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Morning Notes

Published November 27, 2018 at 8:45AM

Human Rights Award Winners Announced — The 2018 winners of Arlington County’s James B. Hunter Human Rights Award have been announced. The two individuals and two groups to be honored at a Dec. 13 ceremony are: former Arlington Public Schools social study teacher Marty Swaim, former Arlington County Board member Jay Fisette, the Arlington chapter of Awesome Women Entrepreneurs, and Arm & Arm, “an Arlington-based community group providing a variety of services to veterans and the incarcerated to aid in their reentry to society.” [Arlington County]

Fill the Cruiser Tonight Near Crystal City — Today, on Giving Tuesday, the Arlington County Police Department will bring its “Fill the Cruiser” toy drive to Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Aurora Highlands, from 6-8 p.m. [Twitter]

With Design Tweaks Made, Virginia Hospital Center Expansion Could Move Ahead This Week

By Alex Koma

Published November 26, 2018 at 10:15AM

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

Virginia Hospital Center executives believe they’ve satisfied all the demands of Arlington officials in drawing up revised plans for the facility’s $250 million expansion, setting the stage for the project to move ahead as soon as this week.

The County Board is set to consider the matter once again tomorrow (Tuesday), after delaying a decision on the hospital’s expansion back in September. The Board laid out a series of specific changes it hoped to see from the hospital as it embarks on the project, which is designed to add 101 hospital beds and a new outpatient facility to match rising demand in the county, and urged VHC leaders to smooth over its rocky relationship with some people living near the existing campus at 1701 N. George Mason Drive.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 26, 2018 at 9:35AM | Updated November 26, 2018 at 10:29AM

Reminder: Yellow Line Shutdown Starts Today — There will be no Yellow Line service today through Sunday, Dec. 9 as Metro works to repair the Yellow Line bridge over the Potomac. Yellow Line riders can instead take the Blue Line and/or free shuttle service. [ARLnow, Twitter]

New ‘Clarendon Circle’ Traffic Restriction — Work on improvements to the busy “Clarendon Circle” intersection are underway and have resulted in at least one traffic pattern change. During construction, drivers will not be allowed to make the “tricky” left from eastbound Washington Blvd to Clarendon Blvd, and will instead have to follow a detour via N. Kirkwood Road. [Twitter, Arlington County]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 23, 2018 at 9:55AM

Moon seen through the clouds on a November night (file photo)

McChrystal Speaks Out Against Lee — Amid the furor over changing the name of Washington-Lee High School, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who attended W-L, says it’s time to set aside icons like Robert E. Lee and “combat our desire to mythologize our history and our leaders.” [Washington Post]

Soft Opening for Shirlington Ice Cream Shop — Rolled ice cream shop I-CE-NY is scheduled to hold a soft opening tonight in Shirlington from 4:30-9:30 p.m. [Instagram]

Crime Report: Man Arrested for Allegedly Groping Woman in Rosslyn Elevator

By Alex Koma

Published November 21, 2018 at 7:45PM | Updated February 28, 2020 at 10:46AM

File photo

Arlington police say 29-year-old Walter Alexander Guillen of Gaithersburg, another man and a woman boarded an elevator in a building along the 1300 block of Wilson Blvd around 2 a.m. Sunday.

The trio struck up a brief conversation, but eventually “exited the elevator and went separate ways,” police said.

DEVELOPING: Fire at The Shell Apartments on Columbia Pike

By ARLnow.com

Published November 21, 2018 at 6:25PM | Updated November 21, 2018 at 7:27PM

The Shell apartments at 870 S. Greenbrier Street (photo via Google Maps)

(Updated at 7:30 p.m.) Arlington and Fairfax firefighters responded tonight (Wednesday) to a fire at a mid-rise apartment building along Columbia Pike.

The fire broke out around 4:30 p.m. at The Shell apartments at 870 S. Greenbrier Street.

Listing of the Day: 2315 N. Vernon Street

By Sponsor

Published November 21, 2018 at 3:45PM | Updated November 21, 2018 at 7:19PM

Located on an appealing quarter acre lot in the Lee Heights neighborhood, this sparkling new home from A&N Builders is perfect for the holidays.

Invite guests through the front porch to an impressive dining room with wainscoting, walk in bay window and fanciful chandelier. Adjoining the dining room is the chef worthy kitchen with view of the trees. The center island is perfect for the participatory cook to direct friends and family. The six burner gas range provides plenty of space, and the fridge and wine fridge store the abundance.

New Commuter Bus Route Set to Provide First Direct Link Between Haymarket, R-B Corridor

By Alex Koma

Published November 21, 2018 at 11:00AM | Updated November 21, 2018 at 11:37AM

A Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission commuter bus (via PRTC)

Commuters to, and through, Arlington from Northern Virginia’s western suburbs will soon have a new bus option.

The Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission, commonly known as PRTC, is starting up a new bus route to connect Haymarket to stops along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. Starting Dec. 17, buses will stop at four locations in Haymarket, including a soon-to-be-completed commuter parking lot, and five stops in Arlington.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 21, 2018 at 9:30AM | Updated November 21, 2018 at 9:46AM

Frost on an autumn leaf (Flickr pool photo by Michael Coffman)

Murder Case Advances After Court Ruling — “The Maryland man charged with brutally killing his lover’s ex-boyfriend laid in wait at his Arlington town house before strangling, shooting and stabbing the man to death, prosecutors said.” On Monday, an Arlington judge “ruled there is probable cause [Jitesh] Patel killed 40-year-old John Giandoni in March 2018.” [WTOP]

Food Safety Tips for the Holidays — Arlington’s health department has compiled a list of safety tips for those cooking holiday meals at home. Regarding turkey, which has been blamed for a recent salmonella outbreak, the department notes that “food handling errors and inadequate cooking are the most common problems that lead to poultry-associated food-borne disease outbreaks in the United States.” [Arlington County]

Officials Expect Plenty of Amazon Votes in Coming Years, Giving County Some Say in Shaping New HQ

By Alex Koma

Published November 20, 2018 at 2:45PM

Amazon protesters demonstrate at a County Board meeting.

Though Amazon skeptics fret that Arlington officials will offer them only limited opportunities to have their say on the new headquarters, county leaders stress that the complexity of the tech giant’s plans for the area means there will be plenty of chances for the public to weigh in.

Critics of the county and state’s proposal to Amazon have centered on the secrecy of the “HQ2” negotiations in the days following the company’s big announcement, arguing that it may well be an uphill battle for lawmakers to change the structure of the deal after Gov. Ralph Northam’s staff already hammered out most of the details with Amazon. Though both the General Assembly and the Arlington County Board will hold votes on the proposed headquarters agreement, opponents of Amazon’s arrival argue those will mainly be for show, and won’t include a robust community debate about the company’s impact on the region.

Biking, Boating Changes Approved for Theodore Roosevelt Island

By Alex Koma

Published November 20, 2018 at 1:45PM | Updated November 20, 2018 at 2:44PM

A troublesome section of the Mt. Vernon Trail leading up to Theodore Roosevelt Island (via the Office of Federal Lands Highway)

(Updated at 2:45 p.m.) Parks officials have signed off on some big changes at Theodore Roosevelt Island, including the rehabilitation of a troublesome section of the Mt. Vernon Trail and the addition of several new landing spots for small boats and kayaks.

The National Park Service announced yesterday (Monday) that it will move ahead with a variety of construction projects on the island, located off the George Washington Memorial Parkway near Rosslyn, after settling on some final designs and certifying they’ll have minimal environmental impacts on the island.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 20, 2018 at 8:35AM | Updated November 20, 2018 at 8:53AM

Activists Speak Out Against Amazon — “Activists who believe the fix is in and the Arlington government already has rolled over for Amazon used what limited opportunities they had at the Nov. 17 County Board meeting to demand more accountability and transparency from elected officials… The confrontational stance taken Saturday by a coalition of left-leaning groups on the issue ended the five-day high Arlington officials had been on since” the Amazon HQ2 announcement last week. [InsideNova, YouTube]

Experts: Amazon Real Estate Boost May Take Awhile — “The arrival of Amazon is likely to help boost parts of the local real estate market… But pump the brakes on the enthusiasm just a bit — any growth regionwide in home sales due to Amazon will be a plus, but not so large that it overshadows overall market dynamics. ‘My sense is that Amazon’s arrival will not have an immediate noticeable impact, but will over time be a contributor to increased values in close-in Northern Virginia,’ said Carol Temple, a certified residential specialist with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.” [InsideNova]