There’s a new algorithm-free way to keep up with Arlington news without opening our homepage or getting our email newsletter.

The ARLnow app is now available for both iPhone and Android. It’s free, there’s no account to create, and you can download it right now.

Free — no account required.

Built in-house by ARLnow, the app puts our local reporting into a fast, distraction-free reader — good for a two-minute catch-up in line at the grocery store or a longer sit-down with the day’s coverage.

Plus there are customizable, real-time news alerts so you don’t miss a headline on topics that interest you.

What you can do:

  • Read the latest Arlington news in a clean, uncluttered feed
  • Browse by section — public safety, restaurants, development, county government, schools and sports
  • Get push alerts for breaking news, severe weather and the specific topics you choose
  • Check the local forecast and see severe-weather alerts
  • Set the font size and toggle between dark and light mode
  • Listen to articles read aloud, hands-free
  • Daily audio news summaries (coming soon)
  • Save stories to read later
  • Send us a news tip, with a photo, right from the app

Prefer email? Our free Afternoon Update newsletter is still the most complete daily rundown of Arlington headlines outside of our homepage and app. And if you want to support the reporting that fills the app, there’s the ARLnow Press Club.

Download it, kick the tires and let us know what you think — we’re already working on the next update.


News

As increasing numbers of Virginians download the Mobile ID app, options for using digital identification around Arlington remain somewhat limited.

The app that launched in November has already surpassed 100,000 users, the Virginia DMV announced last Friday. In Arlington, it’s useful at a handful of locations.


News

The House Judiciary Committee is threatening to legally force Arlington’s commonwealth’s attorney to send documents related to her handling of an ongoing criminal investigation.

In the latest escalation of a months-long dispute, Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) argued that he has the authority to compel Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti to submit a wide variety of materials related to her requesting limits on the search and seizure of an Arlington activist’s cellphone.


News

The chair of the House Judiciary Committee is challenging Arlington’s top prosecutor over a case involving a local activist critical of the Trump administration.

Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) sent a letter to Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti yesterday (Thursday), accusing her of “political bias” and requesting numerous documents related to court proceedings and federal funding for her office.


News

The search and seizure of a cell phone belonging to an Arlington activist has set off a tug-of-war involving Arlington’s top prosecutor and state and federal authorities.

As partial allies in the legal action, seeking to limit an investigation of the phone belonging to 66-year-old retired academic Barbara Wien, are Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti and Wien’s attorney, former Chief Public Defender Brad Haywood.


News

Some students are questioning the logistics of Arlington Public Schools’ plan to roll out locked phone pouches in all of its high schools this school year.

When APS high schoolers go back to school, they’ll be required to lock their phones away in a magnetically sealed pouch for the entirety of the school day. The intended purpose is to combat negative impacts of phones on learning and social-emotional health.


Schools

Arlington School Board members Thursday night (Dec. 12) voted unanimously to implement a bell-to-bell ban on student use of phones in county schools starting Jan. 6.

“Our schools are places of learning,” Superintendent Francisco Durán said just before the vote, saying his recommendation was “a policy that will protect that instructional space.”


News

As the 2024-25 school year starts today, Arlington Public Schools is launching several new initiatives to tackle student safety and enrichment.

Approved changes for this year include a new attendance policy for high school athletic events, a new after-school program pilot, and an extra five-day weekend in November.


Schools

Four Arlington schools will be distributing cellphone storage pouches to students this year as part of an effort to restrict mobile phone use on campus.

The pilot program will kick off in mid-September at Wakefield High School, H-B Woodlawn (middle school only), Swanson Middle School and Thomas Jefferson Middle School, APS announced in an email to parents Thursday.


Schools

New mobile phone policies are going into effect in Arlington Public Schools for the upcoming school year.

After a unanimous Arlington School Board vote yesterday (Thursday), high school students will be required to turn off their cellphones during class and elementary and middle school students will have to keep them off for the entire day.


News

The main theme of ARLnow’s promotion of our email newsletter is that it allows you to get all of the headlines, without intermediation by algorithms.

Large online platforms like social networks and search engines are great, but they will generally only surface a fraction of the local stories you might be interested in reading, unless you actively seek them out. And many of us have settled into being more passive scrollers than active seekers when it comes to news.


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