News

As Arlington Transit buses prepare to move south from the Virginia Square to a new facility, the future of the N. Quincy Street site remains an open question.

“I can’t promise in the future that we won’t consider that property will be used for things that people would rather not have there,” County Manager Mark Schwartz told delegates to the Arlington County Civic Federation during his annual visit to the organization in mid-December.


News

An update to the Falls Church Bicycle Master Plan has the potential to remake some city streets.

But only if there is more effort put into turning aspirations to reality than has been the case with the existing plan, adopted in 2015, according to some members of a key advisory panel.


News

Arlington residents and its county government need to face an uncertain future by remaining committed to community values, Arlington’s new County Board chair says.

Takis Karantonis, who has sat on the Board since 2020, on Tuesday (Jan. 7) was elected unanimously to serve as chair for the coming year. After the vote, he laid out his priorities for 2025 and expressed his emotions about elevation to the top position in county leadership.


Schools

It’s been the practice for some years, but now peanuts and their derivatives are formally banished from food served in Arlington public-school cafeterias.

Cafeterias now must “provide exclusively peanut-free food,” an Arlington Public Schools policy implementation procedure (PIP) mandates.


News

Arlington Republicans are setting their sights on the 2027 Commonwealth’s Attorney race amid an ongoing dispute between the county’s police union and its top prosecutor.

It’s been decades since the GOP has fielded a candidate in that particular race. However, local Republican chair Matthew Hurtt has joined the Arlington Coalition of Police in sharply criticizing Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti following a Pentagon City homicide.


News

Federal-government employees irked at the prospect of being forced back into the office five days a week might want to check out job opportunities with the Arlington County government.

Arlington continues to offer a relatively flexible work-from-home policy, and would be happy to talk with those who might wish to avail themselves of it, the county’s top staffer said.


News

The accession of JD Spain, Sr., to the County Board on Wednesday (Jan. 1) marks the first time in nearly 45 years that the seat changed hands via a general, rather than special, election.

Spain’s three immediate predecessors in the seat — Libby Garvey, Barbara Favola and James Hunter III — each came to office via a special election after their predecessors resigned:


News

Proposals for new and expanded support of lower- and moderate-income Arlington homeowners could run into budget headwinds in 2025.

County staff closed out 2024 by presenting a host of proposals to County Board members. They aim to support those priced out of the county’s housing market, as well as those who already are homeowners but are having difficulties maintaining their properties.


News

Its leadership may be changing, but the role of Arlington’s Economic Development Commission will remain vital in 2025, its members believe.

The body is “filled with professionals … that can offer guidance and perspective,” said Bill Dunn, the commission’s outgoing chair, at its December meeting.


News

Some Falls Church officials are hoping 2025 will be a year of moving from conversation to concrete decisions in addressing affordable-housing goals.

“It’s the action side of things that has always been the problem — not the aspirational nature of what we want,” City Council member Erin Flynn said during a discussion of how city leaders will move forward on housing issues in the new year.


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