News
Snow and sun on a neighborhood street (staff photo)

Locker Room Encounters Recounted — From Fox 5’s Shomari Stone: “Sex offender who identifies as a woman, allegedly caught exposing themselves in a women’s locker room… Spoke to women who say they saw suspect.” [Twitter]

Victims of Bridge Plunge IDed — “The tragic crash last week, where a truck plunged into the icy Potomac River, claimed the lives of twin brothers Jerel and Jerod Wert, according to their sister… the brothers, who are from Chesapeake Beach, Maryland, were on their way to a job in Washington, D.C. at the time of the accident. Jerel worked as a carpenter, and Jerod was an HVAC mechanic.” [Fox 5]

Arlington Man Arrested in Florida — “A Virginia man is facing multiple charges after allegedly assaulting a bar employee and making racially charged remarks at Norman’s Tavern in Miami Beach… When the manager intervened, Nixon allegedly knocked over a glass and made offensive comments, including, ‘Hola, English motherf*****, I live in America, you speak English.'” [WSVN]

A First for Prosecutor’s Office — “The Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Arlington County and the City of Falls Church’s Conviction Integrity Unit secured its first exoneration based on actual innocence. In a 2023 robbery of a Safeway, the perpetrator gave a false name and stolen identification to the police, resulting in an innocent woman being convicted.” [Arlington County]

GOP Calls for Officials to Be Prosecuted — From the Arlington GOP, in response to news that the U.S. Justice Department intends to investigate localities that get in the way of immigration enforcement: “Hey! Hey! Over here! @TakisKarantonis and @parisa4justice are front-line resisters. It’s only a short drive across the Potomac to hold them accountable.” [Twitter]

Water Main Break Near Green Valley — “For several hours, customers in Arlington were without water as emergency crews worked to repair a main break. The Arlington Department of Environmental Services told DC News Now that an 8-inch water main break was reported around 8 p.m. on Tuesday at 2459 S Glebe Road at 24th Street.” [DC News Now, Twitter]

F.C. Hardware Store Closing — “At the end of March, the oldest business in Falls Church will close its doors. Brown’s Hardware, a landmark in the City since 1883, will shutter with the April 1 sale of the property on the northwest corner of Broad and Washington Streets. The buyer and plans for the location at 100 W Broad Street have not yet been made public.” [Falls Church Pulse, Falls Church Independent]

It’s Thursday — It will be mostly sunny with a high around 32 degrees and calm winds shifting to the south at 5 mph. Thursday night will be mostly clear with a low of about 17 degrees, as calm winds turn to the northwest at 5 mph after midnight. [NWS]


Around Town

Good Wednesday 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 — Jan 22, 2025.

📅 Upcoming events

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

☀️ Thursday’s forecast

It will be mostly sunny with a high around 32 degrees and calm winds shifting to the south at 5 mph. Thursday night will be mostly clear with a low of about 17 degrees, as calm winds turn to the northwest at 5 mph after midnight. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”
– Abraham Lincoln

🌅 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! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.


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Schools

Arlington Public Schools is addressing “concerns and recent media reports about the presence of a registered sex offender at the Arlington Aquatic Center pools.”

In a message sent to APS families and pool users Wednesday afternoon, Superintendent Dr. Francisco Durán said the school system is taking action “to prevent incidents like this from occurring again.”


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News

By OLIVIA DIAZ Associated Press/Report for America

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s Democratic-led Senate on Tuesday passed constitutional amendments on abortion and voting rights that were quickly lambasted by Republicans who could use the issues as the party tries to regain ground in November’s statewide elections.


Event

Internationally acclaimed pianist Carlos César Rodríguez joins NCE for a luminous performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s beloved Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, “Elvira Madigan,” celebrated for its elegance, lyricism, and timeless appeal. Artistic Director and violinist Leo Sushansky takes center stage in Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, a cornerstone of the violin repertoire, offering a deeply personal and passionate interpretation of its sweeping romantic lines.

The program is further enriched by Florence Price’s Adoration, a work of profound beauty and spiritual warmth, and Johan Svendsen’s Romance, cherished for its lyrical charm and expressive simplicity.


News

A property owner in Crystal City is seeking the county’s blessing to add an outdoor beer garden to a vacant building.

Scapegoat Beer Garden, in the works at 556 22nd Street S. on Restaurant Row, hopes to gain approval from the Arlington County Board to start using two of three outdoor patios constructed — without permits — during the pandemic.


News

Changes to Arlington voting equipment could increase the number of candidates voters are able to rank.

Arlington voters are currently able to rank only three candidates when participating in ranked-choice voting. However, planned upgrades to voting systems would raise that number to at least five.


Events

Some celebrations in honor of Lunar New Year are coming to Arlington and Falls Church next week.

Observed by many Asian communities on Wednesday, Jan. 29, the holiday signals the upcoming spring season and usher in the year of the snake on the Chinese zodiac calendar. From specialty menus to festivals, here are some of the cultural activities taking place in Arlington and Falls Church.


News

Plans for two new bridges over the Potomac River have moved “to the next level” with the announcement of a contractor to design and build the structures.

The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) last week named Long Bridge Rail Partners — a joint venture between three general contractors — as the organization responsible for finalizing designs and beginning construction on the “South Package” of the Long Bridge Project.


News

Construction contracts for new pickleball facilities and improvements to Central Library are on the agenda as Arlington County Board members meet on Saturday, Jan. 25.

It will be the Board’s first working meeting of the year, and follows a Jan. 7 organizational meeting at which Takis Karantonis was elected chair for 2025.