The county’s Democratic leadership is advising local voters to take no chances as the Nov. 3 general election draws closer.
“I am concerned about threats to voting,” Arlington County Democratic Committee chair Paul Ruiz said at the party’s monthly meeting on Sept. 2.
Confederate Memorial Sign Rewritten — A new marker where the Confederate Memorial once stood in Arlington National Cemetery drops language calling the statue a “nostalgic, mythologized vision of the Confederacy.” The marker says the Army expects to display the sculpture at the site again in 2027. [Washington Post]
Carillon Salutes Dolly — The Netherlands Carillon near Rosslyn rang out a musical tribute to Dolly Parton, who died Aug. 25 at the age of 80. “Sweet tribute to @DollyParton,” said the person who posted the video on social media Saturday evening. [Stefanie Mullin Johnson/X]
Little Saigon Lives On — Nam-Viet has been serving pho and crispy spring rolls at 1127 N. Hudson Street since 1986, when Clarendon was the center of the region’s Vietnamese community. It’s now run by Richard Nguyen, whose parents opened it after fleeing Vietnam as refugees. The restaurant is still grappling with a Covid-era dip in sales paired with a more recent increase in wholesale food costs. [WBJ]
Coffee With Cops Next Month — The Arlington County Police Department will mark National Coffee with a Cop Day with two gatherings on Wednesday, Oct. 7: 9–10:30 a.m. at the Clarendon Starbucks (2690 Clarendon Blvd) and 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. at the Penrose Starbucks (2413 Columbia Pike). [ACPD]
Kids’ Nepal Flood Fundraiser — Arlington siblings Manali, Aila and Kai, back from two years in Nepal, are teaming with Kindness Activist on a walk-a-thon for flood victims in Nepal and Tibet. It runs 4–5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19 on the fitness trail at Thomas Jefferson Park. [Kindness Activist/FB]
Virginia in a Nutshell — A video poking fun at Virginia’s regional quirks has drawn gone viral on social media, with replies zeroing in on Richmond cyclists and Northern Virginia suburbia. “As someone in VA this is extremely accurate,” the poster said. [Merica Memed/X]
It’s Tuesday — Expect mostly sunny skies today with a high near 86 and a light southwest wind of 1–5 mph. Tonight will be partly cloudy with a low around 66. [NWS]
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Thousands of Arlington residents remain without power this afternoon (Friday) after a storm swept through the county last night, pummeling trees and power lines.
Almost 4,000 Dominion Energy customers remained without power as of 3:30 p.m., some of whom may not see power restored until around midnight or later, spokesperson Aisha Khan told ARLnow.
Arlington police have opened an investigation into an immigration arrest on Columbia Pike that reportedly left a man with serious injuries.
Detectives met with the man, José Mejía Hernandez, last week, NBC4 reported. This prompted a swift response from Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and Reps. Don Beyer, Suhas Subramanyam and James Walkinshaw today (Friday).
The Virginia League of Conservation Voters saluted Del. Alfonso Lopez this week for his legislative work on water quality this year.
Lopez (D-3) was honored alongside Sen. Richard Stuart, a Westmoreland County Republican, on Sept. 1 for joint efforts on legislation requiring testing for PFAS on biosolids applied to farmland.
Many local government facilities in Arlington and Falls Church will be closed on Monday in honor of Labor Day.
In Arlington, closures include all Arlington Public Library branches, the Cultural Affairs building, the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and all community centers except for the Long Bridge Aquatics and Fitness Center.
The Arlington NAACP has begun laying the groundwork for leadership elections for 2027-28.
“We welcome anyone and everyone who would like to serve,” incumbent president Rev. DeLishia Davis said at the organization’s monthly meeting on Monday night.
Darknet Pill Sellers Charged — Two Florida brothers face federal charges of conspiracy to distribute nitazenes, synthetic opioids that can be more potent than fentanyl. Court records allege they sold counterfeit oxycodone on the darknet as “BarbaraWhite.” The investigation began after a fatal Arlington overdose in August 2023. [WUSA 9, Fox 5]
Beyer Decries USAID Cuts — Rep. Don Beyer (D) spoke on the House floor about restoring the dismantled foreign aid agency, which employed many N. Va. residents. “Far from reducing waste, the headlong rush to shutter USAID has forced the government to set aside billions of dollars for lawsuits,” he said. [Press Release]
Cross-Country Season Underway — Cross-country teams representing Arlington high schools are off and running, with competition having started in late August. Among county squads, the Bishop O’Connell boys squad is the defending Virginia private-school champion. [RunWashington]
Local Man Rules Bosnia — “Being born in Arlington, Virginia opens up life paths not available to most people anymore. You can still be an adventurer, a military governor, a viceroy, etc.” The viral post responded to another noting that an Arlington native effectively has dictatorial powers over Bosnia and Herzegovina. [John Lindenhurst/X]
W&OD E-Bike Safety Push — NOVA Parks and local police are holding free e-bike safety events along the W&OD Trail. Fairfax County officers will be stationed in Reston and Dunn Loring from 8-11 a.m. today, and NOVA Parks says an Arlington County police event will be announced soon. [FFXnow]
Pentagon Recovery Exhibit Opens — A new exhibit at the National Museum of the U.S. Army at Fort Belvoir spotlights the Army Corps of Engineers’ 9/11 response. Artifacts include a rescuer’s helmet, a clock stopped when Flight 77 hit and the flag later draped on the Pentagon. [WJLA]
Governor Cool to Flock Ban — Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) said calls to ban automatic license plate readers are “overly simplistic,” vowing to work with lawmakers on privacy protections instead. A Republican state senator plans to introduce a Flock ban in the next General Assembly session. [WTOP]
SOL Overhaul Coming Slowly — Virginia’s Standards of Learning tests are due for their first major changes since 2005, potentially arriving in the 2027–28 school year. An assessment expert told 7News that AI scoring is growing but human review will remain, and that testing innovation is deliberately slow. [WJLA]
Slim Apple Pickings — A severe late-April freeze wiped out much of the Mid-Atlantic apple crop, leaving area orchards with shorter, sparser or canceled pick-your-own seasons. Butler’s Orchard in Montgomery County says only one of roughly 15 varieties survived. [Axios]
It’s Friday — Mostly sunny to start, with a high near 92 and heat index values as high as 102. Showers and thunderstorms are possible from midday on, with a 50% chance of rain. Tonight’s low will be around 73. [NWS]
New Legal Notice — ABC permit application for restaurant: wine, beer, mixed beverages, on/off-premises. [Public Notices]
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Excavation work is set to start over the next two weeks at Memorial Circle, where the Trump administration plans to build a towering, gilded arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
The administration announced the timeline Thursday. The project is facing a lawsuit, and critics say it will disrupt historic sightlines in Washington, D.C.
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Around this time 80 years ago, Arlington residents celebrated the community’s 100th anniversary with a week’s worth of special events.
Arlington is becoming a formal party to Virginia’s review of the proposed $67 billion merger between Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy.
The County Board voted at a special meeting yesterday (Wednesday) to file a notice of participation as a respondent in the State Corporation Commission case, letting the county represent Arlington’s interests directly as the deal moves through regulatory review, according to a county press release.
Arlington’s employment picture appears to be stabilizing after a tumultuous 18 months, during which the county lost thousands of jobs.
With 147,695 county residents employed in the county’s civilian workforce and 4,452 looking for jobs, the county’s jobless rate of 2.9% in July was down slightly from 3% a year before.
