Ensuring access to affordable, high-quality daycare and early-childhood education has landed near the top of the Arlington County Board’s 2025 legislative wish list.
The cost of child care in Northern Virginia is “more expensive than college,” Board member Takis Karantonis said at the body’s Tuesday (Dec. 3) work session with members of the county’s delegation to the General Assembly.
Arlington’s current system of government has “served us well,” but might be in line for an update, one expert believes.
John Milliken — who served on the County Board in the 1980s until he was tapped to be Virginia’s secretary of transportation — opined on the topic of Arlington governance changes at the annual meeting of the Inter-Service Club Council (ISCC) of Arlington last week.
A study of potential rent-stabilization efforts to address rising apartment costs could be in Arlington County’s future.
Katie Wenger, vice chair of the Arlington Housing Commission, last Saturday (Nov. 16) asked County Board members to direct staff to look at the pros and cons of such a policy — one that is related to, but distinct from, full-blown rent control.
Advocates of a more streamlined way to get affordable housing built on religious-owned land on Saturday (Nov. 16) made one more appeal to Arlington County Board members.
But they may be facing an uphill battle convincing Arlington, and other Northern Virginia localities, to come on board with the proposal during the 2025 General Assembly session.
By OLIVIA DIAZ Associated Press/Report for America
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democrats who control both chambers of the Virginia legislature are hoping to make good on promises made on the campaign trail, including becoming the first Southern state to expand constitutional protections for abortion access.
The concept of granting religious organizations more flexibility to create affordable housing on their properties is a good one, Falls Church officials say.
But city leaders remain wary of pending legislation in Richmond that could handcuff local-government zoning powers in order to obtain that outcome.
Rather than a frontal assault against it, Arlington School Board members may try to win a delay in implementation of the state’s new school-accountability regimen.
School leaders plan to ask the General Assembly to intervene and postpone the Virginia Department of Education’s new School Performance and Support Framework, a two-pronged evaluation and ranking system that is replacing the previous accreditation process.
The prospect of a Donald Trump presidential-election victory could bring Falls Church leaders back to the drawing board when it comes to developing their 2025 legislative priorities.
But they will have a small window of opportunity: Election Day is Nov. 5 and the City Council is expected to review its draft 2025 legislative package on Nov. 11.
Arlington school leaders are likely to lobby the General Assembly to permit standardized testing in languages other than English to determine student achievement.
Allowing a language option would be helpful in jurisdictions, like Arlington, where there is a significant percentage of English-language learners, advocates believe.
Virginia has become the first state in the nation to approve the publication of legal notices in online-only local news sites.
Twin bills passed in February with overwhelming bipartisan majorities in the Virginia General Assembly, HB 264 and SB 157, were signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Tuesday, April 2. The legislation will become law on July 1, 2024.
Two key pieces of legislation backed by one of Arlington’s state senators got the ax in Richmond last week.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) on Thursday vetoed bills that would have legalized the sale of retail marijuana in Virginia and raised the state’s minimum wage. State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D), who represents part of Arlington and Fairfax County as well as Alexandria, co-sponsored both bills.
Arlington’s Virginia General Assembly representatives notched several preliminary victories this legislative session.
The state House and Senate are now in “crossover” — where bills that started in the House are considered by the Senate and vice versa. Bills that pass both chambers will be sent to Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who will either pass them into law or veto them.
