Arlington police staffing remains lower than desired but is improving, Police Chief Andy Penn said at a recent meeting.
“We’re still struggling with it,” Penn said of staff levels at the Oct. 13 Civic Federation meeting. “The good news is, hiring is up. I feel really positive about that.”
The Arlington County Civic Federation may renew its push for General Assembly legislation giving the county powers to change its 95-year-old governance structure.
A draft resolution is set to be presented next week and voted on in November, calling for action from the county’s legislative delegation. Desired legislation could grant Arlington the power to modify the size of the County Board and School Board; change the election schedule; allow for a move to district representation; and separately elect a Board chair.
The timetable for County Board members to begin addressing potential changes to local governance appears to be holding to schedule.
“All the remaining deliverables … are on track,” Mason Kushnir, clerk to the County Board, said at the Board’s Sept. 22 meeting.
Northern Virginia congressional candidates are facing off on the future of immigration enforcement, a proposed triumphal arch and the role of AI and data centers.
The issues all took center stage in a Sept. 8 candidate forum sponsored by the Arlington County Civic Federation, where Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) faced three challengers.
The Arlington County Civic Federation opened its 2026-27 year with a salute to personnel of the Arlington County Fire Department.
More than two dozen firefighters were on hand for the Sept. 8 presentation. Civic Federation president Nicholas Giacobbe said the event was designed to show “how much the Arlington community appreciates and supports the fire department.”
Taxes, housing and pedestrian safety were among the issues that County Board candidates debated in their first debate of the general election season.
“We are in a fiscal challenge,” said County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti, a Democrat who is being challenged by independents Audrey Clement and David Sisson. The three took part in a candidate forum sponsored by the Arlington County Civic Federation yesterday (Tuesday).
All 11 candidates running for local office in Arlington have agreed to appear at the Arlington County Civic Federation’s annual candidate forum.
The event will be held on Tuesday, Sep. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Hazel Conference Center at VHC Health (Virginia Hospital Center). It will also be livestreamed and archived for later viewing.
Arlington County has selected a contractor to provide research into change-of-government options, with a preliminary report expected in October.
Denver-based National Civic League has been awarded a contract totaling $25,000, David Barrera, communications manager for the County Board office, told ARLnow.
Promoting health and building community are the dual themes of a potential 2027 event suggested by the county’s Sports Commission.
Commission members reacted favorably at their most recent meeting to a local version of an “Avondvierdaagse.” It’s the Dutch word for a community walk spread over four evenings aimed at bringing together multiple generations of local residents in a fun and often raucous environment.
It could now be 2027 before any community task force is empaneled to consider structural changes to county governance.
A timetable put in place last December suggested that a task force could be appointed sometime in the second half of 2026. But getting past a number of procedural steps has taken longer than anticipated, County Board members were told at their June 17 meeting.
A mix of familiar faces and new names will serve in Arlington County Civic Federation leadership for 2026-27.
Federation delegates on June 9 reelected Nicholas Giacobbe (Aurora Highlands) for a second one-year term as president, and also re-elected Jean Henceroth (Leeway Overlee) as vice president.
A 43% uptick in arrests for intoxicated driving across Arlington last year likely was due, at least in part, to increased enforcement efforts.
“Our midnight [shift] folks really focused on driving while intoxicated to make sure that we’re keeping our roads safe,” Police Chief Andy Penn told Arlington County Civic Federation delegates on June 9.
