ARLnow.com is taking a day off for the holiday, but we wanted to wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanks in part to the status of “Black Friday” as the most prominent shopping day of the year, Thanksgiving seems to be getting ever more commercialized. At its heart, however the holiday is about recognizing and giving thanks for the blessings of our lives.


The following letter to the editor was submitted by Columbia Pike resident Nicholas Evans.

I’m not a pro-streetcar zealot. However, living a few blocks from Columbia Pike, I was generally supportive of the streetcar as the best available option to spur growth and alleviate congestion. There was also an element of needing to keep a promise that had been made to developers and local business owners. Nevertheless, I heard and understood the passionate arguments made by many friends of mine in opposition. There are no perfect answers.


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.

Over the course of nearly a decade, a small vocal minority became a silent majority, which became a voting majority against the project. After losing two elections in a row, two of the Board members finally acknowledged public sentiment. Walter Tejada ignored the election results and voted to keep moving forward on the project.


Progressive Voice is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

During a two-year process driven by resident input and feedback, the Waverly Hills Civic Association (WHCA) developed the Waverly Hills Neighborhood Conservation Plan (NCP) — a document that fosters a more closely knit community, identifies citizen-driven capital improvement projects, and lays out a dynamic vision for the future of our neighborhood.


Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

For all of the reasons outlined on the website www.sensibletransit.org of Arlingtonians for Sensible Transit (AST), the vote to cancel Arlington’s streetcar projects also was the right decision as a matter of transportation policy — as Garvey and Vihstadt recognized previously.


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.

First, and probably most importantly, this guidance is almost always ignored when it comes to building the final budget. It is a jumping off point to the six-month budget building process. The Board will not be bound by what it says now when it comes to taxes or spending levels.


Progressive Voice is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

“Take a look at this: gas under $3 a gallon. Unemployment under 6 percent, whoever thought? Stock market breaking records every day. No wonder [President Obama] is so unpopular.”


Most explanations seem to center around concern about county spending projects. Among them: the delayed and increasingly expensive streetcar system, the indefinitely delayed $80+ million Long Bridge Park aquatics center, the delayed and occasionally problematic $1.6 million Clarendon dog park, and the delayed and occasionally problematic $1 million bus stop.

If you voted for Vihstadt, which of the following, if any, was foremost in your mind in the voting booth?


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