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News

Arlington budget proposes tax increase, closure of gymnastics program and library

By Scott McCaffrey
County Manager Mark Schwartz (screenshot via Arlington County)

A tax rate increase, the closure of the Cherrydale Library and the elimination of a popular youth gymnastics program are key components of the new budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year.

The $1.69 billion spending plan, released at a County Board meeting on Saturday, is down a fraction of a percent from the adopted fiscal year 2026 plan. The almost unprecedented year-over-year decrease reflects ongoing concerns about declining revenue from commercial office buildings, hotel stays and the federal government.

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Events

Lunar New Year celebrations begin this week in Arlington and Falls Church

By Emily Leayman
Lion dance at Rosslyn's Lunar New Year event (courtesy of Rosslyn BID)

An earlier version of this story indicated the Rosslyn Lunar New Year Celebration was happening on Feb. 19, but the event has been rescheduled to Feb. 25.

Festivals and other events in celebration of Lunar New Year are coming to Arlington and Falls Church starting this week, kicking off the Year of the Horse.

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News

Demise of major book wholesaler impacting Falls Church’s library

By Scott McCaffrey
Book stacks at Mary Riley Styles Library (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

The closure of a nearly 200-year-old book wholesaler will impact how soon new materials turn up on the shelves at Falls Church’s Mary Riley Styles Public Library.

Like many library systems nationally, the Falls Church library dealt with Baker & Taylor for many of its materials purchases. But the North Carolina-based company, founded in 1828, is wrapping up operations after announcing earlier in the year that its planned acquisition by another firm would not materialize.

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News

Falls Church library’s new digital archive provides more access to local history

By Scott McCaffrey
George Mason High School football players, 1956 (photo by Quentin R Porter via Mary Riley Styles Public Library)

An ever-increasing amount of Falls Church history is now available with just a few keystrokes.

The city’s Mary Riley Styles Public Library has started encouraging the public to take a test drive of its new digital archive.

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News

New oral history project launches with volunteers from Arlington Historical Society

By Scott McCaffrey
Jeanine Brundage and Karen Darner explore Arlington Historical Museum exhibition (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

The Arlington Historical Society has launched a new initiative designed to capture present-day voices for future study and understanding.

In preparation for pilot projects — including discussions with those involved in development in the Shirlington area as well as the Crystal City Underground — co-chairs Sean Denniston and Marty Suydam recently completed a five-week training session on oral histories courtesy of the Office of Historic Alexandria.

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News

Tales of ghost hunting and local ‘haunted history’ coming to Arlington libraries

By Dan Egitto
The former Overlee Community Association Clubhouse, home to reported ghost sightings in 2012 (file photo)

A paranormal investigator and researcher of strange happenings in Northern Virginia is hosting a series of talks at Arlington Public Library starting today (Monday).

Alex Matsuo, the author of “Haunted Northern Virginia” and other books about supernatural mysteries and explorations, will speak about “scientific ghost hunting” at Glencarlyn Library from 6:30-7:30 p.m. today.

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News

Halls Hill native recalls making history with Civil Rights-era lawsuit over voting in Arlington

By Scott McCaffrey
Portia Haskins speaks at the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

As a 23-year-old voter in still-segregated 1960s Virginia, Portia Haskins was convinced she had followed all the rules in order to cast a ballot in Arlington.

Election officials disagreed, saying she had failed to pay the appropriate poll tax still required in the Old Dominion, maintained in part to disenfranchise Black voters.

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News

Plans for future library, theater in Crystal City come into advisory panel’s focus

By Scott McCaffrey
Synetic Theater was forced to vacate its longtime Crystal City home in 2024 (photo via Synetic Theater)

Finding a site for a new library and a home for Synetic Theater after its displacement remain two key goals for leaders in National Landing.

At a recent leadership gathering, County Board Chair Takis Karantonis brought no definitive updates on either issue. But, he said, both remained on the county government’s radar.

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Events

Courthouse ‘Death Cafe’ will feature a spirited discussion on mortality

By Katie Taranto
Outside the Courthouse Library (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

A grave conversation is coming to Courthouse Library next week.

A sold-out “Death Cafe,” seeking to “increase awareness of death” and put society’s stigmas about it to rest, will involve a free two-hour group discussion over tea and cake next Tuesday. Volunteer and Courthouse resident Stephanie Dillemuth hopes to help attendees “make the most of their finite lives.”

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News

Falls Church library would run out of space without ongoing culling of collection

By Scott McCaffrey
Book shelves at Mary Riley Styles Library (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

The Mary Riley Styles Library in Falls Church isn’t bursting at the seams right now.

But without a consistent effort to keep only the most appealing materials on the shelves, the library director could see that day approaching.

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News

Expert: Improving Arlington’s transportation means facing deep-rooted challenges

By Scott McCaffrey
Parking meter in a performance parking zone in Ballston (staff photo)

A recent conversation with an expert on parking policy delved into the complexities of attempting to improve transportation infrastructure in Arlington.

Efforts now underway in Arlington are helping to break a century-old national focus on the automobile as primary, and sometimes lone, transportation option, said Henry Grabar, author of “Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World.”

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News

Falls Church Council votes to have homeowners pay for city trash pickup

By Scott McCaffrey
Signage announces changes to Falls Church trash collection (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

After months of discussion, the Falls Church City Council has unanimously voted to change how the city funds residential trash collection and recycling.

City Council members voted 7-0 yesterday (Monday) to shift from a trash system funded through general taxes by all property owners, to one where only those in single-family homes and townhouses pay the cost.

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