Fewer than 50 votes separate a winning and losing candidate for Falls Church School Board, meaning a recount could be in the works.
Electoral Board members certified the results Wednesday (Nov. 12). After tabulating provisional ballots and those received by mail by the Nov. 7 deadline, the margin between Kathleen Tysse (3,532) and Sharon Mergler (3,485) tightened from the 56-vote margin reported on Election Night to 47 votes upon certification.
The housing market in Arlington held up well in October despite economic headwinds and the federal shutdown.
One key indicator: The average sales price for single-family detached homes approached $1.5 million — down from an unexpectedly high amount in September but still well above year-over-year figures.
Shoe Theft in Ballston — “At approximately 7:51 p.m. on November 10, police were dispatched to the report of a robbery. Upon arrival, it was determined two juvenile male victims were exiting a business when they were approached by a group of six juvenile male suspects. Suspect One and Suspect Two approached Victim One, knocked him off his bike and stole his shoes. Suspect Three engaged Victim Two in conversation before stealing the victim’s jacket as he exited a stairwell.” [ACPD]
Karantonis on ICE — “County Board Chairman Takis Karantonis told Washington Examiner he wanted to repeal Section 7 specifically because of the Trump administration’s actions on illegal immigrants. “The decision to remove Section 7 and related language comes in the wake of the federal administration’s ongoing erosion of the constitutional right to due process, which every person has regardless of their status,” Karantonis said.” [Washington Examiner]
DJO Field Hockey Champs — “On Nov. 2, the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and Independent School League field hockey titles were earned with 1-0 victories, but the paths to those results couldn’t have been more different. In the WCAC, Bishop O’Connell toppled four-time defending champion St. John’s to win its first title.” [Washington Post]
Flyover This Afternoon — “The U.S. Military will conduct an Aircraft Flyover in the NCR over Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday, November 13 at approximately 1:05PM.”
Steep Path to Home Ownership — “‘The median price for a single-family detached home in Fairfax County is almost a million. It is over $1.25 million in Alexandria and in Arlington County,’ Sturtevant said. ‘You do need an income of about $300,000 if you do sort of some back-of-the-envelope math on taking on a loan with 10 percent down — it is very hard.'” [NBC 4]
GI Bill Benefits Delayed — “More than 75,000 students who rely on GI Bill benefits are still waiting for payments or have only received partial payments this semester. The issue is impacting families across the country, including in the D.C. region, which is home to one of the largest concentrations of military families.” [WTOP]
Transit Funding Plan — “The SJ28 Subcommittee recommended $400 million in additional annual Northern Virginia transit funding starting July 2027. Potential funding streams still on the table include increases to the sales tax, motor vehicle sales tax, motor fuels tax, highway-use fee and transient-occupancy tax, and new taxes and fees on retail deliveries, paid parking and rideshare services.” [FFXnow]
Alexandria Wins Housing Case — “Alexandria won its nearly two-year battle in Circuit Court today (Wednesday) against residents fighting the city’s massive Zoning for Housing/Housing for All overhaul. Judge H. Thomas Padrick, Jr. granted the city’s motion for summary judgement and dismissed the case against the plaintiffs, a group of Old Town residents who had been fighting to reverse the zoning changes since they were approved by City Council in Dec. 2023.” [ALXnow]
New Legal Notice — ABC application: restaurant/caterer license—wine, beer, mixed, on/off-premises. [Public Notices]
It’s Thursday — Expect sunny skies and a high temperature near 56°F. Northwest winds will blow at 7 to 14 mph, and may gust up to 26 mph. Thursday evening, the sky will be mostly clear, and the temperature will drop to around 35°F. A gentle west wind at approximately 6 mph is expected. [NWS]
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed a government funding bill Wednesday night, ending a record 43-day shutdown that caused financial stress for federal workers who went without paychecks, stranded scores of travelers at airports and generated long lines at some food banks.
The shutdown magnified partisan divisions in Washington as Trump took unprecedented unilateral actions — including canceling projects and trying to fire federal workers — to pressure Democrats into relenting on their demands.
Competing visions for the future of development in Arlington are facing off as the county gets closer to rewriting a core planning document.
As a feedback form on planned changes to the Comprehensive Plan is set to close on Sunday, slow-growth advocates are vying with a broad coalition of pro-housing groups to shape some of the county’s foundational goals.
Discontent over changes to the Bicycle Advisory Committee has continued, with some members now appearing in open revolt against County Manager Mark Schwartz.
At a Nov. 3 meeting, some went so far as to suggest the BAC no longer serves a clear purpose, given its reduced role.
The Arlington County Board is scheduled to take up numerous items this month, including the financial impact of new public safety contracts, a proposed office-to-residential conversion project and closing out the fiscal year 2025 budget.
Potentially the most controversial item on the agenda could come during the Tuesday, Nov. 18 recess meeting, when Board members decide whether to move forward with a working group to consider changes to Arlington’s 93-year-old governance structure.
Arlington Democrats are turning their attention to attempts to help the national party take back the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in 2026.
“We do have our work cut out for us,” said Kip Malinosky, a former chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee who chairs its “Beyond Arlington” initiative.
Beyer on Reopening Vote — Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) on Tuesday told ARLnow he expects today’s expected vote in the U.S. House of Representatives to reopen the federal government will pass with all Republicans and perhaps a handful of Democrats supporting it. At a Veterans Day event in Clarendon, Beyer confirmed he will vote against the measure. —Scott McCaffrey
Ballston Eatery Opening — “An organic eatery encouraging diners to “eat positive” is opening soon in Ballston. Life Alive Cafe intends to open on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 818 N. Quincy Street… The first 100 customers on opening day will receive “beautifully branded gift bags featuring signature goodies, special offers, and surprises from a local partner,” according to a press release.” [ARLnow]
Arlington AI Acquisition — “Arlington-based AI cloud computing company Corvex Inc. said Monday it is merging with Pleasanton, California’s Movano Inc. in an all-stock deal that will create a public company… Movano is best known as the maker of the Evie Ring, a wearable health care device.” [WBJ]
Local Man Arrested for Threats — “The Oxford Police Department has arrested a Virginia man in connection with terroristic threats made against a local pharmacy. According to police, the investigation began on Sept. 30 after the department received a report from the pharmacy’s security team about threats posted on X (formerly Twitter) by an anonymous user. After more than a month of investigation, authorities identified the suspect as [a] 21-year-old… of Arlington, Virginia.” [Oxford Eagle]
History Made on Election Day — “More than three decades after she last ran for office, Mary Sue Terry sat in front of the television on the farm where she grew up and watched Abigail Spanberger make the history she was denied. It took only an hour after polls closed Tuesday for Spanberger, a Democrat, to be declared the first woman elected governor of Virginia. Terry almost achieved that milestone in 1993.” [Washington Post]
Northern Lights Tonight — “SEVERE geomagnetic storms are likely Wednesday, November 12, 2025 due to the arrival of multiple coronal mass ejections, or CMEs. Widespread displays of the aurora borealis are possible across the northern United States and Canada!” [MyRadar/X]
Lights Seen Last Night — “Some faint color is currently visible from Arlington due to the geomagnetic storm. Point your phone north to see it.” [ARLnow/X]
Doug Predicts Snowy Winter — “If you’re a fan of snow, Storm Team4 says this could be your year. If you’re not a fan of snow … you may want to start bracing yourself now ahead of this winter in the D.C. area… Storm Team4 is predicting somewhere in the range of 13″ to 20″ of snow for the D.C. metro area, and much more for our neighbors to the west.” [NBC 4]
New Legal Notice — Restaurant applies for on/off-premises alcohol license; objections due 30 days. [Public Notices]
It’s Wednesday — Expect sunny skies and a high around 58 degrees, with southwest winds of 10 to 13 mph shifting to west in the afternoon and gusts up to 24 mph. Wednesday night will be mostly clear, with a low temperature of 39 degrees and west winds of 6-9 mph. [NWS]
Elected leaders at the local, state and federal levels used a Veterans Day event in Arlington to press for more support for those who have served and are serving their country, and for their families, as well.
“We need to take care of them,” said Rep. Don Beyer, attending the annual ceremony sponsored by John Lyon Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3150 and held at the Clarendon War Memorial.
The search and seizure of a cell phone belonging to an Arlington activist has set off a tug-of-war involving Arlington’s top prosecutor and state and federal authorities.
As partial allies in the legal action, seeking to limit an investigation of the phone belonging to 66-year-old retired academic Barbara Wien, are Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti and Wien’s attorney, former Chief Public Defender Brad Haywood.
Arlington County police are investigating gunfire early Sunday morning in the Hall’s Hill neighborhood.
The shot rang out around 3:30 a.m., according to an ACPD crime report, but no one was hurt and no damage was reported. While investigating, police arrested a Maryland man on drug related charges.
