News | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published July 16, 2021 at 7:30AM

Peak Heat, Statistically Speaking — “Based on history, we are now at the hottest point of the summer. While it can still be brutally hot in the weeks ahead (and probably will be at times), we are about to begin our gradual descent into winter, using average temps.” [Capital Weather Gang, Twitter]

Arlington Home Prices Keep Rising — “A total of 369 properties went to closing last month, up 62 percent from 228 in June 2020… The average price of single-family homes in the county was $1,217,376 last month, up 9.8 percent from $1,109,179.” [Sun Gazette]

Arlington PTA Leaders Consider Ways to Distribute Funding More Equitably

By Jo DeVoe

Published July 15, 2021 at 3:45PM | Updated July 15, 2021 at 5:52PM

Arlington PTA budgets for the 2018-19 school year, by region (by Hannah Foley)

Parent-Teacher Associations are how students get new spirit wear or go ice skating with their class. They host staff luncheons during Teacher Appreciation Week and help to pay for classroom supplies.

These independent organizations play a pivotal role in the kinds of enrichment opportunities to which students, primarily elementary schoolers, and teachers in Arlington Public Schools have access.

Demolition Starting at Landmark Block in Courthouse

By Jo DeVoe

Published July 15, 2021 at 2:35PM | Updated July 15, 2021 at 2:51PM

Demolition is starting at the Landmark Block site in Courthouse (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The “revolution” in urban living set to take place in the Landmark Block in Courthouse is currently being fomented.

Residents who pass the site near the Courthouse Metro station can see preparations underway to tear down some of the low-slung retail buildings along the 2000 block of Wilson Blvd.

Construction Underway in Ballston to Turn Vacant Restaurant Into Spa

By Jo DeVoe

Published July 15, 2021 at 1:30PM

The old Sichuan Wok in Ballston under construction in July 2021

A commercial building that looks like a house, but was once a restaurant, is under construction in Ballston.

Owner Arash Hosseinzadeh tells ARLnow the former Sichuan Wok building at 901 N. Quincy Street, which is nestled among large apartment and office towers, will “be converted to a day spa with many great services to offer.”

Arlington Launches New Timeline of County’s Racial History

By Jo DeVoe

Published July 15, 2021 at 11:30AM

A Black family living in trailer, displaced by the construction of the Pentagon (via Arlington County)

A new timeline from Arlington County tracks how local policy decisions in the 20th Century disadvantaged people of color, particularly Black residents.

The county has released two timelines, spanning 1930-45 and 1946-60, which recount how policies and projects — touching on housing, education, transportation, planning and infrastructure — segregated Arlington. It also chronicles how Black residents responded by investing in their communities, getting into local government, protesting and going to the courts.

County Looks to Sprinkle Small Seating Spots in Urban Areas

By Jo DeVoe

Published July 15, 2021 at 10:30AM

Rosslyn's "parklet," at the intersection of N. Oak Street and Wilson Blvd

A small splash of green space in Rosslyn may become the prototype for similar installations, or “parklets,” across the county.

In 2018, Arlington County and the Rosslyn Business Improvement District unveiled this parklet, about the size of two parking spaces, on the northwest corner of N. Oak Street and Wilson Blvd. The county and the BID, which maintains the seating spot, installed it as an experiment to see if parklets could be a new tool for adding open space to urban areas.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published July 15, 2021 at 7:30AM

A masked pedestrian walks past Bob & Edith's Diner on 23rd St. S (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Metro Resuming Midnight Service — “Metro will expand train service to midnight, seven days a week starting Sunday, July 18. The extended operating hours are the first in a package of service improvements passed by Metro’s Board of Directors in June that will add more all-day rail service, create high-frequency bus routes and improve service across the region.” [WMATA]

New Leader for Signature Theatre — “Signaling the rise of a younger generation of leadership for the American musical stage, Signature Theatre announced Tuesday that it has chosen Matthew Gardiner, the company’s second-in-command, as its new artistic director after a year-long, nationwide search. At 37, Gardiner — who has directed or choreographed more than 30 productions for the company — becomes the youngest head of a front-line Washington-area theater.” [Washington Post]

Dominion Hills Swim, Dive Teams to Retire ‘Warriors’ Name

By Jo DeVoe

Published July 14, 2021 at 3:30PM

Swim meet at the Dominion Hills pool (Flickr pool photo by Ddimick)

The swim and dive teams at the Dominion Hills Pool are ditching the “Warriors” team name and moving away from Native American motifs.

The Dominion Hills Area Recreation Association Board of Directors started soliciting suggestions from swimmers, divers, coaches and families on Friday, according to an email to team families, shared with ARLnow.

TSA Has Caught Three Guns and a Knife So Far Today at DCA

By ARLnow.com

Published July 14, 2021 at 2:30PM

TSA officers caught a Florida man with this loaded gun, ammunition and tactical knife in his carry-on bag on Wednesday, July 14. It was the second of three guns caught at the checkpoint as of Wednesday afternoon. (photo courtesy TSA)

Security at National Airport has caught three guns at checkpoints so far today and it’s only mid-afternoon.

Among the three people caught trying to illegally bring weapons on to a plane today, according to the Transportation Security Administration, was a Florida man who packed a handgun, five dozen bullets, and a tactical knife.

APS Relocates Alternative High School in Clarendon to Lee Highway

By Jo DeVoe

Published July 14, 2021 at 11:30AM

The Thurgood Marshall building in Clarendon, leased by Arlington Public Schools (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Two Arlington Public Schools programs offering alternatives to traditional high school will soon be housed in the same building.

New Directions Alternative Program, currently located in the Thurgood Marshall Building in Clarendon, will join the Langston High School Continuation Program located in the Langston-Brown Community Center along Lee Highway before the start of the 2021-22 school year.

Clarendon Day Cancelled Again This Year

By ARLnow.com

Published July 14, 2021 at 10:30AM | Updated July 14, 2021 at 11:24AM

Street scene from Clarendon Day 2017 (file photo)

Organizers have pulled the plug on this year’s planned Clarendon Day celebration.

For the second year in the row, one of Arlington’s biggest street festivals will not be happening. The Clarendon Alliance, which organizes the fall event, made the announcement yesterday.

After Quiet June, Coronavirus Cases Starting to Rise in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Published July 14, 2021 at 9:30AM

Arlington COVID-19 test positivity rate as of July 13, 2021

After hovering around zero since Memorial Day, coronavirus cases in Arlington have started to rise again since the beginning of July.

The rate of new cases remains relatively low, but the trend is unmistakable: up. Eleven new cases were reported yesterday, bringing the trailing seven-day average to six cases per day.