Here is the unedited response from Parisa Dehghani-Tafti:
My family and I are blessed to be part of this community. We are rightly proud of our schools, our local government, and the leadership role Arlington and the City of Falls Church have taken in the Commonwealth across a number of issues. The glaring exception remains our criminal justice system. But together we can change that and bring much needed reform to our Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office while keeping our families safe.
Last week, we asked the two Democratic candidates in the State Senate race for the 31st District to write a sub-750 word essay on why the county’s residents should vote for them in the June 11 primary.
Here is the unedited response from Nicole Merlene:
Here is the unedited response from Barbara Favola:
Why you should vote for me.
Here is the unedited response from Julius “JD” Spain, Sr.:
The 49th District deserves the best leadership. As Delegate, one my priorities will be to introduce legislation to reform our mental health system. In Virginia, our mental health system is broken, and we are losing too many children and young adults because we have not done enough to support them. This issue is one that requires immediate attention. I will work with experts in mental health to improve access to mental health resources for individuals and families.
Here is the unedited response from Alfonso Lopez:
It has been the greatest honor of my career to serve the residents of the 49th District as your Delegate in Richmond. Our district, which runs along Columbia Pike from Pentagon City to Bailey’s Crossroads and then up Route 7 to Seven Corners, is one of the most vibrant and diverse places in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Moreover, I am reminded every day that we live in a special community that believes in lifting everyone up and leaving no one behind. Indeed, those are the core values that have guided my legislative agenda in the General Assembly.
It’s Friday, it’s pretty nice outside, it’s dog-walking time.
It’s also almost election time. Virginia’s primary elections are Tuesday, June 11 and Arlington has several candidates on the ballot this year. The race for commonwealth’s attorney has grown especially heated in recent weeks, raking in some serious campaign contributions and also sparking discussions about long-standing issues like how defense attorneys access criminal case documents.
As ARLnow.com reported in March, the Arlington County government is considering “long standing space issues” at the Trades Center.
The Trades Center is an approximately 38-acre complex located at the intersection of S. Arlington Mill Drive and S. Taylor Street. Arlington County owns approximately 32 acres of the site and approximately 6 acres are owned by APS.
Arlington’s newest pet of the week is chatty cat Sierra.
Here’s what her owner, Manu, said Sierra had to say:
The Boeing Company is donating $10 million to Arlington County for maintenance, operations and programming at Long Bridge Park and the forthcoming Aquatics Center, the county announced Tuesday.
In exchange, the county is renaming the athletic fields at the park — which is adjacent to Boeing’s D.C. area headquarters — “Boeing Fields at Long Bridge Park,” complete with new signage. Also being named: the 50-meter pool inside the aquatics center.
If you are having trouble scrubbing the family budget enough to help pay for the rising tax rates here in Arlington, try this solution: just raise your salary.
That is apparently what the Arlington County Board plans to do this month.
Progressive Voice is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of their organizations or ARLnow.com.
By Cheryl W. Moore
It’s Friday which means you made it to the weekend: Congratulations you!
If you’ve made it this far, you waded through this week’s national news headlines to read our coverage on local issues like the School Board settling with the Department of Justice over allegations of inadequate services for some English-learner students.
