(Updated at 1:30 p.m.) A townhouse in the East Falls Church neighborhood was badly damaged by a fire last night.
The fire broke out in a middle-of-the-row townhouse on the 6500 block of Washington Blvd around 11:30 p.m. on July 4. A large fire department response to the blaze blocked traffic near the intersection of Washington Blvd and N. Sycamore Street, one block from the Metro station.
Local Pickleball Saga in NYT — “Arlington’s pickleball drama made the front page of the New York Times.” [Twitter, New York Times]
Arrest for Assaulting Police — “1200 block of S. Courthouse Road. At approximately 7:14 p.m. on June 30, police were dispatched to the report of trouble unknown. Upon arrival, the reporting party advised a possibly intoxicated individual was located in the stairway of a residential building. As the arriving officer was attempting to take the suspect into custody, he allegedly became combative, resisted arrest and struck the officer. With the assistance of additional police units, the suspect was taken into custody, during which he struck and headbutted a second officer.” [ACPD]
(Updated at 6:15 p.m.) A vehicle with three people inside crashed into a tree along S. Walter Reed Drive early this morning, killing the 23-year-old driver and a 21-year-old passenger.
The July 4 crash happened around 2 a.m. at the intersection with S. Dinwiddie Street — a few blocks from Route 7 and from Wakefield High School. The force of the crash caused the vehicle to catch fire.
Arlington County fire marshals are investigating a vehicle fire in the Shirlington area that might have been deliberately set.
Road Closures Tomorrow — “The Arlington County Police Department, Virginia State Police, United States Park Police, and Virginia Department of Transportation will close multiple roadways on Tuesday, July 4th, 2023. These closures are designed to facilitate the safe passage of large crowds for the Independence Day events and fireworks.” [Arlington County]
County Gov’t Closed on July 4 — “Arlington County Government offices & services are operating on modified schedules for the Independence Day holiday… Permit parking is always in effect unless specifically noted on the sign. Meters are not enforced on holidays.” [Arlington County, Arlington County]
Update at 2:35 p.m. — About 500 customers remain without power in Arlington. A Dominion spokeswoman says the outage was caused by an “unrelated tree contractor [dropping] a tree on our wire.”
Arlington Outage:
At 9:28am, a 3rd party, unrelated tree contractor, dropped a tree on our wire impacting 8,117 customers.
Our Operations Ctr restored 3,079 in less than 1 min.
The Energy Club gym in Shirlington is closing in August after never fully recovering from a drop in membership due to Covid.
The independently-owned gym in the Village at Shirlington (2900 S. Quincy Street) announced the impending closure on Aug. 15 “with a sad heart,” per an email from President Richard Mandley and General Manager Justin Greene to members. The email was shared with ARLnow and confirmed by Mandley yesterday (Thursday).
Crystal House Development Advancing — “The first of those phases — for which the APAH-EYA venture submitted a site plan amendment application last week to the county’s planning department — would see an 80-unit all-affordable housing building for seniors at the site’s northern edge, along South 18th Street, in lieu of the 63-unit market-rate condo building currently approved to go there. The applicant aims to apply for low-income housing tax credits in the coming months to help finance the project, break ground next year and deliver the building in 2026.” [Washington Business Journal]
Reminder: Illegal Fireworks in Va. — “In general, any firework that explodes, moves on the ground or in the air, or shoots a projectile is illegal in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Many localities prohibit the sale, possession or use of all fireworks. The State Fire Marshal’s Office advises Virginians to check local ordinances as well as the Statewide Fire Prevention Code prior to purchasing and utilizing fireworks.” [Press Release]
(Updated 3:50 p.m.) Arlington County has published a new draft plan outlining how to encourage private development on Langston Blvd to turn it into a walkable, bikeable corridor with apartment buildings and public spaces.
The plan, released last week, follows up on a more conceptual document released last year. This document introduced the vision for less dense neighborhoods giving way to “activity hubs,” such as the Lyon Village Shopping Center, developed with 15-story apartment buildings.
(Updated at 1:30 p.m.) When Henry Price first picked up a trombone in fourth grade, he could only imagine a summer touring Europe as one of the 22 brightest young jazz musicians in the United States.
The 17-year-old Barcroft resident will return to Washington-Liberty High School this fall with a summer’s worth of top-tier musical experience under his belt.
A would-be thief or thieves used the electronic opener inside a car they rummaged through to open a home’s garage door, according to police.
The incident happened early Tuesday morning on the 2500 block of Military Road, near Cherrydale.
(Updated on 7/25/23) A tricycle serving Turkish coffee has started serving in Ballston.
The three-wheeled coffee contraption is from long-time restaurant veteran and local author Isa Seyran, who told ARLnow late last year he was working on a new concept that would come after leaving his server job at The Salt Line.
