Author: Alex Koma

Schools

APS Moving Trailers to Career Center, Could Take Over Columbia Pike Library As Enrollment Swells

By Alex Koma
The Arlington Career Center (via Arlington Public Schools)

With more than 150 new students set to attend classes at the Arlington Career Center in the coming school year, officials are now scrambling to free up some extra classroom space at the facility.

The county school system now plans to move eight trailers over from the adjacent Patrick Henry Elementary School to free up room for those students in the 2019-2020 school year. Career Center Principal Margaret Chung informed parents of the move in an email Monday (Feb. 25) that was subsequently obtained by ARLnow.

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News

Arlington Heights Parent Launches Challenge to School Board Chair for Democratic Endorsement

By Alex Koma
School Board Chair Reid Goldstein, left, and challenger David Priddy

An Arlington Heights parent is launching a challenge to School Board Chairman Reid Goldstein, arguing that the county school system needs a more transparent, comprehensive planning process to match the county’s persistently rising student enrollment levels.

David Priddy told ARLnow that he’s filed papers to compete in the upcoming caucus to win the Democratic Committee’s endorsement in the race. School Board seats are nominally non-partisan, and candidates don’t run under party labels, but local parties frequently endorse candidates for the Board.

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News

County Plans to Hire Two New Staffers to Prepare for Opening of Long Bridge Park Aquatics Center

By Alex Koma
Long Bridge Park aquatics center exterior (via Arlington County)

Though the opening of the ever-controversial Long Bridge Park aquatics and fitness center is still a ways off, county officials are gearing up to hire two new staffers set to work at the facility.

County Manager Mark Schwartz set aside $110,000 for the newly created positions as part of his proposed budget for fiscal year 2020. He forwarded along his first draft of the new spending plan to the County Board late last week.

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Around Town

Solidcore Pilates Studio Plans Expansion to Courthouse This Spring

By Alex Koma
The future home of a new Solidcore pilates studio in Courthouse.

A new Solidcore Pilates studio looks to be on the way for a Courthouse office building.

The company announced plans to expand to the neighborhood earlier this month. A recent Facebook post promises that the new location, Solidcore’s second in Arlington, will be open by April.

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News

County Weighs Changes to Make Washington Blvd Safer As It Runs Through Westover

By Alex Koma

(Updated at 11:30 a.m.) Washington Blvd is about to get a bit of a makeover as it runs between Bluemont and Westover, and county officials are looking for some input on potential changes for the area.

VDOT is planning on repaving the road between its intersection with N. Frederick Street and N. McKinley Road later this summer.

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Around Town

Here’s Where You Can Pick Up Girl Scout Cookies Around Arlington

By Alex Koma

If you’ve got a hankering for samoas, thin mints and tagalongs these days, you’re in luck — it’s officially Girl Scout cookie season around Arlington.

Local troops have begun setting up booths around the county, with proceeds of the annual sale set to benefit the local Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital and fund a variety of trips and programs for kids around Arlington.

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News

County Rolls Out Temporary Parking Restrictions in Four Mile Run Valley to Free Up Curb Space

By Alex Koma
Interim parking changes planned for the Four Mile Run valley in Nauck (via Arlington County)

Some experimental parking changes throughout the Four Mile Run valley are going into effect over the next few weeks, as county officials weigh the best strategies for improving conditions in the area for pedestrians and drivers alike.

The county started rolling out the changes Saturday (Feb. 23) and plans to have all of them in place by the second week of March. Officials previously held meetings about the contemplated changes in Nauck this fall, and the County Board approved the general approach toward parking in the area as part of the Four Mile Run Valley Area Plan it passed in November.

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News

County Dog Owners Could Soon Buy Lifetime Licenses for Pets

By Alex Koma

Arlington dog owners could soon be able to pay for lifetime licenses for their four-legged friends.

Currently, the county sells one-year or three-year licenses for Arlington’s furriest residents. But a new proposal advanced by the County Board Saturday (Feb. 23) would create a one-time, $30 fee for a lifetime license for local dogs.

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News

Redevelopment of American Legion Post into Affordable Housing Complex Wins County Approval

By Alex Koma

County leaders have now given the green light to plans to redevelop the American Legion post in Virginia Square into an affordable housing complex, a project widely hailed as an innovative effort to provide reasonably priced homes to veterans.

The County Board voted unanimously Saturday (Feb. 23) to approve plans from the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) to replace the Legion’s current home with a new seven-story structure. The building will have room for 160 apartments — half will be set aside specifically for veterans, and all of them are guaranteed to be affordable to people of more modest means for the next 75 years.

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News

In a Bid to Meet School and Metro Expenses, County Board Proposes Larger Tax Increase for New Budget

By Alex Koma

Growing expenses from the county school system and Metro have convinced Arlington officials to propose a substantial tax increase for the new year’s budget, with leaders advancing a tax hike that’s even larger than the one initially proposed by County Manager Mark Schwartz.

The County Board voted 4-1 to advertise a 2.75-cent bump to the county’s real estate tax rate at its meeting Saturday, nearly double the 1.5-cent increase included in Schwartz’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2020. Board member Katie Cristol cast the lone dissenting vote.

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