"End Road Work" sign in Ballston (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Welcome to Our Summer Interns — Two interns have joined ARLnow for the summer. Mavis Chan of the University of Missouri will focus on local news reporting while Pia Kramer, graduate of Virginia Tech and Arlington’s Washington-Liberty High School, will focus on audience engagement.
Passengers Spend Hours on Planes at DCA — “Thais Austin wanted to get home to the District after a weekend visit with family in Jacksonville, Fla. Instead, she said, she and other passengers were stuck on the Reagan National Airport taxiway for three hours Sunday night, unable to exit their plane… Hundreds of passengers on at least a half-dozen other flights reported similar delays after thunderstorms downed trees, flooded roads and left thousands without power in the Washington region.” [Washington Post]
Townhomes in the Green Valley neighborhood (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) The Arlington branch of the NAACP has come out in support of the county’s Missing Middle Housing Study draft framework.
The proposal calls for allowing small-scale multifamily housing in the residential areas of Arlington currently zoned only for single-family homes. The new “missing middle” homes — ranging from townhomes to 8-plexes, depending on the lot size — would be limited to the same physical size and footprint currently allowed for single-family homes.
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
Do you hold any anti-Semitic views?
Have you held anti-Semitic views in the past?
Do you plan to hold any anti-Semitic views?
Have you or your family expressed anti-Semitic opinions on Social media, at home, in public or private? (more…)
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.
Crash on the GW Parkway in 5/24/22 (courtesy anonymous)
A particularly sharp bend in the GW Parkway near Key Bridge has claimed another vehicular victim
An SUV overturned in the southbound lanes around 1:15 p.m., blocking all lanes and causing a backup that still extends as far north as the Windy Run bridge as of 2 p.m. The driver was able to get out on their own after the crash and was evaluated for injuries by Arlington medics.
Covid cases in Arlington as of 5/24/22 (via Virginia Dept. of Health)
(Updated at 12:05 p.m.) After a two-and-a-half month, barely-interrupted march upward, Arlington’s average daily Covid case count has eased a bit over the past three days.
After reaching a seven-day moving average of 198 daily cases on Saturday, this morning the same metric was down to 193. At the same time, however, the county’s test positivity rate is continuing to rise, reaching 14.9% today, the highest point since late January, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data.
Mikael Manoukian at his family rug shop on Columbia Pike (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
It’s been a century since his family first started selling rugs, but Mikael Manoukian is still learning.
To be fair, he actually only got into the family rug business a few years ago and now runs the Manoukian Brothers Oriental Rugs on Columbia Pike with his mom, Dona. But in that short time, Mikael has learned at “Mach speed” about what it takes to sell hand knotted, decades-old rugs.
Renderings from JBG Smith of a surface-level Route 1 through National Landing (Image via JBG Smith)
Members of Congress from Virginia are pushing the federal government to help fund proposed changes to Route 1.
The changes, while still being hashed out by VDOT and local officials, would lower elevated portions of Route 1 through Crystal City to grade, turning it into a lower-speed “urban boulevard.” VDOT is also mulling at least one pedestrian bridge or tunnel at 18th Street S., near the Metro station, to improve safety.
Rainy day in Ballston (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
‘Midsummer’ Starts Next Month — “Synetic Theater, the home of American Physical Theater and movement-based storytelling, announces the return of its acclaimed adaptation of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed and choreographed by company co-founders Paata and Irina Tsikurishvili. The production runs June 30 through July 24.” [Synetic Theater]
Local Donut Shop Expanding — “The owners of a Ballston doughnut shop and cafe are building out a commercial kitchen in Tysons to support a growing wholesale business and its own planned expansion… Charles Kachadoorian, a Good Company co-owner, said the shop has outgrown its capacity at 672 N. Glebe Road in Ballston, from which it produces sweets for its cafe, for other coffee shops to sell retail, and for its own catering business. It plans to expand across all of those avenues, Kachadoorian said, including with a new shop in Crystal City in the shorter term and one in D.C. in 2024.” [Washington Business Journal]
Karina Lipsman, the Republican nominee for the 8th Congressional District, holds a campaign sign (via Fairfax County Republican Committee/Facebook)
Local Republicans nominated Arlington resident Karina Lipsman on Saturday to seek the U.S. House seat currently held by Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.).
Early voting is underway for the primary to determine whether Lipsman faces Beyer or his primary challenger, Victoria Virasingh, in the November general election. The 8th District encompasses Arlington, Alexandria, the City of Falls Church and parts of Fairfax County.
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