News | ARLnow.com

County Officials Wrestle With Legal Strategies to Keep Young Riders Off Dockless Scooters

Published November 29, 2018 at 9:45AM

Arlington will soon see even more dockless electric scooters cropping up on its streets, but officials remain a bit vexed about the best way to keep underage riders off the vehicles.

While county transportation officials say they haven’t seen any major safety issues with the scooters beyond a handful of accidents, they also told the County Board Tuesday that the community response to the pilot program expanding the number of dockless vehicles in Arlington has been far from unanimously positive. In all, county commuter services bureau chief Jim Larsen told the Board that his department has received 550 scooter-related complaints from Oct. 1 through Nov. 19.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 29, 2018 at 9:15AM | Updated November 29, 2018 at 9:37AM

Shatner: Arlington E-Bike Rules ‘Barbaric’ — E-bike enthusiast and Priceline pitchman William Shatner, better known as Star Trek’s Captain James T. Kirk, said via Twitter yesterday — in response to a tweet from the sassy Arlington Dept. Environmental Services Twitter account — that Arlington’s prohibition on e-bikes on local trails is “barbaric.” [Twitter]

Kojo Coming to Crystal City — WAMU 88.5 is bringing the Kojo Nnamdi Show to Crystal City for “a town hall-style discussion about how local officials, businesses, and community members in Northern Virginia and the region are reacting to Amazon’s decision.” Those wishing to attend the taping can register online. [Kojo Nnamdi Show]

ACFD Ambulance Bus Deployed to Daycare Gas Leak Investigation

By ARLnow.com

Published November 29, 2018 at 8:50AM | Updated November 29, 2018 at 10:12AM

Students at a Clarendon area daycare center are spending part of their morning on the Arlington County Fire Department’s mass casualty ambulance bus.

A fire department spokesman said the ambulance bus was dispatched to the 1200 block of N. Ivy Street, where firefighters are investigating a possible gas leak inside a building.

Arlington Plans Amazon-Focused Town Halls to Accept Feedback on New Headquarters

By Alex Koma

Published November 28, 2018 at 4:45PM

Arlington County Board Member Katie Cristol

Arlington leaders are now planning on hosting at least two Amazon-focused town halls to let residents share their concerns about the tech giant ahead of a planned February vote on the deal to bring the company’s new headquarters to the county.

County Board Chair Katie Cristol announced at the Board’s meeting yesterday (Tuesday) that the county will hold a pair of “community listening sessions” to give people the chance to talk directly with Arlington staffers and Board members alike about Amazon. She says the county is targeting Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. and Jan. 12 at 9:30 a.m. for those sessions, but has yet to settle on locations for either one.

Crime Report: Man Arrested After Allegedly Exposing Himself, Fighting With Police in Clarendon

By Alex Koma

Published November 28, 2018 at 2:45PM | Updated February 28, 2020 at 10:46AM

Police car at night (file photo courtesy Kevin Wolf)

Arlington Police say they received a call around 4 a.m. on Monday (Nov. 26) after someone saw a man “with his pants down exposing himself while walking” in the vicinity of the 3000 block of Washington Blvd. The area is home to several apartment buildings, a 7-Eleven convenience store and other shops and restaurants.

Officers then spotted a man “appearing disheveled and intoxicated” and arrested him. They subsequently identified him as 54-year-old Michael Tomlin, of no fixed address.

Despite Persistent Design Complaints, County Board Approves Virginia Hospital Center Expansion

By Alex Koma

Published November 28, 2018 at 11:00AM | Updated November 28, 2018 at 12:39PM

A new rendering of the Virginia Hospital Center expansion, as seen from 19th Street N. (via Arlington County)

The Arlington County Board narrowly approved the Virginia Hospital Center’s expansion plans yesterday (Tuesday), clearing the way for the $250 million project to move ahead despite persistent concerns over its design and impact on the community.

In a rare 3-2 vote, the Board signed off on designs for the county’s lone hospital to add a seven-story outpatient facility and a 10-story parking garage adjacent to its existing campus at 1701 N. George Mason Drive.

Power Outage Near East Falls Church Metro Station

By ARLnow.com

Published November 28, 2018 at 10:55AM | Updated November 28, 2018 at 12:16PM

More than 700 Dominion customers are without power in Arlington and the City of Falls Church this morning due to a possibly wind-related outage.

The outage extends from an area near the East Falls Church Metro station to the E. Broad Street commercial corridor of Falls Church and other parts of the city.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 28, 2018 at 8:50AM | Updated November 28, 2018 at 9:15AM

Still No Answers About Ghaisar Shooting — Tuesday was the one year anniversary of the death of Bijan Ghaisar, who was shot by U.S. Park Police officers. Thus far, Arlington County has declined to release the recording or transcript of 911 calls connected to the case. [WUSA 9]

Spotted: Beto and TMZ at DCA — Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), who narrowly lost his nationally-followed electoral challenge to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), was seen being interviewed by a TMZ producer outside of Reagan National Airport yesterday. [Twitter]

SunTrust Bank Branch in Cherrydale Will Close in February

By Catherine Douglas Moran

Published November 27, 2018 at 4:45PM

SunTrust Bank will close its branch in the Safeway at 3713 Lee Hwy on Feb. 5 — its second branch closure in Arlington on that day.

The bank told clients earlier in November that their accounts will be transferred to the Lee-Old Dominion branch at 4710 Lee Highway, unless clients specify a different location, Hugh Suhr, a spokesman for SunTrust, told ARLnow.

County Expects Amazon’s Arrival Will Spark a Transformation of Crystal City Office Buildings

By Alex Koma

Published November 27, 2018 at 3:45PM

Crystal City’s bevy of aging office buildings have long been in need of a makeover, and Arlington officials hope Amazon’s arrival will spur some big development changes in the neighborhood.

The tech giant itself will be responsible for a major transformation of the newly christened “National Landing” all on its own, of course. Amazon will start off by leasing space from property owner JBG Smith in Crystal City, with plans to fully renovate those office buildings, and even construct its own facilities on various plots of land in Pentagon City.

With Budget Gap Looming, County Board Set to Ask for Proposals on Tax Increases and Staff Layoffs

By Alex Koma

Published November 27, 2018 at 1:45PM

Arlington leaders now say they’re ready to start studying unpleasant budget measures from tax increases to staff layoffs, as they gear up to confront next year’s hefty budget gap.

The County Board is set to sign off today (Tuesday) on new budget guidance for County Manager Mark Schwartz, as he gets to work on a new spending plan for fiscal year 2020. The memo directs Schwartz to develop a range of possible options for the Board to evaluate next year, including “a range of potential tax increases” and “proposals for program and personnel reductions or eliminations” if Schwartz can’t develop a balanced budget while relying on the existing tax rates.

Deer Killed in Unusual Circumstances Near Shirlington Neighborhood, Police Say

By Alex Koma

Published November 27, 2018 at 9:45AM

Young buck (deer) in backyard (Flickr pool photo by Lisa Novak)

Arlington police are investigating after a deer was killed in some unusual circumstances near Shirlington.

Officers discovered the deceased deer around 4:45 p.m. last Saturday (Nov. 17) in a wooded area along the 2600 block of S. Walter Reed Drive, according to Arlington County Police spokeswoman Kirby Clark. The area is home to some woods backing up to residential neighborhoods — Fairlington is on one side, Claremont is on another — as well as a trail along Lucky Run.