I recently did something which may be considered a faux pas among social media users.
The “People You May Know” section on Facebook had gotten on my last nerve. I have designed a very specific Facebook experience for myself. I don’t like reminders or requests. I check messages and handle any action items which create notifications quickly, just so I do not see the notification. (I do realize this is odd!)
I have lived in Arlington for almost 5 years and I’ve come to see the “Arlington Way” as both a blessing and a curse on the County.
For those not familiar, the Arlington Way as a tradition of citizen democracy, realized through an extensive culture and apparatus for public engagement around most County policies, as well as new commercial or residential developments. The goal is to give residents many opportunities to influence, or at least register their opinion, on a range of regulatory and administrative topics and projects that will have a broad impact.
It was a slow, holiday-shortened week in Arlington that saw the calendar turn to the neatly symmetrical year of 2020.
(Pro tip: there’s no need to comment with “slow news week?” on a week that’s obviously a slow news week.)
The end of a holiday-shortened week is here.
For those in the office and working this week, we salute you. For those who left town, we hope you have a relatively painless return journey amid the holiday travel rush.
By Tara Teaford and Dana Milburn
As mothers, our priorities center on our children’s health, well-being, happiness, and yes — definitely — their safety. As progressives, we support measures to promote those rights for everyone, everywhere.
It’s Christmas Eve and the third night of Hanukkah, and nothing is stirring in the ARLnow offices, not even Vernon Miles — because we’re taking the next day and a half off.
ARLnow will be back on a limited coverage schedule on Thursday. Of course, if there’s breaking news, we’ll be on top of it no matter what holiday or day of the week it is.
By Cheryl Moore
Every year from Thanksgiving through year-end, my mail fills up with pleas from various nonprofit organizations — for financial donations, groceries or holiday gifts for low-income families in Arlington.
It has been a cold and active week, both weather-wise and news-wise.
Luckily, after a cloudy and cold Saturday, milder temperatures and a stretch of fair weather is on tap for at least the next week. And, barring breaking news, starting Tuesday ARLnow will be switching to a reduced publishing schedule around the holidays, giving the hard-working people who bring you the news a chance to take a little break after a busy year.
The following Letter to the Editor was written by Jennifer Myers, a parent of two children at McKinley who’s active in the McKinley PTA and serves as a SEPTA parent liaison.
Arlington Public Schools’ recent proposal to swap a number of elementary schools has gone no better than past boundary changes.
We hope you enjoyed our series of locally-themed t-shirts available for the holiday season.
In case you missed them, check out our Clarendon Cheesecake Riot shirt, Gondola Now! shirt, South Arlington 4 Life shirt, Definitely Not an ARLnow Commenter shirt and Local Is Everything shirt.
Arlington is a beautiful community with so much to be proud of.
For my last column of the year, here are some things that have been special to me, that I recommend, or that I want to acknowledge.
The American Public Media podcast by Emily Hanford, “At a Loss for Words: How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers”, thankfully is shining a national spotlight on non-scientifically-based reading instruction. Ms. Hanford specifically criticizes Lucy Calkins’ Units of Study for Teaching Reading (Readers’ Workshop), the Fountas & Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI), and Marie Clay’s Reading Recovery, for perpetuating the vicious cycle that “prevent(s) kids from focusing on words in the way they need to become skilled readers.”
Arlington Public Schools (APS) uses all of these resources, and in some cases, with our most vulnerable students.
