Last week, the Arlington County Board approved a new budget that holds the current real estate tax rate steady.
In some ways, that’s a win given the fears of a pandemic-caused budget crunch. Tax revenue ended up coming in above estimates and federal funding freed up million in local funds. Instead of making significant budget cuts, as originally feared, the Board was able to add in numerous initiatives, paid for with one-time funding.
Vote By Mail in June Primary — From Arlington’s elections office: “More than 3,900 mail ballots for the June 8 Democratic Primary are on their way.. Deadline to request a mail ballot: May 28 @ 5 p.m.” [Twitter]
Restaurants Cited For Covid Violations — “Twenty-nine Arlington restaurants were cited for violating Gov. Ralph Northam’s COVID-19 restrictions between Jan. 1 and April 4 of this year, according to data obtained exclusively by Patch from Arlington County Public Health.” [Patch]
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.
“Kremlin political intrigues are comparable to a bulldog fight under a rug. An outsider only hears the growling, and when he sees the bones fly out from beneath it is obvious who won.” – Winston Churchill.
The Trump Administration, in both its first and second iterations, has not lived up to that Churchill quotation, not least because its principals are so paranoid and unprofessional that they usually air their grievances in public. Sometimes, when facing unfriendly questioning before Congress, a leading Administration official bangs the table about how the Dow Jones Industrial Average has broken 50,000; sometimes, when a bottle of bourbon goes missing, a leading Administration official threatens to polygraph and prosecute FBI agents. This is not, as a general rule, a thin-lipped bunch of Silent Cals.
The Department of Homeland Security has been an honorable exception to that general rule; its personnel have been, at least by Trump Administration standards, fairly disciplined about airing their grievances in public. That’s where the Kremlinology comes in. The latest intel suggests that a real behind-the-curtain fight is happening between two factions at DHS – one, personified by policy majordomo Stephen Miller, and the other, by bureaucratic knife-fighter (and Cava enjoyer) Tom Homan. The Homanites appear to be winning. The purpose of this advertorial is tell you why we think that is true, and provide a bit of speculation about why.
First, why do we think it is true? Not every resignation means a change in policy; sometimes, when the chief of the Border Patrol resigns after widespread accusations that he flew to Thailand, Colombia, and Mexico to avail himself of the services of prostitutes, it’s just an HR thing. But some reshuffles are more significant, and we think the following four suggest a new policy direction.
(1) Kristi Noem is out, and Markwayne Mullin is in. Secretary Noem performed her duties in vapid, vigorous, indecent, indecorous style, and she consistently personified the most outré and bizarre actions by the immigration enforcement bureaucracy, from calling protesters ‘domestic terrorists’ to LARPing as a HSI agent during raids. Former Sen. Mullin has taken a different public tack. Secretary Mullin – echoing public comments from Tom Homan – has repeated in interviews that DHS is targeting “the worst of the worst” rather than engaging in broad sweeps, and has said that the Minnesota operation, which led to the deaths of several American citizens, will not occur again. ” Secretary Mullin recently remarked, “[m]y goal in six months is that we’re not in the lead story every single day.” We don’t think you’ll see him posing at CECOT in a Rolex. (more…)
We know what you’re thinking: why do we even bother writing any copy for the weekend discussion post?
Each week we scratch our heads and try to come up with something original, but it usually ends up being some generic musings on the weather and the fact that it was a busy week.
Mental health shapes how we lead, love, work, parent, communicate, and show up in the world—yet too often, these conversations stay hidden.
This Mental Health Awareness Month, join local nonprofit Rock Recovery for Strength Not Stigma—an unforgettable evening of honest conversation, community, and impact.
Thursday night was not a typical Arlington School Board meeting.
A contentious public comment period, during which Board Chair Monique O’Grady called for order multiple times, preceded news that Arlington Public Schools has launched school-based COVID-19 testing and preschoolers will gain access to four days of in-person instruction.
Join Arlington for Palestine and NAACP Arlington Branch for a movie night and community discussion about Israeli apartheid.
We will watch two short Palestinian films about life under Israeli apartheid, hear from a member of Arlington for Palestine about their trip to Palestine last year, and discuss together what all this means to us living in Arlington .
(Updated at 3:30 p.m.) Arlington County police and firefighters responded to a potentially serious motorcycle crash today in the Lyon Park neighborhood, south of Clarendon.
The crash was reported around 1:30 p.m. Friday at the intersection of 4th Street N. and N. Edgewood Street, in a residential neighborhood between Washington Blvd and the Lyon Park Community Center.
Lyon’s Legacy is a limited-run opinion column on the history of housing in Arlington. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
“IN THIS early-twentieth-century era, when African Americans in the South faced terror that maintained them in subjugation, when African Americans throughout the nation were being driven from small towns where they had previously enjoyed a measure of integration and safety, and when the federal government had abandoned its African American civil servants, we should not be surprised to learn that there was a new dedication on the part of public officials to ensure that white families’ homes would be removed from proximity to African Americans in large urban areas.”
(Updated at 11 a.m.) A long-delayed redevelopment at the corner of Columbia Pike and S. Barton Street finally appears poised to become a reality.
A new mixed-use building at 2400 Columbia Pike, featuring 120 residential units and ground-floor retail space, will be replacing the current, low-slung 1950s buildings, one of which holds independent cafe Rappahannock Coffee. The County Board approved a modification to the development plan, including adding 15 residential units to the originally-proposed 105, at its meeting last weekend.
What’s better than celebrating a birthday? Celebrating a dog’s birthday, of course.
Walter the Bernese Mountain Dog is turning 4 and his parents are inviting all dogs and their humans (and pet-less people) to celebrate with them.
Residents Want Better HQ2 View — “The tallest and most distinctive tower planned for Amazon.com Inc.’s second headquarters, the conch-shaped ‘Helix,’ will be like no other building in Greater Washington. And Arlington residents would like to see it from their neighborhoods… [as planned] the positioning would obstruct the surrounding community’s views of the signature structure, said Leonardo Sarli, an Arlington planning commissioner.” [Washington Business Journal]
Ebbin Endorses Colleague’s Challenger — “State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria-Arlington-Fairfax) has endorsed challenger Elizabeth Bennett-Parker in the competitive Democratic primary in the 45th House District. ‘I feel a responsibility to weigh in,’ Ebbin said in an April 22 statement… Bennett-Parker, who currently serves as vice chair of the Alexandria City Council, will face off against [Del. Mark] Levine in the June 8 Democratic primary.” [Sun Gazette]
This Memorial Weekend: Argentine Festival USA Returns May 23
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS:
