Parents and community members march in front of Wakefield High School (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
After a fatal overdose on school grounds last month, Arlington Public Schools has been urging staff to call 911 for potential overdoses.
For incidents that might not be life-or-death, however, staff members are still being instructed to tell administrators when students show signs of being high or drunk, sending them to the school nurse for evaluation.
The event, co-organized by the Arlington Sister Cities Association, is scheduled to kick off at 10 a.m. Friday, outside of Arlington County government headquarters, at 2100 Clarendon Blvd in Courthouse.
Arlington’s Four Mile Run corridor is home to an inspiring new happening. The new art market called SPARK! launches on Sunday, May 3, 2026, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. and continues every first Sunday of the month through November.
A fun inclusive outdoor market with handpicked art and food vendors and programming including poetry, music and art making, it’s the kickoff activity for the new outdoor venue 2700 Art Space, located at 2700 S. Nelson St., Arlington, Virginia 22206. Meet your neighbors, build community and be inspired.
At the first event, “Spark” your creativity with a smooth jolt of coffee from Rossana Coffee. Browse the stacks at the mobile bookstore Wandering Shelf. Get a massage from the licensed therapists from Zen27 Healing and Body Works. Peruse artwork by artists David Amoroso, Kate Rosendale or the printmakers and ceramicists from The Studios at Arlington Arts. Have a poem composed especially for you at The Poet is IN booth. Stop by Tigerflight and put the squeeze on a plush animal made from repurposed wool sweaters. Enjoy a Thai-inspired dessert from Mango Mama while listening to tropical sounds from the DJ’s of Leon City Sounds! Every month will offer something new and unusual. Visit the website for the full list!
Artist Roxana Alger Geffen will be the interactive artist at the first SPARK! bringing her popular Arlington Art Truck project “Patch or Swap: A Textile Rescue Lab” to the market! Fans of the Art Truck, which brought artists-in-residence to every corner of the County from 2018 through 2025, will be glad to know that SPARK! is curated with a similar vision by Arlington Arts’ programming team including Special Projects Curator, Cynthia Connolly.
Located adjacent to Jennie Dean Park, busy auto repair shops, a food assistance outlet and one of the region’s most popular “destination” dog parks, it is only a four-minute walk across Four Mile Run to the Tony Award-winning Signature Theater. The area is bustling all day.
Anchored by SPARK!, the venue now known as 2700 Art Space is at the nexus of several communities. It’s directly opposite Arlington Arts’ headquarters featuring Theatre On the Run, an 90-seat black box theater, rehearsal rooms, dance studios, and new printmaking and ceramics studios for the resident artists of The Studios at Arlington Arts (formerly LAC Arts Center on Langston Boulevard), which will hold its Spring Show and Sale on Saturday, May 2.
Music and merch aren’t the only types of art that will surround you at SPARK! As shown in this reel, even the tables and benches are fun! Film nights and other activities are in the making for the fall, and two works of temporary public art are currently being installed. Artist Adam Henry is creating a 10-foot tall sculpture of a golden retriever replete with a QR-code dog collar inviting you to upload selfies and stories about your pets. Directly adjacent to the outdoor space (on three sides of the Arlington Arts headquarters at 3700 S. Four Mile Run Dr.) will be a sweeping new mural by nationally acclaimed artist MasPaz. Both works grew out of a special Artist In Residence (AIR) Grant from Arlington Arts, made possible by a top-tier award from the National Endowment for the Arts, American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
Visit our website for more information about SPARK!
Reagan National Airport (Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf)
Travelers can expect several new eateries and stores at Reagan National Airport later this year.
A travel supply store with “Just Walk Out” technology, a D.C.-based bookstore, a local burger restaurant, and Chinese food chain P.F. Chang’s are all planning to open at DCA at some point this year, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) spokesperson Rob Yingling confirmed to ARLnow.
Local rising kindergartener, Phin, has advanced to the Top 5 in his group in the national Jr. Ranger Contest, a competition that celebrates children who are passionate about nature, wildlife, and exploration. After making it through earlier rounds with strong community support, Phin is now in 4th place and working toward the top spot needed to move on to the quarterfinals.
The contest encourages kids to engage with the outdoors and highlights their curiosity and love for learning about the natural world. For Phin and his family, this experience has been both exciting and meaningful, made even more special by the encouragement from friends, neighbors, and the broader community.
Renderings for an apartment building to replace two hotels at 2480 S. Glebe Road in Green Valley (via Arlington County)
The owner of a hotel in Green Valley is signaling interest in building apartments.
Capital Second Investments, which owns Hotel Pentagon at 2480 S. Glebe Road near I-395, has filed a conceptual site plan application envisioning a 467-unit apartment building and 36 townhouses. Some entities take this step before filing a formal site plan application to get early feedback on the feasibility of their proposal.
The Women’s Crawl is coming to Falls Church on May 9, 2026!
Hosted by the team behind the Shrinks on Tap Podcast and presented by Expand Psychology, this one-of-a-kind event is more than a night out—it’s a movement.
On one hand, it’s hard to argue against temperatures in the 70s in isolation. On the other hand, there is just something disconcerting about experiencing that in February.
The Marymount University lacrosse team practices in Long Bridge Park (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Civ Fed Resolution Deferred, Again — “After spending more than two hours wrangling over procedural steps while barely touching the substance, Arlington County Civic Federation delegates on Feb. 21 deferred, for a month, action on a contentious resolution related to Arlington governance… delegates spent most of the meeting sparring over the procedural propriety of considering a substitute proposal that had been offered by the Arlington branch of the NAACP.” [Gazette Leader]
New Peter Chang Restaurant — “Celebrated chef Peter Chang is bringing his renowned Szechuan and Hubei cooking to Crystal City near Amazon’s headquarters. The 2022 James Beard Award finalist is opening his newest restaurant, to be called NiHao Arlington, later this year or in early 2024, co-owner Lydia Chang — Peter’s daughter — tells DCist/WAMU. It’s moving into 1550 Crystal Drive, Chang says, nestled near buzzy bakery Mah-Ze-Dahr, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and Amazon Fresh grocery store.” [DCist]
Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz (via Arlington County/YouTube)
(Updated at 4:20 p.m.) Arlington’s property tax rate will not be going up in the new county budget, but it looks unlikely to come down, either.
The County Board voted unanimously last night (Tuesday) to advertise a property tax rate of $1.013 per $100 in assessed value. That sets a cap on the real estate tax rate, locking in the county to a rate that’s flat or lower than last year.