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.

Schools

APS enrollment drops by 1.1%, leading to staffing tweaks at numerous schools

By Scott McCaffrey
Superintendent Francisco Durán (screenshot via APS)

A decline in year-over-year student enrollment at Arlington Public Schools has resulted in staffing adjustments at some schools.

The official APS 2025-26 student count of 27,589 is down 311 students — or 1.1% — from a year before, Superintendent Francisco Durán reported to School Board on Thursday.

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Schools

APS staff hope new “adopt-a-school” model will improve local partnerships

By Scott McCaffrey
School Board members Kathleen Clark, Mary Kadera, Bethany Zecher Sutton, Miranda Turner and Zuraya Tapia-Hadley (via Arlington Public Schools)

Arlington Public Schools leaders hope that a new “adopt-a-school” partnership model will increase schools’ formal partnerships with business and civic groups.

Noting that 30% of Arlington’s public schools have no such partnerships, APS staff outlined plans to increase opportunities for volunteerism at a School Board meeting yesterday (Thursday). They focused primarily on relationships with the business community.

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News

Arlington single-family home prices moving ever closer to an average of $2 million

By Scott McCaffrey
Home for sale in Falls Church (staff file photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Arlington single-family homes continued to march closer to an average $2 million sales price in newly released data.

The average sales price of the 60 single-family detached properties that went to closing in September was $1,813,759 — up a whopping 23.5% year-over-year.

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News

News-Press publisher seeks funds to restore home delivery across Falls Church

By Scott McCaffrey
Owner of Falls Church News-Press Nick Benton poses in front of the newspaper's office in Falls Church (staff photo by James Jarvis)

The owner of the Falls Church News-Press has started a crowdfunding campaign in an attempt to revive the weekly newspaper’s at-home delivery service.

The newspaper, which has been published continuously since 1991, eliminated free at-home delivery in a cost-cutting move earlier this year. Copies can now be picked up via bulk drops at locations across Falls Church and surrounding areas.

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News

Future elections may require more precincts in Arlington, new early-voting sites

By Scott McCaffrey
Arlington voter casts a ballot in the 2024 general election (staff photo by James Jarvis)

County election officials have concluded that Long Bridge Park won’t work as an early-voting site for the 2028 presidential election, and they’re working to identify alternatives.

The county government’s fitness and aquatics center at the park was used as one of three early-voting locations in 2024 but “ended up serving fewer voters than expected,” election officials said in a draft strategic plan currently out for public review.

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News

Falls Church leaders kick off discussion of tree-canopy rules for future development

By Scott McCaffrey
Modera Falls Church at 1001 W. Broad Street in July 2025 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Developers of commercial projects in Falls Church could for the first time be required to meet minimum tree-canopy requirements.

City Council members at an Oct. 6 work session generally were supportive of a staff proposal that would set a minimum 10% canopy for future commercial development.

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News

Gardener group urges property owners to ‘leave the leaves’ to boost ecosystem

By Scott McCaffrey
Arlington leaf collection (via Arlington County/YouTube)

With leaves falling along with autumn temperatures, Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia is pleading with local property owners not to rake and remove all their leaves from yards.

“There are many ways you can use them rather than sending them to the landfill,” said Claudia Gerwin, who on Oct. 3 led an online program for Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Arlington-Alexandria office.

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News

Planning Commission seeks ways to meet housing needs of lowest-income families

By Scott McCaffrey
Committed-affordable housing in Ballston (courtesy of AHC)

Efforts to create deeply affordable housing to meet the needs of Arlington’s lowest-earning residents face significant headwinds, according to a recent presentation to the Arlington Planning Commission.

Most current efforts around affordable housing focus on households with incomes of at least 60% of the area median income (AMI) — leaving out a large swath of people earning less.

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News

Plans for future library, theater in Crystal City come into advisory panel’s focus

By Scott McCaffrey
Synetic Theater was forced to vacate its longtime Crystal City home in 2024 (photo via Synetic Theater)

Finding a site for a new library and a home for Synetic Theater after its displacement remain two key goals for leaders in National Landing.

At a recent leadership gathering, County Board Chair Takis Karantonis brought no definitive updates on either issue. But, he said, both remained on the county government’s radar.

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Schools

School Board candidates debate policies on grading, gender and resource officers

By Scott McCaffrey
School Board candidates James "Vell" Rives IV and Monique "Moe" Bryant (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

School Board candidates are at odds on numerous current practices at Arlington Public Schools, including how stringent the school system’s rules on grading and homework should be.

Candidates Monique “Moe” Bryant and James “Vell” Rives IV squared off at a debate hosted online Monday night by Arlington Parents for Education, an advocacy group.

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News

LGBTQ panel wants more direct county involvement in future Pride celebrations

By Scott McCaffrey
Progress Pride flags (via All in Arlington Virginia/Facebook)

Members of an advisory panel are seeking ways to get Arlington County more directly involved in future Pride events.

“We’ve spent a lot of years in the past saying ‘we’re so close to DC, let’s just let Capital Pride take over most of Pride Month,'” said SC Nealy, a member of the county manager’s LGBTQIA+ Advisory Committee.

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News

County Board candidates split over hopes for new Comprehensive Plan

By Scott McCaffrey
County Board candidates at 2025 Civic Federation debate (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

County Board candidates are split in their thoughts about a planned update to Arlington’s Comprehensive Plan.

While some fear it could be used as a back-door effort to build denser housing, incumbent Democrat Takis Karantonis argues that concerns are overblown, or at least premature.

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