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JUST IN: County Board Approves Process for Temporary Outdoor Restaurant Seating Areas

Published May 26, 2020 at 4:15PM | Updated May 26, 2020 at 4:37PM

With Arlington and Northern Virginia poised to begin a Phase 1 reopening on Friday, the Arlington County Board today took a first step towards allowing more business to be conducted outdoors during the pandemic.

A growing body of scientific evidence has found that coronavirus spreads primarily in confined, indoor settings. That’s why Virginia’s Phase 1 reopening only allows restaurants to reopen to “dine-in” customers outdoors, with physical distancing requirements between diners and other restrictions.

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BREAKING: Arlington Parks to Partially Reopen Saturday

By ARLnow.com

Published May 22, 2020 at 1:15PM | Updated May 22, 2020 at 1:35PM

Exactly two months after closing amid the pandemic, Arlington’s parks are partially reopening in time for Memorial Day weekend.

Arlington County made the announcement shortly before 1 p.m., noting that a number of park amenities will remain closed.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 21, 2020 at 7:30AM

No Word Yet on N. Va. Reopening — “Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said Wednesday he has not decided whether Northern Virginia can enter Phase One of reopening on May 29. Northam last week delayed the region’s entry into the first phase of easing restrictions designed to slow the spread of coronavirus until at least midnight on May 28. Most of the rest of the state began easing restrictions on Friday, May 15.” [InsideNova]

Nam-Viet Back Open — Long-time Clarendon restaurant Nam-Viet is back open, starting today, for takeout. “The last two months have been the most challenging time for our restaurant since we first opened our doors 34 years ago,” Nam-Viet said on social media. [Facebook]

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 20, 2020 at 7:30AM

Arlington Waiving Affordable Housing Loan Payments — “The Board approved allowing borrowers of County Multifamily Revolving Loan Funds the option of waiving their 2020 loan payments if they commit to using the money to address rent and vacancy losses and emergency needs that are associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.” [Arlington County]

County Delaying Purchase of Property Near Shirlington — “In order to keep their options open, the Arlington County Board will make another $175,000 payment to hold open the possibility of acquiring two parcels adjacent to the Arlington Cultural Affairs facility in the Four Mile Run corridor.” [InsideNova]

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County Still Working on Reopening Plan

By ARLnow.com

Published May 19, 2020 at 2:15PM

Arlington County continues to prepare for the initial phases of a reopening, with some details still up in the air.

The first phase of a reopening is at least a week and a half away for Arlington and Northern Virginia. Questions remain as to how the county might make changes to roads, parking and local regulations to promote social distancing while also supporting struggling businesses.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 19, 2020 at 6:00AM

Ballston Macy’s Property for Sale — “The Macy’s department store in Ballston is being offered for sale and possible redevelopment as the national retailer moves forward with plans to close underperforming locations across the country. Cushman & Wakefield recently began marketing the store at 685-701 N. Glebe Road to buyers on the company’s behalf.” [Washington Business Journal]

Arlington Firms in Fortune List — Five Arlington-based companies are in the latest Fortune 1000 list of the largest companies in the U.S., including: AES (#310), CACI International (#549), E*Trade Financial (#755), Graham Holdings (#795) and AvalonBay Communities (#912). Amazon, which is building its second headquarters in Arlington, is #2. [Fortune]

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DEVELOPING: Arlington 911 Call Center Evacuated

By ARLnow.com

Published May 15, 2020 at 6:15PM | Updated May 15, 2020 at 8:04PM

(Updated at 8 p.m.) Arlington’s Emergency Communications Center (ECC), which handles 911 calls and the dispatching of emergency personnel, was evacuated late Friday afternoon, ARLnow has learned.

The evacuation happened around 4 p.m. Police officers were told during that time to restrict all radio transmissions to emergency traffic only. There was no indication that the disruption affected any crucial police operations.

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County Opens New Walk-Up Coronavirus Testing Site

By ARLnow.com

Published May 13, 2020 at 11:25AM | Updated September 23, 2020 at 11:20AM

A new walk-up coronavirus testing site opened Tuesday along Columbia Pike.

The testing center is a partnership of Arlington County, Virginia Hospital Center and Arlington Free Clinic. At a media briefing yesterday, officials from all three spoke about the importance of the facility in the fight against the virus.

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JUST IN: Governor Allowing N. Va. to Reopen After Memorial Day

By ARLnow.com

Published May 12, 2020 at 11:45AM | Updated September 23, 2020 at 11:20AM

(Updated at 12:30 p.m.) Arlington and other Northern Virginia locales will be allowed to delay reopening until May 28, after Memorial Day, following a new executive order from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam.

The announcement follows pushback from local officials concerned that a potential reopening this Friday would be too soon. Arlington and neighboring localities have seen higher rates of coronavirus cases than less populous parts of the state, with 72% of new cases reported over the past 24 hours coming from the Northern Virginia region.

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County to Detail How Much It Spends with Each Vendor

By ARLnow.com

Published May 8, 2020 at 2:40PM

Arlington County is working to publicly release data on payments to vendors, according to an email exchange between county officials and a local resident.

The new initiative came to light after a local resident filed a Freedom of Information Act Request to obtain a list of county expenditures, sorted by vendor, for fiscal years 2018 and 2019. Some other localities publicly list such information, in the interest of transparency and showing which companies were being paid by the local government.

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County Scales Up Public Health Workforce

By ARLnow.com

Published May 6, 2020 at 10:30AM | Updated September 23, 2020 at 11:13AM

Arlington County government headquarters in Courthouse (file photo)

(Updated at 11:15 a.m.) Arlington County has grown its public health workforce more than 10x since January amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“At the start of this emergency in January, we had approximately 15 members in Public Health leading response efforts,” Arlington Public Health Director Dr. Reuben Varghese tells ARLnow. “We have since expanded to more than 250, including many resources from other parts of the Department of Human Services, temporary reassignments from other County departments and community volunteers.”

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County: No Plans to Close Lanes for Extra Bike and Pedestrian Space

By ARLnow.com

Published May 5, 2020 at 4:30PM

People walking in the street near Crystal City (Photo courtesy Aurora Highlands Civic Association)

Those who want to see Arlington close lanes or whole streets during the pandemic will have to keep waiting.

County officials say they don’t have the resources to close lanes in order to create extra space for social distancing among cyclists and pedestrians.