For Arlington Democrats, the number to beat on Nov. 4 is 51,465.
That’s the difference between the number of votes cast in the county, in 2021, for Democrat Terry McAuliffe (73,013) over Republican Glenn Youngkin (21,548). McAuliffe lost that race, falling short by about 64,000 votes statewide.
With the cost of a two-bedroom apartment above $3,000 for another month, Arlington rent continued a gradual upward trajectory in June.
The county’s median rent for an apartment was up 0.3% month-over-month, contributing to an increase of 3.6% since the start of the year and 2.6% year-over-year, according to data reported by Apartment List.
Hot, humid and stormy weather is on tap today.
Arlington County and much of the D.C. area is under a Heat Advisory, a Flood Watch and — as of 1:45 p.m. — a Severe Thunderstorm Watch today (Tuesday).
Federal cuts to Medicaid and food-assistance programs are expected to place greater strain on Arlington’s most vulnerable residents and the social services that support them.
Arlington County officials, health-care workers and nonprofits are still scrambling to determine the local impacts of the new federal spending bill approved last week.
A proposed 845-unit redevelopment project in Rosslyn has won the support of the Arlington Transportation Commission.
The commission voted 11-0 in support of the project on a 2.3-acre site at 1901 and 1911 Fort Myer Drive, near Gateway Park.
Bishop on Texas Floods — “I join the faithful of the Diocese of Arlington in fervent prayer for all the victims, for those who are still missing, and all those whose lives have been affected by the catastrophic flash floods that took place in Central Texas over Independence Day weekend. Although heroic rescue efforts by first responders have saved many, the floodwaters from the Guadalupe River claimed the lives of more than 100 persons.” [Catholic Diocese of Arlington]
Beyer on Texas Floods — “This is devastating news. I’m heartbroken for all those impacted by this tragic flooding and continue to keep Central Texas in my thoughts. I’m deeply grateful to our first responders and everyone helping amid this catastrophic disaster.” [Rep. Don Beyer/X]
Man Drowns in Potomac — “The man who was recovered from the Potomac River has died in the hospital, police confirmed on Monday morning. On Saturday, July 5, first responders worked to rescue a man who was in the water near the Key Bridge. DC Fire and EMS posted on social media that he had gone into the river but did not emerge… Preliminary investigations into the incident reported that this appeared to be an accidental drowning.” [DC News Now]
Clarendon Eatery Exits Bankruptcy — “Andrew Darneille is breathing just a bit easier these days. That’s because a federal judge on June 23 signed off on a plan clearing the way for his Clarendon-based Smokecraft Modern Barbecue to emerge from bankruptcy protection, more than a year after it filed for Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Alexandria. The plan goes into effect Tuesday.” [WBJ]
Power Line Undergrounding in F.C. — “Some City residents, including Commissioner Robert Kravinsky, received mail from Dominion Energy regarding the undergrounding of lines in their neighborhood. Ms. Mester explained that Dominion Energy’s efforts to underground power lines in residential neighborhoods to increase reliability began 10 years ago before running out of funds. Recently, Dominion Energy decided to continue the effort using funds from rate increases. Areas are selected based on outage data.” [Falls Church Pulse]
Office Construction Grinds to Halt — “There are at least 33 companies scouring the Northern Virginia office market for 50,000 square feet or more, according to CBRE’s second-quarter office report, but their options are severely limited regionwide and there’s literally nothing under construction that would fit their requirements… No one is building suburban trophy office, as the cost of construction has made it very difficult to get the projects to pencil.” [WBJ]
New Starbucks Options — “Starbucks announced Monday that its new Strato Frappuccino beverages will be available in stores nationwide starting Tuesday for a limited time. The Strato lineup reimagines the blended drinks with cold foam layers. The name is inspired by the Italian word strato, meaning ‘layer.'” [Axios]
It’s Tuesday — Expect showers and thunderstorms mainly after 5pm, with increasing clouds and a high of 93°F. The heat index may reach 103°F, and winds will be southwest at 5-7 mph. There’s a 60% chance of precipitation. Tuesday night, thunderstorms persist mainly before 8pm, followed by mostly cloudy skies and a low of 73°F. [NWS]
Lower speed limits could be coming to some Arlington roads with high numbers of bicyclists.
A proposal going before the Arlington County Board on Saturday, July 19 would reduce speed limits on some designated “bicycle boulevards” from 25 mph to 20 mph.
A man, 70, and a woman, 25, were arrested over the weekend after separate incidents involving knives along the same block of Columbia Pike.
Both incidents happened in the early morning hours of Saturday, the day after the Fourth of July.
County leaders are promising action after an audit found major deficiencies in the operation and oversight of a transit program serving Arlington residents with disabilities.
Identified issues with the Specialized Transit for Arlington Residents (STAR) program ranged from billing discrepancies to a lack of review of driver manifests by WeDriveU, which operates the paratransit program under contract to the county.
Revamps of parking, towing and tree-canopy requirements could be coming to an increasingly urbanized Falls Church.
A work plan from City Manager Wyatt Shields includes a possible rewrite of existing rules for how much parking new development projects must include, plus possible changes to the city’s tree canopy ordinance and towing ordinance.
Arlington 911 Using AI — “Arlington County’s 911 center is… turning to artificial intelligence to help man non-emergency calls coming into its dispatch center this Fourth of July holiday… Officials say non-emergency calls were down by nearly 16,000 in the first quarter of the year compared to the same time period in 2024.” [Fox 5]
Youngkin Calls Out Arlington — “Youngkin said his Virginia Homeland Security Task Force arrested 2,500 people so far this year, who he says are violent criminals in the U.S. illegally. Youngkin also renewed his call for local law enforcement in Northern Virginia to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Youngkin has called out Fairfax County and Arlington County for not honoring ICE detainers and working with ICE.” [WJLA]
Families Worry About Title I Change — “Two Arlington schools previously categorized as Title I campuses won’t be eligible for that designation in the fall, a change that some parents are concerned about the consequences of.” [WTOP]
Fairlington Parade on TV — “It was a day for neighbors in Fairlington to break out the red, white, and blue and spend time with each other as they and people across the DMV marked the Fourth of July. The Fairlington Citizens Association (FCA) and Fairlington Villages held the community’s July 4th Parade and Celebration on Friday.” [DC News Now]
Teen Girl Arrested — “The female victim and juvenile female victim were inside a common area of a residential building when the known juvenile female suspect in her teens allegedly approached and pepper sprayed them before fleeing the scene on foot… Petitions for the juvenile suspect were sought for Malicious Wounding by Caustic Agent (x2).” [ACPD]
Blue Line Closure — “A stretch of the Metro Blue Line will be out of service starting Saturday and will remain closed until July 26 for construction. Franconia-Springfield and Van Dorn St. stations will be closed for three weeks, making Reagan National Airport the last stop on the Blue Line.” [WTOP]
It’s Monday — Showers and potential storms are expected throughout the day, with some storms potentially producing heavy rainfall. It will otherwise be partly sunny with a high near 89°F and a southeast wind of 3-6 mph. There is a 70% chance of precipitation. On Monday night there’s a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 7pm, followed by partly cloudy skies and a low around 75°F. [NWS]
Today’s Morning Notes are brought to you by Industrious. ARLnow has been in an Industrious office for years and we love the convenience — you get to focus on your work rather than worrying about brewing coffee or keeping the printer stocked. Industrious has several Metro-accessible coworking locations in Arlington.
Flickr pool photo by Jason Gooljar
Sitting on the reference stacks at the Charlie Clark Center for Local History at Arlington Central Library are five thick, blue, nearly 50-year-old bound editions.
They are the archives of the Arlington County Bicentennial Commission, which, from 1974 through the end of 1976, was tasked with overseeing local efforts to celebrate the nation’s 200th birthday.
