On September 15, The Arlington County Board approved a $3.8 million contract to design an ART operations and maintenance facility. Initially part of the Board’s non-public-comment consent agenda, this contract and its accompanying staff report had a lot to hide.
Background
At this month’s September 12 meeting, County Board members initially expressed general support for changing the county logo.
At the September 15 recessed meeting, the Board announced it would start a process to not only change the logo, but look at any name throughout the county that may need to be renamed or symbol that needs to be changed.
In two days, Montgomery County will start allowing alcohol consumption in select parks as part of a pilot program.
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By Josh Kaplowitz
At this perilous crossroads for our democracy and our planet, Arlington County’s $50.8 million stormwater bond on November’s ballot is probably the last thing on your mind. But how we tackle Arlington’s growing stormwater problem has an awful lot to do with our current reckoning over equity and climate change.
Since APS announced its decision to begin this school year 100% remotely, many parents and perhaps students – maybe even a few teachers – have been anticipating a disastrous start, if not a disastrous year.
We’re closing out week two of the distance learning year. Despite some significant technological issues and individual challenges adjusting to the new format, it has not been the initial overarching catastrophe many predicted.
For much the this week, the sun was obscured behind a haze of smoke wafting in from the West Coast wildfires.
As the week has gone on, the haze has dissipated. Despite the calamities the world has faced this year, it is good to know that, with due time, the sun will always come back out eventually.
“A vaccine that nobody wants to take is not very useful.”
If there were a safe and effective vaccine against COVID, why wouldn’t people take it? After all, the virus has claimed 200,000 American lives, shut down schools and businesses and affected almost every aspect of our lives. The fact that scientists have been able to develop vaccine candidates in mere months after sequencing SARS-CoV-2’s genetic code is nothing short of a medical marvel. However, our country’s hyper-polarizing climate has thrust the rapid vaccine progress into the political ring, resulting in rising public distrust.
(Updated on 11/11/20) On Saturday, the Arlington County Board voted 4-1 to endorse the County’s application for $25 million in grant money for VDOT’s Arlington Blvd Safety Improvements Project, covering the area from Glebe Road to Fillmore Street.
That grant money, if awarded, would not be disbursed until 2026, meaning construction is at least six years, if not seven or eight years away. VDOT’s decision to select a costly, construction-intensive capital project to solve the safety issues in this stretch means our community will be stuck with six to eight years of additional crashes, injuries and even fatalities when VDOT’s own study makes it clear that a the majority of the safety benefit of their preferred alternative could be implemented in the short-term, with temporary materials and a much lower cost.
Once can hardly go a block in some parts of Arlington without spotting a Tesla, but the vast majority of vehicles on local streets are still powered by fossil fuels.
The proportion of electric vehicles on the road is expected to increase, albeit gradually. The Edison Electric Institute expects 3.5 million electric vehicles to be sold annually in the U.S. in 2030; that compares to the total of 17 million vehicles sold last year.
Soon after the nation began to quarantine after COVID-19 hit in March, it didn’t take long for advocates and pundits to prognosticate on the effects on the elections and campaigning.
Combined with the US Post Office crisis, it looked as if the elections would be just one more oddity to add to the list of disastrous outcomes of 2020. With only 49 days until Election Day, and three days before early in-person voting starts in Arlington, voting advocates are working overtime to build energy and turnout to achieve our desired results.
Across the region, office buildings have remained largely sparsely populated since the start of the pandemic, with most employees working from home.
It might stay that way for awhile.
This fall, the Arlington County Board will vote on a controversial proposal to make condo development easier along Columbia Pike. The County should reject this proposal and focus our bonus-density programs on low-income renters at risk of displacement and let market-rate development (fueled by better zoning) serve aspiring homeowners.
The Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Form Based Code (N-FBC) is a set of regulations that allows a developer to build to a much higher density in the corridor in exchange for public benefits, including Committed Affordable Housing (CAFs). Currently, a developer using the N-FBC must commit 20-35% of the net-new units in their project as Affordable for households making up to 60% AMI. This applies for both apartment buildings and condo or ownership projects.
