Weather

If you have a sidewalk on your property, you now have less than 12 hours to clear away the snow and ice from it.

Arlington’s snow removal ordinance, approved in 2010, gives owners 36 hours to shovel public sidewalks adjacent to their property after a storm with more than six inches of snow accumulation.


News

Exactly one month ago, the average Covid test positivity rate in Arlington was 3.5%. Today that rate is 26.1%.

The positivity rate has been soaring amid a Covid wave fueled by the highly-contagious Omicron variant. The wave has produced sky-high case totals, but has yet to correspond to a surge in serious illness.


Sponsored

This column is sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

Just in time to celebrate America’s founding in 1776, Arlington’s Dominion Stage will conclude its 76th Season with Dead Air by Greg Jones Ellis, May 29 through June 13, at Theater On the Run, 3700 S. Four Mile Run Dr., Arlington, Virginia.

The inaugural winner of Dominion Stage’s Playwriting Competition, Dead Air introduces us to “Reggie,” a popular TV host whose on-air trademark is “my son the genius.” However, the son is a recluse who resents his mother’s use of him as a “Unique Selling Point” in the increasingly competitive daytime talk show world. As Reggie’s career takes off, her on-air advice to a variety of guests ironically contrasts with her failing marriage and her troubled child.

As one of Arlington’s oldest cultural institutions, Dominion Stage has decidedly made a name for itself. During the pandemic, they expanded upon that reputation by initiating its Playwriting Competition, of which Dead Air was the inaugural winner.

“A play isn’t a play until it’s fully staged, but playwrights need encouragement along the way,” says playwright Greg Jones Ellis, who was the inaugural winner. “Winning the Dominion Stage Best Play award validated my effort and supplied that encouragement.”

As the Competition was initiated during the pandemic, the winning play was treated to a live-streamed staged reading. Over the next several years, the play was further refined and tweaked. The Competition itself evolved: post-pandemic, winning plays are now given full stagings as the final show of each Dominion Stage season.

“I’m so glad I reached out to Dominion Stage after the pandemic and inquired about a full production. I think the play is in very good hands at Dominion Stage; the director is sensitively guiding each actor, all of whom are giving their roles 100%,” said Ellis. (more…)


News

(Updated at 2 p.m.) An Alexandria man suspected in five separate hit-and-run crashes was tased by police in an incident that shut down Columbia Pike last week.

On the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 29, police were dispatched to the intersection of the Pike and S. Greenbrier Street for a report of a crash. They encountered a man in a damaged vehicle who refused to come out.


Event

Join us for a delightful Sunday afternoon at the BlackRock Center for the Arts as Cruise Planners Beth & Rod present a special travel-inspired matinee featuring the beloved film Under the Tuscan Sun.

Date & Time: Sunday, May 31 | 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM


Schools

(Updated 2:35 p.m.) Some parents and students are pushing Arlington Public Schools to reverse its decision to temporarily halt sports and other extracurricular activities due to COVID-19.

After the snow clears, the majority of APS students will return to their classrooms for in-person learning, but their sports practices and games, band and choir classes and club meetings will be “paused” until Friday, Jan. 14.


Around Town

For the first time in nearly three years, Arlington experienced a significant snowfall.

Starting very early yesterday morning and finally tapering off in afternoon, preliminary estimates suggest that the county got close to seven inches of snow.


News

More Snow Looks Likely This Week — “Believe it or not, we have a chance of more accumulating snow Thursday night. This is unlikely to rival today’s storm, but could produce a few inches in parts of the region depending on how it evolves.” [Capital Weather Gang]

Local Legislative Event Now Virtual — Today at 7 p.m., the League of Women Voters of Arlington and Alexandria City will host a public forum for locals to speak with their representatives to the state Senate and the House of Delegates. The event has moved to Zoom due to rising Covid concerns. A Zoom link will be provided to those who register online. [Eventbrite]


News

(Updated at 10 a.m.) A frigid night is on tap and the refreezing of melting snow could make roads and sidewalks extra slippery.

The National Weather Service on Monday issued a Special Weather Statement about the ice concerns overnight:


News

A man is being brought to safety by fireboat after his car careened a couple of hundred feet off the GW Parkway in Arlington.

The crash happened just before 6 p.m., on the Parkway near Donaldson Run, amid treacherous driving conditions from today’s winter storm. The driver — the only occupant of the vehicle — was trapped inside the car and suspended upside down, with a broken arm and leg, according to initial reports.