Sales of Christmas trees and other seasonal items are returning to Arlington and Falls Church for the holiday season.
As usual, many holiday markets begin shortly after Thanksgiving, representing an annual tradition and local pilgrimage for countless buyers and sellers in the area.
Falls Church leaders have begun talks on a possible tax surcharge on commercial property to fund transportation improvements.
If it’s enacted, owners of non-residential parcels in the city could pay an additional rate of up to 12.5 cents per $100 assessed value each year, similar to surcharges in neighboring Arlington and Fairfax counties.
Arlington has once again ranked as one of the most generous localities in the nation, by one measure.
The county clocked in at No. 1 in Charity Navigator’s latest ranking of the most charitable “cities” with a population between 200,001 and 500,000 people.
SNAP Benefits Resume — “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Update – Nov. 17, 2025. The federal shutdown is over. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits have resumed, and December benefits are expected to be issued according to the normal schedule.” [Arlington DHS/X]
Educator Event at Barrett — The National Education Association on Monday launched its American Education Week celebration with a special event at Arlington’s Barrett Elementary School, attended by NEA president Becky Pringle and cookbook author Jeremy Scheck. The organization also made two financial contributions, one to help pay down unpaid student-lunch balances across Arlington Public Schools and another to support the school’s healthy-food education programs. [NEA]
White House Flyover — From AlertDC: “The U.S. Military will conduct an Aircraft Flyover in the NCR over the White House on Tuesday, November 18 at approximately 11:08AM.”
Crystal City Crash on Camera — “I hate this intersection. The crash this morning is a very common scenario at Route 1 & 23rd Street… Drivers are left to guess when the light changes. Often they guess wrong.” [Dave Statter/X]
Design Awards Deadline Extended — “DESIGNArlington is a biennial awards program that seeks to increase public awareness of outstanding design and to recognize and encourage design excellence… All submissions must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 21, 2025.” [Arlington County]
Exhibit at Arlington Nat’l Cemetery — “Army National Military Cemeteries (ANMC) is pleased to announce the opening of a new exhibit in the Memorial Amphitheater Display Room, featuring a rare artifact from the USS Maine. The U.S. Navy ship tragically exploded in Cuba’s Havana Harbor on Feb. 15, 1898—killing more than 260 sailors and Marines and leading to the Spanish-American War.” [Press Release]
Some Counties Invited to W. Va. — “Texas is no longer the only state Virginia lawmakers are currently quarreling with. Earlier this month, West Virginia state senator Chris Rose created a resolution that invites 27 Virginia counties and three Maryland counties to join the Mountain State.” [Northern Virginia Mag]
Flu Season Could Be Bad — “Experts worldwide are warning of a new flu outbreak as the DMV begins tracking seasonal flu cases. It could be a cold-season double whammy, with a new flu strain and a chillier-than-normal winter forecast for D.C. The new flu strain, a version of H3N2, emerged over the summer. Experts are worried that it doesn’t match the strain used to create this year’s flu vaccine.” [Axios]
Alexandria Keeping NSF — “The National Science Foundation (NSF) will remain in Carlyle, after it announced an official search for office space last summer. Through NSF’s decision, Alexandria will retain 1,600 NSF federal employees and scientist jobs, the city announced.” [ALXnow]
Cold Blast Coming — “As of now, Thanksgiving week is looking rather mild, with highs most days in the mid-50s to low 60s. By the weekend after Thanksgiving, however, models suggest we’ll transition to much colder weather as a dip in the jet stream allows Arctic air to surge in from the north.” [CWG]
It’s Tuesday — Rain is likely after 1pm, with increasing clouds and highs around 50°F. Afternoon winds will come from the southwest at around 5 mph. Precipitation chances are 50%. Tuesday night, rain is expected mainly before 1am, with lows around 41°F. Rain chances rise to 90%, with new amounts between a quarter and half of an inch. [NWS]
Flickr pool photo by Alan Kotok
County Board members have set public hearings next month on increasing taxi fares, expanding a Green Valley Park and designating a home as a local historic district.
The Board also set a hearing on possible changes to the county’s residential parking program, adopted a meeting schedule for 2026, approved an office-to-residential conversion project in Courthouse and approved a contract for new pedestrian bridges in two parks.
Three Virginia men are each facing multiple charges after a shoplifting incident in Pentagon City led to a significant drug discovery.
The shoplifting happened just before 4:30 p.m. Friday on the 900 block of Army Navy Drive, which is near both the Pentagon City mall and the Westpost shopping center.
Steel: 50%. Copper: 50%. Cars: up to 25%. But an even bigger Trump-era levy looms: 107% on Italian pasta.
Mamma mia.
Suspensions were down at the start of the school year in Arlington, but some significant disparities remain across different student demographics.
First-quarter suspension totals “continue to show some overrepresentation” of certain groups, including Black students and students with disabilities, Superintendent Francisco Durán told School Board members on Nov. 13.
The Arlington County Board is seeking legislation that would give localities the power to limit annual increases in apartment rents.
Board members added language to their 2026 General Assembly priorities package on Saturday, seeking the ability to add “anti-rent-gouging protections.” The decision generated applause from supporters who argued that the decision could promote affordability, and criticism from opponents concerned about hindering free market solutions.
State Sen. Adam Ebbin has promised Arlington leaders that he will push to bring home more transit funding from the 2026 General Assembly session.
“That’ll probably be the most intense of the things I’m working on,” Ebbin (D-39) said during a Nov. 13 work session between County Board members and the community’s legislative delegation.
Cuts at Shirlington-Based WETA — “WETA in Washington, D.C., and its subsidiary News Hour Productions are ending broadcasts of PBS News Weekend as part of a restructuring prompted by the rescission of federal funding for public media. The restructuring includes the elimination of 34 positions, adding to 21 positions WETA cut in September… In September, WETA cut its workforce by 5% and ended local programs to save $4.4 million this fiscal year. The new cuts represent a 6% workforce reduction, Stewart said.” [Current, WBJ]
DCA, IAD Flight Cuts End — “The Federal Aviation Administration will end its flight reduction emergency order Monday, meaning flights will resume operations as normal, officials announced Sunday. The emergency order will officially lift Monday at 6 a.m. ET, ending the reductions that caused mass cancellations and delays at airports.” [NBC News]
Lasting Shutdown Impacts — “In the wake of the country’s longest-ever federal government shutdown, a key safety-net organization is calling for a renewed emphasis on helping lower-income, working residents achieve economic independence… While welcoming the shutdown’s end on Thursday (Nov. 13), United Way of the National Capital Area President and CEO Rosie Allen-Herring said at a briefing that morning that her organization believes ‘the impact will be felt, for thousands, for months ahead.'” [FFXnow]
Another Local ICE Arrest — “ICE @EROWashington arrested Nelson Cabrera Eskobar, a criminal alien and convicted felon from Guatemala. He’s been convicted of robbery in Arlington, Virginia. He’s also been convicted of disorderly conduct and failure to obey a Police officer in Prince George’s County, Maryland.” [ICE Washington]
State Tax Revenue Still Up — “Governor Glenn Youngkin today announced that total general fund revenues increased 7.0 percent ($134.1 million) for the month versus October last year. The year-over-year increase was driven primarily by higher individual income tax withholding and nonwithholding payments, lower refunds, and greater sales and use tax collections.” [Press Release, Gov. Glenn Youngkin/X]
It’s Dry — “Drought is expanding. Severe drought covers large areas west of I-95. Rain potential over next week? Not great. Just 0.2-0.3 inches from a blend of computer models.” [CWG/X]
It’s Monday — Expect sunny skies and a high temperature near 50 degrees during the day, accompanied by a northwest wind blowing at 11 to 17 mph, and gusts reaching up to 30 mph. The night will be mostly clear with temperatures dropping to around 33 degrees, while the northwest wind slows to 3 to 7 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.
A Stanford student and Paralympian who grew up in Arlington has been named a 2026 Rhodes scholar.
Sydney E. Barta of Arlington, Virginia, is a Paralympian and member of the track team at Stanford University, who studies bioengineering and sings in the Stanford acapella group “Counterpoint.” As part of the prestigious scholarship, Barta plans to study musculoskeletal sciences.
