News

Arlington officials are asking state legislators to fill financial gaps left by the federal government’s reduction in support for local counterterrorism initiatives.

The D.C. region stands to lose about $20 million in funding — 60% of which is devoted to Northern Virginia — as the Trump administration makes changes to the Urban Areas Security Initiative.


Events

Santa Claus is coming to Ballston in just a couple weeks.

The champion of Christmas cheer will set up shop on Dec. 5 on the first floor of the Ballston Quarter (4238 Wilson Blvd). This is in addition to another Santa outpost at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, where families began getting photos today (Friday) near Nordstrom on the first level.


Sponsored

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.


Around Town

A new Panera Bread location in Crystal City opened its doors yesterday (Thursday).

The fast-casual chain’s latest “to go” eatery, announced over the summer, is now serving up its classic soups, salads and sandwiches at 2450 Crystal Drive, next to Navy Federal Credit Union.


News

The chair of the House Judiciary Committee is challenging Arlington’s top prosecutor over a case involving a local activist critical of the Trump administration.

Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) sent a letter to Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti yesterday (Thursday), accusing her of “political bias” and requesting numerous documents related to court proceedings and federal funding for her office.


Event

Join Arlington for Palestine and NAACP Arlington Branch for a movie night and community discussion about Israeli apartheid.

We will watch two short Palestinian films about life under Israeli apartheid, hear from a member of Arlington for Palestine about their trip to Palestine last year, and discuss together what all this means to us living in Arlington .


Opinion

Whether you’re looking for pad thai, curry or Thai iced tea, Arlington is home to quite a few Thai restaurants known for their rich flavors.

Here are the nominees for “Best Thai Restaurant in Arlington” as part of our ARLnow Readers’ Choice awards.

Did we miss your favorite spot? Write it in!

Voting will close in two weeks.

Voting for the Best Family Dinner Spot in Arlington is still taking place. Be sure to cast your vote before voting closes next Friday at 8:30 a.m.

Two weeks ago, we voted on the Best Pancakes You Can Get in Arlington. The results are now official:

  1. Silver Diner
  2. Metro 29 Diner
  3. Bob & Edith’s Diner

News

Some Falls Church leaders are expressing concern over a possible General Assembly measure that would take away local power to regulate parking in development projects.

Such a measure could be introduced by Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim (D-37), who represents the city in the upper house of the legislature. The topic was among the key points discussed at the Nov. 7 meeting of the City Council’s legislative committee.


News

Today (Friday) is the last day to submit feedback on planned upgrades to the volleyball court, playground and paths at Doctor’s Run Park.

The county is planning to resurface the existing volleyball court in the park, located at 1301 S. George Mason Drive in the Douglas Park neighborhood.


News
Arlingtonians enjoying a mild November day in Clarendon (courtesy Gale Harris)

Flyover Planned Today — From AlertDC: “The U.S. Military will conduct an Aircraft Flyover in the NCR over Arlington National Cemetery on Friday, November 14 at approximately 11:15AM.”

Lingering Shutdown Impacts — “Some impacts could continue much longer than six weeks, whether that’s national parks trying to make up for lost visitor revenue or taxpayers waiting longer for refunds from a backlogged Internal Revenue Service (IRS). There’s also the looming threat of another potential shutdown in the not-too-distant future, since this bill only funds the government through Jan. 30.” [NPR]

Air Traffic Not Back to Normal Yet — “Airlines are optimistic they can resume normal operations just a few days after the government lifts its order to cut some flights at 40 busy airports, but it’s not clear how soon that will happen even though the federal shutdown is over. The Federal Aviation Administration did announce Wednesday night that airlines won’t have to cut more than 6% of flights at those airports.” [Associated Press, Washington Post]

CivFed Backs Governance Change — The Arlington County Civic Federation voted 38-1, with one abstention, on Nov. 11 to reaffirm its support for state legislation allowing the county to move forward on changes to its governance structure. The vote was on the Civic Federation’s 2026 legislative package, with the primary issue in the package being governance. –Scott McCaffrey

Bishop Drafts Immigration Statement — Arlington’s Bishop Michael Burbidge was one of four church leaders on the drafting committee for a nationwide message opposing “indiscriminate mass deportation.” The “special message,” which passed the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on a vote of 216-5-3, called for “meaningful immigration reform” and lamented “a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement.” —Dan Egitto

Apartment Market Downturn? — “Greater Washington’s multifamily market is starting to show signs of weakening, a potentially latent impact of Trump administration cuts. That’s according to the newest edition of the REVIVE monthly index from real estate services firm CBRE, which shows the number of occupied apartment units in Greater Washington declined by about 850 between June and September.” [WBJ]

Alexandria Train Station Project — “City leaders and various transportation officials broke ground yesterday (Wednesday) on a bundle of improvement projects at Amtrak’s Alexandria Union Station. Four upcoming projects seek to expand passenger and freight rail service at Alexandria Union Station at 110 Callahan Drive.” [ALXnow]

It’s Friday — Expect a sunny day with a high of around 58 degrees and a west wind of 6 to 9 mph. For Friday night, the weather will be mostly cloudy with a low of about 43 degrees. [NWS]


Around Town

Good Thursday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Nov 13, 2025.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Friday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

☀️ Friday’s forecast

Expect a sunny day with a high of around 58 degrees and a west wind of 6 to 9 mph. For Friday night, the weather will be mostly cloudy with a low of approximately 43 degrees, accompanied by calm wind conditions. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”
– William Shakespeare

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.

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