Around Town

The four-decade-old, Arlington-born Lebanese Taverna is launching a new membership service, providing customers with a “Chef’s Tasting” menu or a curated selection of Lebanese wines at home every month.

“This is a way to share our culture, like the things we do at home, the snacks that we eat, and the things that my parents used to make,” co-owner Grace Abi-Najm Shea tells ARLnow. “This is kind of deconstructing the food and the culture from the restaurant and bringing it to your home.”


News

Most county operations and services, including COVID-19 vaccinations and testing, will be closed or operating on a limited schedule for the Thanksgiving holiday on both Thursday and Friday.

County government offices, courts, community centers and libraries will all be closed both on Thursday, Nov. 25 and Friday, Nov. 26.  The Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center will also be shuttered, and COVID-19 vaccinations and testing at county facilities will be paused.


News

The average rate of new daily Covid cases in Arlington has risen more than 50% between early November and now, two days before Thanksgiving.

As locals prepare for feasts and family gatherings, Covid has rebounded from its seasonal low of about 20 cases per day earlier this month. The seven-day moving average now stands at 32 cases per day, though that is still well below Arlington’s Delta wave peak of 48 cases per day, reached in mid-September.


Around Town

Arlington’s Human Rights Commission is honoring four organizations and two individuals for their contributions to diversity and human rights over the past year.

Recipients include a seven-decade-old church in Arlington Ridge, the Arlington Branch of the NAACP and a community activist in the Halls Hill neighborhood.


News

Pandemic recovery, childcare and criminal justice reform will be receiving millions in federal and county funds.

This week, the Arlington County Board voted to put federal COVID-19 relief funding and unspent county budget dollars toward these areas and other equity initiatives. Members also signaled the county’s commitment to these priorities by adopting them in their state legislative priority package.


News

The pandemic has moved office work to the home. As at least some of that work moves back to office buildings, the next frontier might be outdoors.

In Arlington, a recently-renovated 1980s office building in Courthouse offers a glimpse of a greener office future, with a year-round outdoor working space.


News

A Subway location on the ground floor of Arlington County’s jail could be getting a rent lifeline this weekend.

The sandwich shop renting space at the base of the Arlington County Detention Center (1435 N. Courthouse Road) has struggled to stay afloat since the pandemic slashed its sales. Although it still operates in the space, it has not paid rent to the county since March 2020, according to a report.


News

Elementary-school-aged children will soon be able to get the Covid vaccine from Arlington County.

The county’s public health division says it will start offering free jabs to 5-11 year-old children on Saturday. That follows the FDA’s emergency use authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for the age group last week.


Schools

Facing a shortage of substitute teachers, Arlington Public Schools has raised its pay rates to attract more candidates.

Teachers have been struggling to find substitutes, leading them to come in on days they wanted to take off or to rely on co-workers willing to cover for them, according to Superintendent Francisco Durán and the Arlington Education Association.


News

Arlington County is now offering booster shots of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

The county’s public health division, which was already offering Pfizer booster shots, made the announcement yesterday (Tuesday). The booster shots are available for adults who received their last jab more than six months ago and who are older than 65, in long-term care settings, have underlying medical conditions, or who work certain high-risk jobs.


News

It took Maywood resident Stephen Young nearly 19 months, 92 rides, and more than 1,000 miles to bike every street in Arlington. He finally finished the goal Saturday morning in front of family and friends in Cherrydale.

“And I thought it would take six to nine months,” 58-year-old Young tells ARLnow, chuckling.


View More Stories