Military Flyover Today — From AlertDC: “The US Military will conduct a fly over at Arlington National Cemetery on October 10, 2023 at 1:00PM.”
Police Holding ‘Essentials Drive’ — “The Arlington County Police Department is hosting an Essentials Drive to benefit unsheltered individuals in our community. Officers will be present at the following locations and times to collect new toiletries and cold weather items as well as engage with community members.” [ACPD]
A new development with affordable apartments, a church and childcare, across from the Ballston Metro station, is set to debut early next year.
Nearly two years ago, Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing broke ground on the long-delayed, $84 million project to replace the old Central United Methodist Church building at 4201 Fairfax Drive with an 8-story building with 144 committed affordable units.
Funeral for Arlington Marine — “Alexia Collart’s eyes filled with tears as she accepted the flag that had been draped over her son Marine Cpl. Spencer R. Collart’s casket. Her daughter Gweneth, sitting beside her, openly wept. Bart Collart, Cpl. Collart’s father, held back tears. The family’s grief spread to the crowd of more than 100 family and friends, who either dabbed their eyes or let the tears roll down their cheeks.” [Arlington National Cemetery]
HQ2 ‘Is At a Crossroads’ — “Amazon HQ2, the corporate site selection project, was a symbol of the tech industry’s economic muscle. Now it stands as a palace built for a former dynasty… From door desk to gourmet coffee bars onsite, HQ2 was one of the last grand gestures of the Bezos era. It falls to his successor, Andy Jassy, to decide whether to resume the project as designed or opt for a more frugal alternative.” [Bloomberg]
Work on a 50-year-old bridge over I-395 near Shirlington is underway, the Virginia Department of Transportation announced yesterday.
The bridge connects the southbound I-395 collector-distributor lanes and southbound Shirlington Road to N. Quaker Lane at the I-395 Exit 6 interchange.
Another Crash Near Lubber Run CC — The crash-prone intersection of N. George Mason Drive and N. Park Drive, near the Lubber Run Community Center, has logged at least the third wreck in a week. [Twitter]
Wanted: Lanternfly Samples — “Virginia Cooperative Extension and Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia have a plea for local residents when it comes to invasive spotted lanternflies. ‘We need your help: Many Arlington and Alexandria residents are reporting the presence of these insects, but no one has yet submitted an actual sample,’ said Kirsten Conrad of Virginia Cooperative Extension.” [Gazette Leader]
(Updated at 4:10 p.m) Early voting is underway and the election is five weeks out but, compared to other parts of Virginia, politicking in Arlington is still a little sleepy.
This year is an off-year, meaning there are no federal offices on the ballot to drum up turnout. Some call this year, like 2019 before it, an “off-off-year” because the ballot lacks statewide offices, such as governor, too.
It’s the ARLnow Five and Five, where nonprofit Washington Consumers’ Checkbook provides five top-rated local businesses and five tips for getting great service and prices. ARLnow readers can access all of Checkbook’s ratings of local auto repair shops until Oct. 15 at Checkbook.org/ARLnow/auto-repair.
The following auto repair shops are best bets for Arlingtonians.
The playground at Gunston Park is expected to be replaced starting late next year as part of a $1.2 million renovation project.
Arlington’s Dept. of Parks and Recreation has released two concept designs for the park, located at 1401 28th Street S., near Gunston Middle School. Residents can provide feedback on these designs online through Thursday, Oct. 19.
(Updated at 4 p.m.) A Florida resident is facing 19 separate charges after police responded to a residential break-in yesterday.
Police were first dispatched to a home on N. Powhatan Street, in the Highland Park-Overlee Knolls neighborhood, around 4 p.m. for a reported burglary in progress. It’s unclear how that incident ended, but officers responded back to the same block just over three hours later and a standoff ensued.
New W-L Basketball Coach — “During the period she was sidelined with stress fractures in both legs as a player for the Marymount University women’s basketball team is when Maddy DeCou got the coaching bug… ‘I saw and heard the game in a different way, and that’s what got me interested in someday being a coach,’ said DeCou, who recently was hired as the new girls head varsity basketball coach at Washington-Liberty High School.” [Gazette Leader]
Big Turnout for Narcan Training — “The Arlington Addiction Recovery Initiative hosted their monthly in-person and virtual Narcan, a brand of naloxone, training Wednesday night. Close to 70 people participated in the in-person training, according to Emily Siqveland, the opioids program manager for Arlington County.” [WUSA 9]
Plan Langston Blvd — a sweeping document envisioning a tree-lined, walkable Route 29 with apartments over retail — is gearing up for final discussions and eventual approval.
The newest draft landed last Thursday: two business days before a Planning Commission meeting on whether to advertise hearings on the plan. It contained a slew of changes county staff explain are policy clarifications, responding to recent feedback from citizen commissions, the Arlington County Board and residents.
Arlington County is in the early stages of designing a multi-use trail facility along Long Bridge Drive.
Now through mid-October, the county is gathering input on how people currently use this corridor, which will inform designs set for public review next spring.
