Dan Egitto | ARLnow

County Board candidate criticizes prosecutors over handling of assault case

Published April 29, 2026 at 2:45PM

Audrey Clement gathering signatures outside of Arlington Central Library on Monday, March 9, 2026 (staff photo)

Frequent County Board candidate Audrey Clement has taken issue with the amount of time her assailant was sentenced to serve for attacking her and a bystander outside a library in March.

The man, 47-year-old Jonathan Rogers, pleaded guilty to striking Clement in the back of the head and hitting a bystander in the eye when he intervened in the apparently unprovoked attack. Rogers was released from jail on Sunday after spending just 50 days behind bars — an amount of time that Clement believes is unacceptable.

News

Self-driving delivery robots begin exploring the sidewalks of Arlington

By Dan Egitto

Published April 29, 2026 at 10:00AM

A robotic delivery service at Wilson Blvd and Barton Street (via DES/Bluesky)

A company that uses self-driving robots to deliver food, groceries and online purchases has begun mapping out the streets and sidewalks of Arlington County.

Avride, a Massachusetts-based company that produces autonomous cars in addition to delivery bots, has deployed at least one “personal delivery device” to chart a two-mile radius in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. The initial phase is expected to last for about two weeks, according to a county webpage about the devices.

News

County hires new waste contractor to help with missed organics pickups

By Dan Egitto

Published April 28, 2026 at 11:45AM | Updated April 28, 2026 at 1:47PM

Bates trash truck in August 2025 (staff photo)

Arlington County has taken on a second waste contractor to help account for missed organics collections this spring.

The county hired Rockville, Md.-based Compost Crew to assist Bates Trucking and Trash Removal with collections starting on April 20. The cost is $9,920 per week, Katie O’Brien, spokesperson for Arlington’s Department of Environmental Services, told ARLnow.

News

Man who attacked County Board candidate sentenced to 100 days in jail

By Dan Egitto

Published April 27, 2026 at 1:45PM | Updated April 27, 2026 at 11:23PM

Audrey Clement gathering signatures outside of Arlington Central Library on Monday, March 9, 2026 (staff photo)

A man who attacked frequent County Board candidate Audrey Clement while she was gathering signatures outside a library has been sentenced to 100 days of active jail time.

Jonathan Rogers, 47, was sentenced to just shy of two years, with all but 100 days suspended, for the March 7 attack in which he struck Clement in the back of the head and hit another man in the eye, according to sentencing documents. He must also pay $16,050 in restitution for the violent, and apparently unprovoked, struggle outside Central Library.

News

Spotted lanternflies hatch in Arlington for another buggy season

By Dan Egitto

Published April 27, 2026 at 9:15AM

Spotted lanternfly nymphs (via Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services/Facebook)

One of Arlington’s least favorite insects is back for the spring, as invasive as ever.

Spotted lanternflies have begun hatching after their annual winter die-off and are currently in their nymph stage, Alonso Abugattas, Natural Resources Manager for Arlington County, informed ARLnow.

News

New turning restrictions on Arlington Blvd to be installed starting next week

By Dan Egitto

Published April 23, 2026 at 2:45PM

The intersection of Irving Street and Arlington Blvd (via VDOT)

Additional signs, markings and flex posts will be coming to six Arlington Blvd intersections beginning next week, seeking to promote safety at crossings without traffic signals.

Building on the success of similar installations at N. and S. Highland Street, the project will add left-turn and through restrictions at all unsignalized intersections on Arlington Blvd between Fillmore Street and Glebe Road, along with a left-turn restriction at N. and S. Irving Street.

Events

Earth Day celebration, Clarendon art festival bring weekend road closures

By Dan Egitto

Published April 23, 2026 at 11:45AM

Festivities at the Earth Day Every Day Festival (via Langston Boulevard Alliance/Facebook)

An annual arts festival in Clarendon and an Earth Day celebration near Langston Blvd will result in some road closures this weekend.

The 12th annual Arlington Festival of the Arts will kick off the weekend with over 125 exhibitors showcasing original pieces beginning on Saturday. The following roads will be closed from 3 a.m. Saturday through 8 p.m. Sunday.

News

Ballston Holiday Inn closes, preparing for 504-unit redevelopment project

By Katie Taranto and Dan Egitto

Published April 23, 2026 at 10:00AM

Fencing around the Ballston Holiday Inn hotel site (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

A Holiday Inn hotel in the Ballston area has closed and is now fenced off, apparently in preparation for a redevelopment project approved back in 2023.

Multiple tipsters contacted ARLnow this month after the hotel at 4610 Fairfax Drive closed its doors. The hotel has left IHG Hotels and Resorts’ system, a spokesperson said, although they did not say exactly when the location stopped admitting guests.

News

County unveils three options for Drew Park expansion in Green Valley

By Dan Egitto

Published April 22, 2026 at 3:45PM

A rendering of the "Grow Together" concept at Drew Park in Green Valley (via Arlington County)

Three possible design options for an expanded Drew Park ask respondents to prioritize between nature areas, gathering spaces and places to play and keep active.

Residents in and around Green Valley have until May 10 to submit feedback on draft concept designs for the park at 2310 S. Kenmore Street, next to Drew Elementary School. The online form asks for residents’ thoughts on each of the options — “Grow Together,” “Gather Together” and “Play Together” — along with a possible restroom facility.

News

About 37% of Arlington voters have cast ballots in redistricting referendum, so far

By Dan Egitto and The Associated Press

Published April 21, 2026 at 1:45PM

Voters fill out ballots at a polling place on April 21, 2026 (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

Roughly 37% Arlington voters have cast ballots in the statewide redistricting referendum as of this afternoon.

About 14% of voters visited a polling place as of 1:30 p.m., while 23% of local voters cast ballots early, according to the latest numbers from Arlington’s elections office.

Around Town

New Green Valley art space to open with art vendors, poetry and clothing swap

By Dan Egitto

Published April 20, 2026 at 3:45PM

The 2700 Art Space Project (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

Green Valley’s newest art space is preparing to open to the public with a outdoor market featuring creative activities and artwork for sale.

The 2700 Art Space project, located at the site of former Inner Ear recording studio next to Jennie Dean Park, will kick off its first official programming on Sunday, May 3 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Called SPARK!, the first monthly art market will include artwork from local artists — including prints and ceramics from The Studios at Arlington Arts — plus the mobile bookstore The Wandering Shelf, a pop-up poetry booth from The Poet is IN and the popular “Patch or Swap” booth where visitors can mend old clothes or trade them in.

News

After AIM’s collapse, Arlington-based radio station WERA seeks a second life

By Dan Egitto

Published April 16, 2026 at 3:45PM

The former Arlington Independent Media site in Clarendon (file photo)

Two years after Arlington Independent Media’s implosion, the organization’s FM radio station is seeking a second life with a focus on education, news and the arts.

Despite AIM laying off its entire staff in March 2024 and losing its entire broadcast studio at a county auction following a blistering financial audit, the organization’s remaining legal and technical representatives have petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to transfer the license to WERA 96.7.