True Ground Housing Partners has filed plans to redevelop an affordable housing complex in Waverly Hills with even more affordable housing.
The nonprofit developer, formerly the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing, filed site plans last week for a 10-story building with 249 committed-affordable units at the current Leckey Gardens site at 2031 N. Woodrow Street.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia officials have agreed not to fully enforce a 2020 law banning conversion therapy for minors as part of an agreement with a faith-based conservative group that sued over the law, authorities said earlier this week.
The Virginia Department of Health Professions, represented by the state’s office of the attorney general, entered into a consent decree with the Founding Freedoms Law Center last month, saying officials will not discipline counselors who engage in talk conversion therapy.
Bondsman Arrested Immigrant — “An Arlington County family feared for their lives, they say, when a man in plain clothes knocked on their door late at night to make an immigration arrest. The man didn’t identify himself and pulled out a gun during the incident, the family says. Their relative has since been deported.” [NBC 4]
Fireworks Safety and Legality — “Planning to celebrate the Fourth with fireworks? In Arlington, only certain fireworks are legal—and they must be purchased from an ACFD-approved stand. Always check for the permit and follow safety directions.” [Arlington County Board/X, Arlington County, ACFD/X]
APS Employee Acquitted — “A jury found a former Arlington Public Schools (APS) employee not guilty of soliciting sex from a student on Tuesday. Police launched an investigation in November of 2024 after someone reported that an instructional assistant and football coach at Wakefield High School had solicited sex from an underage female student.” [DC News Now]
Court Rules for Local Resident — “In a 2-1 decision, Virginia judges denied the Trump administration’s appeal for Georgetown University researcher Badar Khan Suri to be placed in immigration detention again. The judges called the attempt to detain Khan Suri again a threat to the constitutional right of habeas corpus, which protects people from arrests without a fair legal process.” [NBC 4]
Feeding the Force at Fort Myer — “Step inside #AmericasKitchen, the Warrior Restaurant at @JBMHH! Watch below to learn how #DLA ensures everything is in place for our nation’s #heroes to receive high-quality meals.” [Defense Logistics/X]
Look at Local Swimming Leagues — “For a select few, these leagues can become the starting blocks for something much bigger. Local Olympic champions like Katie Ledecky first made their splash in DMV summer leagues. Stiles himself coached six-time Olympic medalist Torri Huske for more than a decade at the Arlington Aquatic Club.” [N. Va. Magazine]
More on Styrofoam Ban — “Starting Tuesday, a statewide ban on the use of expanded polystyrene (EPS), a form of plastic foam, for food containers takes effect… However, the ban won’t affect small businesses just yet. Large vendors with 20 or more locations in the state must stop using the containers by July 1, 2025, while all others must stop by the same date next year.” [The Richmonder]
Unemployment Up Across N. Va. — The number of Northern Virginia residents counted as unemployed in May totaled 59,485, up 5.5% from a month before and up 32% compared to a year ago. Preliminary figures were reported Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Northern Virginia’s unemployment rate of 3.3% for May was up from 3.1% a month before and from 2.5% a year before, federal officials said. –Scott McCaffrey
It’s Thursday — Expect sunny conditions with a high around 89 and a northwest wind at 5-7 mph. Thursday night will be mostly clear with a low near 68 and a west wind at 3-5 mph. For Independence Day, the weather will remain sunny, reaching a high near 87 accompanied by a north wind at around 6 mph. [NWS]
Flickr pool photo by Jason Gooljar
Some Northern Virginia newspaper publishers are taking creative chances to retain a viable print presence in an industry where online news is increasingly dominant.
As instability in readership and advertising has disrupted revenue streams, some specialized publications have still found success. Meanwhile, at least one local newspaper, the Falls Church News-Press, has embarked on an effort to form a partnership with local municipal leaders.
An Arlington Public Schools employee has been arrested for alleged inappropriate contact with a female student.
Rene Alfredo Escobar Jr., a 31-year-old instructional assistant assigned to Washington-Liberty High School, faces charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and committing a second stalking offense within five years.
New dividers meant to slow drivers down and reduce collisions with cyclists have been installed at four locations on Wilson Blvd and Clarendon Blvd.
The prefabricated wheel stops, which went up over the last few days, address “potentially high-risk conflict points” where drivers might collide with bicyclists traveling downhill in the bike lane.
The Culpepper Garden senior-housing community has announced plans to close its assisted-living wing, leaving some families to scramble to find new homes for loved ones.
Current residents will be able to stay until at least next summer, which leadership hopes will give families enough time to find other housing. Still, the closure means Northern Virginia will be losing one of its only assisted-living facilities for low-income seniors.
Arlington Republicans introduced two candidates for the House of Delegates and one County Board challenger at a Monday meeting.
The party acknowledges that, as always, November will be an uphill battle in Arlington. However, the goal is to put forward “candidates who are well-versed in what’s happening locally” as part of a five-year strategy, party chair Matthew Hurtt said.
Development Proposal Near Ruthie’s — “Snell Properties is looking to build a new infill apartment building on an existing multifamily property it’s long owned in Arlington. The Arlington family-owned real estate company owns the 188-unit Dominion Apartments complex at 333 S. Glebe Road, just south of Route 50… It wants to add a 124-unit building on an existing parking lot, according to a site plan application filed June 26 in Arlington County.” [WBJ]
Fireworks Photo Suggestions — “I’ve photographed the D.C. fireworks since 2004. Here are my favorite locations: 1) Netherlands Carillon 2) Potomac River shoreline 3) Lincoln Reflecting Pool 4) Marine Corps War Memorial.” [Kevin Ambrose/X]
Sheriff Releases Report — “The Arlington County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) is proud to announce the release of its 2024 Annual Report… The report showcases key accomplishments aligned with the agency’s core priorities: operating a safe and rehabilitative jail, supporting the wellness and development of staff, and building meaningful connections with the Arlington community.” [ACSO]
Local Nonprofit Celebrating Anniversary — NOVA Cleanups will celebrate three years of beautification in and around Arlington with a “Cleanup Crawl” from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 12. The event will start at O’Sullivan’s Irish Pub in Clarendon and end at Quincy Hall in Ballston, with raffles and t-shirts for sale. –Katie Taranto
It’s Wednesday — Expect showers and thunderstorms, mostly before noon, followed by a slight chance in the afternoon. Clouds will gradually clear, reaching a high near 84, with light winds turning north at 5 mph. The chance of precipitation is 60%, with possible higher amounts in thunderstorms. Wednesday night will be mostly clear with a low of 69. [NWS]
Political leaders need to meet the moment and connect with a fearful and angry Northern Virginia electorate, one county leader believes.
“The status quo is just not good enough. What are we going to do about it?” County Board member Julius “JD” Spain Sr. said during a Saturday forum sponsored by NAACP branches of Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax County.
The ARLnow Daily Debrief was launched in October 2022 with three goals in mind:
There are now some reasons to question the third goal. What we envisioned as a free form discussion venue for local issues mixed with some discussion of what’s happening across the Potomac has devolved into a preponderance of back-and-forth fighting about national politics.
Of course, such a trajectory for a relatively open online forum is not unique — or new. In 2020, we reported on the increasingly toxic levels of discourse on local Facebook groups, local listservs, the social network Nextdoor, and the ARLnow comments.
In response to the more recent rise in political pugilism, we recently disabled image uploads in the comments after copy-and-pasted memes became overly disruptive to substantive discussions. We also have started using the AI moderation tools offered by Disqus, our commenting system.
Now we’re contemplating another move: disabling comments on the Daily Debrief altogether to put more focus on local issues, while making moderation a bit easier (we generally do not moderate comments on nights and weekends, leading to big moderation queues).
But we first want to hear from readers: what do you think about comment-less debriefs?
Today marks the start of the state government’s new fiscal year, and brings into effect numerous new laws that won approval during the 2025 General Assembly session.
State legislators introduced just under 2,000 measures during the 2025 session. A total of 727 were enacted into law, according to state data.
