Candidates for Falls Church City Council seem to agree it’s time to pause and take stock of a recent spurt of new construction before moving forward on bigger projects.
The city’s skyline has changed dramatically over the past decade with the arrival of several new mixed-use projects. Contenders participating in a Sept. 25 forum said growth has brought both positives and negatives.
Shutdown Worries for Fed Contractors — “The PSC, an Arlington-based trade group for government contractors, had already been bracing for staff reductions in contracting offices across the U.S. government amid the Trump administration’s voluntary early retirement plan… the trade group is warning the government shutdown could bring larger setbacks for the contracting world.” [WBJ]
Home With a View for Sale — “The owners of Hard Times Cafe are asking $3.85 million for their 13,000-square-foot home at 1701 S. Arlington Ridge Road. The half-acre property sits on the ridge overlooking RiverHouse, the apartment complex, with Crystal City’s skyline clear as day, Fashion Centre at Pentagon City a 15-minute walk and the District in the distance.” [WBJ]
Design Submissions Open — “Arlington County’s design awards program, DESIGNArlington, is now accepting submissions for architectural, historic preservation, landscape, and public art projects. Submissions will be accepted through November 14, 2025.” [Arlington County]
ACPD Officers Attend Conference — “Last week, members of ACPD proudly attended the 2nd Annual She is Beyond the Badge: Women in Law Enforcement Conference. Women leaders attended to exchange best practices, highlight real-world tools, provide actionable strategies to address challenges and inspire excellence.” [ACPD/X]
Bishop Celebrates Migrant Mass — “Yesterday, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge celebrated a special Mass in honor of World Day of Migrants and Refugees at Holy Martyrs of Vietnam Church in Arlington. Present at the Mass were members of Catholic Charities Migration and Refugee Services (MRS), which turns 50 this year.” [Arlington Catholic Herald/X]
Another Dry Stretch — “Great for outdoor plans, bad for drought: Rain prospects look bleak for the foreseeable future. After the chance of a few showers today into early Tuesday, rain chances in the DC area are slim for almost 2 weeks according to most models.” [CWG/Bluesky]
It’s Tuesday — Expect a cloudy day with highs near 77°F and a northeast wind at 5 to 8 mph. Tuesday night will be mostly cloudy as well, with lows around 59°F and a north wind at 6 to 9 mph. [NWS]
Arlington’s swarms of spotted lanternflies will finally go away over the winter, but residents should expect to see even more next year, experts say.
The invasive insects, which have appeared en masse in Arlington this year after sporadic sightings for the last few years, will die with the first frost, Alonso Abugattas, natural resources program manager for Arlington County, told ARLnow. This typically takes place around Oct. 25.
Arlington County police are investigating an armed robbery Sunday night in Ballston, among several notable incidents in the latest ACPD crime reports.
The robbery happened shortly before 8:30 p.m., along the 1000 block of N. Glebe Road. Police say a younger man armed with a gun demanded and then ran off with electronics and a bag from a male victim who was sitting outside.
An Arlington man was arrested early Sunday morning following a vandalism spree in Clarendon.
The 21-year-old suspect, Christian Amaya Ochoa, is accused of damaging flower pots and shattering the windows and glass door of Oasis: The Listening Bar, which opened in July at 2940 Clarendon Blvd. He also reportedly shattered the windows at the skin care studio Glowbar, which had announced plans to open next door this fall.
An effort connecting local seniors to programs and support services has enough volunteers, but needs to improve its outreach, the county’s Commission on Aging has been told.
The Community Ambassador Program represents a partnership between the county’s Area Agency on Aging, Marymount University’s Center for Optimal Aging and the nonprofit Arlington Neighborhood Village. But even for those active in advocacy for seniors, its visibility seems low.
An government advisory panel may ask Arlington officials to increase funding to tackle invasive plants in county parks by up to 10 times current spending levels.
“We’re in crisis. The longer we wait, the less easy it’s going to be,” Park and Recreation Commission chair Jill Barker said at the body’s Sept. 23 meeting.
Board to Designate Interim Chair — County Board members on Thursday, Oct. 2 will convene a special meeting to designate one of their ranks to serve as interim chair the week of Oct. 4-11. According to county leaders, Board Chair Takis Karantonis will be out of the country on an Arlington Sister Cities trip and Vice Chair Matt de Ferranti will be on paternity leave, necessitating that one of the other three members be designated chair for the period when neither is available. –Scott McCaffrey
Flyover Planned This Morning — From AlertDC: “The U.S. Military will conduct an aircraft flyover in the National Capital Region (NCR) over Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, September 29, 2025, at 9:16AM.”
Prosecutor Blasts Youngkin — “This is BS. My office (“far left prosecutor” per the GOP) is prosecuting this case and it would have been a crime regardless of which gender bathroom — or a parking lot for that matter. Elected leaders weaponizing what these victims went through for political purposes is its own depravity.” [Parisa Dehghani-Tafti/Bluesky]
Beyer Statement of ICE Visit — “ICE field offices are not designed or equipped to safely hold individuals for more than 12 hours, which was the long-standing policy until June, making the dangerous overcrowding both disturbing and wholly predictable. We are relieved to report that as of today, conditions appear to have improved from the horrifying reports we received just weeks ago.” [Press Release]
Worries About Local Economy — “The D.C. region is bracing for new economic pain next week as paychecks stop coming for thousands of federal workers who took the government’s offer of deferred resignation — and the threat of a shutdown could make it worse.” [Washington Post]
New Funding for Local Startup — “Epic Padel Inc., an Arlington sports and investment company, has raised $10 million to fuel its ambitions to build more padel courts and clubs across the country and to take equity stakes in other padel companies. Two United Arab Emirates-affiliated firms, Nowais Inc. and Stryde Ventures, led the Series A round for Epic Padel.” [WBJ]
Swift Album Release Events — “TS12, known by non-Swifties as Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl, comes out Oct. 3, and fans are ready to partay (see what we did there?). Take a break from speculating on the pop star’s wedding plans with Travis Kelce and head out to sing and dance along with your next earworm from her 12th album.” [Arlington Magazine]
It’s Monday — Clouds will increase throughout the day, reaching a high near 79 degrees, accompanied by a 6 mph east wind. Tonight, there is a 20% chance of showers after 2am, with cloudy skies and a low of 66 degrees in a light northeast wind. [NWS]
Today’s Notes are brought to you by Industrious. ARLnow has had an Industrious office for years and we love the simplicity — show up, get to work, and let them handle everything else. Industrious has several Metro-accessible coworking locations in Arlington.
For her years-long effort leading precinct operations, Carol Fontein on has been inducted into the Arlington County Democratic Committee’s “Distinguished Democrat” ranks.
“All these lovely people are here because of you,” former party chair Kip Malinosky told Fontein during the celebration, held at the home of Treasurer Carla de la Pava.
American Airlines intends to fight a recently filed lawsuit over the mid-air crash that killed 67 people near Reagan National Airport earlier this year.
The airline denies allegations that a failure to address known safety issues makes it partly responsible for the incident on Jan. 29. The company told ARLnow that it “has been supporting the families and loved ones” of crash victims and underscored its commitment to traveler safety.
Police are looking for a suspect in a serious assault in Crystal City.
It happened around 8 p.m. Wednesday along 23rd Street S., just east of Route 1. Police say the suspect approached the victim, demanded his backpack, and struck him with a glass bottle when he refused. The suspect fled and the victim was hospitalized with serious injuries.
Falls Church officials may take another shot at bringing shared-mobility devices — known to many as e-scooters — into the community next year.
The city’s Environmental Sustainability Council has been briefed on staff plans to bring the proposal to City Council members.
