A report from Fairfax County’s top prosecutor recounts the eventful day this past October that led to a wild chase of an armed suspect.
The Oct. 6 incident started that morning when a driver made a U-turn in front of Arlington County police headquarters and brandished a gun at a sheriff’s deputy, later fleeing and striking a parked car.
Arlington County is working on plans to make safety and accessibility upgrades a trio of local streets.
Some of the changes could include adding sidewalks where there are none, removing obstructions from existing sidewalks, and extending curbs — known as a “bump-out” — to make shorter pedestrian crossings.
Arlington’s small business community is strong and resilient. However, local businesses continue to face challenges from economic uncertainty, drops in consumer confidence, losses in access to capital, and disruptions from artificial intelligence. BizLaunch, a division of Arlington Economic Development, continues to rise to the challenge by supporting over 6,000 small businesses in Arlington with one-on-one counseling, innovative programming and robust marketing to encourage consumers to shop locally.
During a recent presentation to the Small Business Coordinating Council, BizLaunch Director Tara Palacios highlighted fiscal year 2026 results that underscore both the impact of Arlington’s business support programs and the pressures ahead.
BizLaunch provided technical assistance to entrepreneurs at a level 56% above its annual goal, reflecting sustained demand for one-on-one advising and business guidance. The division also served a diverse business community, including 52% women-owned businesses and 45% minority-owned enterprises. Nearly a quarter — 24% — of clients were in food and retail, industries that continue to face heightened economic pressure.
Major marketing and PR campaigns drove engagement across Arlington. Small Business Saturday, one of BizLaunch’s signature programs, prompted more than 4,141 transactions and $211,862 in consumer spending through the Open Rewards incentive, supported by a $10,625 investment of County funds. A coordinated marketing campaign with the BIDs and Partnerships further amplified the effort, generating more than 56,000 organic social media impressions, 44,000 video views and 1,619 engagements, along with nearly 2,000 paid ad clicks.
Support for business development through programming has also expanded. The BizLaunch Transformational Challenge and Pitchfest drew 40 participants for a five-week training program covering strategic planning, marketing, artificial intelligence and financial management. Participants developed pitch decks and presented to a panel of private lenders and business leaders. In all $25,000 was awarded to local businesses through the pitch event which came from private donations and contributions from the Industrial Development Authority. (more…)
(Updated at 11:40 a.m.) A new virtual indoor golf facility on Columbia Pike hopes to open by the end of the month.
The independently-owned Par Citi plans to open in the old LoanMax building at 3102 Columbia Pike “within the next few weeks,” managing partner Kristian Hara told ARLnow. That likely means tee time will be in the back end of May.
We’re now into the back third of meteorological spring and it’s feeling more like… the beginning?
It has been a notably cool (and wet) end to April and start of May, right around when one might have been expecting some warmer weather to move in.
🫶✨ Calling all Swifties! ✨🫶
Get ready for a night celebrating every era as The Fearless Eras, DC’s only all-Taylor Swift cover band, takes over The Renegade in Arlington for more than 3 hours of Taylor’s biggest hits and fan-favorite deep cuts.
Family Demands $10M for Gunston Incident — “The family of a Virginia eighth-grader sent Arlington Public Schools Tuesday a ‘notice of claim and demand’ after they say he was forced to play a cotton picking game in class earlier this year. They are demanding a $10 million settlement in the case. Former Va. Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, the family’s attorney, sent the letter to APS.” [WJLA, Fox 5]
Green Valley Leaders Blast County — “Leaders of the Green Valley Civic Association have blasted county leadership for what they term as ‘offensive, arrogant and hateful’ its suggestion that they stay out of the nitty-gritty of capital project that impact their community. The comments came in an April 21 letter to County Board Chairman Christian Dorsey, complaining that the Green Valley community’s feedback on plans for an Arlington Transit (ART) operations and management facility still is not being taken seriously.” [Gazette Leader]
Good Tuesday evening, Arlington. Today we published articles that were read a total of 16964 times… so far.
The following are the most-read articles for today — May 2, 2023.
Arlington County is looking to make a three-block stretch in Courthouse safer for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.
Specifically, it is looking for ways to improve conditions along a three-block stretch of Wilson Blvd and Clarendon Blvd between N. Uhle Street and N. Adams Street.
When living civil rights legend Joan Trumpauer Mulholland participated in sit-ins, she carried a Bible with her.
She kept her birth certificate inside “so that they could identify the body,” her son, Loki, said during an event on Saturday at the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington honoring his mother’s activism.
Police are on the lookout for a man who has been spotted masturbating multiple times near the Walter Reed pickleball courts.
Cops have been called to the Walter Reed Community Center at 2909 16th Street S. at least two times in the past two weeks, each time in the late morning, according to Arlington County police crime reports.
