(Updated at 11:15 p.m.) Hundreds — perhaps more than a thousand — braved 90 degree weather to march from Courthouse to Clarendon and back Thursday evening.
Police closed portions of Wilson and Clarendon boulevards at the marchers held signs and chanted slogans like “no justice, no peace.”
(Updated at 1:40 p.m.) Arlington County will be holding a virtual public meeting tonight to discuss a trio of road projects set for later this year.
The county plans to repave and re-stripe portions of Wilson Blvd in the Dominion Hills and Boulevard Manor neighborhoods, Potomac Avenue in Potomac Yard, and Clarendon Blvd in the Courthouse and Rosslyn neighborhoods. The work is expected to take place this summer and fall, following the current public engagement process.
Black Lives Matter Live Chat with ACPD — “Yolande Kwinana will interview Chief Jay Farr and Andy Penn on the current situation regarding police brutality and what ACPD is doing to protect the Arlington African American people. I encourage Arlingtonians to send in questions during the live and in the discussion tab before the live chat.” [Facebook]
N. Va. Unemployment Rate Rises — “Northern Virginia’s unemployment rate hit 10% in April as business shutdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic ricocheted through the economy. A total of 163,158 Northern Virginia residents were unemployed and looking for work during the month, the Virginia Employment reported Wednesday.” [InsideNova]
Some currently closed amenities at Arlington County parks will be reopening Friday.
Arlington’s Dept. of Parks and Recreation announced this afternoon that park amenities which can be utilized safely while maintaining social distancing will be reopening. That includes athletic fields, batting cages, tennis courts, tracks and picnic shelters.
The number of new coronavirus cases reported overnight in Arlington was in the single digits for the third time in the past four days.
There are now 2,142 known COVID-19 cases in Arlington, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data, an increase of nine cases since Tuesday. Two additional hospitalizations were reported overnight, bringing the rolling seven-day total down to eight.
(Updated at 10 a.m.) Despite what you might have seen on TV, the Arlington police officers who were sent to assist the response to protests in D.C. conducted themselves professionally, county leaders say.
In a half-hour phone interview with ARLnow, Police Chief M. Jay Farr, County Board Chair Libby Garvey and County Manager Mark Schwartz discussed the decision to send officers to help U.S. Park Police in D.C., and the subsequent decision to bring them back to Arlington — which is facing criticism from the local police association.
APS Statement on George Floyd — “The tragic death of George Floyd and many others before him, as well as the events that have unfolded since, are bringing into stark focus the pervasive injustice and inequality that African Americans face every day in our society from systemic and institutionalized racism. As Superintendent and the School Board, we acknowledge the anger and hurt that our APS community and the nation are experiencing, especially our African American community.” [Arlington Public Schools]
Fort Myer on High Alert — “The Pentagon has ordered forces and bases in the Washington D.C. area to ‘Force Protection Condition Charlie,’ a threat condition that indicates ‘likely’ targeting of military forces and or terrorist action and the second highest alert level available.” [Newsweek]
In a race upended by the coronavirus pandemic, Cristina Diaz-Torres and David Priddy have emerged on top of a five-candidate field for the Democratic school board endorsement.
Diaz-Torres and Priddy will now advance to the general election, as they seek to fill the two Arlington School Board seats being vacated by Nancy Van Dorn and Tannia Talento. In November they are expected to face Symone Walker, who dropped out of contention for the Democratic endorsement and is instead running as an independent.
Virginia will enter Phase 2 of its reopening on Friday, but Northern Virginia and Richmond will remain in Phase 1.
Gov. Ralph Northam made the announcement Tuesday afternoon, saying that key health metrics point to it being safe to further reopen in most parts of the state. He did not, however, give a timeline for when Northern Virginia — including Arlington — would advance in its reopening. The region started to reopen this past Friday, May 29, two weeks after much of the Commonwealth did.
(Updated at 3:50 p.m.) Hundreds of protesters marched from Ballston to the Clarendon Metro station Tuesday afternoon, a peaceful demonstration in memory of George Floyd.
Protesters marched along Fairfax Drive, chanting “I can’t breathe,” “Black Lives Matter,” and “no justice, no peace.” They also held signs: “silence is violence,” “justice for George Floyd,” and more.
(Updated 6/8) Arlington Public Library is preparing to start allowing pickups for books, but the staggered reopening will not immediately resemble the pre-pandemic library experience
The first step towards reopening will be a book pick-up from the Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street).
Arlington County is planning to start regular testing of public safety personnel and critical employees, ARLnow has learned.
The county has acquired a rapid testing machine, which is currently undergoing a certification process. Once its accuracy is certified, it will be used to regularly test law enforcement, fire department and emergency communications personnel, as well as public health and other critical county employees.
