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ARLnow Daily Update: September 1, 2026 · ARLnow Daily Update

• 0:00
  It's Tuesday, September 1st. This is the ARL Now Daily Update. Arlington shed jobs over the past year faster than almost anywhere in the country.
• 0:09
  Total county employment fell four and a half percent to one hundred and seventy-two thousand in the first quarter of 2026, tying Washington for the largest drop among the nation's biggest localities, according to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• 0:24
  Officials attributed the decline to federal downsizing and its wider economic effects. Arlington's steepest losses were in professional and business services, down about three thousand six hundred positions.
• 0:36
  Alexandria, Fairfax, and Montgomery Counties also lost jobs. There is slightly better news for renters.
• 0:43
  Arlington's median apartment rent slipped seven tenths of a percent over the past year to two thousand six hundred and twelve dollars a month in August, according to Apartment List.
• 0:53
  One bedrooms run a median of two thousand four hundred and sixty dollars, and two bedrooms, two thousand nine hundred and seventy-three.
• 1:01
  Rents are still up three and a half percent since January, and Arlington remains the fifth most expensive of the hundred metro areas Apartment List tracks.
• 1:10
  Analysts there say the national rental market may finally be stabilizing as construction slows.
• 1:16
  Arlington County Police are investigating a carjacking in Colonial Village, the second reported in the county in as many months.
• 1:23
  Police say a woman was walking on the 2100 block of 19th Street North just before five PM Monday, when a man approached her from behind, made a threatening statement, and demanded her keys.
• 1:36
  He took her keys and wallet, then drove off in her Volkswagen Tiguan. The investigation is ongoing. You can now carry your phone into the Arlington County Courthouse.
• 1:45
  A long-standing ban on electronics ended July 1st to comply with a new state law, so laptops, tablets, cell phones, smartwatches, and e-readers are all allowed inside.
• 1:57
  But an order signed by Chief Judge Judith Wheat still prohibits photos, video, and audio recordings, and using a device in a courtroom requires the judge's permission. Violations can lead to a device being confiscated.
• 2:12
  Congressman Don Beyer has drawn a libertarian challenger.
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  Shelley Arnoldy, a Navy veteran and federal engineer who lives in the Fairfax County portion of the eighth district, says she is running because too many voters feel ignored and have never been offered a real alternative.
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  She points to government waste, parental rights, and civil liberties. Arnoldy acknowledges the district has long been a Democratic stronghold.
• 2:36
  She joins Republican Tony Sabio and independent Tim Sharman on the November third ballot. Early voting begins September 18th. Bobby Lee, the entrepreneur behind Mr. Days, has died at eighty-seven.
• 2:50
  His family confirmed he passed away over the weekend. Lee opened Mr. Days in Dupont Circle in 1977, moved it to Georgetown, then to Clarendon in 2001, and reopened it across the street in 2024.
• 3:06
  His daughter, Tiffany Lee, told ARL Now the family does not plan to keep the restaurant going. In her words, "There is no Mr. Days without Bobby Lee." A funeral service is set for two PM Thursday at the Cathedral of St.
• 3:20
  Matthew the Apostle. Arlington has also lost a longtime educator. William F. Sullivan died July 25th at the age of eighty-seven.
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  He spent thirty-eight years with Arlington Public Schools, starting as a job placement coordinator for students with disabilities and retiring in 2004 as director of the Arlington Career Center.
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  A memorial mass is scheduled for four PM Friday, September 18th at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Alexandria.
• 3:49
  And in high school football, both Arlington public high schools opened the season with losses but found something to build on.
• 3:56
  Wakefield fell to Falls Church thirty-four to twenty-one after trailing twenty-eight to nothing at halftime, then scored three second-half touchdowns.
• 4:05
  Yorktown lost to South Lakes forty-three to twenty-one, but outscored the Seahawks fourteen to three after the break. Both teams host their second games Thursday night.
• 4:16
  This sponsored update is from Eli Residential Group. Eli Residential Group is an Arlington-based residential real estate team serving Northern Virginia, Washington, and the Maryland suburbs.
• 4:28
  Founder Eli Tucker has written ARL Now's weekly real estate column for more than ten years.
• 4:34
  The team works with buyers, homeowners, and investors, and says it pairs data-driven market analysis with personalized service under the motto, "Real estate, real advice."
• 4:45
  Homeowners can request a free home valuation at eliresidential.com. That's all for today. Thank you for listening.