As safety-net advocates press for more funding to address homelessness, Arlington officials say more permanent and temporary housing options are also needed.
The county’s full “continuum of care” for this issue clocks in at $7.5 million annually — “not an insignificant amount,” Anita Friedman, director of the county government’s Department of Human Services, said at a budget work session last week. Without places for people to go, however, she said the problem festers.
Forceful debate over Arlington County’s approach to a recent surge in immigration enforcement dominated a County Board meeting this weekend.
Following extensive public comments and shouted chants and boos from dozens of advocates, several Board members raised the possibility of once again revising county policy on when local police can contact federal law enforcement.
A relatively brief Arlington County Board meeting on Saturday involved discussion of local glass recycling and traffic calming on 1st Road S.
As officials are in the midst of determining the county’s budget and wrestling with various other thorny issues involving President Donald Trump’s administration, this week’s agenda was unusually light.
Arlington’s proposed FY 2026 budget continues after-school programs kicked off last year aimed at curbing substance abuse among local teens.
Data shows that Arlington overdoses did, indeed, decline last year among juveniles and in the general population. However, it’s somewhat unclear how much of a role the new Arlington Public Schools programming played in this.
Substantial economic uncertainty has left Arlington officials facing tough questions as they consider beefing up the county’s reserve fund this year.
The current Fiscal Year 2026 budget draft includes a proposed $11.5 million increase to the county’s Economic Stability Reserve — increasing it from $21.5 million to $33 million.
Arlington County Board members have a lighter-than-usual agenda as they plan to gather for their monthly meeting on Saturday (March 15).
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some items worth watching. Among them:
Arlington’s commonwealth’s attorney is pushing for an increase in funding for her office as the county continues to wrestle with a relatively tight budget.
At a budget work session last week, Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti argued on behalf of three additional staff positions not included in the current budget draft.
The Arlington government’s budget woes likely won’t be severe enough to impact new deer-culling efforts.
The $151,000 proposed in County Manager Mark Schwartz’s draft fiscal 2026 budget “will fund these efforts,” Department of Parks and Recreation director Jane Rudolph told County Board members at a Feb. 27 budget work session.
A six-story office building in Virginia Square could be converted into a 94-unit apartment development.
Site plans filed late last month by Gilbane Development Company call for an adaptive reuse project at 3601 Wilson Blvd. Instead of tearing down the existing building, built in 1999, Gilbane proposes to keep the outside largely intact but rebuild much of the interior as apartments.
As fears of immigration arrests flare, a network of Arlington organizations has been quietly but rapidly mobilizing to help undocumented residents and hinder immigration enforcement.
Local communities were already on the alert when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement carried out multiple raids in Northern Virginia yesterday and today (Tuesday).
Possible changes to Arlington rules on lot coverage could affect how large swaths of the county can be developed — and also make numerous existing homes out of step with zoning regulations.
County Board members on Feb. 25 directed staff to begin preparatory work to study if it makes sense to change how permeable surfaces on a lot are calculated.
An Arlington leader is showing interest in a pilot program to monitor noise levels from vehicles’ exhaust systems.
Legislation now on Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s desk would allow localities in Northern Virginia and the Fredericksburg area to begin using automated monitoring equipment to gauge the noise levels of passing vehicles.
