The Right Note is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
The rotating writers of the Progressive Voice often make some interesting claims.
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Author: Mark Kelly
The Right Note is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
For the second year in a row, the County Board voted to adopt what looks like a pay raise for itself.
The Right Note is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
The County Board is scheduled to vote on the budget and tax rates later today. Sadly, the budget documents have not been posted to the county website as of the writing of this column. At best, the public will have just a handful of hours to review the final FY 2022 budget before it is adopted.
The Right Note is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
Last month I received the following advice from a fellow Republican, “our candidates should stop talking about taxes because it is not a winning issue in Arlington.”
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The Right Note is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
As the pace of vaccinations accelerate and we anticipate a return to a more normal way of life, the County Board and School Board are making budget decisions for the upcoming fiscal year.
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The Right Note is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
Days of breathless coverage about books written and illustrated half a century ago is what fills in the 24-hour news cycle when the current president will not take questions from the press and a former president no longer has access to Twitter. In case you missed it though, Arlington’s schools will be fully open to hybrid in-person learning by next week.
The Right Note is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
On Saturday the County Board met and slashed parking permits for some residents while paving the way to move forward on the county and school budgets.
The Right Note is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
Thumbs Up to Governor Northam for announcing schools should reopen by March 15. If Arlington meets this deadline, it will be one full year since the schools were shut down on March 13, 2020. But this must mean in-person instruction, not a glorified study hall where kids learn virtually while sitting in a school classroom. States across America and countries around the world have figured out how to do it safely and responsibly. We have the resources to do it, so hopefully the Superintendent and APS School Board will provide the detailed roadmap soon.
The Right Note is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
In response to School Board Member Reid Goldstein’s column yesterday, let’s talk about schools in Arlington.
At this point each year, we have the opportunity to examine the speeches of the five Arlington County Board Members to gauge their priorities for 2021. There was no doubt from those remarks that real challenges lie ahead as we move into COVID recovery.
Arlington has weathered the pandemic better than many communities. Our economy is still largely dependent on the relatively stable federal government budget. We are able to work from home due to access to technology and strong and fast internet connections. Still we saw businesses close their doors. And many more are wondering how much longer they can hang on.
It would not be 2020 without at least one unexpectedly strange story from our County Board. Last week it was revealed by the Washington Post that Christian Dorsey’s bankruptcy claim was dismissed with prejudice for “an overt act of misrepresentation.”
This is the second time in recent memory that Dorsey has had a very public revelation of difficulty with being forthcoming after last year’s failure to disclose a $10,000 improper campaign contribution. And for the second time in a year, he has received a less than enthusiastic vote of confidence from fellow Arlington County Board members for his continued service. Board Chair Libby Garvey said she backed Mr. Dorsey “despite his personal financial issues.”
The County Board has issued guidance for the Fiscal Year 2022 budget and left all options on the table.
In other words, property owners should prepare for their real estate taxes to go up. The Board also began to lay the groundwork for a tax on plastic bags and cigarettes. This will all be done in the name of COVID-19.