Hunting and sterilizing deer and fencing off parks are options Arlington County could pursue to cull its reportedly oversized, and hungry, deer population.
Over the last two years, consultants estimated Arlington has a herd of whitetail deer numbering 290 and, in some areas, the concentration exceeded “healthy” levels.
(Updated at 12:35 p.m.) Ranked-choice voting may have helped voters nominate a “split” Democratic ticket for Arlington County Board — at least when it comes to Missing Middle.
Last week, in relatively robust turnout for a primary in a non-presidential year, Maureen Coffey and Susan Cunningham received the Democratic nomination. Some 28,897 ballots were cast, up from 19,958 in 2015, the last time with two open seats and no incumbents on the ballot.
Assault Along Langston Blvd — “4800 block of Langston Boulevard… the two male victims were inside a business when the two male suspects approached and a verbal dispute ensued. The suspects then physically assaulted the victims before fleeing the scene in a SUV. Victim One was transported to an area hospital for treatment of injuries considered non-life threatening and Victim Two declined medics on scene.” [ACPD]
Cristol Preps for Tysons Job — “As she prepares to leave elected office after seven and a half years, Arlington County Board member Katie Cristol is looking ahead to her next post. Cristol does not formally come on board as CEO of the Tysons Community Alliance (TCA) until July 5 – a day after her County Board resignation takes effect – but earlier this month she appeared before the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ Economic Initiatives Committee as part of a briefing on the new organization’s plans.” [Gazette Leader]
A man allegedly assaulted a police officer in Clarendon last night, prompting bystanders to intervene.
The incident happened around 7:45 p.m. Sunday. Police were initially dispatched to N. Danville Street near the Starbucks for a report of a potential domestic violence incident between a man and a woman.
A man well known as a local community activist has been charged with sexual assault.
Julio Basurto, 42, was arrested as part of an investigation into a sexual assault that happened early in the morning of Sunday, May 21, Arlington County police said this afternoon.
Flyover Planned This Morning — From D.C.’s alert system: “The US Navy will conduct a flyover over the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, June 26th, 2023 at 9:15AM.”
Equipment Issue Grounds Flights — “Flights to and from airports in the Washington region were suspended for a time Sunday evening after a problem at a major air traffic control facility, according to both the Federal Aviation Administration and the local airports authority. Departures from both National and Dulles were subjected to a ground stop.” [Washington Post]
Could Arlington one day be the home of the Capitals and the Wizards?
The Washington Post says talks to build a new arena in the National Landing area, not far from Amazon’s HQ2, are underway — but are in the early stages. The talks come as Monumental Sports and Entertainment, which owns the NHL and NBA franchises, contemplates leaving Capital One Arena in D.C. after the expiration of a lease clause in 2027.
(Updated at 9:40 a.m. on 6/26/23) The ballots have all been counted and the results are finalized: Maureen Coffey and Susan Cunningham are the Democratic nominees for the Arlington County Board.
The results, released at 3:15 p.m. today (Saturday), culminated Arlington’s trial run of ranked-choice voting method. Eyes across the state were reportedly on Arlington, which the state legislature allowed to use the process for County Board elections one year before extending the right to the rest of the Commonwealth.
Arlingtonians could have an update on the results of the Arlington County Board Democratic primary as soon as this afternoon, according to the local elections office.
“We will be accepting about 500 mail and provisional ballots today and results will be uploaded throughout the afternoon,” says spokeswoman Tania Griffin. “We’ll also have an update regarding the [ranked-choice voting] tabulation later this afternoon as well.”
Another Push to Remove Lee’s Name — “Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) today announced the introduction of bicameral legislation to redesignate the National Historic Site known as ‘Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial’ to its original name ‘Arlington House.'” [Press Release]
Record DCA Passenger Traffic — “Reagan National reported just under 1.15 million enplanements in May, up 3.1 percent from a year before and up 4.2 percent from May 2019, the last comparable month before the pandemic arrived. The 2023 figure is an all-time record for May passenger counts at the airport.” [Gazette Leader]
There is a brick, mid-century Catholic church that overlooks Arlington Blvd from a hill, adorned with three stained glass arches and a white cross.
Built to serve a parish, it was repurposed in the mid-1970s and christened the Cathedral of St. Thomas More. Its exterior today belies the building’s significance as the “mother church” for nearly a half-million Catholics across Northern Virginia and the seat of their bishop, Michael Burbidge.
While the results of the ranked-choice Arlington County Board election have yet to be determined, the voting method has a champion in Rep. Don Beyer.
Beyer tells ARLnow that voters are more likely to see someone they support reach the Board as a result of the voting method’s choice in the six-way Democratic primary for two open seats. He had another reason for supporting ranked-choice voting, too: it rewards candidates who build diverse coalitions, meaning candidates away from the partisan extremes are more likely to emerge triumphant.
