New Parking Policy for Long Bridge Park
After catching heat from soccer parents, Arlington has revised its parking policy at Long Bridge Park near Crystal City.
“Effective immediately, parking at Long Bridge Park will be free on weekends and free after 5 p.m. on weekdays,” Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Susan Kalish said this afternoon, in an email.
The Arlington Soccer Association told the Arlington County Board last weekend that parents were “grumbling” about having to pay for parking while their kids played soccer on weekends, according to the Sun Gazette. Soccer referees were also reportedly threatening to stop working at the park due to having to continuously feed the parking meter during the day.
Under the new policy, weekday parking will still be metered, to prevent commuters from taking up spaces in the lot. Overnight parking will still be prohibited, Kalish said.
Bakeshop Featured on Cooking Channel
(Updated at 3:30 p.m.) Bakeshop (1025 N. Fillmore Street) was featured on the Cooking Channel “Unique Sweets” this past Sunday.
The Clarendon confection store’s owner, Justin Stegall, and his mother Linda were both featured on the program, as well as Bakeshop’s oatmeal creme pie, 7-Up cupcakes, and red velvet cake. The episode was focused on nostalgic “childhood treats.”
Unique Sweets bills itself as “an insider’s peek into innovative eateries across America that are creating the most unique and exciting desserts today.” The show airs on the Cooking Channel at 10:30 p.m. on Sundays, though repeats are aired multiples times during the week.
Stegall says he got a call from the producers of the show out of the blue, asking if he wanted to be featured. A camera crew spent seven hours in the store a couple of months ago, Stegall said, and the finished, edited segment was about seven minutes.
Stegall says he was surprised by how many people have told him that they saw him on television.
“It’s kind of funny, I didn’t know cooking TV was as big as it was,” he said. “The craziest thing is that my friends… are calling up and telling me they saw me on TV, and I didn’t tell them it was going to be on.”
Screen capture collage courtesy of Lu
Moran Introduces Autism Legislation That Could Benefit Arlington Schools
Rep. Jim Moran (D) introduced legislation today that would provide funding to schools for additional training for teachers who work with students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
At a press conference this morning, Moran was joined by officials from Arlington Public Schools, along with several Arlington parents of autistic children. The bill — the “AUTISM Educators Act” — could specifically benefit Arlington schools, where more than 10 percent of the special education population has been diagnosed with ASD, according to Moran’s office.
From a press release:
Congressman Jim Moran, Northern Virginia Democrat, today introduced legislation, the “Autism Understanding and Training In School Methodologies for Educators Act of 2012,” or the “AUTISM Educators Act,” to establish a pilot program to train teachers who work with children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Moran was joined at the bill announcement by original cosponsor Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) parents, children with ASD, and local officials from Arlington County and City of Alexandria Public Schools.
“This legislation is the product of a grassroots effort by parents, instructors, school officials and caring communities,” said Rep. Moran. “Autism Spectrum Disorders are being diagnosed at an exploding rate. We have a responsibility to do everything in our power to provide the best education for our children.”
Autism Spectrum Disorder is now the fastest growing serious developmental disorder in the United States, increasing the number of children with high-functioning autism (HFA) taken out of special education and placed in mainstream classrooms.
Moran’s legislation will create a five-year grant program to allow local school systems to partner with experienced university or non-profit programs to establish a training program for general education teachers who have large numbers of HFA students. The programs will also incorporate parental involvement and retention of skilled educators.
The AUTISM Educators Act has received endorsements from a wide range of organizations including Autism Speaks, the Arlington County School Board and Arlington Special Education Parent Teacher Association.
“Congressman Moran’s bill will provide much needed funding for local school districts as they strive to meet the needs of the growing population of students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). In Arlington, as across the nation, we have seen a significant increase in the number of students with ASD: from 100 students in 2003 to more than 350 students this year with ASD,” said Abby Raphael, Chair of the Arlington County School Board. “Providing general education classroom teachers and others with additional training is essential to ensuring that students with ASD are successful. The Arlington School Board appreciates Congressman Moran’s leadership and recognizes the work of our very active parent community in working with him, which has resulted in this important legislation.”
In March the Centers for Disease Control released a new study citing the growing rate of ASD. One in 88 children in the United States are diagnosed with ASD before their eighth birthday. Boys are five times more likely as girls, with one in 54 diagnosed with ASD.
“Congressman Jim Moran has brought renewed hope to families across Arlington who have a child on the autism spectrum,” said Alex Arriaga, Arlington resident and parent of a child on the spectrum. “The AUTISM Educators Act of 2012 can help bring essential training to classrooms across the country, improving the outcomes for students on the autism spectrum and making it more likely that they can fulfill their great potential.”
The targeted pilot program would be available only to schools with high incidences of ASD; qualifying school systems must have 10 percent or more of the special education population diagnosed with ASD.
Interim School Board Member Appointed
The Arlington School Board appointed an interim board member to fill now-County Board member Libby Garvey’s empty seat through the end of the year.
Todd McCracken, the President and CEO of the National Small Business Association, will serve on the School Board until a new board member — to be elected in November — is sworn in. McCracken has not indicated that he’s interested in running for the seat.
In a press release, school officials hailed McCracken’s expertise in school capacity issues.
At last night’s meeting, the Arlington School Board appointed Todd McCracken to fill the vacancy on the School Board created by Libby Garvey’s election to the County Board in March. McCracken will be sworn in today in the School Board Meeting Room at 4 p.m., and his term on the School Board will begin immediately and continue through December 31, 2012.
A long-time school and community leader, McCracken was recently recognized as an “Honored Citizen” by the Arlington School Board for his extensive volunteer work with APS. He has been Chair of the Advisory Council on School Facilities and Capital Programs (FAC) and Chair of the FAC Projection and Capacity Subcommittee. In 2010 he co-chaired the School Bond Committee, and has served as representative to the Elementary Capacity and Crowding Committee, liaison to the County Council of PTAs, and a long-time PTA volunteer. He has also served on the board of the Tara-Leeway Heights Civic Association from 2006-12.
School Board member Sally Baird said, “As a citizen leader, Mr. McCracken has been highly engaged and is well-informed about the many complexities associated with Arlington’s increasing capacity needs. He is well known, and highly respected in both the APS school community and Arlington County through his many leadership roles, and has been one of the strongest voices to ensure a thoughtful, proactive and transparent public process as we address our current and future capacity needs. Mr. McCracken brings a unique and invaluable perspective to the Board at this very important point in time in our deliberations.”
McCracken said, “I am grateful for this opportunity to serve Arlington Public Schools and thank the Board for their support. My family has had children in both neighborhood and countywide programs, and I understand the challenges and benefits of each. We have seen first-hand how important it is for our schools to provide rich and varied learning opportunities so that each student can succeed. I will do my utmost to fulfill the trust and expectations of the rest of the Board, and will do my part to keep Arlington County as the best place to live and to raise a family.”
McCracken is currently president and chief executive officer of a national association, and has over 25 years of management, public policy, and non-profit experience.
A native of New Mexico, McCracken has lived in Arlington since 1988. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas where he now serves on the Board of Visitors. He and his wife Melissa have two sons, who currently attend Swanson Middle School and the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program.
School Board Chair Abby Raphael thanked the many applicants for their interest. She said, “We are fortunate as a Board and as a community to have had so many qualified individuals interested in working with the Board. This made the decision particularly challenging, but we look forward to continuing our collaboration with all of them to make decisions that will ensure a strong instructional program and excellent learning environment for our students.”
Your Beermonger: The Beerfest Rules
Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).
We’re entering the season of the beer festival: great gatherings of breweries and beer fans celebrating the vast diversity of today’s craft beer scene. Unfortunately, too many attendees go the full St. Patrick’s Day at these festivals and turn them into amateur hour. This does nothing to bring people into the craft beer community, and only makes it harder for more events to be established later. Today we’re going to lay down some simple rules for attending a beerfest. Follow these simple bits of advice, and you’ll have a great time while keeping yourself out of trouble.
Hydrate: I cannot stress this enough. The bigger beer events are often held outdoors on fairgrounds or parks, and you don’t need me to tell you how the summers get in this area. Combine heat with sun exposure and alcohol, and you can find yourself in a bad way awful quick. As a rule I recommend a ‘golden ratio’ of 1:1 for beer and water when going out in general. At a beerfest, go even higher with the water. What? You don’t want to wait in line for the restroom every half hour? Too bad. If you follow no other rule in this column, please effort to follow this one.
Focus: It may seem like you have all day when you get to a festival, but even if you do you’re not going to be able to get around to everything. That’s not the point, either — the point is to seek out and try new and interesting beers. Take a good, solid lap around the fest and get your bearings. If a list is provided note some things you know you want to try and take your time getting around to them. It’s not a race and it’s not a contest.
Respect the staff: The same rule applies here as it does with waiters and bartenders — it’s your party, but it’s their job. As friendly as a brewery or distributor rep might be, they aren’t there to throw down. Chat and joke all you want — that’s fine, we’re all there to have a good time. Just keep in mind that 1. They have other festival attendees to take care of and 2. They can’t hook you up, bro. In fact, it’s illegal for them to do so in 99.99999% of cases. That leads us into…
Don’t be ‘that guy’: If you’re walking through a festival and there’s a circle eight feet or greater around where no one is walking, you’re being that guy. If you’re not having a conversation yet yelling about something, you’re being that guy. The guy over there in the brewery/sports team/college/band t-shirt that you don’t like? He doesn’t care that you don’t approve, so let it slide. If you try a beer you don’t like, it usually means nothing more than that it’s not to your taste. It doesn’t automatically mean the beer “sucks,” and no, telling the guy/gal who poured it for you that it “sucks” is not appropriate. It can be inevitable with such a confluence of great beers that you might catch a bit of a buzz — but wait…
Shuttleworth Withdraws Lawsuit Over Ballot Snafu
Arlington resident Bruce Shuttleworth, who is challenging incumbent Rep. Jim Moran for the Eighth District Democratic congressional nomination, has withdrawn a lawsuit he filed after initially being told he did not qualify for the ballot.
Shuttleworth was eventually allowed on the June 12 primary ballot, but only after he filed the lawsuit. That led him to accuse local Democratic officials of “corruption.” (A charge the state Democratic party vehemently disputed.)
In withdrawing the lawsuit, Shuttleworth says he still “intends to hold the party fully accountable for its practices regarding ballot access.”
The campaign issued the following statement last night.
Democratic Congressional Candidate, Bruce Shuttleworth today has voluntarily dismissed his lawsuit against Brian Moran and several Democratic operatives after being certified for the Virginia District 8 Democratic primary ballot.
Bruce Shuttleworth stated, “the convenient turnaround when faced with a Federal lawsuit does not provide answers to how petitions in a Congressional race in America can simply go missing. We were forced to file suit when the Virginia Democratic Party proved unresponsive, at great personal expense. It is disappointing that I was required to invest so much time and money to fight for our inalienable right for an honest democratic process.”
Candidate Shuttleworth has reached out repeatedly to the party and to Jim Moran to attempt to remove the pall over the party’s ballot access process without the need for court review, but was rebuffed. In the interest of ceasing further deployment of resources, which the VA Democratic Party has not yet offered to repay, the case is being voluntarily dismissed. Notwithstanding today’s dismissal, Bruce Shuttleworth intends to hold the party fully accountable for its practices regarding ballot access. His dismissal of this case does not prejudice him from bringing further claims related to the irregularities of the party’s signature review process.
Bruce Shuttleworth is focused on providing ethical and practical solutions for the people of Virginia’s 8th Congressional District. Candidate Shuttleworth understands the power of free markets but is committed to people first and understands the real needs of his community. Lip service and fake compassion while cosying up to big business is not his style. Bruce Shuttleworth believes public service is his duty, not a career option.
This year there is an alternative to Jim Moran, a 22 year incumbent. This year a challenger has squeezed through to the ballot. This year, the people of VA-8 can choose a real progressive by voting for Bruce Shuttleworth on June 12th, not an opportunist who is a Blue Dog one day (DLC–Democratic Leadership Council) and a progressive the next. Bruce Shuttleworth has served his country with passion and integrity. While he is the underdog against the Moran machine, Bruce believes in the power of the grassroots movement.
Blue Line Changes This Weekend Due to Track Work
For the second week in a row, there will be no Blue Line service between the Pentagon and Rosslyn this weekend.
Starting at 10:00 tonight and continuing through system closing on Sunday, buses will replace trains between the Pentagon and Rosslyn stations. Blue Line trains will operate in two sections, with one of the sections running between Franconia-Springfield and Mt. Vernon Square via the Yellow Line bridge. Arlington Cemetery station will be closed.
The service change is necessary to allow crews to replace wooden rail ties — the same work that was taking place last weekend.
Morning Notes
New School Budget Approved — The Arlington School Board approved a new $499.98 million budget last night. The budget includes a 2.84 percent cost of living increase for school employees, but no seniority-based “step” increases. The per-student cost at Arlington Public Schools will increase to $18,615, up from $18,400 in Superintendent Patrick Murphy’s FY 2013 proposed budget and $18,110 in this past year’s budget. [Sun Gazette]
Extra I-66 Lane Studied — Adding an extra lane in each direction on I-66 would improve travel times for drivers by only about 2 percent, while costing some $310 to $685 million, according to a preliminary study. [Greater Greater Washington]
Human Error in Rosslyn Derailment — Human error is suspected in Tuesday night’s derailment at the Rosslyn Metro station. Two Metro employees were placed on paid leave following the incident. [Washington Post]
Randy Johnson Visits W-L – Future Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson came to Arlington to watch a Washington-Lee High School baseball game last Friday. The Big Unit spent time in the dugout and posed for photos with players. [Patch]
Last 5K Friday Tonight — The last Crystal City 5K Friday of the season will take place starting at 6:30 tonight. Registration for the race is $20. [Pacers Events]
