There may be no trophy awarded to the winner of the unofficial Arlington County high-school football championship, contested each year between the jurisdiction’s three public-school teams.
But the Wakefield Warriors, Washington-Liberty Generals and Yorktown Patriots compete hard for bragging rights each fall.
Latest on the Shutdown — “Senior federal officials have quietly counseled several agencies against firing employees while the government is shut down — as President Donald Trump has suggested he will — warning the strategy may violate appropriations law, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations.” [Washington Post, Virginia Mercury, WJLA]
Disruptions from Pike Project — “Three years of roadwork along Columbia Pike in Arlington has shifted to a new phase. Local business owners aren’t happy.” [NBC 4]
Expect Loud Booms Today — From AlertDC: “October 3, at 12PM, a total of 11 (LOUD) rounds will be fired as part of a gun salute being conducted at the Washington Navy Yard.”
Coffey to Serve as Acting Board Chair — County Board members on Thursday tapped Maureen Coffey to serve as acting Board chair from noon on Oct. 3 to noon on Oct. 12, when Board Chair Takis Karantonis will be in Germany at an Arlington Sister City Association program, and Vice Chair Matt de Ferranti is on paternity leave. Though no official actions are expected during the period, “a lot can happen in one week,” Karantonis acknowledged in the runup to the 4-0 vote. –Scott McCaffrey
Video of Carjacking — “Some distant video of Tuesday morning’s carjacking in Crystal City. It happened as a man walked across S. Eads Street to his Lincoln MKZ parked in front of Kabob Palace around 2:30 a.m. @ArlingtonVaPD reports he was approached by two men with knives who knocked him down and stole his cell phone and keys and then drove off with the car.” [Dave Statter/X]
Local GOP Fundraising Record — “And finally — the metric I usually share with you (but not the only measurement of success) — $22,722.62 raised in the 3rd Quarter, $5,629.96 more than our previous quarterly fundraising record of $17,092.66 in the 3rd Quarter of 2023.” [Arlington GOP]
Fairfax Supports Arlington, F.C. Projects — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to support Arlington’s request for Northern Virginia Transportation Authority funding for multimodal projects on S. George Mason Drive, as well as Falls Church’s funding request for construction of a shared-use path on Haycock Road. Decisions on whether to fund the projects will come next summer. –Scott McCaffrey
Youngkin Transgender Order — “Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive directive to ‘prevent biological males from participating in organized female-only athletic teams and competitions in Virginia” and “prevent biological males from using designated female spaces where females are likely to be in a state of undress.'” [Nick Minock/X, Washington Post]
D.C. Recession Predicted — “D.C.’s top financial official predicts a “moderate recession” (escalated from a “mild” one) through the next 12 months, with more anticipated job losses than once thought… Over the next five years, 40,000 federal jobs are expected to evaporate in D.C., coinciding with lagging private sector job growth, per Lee’s office.” [Axios]
It’s Friday — Expect a mostly sunny day with a high temperature near 72°F, as calm winds shift southward at around 5 mph in the afternoon. The night will remain mostly clear, with a low temperature around 52°F. [NWS]
This sponsored column is by Law Office of James Montana PLLC. All questions about it should be directed to James Montana, Esq., Janice Chen, Esq., and Victoria Khaydar, Esq., practicing attorneys at The Law Office of James Montana PLLC, an immigration-focused law firm located in Falls Church, Virginia. The legal information given here is general in nature. If you want legal advice, contact us for an appointment.
USCIS administers immigration benefits. In the time-honored tradition of government agencies since the days of Ur and Uruk, USCIS uses forms to collect, store, and interpret information. Immigrants complete these forms in order to obtain benefits. Most U.S. citizens have no idea what reams of paperwork these forms require. An ordinary green card application is comprised of ninety-seven pages of bare forms, which typically are supported by several hundred pages of supporting documents.
In better times, forms are a necessary evil. In the times we actually live in, forms are just another weapon with which to thwack your political opponents.
In the second iteration of the Trump Administration, USCIS has discovered a new, extremely petty way to make immigrants’ lives more difficult – by releasing new form versions which make utterly minute changes, and then decrees that yesterday’s official version is obsolete as of today.
The Office of Management and Budget, by the way, requires that all government forms have an ‘edition date’ and an ‘expiration date.’ USCIS evades this neatly by making the expiration date purely notional – the form can be valid after the expiration date, and it can be decreed obsolete at any time before or after the expiration date. (The edition date is notional, too – in the first months of the Trump Administration, USCIS persistently released forms backdated to January 20, 2025, seemingly just for the inaugural vibes.) The forms altered in the last two weeks are highlighted below.
Good Thursday 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 2, 2025.
Here is what’s going on Friday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
Expect a mostly sunny day with a high temperature near 72°F, as calm winds shift southward at around 5 mph in the afternoon. The night will remain mostly clear, with a low temperature around 52°F and light south winds. See more from Weather.gov.
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
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.
Pentagon MMA has brought a special honor home to Arlington from the birthplace of Muay Thai.
The Arlington Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu Academy is now officially a certified and registered Muay Thai Gym Partner through the Sports Authority of Thailand and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand, making Pentagon MMA the only Muay Thai academy on the East Coast to have earned this distinction.
As the government shutdown brings a major portion of Northern Virginia’s economy to a halt, the commonwealth’s senators are doubling down on demands to strike a deal.
After months of upheaval, thousands of Arlington’s federal workers are facing renewed uncertainty as the shutdown that began yesterday (Wednesday) forces several agencies with local headquarters to furlough employees — all while the Office of Management and Budget is threatening another round of mass firings.
Join us as Signature Theatre joins MoCA Arlington to create a space for mingling, art-making, and discovery! Guests can move through the galleries and enjoy a range of programmed activities, including:
Vintage rack hosted by local sellers — Nicole Lanteri Designs + Thrifted To Be Here
Shop curated selections of vintage art, homewares, clothing and jewelry. A mix of styles, eras + price points!
Joblessness in Arlington County is up 38% year-over-year in new state data, and local officials are warning that federal layoffs will likely bring further increases.
A total of 5,413 Arlington residents were recorded as seeking jobs in August, according to data released yesterday (Wednesday) by the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement. That’s compared to 3,932 unemployed residents in August 2024.
The first weekend of October will bring seasonal festivals, outdoor activities and celebrations of a new Taylor Swift album in Arlington and Falls Church.
But first, federal workers and contractors affected by the government shutdown can take some solace in discounts and deals at several local businesses.
After a nine-month stint as a Caribbean restaurant, Lesly’s Restaurant Bar and Grill has returned to its previous owner and nixed its new menu in Falls Church.
The restaurant at 306 Hillwood Avenue has returned to its roots as a Latin American restaurant and nightlife spot following a dispute in management, departing owner Ricky Bartlette told ARLnow. The eatery has reinstated its previous offerings, which include entrees like carne asada and a variety of fajitas and tacos.
Arlington Transit (ART) in fiscal 2025 returned to service levels last seen immediately preceding the pandemic, according to county officials.
About 2.62 million passengers rode the local service between July 2024 and June 2025, on par with the period between July 2019 and June 2020.
After 26 years as Arlington Public Schools’ supervisor for health, physical/driver education and athletics, Debbie DeFranco has retired.
DeFranco — whose last day was Tuesday, following 34 years at APS — is being succeeded by former Wakefield High School principal Chris Willmore.
There’s something a little bit magical about picking up a foil for the first time — or drawing back a bow and watching your arrow fly true. It’s why fencing and archery have such a hold on kids and adults alike: real focus, real skill, and a thrill you don’t get from the usual sports lineup.
This fall, Nova Fencing & Archery Club in Bailey’s Crossroads is opening registration for both, with beginner classes for every age starting the week of September 12th. Fencing welcomes ages 7 to 12 and teens and adults 13 and up. Explore Archery, coached by USA Archery certified instructors, welcomes ages 8 to 12 and meets Tuesdays or Saturdays. And for our youngest fencers, ages 4 to 6, ABC’s of Fencing meets on Saturdays. All classes run eight sessions for $195, equipment provided, no experience needed — yes, even for grown-ups who’ve never held a sword or a bow before.
