News

Morning Notes for February 25, 2026

Wall mural inside the now-closed Rhodeside Grill (Flickr pool photo by Rob Pegoraro)

ACPD Starting Pay Among Highest — “Interesting: The range of starting salaries and hiring bonuses for different police forces in the Washington region range pretty widely. But the federal forces generally outpace local ones. Supreme Court Police start at $83k with $50k of hiring bonuses; MPD is $75k and $25k.” [Martin Austermuhle/X]

Housing Lawsuit Bill Tabled — “Among a slate of bills lawmakers introduced this year to address housing stock and affordability issues was House Bill 447 by Del. Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax. It aimed to curb people filing lawsuits to stall housing developments by fine-tuning requirements for legal challenges against local government land use decisions.” [Virginia Mercury]

Data Center Tax Bill — “Senate Democrats in Virginia are pushing to end the tax incentive largely credited with driving the surge in data center development across the commonwealth, arguing the lucrative tax break is costing the state billions… Proponents of the incentive say ending the exemption will damage Virginia’s economy and cost local jurisdictions revenue.” [WBJ, VPM]

Biz Groups Worry About Bill Costs — “Virginia business costs set to rise as Gov. Spanberger is expected to sign paid family leave and minimum wage hike bills. Business groups worry about competitiveness but are aligned with Spanberger on housing/affordability measures. Paid leave would offer 12 weeks off, funded by employer/worker contributions starting 2028.” [ARLnow/X, WBJ]

MoCo Cutting Gymnastics, Too — “Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School gymnastics instructor Paula Shaibani stood in front of the Montgomery County school board Thursday in Rockville carrying the message of a community frustrated with the district’s recent decision to stop offering girls gymnastics as a varsity-level sport at the end of the academic year.” [Bethesda Today]

More Snow on Tap — “In addition to a barely noticeable chance of flakes early Wednesday and another light inconsequential rain with maybe some wet snow mix Thursday, a potentially bigger and perhaps multipart event looms early next week. We could see a few rain or snow showers from it as soon as late Sunday. Larger waves of wintry weather currently look to arrive Monday as well as Tuesday.” [CWG/X]

It’s Wednesday — There’s a slight chance of snow before 8am, followed by a slight chance of rain between 8am and 10am. Skies will transition from mostly cloudy to sunny, and the temperature will reach a high near 55. The southwest wind will blow at 10 to 14 mph, with gusts up to 25 mph. Wednesday night will be partly cloudy with a low around 37, as the west wind shifts to 5 to 7 mph. [NWS]

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Flickr pool photo by Rob Pegoraro

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  • Launched in January 2010, ARLnow.com is the place for the latest news, views and things to do around Arlington, Virginia. The ARLnow staff byline is used for the Morning Notes and reporting done by an editor or other member of our full-time staff.