One person’s vacant building is another’s future pickleball facility.
Not to be topped by a County Board candidate’s suggestion to put pickleball facilities at the condemned Key Bridge Marriott, Board Vice-Chair Libbey Garvey mulled whether vacant office buildings could be retrofitted for courts.
Mosque Parking Mess Discussed — “The mosque has hired personnel to augment volunteers helping those attending services to find legal parking close by. But the efforts apparently are not enough, as the Green Valley neighborhood is faced with congestion issues during Friday prayer services and the Islamic faith’s holiday periods. One proposal floated over the past few weeks was to provide off-site parking and a shuttle service.” [Gazette Leader]
Firefighters Endorse Challenger for Prosecutor — “Today, the Arlington Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association, Local 2800 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, endorsed Josh Katcher for Commonwealth’s Attorney of Arlington County and the City of Falls Church.” [Twitter]
The federal government says it will direct helicopters to fly higher and on new paths to spare residents of Arlington and neighboring locales from excessive noise.
These changes respond to years of noise complaints about helicopters buzzing overhead, many of which are going to and from the Pentagon.
No GOP Candidates Yet — “The clock continues to tick and the calendar pages keep turning, but as yet, the Arlington County Republican Committee remains 0-for-13 when it comes to recruiting candidates for the November ballot. Hope, however, springs eternal. ‘If you’re interested in running . . . I encourage you to do so,’ new party chair Matthew Hurtt said at the April 24 meeting of the GOP’s rank-and-file.” [Gazette Leader]
Video: Low-Flying Helicopter — A reader spotted a low-flying helicopter over the Four Mile Run Trail yesterday morning. It appeared to be inspecting the high voltage power lines. [Twitter]
A 96-year-old water main along N. Glebe Road near Ballston is set to be replaced, starting later this year.
The pipe segment runs about a third of a mile from N. Randolph Street to N. Pershing Drive, between the Buckingham and Ashton Heights neighborhoods.
A restaurant called Bluefish Bistro is looking to make a splash on Columbia Pike, but details remain murky.
A new eatery going by the seafood-sounding name is opening on the ground floor of the Centro Arlington development at the corner of S. George Mason Drive and Columbia Pike, per photos and the development’s updated site plan.
The pedestrian bridge connecting the Rosslyn’s RCA building to another building (and bar) across N. Moore Street is set to be demolished soon.
The demolition process will start on Saturday and last two weekends: April 29-30 and May 6-7, per a letter to residents of the Central Place apartments, shared with ARLnow.
Dem Primary Results May Take Days — “‘Final results will be available 3 to 7 days after the election, as soon as the Electoral Board can complete their canvass, adjudicate provisional ballots and meet to begin tabulation,’ Reinemeyer said. ‘We will keep candidates and voters aware of the process throughout this period as best as possible.’ The Arlington Democratic primary for County Board will be the first state-run election in Virginia to use ranked-choice voting.” [GazetteLeader]
Advocates: Take Our Tree Study Seriously — “Arlington tree advocates on April 22 continued pressing leaders to take to heart a new analysis showing the county’s tree canopy is significantly lower than figures the local government has been using. ‘County leadership needs to make trees and natural resources a much higher priority,’ said Mary Glass, a veteran activist and vocal voice within the Arlington Tree Action Group.” [GazetteLeader]
All six taxi companies authorized to operate in Arlington County are asking for rate increases.
The companies say this would help offset rising business costs — including fuel and insurance expenses — and keep them competitive with rideshare operators. Arlington, which regulates taxis (while rideshare drivers are regulated by the state) last raised rates in 2016, per a county report.
A 25-year-old man is in jail after he allegedly stabbed a former coworker at a local hotel over the weekend.
The stabbing happened around 2 p.m. Saturday at the Hotel Pentagon, on the 2400 block of S. Glebe Road, near I-395. According to initial reports, a former employee stabbed the hotel manager at least twice, including in the back.
Police swarmed Clarendon last night after a man who was kicked out of a bar allegedly flashed a gun at a bouncer.
The incident started at Don Tito (3165 Wilson Blvd) around 8:45 p.m., according to scanner traffic. Two people were kicked out of the bar, leading to one of them to brandish a gun and make threats, responding officers were told.
The Arlington County Board has approved a budget that hikes the salaries of county employees — as well as Board members themselves.
The $1.55 billion budget is a 3.3% increase over the current fiscal year’s $1.5 billion budget, funded in large part thanks to rising residential property assessments. The property tax rate was held steady at $1.013 per $100 of assessed value, but the average Arlington homeowner will pay around $450 more per year due to higher assessments and higher fees, including a $98 increase in the trash collection fee and $26 for higher water rates.
