News

Limits to Ranked Choice Voting — “The field may be as many as a half-dozen by the time the dust settles, but for voters in June’s Arlington County Board Democratic primary, there will be some limits on how many candidates one can rank as part of the new instant-runoff process. Technical constraints mean that voters will only be able to select their top three choices, no matter how many candidates emerge, county elections chief Gretchen Reinemeyer confirmed.” [Sun Gazette]

Arlington’s Busiest Battalion Chief — From the Arlington County Fire Department: “The busiest Battalion Chief (BC) for the ACFD in 2022 was Battalion 111 with over 1,000 calls for the year. BC’s are dispatched on all significant incidents to serve in a command capacity. Day to day they manage their battalions which are comprised of multiple fire stations.” [Twitter]

Park Booze Expansion Approved — “Arlington County Board members on Jan. 21 added two additional local parks – Penrose Square and Long Bridge Park – to those where alcohol can be sold and consumed during special events. Such temporary sales already had been allowed for events at Fort C.F. Smith Park, Gateway Park and Clarendon Central Park, if approved by a county-government committee that oversees the issuance of special-event permits.” [Sun Gazette]

Court Security Stops Man With Gun — “The Arlington County Sheriff’s Office stopped an individual from entering the courthouse with a fully loaded, concealed Smith & Wesson .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol on Jan. 17. The individual reported to the Arlington County Courthouse for a court hearing in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations court, when deputies spotted the gun in the checkpoint X-ray machine. The handgun was loaded with seven bullets and located in the individual’s bag.” [ACSO]