News

Amazon Pushes Return to Office — “Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told company employees who defy his edict to return to the office for at least three days a week that ‘it’s probably not going to work out for you.’ Jassy made the comments during a meeting earlier this month during which he expressed frustration over the fact that some employees were not taking the return-to-office mandate seriously, according to the news site Insider, which obtained a recording of the CEO’s comments.” [New York Post]

ACPD K-9 Retires — “Please join ACPD in wishing K9 Astor a happy retirement as he finished his final tour of duty today. For over 10 years, he faithfully served the Arlington community and his fellow officers by making numerous criminal apprehensions, locating evidence, and protecting his handler. We are thankful for his years of service and wish him a happy and relaxing retirement!” [Facebook]


Sponsored

Every year, for just a few minutes, one of Arlington’s most iconic works of public art comes to life exactly as its artist intended.

On Saturday, Aug. 1, at approximately 9:32 a.m., visitors will gather in Rosslyn to witness the annual shadow alignment at Nancy Holt’s Dark Star Park (1979–84). At that precise moment, the shadows cast by the sculpture’s spheres and poles align with permanent shadow forms embedded in the ground—a phenomenon Holt designed to commemorate the anniversary of Rosslyn’s founding.

The alignment lasts only a few moments, but it has become a beloved Arlington tradition, drawing residents, visitors, artists and architecture enthusiasts alike to experience the intersection of art, astronomy, and history. If the weather cooperates, the park transforms into a striking demonstration of how light, time and place can become part of a work of art.

Created between 1979 and 1984, Dark Star Park was Arlington’s first County-commissioned public artwork and remains one of the nation’s earliest examples of integrated public art—where sculpture, landscape architecture and the surrounding environment function as a single work. Rather than placing an object within a park, Holt made the entire park the artwork, incorporating spheres, pools, steel poles, tunnels, earthworks and carefully positioned plantings into an immersive landscape.

Nancy Holt (1938–2014) was a pioneering artist whose work spanned poetry, film, photography, land art and large-scale public sculpture. Throughout her career, she explored perception, time and humanity’s relationship with the natural world. Dark Star Park remains her most significant urban installation and one of the few major works by the artist that can be experienced in an accessible city setting.

Whether you’ve attended for years or have never visited before, Dark Star Park Day offers a rare opportunity to experience a public artwork that changes with the movement of the sun—and reminds us that some of the most memorable moments in art happen not inside a museum, but out in the world around us.

Dark Star Park Day

When: Saturday, Aug. 1, beginning around 9 a.m.; shadow alignment at approximately 9:32 a.m.
Where: Dark Star Park, 1655 N. Fort Myer Drive, Rosslyn

 


News

A 21-year-old man from Arlington was among three Marines killed in Australia over the weekend.

Cpl. Spencer Collart died after the MV-22B Osprey aircraft he was on crashed and caught fire on Melville Island, off the coast of Australia’s Northern Territory. It happened during a military training exercise involving forces from the United States, Australia, the Philippines, East Timor and Indonesia, news outlets reported.


Event

Join us for Pike Fest, Columbia Pike’s signature fall festival, on Saturday, October 10!

Celebrate everything that makes Columbia Pike one of Arlington’s most vibrant and diverse communities with an afternoon full of live music, delicious food, family fun, and local shopping. From incredible restaurants and food vendors to artisan makers, community organizations, and small businesses, Pike Fest is your chance to experience the very best of the Pike all in one place.


Schools

(Updated at 4:15 p.m) Arlington Public Schools students headed back to school today and the positive energy, according to Superintendent Francisco Durán, was palpable.

“It was so wonderful,” he told ARLnow on a phone call this afternoon, debriefing from his morning spent visiting the half-dozen schools with new principals, including Gunston Middle School. “People are excited to be back.”


Around Town

(Updated at 4:40 p.m.) Get ready to raise your forks and pint glasses.

Makers Union, a gastropub known for its upscale menu, is coming to Amazon’s second headquarters in Pentagon City this fall.


Around Town

(Updated at 4:55 p.m.) Cookie shop Chip City is making its move into Shirlington.

The New York-based cookie purveyor is opening a location in Shirlington at 4014 Campbell Avenue, next to Best Buns Bread Company. That’s the former home of Yogi Castle, which closed last year.


Feature

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Three Ballston Plaza

A Green Valley-based nonprofit is encouraging kids to dream about working in tech the same way they dream of being a doctor or lawyer one day.


Around Town

(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) Fueled by its signature açai bowls, local juice bar South Block is hitting a growth spurt.

The smoothie, juice and açai bowl spot opened its newest location in Amazon’s HQ2 in July, marking its 15th storefront in the D.C. area and fifth in Arlington in the last 12 years.