A special “stumbling stone” unveiling last week taught Gunston Middle School sixth graders about the harsh lives of those enslaved across Arlington — and in their very neighborhoods.
The stones, the latest in a series being placed across the county, recognize the lives of Sina and George, a mother-son duo enslaved during the mid-1800s in the area where the school is now located. While the full story of their lives is not known, research has uncovered some information:
With only two players with significant experience returning, questions proliferated for the Wakefield Warriors when the squad opened the boys high-school basketball season Tuesday night (Dec. 2).
Senior guards Jeremiah Poole and Dyson Beaty — a starter and top substitute, respectively, from last season — are those top returners. The duo and their teammates began answering those concerns when Wakefield routed the visiting Falls Church Jaguars, 70-39, in its first contest.
For many employers, parental leave begins and ends with a policy. But while a policy may outline how much time an employee can take away from work, it often does not address the operational and human challenges that surround leave itself.
That gap is what Arlington-based startup Resilient Returns was created to solve.
Founded by Licensed Professional Counselor and working parent MJ Yost, Resilient Returns helps employers manage the full parental leave lifecycle, from planning and communication before leave to employee support and reintegration after return. The company’s leave-management platform combines structured processes for employers with resources designed to help employees navigate one of life’s most significant transitions.
Yost’s perspective comes from both her professional and personal experience. As a therapist, she spent years supporting individuals through family building, pregnancy, postpartum, loss and the transition back to work. As a working parent herself, she also understood the practical challenges of balancing a growing family with a career. Those experiences helped her identify a gap in how employers prepare for the realities of parental leave.
“We often hear from organizations that they have a great parental leave policy on paper and a plan for the baby shower, but no real system for transitioning an employee’s work before leave or supporting their return afterward,” says Yost.
The challenge is increasingly relevant for employers of all sizes. While organizations invest significant time and resources in recruiting and developing talent, many lack consistent processes for helping employees navigate major life events while remaining engaged and connected to their careers.
For small and midsize businesses in particular, getting parental leave wrong can be costly. Losing an experienced employee can create recruiting and training expenses, disrupt team operations and result in the loss of valuable institutional knowledge. For high-growth companies, the challenge can be even greater. Rapidly expanding organizations often rely on specialized talent, move quickly to meet customer demands and operate with limited redundancy. When a key employee takes leave without a structured transition plan, the effects can ripple across projects, client relationships and team performance.
Resilient Returns approaches parental leave as a business process rather than simply an HR policy. Employers can use the platform to create pre-leave coverage and communication plans, prepare managers for an employee’s transition, conduct guided return-to-work check-ins and track key milestones throughout the leave journey.
At the same time, employees receive resources designed to help them navigate the personal and professional transition into leave and back to work. That dual focus, supporting both the employer and the employee, is central to the company’s approach.
The need for that support can become especially apparent when circumstances do not go according to plan. While many employers have established processes for a typical parental leave, fewer have a clear approach for navigating unexpected challenges or complications. The way an organization responds during those moments can have a lasting impact on employee trust, engagement and retention.
For Yost, building those processes is about more than managing a period of time away from work. It is about helping employers navigate the operational realities of leave while giving employees a clearer path through the transition and back to work.
It’s nearly winter and the local prep basketball season has just begun. Yet the sport of baseball was front and center in a unique event held Nov. 30 at Bishop O’Connell High School.
Despite chilly and rainy weather, some 60 players ages 11 to 14 from throughout the metro area gathered at the Arlington private school for a free Thanksgiving-weekend instructional camp.
Back-to-School Time Means It’s Time to Get Your Home Back in Order!
The kids are heading back to school, and your family is getting back into a busy routine. Let Metro Maid Service take cleaning off your to-do list!
A crash this afternoon near Ballston pulverized a bus shelter and littered a sidewalk with strewn trash.
The reported single-vehicle crash happened just before 1 p.m. Friday on the 3900 block of Wilson Blvd, at the entrance to the parking lot of the &pizza, Gold’s Gym and other businesses.
Live standup comedy in Arlington on Friday August 21, starring Matt Ruby, Featuring Haywood Turnipseed Jr, Alex Tyminski
Friday, August 21, 2026
The snow may be mostly over but we’re not done with wintry hazards.
A light freezing rain is expected tonight between 7 p.m.-1 a.m., potentially leading to a “a light glaze of ice” and “very slippery sidewalks, roads and bridges,” according to the National Weather Service.
A recent health fair sponsored by a local nonprofit gave at-risk county residents valuable support going into the winter months.
The event, presented by PathForward, served 74 individuals, including those staying at the organization’s two 24-hour programs — the Homeless Services Center and Residential Program Center — along with clients using other PathForward services and those supported by other safety-net providers.
From Lebanese falafel and kabob to Turkish doner, Arlington’s Middle Eastern restaurants offer an array of flavors to match the county’s multicultural diversity.
Here are the nominees for “The Best Middle Eastern Restaurants in Arlington” as part of our ARLnow Readers’ Choice awards.
Did we miss your favorite spot for Middle Eastern food? Write it in!
Voting will close in two weeks.
Three weeks ago, we voted on Best Thai Restaurant in Arlington. The results are now official:
Falls Church city and school leaders head into planning for the fiscal year 2027 budget with many unknowns to contend with.
David So, the city government’s new budget director, sketched out a number of budget scenarios at a Monday (Dec. 1) work session between members of the City Council and School Board. Depending on the scenario, his projections leave a budget gap of between $2.7 million and $5.4 million that will have to be addressed before a final budget is adopted next May.
The seven-week government shutdown derailed growth at Arlington Transit (ART), but county leaders anticipate a return to higher numbers.
October is “typically the highest ridership month we have,” said Paul Mounier, a transit planner for the county government, at the Nov. 18 meeting of the Transit Advisory Committee. But figures show a ridership decline of 2.2% year-over-year that month, dropping to just over 243,000 riders.
