Arlington’s employment picture appears to be stabilizing after a tumultuous 18 months, during which the county lost thousands of jobs.
With 147,695 county residents employed in the county’s civilian workforce and 4,452 looking for jobs, the county’s jobless rate of 2.9% in July was down slightly from 3% a year before.
Despite pending legal challenges at the state and local level, Arlington prosecutors still consider Virginia’s new assault weapons ban the law of the land.
“Yes, we plan to prosecute cases under the assault weapons ban if they are brought to us by the police,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti told ARLnow, taking a position that tracks with the view of Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones.
Arlington leaders fear that federal cuts could threaten local and region-wide efforts that have helped prevent homelessness from ballooning in challenging economic times.
Arlington typically receives about $4.2 million in annual federal “continuum-of-care” grants. “If we have reduced federal support, it could risk a lot,” County Board member Julius “JD” Spain, Sr. said in a June 17 meeting.
The number of Arlington residents counted as unemployed is up 11.4% year-over-year and has increased 50% since the start of the Trump administration, according to new state data.
A total of 4,814 county residents were looking for work in March, according to figures reported May 19 by the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement. That’s up from 4,358 a year before and up from 3,212 in December 2024, the last full month of the Biden administration.
Construction is underway at the long-vacated Cosi restaurant in Rosslyn — but it’s not for a new dining tenant.
Instead, the Department of State is expanding its lobby, located next door, into the empty retail space at 1801 N. Lynn Street, an agency spokesperson told ARLnow. The expansion is intended to “accommodate security upgrades, visitor badging, and updated finishes” at the building, which is home to the Bureau of Diplomatic Security.
Arlington’s signature program celebrating the nation’s 250th birthday attracted large crowds to Kenmore Middle School this weekend.
A little rain at the end didn’t dampen the spirits of attendees or the success of Arlington HistoryFest, which earned an estimated 2,000 attendees on Saturday. Sponsored by the Arlington Historical Society, it represented the major local effort connected with the national birthday celebration.
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Arlington is set to reach a historic milestone in September — the 180th anniversary of its return from the District of Columbia to Virginia sovereignty.
An Arlington probation officer warned a judge last year that a local man — now charged with attempted rape — was on the verge of a slippery slope of increasing violent crime.
Luzvin Orvando Garcia Moran, whose arrest has also caught the attention of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) because of his immigration status, remains in jail following a violent attack in Clarendon.
A bomb threat — later determined to be unfounded — led to a temporary disruption at the Pentagon City headquarters of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration this morning (Monday).
The building, located at 600 Army Navy Drive, underwent a “comprehensive sweep” shortly after the threat was reported, a DEA spokesperson told ARLnow. It is unclear when or how the threat was made.
Arlington ended 2025 with 23% more residents unemployed than at the start of the year.
In December, 4,676 Arlington County residents were looking for jobs and 147,611 were employed in the civilian workforce, equating to a 3.1% unemployment rate. That’s a sharp increase from January 2025, when 3,814 were unemployed for a jobless rate of 2.5%.
A Maryland man is facing attempted murder charges after reportedly showing up to the Arlington home of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director Russ Vought while armed.
Colin Demarco, 26, was taken into custody Jan. 22, five months after the Aug. 10 incident.
If Arlington residents see immigration enforcement operating in the county, some local elected officials are advising them to call 911.
County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti and Board member Takis Karantonis encouraged calling the emergency number. De Ferranti noted at a meeting on Saturday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents “have no legal requirement to tell us when they come into our community.”
