America’s oldest continuous law-making body, the Virginia General Assembly, is now in session, and local lawmakers have introduced a slew of new legislation.
With split control of the General Assembly, Republicans of the House of Delegates and Democrats of the Senate, it’s unclear how many bills introduced by Arlington’s all-Democratic representation will pass.
The U.S. real estate market is facing significant headwinds, but Arlington property assessments are continuing their march upward.
Arlington County announced today that overall assessments of residential and commercial properties rose 3.6% for 2023, compared to 3.5% for 2022. Residential values are up 4.5% while commercial values are up 2.6%.
New Assistant Fire Chief — “The Arlington County Fire Department is proud to announce the hiring of Jason R. Jenkins for the position of Assistant Fire Chief. Chief Jenkins has over 26 years of experience in Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS), serving most recently as an Assistant Fire Chief with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department.” [Arlington County]
Burglary Suspect Exposes Self — “The known suspect allegedly gained entry to the victim’s home. When the victim returned to the residence, he confronted the suspect and asked him to leave, which the suspect refused. The victim exited the residence when police arrived on scene and the suspect followed and was subsequently taken into custody…. During the course of the investigation, officers recovered suspected narcotics. No items were reported stolen from the home. The suspect was transported to booking where he exposed himself to law enforcement.” [ACPD]
Firefighters are battling a house fire on 26th Street N. for the second time tonight.
Initial reports suggest that a fire in the basement has been extinguished, but the house is still filled with smoke. Firefighters responded to the same house around 6 p.m. tonight, after a report of a chair on fire, according to scanner traffic.
The $50 million renovation of WETA’s headquarters in Shirlington is nearing completion.
After about two years, the local public broadcasting station WETA is set to finish off its 17,000-square-foot expansion on Campbell Avenue later this year. The refresh will include four floors of studios, offices, a consolidated headquarters, and more large spaces for public gatherings and screenings, Vice-President of External Affairs Mary Stewart told ARLnow.
In another bid to tackle the soaring office vacancy rate, Arlington County is mulling whether to fill vacant offices with unconventional tenants such as breweries and hydroponic farms.
The county is looking at allowing urban farms, artisan workshops, and craft beverage-making and dog boarding facilities to operate by-right in commercial, mixed-use districts throughout Arlington County. Some of these uses are already allowed along Columbia Pike.
(Updated at 1:35 p.m.) After seven years, the executive director of local nonprofit Arlington Thrive, Andrew Schneider, is stepping down.
“After much reflection and discernment, I have decided to step down as Executive Director of Arlington Thrive to pursue other opportunities,” Schneider announced in an email Wednesday evening. “It has been an absolute pleasure to work with you to deliver Arlington Thrive’s mission over the past seven years.”
The Arlington County Police Department is warning residents about a rise in car thefts.
Numerous instances of vehicle thefts have been reported recently in Arlington. It’s part of a nationwide trend, which ACPD attributes — at least in part — to “videos on how to steal certain makes and models… circulated widely on social media sites.”
APS Attendance Notification Change — “Beginning Tue, Jan. 17, we are modifying our attendance notification process. The changes will allow families to receive earlier and more frequent, real-time notice if their student has an unverified absence from school and/or has missed a specific class period.” [Arlington Public Schools]
Ranked Choice for School Board? — “Legislation introduced in Richmond would allow localities like Arlington to hold School Board general elections using a ranked-choice method in place of the existing winner-take-all process.” [Sun Gazette]
Arlington County is nearing the end of project to overhaul of the intersection of Washington Blvd and 13th Street N., near Clarendon.
The redesigned intersection will have two lanes of travel in each direction, while the new 13th Street N. will make a “T” with the new Washington Blvd.
(Updated at 12:40 p.m. on 8/16/23) A portion of Columbia Pike is set to close for more than a year later this month to help make way for Arlington National Cemetery’s expansion.
The half-mile section of Columbia Pike between S. Joyce Street and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) facility just east of S. Oak Street is expected to be shuttered starting Monday, Jan. 23.
Three years ago this month, Amazon started setting the stage for construction of the first phase of its second headquarters.
Since then, construction work has continued on-pace, with banners across the Pentagon City site, located at the corner of 13th Street S. and S. Eads Street, heralding a 2023 arrival.
