Opinion

Ed Talk: The New Budget Reality

By Abby Raphael

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.

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The Hurtt Locker: Campaigns and Elections in the Age of COVID-19

By Matthew Hurtt

(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.

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Modern Mobility: How Close Are We to Premium Transit on the Pike? (Part Three)

By Chris Slatt

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.

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Community Matters: Arlington Organizations Excel During Challenging Times

By Krysta Jones

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.

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Making Room: Getting and Keeping People Housed is Essential for Coronavirus Recovery

By ARLnow.com

It is impossible to follow Virginia’s “stay-at-home” order if you do not have a home.

The emerging economic crisis across the country, as layoffs skyrocket, could leave millions of people with unaffordable housing, or even homeless. It goes without saying that increased homelessness and crowding within homes puts our community at risk for an even worse outbreak than we are already experiencing. For this most obvious reason, the County Manager’s proposed budget for FY 2021 puts a high priority on funding acute housing needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Morning Poll: Close Roads for Pedestrian Zones and Socially Distanced Outdoor Cafes?

By ARLnow.com

There’s growing evidence that the outdoors are, other than one’s home, the safest place to be during the pandemic.

A study in China revealed that the vast majority of outbreaks reviewed were the result of indoor transmission of the coronavirus. Former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb discussed the findings on social media and on CNBC Thursday.

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Peter’s Take: New Era for Gun Safety in Virginia

By Peter Rousselot

As of April 20, there were 300 officially-reported Virginia statewide coronavirus deaths. By contrast, the annual average Virginia statewide gun violence death toll has been 958.

While the governmental path forward to minimize coronavirus deaths remains uncertain, Virginia has passed a significant number of new common-sense gun safety laws this year. These new laws will help substantially to lower our gun violence death toll from what it would have been without them.

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Morning Poll: Tracking Coronavirus in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

On a Wednesday four weeks ago — which seems like a lifetime ago — Arlington had 36 known cases of COVID-19 and ARLnow conducted an unscientific poll.

Of nearly 2,800 respondents, 0.76% said they had tested positive for COVID, 4.4% said they had COVID-like symptoms, and 11.6% said they had a close personal connection who had tested positive.

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The Right Note: What is Governor Northam’s Plan?

By Mark Kelly

Governor Northam has a duty as we move forward to balance this public health emergency with the substantial economic damage being done right now in order to promote the overall health of our Commonwealth. Getting to the other side of this crisis is a true test of leadership for the governor and the Democrats in charge of the General Assembly.

According to modeling, which admittedly has produced projections that regularly overstate the impact of COVID-19 in Virginia when compared to actual data, Virginia is just two days from peak resource use. Daily case increases have plateaued even with increased testing. More people have been discharged from the hospital than are currently being treated. There is no shortage of hospital beds or ventilator capacity. And Virginia’s share of national cases has remained constant. All of this means, what we have done is working in terms of slowing the spread of this coronavirus.

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Ed Talk: Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining

By Maura McMahon

Last week, Arlington Public Schools revealed its continuous learning plan for the remainder of the academic year. As with all APS decisions, the plan is controversial and parents have been quick to react with criticism.

I initially approached this week’s column intending to discuss the most contentious aspect of the plan. But no matter what APS does or doesn’t do, parents will continue to criticize and debate. So, upon considering the conversations I’ve had, my own reactions, and comments I’ve heard and read, I decided instead to look for some silver linings.

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