Good morning, Arlington. Dana here. It’s Monday, September 13: National Kids Take Over The Kitchen Day and Tyler Perry’s 52nd birthday.
Morning Status
- Today’s Weather: ☀️ Mostly sunny, with a high near 92.
- Tomorrow’s Weather: ☀️ Mostly sunny, with a high near 92.
- Sunrise: 6:44 a.m.
- Sunset: 7:14 p.m.
What We’re Covering Today
Morning Notes
- Kadera Concerned By Test Score Drop — “Give Democratic School Board endorsee Mary Kadera credit for recognizing the elephant in the room. At the Sept. 8 Arlington Committee of 100 campaign forum, Kadera acknowledged the massive drops in scores on state Standards of Learning exams (SOLs) as Arlington students were locked at home over the past school year. And, she said, steps need to be taken to get back on track.” [Sun Gazette]
- Ruthie’s Makes National ‘Gem’ List — Arlington Heights restaurant Ruthie’s All Day has made “OpenTable’s 100 Best Neighborhood Gems in America for 2021” list. The southern-inspired restaurant will soon be celebrating its one-year anniversary. [OpenTable, Restaurant News]
- Metal Grid Near Airport Explained — “Fencing in part of Roaches Run near Reagan National Airport is designed to protect native plants put in by the National Park Service. The enclosures keep carp and turtles from nibbling on cattails, willows and alders.” [Washington Post]
The following are preview of stories we’re planning to cover later today. Note that some stories may be pushed back, depending on the day’s news.
Transit Poll: Last week WMATA advanced a few possible ways to expand the Metrorail system, most of which involve a second Rosslyn station and Potomac Tunnel to alleviate congestion, connected to a new Georgetown station. We’ll ask readers what they think of some of these ideas.
Food Scraps Caddy Video: Still trying to figure out how to properly use Arlington’s new residential food scrap collection service and the plastic caddy that was distributed to homes? A new video has you covered.
Startup Monday: Arlington-based Brazen, a tech company that has provided virtual hiring events to companies, organizations and universities for over a decade, saw huge growth during the pandemic when everything went virtual. It says after the pandemic, virtual hiring and networking events are likely here to stay, too.
APS May Be Nixing German: German classes are on the brink of extinction due to staffing issues at Arlington Public Schools. Parents and students are once more rallying behind the program, which was on the chopping block a few years ago, along with Japanese language classes. APS says it’s committed to hiring staff — but for now, kids are online or in another language, and Germanophiles are worried about the program’s existence long term.
And in case you missed it, here’s what we covered Friday but didn’t plan in advance:
New Diversity Chief at APS: Less than two weeks after announcing to Arlington Public Schools employees that its Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer was on leave, the school system has posted a job listing for the position. Separately, APS is also hiring a new head of human resources to replace the current HR honcho, who’s retiring.
