Garvey, a Democrat, received 49.2 percent of the vote to 43.5 percent for Republican Mark Kelly and 7.1 percent for Green Party Candidate Audrey Clement. Only 14,252 votes were recorded — a 11.5 percent turnout — in contrast to between 18,000 and 22,000 votes recorded in the previous five County Board special elections.
Though Garvey emerged the winner, the race was relatively close when compared to the usually lopsided general election results in favor of Democrats in Arlington.
(Update at 7:10 p.m.) A woman somehow drove her car onto the front porch of an apartment building in the Columbia Heights West neighborhood this afternoon.
The accident happened at the corner of 8th Road S. and S. Emerson Street. A witness tells ARLnow.com that the driver was trying to back into a street parking spot when she lost control, hit the front of a Honda, drove in a U-turn in the front yard of the building and came to rest on the front porch. In the process, the woman’s car took out one of the porch’s columns.
Two out of the past three times the turnout of a County Board special election was below 19,000, a Republican ended up winning. This year, it’s looking unlikely that even 15,000 votes will be cast out of the pool of 122,882 active registered voters in Arlington.
“I think it’s probably going to end up maybe being 10 to 12 percent [turnout], and I may be overestimating that,” Arlington County Registrar Linda Lindberg told ARLnow.com this afternoon. “Usually in a special election we get closer to 20 percent, but I don’t think we’re going to get anywhere near that this time.”
El Manantial III, a Guatemalan/Mexican restaurant apparently associated with the El Manantial restaurant in Lyon Park (2618 N. Pershing Drive), is expected to open in the Las Delicias space soon.
County inspectors were spotted parked outside the restaurant earlier today. It’s unclear when exactly the restaurant is going to open, though. A woman who answered the phone at the Lyon Park El Manantial restaurant referred us to a phone number that went straight to voicemail.
The grant — one of the $2.1 million in grants awarded by HUD in Virginia — will help A-SPAN and its “Open Doors” program provide housing and case management for six chronically homeless adults in Arlington over the next year. A-SPAN currently provides housing and case management for 24 chronically homeless adults who suffer from mental illness and/or substance abuse.
“The clients we will house are those that have been homeless for many years and have been diagnosed with a mental illness and other severe health problems,” A-SPAN Executive Director Kathleen Sibert said in a press release. “Despite those difficulties, we’ve shown that these clients can be successful, but they are our most vulnerable neighbors. Helping them get into housing is our main goal and what we’re working toward with the 100 Homes for 100 Homeless Arlingtonians Campaign.”
The survey is an effort to “measure residents’ satisfaction with major County services and to gather input about issues facing the community,” according to a press release. The survey asks residents to weigh in on a number of topics, including public safety, parks and recreation, public works, transportation, and human services. The survey also asks residents about their perceptions of Arlington County, how safe they feel in their neighborhood, and how they get news and information about Arlington.
A market research firm out of Kansas City is conducting the survey on behalf of the county by mailing survey forms to 3,600 randomly selected Arlington residents. An online version of this year’s survey is also available. Results from the survey will be published this summer on the Arlington County website.
Located at 933 N. Quincy Street, on the ground floor of the Quincy Plaza Apartments in the former Daily Grind coffee shop space, Naked Pizza is expected to offer its signature all-natural pies to dine-in, walk-up and delivery customers. In July 2011 the Arlington County Board approved a site plan amendment that will allow the restaurant to operate a delivery service.
According to the building permits, the new Naked location — the fast-growing company’s second in Arlington County — will have 28 interior seats. That’s in contrast to the existing Naked Pizza store in Pentagon City, which offers carryout and delivery but has little to no indoor seating space.
Polls Open for County Board Race — Polls are open until 7:00 p.m. for today’s Arlington County Board special election. The three candidates on the ballot are Libby Garvey (D), Mark Kelly (R) and Audrey Clement (G). See the list of polling places here.
Merrifield to Rival Arlington? — Merrifield, once best known for its drive-in movie theater, is transforming itself into a walkable urban community. Multiple apartment and townhouse developments are being built, and more are in the pipeline. Businesses like Harris Teeter, MOM’s Organic Market, Matchbox Pizza, Dolcezza gelato, Red Apron Butchery, Tayor Gourmet, and Cava Mezza are also on the way. Rep. Gerry Connolly says of the rapidly-developing Merrifield: “I think that it’s going to rival Arlington for a lot of the younger generation of workers and commuters.” [Washington Post]
