(Updated at 4:45 p.m.) An Arlington man has been arrested and charged with murder after a woman fell from an upper floor of a Crystal City hotel early this morning.
Police were called to a hotel on the 1300 block of Richmond Highway — which corresponds to the Embassy Suites by Hilton Crystal City National Airport — for a report of a woman who fell from a height onto the hotel lobby below.
Arlington resident and Paralympian swimmer Alyssa Gialamas is flying to Peru this week for the Parapan American Games.
Gialamas, 24, is a two-time Paralympian who competed in the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Games. Now, she’s off to Lima to compete in the Parapan games from August 23 to September 1 — a competition she says many para-athletes use to prepare for the next Olympics.
Arlington: Most Competitive Housing Market in U.S. — “The most competitive U.S. housing markets are the two that are closest to Crystal City, home of Amazon’s upcoming second headquarters (HQ2) in Virginia: Alexandria and Arlington. This is according to the latest ranking of cities by Redfin Compete Score.” [Redfin]
County Hits Record Low Tax Delinquency — “Treasurer Carla de la Pava announced that the delinquency rate for real estate and personal property had fallen to 0.177 percent, down from 0.21 percent a year before and the lowest not just in county history, but perhaps the lowest ever among any jurisdiction in Virginia history.” [InsideNova]
An urban farming movement growing across the country already is “booming” here in Arlington, supporters say.
“There is absolutely a boom,” said Rebecca Carpenter, founder of Arlington startup Sprout which installs backyard gardens and trains people in how to grow their own produce. “I feel like it is everywhere across the country but I feel it more so in Arlington because folks here are pretty health conscious, progressive.”
(Updated at 5 p.m.) A police officer was punched in a face by a man upset at being bumped at the Arlington County Fair, according to a crime report.
The alleged incident happened Sunday night around 8:30 p.m., during the waning hours of the fair, which is held at the Thomas Jefferson Community Center.
Now Might Be the Time to Sell Your Home — “‘Some sellers are thinking ‘gosh, why don’t I just wait until Amazon gets into full bloom before I sell my house, because maybe values will go up even higher,” Christine Richardson, president of the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors, told WTOP. ‘But I’m not sure that is necessarily the right way to think about it, because often that initial exuberance is actually higher than reality turns out to be.'” [WTOP]
Local CVS Sold Millions of Opioids — “The largest recipient of pain pills in Arlington, according to the database, is a CVS Pharmacy located at 3133 Lee Highway. A total of 1,465,700 pills were shipped to this pharmacy between 2006 and 2012, which would be enough for one pill per year for each of the 106,612 people who live within five miles of the pharmacy.” [Patch]
Officials and activists are asking the county courts to make a newly-proposed mental health jail diversion program more inclusive.
Arlington and Fairfax public defenders joined several advocates during a Thursday evening meeting about the proposal, and urged county officials to broaden the mental illnesses diagnoses accepted in the program and not require plea bargains as a participation requirement.
A business on King Street in Arlington, several blocks from Wakefield High School, was robbed by a man with a gun early Wednesday morning.
The incident happened shortly before 2 a.m. on the 4600 block of King Street, according to Arlington County Police. That block, on the far western edge of the county, is home to a Taco Bell and a 7-Eleven store.
Arlington Man Sentenced for Hate Crime — “A 61-year-old Arlington man has been sentenced to 60 months in prison for committing a hate crime. William Syring was sentenced Thursday after threatening employees of the Arab American Institute ‘because of their race and national origin,’ the Department of Justice said in a press release.” [WUSA 9]
Westover Water Main Update — “The leak beneath 5800 block of Washington Boulevard was fixed overnight but per policy, two galvanized service lines need replacement. Friday night expect detours both directions beginning 8pm. Water service shutoff in the area after close of business.” [Twitter]
Local affordable housing non-profit Wesley Housing Development Corporation is staffing up as it prepares to take on more projects.
“We’re at about 100 employees in total,” said the nonprofit’s President Shelley Murphy. “This time last year we were about 80ish.”
SB Route 1 Blocked by Crash — Updated at 8:35 a.m. — Southbound Route 1 was blocked by a crash involving an overturned vehicle at 23rd Street in the Crystal City area. All lanes reopened shortly after 8 a.m. [Twitter, Twitter]
Arlington Real Estate Still Hot — “In July, Arlington had the most brisk trip between listing and contract – just nine days – followed in the local region by Alexandria (10), Fairfax County (17), Falls Church (20), Loudoun County (23) and Prince William County (24).” [InsideNova]
Water service in parts of the Westover neighborhood may be interrupted tonight due to emergency water main repairs.
County crews are planning to dig up portions of the road to investigate a leak along the 5800 block of Washington Blvd, near the post office and the intersection with N. McKinley Road.
