The county government’s Adult Protective Services office is attempting to keep up with a surge in reports of abuse, neglect and exploitation.
“We’re in uncharted territory here in terms of volume,” said Rachel Coates, an official with the Department of Human Services, at the Dec. 15 meeting of the Commission on Aging.
One Last Light Display — “Scott Long, who has an aggressive cancer, was determined to make his house shine one more time for his [South Arlington] neighborhood.” [Washington Post]
House Fire in Hall’s Hill — “Just before 4:00 p.m. today, units responded to a house fire in the 2200 block of N. Emerson Street. The first-arriving unit found smoke and fire coming from a rear deck that had extended into the home. Firefighters made an aggressive attack and were able to quickly bring the fire under control. There were no injuries to occupants or firefighters. Fire Marshals will be investigating the cause.” [ACFD/X]
Car Fire on I-395 — “The moment when your car clearly tells you it’s time to abandon ship. Earlier this afternoon on I-395S, south of the Arlington Ridge Rd. overpass.” [Dave Statter/X]
Pawn Shop ‘Day in the Life’ — “As a longtime fan of shows like the History Channel’s Pawn Stars and (no judgement, please) truTV’s Hardcore Pawn, I was dying to get behind the scenes. I finally scratched that itch last spring by working a shift at Royal Pawn on 23rd Street in Crystal City.” [Arlington Magazine]
N. Va. Train History — “The Alexandria and Washington Railroad was chartered in 1854 to connect Alexandria to the southern end of Long Bridge and from the B&O Station at New Jersey Avenue and C Street NW to the northern edge of Long Bridge. However, when it was completed in 1857, the Virginia Legislature refused to allow tracks to be laid across the bridge due to concerns about the bridge’s strength.” [GGW]
It’s Tuesday — Expect rain primarily before 9am, followed by cloudy skies that will gradually clear up to become mostly sunny. The high will be around 53 degrees, with southwest winds ranging from 7 to 10 mph and gusts reaching up to 20 mph. The chance of precipitation stands at 30%. As for Tuesday night, it will be mostly clear with a low temperature of approximately 39 degrees and a west wind blowing at 6 to 9 mph. [NWS]
Flickr pool photo by Jason Gooljar
LadyBug Academy Arlington Opening Announcement
LadyBug Academy will officially open its newest location, LadyBug Academy Arlington, on June 1st, 2026, at 1915 N Uhle Street, Arlington, VA. (Ladybug Academy)
An Open House for the community is scheduled for May 30th, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Families and community members will have the opportunity to tour the facility, meet staff, and learn more about the programs offered at the new location. (Ladybug Academy)
The event will include family activities such as a bubble party, face painting, balloon twisting, and a petting zoo.
LadyBug Academy provides early childhood education programs focused on creating a safe, nurturing, and engaging learning environment for children. The school’s curriculum emphasizes language, literacy, math, science, social development, and hands-on learning experiences led by experienced educators. (Ladybug Academy)
The Arlington location will offer priority enrollment to Arlington County employees.
For more information about the Open House, please contact [email protected] or visit LadyBug Academy.
Good Monday 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 22, 2025.
Here is what’s going on Tuesday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
Expect rain primarily before 9am, followed by cloudy skies that will gradually clear up to become mostly sunny. The high will be around 53 degrees, with southwest winds ranging from 7 to 10 mph and gusts reaching up to 20 mph. The chance of precipitation stands at 30%. As for Tuesday night, it will be mostly clear with a low temperature of approximately 39 degrees and a west wind blowing at 6 to 9 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”
– Albert Einstein
The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.
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During a year of shake-ups and flagging sales at the Kennedy Center, several performing arts groups in Arlington enjoyed significant success in 2025.
Leaders of local groups say that it’s difficult to tell whether they’ve directly benefited from this year’s upheaval across the Potomac, which most recently included a vote to rename D.C.’s premier performing arts center as the “Trump-Kennedy Center” last week.
Join Jadin O’Brien, Olympic athlete, 3x NCAA pentathlon champion and 10x All-American (heptathlon) winner for this in-person and virtual 5K. This event is sponsored by The Alex Manfull Fund to raise awareness and advance research on debilitating infection-associated neuroimmune disorders (including PANS and PANDAS) that affect young people. The 5K is part of the organization’s 36 Hours for PANS and PANDAS Advocacy in Motion event. Runners will receive a Finisher’s Medal, Technical (Drifit) Event Shirt and A Chip Timed Event. The event commemorates the life of Alex Manfull, who died at age 26 due to PANDAS. Susan and William Manfull established the Fund in their daughter’s name with the vision that no life ever again be cut short—or interrupted—by these illnesses. Learn more at TheAlexManfullFund.org.
The rivalry is decades old, but there was something brand new in this season’s first of two regular-season all-Arlington girls neighborhood basketball clashes between the Washington-Liberty Generals and Yorktown Patriots.
The head coaches of both high-school teams are brand new this season as they led the Dec. 19 showdown at Washington-Liberty.
A lottery ticket from a Falls Church wholesale store was worth $50,000 in a Powerball drawing over the weekend.
BJ’s Wholesale Club (6607 Wilson Blvd) sold the ticket, which was one of five $50,000 winners statewide. The winner beat roughly 1 in 900,000 odds to successfully match four numbers plus the Powerball.
A long-awaited confectionery shop in Clarendon has opened just in time for the Christmas season.
Kilwins, located on the ground floor of The Hartford Building at 3101 Wilson Blvd, opened for business on Friday. Joining other locations in D.C. and Alexandria, it offers an array of chocolates, ice cream and other classic treats.
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.
