Feature

Title insurance is boring, but Allied Title & Escrow is here to decode the jargon and make it (somewhat) more interesting. This biweekly feature will explore the mundane (but very necessary!) world of title insurance while sharing interesting stories of two friends’ entrepreneurial careers.

Who needs words? Here is a quick 1 minute video about Allied Title & Escrow and why they are different than other settlement companies.


News

A bevy of new public art looks to be on the way for Crystal City, just a few weeks after the neighborhood’s largest property owner commissioned a series of art projects around the area.

The Crystal City Business Improvement District has put out a call yesterday (Wednesday) to local artists looking to bring some temporary public art to the neighborhood, as part of an effort to “activate vacant and open spaces” and “enliven and connect the public realm.” The BID is offering up to hand out up to $50,000 for each project, and is inviting professional public artists, “art consultant organizations and curators” to apply.


Around Town

The day of Ballston Quarter’s planned opening has arrived, but the revamped mall doesn’t seem ready for customers quite yet.

Forest City, the developer engineering the complete overhaul of the former Ballston Common mall, initially hoped to open some stores up by September. But a few weeks back, the company revealed that it was pushing the open date, targeting today (Thursday) instead to have at least some sections of the development open for business.


Event

We’re ending Movie Nights on the Pike with a scream.

Join us at Penrose Square for a special outdoor screening of I Know What You Did Last Summer, the iconic summer slasher that became a defining horror film of the late 1990s.


News

Vida Fitness Coming to Rosslyn Development — “Vida Fitness has signed a lease for 27,000 square feet at The Highlands in Rosslyn… The Highlands is a 1.2-million-square-foot mixed-use development from D.C.-based developer Penzance. The project’s groundbreaking [was Wednesday] and the first phase is slated for completion in the second quarter of 2021.” [Commercial Observer, Twitter]

Naked Man at Va. Square Metro Station — A naked man walked into the Virginia Square Metro station during yesterday evening’s rush hour. Police quickly responded, took the man into custody and requested medics to the scene to evaluate him for a possible drug overdose. [Twitter]


Around Town

The Virginia DMV customer service center in Virginia Square is currently closed, due to some emergency duct work in its office building.

A sign on the door of the location at 3434 Washington Blvd says the temporary closure is due to “unsafe conditions” and that “every attempt is being made to restore service as quickly as possible.”


Around Town

ARLnow.com — one of the top independent, online-only local news sites in the country — is seeking talented interns to join our crew in Arlington.

We’re looking for a go-getting, up-and-coming journalist who wants to work in a fun, small team environment. You’ll be writing, photographing and reporting several original articles per day on various local topics, ranging from business blurbs to deeper dives into government policies, while receiving daily editing feedback from our managing editor.


News

The Arlington County Board has signed off on some zoning changes to make it easier for the owners of older townhouses and duplexes to renovate or expand their homes.

The Board voted unanimously yesterday (Tuesday) to amend the county zoning ordinance to allow for more changes to “nonconforming homes” — structures built before the county’s zoning rules took effect back in 1942 that might not match current standards. The move will simultaneously remove some headaches for certain homeowners and help preserve affordable housing options for the county’s middle class.


Traffic

Westbound I-66 was temporarily blocked approaching the N. Glebe Road overpass due to a crash involving two vehicles this afternoon.

One of the vehicles ran off the side of the road into a ditch and overturned, according to scanner traffic. Another vehicle could be seen on traffic cameras stopped in the left-hand shoulder, but has since been moved to the right-hand shoulder.