When one Bank of America branch closes on Columbia Pike, another one opens.
The Bank of America branch at 3401 Columbia Pike is set to close in late November, per the bank’s website. The building it is housed in at the intersection of S. Glebe Road is likely on its way to being demolished to make way for a six-story, 250-unit residential development with ground-floor retail.
PARK(ing) Day Returns Tomorrow — “THIS FRIDAY: PARK(ing) Day returns to Arlington for the first time in three years. Visit highly creative groups as they temporarily repurpose drab curbside clusters in an exploration of ‘public space’ and possibility.” [Twitter, Arlington County]
Four Courts Fundraiser Tonight — “The fundraiser will be on September 15th at Samuel Beckett’s Irish Pub in Shirlington at 6pm. We ask that you share this and that we can get as many folks possible both in the Irish community and those that love Ireland’s Four Courts to come out and raise a glass and support those who need it most.” [Facebook]
This sponsored column is by Law Office of James Montana PLLC. All questions about it should be directed to James Montana, Esq., Janice Chen, Esq., and Victoria Khaydar, Esq., practicing attorneys at The Law Office of James Montana PLLC, an immigration-focused law firm located in Falls Church, Virginia. The legal information given here is general in nature. If you want legal advice, contact us for an appointment.
Asylum is not granted as a matter of routine. To qualify for asylum, you have to have an objectively reasonable, subjectively genuine fear of persecution if returned to your home country; and, moreover, that fear must be based on a limited number of ‘protected grounds’ – race, religion, political opinion, nationality, or membership in a particular social group. On top of that, even if you do have the aforementioned fear of persecution based on a protected ground, you still have to qualify for asylum as a matter of discretion.
In previous administrations, discretionary denials of otherwise qualifying asylum claims were extremely rare. In the new Trump Administration, of course, all bets are off.
The purpose of this article is twofold: (1) to inform asylum applicants about these new ‘discretion’ questions so they can think carefully about how to answer them, and (2) to inform our fellow citizens about what the current Administration is doing in their name.
Immigration attorneys report that new questions are being asked at asylum interviews which touch on anti-Semitism, anti-Americanism, an asylum applicant’s poverty, health conditions, and wealth, and the applicant’s engagement in the community. Some of these questions aren’t unreasonable, but some are completely bonkers. Here are some of the topics and reported questions for each topic.
Anti-Semitism
A former county employee arrested and convicted for assaulting a police officer after being fired is back behind bars.
Vincent Moody, a 57-year-old Arlington resident, is now accused of trying to rape a woman in the restroom of a business on the 4800 block of Langston Blvd. The name of the business was not given, but that block includes a McDonald’s, a body piercing business, a tattoo parlor, and an Indian grocery store.
If you’re a college student spending the summer in Arlington — whether you’re interning, working, or just home for a few months — EvolveAll is the place to stay fit, sharpen skills, and be in community.
For just $295, college students get full access to all of EvolveAll’s adult programs from May through August. That means Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, self-defense, yoga, Pilates, and more — a whole community of people who show up, put in the work, and look out for each other.
Drunk driving — the alleged reason why a woman was killed in a hit-and-run last month — is on the rise in Arlington.
The fatal crash in the Arlington Heights neighborhood has county leaders considering greater emphasis on curbing drunk driving. Neighbors, meanwhile, are asking the county to add more traffic calming measures to combat risky driving, particularly near Alice West Fleet Elementary School and Thomas Jefferson Middle School.
The Women’s Crawl is coming to Falls Church on May 9, 2026!
Hosted by the team behind the Shrinks on Tap Podcast and presented by Expand Psychology, this one-of-a-kind event is more than a night out—it’s a movement.
The Arlington County Board is finally set to vote this weekend on the potential height of a new development coming to Wilson Blvd between Clarendon and Courthouse.
For months, height has been the topic of conversation for the proposed project being dubbed “Courthouse West” at 2636 Wilson Blvd on what is currently a parking lot housing ghost kitchen trailers.
Get ready to “explore the world of recycling” next weekend at the family-friendly Rock-n-Recycle event in Shirlington.
The open house, put on by Arlington’s Department of Environmental Services (DES), is set for Saturday, Sept. 17 and will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m at the county’s Trade Center on S. Taylor Street.
Arlington County is looking to restore and replant a man-made pond along the Washington & Old Dominion Trail starting in 2023.
Since it was built between 2001-2002, significant sediment deposits have settled in Sparrow Pond in Glencarlyn Park, harming the wildlife habitat and the water quality. About a decade ago, the county decided to defer cleaning up the sediment and instead, redesign and restore the pond, according to a staff presentation.
A vacant, county-owned building in Glencarlyn could start coming down this fall, pending approval from the Arlington County Board this weekend.
This Saturday, the Board is slated to consider awarding a contract to tear down the old Virginia Hospital Center urgent care facility at 601 S. Carlin Springs Road.
Georgetown Transit Study Released — “The study presents enhanced bus service and aerial gondola schemes narrowed down from forty initial ideas. Here’s a look at the alternatives… Aerial gondola between Rosslyn and Georgetown, Rosslyn terminus at N. Moore Street… Aerial gondola between Rosslyn and Georgetown, Rosslyn terminus at N. Lynn Street and Georgetown terminus at the former Exxon site.” [GGWash]
Home Prices Still High — “Another round of monthly data confirming signs of cooling but not catastrophe in the regional home-sales environment. ‘The Washington area is still a sellers’ market – however, buyers have more leverage on price with less competition in the market,’ notes Bright MLS, the region’s multiple-listing service.” [Sun Gazette]
It’s a cold winter night in Almost, Maine — a small town so remote it never quite got around to being officially incorporated. The Northern Lights shimmer overhead, and something in the air makes ordinary moments feel a little electric. Over the course of one enchanted evening, love stories unfold across town: couples fall into each other, fall apart, fall back together. A man carries the weight of his broken heart in a paper bag. A woman returns the love she borrowed from a relationship that didn’t work out. Two strangers find themselves drawn together in ways neither can explain.
John Cariani’s Almost, Maine is funny and aching in equal measure — the kind of play that makes you laugh out loud one moment and go quiet the next. It’s about how love surprises us, how it shows up when we’re not looking, and how hard it is to say the thing we most need to say. It has become one of the most-produced plays in American high school theater for good reason: it speaks to everyone who has ever loved someone and struggled to find the words.
