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

Commissioner of Revenue continues hunt for those hiding vehicles to evade car tax

By Scott McCaffrey
Commissioner of Revenue Kim Klingler (file photo)

Arlington’s perpetual cat-and-mouse game with people attempting to avoid vehicle taxes continues.

“There are people who will do anything in their power to dodge the system,” Commissioner of Revenue Kim Klingler says. “It makes you want to find them even more.”

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Schools

APS selects AI tools for teaching and operations in coming school year

By Scott McCaffrey
Students at computer (via Anastassia Anufrieva/Unsplash)

Artificial-intelligence tools will play a larger role in Arlington Public Schools classrooms and operations in the coming school year.

After a pilot program last year that involved about 400 educators, the school system has selected SchoolAI as its primary artificial-intelligence tool. In addition, staff will have access to Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini and NotebookLM for professional use.

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News

Arlington Historical Society celebrates 250th anniversary of the Virginia militia

By Scott McCaffrey
Re-enactor Peter Vaselopulos speaks to attendees at an Arlington Historical Society program (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

A recent event by the Arlington Historical Society marked the 250th anniversary of the founding of local and statewide militias in the Revolutionary War era.

The program held at the Ball-Sellers House on Saturday honored the establishment of the Fairfax militia in January 1775, followed by the creation of a statewide militia in August of that year.

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News

Falls Church project pipeline faces delays, but funding remains solid

By Scott McCaffrey
Falls Church capital-improvement coordinator Caitlin Sobsey (screenshot via Falls Church)

Some projects are behind schedule in the Falls Church capital-improvement program (CIP), but they aren’t facing any major funding challenges.

Of the 37 active projects in the CIP, which range from roadway improvements to sports-field upgrades, 20 are listed as “on target,” six are “at risk” and 11 are “behind target,” according to a quarterly summary.

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Schools

APS gets new rules for athletic activities during hot and humid weather

By Scott McCaffrey
Yorktown lacrosse player Olivia Stafford during competition (file photo by Deb Kolt)

Arlington Public Schools is kicking off the school year with a more nuanced approach to curtailing athletic activity for hot and humid weather.

School Board members have adopted a new policy designating the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) as the benchmark covering athletic contests and practices.

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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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