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

Deer-culling discussion could be coming to Falls Church in 2025

By Scott McCaffrey
Deer in a local neighborhood (Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann)

Could 2025 be the year Falls Church city leaders decide to allow culling of deer within the community’s 2.2 square miles?

There were hints at a recent meeting that some in top leadership ranks are interested in at least starting a conversation.

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News

Paperwork issues leave some arts groups behind as county increases funding

By Scott McCaffrey
Performers from Signature Theater perform Christmas songs during a tree lighting event in Shirlington in 2019 (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Several arts groups appear to have missed out on Arlington County grants this year due to issues in handling paperwork.

A number of groups were left behind when the Arlington County Board recently divided up $366,000 in fiscal 2025 grants to arts organizations and individual artists. Among them were several performing-arts troupes, which in past years had received funding.

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News

Governance structure should be an Arlington priority in 2025, expert argues

By Scott McCaffrey
John Milliken, second from right, at 2024 ISCC awards (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Arlington’s current system of government has “served us well,” but might be in line for an update, one expert believes.

John Milliken — who served on the County Board in the 1980s until he was tapped to be Virginia’s secretary of transportation — opined on the topic of Arlington governance changes at the annual meeting of the Inter-Service Club Council (ISCC) of Arlington last week.

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News

Falls Church accessory-dwelling proposal takes key step forward

By Scott McCaffrey
An accessory-dwelling unit by Backyard Homes in North Arlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A majority of the 2,400 owners of single-family homes in Falls Church soon could be allowed to build standalone accessory-dwelling units (ADUs) with far less government oversight.

City Council members on Monday (Nov. 25) formally started the ball rolling on a five-month consideration of allowing ADUs “by right” in neighborhoods zoned R-1A (low-density residential) and R-1B (medium-density residential).

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News

Arlington County forecasting $30-40 million budget gap

By Scott McCaffrey
U.S. currency (photo via Pepi Stojanovski/Unsplash)

Arlington homeowners may find themselves facing a double-whammy at tax time again in 2025.

County officials say they are anticipating year-over-year tax-revenue growth of 1.7% to 2.5% for the fiscal year that begins next July, but growth in government expenses would be in the 3%-to-4% range.

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News

Melwood’s development plan evolves, but neighbors remain unmoved

By Scott McCaffrey
Rendering of Melwood site redevelopment proposal (via Melwood and Wesley Housing)

Common ground remains elusive in the proposal to redevelop the Melwood site near Crystal City.

At a Nov. 18 meeting, representatives for Melwood and Wesley Housing said they had come up with changes to reduce impacts on the surrounding neighborhood. The revisions also pay homage to the current building, which began life in 1923 as Nelly Custis Elementary School.

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Schools

APS teachers’ union, advocacy group urge ‘away-for-the-day’ phone policy

By Scott McCaffrey
An iPhone (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

With the deadline for School Board action looming, two major advocacy groups are pressing for a blanket ban on student phone use during the instructional day in Arlington.

The Arlington Education Association (AEA) and Arlington Parents for Education (APE) have sent a joint letter to School Board members and Superintendent Francisco Durán, seeking the more restrictive of two options currently being considered.

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News

Arlington attorney who represented Deep Throat awarded for career contributions

By Scott McCaffrey
Mark Cummings (right) honored by Judge George Varoutsos (courtesy Judge Thomas J. Kelley Jr.)

Mark Cummings is a titan in Arlington’s legal establishment. But his impact extends far beyond the courtroom.

For the combination of a stellar career coupled with significant community involvement, Cummings on Tuesday (Nov. 19) was presented with the 2024 William Winston Award.

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News

Arlington towing ordinance remains up for debate as County Board delays vote

By Scott McCaffrey
Advanced Towing tow truck outside the company's lot in Ballston (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington County Board members had hoped to get revisions to the county’s towing ordinance in the rear-view mirror this week.

But it was not to be, as the Board voted 5-0 on Tuesday to defer action until mid-December.

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News

More scrutiny possible for county-government staff with second jobs

By Scott McCaffrey
County Manager Mark Schwartz (Arlington County screenshot)

Employees of the Arlington County government may soon feel an additional set of eyes watching over any employment moonlighting they might be doing.

County Manager Mark Schwartz on Tuesday (Nov. 19) told County Board members he was considering beefing up oversight of rules related to outside jobs (or self-employment) among those in the county workforce.

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News

Falls Church growth spurt continues as redevelopment projects move forward

By Scott McCaffrey
Founders Row II under construction (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Redevelopment projects in Falls Church continue to roll along without any major setbacks or warning signs.

“Development interest in the city remains steady,” Paul Stoddard, Falls Church’s director of planning, told ARLnow. He said city officials were dealing with “the usual volume of calls exploring ideas for possible future applications.”

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News

Arlington sees rare (but tiny) uptick in car tax delinquency

By Scott McCaffrey
Arlington Treasurer Carla de la Pava (via Arlington County/YouTube)

The increasing cost of vehicles was a key driver in Arlington’s tax-delinquency rate showing a rare year-over-year uptick in new data.

“Many people do not contemplate the annual tax consequences” of vehicle ownership, county Treasurer Carla de la Pava said in a Tuesday briefing to the Arlington County Board.

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