Opinion

The Right Note: Next Steps in Budget Process

By Mark Kelly

The Arlington County Board today heard a presentation from County Manager Mark Schwartz on his proposed budget. (As of Wednesday night, when this column was written, the details had not been posted online.) It will be the first look at where the Board may be headed for FY 2017. And if history is any guide, it will not be without at least a few minor controversies.

The County Board’s guidance late last year directed staff to prepare a budget that did not raise tax rates. However, it has been the practice of the Board in the past to advertise a tax rate increase even with such guidance.

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Op-Ed: Why the Hotel Tax Surcharge is Important to Arlington’s Economy

By ARLnow.com

In 2014, Arlington had 6 million visitors who spent nearly $3 billion in the County, making Arlington the number one county for economic impact of tourism in Virginia.

This is a substantial boost to our local economy. In just tax dollars alone, tourism revenue generates approximately $81 million in County taxes and $108 million in state taxes per year. Without these revenues, each Arlington household would pay an average of $1,800 each year in taxes to receive the same services.

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ARLnow Weekend Discussion

By ARLnow.com

A three-day weekend is here. And it’s going to be freezing cold all weekend. Sounds like a great opportunity to stay inside and watch some Netflix with your valentine, your roommates or anyone else who happens to be nearby.

Alternatively, if you want to head out and brave the cold, there’s an abundance of Valentine’s Day events and even an anti-Valentine’s-Day event to choose from in town. See our Arlington Agenda post and our full event calendar for event listings and details.

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The Right Note: Snow Redux

By Mark Kelly

Thumbs up to new County Manager Mark Schwartz for seeking out public input at a forum February 24th on how to better respond to and recover from major snow events. I know one burning question for many parents is, should it really have taken an entire week after a major snow event to return to school?

Let’s face it though, we do not have major snow events inside the beltway on a regular basis.

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Peter’s Take: The Case for a Fourth Comprehensive High School

By Peter Rousselot

Over the next few months, APS will develop a new version of its 10-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). The CIP identifies capital improvement projects, estimates their cost, and proposes how to finance them. The School Board will adopt this CIP as student enrollment continues to grow at all levels of instruction. If the latest projections are right, APS enrollment will reach levels last seen in the mid-1960’s.

The table below displays the latest projections for Arlington’s current three comprehensive high schools:

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Progressive Voice: Recognizing Arlington’s Invisible Hungry

By Progressive Voice

(Updated at 11:35 p.m.) When you think of an Arlingtonian on food assistance, what image comes to mind? The stereotypes are ready-made: the single mother trying to stretch a dozen eggs across two weeks. The low-income minority without sound employment options. The homeless.

We make assumptions about these individuals every day because their circumstances prevent them from engaging in civic life. We don’t see them at political meetings or bar crawling with the khaki crowd in Clarendon. They exist separate from us, if they exist to us at all.

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Peter’s Take: Three New Acres Of County Parkland Annually

By Peter Rousselot

The Arlington County Board should adopt a formal numerical target of adding a minimum annual average of 3 acres of County parkland for the next 10 years. A recent paper produced by the Arlington County Civic Federation’s (ACCF’s) Parks & Recreation Committee presents a compelling case to support the adoption of this numerical target.

Parks are a critical core service

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The Right Note: Our New County Manager

By Mark Kelly

In every press release, Arlington refers to itself as a “world-class residential, business and tourist location”. It ends the standard paragraph with “Arlington stands out as one of America’s preeminent places to live, visit and do business.” It is easy to find support for that statement and fault with it, depending on who you talk to in Arlington.

Our main economic engine, the federal government, is not going out of business any time soon. The question is, will Arlington put itself in a position to maximize the health of our economy to withstand any BRAC-like changes in the future? And, will it do it by empowering businesses to grow rather than by taxpayer-funded shiny objects like streetcars, swimming pools and gondolas?

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Morning Poll: Grade Arlington’s Snow Removal Effort

By ARLnow.com

Life has largely returned to normal — students went back to school today for the first time since Wednesday, Jan. 20 — though there are scattered reports of continued mail delivery issues.

It was a Herculean task to clear two feet of snow from local roads. Though major arteries were plowed and made passable pretty quickly, as usually happens with large snow storms in Arlington the residential streets remained snow-covered and treacherous for days, prompting complaints.

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