Larger numbers of seniors and declining numbers of younger adults are forcing Arlington leaders to rethink how to allocate services in the fiscal 2027 budget.
Demographic shifts are also calling into question whether the cost of living is making it difficult for residents between ages 20 and 34 to establish roots in the county.
Bookstore Eyed for Westpost — Federal Realty wants to replace the Walgreens at Westpost in Pentagon City with an unnamed bookstore, but a 1998 site plan condition requiring a full-service drug store makes that virtually impossible. The company is requesting the condition be eliminated, warning the storefront “will remain vacant” otherwise. [WBJ]
Stranded in Qatar — Arlington resident Anjali Sharma was on her way to a wedding in India with a layover in Qatar when Iran’s retaliatory strikes began and the airspace closed. “I hear explosions every day,” she said. Rep. Don Beyer (D) said his office has heard from about 100 families with loved ones stuck abroad. [NBC 4]
Brandishing at Pentagon City — Police responded Monday to the 1100 block of S. Hayes Street after a man inside a business displayed what appeared to be a firearm and made threatening statements before leaving the scene. No injuries were reported. [ACPD]
Flood Awareness Week — Arlington County is urging residents to prepare for the spring rainy season as Virginia Flood Awareness Week runs March 8–14. Just an inch of water entering a home can result in as much as $25,000 in damages, yet only 3% of Virginians have flood insurance. [Arlington County]
Amazon Cutting 49K Desks — Amazon’s real estate team plans to eliminate 49,000 desks globally this year to reduce its average office vacancy from about 31% to 22.9%. “If you can envision a sold-out Taylor Swift concert and give every single person their desk, that’s how many desks we need to get rid of,” a senior real estate manager said. In the D.C. area, Amazon had about 20,000 corporate employees as of October. [WBJ]
Bakeshop Heading to Vienna — Clarendon-founded Bakeshop expects to open at 421 Maple Avenue East in Vienna in early April. “The buildout has taken a bit longer than expected, but we are very happy with it,” general manager Monica Garcia told FFXnow. “We cannot wait to get in there and start baking.” [FFXnow]
VA250 at HistoryFest — The VA250 Mobile Museum, part of Virginia’s commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, will visit Arlington’s HistoryFest on May 9 at Kenmore Middle School. The immersive traveling exhibit features interactive displays and artifact reproductions. [Press Release]
Fairfax Casino Clears House — The Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill 64-32 yesterday that would make Fairfax County eligible to host a casino. The legislation from Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell now heads to conference before potentially reaching Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk. [FFXnow]
ICE Bills Advancing — Three bills from state Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim (D-Fairfax) that would restrict federal immigration enforcement activities in Virginia await final action in the House of Delegates. “We are confident… that we will deliver these bills to the Governor’s desk,” Salim told FFXnow. [FFXnow]
AG Pressed on Schools, ICE — Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones (D) withdrew his predecessor’s brief in a Fairfax County Schools Title IX case and said he is reviewing guidance on ICE cooperation with local law enforcement. On gender identity in schools, Jones said he is focused on “students having a high-quality education.” [Fox 5]
Hacktivists Eye Local Gov’t — Iran-aligned hacktivists may target state and local governments with denial-of-service attacks and website defacement as hostilities in the Middle East escalate, cybersecurity experts warned. The Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center said hacktivist groups are “mobilizing to try to start targeting domestic U.S.… networks.” [Route Fifty]
Cherry Blossoms Running Late — Capital Weather Gang predicts peak bloom of D.C.’s Yoshino cherry trees between April 3 and 7, which would be the latest since 2018, following the chilliest winter in more than two decades. Abnormally warm weather this week should jump-start bud development, but cooler conditions in mid-March may slow progress. [Washington Post]
New Legal Notice — ABC restaurant/caterer on/off-premise alcohol license; objections due 30 days. [Public Notices]
It’s Thursday — There are chances of rain before 10am and after 4pm, with patchy fog expected before noon. The cloudy skies will later turn mostly sunny, reaching a high of 63°F. Rain is likely Thursday night, with a 60% chance of precipitation. The night will be mostly cloudy, with temperatures dropping to around 51°F. [NWS]
There’s more local news to explore. Check out WSHnow, with stories from around the region.
Two police officers were hurt after a group of “disorderly” teens led them on a series of foot chases in Ballston.
The incident happened shortly before 11 a.m., drawing a large police response to the 900 block of N. Stuart Street.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — For the second time, Virginia’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that voters can cast ballots on a Democrat-led congressional redistricting plan that could help the party win four more U.S. House seats, as the justices review legal challenges to the effort.
The court ruled that a statewide referendum can be held on April 21 on whether to authorize mid-decade redistricting, upending a temporary restraining order put in place by a Tazewell County judge last month. It comes after the top court made a similar ruling last month in a related case.
A teen is facing a number of charges after police say a burglary call led to a foot pursuit and the discovery of “distribution amounts” of drugs.
The incident happened Monday morning in the Green Valley neighborhood. Police say the suspect was detained near Drew Elementary School.
A set of pedestrian-oriented upgrades to sidewalks, lighting and seating is getting underway in the Village at Shirlington.
Construction work, which was proposed in May 2025 and is intended to “improve connectivity, enhance public spaces, and preserve the property’s historic character,” is expected to last through November.
Even if self-driving vehicles become legally possible in Virginia, they’d have to get through several more rounds of discussion and possible regulation before they could hit the road.
Sen. Saddam Salim (D-37), the chief patron of legislation in Richmond supporting autonomous trucking and ride-hailing services in Virginia, told ARLnow that his bill would establish a path forward for businesses like Waymo, but it would by no means be the final word.
An Arlington-based nonprofit that intervened in Virginia’s federal court case over in-state tuition for undocumented students is now awaiting a judge’s decision.
The Dream Project is watching the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia after a joint agreement challenging Virginia’s law was invalidated last Friday, Zuraya Tapia-Hadley, the nonprofit’s CEO and an Arlington School Board member, told ARLnow.
An overhaul of the sports fields near Kenmore Middle School is expected to begin construction later this year.
Construction could start in the fall and take about a year. In place of the existing, aging fields would rise a complex providing two baseball/softball diamonds plus rectangular fields for soccer, field hockey and lacrosse.
Beyer: Americans Stranded Abroad — “Today I have heard from constituents who are in Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, the U.A.E., and Qatar or have family there and are frantically trying to get to safety,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said, adding that the Trump administration’s “incompetence is stranding Americans abroad.” [Rep. Don Beyer/X]
Stock Slide for Local Firm — Crystal City drone maker AeroVironment saw its shares spike as high as $303 Monday morning on the Iran strikes before plunging to $196.22 after the U.S. Space Force moved to reopen a roughly $1.4 billion satellite communications contract held by an AV subsidiary. The contract, originally awarded to BlueHalo before AV’s $4.1 billion acquisition last year, makes up roughly half of AV’s total contract backlog. [WBJ]
N. Va. Slowdown Weighs on State — “Virginia is more exposed to… the federal workforce reduction given the high share of local residents that work for the federal government,” said João Ferreira of UVA’s Center for Economic and Policy Studies. The state is projected to lose 10,300 jobs this year, with the unemployment rate expected to rise before easing in 2027. [WTOP]
Work After the Sewage Spill — “It’s up to Peterson, his crew of roughly 30 workers and a slew of contractors to do the tough, dirty — and expensive — job of fixing the Potomac Interceptor, which carries 60 million gallons of wastewater daily from Maryland and Virginia to a treatment plant in Washington. The emergency work and environmental cleanup could cost about $20 million.” [Washington Post]
It’s Wednesday — Expect patchy fog and scattered showers, with otherwise cloudy skies and a high near 52. There’s a 60% chance of precipitation with less than a tenth of an inch possible. On Wednesday night, rain remains likely, with a cloudy low around 49 and a 70% chance of precipitation, again with less than a tenth of an inch possible. [NWS]
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A long-delayed redevelopment of two office buildings in Pentagon City appears to have pivoted to an office-to-apartment conversion project.
A site plan application, filed last week at the vacant Transportation Security Administration office buildings at 601 and 701 12th Street S., would abandon plans to demolish the existing structures and rebuild.
A multi-year renovation project is about to begin at Arlington’s Water Pollution Control Plant.
The $32.2 million first phase will be part of an almost $200 million undertaking “to make the facility cleaner, greener and ready for the future,” county officials said in announcing the upcoming start of the initiative.
