A developer hoping to bring casino gambling to Northern Virginia has contributed $15,000 to two of Arlington’s state delegates.
Incumbent Del. Patrick Hope (D-1) on March 26 received a $10,000 campaign contribution from Reston-based Comstock Hospitality Holdings, which for the past two years has worked to secure General Assembly approval to allow for a casino in Tysons.
Three Arlington County residents are among the finalists for the 2025 Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Mid-Atlantic region.
Qu CEO Amir Hudda, Symplicity CEO Matt Small and Zoobean CEO Felix Lloyd have all been recognized by the program that “honors entrepreneurs whose innovations shape the future and pave the way for a thriving economy and hopeful tomorrow.”
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…)
‘Integration Station’ Staying for Now — “In the few months since Arlington Public Schools proposed cutting the program for students with disabilities from its proposed budget, parents of current and prospective students have spoken out about the possible consequences… The program, however, is no longer in jeopardy. In an email to families on April 9, the school system said there won’t be any changes to Integration Station for the 2025-26 school year.” [WTOP]
ACPD Steps Up Recruitment — “Career-seekers are encouraged to “live your story” through the Arlington County Police Department’s new recruitment website, joinarlingtoncountypd.com. The unveiling of the new recruitment website, along with dedicated recruitment social media pages and advertising, supports the Arlington County Police Department’s (ACPD) ongoing efforts to attract, retain and increase the number of police officers.” [ACPD]
Robbers Caught on Camera — “Video shows four people driving to S. Eads Street near S. 12th Street on Monday afternoon and then making their escape after robbing and assaulting a man. A STATter911 camera shows two of the robbers getting out of a car midblock on Eads and walking toward 12th. The robbery is out of view, but @ArlingtonVaPD report (below) the victim’s backpack was stolen and he was pushed to the ground.” [Dave Statter/X]
Airpod Robbery Near Shirlington — “The male victim was walking in the area when the male suspect approached and engaged him in conversation before pushing the victim, stealing his airpod and subsequently fleeing the scene on foot. A lookout was broadcast, and responding officers conducted a canvass of the area for the suspect yielding negative results.” [ACPD]
Va. Arena Regrets — “Leonsis reflected on attempted Caps/Wiz move to Va. in interview with @maxwelltani ‘I misjudged the move of 3.5 miles to Va., the proposed move, how that was emotionally crushing to people. And I’ll never make that mistake again’ ‘I should have known better … I broke trust.'” [Burgess Everett/X, YouTube]
Pope Honored at Mass — “As the Pope lies in state at Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, many honored the Pontiff Wednesday with prayers in Arlington. Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington led a memorial Mass for the Holy Father at the Cathedral of Saint Thomas More. A photo of Pope Francis was placed by a candle at the altar inside the Cathedral.” [DC News Now]
More Papal Reflections — “On this special episode, Bishop Burbidge and diocesan Chancellor Msgr. Paul deLadurantaye: Share personal memories with the Holy Father in Rome. Discuss his legacy as the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church.” [Catholic Diocese of Arlington]
Boeing Talks Tariffs — “Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said Wednesday that he doesn’t expect the U.S. trade war with China to forestall the company’s financial recovery, nor prevent it from reaching aircraft delivery targets with Chinese airlines now refusing to accept Boeing planes. Speaking on CNBC, Ortberg said that Boeing had three airliners in China ready for delivery but brought two of them back to Seattle so far.” [Associated Press]
It’s Thursday — The weather will be sunny, reaching a high near 79 as calm winds shift southward at 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon. By Thursday night, expect partly cloudy skies and a low of about 55. [NWS]
Good Wednesday 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 23, 2025.
Here is what’s going on Thursday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
The weather will be sunny, reaching a high near 79 as calm winds shift southward at 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon. By Thursday night, expect partly cloudy skies and a low of about 55, with southeast winds at 5 to 7 mph calming down after midnight. See more from Weather.gov.
“What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
– Henry David Thoreau
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.
Live standup comedy in Arlington on Friday July 31 starring Jim Bryan, Kim Villamera, and Greg Billet.
Friday, July 31, 2026
The driver in a Ballston crash in January that killed a 32-year-old woman will not face any criminal charges, police have announced.
Investigators determined that the driver of the pickup truck that struck and killed a car driven by Xuewei He of McLean “experienced a medical emergency prior to the crash,” the Arlington County Police Department announced in a press release today (Wednesday).
Every weekday for the past seven weeks, a small but determined crew of anti-Trump protesters has gathered on a Fairlington overpass to greet rush hour commuters.
With signs, a banner reading “No Kings!” and flags of the United States, Ukraine and the European Union, the demonstrators on the S. Abingdon Street bridge wave at the crowded lanes of vehicles driving south on I-395.
Another developer is setting its sights on redeveloping a Ballston office building as a residential high-rise.
Aria Development Group filed plans last week to replace a five-story structure at 4420 Fairfax Drive with a 22-story tower. The new building would have 302 residential units, 5,017 square feet of retail and 86 parking spaces.
Virginia Square’s newly renovated American Legion Post 139 plans to host its first-ever veterans art exhibit over Memorial Day weekend.
Highlighting art by Northern Virginia veterans, the gallery opening on Saturday, May 24 at 3445 Washington Blvd will “explore themes of service, conflict, healing and duty,” Commander Richard L. Rodriguez, who served in the Marines, Navy and Navy Reserve, told ARLnow.
Clarendon’s Verizon store is preparing to relocate this summer as a new facial studio hopes to open there this fall.
The Verizon at 2930 Clarendon Blvd is moving less than a block away to Le Pain Quotidien’s former space at 2900 Clarendon Blvd. Meanwhile, skin care studio franchise Glowbar intends to open at Verizon’s current address later this year.
