The Mega Millions jackpot has crossed the $1 billion mark after no big winner was selected during last night’s lottery drawing.
The estimated $1.02 billion prize is the third largest in the game’s two-decade history, according to CNN. The next drawing is set for Friday night.
This morning we’re wondering: if you won a billion-dollar jackpot, would you stay in Arlington? Or would you move elsewhere?
Assume that living “mostly” in Arlington does not preclude second, third or even fourth homes elsewhere, provided Arlington remains your primary residence.
Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash
Winning Lottery Ticket Sold in Crystal City — “A Maryland man walked away with the top prize in the Virginia Lottery’s Double Dollar Crossword, after the ticket from ann Arlington convenience store turned out to be a winner.
Silver Spring resident Elvis Umana Hernandez works in construction and carpentry. He recently bought the winning ticket worth $250,000 during a visit to the 7-Eleven at 1500 S. Fern St.” [Patch]
‘Walking Marine’ Walks Through Arlington — “Terry ‘The Walking Marine’ Sharpe has been walking through Arlington today and giving out toy soldiers to raise awareness of veteran suicide.” [Twitter]
Goldman Sachs Investing in Local Startup — “Arlington startup MotoRefi, whose platform aims to make refinancing car loans easier for consumers, is closing in on an eight-figure round involving a blue-chip investor. The company is poised to raise about $45 million in new funding, the lion’s share of which comes from Goldman Sachs, according to sources familiar with the deal.” [Washington Business Journal]
Catholic Diocese Lifts Restrictions — “The Catholic diocese in Arlington, Virginia, has lifted COVID-19 restrictions for masses and other activities. Bishop Michael Francis Burbidge said in a video message released Tuesday, ‘We can once again celebrate as a community, without the need for social distancing or capacity limits.’ People who are not vaccinated are ‘encouraged to wear a mask for the time being,’ the bishop said.” [WTOP]
ACFD Helps Battle Fairfax House Fire — “The Fairfax County and Arlington fire departments also responded to a house fire in the 7700 block of Virginia Lane in Falls Church last night. A cause and estimate of damages have not been announced yet, but the blaze did not result in any reported injuries.” [Tysons Reporter]
Affordable Housing Bill Takes Effect July 1 — “Thanks to HB 2046 from Del. Jeff Bourne, D-Richmond, beginning on July 1 localities across Virginia will no longer be allowed to deny building permits to projects ‘because the housing development contains or is expected to contain affordable housing units occupied or intended for occupancy by families or individuals with incomes at or below 80% of the median income of the area.'” [GGWash]
Reminder: We’re Taking The Day Off — ARLnow’s staff has been working hard during the pandemic and we’re getting the day off to enjoy a four-day Memorial Day weekend. As such, except in the event of breaking news, we will not be publishing today.
Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf
An Arlington attorney who says he never plays the lottery has finally stepped forward to claim a $1 million lottery prize he won on New Year’s Day.
Daniel Schuman’s wife bought him the winning New Year’s Millionaire Raffle ticket from the 7-Eleven store at 4223 Fairfax Drive in Ballston. It was one of three $1 million tickets sold statewide.
“It was shocking,” Schuman said about realizing he won. He claimed his check on Feb. 20 but has “no immediate plans for the winnings,” according to the Virginia Lottery. The store received $10,000 for selling the winning ticket.
More from a lottery press release:
Daniel Schuman is not a lottery player. In fact, the Arlington man said he never plays. But as it turns out, his wife bought him a ticket for Virginia’s New Year’s Millionaire Raffle, and that ticket ended up winning $1 million.
“We saw that the number matched, and we checked again,” he told Virginia Lottery officials. “It was shocking. It’s like, this isn’t what we expected!”
The winning ticket was bought at the 7-Eleven at 4223 North Fairfax Drive in Arlington. That ticket, #149613, was one of three top prize winners in the New Year’s Day drawing.
On February 20, he went to the store to receive his check from the Virginia Lottery. The store received $10,000 for selling the winning ticket.
Mr. Schuman, who is an attorney, said he has no immediate plans for the winnings.
The other two top prize tickets in the January 1 drawing were bought in Portsmouth and Chesapeake. Five additional tickets won $100,000 each. Those tickets were bought in Arlington, Fredericksburg, Midlothian, Narrows and Winchester. An additional 500 tickets each won $500.
The Virginia Lottery is good fun for a great cause. Arlington received more than $4.8 million in Lottery funds for K-12 public education in Fiscal Year 2019. For more information and a complete list of Lottery funds distributed to Virginia school districts, visit the Virginia Lottery’s Giving Back page.
Photo via Virginia Lottery
A $1 million winning New Year’s Millionaire Raffle ticket from the Virginia Lottery was sold in Arlington — but as of Thursday afternoon no one has stepped forward to claim it.
The lottery says three winning $1 million tickets were sold — in Chesapeake, Arlington and Portsmouth. Another 5 tickets hit for the $100,000 prize, including one sold at the Pentagon City Harris Teeter store to an Alexandria man.
No other details about the $1 million ticket sold in Arlington were immediately available, other than the fact that it has thus far not been claimed, according to a lottery spokesperson. The winning raffle numbers were selected on New Year’s Day.
Virginia Lottery “generates more than $1.7 million per day for Virginia’s K-12 public schools,” according to a press release. In Fiscal Year 2019 “an additional $6.5 million in unclaimed prizes was deposited in the Virginia Literary Fund… which provides low-interest loans to localities for public school construction, renovations and technology upgrades.”
Photo by Pepi Stojanovski on Unsplash
County Holding Job Fair for Older Workers — “During the month of September, the Arlington Public Library, the Arlington Employment Center and the Alexandria/Arlington Regional Workforce Council are hosting an employment and financial literacy series focused on experienced workers, culminating in a job fair for workers aged 50+ at Central Library on Mon., Sept. 23.” [Arlington County]
Open Houses for New Permitting System — Arlington County is holding a series of three open houses, starting Thursday, to provide information on its new online permitting system for residents and businesses. The first phase of the new system launches on Monday, Sept. 9. [Arlington County]
Nearby: Eden Center Store Sells Winning Lottery Ticket — A Falls Church deli sold a $2 million lottery ticket in May. Alexandria resident Calvin Kim went to the Saigon Bakery & Deli (6773 Wilson Blvd) in the Eden Center to buy a sandwich for his wife and ended up getting the winning Mega Millions ticket. [Tysons Reporter]
Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf
Extra Brush Pickups in Arlington — “Because of recent weather events, the County has added extra brush pickups this week. Schedule a collection online.” [Twitter]
Clement Endorses Stamos — “Arlington County Board candidate Audrey Clement won’t be on the ballot until November, but she has weighed in with a ringing endorsement of incumbent Theo Stamos in the June 11 Democratic primary for commonwealth’s attorney.” [InsideNova]
Deep Pothole in Ballston — Beware of “a small — but deep — pothole at the intersection of Wilson and Randolph in Ballston.” [Twitter]
Arlington Man Wins Big Lottery Prize — “An Arlington man is now $100,000 richer after buying a Virginia Lottery ticket at a local convenience store. Robert Hilleary, a produce clerk, purchased two 10X The Money tickets at Glebe Market located at 300 N. Glebe Road.” [Patch]
Best Business Award Winners — Last week the Arlington Chamber of Commerce recognized the 2019 winners of its Arlington Best Business Awards: Dalton Digital, Pentagon Mixed Martial Arts, Bayou Bakery, Hungry Marketplace, Signature Theatre and Arlington Community Federal Credit Union. [Arlington Chamber]
Ode to Arlington’s Environmental Assessment Process — “Regulation 4.4 establishes an admirable ideal — a careful and highly-public process to ensure that civic projects are designed to identify and mitigate potential adverse environmental effects. Though under-resourced, unevenly applied, and frequently honored only in the breach, the Regulation does reinforce and flesh out Arlington’s long commitment to both environmental sustainability and project planning.” [Blue Virginia]
Starr Hill Comes to DCA — Virginia’s Starr Hill Brewery has opened a new bar at Reagan National Airport, replacing the former Sam & Harry’s. The bar is located “near the Terminal C checkpoint pre-security.” [Twitter]
Flickr pool photo by Tom Mockler
Brush Fire in Park Near Columbia Pike — “Firefighters were called to Alcova Park a little after noon today to put out this small fire. No word on cause, but it’s an early season reminder to fully extinguish smoking & BBQ’ing materials before safely discarding them in a metal container & leaving the area.” [Twitter]
‘Walk for the Animals’ Tickets on Sale — “On Saturday, June 8, 2019 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., AWLA invites you to Walk for the Animals and celebrate our 75th anniversary of improving the lives of animals in our community… $35 Early Bird registration until May 1 (includes Walk registration and t-shirt)” [Animal Welfare League of Arlington]
Traffic Enforcement in Clarendon — Arlington County Police conducted “high-visibility pedestrian enforcement at the intersection of N. Highland Street and Washington Boulevard as part of regional @COGStreetSmart campaign” yesterday afternoon. [Twitter, Twitter]
Arlington Resident Wins Lottery — “An Arlington man is $100,000 richer after playing a Cash 5 game he purchased at a store in the Fort Myer Heights neighborhood near Rosslyn recently.” [Patch]
Ebbin, Levine Endorse Parisa — State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D) and Del. Mark Levine (D) have endorsed Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, Democratic candidate for Commonwealth’s Attorney of Arlington County and the City of Falls Church. They join several other elected officials, including former Gov. Terry McAuliffe and former County Board member Walter Tejada, in endorsing the challenger in the Democratic primary. [Facebook, Blue Virginia]
Stamos’ Recent Endorsements — Earlier this month Commonwealth’s Attorney Theo Stamos announced endorsements from Arlington’s firefighter union and county treasurer Carla de la Pava in her bid for reelection, in addition to a litany of endorsements from other elected and former elected officials. [Facebook, Facebook]
Nearby: Aldi Coming to Bailey’s Crossroads — An Aldi grocery store will reportedly be replacing the former Babies R Us store at 5700 Columbia Pike, while a nearby Safeway store is said to be closing. [Annandale Blog]
Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf
(Updated at 3:15 p.m.) It’s not clear how they got there, but thousands of blank Virginia Lottery tickets are currently littering 10th Street N. near Clarendon.
The lottery tickets — unplayed Pick 4 and Cash 5 tickets — are spread across a five-block span of 10th Street, from N. Barton Street to Washington Blvd. They’re in the street, on the sidewalks and piled atop the medians.
Thus far, as of 2 p.m., no one seems eager to pick up the tickets — traffic is driving by and people are walking past the ticket-strewn roadway as usual. An Arlington County Police spokeswoman said police are aware of the situation and county crews will be cleaning up the mess soon.
“At approximately 12:18 p.m. police were called to a traffic complaint for trash in the roadway at the intersection of 10th Street N. and N. Daniel Street,” said ACPD’s Ashley Savage. “Upon arrival, the trash was determined to be blank… lottery tickets. The Emergency Communications Center contacted the Virginia Lottery who advised the tickets were not sensitive. The Department of Environmental Services was contacted and will handle trash pickup.”
John Hagerty, a Virginia Lottery spokesman, stressed that the tickets are merely “play slips,” which have no value.
As best as lottery officials can tell, a nearby business deposited a box of the slips in a dumpster, he said. But once a truck came to empty the dumpster’s contents, the play slips flew everywhere.
The business has now notified the waste management company of the slip up, Hagerty added.
An Arlington man got lucky and scored a $1 million prize from the Virginia Lottery’s New Year’s drawing.
Khalid Ahmed is one of three winners of the lottery’s top prize across the state, according to a press release.
He told lottery officials that “something nudged him” to buy a ticket, the release said. Ahmed discovered he won after checking the numbers on his phone a few hours after the drawing.
Ahmed bought the ticket from the Shell gas station at 4060 S. Four Mile Run Drive. The Douglas Park-area store will also receive $10,000 from the lottery system for selling the winning ticket.
People in Chantilly and Richmond bought the other two $1 million tickets. Five additional tickets won $100,000 each.
Photo courtesy of Virginia Lottery
Vida Fitness Coming to Rosslyn Development — “Vida Fitness has signed a lease for 27,000 square feet at The Highlands in Rosslyn… The Highlands is a 1.2-million-square-foot mixed-use development from D.C.-based developer Penzance. The project’s groundbreaking [was Wednesday] and the first phase is slated for completion in the second quarter of 2021.” [Commercial Observer, Twitter]
Naked Man at Va. Square Metro Station — A naked man walked into the Virginia Square Metro station during yesterday evening’s rush hour. Police quickly responded, took the man into custody and requested medics to the scene to evaluate him for a possible drug overdose. [Twitter]
Survey: Road Improvements Wanted — “The public has an improving view of the Arlington government’s commitment to care of local roads, but there continues to be significant room for improvement, according to an updated customer-satisfaction survey. Only 55 percent of residents surveyed believe county roads are in satisfactory condition, while 23 percent are unsatisfied with the local government’s efforts and 23 percent are on the fence.” [InsideNova]
Stabbing on Patrick Henry Drive — A person was stabbed along the 3000 block of Patrick Henry Drive near the Arlington border last night. The victim’s injuries were reported to be life threatening, according to Fairfax County Police, which used its helicopter in an attempt to find the suspect. [WJLA, Twitter]
No Lottery Jackpot, But… — A $10,000 Mega Millions lottery ticket was sold at a 7-Eleven store in South Arlington. A single ticket in South Carolina matched all the numbers for the $1.6 billion jackpot in Tuesday’s drawing. [InsideNova]
Nearby: McLean Islamic Center Vs. Zoning Restrictions — The McLean Islamic Center is challenging county-imposed restrictions on worship and parking, which limit attendance “to mitigate the MIC’s impact on the surrounding neighborhood.” [Tysons Reporter]
Flickr pool photo by Michael Coffman
A local nonprofit is looking for qualified buyers for two affordable housing units, and will hold a lottery this Friday to find new owners.
The two homes are in the new Carver Place community, at 1316 S. Rolfe Street in the Arlington View neighborhood. The affordable condo units were built as part of an agreement between developer Craftmark and Arlington County.
Arlington Home Ownership Made Easier, Inc., is sponsoring the lottery. AHOME helps first-time buyers with education and counseling in Arlington and the surrounding communities.
The lottery is only open to a family of four or five that earns no more than 60 percent of area median income. For four people, that would be a total household income of $65,520; it’s $70,800 for five people.
The homes both have a purchase price of $282,800, and each have three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.
Eligible applicants must also have a minimum credit score of 660; have a minimum cash down payment of $9,900, which is 3.5 percent of the homes’ purchase price; afford the monthly Homeowner Association fee of $272; fill out the homebuyer assessment form; and complete a Virginia Housing Development Authority homebuyer education class.
AHOME executive director Karen Serfis noted in an email that this is the first time in more than five years that the organization has had three-bedroom condos available for purchase.
