A D.C.-based Italian sandwich shop and deli is making its way across the Potomac to Ballston.
Grazie Grazie is preparing to open across from Hawkers Asian Street Food at 4201 Wilson Blvd. It will be the business’s third location and first shop outside D.C.
The Commanders may not be going to Super Bowl LIX, but restaurants and bars across Arlington are gearing up for the big game this weekend.
Whether you’re looking for a lively crowd or food specials to cater your party at home, the following businesses are hosting parties and meal deals as the Chiefs and the Eagles face off this Sunday, Feb. 9.
The Supreme Court tends to hand down its most controversial and political decisions at the end of June, and this year’s batch did not disappoint. In this brief advertorial, we’ll review the three most important decisions with respect to immigration law and migrants: the decision preserving birthright citizenship (Trump v. Barbara), the decision which effectively allowed the Administration to abolish TPS (Mullin v. Doe), and the decision which allowed the Administration to continue to turn away almost all asylum seekers at the U.S. border (Mullin v. Al Otro Lado).
Trump v. Barbara: Birthright Citizenship Lives On
We predicted that the Administration’s attempt to abolish birthright citizenship would fail. We were right, but only just. A bare majority of five justices (Roberts, Barrett, Sotomayor, Jackson, Kagan) found that the Trump Administration’s executive order seeking to abolish birthright citizenship by fiat was barred by the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of citizenship to “[a]ll persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” A sixth (Justice Kavanaugh) concurred in the judgment, but did not find that birthright citizenship was guaranteed to all by the 14th Amendment, instead holding that President Trump’s executive order simply contravened 8 U.S.C. § 1401(a), which codifies birthright citizenship as a matter of statute.
Birthright citizenship is safe for the foreseeable future, even if there are changes to the court’s composition. Congress is not going to abolish or amend 8 U.S.C. § 1401(a), and it is hard to see how a new executive order could make its way before the court before the end of the current President’s term.
Mullin v. Doe: TPS is Doomed, Doomed, Doomed
We offered no prediction on Mullin v. Doe, but, truth be told, we weren’t surprised by the outcome. When the Temporary Protected Status program was enacted, Congress specifically exempted TPS determinations from judicial review. (Yes, Congress can do that!) The statutory bar was fairly stark: “[t]here is no judicial review of any determination of the [Secretary of Homeland Security] with respect to the designation, or termination or extension of a designation, of a foreign state.” The challengers argued that this bar applied only to the substantive decision to designate a country’s designation or terminate a country’s TPS designation, so the courts could review procedural steps taken along the way toward a designation. That mattered here, because the Trump Administration is (a) very bad at following proper procedures, and (b) very bad at concealing its malignancy from the public. As Justice Kagan’s dissent points out, the President of the United States has offered the following opinions about Haitians: they eat the cats and dogs of the good people of Springfield, Ohio, they “probably have AIDS,” Haiti is a “shithole country,” which is “filthy, dirty, and disgusting.” But Justice Kagan’s dissent was cosigned by only two other Justices – Sotomayor and Jackson.
Only two countries were directly affected by the decision in Mullin v. Doe – Syria and Haiti. But every other TPS-designated country (Burma, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Honduras, Lebanon, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen) is either already terminated or living on borrowed time. There is, in our judgment, no way that TPS can survive for any country if the Administration declines to extend it. (more…)
Last week’s fatal aircraft collision over the Potomac River reverberates with many Arlington leaders’ longstanding concerns about the county’s crowded airspace.
In the immediate aftermath of the collision near Reagan National Airport — which claimed the lives of 64 people on a regional jet and three soldiers on a military helicopter — U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) is calling for permanent changes.
Salvage Operation Continues — “Salvage crews have removed a large portion of a commercial jet from the Potomac River near Washington’s Reagan National Airport on Monday, five days after a midair collision last week that killed 67 people. Authorities have said the operation to remove the plane will take several days and they will then work to remove the military helicopter involved in the crash.” [Associated Press]
Airport Employees Charged in Leak — “After video appearing to be from an airport surveillance camera was shown on CNN last week in the wake of the fatal American Airlines jet collision with an Army helicopter, two airport authority employees were arrested and charged with leaking official airport records.” [Washington Post]
County Using AI for Training — “A three-person team from George Mason University worked to improve preparedness via AI-powered games for the Department of Public Safety Communications and Emergency Management in Arlington, Virginia… the team created two interactive games, called Go-Repair and Go-Rescue, which simulated infrastructure maintenance, resource allocation and evacuations.” [CIO Dive]
Kaine Seeks Freeze Answers — “Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, led a group of his colleagues in issuing a letter… expressing concern about the acute financial impacts and lingering uncertainty faced by Head Start programs in Virginia and across the country as a result of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) memo that imposed a government-wide hiring freeze.” [Press Release]
Beyer Blasts Gutting of USAID — “Our delegation seeking to do congressional oversight on reports of Elon Musk’s illegal activity at USAID was just barred from entering the building on the orders of Musk and the Trump Administration. Nobody elected Musk — this is illegal and corrupt and we will keep fighting it.” [Rep. Don Beyer/X, WTOP]
Icy Wednesday Possible — “Although highs could climb into the 50s on Tuesday, the weather may take an icy turn late Wednesday. A wintry mix of precipitation could develop Wednesday afternoon or evening as a storm system approaches from the west while, at the same time, cold air seeps south. Precipitation could begin as wet snow or sleet before gradually transitioning to freezing rain and plain rain.” [CWG, NWS/X]
It’s Tuesday — Expect mostly sunny skies with temperatures reaching around 53°F and a northwest wind at 6 to 14 mph, gusting up to 26 mph. During Tuesday night, cloud coverage will increase, and temperatures will drop to about 31°F. Winds will calm to a 5 to 8 mph breeze. [NWS]
*Mamistad Groups meet IN PERSON-only the introductory Zoom call is virtual. :)
Pregnancy and new mom groups are a lifesaver when it comes to normalizing those feelings we just can’t be prepared for.
Good Monday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
The following articles were published earlier today — Feb 3, 2025.
Here is what’s going on Tuesday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
Expect mostly sunny skies with temperatures reaching around 53°F accompanied by a northwest wind blowing at 6 to 14 mph, gusting up to 26 mph. During Tuesday night, cloud coverage will increase, and temperatures will drop to about 31°F. The north wind will maintain a gentle 5 to 8 mph breeze. See more from Weather.gov.
“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.”
– Walter Elliot
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.
Walter Saxman, 95, passed away peacefully in Loudoun County, VA, on January 17, 2025. Born on March 13, 1929, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Harry and Kathryn Saxman, and was last of their fourteen children to pass away. Walter’s life was one of resilience, dedication, and love. A proud graduate of Latrobe High School in 1948, he served his country with honor during the Korean War, a chapter that shaped the man he became. After returning home, he was the first in his family to pursue higher education, earning a Bachelor’s Degree from California State University in California, PA, and a Master’s Degree from American University in Washington, D.C.
Walter’s career as an Industrial Arts teacher at Yorktown High School in Arlington, VA, was nothing short of impactful. He was not only a dedicated educator but a mentor who went above and beyond for his students. Through his many afterschool programs, which included auto mechanics and Drivers Education, Walter shaped the lives of countless young people, always with a patient ear and a heart full of encouragement.
Debate over gendered spaces in Arlington Public Schools has erupted following the arrest of a sex offender accused of exposing themselves in multiple girls’ locker rooms.
The school system is tightening security measures at its pools in response to Richard Kenneth Cox reportedly loitering while naked around women and girls after hours on APS property.
A fight in the Arlington Mill neighborhood has led to a series of charges against a local teen.
The fight happened Saturday night along the 5100 block of 7th Road S. and prompted a call to police. One of the people in the group of juveniles seen fighting had a gun, a witness told officers.
An Arlington nonprofit has received a $200,000 award supporting its food assistance programs and career training for immigrants and minorities.
Kitchen of Purpose last month received the annual Neighborhood Builders Award — a Bank of America grant recognizing high-impact nonprofits nationwide. The award comes as Kitchen of Purpose seeks to increase revenue streams under a new CEO who took the reins in late 2023.
