Dan Egitto | ARLnow

ACPD contact with ICE jumps as County Board considers further policy changes

Published April 29, 2025 at 3:45PM | Updated April 29, 2025 at 4:25PM

ICE agents on N. Piedmont Street in Ashton Heights (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

Arlington police are contacting immigration enforcement more than they used to.

As of last week, the Arlington County Police Department had contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement 17 times since the start of the year. This is ACPD’s highest rate of voluntary cooperation with the federal agency since the county began publishing these numbers in 2022, according to data provided to ARLnow.

News

Arlington professor challenges legality of Trump’s tariffs in lawsuit

By Dan Egitto

Published April 28, 2025 at 3:45PM

President Trump departs in Marine One on Jan. 20, 2021 (Flickr pool photo by Joanna Hitt Kim)

An Arlington law professor is representing a lawsuit attempting to end President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs.

Ilya Somin, a professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, is serving as co-counsel for litigation filed shortly after Trump’s 10% tariff on all imports from most countries went into effect earlier this month.

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Upgrades to ART bus safety and Arlington Blvd interchange included in funding proposal

By Dan Egitto

Published April 28, 2025 at 1:15PM

Crash on ramp from Arlington Blvd (Route 50) to Washington Blvd in August 2016 (staff photo)

Funding for better safety on Arlington buses, a new “microtransit” project and upgrades to a crash-prone intersection is included in a new state funding proposal.

Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board is proposing a total of $13.7 million for Arlington projects in Fiscal Year 2026 as part of a draft Six-Year Improvement Program.

News

New traffic light goes live at crash-prone crossing near Lubber Run Community Center

By Dan Egitto

Published April 24, 2025 at 3:45PM

The new traffic lights at N. George Mason Drive and N. Park Drive (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

A new four-way traffic signal has been installed at a high-crash intersection near Lubber Run Community Center, capping off years of efforts to improve safety.

As of this week, the intersection of N. George Mason Drive and N. Park Drive also has curb extensions on all corners, more street lighting and marked crosswalks at all crossings, according to a county webpage. These replace the interim safety measures previously installed to guide vehicles through the intersection.

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Agency envisions bus rapid transit along Columbia Pike and across the Potomac

By Dan Egitto and Scott McCaffrey

Published April 24, 2025 at 2:30PM

A proposed network of bus rapid transit lines across Northern Virginia (via NVTA)

A new long-term “blueprint” to dramatically expand Northern Virginia’s bus rapid transit lines calls for significant investment along core Arlington routes.

A draft Bus Rapid Transit Action Plan, unveiled yesterday (Wednesday) is meant to guide agencies throughout the region as they consider future transit investments. A proposed map of possible BRT lines envisions two routes connecting Columbia Pike to Crystal City and D.C., and another route running east from Falls Church into Rosslyn, across the Potomac River and into Georgetown.

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Regional ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ finalists include three Arlington residents

By Dan Egitto

Published April 24, 2025 at 8:15AM

Felix Brandon Lloyd of Zoobean, alongside co-founder Jordan Lloyd Bookey (file photo)

Three Arlington County residents are among the finalists for the 2025 Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Mid-Atlantic region.

Qu CEO Amir Hudda, Symplicity CEO Matt Small and Zoobean CEO Felix Lloyd have all been recognized by the program that “honors entrepreneurs whose innovations shape the future and pave the way for a thriving economy and hopeful tomorrow.”

News

JUST IN: Driver in fatal Ballston crash suffered ‘medical emergency,’ will face no charges

By Dan Egitto

Published April 23, 2025 at 3:53PM

A crash at the intersection of Wilson Blvd and N. Glebe Road in Ballston (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

The driver in a Ballston crash in January that killed a 32-year-old woman will not face any criminal charges, police have announced.

Investigators determined that the driver of the pickup truck that struck and killed a car driven by Xuewei He of McLean “experienced a medical emergency prior to the crash,” the Arlington County Police Department announced in a press release today (Wednesday).

News

Retired County Board member leads daily ‘rush hour resistance’ at Fairlington’s I-395 overpass

By Dan Egitto

Published April 23, 2025 at 3:45PM | Updated April 23, 2025 at 4:29PM

Protesters over I-395 in Fairlington (courtesy of Libby Garvey)

Every weekday for the past seven weeks, a small but determined crew of anti-Trump protesters has gathered on a Fairlington overpass to greet rush hour commuters.

With signs, a banner reading “No Kings!” and flags of the United States, Ukraine and the European Union, the demonstrators on the S. Abingdon Street bridge wave at the crowded lanes of vehicles driving south on I-395.

News

Developer announces plans for 302-unit tower to replace Ballston office building

By Dan Egitto

Published April 23, 2025 at 2:30PM

Renderings of a planned residential tower at 4420 Fairfax Drive (courtesy of Aria)

Another developer is setting its sights on redeveloping a Ballston office building as a residential high-rise.

Aria Development Group filed plans last week to replace a five-story structure at 4420 Fairfax Drive with a 22-story tower. The new building would have 302 residential units, 5,017 square feet of retail and 86 parking spaces.

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New county retirement options worsen ACPD’s staffing shortage

By Dan Egitto

Published April 22, 2025 at 3:45PM | Updated April 23, 2025 at 8:16AM

Police officers gather at the intersection of Wilson and Clarendon Blvd for ACPD's November 2023 Street Smart campaign (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Over a dozen officers are leaving the Arlington County Police Department under a new program incentivizing county employees to retire.

The Voluntary Retirement Incentive program, included in the newly adopted Fiscal Year 2026 budget, encourages retirement for late-career county employees. So far, 32 employees have opted into the program, which is billed as a money-saving strategy.

News

Arlington Catholics honor Pope Francis as peacemaker who fought for human dignity

By Dan Egitto

Published April 21, 2025 at 3:50PM

A 2024 ceremony at St. Thomas More Cathedral in Arlington (courtesy Diocese of Arlington)

Arlington Catholics are honoring the late Pope Francis as a bridge builder who sought to care for society’s most vulnerable people.

Hours after the pontiff died at the age of 88 this morning (Monday) in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta, Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge issued a statement remembering the pope’s commitment to “the infinite dignity of every human person.”

News

State police chase ends in collision with Metrobus near Fairlington

By Dan Egitto

Published April 21, 2025 at 11:15AM

A Virginia State Police cruiser (staff photo)

A Virginia State Police chase through Fairfax County ended in a fleeing vehicle striking a Metrobus and a minivan near Fairlington on Saturday.

No passengers were on board the bus and the driver was uninjured, while the minivan driver was hospitalized for injuries that were not life-threatening, according to a press release.