Wakefield's Judah Connor threw two touchdowns passes against Herndon (staff photo by Dave Facinoli)
A fifth straight defeat resulted in a double-whammy of bad news for the Wakefield Warriors in Liberty District high-school football action on Halloween eve.
Wakefield’s 42-22 road loss to the Herndon Hornets officially eliminated the Warriors (3-6, 0-5) from a region playoff berth, and means the team will have a losing overall record in its final regular-season contest no matter what.
1310 N. Courthouse Road (front left) and 1320 N. Courthouse Road with plaza, which will remain (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)
A nine-story building in Courthouse could become the latest to convert from office to residential use.
A proposal by Quadrangle Development seeks to turn 365,000 square feet of commercial space at 1320 N. Courthouse Road into approximately 295 dwelling units, plus small amounts of office and retail space.
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: How much of an impact do you think the ROAD to Housing Act will have on housing affordability in Arlington?
Answer: The Road to Housing Act became law ten days ago, with the stated goal of improving housing affordability in the United States.
I don’t see many policies in the Act that will improve affordability in the Arlington/Northern VA/DC Metro markets, outside of incentives for more affordable multi-family housing, but there are policies that should improve affordability in other markets that are more saturated with institutional investors that own swaths of single-family homes (e.g. Atlanta and Phoenix) and for manufactured/mobile homes.
The Local Conversation Needs to Change
If we are going to improve affordability in our market, most of the change has to be done locally/regionally, not nationally, but it requires a paradigm shift in how we discuss and solve for housing affordability.
Affordability Disconnect: Near Term Expectations Not Realistic
A disconnect between housing affordability expectations and reality prevents the right community and political conversations from happening. We expect/demand housing affordability immediately, ignoring the difficulty, and consequences, of achieving it that quickly.
Stable and healthy housing affordability is a long-term process requiring gradual change over a 10-15+ year period.
Demand-Side Solutions Won’t Work
Demand-side solutions, such as lower interest rates or easier financing, artificially inflate home values, as seen during the COVID-era housing boom and early 2000s. They are not a good long-term solution to affordability because they push values even higher (along with your property taxes) and affordability gets worse when rates/lending normalize and no longer provide artificially low monthly payments.
Supply-Side Solutions Are Not Immediate
Most policy discussions focus on supply-side solutions: building more/faster and denser housing (e.g. Arlington’s Missing Middle/Expanded Housing Option), incentivizing more existing home sales, or disincentivizing concentrated ownership by companies and individuals. Econ 101 tells us that more supply = lower prices = affordable housing (winner winner!).
This is the only path to stable, long-term housing affordability…BUT, at current interest rates, prices must drop 30-35% in the United States to become affordable, at current income levels. A 30-35% drop in home values would devastate the economy, so a supply-side solution won’t (shouldn’t) provide immediate affordability. (more…)
Wakefield High School (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Arlington Public Schools is offering free dinners at three high schools for families affected by the government shutdown.
Beginning Thursday, the school system will serve free hot meals every weekday from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the cafeterias at Yorktown, Washington-Liberty and Wakefield high schools. Each location will provide 250 meals every day on a first-come, first-served basis.
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Join the Rosslyn BID and Arlington Arts at the 34th Rosslyn Jazz Fest 2026 featuring live jazz, food trucks, local vendors, and family-friendly activities in the heart of Rosslyn! This year’s lineup is bringing a diverse mix of performers and bands redefining the jazz music genre including Plena Libre, Sally Baby’s Silver Dollars, Parlor Greens, and Dogo du Togo & the Alagaa Beat Band.
The Hazel and Azure apartment towers at 3030 & 3130 S. Potomac Avenue (staff photo by Dan Egitto)
Though down month over month and year over year, Arlington’s apartment-rental market remains the priciest in the nation outside California, according to one analysis.
The median apartment-rental cost in Arlington was $2,575 in October, according to figures reported by Apartment List. That represents a drop of 0.9% compared to September and 0.7% compared to a year before — both relatively in line with national trends.
Halloween decorations and leaves in front of homes in the Clarendon area (staff photo)
Robbery Near Yorktown HS — “Three juvenile male suspects approached two juvenile female victims, all in their teens, at Chestnut Hills Park and engaged them in conversation. Suspect One then stole cash from Victim One’s hand before all three suspects ran towards the parking lot. The victims ran after the suspects and confronted them, during which Suspect One and Suspect Two shoved the victims and Suspect Two subsequently displayed what appeared to be a pocketknife before all three suspects fled the scene.” [ACPD]
Another Crash in EFC — “This might look familiar. There was another red light runner crash at Langston and Fairfax early today.” [Dave Statter/X]
E-CARE Coming Soon — “Arlington residents can gather their old electronics, household hazardous materials (HHMs) and other hard-to-dispose-of items for drop-off at the County’s free fall Environmental Collection and Recycling (E-CARE) event on Saturday, Nov. 8, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (rain or shine) at 1425 N. Quincy Street.” [Arlington County]
Long Bridge Project Video — “The Long Bridge Project will expand rail capacity across the Potomac River, improving reliability and efficiency for both passenger and freight trains traveling between Virginia and Washington, DC. This animation illustrates the planned new two-track rail bridge that will run parallel to the existing Long Bridge, as well as related improvements between Arlington and DC.” [Va. Passenger Rail Authority/YouTube]
Police Toy Drive Underway — “It’s the season of giving! The Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) is proud to once again host the Fill the Cruiser Toy Drive—now in its 11th year—benefiting children in need across Arlington. Help make the holidays brighter by donating new, unwrapped toys at one of our collection events or convenient drop box locations!” [ACPD]
Rotarian Named ‘Service Leader of Year’ — The Inter-Service Club Council of Arlington has named Liz Nohra of the Rotary Club of Arlington as its 2025 Service Leader of the Year. Nohra will be celebrated at a Nov. 19 luncheon, receiving an honor that has been bestowed since the 1950s. — Scott McCaffrey
It’s Monday — The weather will transition from mostly cloudy to sunny, reaching a high of around 62°F. Calm winds will shift to the west at 5 to 7 mph during the afternoon. Monday night will be clear, with temperatures dropping to about 44°F. Expect a northwest wind at around 10 mph and gusts up to 18 mph. [NWS]
Today’s Morning Notes are brought to you by Industrious. ARLnow has been in an Industrious office for years and we love the convenience — you get to focus on your work rather than worrying about brewing your own coffee or keeping the copy machine stocked. Industrious has several Metro-accessible coworking locations in Arlington.
Expect sunshine and a high of around 61 degrees, accompanied by a west wind blowing at 7-10 mph, gusting up to 20 mph. Saturday night will be mostly cloudy with a low temperature near 43 degrees, and calm winds. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“The best way to predict your future is to create it.” – Abraham Lincoln
We hope you have a great weekend, Arlington! If you have something to say about an issue of local note not covered today, feel free to post it as a letter to the editor on our new forum. 👋
Virginia’s Democratic-led General Assembly advanced a proposed constitutional amendment on Friday that could pave the way for redistricting in the state ahead of the 2026 congressional elections. That measure still needs another round of legislative approval early next year before it can go to voters.
The proposed constitutional amendment would let lawmakers temporarily bypass a bipartisan commission and redraw congressional districts to their advantage. The Senate’s approval Friday followed House approval Wednesday.
Ken Schellenberg performs "I Want to Hold Your Hand" on keyboards (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)
The hallways of Arlington Mill Community Center resounded with Beatles songs on Monday afternoon.
But instead of John, Paul, George and Ringo, it was Ken, Judy, Sherry and Cameron performing hits — and a few obscurities — from the 1962-69 period when the Fab Four dominated the airwaves.