Gov. Ralph Northam made an Arlington apartment building his venue to announce a half-billion dollars in rent relief for Virginia families.
Northam announced the new federal funding for the Virginia Rent Relief Program at Gillam Place, an affordable apartment complex along Columbia Pike. He did so after touring an Arlington vaccination clinic Tuesday morning.
Arlington County police are stepping up patrols around Crystal City and surrounding neighborhoods amid a rash of carjackings.
There have been 18 carjackings in Arlington since January 2020, the police department said, compared to three total over from 2018 to 2019. Most — 13 out of 18 — have occurred along the Route 1 corridor, including 7 in the immediate vicinity of the Pentagon City mall.
Arts Group Pushing for New Venue — “As part of its recently adopted strategic plan, [Embracing Arlington Arts] plans to use the coming three years to build community support for a performing-arts venue that would include a black-box theater and ancillary classroom and office space. Efforts would also be made to identify a site and start raising funds.” [InsideNova]
APS Changing Student Camera Policy — “In response to challenges teachers are experiencing engaging students with cameras off, we have adapted our policy regarding the use of cameras during instruction time, based on input we have received from teachers, staff, parents, the Distance Learning Task Force, and advisory committee members. We are asking teachers to encourage students to turn on their cameras during synchronous instruction and while directly engaging with peers and staff.” [Arlington Public Schools]
Police say the man — 27-year-old Oscar Flores — went missing after being last seen Saturday night “in the area of the Dulles Toll Road and Wolf Trap in Fairfax County.”
“Mr. Flores is described as a White male, 6’2″, 160 lbs., with brown hair and blue eyes,” ACPD said in a press release Tuesday evening. “He was last seen wearing a black long sleeve shirt, dark pants, and dark work boots. Police and family are concerned for his health and welfare.”
(Updated at 4:45 p.m.) Arlington’s vaccination effort is continuing at a steady pace, but it could still be months before the majority of local residents are eligible to be vaccinated.
As of this morning, 26,180 vaccine doses have been administered in Arlington, and 7,549 people have received both vaccine shots, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data. About 750 doses per day have been administered over the past week. At the current rate of second doses, it would take 481 days to fully vaccinate the remainder of Arlington’s adult population.
Police are looking for a man who allegedly exposed himself to a girl in the Cherrydale area late last week.
The incident happened around 12:3o p.m. Friday on the 3200 block of Lee Highway. Police say the man called the girl over to his car to ask for directions, then grabbed her phone.
If you’re dating but on a budget, Arlington is a good place to be.
That’s according to a new-for-2021 set of rankings from the website SmartAsset, which examined cities and places from around the U.S., comparing to cost of things like coffee and wine, in addition to access to parks and employment.
Another Snowstorm on the Way? — “Confidence is growing in a messy mix of wintry precipitation in the Washington region Thursday, the latest in a parade of wintry weather events since late January… Parts of the region could see significant amounts of snow and/or ice before a possible change to rain. The precipitation, which may be heavy at times, is likely to continue into Thursday night or very early Friday morning.” [Washington Post]
More Details on Pike CVS Development — “Last summer, the public caught wind of upcoming plans to redevelop the Fillmore Gardens Shopping Center on Columbia Pike in Arlington. Now… [a] rezoning application has been filed to apply Columbia Pike-specific zoning to the property at 2601 Columbia Pike (map) in order to deliver The Elliott, a six-story building with 248 apartments with a new CVS pharmacy and a grocery store on the ground floor.” [Urban Turf]
Virginia-based immigrant rights organization La ColectiVA is calling on Arlington County officials to put a stop to information-sharing between local law enforcement and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
La ColectiVA said the effort comes after learning of multiple cases in which migrant community members have been arrested in Arlington and then transferred to ICE for deportation proceedings. Through public records requests, La ColectiVA found that the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office handed those in local law enforcement custody over to ICE more than 100 times in 22 months.
Patrons of the novelty pasta vending machine in Shirlington rejoice: the restaurant behind the dinner dispenser, Stellina Pizzeria and Market, opens this afternoon (Friday).
After some holiday-season delays set the opening back two months, the pizza shop in the Village at Shirlington will start serving customers at 4 p.m.
Arlington police are investigating a robbery that happened in the Courthouse area, just two blocks from police headquarters.
Police say a man followed a woman off of a bus and then forcefully stole her purse, pulling her to the ground and down a set of stairs in the process.
Planning Process for Pentagon City Underway — “Amazon.com Inc.’s vision for Pentagon City is decidedly futuristic, anchored by a helix-shaped building that looks straight out of a sci-fi novel. Arlington County’s existing plans that guide the neighborhood’s growth, meanwhile, date back to the days of disco… The open question is how much more development the tech giant will inspire.” [Washington Business Journal]
SUV Overturns on GW Parkway — From WTOP yesterday morning: “NB George Washington Pkwy before the Key Bridge, crash involves one on its side with the left lane only squeezing by.” [Twitter]
