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.

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Arlington unemployment rate increases again, up 55% year-over-year

By Scott McCaffrey
Resume specialists talk to job seekers at Amazon career day in Crystal City (file staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington’s unemployment rate continued its upward trajectory in June, reaching a 55% year-over-year increase, according to new data.

A total of 5,247 county residents were reported as seeking work that month, according to state data released earlier this week. That’s up from the 3,380 residents reported as unemployed in June 2024, and up from 5,061 recorded in May of this year.

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New dashboard tracks millions of visits to Arlington bridges and trails this year

By Scott McCaffrey
Bluemont Junction Trail (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

New technology is helping Arlington County keep track of the millions of times that bicyclists and pedestrians use local trails and bridges throughout the year.

An updated online dashboard in partnership with the French firm Eco Counter includes a running tally of pedestrians and bicyclists that pass by 35 sites on trails countywide.

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Stormy weather drives spike in summertime flight cancellations at DCA

By Scott McCaffrey
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Blame an unforgiving Mother Nature for a jump in flight cancellations at Reagan National Airport this summer.

An analysis by CBS News covering the early-summer period (Memorial Day to mid-July) found a 274% increase in flight cancellations at the airport compared to the same period in 2024.

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Beyer proposes overhaul of congressional maps to combat gerrymandering

By Scott McCaffrey
Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

A new bill with the backing of U.S. Rep. Don Beyer is seeking to redraw congressional lines to combat gerrymandering and improve representation.

The measure, called the Fair Representation Act, was introduced by Beyer and Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin on July 23. It would involve creating larger congressional districts with multiple representatives, elected through ranked-choice voting.

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Support for churches building affordable housing could be Housing Commission priority

By Scott McCaffrey
Central United Methodist Church and Unity Homes building in Ballston as it prepared to open in 2024 (staff photo by Savannah Taffe)

The Arlington Housing Commission is considering a push to make it easier for houses of worship to redevelop their land with affordable housing.

A subcommittee of the full commission discussed whether to press the issue in advance of next year’s legislative session, which opens in January. Whether County Board members embrace the proposal remains to be seen.

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News

RiverHouse expansion scores positive feedback at the end of key review process

By Scott McCaffrey
Seven-story residential building proposed for RiverHouse site (via Arlington County)

A massive proposed expansion to Pentagon City’s RiverHouse development concluded a key phase of the county’s public feedback process with generally solid reviews.

“It’s hard to argue with new housing and park space on underutilized parking lots,” said Kateri Garcia, who represents the Arlington Ridge Civic Association on the site-plan review committee (SPRC) that recently concluded five meetings on the development plan.

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Falls Church is about to start building its first roundabout

By Scott McCaffrey
The Falls Church roundabout proposal (via City of Falls Church)

Construction work on the first traffic circle in Falls Church is gearing up.

Signs are in place for the project at S. Maple Avenue and Annandale Road, which will convert the existing four-way stop with traffic lights into what transportation planners hope will be a better travel experience.

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Needs of at-risk Arlington seniors place strain on county resource center

By Scott McCaffrey
The July 21 meeting of the Arlington Commission on Aging (via Arlington County)

Increasing demand for resources to support at-risk Arlington seniors is putting an Arlington County resource hub to the test.

To keep up with an increasing workload, staff at the county’s Aging & Disability Resource Center have stopped seeing clients one day each week to catch up on administrative tasks. As clients with more complex needs require more resources, leadership at the resource center is calling for more staffing at every level.

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Redevelopment plan for Walgreens on Langston Blvd receives mixed feedback

By Scott McCaffrey
Development proposal for 3130 Langston Blvd (via Arlington County)

One of the first major redevelopment proposals along Langston Blvd is receiving mixed feedback at the start of the formal community review process.

A site-plan review committee (SPRC) meeting on July 24 included debate on whether the boomerang-shaped project with 310 residential units at 3130 Langston Blvd meets the aspirations of the Langston Blvd Area Plan.

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Arlington apartment costs remained close to record territory in July

By Scott McCaffrey
Pentagon City apartments in February (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

The median monthly rent for a two-bedroom Arlington apartment exceeded $3,000 in July for the fourth consecutive month, despite falling slightly from the all-time record set in June.

The median July rental price for two-bedroom units in Arlington was $3,006, according to data that Apartment List released on Wednesday..

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Some Culpepper Garden assisted-living residents could get to stay in place

By Scott McCaffrey
Culpepper Garden senior housing community (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Some seniors in assisted-living facilities at Culpepper Garden may be able to stay even after supportive services are phased out next year.

The nonprofit running the senior-housing community is exploring moving eligible residents into independent-living areas, using a combination of new services and family support, president Marta Hill Gray told the Arlington Commission on Aging.

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Green Valley leaders have spent decades lobbying county for better public safety

By Scott McCaffrey
Joan Cooper welcomes President George H.W. Bush at 1992 Green Valley anti-drug rally (via Charlie Clark Center for Local History)

Arlington’s Green Valley community has a long and, in many ways, distinguished past.

Coming into being before the Civil War, it served as a home to freed Black residents and carried on as a refuge for the African-American community in a county and commonwealth that, until the 1960s, adhered to a rigid system of segregation in housing and other facets of daily life.

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