Salute the summer with free ice cream this evening at Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in Shirlington.
The ice cream shop at 4150 Campbell Ave in the Village at Shirlington will offer free scoops, a limited number of “swag bags” and a sneak peek at new flavors tonight (Monday) from 7-11 p.m.
“This event is our way of saying, ‘Hey it’s summertime, bring your friends and family, come out for a date night’ — we want to celebrate the warm summer months,” said a spokeswoman for the company.
It also celebrates the kickoff of the first summer season for the Shirlington outpost, which opened earlier this year.
To scoop up this deal, one must be a Jeni’s Splendid Rewards member.
“Rewards members really have so many things in store for them — they get a heads up with news, special deals and rewards,” the spokeswoman said.
People do not have to be members to vye for merch, including tote bags with notebooks, sprinkles, koozies and other freebies. Instead, they need to be one of the first 25 spots in line.
Arlington is a unique place but it is not immune to the charms of free treats from national chains. The free donuts for “National Donut Day” this past Friday drew larger lines than usual to local Dunkin locations, ARLnow observed.
This Thursday, ice cream lovers can commemorate wedding season with the return of Jeni’s “Wedding Cake” flavor — made with vanilla cake, lemon, blackberries and buttercream icing. The seasonal treat will only be available for in-store scoops through June and may retire after just two weeks, the company says.
Thursday morning, Marsea Nelson woke up to a foreboding text from a friend.
He told her “he didn’t have ‘My Buy Nothing Facebook group got too political’ on his 2023 Bingo card,” she tells ARLnow.
Arguing that a local Facebook group for giving and receiving free stuff had gotten too big to be effective, the page’s volunteer admins have embarked on a process to splinter into smaller, more neighborhood-specific groups. The group currently serves a number of northern Arlington neighborhoods, plus some just outside of Arlington’s borders.
Just as they were about to launch the new groups and archive the legacy one, the group founder, Kayla Owen, stepped in and put a stop to it. She revoked their admin privileges, alleging that they had silenced people who disagreed with the plan while intentionally excluded her from the decision making.
She muted other posts and created a poll: split up or stay together? The admins would be reinstated if a majority wanted to move forward with the breakup.
“I can picture reading this in ARLnow,” said a Dominion Hills participant, who requested anonymity. “I think this is the kind of drama the rest of Arlington should read.”
Buy Nothing is a worldwide movement to help people befriend their neighbors while giving away stuff that cannot be sold or donated to a nonprofit. There are thousands of neighborhood-specific Facebook groups and millions of members, including several groups in Arlington.
“Buy Nothing Arlington (Northwest), VA” was experiencing growing pains. The 3,000-member group had boundaries spanning from north of Route 50, all the way to McLean and then over to I-66 and Glebe Road. Some felt that competing for and picking up free stuff was becoming too difficult and theorized that was why some had stopped participating altogether.
While the admins decided four smaller groups were necessary, Owen’s poll found that 75% of respondents did not want to be divided up this way. Poll results in-hand, she decided “Buy Nothing Arlington (Northwest), VA” will remain and discussions of boundary changes will be shelved for now.
“After reading emotional outpourings from members about their sense of loss, I decided that I had to intervene so the community could determine its future direction,” Owen tells ARLnow.
Nelson says she respects this position but sympathizes with the admins, who worked hard on the smaller groups, called “sprouts.”
“It’s so sad, and so silly, that this community people held so dear got so ugly,” she said. “The majority of people wanted the group to stay together so they’re happy to ignore how this all went down.”
ARLnow reached out to some of the affected admins but did not hear back before deadline. Screenshots ARLnow reviewed indicate admins had supporters who criticised Owen’s maneuver and Owen herself for stepping in even though she left Arlington to move elsewhere in Northern Virginia. (For her part, she says Buy Nothing permits out-of-area admins as a “check” on the system.)
“I’m sure [the admins] are pissed,” the Dominion Hills member said. “They probably feel like there’s been a coup.”
On Facebook, one user said Owen’s tactics will turn off people from responding honestly.
“I think people who are turned off by drama will not respond,” the comment said. “Like others, the first word that came to mind was ‘coup.'”
Arlington County is offering residents free training on the anti-overdose drug Narcan.
The sessions are available as an hour-long online training course or an abridged, 10-minute training over the phone.
To help promote the trainings, County Board members will be trained on the use of Narcan at their meeting this afternoon, the county said in a press release.
Arlington has seen elevated levels of opioid overdoses in recent years, including a fatal overdose at Wakefield High School in January and a near-fatal teen overdose in a Ballston parking garage three weeks ago. The quick application of Narcan by first responders helped to save those who overdosed in the parking garage.
Rising overdoses among juveniles in particular have resulted in calls for more vigilance in schools and expanded local addiction treatment options. The string of student overdoses this year has also prompted action by Arlington Public Schools.
Nationally, the presence of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl in counterfeit street drugs has been blamed for a significant portion of deadly accidental overdoses.
More on the Narcan training in Arlington, below, from a county press release.
Arlington County is committed to reducing fatal overdoses in Arlington and offers multiple opportunities for community members to be trained in using the overdose-reversal drug Naloxone, also known as Narcan.
Narcan is a safe and effective medication that can reverse an overdose of opioids, including prescription painkillers, heroin, and/or fentanyl. If you or a loved one are experiencing addiction or are prescribed powerful narcotic painkillers, you should have Narcan on hand. You can find Narcan at your local pharmacy or via the County’s website on Overdose Reversal & Naloxone.
Members of the public can schedule free 1-hour virtual Narcan trainings, or a 10-minute abridged training over the phone, by emailing [email protected].
The Arlington County Board will receive this training from the Department of Human Services on administering Narcan at their Recessed Meeting on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.
The training highlights the importance of familiarity with Narcan and demonstrates the ease and accessibility of the County’s abridged 10-minute training. “I view this as a basic emergency response skill for everyone in our community, and we are looking forward to having Human Services join us on Tuesday to share just how quick and easy it is to receive training that can save someone’s life,” Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey said.
The meeting can be viewed via the County website and YouTube, and is broadcast live on Arlington TV, the County’s cable channel, with live captioning on Comcast 25 & 1085 (HD) and Verizon FiOS 39 & 40. Videos of Board meetings are archived on the County website (with captions and staff reports) and on YouTube.
With Arlington getting some warmer weather, George Mason University is opening up the plaza of its Arlington campus to a series of free activities and events.
The weekly programs are hosted at Mason Square Plaza at 3383 Fairfax Drive, in Virginia Square. The weekly events started today (Monday) and are scheduled to continue through May 12.
In addition to the pre-scheduled events, the plaza also offers public amenities like cart of board games and a cart of art supplies available Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
The marquee event this week is Music on the Plaza. The event is basically what it says on the tin, with local cover band Collective performing at Mason Square on Friday, March 24, from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Other upcoming events include:
- CreativiTEA (Every Monday from noon to 1 p.m.): A crafting workshop with weekly activities ranging from rock painting to poetry and Star Wars-themed Bingo
- Outdoor Yoga with Mind the Mat (Every Monday from 5-6 p.m. and Wednesday from 6-7 p.m.): A yoga class. Attendees must bring their own yoga mat and water bottle.
- People of Mason Square (Every Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m.): A weekly interview session with “a different personality of Mason Square”
- Mason Square Market (Every Tuesday from 2-6 p.m.): A small, locally-sourced marketplace with fresh produce and other goods
- Tuesday Dance Party with Ferocity Dance (Every Tuesday from 6-7 p.m.): All levels of dance experience and all ages are invited to a weekly hour-long dance class, with types of dance ranching from merengue to swing
- Zumba Power Hour (Every Wednesday from 9-10 a.m.): A cardio dance class; all ages, fitness levels and abilities are welcome
- Tiny Stage (Every Wednesday at noon and every Thursday from 5-6 p.m.): A twice-weekly acoustic music session in the plaza, with attendees encouraged to relax and enjoy the music
- Beyond Bullet Points (Every Thursday from noon to 12:45 p.m.): A weekly gathering that invites “bright scholars, local thinkers, and change-makers to share what they are doing, researching, and dreaming”
- Barry’s Bootcamp (Every Thursday from 6-7 p.m.): A high-intensity workout. All levels are welcome, all that’s required is a yoga mat and a water bottle.
If you’re not one of the many proudly sporting a Gondola Now shirt around town, you’re missing out on a high quality piece of apparel that starts lots of interesting conversations.
Luckily, you now have an option for getting that — or any other ARLnow-produced shirt — gratis.
Here’s all you have to do…
- Subscribe to the free ARLnow Afternoon Update newsletter
- Send the referral link at the bottom of the newsletter to local friends who might not already subscribe
- Once 10 sign up, you’ll get an email with instructions for claiming your free shirt
What’s more, once you get halfway there — just 5 referrals — we’ll give you 6 free months of the ARLnow Press Club and the Early Morning Notes email.
So… what if you want the shirt but don’t want to email your friends or neighbors / post on local listservs / etc.? Good news: you can still order the shirts on Amazon via the links below.
- Gondola Now
- Arlington Gondoliers
- I Want to Believe
- Arlington Brown Flip Flop
- King of the North (Arlington)
- South Arlington*
- Straight Outta Arlington*
- Clarendon Cheesecake Riot
- Definitely Not an ARLnow Commenter
* Newly-added design
This Saturday, Arlington County’s top prosecutor, its Circuit Court clerk and some attorneys will help people who want their criminal record expunged for free.
The clinic will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday (Dec. 3) at Arlington Presbyterian Church, located off Columbia Pike at 918 S. Lincoln Street. It will provide everything attendees need in one place to request arrests that did not result in convictions be removed from their record.
“Even if you’ve been arrested and not convicted, that arrest can follow you every time you apply for a job, school, or an apartment,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti tells ARLnow. “That harms people, their families, and the community. This clinic is one way we can mitigate that harm and give people a chance to live productive lives.”
She says this is the first time Arlington has offered an opportunity like this, but she hopes it isn’t the last.
“We wanted to do this for a long time but had to delay because of Covid,” she said. “Prince William has done it recently but I am not aware of any other jurisdictions in Virginia, though it is possible.”
Courts do not identify who is eligible to have their record expunged, so the aim of the clinic is to let people know what is available and what is possible, she says.
“The biggest difficulty is twofold: people don’t know they’re eligible and don’t apply, or others who are not eligible and apply are surprised to discover they are not,” she says. “So, one of our main goals is public education.”
2/2 The point of our clinic is simple: People who are committed to contribute to our community deserve the opportunity for a second chance.
— Parisa Dehghani-Tafti (@parisa4justice) November 27, 2022
Ahead of the clinic, her office partnered with the public defender’s office, the defense bar, local churches, and other community organizations to reach people who may be eligible.
Attorneys will provide pro-bono assistance and clinic sponsors are covering the $86 filing fee on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Attendees need to bring the arrest warrant or final letter of disposition for each charge they would like to be expunged.
Currently, Virginia law limits expungement to narrow circumstances, Dehghani-Tafti says. The Virginia General Assembly passed a new law that would expand eligibility for record sealing, but the changes won’t take effect until July 1, 2025. Even so, there is still room for improvements, Dehghani-Tafti adds.
Clinic sponsors include the Arlington Branch of the NAACP, the Arlington Coalition of Black Clergy and Black Parents of Arlington, as well as local nonprofits Bridges to Independence, Offender Aid and Restoration, Arlington Thrive, Arlington for Justice and the D.C.-based Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, where Dehghani-Tafti used to serve as legal director.
OAR Associate Deputy Director Mustafa Saboor said in a statement that this clinic is an important first step in helping people overcome unjust barriers.
“Our criminal legal system is overly punitive, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the way arrest records destroy people’s ability to work and live,” Saboor said. “Because Black and Brown communities are overpoliced throughout this country, barriers to work because of arrest records fall disproportionately on those communities, further entrenching deeply racist lines in this country.”
Dehghani-Tafti’s former deputy prosecutor announced on Tuesday that he will be challenging her in the 2023 Democratic primary.
Flickr photo by Joe Gratz
Metrorail riders could soon enjoy free transfers to Arlington Transit (ART) buses.
The Arlington County Board this Saturday is set to consider covering bus trips for SmarTrip card users who start their one-way trips on the Metro.
This move is part of a broader effort by the county, the region and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to recover ridership rates, which plummeted during the pandemic.
Ordinarily, transfer trips cost $1.50 rather than the full $2. Individual jurisdictions get to decide whether to offer a discount.
“The WMATA Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 budget includes an increase of the rail to bus transfer discount from $0.50 to $2.00,” notes a staff report to the County Board. “If adopted by Arlington County, the increase in the discount would result in rail-to-bus transfer fare on ART of $0.00 and would align with the WMATA transfer discount.”
Arlington County Transit Bureau Chief Lynn Rivers tells ARLnow that her department supports these free rides because they are a “win-win” for the county, where users need a blend of rail and buses to navigate its Metro corridors and suburbs.
“The more that people are on rail, the better it is for us,” she said. “We really endorse people to use public transit other than single occupancy vehicles. This is another way of doing that — by making another portion free.”
Ridership in Arlington plummeted from 49.5 million bus and rail trips in the 2019-20 fiscal year to 16.1 million in the 2021-22 fiscal year, which ended in June, per the report. This year, Arlington launched two pilot programs to increase ridership while offering reduced rates to low-income riders and students.
The free rides would cost the county $242,000, but Rivers said the tradeoff is that the program could generate more paying Metro customers.
The free transfers, if approved, would go into effect on Oct. 1.
The transfer discount is not the only opportunity for free rides on ART buses this fall. Arlington’s transit service has started testing out zero-emission buses (ZEBs) from several manufacturers as part of a pilot program, and is offering free fares to those who happen to board.
The battery-powered buses will tackle some of ART’s most challenging, hilly routes. The pilot program started Monday and is expected to continue into early 2023.
“The pilot will allow ART to collect data and assess vehicle performance during actual operation in the County,” according to a press release from the county. “Operators will drive ZEBs to test battery performance, range and response to Arlington’s geographic features including steep hills.”
In-service test buses will have signs indicating the route and the free fare. Passengers are able to provide online feedback on their ridership experience on these battery-powered buses.
The schedule for this month’s test rides is as follows:
On Friday, the GILLIG battery electric bus will be parked on the 2100 block of 15th Street N. from 1-3 p.m. so people can see it, ask questions and learn more about the pilot program.
Arlington will repeat these pilot rides with two to three additional manufacturers this fall and winter.
Transitioning to zero-emission buses would help the county meet its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the press release says. Arlington is also working to use renewable electricity for all of its government operations by 2025.
Middle and high school students at Arlington public schools will soon be able to ride Arlington Transit buses for free.
The new free ride program will begin next week, with the start of classes on Monday.
Students will need to obtain an iRide SmarTrip card to take advantage of the free rides, and a county press release notes that “due to supply chain issues, iRide cards are available on a first-come, first-served basis.”
Previously, students could ride ART for a discounted, $1 fare.
The full county press release is below.
Beginning this school year, middle and high school students from Arlington Public Schools (APS) will be able to ride free anytime on Arlington Transit (ART), the County’s bus transit system, with an iRide SmarTrip card.
Students with existing iRide cards will automatically receive the free transit access when classes begin on Mon., August 29, with no additional actions required.
APS students who don’t have an iRide card can obtain one for free by contacting their School Transportation Coordinator or by visiting one of Arlington’s Commuter Store locations with their student ID. Due to supply chain issues, iRide cards are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Students who cannot obtain a card in time for the start of the school year can anticipate new inventory in October.
The free rides on ART expand on Arlington Transit Bureau’s pilot program to provide transit service to APS students who have limited travel options to school. With this latest program, students can ride free anywhere, not just take trips to school and back home.
Previously, students could ride ART for $1 — half the regular fare — with a registered iRide card. The iRide card can also be used to pay fares on Metrobus, Metrorail and other regional transit systems, and provides valuable ridership data to the Transit Bureau for use in decision-making.
About ART Bus
Arlington Transit’s (ART) 16 routes operate within Arlington County to provide cross-County neighborhood routes as well as regional connections to Metrorail and Virginia Railway Express. Visit the ART website to find maps, schedules, and plan a trip.
Starting Mon., August 29, middle and high school students from @APSVirginia will be able to ride free anytime on Arlington Transit (ART) buses with an iRide SmarTrip card. Learn more: https://t.co/JvKxPd9Qrt @ArlingtonDES pic.twitter.com/PVjug33qTy
— Arlington County (@ArlingtonVA) August 26, 2022
Ballston Quarter is set to hold a free food festival featuring international cuisine this Saturday (July 30) at its food court.
Ballston Quarter Food Fest is set to be held at the plaza of the mall, adjacent to the Quarter Market food hall, between noon and 4 p.m., according to the event’s webpage.
The event is expected to feature different restaurants at the food court providing food from around world, including Mexican and Japanese among others. No registration is required, spokesperson for the event Ali Zeliff said.
Attendees will receive passports and stamp card as they arrive.
“Participating restaurants will offer sample-sized food to guests as they tour Quarter Market with their Ballston Quarter passports,” the event webpage notes.
More than 10 restaurants are expected to participate, according to the mall’s Facebook post, including the following.
- Rice Crook, an East Asian fusion restaurant, is offering chicken fried rice
- Ice Cream Jubilee, an Asian American-owned ice cream shop, is offering flavors such as Thai Iced Tea
- Go Poke, a Hawaiian restaurant, is offering tuna and salmon poke bites
- Punch Bowl Social, an American gastropub, is offering its Knockoff Slider and vegetarian mini quesadillas
- Jinya Ramen, a Japanese restaurant, is offering gyoza
- Hot Lolas, a Nashville hot chicken restaurant with a Chinese kick, is offering chicken tenders with Szechuan spice
- Bartaco, a Latin street food chain, is offering tuna poke and salsa verde and chips
Meanwhile, the artisan sandwich and cocktail restaurant Superette, Turu’s by Timber Pizza and the brewery Ballston Service Station are also set to join the event, but their tasting menus are yet to be announced.
Aside from food, the D.C.-based DJ CYD is scheduled to play current hit songs at the event.
This is the first time Ballston Quarter (4238 Wilson Blvd) has organized an event of this nature, Zeliff said. The mall organized this event because of the new restaurants and vendors that opened in the past few months, such as Jinya Ramen, she said.
“We are excited to invite the Ballston Quarter community into Quarter Market and give them the opportunity to try restaurants they might not have experienced before,” Zeliff said.
New Rail Bridge Design Revealed — “The new rail bridge will be built with many of the features in the existing span, including its structure, material and form, with steel girders and similar pier spacing, according to preliminary site plans approved this month by the National Capital Planning Commission. The plans also call for the use of Ashlar stone cladding for the bridge piers, and abutments and walls near the George Washington Memorial Parkway.” [Washington Post]
County Board Approves ‘Heights’ Parking — From School Board member Barbara Kanninen: “‘APS did us a solid.’ Thx @kcristol for that comment regarding our hosting the County’s temp fire station for several years! Glad to see the use permit for Phase 2 [of The Heights building in Rosslyn] approved this morning, providing important universal access improvements for all students, esp @APS_Shriver.” [Twitter]
APS Hiring Hundreds of Teachers — “Officials in Arlington Public Schools will also spend the summer working to fill an atypically large number of empty positions. Arlington, which enrolls 27,045 students, according to state data, saw 284 teachers resign between August 2021 and mid-May 2022. The district usually employs about 3,000 teachers, per spokesman Frank Bellavia. That is 96 percent higher than the average number of resignations between 2018-2019 and 2020-2021: 145.” [Washington Post]
Free Chicken Today — “July 18th is Nelson Mandela’s birthday. His birthday is recognized and celebrated world wide as Mandela day; a day for us all to inspire change and make a difference in our communities. At Nando’s we are proud of our South African heritage. We will join in celebrating his birthday on July 18th by following his example and giving back to our communities.” [Nando’s Peri Peri]
Cyclist Struck on Busy Ramp — “Police, fire on scene of cyclist struck by driver on the WB Route 50 / Washington Blvd ramp. Cyclist was thrown from bike and is being treated by medics, per scanner.” [Twitter]
Treasurer Honored, Again — “Arlington County Treasurer Carla de la Pava received the President’s Award for her service and leadership to the Treasurers’ Association of Virginia (TAV). The award was presented during the association’s annual conference in June. It is the second time de la Pava has be recognized with the President’s Award.” [Arlington County]
More Bad Driving on I-395 — From Dave Statter: “You’ll want to see this one. Driver goes bowling with the barrels & almost takes one along for the ride. @VaDOTNOVA time for clean-up again on aisle 8C.” [Twitter]
It’s Monday — Mostly cloudy, with rain and possible storms in the evening. High of 88 and low of 74. Sunrise at 5:59 am and sunset at 8:33 pm. [Weather.gov]
Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann
DCA Sign Changes Start Tomorrow — “We’re making it easier to find your gate! Beginning June 4, we will be updating our signage to include a letter in front of each gate number. Don’t worry, no airlines or gates are actually moving!” [Twitter, DCist]
Summer Reading Program Underway — “The Arlington County library system’s summer-reading program kicked off June 1 and will run through Sept. 1. ‘Readers of all ages are invited to immerse themselves in reading, participating in 500 free programs and explore the 2022 theme, ‘Oceans of Possibilities,” library officials said.” [Sun Gazette]
Weekend Road Closures — “There are planned road closures to accommodate the 2022 Armed Forces Cycling Classic bicycle races, which will take place during the weekend of Saturday, June 4 – Sunday, June 5, 2022.” [ACPD]
New Name for Park Near HQ2 — “Before the HALRB’s meeting of May 18, it looked like “Teardrop Park” would be a runaway choice for the new space, which will be bounded (in a teardrop shape) by South Eads Street and Army Navy Drive and bisected by 11th Street South… But at the HALRB meeting, Berne stopped that train in its tracks by countering with “Arlington Junction Park,” which would pay homage to an important trolley-line nexus of the last decade of the 19th century and the first four decades of the 20th.” [Sun Gazette]
Free Donuts Today — “It’s National Donut Day on Friday, and several eateries in Virginia and Washington, D.C., are offering a sweet deal or two to lure in donut lovers across the state.” [Patch]
Paper Calls for Return of SROs — “One wonders if Arlington’s School Board members will have a change of heart, now that there is a national drumbeat for more, not less, public-safety presence in schools. Sadly, one presumes not.” [Sun Gazette]
It’s Friday — Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 78 and low of 65. Sunrise at 5:46 am and sunset at 8:31 pm. [Weather.gov]
