No racial or ethnic group in Arlington comes close to earning enough household income to afford median priced single-family homes in Arlington, and some groups struggle to afford median-priced condominiums, according to new data.
Even the county’s white population, which has by far the largest median household income, is “nowhere near” being able to afford median priced single-family housing, said Keith Waters of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University.
Arlington County police are investigating shots fired in the Green Valley neighborhood.
The gunfire rang out around 10 p.m. Friday night near The Shelton apartment complex. No injuries were reported but a bullet damaged a window in a nearby residential building.
Outlets Reject Pentagon Press Rules — “Fox News, the former employer of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, on Tuesday joined a chorus of news outlets refusing to sign an agreement with the Pentagon that could limit journalists’ rights to gather or report information not officially authorized for release.” [Axios, Associated Press, Washington Post]
Regional Economy on the Brink — “Twenty-two states are either in a recession or on the precipice of a downturn, according to an intriguing analysis from Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics… in trouble are the states most exposed to federal job cuts, like Virginia and Maryland. Unemployment in Washington, D.C., was 6% in August, the highest in the country.” [Axios]
Controllers Giving Flyers to Fliers — “‘Hi – good morning. I’m an unpaid air traffic controller.’ That’s what a worker said as he approached travelers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Tuesday morning. As the government shutdown hits the two-week mark, Tuesday is the first day air traffic controllers won’t get a full paycheck, according to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. On Oct. 28, they won’t get paid at all.” [NBC 4]
Arlington Restaurants on TV — “Chamber President & CEO Kate Bates and Chair-Elect @bismahahmed_ joined @fox5dc to kick off the start of #ARLRestaurantWeek, hosting a speed tasting of three meals from La Posada, Maison Cheryl, and Celtic House.” [Arlington Chamber/X]
Police Plan Community Meetings — “The Arlington County Police Department’s (ACPD) Community Engagement Division invites the public to the fall quarterly community meetings covering community issues, crime prevention tips and quality of life concerns.” [ACPD]
WETA Radio Weathers Cuts — “WETA, with its offices down the road in Shirlington, has been on the air 24-7 through the thick and thin over many years here, through the Great Recession and the Covid pandemic, with comforting voices spinning the hits, so to speak, from Handel, to Haydn, to Mozart to Beethoven… the station has had to lay off five percent of its staff and folks hope there will be no more if the public steps up to help.” [FCNP]
Local Firm Sells Unit — “Trident Maritime Systems, an Arlington-based developer of integrated maritime systems, said it has sold its UK business to Alexandria-based private equity firm DC Capital Partners.” [Potomac Tech Wire]
No Plastic for Leaf Collection — “Mr. Autumn Man Knows: Leaves placed in plastic garbage bags can’t be composted and won’t be collected. Place leaves and other yard waste at the curb only in paper bags and the green curbside cart.” [Arlington DES/X]
New Legal Notice — Convenience store seeks off-premises beer and wine license; 30-day objections. [Public Notices]
It’s Wednesday — Expect sunny skies and a high temperature near 70 degrees with a north wind at 8 to 11 mph, gusting up to 21 mph. For Wednesday night, the skies will remain clear, and the temperature will drop to around 45 degrees. The north wind will persist at approximately 9 mph. [NWS]
Missing Middle’s critics are launching another round of opposition as Arlington County returns to accepting permit applications for this kind of construction.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit over Arlington’s Expanded Housing Option filed an emergency motion yesterday (Monday) in the Supreme Court of Virginia. They’re seeking to block a Virginia Court of Appeals order that allows the county to resume issuing permits for multifamily construction in previously single-family-only neighborhoods.
A man is dead after police say he was last seen fleeing from state troopers on the 14th Street Bridge.
On Oct. 1, an early morning car chase that started on I-95, on charges of reckless driving, ended on the 14th Street Bridge after the suspect’s vehicle was disabled by spike strips deployed on I-395, according to Virginia State Police.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson predicted Monday the federal government shutdown may become the longest in history, saying he “won’t negotiate” with Democrats until they hit pause on their health care demands and reopen.
Standing alone at the Capitol on the 13th day of the shutdown, the speaker said he was unaware of the details of the thousands of federal workers being fired by the Trump administration. It’s a highly unusual mass layoff widely seen as way to seize on the shutdown to reduce the scope of government. Vice President JD Vance has warned of “painful” cuts ahead, even as employee unions sue.
The political equivalent of speed dating drew candidates and voters to Walter Reed Community Center on Saturday, Oct. 11.
Contenders for local and legislative offices sat down with the electorate in small groups during the annual get-to-know-you session, hosted by the League of Women Voters of Arlington and Alexandria City.
Approval of another office-to-residential conversion, amendments to tenant-relocation guidelines and possible changes to towing rates will highlight this month’s County Board meeting.
A public hearing on just one item will be held before adoption during this Saturday’s meeting. All 33 other items slated for action that day are on the Board’s consent agenda, but individual items could be pulled off public hearings on the recessed meeting of Tuesday, Oct. 21.
Rise in Federal Retirements — “This mass exodus — unprecedented in its scale — includes 154,000 federal employees who accepted buyout offers and were largely removed from the payroll as of the end of last month. Some of those are among nearly 105,000 employees who took regular retirement during the fiscal year that ended in September, an 18 percent surge from the previous year.” [Washington Post]
Pedestrian Struck By SUV — “File this under, “This could have been a lot worse.” Indications are there were no serious injuries when a car crossed into oncoming traffic, clipped another car, ran onto the sidewalk, and hit a person who tried to get out of the way. This was during the noon hour at N. George Mason and Wilson.” [Dave Statter/X]
Pepper Sprayed in Pentagon City — “1100 block of S. Hayes Street. At approximately 6:04 p.m. on October 11, police were dispatched to the report of an assault. The preliminary investigation indicates the teenage female victim was approached by two teenage female suspects who are known to her and with whom she has had an ongoing dispute. The suspects assaulted her and discharged pepper spray before fleeing the scene on foot.” [ACPD]
Renovated Hospice Center — “Diane and David Guernsey, longtime community supporters and advocates for hospice care, joined Capital Caring Health to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Guernsey Center for Caring in Arlington, Virginia. Their generous gift made the renovation possible, helping expand access to compassionate, nonprofit hospice care across the region.” [WJLA]
Rise in Va. Revenue — “Governor Glenn Youngkin today announced that general fund revenues increased 5.1 percent ($374.4 million) year-over-year through the first three months of Fiscal Year 2026 and that for the month of September, total general fund revenues increased 2.7 percent ($87.6 million) versus September last year.” [Press Release]
More EDVA Turmoil — “Maggie Cleary — the senior Justice Department prosecutor who briefly led the powerful US attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia last month before Trump ally Lindsey Halligan took over — has been removed from the office, according to two people familiar with the matter.” [CNN]
Reminder: Restaurant Week — “Over 80 Arlington restaurants plan to offer discounts, specials and prix fixe meals from Oct. 13-20 as part of the yearly promotion by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. Participants range from fast-casual to formal dining.” [ARLnow]
Candidate Essay Recap — Yesterday, ARLnow published “Why you should vote for me” essays from candidates for public office in competitive Arlington races, including: Del. Patrick Hope (House of Delegates, 1st District); Del. Adele McClure (House of Delegates, 2nd District); Monique “Moe” Bryant and James ‘Vell’ Rives IV (School Board); and Bob Cambridge, Jeramy Olmack, and Carlos “DC” De Castro Pretelt (County Board). After our submission deadline, we received links to candidate essays from Audrey Clement (County Board) and Wendy Sigley (House of Delegates, 2nd District). Incumbent Arlington County Board member Takis Karantonis did not submit an essay.
It’s Tuesday — The weather will be mostly cloudy and reach a high near 70, accompanied by a north wind at 11 to 14 mph, gusting up to 22 mph. Tuesday night will see mostly clear conditions, with temperatures dropping to around 54 and a north wind around 8 mph. [NWS]
Some public-safety heroes walk on two legs while others walk on four, Sheriff Jose Quiroz noted as Arlington County Crime Solvers saluted the 13 K9 teams serving with local agencies.
Each of the dogs and their handlers at the Arlington County Police Department and Arlington County Sheriff’s Office have received specialized training to meet a range of challenges in an urban environment. As such, they are collectively deserving of the “Officer of the Year” award, Crime Solvers president Andres Tobar said.
Vice President JD Vance on Sunday said there will be deeper cuts to the federal workforce the longer the government shutdown goes on, adding to the uncertainty facing hundreds of thousands who are already furloughed without pay amid the stubborn stalemate in Congress.
Vance warned that as the federal shutdown entered its 12th day, the new cuts would be “painful,” even as he said the Trump administration worked to ensure that the military is paid this week and some services would be preserved for low-income Americans, including food assistance.
We recently invited the candidates running for local office in the Nov. 4 General Election to write a post about why Arlington residents should vote for them. Find information on how and where to vote here.
Fellow Arlingtonians –
