26 Square Miles - An Arlington Podcast

Lene, Vernon and Dan discuss the week's local news in Arlington, including: A County Board candidate says he has placed tracking chips in his campaign signs due to theft An arcade featuring classic pinball games has opened in Arlington An abandoned strip mall along Columbia Pike may finally get redeveloped An 85-year-old woman narrowly escaped a falling tree limb while walking her dog

Lene, Vernon and Dan discuss the week's local news in Arlington, including: A house fire in Green Valley Local law enforcement cooperating with ICE Celebrating Cinco de Mayo responsibly Bus route changes

We're trying out a new format for the ARLnow Podcast. This was recorded as a test but we're releasing it as a pilot episode in the hopes of getting your feedback. Let us know what you think: news [at] arlnow.com. On this week's episode we discuss: The Rosslyn safety ranger initiative Increasing unemployment claims A cat and dog film fest coming to Arlington

This panel discussion features Arlington-specific insights on residential renovation vs. new construction costs and considerations, as well as construction timelines and financing options. On the panel were Arlington experts from MR Custom Homes, DeFalco Home Design, Alair Homes, and US Bank. The event was moderated by ARLnow real estate columnist Eli Tucker and held at Arlington Central Library on March 11, 2025. Essential listening for Arlington homeowners considering their next steps.

Bridges To Independence CEO Fraser Murdoch sat down with ARLnow's James Jarvis to discuss the factors driving Arlington's escalating youth homelessness crisis and how the broader community can intervene.    

Dave Statter talked with ARLnow editor Jo DeVoe to talk about aiding police with unique footage, Arlington's evolving chase policy echoing past incident repercussions, and concerns over DC's lacking automatic mutual aid for fire departments, impacting response times.

Frequent Arlington County Board candidate Audrey Clement talked with ARLnow editor Scott Brodbeck to talk about her latest unsuccessful run for County Board, her allegations of media bias and age discrimination, Missing Middle zoning changes, proposed changes to Arlington County's governance, and why she keeps running for public office.

Deputy Director of the Columbia Pike Partnership Amy McWilliams sat down with ARLnow's James Jarvis to delve into the economic hurdles that these small businesses are still confronting, nearly four years post-pandemic.

Local political analyst Sam Shirazi sat down with ARLnow's Jo DeVoe to discuss the recent Arlington County and Virginia General Assembly elections, the impact of redistricting, Arlington's political dynamics, and political personalities.

Michael Stiefvater, Director of Business Investment at Arlington Economic Development, sat down with ARLnow's James Jarvis to discuss Arlington's emerging tech industry over the last decade and the future outlook for the local tech scene.

Flood Czar, a pseudonymous and long-standing active participant in our comment section, sat down with ARLnow to discuss the origin and history of the Flood Czar persona and its role in the community, the evolution of the comment section over the years, and the role of ARLnow as a source of information for residents.

Wilma Jones, President of the John M. Langston Citizens Association ,sat down with Jo DeVoe to discuss Plan Langston Boulevard, community history, and historic preservation efforts in the Halls Hill neighborhood.

Eli Tucker of the Eli Residential Group sat down with ARLnow editor-in-chief Scott Brodbeck to discuss the current state of the Arlington real estate market, in light of high mortgage interest rates, as well as the impacts of new Missing Middle policies and Amazon's HQ2. Eli has been ARLnow's real estate columnist since 2015.

Rahmein, Scott, Jo, and James discussed some of the top stories in Arlington for the week ending Sept. 29, 2023. Discussed this week: Revamped, food-centric Crystal City Water Park set to open next week New study sees surge of people living alone in Arlington A $4 million renovation of Ballston Wetlands Park is officially complete — and beavers returned for the occasion Metro 29 Diner reopening after sewer line repairs APS to pause middle school boundary process for one year Big Tony’s Pizzeria & Dive Bar opens in Clarendon, replacing Bronx Pizza UPDATED: Large police response at Yorktown HS after threatening phone call Wakefield High School sees second student death this year

Scott, Jo, and James discussed some of the top stories in Arlington for the week ending Sept. 22, 2023. Discussed this week: County poised to require drivers to come to a full stop for pedestrians in crosswalks Cookie purveyor Chip City could open next month in Clarendon Heads up: There’s a flaming pile of trash in the middle of Wilson Blvd Missing teen found by tow driver who previously talked man down from ledge NEW: Judgment in Missing Middle lawsuit likely one month away Arlington man arrested in connection to Lyon Village hit and run Amid shutdown fears, Rep. Don Beyer emotional letters from government workers

Rahmein, Jo, James, and Scott discussed some of the top stories in Arlington for the week ending Sept. 15, 2023. Discussed this week: At long last, Astro Beer Hall to open in Shirlington next Tuesday Covid cases on the rise in Arlington, but so far lower than last year Crystal Drive was closed for several hours yesterday due to utility company accident Cleveland-based ‘loaded fries’ eatery launches delivery-only kitchen near Clarendon Nottingham ‘swing space’ proposal puts cart before horse, says county-wide PTA Morning Poll: How do you feel about duplexes? Arlington art teacher and parent learns to ‘walk with cancer’ after a diagnosis upended her life County Board, community leaders recommend tweaks to strengthen draft Plan Langston Blvd plan

Jo, James and Scott discussed some of the top stories of the week in Arlington as the busier fall news cycle gets started. Discussed this week: Manhunt for escaped D.C. murder suspect underway just across from Arlington Under construction Centurion Lounge at DCA shows new signs of progress Ireland’s Four Courts is planning to reopen this week Some neighbors fought a duplex, and won, as county approves more Missing Middle homes More than half of South Arlington families struggle to afford basic needs Woman cited after car towed with kids inside Arlington has spent $150,000 on fencing at local parks to help quiet the pickleball pop Stick shift foils attempted carjacking in Ballston

Jo, James and Scott discussed some of the top stories of the week in Arlington. It's the late August news doldrums but we still had plenty to talk about. Let us know what you think about this format, as we continue to prepare for the official podcast relaunch. Email feedback to arlingtonnews@gmail.com Discussed this week: An acoustic fence is coming to Walter Reed pickleball courts Suspects armed with ‘AK-47’ rob man after rear-end crash Panera Bread looks to replace former Cosi in Ballston after three-year vacancy Persistent one-word graffiti spree around Arlington is vexing neighbors Police respond to attempted kidnapping of Ronald McDonald Arlington actor bids farewell to ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ Broadway tour Power being restored after 10,000 in dark around Pentagon City and Crystal City ACPD to conduct road safety campaign as students go back to school next week

We're still rehearsing and testing the format for our revamped ARLnow Podcast, but wanted to give listeners a preview of what we're working on. Jo, James and Scott were joined this week by guest host Rahmein Mostafavi. Let us know what you think... email feedback to arlingtonnews@gmail.com Discussed this week: New Ikea location in Pentagon City to open tomorrow One year after fiery crash, Ireland’s Four Courts now aims to open in early September “Tropical glam bar” Coco B’s hoping to open this weekend in Clarendon Numerous crashes block I-395 after truck hit-and-run suspect steals Arlington ambulance DCA to change its roads, add parking and build a new rental car facility Dominion Energy says burying power lines in Arlington complex and costly Crash involving overturned vehicle blocking N. Glebe Road at I-66 ramps New vape shop wafts in to prominent Wilson Blvd storefront in Courthouse Introducing the new ARLnow merch shop Preview of some of next week's stories

After a multi-year hiatus, ARLnow's podcast is returning. Our first test episode recording turned out pretty well, so we decided to let you listen to it. It starts with a discussion of some local news of the week, then transitions to a discussion about local news reporting and journalism as a career. The episode features ARLnow founder Scott Brodbeck, reporter/editor Jo DeVoe, incoming reporter/editor James Jarvis, and Peter Berlizov, a local high school student who showed up for a tour of our office and got roped into interviewing ARLnow's staff for the podcast. Let us know what you think of this format by emailing arlingtonnews@gmail.com!