Dominion Hills and Boulevard Manor residents may get an upgrade to their water tower sooner rather than later.
Fairfax County supervisors have agreed to fast-track consideration of a new water tower serving a multi-jurisdictional region in the broader Seven Corners area, which also includes parts of the city of Falls Church.
Eads Street Burglary Arrest — A man was arrested after allegedly assaulting people in a residential building lobby in the 1900 block of S. Eads Street early Wednesday, then forcing his way into a neighboring building and assaulting a victim again, police said. He faces burglary, assault and battery and destruction of property charges. [ACPD]
Courthouse Robbery Reported — A man was robbed in the 2100 block of Clarendon Blvd early Tuesday. Police say a suspect approached, struck the victim and stole an undisclosed amount of cash before fleeing. Officers canvassed the area without success and the investigation is ongoing. [ACPD]
Spy Case Guilty Plea — A former Defense Intelligence Agency cybersecurity specialist who monitored insider threats pleaded guilty Wednesday to an Espionage Act charge, admitting he tried to trade classified records for citizenship in a friendly foreign country. Nathan Laatsch was arrested last year after an FBI sting in an Arlington park. [ALXnow, Washington Post]
Lottery Impostor Scam Warning — The Virginia Lottery says people have been offered money in exchange for personal information by someone claiming a connection to the agency. It says it never pays for personal data or asks for photos, driver’s licenses or banking details, and is working with law enforcement. [Press Release]
Renters Warned of ICE Activity — Housing Alexandria told residents of an Arlandria property to stay inside and not open building doors to strangers after ICE activity in the area. ICE said it arrested 1,328 people across Virginia and Maryland this month, including at least four in Alexandria. [ALXnow]
Hispanic Enrollment Slips — Fewer Hispanic students are enrolling in Virginia and Maryland public schools amid stepped-up immigration enforcement. Maryland Department of Education data shows statewide Hispanic K-12 enrollment down 0.6% after four years of post-pandemic growth, with Montgomery County down more than 3%, or over 1,800 students, compared to 2021. [Fox 5]
Governor Rips ICE Tactics — Spanberger criticized federal immigration enforcement after a two-week operation that DHS said netted more than 1,300 arrests in Virginia and Maryland, roughly 400 of them people with a criminal conviction or charge. She said agents’ “actions are sowing fear and degrading a lot of trust.” [WUSA 9]
Governor Vows Change After Escape — Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) has promised changes after a man committed to a Fairfax County mental health facility — found not guilty by reason of insanity in a 2019 killing — used a weekend pass to board a one-way flight to Tajikistan from Dulles in July. [Fox 5]
Two-Way Express Lanes Eyed — VDOT is studying whether to run the I-95 express lanes in both directions at all times, instead of the current inbound-morning, outbound-afternoon setup, and to extend them south past Fredericksburg. Fairfax County Board Chair Jeff McKay (D) has long called the one-way design a problem. [NBC 4]
VRE Weighs Event Trains — VRE is weighing more weekend service for festivals and sporting events after running Sunday trains for the Freedom 250 IndyCar race in D.C., which drew more than 550 riders. CEO Katie Choe said the agency is in talks with Amtrak and CSX about trains for events like next year’s NFL draft. [WBJ]
Bring Your Own Power — PJM, the regional grid operator serving Virginia, has asked federal regulators to require new data centers and other large customers to supply their own power to the grid. Those that don’t would be first in line to move onto backup generators or cut usage when the grid is strained. [Virginia Mercury]
It’s Friday — Patchy fog and a slight chance of showers before 8 a.m., then partly sunny with a high near 88 and a slight chance of afternoon thunderstorms. Northwest winds will be light, at 1–5 mph. Expect mostly cloudy skies overnight with a low around 70. [NWS]
New Legal Notice — Certificate request for passenger/NEMT transport; protests due Sept. 15. [Public Notices]
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Air traffic controllers and the pilots of President Donald Trump’s helicopter met to discuss radio problems one week before a jet was allowed to take off from Reagan National Airport just as Marine One lifted off from the White House.
Controllers had reported not receiving the standard three-minute warning call ahead of Marine One flights, and both sides agreed to an alternative in those instances — but that plan, to relay the radio call through someone else, was also unsuccessful on the day of the Aug. 4 incident, the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report shows. The report was released Thursday.
A new option for presenting ID is available for Virginians with iPhones.
To prove their identity, Virginia residents can now upload their driver’s license or state ID to Apple Wallet, the Virginia DMV announced this week.
Falls Church City Council members have begun cautious discussions about a possible new tax on commercial and industrial property owners.
Under state law, the city has the ability to levy a surcharge of up to 12.5 cents per $100 assessed valuation on non-residential properties, so long as the funding supports new transportation initiatives.
The proliferation of data centers in Northern Virginia could end up affecting even urbanized communities like Arlington, officials said at a recent forum.
“We are all connected,” County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said of regional data-center impacts at the 11th annual Northern Virginia Regional Elected Leaders Summit.
Virginia Lands Meta Millions — “Meta has agreed to pay $17 billion and add child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms to end a landmark trial over teen social media addiction.” The settlement guarantees $353 million for Virginia, Attorney General Jay Jones (D) said. [FFXnow]
Wonder Blankets the DMV — “The food tech company says the DMV is one of its fastest growing markets, with more than 30 locations planned by year’s end.” Wonder, which has a Rosslyn location, last week launched robot delivery from its Potomac Yard kitchen. [Axios]
Alexandria Joins Dominion Merger Case — The city has filed as a participant in State Corporation Commission proceedings on Dominion Energy’s proposed $67 billion merger with NextEra Energy. “Many Alexandrians are already struggling and finding it difficult to pay their utility bills because of rising energy costs,” Mayor Alyia Gaskins (D) said. [ALXnow]
Crossing Guard Cuts Draw Fire — Fairfax County high schools opened without dedicated crossing guards this year, a cut expected to save about $1.89 million. Supervisors this week directed staff to identify fixes after a school board member said of traffic at one school, “What I saw was danger.” [FFXnow]
Severe Storms Possible — “A dip in the jet stream and approaching cold front will encounter a steamy air mass in the Mid-Atlantic on Thursday. The result could be scattered strong to severe storms that are mainly capable of isolated damaging wind and large hail. Heavy rain and some flooding may also occur.” [Capital Weather]
It’s Thursday — Mostly sunny with a high near 90 and a chance of showers and thunderstorms, some of which could be severe. Chance of precipitation is 40%, with south winds at 6–9 mph. Storms could linger into the evening before an overnight low around 70. [NWS]
There’s more local news to explore. Check out WSHnow, with stories from around the region.
A ZIP code on the western end of Arlington has one of the highest concentrations of wealth in the entire D.C. area, by one metric.
The 22205 ZIP code, home to neighborhoods including Westover Village, Tara-Leeway Heights, Madison Manor and Dominion Hills, was named the wealthiest in Arlington in a new ranking by the Washington Business Journal.
A new transit program serving parts of Arlington with limited bus access has largely been connecting riders to Ballston and East Falls Church, data shows.
Arlington’s “microtransit” pilot initiative has provided about 1,500 on-demand rides since it launched in April, Katie O’Brien, spokesperson for Arlington’s Department of Environmental Services, told ARLnow. About 50% of these were near the Metro stations in either Ballston (27%) or East Falls Church (23%).
The 2026-27 chair of Advance Arlington wants to maintain some of the organization’s traditional elements while adding new ways to connect with the community.
Tony Weaver described his plans as “aspirational.”
An Arlington man is facing a charge after police say he accidentally fired a gun through the windshield of a car he was riding in on Columbia Pike.
It happened between 8:45 and 9 p.m. Monday. The 33-year-old was in the front passenger seat, with two other people in the vehicle, when he allegedly fired the gun, near the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Dinwiddie Street.
Ten new speed cameras will be watching Arlington school zones when classes resume next week, bringing the county’s total to 35.
Arlington released the full list of PhotoSPEED locations on Tuesday, two weeks after ACPD said a list was coming soon.
