Amid concerning local economic trends, there’s some good news.
Arlington-based Technomics is investing more than $5 million to add nearly 25,000 square feet of space and 250 employees to its Crystal City office.
Two brothers born into slavery in the 1820s have been honored with new “stumbling stone” historical markers on Columbia Pike.
The bronze emblems, embedded into the sidewalk at the intersection of the Pike and S. Ode Street, honor the lives of Thornton and Daniel Check.
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…)
Wedding at Pride — “A groom hikes up his bedazzled train to climb aboard a cellophane-wrapped parade float and reaches for the hand of the man he has loved for 28 years. In the middle of this sweaty sea of rainbow humanity, their float is stark white and covered in 1,000 hand-pinned foam flowers… After nearly 30 years of unwedded bliss, Freddie Lutz, 74, and Johnny Cervantes, 63, are getting hitched. On a WorldPride parade float.” [Washington Post]
Fall at Fire Training Academy — Medics were dispatched to the Arlington County fire training academy near Shirlington on Monday afternoon after someone fell from a distance. “An instructor suffered a non life threatening injury and was treated and transported to VHC,” an ACFD spokesperson tells ARLnow.
Ballston Garage Entrance Closed — “Now in effect: Ballston Garage is only accessible to SB Glebe Road traffic Mon-Fri 7am-4pm by using the N Randolph entrance, due to water infrastructure work on Glebe. Should take 6 weeks.” [Arlington DES/X]
Fence Near Memorial Bridge — “More fencing now up on the Virginia side of the Memorial Bridge ahead of Saturday’s military parade.” [Steve Chenevey/X]
DCA Sees Uptick in Available Seats — Reagan National Airport has 2% more aircraft seats available for travelers during the summer (June-July-August) travel period than a year ago, according to new data from Cirium reported by Airlines for America. Available seats are up 10.5% at Washington Dulles and down 3.3% at BWI, according to the data. –Scott McCaffrey
Interim Rector for Local Church — “An elated Rev. Meg Ingalls arrived today at St. Mary’s as its Interim Rector. Hear what happened as she video taped this message outside by the welcome sign.” [YouTube]
ICE Activity in Va. — “Virginia is one of five states where efforts to arrest and remove unauthorized immigrants appear most aggressive, according to an Axios analysis. Why it matters: Over 2,000 Virginians received removal orders in March, the fifth-highest number nationwide.” [Axios]
It’s Tuesday — After a chance of rain, expect a gradual clearing of clouds in the afternoon and a high near 83°F with northwest winds at 5-7 mph. Tonight, there’s a slight chance of showers and storms, with otherwise partly cloudy skies, and a low of 64°F, and light variable winds. [NWS]
From One Dog’s Cancer Battle to Helping Hundreds: Alexandria Entrepreneur Featured on Women in Power
Local entrepreneur MaryBeth Powers is being featured on an episode of Women in Power, a series that highlights inspiring women whose passion, perseverance, and purpose have made a meaningful impact in their communities.
The episode shares the remarkable story behind Teddy’s Turmeric Tamer®, an all-natural daily wellness topper for dogs that was born from love and determination. After MaryBeth’s beloved dog, Teddy, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and given just 2–4 weeks to live, she refused to give up hope. Through extensive research and a commitment to natural wellness, she created a unique blend of premium ingredients to support Teddy’s health. Teddy went on to enjoy three more years filled with love, comfort and quality of life.
Good Monday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
🕗 News recap
The following articles were published earlier today — Jun 9, 2025.
- 7:30 am: Morning Notes for June 9, 2025 | 🗣️ Comments
- 8:30 am: New system for using credit cards to ride Metro earns Virginia leaders’ praise | 🗣️ Comments
- 9:15 am: Arlington GOP seeks to rebuild precinct operations in 2025 | 🗣️ Comments
- 10:00 am: Democrats stress unity, values in effort to retain School Board seat | 🗣️ Comments
- 11:45 am: Eight shoplifting suspects arrested in Pentagon City after surge in retail crime | 🗣️ Comments
- 1:00 pm: ARLnow Press Club members know what story is coming up after this one | 🗣️ Comments
- 1:45 pm: Lower speed limits considered on S. Carlin Springs and other busy roads | 🗣️ Comments
- 2:45 pm: Tex-Mex restaurant La Posada opens in Crystal City this week | 🗣️ Comments
- 3:45 pm: ACPD: Teens arrested after stabbing and armed robbery | 🗣️ Comments
📅 Upcoming events
Here is what’s going on Tuesday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
- 9:00 am: Rep & Revive with SPENGA
- 5:00 pm: Art Lab
- 👉 6:00 pm: Rosslyn LIVE: Mentalist
- 6:00 pm: Flex & Flow at Founders Row
- 6:15 pm: ¡Bailemos! Dance with Ferocity Dance Company
- 6:30 pm: Bingo Night at Cherrydale Library
- 7:00 pm: King Trivia Presents: Trivia Night
⛈️ Tuesday’s forecast
Showers and thunderstorms are likely before 3pm, followed by a gradual clearing of clouds and a high near 83°F with northwest winds at 5-7 mph. Precipitation chance is 40%. Tonight, expect possible showers and thunderstorms between 7-8pm, partly cloudy skies, a low of 64°F, and light variable winds. Precipitation chance is 30%. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.”
– Chinese Proverb
🌅 Tonight’s sunset
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.
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.
Arlington County police are investigating a pair of separate Sunday incidents involving teen suspects with weapons.
The first happened early Sunday morning in the Crystal City area, when four teen boys brandished what looked like a gun and stole a victim’s jewelry.
A colorful new spot for Tex Mex and other Latin-inspired flavors is set to open in Crystal City this week.
La Posada, a new eatery by veteran restaurateur Julian Giraldo, plans to soft open on Thursday at 320 23rd Street S., on the ground floor of Quimby on 23rd apartments.
Lower speed limits could be coming to five more Arlington road segments — including an infamous stretch of S. Carlin Springs Road.
This Saturday, the Arlington County Board is scheduled to consider reducing the speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph in five busy areas.
ARLnow Press Club members know things others don’t.
Specifically, they know that after this post we’re going to be covering a plan to lower speed limits on some local roads. Earlier today, they knew what was going to be in the daily Morning Notes post hours in advance.
Members also know that on busy days they can just browse summaries of our stories and not miss any important local developments.
That’s because Press Club members get a pair of exclusive newsletters: the Early Morning Notes, which includes a rundown of the day’s planned coverage (see below), and the Pro Update, which contains article summaries, larger photos and no display ads.
While ARLnow has seen significant readership growth, we’ve actually seen a decline in revenue this year due to local economic uncertainty and federal job losses. If it were not for the support of the ARLnow Press Club, we would have had to make significant cuts to our local news coverage.
Can you spare ten bucks a month to be better informed and to support local news in your hometown? If so, please join here.
Eight shoplifting suspects were arrested in a Pentagon City operation as new police data shows Arlington retail crime is on the rise.
In a May 30 retail theft detail, the Arlington County Police Department arrested seven people on petit larceny charges and one person on a grand larceny charge. The arrests resulted in the recovery of more than $6,000 in stolen merchandise, police said in a press release.
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: