On Mother’s Day weekend, a pair of moms have defeated a pair of dads in the race for the Democratic endorsement for Arlington School Board.
Kathleen Clark and Zuraya Tapia-Hadley were announced last night as the winners of the coveted endorsement after a nearly two-week party caucus process. They’ll now run in the November general election, where Democratic endorsees are nearly undefeated this century.
The Arlington School Board has approved construction of a new Arlington Career Center building without a guarantee of paying workers a prevailing wage.
Seeking to avoid rebidding the project and causing at least a year of delays, Board members voted 4-0 last night (Thursday) to finalize a $132 million contract that has drawn criticism from Arlington state representatives, labor groups and the local NAACP chapter.
A large-scale flyover planned for Saturday is expected to bring some air traffic at National Airport to a temporary halt.
Two dozen groups of general aviation aircraft are expected to fly from Frederick, Maryland, down the Potomac River and across the National Mall. The Mall flyover is scheduled to take place between noon and 1 p.m.
Arlington retail centers may soon be able to play movies and commercial messaging on large outdoor screens.
A proposed zoning ordinance change, unanimously recommended by Arlington’s Planning Commission on Wednesday, would affect six commercial areas in Pentagon City, Clarendon, Ballston and Shirlington. It’s part of an effort to encourage “gathering and socializing” and allow for “interesting and authentic entertainment and experiences” in Arlington’s retail centers, per a county report.
Big Changes to Major Redevelopment — “Kimco Realty Corp. has proposed significant changes to its long-term plan for the mixed-use redevelopment of Costco-anchored Pentagon Centre… pitching in a Monday application to the county’s planning department an increase in density by more than three-quarters — taking the total envisioned square footage from about 2 million square feet to 3.5 million square feet. The mix of uses would change, too, now with substantially more residential and office but less retail than previously approved.” [Washington Business Journal]
Bill With More DCA Flights Passes — “The Senate on Thursday passed legislation to reauthorize federal aviation programs for the next five years.. The most intense regional fight was over a provision in the bill that would add five round-trip long-haul flights out of Ronald Reagan National Airport outside Washington.” [New York Times]
No Israel-Hamas Stance from Board — “Arlington County Board members are opting out of the foreign-policy business. For the moment, at least. In correspondence with the public, County Board Chairman Libby Garvey says board members have decided not to weigh in on the current Mideast situation, despite a press from pro-Palestinian activists to do so.” [Gazette Leader]
Smokecraft Files for Bankruptcy — “Smokecraft Modern Barbecue on April 29 filed for Chapter 11, listing $129,459 in assets and nearly $1.4 million in liabilities. Andrew Darneille, owner and pitmaster of the restaurant at 1051 N. Highland St., told me bankruptcy protection appeared the best option to put the business on firmer financial footing without closing and leaving his nearly 30 employees in the lurch.” [Washington Business Journal]
Focus on Va. Rights Waivers — “Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, the commonwealth attorney for Arlington County, doesn’t use the waivers at all. Dehghani-Tafti, a former public defender who won on a reform platform, said their use makes it harder for people to successfully re-enter society. ‘We shouldn’t be trying to make it easy to convict them again, we should be instead trying to give them the support and the tools that they need to not get in trouble again.'” [Bolts]
Beyer Statement on Speaker Vote — “I voted to table an attempt to remove Speaker Johnson yesterday because I strongly believe the House must govern constructively. Marjorie Taylor Greene sought to punish the Speaker for preventing a government shutdown and allowing a vote to fund assistance to Ukraine, both of which were correct decisions which I support.” [Press Release]
Couric Visits Axios in Arlington — From Mike Allen: “@katiecouric visited @axios in her hometown of Arlington, Va., for a raucous podcast convo with @JimVandeHei & me about his Just the Good Stuff, now a NY Times/USA Today bestseller.” [Twitter, Apple Podcasts]
Police Investigate Brandishing — “2400 block of Shirlington Road. At approximately 5:04 p.m. on May 7, police were dispatched to the report of a brandishing. Upon arrival, it was determined the male victim, driving eastbound on 25th Street S. across Shirlington Road, and the suspect, driving northbound on Shirlington Road, were involved in a near collision. A verbal dispute between the victim and suspect ensued during which the suspect brandished a firearm before fleeing the scene in his vehicle, a white pickup truck.” [ACPD]
High School Theater Award Nods — “High school theater productions that left an impression on audiences and student critics have earned nominations for awards. Nominations were announced for the Cappies of the National Capital Area, a Tony Award-like program for local high school theater.” [Patch]
Local Students in National History Bowl — “Three Arlington students scored success in the 2024 National History Bowl & Bee Championship, held in Arlington April 25-28.” [Gazette Leader]
Geomagnetic Storm Expected — “A severe geomagnetic storm is expected to hit Earth on Friday, triggering colorful nighttime auroras, or the northern lights. People in the United States could see moderate to strong geomagnetic activity starting around 11 p.m. and lasting through Saturday.” [Capital Weather Gang, Twitter]
It’s Friday — Expect showers and thunderstorms with a high near 61 and east wind of 7-9 mph. Precipitation chance is 70%, with rainfall between a tenth and a quarter inch, potentially higher in thunderstorms. For Friday night, showers and storms are likely before 11 pm, followed by a chance of showers between 11 pm and 2 am. It will be mostly cloudy with a low around 49, north wind at 6 mph, and a 60% chance of precipitation. [NWS]
Flickr pool photo by Emma K Alexandra
Competing visions of housing and development in Arlington underpinned a County Board candidate forum Wednesday night.
In particular focus at the Arlington Committee of 100 event were divided stances on Missing Middle. Supporting the rezoning policy, which the Board unanimously approved last year, are Democrats Tenley Peterson and JD Spain.
Acclaimed chef Peter Chang’s second Arlington restaurant is now open.
Chang and daughter Lydia today opened NiHao, at 1550 Crystal Drive, an “all-day modern Chinese concept will highlight Sichuan cuisine with small, shareable plates that lean into the famed chef’s signature use of peppers and spice.”
Courthouse Construction Continues — From Fox 5’s Steve Chenevey: “Can’t believe this now stands on the site of the long-time Arlington @Wendys, the name of the new building? The Wendy.” [Twitter]
Empty Office Building Worries — “What do empty office buildings and over-leveraged commercial developers have to do with Arlington’s parks, libraries and schools? A lot, actually. There’s a storm brewing in the business landscape that has yet to unleash its full fury. In the worst case, fierce economic winds and rain could lash taxpayers and the county services they hold dear.” [Arlington Magazine]
Green Valley Real Estate Profile — “Once known as one of Arlington’s last affordable neighborhoods, the values for Green Valley’s duplexes and single-family brick homes are climbing… Of the homes sold in the last year, the lowest-priced was a snug 1,360-square foot single-family without updates for $582,000; the highest was a 20-year-old mini-mansion near the country club with five-and-a-half bedrooms and more than 5,000 square feet for $1.2 million.” [Washington Post]
Arlington Scholarship Winners — “In the second round of scholarship winners in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program announced Wednesday, students from Arlington were among the winners… Virginia had 65 scholarship winners, six of whom live in Arlington.” [Patch]
DJO Senior to Play for Maryland — “The Bishop O’Connell High School senior football player was pleasantly informed by Knights’ head coach Todd Sabatino and team counselor Tracey Leipold that the University of Maryland’s Division I football team wanted to offer McConnell a preferred walkon position to join the Terrapins’ squad this fall as a long snapper.” [Gazette Leader]
‘Coffee With a Cop’ Returns — “The Arlington County Police Department’s Community Engagement Division is excited to announce ACPD’s spring Coffee with a Cop events will be returning with a new twist. In reaffirming ACPD’s commitment to making engagement accessible for all, we are taking our spring Coffee with a Cop events on the road to Arlington neighborhoods!” [ACPD]
Eden Center Robbery — “Falls Church Police are looking for three suspects involved in an assault and robbery at the Eden Center (6700 Wilson Blvd). On May 7, 2024 at approximately 6:30 PM, the victim was approaching her vehicle in the parking lot when three suspects assaulted her, stole her purse, and fled the scene in a vehicle headed in an unknown direction on Wilson Blvd. The victim sustained minor injuries.” [City of Falls Church]
It’s Thursday — Expect scattered showers and thunderstorms, increasing in likelihood after 8am, with mostly cloudy skies and a high near 76. Light east winds will strengthen to 5-9 mph in the morning. Precipitation chances are 70%, with new rain amounts between a tenth and a quarter of an inch, possibly higher in thunderstorms. Thursday night, chances of showers and thunderstorms decrease to 50%, with a low around 58. [NWS]
McConnell accepts a preferred walk-on position with Terrapins
Initially, Kellen McConnell thought trouble loomed when he was called to an impromptu meeting that included his head coach and a school counselor.
Arlington’s Pentagon City Sector Plan has been overturned by a state court.
Reversing a trial court’s decision, the Virginia Court of Appeals ruled yesterday (Tuesday) that the Arlington County Board failed to provide sufficient public notice before adopting a vision for the next 30-plus years of growth in Pentagon City.
A D.C. man is facing multiple charges after police say he was caught with stolen scooters in the Rosslyn area.
The incident happened just before 3:30 a.m. Tuesday when someone called police to report a man stealing electric scooters from a residential building’s bike storage room.
As Google plans to funnel $1 billion into Northern Virginia data centers, places such as Arlington may have renewed opportunities to attract tech investment.
Although the data center expansions announced last week are based in Loudoun County and Prince William County, they impact the entire area, said Terry Clower, director of George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis.
