Virginia
Photos: American Legion Post 139 shows off new digs in Virginia Square | ARLnow.com
A new American Legion post with a bar, a conference room, slot machines and an outdoor grill hosted an open house over the weekend.
American Legion Post 13 at 3445 Washington Blvd replaces a previous Legion building with a smaller footprint, which was demolished in 2020. The Virginia Square facility now sits at the foot of 160 units of affordable housing, half of which is set aside for veterans.
“The new Post 139 features a modern meeting and activity room, available for rentals with an 85-person capacity and state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment,” a press release said. “A well-appointed, modern kitchen is adjacent. Members, auxiliary and their guests have access to a street-front post lounge, complete with bar, plush seating, wide-screen televisions and gaming machines.”
Among the post’s most prominent features is a 22-by-15-foot mural displaying three young Legion representatives and several Arlington landmarks, finished last summer.
The full press release about the open house is below.
American Legion Post 139 opens its doors on Saturday, April 27, giving the public a first look inside the unique Virginia Square facility that serves as a welcoming home for the veterans group while providing key affordable housing to the community.
The new Post 139 features a modern meeting and activity room, available for rentals with an 85-person capacity and state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment. A well-appointed, modern kitchen is adjacent. Members, auxiliary and their guests have access to a street-front post lounge, complete with bar, plush seating, wide-screen televisions and gaming machines.
The Legion site, on property owned by the post since the 1930s, occupies 6,000 square feet of the ground floor of the new seven-story building developed by the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing. APAH bought the land in 2016 with an agreement that half of the future 160 Terwilliger Place apartments would be set aside for veterans for the next 75 years. The building’s first residents arrived in August 2022.
The previous Post 139 building, known for its American flag mural and cannon, was built in the 1950s and occupied a much smaller footprint with two floors and a basement. It was demolished in 2020.
The April 27 open house is free for the public and will offer chances to meet Post 139 members, discuss special resources and partnerships available and view artwork by veterans. Live music. A variety of foods including grill items will be served.
The post, at 3445 Washington Blvd., is a short walk from Virginia Square-GMU Metro station and is also served by several bus routes. There is limited on-site parking; use street spaces or the GMU Van Metre garage.
RICHMOND, Va. — Friday will be sunny and seasonably warm, with highs in the upper 70s and low 80s.
The pattern of cool nights and mild afternoons will continue through the weekend and through much of next week as upper-level flow continues to bring reinforcing mild and dry air out of eastern Canada.
Rain chances will be very limited over the next week, with only a slim chance with a frontal passage on Monday.
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PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. (WSET) — Ressie Keen, a 107-year-old Pittsylvania County woman, is safe after escaping a house fire that destroyed her more than 100-year-old home, leaving behind a yard filled with charred debris and scattered belongings.
Keen said she has no special secret to her longevity.
“I ain’t got no secret, just thanking the Lord to let me stay here to see 107,” she said.
Keen said she moved to the home decades ago and built a life there.
“I’ve moved there in 1969, our first crop was made in 1970, and I been living there ever since,” she said.
The fire broke out in Keen’s bedroom on Thursday afternoon. Keen said she and her sitter got out as the fire grew.
“I don’t know what happened, only thing I knew to do was to get out of there. So me and my sitter we got out. She tried to put it out but she couldn’t,” Keen said.
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Pittsylvania County Fire Marshal Scott Hutcherson said investigators believe the fire started with an electrical issue.
“We think we had an electric outlet failure, more or less; an adaptor on the outlet probably failed,” Hutcherson said. He said the fire spread quickly once it ignited nearby items. “It set the bed on fire and the clothes that was on top of it, the material on top of it, what’s pretty much what got the fire going. And then it easily spread to the second story.”
Keen’s son, Ronnie Keen, said the loss has been painful for the family.
“It was devastating real devastating, lot of memories lost. But I know those memories and emotions the things that were sentimental were still right here,” he said.
A family photo album was among the few items recovered. Pointing to one image, Ronnie Keen said, “That’s a picture of the house.”
He added that the album was badly damaged. “It’s so charred it’s kinda hard to open,” he said.
Keen also held onto her favorite cast-iron pan.
“I knew this wasn’t going to get burnt up,” she said.
The home was considered a total loss, but the family said the most important thing is that Ressie Keen survived. She is now living with her son.
“I’m overjoyed that she’s here with us and she’s safe,” Ronnie Keen said.
Hutcherson said to prevent this, make sure that there is a smoke alarm in your home. He says you can reach out to the Pittsylvania County Public Safety office for a free installation of a smoke alarm.
WISE COUNTY, VA (WCYB) — Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has requested the Virginia Attorney General’s Office investigate the 2025 homicide of a Wallens Ridge State Prison inmate.
The Attorney General’s Office confirmed the development to News 5 on Tuesday, May 27.
“The circumstances around the death of Aubrey McKay are of a very serious and troubling nature. Governor Spanberger has requested that the Office of the Attorney General conduct an investigation and initiate any criminal prosecutions that arise. This office will continue its thorough, complete, and timely investigation into these consequential matters,” Attorney General Jay Jones said in an emailed statement.
McKay died on June 4, 2025, while inside the Wise County correctional facility.
The Virginia Department of Corrections confirmed his death is being investigated as a homicide and said at least one officer was either reprimanded or placed on leave.
The Virginia medical examiner’s office listed McKay’s cause of death as multifactorial asphyxia. Virginia State Police also confirmed it is investigating the case.
The Smyth County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office also confirmed it will no longer be involved in the case.
A spokesperson for the Wise County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office told News 5 on May 25 that Smyth County would oversee the prosecution because of the nature of the investigation.
Smyth County Commonwealth’s Attorney Phillip Blevins later confirmed he has recused himself from the case.
In a court order provided to News 5 dated May 22, Blevins wrote that he has an association with at least one potential witness involved in the investigation. He was excused from the case.
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