As the 2024-25 school year starts today, Arlington Public Schools is launching several new initiatives to tackle student safety and enrichment.
Approved changes for this year include a new attendance policy for high school athletic events, a new after-school program pilot, and an extra five-day weekend in November.
With four months to go in the Arlington 2050 Initiative, conversations about the county’s long-term future are still underway.
While the goals of residents for the next several decades differ substantially, county spokesperson Kristen Clark told ARLnow that one clear trend has emerged across engagement efforts: “Folks want to be together.”
The Arlington County Board has announced plans to dismiss all current members of the Human Rights Commission.
Following months of mounting tension, the County Board plans to revise the commission’s charter and clarify members’ duties. Commissioners who wish to stay would have to reapply for the role “with an explicit understanding of the HRC’s clarified duties and responsibilities,” Board Chair Libby Garvey said in an email yesterday (Thursday).
Local elected officials are throwing their weight behind a unionization effort at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City.
Writing on behalf of the Board earlier this month, Arlington County Chair Libby Garvey noted that over 70% of housekeeping workers at the hotel next to Reagan National Airport signed union authorization cards in July, filing for a union election.
Despite plans to close to the public, the doors to the View of DC observation deck in Rosslyn remain open for now while the property’s new owner finalizes some last-minute details.
Yesterday (Wednesday) was intended to be the last day visitors could access the deck at 1201 Wilson Blvd, according to the Arlington Economic Development website. The Arlington County Board last week agreed to exchange public access to the lookout, which offers free 360-degree views of D.C. and Northern Virginia, for a $14 million investment in renovations at nearby Gateway Park.
Arlington has a new top climate official to steer the county toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 — a goal that some activists fear the county is not on track to meet.
Jennifer Fioretti, previously deputy director of the Dept. of Parks and Recreation, has been named Assistant County Manager for Climate Policy, the county announced in a press release. She will oversee the development of policies that engage both county government and the broader community in achieving Arlington’s environmental goals.
Arlington has a new top communications official.
Erika Moore, the former communications manager for Arlington’s Dept. of Community Planning, Housing and Development, is the new Assistant County Manager for Communications and Public Engagement, the county announced in a press release earlier this month.
The Arlington County Board has re-approved the Pentagon City Sector Plan, restoring a document that a state court declared void for procedural reasons earlier this year.
The Board’s unanimous vote on Tuesday reaffirmed the county’s original February 2022 decision to plan for substantial Pentagon City development in coming years, particularly at the RiverHouse apartment complex. Developer JBG Smith proposes to build over 1,500 new units on the expansive property, across from the Westpost shopping center and home to three apartment towers.
Poor regional coordination and outdated technology led to inconsistent messaging during Arlington’s boil water notice earlier this month, county staff say.
Confusion began after D.C. Water was the first to issue a boil water notice the night of July 3, due to potential contamination caused by algae blooms in the Potomac River.
Extra emphasis on road safety, environmental resiliency and facilities upgrades is included in the final draft of Arlington’s latest 10-year Capital Improvement Plan.
The Arlington County Board yesterday (Tuesday) approved a $4.5 billion Fiscal Year 2025-2034 CIP, outlining planned investment in county infrastructure and assets. Changes between the original proposal presented in May and the final draft include:
The Arlington County Board has approved a $4 million land purchase to build a new Columbia Pike fire station.
Fire Station 7 is slated to be built on two parcels of land next to Serrano Apartments at 5519 Columbia Pike — near Bailey’s Crossroads and about two miles away from the former Fire Station 7 in Fairlington that shuttered in 2019.
After succumbing to falling trees for the second time in nearly 50 years, the quaint footbridge linking the Barcroft and Arlington Forest neighborhoods is on the brink of its second rebirth.
On Monday, the Arlington County Board approved the transfer of a small parcel of land, owned by Dominion Energy and located between 416 S. Abingdon Street and 500 S. Abingdon Street, to rebuild a recently fallen footbridge that has provided safe passage to residents crossing a stream known as Grandma’s Creek since the 1940s.
