There are now three lawsuits calling for a halt to potential work on a monument that would rise 250 feet in Memorial Circle, at the Virginia end of Memorial Bridge near Arlington National Cemetery. That would make the arch 100 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty is from its base to the top of the torch.
Mobile Car Detailing Services Looking to get your car squeaky clean? We bring premium mobile detailing straight to your home… [Announcement]
Artful Evenings: Water’s Edge with Artist Sky Hopinka Reserve your spot for an after-hour event with multi-disciplinary artist Sky Hopinka, Thursday… [Announcement]
Always Becoming: Next Chapter Join artist Nora Naranjo Morse (Kha’p’o Owenge ([Santa Clara Pueblo]), creator of Always Becoming… [Announcement]
📅 Upcoming events
Here is what’s going on Saturday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
HookedIRL Halloween Party Oct 31: Singles Halloween Karaoke Night at Quincy Hall! [Event]
The Last Supper: Planning for the End of Life Nov 1: We’ll gather over lunch for meaningful learning and compassionate discussion on preparing for the end of life. [Event]
Dialogue for Democracy Nov 3: Dialogue for Democracy invites high school students from across the DMV to George Mason University. [Event]
How Do Retirement Communities Work? – Free Workshop Nov 4: Interested in learning about how Continuing Care Retirement Communities work, but don’t know where to start? Join us on 11/4 to learn more! [Event]
National Chamber Ensemble-Romantic Masterworks: Schubert, Mendelssohn, Brahms Nov 7: National Chamber Ensemble’s 20th Anniversary Season opens with an evening of Romantic masterworks by Schubert, Mendelssohn and Brahms. [Event]
This sponsored column is by Law Office of James Montana PLLC. All questions about it should be directed to James Montana, Esq., Janice Chen, Esq., and Victoria Khaydar, Esq., practicing attorneys at The Law Office of James Montana PLLC, an immigration-focused law firm located in Falls Church, Virginia. The legal information given here is general in nature. If you want legal advice, contact us for an appointment.
If you want a visa to come to the United States, you fill out the application, you pay the fee, you wait for an appointment, and you sit for an interview with a consular officer at a U.S. embassy or consulate. There are narrow exceptions. Being a friend of the President is not one of them.
Or it didn’t use to be.
On October 25, Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro – eldest son of the imprisoned former president Jair Bolsonaro – lost Brazil’s presidential runoff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, reportedly by more than 4.4 million votes. The next day, Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered him to surrender his passports as part of a money-laundering investigation. He did not. On Tuesday, a senior State Department official announced that Bolsonaro and his family would be granted U.S. visas. On Wednesday morning, he landed by private jet at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport.
We doubt very much that Senator Bolsonaro sat for a visa interview at the U.S. Embassy in Brasília, or at any of the U.S. consulates in Brazil, sometime between Monday’s court order and Tuesday’s departure. (And if he already held a valid visa, there was nothing for the State Department to announce.) So what, exactly, happened? Let’s consider the possibilities.
He was paroled. The Secretary of Homeland Security may parole a person into the United States “on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.” INA § 212(d)(5)(A). If that is what happened, it would at least be lawful. But we doubt that, too. An ordinary person who asks for parole files Form I-131 with USCIS and, in our experience, waits more than two years for a decision. Merely asking USCIS to expedite the application takes more than a month to get an answer, and the answer is routinely no. Senator Bolsonaro, it seems, got his overnight. If he was paroled, say so, and explain how he got to the front of the line.
The visa requirement was waived for an “unforeseen emergency.” The regulations do allow this. 8 C.F.R. § 212.1(g). But losing an election you have been campaigning in for a year is not unforeseen. Neither is a court order in an investigation you have known about for months. Indeed, Bolsonaro’s younger brother, Eduardo, said on a podcast earlier this month that Flávio should leave the country if he lost. Some emergency.
A visa will be issued after the fact. That isn’t how visas work. A visa is permission to travel to a port of entry and request admittance. Issuing one to a man who is already in Miami is like issuing a fishing license to a poacher with prize tarpon already gaffed and flopping on the deck.
Booking photograph of Timothy McGhee, via ACPD, over a file image of Washington-Liberty HS
A former Washington-Liberty High School substitute teacher will spend five years behind bars over an inappropriate relationship with a student that began when she was 16.
Timothy McGhee was sentenced today (Friday) in Arlington County Circuit Court, the Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said in a press release. After his release, he’ll serve three years of supervised probation with electronic monitoring.
Reserve your spot for an after-hour event with multi-disciplinary artist Sky Hopinka, Thursday, Nov. 5, 6–9 PM. Experience monumental nature-inspired artworks in the Water’s Edgeexhibition, make your own artwork to take home at the National Museum of the American Indian.
Sky Hopinka’s photo and video art—including This is a mnemonic for Truman Lowe in the museum’s collection—shares Truman Lowe’s interest in Indigenous homelands, cultural knowledge, and traditional practices. Hopinka contributed to the exhibition catalog for Water’s Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe, writing on Lowe’s lasting impact on his work. Hopinka joins the museum for this special after hours event featuring a screening of three of his short video works followed by a discussion with Rebecca Head Trautmann, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art and exhibition curator, along with art-making activities, and time to enjoy Lowe’s work currently on view. Sky Hopinka has been widely recognized for his experimental short films and photo-based works. A MacArthur Fellow, Guggenheim Fellow, and Forge Project Fellow, his work has been shown in major film festivals, museums, and international exhibitions and is in numerous prominent museum collections. Hopinka is currently an assistant professor in the department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies at Harvard University.
LGBTQ+ rainbow pride flag (Photo by Sophie Emeny via Unsplash)
The new chair of Arlington’s LGBTQIA+ Advisory Committee is hoping for more opportunities to get in front of top county leadership.
Michael Castellano was elected the panel’s chair on Oct. 20. He succeeds Samantha Perez, who had led the advisory panel since its inception two years ago.
Are you concerned about your memory? Or a family member's?
Memory screening is the first step in evaluating cognitive problems. It's easy and quick to be screened. The is a series of questions that evaluates short term memory, visual-spatial skills, attention, language fluency, and abstract reasoning. The visit will last about 2 hrs and includes a debriefing with a physician.
Participants in mask-making event at Arlington Artists Alliance pop-up (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)
A seven-week “pop-up” art festival at a closed Walgreens on Langston Blvd appears to have succeeded at supporting local creators and building community awareness.
“This has been an amazing opportunity for people to learn about the [Arlington Artists] Alliance. It has enabled us to tell our story,” said Marshall Ginn, a painter of landscapes in oil and member of the arts group’s board of directors.
Packing at Food for Neighbors event (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)
A community-based effort providing food to local students marked 10 years of service this week.
An event at the Grace Hopper Center on Saturday was one of several that Food for Neighbors hosted across the region to mark its anniversary. Volunteers worked to sort and box up donated food and other items for distribution to local schools.
Whether you’re grabbing a quick bite to eat during the workday, enjoying a leisurely meal with friends or trying a new dining experience, Arlington’s lunch spots feature a variety of settings and cuisines.
Movement Crystal City (rock climbing and yoga) — 30 votes
After a total of 408 votes were cast, Arlington Public Library’s book selection and events came out in the No. 1 spot — just like in 2024. The library system has branches all over the county and regularly hosts free events for visitors of all ages.
The entrance to the Pentagon City Metro station (staff photo by Jared Serre)
Arlington’s elected officials on the County Board and in Richmond appear to have different ideas on who should shoulder higher costs for Metro service.
As part of an annual legislative work session yesterday (Thursday), Board members pressed legislators to find more money in the state budget for transit. In response, two senior lawmakers asked why Northern Virginia localities refused to use a new revenue tool they had been given.
