Legislation giving Arlington residents more local-governance options has cleared a key hurdle in Richmond.
But it has two more to go.
controversy
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Six months after all its members were unceremoniously removed from office, Arlington’s Human Rights Commission is back in operation.
County Board members on Tuesday (Jan. 28) made seven appointments to the body, with terms running through January 2028.
A Lyon Park private school has received a thumbs up from county leaders on a request to double is student capacity.
But Arlington County Board members cautioned leaders of Tyndale Christian School to be more responsive to community concerns if they hope to maintain, and potentially expand, maximum enrollment.
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LGBTQ+ advocates are lobbying the Arlington County Board for a resolution safeguarding against potential attacks on their rights.
Dozens of activists packed the Board’s meeting room on Saturday to decry recent developments at the federal and state level, including President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting gender identity and “gender ideology.” They argue that such actions threaten the wellbeing of LGBTQ+ people everywhere.
Falls Church officials are nearing a decision on an ordinance that would make it easier to build accessory-dwelling units.
A vote on the ordinance is expected in late March or April. At a Council work session last week, however, there was a split between elected leaders and top staff on how much remaining public input is advisable before the matter goes to a vote.
The future of ranked-choice voting in Arlington’s general elections remains undecided as officials await a report on public attitudes.
The Arlington County Board expects to receive said report at a Tuesday, Jan. 28 meeting. The results “will give us a lot to think about,” Board Chair Takis Karantonis, who has seen some of the data, said at an Arlington County Civic Federation meeting last week.
As Arlington County eyes another possible tax increase this fiscal year, County Manager Mark Schwartz warns that trimming the county $1.65 billion budget would be no small task.
From the rising costs of compensation to funding commitments that can’t be altered in the short term, Schwartz suggested that cutting costs to fill an anticipated budget gap of $30 to $40 million — about 2% of Arlington’s $1.65 billion budget — isn’t as easy as some might think.
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As Arlington Transit buses prepare to move south from the Virginia Square to a new facility, the future of the N. Quincy Street site remains an open question.
“I can’t promise in the future that we won’t consider that property will be used for things that people would rather not have there,” County Manager Mark Schwartz told delegates to the Arlington County Civic Federation during his annual visit to the organization in mid-December.
An update to the Falls Church Bicycle Master Plan has the potential to remake some city streets.
But only if there is more effort put into turning aspirations to reality than has been the case with the existing plan, adopted in 2015, according to some members of a key advisory panel.
Arlington Republicans are setting their sights on the 2027 Commonwealth’s Attorney race amid an ongoing dispute between the county’s police union and its top prosecutor.
It’s been decades since the GOP has fielded a candidate in that particular race. However, local Republican chair Matthew Hurtt has joined the Arlington Coalition of Police in sharply criticizing Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti following a Pentagon City homicide.
The organization most vigorously pressing for Arlington governance changes has affirmed its desire to see the General Assembly bestow blessings on the efforts.
The Arlington County Civic Federation earlier this month approved its 2025 legislative-priorities package, which includes requests to support measures related to changes in the county government’s governance structure.
Arlington officials are moving forward on promised efforts to address Clarendon’s nightlife issues on a real-time basis.
The county government has authorized overtime so members of the code-enforcement staff and fire marshal’s office can join police in nighttime and weekend coverage addressing issues related to bars and restaurants in the corridor.