Arlington County Suing Opioid Makers — “The Arlington County Board has emulated nearly two dozen other Virginia localities in taking to court a large number of opioid manufacturers, distributors and retailers, including some of the biggest names in the health-care industry.” [InsideNova]

HQ2 Affordable Housing Funds Going to Loudoun? — “When Virginia officials promised $75 million over five years for affordable housing in the wake of Amazon.com Inc.’s second headquarters announcement, Arlington officials assumed that those dollars would be split between the county and neighboring Alexandria. They were not thrilled to find out other localities might get a piece.” [Washington Business Journal]

Pedestrian Struck in CVS Parking Lot — “Police and medics are on scene of an elderly pedestrian struck by a car in the CVS parking lot on the 6400 block of Williamsburg Blvd. The victim reportedly suffered a broken bone and is being transported to the hospital.” [Twitter]

Early Video of Nauck House Fire — Video posted to Facebook shows the scene as firefighters start to arrive at yesterday’s house fire in the Nauck neighborhood, near the W&OD Trail. [Statter 911]

Discussing Nightlife Safety — “‘A Conversation about Nightlife Safety’ will take place on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m… The event will feature panelists from various Arlington County departments speaking about how they collaborated to build trusting relationships with restaurant staff and improve safety.” [Arlington County]

What’s in a Name? — At the Pentagon City mall, Panda Tea House is now bustling where Kokee Tea struggled last year. Was it the name change, or the addition of Thai rolled ice cream to the menu? [Twitter]

Photo courtesy @eugeneksoh

Williamsburg is losing one barbecue restaurant, but gaining another in short order.

Smoking Kow BBQ now plans to take over the space once occupied by Backyard BBQ and Catering Company, located at 2910 N. Sycamore Street.

Paul Tecchio, the new restaurant’s general manager, told ARLnow just signed a lease to move in a few days ago, and hopes to have it open for business by “the first or second week of April.”

Backyard BBQ announced plans to close the location after more than 10 years in the space in mid-February, serving up its last meals on Feb. 22.

The new BBQ restaurant moving in got its start as a food truck serving up smoked meats across the Northern Virginia area and D.C., Tecchio said. It’s backed by Dylan Kough (pronounced “cow”), a former financial consultant who decided to try and bring Kansas City-style BBQ to the D.C. area.

Kough opened his first brick-and-mortar location of Smoking Kow in Alexandria last year, and still operates two food trucks as well. He also worked with Tecchio, himself a “classically trained chef who has worked in kitchens around the DMV for almost 7 years,” to open the Alexandria location and will partner with him once more on this new restaurant.

“Dylan and I have poured a lot of heart and hard work into getting the first location to where it is today and we are very excited to be bringing our ‘que to Arlington,” Tecchio wrote in an email.

Smoking Kow’s menu includes a variety of BBQ staples like brisket, pulled pork and chicken and ribs, with a whole host of platters, sandwiches and even tacos on offer.

Photo 1 via @BackyardBBQ_Co

Arlington zoning inspectors recently made an unusual discovery — a group of nuns living in a Williamsburg convent is currently running afoul of some county rules.

And in the process of trying to right that zoning quirk, county officials stumbled upon a similarly unique dispute within the neighborhood over how, exactly, the county should hand out a permit to let the nuns continuing living in their current home.

The dispute is set to come before the County Board this weekend, and involves a group of seven nuns who work as teachers at the nearby Bishop O’Connell Catholic High School.

The “Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” have lived in a home along the 2800 block of N. Rochester Street since winning a permit from the Board last year, according to a report prepared for the Board.

But as county staff commenced a one-year review of that permit, they discovered that the nuns never obtained a “certificate of occupancy,” a document from the county certifying that the building’s occupants were following the terms of the convent’s permit.

Staff notified the sisters and the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, and they’re now recommending that the Board give them three months to straighten out that deficiency.

Yet they’re also suggesting a new condition for the permit allowing the convent to operate, after hearing from one concerned neighbor. That person expressed concern that “the use permit for group living/dormitory could be transferred to another occupant upon sale/leasing of the property to another user that could operate under the use permit without further review by the County Board.”

“If the current owners of the house were to sell the property to another user that agreed to abide by the current approved conditions, there is a possibility that another of the uses that falls within the group living category could occupy the premises,” staff wrote. “As a result, staff is recommending a new condition that would limit the use permit to the current convent use; any other use of the premises for group living would require a review by the County Board.”

If the Board agrees to follow staff’s recommendations, it will take up the matter again in April, when members could renew the convent’s permit for a full year. The matter is slated for the Board’s consent agenda Saturday, which is generally reserved for noncontroversial items to be passed all at once.

Photo via Arlington County

Navy Federal Credit Union has now opened its fourth branch in Arlington.

The bank held a grand opening for the new branch, located at 6402 Williamsburg Blvd, on Monday.

The new location is situated in the Williamsburg Shopping Center, near the intersection of N. Sycamore Street and Williamsburg Blvd., which is also home to a CVS and newly rebranded frozen yogurt shop.

Navy Federal primarily caters to active-duty service members, veterans and their families. Other locations around Arlington include one on the grounds of the Pentagon itself, one in Ballston and one in Crystal City.

A hair salon in Williamsburg has relocated to Westover, and one of its stylists is trying to re-connect with old customers after the move.

Par Hair Design, formerly located in the Williamsburg Shopping Center near the intersection of Williamsburg Blvd and N. Sycamore Street, has set up shop at 5852 Washington Blvd instead.

According to a sign posted at its former location, it made the move in May, and is now located across the street from Westover Beer Garden.

However, a dueling sign posted at the shop notes that “Tram Hairstyles” didn’t make the move to the Westover location, instead heading to Queen King Salon in McLean. Tram wrote on the sign that she’s “really missing all customers” who she got to know at Par Hair Design, urging anyone missing her as well to call the new McLean salon.

As for the old space in the Williamsburg Shopping Center, the 1,018-square-foot location is currently listed for lease.

A Maryland man is now facing a slew of charges after he allegedly fled a traffic stop along I-66, then crashed into a car carrying three people in Williamsburg on Tuesday (Aug. 21).

Virginia State Police and county police tried to pull over a 2017 Honda Civic taking the exit ramp from westbound I-66 toward N. Sycamore Street when the driver refused to stop, according to state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller.

The car “sped away at a high rate of speed,” Geller said, and then struck another car near the intersection of N. Sycamore Street and Williamsburg Blvd. The driver of the Honda, subsequently identified as 21-year-old Brandon Andrew Lee of Ft. Washington, Maryland, fled the scene of the crash on foot.

A state trooper arrested Lee soon afterward “without further incident,” Geller said.

Lee is now charged with possession of stolen property with intent to sell, one felony count of eluding police, driving on a revoked license and two drug charges. He’s set for a hearing in Arlington General District Court on Sept. 20, and is currently being held in the county jail.

The adult and two children inside the other car involved in the crash were not injured, Geller said.

Photo courtesy of the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office

Williamsburg frozen yogurt shop Zinga is now under new management, though loyal customers shouldn’t expect to see too many changes.

The store, located in the Williamsburg Shopping Center at 2914 N. Sycamore Street, will now be operated by Yobe, a Louisiana-based frozen yogurt chain. One of its new managers, Brittany Uribe, told ARLnow that the Williamsburg location will retain the Zinga name, however.

“Everyone was happy with the way it is, so why change it?” she said.

Zinga, which operates half a dozen other shops around Northern Virginia, first opened the Arlington location in 2013. But Uribe says its owners wanted to get out of the business, and sold their stake to Yobe instead.

She doesn’t plan to change much about the shop itself, other than adding a few new flavors; cookie dough is first on her list.

Uribe also hopes to start offering a few new specials to lure customers in, like offering yogurt for half-off after 6 p.m. and charging a flat fee for cups (no weigh-in required) on Wednesdays.

Photo via Facebook

Despite some intense opposition from conservationists and the community, plans to chop down a massive dawn redwood tree in North Arlington are moving ahead.

Since April, a developer has been hoping to remove the 114-foot-tall tree as part of a larger project on a property along the 3200 block of N. Ohio Street in Williamsburg.

The county recently approved a permit to let that work move ahead, according to a community letter sent Wednesday (Aug. 15) by the County Board and provided to ARLnow. A county spokesman confirmed the letter’s veracity, and added that the developer “intends to move forward with removal of the tree.”

Environmentalists had hoped to save the dawn redwood, as it’s recognized as one of the largest of its species by both county and state officials, and it could live to be up to 600 years old if left in place. The tree also sits within a “Resource Protection Area,” known as an “RPA,” giving the county the chance to scrutinize these construction plans quite closely.

But the Board wrote in the letter that it just couldn’t find any way to justify denying the permit, citing the developer’s “considerable rights as a private property owner” to redevelop the site. Richmond Custom Homes is hoping knock down the existing single-family home on the property, and build two in its place, a tactic frequently favored by developers in Arlington’s residential neighborhoods.

“While staff did ask Richmond Custom Homes to explore options to preserve the tree, the developer could not identify a design that both provided for the subdivision of the property and preserved the dawn redwood,” the Board wrote. “Pushing the homes to the rear of the lots would impact other large trees on the property also located within the RPA — and likely still would have jeopardized the dawn redwood during construction.”

The Board did note, however, that the approved plan “does protect multiple large trees on the back end of the property, which provide a significant benefit to the watershed adjacent to the Little Pimmit Run stream,” pointing out that the developer also agreed to replace the trees removed during the construction.

Nevertheless, the whole process has left conservationists feeling like the county isn’t listening to their concerns.

“The county could find ‘no’ way to preserve this living fossil, which had become extinct in North America and worldwide millennia ago, with the exception of a few remaining trees located in China and the few planted here in an effort to save the species,” Suzanne Sundberg, a local activist focused on environmental issues, told ARLnow. “What does that tell you about the county ordinance?…County staff and the Board are not doing all that they could to preserve the mature tree canopy here in Arlington.”

The Arlington Tree Action Group was similarly critical of the Board, arguing in a statement that it “decided not to use the powers at its disposal in its own Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance” to contest the developer’s plans, making this a “landmark case.”

“In failing to make a decision in favor of the environment and the voices of concerned residents, the county puts at risk its own widely touted ‘progressive’ credentials in environmental protection,” the group wrote. “The letter does not provide reassurances of how the RPA, which runs the length of the lot, will be protected once the lot is subdivided.  ATAG will be looking for answers.”

The Board noted in its letter that members “share community concerns about the significant pressures on mature trees from redevelopment of properties across the county” and plans to kick off the process of updating the county’s Urban Forest Master Plan and Natural Resources Management Plan early next year.

A Washington, D.C. man is now facing 23 years behind bars, after pleading guilty to shooting and killing a man at a party in Williamsburg last year.

Jason Allen Johnson, 39, pleaded guilty to second degree murder and two gun charges on Tuesday (July 31), averting the need for a trial previously set for September.

Investigators believe Johnson got into an argument with 23-year-old Michael Gray of Manassas on Feb. 17, 2017 while the pair attended a party at a home on the 6300 block of 29th Street N., not far from Bishop O’Connell High School. Police believe Johnson then shot Gray, who later died of his injuries at a nearby hospital.

Johnson managed to flee the scene before police arrived, and he was only arrested in October after he was caught shoplifting in New York City. He was initially charged with first degree murder, before pleading to a lesser charge this week.

“Mr. Gray tragically lost his life to a senseless act of violence by Jason Allen Johnson,” Arlington County Deputy Police Chief Daniel Murray wrote in a statement. “This sentence is a result of the commitment of our detectives to continue to pursue this case and hold Johnson accountable for his actions, despite fleeing from the commonwealth. Although nothing will return the victim to his family, we hope this sentence will provide closure to the victim’s family knowing that this violent criminal will be behind bars for a significant amount of time.”

Photo courtesy of Arlington County Police

Conservationists and neighbors are teaming up to push back against plans to chop down a 114-foot-tall dawn redwood tree in Northwest Arlington.

A developer is currently hoping to demolish a single-family home along the 3200 block of N. Ohio Street, subdivide the lot and build two homes in its place, according to county permit applications.

As part of that process, Richmond Custom Homes could eventually remove several trees in the area, including the large dawn redwood tree in the center of the Williamsburg property.

But an online petition to protect the tree has already garnered more than 800 signatures, and the neighborhood’s civic association is pleading with county leaders to protect the redwood. Not only is the tree recognized as one of the largest of its species by both county and state officials, but it sits within a “Resource Protection Area,” giving the county the chance to scrutinize these construction plans quite closely.

“The tree is stately, thriving and establishes a sense of place and continuity in a rapidly changing county,” Ruth Shearer, the president of the Williamsburg Civic Association, wrote in a letter to the County Board. “The loss of such a prized and recognized tree would be a tragedy, not only to this community but also to Arlington and to Virginia.”

The developer didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on its plans for the property. But Shearer points out in her letter that county and state law generally prevents the removal of large trees in Resource Protection Areas, zones near streams that feed into the Chesapeake Bay.

She argues that Richmond Custom Homes likely won’t be able to prove that their plans meet the narrow exceptions allowing the removal of trees in these areas, a claim echoed by the advocates with the Arlington Tree Action Group.

“Both this tree and this RPA are important for protecting the air and water quality not just of the immediate neighborhood and Arlington County at large, but of the Bay watershed,” the group wrote in a news release. “The loss of either would call into question the enforcement of the [Chesapeake Bay Protection Ordinance].”

The action group added that this tree is likely one of the largest dawn redwoods in the entire country, and could live to be up to 600 years old if left undisturbed.

Jessica Baxter, a spokeswoman for the county’s Department of Environmental Services, noted that the redwood is not necessarily guaranteed protection under Arlington’s tree ordinance, however. She points out that the tree would need to be designated as a “specimen or heritage tree,” a designation the county can only grant following a request from the property’s owner, and the homeowners have yet to ask for such a change.

“The county is reviewing the [developer’s permit] applications and its options for preserving the tree,” Baxter told ARLnow via email. “We’ll keep the community informed of the outcome.”

Read the entire statement on the redwood from the tree action group, after the jump.

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