Around Town

A pizza franchise with a flair for the psychedelic has its eye on Arlington and Alexandria as it plans a major new expansion into the D.C. area.

Mellow Mushroom has named the two localities among its “highest-priority growth markets on the East Coast,” a spokesperson told ARLnow. The business — known for its “stone-baked pies,” appetizers and kaleidoscopic colors — is planning to open eight to 10 new locations in the region, according to Jamie Cecil, vice president of franchise development.


News

A proposal to impose fees on applications for new historic districts in Arlington is drawing criticism from members of the county’s historic-preservation panel.

Kaydee Myers, chair of the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB), argued that the small number of applications submitted annually would result in minimal revenue, but imposing a fee could dissuade future applicants.


News

County Board members have approved new rooftop solar panels at four more county buildings, including Central Library.

Collectively, the installations are anticipated to save the county government about $850,000 in utility costs over a 25-year period.


Event

Join us for the Little Lambs Academy Open House!

Families with children ages 3 months through 12 years old are invited to tour our facility, meet our staff, and learn more about the programs we offer. This is a great opportunity to explore our classrooms, ask questions about enrollment, and see firsthand what makes Little Lambs Academy a nurturing and engaging environment for children.


News

This winter’s “snowcrete” storm cost Reagan National Airport some passengers, but the looming spring-break season may turn things around.

January’s enplanements at Reagan National stood at just over 820,000, down 5.1% from a year before, according to data presented March 18 to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) board of directors.


News
Blooming in Lubber Run Park (Flickr pool photo by ksrjghkegkdhgkk)

Beyer Blasts Trump on Iran — Rep. Don Beyer (D) called the president’s handling of the Iran conflict a “clown show,” posting that Trump “was awfully concerned about the ‘pallets of cash’ sent to Iran a decade ago, but is now going to give them nearly 10x that amount in the middle of a war.” In a separate post, Beyer called the president’s behavior “increasingly erratic” and “a clear and growing threat.” [Rep. Don Beyer/X, Rep. Don Beyer/X]

Redistricting Referendum Jitters — “It’s not a done deal by any means,” Rep. Beyer said of the upcoming Virginia redistricting referendum, adding that Democrats will need to persuade voters to “hold their nose on gerrymandering because this is a response to Trump’s gerrymandering.” [NBC 4]

AG Sues Over Tegna Merger — Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones (D) and seven other state AGs filed a lawsuit to block Nexstar Media Group’s $6.2 billion takeover of Tysons-based Tegna, arguing the merger would reduce competition in local news. The FCC had approved the deal earlier the same day. [FFXnow]

Courthouse Market Expanding — The Saturday morning Arlington Farmers Market in the Courthouse parking lot is expanding by 4,000 square feet and nearly 20 tents for the season, beginning April 4. The market, contracted out to FRESHFARM, doubles SNAP benefits and accepts SFMNP. [Arlington County]

Remembering ‘Rusty’ Lynn — E. Russell “Rusty” Lynn Jr., 83, of Arlington, died Feb. 22. A Presbyterian pastor turned licensed clinical social worker, he worked at the Whitman-Walker Clinic during the AIDS crisis and married his husband Ed at Clarendon Presbyterian Church in 2015. A memorial service will be held April 18. [Washington Post]

That Loud Boom, Explained — The NWS says the loud “boom” heard Friday evening was a powerful positive cloud-to-ground lightning strike in Frederick County, Md. A temperature inversion near the ground acted “like an echo chamber,” making the already powerful strike seem even louder. [NWS/X]

Cherry Blossom Picks — The National Cherry Blossom Festival runs through April 12, and Axios has a local’s guide to the best events, including the Blossom Kite Festival (March 28), the Oxon Run Pinknic (March 29) and the Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival (April 11–12). [Axios]

Guard Deployment Extended — The Pentagon is planning to keep National Guard members deployed in D.C. until 2029, the end of President Trump’s term. “It could be $1.6 million a day,” D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said. “I don’t get the point.” [WJLA]

It’s Monday — Rain showers this morning taper off around 10 a.m., giving way to partly sunny skies with a high near 60. North winds 8–16 mph with gusts up to 29 mph. Tonight clears out with a low around 33. [NWS]

Today’s Morning Notes are brought to you by Industrious. ARLnow has been in an Industrious office for years and we love the convenience — you get to focus on your work rather than worrying about brewing your own coffee or keeping the copy machine stocked. Industrious has several Metro-accessible coworking locations in Arlington.

Flickr pool photo by ksrjghkegkdhgkk


Weather

A combination of dry conditions, wind and warm temperatures will raise the risk of brush fires today.

The National Weather Service just issued a Special Weather Statement warning of the extra fire danger.


Around Town

Good Friday 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 — Mar 20, 2026.

Since it’s Friday, we’ve also compiled a list of the most-read articles of the week, below.

  1. Rep. Beyer introduces bill to eliminate federal income tax for Americans earning under $46,000 (1039221 views)
  2. Local restaurateur buying out Westover Taco to launch N. Va.’s first women’s sports bar (20169 views)
  3. DEVELOPING: Arlington Public Schools to dismiss early Monday due to storm risk (14924 views)
  4. UPDATED: Awaiting second round of storms after Arlington sees mostly rain from first wave (10579 views)
  5. UPDATED: Tornado Watch cancelled for Arlington (9820 views)
  6. County withholding nearly $1M from trash contractor due to missed collections (7953 views)
  7. Xi’an Famous Foods plans new Chinese restaurant in Clarendon (7071 views)
  8. ACPD officer steps in with pizza after APS charter bus gets stuck in mud (6278 views)
  9. Residents question proposal to leave a portion of DCA pedestrian bridge uncovered (5156 views)
  10. New ‘event-driven’ restaurant planned after Rooftop Recess closes in Courthouse (5073 views)
  11. NOW: Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued for Arlington (4507 views)
  12. Service cutbacks, staff furloughs possible in Arlington depending on tax revenue (4281 views)
  13. Virginia Democrats pass full affordability agenda as General Assembly adjourns without a budget (3994 views)

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Saturday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

Here are the events planned for Sunday:

☀️ Saturday’s forecast

Expect mostly sunny skies with a high near 66 degrees and a gentle north wind blowing at 6 to 8 mph. Saturday night will be partly cloudy with temperatures dropping to around 48 degrees, and winds shifting from the east to south at 6 mph after midnight. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
– Nelson Mandela

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

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! If you have something to say about an issue of local note not covered today, feel free to post it as a letter to the editor on our new forum. 👋


News

The House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed Arlington’s commonwealth’s attorney, the latest escalation in a months-long dispute over her handling of an ongoing criminal investigation.

Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has filed a subpoena seeking to compel Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti to release numerous documents related to a case involving the search and seizure of an activist’s cellphone.