With Arlington getting some warmer weather, George Mason University is opening up the plaza of its Arlington campus to a series of free activities and events.
The weekly programs are hosted at Mason Square Plaza at 3383 Fairfax Drive, in Virginia Square. The weekly events started today (Monday) and are scheduled to continue through May 12.
A new vision for replacing the Pentagon Centre shopping center, including the Costco, is coming into focus.
Kimco Realty Corporation revised its plans envisioning the long-term redevelopment of the 16.8-acre site, which were first approved by the Arlington County Board in 2015. Kimco submitted documents articulating these changes — which call for new high-rise residential and commercial buildings — in late December.
Arlington’s small business community is strong and resilient. However, local businesses continue to face challenges from economic uncertainty, drops in consumer confidence, losses in access to capital, and disruptions from artificial intelligence. BizLaunch, a division of Arlington Economic Development, continues to rise to the challenge by supporting over 6,000 small businesses in Arlington with one-on-one counseling, innovative programming and robust marketing to encourage consumers to shop locally.
During a recent presentation to the Small Business Coordinating Council, BizLaunch Director Tara Palacios highlighted fiscal year 2026 results that underscore both the impact of Arlington’s business support programs and the pressures ahead.
BizLaunch provided technical assistance to entrepreneurs at a level 56% above its annual goal, reflecting sustained demand for one-on-one advising and business guidance. The division also served a diverse business community, including 52% women-owned businesses and 45% minority-owned enterprises. Nearly a quarter — 24% — of clients were in food and retail, industries that continue to face heightened economic pressure.
Major marketing and PR campaigns drove engagement across Arlington. Small Business Saturday, one of BizLaunch’s signature programs, prompted more than 4,141 transactions and $211,862 in consumer spending through the Open Rewards incentive, supported by a $10,625 investment of County funds. A coordinated marketing campaign with the BIDs and Partnerships further amplified the effort, generating more than 56,000 organic social media impressions, 44,000 video views and 1,619 engagements, along with nearly 2,000 paid ad clicks.
Support for business development through programming has also expanded. The BizLaunch Transformational Challenge and Pitchfest drew 40 participants for a five-week training program covering strategic planning, marketing, artificial intelligence and financial management. Participants developed pitch decks and presented to a panel of private lenders and business leaders. In all $25,000 was awarded to local businesses through the pitch event which came from private donations and contributions from the Industrial Development Authority. (more…)
Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that highlights Arlington-based startups, founders, and local tech news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring 1515 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn.
A longtime Arlingtonian has launched a company that seeks to provide a more personalized pooch poop removal service.
Arlington ranks near the top of many lists, but it’s near the bottom of a new one looking at purchasing power.
The county is No. 66 out of 76 on a list of “Where $100,000 Goes Furthest.” The bottom four cities on the list are New York, Honolulu, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., compared to the top-ranked cities of Memphis, El Paso, Oklahoma City and Corpus Christi.
We’re ending Movie Nights on the Pike with a scream.
Join us at Penrose Square for a special outdoor screening of I Know What You Did Last Summer, the iconic summer slasher that became a defining horror film of the late 1990s.
A fundraiser for Commonwealth’s Attorney candidate Josh Katcher has drawn some notable local names.
Katcher is running in June’s Democratic primary to unseat his former boss, Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, as Arlington’s top prosecutor. Both bill themselves as justice reformers, though Katcher is associating a local rise in crime — albeit one in line with national trends — with what he calls the “multiple failings” of Dehghani-Tafti’s leadership.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, the prime minister of Ireland, took in a history-making rugby match at a bar in Pentagon City over the weekend.
Varadkar watched the Ireland claim the Guinness Six Nations crown on home soil for the first time in 75 years at Maddie and Eddie’s, the Irish bar at Westpost (formerly Pentagon Row) owned by notable local chef — and Dublin native — Cathal Armstrong.
More on Rock Creek Park Crash Victims — “A Lyft driver and his two passengers were the men killed in a crash with an SUV that had just fled a traffic stop on Rock Creek Parkway early Wednesday morning… One of the two young men riding in the Lyft was 22-year-old Olvin Torres Velasquez, who worked at a restaurant in Arlington. Family and friends gathered Thursday to remember him… The other passenger killed in the rideshare was 23-year-old Jonathan Cabrera Mendez. He and Velasquez were on their way home to Arlington after a night out in D.C.” [NBC 4]
Arlington Election Straw Poll — “For County Board, Maureen Coffey led the field with 28 votes, followed by J.D. Spain Sr. (25), Susan Cunningham (19), Natalie Roy (18), Tony Weaver (15) and Jonathan Dromgoole (nine)… For commonwealth’s attorney, Parisa Dehghani-Tafti scored 52 votes to Josh Katcher’s 12.” [Gazette Packet]
Good Friday evening, Arlington. Today we published articles that were read a total of 10800 times… so far.
The following are the most-read articles for today — Mar 17, 2023.
Update at 9:40 a.m. — The Saturday County Board meeting is underway and 248 people are signed up to speak about Missing Middle. The Board expects to hear speakers today and during its Tuesday meeting before deliberating and potentially voting on Wednesday, according to County Board Chair Christian Dorsey. The Wednesday meeting will start at 4 p.m.
Earlier: The Arlington County Board is set to vote Saturday on zoning changes intended to add housing by allowing greater density in single-family neighborhoods.
