Arlington is beginning to wrap up an important long-term plan for Arlington street safety: Vision Zero.
In July 2019 the County Board resolved to the concept that no death or severe injury in Arlington County streets or trails is acceptable. To achieve these ideals staff and community members have joined the Vision Zero Network to create a comprehensive plan based on analysis of traffic collisions in the county.
Historic numbers of Virginians voted in the 2020 Presidential election. Virginia Democratic legislators have introduced important new voting rights legislation which deserves to be enacted. The 2021 Virginia Legislative Session is expected to adjourn about February 28.
Virginia Voting Rights Act
The Right Note is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
On Saturday the County Board met and slashed parking permits for some residents while paving the way to move forward on the county and school budgets.
Progressive Voice is a bi-weekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the authors’.
“A thankless job.”
A bill that has passed the Virginia House of Delegates would allow bicyclists in the Commonwealth to treat stop signs as yield signs in certain situations.
HB 2262 would legalize a common practice: cyclists rolling through stop signs when no other traffic has the right of way.
It may not be a holiday for Arlington County this year, but Monday is still a state and federal holiday.
Except in the case of breaking news, ARLnow will not be publishing on Presidents Day, aka George Washington Day in Virginia. Our normal news coverage schedule will resume on Tuesday, though don’t be surprised to see some weather coverage on Saturday if the predicted iciness materializes locally.
Most Arlington students will be heading back to classrooms next month.
Arlington Public Schools announced Tuesday that in-person learning — with students in classrooms two days per week — will resume for all grade levels between March 2 and March 18, with younger students starting earlier. Students who opt out will remain in full-time virtual learning.
March 2020: the COVID-19 pandemic forces APS to shut down in-person instruction. APS is caught with many students, many digital devices, but no real plan to continue meaningful learning virtually. Teachers are left to create virtual lessons, delivering inconsistent curriculum and outcomes.
All this happens despite APS’s insistence — pre-COVID-19 — that APS already had adopted “Personalized Learning.” APS claimed that its version of personalized learning (heavily dependent on digital devices) ensured “instruction, curriculum and outcomes are connected to our learners’ unique talents, skills and interests and [use] technology to provide flexibility and choice for our learners.”
The Right Note is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
Thumbs Up to Governor Northam for announcing schools should reopen by March 15. If Arlington meets this deadline, it will be one full year since the schools were shut down on March 13, 2020. But this must mean in-person instruction, not a glorified study hall where kids learn virtually while sitting in a school classroom. States across America and countries around the world have figured out how to do it safely and responsibly. We have the resources to do it, so hopefully the Superintendent and APS School Board will provide the detailed roadmap soon.
As of Monday, a total of 189,689 coronavirus testing encounters have been reported in Arlington County.
That’s nearly one test for every adult in Arlington since the start of the pandemic. Of course, not everyone has been tested.
By Detta Kissel and Charles Head
A growing group of Arlingtonians are calling for the County to form a broadband authority to provide high-speed, low-cost internet.
If the snowy past week was enjoyable for you, more fun may be in store.
Another few inches of snow may fall this weekend, forecasters say, just in time for Super Bowl Sunday. For those who need an excuse to get the kids out of the house for awhile — you know who you are — more sledding and snowman-making may be ahead.
