Opinion | ARLnow.com

Morning Poll: Bar Crawl Changes?

Published June 30, 2014 at 10:15AM

It’s the latest high-profile police incident involving a bar crawl attendee in Arlington. In March a Reston woman allegedly showed up naked at the Arlington Magistrate’s Office and demanded that she be allowed to visit her husband, who was arrested earlier that day. Both had attended the St. Patrick’s Day-themed Shamrock Crawl, according to police.

The drunken antics of bar crawl attendees continue to irk residents of the neighborhoods around Clarendon. Some are calling for additional restrictions, or even an outright ban, on bar crawls. On the other hand, supporters say bar crawls are fun events that provide a social outlet for younger residents and a big boost for local businesses.

Progressive Voice: Popularity of Rocky Run Park

By Peter Owen

Published June 26, 2014 at 2:00PM

Meeting the diverse interests of Arlington residents about how best to make use of available open space is not an easy challenge. The recent renovations at Rocky Run Park meet that challenge and are a tremendous success. Walk by any summer afternoon or evening and you will see Arlington’s residents out enjoying this newly updated park.

The park reopened in early April and the joy felt by park users is nearly palpable. Improvements to the 2.4 acre site include:

The Right Note: State of Columbia Pike

By Mark Kelly

Published June 26, 2014 at 1:30PM

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.

Knowing words from the three supporters still on the County Board may not be enough to turn public opinion, so the Board will also ramp up a $650,000 ad campaign for the unpopular project. Any number of other projects in the County could be paid for with that money, as well as with the remainder of the $7-8 million contract. Or, they could have cut taxes and left that money in the local economy.

Peter’s Take: AWLA Offers Innovative Services

By Peter Rousselot

Published June 26, 2014 at 1:00PM

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.

AWLA provides animal adoption and community programs to the northern Virginia and D.C. metropolitan area, as well as animal rescue and control services within Arlington County. AWLA is committed to its mission to improve the lives of animals through sheltering, community services and humane education.

Letter to the Editor: Place Subsidized Housing in Residential Neighborhoods

By ARLnow.com

Published June 21, 2014 at 12:00PM

The following letter to the editor was submitted by Henry Weiss, a rising junior at Washington-Lee High School who “chose to research Arlington’s affordable/subsidized housing crisis” as a class project this past school year.

Arlington’s subsidized housing stock is rapidly disappearing, and with it, its diversity.

Peter’s Take: Healthcare for Virginia’s Poor

By Peter Rousselot

Published June 19, 2014 at 2:30PM

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.

In that earlier column, I quoted with approval from a Virginian-Pilot editorial warning that the cost of resisting Medicaid expansion would be ruinous:

Progressive Voice: The Important CIP Process

By Nancy Iacomini

Published June 19, 2014 at 2:00PM

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.

In May, the County Manager presented her draft Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). Neighborhood groups, organizations and individual residents have been weighing in on infrastructure projects cited in the CIP. This dialogue includes addressing the merits of projects that affect their visions of what Arlington County should be.

The Right Note: Tone Deaf Decisions

By Mark Kelly

Published June 19, 2014 at 1:30PM

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.

They would almost certainly lose the vote. Outside of a Presidential election turnout year, there is virtually no way the Board could win this vote — even if they could still get the endorsement on the Democrat’s sample ballot. The three trolley supporters may not care what the public thinks, but someone over in the County Manager’s office has certainly figured it out.

Morning Poll: Mobile-Optimized Site?

By ARLnow.com

Published June 17, 2014 at 9:30AM | Updated June 17, 2014 at 10:03AM

Currently, our site is not optimized for smartphone readers. Instead, those who visit us on iPhones, Droids and other mobile phones simply see our desktop website rendered by their smartphone’s browser.

Many news websites, however, are designed to display in a more “native” fashion on smartphone screens — in a way that doesn’t require the user to zoom in to read text. One criticism of such mobile-optimized sites is that they can sometimes hide certain features and make navigation more difficult.

The Right Note: Will Virginia Avoid a Shutdown?

By Mark Kelly

Published June 12, 2014 at 2:00PM

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.

When last I wrote this column, Eric Cantor was still the Majority Leader of the U.S. House. Arlington was going forward with the aquatics center. Democrats controlled the state Senate. And, it was looking increasingly unlikely the General Assembly would pass a budget on time.

Peter’s Take: Virginia DMV Shoots the Customer

By Peter Rousselot

Published June 12, 2014 at 1:30PM

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.

Uber and Lyft immediately responded saying they would continue to do business because their operations do NOT violate current Virginia law.

Progressive Voice: Advancing the Status of Women

By Krysta Jones

Published June 12, 2014 at 1:00PM | Updated June 12, 2014 at 1:40PM

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.

In Arlington, we have a Commission on the Status of Women that helps foster a community conversation about the status of women and how best to advance their interests in our community and society.