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

Arlington Democratic officials pair up for fundraising competition

By Scott McCaffrey
Arlington Sheriff candidate Jose Quiroz greets County Board member Takis Karantonis at the Walter Reed Community Center during the 2023 campaign (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington’s local elected officials are flexing their fundraising muscles as the sprint to Election Day begins.

Teams of two have paired up to sell the Arlington County Democratic Committee’s “Gold Card,” which provides access to upcoming party events while raising funds needed for get-out-the-vote initiatives.

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Schools

APS still ‘assessing next steps’ after federal attack on transgender policy

By Scott McCaffrey
Superintendent Francisco Durán (screenshot via Arlington Public Schools)

Arlington Public Schools leaders are playing their cards close to their chests following the end of a federal investigation into the school system’s anti-discrimination policy.

In response to demands from the U.S. Department of Education, which targeted policies allowing transgender students to use facilities corresponding with their gender identities, Superintendent Francisco Durán said only that APS has received the findings and is formulating a response.

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News

Arlington apartment dwellers get little bang for their buck, survey finds

By Scott McCaffrey
The Hazel and Azure apartment towers at 3030 & 3130 S. Potomac Avenue (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

For $1,500 a month, Arlington residents can typically rent an apartment of just 476 square feet.

Not surprisingly, given the overall cost of rent in the county, this is one of the lowest square-footage totals for $1,500 to be found anywhere in the country.

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News

Tax relief changes for seniors and people with disabilities could come to Falls Church

By Scott McCaffrey
Falls Church City Council work session, Aug. 4, 2025 (screenshot via City of Falls Church)

The Falls Church City Council is considering future changes to the city’s tax relief policies for seniors and people with permanent disabilities.

Council members considered a relatively straightforward staff request on Monday night: updating the city code to include changes that leaders made about two years ago with regards to real estate tax relief.

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News

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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News

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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News

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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News

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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News

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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News

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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News

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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