Abigail Spanberger will be inaugurated on Saturday, Jan. 17. (staff photo by Jared Serre)
By OLIVIA DIAZ Associated Press/Report for America
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democrats in Virginia have built up a hefty fundraising advantage for their effort to reclaim the governor’s mansion in a race seen as a bellwether for the party in power in Washington heading into the 2026 midterms.
Falls Church News-Press owner Nicholas Benton (screenshot via Falls Church)
Falls Church leaders remain noncommittal to a request from the owner of the city’s weekly newspaper for a partnership.
Nicholas Benton, who has owned and run the Falls Church News-Press from its founding in March 1991, came to the City Council on June 16, following up on previous proposals to have city leaders provide more funding.
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.
Peter Vaselopulos provides Karen Darner information on the Arlington Historical Museum (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)
A multi-day history festival commemorating the United States’ 250th birthday could be coming to Arlington next year.
The Arlington Historical Society, which presented an update on its plans for the landmark anniversary at a meeting of the Arlington County Civic Association last week, hopes to host the event next May, likely at Kenmore Middle School.
The night sky during a power outage last week (staff photo)
Water Park Ready for Crowds — “At Ocean Dunes Waterpark, they’re expecting hundreds of people a day throughout the weekend and next week because of potential triple-digit temperatures. They say they’re ready for the crowds and also ready to make sure their staff gets a break too.” [DC News Now]
Locals Line Up for E-CARE — “Hundreds of cars lined up along N. Quincy Street in Arlington, Virginia, before 7:30 a.m. Saturday, waiting for the opening of Arlington County’s E-CARE event. It usually happens in the spring, but it got pushed back this year to the first Saturday of summer.” [WTOP]
Metro: No Known Threats — “The Metro Transit Police Department is closely monitoring the events in Iran. At this time there are no known threats to Metro, however MTPD will have an enhanced presence throughout the system. We continue to work closely with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to ensure the safety of America’s Metro System.” [WMATA/X]
Post Print Changes — “This Sunday’s edition of the Washington Post will be the last time local readers get a section all to themselves. Starting Monday, the Post is merging its Metro, Sports, and Style sections into one for the print edition on most days.” [WCP]
Karantonis Certified as Victor — Arlington Electoral Board members on Saturday met and certified Takis Karantonis as victor in the June 17 Democratic primary. The official count was 16,796 votes (64.2%) for Karantonis, 9,351 votes for James DeVita. Certification of the results of the 1st House District primary will be made later this week by state election officials. –Scott McCaffrey
It’s Monday — Expect sunny and hot conditions with temperatures reaching near 100 degrees and heat index values as high as 110. A northwest wind will be blowing at 6 to 8 mph. By Monday night, the sky will be mostly clear and temperatures will drop to around 79 degrees with a light northwest wind. [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.
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 .
Soccer practice at field in Quincy Park (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Arlington County has canceled all outdoor Dept. of Parks and Recreation programming after 11 a.m. Monday due to the Extreme Heat Warning.
The cancellation affects league practices, games, and other partner outdoor programming at county outdoor facilities. Summer camp participants will be notified directly via email and phone if their programs are canceled, closed early, or relocated.
The sun shines down above a tree on a hot summer day with a heat advisory (staff photo by James Jarvis)
The National Weather Service has issued an Extreme Heat Warning for Arlington and Northern Virginia, effective from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday.
Heat index values are expected to reach up to 110 degrees, creating dangerously hot conditions that significantly increase the risk of heat-related illnesses. An Extreme Heat Watch is also in effect for Tuesday morning through Tuesday evening, as the heat wave continues.
Superintendent Francisco Durán (screenshot via APS)
More partnerships with civic and business leaders could be coming to Arlington Public Schools as the school system seeks to rebuild relationships that suffered during the pandemic.
Superintendent Francisco Durán spotlighted a work-based readiness program at a meeting with School Board members earlier this month. He said that enhancing the program is one of the primary goals of a partnership improvement plan.
Expect mostly sunny skies and a high near 91 degrees, with calm winds turning southerly at 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon. Saturday night will be mostly clear with a low of around 74, accompanied by south winds at around 7 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.” – Will Rogers
We hope you have a great weekend, Arlington! Feel free to discuss the most-read stories of the week, the upcoming weekend events or anything else of local interest in the comments. 👋