A new pet urgent care is hoping to open this weekend in Buckingham.

Urgent Animal Care of Arlington at ​​249 N. Glebe Road hopes to start caring for furry best friends by the weekend, per co-owner Kayleen Gloor. The business claims it’s the first “sole dedicated [animal] urgent care in any capacity within Arlington,” though others like Bond Vet in Clarendon bill themselves as combination urgent and primary care for pets.

The veterinarian urgent care is from the team behind Clarendon Animal Care, which has locations in Clarendon and on Columbia Pike.

ARLnow first reported the pet urgent care was making its move to Buckingham back in January. It’s in the space once home to a SunTrust Bank branch, which closed more than four years ago. Following the style of the shopping center, the clinic is topped by art deco neon signage that glows at night.

While initially the opening was planned for the winter, the need to upgrade power led to a push.

“Delays were due to increased power needs due to the equipment we have (new HVAC and X-ray machine), so we were waiting on the power upgrade in order to get final inspections,” co-owner Natasha Ungerer told ARLnow via email.

An urgent care clinic for a pet differs from an emergency room in terms of the severity of the issue and what can be treated. The clinic is intended for “pets in stable condition that cannot wait to see their regular veterinarian,” per the website, with issues “that fall between a primary veterinarian practice visit and an emergency.”

The conditions that can be treated at a veterinarian urgent care include:

• Serious cuts
• Vomiting and diarrhea
• Trouble walking
• Difficulty urinating
• Prolonged low appetite
• Limping
• Mild injuries
• Ear and skin problems

The clinic is appointment-based but walk-ins are often still available. The hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Mondays with weekend hours running from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The hope is to go to seven days a week, so adding Tuesday and Wednesday hours, starting in mid-July, Ungerer said.

(Updated at 2 p.m.) Arlington County police searched last night for a man who fled a traffic stop on foot.

The incident happened near the intersection of N. Glebe Road and Williamsburg Blvd, in the Old Glebe neighborhood.

Initial reports suggest that around 10 p.m., an officer tried to pull over a vehicle associated with someone who is wanted out of Maryland, but the vehicle was driven down the driveway of a home at the intersection and at least one person ran off.

Numerous ACPD units responded to the scene scene, helping to look for the suspect.

The search was ultimately called off and, as of Wednesday afternoon, the driver was still at large, with charges pending.

“At approximately 9:55 p.m. on May 23, police observed a vehicle whose registered owner was showing as wanted out of Maryland and attempted a traffic stop at N. Glebe Road and Williamsburg Boulevard,” ACPD spokeswoman Alli Shorb tells ARLnow. “The driver pulled into the yard of a residence in the 3600 block of N. Glebe Road, exited the vehicle and ran from the scene. Officers established a perimeter and searched the area for the driver yielding negative results.”

“Officers made contact with the four remaining vehicle occupants, three adults and one child, and, during the course of the investigation, determined two were wanted out of other jurisdictions,” said Shorb.

A 32-year-old female suspect from Culpeper, Virginia and a 38-year-old male suspect from Radiant, Virginia “were taken into custody and held on the outstanding warrants,” Shorb continued. “Charges are pending for the driver of the vehicle. The investigation is ongoing.”

Goodwill of Greater Washington and AHC Inc. are teaming up to build affordable housing above a new second-hand store and donation center on S. Glebe Road.

DC Urban Turf first reported the news.

The national nonprofit has not embarked on something like this before, writes land-use attorney Andrew Painter, in application materials filed with Arlington County.

“The proposed redevelopment would be the first such project for the organization as it seeks to further its nonprofit mission and values,” Painter said. “The proposal will also deliver a modern and efficient retail store and donation processing center for a successful nonprofit organization that provides important services and benefits to Arlington County’s disenfranchised populations.”

The nonprofit proposes to demolish the existing store at 10 S. Glebe Road in the Alcova Heights neighborhood and build a five-story, mixed-use building. There will be a Goodwill retail store and child care center on the ground floor, a donation processing center on the second floor and 128 apartments above that.

All of the units will be offered to households earning between 30-60% of the area median income for a period of 30 years, though the exact unit mix will be finalized during the financing process. About three-quarters of the affordable apartments consist of 2-3 bedroom units.

The units units will be available for a single person earning up to $63,300 and a family of four earning up to $90,420, according to the county.

AHC, which Painter says is Arlington County’s largest non-profit affordable housing developer, is its joint development partner and will oversee the apartment side of the building’s operations once construction is done. AHC will also choose the operator for the child care center.

“AHC hopes to replicate the success we’ve had in other communities,” AHC spokeswoman Jennifer Smith tells ARLnow. “That means bringing a mission-aligned childcare partner to the new Goodwill site, with priority enrollment for onsite residents and Goodwill Greater Washington employees, then availability to the larger community.”

Parking for residents, childcare, employee and overflow customer parking will be located in a 152-space underground garage. Retail, visitor and future resident parking will be in a 16-spot surface parking lot.

In preparation for the temporary closure of the S. Glebe site, Goodwill is currently negotiating a lease for an alternate donation drop-off location close by. That is expected to open in 2024.

Meanwhile, Painter says, Goodwill encourages its customers to shop or donate at its 20 other area locations, including a store on Columbia Pike.

Sports bar Thirsty Bernie is closing this weekend.

The 15-year-old local watering hole, at the corner of N. Glebe Road and Langston Blvd, will serve its last pints on Sunday (May 21), co-owner Gobind Ghai confirmed to ARLnow. Sales have slowed since the pandemic, which led ownership to decide not to renew its lease at the Glebe Lee Shopping Center.

“I wish we could continue, but we had a great run. It’s just our time,” Ghai said. “Sales were not high enough to continue but weren’t low enough… where we had to close right away. We could wait out the lease.”

He says there are no plans to open elsewhere and does not know what will come next to 2163 N. Glebe Road.

Last summer, rumors began circulating that the sports bar might be closing come mid-2023. Those in charge denied it at the time, but it ended up being true.

Thirsty Bernie opened in 2008, with its signature Saint Bernard mascot, as a sports-centric hangout. The current ownership took over in early 2017 after whispers of a format change.

Ghai said what made Thirsty Bernie special is the diverse mix of customers.

“We had customers and patrons from all walks of life… different cultures, different communities, different races. Everyone just sitting together,” he said. “It was such a special place. A melting pot.”

Ghai called Thirsty Bernie a “family-friendly” sports bar, a rarity in Arlington, with plenty of parking. He said his staff and regular customers were “family.”

“We are sad to go but happy for the time we had at Thirsty Bernie,” Ghai said.

(Updated at 11:10 a.m. on 5/17/23) Two years after indicating interest in redeveloping its property in the Glebewood neighborhood, Sunrise Senior Living is almost done with early-stage procedural hurdles.

Meanwhile, the way the process has unfolded so far has confused and alarmed some neighbors.

Arlington County is mulling changes to the land-use plan governing the site to allow for greater density and to allow for elder care uses through a site plan process at 2000 N. Glebe Road. The Arlington County Board authorized public hearings on these changes on Saturday.

The designation changes, if approved by the Board, would tee up a rezoning request by Sunrise to facilitate the actual redevelopment down the road. Documents filed with the county indicate Sunrise is considering a rezoning request that could also allow “one-family detached, duplexes, semidetached, multiple-family, and
townhouses” to be built by-right.

County staff studied adding elder care as well as apartments to the site over the last year, which perturbed some neighbors who say there should be language ensuring any future development is geared toward elder care only.

Last week, during a Planning Commission meeting, county planner Margaret Rhodes said residents should not worry.

The result of the study, which the Arlington County Board is poised to adopt on Saturday, includes “a guiding principle stating the preference strongly for elder care use.”

“In terms of the conversation about the confusion over… a potential multi-family development, because this is a General Land Use Plan high level study, we need to evaluate all different land uses,” she said.

Beyond this confusion, however, neighbors had other concerns about the impact on quality of life. They predicted the building would dwarf nearby homes, contribute to tree canopy loss, flooding and traffic.

Catherine Ginther, who lives across the street, said in the meeting that she chose her home in part for the quiet street and is “frankly a little concerned about how the plans could change all that.”

“Since moving here, I have noticed there are some issues with Sunrise that will likely worsen if this plan would move forward,” she said. “Children and adults walk down [20th Street N.] throughout the day and the walkability of this neighborhood is at risk if Sunrise is allowed to grow in size and create a garage entrance on 20th Street N.”

Some Planning Commissioners acknowledged these concerns but said they are being raised at the wrong stage in the process.

“It’s very much inside baseball. It’s very frustrating to the neighborhoods,” Commissioner Jim Lantelme said. “I’ve walked that neighborhood — it’s a great neighborhood — but you’re right about the topography, the trees, where the loading needs to be, the sidewalks. All those things absolutely have to be addressed.”

Commissioner Nia Bagley said she has been through lots of planning processes as a former civic association leader.

“I recognize that this is not your expertise and many of you have busy lives and this becomes like a full time job on the side,” she said. “Don’t be discouraged tonight but please hang in there.”

Some speakers, however, supported the redevelopment project.

“This facility is toward the end of its operational life and needs additional renovation for its continued operation and this project would allow for a significant increase in the number of units available to seniors,” said Arlington Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Manager John Musso.

Cynthia Schneider, with the Commission on Aging, said this project addresses a shortage of elder care rooms in Arlington. The county and the region are predicted to see an increase in the number of seniors living in the area over the next two decades.

She advocated for more dedicated affordable beds on-site, which a representative of Sunrise said would not be possible.

The company has also put forward a redevelopment project in the Alcova Heights neighborhood, at 716 S. Glebe Road, which Arlington County is reviewing. The representative said affordable beds could be added there to meet requirements for both facilities.

(Updated at 11:10 a.m.) An Arlington police officer went above and beyond the call of duty earlier today, after a crash involving a food delivery driver.

The crash happened around 12:30 p.m. at the busy intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Glebe Road. Initially it was reported to be a hit and run, but the second vehicle was then found in a parking lot a couple of blocks away.

According to scanner traffic, one of the vehicles involved belonged to an Uber Eats driver, with a warm order from sub chain Jersey Mike’s awaiting delivery to an address nearby, along S. Glebe Road.

The officer radioed dispatch that he would be completing the task himself and, at 12:45 p.m., reported a successful food delivery — presumably to a somewhat surprised recipient.

“Lunch has been delivered,” the officer said.

Arlington County police confirmed the incident Friday morning.

“At approximately 12:33 p.m. yesterday, officers were dispatched to Columbia Pike at S. Glebe Road for the report of a hit and run,” said ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage. “The incident was determined to be a minor crash and both drivers were located near the scene. As officers were assisting the drivers with paperwork, it was determined one of the drivers was in the process of making a food delivery. The delivery address was determined to be nearby and the officer delivered the food.”

Hat tip to Alan Henney

A 96-year-old water main along N. Glebe Road near Ballston is set to be replaced, starting later this year.

The pipe segment runs about a third of a mile from N. Randolph Street to N. Pershing Drive, between the Buckingham and Ashton Heights neighborhoods.

Arlington County says that this work is needed to improve the flow of water to area fire hydrants, dubbed “fire flow,” and support demand in the neighborhood. Over the weekend, the Arlington County Board approved a contract for $2.1 million with A&M Construction Corporation to execute the project.

The county included some $424,400 in contingency funding in case the contractor finds “unsuitable soils or unknown existing underground utilities,” among other risks, according to a county report.

This project is “part of [the] county’s effort to replace old unlined cast iron pipes which are subjected to internal and external corrosions that reduce the fire flow capacity,” the document said. “In the past few years, the main had an excessive number of breaks that prompted the need for replacement.”

Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services spokesman Peter Golkin tells ARLnow that there is currently no construction schedule, “as it takes some time for [the purchasing department] to execute such a contract.”

“But based on previous comparable projects, this one won’t begin until this summer and more likely in the fall,” he said.

Golkin says the county expects the work will take 1.5 years to complete and will affect 26 properties: 19 residential and seven commercial.

“Water interruptions will be coordinated in advance with those impacted,” he said.

The replacement work will require single-lane closures on Glebe from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday.

Crews will likely work overnight once they reach an intersection. More information on these traffic impacts will be relayed to residents via the project website, which will launch closer to the start of construction, and through the Buckingham and Ashton Heights civic associations, per the county.

Arlington County police responded to a major crash along S. Glebe Road yesterday afternoon.

The crash happened around 3:15 p.m. Sunday on Glebe near the intersection with 6th Street S., about a block south of Fire Station 1. An SUV overturned and a sedan ran into the side of a house as a result of the crash.

Initial reports suggest that the sedan driver was at first unresponsive and stuck in the car, while an occupant of the SUV was bleeding profusely from the head. None of the injuries were reported to be life threatening.

Northbound lanes of S. Glebe Road were shut down for an hour or so as a result of the crash response and cleanup.

Crash with one car overturned & one into a house on NB S. Glebe Road at S. 5th Street. @ArlingtonVaPD & @ArlingtonVaFD handling. @WTOPtraffic @ARLnowDOTcom #traffic #vatraffic #crash #police #firefighters #EMS @CordellTraffic pic.twitter.com/8x1fLJ1fbM

— Dave Statter (@STATter911) April 16, 2023

LOCATION: S Glebe Rd / 5th St S
INCIDENT: Traffic Collision
IMPACT: All NB lanes of S Glebe Rd. are closed at 5th St. S. Traffic is being diverted. Seek alternate routes. pic.twitter.com/n2dBhjHB5l

— Arlington Alert (@ArlingtonAlert) April 16, 2023

Strong wind gusts have brought down trees and knocked out power in parts of Arlington tonight.

More than 3,500 Dominion customers were without power in Arlington as of 10:45 p.m. The power company’s outage map shows sizable outages in the following local areas:

• Long Branch Creek, including the intersection of S. Glebe Road and S. Arlington Ridge Road
• Glebewood and Waverly Hills, along N. Glebe Road just south of Langston Blvd, where ARLnow observed power crews and a tree down
• Old Glebe, Chain Bridge Forest and Rivercrest in far northern Arlington, along the N. Glebe Road corridor

There were also smaller outages in the Dominion Hills and Bluemont neighborhoods. Estimates of when the power would be back on were not available on Dominion’s website.

The outages come amid wind gusts of up to 60 mph in the D.C. metro area, which is under a High Wind Warning. National Airport recorded a 60 mph gust around 10 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

Damaging winds are expected to continue through about midnight, forecasters said.

Throughout Northern Virginia, Dominion reported more than 43,000 customers without power.

https://twitter.com/PeggyDomEnergy/status/1642354836413767680

10:30p: Winds seem to have eased slightly in the past hour, but still gusting 40-50 mph. They probably won’t diminish much more until after midnight. Could still see a few more trees come down before then.

— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) April 2, 2023

Its officially #ConeTruck season in Arlington.
Pole down on S Arlington Mill Dr. b/t S Randolph & S Taylor – couple 100 yards from @ArlingtonDES. @STATter911 @ARLnowDOTcom pic.twitter.com/DPNHEhDptR

— Matthew Young (@matthewyoung31) April 2, 2023

At least five cars were damaged by airbag thieves in a pair of North Arlington neighborhoods yesterday.

The thieves made off with airbags from three of the vehicles, all of which were Hondas, according to Arlington County police. The thefts were reported Thursday morning along N. Glebe Road, just north of Langston Blvd, and in the nearby Waverly Hills neighborhood.

More from today’s ACPD crime report, below.

LARCENY FROM AUTO/VEHICLE TAMPERING (Series) (Late), 2023-03160084/03160162/03160165/03160186, 2000 block of N. Woodstock Street/4400 block of Cherry Hill Road/26th Street N. at N. Glebe Road/N. Utah Street at Cherry Hill Road/2500 block of N. Glebe Road. At approximately 10:32 a.m. on March 16, police were dispatched to the report of a larceny just occurred. During the course of the investigation, it was determined five vehicles had their driver’s side windows shattered and airbags were stolen from three of the vehicles. All involved vehicles are Honda models. No other items were reported stolen. There is no suspect(s) description. The investigation is ongoing.

The West Glebe Road bridge partially reopened yesterday, though pedestrian and bicycle traffic will have to wait to make use of the span over Four Mile Run.

The bridge had severely deteriorated, requiring partial closures over the years until the bridge was fully closed last summer.

Work then began to replace the deteriorated roadway substructure, while reusing existing piers to shorten the construction time and keep costs down, according to Arlington County.

The bridge partially reopened yesterday (Wednesday) with one lane open in each direction.

According to the county website:

As of March 8, 2023, the West Glebe Road bridge is open to motor vehicle traffic, with one lane open in each direction. Pedestrian and bike traffic will continue to detour on the temporary bridge to the east of the main bridge.

The bridge is expected to fully open in summer of 2023, after completion of work on parapets, substructure, and streetlights.

The county says the next phase of construction will see the bike lane, curb and sidewalk put into place.

The Four Mile Run Trail underpass on the north end of the bridge remains closed until reconstruction is completed.

Some breaking news on the West Glebe Bridge: pic.twitter.com/QQV38teGd2

— Justin Wilson (@justindotnet) March 9, 2023