A 21-year-old man from Arlington was among three Marines killed in Australia over the weekend.
Cpl. Spencer Collart died after the MV-22B Osprey aircraft he was on crashed and caught fire on Melville Island, off the coast of Australia’s Northern Territory. It happened during a military training exercise involving forces from the United States, Australia, the Philippines, East Timor and Indonesia, news outlets reported.
Reminder: Back to School Today — From an Arlington County Police Department spokesperson: “Our Special Operations Section will be conducting traffic education and enforcement efforts in and around school zones to remind everyone of safe practices as they travel to and from their destinations during Back to School.” [ARLnow]
Senior Facility Plan Revised — “McLean-based Artis Senior Living, the assemblage’s owner and contract seller, planned to raze the site to make way for a six-story, roughly 163,000-square-foot 175-unit assisted living facility with a partially below-grade parking garage. McCaffery’s application proposes increasing the building size by about 6,400 square feet and adding an independent living component to the assisted living and memory care uses previously approved.” [Washington Business Journal]
A 73-year-old woman died this morning at the Arlington County jail.
Abonesh Woldegeorges was found unresponsive in her cell around 7 a.m. and, despite resuscitation efforts, later pronounced dead, according to Arlington County police.
(Updated at 11:15 a.m.) A large group of motorcycle and dirt bike riders cruised through Arlington tonight.
Police first started tracking the group on Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn just before 7:30 p.m. At least 50-100 riders were “recklessly driving all over the road,” in the words of one officer.
With mini American flags in hand and camera phones at the ready, friends and family gathered at Arlington Central Library on Thursday to witness loved ones take the final step in their years-long journey to becoming U.S. citizens.
For the first time since 2019, Arlington Public Library hosted an in-person U.S. citizen induction ceremony at Central Library in Virginia Square. Fifty former green card holders from 29 different countries recited the Oath of Allegiance, marking the completion of their naturalization process.
(Updated at 11:35 a.m.) All around Columbia Pike — and increasingly elsewhere in Arlington County — one graffiti message has been popping up: “hate.”
At first, it seemed to be concentrated around a stalled development project on the Pike, but now, the graffiti has been seen farther north in Cherrydale. It appears not to be confined to Arlington, either, as it was spotted earlier this year in Georgetown.
More on Goodwill Proposal — “The latest rezoning and site plan applications, filed Aug. 21 with the county planning department, indicate the proposal is proceeding apace, reflecting an ‘even deeper social mission,’ AHC spokesperson Jennifer Smith said in an email. When Goodwill and AHC first announced the project, they sought to build around 100 units. The latest filings outline a plan for 128 units, all with rents capped at levels targeting various lower-income tranches for a period of 30 years. Those units will be housed in the upper five floors of a seven-story building, with the bottom two floors reserved for a new Goodwill retail store, donation center and child care center.” [Washington Business Journal]
Housing Voucher Lottery Planned — “Arlington will add 5,000 households to its Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program waitlist through a special application and lottery process in September. Opening the waitlist gives people a chance to apply for the federally funded rental assistance program for the first time in over a decade. Once the application period closes, a lottery will be conducted to select 5,000 applicants to go on the HCV program waitlist.” [Arlington County]
(Updated at 6:30 p.m. on 08/25/23) Arlington Independent Media is seeking sponsors for a free community event it will host early next month.
Arlington’s public access TV channel, its community radio station and a media training provider is throwing its first-ever “MusicFest.” The event, on Sept. 7, from 5:30-10 p.m. at its Clarendon studios at 2701 Wilson Blvd, will have live music, food and drinks and vendors.
Update on 11/7/23 — The suspect in this case has pleaded guilty, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. More, below, from a U.S. Dept. of Justice press release.
A former FBI contractor pleaded guilty today to production and receipt of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Leaders Summit Held in Ballston — From Sen. Mark Warner: “Great morning in Arlington speaking with elected leaders across Northern Virginia about some of the most pressing issues the region is facing: the affordable housing crisis, WMATA’s deficit, and the future of workforce development.” [Twitter, Press Release]
Rosslyn VC Firm Co-Leads Big Deal — “Arlington venture firm Sands Capital has co-led a $300 million Series D round into New York fintech Ramp to help the firm hire and bring products to market more quickly. Sands, which invested in Ramp for the first time, led the round with an existing investor, New York-based Thrive Capital.” [Washington Business Journal]
A man sleeping in his car chased off a pair of would-be carjackers, according to Arlington County police.
The incident happened around 4 a.m. near the intersection of N. Woodrow Street at 20th Road N. That’s in the residential Waverly Hills neighborhood, about a block from Woodstock Park.
Three years after studying a crash-prone stretch of Arlington Blvd, the Virginia Dept. of Transportation is moving forward with plans to make some improvements.
There will be a virtual meeting this Thursday on changes coming for a nearly mile-long stretch of Route 50 between Glebe Road and Fillmore Street. Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2030, VDOT spokesman Mike Murphy tells ARLnow.
