television | ARLnow.com

Hollywood’s actor strike has come to Arlington

Published August 3, 2023 at 10:30AM

Clark Furlong, left, and Jen Furlong, right, hand out fliers about the SAG-AFTRA strike at Amazon’s HQ2 in Pentagon City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington is not exactly the Hollywood of the East, pivotal West Wing episodes aside, but the strikes rocking tinseltown have a new local front here.

The Writers Guild of America and performers union SAG-AFTRA are both on strike this summer, demanding better compensation — particularly from streaming services — as well as protections from the use of artificial intelligence in TV and film production. While most of the picket lines you see on the news are in New York or Los Angeles, strikers are out in Arlington today.

News

Local middle-schooler nabs second place in Scripps National Spelling Bee

By Anya Wareck

Published June 5, 2023 at 10:30AM

Charlotte Walsh wins second place in 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee (photo via @ScrippsBee Twitter)

When Charlotte Walsh qualified for the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee, she knew it was her last chance to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a finalist.

Little did she know she would come in second place, out of 231 competitors, and win a $25,000 cash prize. She finished behind Florida student Dev Shah, who won with the word “psammophile” and took home $50,000.

Around Town

Local eighth-grader to compete in Scripps National Spelling Bee finals tonight

By Anya Wareck

Published June 1, 2023 at 1:30PM | Updated June 1, 2023 at 11:12PM

2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee Finalists (via Scripps National Spelling Bee/Twitter)

(Updated at 11:10 p.m.) Arlington eighth-grader Charlotte Walsh will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee final after taking the semis by storm yesterday afternoon.

Fifty-six spellers from across the country — ages 9 to 14 — fought for a spot in the final. Only 11 remain.

News

Fmr. County Board candidate says he wants restorative justice for man who attacked him

By ARLnow.com

Published May 31, 2023 at 1:45PM

NBC 4 story on Adam Theo (via NBC 4)

The local civic figure who was beaten after trying to intervene in a domestic assault says he doesn’t want jail time for his attacker.

Adam Theo suffered serious injuries after an incident Sunday evening in Clarendon. According to police, Theo saw a man and woman fighting, tried to intervene, and was then punched repeatedly in the face by the man.

Around Town

Arlington resident to compete on Jeopardy! this week

By ARLnow.com

Published May 24, 2023 at 1:30PM

Host Mayim Bialik and Arlington resident Alice Ciciora on the set of Jeopardy! (courtesy Jeopardy Productions, Inc.)

The long history of Arlingtonians competing on “America’s Favorite Quiz Show™” continues.

Alice Ciciora — a political scientist and researcher who lives in Arlington after moving here from Berkeley, California — is set as a contestant on Friday’s (May 26) episode, with host Mayim Bialik. She will compete against fellow challenger Diandra D’Alessio, a technical writer from Montreal, and the to-be-determined returning champion.

Around Town

Arlington Independent Media’s new Green Valley studio is looking to go live by early fall

By Matt Blitz

Published May 17, 2023 at 10:45AM

The future home of Arlington Independent Media in Green Valley (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington Independent Media hopes to open its first satellite studio by early fall.

The non-profit video and audio production studio has begun the build-out at 3700 S. Four Mile Run Drive in Green Valley, Arlington Independent Media (AIM) CEO Whytni Kernodle told ARLnow. They are looking to modernize three underused audio-production studios inside Arlington Arts’ Cultural Affairs Division office, with a focus on providing podcasting space.

Around Town

‘Real Housewives’ appears to be filming again in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Published April 18, 2023 at 9:30AM | Updated April 18, 2023 at 10:09AM

Cameras in front of a home in Arlington said to be a filming location for 'Real Housewives' (photo courtesy anonymous)

Production is reportedly underway on the Real Housewives of Potomac Season 8, and some filming has been spotted in Arlington.

Cast member Ashley Darby told Northern Virginia Magazine earlier this year that she had “recently bought a new home in Arlington.” Previously, she had lived in a condo in the Courthouse area.

Opinion

Morning Poll: After last night’s Colbert segment, pick a position on pickleball

By ARLnow.com

Published March 8, 2023 at 9:30AM

Pickleball under the lights at Lubber Run (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Ahh pickleball, the hottest thing going with senior citizens, Tom Brady’s retirement sport of choice, and an unlikely candidate for the second-most controversial story of the decade in Arlington.

As ARLnow was first to report last year, many neighbors of Arlington’s recently-established pickleball courts have come to vehemently oppose it, owing to the loud “pop” the ball makes when it hits a paddle. The percussive sound can be heard within nearby houses, at all hours of the day and — in the case of lighted courts — into the night.

News

FBI raid on the Pike targeted an ABC News producer, Rolling Stone reports

By ARLnow.com

Published October 19, 2022 at 10:00AM

FBI activity on Columbia Pike on April 27, 2022, related to the James Gordon Meek case (courtesy John Antonelli)

A national media outlet has shed some light on a mysterious FBI raid in Arlington earlier this year.

Rolling Stone reports that the raid on a Columbia Pike apartment building, which ARLnow first reported in April, targeted a well-known ABC News producer, James Gordon Meek.

News

Shirlington-based WETA will now broadcast teen quiz show ‘It’s Academic’

By Jo DeVoe

Published October 6, 2022 at 3:55PM

The logo for 'It's Academic' (via YouTube)

After 61 years with D.C.’s local NBC station, the teen quiz show “It’s Academic” has a new broadcast home: WETA-TV in Arlington.

And the inaugural episode on the public TV station will feature a team of three Arlington students from Washington-Liberty High School, who will face teams from Herndon High School and W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax County.

Around Town

Local chainsaw artist Andrew Mallon is cutting his teeth in a new Discovery competition series

By Matt Blitz

Published October 3, 2022 at 3:55PM

Local chainsaw wood carver Andrew Mallon is a contestant in a new Discovery competition show (photo via Andrew Mallon/Facebook)

A local chainsaw artist made his buzzy debut on a new reality TV show last night.

Ashton Heights native Andrew Mallon is a contestant on the Discovery competition show “A Cut Above,” in which some of the best chainsaw wood carvers in the world compete against one another.

Around Town

New season of Jeopardy! brings Arlingtonian back as returning champ

By ARLnow.com

Published September 12, 2022 at 9:30AM

Luigi de Guzman (photo courtesy Jeopardy Productions, Inc.)

An Arlington man is the returning champion to kick off the 39th season of Jeopardy! tonight.

We last saw attorney Luigi de Guzman on the TV quiz show about a month and a half ago, when he won $23,401 by beating out an associate professor from Southern California and the then-returning champ, a nonprofit professional from Alexandria.