A-SPAN | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published June 21, 2022 at 7:30AM | Updated June 21, 2022 at 9:02AM

Ballston at twilight (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

It’s Officially Summer — “The 2022 summer solstice arrives at 5:14 a.m. Eastern time. At this precise moment the sun appears directly over the Tropic of Cancer — as far north as it appears in the sky all year. Around the solstice, the sun’s northward movement in the sky appears to pause briefly before reversing direction for the next six months.” [Capital Weather Gang]

Gulf Branch Project Meeting Tomorrow — Updated at 9:00 a.m. — “Gulf Branch project engagement resumes with a June 2022 community meeting. The design phase for the Gulf Branch Stream Project began in 2019. It was put on hold in March 2020 due to budgetary uncertainty related to the COVID-19 pandemic, but is moving forward again. We have some project updates to share and will hold a virtual community meeting on Wednesday, June 22 at 6:30 PM.” [Arlington County]

Around Town

Arlington nonprofit helps local man who had experienced homelessness for years find a home

By Matt Blitz

Published March 25, 2022 at 1:45PM

Barry Oliver with Kasia Shaw and Gabrielle Goodson of PathForward holding keys to his new home (courtesy of PathForward)

Local nonprofit PathForward has helped an Arlington man who has experienced homelessness for more than 15 years finally find a place to call his own.

Earlier this month, the organization tweeted that it was able to find a new home for Barry Oliver, who was often seen in the Ballston, Virginia Square and Clarendon neighborhoods. He moved into a subsidized apartment in Arlington the prior week.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published July 12, 2021 at 5:00AM

Arlington Traffic Still Way Down — “New numbers provided to 7News by the Virginia Dept. of Transportation (VDOT) show… weekday traffic in Arlington County in June 2021 was still down 26% versus June 2019. But that was an outlier – in Fairfax County traffic was only down 12%, Loudoun County just 8%, and Prince William County was basically back to normal, falling just 3% versus June 2019.” [WJLA]

A-SPAN Rebrands — “What began life three decades ago as the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network, or A-SPAN, has assumed a new identity: PathForward… ‘We came to the conclusion that we needed a new name to match all that we do,’ the organization’s board chair, Tim Denning, said.” [Sun Gazette]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 21, 2021 at 5:00AM

Lee Highway Planning Update — “Arlington county staff have produced different future land use scenarios for five sections, or neighborhood areas, of the [Lee Highway] corridor. These scenarios offer different visions for the route that note anticipated intensity and uses of land as well as potential future transportation and public space improvements. Ultimately, the initiative will culminate in an area plan that will guide future development along the corridor over the next 30 years.” [GGWash]

Postal Flexibility for Route 29 — “To borrow from a phrase of Barack Obama: If you like your Lee Highway address, you can keep your Lee Highway address. Arlington County officials say they do not expect the pending renaming of the 5.2-mile stretch of U.S. Route 29 in the county to impact delivery of mail addressed to the old ‘Lee Highway’ address when the roadway becomes ‘Langston Boulevard.'” [InsideNova]

Around Town

Rosslyn BID to Kick Off Season of Giving with a Winter Clothing Drive

By Jo DeVoe

Published November 24, 2020 at 2:30PM

The Rosslyn Business Improvement District is hosting its annual holiday clothing drive to benefit those experiencing homelessness from Monday (Nov. 30) through Dec. 15.

Accepted donations include winter coats, sweaters, sweatshirts, hats and gloves, which will be given to A-SPAN, an organization dedicated to ending homelessness in Arlington, which has distributed the donated items since 2011.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 13, 2020 at 7:30AM

Leaves along the sidewalk and a puddle gathering rain drops and reflections outside of Whitlow's in Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Real Estate Market Remains Hot — “A total of 264 properties went to closing in October, up 25.7 percent from the 210 transactions a year before… The Arlington-wide average sales price of $757,378 recorded in October was up 14.5 percent from $661,447, with a 16.7-percent increase in the average sales price of single-family homes (to $1,148,445) and a 2.7-percent increase for attached homes, such as townhouses and rowhouses (to $537,547).” [InsideNova]

Investment for Arlington Tech Firm — “The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) today announced that Virginia Founders Fund (VFF) has invested in Rosslyn, Va.-based Mesh Intelligence, developer of a proactive food safety and supply chain solution to predict upcoming and evolving risks and disruptions globally to help organizations plan and act faster.” [GlobeNewswire via Potomac Tech Wire]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 22, 2020 at 6:00AM

Crystal City Parking Lot Staying Put — “Crystal City has been a scalding hot market for new development ever since Amazon.com Inc. moved in — but one well-positioned lot will continue to sit empty for the foreseeable future. Gould Property Co., which owns a small parking lot at 2661 S. Clark St., filed a request with Arlington County last month asking for permission to maintain the property as surface parking through early 2026.” [Washington Business Journal]

Westover Apartment Building Named — “Kathleen Sibert, who led the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network (A-SPAN) from 2008 until earlier this year, will remain a permanent part of the organization through a facility named in her honor… Located in Westover, Sibert House is designed to provide permanent-supportive housing and a foundation to help individuals achieve better health, overcome substance abuse and mental illness, obtain job security, and attain their goals.” [InsideNova]

News

Arlington Nonprofits Collaborate to Combat Coronavirus Impacts

By Vernon Miles

Published March 18, 2020 at 3:55PM | Updated March 18, 2020 at 4:23PM

(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) As Arlingtonians scramble to stock up on emergency supplies to weather the coronavirus pandemic, some local nonprofits that are helping those most in need are starting to see the strain on the county’s most vulnerable populations.

“We’re still trying to get used to the new reality,” said Andrew Schneider, executive director of Arlington Thrive, a nonprofit that provides emergency funding to people in crisis. “We’re trying to figure out how dire the situation is for Arlingtonians, not just [in terms of] health but also economic [situations].”

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 19, 2019 at 7:30AM

Dorsey Staying Put, For Now — “The chairman of the Arlington County Board says he’s not going anywhere… ‘My personal financial issues do not impinge on my ability to work with colleagues both in Arlington and throughout the region, our county staff and our community,’ Dorsey said. ‘I intend to demonstrate over the next four years those who voted to re-elect me did not make a mistake.'” [InsideNova]

RiverHouse Plans Pick Up Opposition — “JBG Smith’s plans to add nearly 1,000 new housing units to its RiverHouse Apartment Complex in Pentagon City, not far from the future home of Amazon’s second headquarters, now look to be in trouble. Arlington officials and neighbors are pushing back against the developer’s proposal.” [Washington Business Journal]

Events

‘Cranksgiving’ Bike Ride And Clothing Drive Coming to Arlington

By Kalina Newman

Published November 7, 2019 at 4:30PM

An Arlington bicycling group will host its first annual “Cranksgiving” charity ride to help the homeless.

Cosponsored by the Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail, the choose-your-own-adventure scavenger hunt ride will take place on Saturday, November 23 at 10 a.m. and will benefit the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network (A-SPAN).

Opinion

Letter to the Editor: Hospital Expansion Would Better Serve Arlington’s Homeless Population

By ARLnow.com

Published September 21, 2018 at 2:00PM

A rendering of the planned Virginia Hospital Center expansion (courtesy photo)

The following Letter to the Editor was submitted by Michael Garcia, a Columbia Pike insurance agent who serves as the board chair of the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network, a local nonprofit that works with homeless individuals in Arlington. A-SPAN is weighing in on the proposed Virginia Hospital Center expansion, which the Arlington Planning Commission and some residents who live near the hospital oppose in its current form.

I am writing in support of the Virginia Hospital Center expansion project. It is my hope that the County Board recognizes the enormous value that VHC brings to this community and approves the project, as soon as possible.