An Arlington-based IT specialist is launching a new tech support company seeking to troubleshoot problems and help people build technical competence.
Mahboba “Maya” Akhtarzadah is the founder and CEO of ReliableIT, which provides support for issues with computers, phones, TVs, printers, Wi-Fi routers and more. In addition to solving customers’ tech troubles, Akhtarzadah will host one-on-one training sessions to help people develop greater comfort with technology.
A freeze on federal education dollars cast $1.5 million in Arlington Public Schools funding into doubt.
This was the amount of funding at APS that the U.S. Department of Education withheld for weeks as part of a review to ensure that spending aligned with the White House’s priorities.
When Eddie Kaufholz and his family moved to Arlington nearly five years ago, they were not thinking about starting a business. They wanted to live in a place that was diverse, interesting and full of opportunity, with a school system they could rely on. Arlington fit.
In the years that followed, working out of a home office off Columbia Pike, he consulted with organizations across Northern Virginia and around the country: nonprofits, advocacy groups, mid-sized companies, agencies of various sizes. The work itself was good. But somewhere across all those projects, he started to notice a pattern.
”The agency model has gotten really bloated,” Kaufholz says. ”Layers, handoffs, middle management. The senior people who pitch the work often disappear once it starts. The idea with PILLAR was to strip all of that down; keep senior people on the work, approach each client with humility and care, do world-class strategy and execution, and pass the efficiency back to the client instead of absorbing it as agency margin.”
That thinking, slowly, became PILLAR, the Arlington-headquartered creative, communications and marketing agency Kaufholz founded.
PILLAR, he says, is built on an old idea. ”An idea that has always been possible but rarely practiced: that an agency should be structured to serve the work itself.” The team that delivers the work is assembled around the specific needs of each client and only stays as long as the work calls for them.
”The senior strategist on your kick-off call is the senior strategist writing your messaging,” Kaufholz says. ”Every person on a project is there because the work specifically calls for them.”
PILLAR’s recent work has spanned human rights, executive leadership, higher education, advocacy and direct-to-consumer ecommerce. The roster has included national nonprofits, a national multimillion-dollar direct-to-consumer brand and a number of institutions navigating significant moments of strategic change. The model is built to scale up to be the agency of record for a national brand, or to scale down to design a logo for a neighborhood nonprofit. PILLAR takes equal pride and care in both.
What Kaufholz did not understand when he started, he said, was how much the County itself would matter in making any of it possible. (more…)
A 27-year-old man was arrested over the weekend after allegedly trying to knife someone during an early morning altercation near Clarendon’s bar district.
It happened around 2 a.m. Sunday at the intersection of Washington Blvd and N. Garfield Street. The man “became agitated” while talking to the male victim and tried to strike him with a knife, according to Arlington County police.
It might still be the height of beach season, but make no mistake — savvy local advertisers are busy booking up the choicest sponsored content, email blasts and other spots on ARLnow.
The fall advertising rush has begun and you don’t want to get left behind.
We’re excited to announce the opening of our second location in Arlington, VA! ❤️
📍 Opening June 1st
Belle is a gentle cat that’s shy at first, but eventually opens up and shows her playful side.
She’s a 3-year-old domestic shorthair available for adoption at the Animal Welfare League of Arlington.
Police are investigating an attempted bank robbery in Ballston and an attempted carjacking near Columbia Pike.
The incidents both happened last Thursday.
Members of the Arlington Planning Commission, who currently work without financial compensation, could eventually start getting paid.
Although posts on the commission are unpaid by longstanding tradition, given the time and effort the job requires, that might change someday.
The next Falls Church City Council will be the one to decide whether some City advisory panels need to be merged or disbanded.
“This would be a big effort. Even getting rid of one is going to have all kinds of psychological weight associated with it,” City Manager Wyatt Shields acknowledged when the proposal to consider changes to advisory boards and commissions came up at meeting last week.
Rescue in Lubber Run Park — “A vehicle attempting to cross a bridge with water running over it was swept into the creek behind Lubber Run Park. Five occupants were safety removed from the vehicle. No injuries to firefighters or occupants. Please do not attempt to cross moving water!” [ACPD/X]
Abduction Arrest in Arlington — “Southfield police say a missing 3-year-old who was believed to have been taken out of state by his mother has been found safe. Authorities say [the child] was found in Arlington, Virginia, with the help of the U.S. Marshals Missing Child Unit. Police said Terri was taken by his mother.” [CBS News]
Police Issue Scam Warning — “Spoofing is when a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity. Victims have reported receiving unsolicited phone calls from individuals fraudulently claiming to be members of the Arlington County Police Department. These individuals accuse the victims of owing money which must be paid immediately, or they must turn themselves in to the police department.” [ACPD]
Gateway Park History — “The creation of Gateway Park is a remarkable story, connected with the complicated history of the creation of Interstate 66. It took decades to get I-66 built in Arlington. Planning for the highway began in the 1950s, but the Arlington portion was not completed and opened until 1982. The Virginia Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration agreed to build an urban park over the top of I-66.” [FCNP]
It’s Monday — Expect a sunny day with highs reaching near 95 and heat index values as high as 101. A northwest wind around 6 mph will provide some relief. For Monday night, the sky will be mostly clear and temperatures will drop to a low of around 76 with calm winds. [NWS]
Today’s Morning Notes are brought to you by Industrious. ARLnow has been in an Industrious office for years and we love the convenience — you get to focus on your work rather than worrying about brewing your own coffee or keeping the copy machine stocked. Industrious has several Metro-accessible coworking locations in Arlington.
