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.
Redistricting signs outside of the Bozman building in Courthouse (Flickr pool photo by Alan Kotok)
Even before Virginia voters decide on a new congressional map, Democrats are piling in to run for districts proposed under a redistricting plan that is designed to give their party a near sweep of the state’s U.S. House seats.
The latest entrant is Olivia Troye, who was an aide to former Republican Vice President Mike Pence and has become a vocal critic of President Donald Trump. She announced today (Tuesda)y that she’ll run in Virginia’s newly created 7th Congressional District, which would include much of Arlington, joining an already crowded field.
“Hello Spring” sign at The Crossing Clarendon shopping center (courtesy George Brazier)
Columbia Pike Hazmat Response — Arlington firefighters responded to a hazardous materials incident in the 1500 block of Columbia Pike involving a leaking pipe with an unknown substance. Crews identified the substance as methyl pentanol and quickly mitigated the leak. [ACFD/X]
Bunny Hop Road Closures — ACPD will conduct road closures in Lyon Park and Ashton Heights on Saturday for the annual Bunny Hop 5K. Closures along N. Irving Street, N. Highland Street, N. Pershing Drive and adjacent streets will run from approximately 6:30–10 a.m. Columbia Gardens Cemetery will have a delayed opening at 9:30 a.m. [Arlington County]
Custis Trail Reopens — Bicyclists and pedestrians will have a smoother time on a roughly two-mile stretch of the Custis Trail after milling and repaving work concluded yesterday (Monday). This was two days earlier than originally anticipated, thanks to good weather. The affected area was closed in three segments beginning on March 30. —Dan Egitto
Reporter Heads Out — ARLnow and FFXnow reporter Jared Serre announced that this is his last week with the sites. “Being able to work for the Northern Virginia community… has been an incredible privilege. Thank you, always, for reading,” Serre said. [Jared Serre/X]
Falls Church Signal Woes — A traffic signal arm so corroded it can’t hold additional signage sits at the intersection of W. Broad and N. West Streets in Falls Church, which is also facing a $700,000 cut in street maintenance funding. “This is more of a public safety problem than some potholes,” Mayor Letty Hardi said. [Falls Church News-Press]
Troye Eyes VA-07 Seat — Olivia Troye, a former homeland security staffer to Vice President Mike Pence, appears to have filed to run for the 7th Congressional District as a Democrat. Troye has supported Democratic presidential candidates in recent elections despite describing herself as a Republican in the past. [Jared Serre/X]
Alexandria SRO Deal Hearing — A public hearing will be held Thursday on a revised agreement between Alexandria City Public Schools and the police department governing school resource officers. The proposed changes include removing a controversial designation of SROs as “school officials” with access to student records. [ALXnow]
School Phone Ban Tightened — Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) signed a bill last week strengthening restrictions on student cell phone use in Virginia’s K-12 schools. The law, from state Sen. Stella Pekarsky (D-Fairfax County), requires a complete bell-to-bell ban including breaks and lunch periods, taking effect July 1. [FFXnow]
It’s Tuesday — Expect mostly sunny skies with a high near 89 degrees and southwest winds gusting up to 18 mph. Tonight’s low drops to around 69. [NWS]
Want more local news from around the region? Check out our newest sister site, WSHnow.
UConn guard Azzi Fudd poses with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected first overall by the Dallas Wings in the first round of the WNBA basketball draft Monday, April 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
Azzi Fudd is on her way to Dallas as the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft with a $500,000 payday waiting for the former UConn star. A record-setting six UCLA players followed her into the league.
“I’m not really sure I have words to describe that feeling, what that meant,” Fudd said of getting drafted. “I don’t think it’s fully sunk in. It’s nothing I could have imagined. The feeling of sitting with my family, with Morgan (Valley), hearing your name called, go up there. Such a surreal feeling,”
It will be mostly sunny with a high of about 89°F, and a southwest wind will increase to 5 to 10 mph in the morning, with gusts potentially reaching 18 mph. Tuesday night, expect partly cloudy skies and a low of around 69°F, with southwest winds at 5 to 7 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others.” – 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.
Police car at night (file photo courtesy Kevin Wolf)
A 28-year-old Arlington man has been arrested and charged with attempted rape after allegedly assaulting a woman who was waiting for a rideshare in Clarendon over the weekend.
Luzvin Garcia Moran is being held without bond at the Arlington County Detention Facility on charges of attempted rape, abduction with intent to defile and assault and battery, according to ACPD.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger speaks at her inauguration at the Virginia State Capitol, Jan. 17, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)
Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) announced today that she did not sign dozens of tax bills into law — because the General Assembly never passed them and they never reached her desk.
Monday’s announcement came hours before the 11:59 p.m. deadline for the governor to act on more than 1,000 bills that did pass this session, and two days after President Donald Trump accused Spanberger of imposing a wave of new taxes.
Arlington County police are investigating an attempted robbery at a North Arlington restaurant Sunday afternoon.
Police were dispatched to Crisp and Juicy, a long-time Peruvian chicken eatery in the Lee Heights Shops on Cherry Hill Road, around 4:30 p.m. for a report of man jumping behind the counter and trying to steal sausage, according to scanner traffic.
Arlington Public Schools buses (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The grumblings from Northern Virginia public school parents are getting louder.
Last week, the discontent broke out into the open, when 106.7 The Fan host Danny Rouhier went on a rant that ended up going viral on social media and prompting some news coverage. His message: kids are getting too many days off of school.
Danny is sick and tried of Fairfax County Schools consistenly having days off school. pic.twitter.com/pba4ZT1Zba
Arlington and Fairfax schools have added more student holidays in recent years.
Starting with the 2021-2022, Arlington Public Schools added several religious holidays to its calendar, including Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Diwali and Eid al-Fitr. This year Eid al-Adha was added, after a divided school board decided against a last-minute addition to the calendar last year.
Both Arlington and Fairfax, meanwhile, added next Tuesday — special election day for the state redistricting amendment — as an off day and APS is off today (Monday) for a grade prep day. (Over the past month, APS has been off March 13, 20, 30-31 and April 1-3, 10, and 13.)
FCPS has even more off days on its calendar than APS and the Fairfax school board has been considering removing some federal holidays next year to strike a better balance. From an April 8 FFXnow article:
As the current school year enters its final stretch, the Fairfax County School Board is considering tweaking the calendar for the next year in response to mounting complaints about disruptions to class schedules.
At the board’s meeting tomorrow (Thursday), members led by governance committee chair Melanie Meren will propose nixing Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Veterans Day as official student holidays and limiting the number of scheduled early release days to four per year.
“Partial school weeks function as an informal ‘childcare tax’ that falls hardest on our hourly-wage and most vulnerable households,” said Meren, whose committee has been discussing a new calendar policy. “My goal is to adjust the 2026-27 calendar to increase the number of five-day school weeks.”
If the motions are approved, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which will fall on Oct. 12 this year, and Veterans Day — observed annually on Nov. 11 — would become standard instructional days for both students and staff going forward. Fairfax County Public Schools would implement a curriculum to teach students about the groups that the occasions are intended to recognize.
After an April 9 vote, only Veterans Day will be eliminated as a school holiday, FFXnow reported today.
While Arlington has fewer off days than FCPS, some parents are nonetheless feeling the burden of frequently having to find childcare for myriad off days and early release days.
Do you think APS should also consider removing some off days next year? Weigh in below.
Window reflections on a sunny spring day in Courthouse (courtesy George Brazier)
Foot Chase on Columbia Pike — A teen was arrested Friday night after a reported fight near Columbia Pike and S. Dinwiddie Street, according to police. The suspect allegedly pulled a knife during the altercation, then fled on foot before being caught behind a 7-Eleven. He faces charges including attempted malicious wounding, assault on a police officer and obstruction of justice. [Dave Statter/X, WUSA 9]
Meals on Wheels Lands $70M Gift — Crystal City-based Meals on Wheels America has received a $70 million donation from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. The nonprofit, headquartered at 1550 Crystal Drive, supports roughly 5,000 community-based meal providers nationwide and says it will use the unrestricted funds to strengthen local provider capacity. [WBJ]
Pull-Up Busts GMU Pipe — A man admitted to doing a pull-up that burst a water pipe at George Mason University’s Mason Square campus (3300 Fairfax Drive) in late March, flooding the parking garage. He turned himself in to university police. “Moral of the story is ‘if you mess up, you fess up!’” a GMU police spokesperson said. [WTOP]
Snowcrete Finally Melts — The huge pile of snowcrete at the county’s N. Quincy Street property is now just a puddle, 75 days after the original storm. [ARLnow/X]
Cheese Cartel Opens — State Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim (D-37th) joined the ribbon cutting last week for The Cheese Cartel, a new cheese shop at Founders Row (922 W. Broad Street) in Falls Church. [Sen. Salim/X]
F.C. Housing Costs Questioned — The chair of Falls Church’s Economic Development Authority balked at costs tied to the planned Virginia Village redevelopment on S. Maple Avenue, which aims to boost the city’s affordable housing stock. A consultant proposal of $175,000 for a couple months’ work drew sharp criticism. [FCNP]
Va. Minimum Wage Headed to $15 — Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed a bill that will incrementally increase Virginia’s minimum wage from $12.77 to $15 an hour by 2028. The N. Va. Chamber of Commerce had urged a veto, warning the increase could worsen inflation. [NBC 4]
Chick-fil-A Visa Luck — Chinese students and workers, including those in Northern Virginia, have embraced Chick-fil-A as a good-luck charm for U.S. visa applications because the name sounds like “check files” in Chinese. Some 3D-print the logo, embroider it on keychains or set it as their social media profile picture, hoping for H-1B lottery luck. [AP]
D.C. Eyes Driverless Rides — The D.C. Council plans to begin reviewing legislation by month’s end that would permit commercial driverless vehicle service. Waymo, which has about 25 test vehicles in D.C., is eyeing multiple depot sites that would each employ about 100 people. [WBJ]
Drought Deepens in Region — Most of the D.C. area remains in moderate drought after a dry March, and April is tracking below average for precipitation. Portions of Virginia near Richmond have slipped to severe drought, and the Capital Weather Gang says there’s not much rain in the near future. [CWG/X]
Region Preps for America 250 — D.C., Maryland and Virginia organizers are planning celebrations for the nation’s 250th birthday, including what they say will be the largest fireworks display in U.S. history on July 4. Events run from May through July, and Fairfax County is rolling out “Fairfax 250” wine. [WTOP]
It’s Monday — Expect partly sunny skies with a high near 83 and southwest winds around 14 mph, gusting to 26 mph. There’s a slight chance of afternoon rain showers. Overnight lows drop to around 63. [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.
Expect sunny weather with a high near 69°F and a north wind at 9 to 11 mph, gusting up to 20 mph. Saturday night will be mostly clear with a low around 48°F and light, variable winds. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“Success is not in what you have, but who you are.” – Bo Bennett
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. 👋
