The Right Note is a weekly opinion column published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.
This week, the County Board approved the construction contract to begin the extensive work on the new location. The construction price tag is as much as $6.6 million. This is on top of $1.5 million in design and administrative costs, and over $750,000 for furnishings, security and IT equipment.
The Right Note is a weekly opinion column published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.
If you drive around Arlington much these days, the pothole slalom is happening multiple times per trip. I even saw one pothole today that someone had put an orange traffic cone in, presumably to alert drivers of just how bad it was.
The Right Note is a weekly opinion column published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.
When Jay Fisette said he would make economic development a priority for his year as chairman of the Arlington County Board, many in the business community sat up and took notice. It was met with cautious optimism, maybe even a little skepticism, based on the record of Fisette and the all-Democrat Board over the last two decades.
The Right Note is a weekly opinion column published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.
Evan Bernick, a Libertarian. Bernick strikes familiar libertarian themes, running against County Board over-spending.
The Right Note is a weekly opinion column published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.
Some may argue that the rise in assessments is good news because your home is now worth more. While true, and certainly helpful whenever you decide to sell your home, we all know that we pay these taxes while we live in our homes. So, the tax increase is effectively a tax on your income, which is one of the reasons you can deduct it from your federal tax return.
The Right Note is a weekly opinion column published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.
As it turns out, that still may not be enough. County Manager Barbara Donnellan had to halt forward progress on the new facility when bids came in well over the already-generous cost estimates. This was on top of the recent announcement that annual taxpayer subsidies for the ongoing operational costs of the project were ballooning dramatically over the original cost estimates. The new estimate is that the aquatics center will operate at a deficit of $4 million per year.
The Right Note is a weekly opinion column published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.
In it, I commented on the false choice Chris Zimmerman often offers to Arlingtonians. If you have listened to his speeches, he often paints a picture that people either believe the government is capable of doing good things or nothing at all.
The Right Note is a weekly opinion column published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.
We learned that the Board has jettisoned the idea of using any federal dollars for the Columbia Pike trolley project. Outgoing Chairman Walter Tejada even suggested accelerating the process now that federal dollars were no longer in the equation. Each defender of the trolley repeated a core message in their speeches yesterday: we decided to build this boondoggle project over the past decade — to question us, or turn back now, is unacceptable.
The Right Note is a weekly opinion column published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.
Another thing to expect from the Jan. 1 speeches is some good old fashioned Republican-bashing. County Board members usually spend some quality time blaming Republicans in Washington and Richmond. In general, all failures of leadership will be declared to be Republicans’ fault. This is always an interesting perspective from an all-Democratic County Board who rarely takes responsibility for its mistakes.
The Right Note is a weekly opinion column published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.
With security provided by Arlington County Sheriff’s Deputies, Clerk of the Court Paul Ferguson oversaw the recount. Ferguson swore in two of the Electoral Board members as Recount Coordinators and ten Officers of Election at 7:00 a.m. to conduct it. Registrar Linda Lindberg and her staff provided guidance to all of the officials as they opened the sealed envelopes containing Nov. 5’s results.
The Right Note is a weekly opinion column published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.
By my rough, back of the envelope estimate, Atkins made over 1,000 speeches before the Board. That is far and away more speaking time during County Board meetings over that span than anyone else who was not elected to serve on the Board.
The Right Note is a weekly opinion column published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.
First, a reminder of how a TIF works. Essentially, Arlington County freezes the tax base of a defined area and dedicates tax revenue from that base to the general fund. The additional future revenue, or a percentage of it, is then earmarked to spend solely in that area, presumably with a pet project in mind. The general fund, on the other hand, is used to pay for the ongoing county services we all use: schools, transportation, police, fire, parks, and other services.
