A man who attempted to rob a bank along Columbia Pike last year will spend nearly four years behind bars.
Steve Jamal Smith, 31, was sentenced Thursday to 46 months in federal prison over the Feb. 25, 2025, incident, in which he stole $711 from the Wells Fargo at 951 S. George Mason Drive.
Arlington government leaders appear willing to fill financial gaps if the federal government reduces housing grants to support vulnerable populations — but they don’t know how big those gaps might be.
“We’re not going to not find a way to fund it. We’re not going to let that all fall apart,” Board member Maureen Coffey said at the Housing Commission’s Jan. 15 meeting, which looked at impacts of current and future budget cuts to federal housing funds.
Amid federal budget-slashing efforts, Falls Church officials are keeping a watchful eye on about $50 million in approved grant funds.
So far, “we have not heard any word of adverse actions on those grant projects,” City Manager Wyatt Shields told City Council members Monday night.
An Arlington program diverting people out of the criminal justice system and strengthening their social safety nets has received a $1 million federal grant.
The U.S. Department of Justice awarded the funds to support the expansion of the Offender Aid and Restoration program at the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for Arlington and Falls Church.
Virginia’s U.S. senators are throwing their weight behind a bill to support first-generation homebuyers.
The Downpayment Toward Equity Act would provide grants of up to $20,000 to support socially and economically disadvantaged homebuyers. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine are co-sponsoring the bill, alongside several fellow Democrats, saying this will help close equity gaps.
The Arlington County Board will consider accepting a $7.1 million grant to encourage people to plan more trips without their cars.
Nearly $5.7 million of the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality Program grant comes from federal funding, with $1.4 million coming from the state. Arlington County is not required to match funding.
Armed with some federal funding, Arlington County plans to stem stormwater runoff with native plantings and fix leaky sewer pipes that serve thousands of people.
On Saturday, the Arlington County Board accepted a $2.25 million federal grant to be split evenly among three planned projects. These projects, expected to cost some $6 million in total, are intended to reduce runoff into streets and streams, filter pollutants from local streams, and rehabilitate sewer pipes needing serious repairs.
(Updated at 4:10 p.m.) A local nonprofit specializing in job placement for disabled individuals is drawing on federal funding to expand its services.
Melwood Disability Services, a Maryland-based organization that operates a facility in the Aurora Highlands neighborhood, has received a $307,000 federal grant aimed at expanding enrollment in its 14-week neurodiverse job training program, abilIT, by subsidizing associated costs.
Arlington County is seeking $1.9 million in federal funding to plant trees on school grounds and in neighborhoods with less tree canopy.
The funding will help maintain 4,400 trees, plant 400 additional trees and treat 138 acres of invasive species, a county report said. If the county receives the funding, tree planting could begin as soon as next summer.
Local nonprofits and the Arlington County government have received $3 million in federal funding to address homelessness.
Nearly $200,000 will go to two new programs from the organizations Doorways and PathForward, formerly A-SPAN. The rest — save for about $81,000 for the county — will support existing programs provided by Bridges to Independence, Doorways, New Hope Housing and PathForward.
Arlington County has received a $1.2 million federal grant to move people experiencing homelessness into permanent or temporary apartment housing.
Approximately 55% of the grant will be for housing — mostly one- and two-bedroom affordable rental units — and the remainder “is for supportive services and staffing,” says Dept. of Human Services spokesman Kurt Larrick.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) has secured $2.25 million in federal funding for stormwater infrastructure projects in Arlington.
The funding was part of a bipartisan omnibus government funding bill that passed the House of Representatives and the Senate last Thursday, three days before Christmas.
