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

Arlington’s winter home sales and prices stayed mostly flat, compared to 2025

By Scott McCaffrey
Real estate for sale sign (photo illustration by ARLnow)

Despite a strong finish, first-quarter home sales and prices in Arlington saw little movement compared to a year ago.

Aided by a strong March, a total of 448 residential properties went to closing between January and March, according to figures reported by MarketStats by ShowingTime on April 10. That’s down three homes, or 0.7%, from the 451 transactions recorded during the first quarter of 2025.

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News

New fraud alerts notify Arlington property owners about document changes

By Scott McCaffrey
Clerk of Circuit Court Paul Ferguson (screenshot via Arlington County)

A new opt-in service from the circuit court clerk’s office aims to provide property owners with another tool to catch fraudulent activity.

The “Property Alert” initiative, offered at no charge, provides alerts when changes are made to property documentation held by the clerk’s office. Individuals can sign up for email notices based on criteria including name, property address or real property code.

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News

Advisory panel wants another elevator, escalator at DCA’s planned pedestrian bridge

By Scott McCaffrey
Spring 2026 CC2DCA conceptual design (via Arlington County)

An advisory panel says the proposed pedestrian/bicycle bridge connecting Crystal City to Reagan National Airport falls short of optimal accessibility standards.

The current plan for an elevator and staircase at the Crystal City side of the crossing “is absolutely not sufficient,” said Pamela Van Hine, recording secretary of the Pedestrian Advisory Committee (PAC).

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News

Local redistricting advocate and opponent debate ‘new rules of the game’

By Scott McCaffrey
Redistricting signs outside of the Bozman building in Courthouse (Flickr pool photo by Alan Kotok)

A supporter and an opponent of Virginia’s April 21 congressional redistricting referendum found themselves in agreement on at least one thing during an April 8 forum sponsored by Advance Arlington.

Del. Marcus Simon (D-13), speaking in favor of the referendum, and former Arlington Electoral Board member Richard Samp, who opposes it, both suggested that an ever-escalating national political tit-for-tat on gerrymandering is not the way to run a country.

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Around Town

Arlington-based inclusive theater troupe opens new show this weekend

By Scott McCaffrey
Cast and crew of ArtStream Company A (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

An Arlington-based inclusive theater troupe is about to bring its latest creation to life.

“Rooted in Unity” will be among two productions presented by ArtStream’s local theater companies during performances this weekend at the James Lee Community Center in Falls Church.

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News

Arlington will have funds to cover this year’s unusual elections, county manager promises

By Scott McCaffrey
A man inserts a ballot into a voting machine at Walter Reed Community Center on Tuesday, June 20, 2023 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Even though the current Arlington County budget draft doesn’t include additional costs from this year’s change-ups at the ballot box, the county government is still planning to cover them.

Elections Director Gretchen Reinemeyer laid out budget pressures during an April 7 work session with Board members, voicing concern that her office’s proposed $2.18 million budget likely would not be robust enough to handle additional requirements this year.

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News

More contenders for redrawn 7th Congressional District make case to Arlington Democrats

By Scott McCaffrey
An ‘I voted in Arlington’ sticker (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Four more contenders in a potentially redrawn 7th Congressional District made their pitches to Arlington Democrats on April 8.

J.P. Cooney, Dave Kennedy, Del. Adele McClure and State Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim join a field of Democrats for the 7th District that includes State Sen. Dan Helmer, who spoke to county Democrats in March, and former Virginia First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe, who has yet to make an appearance. Another contender, Joe Schiarizzi, announced his candidacy today (Thursday).

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News

Falls Church council member suggests increasing meals tax from 4% to 5%

By Scott McCaffrey
New restaurants are part of the Founders Row development in Falls Church (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Falls Church’s newest City Council member is suggesting an increase in the city’s meals tax to ease budget pressures.

“I think it should be something we’re considering,” Arthur Agin said at an April 6 Council work session that stretched well past midnight, focused largely on budget issues.

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News

Proposed budget cuts for Falls Church road paving prompt questions from leaders

By Scott McCaffrey
W. Broad Street roadwork in 2025 (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Falls Church City Council members are questioning a proposal to reduce the city’s budget for road paving.

City staff currently propose spending $700,000 on paving operations for the fiscal year beginning July 1. That’s down from $1.4 million in the current fiscal year, when Council members pumped additional funding into the paving budget to catch up as road conditions deteriorated.

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News

Costs at Long Bridge aquatics center projected to surge $2M as Boeing funds expire

By Scott McCaffrey
The Long Bridge Park Aquatics and Fitness Center (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Operational costs at Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center are projected to grow by about $2 million over the next few years as a financial partnership comes to an end.

The county government’s net operational cost, funded by taxpayers, is expected to grow from $1.13 million in fiscal 2027 to a projected $3.14 million by fiscal 2030 as its agreement with Boeing ends.

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News

Ranked-choice advocates see opportunity in potential elections scrambles after redistricting

By Scott McCaffrey
Arlington voter casts a ballot in the 2024 general election (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Backers of ranked-choice voting (RCV) believe this fall’s congressional races may bolster their case for changing the format of statewide elections.

If Virginia voters approve the congressional redistricting constitutional amendment on April 21, crowded ballots in many parts of the state could lead to future representatives being selected by an unusually small sliver of the overall electorate.

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News

Day trips for Arlington seniors could more than double in price

By Scott McCaffrey
Seniors traveling (via Centre for Ageing Better/Unsplash)

Those taking day trips through Arlington’s 55+ travel program could see significantly higher costs kick in later this year.

The Department of Parks and Recreation has proposed increasing fees for the excursions to pay for higher transportation costs.

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