The Arlington government plans to spend over $200 million on human services programs and personnel in the coming fiscal year, a new record high.
While officials are making some efforts to rein in the increase, they warn that local and national economic factors may force them to either add more funding or scale back existing initiatives as the year progresses.
Safeguards are being put in place to ensure that county staff do not accidentally issue demolition and construction permits allowing the Melwood redevelopment to move forward before a planned historic-preservation analysis is done.
And that’s a process that could take a year.
A burst pipe has flooded and damaged Arlington County’s government headquarters in Courthouse.
The building at 2100 Clarendon Blvd is closed today and county government functions based there have been shifted to virtual operations, the county said.
Add hotel-occupancy rates to the Arlington County government’s growing list of economic concerns.
Projections for the next 60 days suggest Arlington’s hotel-room usage will be down 15% from a year before and expected hotel revenue down 12%.
Arlington neighborhoods have long held what amounts to veto power over the installation of new sidewalks, but that may soon change.
County Manager Mark Schwartz recently told two advisory panels he is interested in developing a countywide sidewalk plan to fill in gaps — and potentially override the views of individual communities.
Two key Arlington government advisory panels have been asked to focus less on trying to vet individual capital projects and more on a big-picture approach.
Since that request comes from County Manager Mark Schwartz, it may have the force of a directive — albeit one politely delivered.
Obtaining real-time data on the impacts of federal downsizing continues to pose a challenge for groups across the D.C. area.
The Northern Virginia Regional Commission has added a section tracking initial unemployment claims on its website. The most recent data as of March 16 show that statewide initial unemployment claims rose from 2,881 the week ending March 1 to 4,036 the week ending March 8.
The lives of Margaret Hyson and her children George and Charlotte — three people enslaved in the Yorktown neighborhood in the 1800s — had previously been unknown to all but their descendants.
But now, this family will have their stories told to a broader community.
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.
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.
A stretch of 12th Street S. in Pentagon City will be off-limits to drivers for about a year as the county extends a bus rapid transit corridor.
Closing the street during the expansion will be safer and allow the work to be completed more quickly, county staff said during a March 11 briefing of the county’s Transit Advisory Committee.
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.
