This schedule means that readers can check out over the weekend and not have to worry about falling behind on the latest Arlington local news. And it means that our staff can take a couple of well-deserved days off at the end of the week.
That said, we’ve had more local news than ever to report over the past few months, and it has us considering expanding our publishing schedule — specifically, by publishing on Saturday.
The weather outside today may be frightful, but temperatures are set to turn positively delightful this weekend.
After a couple oppressively rainy days, the forecast calls for skies to clear and temperatures to rise as Christmas approaches.
Tis the season of reflecting on the year that is almost behind us and looking forward to the year to come.
Here are a few things that caught my eye this week as we are rounding the corner into 2019.
By Christian Dorsey
Amazon’s embrace of Arlington as one of two sites for its corporate headquarters expansion stands as one of the more significant events in the history of our county. Already, camps have emerged that are unabashedly for or against welcoming the world’s largest online retailer. Yet for many, there are significant questions when assessing whether Amazon in Arlington stands as a positive development.
The County Board approved the Four Mile Run Valley Area Plan (Area Plan) at its Nov. 17 meeting. A Dec. 13 c ounty press release summarizes the plan.
The plan recommends the continuation of industrial and commercial uses, while also encouraging more arts-related uses. The recommendations also call for a new working group to duplicate what another county committee already has accomplished.
(Updated at 10:30 a.m.) For years now, there have been calls to revamp, fix or rethink the “Arlington Way.”
There is no single, comprehensive definition of what the Arlington Way is, but broadly, according to one county document, “the Arlington Way refers to the form citizen participation takes in Arlington County.”
Rain is rolling into our neck of the woods tonight, and doesn’t seem set to leave any time soon.
The forecast is calling for a soggy weekend with no relief in sight until Sunday night — but at least temperatures will inch up just a hair.
The County Board will close out the year at its Dec. 15 meeting by considering their legislative priorities and policy statements to transmit to the Virginia General Assembly.
The Board’s top priorities are more money for education and transportation. They also would like some of the money back that was used to pay for Medicaid expansion, an initiative they supported. According to their priorities, they would be happy to pay for any spending increases with new taxes on internet sales as well as the extra revenue created by the federal tax cut. The County Board will have to get in line behind the $462.5 million shortfall in the Medicaid budget that will have to be made up first.
By Nick Dilenschneider
When I moved to Arlington in 2011 to study law at George Mason University, I had no idea what my future looked like. Through the years as I have settled into the community, the desire to make Arlington where I want to live and raise a family has grown stronger. It grew considerably after the 2016 election when I became intimately involved with the Arlington Young Democrats and in Democratic politics more generally. Over time and through this work I have established close friendships that will surely last a lifetime, come to appreciate how truly special and unique this community really is, and recognized how fortunate I am that fate brought me here.
In October, I explained why the Arlington Public Schools superintendent was placing the cart before the horse by proposing to swap the buildings currently housing the Arlington Science Focus (ASFS) and Key Elementary Schools.
On Nov. 16, APS staff posted a new FAQ document that continues to dodge these major questions:
The D.C. region probably won’t see the worst of the snow storm shaping up to our south, but this weekend could still see a few flurries.
It’s set to be sunny yet freezing for most of the weekend, so it’ll certainly feel like winter: with or without the precipitation.
Democrats took advantage of the anti-Washington and anti-Republican environment in Arlington to dramatically boost turnout and defeat an otherwise popular independent incumbent John Vihstadt. If you are Christian Dorsey or Katie Cristol, you may regret the outcome in 2019 if Vihstadt opts to run again.
While voter turnout trends are on the uptick, it is unlikely there will be the same surge of voter enthusiasm when there is no top of the ticket race driving votes in an odd numbered year. It would prove to be a huge advantage to Vihstadt who has a deep and loyal base of support across every political persuasion. While it would be easy to understand if Vihstadt decides not to spend another year campaigning, he might enter the race as a favorite to take one of the two seats.
