Schools

School Board members have tasked Superintendent Francisco Durán and staff to come back in the spring with options for renovations to two aging middle schools.

Whether there will be enough money in the future to fund major upgrades to Thomas Jefferson and Swanson middle schools remains an open question, but Board members said they are committed to finding ways to make improvements.


News

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Marymount University is in the midst of celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.


News

The Arlington County Democratic Committee’s outgoing chair gives himself mixed grades as he closes out four years at the helm.

Steve Baker noted some successes in his goals for the party, but also some areas where those efforts fell short, at the Dec. 16 luncheon of Arlington Senior Democrats.


Schools

Departing School Board member Mary Kadera is taking a different approach to assessing her four years in office.

Elected officials preparing to leave office often begin their end-of-term speeches rattling off a litany of real or perceived successes. But Kadera prefaced her comments at the Dec. 18 School Board meeting — her last after four years in office — by noting a series of regrets.


News

It won’t be completed until about 2030, but a pedestrian/bicyclist bridge over the Potomac River could bring more people to the Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center in Crystal City.

“It’s going to be a huge boost,” predicted Hamilton Humes of the Arlington Sports Commission, speaking at the body’s Dec. 18 meeting.


News

Members of the county’s Disability Advisory Commission are hoping to become better known in the broader community during 2026, while also having more impact on public policy.

Outreach efforts will aim to increase public visibility and collaborate with other arms of the county government. Concrete goals include a 25% increase in the number of public speakers at commission meetings, plus the recruitment of two additional commission members.


News

The county government’s Adult Protective Services office is attempting to keep up with a surge in reports of abuse, neglect and exploitation.

“We’re in uncharted territory here in terms of volume,” said Rachel Coates, an official with the Department of Human Services, at the Dec. 15 meeting of the Commission on Aging.


News

September jobs data delayed by the federal government shutdown show a 34% year-over-year increase in Arlington residents reported as unemployed, with the rate increasing 54% in Falls Church.

A total of 148,251 county residents were reported employed in the civilian workforce in September, according to figures reported Dec. 18 by the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement.


News

The county government’s arborist is pushing back on accusations that an iconic tree was removed needlessly from a Lyon Park median.

But local residents aghast at the removal aren’t letting the county government off the hook for its actions.


Schools

County education leaders are still evaluating new accountability ratings that showed a mix of success and shortcomings among Arlington schools.

Eight Arlington schools were categorized as “Needs Intensive Support” under new rating system and first results released earlier this month by the Virginia Department of Education, Superintendent Francisco Durán told School Board members at their Dec. 18 meeting.


News

An ever-increasing amount of Falls Church history is now available with just a few keystrokes.

The city’s Mary Riley Styles Public Library has started encouraging the public to take a test drive of its new digital archive.


News

The Arlington County Board has tapped the brakes on discussing any changes to the county’s governance structure, agreeing to return to the issue after some preliminary steps.

The 5-0 decision on Wednesday night, which deferred a vote on setting up a governance task force for at least seven months for further public outreach, represented a compromise between a deeply divided Board.


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