Yorktown's Matilda Van Voorthuizen (6) tried to control the ball against Robinson (staff photo by Dave Facinoli)
As has been the case for many years under head coach Hannah Davis, the Yorktown Patriots have started a girls soccer season strong.
Through five high-school contests this spring, the Patriots own a perfect 5-0 mark, including shutouts in their first three games. The latest victories were 2-1 over the host Robinson Rams on April 6, then 4-1 against the Chantilly Chargers the next night.
An example of a Via microtransit vehicle (via Via)
Arlington’s new “microtransit” pilot program is launching next week, providing on-demand rides in portions of the county with limited transit options.
The program launches next Monday, April 13. It will be available in two service zones: one in Westover Village and the other in a large swath of northwestern Arlington, including all or some of the neighborhoods of Rock Spring, Yorktown, East Falls Church, Williamsburg, Leeway Overlee, Hall’s Hill and Old Dominion.
When Eddie Kaufholz and his family moved to Arlington nearly five years ago, they were not thinking about starting a business. They wanted to live in a place that was diverse, interesting and full of opportunity, with a school system they could rely on. Arlington fit.
In the years that followed, working out of a home office off Columbia Pike, he consulted with organizations across Northern Virginia and around the country: nonprofits, advocacy groups, mid-sized companies, agencies of various sizes. The work itself was good. But somewhere across all those projects, he started to notice a pattern.
”The agency model has gotten really bloated,” Kaufholz says. ”Layers, handoffs, middle management. The senior people who pitch the work often disappear once it starts. The idea with PILLAR was to strip all of that down; keep senior people on the work, approach each client with humility and care, do world-class strategy and execution, and pass the efficiency back to the client instead of absorbing it as agency margin.”
That thinking, slowly, became PILLAR, the Arlington-headquartered creative, communications and marketing agency Kaufholz founded.
PILLAR, he says, is built on an old idea. ”An idea that has always been possible but rarely practiced: that an agency should be structured to serve the work itself.” The team that delivers the work is assembled around the specific needs of each client and only stays as long as the work calls for them.
”The senior strategist on your kick-off call is the senior strategist writing your messaging,” Kaufholz says. ”Every person on a project is there because the work specifically calls for them.”
PILLAR’s recent work has spanned human rights, executive leadership, higher education, advocacy and direct-to-consumer ecommerce. The roster has included national nonprofits, a national multimillion-dollar direct-to-consumer brand and a number of institutions navigating significant moments of strategic change. The model is built to scale up to be the agency of record for a national brand, or to scale down to design a logo for a neighborhood nonprofit. PILLAR takes equal pride and care in both.
What Kaufholz did not understand when he started, he said, was how much the County itself would matter in making any of it possible. (more…)
Fed Child Exploitation Cases — Two Arlington men pled guilty last month to federal child sexual abuse charges under the Justice Department’s Project Safe Childhood initiative. One defendant, 26, urinated on his laptop during an FBI search to prevent agents from accessing evidence. A second man, 35, was found with hundreds of files of child sexual abuse material on his devices. [Patch, U.S. Attorney’s Office]
RNC Sues Over Va. Voting — The Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit challenging Virginia’s voting system, alleging the state allows some people who have never been residents to cast ballots. The suit targets a provision letting children of overseas Virginians vote without ever having lived in the state. Matthew Hurtt, head of the Arlington GOP, joined the suit. [Washington Times]
Long Bridge Work Delays — Drivers should expect periodic traffic impacts on Boundary Channel Drive and surrounding loop ramps through April 13 as the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority continues work on the Long Bridge Project. Lane narrowing and equipment storage will be in place during weekday off-peak hours, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. [Patch]
Infrastructure Input Sought — Arlington County is asking residents where to prioritize maintenance and funding for streets, parks, technology, stormwater systems and county buildings. Feedback is due by April 23. [Arlington County/X]
MCM Registration Opens — Registration for the 51st Marine Corps Marathon opened Monday, and organizers expect it to sell out. “Last year it took us about a month,” said marketing manager Amber Traunero. The race will be held Oct. 25 with new corral starts and a four-day expo at the National Building Museum. [WTOP]
Art of Pink This Friday — The National Landing BID’s Pink in the Park series wraps up Friday with Art of Pink, a free after-hours event at Metropolitan Park from 5–10 p.m. featuring a cherry blossom art exhibition with 60-plus local artists, a live paint battle, food vendors and live music. [National Landing BID]
Corvex Touts Public Edge — Arlington-based AI cloud computing firm Corvex Inc. is leveraging its new public company status to recruit talent, offering stock options tied to tradeable shares. “It absolutely is an advantage for us,” CEO Jay Crystal said. The company, which went public via an all-stock merger last month, has 38 employees at Fuse at Mason Square in Virginia Square. [WBJ]
Speed Camera Bill Advances — A bill that would expand speed camera locations to high-risk “safety red zones” designated by the state is awaiting Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s (D) signature. The bill, crafted in memory of two Oakton High School students killed on Blake Lane in 2022, would apply to N. Va. localities including Arlington. [FFXnow]
Spanberger Signs School Bills — Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) signed a package of education bills today targeting school construction planning and classroom cellphone restrictions. The laws make the Commission on School Construction and Modernization permanent and set “bell to bell” limits on student device use during the school day. [Virginia Mercury]
It’s Wednesday — Expect sunny skies today with a high near 55 degrees and light east winds around 6 mph. Tonight’s low drops to around 35 degrees with areas of frost possible after 3 a.m. [NWS]
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Expect sunny weather with a high near 54°F and a northeast wind around 6 mph. Tonight, skies will be mostly clear with a low around 35°F and areas of frost developing after 3 a.m. The southeast wind will range from 3 to 6 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
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An excavator removes rubble at the site of a strike that, according to a security official at the scene, destroyed half of the Khorasaniha Synagogue and nearby residential buildings in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) is calling on House Speaker Mike Johnson to immediately reconvene Congress and hold a vote on a War Powers Resolution as President Trump escalates threats against Iran, warning today (Tuesday) that a “whole civilization will die tonight” if a deal is not reached.
Beyer, whose 8th District includes Arlington, described Trump’s threats as “sick” and “murderous” and accused Republicans of enabling what he called “an immoral and unwell man willing to wield it recklessly.”
A proposed redevelopment project at 3130 Langston Blvd (via Arlington County)
The Arlington Planning Commission has given its nod to a proposed 300-unit residential building on Langston Blvd despite concerns about the safety of a nearby intersection.
Planning commissioners voted 9-0, with one recusal, in support of developer Rooney Properties’ proposal at 3130 Langston Blvd, the site of a shuttered Walgreens near the I-66 off-ramp in the Lyon Village area. However, they also recommended that the County Board move up a study on reconfiguring the surrounding streetscape to match the Langston Boulevard Area Plan’s goals.
Emergency vehicles on scene of bank robbery at Wells Fargo near Columbia Pike (via traffic camera)
A man who attempted to rob a bank along Columbia Pike last year will spend nearly four years behind bars.
Steve Jamal Smith, 31, was sentenced Thursday to 46 months in federal prison over the Feb. 25, 2025, incident, in which he stole $711 from the Wells Fargo at 951 S. George Mason Drive.
Bluefish Bistro has closed at 950 S. George Mason Drive (staff photo by Katie Taranto)
A well-loved sushi restaurant on Columbia Pike has closed after less than three years in business.
Bluefish Bistro is no longer in business at 950 S. George Mason Drive, owner Andy Park told ARLnow. The eatery, which offered a variety of sushi rolls and sashimi, opened in November 2023 at the mixed-use Centro Arlington development and had secured a 4.9-star average rating on Google.
Warmer weather is in the forecast, but not before a possible dip below freezing overnight.
A Freeze Warning has been issued for Arlington, with forecasters warning of sub-freezing temperatures that could kill sensitive plants and damage outdoor plumbing.