News

Local residents will be roasting under the midsummer sun when county staff bring forward plans to improve snow response in the 2026-27 winter season.

County Manager Mark Schwartz told County Board members on Feb. 24 that he would be back in July with new plans. And he wasn’t kidding about the timing.


News

High-than-usual electric bills in Virginia this winter have prompted discussion about the role data centers could play in driving up costs.

Dominion Energy, the commonwealth’s largest electric utility company, has said that new rates in 2026 and unusually cold weather could be responsible for many customers’ higher bills.


Around Town

A group of kids in Arlington’s Woodmont neighborhood seized an opportunity during the recent snow days to build a heavy-duty fort made from “snowcrete.”

During their days off from school the week of Jan. 25, brothers Kaleb and Logan Sundsmo, 14 and 12, and neighbor twin sisters Zara and Carys Murphy, 13, teamed up to build a structure from icy snow and Amazon boxes.


News

Reduced hours at the Shirlington Transit Center, driven by vandalism concerns and budget constraints, prompted criticisms during last week’s bitter cold.

The transit center at 2975 S. Quincy Street cut its hours to 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on weekdays and eliminated Saturday hours entirely on Nov. 14. It was a significant reduction from the center’s previous hours of 5:30 a.m. to midnight.


Around Town

A Fairlington resident from Minnesota has been providing snow shoveling services in exchange for donations supporting immigrants in the Twin Cities.

Megan Moos Detweiler, a teacher and Fairlington resident who grew up on the East Side of St. Paul, Minn., launched the “Shovel ICE Out” fundraiser to help immigrant families at her alma mater, Mississippi Creative Arts Elementary. Since last weekend’s storm, it has received about 300 donations, including $5,600 through GoFundMe.


Weather

With a state of emergency declared in Virginia over forecasts of heavy snowfall this weekend, it may be time to brush up on Arlington’s snow removal ordinance.

The ordinance goes into effect after snow stops falling, but it varies based on how much accumulation there is. Penalties also vary based on the length of the sidewalk.


News

Gov. Abigail Spanberger has declared a state of emergency ahead of this weekend’s snowstorm, which is expected to bring power outages along with heavy accumulation throughout Virginia.

The newly inaugurated governor signed an executive order today declaring an emergency “due to severe winter weather,” with the most severe impacts expected Saturday and Sunday. The D.C. area is likely to get more than 5 inches of snow, with double-digit accumulation also possible, according to a Winter Storm Watch issued today.