Around Town

A new European clothing store is now open at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City.

Spanish fast-fahion retailer Mango opened this past Wednesday, July 24 on the mall’s second level near Haggar. Mango has clothing for adults and kids in addition to home decor, though the Pentagon City location mostly sells women’s apparel.


Around Town

Irish pub Mattie and Eddie’s is expected to close next week at Westpost in Pentagon City.

The food-focused pub — which opened in 2021 and replaced Siné, another Irish pub — was a labor of love for chef, restaurateur and Dublin native Cathal Armstrong, who named the new establishment after his grandparents.


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…)


News

The main theme of ARLnow’s promotion of our email newsletter is that it allows you to get all of the headlines, without intermediation by algorithms.

Large online platforms like social networks and search engines are great, but they will generally only surface a fraction of the local stories you might be interested in reading, unless you actively seek them out. And many of us have settled into being more passive scrollers than active seekers when it comes to news.


News
Sunset in Clarendon over Joyce Motors (Flickr pool photo by Brian Gannon)

Pushback on APS Phone Proposal — “Efforts by Arlington school leaders to put in place for the start of the school year a temporary, district-wide policy on student phone use brought criticism before it even had been formally unveiled. School Board members on July 18 heard criticism of the nascent proposal from representatives of both the County Council of PTAs (CCPTA) and Special Education Parent-Teacher Association of Arlington.” [Gazette Leader]

Best Egg Sandwiches in Arlington — According to Washington Post food critic Tim Carman, some of the best egg sandwiches in the D.C. area can be found in Arlington at Taco Bamba, Ruthie’s All-Day, Colada Shop, and Hog Haven Farm stands at local farmers markets. [Washington Post]

Uncertainty About Quincy Site — “The county manager said he planned to do everything he could to avoid using the Quincy Street site for the bus fleet over the long haul. But, he added, ‘I’m not going to make a promise to that. I’m not saying [a future electric bus parking lot is] going to be on Quincy, but it has to be somewhere.'” [Gazette Leader]

Beyer Expected at Union Picket — “Representative Don Beyer, who represents Arlington County in the U.S. House, has pledged support for the workers of the Hyatt Regency Crystal City. Congressman Beyer is expected to speak in support of the Hyatt workers ahead of the picket this Saturday, July 27.” [Press Release]

New Amazon Fresh Now Open — “Amazon Fresh opened in the Potomac Yard Shopping Center today at 3801 Richmond Highway — four years since the former Shoppers Food Warehouse closed.” [ALXnow]

More Speed Cameras in Fairfax — “Get ready for more speed cameras in Fairfax County school zones. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors gave its support this week for the Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) to move ahead with the installation of 50 additional speed cameras in school zones following the success of its speed camera pilot program.” [FFXnow]

Silver Line Anniversary — “On this day 10 years ago, Metrorail arrived in Tysons and Reston, connecting two growing communities in Fairfax County to D.C. by train for the first time… While ridership remains below even 2014 levels, usage of the Silver Line Phase 1 stations has steadily increased since 2022, reaching an average of 7,405 weekday riders so far this year, as of July 17.” [FFXnow]

It’s Friday — Expect mostly sunny skies today with a high close to 85 degrees and a northeast breeze around 7 mph. Overnight, the sky will remain mostly clear, as the temperature drops to around 67 degrees. [NWS]

Flickr pool photo by Brian Gannon


Event

St. Agnes Catholic Church in Arlington is hosting its monthly run & walk social on June 18th (Thursday) at 6:30pm. The 3 or 4 mile run (or walk) will start in the back parking lot (off N. Stafford St.) and end at St. Agnes. Participants can enjoy complimentary pizza afterwards. Drinks are BYOB. Extra points if you wear Catholic school swag. Thank you Father Oetjen, who started off our May run from Court House to/from the Marine Corps War Memorial with a prayer (and ran a competitive pace). Also, thank you to the Notre Dame and Georgetown alumni who wore their schools’ colors!

Please RSVP at the link, so we know how much pizza to get. Thank you!


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 — Jul 25, 2024.

📅 Upcoming events

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

☀️ Friday’s forecast

Expect mostly sunny skies today with the temperature reaching a high close to 85 degrees and a northeast breeze around 7 mph. Overnight, the sky will remain mostly clear, and as the temperature drops to around 67 degrees, the wind will reduce to about 5 mph before calming in the evening. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“The starting point of all achievement is desire.”
– Napoleon Hill

🌅 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.


News

The Arlington County Board has re-approved the Pentagon City Sector Plan, restoring a document that a state court declared void for procedural reasons earlier this year.

The Board’s unanimous vote on Tuesday reaffirmed the county’s original February 2022 decision to plan for substantial Pentagon City development in coming years, particularly at the RiverHouse apartment complex. Developer JBG Smith proposes to build over 1,500 new units on the expansive property, across from the Westpost shopping center and home to three apartment towers.


News

A Woodbridge man is facing multiple charges after an alleged home break-in and series of attempted vehicle break-ins.

The unusual incident started Wednesday morning just before 10 a.m., in the Arlington Ridge neighborhood.


News

Poor regional coordination and outdated technology led to inconsistent messaging during Arlington’s boil water notice earlier this month, county staff say.

Confusion began after D.C. Water was the first to issue a boil water notice the night of July 3, due to potential contamination caused by algae blooms in the Potomac River.


Around Town

Monster-sized sweet treats are coming to Ballston Quarter’s food hall later this summer.

MidnighTreats, a regional bakery selling giant vegan cookies, is expected to open by mid to late August, owner Jemal Mahdi tells ARLnow. It will occupy the former kiosk of District Doughnut, at the entrance to Ballston Quarter Market.