The day has arrived: the former Alpine Restaurant is currently being demolished along Lee Highway.
The long-time local restaurant at 4770 Lee Highway is being torn down to make way for The Children’s School, a three-story daycare facility for the kids of Arlington Public Schools employees. The facility will also be home to Integration Station, a program for kids with developmental or other disabilities that intermingles with The Children’s School.
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Arlington is flying blind regarding the costs of future critical capital expenses, including seats to accommodate APS enrollment growth and the increase in the ratio of Arlington’s population to permeable green space available for parks and storm water absorption.
The County Manager has warned correctly that our budget is under severe stress from COVID-19 impacts, and some of these impacts may be transformational.
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.
Arlington County will be soon implementing an additional $200 fine for speeding on eight mostly residential streets.
The additional fine was approved by the County Board last January, but it has taken a year to fully implement due to the need for collecting speed data, as well as pandemic-related installation delays.
Mental health shapes how we lead, love, work, parent, communicate, and show up in the world—yet too often, these conversations stay hidden.
This Mental Health Awareness Month, join local nonprofit Rock Recovery for Strength Not Stigma—an unforgettable evening of honest conversation, community, and impact.
This column is sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.
The initial session of the Arts Enterprise Institute Spring Classes kicked-off with a near-capacity registration! Artists, performers and arts professionals looking to up their game are encouraged to join in for the remaining Arts Enterprise Institute Sessions, continuing through March 2. (All classes are virtual.)
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.
Meet Penny, Arlington’s latest Pet of the Week. Penny is a 1.5-year-old Great Pyrenees mix who’s very active around town.
Here’s what Penny’s human had to say about her life in Clarendon:
(Updated at 1:30 p.m.) Arlington County has asked JBG Smith to go back to the drawing board after reviewing its plans to upgrade the Crystal City Water Park.
The privately-owned park at 1601 Crystal Drive currently includes water features, trees, and a food stand. It has frequently been used for local events and gatherings.
The project to upgrade it will be deferred two months so that JBG Smith can address pedestrian and cyclist safety concerns raised by Arlington County Board members and community members during the Board's Tuesday night meeting.
"This is not a fully baked plan yet," Board member Christian Dorsey said.
The Bethesda-based real estate company is proposing a new performance area, more outdoor seating, preserving and updating the existing water fountain, and incorporating a new water feature in the center of the site. The proposal also includes a number of retail structures: small kiosks, a bar, and a trailhead restroom facility.
Most of the discussion was devoted to two paths -- one ADA-accessible -- that JBG Smith proposed to build to connect people to the nearby VRE station and the Mount Vernon Trail. A small pathway linked the two connections.
Community members and County Board members said these paths, as proposed, would create conflicts between pedestrians and bicyclists. People would have to cross the Mount Vernon Trail connector to get to the rest of the park and cyclists would be battling a grade change while avoiding pedestrians.
"We thought we were being helpful, but we're hearing loudly and clearly that this is scaring people, and we should reconsider it," said Robin Mosle, a consultant on the project.
The Bethesda-based real estate company opted out of a public design process -- something that drew the frustration of some Board members, including Takis Karantonis.
"This would be a conversation that we would have had in the Park and Recreation Commission in advance of the meeting," Karantonis said.
The County Board is now expected to see the project again when it meets in March.
News of a plan to invigorate the park with new retail dates back at least to 2017, when ARLnow reported that the concession stand in the park had closed. A few months later, The Stand opened in its place, hosting many pop-up eateries. In April, D.C. food truck Peruvian Brothers took it over.
Photos via Arlington County
Deputy County Manager James Schwartz is retiring.
An announcement was made official by County Manager Mark Schwartz at Tuesday’s County Board meeting. Schwartz’s last full day with Arlington County will be February 5.
(Updated at 10:50 p.m.) Arlington County is trying to make its recycling service more efficient, and that means keeping items that don’t get recycled out of the stream.
In a pamphlet that’s being left for those served by the county’s waste collection contractor — mostly those in single-family homes — residents are urged to avoid putting “contaminants” in the blue recycling cart, even if they have a recycling logo.
Still No Back to School Date Set — From Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Francisco Durán: “Return dates for additional student groups have not been set yet… I am committed to making these transitions as soon as it is safe enough to do so — looking not only at the health metrics, but all available information regarding health and safety, mitigation, instruction and operations — knowing that there are risks in every scenario.” [Arlington Public Schools]
N. Va. Leaders Call for Vaccine Changes — “A coalition of local governments in Northern Virginia is calling on Gov. Ralph Northam to streamline the release of COVID-19 vaccine doses and provide more transparency and equity into the process. The letter signed by 14 local government leaders was sent by the Northern Virginia Regional Commission to Northam on Sunday.” [InsideNova, Twitter]
