News
Holiday lights in Rosslyn (courtesy George Brazier)

Requiem for the Underground — “Two weeks before her own lease ran out, Elaine Demos could do little but pace inside her shoebox of a gift store and gaze out at what was left of the Crystal City Underground. This suburban, nominally subterranean Northern Virginia shopping mall — a maze of kitschy mom-and-pop stores below office buildings and above a Metro station — had once seemed like something from the future.” [Washington Post]

Big Crash Near Chain Bridge — Yesterday, from Dave Statter: “N. Glebe Road just before Chain Bridge in Arlington is now shut due to a water main break. Hmmm. Is that related to this morning’s chain reaction crash involving as many as 14 vehicles? That occurred around 7:45 a.m.” [Twitter]

New Year’s Eve Road Rage — “The male victim and male suspect were each driving their vehicles when they became involved in a dispute at the intersection of Crystal Drive and Potomac Avenue. The victim and suspect then parked and exited their vehicles in the 3600 block of S. Glebe Road where a physical altercation ensued during which the suspect struck the victim with an unknown object, causing a laceration. The suspect then damaged the victim’s glasses, and stole the victim’s electronics.” [ACPD]

Local Alcohol-Free Options — “A quarter of Americans say they completed Dry January in 2024, according to CivicScience, an opinion analytics platform. If you’re feeling sober-curious this year, or you’re among the 38% of people who never have alcohol, these restaurants have just the mocktail for you.” [Arlington Magazine]

Johns Hopkins Expanding to F.C. — “After opening its second location in the commonwealth in December at 4102 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington, the Baltimore health system announced its third location will be in Falls Church. Johns Hopkins recently inked a lease with Trammell Crow Co. for 68,000 square feet at The Wellness Center, 7171 Cardinal Lane. It’s part of the 1.2 million-square-foot West Falls mixed-use project.” [WBJ]

It’s Friday — Expect rain and snow showers after 1pm, with mostly cloudy skies, a high near 42, and southwest winds of 5-11 mph, gusting up to 18 mph. There’s a 50% chance of precipitation. For Friday night, there’s a slight chance of snow showers before 10pm, clearing up to mostly clear skies and a low of 25. The northwest wind will be around 16 mph, gusting up to 26 mph, and the precipitation chance is 20%. [NWS]


Legal Notice

Good Guys Hospitality, LLC trading as Dudley’s Sport and Ale, 2766 S Arlington Mill Dr, Arlington VA 22206.

The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) for a Mixed Beverage license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages.

Johnson Lewis, Member, Good Guys Hospitality, LLC.

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.


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.

The government likes to release unpopular items on Friday afternoons, and, when the government has something really unpopular to say, the Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend is considered ideal. Last Friday, before the Memorial Day weekend, USCIS published a truly incredible policy reversal – PM 602-0199 (the “May 21 Memo”), which purports to upend the ability of most foreigners to apply for green cards from within the United States. DHS and USCIS’s respective public messaging on the memorandum is clear but wrong. The memorandum was more nuanced, but still, in our view, deeply misleading. The purpose of this advertorial is to explain what happened, why it matters, and offer some predictions about how this unforced error is going to be resolved.

First, here’s what DHS and USCIS said about their own memo.

What do these press releases mean? They mean to highlight the following distinction: some people apply for a green card from inside the United States, at USCIS field offices; others apply for a green card from outside the United States, at U.S. Embassies and Consulates abroad. Per both press releases, nearly everyone who applies from inside the U.S. is ineligible to become a lawful permanent resident. Almost everyone who applies for a green card should do so via U.S. Embassies and consulates abroad.

That might seem reasonable, and, ex ante, it could be, if our laws and institutions were set up properly. There are, unfortunately, a few problems with this new policy position, both practical and legal. (more…)


Legal Notice

Green Pig Bistro, LLC trading as Green Pig Bistro, 2900 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22201

The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) for a Mixed Beverage license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages.

Fitzgerald Lewis, Member Green Pig Bistro LLC

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.


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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 — Jan 2, 2025.

📅 Upcoming events

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

  • No events today. Have one to promote? Submit it to the calendar.

🌧️ Friday’s forecast

Expect rain and snow showers after 1pm, with mostly cloudy skies, a high near 42, and southwest winds of 5-11 mph, gusting up to 18 mph. There’s a 50% chance of precipitation. For Friday night, there’s a slight chance of snow showers before 10pm, clearing up to mostly clear skies and a low of 25. The northwest wind will be around 16 mph, gusting up to 26 mph, and the precipitation chance is 20%. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”
– Jimmy Dean

🌅 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.


Event

Join Kaiser Permanente for Healthy at the Harbor, a free community health and wellness event taking place Saturday, June 6, from 11 am to 4 pm at National Harbor in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Bring your family and friends for free full day of fun, fitness, and preventive care along the waterfront.

Throughout the day, Kaiser Permanente nurses and physicians will offer no-cost health screenings, alongside a health and wellness expo focused on preventive care education. A lively Kids’ Zone will keep children active and entertained with spin-art bikes, face painting, balloon art, games, and more.


Sports

By combining team scores from the girls varsity and boys junior-varsity wrestling squads, the host Wakefield Warriors won the recent third annual Vic Blue Memorial Tournament.

The high-school teams amassed a 158-point total, with Colonial Forge of Stafford finishing second with 146.5. Arlington’s Washington-Liberty Generals were third with 123.


Sports

With the holiday breaks over, the sports schedule for varsity high-school teams in Arlington rebounds in coming days, including this weekend with basketball games, wrestling matches and an indoor track-and-field meet.

In one of those boys basektball games, the Yorktown Patriots play on the road against the defending Class 6 state champion South Lakes Seahawks at 7:30 p.m. in a big non-district showdown.


News

Expect a days-long closure of N. Glebe Road near Chain Bridge due to emergency water main repairs.

The busy commuter route was closed Thursday afternoon between Chain Bridge Road and Military Road. Outbound traffic from D.C. is being diverted onto Chain Bridge Road, while northbound traffic heading toward the District is being rerouted onto Military Road.


News

The old Days Inn sign is down and a new fence is up at an Arlington Blvd (Route 50) site slated for redevelopment.

However, there are still no active construction or demolition permits for 2201 Arlington Blvd, a 251-unit project that the Arlington County Board approved in July 2023.


Around Town

After leaving its 15-year homebase in Crystal City last spring, Synetic Theater has kept up Arlington performances as it continues to seek a new home.

The theater company, which vacated 1800 S. Bell Street in April 2024 amid redevelopment plans, is currently premiering a new comedy at Theatre on the Run in Green Valley and preparing to produce at least two 2025 shows in D.C.