting, members expressed dismay that the County Board had not reappointed one of their ranks, Roland Watkins, to a new term. And they vented their discontent in a public setting.” [Gazette Leader]

Olympics Sundae in Huske’s Honor — “Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream is serving up gold medal-themed scoops that probably taste sweeter than the real thing. The Arlington and Vienna ice cream parlor unveiled a limited-time Gold Medal Sundae last Friday (Aug. 2) in honor of Arlingtonian swimmer Torri Huske, a Yorktown High School graduate who’s won five medals — three of them gold — at the 2024 Paris Olympics.” [FFXnow]

Local Youth Team in World Series — “The Southeast Region champion and state runner-up Arlington Babe Ruth Storm Black 10-under All-Stars are set to begin play in the Babe Ruth World Series, scheduled for Aug. 8 through 18 in Crown Point, Ind. Arlington will be one of 25 baseball teams competing in the Cal Ripken Division of the Babe Ruth World Series.” [Gazette Leader]

It’s Friday — Expect showers, potential thunderstorms, and a high of 82°F today, accompanied by breezy southeast winds at 20-23 mph and gusts up to 33 mph. There’s a 90% chance of precipitation, with new rainfall amounts ranging from three quarters to one inch. Tonight, showers and thunderstorms are likely before 11 pm, followed by a slight chance of showers until 2 am. Temperatures will drop to around 70°F, with southwest winds at 11 mph turning west after midnight and gusts up to 20 mph. The chance of precipitation decreases to 60%. [NWS]

Local Real Estate Still In Demand — “The median time from listing to ratified sales contract across the Washington region for the week ending Aug. 4 was 23 days, according to new figures… Among major jurisdictions in Northern Virginia, Arlington had the lowest median trajectory from listing to ratified contract at 16 days (down from 22 a year before).” [Gazette Leader]

Layoffs for Clarendon Media Firm — “Arlington, Virginia-based Axios is the latest media company to slash jobs — its first significant cuts since Axios was founded in 2016. Axios is laying off 10% of its staff, or around 50 employees, according to an employee memo from CEO Jim VandeHei, who cited a rapidly changing media landscape as reason for the cuts.” [WTOP, New York Times]

Trespassers Atop Rosslyn Tower — From Alan Henney: “This evening at the new Hilton construction site in Rosslyn.” [Twitter]

Local Senior Program is Growing — “As it continues celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Arlington Neighborhood Village (ANV) program is seeing sustained growth on a number of fronts… Membership has grown from 393 members at the end of 2023 to 426 members as of July 1, an 8-percent increase.” [Gazette Leader]

Controversy Involving F.C. Official — “The deputy director of the D.C. Department of Buildings resigned after being fined $25,000 when she was found to have been secretly holding a second job and serving as an elected official in Falls Church, Virginia, while on D.C. government time.” [NBC 4, Washington Post]

Watching Debby — “Tropical Storm Debby — which has drenched areas from Florida to southeast North Carolina — is readying for its final act. Its remnants are poised to sweep through the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast between Thursday and Saturday morning, bringing potential for considerable flooding.” [Capital Weather Gang, Twitter]

VDOT Ready for Storm — “VDOT crews stand ready to respond to road hazards and any damage resulting from the storm. Ahead of the storm, crews have been inspecting drainage facilities and clearing them where necessary, readying trucks and equipment, and coordinating debris and tree removal crews to be on standby.” [Press Release]

It’s Thursday — Expect showers and potential thunderstorms, with a high near 80 and east winds at 10-13 mph, gusting up to 20 mph. There’s an 80% chance of rain, with half to three-quarters of an inch expected. Thursday night, anticipate similar conditions with a low around 75, southeast winds at 11 mph, and three-quarters to one inch of rainfall. [NWS]