The Arlington County Republican Committee has endorsed independent School Board candidate James “Vell” Rives IV.
Rives is facing incumbent Democrat Bethany Zecher Sutton in the Nov. 3 election. This is the second time Rives will carry the GOP endorsement after he secured it in 2025, as well.
An estimated 200,000 Virginians will be eligible for reductions in their health insurance costs through a new fund in the state government’s biennial budget.
Legislators approved a $150 million Healthcare Affordability Fund, supported by taxes levied on energy usage by data centers. It will support eligible Virginians not covered by insurance through their employer, Medicare or Medicaid.
The timetable for County Board members to begin addressing potential changes to local governance appears to be holding to schedule.
“All the remaining deliverables … are on track,” Mason Kushnir, clerk to the County Board, said at the Board’s Sept. 22 meeting.
Arlington officials have opted against moving forward with a program to monitor and issue tickets to owners of unusually loud vehicles.
While Fairfax County is moving forward with preparations for a pilot program starting early next year, Arlington is in wait-and-see mode. In response to an ARLnow inquiry, a county spokesman gave the reasoning:
The chair of the Arlington County Board wants the General Assembly to keep out of the county’s change-of-government discussion in 2027.
“Del. [Patrick] Hope could file a bill again — I’m hoping he does not do that,” Matt de Ferranti said at a Sept. 9 governance-change forum sponsored by Advance Arlington.
The Virginia League of Conservation Voters saluted Del. Alfonso Lopez this week for his legislative work on water quality this year.
Lopez (D-3) was honored alongside Sen. Richard Stuart, a Westmoreland County Republican, on Sept. 1 for joint efforts on legislation requiring testing for PFAS on biosolids applied to farmland.
Arlington’s Tenant-Landlord Commission is seeking more state support in treating and testing for mold, despite protests from some industry representatives.
The commission is recommending legislative approval of a statewide mold-remediation fund and free mold testing for Virginia residents. Members placed the issue atop their recommendations to County Board members in advance of the 2027 General Assembly session.
The primaries earlier this month took place with a new Virginia law in effect: a wider radius around polling places where it’s illegal to carry a gun.
The expansion of the radius from 40 feet to 100 feet went smoothly in Arlington, election officials say.
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The death of an Arlington civic leader earlier this year closed the history books on one of the most interesting political campaigns in county history.
Janet Howell, who represented portions of Arlington for two separate stints during a 32-year career in the Virginia Senate, is being remembered as a legislative titan who could work across the aisle while not surrendering her core beliefs.
Howell died at age 82 yesterday (Sunday).
Virginia’s new state budget will provide Arlington Public Schools with almost $3 million more than leaders were previously expecting.
The school system anticipates receiving $127,439,284 in state funding for the 2026-27 school year, according to a report prepared in advance of the July 30 School Board meeting.
Following resistance in the General Assembly this year, a new working group has been appointed to study possible changes to Arlington’s Affordable Housing Ordinance.
County Board members on Tuesday chartered the eight-member, limited-term working group, which will spend the next four months developing proposed revisions. The current Affordable Housing Ordinance outlines ways for developers to gain additional density for projects by building affordable units or contributing to the Affordable Housing Investment Fund.
