News

Morning Notes for December 23, 2024

By ARLnow.com
Santa checks in with the North Pole while awaiting customers at Ballston Quarter (staff photo)

Lines at DCA — “The lines are growing at area airports as the rush to get out of town for the holidays is in full swing. WTOP talked to flyers at Reagan National Airport who were headed all over the place… One flyer, who chose to remain anonymous, was headed down to Florida and described the lines at the airport as: ‘So far about what I expected, maybe a little shorter.'” [WTOP, PoPville]

Fisherman Catches Grenade — “A hand grenade was pulled out of the Potomac near Roosevelt Island by magnet fisherman. DC bomb squad and Park Police investigated and have declared it safe.” [PoPville, Twitter]

Mystery Stains on Clarendon Sidewalk — It’s unclear how what appears to be numerous drops of blood ended up on a Clarendon sidewalk. [Twitter]

Holiday Hope for Rescue Pets — Lucky Dog Animal Rescue welcomed 53 dogs and cats from overcrowded South Carolina shelters this past week. Five of the animals found their forever homes immediately upon arrival. The Arlington-based nonprofit continues to seek loving families for the remaining pets looking for their forever homes this holiday season. [WUSA 9/YouTube]

Courthouse Construction Concluding — “Still some construction work wrapping up at the N Courthouse Rd intersection but the sidewalks at The Wendy are now open!” [Twitter]

Party City Closing in Bailey’s Xroads — “Party City is planning to close all of its stores, more than a year after it exited bankruptcy, the retailer confirmed Saturday in an email to consumers. The New Jersey-based party supplies company has been struggling for years even before the pandemic.” [Axios]

New Year Festivities in F.C. — “Ring in the New Year in the City of Falls Church with free, family-friendly, fun festivities at the Annual Watch Night New Year’s Eve Celebration. The event will take place from 7 p.m. to midnight on Tuesday, December 31, at the intersection of Broad Street (Route 7) and Washington Street (Route 29) and indoor venues. The event is open to the public and includes live music and children’s amusements.” [City of Falls Church]

It’s Monday — Expect a mostly sunny day with a high around 35 degrees with calm winds that will later shift to the south at 5 to 7 mph. As for Monday night, the skies will turn mostly cloudy with a low temperature of approximately 27 degrees. [NWS]

Today’s Morning Notes are brought to you by Industrious. Start your new year right with a place to work that’s not your living room. ARLnow has called an Industrious coworking space home for years, enjoying the convenience of having everything from fresh coffee to copy machines taken care of for you. With several Metro-accessible Arlington locations, Industrious makes it easy to focus on what matters most — your work.

Sports

Longtime assistant chosen as new Yorktown head football coach

By Dave Facinoli
Alec Hicks is Yorktown High School's new head football coach (courtesy of Yorktown athletics)

The heir apparent has been chosen as the new head football coach at Yorktown High School.

On Dec. 20, longtime Yorktown assistant coach Alec Hicks, a former player and 1999 graduate of the school, was named to replace Bruce Hanson as the leader of the Patriots’ Arlington program.

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Sponsored

Does USCIS even want to issue green cards any more?

By James Montana

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…)

Schools

APS leaders planning streamlined FY26 school-budget process

By Scott McCaffrey
School Board member Mary Kadera (via Arlington Public Schools)

County school leaders, both elected and staff, will be presenting a united front as the fiscal 2026 budget season fast approaches.

In a change from typical practice, the Arlington School Board and superintendent will present a joint budget in mid-March, Board members decided Dec. 12.

Go to APS leaders planning streamlined FY26 school-budget process Read more
Announcement

Hear the Capitol Hill Chorale Sing “Lamentations Into Joy”

By Capitol Hill Chorale

Join the Capitol Hill Chorale for our final concert of the season, “Lamentations Into Joy” on Saturday, May 30th, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 31st, at 4 p.m. at Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church.

This concert contains matched pairs of pieces from seven composers, contrasting expressions of sadness and joy. It also features the premiere of a new piece by CHC Composer-in-Residence Kevin Siegfried.

Go to Hear the Capitol Hill Chorale Sing “Lamentations Into Joy” Read more
News

Neighborhoods initiative, public-health head lauded by county leaders

By Scott McCaffrey
Penrose Square groundbreaking 2012 (Arlington County)

County Board members on Tuesday (Dec. 17) celebrated the 60th anniversary of Arlington’s neighborhood-conservation efforts, and lauded the work of the community’s public-health director.

60 Years of Neighborhood Conservation Celebrated: County leaders on Dec. 17 marked the 60th anniversary of the Arlington Neighborhoods Program.

Go to Neighborhoods initiative, public-health head lauded by county leaders Read more
Sports

Yorktown basketball teams wins fifth straight, stands 7-1 overall

By Dave Facinoli
Sam Roosa helped Yorktown defeat Marshall (photo by Jen Snow Butler)

With their latest victory, the Yorktown Patriots completed the pre-winter-break portion of the boys basketball team’s schedule with a 7-1 overall record.

Win number seven came on the road Friday night (Dec. 20) by a 59-57 score over the Marshall Statesmen in the first Liberty District action of the campaign for the Patriots.

Go to Yorktown basketball teams wins fifth straight, stands 7-1 overall Read more
Schools

Falls Church School Board updates list of capital projects in pipeline

By Scott McCaffrey
Meridian High School Stadium facilities (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Falls Church school leaders are planning to add a modest number of items to the system’s updated 2026-31 capital-improvement program.

And nearly already have funding sources available, School Board members were told on Dec. 10.

Go to Falls Church School Board updates list of capital projects in pipeline Read more
Around Town

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Dec 20, 2024

By ARLnow.com

Good Friday 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 — Dec 20, 2024.

Since it’s Friday, we’ve also compiled a list of the most-read articles of the week, below.

  1. Suspect arrested after grocery store robbery (9751 views)
  2. One hurt after driver slams into building near Clarendon (8481 views)
  3. JUST IN: Arlington announces new school zone speed cameras (8306 views)
  4. EXCLUSIVE: Police union, prosecutor dispute prior case involving child stabbing suspect (7408 views)
  5. Youngkin proposes car tax relief in his adjusted Virginia budget plan (5697 views)
  6. HQ2 utility work concludes, but Phase 2 timeline remains hazy (5169 views)
  7. Development plans for Rosslyn’s ‘Deep Throat’ garage could get a kickstart (4598 views)
  8. Build-your-own pasta place plans spring opening near the Ballston Metro (4387 views)
  9. New chief public defender named for Arlington and Falls Church (4324 views)
  10. Most and least expensive townhouses sold in Arlington (November 2024) (4123 views)
  11. ACPD investigating armed carjacking near HQ2 (3968 views)

📅 Upcoming events

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

☀️ Saturday’s forecast

Expect mostly sunny skies and a high near 36 during the day, accompanied by a northwest wind of 14 to 16 mph, gusting up to 30 mph. The night will be partly cloudy with a low around 21 and a northwest wind of approximately 8 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“The only true wisdom is knowing that you know nothing.”
– Socrates

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

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

We hope you have a great weekend, Arlington! Feel free to discuss the most-read stories of the week, the upcoming weekend events or anything else of local interest in the comments. 👋

Sports

Wakefield track & field teams finish first in girls and boys meets

By Dave Facinoli
Wakefield's Grace Armitage was a standout at the meet (courtesy of Wakefield athletics)

The Wakefield Warriors recently won both the girls and boys multi-team track-and-field indoor meets at Thomas Jefferson Community Center.

The girls were first with 104 points and the boys with 154. Both high-school teams had multiple winners of individual events, and combined for three victories in relay races.

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Sports

Yorktown ice-hockey team builds big lead, hangs on for victory

By ARLnow.com
Yorktown goalie Brendan Thompson (photo courtesy of Dave McGraw)

The Yorktown High School ice-hockey club team won its first road match of the season by holding off Tuscarora/Loudoun County by a 7-6 score.

With the victory, Yorktown improved to 3-1 and remained tied atop the Smythe Division of the Northern Virginia Scholastic Hockey League.

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