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

Bicycle panel members question county’s commitment to its own goals

By Scott McCaffrey
Bicyclists riding down N. Glebe Road (file photo)

Arlington County’s commitment to 11 bicycle-safety goals set in 2019 came under question at a recent meeting of the Bicycle Advisory Committee.

“We’re really not meeting the targets,” Gillian Burgess, a member of the committee that advises County Manager Mark Schwartz on bicycle issues, said at the meeting last week.

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News

Affordable housing panel warns of limits to its own impact

By Scott McCaffrey
A rendering of additional affordable housing at 1900 S. Eads Street (via Arlington County)

Changes to Arlington County’s affordable housing regulations might bring some improvements, but they’re unlikely to solve larger affordability issues, people studying the topic say.

“Tempering expectations is really important,” said Bryan Coleman, who chairs a working group set up by Arlington’s Housing Commission to study potential changes in the county’s Affordable Housing Ordinance.

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News

Race for next Arlington Democrats chair begins early

By Scott McCaffrey
Tony Weaver at Arlington Democratic headquarters (campaign photo)

The race for the next chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee has gotten off to an early start.

Tony Weaver, who previously sought the Democratic nomination for Arlington County Board in 2023, announced his candidacy earlier this month. He plans to host a formal kickoff event in the early summer.

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News

Airport officials urge advance registrations as parking crunch worsens at DCA

By Scott McCaffrey
Plane at Reagan National Airport (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Some spring-break travelers at Reagan National Airport had to scramble for alternate parking last month after all available spots filled up.

Airport officials expect the same situation on high-traffic days throughout the summer and are urging drivers to make reservations to ensure they get a parking spot.

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News

Falls Church City Council members debate giving themselves a pay raise

By Scott McCaffrey

Falls Church City Council members seem split on how much to raise their salaries, now that they have state permission to approve a potentially hefty boost in pay.

Council members currently earn $11,500 per year, and the mayor earns $12,000. Virginia law now permits a maximum salary of $21,000 for Council members and $22,000 for the mayor of a city the size of Falls Church.

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News

Spillover parking, abandoned vehicles bring headaches for Cherrydale residents

By Scott McCaffrey
Parking in the 2000 block of N. Nelson Street (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Cherrydale residents appear to have finally gotten county leaders’ attention about issues with traffic, parking and vehicle noise in their neighborhood.

Now, they’re waiting to see whether these concerns will be addressed.

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News

Officials consider creating community foundation for Arlington parks

By Scott McCaffrey
Douglas Park (via Arlington County)

Arlington officials are considering whether it would be worth establishing a community foundation to supplement funding for local park facilities and programming.

So far, however, there’s no firm consensus on the Park and Recreation Commission on whether this would be a good step to take.

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News

Redevelopment proposal in Falls Church’s West End passes first hurdle

By Scott McCaffrey
Portion of Beyer site in Gordon Road Triangle (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

What could be Falls Church’s next major redevelopment project has taken a small but key step forward.

At a meeting last week, members of Fairfax County’s Planning Commission signaled that they will recommend that the Board of Supervisors authorize further study of a 2.4-acre parcel fronting Route 7.

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News

Arlington leader opposes region-wide sales tax to support Metro

By Scott McCaffrey
Matt de Ferranti speaks at May 16, 2025, DMV Moves meeting (screenshot via WMATA)

Arlington’s representative on a panel studying D.C. Metro funding is opposing a region-wide sales tax to support the transit system.

Instead, County Board member Matt de Ferranti believes Virginia, D.C. and Maryland should each determine how they will pay for the extra regional costs now estimated at $500 million to $600 million a year.

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News

New Crystal House management hasn’t delivered on improvements, some renters say

By Scott McCaffrey
Crystal House Apartments (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

As development around the Crystal House Apartments begins to pick up speed, some current residents are raising concerns about the property’s management.

A recent change in management companies has not resulted in improvements, several renters said at last week’s meeting of the county’s Tenant-Landlord Commission.

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Schools

School Board approves $845M budget, removing controversial cutbacks

By Scott McCaffrey
Mary Kadera (screenshot via Arlington Public Schools)

Public opinion won the day on two contentious issues as School Board members finalized an $844.6 million budget last week.

The new spending package, approved last Thursday, is up 2.2% from the fiscal year ending June 30. It includes funding for continuing the Integration Station early-childhood program and retaining library aides as full-time positions.

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News

Karantonis: Governance-change task force will be set up after summer break

By Scott McCaffrey
Takis Karantonis at 2025 County Board organizational meeting (via Arlington County)

Though still unsure about the necessity, Arlington’s County Board chair is preparing to move forward with a task force on governance-change options.

Takis Karantonis detailed the timeline to ARLnow. It is likely the panel will be established after the Board returns from its August recess.

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