Nearly 25% of respondents to a recent ARLnow poll said they were either decorating less or not at all this Halloween season.
Around Arlington, however, there is no shortage of spooky decor. That is particularly true along the traditional haunted hotspot of N. Jackson Street in Ashton Heights, despite plans to scale back the Halloween night revelry there this year.
If your yard is covered in leaves and you’re not planning to bag them up, you’ll have to wait another couple of weeks for vacuum leaf collection to begin.
Arlington County is conducting neighborhood-by-neighborhood vacuum leaf collection from Monday, Nov. 9 to Monday, Dec. 21 this year. For some North Arlington neighborhoods, the first pass won’t happen until the week of Thanksgiving.
When your home no longer feels quite right, it can be hard to know what to do next.
Maybe your family needs more space, your layout no longer works, or your 1940s Cape Cod is simply ready for a modern update. Deciding whether to remodel, rebuild, or move requires thoughtful planning and a clear understanding of the costs, timelines, and trade-offs involved.
There is no one-size-fits-all answer. Every home, lot, and family is different, which is why working with an experienced local builder can help you make a more informed decision.
Here are four key questions to ask before you decide.
For many Arlington homeowners, the neighborhood is the reason they bought the home in the first place. If your neighbors, schools, walkability, or favorite local spots make Arlington feel like home, remodeling or rebuilding may be worth exploring before deciding to sell.
If you plan to stay for the next five years, a thoughtful remodel or addition can help preserve the location and character you love while improving the home’s functionality. However, if you truly see this as your “forever home”, a larger renovation or a teardown-and-rebuild might be a better option to give you the space and comfort you need, without trying to force an older home to work around its existing limitations.
Some homeowners choose to phase renovations over time. That approach can work well, as long as you start with a clear master plan to ensure each stage supports the next and avoids costly rework later.
On the flip side, if you plan to sell soon, a smaller-scale remodel, such as a kitchen renovation, might make more sense to avoid overinvesting in a project that may not recoup its full value.
Arlington is unique because much of a home’s value comes from the land and location. This means that, in general, Arlington property values will always support just about anything you would like to do to your house or property. The real question is how much you want to invest.
A major renovation, addition, or new custom build may affect appraisal and financing differently. New construction often appraises higher initially than a similar remodeled home, but over time, a well-executed renovation can ultimately be worth more than a newly built home.
As you plan a renovation, you may reach a point where building new makes more sense than continuing to work around an older home’s limitations. A new build can provide a more functional layout, better efficiency, and stronger long-term value. On the other hand, some homeowners considering new construction may find that a thoughtful remodel and addition can accomplish everything they need while making their dollars go further.
That is why understanding the numbers early matters. (more…)
New Italian Eatery Opening Soon — “Antonio Ferraro, whose Napoli Pasta Bar in Columbia Heights was named a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant in 2018, is opening a new market concept in Arlington’s Pentagon Row. Napoli Salumeria is specializing in grab-and-go-style meals, including Neapolitan street food (fried mozzarella and focaccia), homemade pastas, and sauces. Expect classic sandwiches, including cheesesteaks, Italian subs, and sausage and peppers… the hope is to open the market late next week.” [DCist]
Arlington ‘Bachelorette’ Contestant Still On — Jason Foster, a former pro football player who lives in the Courthouse area, remains a contestant on ABC’s ‘Bachelorette,’ though Bachelorette Clare seems focused on another beau: Dale, who the other contestants spent part of Tuesday’s episode roasting. [Washingtonian]
Update at 12:15 p.m. — A Flood Warning has now been issued.
Earlier: Arlington and much of the region is under a Flood Watch as the remnants of Hurricane Zeta track across the South and towards the D.C. area.
Friday, May 29, 2026
8pm (Doors open at 7)
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is hoping to fuel a discussion about dog sled races with a protest tomorrow at a local gas station.
PETA is planning a protest, starting at noon on Thursday, at the Exxon station on the corner of Old Dominion Drive and Military Road in Cherrydale. At issue: ExxonMobil’s support of the Iditarod dog race in Alaska.
From record early voting turnout to the volume of volunteer requests to the number of first-time voters, the word “first” characterizes many aspects of the 2020 election in Arlington.
But for 83-year-old poll volunteer Bill Thatcher, 2020 is his last year helping people exercise their “supreme privilege of voting.”
(Updated at 9:25 p.m.) Enforcement of traffic laws is one of the key pillars to safety on our streets. No matter how well-engineered our streets are to encourage good behavior, if people are able to blow through red lights or exceed a safe speed with their vehicle, our streets will never be safe.
Unfortunately, our current methods of doing traffic enforcement bring their own set of problems. Police forces that are already struggling with staffing levels see traffic enforcement as a low priority making enforcement rare and sporadic, and traffic stops have proven to be the #1 pretext for harassment of black people. Automating enforcement of common traffic violations like speeding, running red lights and running stop signs can both improve safety on our streets for everyone, remove potential bias and reduce unnecessary encounters between residents and armed police officers.
After new movie releases came to a grinding halt due to the pandemic, the Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike) has pivoted to older movies, alternative events, and a greater reliance on live comedy.
“The movie industry is a big black hole right now,” owner Tim Clark said. “Studios are pushing release dates farther and farther out, and dedicating more resources to direct-to-streaming.”
This article was written by Adam Henry, CEcD, Business Development Manager for Arlington Economic Development.
This October, Arlington Economic Development attended the International Economic Development Council’s (IEDC) 2020 Annual Conference.
