ARLnow - Arlington and Falls Church, Va. local news

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Jan 20, 2026

Published January 20, 2026 at 8:30PM

Good Tuesday 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 — Jan 20, 2026.

7:30 am: Morning Notes for January 20, 2026 | 🗣️ Comments
8:45 am: Gov. Spanberger’s inauguration raises expectations for wave of bills coming out of N. Va. | 🗣️ Comments
9:45 am: Arlington homeowners could face tax hike as office values plummet 19% | 🗣️ Comments
11:45 am: Advocates propose better training for snowplow personnel, more nimble equipment | 🗣️ Comments
12:45 pm: Wakefield head football coach steps down after three seasons | 🗣️ Comments
1:45 pm: Gov. Spanberger targets utility bills, power demand amid data center boom in N. Va. | 🗣️ Comments
2:45 pm: Inn of Rosslyn redevelopment, playground upgrade on County Board’s agenda | 🗣️ Comments
3:45 pm: Duplex destroyed in Bluemont house explosion gets rebuilt with new townhomes | 🗣️ Comments
3:50 pm: Water main break partially closes N. Quincy Street in Cherrydale | 🗣️ Comments

📅 Upcoming events

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

5:00 pm: Community Volunteer Reading Night
6:30 pm: Wellness Wednesdays @ the Innovation Studio: Musical Sound Bath
👉 6:30 pm: Free Home Buyer Seminar | Shirlington

🌥️ Wednesday’s forecast

Clouds will gradually increase throughout the day, reaching a high near 40°F, accompanied by a light southeast wind that will shift to the south at 9-14 mph in the morning and gust up to 25 mph. On Wednesday night, expect partly cloudy skies with a low temperature around 33°F. The south wind will persist at around 10 mph, with possible gusts up to 20 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“Little by little, one travels far.”
– J.R.R. Tolkien

🌅 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! 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.

Traffic

Water main break partially closes N. Quincy Street in Cherrydale

By ARLnow.com

Published January 20, 2026 at 3:50PM

Water main break on N. Quincy Street in Cherrydale (staff photo)

A water main break has partially closed a busy road in Cherrydale.

As of 3:30 p.m. the northbound lanes of N. Quincy Street were closed near 18th Street N., as water gushed a buckled portion of roadway in front of Restoration Anglican Church. Traffic control personnel were on scene, awaiting the arrival of county water crews.

Synetic Theater presents: Synetic Teen Company’s Cyrano de Bergerac

By Sponsor

Published April 20, 2026 at 10:45AM

“The show frolics in jewel tones, with movement, dance, ingenious prop use and piquant stage business” –The Washington Post

“Fuses acrobatics, mime, design, and music to provide a rich and novel re-interpretation of a classic tale.” –DCTheaterArts

Synetic Theater invites Arlington audiences to experience an evening of bold, inventive storytelling with its Teen Company’s production of Cyrano de Bergerac, paired on select evenings with a pre-show performance of The Boy Who Cried Wolf by the Pre-Teen Ensemble. With just six performances, this limited run offers a rare chance to see the next generation of Synetic artists in action. (more…)

Buy Tickets Now

News

Duplex destroyed in Bluemont house explosion gets rebuilt with new townhomes

By Dan Egitto

Published January 20, 2026 at 3:45PM

Three townhomes coming to N. Burlington Street in the Bluemont neighborhood (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

A trio of townhouses is coming to the site of a duplex destroyed in an explosion in the Bluemont neighborhood two years ago.

Construction on the project at the end of a cul-de-sac off of Bluemont Junction Trail is well underway, with an expected delivery in late summer, according to signage posted at the property. Each of the three townhomes, located at 836, 840 and 844 N. Burlington Street, are advertised with over 4,000 square feet.

Announcement

Why is it so hard to actually have a solid group of guy friends?

By Alex Vans, Choros Founder

Published April 21, 2026

At some point a lot of guys realize they don’t really have a friend group anymore.

Not in a dramatic way. Friends move away, people get busy, and actually seeing the same guys regularly almost never happens.

News

Inn of Rosslyn redevelopment, playground upgrade on County Board’s agenda

By Scott McCaffrey

Published January 20, 2026 at 2:45PM

The Inn of Rosslyn in January 2021 after it closed (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Plans for a 141-unit redevelopment project, renovations at a Gunston Park playground and potential changes to charging standards for electric vehicles are all on the agenda at an upcoming County Board meeting.

Other items slated for discussion this month include road improvements on S. George Mason Drive and flood-mitigation efforts near Cardinal Elementary School.

Event

By Dan Egitto

Published January 20, 2026 at 8:45AM

Surrounded by her family, Gov. Abigail Spanberger gets sworn into office, Jan. 17, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Northern Virginia Democrats were in high spirits at the inauguration of Gov. Abigail Spanberger this weekend, looking toward new opportunities for a variety of bills held back by the previous administration.

Legislators and political observers expect fewer vetoes and more collaboration with Democratic policymakers — including those in Northern Virginia — under Spanberger, a centrist Democrat who emphasized bipartisan solutions to issues like housing and health care costs on the campaign trail and in her inauguration speech.