We know what you’re thinking: why do we even bother writing any copy for the weekend discussion post?
Each week we scratch our heads and try to come up with something original, but it usually ends up being some generic musings on the weather and the fact that it was a busy week.
Lyon’s Legacy is a limited-run opinion column on the history of housing in Arlington. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
“IN THIS early-twentieth-century era, when African Americans in the South faced terror that maintained them in subjugation, when African Americans throughout the nation were being driven from small towns where they had previously enjoyed a measure of integration and safety, and when the federal government had abandoned its African American civil servants, we should not be surprised to learn that there was a new dedication on the part of public officials to ensure that white families’ homes would be removed from proximity to African Americans in large urban areas.”
From the local to state to federal level it finally feels like there is momentum to make an impact on climate change. In order to meet our collective goals, it is incumbent upon us all to take responsibility for these aspirations in our everyday actions.
Arlington released bold energy goals in the 2019 Community Energy Plan. The county resolved to achieve 100% renewable electricity by 2025 for government operations, achieve 100% community renewable electricity by 2035, and become carbon neutral by 2050.
We’ve all seen mentally ill people on the street, often disheveled, perhaps speaking to no one in particular, seemingly unaware that they are ill and unable to care for themselves.
This may be the face of mental illness, but it shouldn’t be because recovery is achievable.
The Right Note is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
The County Board is scheduled to vote on the budget and tax rates later today. Sadly, the budget documents have not been posted to the county website as of the writing of this column. At best, the public will have just a handful of hours to review the final FY 2022 budget before it is adopted.
Progressive Voice is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
By Progressive Voice Editors
It’s a sunny, if a bit chilly end to the work week.
On a more somber note, today is also a day to remember those killed and wounded at Virginia Tech on this day in 2007.
Esther Cooper started the Arlington branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1940 to fight for educational equality of Black students in Arlington Public Schools (APS).
Under her leadership, the NAACP sued the school board challenging the inequalities in the county’s Black high schools. In Carter v. School Board of Arlington Co. (1950), the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, ruling that Arlington’s separate high schools constituted unlawful discrimination.
(Updated at 11 a.m.) After more than a year of online-only Arlington County Board meetings, some have decided they actually prefer it to in-person.
Instead of schlepping to a Courthouse office building and sitting quietly for hours, one can now speak at Board meetings at home, in your pajamas if you prefer. Board meetings have been broadcast on local cable TV and online for years, but the virtual format now provides an opportunity to participate in the meetings to those who cannot attend in person.
The County is in the midst of putting together their Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for the next three years.
This document will determine what projects get built in the near future, from transportation to parks to stormwater infrastructure.
Last year I joined a coalition of women’s organizations as a part of Vision 2020, which aims to increase the number of women who participate in the political process by voting and through public service. Vision 2020 had a goal of a record-breaking number of eligible women voting in the November 2020 national elections.
Over the last several months, I have also been engaged in a number of discussions analyzing next steps for women and political participation after the centennial of the 19th amendment. In order to increase the number of registered women across the nation, women voting advocates in San Francisco, CA have challenged Arlington to participate in a pilot program and develop strategies to register every eligible female Arlington voter.
I am proud to be a board member of the Alliance for Housing Solutions, a nonprofit that advocates for affordable housing in Arlington. Below is my own modified and condensed version of the letter AHS sent to the Arlington County Board regarding the FY22 Budget.
During this time, we have become more aware than ever how vitally important a safe and affordable place to call home can be. Today, a home is not only where we rest our heads at night but it is also where children receive much of their education and many adults either work or take refuge from the danger created by this rampant virus.
