News

Firefighters Warn on Cuts — The local firefighters union pointed to a call in which Rescue 102 was dispatched to a second alarm in Fairfax County: “If the proposed budget passes and Rescue 102 is cut… this would have left Arlington County with ZERO Rescue units available for our own residents.” [IAFF Arlington/FB]

Pentagon City Robbery — A man entered a store in the 1200 block of S. Hayes Street on Tuesday afternoon, asked to view merchandise and then shoved an employee when a display case was unlocked, stole merchandise and fled on foot, according to police. No injuries were reported. [ACPD]

Snowcrete Pile Finally Gone — Crews removed the last remnants of the “snowcrete” pile on 14th Street N. near N. Courthouse Road, nearly two months after January’s winter storm. The block had served as a dump site for snow removed from other roadways. [DC News Now]

Cape Raises $100M — Cape, an Arlington-based privacy-focused mobile carrier, raised $100 million in a Series C round co-led by Bain Capital Ventures and IVP. The company says it has “redesigned a telco from scratch” for government agencies and individuals concerned about surveillance. [Potomac Tech Wire]

Opower Alum Scales Carecubes — Carecubes, an Arlington-based startup founded by former Opower president Alex Laskey, raised $6.5 million in Series A funding for its pop-up isolation units designed to contain airborne infections in hospitals. The company has backing from DARPA and the CDC and customers across 13 states. [WBJ, Potomac Tech Wire]

School Traffic Enforcement — ACPD conducted “high-visibility enforcement and education in response to community complaints regarding traffic safety” around Yorktown High School and Dorothy Hamm Middle School on Thursday. [ACPD/X]

APS Employees of the Year — Arlington Public Schools named its 2026 employees of the year, including Kenmore’s Robin Stewart as Teacher of the Year, Jamestown’s Michelle McCarthy as Principal of the Year and Williamsburg’s Engelberto Zamora as Support Employee of the Year. [APS]

ACPD Community Meetings — Arlington police are hosting spring quarterly community meetings on March 24 at Macedonia Baptist Church (3412 22nd Street S.) and March 25 at Grace Community Church in Ballston Quarter. Topics include scam prevention and spring transportation safety. [Arlington County]

Dulles Mideast Flights Slashed — About two-thirds of flights from Dulles to the broader Middle East have been cancelled since U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran began Feb. 28, according to MWAA. Middle East traffic accounts for about 10% of international travel through the airport. [FFXnow]

Shutdown Hits TSA Workers — A month into the DHS shutdown, TSA workers have missed paychecks, more than 300 airport security officers have quit and food banks across the region are stepping in to help. House Democrats are pushing to fund most of DHS while excluding immigration enforcement agencies. [Fox 5, Fox 5]

Winter Is (Finally) Over — The Capital Weather Gang has officially declared the winter of 2025–2026 over, after a season that was the coldest since 2002–2003. Highs are expected to surge into the 60s today and reach the 70s by Sunday. [CWG/X, Washington Post]

Drought Stabilizing — Most of the D.C. region remains in moderate drought, an improvement from the severe drought that covered much of the area from late December through mid-February, according to the Capital Weather Gang. About 2–2.5 inches of precipitation since March 1 has helped, but below-normal rainfall is expected through the rest of the month. [CWG/X]

It’s Friday — Expect mostly sunny skies with a high near 68, a big jump from the recent chill, but scattered rain showers are possible after 2 p.m. with south winds gusting up to 25 mph. Rain chances increase Friday night, with a low around 49. [NWS]

Days Inn Site for Sale — The site of a shuttered Days Inn at 2201 Arlington Blvd is on the market, entitled for an eight-story, 251-unit multifamily building. The 2.4-acre property was approved for redevelopment in July 2023 but the owner did not proceed. Cohn Property Group expects to issue a call for offers by mid-April. [WBJ]

Knox Eyes Crystal City — Cybersecurity startup Knox Systems is nearing a deal for office space in Crystal City that would house up to half of its planned 120-person workforce. The company, which helps tech firms meet federal cybersecurity compliance standards, recently closed a $25 million Series A round. [WBJ]

Memorial Bridge Closure Saturday — Memorial Bridge and Circle will close from 7–10 a.m. Saturday for the Rock ’n’ Roll Half Marathon. Visitors to Arlington National Cemetery should use the Route 110 exit ramp to access the cemetery via Memorial Avenue. [Arlington National Cemetery, ANC/X]

ACFD’s Busiest Engines — Arlington’s three busiest fire engines of 2025: E102 in Ballston led with 3,330 calls, followed by E105 in National Landing with 3,287 and E104 in Clarendon with 3,179. [ACFD/X]

Sands Capital Raises $1.1B — Arlington investment firm Sands Capital has raised $1.1 billion for its third global innovation fund, the largest raise of its kind in the firm’s 34-year history. The oversubscribed fund will target late-stage AI, industrial technology and infrastructure companies. [WBJ]

100KM Closes First Fund — Arlington venture capital firm 100KM Ventures closed its first-ever fund at about half its $25 million target, citing a tough fundraising climate for emerging managers and diversity-focused funds. The firm has made 11 investments so far in early-stage companies with diverse leadership teams. [WBJ]

F.C. Budget Update — Falls Church is expected to fare better than its neighbors as local governments across N. Va. confront budget shortfalls tied to federal layoffs, a weakening office market and the Iran conflict. A budget vote is expected in early May. By contrast, Fairfax County is projecting a shortfall approaching $300 million, while Arlington faces a gap of about $25 million. [FCNP]

Va. Session Wrap-Up — “The just-concluded Virginia general assembly session in Richmond, now with a Democratic Party “trifecta” in charge, turned out better than expected due to the fact that revenues to the state did not nosedive, due to federal program cuts, as many had feared. Falls Church’s state delegate Marcus Simon laid out the picture to the monthly luncheon of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce at the Italian Cafe Tuesday.” [FCNP]

It’s Thursday — Expect mostly sunny skies with a high near 55 degrees and a gentle south wind at 5 to 7 mph. Thursday night will be partly cloudy with temperatures dropping to around 40 degrees. [NWS]

There’s more local news to explore. Check out WSHnow, with stories from around the region.

Local Co. Makes $200M Drone Deal — Crystal City-based AeroVironment has acquired California drone designer and manufacturer ESAero for $200 million in cash and stock, strengthening its capabilities in unmanned aerial systems increasingly used in global conflicts. The deal is AV’s second acquisition in less than a year. [WBJ]

AV Lasers on 60 Minutes — 60 Minutes featured AeroVironment and CEO Wahid Nawabi on a segment its Locust laser system, which destroys drones at a fraction of the cost of interceptor missiles. “The cost per shot goes from $4 million a shot to less than $5 a shot,” Nawabi said. The segment also revealed the Army is using the lasers to shoot down cartel drones along the Mexican border. [CBS News, 60 Minutes/X]

Sunrise at the Tomb — Arlington National Cemetery offered a rare sight Tuesday morning as the sunrise aligned perfectly with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, marking the tomb’s 100th anniversary year. [Fox 5]

Sister City Mayor Leads — Incumbent Arnaud Robinet led the first of two rounds of voting in the election for mayor in Arlington’s Sister City of Reims, France, held March 15. Robinet, leading a center-right coalition, won 44% of the vote to National Rally candidate Anne-Sophie Frigout (21%) and Eric Quénard (18%), who led a center-left coalition. All three advance to the final round of voting on March 22. — Scott McCaffrey

D.C. Self-Driving Update — “As self-driving taxis, like Waymo, continue to be tested on D.C. Streets, DDOT is restarting a study to potentially give the vehicles a green light.” [NBC 4]

It’s Wednesday — Expect mostly sunny weather with a high near 42 degrees and light, variable winds shifting to the south at 6 mph in the afternoon. Wednesday night will be partly cloudy with a low of around 31 degrees. [NWS]

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Flickr pool photo by Tom Mockler