News

No Major HQ2 Layoffs — “Amazon.com Inc.’s roughly 16,000 corporate layoffs announced in January won’t significantly impact the workforce at its second headquarters in Arlington County, a company spokesperson told me. While Amazon declined to provide specific workforce reduction figures at its HQ2 in Pentagon City, the company said the cuts won’t require it to file a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification with Virginia.” [WBJ]

More Sewage Issues — “600,000 gallons of raw sewage poured into the Potomac River Sunday night when wipes that had been flushed down toilets clogged 2 of the pumps that had been diverting sewage away from the river. @dcwater experienced an increased flow about half time of @SuperBowl.” [Mark Segraves/X, PoPville]

Special Election Result — “Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-5) is getting a promotion in Richmond. Voters in today’s special election gave the Democrat a sweeping victory against Republican Julie Robben Lineberry for a seat in the State Senate. The outgoing delegate received a decisive 83% of the vote, setting her up to succeed Sen. Adam Ebbin as he joins Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration.” [ALXnow, Arlington Democrats, Virginia Mercury]

Flyover Today — From AlertDC: “The U.S. Military will conduct an aircraft flyover in the National Capital Region (NCR) over Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at 11:00AM.”

Data Center Power Bill — “Sen. L. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, on Monday introduced an amendment to her Senate Bill 253, which would levy more energy costs onto data centers served by Dominion Energy and less on residential customers, a move the utility, state regulators and lawmakers say would immediately drop residential bills by about $5.50 per month.” [Virginia Mercury]

Va. Redistricting Update — “Virginia Democrats gave speedy approval Tuesday to legislation setting out proposed political maps that could give them a 10-1 advantage in the state’s congressional districts during elections this fall, setting the stage to send the matter to Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) to sign or veto as soon as later this week.” [Washington Post]

Peak Ice Cover — “Ice, ice everywhere. Major Mid-Atlantic waterway ice coverage peaked on Monday at 38.4 percent. As extensive as seen recently. Most of the Delaware Bay and Potomac River covered at peak. Large portions of Chesapeake Bay also locked up with ice.” [CWG/X]

Weekend Storm Chance — “Most models show a wintry mix fairly quickly changing to rain, or a mostly rain event. There is also a chance the storm just grazes us or misses our area to the south. A major accumulation of snow or wintry mix is the least likely scenario as of now, but it’s still early.” [CWG]

It’s Wednesday — Expect a mostly sunny day with a high temperature near 44 degrees and northwest winds ranging from 10 to 17 mph, potentially gusting up to 32 mph. The nighttime will be partly cloudy with a low temperature around 29 degrees, accompanied by northwest winds of 13 to 18 mph, and gusts reaching up to 26 mph. [NWS]

Special Election Today — “A Special Election for Member, Senate of Virginia 39th District will be held on February 10, 2026 to fill the vacancy of Adam Ebbin. Only registered voters of Virginia Senate District 39 are eligible to vote in this special election. The Senate of Virginia 39th District roughly covers Pentagon City, Crystal City, Aurora Highlands, and east Arlington Ridge.” [Arlington County]

Other Va. Elections — “The final makeup of Virginia’s state legislature is still unknown three months after the general election as a slew of appointments by Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) triggers a domino effect of special races across the commonwealth.” [Washington Post]

WaPo Layoffs Bigger Than Thought — “News reports about the layoffs, including this one from the New York Times, generally agreed that about one-third of the Post’s newsroom would be eliminated by the layoffs. However, an accounting by the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild, the union that represents Post journalists, finds that the paper’s management eliminated closer to half of the journalists it used to employ.” [Washingtonian]

Gun Dealers Blast Bills — “Firearms dealers at a Northern Virginia gun show said a slew of proposed state gun laws could force them out of business, while attendees and event organizers accused lawmakers of trying to trample their Second Amendment rights… General Assembly Republicans and trade associations representing sport hunters said the legislation effectively bans all modern firearms from being sold in the commonwealth.” [Washington Times]

Local Chocolate Shops — “Chocolates make perfect Valentine’s Day gifts. And it’s always a sweeter deal when you support local businesses. So, this Valentine’s Day, consider gifting handcrafted sweets from these Northern Virginia chocolate shops.” [N. Va. Magazine]

The Cold, Quantified — “DC just had their coldest half-month period (16 days) in THIRTY-TWO years! Accounting for missing data…since the day before our snow/sleet event (January 24th) though yesterday (February 8th) the average temperature at DCA was 23.1°F. This passes the Christmas-New Years cold outbreak of 2017-18 and moves us just behind 1994 in recent history.” [Mike Thomas/X]

Warmup Coming — “The next few days will see a good deal of sun, with temperatures rising to the mid-40s, with a good deal of sun — generally still below average, at 47 for a high on Feb. 9 in D.C. It’ll be somewhat chillier for a time late week but more typical instead of memorable. Then it’s 40s until a storm chance detailed below. Next week, the weather could turn legitimately warmer than average.” [CWG/X]

It’s Tuesday — Expect partly sunny skies today, a high near 48, and a south wind at 3-7 mph. Tuesday night will be mostly cloudy with a low around 35. The south wind will increase to 7-9 mph before turning northwest after midnight. [NWS]

Monks Arrive Today — “On Feb 9 we will welcome the Venerable Monks of the Dhammacetiya as they near the end of their remarkable 2,300-mile Walk for Peace, which began in TX & concludes this week in D.C. Approximately 5:30 p.m.” [Marymount University/X, ARLnow]

Regular Waste Collection Resumes — “Regular curbside collection will return to normal service levels starting Monday, Feb. 9. Please have trash, recycling and organics carts and any special collection materials (brush, scrap metal, e-waste) at the curb by 6:30 a.m. on your regularly scheduled collection day.” [Arlington DES]

Cemetery Aims for Reopening — “ANC plans to reopen with modified access for visitors and family pass holders beginning Feb. 10. However, please be advised that some sites and sections may remain temporarily inaccessible due to snow and ice.” [ANC/X]

Local Murder Mystery — “It’s been 35 years since Suanne Burt Sardi last spoke with her older sister, Sandra. Thirty-five years since the two women hung up the phone on an early morning in January, promising to check in again in the afternoon. Thirty-five years since 41-year-old Sandra Burt Carrera was found shot to death in her Arlington, Virginia, home. And for 35 years, the tragedy has gone unsolved.” [Dateline]

Sewage Spill Setback — “Overnight CCTV inspection of the Potomac Interceptor revealed the blockage inside the collapsed sewer line is far more significant, showing a large rock dam stretching approximately 30 feet downstream of the original failure. The unexpected discovery exposed the severity of the obstruction and prompted an immediate reassessment that will extend the timeline for cleaning and repairs.” [PoPville]

Rent Control Bill Fails — “State lawmakers have blocked legislation that could have given Richmond officials more power to block landlords from imposing big rent increases. The proposals failed to advance out of committees in both the House of Delegates and the state Senate, showing one of the city’s top legislative priorities remains a tough sell in the General Assembly.” [Richmonder]

Medicine Affordability Bill Advances — “Legislation to help rein in the cost of prescription drugs for Virginians passed the Virginia Senate today by an overwhelming 31-8 vote. An identical House bill was recommended for reporting by a House appropriations subcommittee this afternoon with a bipartisan 6-1 vote and should be taken up on the floor next week.” [Press Release]

It’s Monday — Expect sunshine and a high temperature around 33 degrees, with northwest winds of 3 to 6 mph. Tonight will bring mostly cloudy skies and a low temperature near 22. [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.

Photo courtesy Vick Fisher