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County to temporarily relocate some ART bus operations to Va. Square property

Published December 15, 2021 at 2:00PM | Updated December 15, 2021 at 2:17PM

Layout of the county-owned 1425 N. Quincy Street site with the temporary Arlington Transit bus storage (via Arlington County)

(Updated 2:15 p.m.) The county has crystallized plans for temporarily storing and dispatching Arlington Transit (ART) buses near Washington-Liberty High School while a new bus facility in Green Valley is built.

Nearly 30 ART buses will come and go from the site, on the 1400 block of N. Quincy Street, where the county currently parks some fire and police vehicles, as well as a portion of the Arlington Public Schools vehicle fleet. The site also has warehouse storage for Covid-related supplies and serves as the drop-off center for E-CARE recycling events.

Locals push for dog park in Virginia Square

By Jo DeVoe

Published December 15, 2021 at 11:00AM

People walk their dogs at Quincy Park (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A group of Virginia Square and Ballston residents are looking to get a dog park established in their neighborhood.

The neighbors want a fenced-in area for their pets to play off-leash at Quincy Park and are eyeing some sparsely-used green space near the sand volleyball court, says organizer Lori Meyers.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published December 15, 2021 at 7:30AM | Updated December 15, 2021 at 9:26AM

A decorated tree in the plaza in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Extra DUI Enforcement Starts Today — “The Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) is partnering with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) during the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign… From December 15, 2021 – January 1, 2022, motorists nationwide can expect to see increased messaging about the dangers of driving under the influence, coupled with increased saturation patrols to identify and apprehend impaired drivers.” [ACPD, WJLA]

Historic Board Takes Up New Restaurant — “A proposal to turn the former Green Valley Pharmacy into an eatery will breathe new life into a structure that has been vacant for several years… Members of the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) this week will consider a proposal to permit several exterior adjustments to the former Green Valley Pharmacy, which was operated by Leonard “Doc” Muse from 1952 until his death in 2017.” [Sun Gazette]

Melody Mobley’s mission is to make the forest welcoming for all

By Matt Blitz

Published December 14, 2021 at 3:45PM | Updated December 14, 2021 at 4:28PM

Retired U.S. Forest Service Ranger Melody Mobley at Long Branch Nature Center (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

It’s a beautiful November morning among the trees outside of Long Branch Nature Center and Melody Mobley is at peace. She’s remembering how her mom used to take her and her siblings to creeks and collect leaves on weekends.

“To this day, I feel like I’m in more than church any time I’m out in the forest,” Mobley says, sitting on a bench in front of a pond. “This is my sacred space.”

Arlington’s post-Thanksgiving rise in Covid cases plateaus, for now

By ARLnow.com

Published December 14, 2021 at 2:00PM

Covid cases in Arlington as of 12/14/21 (via Virginia Dept. of Health)

A post-Thanksgiving rise in Covid cases in Arlington appears to have plateaued over the past few days — at least for now.

The seven-day moving average of new daily cases in the county currently stands at 67, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data. That’s up from an average of 23 cases per day Thanksgiving weekend.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published December 14, 2021 at 7:30AM

The Grinch, illustrated in Post-It Notes by Brigid Donaghy on the front of the H-B Woodlawn school building in Rosslyn (photo courtesy Dan Donaghy)

Redevelopment of Parking Garage Proposed — “The owner of a pair of Crystal City hotels along Richmond Highway is moving to redevelop a parking garage on the property into residential, the latest bit of change for the neighborhood as part of an Amazon.com Inc.-inspired development boom. Miami’s Sound Hospitality is on the hunt for a development partner to manage the transformation of a garage that currently serves Crystal City’s Hampton Inn and Suites and Hilton Garden Inn.” [Washington Business Journal]

Parent Group Wants More Class Time — “An advocacy group is pressing the Arlington School Board to add more instructional time to the school system’s proposed 2022-23 calendar. The comments came at the Dec. 2 School Board meeting, in which board members were presented with a staff proposal that meets the letter of state law in providing at least 990 hours of instructional time. But the school system should be going further – holding classes the full 180 days that had been the pre-COVID standard – said Camille Galdes, who spoke on behalf of Arlington Parents for Education.” [Sun Gazette]

How Arlington’s Richmond representation could change under proposed redistricting maps

By Matt Blitz

Published December 13, 2021 at 3:45PM | Updated December 13, 2021 at 4:46PM

Newly-proposed House of Delegates District 2 (photo via screenshot/Supreme Court of Virginia)

Newly proposed redistricting maps would create a new Virginia House district in Arlington while potentially pitting long-time Senate incumbents against each other.

Last week, the Supreme Court of Virginia unveiled draft maps for the Virginia House of Delegates, the Virginia Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. The maps were drawn up by one Democrat and one Republican appointed by the court, after a non-partisan committee failed to complete the task earlier in the year.

JUST IN: Large gas leak shuts down Columbia Pike

By ARLnow.com

Published December 13, 2021 at 1:25PM

Firefighters and utility crews on scene of large gas leak along Columbia Pike (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

All lanes of Columbia Pike are blocked due to a large gas leak.

The leak is along the Pike near S. Scott Street and a number of large apartment buildings. Police, firefighters and Washington Gas crews are on scene, repairing the leak and checking nearby buildings for elevated levels of natural gas.

Amazon and Arlington County to finance purchase of Columbia Pike apartment complex

By Jo DeVoe

Published December 13, 2021 at 11:05AM

The Barcroft Apartments, a 1,334-unit, market-affordable apartment complex along Columbia Pike (via Google Maps)

Arlington County and Amazon intend to loan hundreds of millions of dollars to an unnamed affordable housing provider to purchase a Columbia Pike apartment complex.

The Barcroft Apartments, at 1130 S. George Mason Drive, is the largest market-rate-affordable apartment community in Arlington, and county officials say they have to act quickly to ensure it stays affordable for current residents.

EXCLUSIVE: Investigation underway after State Dept. contractor died at Arlington facility

By ARLnow.com

Published December 13, 2021 at 10:10AM

National Foreign Affairs Training Center campus (via Google Earth)

Unanswered questions remain after a security contractor was killed at the U.S. State Department’s National Foreign Affairs Training Center in Arlington.

The incident happened the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 16, at the 65-acre campus near the intersection of Arlington Blvd (Route 50) and N. George Mason Drive.

County libraries run out of free at-home COVID-19 rapid tests within hours

By Matt Blitz

Published December 13, 2021 at 9:00AM | Updated December 13, 2021 at 5:48PM

Arlington Central Library (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Within hours of offering free at-home COVID-19 rapid test kits on Friday, Arlington County libraries ran out.

All seven open library locations were offering tests — 360 tests in total, across all branches — but all were claimed by 12:10 p.m.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published December 13, 2021 at 7:30AM | Updated December 13, 2021 at 7:49AM

"WL Runs A-Town" spray-painted on a wall near Washington-Liberty High School (Flickr pool photo by Cyrus.W)

Longtime Local Business Leader Dies — “Longtime Arlington Chamber of Commerce president and civic leader Rich Doud passed away Dec. 9 at Virginia Hospital Center, the chamber announced Friday. Doud served as president of the Chamber for 23 years before retiring in May 2014. Among his many accomplishments were the creation of the Arlington Business Hall of Fame — to which he was enshrined in 2017 — and the Community Action Committee, and the establishment of Leadership Arlington, now known as Leadership Center for Excellence.” [InsideNova, Sun Gazette]

Televised Tree Lighting in Rosslyn — “The Rosslyn tree lighting was live on 7News Thursday evening with live music. Rosslyn Cheer 2021 includes the tree lighting, a holiday market at Central Place Plaza, raffles, and other giveaways.” [WJLA]