The ARLnow app just picked up two big new features, starting with a real-time feed of local public safety incidents.

The other is a daily audio briefing — a 4-5 minute rundown of the past day of ARLnow original reporting, playable from the home screen.

Free — no account required.

The Scanner tab, in the bottom navigation bar, lists incidents as they’re dispatched: what was reported, a plain-English summary, the block or intersection, and a timestamp.

Scanner reports are preliminary by nature. Details change once crews get on scene, and some calls turn out to be nothing at all — the feed shows what’s being dispatched, then updates the summary when possible as the incident unfolds.

The daily briefing plays with one tap and covers roughly the past 24 hours of our reporting, in the same vein as the Daily Update podcast that launched earlier this month.

Audio summaries were on the “coming soon” list when the app launched three weeks ago. Already live from that same launch: section browsing, push alerts for the topics you pick, the local forecast, dark mode, article read-aloud, saved stories and in-app news tips.

Both additions are free, like everything else in the app.

Kick the tires and let us know what you think — there’s more coming.


There’s a new algorithm-free way to keep up with Arlington news without opening our homepage or getting our email newsletter.

The ARLnow app is now available for both iPhone and Android. It’s free, there’s no account to create, and you can download it right now.

Free — no account required.

Built in-house by ARLnow, the app puts our local reporting into a fast, distraction-free reader — good for a two-minute catch-up in line at the grocery store or a longer sit-down with the day’s coverage.

Plus there are customizable, real-time news alerts so you don’t miss a headline on topics that interest you.

What you can do:

  • Read the latest Arlington news in a clean, uncluttered feed
  • Browse by section — public safety, restaurants, development, county government, schools and sports
  • Get push alerts for breaking news, severe weather and the specific topics you choose
  • Check the local forecast and see severe-weather alerts
  • Set the font size and toggle between dark and light mode
  • Listen to articles read aloud, hands-free
  • Daily audio news summaries (coming soon)
  • Save stories to read later
  • Send us a news tip, with a photo, right from the app

Prefer email? Our free Afternoon Update newsletter is still the most complete daily rundown of Arlington headlines outside of our homepage and app. And if you want to support the reporting that fills the app, there’s the ARLnow Press Club.

Download it, kick the tires and let us know what you think — we’re already working on the next update.


News

Some students are questioning the logistics of Arlington Public Schools’ plan to roll out locked phone pouches in all of its high schools this school year.

When APS high schoolers go back to school, they’ll be required to lock their phones away in a magnetically sealed pouch for the entirety of the school day. The intended purpose is to combat negative impacts of phones on learning and social-emotional health.


News

Last month, a peculiar cybersecurity incident derailed class at Washington-Liberty and prompted a police investigation that is ongoing.

Around 10:10 a.m. on Nov. 30, police were dispatched to the school for “the late report of suspicious circumstances,” says ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage.


Opinion

The latter, with its facial recognition, advanced camera technology and “Super Retina” screen, reaches the $1,000 price mark, something that has raised the eyebrows of more than a few Apple critics.

Walk around Clarendon or other Arlington environs and it’s clear that the iPhone is king here, disproportionately more popular in Arlington than it is in other parts of the country, where Android has the market share lead.


Around Town

The county this week added these and a few other new features to My Arlington, the app for iPhone and Android devices that launched in February.

Users can now use the app to access real-time information on paving and milling operations on county-owned streets, view traffic camera feeds and get traffic updates using data from Google Waze, said Shannon Whalen McDaniel, a communications manager for Arlington County.


Around Town

Want to see for how much your neighbor just sold her house? That’s one of the streams of information in Arlington County’s new mobile app.

My Arlington, the recently-released app for iPhone and Android devices, “puts popular County information about events, real estate, permits and more in the palm of your hand,” says a county press release.


News

Board Approves Hospital Land Swap Option — The Arlington County Board has taken a first step to completing a deal to swap land with Virginia Hospital Center. The Board unanimously approved a non-binding Letter of Intent giving the hospital an option to purchase five acres of county-owned property adjacent to it. [Arlington County]

Apple iPhone Launch Day — A man has been camped out in front of the Clarendon Apple Store since Wednesday, in anticipation of today’s launch of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. The man, whose name is Joe, said it was his fourth year camping out for a new iPhone. [WJLA]


Around Town

Joe Tenne packed his black Tundra truck full of camping supplies Wednesday night, said goodbye to his wife and son — and then headed to the Clarendon Apple store.

Tenne, 43, was first in line at the 2700 Clarendon Blvd. shop to buy the new iPhone 6. The Woodbridge resident, who got a tweet of support from William Shatner, arrived Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.


News

Police say the suspect, 19-year-old Chauncey Myers of D.C., grabbed a victim’s iPhone on N. Glebe Road in the Buckingham neighborhood, then took off in the direction of Ballston. The alleged crime happened around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, and the 22 officers who were providing security at the Taste of Arlington festival in Ballston were notified that the suspect was heading their way.

Numerous officers fanned out from the festival, and the suspect was arrested at the intersection of Fairfax Drive and N. Vermont Street, three blocks from the Ballston Metro station.


News

The incident started when a resident of a house invited a woman inside for a drink early Sunday morning, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. After the woman left, one or more of the home’s residents noticed items missing, including an iPhone. The victim called police and used a GPS tracking feature to point police to the whereabouts of the stolen iPhone.

Police went to the address provided by the victim and found the stolen items, according to Sternbeck. The suspect confessed on the scene, he said.


Around Town

A recently-updated app called It Happened Here detects your location and tells you interesting things that happened around you. Currently the app has information on six metro areas, including Washington. Among the interesting waypoints it will tell you about in Arlington:

It Happened Here was developed by Ken Dodelin, an Arlington resident, with the help of some students in an Entrepreneurial Journalism class he teaches at Georgetown University’s Clarendon campus.


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