Arlington is poised to take a proverbial weed whacker to commercial properties with overgrown lawns and all properties with obstructive vegetation.
Last month, a proposal to change the ordinance pertaining to the condition of private properties was added to the Arlington County Board’s agenda but was subsequently removed because the proposal needed additional technical work, says Dept. of Community Planning, Housing and Development spokeswoman Erika Moore.
A developer is setting aside $25,000 for the installation of a historical marker to describe the importance of the Joyce Motors site in Clarendon.
The sum raised eyebrows among some Planning Commission members last night (Monday) during their discussion of a proposed redevelopment of the auto shop at the intersection of N. Irving Street and 10th Street N.
Arlington County police are warning about some common scams that residents have been reporting.
The scams involve calls to victims from people impersonating law enforcement personnel, attorneys or even a victim’s family member. The goal is to induce fear and collect a payment over the phone.
National Win for Local Girls — “Congratulations to the 10U Virginia Hurricanes for winning the organization’s FIFTH NFL Flag Football National Championship this weekend at the NFL Pro Bowl in Las Vegas!! Hurricanes teams have won NFL Flag National Championship titles four years in a row.” [Twitter]
County Seeking New Poet Laureate — “Arlington County is seeking its official Poet Laureate for the 2023-2025 term. With the final application deadline of March 24, 2023 by 5:00pm, the selected poet laureate’s two-year term will begin July 1, 2023. The poet selected as Arlington’s poet laureate will serve as an advocate for poetry and the literary arts and will advance Arlingtonians’ consciousness and appreciation of poetry in its written and spoken forms.” [Arlington County]
A pair of incidents have prompted police investigations at two Arlington middle schools to start the week.
A student at Thomas Jefferson Middle School allegedly brought a weapon to school on Monday that turned out to be an airsoft gun. Police say they confiscated the airsoft gun and juvenile charges are pending.
Two bills that would have given online-only local news publications like ARLnow some of the same privileges afforded legacy media outlets failed in Richmond over the past few weeks.
In the House of Delegates, HB 1920 would have included online local news publications that employ at least one full time journalist in an exemption from local Business, Professional, and Occupational License (BPOL) taxes.
Knife Incident Along I-66 — “Scanner: Arlington and state police on scene of incident along I-66 near Rosslyn and the Key Bridge. A man reportedly came out of the woods and threatened some construction workers with a large knife.” [Twitter]
I-395 Chases Caught on Camera — From Dave Statter: “Watch: Two @VSPPIO chases into DC 50 minutes apart on I-395N. Both likely stolen vehicles that sped past troopers. This is the first. It came from the Beltway & Van Dorn about 2:40 am. Speeds up to 150 mph.” [Twitter]
The Sun Gazette newspaper has not published new articles on its website since Friday and may have printed its last edition.
Several sources tell ARLnow that the free weekly paper, which has separate editions serving Arlington and parts of Fairfax County, has effectively shuttered, though no notice of a closure was published online.
Carjackings appear to be rising again in Arlington and across the D.C. area.
An uptick between 2019 and 2020 spurred Arlington County Police Department to focus prevention efforts on robbery, burglary and destruction of property incidents. Increased enforcement in 2021 resulted in fewer carjackings, after ACPD made two significant carjacking arrests, per ACPD’s 2021 annual report.
Police and medics have been dispatched to Wakefield High School at least twice for students experiencing suspected substance abuse-related issues since Tuesday’s fatal overdose.
The dispatches seem to point to administrators taking an extra-cautious approach to the medical treatment of students observed to be under the likely influence of drugs and alcohol in schools.
A pair of suspects, armed with a knife and a gun, robbed a man along Columbia Pike early Sunday, prompting an aerial search.
The robbery was reported just after 2:30 a.m. on the 3700 block of Columbia Pike.
Nearly all land development permits that Arlington County issues are now online.
Following the launch of the online Permit Arlington in 2019 with 18 digitized permits, county staff have since added others. The last batch of land development permits — Certificate of Occupancy applications — are set to launch the week of Feb. 27.
