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Storefront safety is now top-of-mind for Ireland’s Four Courts after a rideshare driver plowed into the pub and sparked a fire, seriously injuring several people.
Rāko Folo — “A sign outside of Courthouse coffee shop Rāko says the espresso machine is out of order, but a reader sent these photos suggesting that the business owes money to Arlington County.” Rāko was selected earlier this year to open a location at Amazon’s HQ2. [Twitter]
New 911 Mapping — “Today RapidDeploy, the leader in cloud-native mapping and analytics solutions for Public Safety, announces that RapidDeploy Radius Mapping has been selected by Arlington, Virginia as their new 9-1-1 map. Radius Mapping is currently live in multiple 9-1-1 centers in the Washington, DC area, including Alexandria and Montgomery County, with more coming before the end of the year.” [PR Newswire]
Another airbag theft spree has happened in Arlington.
The spree was reported to police Thursday morning in the Long Branch Creek neighborhood. Airbags were stolen from nine Honda vehicles, according to Arlington County police.
Two design concepts have emerged for a temporary outdoor arts space where Inner Ear Studios, the epicenter of the D.C. punk scene, used to be.
Last year, Arlington County acquired two parcels of land — 2700 S. Nelson Street and 2701 S. Oakland Street — and the warehouse that sits on it, which housed Inner Ear, a Ben & Jerry’s catering outfit and, temporarily, part of Arlington Food Assistance Center, while its main building was under renovation.
Safety Changes for Deadly Intersection — “Neighbors say Gwendolyn Hayes was the third pedestrian killed near the Little Falls Road and John Marshall Drive intersection and they waited more than a month after her death to hear plans to improve safety there… Arlington County officials revealed the results of a month-long study of the Vision Zero Critical Crash team. The plan is to add more bollards around medians and curbs, adding a darker crosswalk markings and more crossing signs… The county has planned a four way stop sign evaluation — to be completed in 2023.” [WJLA]
CivFed Accountability Resolution — “A proposal by five former presidents of the Arlington County Civic Federation to demand more accountability of county-government leaders itself has run into criticism from some quarters. And the result could be a grab-your-popcorn-here-comes-a-battle December meeting as the measure is considered for a vote by the Civic Federation’s membership. The five leaders have penned a lengthy resolution, backed up by hundreds of footnotes, suggesting that the longstanding ‘Arlington Way’ of bottom-up style of governance has been displaced by county leaders (elected and appointed) pushing their agendas on the population without listening to the public.” [Sun Gazette]
(Updated at 11:25 p.m.) At least two people have been pulled from the water on an icy cold night after a car drove into the Potomac along the GW Parkway.
The crash was first reported around 9:30 p.m., near Columbia Island Marina and the Humpback Bridge. It was not immediately clear how the car ended up in the water.
Kds from Escuela Key and Campbell Elementary schools can regularly be seen bicycling to school to upbeat music.
Sometimes, there is a theme — like wearing costumes on Halloween — as well as the occasional sweet treat or freebie, like bicycle lights from the county program Bike Arlington.
Nine months after the summer camp registration process completely broke down yet again, the Arlington County parks department says it has identified ways to improve the process for summer 2023 and beyond.
Every year, parents get their clicking fingers ready to register at a given time — 7 a.m. for summer camps — and every year, error messages and spinning wheels thwart their ability to snag an enviable spot for their kids. In February, the Arlington Dept. of Parks and Recreation department promised new changes would ensure this didn’t happen again.
Ribbon Cutting for Ballston Project — “The public and the media are invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the Ballston Multimodal Improvements project at the Ballston Metrorail Station. The event represents the end of two years of construction to upgrade the layout of bus bay terminals on Fairfax Drive and North Stuart Street. The improvements include extending the public plaza for pedestrians, dedicated bus bays for faster entry and exit of buses, upgraded bus shelters, and new signage and lighting.” [Arlington County]
YHS Grad Passes Away — “Thursday, Nov. 10, Vice President for Student Affairs Ginger Ambler announced that Alexander Gil ’26 passed away. The announcement came after the William and Mary Police Department responded to a medical emergency at the Botetourt Complex early Thursday. Gil was a freshman from Arlington, VA interested in pursuing international relations. Gil graduated from Yorktown High School in Arlington, VA and was involved with the baseball and swim teams. Gil also served as a referee for the Arlington Soccer Association.” [The Flat Hat, Dignity Memorial]
(Updated at 7:30 p.m.) Braylon Meade’s classmates would know he was already seated by whether his basketball shoes were outside the door.
“He’d get up at 5 a.m. and after a workout, go to class at 7:30. Everyone said he would smell horrible. He would leave his shoes outside the classroom because he smelled so bad,” his teammate, James McIntyre, said with a laugh.
Predicting a potential $35-million deficit in the 2023-24 fiscal year, Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz recommends putting nearly all of the unspent funds from last fiscal year toward balancing that budget.
Yesterday (Tuesday), the Arlington County Board approved the close of the 2021-22 budget with nearly $26.9 million in unspent, unencumbered “closeout” funds leftover. In the same meeting, county staff briefed the Board on its grim predictions for the 2023-24 budget, planning for which is already underway.
A 40-year-old Arlington man is in jail after police say he fired a gun in an apartment and caused extensive flooding.
The incident happened Tuesday afternoon at the recently-built Cortland Rosslyn apartment building, at 1788 N. Pierce Street. Initial reports suggest that a large police response was sent to the building after a man who was set to be evicted was believed to be armed and causing damage inside his apartment.
