It may not be the snow we saw earlier this week, but the weather is looking a bit wet this weekend.
Forecasters expect a full day of rain Saturday, though most showers should clear out by Sunday.
Opinion
A year ago, my fellow ARLnow.com columnist, Mark Kelly, posted a column welcoming the legislative defeat of a bill sponsored by House Del. Patrick Hope (D-47th District). Hope’s bill would have granted the County Board the option to utilize a ranked-choice (or instant-runoff) voting system in County Board elections.
Ranked choice voting has been adopted in an increasing number of jurisdictions, including San Francisco, Oakland, Utah and Maine.
Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz is set to unveil his proposed budget over the next few days at a County Board work session and the regular monthly meeting.
According to a Schwartz email, his budget will include just $5 million in cuts to existing staff and programs. This is $30 million less than the worst-case scenario laid out over the the past few months.
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By Sheila Fleischhacker
“I don’t have any friends.”
Enjoy this unseasonably warm weather while you can, as the holiday weekend looks set to feel a bit more like February.
Forecasters say a cold front will roll through tomorrow (Saturday), giving us the chance of seeing a bit of snow, or perhaps just rain. But the worst of that should fizzle out by tomorrow night, with a dry Sunday and Presidents Day on tap after that.
Two stories posted on ARLnow.com last week underscore the urgent need for the County and School Boards to expedite long-range public facilities and fiscal planning.
The first story (“Never Let A Crisis Go To Waste”) quoted various activists and County Board members stressing the need to make Arlington housing more affordable by up-zoning in order to substantially increase housing supply. (Up-zoning = approving more dense development than permitted by current zoning.)
The members of the Arlington School Board are beginning to ramp up the pressure to increase tax rates this year in order to gain more flexibility in the APS budget. While the County Board will almost certainly advertise a higher rate to give themselves options heading into the budget process, the School Board was not going to wait before getting on the record supporting it.
The fear is that the County Board will not raise the rate, or not enough in the School Board’s view, and instead ask everyone to tighten their belt a little. While the term “austerity” is being thrown around, our elected leaders’ use of austerity may not be the same as the average person would define it.
By Paul Ferguson
“Ready For 100” is a commitment to use 100% renewable electricity by the year 2035. Localities making this commitment send a signal to the nation and world that the United States is still moving forward with emission reduction plans that will mitigate the effects of global warming.
Say goodbye to all that unseasonably warm weather we’ve had recently — it seems winter is making a comeback.
Forecasters say temperatures will plummet tonight, with plenty of gusty winds returning for both Saturday and Sunday. There’s even some chance of snow early next week.
The following letter to the editor comes from Craig Esherick, a former chair of the Arlington County Sports Commission, former coach of the Georgetown Hoyas and husband of Commonwealth’s Attorney Theo Stamos.
Esherick writes to express his support for the county’s recommendations in a draft of an updated Public Spaces Master Plan, a process otherwise commonly known as a “Plan for Our Places and Spaces” or POPS.
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Update at 11:45 a.m. — The Washington Post is now reporting that Amazon is “reconsidering” its New York City plans.
EXCLUSIVE: Amazon is thinking of pulling out of New York HQ2 deal, because of strong opposition from local politicians. Northern Virginia could get some or all of the jobs slated for NYC. https://t.co/hn6ImP5toF
Go to Morning Poll: Would You Support Amazon Shifting New York’s Half of HQ2 to Arlington?
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Like many other states, Virginia has a partisan redistricting system. Partisan redistricting has served us poorly.
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