The Arlington government plans to spend over $200 million on human services programs and personnel in the coming fiscal year, a new record high.
While officials are making some efforts to rein in the increase, they warn that local and national economic factors may force them to either add more funding or scale back existing initiatives as the year progresses.
Arlington’s congressman is throwing his support behind permanent flight traffic changes at Reagan National Airport following January’s fatal midair crash.
In a Friday letter, Rep. Don Beyer (D) and nine other lawmakers supported ending helicopter operations along the Potomac River between Hains Point and the Wilson Bridge when runways 15 and 33 are in use.
A teenager from D.C. is facing several charges in Arlington after an early morning car chase.
A black Dodge Charger “that had previously eluded state troopers on multiple occasions” was spotted speeding on I-395 around 1 a.m., according to Virginia State Police, leading to a wild chase that ended in a crash on 15th Street S. in Crystal City.
Safeguards are being put in place to ensure that county staff do not accidentally issue demolition and construction permits allowing the Melwood redevelopment to move forward before a planned historic-preservation analysis is done.
And that’s a process that could take a year.
A burst pipe has flooded and damaged Arlington County’s government headquarters in Courthouse.
The building at 2100 Clarendon Blvd is closed today and county government functions based there have been shifted to virtual operations, the county said.
Fence Falls on Metro Tracks — “I-66E and Metro have been shut down for a while near the East Falls Church Metro Station. Apparently fencing came down from the Washington Blvd. overpass onto the roadway and the rails. Metro confirmed a short time ago power is down allowing the fence to be cut.” [Dave Statter/X, WMATA/X]
Bar Goes Bananas After Buzzer Beater — The University of Maryland’s thrilling buzzer beater to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament electrified the crowd at Four Courts in Courthouse last night. [Ireland’s Four Courts/X]
Deluge of Delays at DCA — “Delays at Reagan National Airport tripled and cancellations spiked in the wake of January’s deadly collision between a passenger plane and a military helicopter. Last month, 34 percent of flight arrivals were delayed — compared with 11 percent in February 2024. And more than 7 percent of flights were canceled, compared with half a percent last year. Delays have dropped in recent weeks, but since the crash more than 1 in 4 flights were late.” [Washington Post]
Layoffs at Local USAID Contractor — “An Arlington nonprofit focused on ensuring free and fair democratic elections around the world is laying off dozens of employees in the wake of the Trump administration’s moves to shutter one of its main funders, the U.S. Agency for International Development. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) eliminated 48 positions on March 2.” [WBJ]
Falls Church Tax Rate May Fall — Falls Church City Manager Wyatt Shields tonight is expected to propose a 2.5-cent drop in the real-estate tax rate for fiscal 2026, bringing it to $1.185 per $100 assessed valuation. The median tax bill for city homeowners would still rise about $400, or 3.4%, owing to increasing assessments. –Scott McCaffrey
Fmr. Federal Prosecutor Dies — “Former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Jessica Aber was found dead in Alexandria on Saturday morning, police said. She was 43… Police believe the death was the result of a longstanding medical issue, a friend of the family told NBC News.” [NBC News, Jared Serre/X]
Va. Jobs for Feds Questioned — “In public appearances, the governor has been touting 250,000 unfilled jobs in Virginia as a way forward in a state that is home to more federal employees than almost any other. But an analysis of the openings shows little overlap between available private-sector jobs and the high-paid federal ones being lost in terms of salary, health insurance and other benefits.” [Washington Post]
Region’s Unemployment Rate Up — The DC metropolitan area’s unemployment rate for January was 3.1%, according to new Bureau of Labor Statistics data, up from 2.8% in December and 2.9% in January 2024. The number of those counted as unemployed (111,226) across the metro area was up 9.6% from a year before. –Scott McCaffrey
It’s Monday — Expect showers mainly before 8am, followed by cloudy skies eventually clearing to become mostly sunny with a high near 66. Southwest winds will be between 9 and 11 mph, gusting up to 22 mph. There is a 60% chance of precipitation, with rainfall likely less than a tenth of an inch. For Monday night, anticipate increasing clouds and a low around 43, accompanied by west winds ranging from 8 to 10 mph. [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 your own coffee or keeping the copy machine stocked. Industrious has several Metro-accessible coworking locations in Arlington.
Just over 7,500 homes and businesses in the Ballston area were without power Sunday evening.
The outage was first reported around 6 p.m. and the exact cause is, so far, unclear.
A local resident says someone carved a swastika into his Tesla.
The resident, who lives along a busy street in the Courthouse area, says the vandalism happened overnight Thursday into Friday.
Winter weather, economic jitters and the fatal Jan. 29 aircraft collision combined for a challenging start to 2025 at Reagan National Airport.
Acknowledging 2025 has opened as “a turbulent year,” the president of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) told the body’s board of directors he believed the long-term outlook remains positive — despite ongoing uncertainty.
The proposed $845 million fiscal 2026 budget to fund Arlington Public Schools (APS) for the 2025-26 school year has again brought up concerns over how much funding should go into classrooms and how much is needed to provide central-office oversight.
Given fiscal challenges faced by the county government and school system, and the ongoing uncertainty over the region’s economic future, those concerns may be more pronounced this year.
A cyclist was seriously injured after being struck by a driver in Clarendon this morning.
The crash happened just after 8:30 a.m. on eastbound 10th Street N. at N. Irving Street, across from Fire Station No. 4.
Two measles exposures were reported at Reagan National Airport and on the Yellow Line last Friday.
Exposures were possible on the airport’s terminal shuttle bus between noon and 2:30 p.m., the Virginia Department of Health announced in a press release yesterday. They were also possible between 12:15 and 3:15 p.m. on the Yellow Line train from the airport, transferring at the L’Enfant Plaza station to the Silver Line train heading toward Downtown Largo.
