Send your holiday packages early this year.
That’s the message from the U.S. Postal Service, which says that the pandemic leading to both operational challenges and a big increase in shipping volumes. That, in turn, may cause delays as Americans rush to ship gifts to friends and family.
Fall Officially Starts Today — “While many of us think of the first day of fall as a full calendar day, the equinox itself is a rather fleeting astronomical event. It happens at a precise moment when the sun’s direct rays are straight over Earth’s equator. This year’s equinox is at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time on Sept. 22.” [Capital Weather Gang]
JBG Acquires Local 5G Radio Spectrum — “JBG Smith Properties has paid $25.3 million for licenses to use small parts of a new class of wireless spectrum to set up a 5G internet network in National Landing, home to Amazon.com Inc.’s second headquarters and Virginia Tech’s innovation campus.” [Washington Business Journal, Press Release]
Scammers are sending letters to Arlington residents, fraudulently claiming to be Arlington County authorities and threatening punishment if a debt is not paid over the phone.
The Arlington County Police Department issued a warning about the scam today, showing images of scam letters that appear to come from an official source. The scammers claim to be part of a non-existent “Benefits Suspension Unit” or “Tax Processing Unit,” and threaten to cut off Social Security benefits or seize wages, police say.
Fox News in Arlington — “An apparently news-starved fox has taken matters into its own paws and has been spotted stealing copies of the Post from the porches of unsuspecting Arlington residents.” [Washingtonian]
In-Person Census Visits Starting — “To achieve a complete count, Census Takers will begin conducting home interviews. Starting the week of July 20 — nearly three weeks before the nationwide August 11 launch date — Census Takers will be visiting homes in Arlington, including an estimated 27,000 households that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census.” [Arlington County]
The Rosslyn Post Office could soon be on the move.
The U.S. Postal Service is proposing relocating its office in a building at 1101 Wilson Blvd elsewhere in the neighborhood.
Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.
The next time you get direct marketing mail don’t be so quick to throw it out without at least taking a look. Consider that Lee Garvey and the employees at Click2Mail may have been the people working hard to get the materials into your mailbox.
Via email and social media, residents of both south and north Arlington have told ARLnow.com that mail delivery has been sporadic since the blizzard, with some only having received one or two deliveries in the past 10 days.
From a Barcroft resident, along Columbia Pike:
Those are just some of the issues with mail delivery and the post office in Douglas Park, residents say.
The neighborhood email listserv has been abuzz for months with reports of postal problems, and it’s not the first time the south Arlington community has experienced such issues.
APS Mulls Contract for School at TJ — The Arlington School Board tonight will consider a $4.7 million contract for architectural and engineering work on a proposed elementary school on the grounds of Thomas Jefferson Middle School. That’s despite well-organized neighborhood opposition to the school encroaching on Thomas Jefferson Park. [InsideNova]
Unreliable Mail Delivery in Douglas Park — Residents of Arlington’s Douglas Park neighborhood say their mail delivery has become considerably less reliable in the past year. Talk of missing mail, misdirected mail and delayed mail has reached a crescendo. The Postal Service says it’s investigating. [WJLA]
A U.S. Postal Service mail delivery truck flipped on its side in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven store this afternoon.
The accident happened just after 1:00 p.m. outside the 7-Eleven at the corner of Old Dominion Drive and N. Vernon Street, across from the Lee Heights Shops. The mail carrier who was driving the truck told police he was trying to park when his foot somehow became stuck against the accelerator, causing the truck to hop the curb and do a 360 degree turn across the southbound lanes of Old Dominion Drive, before finally striking a parked sedan and flipping on its side.
A U.S. Postal Service van collided with a car at the intersection of Washington Boulevard and N. Glebe Road in Ballston just before 9:30 this morning.
Initial reports suggested the accident might have been a hit-and-run, with the postal vehicle fleeing the scene. In actuality, the accident apparently disabled the brakes on the minivan and it ended up rolling down a small hill before coming to rest on Washington Boulevard between Glebe Road and N. Buchanan Street, about 1 or 2 blocks away, according to scanner traffic.
Guilty Plea in Arlington Child Prostitution Case — A former Westfield Wheaton mall security guard has pleaded guilty to enlisting a 16-year-old Arlington girl in his prostitution service. The 31-year-old Silver Spring man was accused of having sex with the girl, taking explicit photos of her and ordering her to have sex with eight men in Virginia and Maryland. [Gazette.Net]
Former O’Connell Teacher’s Car Found — The car of a former Bishop O’Connell High School teacher, missing since mid-June, has been found in a Rosslyn parking garage. The family of Tom Duesterhaus, who was last seen in Virginia Beach a day after the car was parked in the garage, says the discovery will likely not help with the search. [Patch]
