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

Lower speed limits and looser signage requirements going before County Board

By Scott McCaffrey
A sign advertising a 25 mph speed limit in Arlington (file photo)

More relaxed rules for business signage and lower speed limits on five roads are on the agenda for an upcoming Arlington County Board meeting.

Other items up for consideration at the Saturday meeting include the purchase of two homes to reduce flood risks, funding for an East Falls Church road project and grants to support seniors experiencing cognitive decline.

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News

Outreach specialist for Vietnamese community starts work in Falls Church

By Scott McCaffrey
Le Nguyen and Cindy Mester (screenshot via City of Falls Church)

Falls Church has hired its first outreach specialist for the city’s Vietnamese communities.

Following city leaders’ promises to improve engagement with Vietnamese-American residents and businesses, Le Nguyen, a veteran journalist with local ties, started work on July 10.

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News

New documentary preserves stories of Barcroft Apartments’ diverse residents

By Scott McCaffrey
Artists and leaders connected with the "We Are Barcroft" film and "Me, Here, on Columbia Pike" exhibition (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

A new documentary delving into the lives of residents at a Columbia Pike affordable housing complex made its debut on Saturday.

“We Are Barcroft: A 60-Acre History of People & Place,” seeks to preserve the stories of people who came to the Barcroft Apartments from around the globe.

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Schools

New policy on notifying parents about student overdoses planned at APS

By Scott McCaffrey
Police and firefighters on scene of a reported overdose at Wakefield High School in January 2023 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A new policy on notifying parents about confirmed and suspected drug overdoses could be going into effect at Arlington Public Schools.

To comply with a new state law that went into effect July 1, the Arlington School Board is considering a new policy statement requiring the notification of all parents or guardians at a school within 24 hours of a school-connected student overdose.

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News

New Civil War research sheds light on Columbia Pike military camp for Black troops

By Scott McCaffrey
Window covering at Arlington Historical Museum honors Sgt. Nimrod Burke of the 23rd US Colored Infantry (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

New research is shedding light on a 40-acre military camp for Black soldiers that fanned out from the southeast corner of Columbia Pike and S. Courthouse Road during the Civil War.

Camp Casey served as a key recruiting and training ground for the military regiments that would become known as the U.S. Colored Troops. Some of the soldiers had been enslaved, while others were either born free or emancipated.

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News

Falls Church may expand food scraps composting despite limited public interest

By Scott McCaffrey
Bagged brush and organics in the green bin, ahead of collection day (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Falls Church officials are considering whether to add composting bins to the Little City’s trash and recycling program.

While leaders hope to reduce the amount of food waste that winds up in the landfill, they acknowledged difficulties that other localities, including Arlington, have faced in implementing such a program.

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News

Declining interest in office buildings drives push for fresh approaches in Arlington

By Dan Egitto and Scott McCaffrey
The Gartner building at Central Place in Rosslyn (Flickr pool photo by Jason Gooljar)

As interest in building and renting many varieties of office space declines in Arlington, more focus is falling on creative solutions.

Only a single new office building is currently under construction in all of Northern Virginia — although demand for offices with at least 50,000 square feet of space remains relatively strong, according to a new office market report from CBRE Research.

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News

Green Valley dispute pits civic association against affordable-housing provider

By Scott McCaffrey
The Shelton in Green Valley (staff photo)

The Arlington Tenant-Landlord Commission is refereeing a dispute about living conditions at The Shelton affordable-housing apartments.

On one side is the Green Valley Civic Association, which contends the property owner is turning a blind eye to everything from drug use to needed apartment repairs.

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News

Arlington unemployment rate reaches highest point since the pandemic

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

Arlington’s unemployment rate has risen to its highest point in nearly four years.

A total of 5,061 Arlington residents were counted as seeking jobs in May, according to new figures from the Virginia Employment Commission.

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News

Over 1,800 units of housing and hotel rooms slated for County Board consideration

By Scott McCaffrey
Renderings of the proposed One Rosslyn project at 1901 and 1911 Fort Myer Drive (courtesy of Penzance)

Numerous large-scale redevelopment and conversion projects are scheduled to go before the Arlington County Board at upcoming meetings.

A full slate of projects would bring a total of 1,535 new residential units and 344 hotel rooms to Rosslyn, Ballston, Shirlington, Crystal City and Virginia Square. They include both teardowns and adaptive-reuse projects involving underused office buildings.

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News

Costs balloon for Lincoln Avenue stormwater project in Falls Church

By Scott McCaffrey
Lincoln Avenue facing eastbound at N. Spring Street (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

An 82% increase in estimated costs has led Falls Church officials to rethink plans to improve a key city byway.

As a result, it appears likely that transportation and stormwater improvements along Lincoln Avenue will be phased in over time.

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News

Electoral Board members debate when to make early-voting dropboxes available

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

Arlington’s two Republican members of the Electoral Board appear at loggerheads over how long early-voting dropboxes should be available before Election Day.

Richard Samp, the senior Republican on the three-member panel and its vice chair, used the July 8 board meeting to press for a reduction from more than 40 days of use to just 10. Not everyone was in favor.

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