County Board members are paying tribute to Daniel Weir, who recently rotated off the Planning Commission after eight years of service.
“Being on the Planning Commission is not for the faint of heart,” Board member Maureen Coffey said at Tuesday’s meeting. “And over the past few years, it has ramped up in terms of a time commitment and a mental-space commitment.”
Pike Is ‘A Hot Mess’ — “Residents we spoke with told 7News that they’re frustrated with what they call a well-intentioned but poorly executed infrastructure project. For Melanie Jaya, the mind-boggling trifecta of noise, navigating unsafe roadways, and a confusing patchwork of incomplete sidewalks has taken a toll on her quality of life… Residents said their gravest concern is safely walking in their own neighborhood.” [WJLA]
Boost in Early Voting — “Big jump in #EarlyVoting today. 396 on 1st day in 2021 -> 865 in 2025. Check out our Dashboard updated daily at 9am to track turnout.” [Arlington Elections/X]
Trash Collection Update — “We are committed to restoring the high-quality, reliable residential collection service our community expects. Please remember to place your carts curbside no later than 6:00 a.m. on your collection day and keep them at the curb until they’ve been serviced. Our contractor is completing routes in a different sequence than residents may be used to, and pickups can occur at any time throughout the day.” [Arlington County]
Beyer Blasts EDVA Resignation — “I represent Alexandria, where the Eastern District of Virginia is based. Trump hates the rule of law and is making all of us less safe by firing seasoned professionals, to replace them with goons and yes men who will bend the law to his whim. This is corrupt as hell.” [Rep. Don Beyer/X]
New ‘Ultra-Luxury Home’ Planned — “The UAE this week acquired a 22,000-square-foot mansion on Bright Mountain Road near Langley High School for $27.5 million in an all-cash, private deal… The seller, Kakar Investments LLC, then paid $15 million for 221 Chain Bridge Road in Arlington, a teardown property, where it plans to build another ultra-luxury home, according to a source familiar with the deal.” [WBJ, WSJ]
Puzzling Crash on I-395 — “WHAT WERE THEY THINKING??? Watch this full left turn across four lanes of an interstate highway moving at speed. I would love to see one of those sports betting computers give me the odds of making this move successfully.” [Dave Statter/X]
Tax Due Date Approaching — “Arlington County vehicle taxes and second installment real estate taxes are due October 5, 2025. The Treasurer’s Office will operate temporary satellite locations at two convenient local community centers–Arlington Mill & Lubber Run.” [Arlington County/Bluesky]
New Pet Area at DCA — “Traveling with your adorable pets just got better. Our new pet relief area is now available! This spacious area is post-security and offers a clean and safe space for your favorite traveling companion to sniff and stretch before or after your flight!” [Reagan Airport/X]
Award for Arlington Prosecutor — “Congratulations to Commonwealth Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafta, winner of the 2025 Esther Georgia Irving Cooper Civil Rights Activist of the Year Award from NAACP Arlington!” [Arlington Democrats/Bluesky]
Wire Art in Courthouse — “This bit of political art I saw yesterday in Arlington (and which has been there since at least Tuesday) must have required some non-trivial effort to create and put in place.” [Rob Pegoraro/Bluesky]
It’s Monday — Expect mostly sunny skies with temperatures reaching around 80 degrees and a calm wind turning south at 6 mph in the afternoon. The night will be mostly cloudy with lows near 64 degrees and a south wind at around 6 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.
By MORGAN LEE Associated Press
The Pentagon says it will require credentialed journalists at the military headquarters to sign a pledge to refrain from reporting information that has not been authorized for release — including unclassified information.
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal prosecutor in Virginia whose monthslong mortgage fraud investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James has not resulted in criminal charges resigned Friday under pressure from the Trump administration.
Democrats, Republicans and the Forward Party made their case to the electorate this morning (Friday) as early voting kicked off across Arlington and statewide.
“When we vote, we win,” County Board Chair Takis Karantonis said at the Arlington Democrats early-voting kickoff event held at Courthouse Plaza. It attracted about 65 attendees.
A sidewalk chalk protest at the North Arlington home of a top Trump administration official became a talking point for powerful Republican voices this week.
The Sunday demonstration around the home of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller involved a handful of activists writing in chalk on sidewalk slabs with messages like “hate has no home in Arlington,” “no white nationalism” and “Stephen Miller is destroying democracy.”
“Reclining Liberty,” the iconic artwork gracing the front lawn of the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington for the past two years, is staying put.
Members of the county’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) on Sept. 17 voted 9-0 to allow the 25-foot work featuring the Statue of Liberty in repose to remain in front of the circa-1910 former school building at 3550 Wilson Blvd.
Flyover Planned This Morning — From AlertDC: “The U.S. Military will conduct an aircraft flyover in the National Capital Region (NCR) over The Pentagon on Friday, September 19, 2025, at 10:45AM.”
Federal Prosecutor Being Fired? — “President Donald Trump is expected to fire the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia after his office was unable to find incriminating evidence of mortgage fraud against New York Attorney General Letitia James, according to sources… Administration officials have told Siebert of Trump’s intention to fire him, sources familiar with the matter said. Siebert’s last day on the job is expected to be Friday.” [ABC News]
Defense Firm Opens New Office — “Teledyne FLIR Defense, part of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY), held an opening event yesterday for its new office in the Crystal City area of Arlington, Virginia, minutes from the Pentagon.” [BusinessWire, WBJ]
Crystal City-Based PBS ‘Optimistic’ — “PBS CEO Paula Kerger told Axios Media Trends Live on Thursday she is optimistic about government funding after being included in a continuing resolution proposal.” [Axios, Axios/X]
Profile of a Six-Plex Project — “In spite of an ongoing court challenge brought by nine single-family homeowners, some EHO permits have been allowed to continue due to separate individual court rulings. One of the most promising EHO examples under construction is a six-plex on 3802 14th Street North.” [GGW]
Beyer Blasts Trump TV Threat — “The Trump Administration has declared war on the First Amendment. They’re getting people fired for expressing opinions. He’s bullying the press with lawsuits and government powers to silence critics, and targeting political opposition. Americans’ freedom of speech is at risk.” [Rep. Don Beyer/X]
Digital Equity Grants — “At its September Meeting, the Arlington County Board voted to award $500,000 in the inaugural round of digital equity grants to seven community organizations. Through these community partners, the County will realize key recommendations of the 2024 Broadband Study and key goals of the Digital Equity Initiative.” [Arlington County]
July’s Passenger Count Down at DCA — July’s passenger enplanements of 1.09 million at Reagan National Airport were down 6.5% year-over-year and off 7.6% from budget projections, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority officials said this week. Weather issues and the economic impact of federal-government downsizing were largely to blame, officials said. Traffic was up 5.7% to 1.4 million at Dulles. –Scott McCaffrey
Poor Marks for Local Airports — “Airline passengers traveling in and out of the D.C. region’s two main airports are not all that happy with their experience these days. That’s according to a passenger survey released this week by J.D. Power, which found that among 27 large airports in North America, Reagan National Airport and Dulles International Airport ranked among the lowest in customer satisfaction.” [WBJ]
It’s Friday — Expect sunny conditions and a high of 87 degrees accompanied by a light northwest wind. Moving into Friday night, skies will turn partly cloudy with a low of 64 degrees. [NWS]
Police are conducting a death investigation along Four Mile Run after a body was found this afternoon.
Arlington County police responded to a wooded area near the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Four Mile Run Road around 2:15 p.m., after someone reported finding a body near the creek.
A new affordable housing building with 432 units broke ground at the Crystal House complex yesterday (Wednesday).
“The Sweeney” — named after two True Ground Housing Partners founders, Jean and Jack Sweeney — is among the largest affordable housing projects to break ground in National Landing in decades, according to True Ground.
Yorktown High School will see an increased police presence today after a bomb threat was made against the school.
Arlington County police responded to the school around 3:30 a.m. Thursday, shortly after becoming aware of a threat being posted online, according to an ACPD spokesperson.
The Falls Church Planning Commission will soon change from being a final decision-maker to an advisor for some new development projects in the city.
The shift in responsibility comes in response to new state laws, which took effect July 1 and aim to speed up the creation of new housing across the commonwealth. Under the new rules, many localities must move from planning commission approval of projects to staff approval of development plans.
