Issues like the Columbia Pike streetcar and the housing authority referendum were at the forefront last night during the Arlington Civic Federation’s annual candidates’ forum.
The debate between County Board member Jay Fisette and Green Party challenger Audrey Clement was the night’s most divisive, with Clement challenging the streetcar project and the Board’s fiscal policies.
Teachers and administrators welcomed an estimated 23,586 students inside the halls of Arlington Public Schools for the first time since June this morning (Tuesday).
AFAC volunteer coordinator Laura Jackson said the end of the summer is typically when its dry food stores are lowest because the center doesn’t conduct as many food drives while people are on vacation.
“It happens most summers,” she said. “We get a lot of produce donations from farmer’s markets during the summer, but a tomato is not the same thing as cereal.”
Police officers will be a high-visibility presence, directing traffic in school zones, and variable message boards will be placed along county roadways reminded drivers to take extra precaution as students start returning to area schools.
Arlington County issued the following tips for safe driving on the first day of school:
The woman was texting behind the McDonald’s, on N. Lynn Street, when a man ran past and snatched her cell phone out of her hands, the BID employee said. Neither he nor the victim wished to be identified.
The woman called for help, and another BID employee got on the radio to describe the suspect, a black man in dark clothing, he said. Standing at the corner of N. Lynn and 19th Streets, he saw the suspect run by.
It’s Labor Day weekend, so in between back-to-school shopping and enjoying one last weekend of summer, you can swing by some of these open houses in your area.
See our real estate section for a full listing of open houses. Here are a few highlights:
Updated Sept. 5 at 9:00 a.m.
Drivers of electric cars will soon be able to charge up in Clarendon.
The event, called Zen Around the City, will be held at Mind Your Body Oasis yoga studio (1750 Crystal Drive) in Crystal City, on Wednesday, Sept. 4 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. It will feature experts in cycling and yoga, a dinner and gift bags with $25 worth of memorabilia.
Zen Around the City is for women only, and includes an optional 30-minute yoga class before it starts. Once the yoga is over, attendees can expect “women-specific advice on getting around on a bike,” and a lesson on the health benefits of cycling.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) called the Orange Line corridor in Arlington “the core of startups in Washington” during a Q&A with entrepreneurs in Rosslyn today (Thursday).
Warner spoke to several dozen attendees at ÜberOffices (1400 Key Blvd) as part of “Startup Across America” Day, focusing on ways to boost the local startup economy, which has been a driver of job growth in the area.
The county recently asked residents to participate in an online survey to gauge how user-friendly the website is. Arlington has kept its essential blue-and-white color-scheme, but changed the layout of the site to make it easier to navigate for residents and less focused on county government’s hierarchy.
The site will use the open-source content management system WordPress, and is designed to respond to frequent resident tasks — such as paying parking tickets and checking in on building construction — right from the home page.
A new bus shelter has been installed on Columbia Pike at the corner of S. Barton Street.
The shelter was installed Aug. 22 and replaced the previous structure, which was removed by WMATA Aug. 1. The shelter is only a temporary replacement until a long-term “Super Stop” is installed at the location, according to Arlington Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Laura G. Smith,
The ranking, from event management software provider Cvent, is based on meeting and event booking activity in the company’s system. Arlington fell eight spots from last year’s ranking of 26.
“Earning this ranking validates the significant effort that [Arlington Convention and Visitors Services] and Arlington hotels put into making the county an attractive choice for meetings, a critical part of our economy,” ACVS Director Emily Cassell said in a press release. “It also reflects Arlington’s appeal as a vibrant urban destination in the heart of the nation’s capital – one that offers the convenience of downtown D.C., but at hotel rates averaging up to 20 percent less.”
