Longtime Arlington residents who founded a Rosslyn-based online university are donating $50,000 to help local small businesses.
In 1998, Yanping Chen and J. Davidson Frame established the University of Management and Technology, a fully online school enrolling national and international students, located at 1901 Fort Myer Drive. Their $50,000 donation comes from the Chen Frame Foundation, which they started to support educational causes across the world.
A woman who was sitting in her car the day after Christmas in Pentagon City was attacked and robbed by a pair of teens, according to Arlington County police.
The victim was in her car, on her phone — on the 1100 block of S. Hayes Street, near the Pentagon City mall — when one of the suspects allegedly climbed in the back of the car, punched her, and stole her phone. The suspect also tried unsuccessfully to steal the woman’s purse, police said.
A potentially rabid raccoon with a taste for human flesh is on the loose in the Donaldson Run neighborhood.
The raccoon bit a person last week on the 4200 block of 25th Street N., two blocks from Taylor Elementary School, according to the Animal Welfare League of Arlington. It ran off and “has not been located.”
Columbia Pike Resident Goes Missing — “ACPD seeks the public’s assistance locating Ms. Amanda Aniston, last seen Dec. 12, 2020 in the 1200 blk of S. Courthouse Rd. She is described as a Black female, brown hair, brown eyes, approx. 5’9″, 140 lbs. She may be in need of medical services.” [ACPD]
Did False Report Lead to Police Encounter? — “The head of the Arlington NAACP, Julius D. Spain Sr… said he would seek a meeting with Arlington Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti and ‘if someone needs to be charged with making a false report, so be it.’ Crutchfield said in his complaint that ‘the neighbor who called the police lied about me taking pictures of the military base nearby to trigger a police response.'” [Washington Post]
Restaurant Delivery Popular in Arlington — “When WTOP asked UberEats what the top neighborhoods for deliveries are around D.C., it ranked the top five, based on number of orders in 2020. They are Northeast D.C. (it did not specify a specific neighborhood), Shaw, Adams Morgan, Arlington County’s Lyon Park (a dense residential neighborhood south of Rosslyn) and Pentagon City.” [WTOP]
County Board to Elect New Chair — “The Arlington County Board will elect its 2021 Chair and Vice-Chair during its Monday, January 4 virtual Organizational Meeting, and Board Members will lay out their priorities for 2021. The new Chair will succeed 2020 Chair Libby Garvey and will serve for one year.” [Arlington County]
The Arlington NAACP is decrying an incident in which a Black man was questioned by Arlington County police last week for photographing a house.
The incident happened on Monday, Dec. 21, in the Foxcroft Heights neighborhood, near the Air Force Memorial. A video and an account of what happened was posted on Facebook and first reported by Blue Virginia.
‘Twas the afternoon before Christmas, when all through the county, hardly a creature was stirring outside, on account of the heavy rain.
This is the last post before ARLnow takes a three-day holiday break. However you’re spending this pandemic Christmas, in a year filled with anxiety and strife, we hope it’s relaxing and you get to enjoy a long winter’s nap
Va. Supreme Court Passes on Pot Prosecution Case — “The Virginia Supreme Court has rejected an effort by Arlington’s chief prosecutor to rein in judges who are skeptical of her refusal to prosecute marijuana possession. But the court did not resolve the conflict, saying it could not weigh in because it had not been asked to consider any specific case.” [Washington Post]
Big Response to Mailbox — “‘We’ve collected at least probably 500 letters in the two weeks that we’ve had the [Santa] mailbox out,’ Rachael Tolman, the Park Manager at Gulf Branch Park said. ‘It’s a lot of letters.’ The lists some children put in the mailbox looked different, with requests for masks and good health.” [WUSA 9]
The countdown of the top 30 most-read Arlington articles of 2020 continues today, with numbers 21-25.
The pandemic dominated the headlines this year, but there were big stories on other topics as well.
Christmas and the New Year are coming up, and with the holidays come a number of closures and changes in Arlington.
“Arlington County Government offices and services will be closed on Thurs., Dec. 24 and Fri., Dec. 25 for the Christmas holiday, and Jan. 1 for New Year’s Day,” according to the county website.
Five new COVID-related deaths were reported in Arlington overnight as the county’s average daily caseload continues to climb.
An additional 101 local cases were reported this morning, bringing the seven-day moving average to about 90 cases per day, the highest point in nearly two weeks. Five new deaths were reported, bringing Arlington’s cumulative COVID fatality count to 174, which is less than a tenth of a percent of the overall population and just over 2% of cases (8,222).
BBC Airs Segment on AFAC — The Arlington Food Assistance Center, which is seeing record food need and lines throughout the day, was profiled in a segment that aired on BBC World News this week. [Twitter]
Fares to Return on ART Buses — “ART buses will resume front door boarding and fare collection starting on Sunday, January 3, 2021. Riders will begin boarding buses through the front door and will pay their fare at the fare box using a SmarTrip card or exact change. The regular ART bus fare for a one-way trip is $2.00.” [Arlington Transit]
