Local Dels. Rip Sullivan and Alfonso Lopez (D) were at the forefront of last November’s wave of Democratic victories, from the governor’s race to the Virginia House of Delegates, where the party is near parity with the Republicans. The pair reflected on a momentous 2017 for Virginia Democrats, and looked ahead to 2018 and the new legislative session.

We talked with outgoing County Board chair Jay Fisette about his 20 years in office, his achievements and regrets, and his advice to his remaining colleagues.

Arts organizations in Arlington need additional support from Arlington residents, says Janet Kopenhaver, founder and chair of Embracing Arlington Arts.

We spoke with County Board member John Vihstadt about last week's elections in Virginia, his reelection bid next year and various issues facing Arlington County, including budget pressures and development. We also asked about the possibility of Arlington landing Amazon's second corporate headquarters.

Joel McHale is coming to Arlington. The actor and comedian, best known for hosting The Soup on E! and for his starring role on Community, is performing four stand-up comedy shows at the Arlington Cinema Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike) this coming Friday and Saturday, Nov. 17 and 18, 2017. McHale, who also recently starred on CBS's The Great Indoors and Fox's The X-Files reboot, spoke with ARLnow.com for our 26 Square Miles podcast on Wednesday. He talked about hosting the 2014 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, told us what we can expect at his upcoming stand-up shows, and gave a candid answer about why The Soup was cancelled and whether it is in line for a revival.

As part of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce's Secrets to Success live podcast series, we interviewed Alex Villanueva, the founder and CEO of Arlington-based free ride service Sprynt. We asked Alex about his startup and its business model, and how he got his start. This podcast was recorded live at 1776 in Crystal City.

At this debate, hosted by the Arlington Committee of 100, the six candidates for County Board and School Board in the 2017 general election clashed on a range of issues, from how to engage more millennials in county government to closing the achievement gap in Arlington Public Schools.

Scott Parker is part of a group of partners who together have built something of a nightlife empire in Arlington. A-Town Bar and Grill, Don Tito and Barley Mac have all been hits along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. And now Scott and his partners are getting ready to open the G.O.A.T., a new sports bar right across from the Clarendon Metro station in the former Hard Times Cafe space. Scott has helped to build this empire based on Sunday Fundays and happy hour drink specials all while having a somewhat unique personal background for a bar impresario: he does not drink. We sat down with Scott to discuss all of that and the Arlington bar and restaurant scene in general on this week's 26 Square Miles podcast.

Okay so the Arlington connection is tenuous, but this week on the podcast we shot the breeze with a fellow independent online publisher from D.C.: PoPville owner Dan Silverman. A local blogging legend, Dan has been tirelessly chronicling community news, happenings and minutia for more than a decade. We asked him about how he started the site, his approach to PoPville's coverage and about the parallels (and partnership) between PoP and ARLnow.

Indivisible Arlington describes itself as part of a "grassroots movement... to resist the Trump agenda." We talked with two of its members, Gayle Fleming and Clara Bridges, about the organization, the events in Charlottesville this past weekend, the words and actions of President Trump, and about where the movement goes from here.

We sat down with two of our summer interns, Brooke and Kalina, to talk about why the heck they're pursuing a career in journalism, what they think of media coverage of the Millennial generation, and what it's like to grow up and go to school in Arlington.

On Monday, July 17, we sat down with Pinkie Dent Mayfield of Rosslyn-based Graham Holdings to talk about her path to success in the business world.

The event was held at 1776 in Crystal City and organized by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, as part of a new "Secrets to Success" live podcast series with ARLnow.

Former Mad Rose Tavern general manager Giovanni Quintana talks about the fundraiser he's holding in Clarendon to help pay for experimental surgery that will allow his daughter Arianna to hear.

Christian Dorsey joined the County Board in 2016 and now also represents Arlington on the WMATA Board. We talked to Dorsey about whether SafeTrack and new train cars are improving Metro. We also talked about schools, parks, land use, issues with the Arlington Way, development, the Shirlington Dog park controversy, gentrification, affordable housing, and a proposed pedestrian walk from Crystal City to Reagan Nat'l Airport.

Monique O'Grady describes herself as just a "regular Arlington resident." But this regular resident just beat out several candidates, including incumbent James Lander, in the Democratic school board endorsement caucus. O'Grady, a mother of one current Arlington Public Schools student and two APS graduates (one of whom happens to be a well-known actress), says she wants to make a difference on the school board and help APS navigate its current period of rapid student enrollment growth. We asked O'Grady about herself, her family and the various issues facing APS in this week's 26 Square Miles podcast.

Candidates for County Board Audrey Clement, Kim Klingler, Peter Fallon and Erik Gutshall participated in this year's Arlington Chamber of Commerce County Board candidate forum. ARLnow.com's Scott Brodbeck moderated and asked the candidates about issues of particular importance to the local business community.

Matt Hussman is the executive director of the Clarendon Alliance, the organization that is charged with improving "the health and vitality of the Clarendon corridor." The alliance is a booster for local businesses and helps to put on the annual Clarendon Day festival and a number of other events. We asked Matt about the current state of Clarendon, about turnover among restaurants and retailers, and about the future of the neighborhood including development projects in progress.

With nearly 5,400 followers on Instagram, Discover Arlington is one of the hottest social media presences in Arlington at the moment. The account highlights local restaurants, events and other happenings around Arlington -- an engaging introduction to the county for newcomers and a way to discover new places for even long-time Arlingtonians. Two couple behind Discover Arlington is Blake Davenport and Leah Virbitsky. Having moved here two years ago, they may not be the longest-tenured local residents, but they do have an uncommon passion for all things Arlington.

Chris Teale recently joined ARLnow after nearly two years at the Alexandria Times. You might see him out and about, reporting at meetings and community events, but if not this interview can serve as an introduction. We chatted with Chris about Alexandria, development, Potomac Yard, Taco Bell, beer, soccer, the hated Oxford comma and about growing up in England (after being born in the US).

Media personality Sarah Fraser has been on the D.C. radio and TV airwaves for a decade. What you might not know about her is that she's a Virginia Square resident and does a lot locally here in Arlington. We talked with Sarah about her podcast and new media ventures, about the business of broadcasting, and about Arlington restaurants from Oz to Crystal City Restaurant.

Jim VandeHei was a political writer for the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post before co-founding Politico in 2006. A decade later, Politico is a major force in the news industry and VandeHei has moved on to found another media startup: Axios. Launched in January and based in Clarendon, Axios has made some big hires, broken some big stories and is growing rapidly, thanks in part to investment from major media companies. We talked with Jim about the vision for Axios, the current state of the media industry and his take on what's happening inside the Trump White House.

Angela Fox is the president and CEO of the Crystal City Business Improvement District, the organization charged 10 years ago with "reinventing" Crystal City, changing perceptions about one of the area's biggest business districts and creating experiences that make it a more dynamic place to live, work and play. That was not an easy task, especially when half the jobs in the area were set to pick up and leave due to BRAC. We asked Angie about how the BID tackled that challenge, what kind of events it's hosting this year, and about the changes to Crystal City that could be coming soon. 

Vanessa Reisis, along with her husband and kids, have been running Goody's Pizza (3125 Wilson Blvd) since it opened in Clarendon in 2006. When we last checked in with "Momma Goody" last summer, she said the family-owned shop was struggling to keep up with high rent and lots of competition. The good news is that since then business has picked up, Reisis told us on this week's podcast.

We often refer to Remy Munasifi as the "Arlington Rap guy." But now that he has a prominent role in a new Netflix series, Brown Nation, we might have to tweak that description. We sat down with Remy, who recently moved from Clarendon to Falls Church, to talk about his career, the making of the Arlington Rap, Donald Trump (of course), making money on YouTube and about his latest music video.