The County Board is back from its traditional August break. Three items from the meeting remind us of how the Board too often operates.
The Board heard complaints from Crystal City area residents about cut-through traffic. This is my neighborhood, and I drive through the area every morning and evening on my commute.
By Krysta Jones
A few years ago I had the pleasure of being invited to serve on the Women’s Monument Commission of Virginia, which is leading awareness and fundraising efforts for a first of its kind monument on the Capitol Grounds in Richmond. The monument will honor 12 women who have made an impact in Virginia.
At its September 16 meeting, the County Board rejected a staff proposal to light two synthetic turf fields at Williamsburg Middle School.
Discussion
As this approach should result in more articles being published each day — if all goes well — we have the opportunity to cover a wider variety of topics.
Which of the following, in your opinion, should we do more of?
It’s been quite a week for restaurant news around Arlington County.
Today marked the opening of a new Dunkin’ Donuts in Virginia Square, while Kung Fu Tea is another new arrival, this time in Clarendon.
The Washington Post reported that the Democrats’ nominee for governor Ralph Northam ran a recent television ad where he encouraged voters to compare his tax plan to Ed Gillespie’s.
The problem? Ralph Northam has never published a tax plan.
Last year, responding to years of community pressure, the county government finally adopted a new review process in which the County Manager’s close-out surplus recommendations were first proposed in October, but not voted upon until November.
I strongly recommended last fall that almost all of last year’s $17.8 million close-out surplus be kept in reserve until the FY 2018 budget was approved.
By Maggie Davis
With back-to-back record setting hurricanes Harvey and Irma, there is no mistaking it: climate change is real, and it’s here. Our fellow Americans and others living in or visiting the Caribbean and along the Gulf coast now face the massive task of recovering and rebuilding.
The latter, with its facial recognition, advanced camera technology and “Super Retina” screen, reaches the $1,000 price mark, something that has raised the eyebrows of more than a few Apple critics.
Walk around Clarendon or other Arlington environs and it’s clear that the iPhone is king here, disproportionately more popular in Arlington than it is in other parts of the country, where Android has the market share lead.
The new headquarters, according to Amazon, will bring up to 50,000 well-paying jobs and $5 billion in investment to whichever city the company chooses. In return, Amazon is seeking enough space to build up to 8 million square feet of office in a concentrated area, and tax breaks and other economic incentives.
The Crystal City area and the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor fit the bill for many of the things Amazon is seeking, especially a talented workforce and transit connections, though the real estate is likely a bit more expensive than Amazon is hoping for.
It may have been a short week with the Labor Day holiday, but plenty happened in Arlington County.
In stories you may have missed, fall campaign season kicked off on Tuesday with a candidate forum for the three County Board candidates and a debate between Del. Alfonso Lopez and challenger Adam Roosevelt.
The Civic Federation’s annual debate reminds Arlington voters that there is an election just two months away.
While much of the focus is on who will win seats in Richmond including the Governor’s Mansion, Arlingtonians will be able to vote on local issues as well when they choose a new School Board and County Board member.
