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.
ARLnow’s Alexandria sister site ALXnow is getting a new publisher.
Ryan Belmore, an award-winning news publisher, editor, and journalist, will be taking over as ALXnow publisher on March 1, under an innovative operating agreement with Arlington-based Local News Now LLC.
Emergency vehicles on scene of bank robbery at Wells Fargo near Columbia Pike (via traffic camera)
Arlington County police and medics are on scene of a bank robbery along Columbia Pike.
The robbery happened around 11:15 a.m. at the Wells Fargo at 951 S. George Mason Drive. Initial reports suggest that a man in a black suit, fedora, and surgical mask and gloves passed a note to a teller and stole cash.
Demolition prep work underway at the former Macy’s in Ballston (staff photo)
RIP Roberta Flack — “Roberta Flack, the Grammy-winning singer and pianist whose intimate vocal and musical style made her one of the top recordings artists of the 1970s and an influential performer long after, died Monday. She was 88.” Flack grew up in Arlington’s Green Valley neighborhood. [Associated Press, NPR]
Office to Apartment Proposal — “Gilbane Development Co. plans to convert a vacant office building it recently acquired in Virginia Square to apartments-over-retail. The proposal is among the first to utilize Arlington County’s recently approved adaptive reuse policy… A Gilbane affiliate owns the 1990s-era office building known as One Virginia Square, located at 3601 Wilson Blvd.” [WBJ]
GOP: Elon Posters Aren’t Ours — “This Committee does not advertise by vandalizing public spaces, and we do not stylize our committee name this way. This is a fake ad.” [Arlington GOP/X]
Beyer Blasts U.S. Attorney — “Washingtonians deserve federal law enforcement who will protect their rights without violating the Constitution, and focus on fighting crime rather than trying to censor the free press and political opponents. Basic understanding of punctuation would be nice, also.” [Rep. Don Beyer/X]
New Arlington Judge — Local defense attorney Adam M. Krischer will be the newest judge in Arlington’s General District Court. The 50-year-old, unanimously elected by Virginia’s General Assembly last week, will replace the Honorable Romaine Frances O’Brien starting on July 1. —Jared Serre
Queen City Remembered — “In the early 1900s, there was a once-thriving Black neighborhood in Arlington, Virginia, on land that was first owned by the Mount Olive Baptist Church. You wouldn’t know that by taking a look around the county today. But at the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington, the memory of the Queen City community is being kept alive.” [WTOP]
Stars Added to Crash Tribute — “Nathan Chen, Nancy Kerrigan and Peggy Fleming are among a bevy of figure skaters added to the cast of a benefit event this weekend in Washington, D.C., for victims of the midair collision and crash outside Ronald Reagan International Airport.” [Associated Press]
Exhaust Noise Bill Passes — “A last-minute compromise in Richmond has kept alive one of the Fairfax County government’s key transportation initiatives of 2025. Both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly approved language on Saturday (Feb. 22) allowing Fairfax and other Northern Virginia localities to host a pilot program focused on reducing vehicle-exhaust noise.” [FFXnow]
Dulles is Most Expensive Airport — “Washington Dulles International is the costliest U.S. airport to fly out of domestically on average, per the latest Transportation Department data. Add on a rideshare from D.C. and travel costs are about double what they are from Ft. Lauderdale (pro tip: take the Silver line).” [Axios]
Youngkin Unveils Job Portal — “Gov. Glenn Youngkin had a message this week for federal workers in Virginia affected by the Trump administration’s mass layoffs: there are job openings in the Commonwealth. Speaking at Capital One headquarters in Tysons today (Monday), Youngkin announced the launch of VirginiaHasJobs.com, a new website aimed at connecting job seekers with employment opportunities.” [FFXnow]
It’s Tuesday — Expect partly sunny skies with highs reaching 61 degrees and light, variable winds strengthening to a northwest 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon. For Tuesday night, it will be mostly clear as temperatures drop to a low of 37 degrees. [NWS]
Expect partly sunny skies with highs reaching 61 degrees and light, variable winds strengthening to a northwest 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon. For Tuesday night, it will be mostly clear as temperatures drop to a low of 37 degrees and a northwest wind maintains a speed of around 6 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” – Bruce Lee
View from Gold’s Gym in Rosslyn (courtesy George Brazier)
Ranked-Choice Set for County Board Race — County Board members on Saturday voted 4-0 to use ranked-choice voting as the method of selecting a Board member in the November general election. Board member JD Spain, Sr., abstained after colleagues rebuffed his proposal to wait a month in order to put together a more comprehensive community-outreach plan. —Scott McCaffrey
Brandishing Incident in Arlington Mill — “The female victim was inside her vehicle parked in front of a residential building when the male suspect allegedly approached and engaged in a dispute over parking. The suspect then struck the vehicle’s windshield, causing property damage, and briefly walked away. The male victim then exited the residential building and confronted the suspect who subsequently made threatening statements and brandished a firearm.” [ACPD]
Crowded Trains and Busier Offices — “With employer mandates across the country taking effect, the number of people coming into an office is at its highest point since the pandemic, according to data released from property management company Kastle Systems…. At 51.5 percent [office] occupancy, D.C. had its highest week since March 2020.” [Washington Post]
Black History Month Ceremony — “Arlington County celebrated Black History Month with singing, guest speakers, and an official County Board proclamation. The event, hosted by the Black Employee Council, is the latest example of Arlington striving to be diverse and inclusive world-class community.” [YouTube]
Congressional Delegation Slams NPS Cuts — “Today, [U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine and U.S. [Rep. Don Beyer, among others] pushed the Trump administration to reverse staffing cuts at the National Park Service (NPS), outlining the effect directives to eliminate employees and rescind and delay job offers will have on safety at Virginia’s 22 national park units.” [Press Release]
It’s Monday — Expect sunny skies and a high of 54 degrees with calm winds transitioning to a southerly 6 to 11 mph breeze during the morning. Monday night will be partly cloudy, with lows around 39 degrees. [NWS]
Today’s Morning Notes are brought to you by Industrious. ARLnow has been in an Industrious office for years and we love the convenience — you get to focus on your work rather than worrying about brewing your own coffee or keeping the copy machine stocked. Industrious has several Metro-accessible coworking locations in Arlington.
Clouds will increase throughout the day, reaching a high temperature of around 42°F. Morning light and variable winds will shift to the southwest at 6 mph. The night will begin as mostly cloudy, gradually clearing up, and the temperature will drop to around 30°F. South winds will continue at 5 mph, becoming calm after midnight. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” – Albert Camus
We hope you have a great weekend, Arlington! Feel free to discuss the most-read stories of the week, the upcoming weekend events or anything else of local interest in the comments. 👋
Sara Catherine DeWalt, a resident of Arlington, Virginia, passed away peacefully on February 15, 2025, following a brief but courageous battle with cancer. She was 81 years old.
Born on March 25, 1943, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Sara was the daughter of Ural and Elise Pettigrew and the sixth of seven children. She graduated from Central High School in Cape Girardeau before earning her bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri.
Craving hand-crafted pasta, risotto or wood-fired pizzas? Arlington’s vibrant dining scene is flourishing with ristorantes serving up mouth watering Italian cuisine.
We’ve complied the top picks for “Best Italian Restaurant in Arlington” as part of our ARLnow Readers’ Choice awards. Your favorite restaurant not listed? Write it in!
Don’t delay — voting will close in two weeks.
Voting for Best Place to Get a Facial in Arlington is still taking place. Be sure to cast your vote before voting closes next Friday at 9 a.m.
Two weeks ago, we voted on Best Happy Hour Spot in Arlington. The results are now official:
“Watching planes land at National at Gravelly Point” (Flickr pool photo by Deckerme)
Big Cuts Coming to Pentagon — “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered senior leaders at the Pentagon and throughout the U.S. military to develop plans for cutting 8 percent from the defense budget in each of the next five years.” [Washington Post]
Top Brass May Be Fired — “Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth could soon move to fire more than half a dozen generals and flag officers, according to two sources familiar with the matter, part of an effort to purge the department of senior leaders perceived as either too political or too close to former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.” [CNN]
Wrong-Way Crash in Rosslyn — “Wrong way driver causes 4 car crash: A driver coming off of I-66W in Rosslyn went the wrong way on N. Lynn Street. They hit a curb, sideswiped one car, hit a second car head-on, and that car was pushed into a third vehicle. It happened around 6:45 p.m.” [Dave Statter/X]
Street Racing Legislation — “Reckless drivers tearing up Virginia’s highways and public spaces may soon face tougher penalties, as legislation targeting exhibition driving heads to the governor’s desk. Lawmakers moved swiftly this week, approving legislation that aims to curb street racing, burnouts, and illegal road takeovers — dangerous stunts that have turned deadly in recent years.” [Virginia Mercury]
FCPD Video of Sex Offender — “Police body camera video first obtained by 7News, shows 58-year-old Richard Cox, who identifies as transgender, telling Fairfax County police that he should be allowed to use a women’s locker room in Oakton despite being a registered sex offender. Cox is facing more than 20 charges in Arlington, Va. after allegedly exposing himself in women’s locker rooms.” [WJLA]
Trump Floats D.C. Takeover — “President Donald Trump said Wednesday night that the federal government ‘should take over the governance of D.C.,’ claiming that leaders of the nation’s capital are not doing enough to reduce crime, clean up graffiti and remove homeless encampments.” [Washington Post, Axios]
Beyer Blasts IRS Cuts — From Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.): “Purging thousands of IRS workers in the middle of tax filing season is another act of plain corruption designed to benefit Musk, Trump, and their wealthy friends. These firings appear to particularly target tax enforcement on the wealthy, which will make it easier for tax cheats to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.” [Press Release]
It’s Friday — Expect sunny and breezy conditions with a high around 37 degrees and northwest winds at 17 to 20 mph, gusting up to 32 mph. Friday night will be mostly clear, with temperatures dropping to a low of around 22 degrees. Winds will decrease to 5 to 10 mph, still gusting up to 18 mph from the northwest. [NWS]
Expect sunny and breezy conditions with a high around 37 degrees and northwest winds at 17 to 20 mph, gusting up to 32 mph. Friday night will be mostly clear, with temperatures dropping to a low of around 22 degrees. Winds will decrease to 5 to 10 mph, still gusting up to 18 mph from the northwest. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs
