Arlington County police are investigating a sexual battery incident just a block from their headquarters in Courthouse.
It happened Monday night around 10:30 p.m. on the 1300 block of N. Troy Street, as a woman was walking her dog.
News
Today: Road Closures in Shirlington — “The annual Light Up the Village at Shirlington will be held on Thursday, December 1, 2022 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Set-up for the event will begin at approximately 12:00 p.m. and clean-up is expected to be completed by 9:00 p.m. The Arlington County Police Department will conduct the following road closures to accommodate the event.” [ACPD]
Obit for Local Civic Figure — “Burt Bostwick was a man who believed the Arlington County government could simultaneously provide ample services while keeping spending in check. Active in a host of roles through the years with the Arlington County Civic Federation, Bostwick was a voice that acknowledged there could be benefits to an expansive local government, but that it needed to be achieved without breaking the bank – or the backs of local taxpayers. Bostwick died Nov. 23 after a yearlong battle with cancer. He was 81 years old.” [Sun Gazette]
Arlington’s fire and police unions are poised to lose a battle to change the pay scale the county uses — one that union representatives say contributes to ongoing staffing shortages.
This year, the Arlington County Police Department has hired 29 officers and lost 52 officers, Arlington Coalition of Police (ACOP) President Randall Mason told the Arlington County Board in a meeting earlier this month. It will lose five more by February 2023.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti now has a challenger — someone who once worked for her.
Former Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Josh Katcher will go up against the incumbent in the Democratic primary in June. Katcher was hired as Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney by Theo Stamos in 2012 and he was promoted to deputy in 2021 near the outset of Dehghani-Tafti’s tenure.
More neighbors are threatening legal action because of the infamous pickleball pop.
A resident living near the Walter Reed Community Center tells ARLnow that the noise coming from the nearby pickleball courts is “excessive” and constant, to the point that that a group of neighbors is “contemplating a lawsuit of our own” against the county.
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Arlington police got an assist from their Park Service counterparts on an armed robbery Monday morning.
The incident happened in the Crystal City area around 7:15 a.m. According to a crime report, a man with a gun stole cash from an unnamed business, then fled on foot.
Charges Dropped Against Fmr. D.C. Official — “Prosecutors on Tuesday dropped an assault-and-battery charge against former D.C. deputy mayor of public safety and justice Christopher Geldart, who resigned in October after a personal trainer accused him of grabbing his throat in a gym parking lot and a resulting police statement triggered questions about whether he was meeting a requirement to live within city limits.” [Washington Post, WUSA 9]
Arlington Has Another Public Company HQ — “Leonardo DRS Inc., the Arlington subsidiary of Italian defense and space contractor Leonardo SpA, is Greater Washington’s newest public company. The company said after markets closed Monday afternoon that it had completed its all-stock deal to merge with Israel’s Rada Electronic Industries Ltd… Effective Tuesday, Rada’s existing stock symbol will be converted to Leonardo DRS and will be listed on the Nasdaq.” [Washington Business Journal]
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Update at 2:55 p.m. — Metro is single-tracking past the station and expected to resume normal service soon, with fire department units clearing from the scene.
Blue Line service has been suspended at Pentagon City due to a small fire producing smoky conditions at the station.
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A warrant has been issued for a suspect who beat a victim with a spatula, causing a significant injury.
The incident happened the afternoon before Thanksgiving, around 3:30 p.m., on the 3400 block of Washington Blvd in Virginia Square. Police did not say exactly where it took place, but that block includes a barbecue restaurant, a hot pot restaurant and a grocery store.
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(Updated on 11/30/22) The carjacking and pursuit we reported yesterday was far from the only car theft in Arlington over the long Thanksgiving holiday.
It was a busy few days for police, who handled a half dozen other vehicle thefts, as well as a pair of attempted carjackings in the Colonial Village area. One series of thefts claimed five vehicles in parts of residential North Arlington between Thanksgiving afternoon and the morning of Black Friday.
Road Closures for 5K in Pentagon City — “The Arthritis Foundation Jingle Bell 5k Run will be held Saturday, December 3, 2022. The Arlington County Police Department will conduct the following road closures in order to accommodate the event.” [ACPD]
Missing Middle’s Impact on Future Elections — “Clement did far better than she ever has before in some North Arlington neighborhoods, and if Missing Middle is enacted next year by the County Board, the matter will move from being a concept to Arlington voters into having real-world implications. As a result, ‘I expect the impact of the Missing Middle issue to grow in future races,’ O’Leary said.” [Sun Gazette]
A number of options have emerged for upgrading an iffy portion of the Arlington Blvd Trail.
Engineers found it would be possible to accommodate a trail up to 11 feet wide with buffers and guardrails, between the bridge to Thomas Jefferson Middle School and George Mason Drive. That could be accomplished by narrowing a few on- and off-ramps, closing slip lanes and reducing the number of thru-lanes and turn lanes in some places.