Launched in January 2010, ARLnow.com is the place for the latest news, views and things to do around Arlington, Virginia. The ARLnow staff byline is used for the Morning Notes and reporting done by an editor or other member of our full-time staff.
(Updated at 10:10 a.m.) Arlington County’s “Open Door Monday” events are continuing this year, offering residents the opportunity to chat with a County Board member about any topic in an informal setting.
County Board Approves Bike Boulevard Contract — The Arlington County Board on Saturday approved a half-million dollar contract for safety improvements to the intersection of S. Walter Reed Drive and 12th Street S. Per a county press release: “The project, one of several designed to make the Columbia Pike bike boulevards safer and more comfortable, will provide traffic calming and pedestrian improvements at the intersection.” [Arlington County]
Wakefield Boys Win Basketball Tourney — “The Wakefield Warriors won the 2018 boys Northern Region 5C Tournament basketball championship on their home court Feb. 23. The region crown was the 10th in program history for the high school team and second since 2014.” [InsideNova]
A state bill targeted at helping country clubs in Arlington would cost the county more than $2 million in tax revenue, an internal county report says.
HB 1204, patroned by Fairfax and Prince William County Del. Tim Hugo (R), passed the House of Delegates last week by a vote of 65-33-1. The bill would “reserve to the Commonwealth the power to classify golf courses as land dedicated to open space for assessment and tax purposes,” according to an internal Arlington County fact sheet.
Arlington County’s property tax rate will not be increasing in Fiscal Year 2019, though many homeowners will be paying higher taxes overall.
The Board advertised a tax rate of $1.006 per $100 in assessed value, including the stormwater tax, which is unchanged from the current fiscal year and in line with County Manager Mark Schwartz’s recommended budget. Even if the rate stays the same when the Board adopts its final budget on April 21, taxes for homeowners will be going up.
Arlington and much of the D.C. region is under a Dense Fog Advisory until 11 a.m.
Drivers are being encouraged to slow down due to low visibility. More from the National Weather Service:
Bridget Reed Morawski joined ARLnow as our new assistant managing editor earlier this month.
Morawski and ARLnow editor-in-chief Scott Brodbeck had a freewheeling discussion about Arlington, the website and what’s next for both.
ACFD Black History Month Tweets — The Arlington County Fire Department has been recounting the history of black firefighters in Arlington in commemoration of Black History Month. There were several African-American volunteer fire departments in the county during the first half of the 20th century, serving neighborhoods like Hall’s Hill and “Hell’s Bottom,” which was cleared to make way for the Pentagon during World War II. [Twitter, Twitter]
ARLnow Wins ‘Amazon Thirsty Thursday’ Recognition — Our scoop that an internal Amazon website devoted to its “HQ2” search steered thousands of visits to a two-month-old ARLnow article, has earned us the distinction of being named the “winner” of Washingtonian’s “Amazon Thirsty Thursday” weekly feature. Our article pointing out that Amazon has an office in Arlington was apparently the icing on the thirsty cake. [Washingtonian]
Community paper shredding events. Arlington’s poet laureate. The Citizen newsletter.
Those are a few of the relatively small cuts that add up to enough savingsin County Manager Mark Schwartz’s new proposed budget to bridge Arlington’s $20 million budget gap.
That’s the message from APS Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy, in a letter to students, staff and parents.
In the wake of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, Murphy noted that “all staff are trained on… situations involving an active shooter.”
The following Letter to the Editor was submitted by Mac McCreery, David Peete, Tom Prewitt, Robin Stombler and Jeff Zeeman. McCreery, Peete, Prewitt and Zeeman are all members of the Arts District Committee. Stombler serves as Chair of the Committee.
We didn’t always agree at first. As representatives of business, arts, industry, and community interests, we were bound to have divergent ideas, but we came together as members of the Arts District Committee, a component of the Four Mile Run Valley Initiative Working Group. Let us share with you what we found.
Record Warm Temperatures — Yesterday’s high temperature of 82 degrees was the hottest it has ever been this early in the year. Records were set at all three D.C. area airports. [Twitter, Capital Weather Gang]
Fatal Fall in Clarendon — The man who fell from the roof of a building in Clarendon last week died, police confirmed Wednesday. “The subject was transported to the hospital by Arlington County Fire Department medics where he was later pronounced deceased,” said Arlington County Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage. “The police department is conducting an active death investigation and nothing in the investigation has lead us to categorize the death as suspicious.” [Twitter]
The alleged incident happened early Monday morning near the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Walter Reed Drive.
More from the crime report:
