A fleet of robots has begun wandering the sidewalks between Ballston and Rosslyn, searching for any defects to report back to the county’s Department of Environmental Services.
The bots, which went live at the start of this month, use a combination of laser scanners, mobile mapping, AI and machine learning to look for defects like cracks, weeds or gaps of at least half an inch.
Arlington’s two Republican members of the Electoral Board appear at loggerheads over how long early-voting dropboxes should be available before Election Day.
Richard Samp, the senior Republican on the three-member panel and its vice chair, used the July 8 board meeting to press for a reduction from more than 40 days of use to just 10. Not everyone was in favor.
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…)
Crash Families Fault Army — “The Army has avoided accountability and shirked oversight months after the deadly midair collision between a passenger jet and a military helicopter in Washington, dozens of family members said in a letter to the Army’s top official, calling for action and greater transparency.” [Washington Post]
Va. Falls in CNBC Ranking — “Virginia, last year’s No. 1 state and a top three finisher in each of the last five years, slips to fourth place in 2025 — its worst showing since 2018 — and cedes the No. 1 spot to North Carolina. A major reason is a drop in the state’s Economy ranking, to No. 14 in 2025 from No. 11 last year.” [CNBC]
Dems Blast Falling Ranking — “Virginia used to be #1. But Trump’s attacks on the Federal government ravaged Virginia’s economy. Glenn Youngkin and Winsome Earle-Sears stood by cheering. These are the consequences.” [Arlington Democrats/X, Abigail Spanberger/X, Rep. Don Beyer/X]
Youngkin Blames CNBC — “Gov. Glenn Youngkin isn’t taking the demotion in stride. The Republican on Thursday blamed new methodology from CNBC this year that includes “a new subjective metric that mistakenly ascribes substantial risk to Virginia from the federal government’s presence in the Commonwealth,” Youngkin wrote on social media.” [WBJ, Gov. Glenn Youngkin/X]
Local GOP Club Leader Dies — “I write to you with a heavy heart to announce the untimely passing of Rebecca (Becky) Ault, Acting President of the Arlington Republican Women’s Club (ARWC), on the morning of Tuesday, July 1st.” [Arlington GOP]
New Metro Cars Coming — “Metro ordered 256 8000-Series railcars from @Hitachi Rail USA, with options for more to replace the 3000-Series. Pilot car delivery is now expected in June 2027. The design of the 8000-Series includes open gangways, digital displays, and more handholds! ADA compliance, improved seating, wider walkways, and multi-purpose areas are key.” [WMATA/X]
It’s Friday — Expect patchy fog until 9am, followed by mostly sunny skies and a high near 89 with light, variable winds. There is a 30% chance of precipitation. For Friday night, showers and thunderstorms are possible mainly before 7pm, transitioning to partly cloudy skies and a Low around 73 with calm winds. [NWS]
At Northern Virginia Family Services (NVFS), one of the region’s largest and most established human services nonprofits, we believe every child deserves to walk into the classroom on the first day of school feeling confident, prepared, and ready to learn. But for many local families, the excitement of a new school year is overshadowed by the financial stress of buying school supplies. By helping families meet this essential need, we can ease financial pressure and give students the tools they need to succeed from day one.
This summer, NVFS is bringing together individuals, businesses, and community partners from across Northern Virginia, to provide new backpacks and essential school supplies to more than 1,500 local students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
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 — Jul 10, 2025.
Here is what’s going on Friday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
Expect showers and thunderstorms primarily after 5pm and patchy fog until 9am, followed by mostly sunny skies and a high near 89 with light, variable winds. There is a 30% chance of precipitation. For Friday night, showers and thunderstorms are possible mainly before 7pm, transitioning to partly cloudy skies and a Low around 73 with calm winds. The chance of precipitation remains at 30%. See more from Weather.gov.
“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.”
– Lao Tzu
The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.
We’re ending Movie Nights on the Pike with a scream.
Join us at Penrose Square for a special outdoor screening of I Know What You Did Last Summer, the iconic summer slasher that became a defining horror film of the late 1990s.
The Virginia Court of Appeals has withdrawn a recent decision reinstating Arlington’s “Missing Middle” ordinance, once again striking it from the books as judges reconsider arguments.
In a ruling that adds yet another layer of complexity to the legal fight over the controversial zoning change, the appeals court agreed on Tuesday to reassess a judgment that the court handed down just last month.
A new 355-unit apartment building has begun leasing in Crystal City, completing a pair of neighboring developments at the site of a former office building.
Valen, a 25-story tower at 2050 S. Bell Street, offers one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with floor-to-ceiling windows and a rooftop pool. Its neighbor at 2051 S. Bell Street, The Zoe, began leasing last fall.
A new cafe with Korean shaved ice and brioche sandwiches has opened at the Founders Row development in Falls Church.
Semicolon Cafe, a small New York City-based chain that also offers classic cafe beverages and pastries, opened late last month at 103 Founders Avenue.
Per-square-foot sales prices dropped but some other data points moved higher as the Arlington real-estate market closed out the first half of 2025.
The average per-square-foot sales price for homes that went to closing countywide in June was $482, according to statistical data reported July 10 by Bright MLS, the Mid-Atlantic’s multiple-listing service.
A man from Philly is set to spend a decade and a half in prison for drug distribution after being nabbed during a sting in Arlington.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, along with Arlington County police chief Andy Penn, announced the sentencing Thursday morning.
Join us on August 1 between 10 AM to 2 PM for a drop‑in event for the whole family! Explore our Dojo—the high‑tech, STEAM‑driven space where you can dive into activities like MakeCode Arcade, Roblox, Minecraft, robotics, 3D printing, drones, VR, and more. While you’re here, take advantage of our amazing enrollment specials, or simply enjoy a fun day of coding, meeting new friends, high fives, and plenty of Hi‑Yahs!
