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.
Hot, humid and stormy weather is on tap today.
Arlington County and much of the D.C. area is under a Heat Advisory, a Flood Watch and — as of 1:45 p.m. — a Severe Thunderstorm Watch today (Tuesday).
Bishop on Texas Floods — “I join the faithful of the Diocese of Arlington in fervent prayer for all the victims, for those who are still missing, and all those whose lives have been affected by the catastrophic flash floods that took place in Central Texas over Independence Day weekend. Although heroic rescue efforts by first responders have saved many, the floodwaters from the Guadalupe River claimed the lives of more than 100 persons.” [Catholic Diocese of Arlington]
Beyer on Texas Floods — “This is devastating news. I’m heartbroken for all those impacted by this tragic flooding and continue to keep Central Texas in my thoughts. I’m deeply grateful to our first responders and everyone helping amid this catastrophic disaster.” [Rep. Don Beyer/X]
Man Drowns in Potomac — “The man who was recovered from the Potomac River has died in the hospital, police confirmed on Monday morning. On Saturday, July 5, first responders worked to rescue a man who was in the water near the Key Bridge. DC Fire and EMS posted on social media that he had gone into the river but did not emerge… Preliminary investigations into the incident reported that this appeared to be an accidental drowning.” [DC News Now]
Clarendon Eatery Exits Bankruptcy — “Andrew Darneille is breathing just a bit easier these days. That’s because a federal judge on June 23 signed off on a plan clearing the way for his Clarendon-based Smokecraft Modern Barbecue to emerge from bankruptcy protection, more than a year after it filed for Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Alexandria. The plan goes into effect Tuesday.” [WBJ]
Power Line Undergrounding in F.C. — “Some City residents, including Commissioner Robert Kravinsky, received mail from Dominion Energy regarding the undergrounding of lines in their neighborhood. Ms. Mester explained that Dominion Energy’s efforts to underground power lines in residential neighborhoods to increase reliability began 10 years ago before running out of funds. Recently, Dominion Energy decided to continue the effort using funds from rate increases. Areas are selected based on outage data.” [Falls Church Pulse]
Office Construction Grinds to Halt — “There are at least 33 companies scouring the Northern Virginia office market for 50,000 square feet or more, according to CBRE’s second-quarter office report, but their options are severely limited regionwide and there’s literally nothing under construction that would fit their requirements… No one is building suburban trophy office, as the cost of construction has made it very difficult to get the projects to pencil.” [WBJ]
New Starbucks Options — “Starbucks announced Monday that its new Strato Frappuccino beverages will be available in stores nationwide starting Tuesday for a limited time. The Strato lineup reimagines the blended drinks with cold foam layers. The name is inspired by the Italian word strato, meaning ‘layer.'” [Axios]
It’s Tuesday — Expect showers and thunderstorms mainly after 5pm, with increasing clouds and a high of 93°F. The heat index may reach 103°F, and winds will be southwest at 5-7 mph. There’s a 60% chance of precipitation. Tuesday night, thunderstorms persist mainly before 8pm, followed by mostly cloudy skies and a low of 73°F. [NWS]
Good Monday 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 — Jul 7, 2025.
Here is what’s going on Tuesday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
Expect showers and thunderstorms mainly after 5pm, with increasing clouds and a high of 93°F. The heat index may reach 103°F, and winds will be southwest at 5-7 mph. There’s a 60% chance of precipitation and a possible quarter to half-inch of rainfall. Tuesday night, thunderstorms persist mainly before 8pm, followed by mostly cloudy skies and a low of 73°F. East winds around 5 mph will become calm in the evening, with a 60% chance of precipitation and a quarter to half-inch of rain possible. See more from Weather.gov.
“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”
– Albert Einstein
The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.
A man, 70, and a woman, 25, were arrested over the weekend after separate incidents involving knives along the same block of Columbia Pike.
Both incidents happened in the early morning hours of Saturday, the day after the Fourth of July.
Arlington has some popular spots for classic barbecue, offering smoky specialties like pulled pork and brisket with satisfying sides.
Here are the nominees for “Best Barbecue Restaurant in Arlington” as part of our ARLnow Readers’ Choice awards.
Did we miss your favorite place? Write them in!
Voting will close in two weeks.
Voting for the Best Bar 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 the Best Place for Wings in Arlington. The results are now official:
Arlington 911 Using AI — “Arlington County’s 911 center is… turning to artificial intelligence to help man non-emergency calls coming into its dispatch center this Fourth of July holiday… Officials say non-emergency calls were down by nearly 16,000 in the first quarter of the year compared to the same time period in 2024.” [Fox 5]
Youngkin Calls Out Arlington — “Youngkin said his Virginia Homeland Security Task Force arrested 2,500 people so far this year, who he says are violent criminals in the U.S. illegally. Youngkin also renewed his call for local law enforcement in Northern Virginia to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Youngkin has called out Fairfax County and Arlington County for not honoring ICE detainers and working with ICE.” [WJLA]
Families Worry About Title I Change — “Two Arlington schools previously categorized as Title I campuses won’t be eligible for that designation in the fall, a change that some parents are concerned about the consequences of.” [WTOP]
Fairlington Parade on TV — “It was a day for neighbors in Fairlington to break out the red, white, and blue and spend time with each other as they and people across the DMV marked the Fourth of July. The Fairlington Citizens Association (FCA) and Fairlington Villages held the community’s July 4th Parade and Celebration on Friday.” [DC News Now]
Teen Girl Arrested — “The female victim and juvenile female victim were inside a common area of a residential building when the known juvenile female suspect in her teens allegedly approached and pepper sprayed them before fleeing the scene on foot… Petitions for the juvenile suspect were sought for Malicious Wounding by Caustic Agent (x2).” [ACPD]
Blue Line Closure — “A stretch of the Metro Blue Line will be out of service starting Saturday and will remain closed until July 26 for construction. Franconia-Springfield and Van Dorn St. stations will be closed for three weeks, making Reagan National Airport the last stop on the Blue Line.” [WTOP]
It’s Monday — Showers and potential storms are expected throughout the day, with some storms potentially producing heavy rainfall. It will otherwise be partly sunny with a high near 89°F and a southeast wind of 3-6 mph. There is a 70% chance of precipitation. On Monday night there’s a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 7pm, followed by partly cloudy skies and a low around 75°F. [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 coffee or keeping the printer stocked. Industrious has several Metro-accessible coworking locations in Arlington.
Flickr pool photo by Jason Gooljar
Good Thursday 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 — Jul 3, 2025.
Here is what’s going on Friday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
Expect partly cloudy skies throughout the day, with temperatures reaching a high of 75°F and a low of 55°F. A mild breeze will blow at 10 mph, ensuring a comfortable atmosphere. There’s a slight chance of rain around 20%, so you might want to pack an umbrella just in case. Overall, it looks like a pleasant day ahead. See more from Weather.gov.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”
– Winston Churchill
The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.
A man is fighting for his life after being severely burned in an under-construction office building in Crystal City.
It happened around 2:15 p.m. at 2011 Crystal Drive, which is being renovated. Initial reports suggest that there was a “flash fire” of some kind on a basement level of the building, critically injuring a construction worker in his 20s and setting off the sprinkler system.
A pair of seemingly dramatic police actions rattled locals in two Arlington neighborhoods yesterday.
The first happened around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday on N. Highland Street near Clarendon Blvd and the Trader Joe’s store in Clarendon. Tipsters described a sudden rush of unmarked and marked police units making an arrest with guns drawn.
Bondsman Arrested Immigrant — “An Arlington County family feared for their lives, they say, when a man in plain clothes knocked on their door late at night to make an immigration arrest. The man didn’t identify himself and pulled out a gun during the incident, the family says. Their relative has since been deported.” [NBC 4]
Fireworks Safety and Legality — “Planning to celebrate the Fourth with fireworks? In Arlington, only certain fireworks are legal—and they must be purchased from an ACFD-approved stand. Always check for the permit and follow safety directions.” [Arlington County Board/X, Arlington County, ACFD/X]
APS Employee Acquitted — “A jury found a former Arlington Public Schools (APS) employee not guilty of soliciting sex from a student on Tuesday. Police launched an investigation in November of 2024 after someone reported that an instructional assistant and football coach at Wakefield High School had solicited sex from an underage female student.” [DC News Now]
Court Rules for Local Resident — “In a 2-1 decision, Virginia judges denied the Trump administration’s appeal for Georgetown University researcher Badar Khan Suri to be placed in immigration detention again. The judges called the attempt to detain Khan Suri again a threat to the constitutional right of habeas corpus, which protects people from arrests without a fair legal process.” [NBC 4]
Feeding the Force at Fort Myer — “Step inside #AmericasKitchen, the Warrior Restaurant at @JBMHH! Watch below to learn how #DLA ensures everything is in place for our nation’s #heroes to receive high-quality meals.” [Defense Logistics/X]
Look at Local Swimming Leagues — “For a select few, these leagues can become the starting blocks for something much bigger. Local Olympic champions like Katie Ledecky first made their splash in DMV summer leagues. Stiles himself coached six-time Olympic medalist Torri Huske for more than a decade at the Arlington Aquatic Club.” [N. Va. Magazine]
More on Styrofoam Ban — “Starting Tuesday, a statewide ban on the use of expanded polystyrene (EPS), a form of plastic foam, for food containers takes effect… However, the ban won’t affect small businesses just yet. Large vendors with 20 or more locations in the state must stop using the containers by July 1, 2025, while all others must stop by the same date next year.” [The Richmonder]
Unemployment Up Across N. Va. — The number of Northern Virginia residents counted as unemployed in May totaled 59,485, up 5.5% from a month before and up 32% compared to a year ago. Preliminary figures were reported Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Northern Virginia’s unemployment rate of 3.3% for May was up from 3.1% a month before and from 2.5% a year before, federal officials said. –Scott McCaffrey
It’s Thursday — Expect sunny conditions with a high around 89 and a northwest wind at 5-7 mph. Thursday night will be mostly clear with a low near 68 and a west wind at 3-5 mph. For Independence Day, the weather will remain sunny, reaching a high near 87 accompanied by a north wind at around 6 mph. [NWS]
Flickr pool photo by Jason Gooljar
Good Wednesday 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 — Jul 2, 2025.
Here is what’s going on Thursday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
Expect sunny conditions with a high around 89 and a northwest wind at 5-7 mph. Thursday night will be mostly clear with a low near 68 and a west wind at 3-5 mph. For Independence Day, the weather will remain sunny, reaching a high near 87 accompanied by a north wind at around 6 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
“The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.”
– Mark Zuckerberg
The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.
Development Proposal Near Ruthie’s — “Snell Properties is looking to build a new infill apartment building on an existing multifamily property it’s long owned in Arlington. The Arlington family-owned real estate company owns the 188-unit Dominion Apartments complex at 333 S. Glebe Road, just south of Route 50… It wants to add a 124-unit building on an existing parking lot, according to a site plan application filed June 26 in Arlington County.” [WBJ]
Fireworks Photo Suggestions — “I’ve photographed the D.C. fireworks since 2004. Here are my favorite locations: 1) Netherlands Carillon 2) Potomac River shoreline 3) Lincoln Reflecting Pool 4) Marine Corps War Memorial.” [Kevin Ambrose/X]
Sheriff Releases Report — “The Arlington County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) is proud to announce the release of its 2024 Annual Report… The report showcases key accomplishments aligned with the agency’s core priorities: operating a safe and rehabilitative jail, supporting the wellness and development of staff, and building meaningful connections with the Arlington community.” [ACSO]
Local Nonprofit Celebrating Anniversary — NOVA Cleanups will celebrate three years of beautification in and around Arlington with a “Cleanup Crawl” from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 12. The event will start at O’Sullivan’s Irish Pub in Clarendon and end at Quincy Hall in Ballston, with raffles and t-shirts for sale. –Katie Taranto
It’s Wednesday — Expect showers and thunderstorms, mostly before noon, followed by a slight chance in the afternoon. Clouds will gradually clear, reaching a high near 84, with light winds turning north at 5 mph. The chance of precipitation is 60%, with possible higher amounts in thunderstorms. Wednesday night will be mostly clear with a low of 69. [NWS]
