Moran Wins Nod in Democratic Primary
(Updated at 12:35 p.m.) Incumbent Rep. Jim Moran cruised to an easy victory in Tuesday’s Democratic House of Representatives primary.
With 100 percent of precincts reporting in the Eighth District of Virginia — which includes Arlington, Alexandria and parts of Fairfax County — Moran received 74 percent of the vote to Shuttleworth’s 26 percent.
In Arlington, Moran captured a 2-to-1 to 3-to-1 advantage in most precincts. One notable exception is the Republican-heavy Madison precinct, near Shuttleworth’s home in the Old Glebe neighborhood of north Arlington. Shuttleworth received 196 votes from Madison precinct voters, to 182 votes for Moran.
Moran will now face Republican Patrick Murray and Independent Green candidate Janet Murphy in the Nov. 6 general election.
In the Virginia Republican U.S. Senate primary, George Allen has been declared the winner.
Primary Turnout ‘About Average,’ Official Says
(Updated at 4:10 p.m.) County election officials are anticipating an average, uneventful primary voting day in Arlington.
Local polling stations will remain open until 7:00 tonight for the Democratic U.S. House of Representatives primary between Rep. Jim Moran and Bruce Shuttleworth, and the Republican U.S. Senate primary between Jamie Radtke, George Allen, Bob Marshall and E.W. Jackson.
Arlington County Registrar Linda Lindberg says no problems have been reported at the polls. Based on voting thus far, she is anticipating a countywide turnout of between 6 and 10 percent, which is about average for a primary.
“It has been a pretty quiet day,” she said.
Lindberg noted that turnout has been higher in parts of north Arlington that often see more of a Republican turnout, while it has been lighter in parts of south Arlington (like Crystal City) that have more of a transient population.
Gulf Branch Nature Center to Celebrate 46th Birthday
Gulf Branch Nature Center will be celebrating its 46th birthday this weekend.
The nature center was saved from potential closure and demolition in 2009 when supporters rallied to have it removed from a list of county budget cuts. Now, the nonprofit Friends of the Gulf Branch Nature Center organization is throwing the wooded outpost another birthday party.
The free event is scheduled from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 16. The program includes:
- Live music by the New Old Time String Band
- Live animal encounters and nature fun for everyone
- “Open forge” with the Blacksmiths’ Guild
- Birthday cake
Photo via friendsofgbnc.org
New Pedestrian Paths Being Added to S. Joyce Street
The section of S. Joyce Street that connects Columbia Pike and Pentagon City is getting a major facelift.
Road work is currently underway on S. Joyce Street, described as “one of the few places for cyclists and pedestrians to cross I-395 in Arlington.” The $1.8 million federal project will not only improve the aesthetics of the road — “more urban, and less highway-industrial” — but will result in significant functional improvements for road users, especially pedestrians and cyclists.
Among the changes, as described by the Federal Highway Administration:
- “Project will build a narrower median, leaving two through travel lanes in each direction, and provide much-improved ten-foot wide shared use sidewalks on both sides, plus three-foot buffers between the walkway and back of curb.”
- “New pedestrian-scale street lighting will be installed the length of the project on both sides.”
- “All guard rails will be removed (terminal median crash barriers will be installed).”
- “Large standpipes will be re-located out of the accessible pedestrian route.”
Construction is underway now and is expected to wrap up in September. The project also accounts for the planned Columbia Pike streetcar, anticipating that the streetcar will use the road’s inner lanes.
Officials describe the project as a “coordinated effort” involving the Federal Highway Administration, VDOT, the Pentagon, Arlington National Cemetery, the Navy Annex demolition project, and Arlington’s streetcar project.
Photo courtesy Arlington County
Actor Kal Penn Meets With Young Obama Supporters in Arlington
Actor Kal Penn met with more than 100 young supporters of President Obama in Rosslyn and on Columbia Pike last night.
At Cafe Asia in Rosslyn, Penn spoke to a young professionals event about the importance of the upcoming presidential election.
“The stakes in this election are extremely high and none of us want to see the country move backwards,” Penn said. “Obviously Virginia is a battleground state, so there are a lot of resources on both sides of the aisle being poured in here.”
Penn, 35, spent two of the past four years working in the Obama White House, in between acting jobs. He said he’s again taking a break from his acting career to make sure the president wins a second term in office.
“I loved and felt very honored to serve the president for two years and a lot of folks are doing their part… not just actors but teachers, firemen, policemen, students, young entrepreneurs,” Penn said. “As much as a love the movie career… seeing what the stakes are and seeing what the alternative is just makes you want to do everything you can between now and November to get the president re-elected. I feel lucky that I can go back to my creative job, but right now when we do events like this, it’s a little more serious in tone.”
In a question and answer session, Penn couldn’t escape a query about his showbiz career, which has included roles in movies like Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, and TV shows like House and How I Met Your Mother.
“What was more fun, working at the White House or working on House?” one young man asked. The White House, Penn replied.
Penn was joined by former White House Chief Technology Officer, Arlington resident, and possible candidate for Virginia lieutenant governor Aneesh Chopra, who spoke passionately about the role of young people and Asian Americans in propelling the president to victory in 2008.
After the event in Rosslyn, Penn and Chopra met with phone bank volunteers at the Obama campaign’s Arlington office at 2408 Columbia Pike. Protesters held anti-Obama signs outside both the Rosslyn and Columbia Pike events.
Among the messages on the signs were references to Penn’s movies, including: “Obama & Kumar Go To Debt Castle” and “If the private sector is ‘doing fine’ then Harold & Kumar should win Best Picture.”
Ask Adam: How Much Home Can I Afford?
Editor’s Note: This periodic sponsored Q&A column is written by Adam Gallegos of Arlington-based real estate firm Arbour Realty. Please submit follow-up questions in the comments section or via email.
Question: What percentage of my income do you recommend spending on a home mortgage every month?
Great question. I’m going to defer this response to one of the best loan officers in the business, Paul Nagel:
Even after the mortgage market crash, banks will approve the majority of buyers with good credit for more than they would want to spend on a home. For most loan programs, banks will approve someone to have a mortgage and minimum payments on debts (credit cards, car loan, etc.) at 45% of their gross income. For example, someone with low debts and earning $100,000 may be approved up to a mortgage payment of $3,500 per month.
That said, my SUV might be able to drive 120 MPH, but that doesn’t mean that it’s wise to drive that fast. Said differently, it’s often not the upper limits of what can be done that determines the most prudent course of action. In terms of looking to purchase a home, any good lender can provide feedback on how much of a mortgage could one be approved for by a bank; however, the more important (and more difficult) question when looking to purchase a home is not what could I purchase, but what price would fit within my personal and financial plans. That’s where it gets very specific to each person’s situation and/or preferences.
I’ve seen people with extremely high incomes purchase very modest homes, as they preferred to go to Paris once a month and eat most meals at fine restaurants. I’ve also seen individuals purchase very expensive homes relative to their monthly income, but their preferred recreation was Netflix at home with family.
The best advice I could give would be to make sure to obtain feedback on two topics from any given lender: First, understand what the approximate upper limit that you would be approved for by a bank. Second (and more importantly), prepare a budget that takes into account your personal and financial plans. A good lender can help you understand how much home that will afford you based on estimated costs of home ownership.
A lender can’t provide a specific answer regarding what to spend, but they definitely should provide enough information so that it’s very easy for you to determine the answer based on your specific goals & plans.
Continue to send your real estate-related questions to: adam@arbourrealty.com
The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com. Community discussion guidelines: While we encourage a spirited exchange of views in the comment section, comments that are deliberately mean-spirited will be removed.
Arlington to Vote on Streetcar Agreement with Alexandria
After reports of disagreements over the planning for a Route 1 corridor streetcar, Arlington and Alexandria are poised to sign an agreement that would move the project forward.
The Arlington County Board is expected to vote Saturday on the agreement, which would implement the streetcar as a two-phase project. County staff has recommended it be approved.
Under the proposed agreement, Arlington would proceed with the construction of a streetcar line in Crystal City while Alexandria focuses on building a new Potomac Yard Metro station. Arlington would complete an Environmental Assessment for the streetcar project in late 2013, while Alexandria would begin an Alternatives Analysis and environmental studies for its potential extension of the streetcar line in early 2014, after the final location of the Potomac Yard station has been decided.
County staff anticipate the Crystal City streetcar would be built and under operation by 2019. An Alexandria extension could be built as soon as two years later.
While Alexandria’s streetcar extension will depend largely on federal funding, Arlington would fund the streetcar using state funds and the Crystal City tax increment financing area (TIF) that was approved by the County Board in 2010. Unlike Alexandria, Arlington will not perform an Alternatives Analysis, which is required in order to seek federal funding.
The project restructuring will likely increase Arlington’s costs for the environmental work, but it should put to rest any disagreements over how the jurisdictions will split the expense of the various studies involved.
“It ends up being a win-win situation for both of us, and I think everybody is quite pleased,” said Arlington County spokeswoman Mary Curtius. She added that the fact that Arlington is moving forward with the project first should boost Alexandria’s chances of receiving federal funding.
“We think this will strengthen Alexandria’s application,” Curtius said.
Morning Notes
Arlington Funeral Home Demolition — Arlington Funeral Home in Virginia Square has been torn down to make way for a new office building. Arlington funeral home first opened in April 1956. [Arlington Public Library]
Election Day Today — Arlington voters are going to the polls today to cast their ballots in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate and the Democratic primary for the U.S. House of Representatives (see candidate essays for Rep. Jim Moran and Bruce Shuttleworth). Arlington has a complete list of polling places here.
Trader Joe’s Asks for Display Cases — Trader Joe’s in Clarendon is asking the Arlington County Board for permission to put display cases in the store’s windows along N. Garfield Street. Currently, the windows — which are legally required to remain transparent, per a site plan — look in on the store’s storage area. [Arlington County]
APS Accepting Applications for Committee — Arlington Public Schools is inviting applications from parents and community members for its Pupil Services Committee. The committee meets once a month during the school year and “reviews the services offered by psychologists, social workers, substance abuse counselors, school counselors, and attendance specialists.” [Arlington Public Schools]
Photo courtesy Bill Colton
