Takis Karantonis, the former director of the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization, will be the Democratic nominee for County Board in the upcoming July 7 special election.
With just days to select a nominee ahead of Friday’s court-set filing deadline, the Arlington County Democratic Committee — despite efforts to get the election date pushed back — opted for a ranked choice voting process among party insiders.
Amazon Orders Thousands of Meals from Freddie’s — “Amazon has hired Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant, which is widely known as an LGBT establishment, to prepare and deliver 10,000 meals in the month of May for front line healthcare workers and first responders in Arlington and nearby Alexandria who are dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement released to the Washington Blade, Amazon said it was investing $200,000 to pay for the 10,000 meals.” [Washington Blade]
VRE Ridership Down 97% — “First, the good news, such as it is: Ridership on Virginia Railway Express stabilized in April as the public-health pandemic rolled on. The bad news: The ridership decline is now averaging 97% compared to normal times.” [InsideNova]
Two local running stores and a Swiss shoe company have come together to donate shoes to local frontline workers and regional organizations.
Regional running retailer Pacers announced today (Wednesday) that it is partnering with competitor Potomac River Running Store and Switzerland-based ON Shoes to donate 5,000 shoes to those working during the pandemic, including dozens donated to the Virginia Hospital Center (VHC).
(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) The well-known design firm working to reimagine Metropolitan Park in Pentagon City has revealed some of its initial design concepts.
James Corner Field Operations, the firm behind New York City’s High Line, presented the designs in a virtual public meeting last week, alongside representatives from Amazon — which is footing the bill for the design work and park renovations — and Arlington’s Dept. of Parks and Recreation.
(Updated at 11:15 a.m.) Arlington County has grown its public health workforce more than 10x since January amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“At the start of this emergency in January, we had approximately 15 members in Public Health leading response efforts,” Arlington Public Health Director Dr. Reuben Varghese tells ARLnow. “We have since expanded to more than 250, including many resources from other parts of the Department of Human Services, temporary reassignments from other County departments and community volunteers.”
Hope for Arlington Summer Camps — ” As summer is approaching, we know many families are anxiously awaiting information on Summer Camp 2020. While we hope to operate summer camp this year, the ultimate decision will be based on our ability to operate safely within national and state guidelines.” [Dept. of Parks and Recreation]
County Board Primary Cancelled — “The Democratic Primary for County Board, originally scheduled for June 9, 2020 and subsequently delayed until June 23, 2020, will not be held… Accordingly, Libby T. Garvey is the Democratic nominee for County Board in the General Election to be held on November 3, 2020.” [Arlington County]
Those who want to see Arlington close lanes or whole streets during the pandemic will have to keep waiting.
County officials say they don’t have the resources to close lanes in order to create extra space for social distancing among cyclists and pedestrians.
(Updated at 11:20 a.m.) A fight in the Penrose Square Giant led to a series of events that closed portions of two major roads and prompted a massive police response.
Police were dispatched to the grocery store around 2:30 p.m. for a report of a disturbance in the store, potentially involving a weapon. After arriving, an officer was nearly struck by a fleeing vehicle.
Arlington-based Marymount University says it is planning for face-to-face classes in the fall, despite the pandemic.
Marymount’s Tuesday morning announcement comes as some universities consider keeping students off campus or even holding classes in tents instead of indoor classrooms, in order to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. While the virus typically affects older people and those with preexisting conditions more severely, college-aged adults can get sick — and can spread the disease to others.
While Arlington Democrats work to select a nominee internally, Susan Cunningham — a civically-involved mother of two — has announced her intention to run as an independent to fill the seat of the late Erik Gutshall.
“I believe good local government is non-partisan,” she said in her announcement Tuesday morning. “We are all Arlingtonians; I want to work for Arlington’s common good, regardless of party.”
As Virginia moves towards reopening, the number of coronavirus cases in the state has risen above another milestone: there are now more than 20,000 known cases in the state.
The latest Virginia Dept. of Health data reports 20,256 cases, 2,773 hospitalizations, 713 deaths and 127,938 tests administered.
Social Distancing Decline in Arlington? — “On April 20 in Arlington County, Va., nearly half of cellphones that SafeGraph provided data for were staying at home. Over the next couple days in that suburb of Washington, D.C., the number declined to one-third — as low as it was during the middle of March. It has since increased but is still down from its peak.” [NPR]
Masks Now Required at Costco — “Costco has announced new guidelines for its stores and is requiring all customers — age 3 and older — to wear masks before entering stores beginning Monday, May 4.” [MSN]
