Arlington County police are investigating shots fired in the Green Valley neighborhood.
The gunfire rang out around 10 p.m. Friday night near The Shelton apartment complex. No injuries were reported but a bullet damaged a window in a nearby residential building.
A record number of fifth graders from Germany have come to Arlington this year through the county’s sister city program.
Students, parents and civic leaders from the city of Aachen arrived in the United States on Oct. 8 and will stay through Oct. 16. They are being hosted by Arlington families representing 16 public and four private schools, in a quarter-century collaboration sponsored by the Arlington Sister City Association.
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.
Outlets Reject Pentagon Press Rules — “Fox News, the former employer of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, on Tuesday joined a chorus of news outlets refusing to sign an agreement with the Pentagon that could limit journalists’ rights to gather or report information not officially authorized for release.” [Axios, Associated Press, Washington Post]
Regional Economy on the Brink — “Twenty-two states are either in a recession or on the precipice of a downturn, according to an intriguing analysis from Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics… in trouble are the states most exposed to federal job cuts, like Virginia and Maryland. Unemployment in Washington, D.C., was 6% in August, the highest in the country.” [Axios]
Controllers Giving Flyers to Fliers — “‘Hi – good morning. I’m an unpaid air traffic controller.’ That’s what a worker said as he approached travelers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Tuesday morning. As the government shutdown hits the two-week mark, Tuesday is the first day air traffic controllers won’t get a full paycheck, according to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. On Oct. 28, they won’t get paid at all.” [NBC 4]
Arlington Restaurants on TV — “Chamber President & CEO Kate Bates and Chair-Elect @bismahahmed_ joined @fox5dc to kick off the start of #ARLRestaurantWeek, hosting a speed tasting of three meals from La Posada, Maison Cheryl, and Celtic House.” [Arlington Chamber/X]
Police Plan Community Meetings — “The Arlington County Police Department’s (ACPD) Community Engagement Division invites the public to the fall quarterly community meetings covering community issues, crime prevention tips and quality of life concerns.” [ACPD]
WETA Radio Weathers Cuts — “WETA, with its offices down the road in Shirlington, has been on the air 24-7 through the thick and thin over many years here, through the Great Recession and the Covid pandemic, with comforting voices spinning the hits, so to speak, from Handel, to Haydn, to Mozart to Beethoven… the station has had to lay off five percent of its staff and folks hope there will be no more if the public steps up to help.” [FCNP]
Local Firm Sells Unit — “Trident Maritime Systems, an Arlington-based developer of integrated maritime systems, said it has sold its UK business to Alexandria-based private equity firm DC Capital Partners.” [Potomac Tech Wire]
No Plastic for Leaf Collection — “Mr. Autumn Man Knows: Leaves placed in plastic garbage bags can’t be composted and won’t be collected. Place leaves and other yard waste at the curb only in paper bags and the green curbside cart.” [Arlington DES/X]
New Legal Notice — Convenience store seeks off-premises beer and wine license; 30-day objections. [Public Notices]
It’s Wednesday — Expect sunny skies and a high temperature near 70 degrees with a north wind at 8 to 11 mph, gusting up to 21 mph. For Wednesday night, the skies will remain clear, and the temperature will drop to around 45 degrees. The north wind will persist at approximately 9 mph. [NWS]
Wine & Food Tasting Event at Arrowine, Saturday, August 15, 1- 4 p.m.
Summer adventures are calling — whether you’re packing up for the Beach, escaping to the Shenandoah Mountains, planning a picnic, or heading out for a romantic night of music at Wolf Trap. And if you want those moments to be stress‑free, delicious, and perfectly paired, we’ve got just the tasting for you.
Good Tuesday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
The following articles were published earlier today — Oct 14, 2025.
Here is what’s going on Wednesday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
Expect sunny skies and a high temperature near 70 degrees with a north wind at 8 to 11 mph, gusting up to 21 mph. For Wednesday night, the skies will remain clear, and the temperature will drop to around 45 degrees. The north wind will persist at approximately 9 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
“Difficulties in life are intended to make us better, not bitter.”
– Dan Reeves
The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.
Thanks for reading! 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.
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.
Missing Middle’s critics are launching another round of opposition as Arlington County returns to accepting permit applications for this kind of construction.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit over Arlington’s Expanded Housing Option filed an emergency motion yesterday (Monday) in the Supreme Court of Virginia. They’re seeking to block a Virginia Court of Appeals order that allows the county to resume issuing permits for multifamily construction in previously single-family-only neighborhoods.
A man is dead after police say he was last seen fleeing from state troopers on the 14th Street Bridge.
On Oct. 1, an early morning car chase that started on I-95, on charges of reckless driving, ended on the 14th Street Bridge after the suspect’s vehicle was disabled by spike strips deployed on I-395, according to Virginia State Police.
The intersection of Wilson Blvd and N. Fillmore Street is blocked due to a crash involving an overturned vehicle.
The reported two-vehicle crash happened around 2:15 p.m., sending one of the vehicles tumbling onto its side. The occupants were able to get out prior to emergency responders arriving on scene, according to scanner traffic.
A joint grand opening is planned in Green Valley this weekend for a new hair salon and bridal boutique under the same roof.
The Dahnistry Room and Root & Bloom, located at 2112 and 2114 S. Shirlington Road, both open for business at noon on Saturday. Root & Bloom owner Nataki Green described the ventures as “two Black woman-owned businesses proudly rooted in South Arlington.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson predicted Monday the federal government shutdown may become the longest in history, saying he “won’t negotiate” with Democrats until they hit pause on their health care demands and reopen.
Standing alone at the Capitol on the 13th day of the shutdown, the speaker said he was unaware of the details of the thousands of federal workers being fired by the Trump administration. It’s a highly unusual mass layoff widely seen as way to seize on the shutdown to reduce the scope of government. Vice President JD Vance has warned of “painful” cuts ahead, even as employee unions sue.
