The autumnal equinox is still a couple of week away, but today is nonetheless the start of the Fall 2021 Arlies awards.
First, the results of last week’s voting.
|
Opinion
It was a workweek that started with a sense of impending doom and ended with some very nice weather and light traffic.
Ida is long gone and the Labor Day weekend is here. For the several dozen of you still hanging around this afternoon, here are some of the most-read ARLnow stories of the week:
The Virginia Department of Education has released the results of the 2020-21 Standards of Learning (SOL) tests. It is no surprise that pass rates for Arlington Public Schools (APS) students have declined significantly and gaps in student achievement between different groups have increased. These test results are consistent with trends in Virginia and nationwide.
In a recent APS press release, Superintendent Francisco Duran stated that the results show “where we need to focus our attention.”
|
In our area it seems like every September there’s a stretch of perfect late-summer or early-fall weather, with sunny skies and comfortable temperatures.
And it appears we have just entered such a stretch.
Arlington recently announced the end of one of the only good things to come out of the pandemic: the widespread implementation of automatic pedestrian phases on many of our traffic signals.
In many areas, pedestrians will have to go back to pushing a button in order to trigger an opportunity to safely cross the street. The response from many has been “pushing a button is not a big deal,” and indeed, pushing a button is not hard or onerous; what is a big deal is the guaranteed additional pedestrian delay that comes along with it, the negative effect on accessibility and the message that it sends.
As Arlington organizations seek to be more inclusive, and we adopt policies as a community to end structural racism, the elephant in the room is time and patience.
Many of us know that it is the right thing to do, but when it comes down to individual decisions that we know could move us in the right direction, we question whether we have the patience to weigh our options and do the right thing, in the right way, at the right time.
The summer Arlies conclude this week with a new category but first, the results from last week’s voting.
Your favorite urgent care clinic is Immediate Care by PMA Health (Clarendon), followed by Virginia Hospital Center Immediate Care (Aurora Highlands) and Old Dominion Urgent Care (McLean).
The following was written by guest columnist Alex Pilkington.
According to the most recent census bureau data, Arlington County is home to nearly 230,000 residents. Over 10 percent of these residents are disenfranchised from participating in deciding how our community should be governed. Although they call Arlington home, they have not yet acquired citizenship.
It’s been a hot, humid and rainy week and we can expect more of the same over the weekend and for the start of next week.
No wonder 68% of respondents to an ARLnow poll on Tuesday said they were ready for fall weather to start ASAP.
Arlington might not be as hard-hit as places with lower vaccination rates, but the delta variant of the coronavirus is still infecting dozens of people a day in the county.
The latest data from the Virginia Dept. of Health shows the seven-day trailing average of new infections in Arlington ticking up from 32 to 36 cases per day since Tuesday.
Last year’s Redistricting Commissioning Constitutional Amendment approved by Virginia voters changed how we will draw lines for the Virginia Legislature and United States House of Representatives from state legislators to a process to be determined by an independent redistricting commission.
This 16-member commission composed of eight legislators and eight citizen participants has been hosting meetings since July 13 and will continue to do so through October.
Peter’s Take is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
Arlington County government should increase substantially the amount of Arlington taxpayer dollars devoted to providing housing for our lowest income Arlington households — those living on 30% or less of Area Median Income (AMI).