My column talks a lot about single-family vs. multi-family homes. But what counts as a family?
The rules that govern who can legally occupy Arlington’s housing have changed to reflect our understanding and acceptance of diverse types of families. But even with significant progress to make our definition of families more inclusive, we have further to go to support the different forms that households take the 21st century.
The countdown to the end of summer is well underway.
Sure, technically fall doesn’t start until Sept. 22, but Labor Day weekend is only three weeks away and the signs heralding fall’s imminent arrival are already here.
Get ready for a data dump. Arlington’s 2020 Profile was recently released and it is full of eye opening statistics.
Overall Arlington is a young, multi-family building community, with prices that continue to soar, as we continue to lose racial diversity. We are also very eco-friendly in our transportation and an incredibly healthy county that is supported by vast community resources.
Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com
Recent collaborations between local governments and school systems in other localities, including Alexandria, San Francisco, and New York City, offer promising new instructional and childcare examples for Arlington to follow.
In a hastily called meeting before their traditional August break, the Arlington County Board passed an emergency ordinance that prevents groups of four or more from standing closer than six feet to each other in marked public spaces. There was no public discussion or input prior to the surprise announcement.
Under the ordinance, my family could not wait at a traffic light together even if we are wearing face coverings, without the risk of a $600 fine. However, we could walk into a restaurant and sit together without face coverings. Fellow columnist Chris Slatt rightly called it a mess.
A lot of local businesses are hurting during the pandemic.
Any business that relies on people congregating inside is having a tough time — restaurants, gyms, events organizers, etc. The economic hardship has hit ancillary businesses as well: dry cleaners, for example, are struggling due to few people going to offices and formal events.
Progressive Voice is a bi-weekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
By Cragg Hines
We’ve weathered a tropical storm and an otherwise slow local news cycle this week, now it’s time to kick back and enjoy what should be a decent weekend.
Without further ado, here are the most-read articles of the week:
As the school year begins online for students across the country, parents face the challenge of supporting the educational needs of their children while working at their own jobs.
This challenge is real for all working parents. But the opportunities that parents have to meet their children’s needs vary greatly depending on socio-economic status.
The summer heat has arrived and despite holding our collective breath, the coronavirus has not miraculously disappeared. In persevering through a shutdown, a three-phase reopening, and now an emergency ordinance to limit sidewalk traffic, we have learned that we are resilient — but the cracks are starting to show in our population’s mental health.
In fact, nearly 30 percent of Americans are experiencing symptoms of clinical depression as of late July, compared to 6.6 percent last year based on a recent National Center for Health Statistics and Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey. The numbers for anxiety closely mirror with 36 percent compared to 8.2 percent last year. The number of online mental health screenings has increased 400 percent. Perhaps the most alarming — albeit uncited — statistic comes from CDC director Robert Redfield, who stated that there have been far greater suicides and drug overdoses than COVID deaths among young people since the lockdown.
On Friday, the County announced a new emergency ordinance prohibiting pedestrians from congregating on sidewalks in groups of more than three people or ever being less than 6′ apart from any other person.
Targeted quite plainly at young, mask-less patrons waiting in tightly-packed lines for long periods of time outside of Clarendon bars whose capacity has been limited by social-distancing requirements, the ordinance seems well-intentioned but flawed in concept.
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” — Brene Brown
Those of us who are working to intentionally increase diversity in Arlington are consistently striving to achieve the right balance, in the right way, at the right time. Which diversities are the right diversities? How do we measure progress on diversity? Are diverse people held to a different standard? Are they sometimes expected to be twice as good, but also given more allowances when those in power are searching for diverse representation?
