Mister Days replacement The Renegade (3100 Clarendon Blvd) didn’t have a lot of time to establish itself in the Clarendon nightlife scene before it was shut down by the pandemic, but the restaurant is making a comeback tour with live music.
With Phase 2 of Northern Virginia’s reopening starting today, The Renegade is opening to in-person audiences.
The cat’s out of the bag for to-go drinks with Virginians — and Arlingtonians in particular — expressing widespread support for keeping the practice around after the pandemic is over.
In a joint poll with the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging and Travel Association and the National Restaurant Association found that 78 percent of Virginians support making permanent current, temporary practices that allow restaurant customers to purchase alcoholic beverages with their takeout and delivery food orders.
For now, the coronavirus epidemic in Arlington appears to be largely under control, albeit still infecting new patients.
Overnight the Virginia Dept. of Health reported eight new cases, one new hospitalization and one new death in Arlington. The trailing seven-day total of new cases and hospitalizations is 134 and 12 respectively.
The pandemic has claimed another victim: the 2020 Arlington County Fair.
The in-person fair, scheduled from Aug. 12-16, has been canceled and replaced with a “virtual format” that will run from Aug. 14-16.
(Updated at 4:10 p.m.) Lauren Harris and Portia Moore were best friends growing up and both ended up launching preschool programs in Arlington. Their experiences highlight some of the differences between North and South Arlington and the county’s deep economic divisions.
Harris is the CEO and Executive Director of Little Ambassadors’ Academy, which has three locations in Arlington along Lee Highway. Moore owns STEM Preschool, which has locations in Fairlington and Capitol Hill in D.C.
Dog parks, basketball courts and volleyball courts will reopen Friday, along with gyms and restaurant dining rooms.
Arlington County announced that it was reopening the additional park facilities as Northern Virginia enters Phase 2 of the reopening. The county previously reopened athletic fields, batting cages, tennis courts, tracks and picnic shelters last Friday.
(Updated at 1:25 p.m.) Around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, a motorcade arrived at a Rosslyn office building.
Out stepped former Arlington resident Mike Pence. The vice president then made his way up to the offices of the Trump-Pence 2020 reelection campaign to rally the troops amid falling poll numbers.
Vigil Planned Saturday in Green Valley — Updated at noon — “Delegate Alfonso Lopez, Black Parents of Arlington and Yolande Kwinana will be hosting a vigil at Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School Field, to honor those who have died at the hands of police. Speakers will enlighten the community on what they can do to help enact change in our Arlington.” [Facebook]
Ballston Macy’s Redevelopment Proposal Delayed — “The owner of air rights above the [potentially for sale] Macy’s building in Ballston will have additional time to move forward with a planned redevelopment of the space, if County Board members act on its request June 13. Board members are being asked to extend until July 2023 the ability of the owner to come to the county government with a development plan. The current site plan, which sets out development parameters for the parcel, was set to expire in several weeks.” [InsideNova]
(Updated 6/11) As Arlington prepares to move in to Phase 2 of reopening, some local gyms have started laying out their plans to start serving customers again.
At F45 at Pentagon Row (1101 S. Joyce Street), the gym is preparing to pivot from indoor sessions to outdoor classes.
While some parts of the country are seeing a worrisome resurgence of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Arlington’s numbers have remained relatively low over the past week.
The total known cases in the county reached 2,280 overnight, an increase of 15 since the day before, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data. The seven-day trailing total of new cases ticked up a bit, to 138, reflecting a bump in new cases over the weekend that followed a week-long lull.
If you’ve been waiting for the opportunity to dine inside a restaurant or work out in a gym again, the time is almost here.
Gov. Ralph Northam announced at a 2 p.m. press conference that Northern Virginia will enter Phase 2 of its reopening this Friday, June 12. That will permit larger social gatherings and the reopening of restaurant dining rooms and indoor gyms, along with certain entertainment and recreation venues.
Utility Pole Catches Fire in Penrose — “100 blk S Wise St, Power pole fire. Area structures may experience power disruptions as the power company addresses the issue. Initial fire crews had to wait for @DominionEnergy to arrive to take down power, after which they could extinguish the fire.” [@ArlingtonVaFD/Twitter]
Robbery from Clarendon 7-Eleven — ” At approximately 4:46 a.m. on June 7, police were dispatched to the report of an armed robbery. Upon arrival, it was determined that the suspect entered a business, approached the counter and stole a jar containing an undisclosed amount of cash. The suspect attempted to flee, however, the victim ran after him and the suspect produced a knife and hammer and struck the victim. During the altercation, the jar fell and shattered. The suspect fled in a green Nissan pick-up truck.” [Arlington County]
