News

A wanted man’s attempt to flee law enforcement failed after he crashed his car into a fire hydrant in Arlington Ridge, police say.

Officers spotted the 27-year-old along the 2900 block of S. Glebe Road around 8:40 p.m. He tried to drive off but crashed into a fire hydrant, then tried to flee on foot but fell and injured himself, according to an Arlington County Police Department crime report.


Opinion

A selection of trusty stores in Arlington carry goods to meet a variety of hardware and home improvement needs.

Here are the nominees for “Best Hardware Store in Arlington” as part of our ARLnow Readers’ Choice awards.

Did we miss your favorite store? Write them in!

Voting will close in two weeks.

Voting for the Best New Restaurant in Arlington is still taking place. Be sure to cast your vote before voting closes next Friday at 8:30 a.m.

Two weeks ago, we voted on the Best HVAC Company in Arlington. The results are now official:

  1. Chandler’s Plumbing and Heating Co.
  2. Arlington Heating & Air Conditioning
  3. B.L. James & Son

Sponsored

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.

This complaint about the quality of copper ingots has been rejected, because it was submitted on the a tablet of improper diameter. On on after 1750 BC, complainants must use the new tablet... Image is free for public use. Attribution here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ea-nir
This complaint about the quality of copper ingots has been rejected, because it was submitted on the a tablet of improper diameter. On on after 1750 BC, complainants must use the new tablet… Image is free for public use. Attribution here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ea-n%C4%81%E1%B9%A3ir

USCIS administers immigration benefits. In the time-honored tradition of government agencies since the days of Ur and Uruk, USCIS uses forms to collect, store, and interpret information. Immigrants complete these forms in order to obtain benefits. Most U.S. citizens have no idea what reams of paperwork these forms require. An ordinary green card application is comprised of ninety-seven pages of bare forms, which typically are supported by several hundred pages of supporting documents.

In better times, forms are a necessary evil. In the times we actually live in, forms are just another weapon with which to thwack your political opponents.

In the second iteration of the Trump Administration, USCIS has discovered a new, extremely petty way to make immigrants’ lives more difficult – by releasing new form versions which make utterly minute changes, and then decrees that yesterday’s official version is obsolete as of today.

The Office of Management and Budget, by the way, requires that all government forms have an ‘edition date’ and an ‘expiration date.’ USCIS evades this neatly by making the expiration date purely notional – the form can be valid after the expiration date, and it can be decreed obsolete at any time before or after the expiration date. (The edition date is notional, too – in the first months of the Trump Administration, USCIS persistently released forms backdated to January 20, 2025, seemingly just for the inaugural vibes.) The forms altered in the last two weeks are highlighted below.

  1. Form G-28. Four pages, stating that a lawyer represents you.
  2. Form G-28. Four more pages, stating that the same lawyer represents your spouse.
  3. Form I-130. A twelve-page biographical survey of you, the U.S. citizen.
  4. Form I-130A. A six-page biographical survey of your spouse.
  5. Form I-131. A fourteen-page request for permission to travel while the government thinks about whether to grant the green card application.
  6. Form I-485. A twenty-four pager. This is the green card application itself. It repeats all of the biographical detail from Forms I-130 and I-130A.
  7. Form I-693. A fourteen-page list of certifications concerning your health and fitness. (No, your family doctor can’t do it for you – you have to go to someone called a Designated Civil Surgeon.)
  8. Form I-765. A seven-page request for a work permit while the government thinks about whether to grant your green card application.
  9. Form I-864. A twelve-page contract in which you (the U.S. citizen) promise to repay the government for welfare benefits, if your spouse draws on them, and in which you further promise to keep your spouse above the poverty line. (more…)

Sports

Three members of the Bolfek family were present and working hard along the sidelines in different roles during an opening-season high-school football game in Arlington between the host Washington-Liberty Generals and visiting Bishop O’Connell Knights.

The youngest of the three was Andrew Bolfek. The 2025 University of Virginia graduate and former W-L starting quarterback was busy in the O’Connell area as a first-year assistant coach for the Knights.


Announcement

Looking for a fall activity that gets you moving and builds real confidence? EvolveAll Martial Arts and Training Studio is offer free classes for youth and adults during it’s upcoming Intro Week, September 14-19.

EvolveAll, Arlington’s martial arts and fitness community off Columbia Pike, is once again opening its doors for a full week of free trial classes — and youth classes are one of the highlights. Kids ages 5-15 will get to try hands-on martial arts instruction designed to build discipline, focus, and self-defense skills in a supportive, age-appropriate environment.


Opinion

For much of August and September so far, the weather has been great.

With the exception of a couple of rainy days, we’ve been enjoying dry weather with comfortable temperatures for nearly a month.

The biggest downside of this streak of nice weather is a worsening drought in the region.

Another potential downside, at least in the eyes of some? Decreased productivity.

This late August/early September weather pattern is familiar to many who’ve lived in the area for awhile, and we often associate it with the lazy last days of pre-Labor Day summer.

But with the good times extending into mid-September, there may be some out there who have yet to shake off summer vacation mode and kick into the usual higher fall gear. And why not — maybe staying in summer mode helps some delay the full onset of seasonal affective disorder.

Admittedly, this is a highly vibes-based theory, and probably doesn’t apply to many. But there’s also some research behind why one might be less productive when rainy days are few and far between.

Does any of this describe you? Are you not getting as much done — at home, at work, or both — as usual, perhaps as a result of the temptation to be outside and active instead? Or are you unaffected by the sunny September bliss outside and staying as productive as usual? Let’s find out.


Event

We’ve made the reservation. You’re invited.

Spend an evening discovering exceptional wines, live acoustic music, and community at Rosslyn’s newest event: Rosslyn Reserved. Enjoy a tasting experience with a sommelier from Screwtop Wine Bar, savory bites from local Charcuterie business, Graze Craze, and more!


News
A woman pushes a stroller up the hill near the entrance to Upside on Moore in Rosslyn (courtesy George Brazier)

Flyover This Morning — “The United States Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron… will perform a scheduled photoshoot of 6 Thunderbird aircraft in formation, a 7th Thunderbird aircraft will trail the formation to capture imagery over the National Mall and other Washington D.C. landmarks on Friday, September 12, 2025, at approximately 8:15 a.m. In addition, at approximately 8:45 a.m., the team will be joined by a C-17 for one additional pass. The aircraft will depart from the area no later than 8:55 a.m.” [USAF]

Apartment Development Nixed — “JBG Smith Properties is abandoning plans to redevelop a pair of demolished office and retail buildings in Crystal City with more than 1,400 new apartments. The Bethesda firm… won site plan approval from Arlington County in 2023 to construct two 30-story residential-over-retail towers at 223 S. 23rd St. and 2250 Crystal Drive, where once stood the 11-story Crystal City Five office building and a one-story adjacent retail building. But that plan is now terminated.” [WBJ]

Pickup Overturns in Crash — “Accident in #Rosslyn right before the #KeyBridge. Everyone got out of both vehicles and seem to be OK.” [Victoria Sanchez/X]

Long Term Toll of 9/11 — “Fire Captain David Santini remembered the 184 victims who died when a hijacked plane slammed into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001… Santini also asked people to remember 9/11 first responders who have died in the years following the terrorist attacks.” [WTOP, MWAA Professional Firefighters/X]

New Reading Program — “APS, in partnership with community volunteers, is proud to announce the launch of Readers Rise: Empowering Young Minds Through Reading … The Readers Rise program pairs trained community volunteers with elementary students in grades K–2 at Barrett, Hoffman-Boston and Long Branch elementary schools for one-on-one reading sessions.” [APS]

County, City to Boost Tech Hub — “Economic development leaders in Arlington and Alexandria want to launch a new initiative to expand funding and business training for defense and national security startups, aiming to solidify the growing tech outpost near the Pentagon and Amazon’s HQ2.” [WBJ]

Indecent Exposure Incident — “A 34-year-old man who was arrested for indecent exposure Tuesday night in Green Valley already had an upcoming court appearance scheduled for next week on unrelated drug charges, according to authorities.” [Patch]

Lantern Fly Invasion — “Across the region, weather radars were lighting up Thursday with shades of blue, green and yellow. The signals would ordinarily suggest rain — but no precipitation was in the forecast. Instead, radars have been capturing a massive swarm of spotted lanternflies descending on the Mid-Atlantic.” [Washington Post, Matthew Cappucci/X]

It’s Friday — Expect a sunny day with a high of around 81 degrees and a north wind at about 6 mph, shifting to the east in the afternoon. Friday night, the skies will be mostly clear with a low temperature near 60 degrees. [NWS]


Legal Notice

Eli’s Taqueria LLC

Trading as:

Eli’s Taqueria

3207 Columbia Pike, Arlington,  Arlington County, Virginia, 22204-4305

The above establishment is applying to

the VIRGINIA ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) AUTHORITY for a

Restaurant – Wine, Beer and Mixed Beverages On and Off Premises license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages.

Nevi Paredes Espana, Owner

NOTE: Objections to the issuance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Objections should be registered at www.abc.virginia.gov or 800-552-3200.


News

A man was stabbed multiple times and seriously injured Thursday night in Virginia Square.

The stabbing happened around 7 p.m. inside the Tobacco Hut store at 3528 Wilson Blvd, according to scanner traffic. It prompted a large police response that briefly closed eastbound Wilson Blvd.


Around Town

Good Thursday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Sep 11, 2025.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Friday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

☀️ Friday’s forecast

Expect a sunny day with a high of around 81 degrees and a north wind at about 6 mph, shifting to the east in the afternoon. On Friday night, the skies will be mostly clear with a low temperature near 60 degrees. The east wind at approximately 5 mph will become calm during the evening. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”
– Vince Lombardi

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.

Thanks for reading! If you have something to say about an issue of local note not covered today, feel free to post it as a letter to the editor on our new forum.


Traffic

All lanes of eastern Columbia Pike are shut down due to a ruptured gas line.

Initial reports suggest that workers at the ongoing road project struck a gas line just before 3:30 p.m., prompting a fire department response and the closure of several blocks of the Pike near the Wellington apartments.