Trash collection will be pushed back a day on Thursday while various Arlington County facilities shut down for Christmas.
No waste will be picked up on Christmas Day, so Thursday routes will be serviced on Friday, and Friday routes will move to Saturday.
September jobs data delayed by the federal government shutdown show a 34% year-over-year increase in Arlington residents reported as unemployed, with the rate increasing 54% in Falls Church.
A total of 148,251 county residents were reported employed in the civilian workforce in September, according to figures reported Dec. 18 by the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement.
This column is sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.
Arlington’s Four Mile Run corridor is home to an inspiring new happening. The new art market called SPARK! launches on Sunday, May 3, 2026, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. and continues every first Sunday of the month through November.
A fun inclusive outdoor market with handpicked art and food vendors and programming including poetry, music and art making, it’s the kickoff activity for the new outdoor venue 2700 Art Space, located at 2700 S. Nelson St., Arlington, Virginia 22206. Meet your neighbors, build community and be inspired.
At the first event, “Spark” your creativity with a smooth jolt of coffee from Rossana Coffee. Browse the stacks at the mobile bookstore Wandering Shelf. Get a massage from the licensed therapists from Zen27 Healing and Body Works. Peruse artwork by artists David Amoroso, Kate Rosendale or the printmakers and ceramicists from The Studios at Arlington Arts. Have a poem composed especially for you at The Poet is IN booth. Stop by Tigerflight and put the squeeze on a plush animal made from repurposed wool sweaters. Enjoy a Thai-inspired dessert from Mango Mama while listening to tropical sounds from the DJ’s of Leon City Sounds! Every month will offer something new and unusual. Visit the website for the full list!
Artist Roxana Alger Geffen will be the interactive artist at the first SPARK! bringing her popular Arlington Art Truck project “Patch or Swap: A Textile Rescue Lab” to the market! Fans of the Art Truck, which brought artists-in-residence to every corner of the County from 2018 through 2025, will be glad to know that SPARK! is curated with a similar vision by Arlington Arts’ programming team including Special Projects Curator, Cynthia Connolly.
Located adjacent to Jennie Dean Park, busy auto repair shops, a food assistance outlet and one of the region’s most popular “destination” dog parks, it is only a four-minute walk across Four Mile Run to the Tony Award-winning Signature Theater. The area is bustling all day.
Anchored by SPARK!, the venue now known as 2700 Art Space is at the nexus of several communities. It’s directly opposite Arlington Arts’ headquarters featuring Theatre On the Run, an 90-seat black box theater, rehearsal rooms, dance studios, and new printmaking and ceramics studios for the resident artists of The Studios at Arlington Arts (formerly LAC Arts Center on Langston Boulevard), which will hold its Spring Show and Sale on Saturday, May 2.
Music and merch aren’t the only types of art that will surround you at SPARK! As shown in this reel, even the tables and benches are fun! Film nights and other activities are in the making for the fall, and two works of temporary public art are currently being installed. Artist Adam Henry is creating a 10-foot tall sculpture of a golden retriever replete with a QR-code dog collar inviting you to upload selfies and stories about your pets. Directly adjacent to the outdoor space (on three sides of the Arlington Arts headquarters at 3700 S. Four Mile Run Dr.) will be a sweeping new mural by nationally acclaimed artist MasPaz. Both works grew out of a special Artist In Residence (AIR) Grant from Arlington Arts, made possible by a top-tier award from the National Endowment for the Arts, American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
Visit our website for more information about SPARK!
The county government’s arborist is pushing back on accusations that an iconic tree was removed needlessly from a Lyon Park median.
But local residents aghast at the removal aren’t letting the county government off the hook for its actions.
The Rosslyn Farmers Market brings fresh, locally grown food to the heart of the neighborhood on Wednesdays from 2-6 p.m. beginning on May 6. Located at Central Place Plaza (1800 N Lynn St) and operated in partnership with FRESHFARM, this thoughtfully curated mid-week market connects the community with regional farmers and food producers offering seasonal produce, baked goods, ready-to-eat items, and other local essentials.
Just steps from the Rosslyn Metro station, the market is a convenient destination for Arlington residents, commuters, and visitors searching for a farmers market near Washington, D.C. From farm-fresh vegetables to artisanal breads, the Rosslyn Farmers Market makes it easy to restock your pantry or fridge with dinner-ready staples right in the middle of the workweek.
New APS Labor Agreement –“The Arlington School Board today certified a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between Arlington Public Schools (APS) and the Arlington School Administrators (ASA)… The APS–ASA successor agreement signed today is the most comprehensive administrative collective bargaining agreement in the Commonwealth.” [Press Release]
County Tops LGBTQ Rating — “Arlington County earned a perfect score – 100 out of 100 – on the Human Rights Campaign’s 14th annual Municipal Equality Index (MEI). The MEI examines how inclusive municipal laws, policies, and services are of LGBTQ+ people who live and work there. Arlington again received a score of 100 – plus an additional 16 bonus points – on the MEI Scorecard.” [Arlington County]
Video: Pentagon City Crash — “The changes @ArlingtonDES made with the Army Navy Drive Complete Street Project seem to have greatly reduced the number of crashes at this intersection (once the lights were better aligned). This is the first one I’ve seen in a while.” [Dave Statter/X]
Trees Cut Along Route 50 — “Looks like someone took a machete to all of the young recently-planted sapling trees along Arlington Blvd between N Courthouse Rd and 10th St N. There are now yard signs warning people that damaging the trees is a class 3 misdemeanor.” [Adam Theo/Bluesky]
New Chick-fil-A at DCA — “Christmas came early and Chick-fil-A is back and better than ever!!!!!!! The newly expanded restaurant reopened today, bringing back fan favorites, just in time for your holiday travels. National Hall, near the D Gates.” [Reagan Airport/X]
Spanberger’s Latest Plans — “Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger (D) began rolling out specifics Thursday of how she plans to deliver a more affordable Virginia, offering proposed legislation in areas of health care, housing and energy that she said uphold the promises that got her elected last month.” [Washington Post]
Latest on Legion Bridge — “The Trump administration appears to be growing impatient with a perceived lack of progress by Maryland to replace the American Legion Memorial Bridge. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced last week (Dec. 9) that the Federal Highway Administration will seek feedback and proposals on ways to accelerate the delivery of a new bridge in the hopes of relieving congestion on the Capital Beltway.” [FFXnow]
Trump’s Name Now on Kennedy Center — “The Kennedy Center installed President Donald Trump’s name on its exterior Friday morning, a dramatic change to a building established by law as a “living memorial” to a slain president.” [Washington Post]
It’s Monday — The skies will gradually become cloudy, reaching a high temperature of around 44 degrees, accompanied by a light southwestern wind. Monday night, there is a 40% chance of rain and snow occurring from 1 am to 4 am, followed by a possibility of rain after 4 am. With an expected low of 35 degrees, the light south wind will intensify to 5-10 mph later in the evening. [NWS]
Today’s Morning Notes are brought to you by Industrious. ARLnow has been decking the halls at 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 to keep your season merry and bright.
Photo courtesy Tom Mockler/X
Spring into Rosslyn for a day where books, blooms, and community come alive!
This year’s Rosslyn Spring Market on Saturday, May 2, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. brings colorful florals, local vendors, and plenty of moments to stop and smell the roses to the NOW pop-up park.
Good Friday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
The following articles were published earlier today — Dec 19, 2025.
Since it’s Friday, we’ve also compiled a list of the most-read articles of the week, below.
Here is what’s going on Saturday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
Here are the events planned for Sunday:
Expect a mostly sunny day with a high temperature near 44 degrees, as calm winds in the morning shift to the south, ranging from 5 to 9 mph. For Saturday night, skies will be partly cloudy, with the temperature dropping to around 36 degrees and a south wind blowing between 8 to 11 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
“The mind is everything. What you think you become.”
– Buddha
The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.
We hope you have a great weekend, Arlington! If you have something to say about an issue of local note not covered today, feel free to post it as a letter to the editor on our new forum. 👋
County education leaders are still evaluating new accountability ratings that showed a mix of success and shortcomings among Arlington schools.
Eight Arlington schools were categorized as “Needs Intensive Support” under new rating system and first results released earlier this month by the Virginia Department of Education, Superintendent Francisco Durán told School Board members at their Dec. 18 meeting.
Thursday was a busy night of vehicular incidents for Arlington County first responders.
Less than two hours after a pair of pedestrians were struck and injured in an alleged road rage hit-and-run, another pedestrian was struck a few blocks away in Ballston. A woman crossing in the crosswalk at Fairfax Drive and N. Utah Street was hospitalized, police say, after she was struck by the driver of a pickup truck.
ARLnow is approaching its 16th anniversary next month and much has changed in media during that time.
On the digital side, the blogging era gave way to the Buzzfeed era of scaled, social media-driven audiences, which has since given way to a more atomized era of niche media, podcasters, YouTubers and email newsletters.
An institution in the D.C. area adult entertainment scene is changing hands to a regional chain.
Crystal City Restaurant and Gentlemen’s Club (422 23rd Street S.) has been sold to Paper Moon, which operates other gentlemen’s clubs in Richmond, Northern Virginia and D.C. It’s only the second time the family-owned business has transferred ownership in its 62-year history.
The League of Women Voters of Arlington and Alexandria City, in partnership with Arlington County Public Library, invites you to an open discussion on managing local government in a changing environment.
Join Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz and Alexandria City Manager Jim Parajon for a conversation about how local governments are adapting to shifts in federal funding and changes at the state level. The discussion will explore how these evolving conditions may impact local priorities, services, and decision-making in our communities.
