Arlington County Board members have indicated their impatience for traffic changes at an intersection where a woman was fatally struck by a driver two weeks ago.
During a meeting yesterday (Tuesday), Board members received a briefing from team members from Vision Zero — the county’s initiative to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries — about all the work they do after a critical crash.
(Updated at 1:55 p.m.) The rideshare driver who plowed into Ireland’s Four Courts in August, seriously injuring several people, will not face charges.
Arlington County police reiterated this morning that the driver most likely suffered a medical emergency while driving up N. Courthouse Road and speeding into the front of the pub during a Friday happy hour.
A national media outlet has shed some light on a mysterious FBI raid in Arlington earlier this year.
Rolling Stone reports that the raid on a Columbia Pike apartment building, which ARLnow first reported in April, targeted a well-known ABC News producer, James Gordon Meek.
Chase Ends on 14th Street Bridge — From Dave Statter: “New: All lanes shut on I-395N and forced onto Exit 10A-B due to a @FairfaxCountyPD chase on Route 1N that ended on the 14th Street Bridge… This is the third police chase on I-395N in Arlington in about 19 hours. Here’s one that got away at midnight. Also being chased by @FairfaxCountyPD after a police cruiser was struck in Lincolnia.” [Twitter, Twitter]
Optimist Club Moves Xmas Tree Sale — “It spent three-quarters of a century at a single location, but for 2022 the Arlington Optimist Club Christmas-tree lot is making a move. The club since 1946 has sold perhaps as many as 200,000 trees from a parking lot at the corner of North Glebe Road and Langston Boulevard… the sale is moving for the upcoming holiday season to the Knights of Columbus at 5115 Little Falls Road.” [Sun Gazette]
(Updated 4:45 p.m.) Gov. Glenn Youngkin has announced he’s increasing funds to police departments in a bid to reduce homicides, shootings and violent crime in Virginia.
The move, part of a new policy initiative from the Republican governor, will have implications for Arlington police, prosecutors and local restorative justice initiatives.
(Updated at 3:50 p.m.) The Missing Middle housing debate fueled a tense confrontation and a spat over campaign financing during the Arlington County Board meeting Saturday.
Leading up to the meeting, proponents and opponents rallied outside of county government headquarters in Courthouse. Advocacy group leaders spoke to attendees and NBC 4 over the clang of construction on a new apartment building across the street.
A man was arrested over the weekend after allegedly walking down a busy street in Shirlington while exposing himself.
Police were called to the 4000 block of Campbell Avenue around 7:20 a.m. Sunday.
Disproportionate APS Suspensions — “Gradis White, director of school climate and culture, told the school board last week that the county had disproportionality in suspension rates based on race/ethnicity, students with disabilities and English language learners during the 2021-22 school year. The trends are consistent across grade levels, he said.” [WTOP]
Teen Petitions for Safer Crossings — ” There have been four crashes at the intersection of Langston Boulevard and John Marshall Drive in Arlington, Virginia so far this year, according to Arlington County Police. Chase Rosen, 16, says he witnessed one of those crashes… now, Rosen said he wants to make a difference. He has started a petition, which has more than 500 signatures already, to try and get Arlington County to add flashing pedestrian lights.” [WJLA]
Mt. Olivet Methodist Church suffered about $1 million in damage as a result of an early morning fire on Friday.
That’s according to the Arlington County Fire Department, which also said in a press release today (Monday) that the cause of the fire in the church’s attic “remains undetermined.”
(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) Sixty-some years ago, developers paved paradise in Pentagon City and put up parking lots to serve residents of the RiverHouse apartment complex.
And after a few stops and starts, property owner JBG Smith is poised to reach its longtime goal of redeveloping the vast parking expanse along S. Joyce Street, which at this point is only partially utilized by residents. Today (Monday), the developer officially filed its plans to turn parking into apartments with ground floor retail, condos, townhouses and senior living facilities.
While Fairfax County mulls installing speed cameras, it may be some time before locals see speed cameras go up in Arlington.
In January, the Arlington County Board approved their installation in school and work areas to reduce speed-related crashes in these areas. The move is part of its Vision Zero campaign to eliminate traffic fatalities and injuries.
Parishioners Worship Outside After Fire — “The congregation that would normally pile into the pews of the oldest church in Arlington, Virginia, instead filled the green area across from the building on Sunday after a fire did enough damage to shut it down. Flames tore through part of Mount Olivet United Methodist early Friday, leaving members without a physical place to worship. But leaders say the fire did not destroy the real church – that’s wherever the people gather.” [NBC 4]
WaPo on Missing Middle — “It’s an idea that would do away with single-family zoning, which remains central to the American idea of suburbia. And it’s being considered by more communities around the country as their housing stock has failed to keep up with all the people trying to live there. Officials in Gainesville, Fla., hope the city might lower rents in their increasingly costly college town. Spokane, Wash., city planners think they could accommodate the influx of transplants who moved in during the pandemic.” [Washington Post]
