News

Rosslyn Shooter Sentenced — “A man who worked as an investigator for conspiracy theorist Jack Burkman will serve nine years in prison for shooting and wounding his ex-boss” in a Rosslyn hotel parking garage. [Washington Post]

Marijuana Arrest Disparity — “African Americans were more than eight times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana crimes in Arlington from 2010-2016.” [Bacon’s Rebellion]


Around Town

Geoff Collins was about to get lunch in Ballston on Friday when he witnessed what appeared to be a theft in progress.

A Macy’s employee was yelling at a man who had just run out of the store, carrying an arm-full of underwear. As the man crossed Wilson Blvd, Collins decided to give chase.


Sponsored

This regularly scheduled column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. If you would like to work with Eli and his team in Northern Virginia and the greater D.C. Metro area, you can reach him directly at [email protected].

Question: Why would anybody waste thousands of dollars each year on condo fees?

Answer: Most people associate paying condo fees with throwing money down the drain, but most people do not look at condo fees the right way.

In this June 20 article, the Wall Street Journal reported a study by Angi (formerly Angie’s List) that home maintenance and emergency repairs have increased by 85% and 175%, respectively, from 2019 to 2025.

By comparison, condo fees in Arlington increased by an average of just 32% from 2019 to 2025, making them a steep bargain for condo owners compared to other homeowners.

What Do Condo Fees Pay For?

For those who haven’t spent time studying condo budgets, some of the main expenses in a condo budget include:

  • Maintenance, Emergency Repairs, and Utilities: general upkeep and operations of the building
  • Reserves: a building’s savings account for major repairs or replacement of things like the roof, elevators, carpet, etc
  • Property Management/Staff: contracts for a property manager, front desk, janitorial services, and engineer
  • Master Insurance: this policy usually protects everything except your personal items and improvements within each unit

(more…)


News

County Manager Mark Schwartz is calling for a “hiring slowdown” for Arlington’s government, choosing to leave dozens of positions vacant while county officials mull how to cope with a yawning budget deficit.

Schwartz told the County Board last Tuesday (Nov. 27) that he isn’t planning a full hiring freeze for the county workforce, but he will nonetheless direct 10 department heads to hold off on hiring across 45 different positions for the foreseeable future.


Feature

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.

Normally, when someone wants to paint their business or a room in their house, they go to a contractor, who in turns hires another subcontractor, and so on. But Harrison Edwards wanted to do things a little differently.


Event

Running the Army Ten Miler or the fall half marathon? We’re kicking off our fall training programs with a free training run, followed by an introduction to training, and a chance to ask some coaches questions about your own training. Run is free. We’ll chat after the run at post-run coffee. We will have two distances: 4 miles and 7 miles. We will have pacers running everything from a 7:30 mile to a 12:30 run-walk, so everyone will have someone to run with. No need to RSVP, just come out and run!


Schools

Washington-Lee High School could soon be renamed to honor Mildred and Richard Loving, the Virginia couple who successfully challenged the state’s ban on interracial marriages before the Supreme Court.

A committee tasked with suggesting a new name for the school voted on Thursday (Nov. 29) to recommend “Washington-Loving” as its new moniker, according to School Board spokeswoman Linda Erdos. She added that the committee’s second choice was “Washington-Liberty High School” in passing along recommendations to the Board.


News

The ridesharing company Lyft is now offering its dockless electric scooters around Arlington, making it the third firm to offer the vehicles in the county.

Lyft announced that its scooters will be available in Arlington starting today (Monday), less than two months after the company brought dockless scooters to D.C. Anyone looking for a scooter rather than a driver simply needs to select the option in the bottom left corner of the Lyft app.