By Joseph Leitmann-Santa Cruz
For the past four years I have had the pleasure of working with a regional asset building and financial capability nonprofit organization which seeks to empower low and moderate income residents of the Washington metropolitan region financially so they can take control of their finances, increase their savings, and build wealth for a better future.
In last week’s column, I discussed the County’s General Fund (GF) Fund Balance. The County Manager subsequently posted a proposed FY 2017 Close-Out Report and 5-year budget forecast.
The 5-year budget forecast projects ballooning deficits in the out years.
The following letter was written by Ryan Bloom, Chloe Fugle, Maria McGlone and Ethan Novak, student board members of Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment.
A little-noticed Arlington County government report that was issued during hurricane season should be read as a call for action on a local issue that concerns a growing number of public school students and other Arlingtonians: recycling efforts in our public schools.
This weekend is the 42nd annual Marine Corps Marathon and 10K. To those participating, we wish you luck, and hope plenty of spectators are out and about on Sunday morning.
And for anyone trying to get around Arlington County, keep in mind the various road closures, and the Metro opening two hours early.
It has not been a good week for Ralph Northam.
First, The Washington Post editorial board excoriated Northam for his failure to articulate a plan for K-12 education. The Post said, “Mr. Northam claimed to believe in accountability but was utterly unable to explain what he means by the word.”
By Emma Goodacre
Since 2010, hundreds of thousands of Virginians have gained access to health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Virginia’s uninsured rate is now down to 8.7 percent — a 33 percent drop since enactment of the ACA.
In September, I explained why county government should temporarily defer until the following spring allocating any annual close-out surplus.
Here’s that column’s most up-voted comment (24 up votes):
Not a big problem, but one that’s been fairly persistent over the past half dozen years we’ve operated our Arlington event calendar. It’s a two-fold issue that no amount of boldface type on our event submission page seems to solve.
First, even though the event calendar is clearly labeled as being for events in Arlington, we get loads of submissions for events in D.C., Alexandria, Falls Church and elsewhere. We do our best to screen those out and reject any events not in Arlington.
The following letter was written by Daniel Lopez, board member of the Arlington Soccer Association, regarding the proposed arts district in the Four Mile Run valley.
A few years back, using tax dollars and bond money earmarked for recreational parks, Arlington County purchased five properties adjacent to Jennie Dean Park to add to the overall park space inventory. The County Board recently charged the Four Mile Run Valley working group (4MRV) with developing “a vision for the comprehensive replacement and realignment of existing park features (exclusively for park purposes) and the addition of new park amenities to meet the growing demand for active and passive recreation, cultural resources and natural resource preservation.”
The following letter was written by Jane Green, who recently moved to Pentagon City.
As a new resident of Arlington, am I a burden or an opportunity?
Some in the region may have spent today in mourning, after the Washington Nationals’ World Series dream died last night.
Closer to home, a man got stuck in the bathroom at a Starbucks in Ballston, while the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City will add a food delivery service starting Monday.
Arlington is hosting community discussions around the county through the end of the month where up to 25 county residents can offer input into the budget process each time.
If you cannot make a forum, the county is seeking input online. (As of the time I submitted this piece, there had been no ideas submitted on the website, so you could be one of the first.)
