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

Democrats stress unity, values in effort to retain School Board seat

By Scott McCaffrey
School Board candidate Monique "Moe" Bryant (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

With the filing deadline for candidates only about a week away, the race for one open position on the Arlington School Board has moved into general-election mode.

Democratic endorsee Monique “Moe” Bryant currently faces only one competitor in the Nov. 4 election, returning candidate Major Webb. At least one other candidate is also seeking to qualify before the June 17 filing deadline.

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News

Arlington GOP seeks to rebuild precinct operations in 2025

By Scott McCaffrey
Voting at Arlington Central Library on Nov. 7, 2023 (staff photo by James Jarvis)

The Arlington County Republican Committee is trying to reinvigorate its precinct operations in the lead-up to November’s general election.

“Arlington Republicans are rebuilding our precinct operations from the ground up, recruiting members and volunteers to take responsibility over organizing neighborhoods, connecting with voters and communicating our Republican principles to thousands of Arlingtonians,” said Frederick Tarantino, who has been tapped by the Arlington Republican leadership to lead the effort.

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News

New system for using credit cards to ride Metro earns Virginia leaders’ praise

By Scott McCaffrey
Clarendon Metro station (staff photo)

New tech allowing Metro users to pay their fare by tapping debit or credit cards is receiving good grades from local leaders.

At a meeting last week, representatives on the Metropolitan Washington Area Transit Authority (WMATA) board of directors said the new “Tap-Ride-Go” initiative will benefit both regular and infrequent users of the regional system.

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News

Arlington Democrats consider major voting restrictions ahead of party chair election

By Scott McCaffrey
Arlington County Democratic Committee deputy chair Paul Ruiz (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

The Arlington County Democratic Committee is considering potentially significant restrictions on who can vote for top leadership posts.

A proposed change to the party’s bylaws would limit eligible voters for party chair and other leadership positions to members of the county committee. That’s a group of around 200 people that includes top leadership, elected officials, precinct captains and others.

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News

Decades-old Arlington taxicab company plans change in ownership

By Scott McCaffrey
A Blue Top Cab on an Arlington street (via Blue Top Cab)

After over four decades at Arlington Blue Top Cabs, the owner of Arlington’s second-largest taxicab company is planning to pass the baton.

John Massoud, who has been involved with the company since its founding in 1984, is seeking the Arlington County Board’s permission to sell to employees Wahid Raheem and Mindy Gaber.

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News

Falls Church townhouse project receives skepticism from city leaders

By Scott McCaffrey
Townhouses proposed for S. Lee Street in Falls Church (via Madison Homes presentation)

A proposal to replace two single-family homes in Falls Church with 12 townhouses is facing pushback from local officials and planning staff.

Developer Madison Homes is seeking to rezone a 0.5-acre site on the 100 block of S. Lee Street to allow for the project, which would involve demolishing one home built in the 1920s and another built in the 1970s.

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News

Historic shotgun used to fight Rosslyn gambling and prostitution returns to public view

By Scott McCaffrey
Crandal Mackey, shown later in life with shotgun he used during Rosslyn raids of 1904 (photo courtesy Charlie Clark Center for Local History)

The following in-depth local history feature was supported by the ARLnow Press Club. Join to support local journalism and to get an exclusive version of our afternoon newsletter, plus an early look at what we’re covering each day.

Crandal Mackey was born in a Confederate field ambulance at the conclusion of the Civil War, and lived long enough to catch the first glimpses of the space race.

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News

Revised RiverHouse development plan still draws flak from some neighbors

By Scott McCaffrey
Seven-story residential building proposed for RiverHouse site (via Arlington County)

Revised plans for a massive development project at Pentagon City’s RiverHouse site are slowly moving forward, but some neighbors still aren’t on board.

At a meeting last month, developer JBG Smith presented a new proposal to place 738 apartment and townhouse units on three parcels, while deferring final action on more than 2,000 other planned units.

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News

Fees for outside legal services pile up in Falls Church

By Scott McCaffrey
Falls Church City Attorney Sally Gillette and City Manager Wyatt Shields (screenshot via Falls Church)

The City of Falls Church spent 240% more than it budgeted for this fiscal year on outside legal services.

The city, which had budgeted $125,000 in Fiscal Year 2025 for outside legal support, actually ended up spending $425,000.

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News

Developers face too many bureaucratic hurdles, County Board candidates say

By Scott McCaffrey
Jeramy Olmack makes a point at the May 2025 Arlington Chamber of Commerce candidate forum (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Arlington’s slow process for approving and permitting new development came under fire from County Board candidates, including the incumbent, at a recent forum.

“It’s a problem, no question about it,” incumbent Board Chair Takis Karantonis said at the event hosted by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.

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News

Recent FBI arrest in Arlington follows long line of local espionage cases

By Scott McCaffrey
Coverage of Ronald Humphrey spy case in 1978 (Northern Virginia Sun via Library of Virginia)

A 28-year-old reportedly trying to pass classified documents to a foreign government last week is the latest episode in a long history of espionage-related cases in Arlington.

Nathan Vilas Laatsch, an IT specialist for the Defense Intelligence Agency, was arrested on Thursday after allegedly arranging to hand sensitive records to an undercover FBI agent in an Arlington park.

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News

Arlington jobless claims remain high for another month after federal layoffs

By Scott McCaffrey
Job seekers line up at career day in Crystal City (staff file photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington’s unemployment figures remained high in April after a surge the previous month, new data shows.

Preliminary jobless figures for April, released last week, indicate a sizeable 64% year-over-year increase in Arlington’s jobless claims. A total of 4,862 residents were looking for work that month, compared to 2,972 in April 2024.

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