The resident shared his letter, below, with ARLnow.com for publication. The resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, states that decriminalization could save the state money, keep non-violent offenders out of jail and allow police to focus on more serious crime.
Dear Virginia State Crime Commission,
As noted this morning, Virginia has made it legal to test self-driving car technologies in the Commonwealth.
That policy is getting additional attention after a seemingly driverless van was spotted driving around Clarendon last week and, this week, was revealed to be a human-driven Virginia Tech research project.
It’s the end of another week, but before we look at our most popular stories, here are some you might have missed:
Longtime outdoor store Casual Adventure will be open through at least Christmas, while plans for redevelopment nearby could come before the Planning Commission as soon as next month.
But there was only one experience that I was never able to put into simple words, and that was the 11 years that I spent in immersion classes.
Arlington County is home to four Spanish immersion programs, at Claremont and Francis Scott Key elementary schools, Gunston Middle School and Wakefield High School.
Ever been in your neighborhood grocery store and had to explain to a parent why their child will be switching schools next year because you voted to move an invisible boundary? If you have, you probably are, or were, on the school board.
Parents are, rightly, protective of their kids. Decisions about what happens in our schools is taken seriously, and changes can impact people on a very personal level.
A close Redskins watcher says Virginia is the most likely site for a new Redskins stadium because team President Bruce Allen has “significant personal ties at the highest levels of the Virginia government,” and the amount of public financing for a new stadium will be the “single most important factor” in site selection.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is “vigorously pursuing” the stadium. On July 27, McAulliffe renewed his lobbying of Redskins owner Dan Snyder:
By Matt de Ferranti
In recent months, this column has highlighted a positive, progressive agenda advanced by the 8th Congressional District Democratic Committee. We now turn to county-level issues.
It’s been another busy week in Arlington, but before we get to our most popular stories, let’s take a look at some you may have missed.
Officials broke ground on a new affordable housing complex on Columbia Pike, a driver busted a Shirlington bus stop and the long-anticipated Stageplate Bistro is set to open in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Adam Roosevelt is preparing to make a run at the House of Delegates and private investigation firm Trustify is adding 184 new jobs in its Crystal City office.
Every year the Arlington County Board takes one month off from its regular meeting schedule in August.
Having been on a policy maker’s staff, it is safe to assume county staff is even more grateful than the Board for the opportunity to take a breather and catch up.
In April, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments released a report recommending a new 1 percent regional sales tax for Metro as the best way to generate a dedicated source of funding:
A 1 percent sales tax in Metro’s eight city and county jurisdictions would provide the transit system with adequate revenue to cover its most urgent infrastructure and maintenance costs over the next decade, according to a new analysis …
By Larry Roberts
This is the final installment in a series of columns about how Arlington progressives and 8th Congressional District (Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church and parts of Fairfax) Democrats responded from a policy perspective to the 2016 Presidential election.
The following Letter to the Editor was written by Aaron Wajsgras, who serves on Arlington Public Schools’ Budget Advisory Council and its Career, Technical and Adult Education Citizens Advisory Committee.
It’s no secret that workforce needs are changing. From coding to manufacturing, industry is pining for a STEM workforce that can think critically and creatively. No longer are the times of the switch board operator or the repetitive assembly line worker.
