The Arlington County Board is celebrating the commitment of Arlington’s foster parents of the year and praising the efforts of a leader in the local art world.
At a June 18 meeting, Board members also commemorated the life of a civic leader who died earlier in the month and thanked two retiring advisory commission members for their service.
Amazon Van Fire in Crystal City — “Units responded to a fully involved vehicle fire on the 2200 block of S Clark St that was extending into the bushes. E105 quickly extinguished the delivery vehicle fire. No injuries to the driver or firefighters. Fire marshals will be investigating the cause… This was a gas-powered vehicle that caught fire due to a malfunctioning engine. There was no explosion, and no packages were involved.” [ACFD/X]
Arrest After Fight on the Pike — “Columbia Pike at S. Four Mile Run Drive… The male victim and suspect were outside when they became engaged in a verbal dispute during which the suspect allegedly threatened the victim, threw a rock towards him and attempted to steal his personal belongings. Responding officers took the suspect into custody on scene.” [ACPD]
Fourth of July Road Closures — “The Arlington County Police Department, Virginia State Police, United States Park Police, and Virginia Department of Transportation will close multiple roadways on Friday, July 4th, 2025, to facilitate the safe passage of large crowds for the Independence Day events and fireworks.” [ACPD]
Dem Candidates Visit Freddie’s — “Freddie’s, you’re a blast — especially during Pride Month! Proud to visit this historic space for Virginia’s LGBTQ+ community here in Arlington.” [Abigail Spanberger/X]
Dem Candidates at Eden Center — “Eden Center in Falls Church, the center of the Vietnamese community in Fairfax County, is an example of the diversity that makes VA so great. As AG, I’ll be sure that no matter who you are or where you come from, you will have a fair shake in our justice system.” [Jay Jones/X]
It’s Monday — Showers and thunderstorms are likely after in the afternoon, with otherwise mostly sunny skies and a high near 90. Heat index values may reach up to 100, and a calm wind will become south around 6 mph in the afternoon. For Monday night, showers and potential thunderstorms are expected, with mostly cloudy conditions and a low around 76. A south wind will blow around 7 mph, and there’s a 60% chance of precipitation throughout the day. [NWS]
Today’s Morning Notes are brought to you by Industrious. ARLnow has called an Industrious workspace home for years and we appreciate the ease — you can concentrate on projects instead of brewing coffee or maintaining office equipment. Industrious has multiple Metro-accessible shared offices throughout Arlington.
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…)
Good Friday 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 — Jun 27, 2025.
Since it’s Friday, we’ve also compiled a list of the most-read articles of the week, below.
Here is what’s going on Saturday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
Here are the events planned for Sunday:
Patchy fog will clear by 9am, making way for a mostly sunny day with a high of 92 and heat index reaching 102. Light south winds at 5-7 mph are expected in the afternoon. For Saturday night, there’s a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm, with mostly cloudy skies, a low around 73, and calm winds. See more from Weather.gov.
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”
– Henry David Thoreau
The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.
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. 👋
As the summer is winding down, Art House 7 is gearing up for August Classes! Offerings include painting, drawing, cartooning, mixed media, and printmaking. Some highlights: Animals of the Serengeti, k-2nd; Digital Art, 4th-6th grades; Painting Metal with Watercolor, Adults. Classes are 3-4 weeks: a short commitment for a lot of creative output. Check out everything on our website.
August Classes at Art House 7:
The weekend is here and so is a new episode of the ARLnow podcast.
In the latest episode, Lene, Dan and Vernon discuss a few notable local news stories in Arlington from the past week, including:
Let us know what you think about the new podcast format in the comments or via email.
Watch below on YouTube, or listen to the podcast via iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Audacy, TuneIn or your favorite listening app.
*Mamistad Groups meet IN PERSON-only the introductory Zoom call is virtual. :)
Pregnancy and new mom groups are a lifesaver when it comes to normalizing those feelings we just can’t be prepared for.
The Arlington Sister City Association has major plans for its global relationships as it continues to rebuild from the pandemic.
“We have a more important role than ever,” said Daphne Lathouras, chair of the organization’s board of directors, at the group’s annual meeting on Monday.
All Metrobus routes are getting new names, some routes are changing and 19 bus stops will be eliminated this weekend in Arlington.
The redesign, dubbed the Better Bus Network, is part of the regional bus system’s first overhaul in 50 years. It aims to bring “more frequent, consistent bus service [and] enhance access across the region,” according to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
By TIFFANY STANLEY Associated Press
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — They are a day away from becoming Catholic priests, rehearsing for their ordination Mass under the gothic cathedral’s arches.
From casual happy hour to something more upscale, Arlington’s bar scene has a little bit of everything, complete with events like trivia and live music.
Here are the nominees for “Best Bar in Arlington” as part of our ARLnow Readers’ Choice awards.
Voting for the Best Place for Wings in Arlington is still taking place. Be sure to cast your vote before voting closes next Friday at 9 a.m.
Two weeks ago, we voted on the Best Bagel Shop in Arlington. The results are now official:
Arlington’s top elected official is embracing a this-too-shall-pass view of the impacts of Trump-era government cuts on the local community.
“We will weather this storm and come out stronger,” County Board Chair Takis Karantonis said at the annual Arlington Chamber of Commerce “State of the County” event yesterday (Thursday).
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!
