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.
By: Abby Raphael
Arlington is one of the wealthiest counties in the nation, with a median 2016 household income of $110,900. Yet 8.8% of all Arlington residents live in poverty, with an income of about $24,000 or less for a family of four. Twelve percent of Arlington’s children live in poverty. Arlington must address the effects of this economic inequality, particularly on our children, in a coordinated way so that all children and families can be successful.
Last week, Mark Kelly, my fellow columnist at ARLnow.com, and David Alpert over at Greater Greater Washington each posted a column about fixing Metro. Both arrived at essentially this conclusion:
Metro can’t be fixed unless its Board and senior management have sufficient freedom to hire and fire.
There’s not a whole heck of a lot going on locally and lots of people are out of town. The weather is nice for outdoor activities, but otherwise it’s a pretty boring week.
On the plus side, traffic is noticeably lighter than the usual terribleness, everything is less crowded and it’s easier to get a table at popular restaurants.
Next week, the week of Labor Day, is the traditional kickoff of the local election season, with such landmark events as the Arlington County Democratic Committee chili cook off and the Arlington County Civic Federation candidates forum.
The rule of thumb is that most voters aren’t paying much attention to local races between the primaries and Labor Day.
Sunny skies should prevail this weekend, making sunscreen a valuable commodity if you hike to historic points of interest in Arlington or attend a police block party this weekend.
If you want to do something indoors, there also are open houses and a new Matchbox American Kitchen + Spirit in Pentagon City to check out.
Arlington voters will almost certainly approve another bond for Metro this November. Often voters vote for it without a second thought.
The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) is fighting to reinstate the mechanic who was fired for failing to report that the ventilation fan at L’Enfant Plaza was not working properly and later allegedly lying about it to investigators.
