By: Joseph Leitmann-Santa Cruz
As previously expressed in this column, my wife and I are proud to call ourselves Arlingtonians. One reason for this pride is that we believe our community recognizes the importance of creating opportunities for all to succeed. Ours is a community that gets involved proactively and effects positive change.
The Community Facilities Study Group’s (CFSG) Final Report contained this recommendation:
Add an economic and fiscal impact section to private development (special exception/site plan and Form Based Code) project staff reports to provide information on the costs (e.g. the projected service demands and other costs to the community) and benefits (e.g. the taxes and other economic benefits) likely to be generated by a proposed project.
With high temps in the 80s and 90s, one does not exactly get the twigs and acorns crunching pleasurably beneath one’s boots feeling that traditionally prompts a craving for fall-related items — you know, the ever-popular pumpkin spice latte or a malty Oktoberfest beer.
Starbucks has been offering the “PSL” since the end of August (McDonald’s now has a version, too) and Oktoberfests and pumpkin beers started hitting local store shelves even earlier than that.
Recently, Arlington Democrats unanimously backed $316 million in new borrowing proposals. I was not at the meeting, but I would venture a guess that no one asked how much of this money should be paid for out of the regular budget, including road paving, park maintenance, facilities maintenance, landscaping, and street lights?
It is not to say that all of the spending in the bond proposals is without merit. And, the Board deserves credit for publishing a more detailed explanation of the bonds. However, the ongoing practice of pushing what should be annual budget items into bonds should come to an end.
Arlington can, and sometimes does, play an outsized role in the politics and governance of our Commonwealth and nation – given the number of people in high levels of government and politics who live here. Yet many in our state and around the country live far different lives than we do. And the despair and anger they feel cannot and should not be ignored.
In that regard, J.D Vance, a former Marine and graduate of Yale Law School, has written an essential book on America’s political culture in 2016. “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of Family and a Culture in Crisis” is an autobiographical account of growing up in the Rust Belt. The book has spent the last six weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list. It has garnered acclaim across the political spectrum: Fareed Zakaria of CNN and The Washington Post, David Brooks of The New York Times and PBS, and American Conservative‘s Rod Dreher have all praised Vance’s writing and perspective on this moment in our history.
As my fellow columnist Mark Kelly and I both have previously advocated, it’s time to overhaul the seriously-flawed process Arlington County government has been using to allocate any surplus funds left over at the close of the County’s fiscal year.
Discussion
A slow August has given way to a busy September.
There are a number of marquee events in Arlington this weekend. The annual Rosslyn Jazz Festival is taking place this afternoon, although you’ll have to brave mid-July-like heat. Tonight the Arlington 9/11 5K races around the Pentagon — and it’s not too late to register online.
Two weeks ago, Paul Friedman wrote a piece on ARLnow claiming Democrats believe voting is a right and Republicans believe it is a privilege. The none-too-veiled suggestion was Republicans were somehow OK with limiting the rights of Democrats, or worse yet, on the basis of race.
Republicans believe voting is a right firmly rooted in the rule of law.
Over Labor Day weekend, thousands of people enjoyed Arlington’s awesome network of safe, pleasant bike trails. Too often, however, the routes connecting our beautiful trails to the cafes, coffee shops and retail in the more urban parts of Arlington do not feel safe and comfortable for most people to bike on. Thousands of people stick to the trails and miss out on a lot of what Arlington has to offer.
The Bike Friendly Ballston wants to change that: The Washington Area Bicyclist Association’s Arlington Action Committee is calling on Arlington County to build protected bike lanes on North Quincy Street between the Custis Trail (along I-66) and Glebe Road.
In July, Arlington received an award as the top digital county in the nation for its population size (150,000-249,999).
Among the reasons:
It was supposed to be a quiet end to a slow week today. Instead, the morning started with two breaking news stories and the day will end with an approaching tropical storm.
Even though Arlington is expected to be spared from most of Hermine’s rain and wind — “little to no impact is anticipated,” according to the National Weather Service — the storm is a good reminder of why you should be prepared for emergencies.
The Right Note is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.
This week, Governor McAuliffe’s office sent a memo to state agencies asking for proposals to trim 5% from their budgets to help close a $1.5 billion budget gap. The gap is roughly 1.5%, but leaders are working to avoid any cuts to education, so some programs will take bigger cuts than others.
