News

A robbery at the Pentagon City mall Sunday afternoon caused a panic that sent shoppers fleeing and prompted a massive police response.

The incident started around 3:30 p.m. after Arlington County police received multiple reports of shots fired and smoke seen inside the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City. Arriving officers found people running from the mall and broken glass in front of the Tourneau watch and jewelry store.


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.

This complaint about the quality of copper ingots has been rejected, because it was submitted on the a tablet of improper diameter. On on after 1750 BC, complainants must use the new tablet... Image is free for public use. Attribution here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ea-nir
This complaint about the quality of copper ingots has been rejected, because it was submitted on the a tablet of improper diameter. On on after 1750 BC, complainants must use the new tablet… Image is free for public use. Attribution here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ea-n%C4%81%E1%B9%A3ir

USCIS administers immigration benefits. In the time-honored tradition of government agencies since the days of Ur and Uruk, USCIS uses forms to collect, store, and interpret information. Immigrants complete these forms in order to obtain benefits. Most U.S. citizens have no idea what reams of paperwork these forms require. An ordinary green card application is comprised of ninety-seven pages of bare forms, which typically are supported by several hundred pages of supporting documents.

In better times, forms are a necessary evil. In the times we actually live in, forms are just another weapon with which to thwack your political opponents.

In the second iteration of the Trump Administration, USCIS has discovered a new, extremely petty way to make immigrants’ lives more difficult – by releasing new form versions which make utterly minute changes, and then decrees that yesterday’s official version is obsolete as of today.

The Office of Management and Budget, by the way, requires that all government forms have an ‘edition date’ and an ‘expiration date.’ USCIS evades this neatly by making the expiration date purely notional – the form can be valid after the expiration date, and it can be decreed obsolete at any time before or after the expiration date. (The edition date is notional, too – in the first months of the Trump Administration, USCIS persistently released forms backdated to January 20, 2025, seemingly just for the inaugural vibes.) The forms altered in the last two weeks are highlighted below.

  1. Form G-28. Four pages, stating that a lawyer represents you.
  2. Form G-28. Four more pages, stating that the same lawyer represents your spouse.
  3. Form I-130. A twelve-page biographical survey of you, the U.S. citizen.
  4. Form I-130A. A six-page biographical survey of your spouse.
  5. Form I-131. A fourteen-page request for permission to travel while the government thinks about whether to grant the green card application.
  6. Form I-485. A twenty-four pager. This is the green card application itself. It repeats all of the biographical detail from Forms I-130 and I-130A.
  7. Form I-693. A fourteen-page list of certifications concerning your health and fitness. (No, your family doctor can’t do it for you – you have to go to someone called a Designated Civil Surgeon.)
  8. Form I-765. A seven-page request for a work permit while the government thinks about whether to grant your green card application.
  9. Form I-864. A twelve-page contract in which you (the U.S. citizen) promise to repay the government for welfare benefits, if your spouse draws on them, and in which you further promise to keep your spouse above the poverty line. (more…)

Around Town

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 — Aug 30, 2024.

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

  1. NEW: Man armed with rifle robbed people of watches in Pentagon City (15028 views)
  2. Arlington man, 22, killed in Sterling double homicide ‘never held a grudge’ (14597 views)
  3. Bikers swarm Arlington, rumbling past startled Rosslyn restaurant patrons (13701 views)
  4. NEW: Donald Trump makes stops at Arlington National Cemetery and Eden Center (13419 views)
  5. After 56 years in business, a film and camera shop in Falls Church is closing (12134 views)
  6. Fire in strip mall prompts Glebe Road closure (9756 views)
  7. Driver cited after striking teen near Washington-Liberty HS (7832 views)
  8. Falls Church Festival, now in 48th year, returns next month (7027 views)
  9. Photos: Arlington crowds deliver hero’s welcome to Olympic gold medalist Torri Huske (6545 views)
  10. Yorktown High School alumna earns prestigious public service scholarship (6364 views)
  11. RNC hosts event in Clarendon to train volunteer voter fraud lookouts (5397 views)
  12. ACPD: Two officers injured by theft suspect in Pentagon City (4501 views)

📅 Upcoming events

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

Here are the events planned for Sunday:

🌦️ Saturday’s forecast

Patchy drizzle expected before 10am, followed by possible showers after 5pm and fog before 9am. Gradual clearing to mostly sunny skies with a high near 87 and a south wind at 3-7 mph. The evening brings a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms, primarily between 8pm and 5am, with mostly cloudy conditions and a low around 72. South wind will be around 6 mph before becoming light and variable after midnight. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.”
– Jordan Belfort

🌅 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. 👋


Announcement

Looking for a fall activity that gets you moving and builds real confidence? EvolveAll Martial Arts and Training Studio is offer free classes for youth and adults during it’s upcoming Intro Week, September 14-19.

EvolveAll, Arlington’s martial arts and fitness community off Columbia Pike, is once again opening its doors for a full week of free trial classes — and youth classes are one of the highlights. Kids ages 5-15 will get to try hands-on martial arts instruction designed to build discipline, focus, and self-defense skills in a supportive, age-appropriate environment.


Event

Join us at Westover Taco for the official Fund Her Game Charity Launch, bringing together athletes, fans, business leaders, and community supporters who want to strengthen girls’ and women’s sports across the DMV.

Fund Her Game was created to invest in the teams, leagues, programs, and organizations that help women and girls play, compete, develop, and lead, from recreational sports through professional competition.


News

Arlington police, firefighters and the county’s bomb squad conducted a major investigation in the Westover neighborhood today.

Law enforcement personnel, some in heavy protective gear, could be seen hauling items out of the Fisher House Apartments at 5705 Washington Blvd. Shortly before 3:45 p.m., an arrest was announced in connection to the case.


Around Town

A longstanding auto repair shop and attached gas station along Langston Blvd have shuttered.

Westover Service Center and the Liberty gas station at 5618 Langston Blvd have closed “for good,” according to a sign affixed to the convenience store door.


Around Town

The Liberty Tavern is closed as it undergoes maintenance on the floors and ceilings, among other repairs.

The Clarendon mainstay, open for 17 years, will reopen in about two weeks — around mid-September — after floors, ceiling tiles and bathroom surfaces are updated, co-owner Stephen Fedorchak told ARLnow.


Opinion

Aside from the week between Christmas and New Year’s, the Friday before Labor Day is one of the quietest days of the year in the D.C. area.

Many are on vacation, but even those still here and working might be, well, checked out for the weekend. On top of that, there’s no school today for Arlington Public Schools and, traditionally, it’s a very slow day for readership on ARLnow.


Announcement

Pentagon MMA has brought a special honor home to Arlington from the birthplace of Muay Thai.

The Arlington Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu Academy is now officially a certified and registered Muay Thai Gym Partner through the Sports Authority of Thailand and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand, making Pentagon MMA the only Muay Thai academy on the East Coast to have earned this distinction.