On the mercifully few occasions when I engaged in boyhood fisticuffs, I had no inkling that my drama was unfolding on soil with a notable history of one-on-one violence. A few steps from my Arlington childhood home, off North Glebe Road just up from Chain Bridge, lies the probable location [...]

It is shocking, the gasping audience clearly agreed, to learn that solid-citizen Arlington is home to crimes of human trafficking. A sobering presentation last Wednesday to the Committee of 100 shed light on a rising epidemic of below-the-radar heartbreak brought to our suburban environs in the form of sexual slavery, [...]

My ancient grudge against the Lyon Village Community House resurfaces whenever I drive by it. True, I’ve enjoyed some private parties over the years in that quaint facility off Lee Highway. But it will forever be linked to the agonizing hours I spent there as a bewildered preteen attending Cotillion. [...]

Of all Arlington’s neighborhoods, I nominate Hall’s Hill as the most transformed. This weekend I arranged a satisfying two-fer by taking the Walk Arlington official guided tour of that historically black area while enjoying the “Feel the Heritage Festival” celebration of African American history and culture. The annual event held [...]

As parking grows scarcer in Arlington, normally angelic citizens get tempted to be scofflaws. The price, however, can be more than just a ticket—try a major hassle with a towing company that some call predatory. Leave it to Arlington to try to make this mess a bit more civilized. Hundreds [...]

A frozen-in-time document capturing Arlington circa 1952 came to me through a friend. The illustrated ad from the old Washington Star proclaimed, “Now open: One of the most distinctive developments in Metropolitan Washington real estate history.” For just $19,000-$27,000 (substantial cash required), Arlingtonians aspiring to own property adjoining the Washington [...]

The clang-clang-clang of Arlington’s streetcar debate issue won’t cease. Last week, after the county board had mapped out debate on other issues, a new group of citizen activists announced formation of Arlingtonians for Sensible Transit. The ringleader is Peter Rousselot, a retired attorney with a transportation specialty who speaks for [...]

How better to humanize the glass canyons of Crystal City than with offerings of fine local art?

Arlington sits a mere 93 million miles from a most practical energy source. So notes Scott Sklar, the solar power luminary whose nonconformist home on Ivy Street may be the county’s most energy-savvy. The bearded and jovial Sklar, a longtime lobbyist, author and lecturer, is on friendly terms with his [...]

Arlington’s budget chieftains take flak for overspending–but also for underspending.