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 nonprofit celebrates 25 years of serving immigrant communities

By Scott McCaffrey
SEEC leaders cut cake to mark 25th anniversary (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Leaders of the Shirlington Employment and Education Center used its 25th-birthday celebration to further commit to supporting the people that the organization helps.

SEEC, as it is known, provides “trust, hard work and hope” for the county’s immigrant population, board chair Chris Concepcion said at an Oct. 10 dinner held at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church.

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News

Unopposed Del. Lopez working to boost turnout for Democratic ticket

By Scott McCaffrey
Dels. Alfonso Lopez, Patrick Hope and Adele McClure (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

There’s only one candidate running unopposed in Arlington this fall. But that doesn’t mean Del. Alfonso Lopez is taking election season off.

Lopez (D-3) is raising funds and rallying the troops in hopes Democrats will be “picking up tons of seats” in the House of Delegates.

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News

Early voting started strong and has held steady, Arlington election officials say

By Scott McCaffrey
A voting dropbox in Courthouse (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington voters are casting ballots ahead of Election Day in numbers that could set a new high for years that don’t include the presidential race.

“We’re on track to see record early voting turnout in a non-presidential election,” county election director Gretchen Reinemeyer told ARLnow. “As of the end of Monday, there’s been a 48% increase over the same timeframe in 2021.”

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News

Arlington pedestrian and bicycle panels push back against changes in roles

By Scott McCaffrey
A long row of Capital Bikeshare bicycles (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Some members of two Arlington advisory bodies are unhappy with changes being imposed on their groups’ responsibilities.

A joint meeting of the Bicycle Advisory Committee and Pedestrian Advisory Committee last week offered a chance for the groups reporting to County Manager Mark Schwartz to lay out the new ground rules that Schwartz has requested. But the general sentiment on those advisory groups was that the  changes could be costly to transportation planning in the long run.

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News

Halls Hill native recalls making history with Civil Rights-era lawsuit over voting in Arlington

By Scott McCaffrey
Portia Haskins speaks at the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

As a 23-year-old voter in still-segregated 1960s Virginia, Portia Haskins was convinced she had followed all the rules in order to cast a ballot in Arlington.

Election officials disagreed, saying she had failed to pay the appropriate poll tax still required in the Old Dominion, maintained in part to disenfranchise Black voters.

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News

New report: Many Arlingtonians increasingly priced out of county’s housing market

By Scott McCaffrey
Median household incomes in Arlington compared to cost of housing (via George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis)

No racial or ethnic group in Arlington comes close to earning enough household income to afford median priced single-family homes in Arlington, and some groups struggle to afford median-priced condominiums, according to new data.

Even the county’s white population, which has by far the largest median household income, is “nowhere near” being able to afford median priced single-family housing, said Keith Waters of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University.

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Schools

Arlington’s sister city in Germany sends record number of fifth graders this year

By Scott McCaffrey
Student waves German flag at welcome breakfast for Aachen students (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

A record number of fifth graders from Germany have come to Arlington this year through the county’s sister city program.

Students, parents and civic leaders from the city of Aachen arrived in the United States on Oct. 8 and will stay through Oct. 16. They are being hosted by Arlington families representing 16 public and four private schools, in a quarter-century collaboration sponsored by the Arlington Sister City Association.

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Schools

APS promises more transparency in choosing next year’s health insurance provider

By Scott McCaffrey
AEA members protest the Kaiser contract termination during the Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023 School Board meeting (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Arlington school leaders have announced their timeline for negotiating new health-insurance agreements next year, hoping to avoid catching employees by surprise this time.

This time, school leaders are committed to “make sure everybody’s crystal clear” on the process, School Board member Mary Kadera said.

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News

Candidates go one-on-one with Arlington voters in political ‘speed-dating’

By Scott McCaffrey
Del. Alfonso Lopez (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

The political equivalent of speed dating drew candidates and voters to Walter Reed Community Center on Saturday, Oct. 11.

Contenders for local and legislative offices sat down with the electorate in small groups during the annual get-to-know-you session, hosted by the League of Women Voters of Arlington and Alexandria City.

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News

Office-to-residential conversion, new tenant-relocation guidelines on County Board agenda

By Scott McCaffrey
4100 Fairfax Drive is shown located behind IHOP restaurant (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Approval of another office-to-residential conversion, amendments to tenant-relocation guidelines and possible changes to towing rates will highlight this month’s County Board meeting.

A public hearing on just one item will be held before adoption during this Saturday’s meeting. All 33 other items slated for action that day are on the Board’s consent agenda, but individual items could be pulled off public hearings on the recessed meeting of Tuesday, Oct. 21.

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News

Crime Solvers celebrates K9 teams at Arlington sheriff’s office and police department

By Scott McCaffrey
Police Chief Andy Penn with 2025 Crime Solvers honorees (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Some public-safety heroes walk on two legs while others walk on four, Sheriff Jose Quiroz noted as Arlington County Crime Solvers saluted the 13 K9 teams serving with local agencies.

Each of the dogs and their handlers at the Arlington County Police Department and Arlington County Sheriff’s Office have received specialized training to meet a range of challenges in an urban environment. As such, they are collectively deserving of the “Officer of the Year” award, Crime Solvers president Andres Tobar said.

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