A New York-style deli, a hot pot place, a French-inspired cafe and other restaurants are expected to open in Arlington in 2026.
Following an eventful 2025, which saw the opening of numerous restaurants like Nettie’s Tavern in Clarendon, Scolapasta in Ballston and Bar Chinois in Crystal City, dozens of restaurants are expected to open this year.
Compass Coffee plans to close one of its two cafes in Ballston after filing for bankruptcy yesterday (Tuesday).
A coffeehouse at 4300 Wilson Blvd is one of 10 locations where the regional cafe chain is seeking to cancel its lease as soon as Jan. 30, according to a motion filed in D.C. bankruptcy court.
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 filed an asylum application with USCIS more than a year ago, and that application is still pending, you may recently have received a notice from USCIS directing you to pay something called the Annual Asylum Fee. Or you may not have. That, as we will explain, is part of the problem.
The Annual Asylum Fee was created by H.R. 1 – the reconciliation bill enacted in July 2025, sometimes known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – which requires asylum applicants to pay a fee for every year that their asylum application remains pending. The length of time an application remains pending is, of course, determined almost entirely by the government, not by the applicant. This feature of the law has not escaped the notice of asylum seekers or their lawyers.
The rollout has been, to put it charitably, iterative. USCIS launched a payment page in October 2025 and began sending notices. A federal court in Maryland paused the notices a few weeks later. That pause was lifted in February 2026. In April 2026, the Department of Homeland Security published an Interim Final Rule, effective May 29, 2026, which spelled out the consequences of failing to pay on time: rejection of the asylum application, termination of the applicant’s work permit, and potential referral to removal proceedings. Meanwhile, the notices themselves have proven unreliable. Many applicants report never receiving one, and some only learned that they had owed the fee when the USCIS website informed them that their payment period had expired.
In July 2026, a coalition of organizations representing asylum seekers and TPS holders sued USCIS in federal court in Massachusetts in Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts v. USCIS. On July 21, 2026, the court issued an administrative stay, and on August 5, 2026, it extended that relief while the case proceeds. Under the court’s orders, USCIS may not:
The stakes were not small. According to the plaintiffs, USCIS had been prepared to reject 227,186 pending asylum applications for nonpayment. In August, USCIS also reopened expired payment windows, so applicants who were previously told their deadline had passed may now be able to pay.
But note what the court did not do. The order expressly allows USCIS to keep collecting the fee, and USCIS’s position is that anyone who receives a notice must pay it according to its instructions.
A Maryland man was sentenced yesterday (Tuesday) for stealing multiple vehicles from Reagan National Airport, including one belonging to a federal law enforcement agency.
Tyrese McKinnon, 25, was sentenced to three years and one month in prison for conspiring to steal five vehicles from Reagan National, and another vehicle from Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport.
Rep. Don Beyer’s efforts to secure a Congressional Gold Medal for a local civil-rights icon remain in limbo.
A piece of legislation, introduced last May, would make Joan Trumpauer Mulholland the newest recipient of Congress’s highest honor. But it is unlikely to win passage while Republicans control Congress, a staff member said.
Join us for a 5k (~3 mile) fun run/walk around the neighborhood followed by an outdoor yoga session next to Reclining Liberty!
The artist behind Reclining Liberty made a shirt for this day only. It comes with every run and yoga ticket — or take one on its own for $25.
With productive scoring and some strong shutdown defense, the Yorktown High School varsity ice-hockey club team is enjoying a 5-1 start this season.
The winning record is no surprise — Yorktown has become one of the top teams in the Northern Virginia Scholastic Hockey League in recent seasons and has an experienced lineup this fall, including eight seniors.
Arlington’s RTX Gets Big Contract — “The federal government has picked two companies to replace 612 radar systems nationwide that date back to the 1980s as part of a multibillion-dollar overhaul of the nation’s air traffic control system. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday that contractors RTX and Spanish firm Indra will replace the radar systems by the summer of 2028.” [Associated Press]
Board Candidates Plan Announcements — County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti and challenger James DeVita are expected to formally kick off their election campaigns at tonight’s Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting. The meeting will be held beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Washington-Liberty High School, and also will feature voting for party chair. –Scott McCaffrey
U.S. Attorney Order — “A federal judge ordered Trump ally Lindsey Halligan to explain why she’s identifying herself as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia despite a court ruling that she was unlawfully appointed to the role.” [Axios]
‘Neighborhood Village’ Earns Grant — Arlington Neighborhood Village is one of 11 organizations across Virginia to share grants totaling more than $105,000 to expand efforts supporting seniors facing social isolation. The funding also will support the development of new Villages programs across the commonwealth, with an emphasis on underserved areas. Funding comes the Virginia Villages Collective and Washington Area Villages Exchange. –Scott McCaffrey
Park Corps Application Open — “Get experience in Park Services. Join the Park Corps one-week program where you will learn first-hand with permanent park employees. You’ll get real work done, all while having fun outside, building job skills and making connections with other like-minded students. This program is for ages 16-18 and participants will receive a $200 stipend.” [Arlington County]
VHC Holiday Donations — “Over the recent holiday season, more than 400 people received gifts as part of the Virginia Health Center’s Adopt a Family Gift Drive. The program provided gifts for 231 children in 66 local families plus another 100 individuals who might have otherwise gone without during the holidays.” [Patch]
Volunteer Arlington Award Winner — “Volunteer Arlington selected Camille S.A. Watkin as the fourth recipient of its Beloved Community Award and will present the award at the MLK Day of Service opening program on Monday, January 19.” [Leadership Center]
Seven Corners Development Proposal — “The longtime owner of a 3.15-acre site that borders the Seven Corners intersection has filed plans to redevelop the property with 450 apartments and 30,000 square feet of retail… The property, bounded by Arlington Boulevard, Hillwood Avenue, East Broad St. and the twin office towers formerly known as the Falls Church Corporate Center, is currently home to a New Grand Mart international supermarket and Pistone’s Italian Inn.” [WBJ, FFXnow]
Plea Possible in CEO Murder — “Loved ones of a CEO killed while asleep in his Fairfax City home are speaking out against a potential plea agreement that would allow the suspect to serve time in a mental institution instead of prison. Authorities say Gret Glyer, 32, died while he was in his bed next to his wife in June 2022. Joshua Danehower, 36, of Arlington, was accused of shooting Glyer 10 times.” [WUSA 9]
Va. In-State Tuition Case — “Virginia officials reached an agreement with the Justice Department in its effort to bar undocumented students from receiving in-state tuition, sparking criticism from advocacy groups and the incoming Democratic state attorney general. The Legal Aid Justice Center and the ACLU of Virginia filed an emergency motion to intervene in the case, saying affected students deserve a chance to be heard in court.” [Washington Post]
Federal Employment Decline — “There are 271,000 fewer federal employees than there were at the start of 2025 — about a 9% drop, per the latest tally from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The sharp decline is a result of President Trump’s efforts — initially spearheaded by Elon Musk’s DOGE — to drastically reduce the size of the federal government.” [Axios]
It’s Wednesday — Expect mostly sunny skies during the day with a high temperature of around 57°F. The northwest wind will be blowing at 6 to 11 mph, and it could gust up to 23 mph. Wednesday night, the sky will be mostly clear, with temperatures dropping to around 36°F. The northwest wind will diminish to around 6 mph by the evening. [NWS]
Good Tuesday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
The following articles were published earlier today — Jan 6, 2026.
Here is what’s going on Wednesday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
Expect mostly sunny skies during the day with a high temperature of around 57°F. The northwest wind will be blowing at 6 to 11 mph, and it could gust up to 23 mph. For Wednesday night, the sky will be mostly clear, with temperatures dropping to around 36°F. The northwest wind will diminish to around 6 mph and become calm by the evening. See more from Weather.gov.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
– Martin Luther King Jr.</em
The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.
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Plans for five residential buildings and a new hotel have been filed at the vacant Key Bridge Marriott site in Rosslyn.
The proposed “Potomac Overlook” development at 1401 Langston Blvd, announced today (Tuesday), would include 1,775 residential units, a 200-room hotel and underground parking on the empty 5.5-acre lot overlooking the Potomac River.
Students from Arlington high schools will have the opportunity to connect directly with their counterparts in a city in Ukraine later this year.
A new pen pal initiative with Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine will add to a pilot program connecting local high schoolers to Reims, France.
