News

More on Local ICE Raids — “FBI agents and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers took 32 people into custody in Arlington and Falls Church on Tuesday morning, according to a social media post by FBI Director Kash Patel. Three of those arrested were identified as members of the MS-13 and 18th Street gangs, officials said.” [Patch, Kash Patel/X]

Beyer Statement on Raids — “I am deeply concerned about the chilling effect these raids are having on law-abiding contributors to our society, particularly on children. I have always opposed and condemned family separation, but there is also great harm done when families are afraid to send their children to school or to seek basic medical care at a clinic or hospital because they fear these locations will be targets of ICE raids.” [Press Release]

Windy Day at DCA — “Heavy winds today made for some wild landings at Reagan National Airport. Watch as this pilot decides to go around and try again rather than continue this landing attempt.” [Tom Roussey/X]

Air Traffic Safety Concerns — “Following a midair collision that killed 67 people near D.C., aviation officials are raising concerns to Congress about not only the busy airspace around Reagan National Airport, but the state of the nation’s aviation system. At a hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, members of Congress heard testimony from several aviation experts, who said progress to upgrade the air traffic control system is moving painfully slow.” [WTOP]

Time Change This Weekend — “Daylight saving time is almost here. For the past four months, we’ve been on standard time. But overnight Saturday, we’ll turn our clocks ahead one hour at 2 a.m., effectively making it 3 a.m.” [Washington Post]

No Changes Likely for DST — “President Trump on Thursday indicated he would not push for an end to daylight saving time, or to make daylight saving time permanent, suggesting the public was too evenly split on the issue.” [The Hill]

It’s Friday — Expect mostly sunny skies today and a high of around 57 degrees. The west wind will reach speeds of 11 to 18 mph, gusting up to 31 mph. Tonight, there is a slight chance of showers before 1am, with mostly cloudy conditions and a low temperature near 40 degrees. Winds will remain westerly, at 7 to 9 mph. [NWS]

Rumble Outside of Bowling Alley — “What apparently started out as a dispute outside Bowlero on S. 23rd Street in Crystal City turned into a bit of a disturbance with @ArlingtonVaPD calling in reinforcements from around the county and @VSPPIO. Spray was used and @ArlingtonVaFD were called to check out injured people including at least one police officer.” [Dave Statter/X, ACPD]

New Bank in Clarendon — “Trustar Bank has opened its newest branch location, and first in Arlington, Virginia, at 3033 Wilson Blvd… Since the Bank launched in 2019, Wilson Boulevard is the fourth Trustar Bank location in Northern Virginia and the seventh location in the Greater Washington market, joining locations in Washington D.C., Reston, Great Falls, and Tysons, VA and Potomac and Bethesda, MD.” [Citybiz]

Big Fat Tuesday at Bayou Bakery — “At Bayou Bakery in Arlington, Virginia, dozens of boxes of famous King Cakes were stacked high, as people get ready to celebrate Mardi Gras.” [WTOP]

Nando’s Helping Feds — “Nice gesture by Nando’s to offer current/recent Federal employees in area a free 1/4 chicken and fries (normally ~$12) this Friday 2-5p.” [Barred in DC/X]

D.C. Stares into the Abyss — “One in five federal jobs in D.C. could disappear over the next four fiscal years. The city government would be at least $1 billion poorer, the CFO said, marking down annual revenue by $342 million.” [Axios]

Virginia Plates Plaguing Maryland — “All those Virginia license plates on Baltimore’s streets cost Maryland millions of dollars, but the state has little authority to do anything about it, according to a recent Motor Vehicle Administration report sent to Gov. Wes Moore’s office. In June 2024, Virginia officials sent the MVA a list of nearly 107,000 vehicles registered in Virginia but to a primary address in Maryland.” [Baltimore Banner]

It’s Thursday — Expect partly sunny skies and a high around 49 degrees. The day will be breezy, as a west wind picks up from 9 to 14 mph, increasing to 18 to 23 mph in the afternoon, and gusting up to 46 mph. Thursday night will be mostly clear with a low near 33 degrees. The northwest wind will blow at 11 to 18 mph, gusting as high as 34 mph. [NWS]

VDOT Warns of Text Scam — “Locals around the region may have received texts recently for ‘unpaid toll bills’ — be aware that this is part of a ‘smishing’ scam making the rounds nationwide. Smishing is a type of data phishing scam that uses text messages to lure people into giving personal information. The text going around gives a URL and tells the receiver to put the address into their Safari browser and open it.” [ALXnow, VDOT/X]

Resolution for Crash Victims — “Congressman Don Beyer… delivered floor remarks during debate on House Resolution 153, ‘Expressing condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of the victims of the crash of American Eagle Flight 5342 and PAT 25, and for other purposes.’ The legislation passed without objection on a voice vote.” [Press Release]

DCA Aircraft Incidents — “The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating why multiple commercial flights about to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport, near Washington DC, repeatedly received midair collision alerts over the weekend when there were no other aircraft nearby.” [CNN]

F.C. Considers Tax Rate Cut — “Mayor Hardi said at Monday’s Falls Church City Council meeting that it was important to emphasize how the recent years’ strong commercial development gains in the City will make matters relatively smooth for the City taxpayers, with prospects for 5.9 percent growth in both the City and school budgets to go along with the 2.5 cent rate decrease. Sixty-five percent of the budget growth is coming from real estate, and half of that is from new construction, she noted.” [FCNP]

Garvey Calls for More Cooperation — “Looking at the current destruction of the federal government [former Arlington County Board member] Garvey sees cooperation among local governments as critical. She said, ‘local government is the only functioning government we are going to have,’ so it will be essential for local jurisdictions to work together.” [About Alexandria]

Beyer Skips Trump Address — “Congressman Don Beyer is skipping President Donald Trump’s address to Congress tonight (Tuesday, March 4)… Instead of attending the speech, Beyer said he plans to spend the week supporting federal workers and holding events for his constituents.” [ALXnow, Rep. Don Beyer/X]

Loudoun Data Center Revenue Boom — “Loudoun’s fiscal 2026 proposed budget includes nearly $795 million derived just from personal property taxes on data centers’ internal computer equipment. That single stream represents about a quarter of the county’s entire general fund revenue budget, and more than the county’s entire general fund personnel budget.” [WBJ]

It’s Wednesday — Expect showers and potential thunderstorms this afternoon, with a high near 64 and breezy south winds at 15-21 mph, gusting up to 37 mph. Precipitation chance is 100%, with rainfall amounts between half to three-quarters of an inch. Wednesday night, showers are likely with a possible thunderstorm, a low around 43, and south winds at 9-15 mph shifting west after midnight, gusting up to 22 mph. The nighttime precipitation chance is at 70%. [NWS]