On May 6, a select group of Arlington Democrats voted to endorse Takis Karantonis as their candidate in the special election to fill the seat vacated due to the tragic illness and death of Erik Gutshall.
(Full disclosure: My husband was a member of the closed caucus and I serve with Takis Karantonis on the board of the Alliance for Housing Solutions.)
Another week of business as abnormal has come and gone, as Arlington continues to adjust to life during a pandemic and prepare for a gradual reopening of the state.
Not helping matters is the generally wet and cool weather, which has been keeping people inside when the outdoors and sunshine might be what we need most right now — other than a vaccine, obviously. More May-like temperatures appear to be a week away.
Congratulations to Takis Karantonis for his victory in the Arlington County Democrat’s special election nomination process. Takis is a longtime leader in our community having served as the executive director of the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization, the president of his civic association, and is genuinely a person of good character. I will be proud to support him in the upcoming July 7th special election.
Fill out your absentee voting application here. Due to COVID-19 you may cite “my disability or illness” as your reason for voting by mail.
Arlington County’s parks are closed, a safety precaution intended to prevent overcrowding and the spread of the coronavirus.
While trails are open, the closure of parks has reduced recreation options for those seeking to get outside as the weather gets warmer. That, along with the county deciding against closing vehicle lanes for extra space, may be factors contributing to more crowded sidewalks and trails.
The Rouse property is a 9-acre parcel of privately-owned land, located in the Dominion Hills neighborhood at 6407 Wilson Boulevard (corner of N. McKinley Road). On March 4, ARLnow.com reported this property might be for sale for “around $30 million” (roughly double the current assessed value):
“The property is listed as a ‘generational’ site in the county’s Parks Master Plan (page 162).”
Last Thursday as I tuned into the County Board’s special meeting to pass the Fiscal Year 2021 budget, I began clicking on the links to the Board reports accompanying the agenda. One of the measures to be voted on was the Pay Plan to take effect July 1. Knowing the Board had originally planned a $10,000 pay raise for themselves, I searched the document to ensure the raise had been scrapped.
In less than 60 seconds, I located County Board pay on page 28. It called for a 3.5% pay raise. I double checked my figures with several Board watchers and online sources to make sure I had it right. Board Members are currently paid $55,147, and the Chair $60,662, and the Pay Plan was set to raise that pay to $57,077 and $62,785.
By Maurine Shields Fanguy
For many Arlingtonians, a School Board election may be far from top of mind. So many in our community are struggling to hold down jobs or to keep businesses afloat. Others are facing unemployment–many for the first time ever. Families in dire financial circumstances are cobbling together a patchwork of meals for their children from Arlington Public Schools (APS) and groceries from generous community organizations.
May has arrived, and with it some warmer, sunnier weather — at least for now.
The past week saw literally more local news than we could cover, so we’ll be trying to catch up on some of the stories we have not gotten to yet on Monday.
On February 27, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that there were 16 COVID-19 cases in the United States.
That same day, the Arlington Public Schools (APS) interim Superintendent presented her proposed FY 2021 budget, with total expenditures of $725.9 million. That reflected an 8.4% increase in expenditures over the current year, added 265 positions, and increased per pupil spending from $19,921 to $21,290. It included a step increase and cost of living adjustment for employees. Revenue was estimated at $698.4 million, with options presented for spending reductions to reduce the $27.5 million budget deficit.
(Updated at 3:30 p.m.) Arlington’s civic-minded voters are learning lessons in the art of campaigns and elections in the Age of COVID-19 — lessons in innovation that may well be a model for other jurisdictions and localities as election season heats up across the country.
On Tuesday night the Arlington Young Democrats and the Arlington Democrats co-hosted a Facebook Live debate with the 6 candidates for school board who are vying for the Democratic nod. The hour-and-a-half-long debate fielded questions from viewers that ran the gamut from COVID-19 response to the search for a superintendent to equity in the classroom, The debate was shared dozens of times and viewed by more than 1,600 people at the time of this writing.
Back in January, I kicked off this series looking at the Pike Premium Transit Network.
2020 is the year that the Columbia Pike Streetcar was supposed to start running; since many folks claimed that a “Modern BRT” system could be implemented more quickly than a Streetcar, I’m examining how far we’ve come in that implementation compared to what was envisioned.
I have always been intrigued by how organizations adapt. As an Arlingtonian, I am beyond impressed by the outstanding work of Arlington’s organizations and businesses during the pandemic. Due to their leadership and long-standing collaboration, they have thrived in ways that will have a positive impact on Arlington for decades to come.
Coordination — The Arlington Community Foundation was established in 1991 when the Honorable William T. Newman, Jr. observed the work of the San Francisco Community Foundation after the earthquake of 1989. Today the Foundation coordinates critical initiatives including Shared Prosperity and Bridges Out of Poverty. The Foundation’s extensive work with other nonprofit organizations has allowed them to seamlessly provide Rapid Response grants to local organizations during COVID-19.
