Arlington Public Schools will follow mostly the same Covid protocols as last year, including optional masks, free weekly testing, and five-day quarantines.
At last Thursday’s School Board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Francisco Durán reviewed the latest Covid protocols for the upcoming 2022-2023 school year, which starts this coming Monday, Aug. 29.
Arlington is the No. 3 most family-friendly locale in the country, according to a new set of rankings.
Online real estate platform Opendoor compiled the “best cities for families” list, which is based on the presence of various amenities like playgrounds, community centers and pools.
This sponsored column is by Law Office of James Montana PLLC. All questions about it should be directed to James Montana, Esq., Janice Chen, Esq., and Victoria Khaydar, Esq., practicing attorneys at The Law Office of James Montana PLLC, an immigration-focused law firm located in Falls Church, Virginia. The legal information given here is general in nature. If you want legal advice, contact us for an appointment.
Asylum is not granted as a matter of routine. To qualify for asylum, you have to have an objectively reasonable, subjectively genuine fear of persecution if returned to your home country; and, moreover, that fear must be based on a limited number of ‘protected grounds’ – race, religion, political opinion, nationality, or membership in a particular social group. On top of that, even if you do have the aforementioned fear of persecution based on a protected ground, you still have to qualify for asylum as a matter of discretion.
In previous administrations, discretionary denials of otherwise qualifying asylum claims were extremely rare. In the new Trump Administration, of course, all bets are off.
The purpose of this article is twofold: (1) to inform asylum applicants about these new ‘discretion’ questions so they can think carefully about how to answer them, and (2) to inform our fellow citizens about what the current Administration is doing in their name.
Immigration attorneys report that new questions are being asked at asylum interviews which touch on anti-Semitism, anti-Americanism, an asylum applicant’s poverty, health conditions, and wealth, and the applicant’s engagement in the community. Some of these questions aren’t unreasonable, but some are completely bonkers. Here are some of the topics and reported questions for each topic.
Anti-Semitism
The Ballston Beaver Pond might become Ballston Wetland Park, a more befitting name since the beavers have moved on.
The human-made pond, originally built to collect stormwater runoff and trash from I-66, is undergoing a $4 million renovation. With that makeover and the fact that the beavers have taken their dam-building skills elsewhere, the pond and park are set to get a new name.
Ghost Limb is a timely and haunting examination of authoritarianism set during Argentina’s Dirty War that draws poetic inspiration from the Persephone and Demeter myth. When Consuelo’s son is “disappeared” by the military, she discovers a psychic link between her injured arm and her tortured child-and races to find him before it’s too late.
Performance Days and Times
Nearly half of remote and hybrid government workers say their team performance has improved during the course of the pandemic.
That’s according to new research from Crystal City-based consulting firm Eagle Hill Consulting.
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Shorter Summer Break for HS Athletes — “So much for long, nearly two-month summer breaks from high-school sports, which for a long time used to be the case. With the preceding spring high-school sports campaigns lasting closer to the end of June these days, then practices for the next fall season starting Aug. 1 this year, the summer break was about a month long. July is becoming about all there is of the summertime anymore.” [Sun Gazette]
SOL Scores Lag Pre-Pandemic Benchmark — “The Virginia Education Department said students are still bearing the scars of prolonged pandemic-related school closures, releasing test scores from last school year that showed them performing behind pre-pandemic levels. While students saw across-the-board gains in the 2021-2022 school year compared to the previous academic year, state education officials said the progress was not enough, and pinned some of the good news on lowered standards — not on better student performance.” [Washington Post]
The new preliminary concept plan for Langston Blvd envisions the corridor’s transformation over several decades into a “Green Main Street.”
The extensive plan — which has been in the works for years — calls for land use changes along the former Lee Highway, with the aim of encouraging re-development over time, though the proposed zoning changes are not quite as drastic as what had been discussed last year.
A driver who fled from police early Saturday morning in Crystal City then returned, successfully fled again, and returned and tried to flee a third time, police say.
The third time was the charm for officers.
Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that highlights Arlington-based startups, founders, and local tech news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring 1515 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn.
Seeing his cart flipped in the middle of what was then called Lee Highway in Rosslyn, with eggs and taco shells spilling down the street, Osiris Hoil was close to giving up his dream.
Rosa Mexicano will not be opening next month in Pentagon City but is aiming to start serving later this year.
The new restaurant that’s moving into the former Sugar Factory space is looking to open its doors sometime this fall, a company spokesperson told ARLnow.
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