Last week, the Washington Post reported record rainfall statistics for communities all around the DC region:
“It has not been a friendly rain, either. Flash flooding continues to occur somewhere in our area with almost every passing wave.”
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Opinion
The weather is set to be downright perfect this weekend, so get yourself outside ASAP.
The forecast calls for these balmy, delightfully un-humid conditions to last through Sunday, so enjoy it while you can. Perhaps it’ll be fine weather for a bike ride, or any of the other events going on around the county this weekend.
After two years of working without a contract, a recent arbitration decision set the terms of employment for nearly two-thirds of all Metro employees through 2020. Union members get a small raise retroactive to 2017. In exchange, they will have to pay a higher percentage of their health care costs moving forward. On net, that means labor costs will go up over $60 million through 2020 and WMATA will look to Arlington, among other jurisdictions, to fill in that gap.
The issue that will have the biggest impact on the long term health of the transit agency is pensions. The second largest union has agreed to move to a defined contribution plan for new hires. The largest union refuses to do so.
By Joan Horwitt
You may know that Arlington is geographically the smallest self-governing county in the U.S. It is also home to the country’s most famous cemetery. But what else makes Arlington truly unique?
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In my dockless vehicle column last month, I noted that Arlington County Transportation spokesperson Eric Baillet had told ARLnow that “county government plans a [dockless vehicle pilot] framework for County Board review in September.” Board member John Vihstadt stated he’d be “broadly receptive to clearing the way for more dockless vehicles to become available around Arlington.”
I then suggested that Arlington familiarize itself with the details of the dockless vehicle pilot programs already begun or completed in other localities, citing Washington D.C., and Denver as examples.
After many long months of debate, county officials are set to have their say next month on an extensive proposal for the Virginia Hospital Center’s expansion.
The project has attracted plenty of criticism from neighbors and transit advocates alike, prompting a brief delay of the county’s consideration of the 101-bed expansion of Arlington’s lone hospital.
In the days leading up to Metro’s latest round of major track construction work, officials rolled out a series of grim warnings about what the work would mean for commuters on the Silver, Orange and Blue lines.
With the Blue Line completely shut down between Arlington Cemetery and D.C., and huge delays on the other two lines, Metro warned commuters to only choose the service if they didn’t have any other option. County Board Vice Chair Christian Dorsey even predicted “extreme crowding” and “incredible chaos” at station platforms along D.C.’s urban core.
The weekend is here, and so too, perhaps, is an end to this week’s muggy conditions.
The forecast is calling for a few scattered showers tonight and into the weekend, but those should help cool down the oppressively steamy weather we’ve seen the last few days.
This week’s announcement by Arlington Public Schools about their compliance with the new Virginia law on recess reminded me that voters do have a choice in the School Board race in November. Audrey Clement and Barbara Kanninen will debate in September, so here are eight things Civic Federation members should consider asking about.
College is becoming prohibitively expensive for many. The economy still needs people in skilled trades which can provide good careers. What more should Arlington be doing to prepare students who do not want to go on to a traditional four-year college?
By Kevin Wolf
A core progressive value is getting things done for the greater good, which often requires bipartisan collaboration. Regardless of what happens in the November elections, trade policy is an important area for bipartisan cooperation because it affects us all.
As recently reported in the Washington Post, under a new state law, local school districts in Virginia (including APS) have been granted added flexibility to increase recess time at the elementary level.
Local school boards now may devote up to 15 percent of state-mandated instructional time to recess under a law that took effect July 1.
If you’re looking forward to an end to this week’s steamy weather, there’s good news and bad news.
It seems set to cool down a bit Saturday, but only because rain seems likely to return. Some weather watchers are even calling for downpours and flooding.