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.
Roger Paul Morie, age 72, a long-time resident of Arlington, Va., passed away in Arlington on May 21, 2026. Roger will be remembered for his extraordinary kindness to others and will be dearly missed by family and friends.
Born on September 5, 1953, in Lamar, Colo., Roger grew up near Denver in Westminster, Colo. He attended the University of Denver and graduated summa cum laude in 1975. Roger then attended law school at Columbia University, where he met the love of his life, Lynette Charboneau. Following their graduation in 1978, Roger and Lynette married and moved to Washington, D.C.
Reagan National Airport as seen from Gravelly Point, amid wildfire haze (staff photo by Ryan Cole)
Deep Throat Garage to Be Razed — The Arlington County Board on Saturday unanimously approved two major redevelopments totaling more than 1,400 apartments. Monday Properties will build two 27-story towers with 831 units at 1401 Wilson Blvd and 1400 Key Blvd in Rosslyn, replacing the parking garage where Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward met Watergate informant Deep Throat. Separately, JM Zell Partners will convert the former TSA headquarters in Pentagon City into 607 apartments. [WBJ]
Inn of Rosslyn Sold — D.C.-based Monument Realty has closed on its $3.6 million purchase of the shuttered Inn of Rosslyn (1601 Fairfax Drive), clearing the way for an eight-story, 142-unit apartment building the County Board approved in January over staff’s objections. The 38-room hotel, built in 1957, will be demolished. Construction expected is expected by spring 2027. [WBJ]
Ballston Westin Sells — The 338-room Westin Arlington Gateway hotel (801 N. Glebe Road) has sold for $92.7 million, according to county deed records. An affiliate of Kentucky-based Columbia Sussex Corp. bought the Ballston property from Rockpoint Group and Highgate Holdings. It marks the company’s first hotel in Virginia and the property’s first sale in a decade. [WBJ]
Crystal City Hit-and-Run — Dave Statter shared video of a hit-and-run crash on northbound I-395 near Crystal City, in which “an aggressive driver took out a car getting on the highway from Route 1 and then kept going.” The striking vehicle was last seen heading toward the airport via the southbound GW Parkway ramp. There was no indication of serious injury. [Dave Statter/X]
Top Digital County — Arlington has again ranked among the nation’s top digital counties, taking the No. 2 spot in its population category in the 2026 Digital Counties Survey from the Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties. It’s the 15th time Arlington has placed in the top three, with seven first-place finishes. [Arlington County]
Flyover This Morning — From AlertDC: “The U.S. Military will conduct an Aircraft Flyover in the NCR over Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, July 20, at 11:40AM.”
Federal Jobs Hit 30-Year Low — Federal employment across the Washington region has fallen to its lowest level in three decades, dropping from nearly 376,000 at the start of President Trump’s second term to 312,500 in May, according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. Axios reports the slump is a primary reason the District is in a mild recession. [Axios]
Spanberger’s First Six Months — Reflecting on her first half-year as Virginia’s first female governor, Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) said the biggest lesson has been that “you can never actually overcommunicate.” A new VCU Wilder School poll found 44% of registered voters approve of her performance, while 47% disapprove. [Virginia Scope]
Historic Smoke Outbreak — Friday brought one of the worst smoke-driven air quality events in modern D.C.-area history, rivaling the historic outbreaks of 2023. Reagan National Airport logged 42 consecutive hours of smoke through 4 p.m. Saturday — the longest streak on record, surpassing a 31-hour mark set in November 1952. The wildfire smoke drifted in from western Ontario and northern Minnesota. [Capital Weather]
It’s Monday — Mostly sunny with a high near 85 and a light east wind. A chance of showers and thunderstorms moves in overnight after 2 a.m., with a low around 71. [NWS]
New Legal Notice — A hotel restaurant seeks on/off-premises wine, beer, mixed-beverage ABC license. [Public Notices]
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.
Arlington under a shroud of wildfire smoke, as seen from Ballston (staff photo by Ryan Cole)
Update at 2:15 p.m. — On top of everything else, a Severe Thunderstorm Watch was just issued for the region, through 9 p.m. Severe storms packing damaging winds are possible later today (Saturday), with some Severe Thunderstorm Warnings already in effect west of the immediate D.C. area.
A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for parts of District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia until 9 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/vJPO2kTTQE
Smoke rising from crash scene on GW Parkway (via Dave Statter/X)
A serious crash has resulted in multiple hospitalizations and a partial closure of the GW Parkway.
The crash happened around 10:30 p.m. Friday on the southbound GW Parkway just south of Memorial Circle. Initial reports suggest a vehicle crashed, rolled down an embankment and caught fire with people still inside.
Expect showers and thunderstorms throughout the day, with potential smoke before noon and a high around 94, feeling like 103 due to the heat index. Winds will be from the south at 6 to 11 mph, gusting up to 22 mph. The chance of precipitation is 70%, with rainfall between a tenth and a quarter inch, possibly higher in storms. Saturday night, showers, and thunderstorms are likely before 2am, with cloudy skies and a low near 74. The southwest wind will be around 7 mph, with a 60% chance of precipitation. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb
We hope you have a great weekend, Arlington! If you have something to say about an issue of local note not covered today, feel free to post it as a letter to the editor on our new forum. 👋
Whether you’re after a sharp cut, a full color transformation or a low-maintenance refresh, Arlington is full of hairstylists ready to freshen up your look.
Trees across the street shrouded in haze from northern wildfires on Friday, July 17, 2026 (staff photo)
Air quality in Arlington and the D.C. area has reached “very unhealthy” levels amid the incursion of northern wildfire smoke.
The thick, smoky haze is expected to remain in place for much of the day, forecasters say, before clearing Saturday. It has prompted the earlier Code Red air alert to be upgraded to a Code Purple.
Haze from Canadian wildfires over Westover (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Prosecutor Deposed by Congress — Arlington Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti (D) faced nearly five hours of questions from the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, behind closed doors, as part of the panel’s investigation into her office’s immigration and prosecution policies. “I will not be intimidated into violating my oath of office to uphold the rule of law, nor will I be pressured into breaking faith with the values of the community that elected me,” she said. [WUSA9, NBC 4, Parisa Dehghani-Tafti/Bluesky]
Flaming Garbage Closes Street — A trash truck fire closed S. Fern Street near Costco in Pentagon City, between 12th and 14th Streets S., for an extended period Thursday afternoon. The flaming garbage was dumped in the loading dock area and on the street as firefighters battled the blaze, and a county excavator was brought in to help with the cleanup. [ARLnow/X]
Rosslyn Jazz Fest Returns — The Rosslyn Jazz Fest returns Sept. 12 with a lineup spanning Puerto Rican plena, New Orleans jazz, soul, funk and Afrobeat. Grammy-nominated ensemble Plena Libre headlines the free festival, which runs 1 to 7 p.m. at Gateway Park (1300 Langston Blvd). Now in its 34th year, the event also features food trucks, outdoor bars and lawn games. Tickets become available Aug. 1. [Patch]
NAACP Seeks Award Nominations — The Arlington NAACP is seeking nominations for 2026 branch awards, to be presented at the organization’s Freedom Fund Banquet on Oct. 10. Nominations are open through Aug. 15. [Arlington NAACP]
New Turf for Long Bridge — Arlington County will replace the synthetic turf at Long Bridge Park’s Field 4 on or around Aug. 3, swapping in organic wood-fiber infill, restriping the field and replacing corner flags. There may be parking impacts near the site during construction, but all other fields at the park will remain open. The project is expected to wrap this summer. [Arlington County]
National Guard Staying in D.C. — The Defense Department confirmed the National Guard will remain deployed in Washington through Inauguration Day 2029, over objections from D.C. leaders. More than 5,000 troops were sent to the city after President Trump declared a crime emergency last summer. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council have pushed to end the deployment, so far without success. [NBC 4]
Dominion Merger Review Begins — Virginia’s State Corporation Commission now has six months to review Dominion Energy’s proposed merger with Florida-based NextEra Energy after the utility filed its official arguments this week. The all-stock deal, valued at about $67 billion, would create a company serving 10 million customers across four states. The plan has drawn scrutiny from consumer advocates and Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi (D) over its potential impact on ratepayers. [Virginia Mercury]
It’s Friday — Wildfire smoke will linger over the area amid a Code Red air quality alert. Otherwise, expect mostly sunny skies today, with a high near 93 and light north winds of 1–5 mph. Overnight lows will fall to around 75, with a chance of showers and thunderstorms developing late. [NWS]
Earlier: The wildfire smoke hanging over the region is expected to get worse on Friday, prompting Arlington to move or cancel all of its outdoor parks and recreation programming for the day.
This afternoon, expect widespread smoke mainly after 2 p.m., with mostly sunny skies and a high near 92°F. Winds will come from the north at about 5 mph before becoming calm. Tonight, there is a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 a.m., along with widespread smoke. Conditions will be partly cloudy with a low around 74°F, and winds from the southeast at 6 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
Thanks for reading! If you have something to say about an issue of local note not covered today, feel free to post it as a letter to the editor on our new forum.
At the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial in Rosslyn, the sun sets behind hazy skies (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
It’s going to be hot, hazy and moderately unhealthy to be outside today (Thursday).
The National Weather Service just issued a Heat Advisory, starting at 11 a.m. and remaining in effect until 8 p.m. tonight. That’s on top of the earlier Code Orange air quality alert, amid the sweltering weather and smoke from wildfires in Canada and Minnesota.
Iraqi Visit Grounds DCA — New details have emerged about Tuesday’s ground stop at Reagan National, when security for Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s visit halted flights for hours. “Commercial flights were postponed from taking off or landing at the D.C.-area airport from 11 a.m. ET until around 3 p.m. Over 300 flights were delayed and at least 126 flights were canceled, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware.” [CBS News, Dave Statter/X]
JBG Smith Exits Rosslyn — JBG Smith is poised to sell Central Place Residences, a 31-story, 377-unit apartment tower atop the Rosslyn Metro station at 1800 N. Lynn Street, to Boston-based Berkshire Residential Investments for a price expected to top $200 million. The deal would mark the Bethesda-based developer’s full exit from the Rosslyn market. [WBJ]
Drifting at the Pentagon — “Someone had fun at 3:30 this morning at a Pentagon parking lot on Army Navy Drive,” Dave Statter posted Wednesday, sharing video of the pre-dawn drifting. He wondered whether it was the same driver who used to do the same thing at the intersection with Eads Street before police caught him near the Pentagon. [Dave Statter/X]
O’Connell Runners Defend Titles — The Bishop O’Connell boys cross-country team is gearing up to defend two 2025 championships this fall. Last year’s squad first won the Virginia state Catholic crown, then captured the Division I state championship for the first time in 25 years. It has many key performers returning. [RunWashington]
MWAA Taps Airport Advisers — The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority awarded a combined $50 million in contracts to HNTB, Accenture and EY to help oversee coming infrastructure projects at Reagan National and Dulles. The work is expected to include replacing Reagan National’s aging Terminal 1 “banjo” concourse and a $22 billion overhaul at Dulles. [WBJ]
Who Pays for Power Lines — Consumer advocates and Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s (D) administration are pushing state regulators to make data centers pay for the high-voltage transmission lines that serve them, part of a Dominion Energy case over how power line costs hit customer bills. The State Corporation Commission has until Aug. 1 to decide. [Virginia Mercury]
Heat Slows Amtrak Trains — Amtrak has added temperature-related speed restrictions across the Northeast, including the D.C. region, as extreme heat grips the area. Trains may run at reduced speeds and face delays between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. through Friday, and affected customers have already been notified. [Fox 5]
Business Optimism Ticks Up — Optimism among N. Va. business leaders is improving, though some worry about taxes and the state’s new paid family and medical leave program, according to a second-quarter survey from the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce and PR firm Pinkston. About three-quarters are optimistic about their company’s performance, up from 67% in the first quarter. [FFXnow]
Youngkin Joins Venture Studio — Former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) is returning to dealmaking, joining venture studio Red Cell Partners as a partner, chairman and board member, he told Axios. Youngkin, who left as Carlyle co-CEO in 2020 to run for governor, said the role will take one to two days a week and reiterated he has no plans to run for president in 2028. [Axios]
It’s Thursday — Expect mostly sunny skies with a high near 100 and heat index values as high as 104, along with areas of smoke between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Winds will be light from the northwest at 3–8 mph. Overnight, a slight chance of evening showers and thunderstorms gives way to a partly cloudy low around 77. [NWS]
There’s more local news to explore. Check out WSHnow, with stories from around the region.
