Part of Crystal Drive was closed for several hours yesterday after a utility worker inadvertently pumped oily water onto the road.
The Arlington County Fire Department, including its hazmat unit, was the first to respond to the scene in Crystal City for initial reports of an “unknown amount of gas in the roadway,” according to scanner traffic.
Could Pickleball Disrupt Voting? — “Will the effort to squeeze the vehicles of both voters and pickleball players into the parking lot at Walter Reed Community Center go harmoniously? Or will it result in conflict that raises a (wait for it …) racket? County election officials are hoping for the former rather than the latter as the days count down to the start of early voting at Walter Reed.” [Gazette Leader]
Housing Voucher Lottery Now Open — “Arlington opened the waitlist for its housing voucher lottery Wednesday. It’s the first time since 2012 that county residents have a chance to apply for the federally-funded rent subsidy program. Eligible residents can apply online to be entered into a lottery draw for the county’s 5,000-slot waitlist for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, formerly called Section 8, which helps residents pay a portion of their monthly rent.” [Fox 5]
After 11 years of work, started by a group of residents and picked up by Arlington County, a planning document guiding the development of Langston Blvd could soon get teed up for final approvals.
Plan Langston Blvd outlines how to encourage private development on the corridor to make it walkable, bikeable and flood-resilient. Less dense neighborhoods transition to “activity hubs” developed with privately owned public spaces and apartment buildings as tall as 15 stories, with units affordable to a broad range of income levels.
Arlington County expects to accept a handful of major development applications this month, teeing them up for public engagement down the road.
The four pending projects span Pentagon City and Crystal City to the south and Rosslyn and Courthouse to the north.
New apartments along N. Glebe Road in Ballston are nearing completion.
Developer Southeastern Real Estate Group, LLC tells ARLnow construction on the residential redevelopment, near the Harris Teeter store, should be done in the next couple months.
Arlington Rent Stays at No. 2 Regionally — “We at Zumper have just published our latest D.C. Metro Report… This month, Arlington ranked as the 2nd most expensive city to rent. The price of one bedroom units fell 2.1% to $2,340, while two bedroom units dropped 0.6% to $3,110.” [Zumper]
APS Vending Policy Change — “Arlington School Board members on Sept. 21 are expected to formally rescind the school system’s policy governing vending machines in schools. The reason? Schools haven’t had vending machines in them since 2014, when they were phased out. Technically, county schools haven’t had operating vending machines since 2014. A number of machines remain in schools but are not in use.” [Gazette Leader]
Don’t look now but Covid cases are on the rise in Arlington.
As of today, the Virginia Dept. of Health is reporting a seven-day average of just over 21 daily cases in the county. That’s the highest point since this past February.
Local Harris Teeters Sold — “Could Piggly Wiggly make a grand return to Greater Washington? It’s possible, now that the Kroger Co., Harris Teeter’s parent company, and Albertsons Cos. Inc. have agreed to sell a combined 413 stores, including 10 Harris Teeter stores in Virginia, Maryland and D.C., to C&S Wholesale Grocers LLC. The Keene, New Hampshire-based grocery store supplier also own hundreds of Piggly Wiggly stores across the country.” [Washington Business Journal]
Crash Near 14th Street Bridge — From Dave Statter: “Today’s crash on I-395N Exit 10C for the GW Parkway northbound. At least the 5th crash involving drivers trying to get to that exit in the last 23 days.” [Twitter]
A 47-year-old Richmond man is facing charges after police say he robbed a store and then threw a fake gun at responding officers.
The incident happened Friday afternoon after 3 p.m., in the Courthouse area.
(Updated at 1:25 p.m. on 9/12/23) Twenty-two years ago today, at 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the west side of the Pentagon, claiming the lives of 184 people.
To honor those who died, Arlington County elected officials and public safety personnel gathered in front of the Ellen M. Bozman Government Center in Courthouse to pay tribute and observe a moment of silence.
In its first month of operation, Arlington County’s mobile behavioral health response team has been busy responding to calls.
Most of these calls — which range from welfare checks to mental health emergencies and drug overdoses — involve people who are homeless, officials say. It’s a trend they attribute to the recent closures of shelters in D.C.
Tomorrow, Arlington County officials will officially mark the reopening of the West Glebe Road Bridge after a year-long rehabilitation project.
Tuesday’s event comes after the bridge opened to pedestrians and cyclists last month, though it reopened to vehicular traffic this March.
