By Maya Jones
At five, I cast my first ballot for president, during an elementary school mock election.
Opinion
It was, to be honest, a relatively light news week in Arlington.
Most of the local news revolved around restaurants, at a time when much of the population is still not even considering dining out at a restaurant. The restaurant stories did well, readership-wise, but not as well as we would expect during normal times.
|
Fall weather has arrived in Arlington, and colder temperatures mean more people migrating indoors to stay warm. For restaurants, cold weather presents a unique challenge since many patrons are still hesitant to dine indoors due to COVID. Restaurants are finding that they have to again adapt to ensure safety for their patrons and employees.
To preempt the “stay-in-your-laners,” I am clearly not a restaurateur. I am, however, a front line healthcare worker (HCW) and there is a surreal parallel between what I experience in the hospital and what I have seen in restaurants since reopening.
|
The title of today’s column is a common adage in the planning world that’s at least 30 years old; I regret that I do not know its original source to provide credit.
At its heart, it reflects the insight that the best way to ensure people can quickly and easily get to the places that they need to go is to ensure that they don’t have to go as far to get there – trips, on average, become shorter.
Earlier this month I attended the Arlington Historical Society (AHS) virtual event on the private school desegregation case, Runyon v. McCrary.
According to the AHS website, “the US Supreme Court outlawed racially segregated public schools in 1954, but whites-only private schools flourished throughout the South for decades. The Supreme Court’s 1976 decision extending the ban on racial segregation to private schools involved a segregated pre-school here in Arlington.”
Halloween is a month away, but people are already starting to wonder how it’s going to play out.
Health authorities are cautioning against trick-or-treating during the pandemic. So far it has not been officially banned, but there is historical precedence for doing so.
Last week, Arlington County staff held the community kick-off for the Pentagon City Planning Study.
The purpose of this multi-phase process is to determine the area’s capacity for future growth and ultimately make suggestions for zoning and land use changes. I hope the County recognizes the incredible opportunity to welcome more people into our dynamic, transit-accessible neighborhood by putting room for people above capacity for cars.
Has September been a total blur or anyone else?
This week summer turned to fall and one was left to ask — wasn’t it August just, like, last week? Apparently not. We’re already less than a week away from October.
At the beginning of this month, Metro took a step into the 21st Century by allowing SmarTrip to be added to Apple Wallets.
A Google spokesperson also said they plan to roll out a Google Pay version later this year. This move has significant short term benefits, some improvements that are needed to improve equity, and in the long term will provide a significant boost to the efficiency of our entire bus system.
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.
More from Washingtonian:
Go to Morning Poll: Should Arlington Follow MoCo’s Lead in Allowing Alcohol in Some Parks?
Read more