ARLnow Press Club

Here’s a snapshot of what ARLnow reporters covered in just the past two weeks…

Dan Egitto reported that a House committee subpoenaed Arlington’s Commonwealth’s Attorney in a bias investigation — a story with national implications unfolding in our own courthouse. He also reported that Arlington County is withholding nearly $1 million from its trash contractor over more than 8,500 missed collections since August, and covered how a partisan “pink slime” newspaper showed up in Arlington mailboxes ahead of the redistricting vote.

Dan also brought us the story of a police officer who ordered pizza for stranded middle schoolers after their charter bus got stuck in the mud, and reported that Ireland’s Four Courts was named America’s Best Soccer Bar in a nationwide contest.

Scott McCaffrey reported that service cutbacks and staff furloughs may be coming if tax revenue stays below expectations, dug into the county treasurer’s shift to short-term investments as the fiscal picture worsens, and broke down a county proposal to withhold extra tax revenue from Arlington Public Schools. This week, he reported that the fire chief offered to reevaluate the controversial plan to consolidate rescue units and that the police chief is seeking funding to unfreeze 20 officer positions.

McCaffrey also found that Arlington unemployment jumped 23% in 2025, and covered a neighborhood plan update for Arlington View — its first since 1965.

Emily Leayman reported on how a proposed $25 minimum wage in D.C. could shift business to Northern Virginia and covered Virginia’s return to the multistate voter roll system — state-level policy stories with direct local impact.

Katie Taranto reported that a local restaurateur is buying out Westover Taco to open Northern Virginia’s first women’s sports bar — one of our most-read stories of the month — and that Xi’an Famous Foods is planning a new location in Clarendon.

Then there’s our reporting on police raiding six Arlington vape stores as part of a regional drug trafficking investigation that seized over $2 million in narcotics. Regional outlets focused on the raids in Fairfax County, while we kept you informed about what happened in our community.

That’s two weeks. Accountability reporting on government spending, public safety, and contracts. Data-driven stories on the local economy and public services. New restaurants, neighborhood plans, and the hyperlocal stories that make Arlington feel like Arlington. Many of these stories aren’t being covered by anyone else — and without ARLnow, they simply wouldn’t get told.

ARLnow is free to read, and it will stay that way. But the reporting behind it isn’t free to produce.

ARLnow Press Club members help make it possible — and get upgraded newsletters in return, with article summaries, previews of upcoming coverage, and fewer ads.

If you read ARLnow every day, Press Club is the way to help us keep you, and everyone else in Arlington, informed.

It’s been another busy fall for ARLnow’s local reporters, with lots of scoops and detailed community reporting.

But we need your help. The ongoing federal government shutdown has dampened our advertising sales at a crucial time of year, creating financial headwinds for our newsroom. To maintain our current staffing levels — the highest they’ve been since our founding nearly 16 years ago — we’re counting on readers like you to join the ARLnow Press Club.

When you become a Press Club member, you’re not just supporting local journalism — you’re getting something valuable in return. Members receive a “pro” version of our afternoon newsletter with easy-to-skim summaries, plus a sneak peek at our coverage plans every weekday morning, so you’re always a step ahead on what’s happening in Arlington.

We’re proud to cover the Arlington community at a level that very few suburban locales receive anywhere in the country. But sustaining that coverage takes resources, and in challenging times like these, your support makes all the difference.

Thank you, Arlington, for your continued support. Click here or on the button below to learn more and sign up.

Flickr pool photo by Joanna Hiatt Kim

ARLnow Press Club members know things others don’t.

Specifically, they know that after this post we’re going to be covering a plan to lower speed limits on some local roads. Earlier today, they knew what was going to be in the daily Morning Notes post hours in advance.

Members also know that on busy days they can just browse summaries of our stories and not miss any important local developments.

That’s because Press Club members get a pair of exclusive newsletters: the Early Morning Notes, which includes a rundown of the day’s planned coverage (see below), and the Pro Update, which contains article summaries, larger photos and no display ads.

While ARLnow has seen significant readership growth, we’ve actually seen a decline in revenue this year due to local economic uncertainty and federal job losses. If it were not for the support of the ARLnow Press Club, we would have had to make significant cuts to our local news coverage.

Can you spare ten bucks a month to be better informed and to support local news in your hometown? If so, please join here.

ARLnow has never done more local news reporting than we’re doing now.

We’re doing deep dives on local government and budgets, reporting regularly on how White House policies are affecting Arlington, doggedly covering beats like criminal justice and local business, and watching just about every local meeting of note.

In all, a half dozen full-time journalists contribute to our Arlington coverage. In this day and age, this level of hyperlocal coverage is rare for a community like Arlington. And it’s not easy to maintain.

Unfortunately, the current economic uncertainty is contributing to a meaningful downturn in our main source of revenue: advertising by local businesses and organizations.

While we already have more than 500 members of the ARLnow Press Club, we need more to weather a sustained economic downturn. If you’ve been on the fence, now is the time to join.

But it’s not just altruism — you’ll also get some great features which Press Club members love, including:

• Early Morning Notes: An early look at the coming day’s coverage plan and Morning Notes.
• Afternoon Pro Update: A banner-ad-free daily newsletter with AI text and audio summaries.
• Weekend Edition: Weekly features that explore local history and track restaurant openings, court cases and deals from local businesses.

Join today via this link or the button below. Thank you!