Now celebrating a decade in Ballston, an award-winning Spanish restaurant is opening an outdoor patio as its owners consider plans for a new Arlington eatery.
SER co-owners Javier Candon and Christiana Campos commemorated 10 years at 1110 N. Glebe Road over the weekend alongside about 300 supporters. Expressing gratitude for community support and regional recognition, they teased expansion plans.
Pedestrian-only zones have been all the rage in Arlington’s southern neighbor Alexandria recently. Should that trend come to Shirlington next?
Logan, an Arlington County Community High School senior reached out to ARLnow saying they’re working on a project about turning Campbell Avenue in Shirlington into a pedestrian-only zone and wanted to see if there was interest or concerns from Arlington residents.
Arlington’s small business community is strong and resilient. However, local businesses continue to face challenges from economic uncertainty, drops in consumer confidence, losses in access to capital, and disruptions from artificial intelligence. BizLaunch, a division of Arlington Economic Development, continues to rise to the challenge by supporting over 6,000 small businesses in Arlington with one-on-one counseling, innovative programming and robust marketing to encourage consumers to shop locally.
During a recent presentation to the Small Business Coordinating Council, BizLaunch Director Tara Palacios highlighted fiscal year 2026 results that underscore both the impact of Arlington’s business support programs and the pressures ahead.
BizLaunch provided technical assistance to entrepreneurs at a level 56% above its annual goal, reflecting sustained demand for one-on-one advising and business guidance. The division also served a diverse business community, including 52% women-owned businesses and 45% minority-owned enterprises. Nearly a quarter — 24% — of clients were in food and retail, industries that continue to face heightened economic pressure.
Major marketing and PR campaigns drove engagement across Arlington. Small Business Saturday, one of BizLaunch’s signature programs, prompted more than 4,141 transactions and $211,862 in consumer spending through the Open Rewards incentive, supported by a $10,625 investment of County funds. A coordinated marketing campaign with the BIDs and Partnerships further amplified the effort, generating more than 56,000 organic social media impressions, 44,000 video views and 1,619 engagements, along with nearly 2,000 paid ad clicks.
Support for business development through programming has also expanded. The BizLaunch Transformational Challenge and Pitchfest drew 40 participants for a five-week training program covering strategic planning, marketing, artificial intelligence and financial management. Participants developed pitch decks and presented to a panel of private lenders and business leaders. In all $25,000 was awarded to local businesses through the pitch event which came from private donations and contributions from the Industrial Development Authority. (more…)
VHC Health is getting close to submitting its plans for a new 146-bed facility along S. Carlin Springs Road.
The health care organization has received approval from state regulators for a facility with 96 behavioral health beds and 50 in-patient rehabilitation beds at 601 S. Carlin Springs Road.
An Arlington resident received a citation late last month after driving their SUV over a fire hose that firefighters were using to put out a blaze.
The Arlington County Fire Department posted photos of the vehicle straddling a hose at the intersection of 15th Street N. and N. Randolph Street on March 26.
*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.
Traffic Enforcement Event — “As Day 1 of ACPD’s high-visibility traffic education and enforcement activation for the @COGStreetSmart campaign comes to a close, remember to slow down, avoid distractions and stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.” Another enforcement event for the Street Smart campaign is scheduled for Thursday from 2:30-4 p.m. on S. Joyce Street in Pentagon City. [ACPD/X]
Charges After Fight in Bluemont — “The female victim became engaged in a verbal dispute with three known female suspects during which they allegedly assaulted the victim. The victim reported to the Office of the Magistrate, completed a criminal complaint and warrants was obtained for the suspects.” [ACPD]
More on Military Parade — “On April 4, the county was contacted by the Secret Service regarding the possibility of the parade, Arlington County Board Chair Takis Karantonis said… While the exact scope of the parade remains unclear, Karantonis said he hopes the government is sensitive to the pain and concerns of active military and veterans who may have recently lost their jobs due to decisions at the federal level.” [DC News Now]
PSA: Don’t Randomly Stop on I-395 — “Driver, likely unsure of where they were going, just stops in the middle of an interstate highway causing a three car wreck. This was last night on I-395S at Exit 8B to 110N.” [Dave Statter/X]
Environmental Awards for Arlington –“Arlington County won multiple of this year’s Virginia Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards – the only multi-winner in the state. The awards were announced Tuesday at the Environment Virginia Symposium, recognizing the significant contributions of environmental and conservation leaders.” [DC News Now]
Local Economic Uncertainty — “March car sales started off slow at Beyer Auto Group… But when President Donald Trump announced he would be implementing 25% tariffs on auto imports, that changed. “We had a mad rush of customers come into our stores to buy cars to take advantage of the non-tariff price cars in anticipation of cars prices going up, and we sold probably almost 40% of the cars for the whole month of March in the last six days of the month,” Altman said.” [WBJ]
ICE Arrest in Falls Church — “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, working with federal law enforcement partners from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; and the Diplomatic Security Service, apprehended an illegally present Guatemalan national and convicted sex offender, Ander Cortez-Mendez, 21, in Falls Church, Virginia, April 2.” [ICE]
It’s Wednesday — Expect sunshine today accompanied by a high of around 55 degrees with mild, fluctuating winds that will pick up to 6 mph from the southwest in the afternoon. On Wednesday night there will be some cloudiness and a slight chance of light showers after 2 am, with temperatures dropping to a low of around 42 degrees. [NWS]
Good Tuesday 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 — Apr 8, 2025.
Here is what’s going on Wednesday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
Expect sunshine today accompanied by a high of around 55 degrees with mild, fluctuating winds that will pick up to 6 mph from the southwest in the afternoon. As we move into Wednesday night, there will be some cloudiness and a 20% chance of light showers after 2 am, with temperatures dropping to a low of around 42 degrees and light south wind at 6 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
– Oscar Wilde
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.
A new “microtransit” program meant to shore up gaps in bus routes is expected to launch in northwest Arlington later this year.
Operating as an on-demand service, the initiative would likely use vans or other relatively small vehicles to connect passengers to fixed transit routes and key destinations.
Ballston’s fitness scene is growing stronger.
Ballston Quarter gym Onelife Fitness is planning to renovate and expand into a nearby vacant space. Meanwhile, Performance 360, a new fitness center, is gearing up to open where Hunan Gate closed in December.
Fatal crashes on Arlington roads dropped to a six-year low in 2024 as the Vision Zero team says its efforts have begun yielding tangible results.
Only one person died in an Arlington vehicle crash last year, the lowest number the county has seen since 2018, according to a Vision Zero annual report published last week. Between 2019 and 2023, the number of fatal collisions varied between three and five.
