News | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published April 1, 2019 at 7:30AM

Cherry blossoms with Rosslyn in the background (photo courtesy Craig Fingar)

School Board Budget Quarrel — “Despite being blasted by colleagues for circumventing established procedures and potentially poisoning a well of goodwill, a majority of School Board members on March 28 voted to direct their chairman to tell County Board members the school system couldn’t take any further budget cuts.” [InsideNova]

Arlington Tech Succeeding in Engaging Girls — The Arlington Tech high school program “applicant pool for the 2019-20 school year has an almost equal breakdown when it comes to gender. As far as reflecting the county’s racial diversity, this public school program, which accepts students based on a blind lottery, is within a few percentage points.” [Technically DC]

County Board Members Running Unopposed in Democratic Primary

By Airey

Published March 29, 2019 at 3:55PM | Updated May 7, 2019 at 10:10AM

Board Member Katie Cristol is running unopposed in the Democratic primary

Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey and Board member Katie Cristol will face no Democratic challengers during this year’s primary.

No additional Democratic challengers have filed for candidacy by yesterday’s registration deadline, and staff with the county’s Office of Elections confirmed to ARLnow that there are no other pending filings.

E-Bikes Now Permitted on W&OD Trail

By Airey

Published March 29, 2019 at 10:15AM | Updated March 29, 2019 at 10:34AM

A Jump dockless e-bike (courtesy of Jump)

Arlington cyclists can now ride e-bikes on NOVA Parks trails, including the popular W&OD Trail, thanks to a new change in the rules.

“Last Thursday, the NOVA Parks Board adopted the attached changes to our regulations that now allow for electric assist bikes on our trails, including but not limited to the W&OD Trail,” NOVA Parks Executive Director Paul Gilbert told ARLnow.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 29, 2019 at 8:55AM | Updated March 29, 2019 at 11:04AM

A Look at Bryce Harper’s Rosslyn Apartment — “For much of the time that Harper was in a Nationals’ uniform, he rented a two-bedroom, 2,000 square-foot loft condo at the Wooster and Mercer Lofts, a luxury residential development from Abdo Development in Arlington.” [UrbanTurf]

Crash Takes Out Traffic Signal Near Fairlington — Per Alexandria Police yesterday: “Use caution in the 3600 block of King St, the Bradlee shopping center. A vehicle crash caused a traffic light outage. Treat uncontrolled intersections as 4-way stops. Be patient & take turns.” [Twitter]

Several Metro Blue Line Trains Skipped Arlington Cemetery With Little Warning

By Airey

Published March 28, 2019 at 4:35PM

Several Blue Line trains barreled through Arlington Cemetery station without picking up passengers this past month as Metro gave little to no notice to riders.

Inbound Blue Line trains have not stopped at the station several times due to repairs, transit agency spokespeople told ARLnow, but riders waiting on the platform have few ways to learn they might as well have been waiting for Godot.

JUST IN: A CVS Is Coming to Shirlington

By ARLnow.com

Published March 28, 2019 at 2:45PM

CVS Pharmacy is planning to open a new store in the Village of Shirlington next year, the shopping center announced this afternoon.

The CVS will open a 10,906 square-foot space at the intersection of Campbell Avenue and S. Randolph Street, apparently in the the former Ping by Charlie Chiang’s and the current Cheesetique spaces.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 28, 2019 at 7:45AM | Updated March 28, 2019 at 8:25AM

Lidl Opens Store at Arlington HQ — “Arlington finally has its first Lidl grocery store — it just happens to be pint-sized… the company took a little more than 1,000 square feet it was using as storage on the ground floor of its HQ to open Lidl Express, a convenience-sized store with a variety of convenience store staples and fresh food.” [Washington Business Journal]

Lee Highway Group Wants More Funding — “The Lee Highway Alliance is seeking what its president calls a modest increase in funding from the county government. But the budget proposed by County Manager Mark Schwartz is heading in the other direction.” [InsideNova]

Hot Lola’s Now Open at Ballston’s Quarter Market

By Airey

Published March 27, 2019 at 5:30PM

Hot Lola's at Ballston Quarter

A new restaurant specializing in spicy chicken is now open in Ballston Quarter’s food hall.

Hot Lola’s is the one of the newest additions to the mall’s Quarter Market food hall and is helmed by Chef Kevin Tien from Petworth’s Himitsu. The menu features chicken sandwiches in four levels of spiciness, from mild to eye-watering. Each is $7.50 and topped with slaw, pickles and a special sauce.

Study: Arlington Is Virginia’s Second Healthiest County

By Airey

Published March 27, 2019 at 11:05AM

Arlington is ranked as Virginia’s second healthiest county, according to a new study by the University of Wisconsin.

The county ranked right behind Loudoun County when it came to overall health of residents, and scored third best (behind Fairfax and Falls Church) for lacking environmental and behavioral issues that affect residents’ health.

APS Developing an Implementation Plan for Transgender Non-Discrimination Policy

By Airey

Published March 27, 2019 at 10:05AM | Updated March 27, 2019 at 10:41AM

(Updated at 10:40 a.m.) Arlington Public Schools is developing a framework for a policy passed years ago aiming to protect transgender students from discrimination.

APS is trying to figure out how it could best achieve a 2015 policy aimed at protecting transgender and non-binary students from discrimination and bullying.

UPDATED: Widespread Water Outage in Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

Published March 27, 2019 at 9:10AM | Updated March 27, 2019 at 2:19PM

(Updated at 9:40 a.m.) Hundreds — and perhaps even thousands — of water customers in Crystal City are without water service this morning.

Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services (DES) says it is currently performing emergency water main repairs following a series of at least three water main breaks. Drivers should expect detours around one of the work zones, near the intersection of 23rd Street S. and Crystal Drive.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 27, 2019 at 7:30AM | Updated March 27, 2019 at 11:24AM

New APS Verification System — “For the 2019-20 school year, Arlington Public Schools will implement a new annual online verification process for updating and maintaining accurate student information. This will replace the First Day Packet students used to receive on the first day of school.” [Arlington Public Schools]

Garvey: Board Should Get Full-Time Pay — From Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey, who has previously spoken out about the issue: “To expect 5 Board members to hold outside jobs to supplement our $55k salary while maintaining Arlington’s presence in the region and the Board’s connection to the multitude of civic associations, commissions, and organizations we have is, I believe, unreasonable and not healthy for our County.” [Libby Garvey, Blue Virginia]