Thumbs down…
To Delegate Hope’s bill proposing instant run-off voting. This is an attempt to prevent third party candidates from having any real influence on an election. In Arlington that would often mean a Green Party candidate siphoning off votes from Democrats. If a Democrat in Arlington is incapable of achieving a plurality of the vote, maybe it should be accepted as a way that the public is telling you they want a change in leadership.
By Madaline Langston
While various panels and programs have explored racism in Arlington, dozens of students recently took a different tack, using site visits, interviews with community members, and creative drama to “Flip the Script.”
After a soggy week, a dry (weather-wise, at least) weekend is upon us.
Without further ado, here are the most-read articles of the past five days:
Accountability in education means having clear goals for student achievement and data that is readily available to decision-makers and the public to assess progress toward those goals.
Strategic Planning – Setting Goals
At this point, the bike lane blocking problems on Crystal Drive are well understood. The combination of popular retail establishments, standard painted bike lanes and entitled drivers leads to non-functional bike lanes.
The parkingdirty.com data-gathering effort I led back in 2016 found that they are blocked between 50% and 64% of waking hours.
In 2020 we commemorate the centennial of women gaining the right to vote, and last month Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.
It is natural to analyze how far we have come in the years between 1920 and 2020, and what should be done in the next 100 years to reach full equality.
There’s little doubt that a retail apocalypse is underway, though there is some debate about how to assign blame.
Store closures and imminent closures in Arlington since last summer include Abercrombie & Fitch, Swatch and Papyrus at the Pentagon City mall; World Market in Pentagon City; Rite Aid in Crystal City; and Pier 1 in Rosslyn. Malls in Tysons have also seen a spate of recent closures.
On January 23, the Land Use subcommittee of the Virginia House of Delegates considered two bills from Delegate Ibraheem Samirah (D-Fairfax) to remove the restrictions of single-family zoning from Virginia neighborhoods.
HB 151 would have overridden local bans on accessory dwelling units and HB 152 would have forbade local authorities from banning duplexes on residential lots.
It has been a great 10th anniversary week for ARLnow — thanks again to everyone who came out to celebrate Wednesday night.
The weekend is here and that means a look back at the most-read articles of the past week.
There is one thing I have found that my libertarian Republican and social justice Democrat friends can mostly agree on — it is high time Virginia passes marijuana reform.
It is my opinion that: 1) marijuana should be governed similarly to alcohol, legal at age 21; 2) doctors at hospitals or assisted living facilities should be able to administer prescriptions to anyone; and 3) we should create an automatic expungement process for people previously convicted over 21 and have a clear path to expungement for those under 21 for both marijuana and alcohol.
Delegate Patrick Hope (D-47) has introduced a bill: HB 817 to guide digital device use in Virginia public schools.
Teachers have been concerned about these issues. Petitions have been generated by community members — one to discontinue 1:1, another seeking a low screen track.
The School Board this week unveiled a long-anticipated proposal to start the school year before Labor Day this August.
The change comes after the General Assembly granted more flexibility for school districts last year, and it also comes despite low public support. In fact, according to the APS survey just 25% of parents, 24% of students and 39% of staff like the move.
