Author: Scott McCaffrey

A Northern Virginia native, Scott McCaffrey has four decades of reporting, editing and newsroom experience in the local area plus Florida, South Carolina and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. He spent 26 years as editor of the Sun Gazette newspaper chain. For Local News Now, he covers government and civic issues in Arlington, Fairfax County and Falls Church.

News

Airport leaders budget for a modest rebound in Reagan National travelers next year

By Scott McCaffrey
A Delta flight at the gate at Reagan National Airport (staff photo)

Regional airport leaders are budgeting for a moderate rebound in passenger numbers after a decline in 2025.

The calendar year 2026 budget for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) anticipates about 12.8 million enplanements next year, up from a projected 12.6 million in 2025 but down from the record 13.1 million enplanements in 2024.

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News

Plans for governance task force drive strong divisions within Arlington County Board

By Scott McCaffrey
Julius "JD" Spain, Sr., is the chief County Board proponent of a governance-change task force (screenshot via Arlington County)

County Board members continue to be divided on how quickly to move forward with a new advisory panel to look at governance issues over the coming year.

As things now stand, there appears to be a 3-2 Board majority to move forward in setting up the panel and determining its responsibilities at a meeting sometime in mid-December.

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News

Arlington treasurer’s office plans new tools and more staff to cut growing delinquency rate

By Scott McCaffrey
Arlington Treasurer Carla de la Pava (via Arlington County/YouTube)

The Arlington treasurer’s office is seeking to curb a growing rate of tax delinquency with new tools and additional personnel.

The addition of QR codes on delinquency letters, in combination with the hiring of two new collection employees, leaves Chief Deputy Treasurer Kim Rucker optimistic about the possibility of lowering the delinquency rate despite challenging economic times.

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News

Karantonis endorses $460M in annual Metro funding, but says the region needs more

By Scott McCaffrey
The Pentagon City Metro station (staff photo by Jared Serre)

Officials from Arlington and Falls Church have endorsed a regional plan to support the Metro system with $460 million per year.

County Board Chair Takis Karantonis and Falls Church City Council member David Snyder were part of the 22-0 vote, with two abstentions, as the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) board of directors backed the funding plan laid out in late October by the DMV Task Force.

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Schools

Students, parents and staff push APS to commit to TJ Middle School upgrades

By Scott McCaffrey
Sign held at School Board hearing (courtesy Thomas Jefferson Middle School PTSA)

Numerous community members are pressing the Arlington School Board for a firm commitment to either renovating or replacing Thomas Jefferson Middle School.

Teachers, parents and students all pointed to the challenges of the half-century-old building’s narrow halls and limited natural light, which result in what one seventh grader called “a somewhat depressing environment.”

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News

Where to find Christmas trees in Arlington and Falls Church this season

By Scott McCaffrey
A yellow stand selling Christmas trees in 2022 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Sales of Christmas trees and other seasonal items are returning to Arlington and Falls Church for the holiday season.

As usual, many holiday markets begin shortly after Thanksgiving, representing an annual tradition and local pilgrimage for countless buyers and sellers in the area.

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News

Falls Church leaders consider new tax surcharge on business real estate

By Scott McCaffrey
Falls Church City Manager Wyatt Shields (screenshot via City of Falls Church)

Falls Church leaders have begun talks on a possible tax surcharge on commercial property to fund transportation improvements.

If it’s enacted, owners of non-residential parcels in the city could pay an additional rate of up to 12.5 cents per $100 assessed value each year, similar to surcharges in neighboring Arlington and Fairfax counties.

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Schools

APS seeks to reduce chronic absenteeism to pre-Covid rates by 2030

By Scott McCaffrey
School Board Chair Bethany Zecher Sutton (via APS)

Arlington Public Schools leaders hope to return to a lower, pre-Covid level of student absenteeism by 2030.

“That last year before the pandemic, 2018-19, we were around [an] 8% rate. We have been using that number as a goal, our star, for the last couple of years,” said Darrell Simpson, executive director for student services, during a Nov. 13 briefing of School Board members.

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News

County Board to discuss higher taxi fares, Jennie Dean Park expansion

By Scott McCaffrey
A Blue Top Cab on an Arlington street (via Blue Top Cab)

County Board members have set public hearings next month on increasing taxi fares, expanding a Green Valley Park and designating a home as a local historic district.

The Board also set a hearing on possible changes to the county’s residential parking program, adopted a meeting schedule for 2026, approved an office-to-residential conversion project in Courthouse and approved a contract for new pedestrian bridges in two parks.

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Schools

APS lays out its game plan for snow days this winter

By Scott McCaffrey
Arlington school bus on a snowy morning (file photo)

Arlington Public Schools leaders have set their plans in place for deciding when to close schools for wintry weather.

The school system has 12 snow days built into the calendar for elementary school, 15 for middle and high school. Should those numbers be exceeded, leaders plan to move to virtual learning — a staple of the pandemic era — rather than lengthen the school year to meet the state minimum of 180 days or 990 hours of instructional time.

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News

APS suspensions drop, but big demographic disparities persist

By Scott McCaffrey
Arlington Public Schools headquarters (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Suspensions were down at the start of the school year in Arlington, but some significant disparities remain across different student demographics.

First-quarter suspension totals “continue to show some overrepresentation” of certain groups, including Black students and students with disabilities, Superintendent Francisco Durán told School Board members on Nov. 13.

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News

County Board seeks ability to limit rent increases in contentious vote

By Scott McCaffrey
Virginia State Capitol in Richmond (staff photo)

The Arlington County Board is seeking legislation that would give localities the power to limit annual increases in apartment rents.

Board members added language to their 2026 General Assembly priorities package on Saturday, seeking the ability to add “anti-rent-gouging protections.” The decision generated applause from supporters who argued that the decision could promote affordability, and criticism from opponents concerned about hindering free market solutions.

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