News

Long-time local gay bar Freddie’s Beach Bar suffered damage to its front doors after an intentionally-set fire early Thursday morning.

Freddie’s was among three neighboring businesses on Crystal City’s 23rd Street S. restaurant row that were damaged. The others were another long-time watering hole, Crystal City Sports Pub, as previously reported, and Irish pub McNamara’s.


News

By OLIVIA DIAZ Associated Press/Report for America

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democrats who control both chambers of the Virginia legislature are hoping to make good on promises made on the campaign trail, including becoming the first Southern state to expand constitutional protections for abortion access.


News

The Arlington government’s new LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee held its first meeting this week, electing a chair and vice chair and beginning to set priorities.

“I want to hear the different ideas everyone has, and how we can work together,” said Laman Ben-Trahoret, a committee member, on Monday (Oct. 21).


Schools

An Arlington School Board candidate and a local LGBTQ+ advocacy group are locking horns over questions of support and inclusion for transgender students.

Equality Arlington issued a statement earlier this week taking aim at Forward Party-endorsed candidate James “Vell” Rives’ stance on Arlington Public Schools’ nondiscrimination policy for transgender students.


Events

Pride Month will soon be coming to a close but a number of local events are still on the calendar, highlighted by the third-annual Arlington Pride Festival.

The Arlington Pride Drag Pageant will take place tonight (Friday), allowing local entertainers to compete for only the second-ever crown. Held at Clarendon Ballroom, doors will open at 7 p.m. The pageant is scheduled to wrap around 10 p.m., with a rooftop after party to follow.


Around Town

Two rainbow murals were installed in Crystal City last week, just in time for Pride Month.

Placed along 23rd Street S., one roadway mural runs along the interior perimeter of the intersection with S. Fern Street. The other borders the crosswalk at S. Eads Street.


News

An Arlington LGBTQ+ group is calling for better county outreach related to sexual health.

Equality Arlington, which advocated for greater county spending on LGBTQ+ issues this budget cycle, applauded a new $25,000 marketing budget set aside for Arlington Public Health. The group hopes this funding can increase awareness about sexual health testing, prevention and treatment services including a county STI clinic.


News

A “Family Fun Story Time Brunch” featuring a drag performer was disrupted Saturday by protests and a bomb threat.

About an hour before the event was scheduled to start at Freddie’s Beach Bar (555 23rd Street S.) the venue received an email threatening the performance and owner Freddie Lutz’s home, Lutz told ARLnow exclusively on Sunday.


News

Despite consistently receiving high marks from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Equality Arlington says Arlington County still has more work to do to improve services for LGBTQ residents.

Last week, the local LGBTQ nonprofit sent a letter to the Arlington County Board and County Manager, highlighting gaps in services, such as health care, workforce education and outreach, as revealed by the HRC Municipal Equality Index (MEI) — a scoring system used to rate a city’s inclusivity.


News

Two men — including one with an apparent military connection — have been arrested in connection with a series of Pride flags stolen from an Arlington couple, police announced Friday evening.

Twenty-year-old Matthew Henshaw was arrested and charged with three counts of bias-motivated unlawful entry and three counts of petit larceny for incidents occurring on Sept. 16 and Sept. 30 and Jan. 27. ACPD said he resides at Fort Myer, suggesting he has military ties. Henshaw was released on a secured bond.


News

Michelle Logan and her partner Jenna Burnett celebrated their moving in together and the end of Pride month last July by displaying a rainbow flag in front of their house.

But two months later, while looking out the window of their Penrose home one morning, the couple noticed the flag had vanished. All that remained was a mangled flag pole.


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