George Mason University’s Arlington Campus celebrated its storied past during a 40th anniversary commemoration in Van Metre Hall on Wednesday, Nov. 20, with an eye on an even more promising future.
Mason Interim President Anne Holton joined other university, state and regional leaders in recognizing the university’s positive presence in Arlington since 1979, and its prominent role as a hub for current and future regional innovation.
Arlington, Virginia, November 19, 2019–On Sunday, November 17, Arlington Presbyterian Church (APC) celebrated their homecoming. APC returned to their former site opening a new worship, office and multi-use space on the ground-floor of Gilliam Place, a 173-unit affordable housing community developed by the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) along Columbia Pike.
APC’s move back to their former property where they worshipped for over a century, completes an 8-year journey for their congregation in discerning new ways they might be called to be church in the community. After their bold decision to sell their existing church building and property to APAH for the development of affordable housing in 2014, the congregation returned to lease a portion of the ground-floor retail space from APAH in the completed building. “APC’s new worship space is a communal, Spirit-filled gathering area that invites participation, creativity, and equality for the sake of South Arlington,” said Pastor Ashley Goff. The brand-new multi-use building is named in honor of Ronda A. Gilliam, APC’s first African-American elder, a community leader and clothing ministry founder.
A-SPAN announces the retirement of its President & CEO, Kathy Sibert. After leading the organization for 11 years, Sibert will continue her role through January 31, 2020.
Sibert became the President & CEO of A-SPAN (Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network, Inc) in 2008. Beginning with a budget of only $800,000, Sibert has expanded the now four-million-dollar organization from one site providing Day and Outreach services, to a multi-program organization providing a continuum of services 24/7, 365 days of the year, for homeless individuals and veterans. This culminated in the award of the Homeless Services Center contract and its Grand Opening October 1, 2015. The County’s Homeless Services Center is much more than a shelter. It has a day and outreach program, 50-bed shelter program, a 25-bed additional winter shelter program, a 5-bed medical respite and nursing services program, a full production kitchen serving 3 meals/day, and has all A-SPAN’s housing programs located in one place. The Center is a national best practice model to end homelessness as it facilitates moving someone quickly from being homeless into a home. A-SPAN has been instrumental in reducing Arlington County’s homelessness population by 60% in the last 7 years. The organization has been recognized locally, regionally, and nationally as being a leader in solving homelessness issues.
After 13 years working to bring fresh local produce to food insecure families, Associate Director of Programs and Plot Against Hunger Manager Puwen Lee will be retiring from the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC), effective November 15.
“I started at AFAC as a volunteer, helping on Wednesday mornings with distributions,” says Lee. “I loved it because of the team of volunteers I worked with and because of the relationships with clients. After a year, I took a part-time position in the Volunteer Department and the rest is history.”
The Arlington County Democratic Committee (Arlington Dems) elected Democrats in all 14 Arlington elections on Tuesday, including four contested races, while simultaneously playing an oversized role statewide in the historic flip of both houses of the General Assembly.
In the contested races, Arlington returned Janet Howell to the District 32 state Senate seat, Alfonso Lopez to the House of Delegates District 49 post, and Katie Cristol and Christian Dorsey to the Arlington County Board.
Arlington Community Federal Credit Union (ACFCU) announced today that it will close its Ballston Branch, located at 4121 Wilson Boulevard, on December 31, 2019. The branch has been open since 2013.
The credit union will open a new branch in late 2020 to replace the Ballston location, with a commitment to finding a more modern facility to serve its growing membership.
The National Park Service (NPS) has postponed the previously announced weekend closure of Arlington Memorial Bridge. The closure is now scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15 and will last until 5 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 18. The change will allow the construction contractor to resequence work to prepare for the next phase of construction.
The total rehabilitation of Arlington Memorial Bridge began in fall 2018 and remains on schedule. So far, workers have:
It is a dream come true for millions of Americans who every now and then wish they could literally “turn back the hands of time.” They will get that chance and their wish in the wee hours of Sunday morning, at 2 o’clock, to be precise. In addition, the end of Daylight Saving Time (DST) also means getting an extra hour of sleep. Yet there are some side effects of setting our clocks back one hour, including disrupting our body’s internal clock and disturbing our sleep/wake cycle and circadian rhythm. As a result, area residents and drivers must be prepared for potential challenges the annual time change entails each fall, such as changes in sleep patterns that may increase chances of drowsy driving and shorter days, which means driving home in the dark and on caliginous roadways, warns AAA.
Truncated days, moonless nights, and obsidian streets will pose risks and hazards for all roadway users; including motorists, vehicle occupants, school children, joggers, pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and moped and e-scooter riders. Some studies show “the biggest impact of setting our clocks back one hour can be felt on some of the skills that affect the quality of driving – concentration, alertness behind the wheel, and reaction time to potential hazards.” A word to the wise: “Go to bed at the same time you normally would, so you can benefit from that extra hour of sleep.” Sleep-deprived drivers cause more than 6,400 deaths and 50,000 debilitating injuries on American roadways each year, warns the National Sleep Foundation (NSF).
Today, Rep. Don Beyer (VA-08) sent a letter to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration expressing concerns about its recent announcement to make changes to flight paths at DCA to accommodate Secret Service needs without giving meaningful consideration to community interests. Beyer urged FAA to delay implementation of the proposed changes to DCA flight procedures in order to engage the community.
Beyer wrote:
WHO:
The Renegade, the new two-story coffee shop, restaurant, and live music venue from chef Patrick Crump is opening this Thursday, Oct. 24 at 3100 Clarendon Blvd. in Arlington.
An Arlington political consultant who served as the treasurer of multiple Political Action Committees (PACs) pleaded guilty today to lying to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) about approximately $32,500 in payments of PAC money that he directed to himself and a close friend.
According to court documents, Scott Buchanan Mackenzie, 66, from 2011 through 2018, in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere, Mackenzie was the treasurer of approximately 52 PACs, including Conservative StrikeForce, Conservative Majority Fund, Tea Party Majority Fund and Conservative Majority SuperFund. In that role, Mackenzie was responsible for complying with campaign finance laws and regulations and for filing accurate disclosure reports with the FEC that detailed the PACs’ true income and expenditures.
Kathrine Switzer, who in 1967 became the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon – wearing bib number 261 – and is the founder of the global non-profit 261 Fearless, will be in Arlington this Friday to run with the 261 Fearless Club DC Metro/VA.
The short, easy run will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington. It is free and open to the public; all are invited.
