Despite receiving most of what it wanted, Arlington came up short in winning regional funding for some key transportation projects.
Three of the county’s 13 submissions for the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority’s FY2026-31 Six-Year Program failed to be funded. A final vote was taken at the authority’s July 9 board meeting.
Arlington leaders are laying the groundwork for a 2027 referendum asking voters to increase the local sales tax from 6% to 7%.
“Arlington is very seriously considering it,” County Board member Maureen Coffey said at the July 2 meeting of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) board of directors.
The Arlington NAACP is being urged to stay engaged as proposals to revamp Arlington’s governance further percolate over the coming year.
“Everyone has ideas,” County Board member Julius “JD” Spain, Sr., said at the civil-rights organization’s Monday (June 29) meeting.
The former Lee Community Center on Langston Blvd could remain on ice for up to a decade while county officials decide what to do with it.
County Manager Mark Schwartz’s proposed 10-year capital improvement plan (CIP), released in May, calls for waiting until fiscal year 2035 or 2036 before addressing renovations and future programming at the facility. However, both civic leaders and at least one County Board member are hopeful they can shorten that timeline.
Arlington officials are working to modernize outdoor drinking fountains in county parks, but acknowledge the effort will take time.
It could be into the 2030s before all fountains are converted to year-round use, the Park and Recreation Commission was told on June 16.
Arlingtonians’ views of the county government performance and overall quality of life have not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, a new survey confirms.
While improving from the last resident-satisfaction survey conducted in 2022, overall grades on six key metrics remain down from 2018, according to data presented June 17 to County Board members.
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.
Recent trends in Arlington’s hotel-occupancy and room rates are pointing modestly upward after a downturn in 2025.
For the first four months of 2026, the county’s hotel-occupancy rate was up 2% year-over-year, while the revenue per available room was up nearly 6%, according to new data.
Glencarlyn residents used the weekend to celebrate their community, get an early start on the nation’s 250th birthday and express concerns about ongoing issues.
The two-day Glencarlyn Neighborhood Days event is an annual opportunity for the South Arlington community to both reflect and look forward.
County officials are preparing for the final phase of a nearly 20-year effort to improve conditions for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists along Wilson Blvd.
“The goal is to start in late summer — late July or sometime in August,” said Gabriela Kock, the county government’s project manager for the streetscape project.
Community leaders and neighborhood residents celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Aurora Hills branch library on Saturday.
Megan Wianecki, manager of the branch library, said the day’s events were not just a celebration of the centennial, but all those who support the library and community.
Costs for the Arlington 55+ Travel program aren’t going up as much as first proposed, but they’re still rising and future increases are likely.
As part of the fiscal 2027 budget process, County Board members approved a 25% increase in fees charged by the 55+ Travel program, operated by the Department of Parks and Recreation.
