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Morning Notes

Published August 30, 2021 at 7:30AM | Updated August 30, 2021 at 9:00AM

Local Real Estate Market Slowing — “When it comes to housing prices and sales, red-hot Arlington County cooled a bit last month compared to last summer — a modest slowdown that the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors says was typical throughout the region. NVAR reports the median price of a home that sold in Arlington County last month was 9% lower than a year ago, and the average number of days on the market, or how long it took to sell a home, was up 35% compared to last July.” [WTOP]

County Board Still Opposes Gondola — “This week, all five members of the Arlington County Board confirmed to the Washington Business Journal their position hasn’t changed. Even the two new Democrats to join the board since it penned that 2017 letter — current Chair Matt de Ferranti and Takis Karantonis — said in interviews that they remain unconvinced, despite the proponents’ recent success in pushing the District to budget $10 million toward the purchase of a potential D.C. landing site near the Key Bridge.” [Washington Business Journal]

UPDATE: Flood Warning Issued for Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Published August 27, 2021 at 3:15PM | Updated August 27, 2021 at 4:23PM

Update at 4:20 p.m. — A Flood Warning has now been issued for part of Arlington.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

Arlington County Fair Board Ponders Moving Event to Long Bridge Park

By Jo DeVoe

Published August 27, 2021 at 10:15AM

Ferris wheel at the county fair (staff photo)

Fairgoers last week may have noticed a sign asking for their input on the best location for the Arlington County Fair.

That’s because after holding the event at the Thomas Jefferson Community Center and grounds at 3501 2nd Street S. for 45 years, the fair’s leaders are pondering a change of scenery.

Numerous Residents Displaced After Fire at Crystal City Apartment Building

By ARLnow.com

Published August 26, 2021 at 8:20PM | Updated August 26, 2021 at 10:34PM

Smoke rising above Crystal City from The Buchanan apartment fire (photo courtesy Will Wiard)

(Updated at 10:35 p.m.) A “large amount” of residents have been displaced after a fire at The Buchanan apartment building in Crystal City.

The fire on the 300 block of 23rd Street S. was reported around 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The Arlington County Fire Department said crews “found a fire in a 3rd floor apartment with significant smoke conditions.”

Five Arrested in D.C. After Armed Robbery in Pentagon City

By ARLnow.com

Published August 26, 2021 at 11:05AM

Five people were arrested after an armed robbery outside the Harris Teeter store in Pentagon City.

The robbery happened around 4 p.m. Wednesday, in a parking lot near the grocery store. Five people, including at least one who was armed with a handgun, assaulted and stole cash from victims with whom they had arranged a sale of sneakers, according to police.

Rosslyn-Based Politico Sold for $1 Billion

By ARLnow.com

Published August 26, 2021 at 9:30AM | Updated August 26, 2021 at 9:56AM

River Place and 1000 Wilson Blvd (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Rosslyn-based media company Politico is being acquired by the German publishing conglomerate Axel Springer.

The deal is worth around $1 billion, according to initial reports as the news broke this morning.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published August 26, 2021 at 7:30AM

Lebanese Taverna Helping to Feed Refugees — From World Central Kitchen: “Today’s scene at Dulles Airport outside DC To support families landing from Afghanistan, the WCK team is here to provide fresh, hot meals upon arrival. People have not eaten in hours — or days — by the time they land. Today’s plates came from @lebanesetaverna.” [Twitter]

Air Quality Alert Today — “The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments… has issued a Code ORANGE Air Quality Alert Thursday for the DC metro area. A Code Orange Air Quality Alert means that air pollution concentrations within the region may become unhealthy for sensitive groups. Sensitive groups include children, people suffering from asthma, heart disease or other lung diseases and the elderly.” [National Weather Service]

JUST IN: Knife-Wielding Man Tased Outside Arlington Police HQ

By ARLnow.com

Published August 25, 2021 at 6:50PM

A man was tased outside police headquarters in Courthouse (staff photo)

A man armed with a pair of knives threatened officers outside Arlington police headquarters Wednesday evening, police said.

The incident happened just before 5 p.m., outside the entrance to the police department on 14th Street N. in Courthouse.

New Addresses Pose Problem for Residential Permit Parking Program

By Jo DeVoe

Published August 25, 2021 at 10:00AM

Parking along N. Ivy Street near Clarendon (courtesy of Abigail Brooks)

Abigail Brooks and her husband moved into their new home on N. Ivy Street, which was built in 2020, in April of this year.

Since then, she says they’ve been stuck in a Residential Permit Parking program quagmire. While they live on a street that is in an RPP zone, they have not been able to get their address approved for a permits, meaning the couple could get ticketed for parking on their own street.

ART Returning to Full Bus Service While Metro Makes Changes

By Dana Munro

Published August 25, 2021 at 9:00AM | Updated August 25, 2021 at 11:54AM

An ART bus (file photo via Arlington Transit Facebook)

(Updated at 11:55 a.m.) Arlington Transit buses will return to full service after Labor Day weekend, the county-run transit agency says.

Rush-hour-only ART buses 53, 61, 62 and 74 will run again starting Tuesday, Sept. 7, after being out of service since March 2020 due to the pandemic. Once these buses resume operation, Arlington Transit will largely be back at full service. ART 72 will continue on a modified weekday schedule, however.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published August 25, 2021 at 7:30AM

Kitten Rescued from Van — ” Caroline Elpers, a deputy animal control officer with Arlington County, responded to a call from a woman on Aug. 15. The woman said she was walking her dog and she’d heard the mewing of a cat coming from the inside of a van parked on the street. ‘Initially, the call stated that the cat was in the van,’ Elpers said, who arrived on the scene around 10 a.m. ‘Once I got there, it was apparent that the cat was underneath the van, running under and into the engine.'” [Patch]

Pandemic Doesn’t Stop Tax Collection — “Over the past year, staff of the Arlington treasurer’s office has been tasked with collecting $997 million in taxes due on real estate and personal property (both vehicles and business property). To date, more than $995 million of it is in hand. Treasurer Carla de la Pava on Aug. 16 confirmed to the Sun Gazette that the county’s tax-delinquency rate for the past year stood at 0.18 percent, a near-record.” [Sun Gazette]

Commonwealth’s Attorney Lauds Convictions in Two ‘Challenging’ Cases Involving Minors

By Jo DeVoe

Published August 24, 2021 at 3:35PM

Earlier this month the Arlington and Falls Church prosecutor’s office obtained convictions in two cases involving sex crimes and children.

And the county’s top prosecutor, Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, took to Twitter last week to do something she said she has “never previously done: comment on the outcome of cases in our office.”