Chamber of Commerce | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published November 1, 2019 at 7:30AM

Arlington Cold Weather Plan Now in Effect — “With temperatures continuing to drop as we head through the fall and into winter, Arlington County has activated its plan to keep people who are experiencing homelessness safe during extreme cold. The Cold Weather Plan will be in place from Nov. 1 through the winter months.” [Arlington County]

Reminder: Pumpkin Composting — “As for what to do with those leftover pumpkins? They can be dropped off for composting at Arlington’s Earth Products Yard in Shirlington (4300 29th Street S.) from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2.” [ARLnow]

News

Chamber of Commerce Launches All-Arlington Restaurant Week

By Kalina Newman

Published October 1, 2019 at 1:30PM | Updated October 2, 2019 at 4:51PM

Arlington County its getting its own Restaurant Week later this month.

Arlington Restaurant Week, organized by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, will run from October 21-28. Diners can visit a number of Arlington restaurants offering special menu items at discounted prices, according to a press release.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 29, 2019 at 7:30AM

Extra Brush Pickups in Arlington — “Because of recent weather events, the County has added extra brush pickups this week. Schedule a collection online.” [Twitter]

Clement Endorses Stamos — “Arlington County Board candidate Audrey Clement won’t be on the ballot until November, but she has weighed in with a ringing endorsement of incumbent Theo Stamos in the June 11 Democratic primary for commonwealth’s attorney.” [InsideNova]

Opinion

Letter to the Editor: Amazon is a Good Deal for Arlington, Chamber of Commerce Argues

By ARLnow.com

Published March 14, 2019 at 5:30PM | Updated March 14, 2019 at 10:21PM

The following Letter to the Editor was submitted by Arlington Chamber of Commerce President Kate Bates, who writes in support of passing the county’s incentive deals made to motivate Amazon to open its new headquarters in Crystal City and Pentagon City.

The Chamber is a non-profit which advocates for 750 county businesses and organizations, which includes Amazon as of December. The Chamber has written several letters to County Board members and the Virginia General Assembly over the last year in support of bringing Amazon to the region, and to urge officials to pass state and local tax incentives.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 6, 2019 at 7:30AM

Chamber Rallying Members to Support Amazon — “The Arlington Chamber of Commerce wants to make sure supporters of Amazon’s decision to locate in Crystal City aren’t caught napping. The business organization on March 4 sent out a missive to rally the troops in the days leading up to the County Board’s expected action on an economic-incentive package.” [InsideNova]

Local Bars Helping Women in Unsafe Situations — “Something from the United Kingdom’s bar scene is coming all the way across the pond to Arlington, Virginia — but it isn’t a new beer or liquor. Several bars in Arlington County have implemented the ‘Ask for Angela’ campaign, which aims to help women and anyone in an uncomfortable or threatening situation get help.” [NBC Washington]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 4, 2019 at 7:30AM | Updated March 4, 2019 at 8:32AM

New Hotel for DCA? — “A hotel might be in the works for Reagan National Airport, according to Jack Potter, CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority… A spokeswoman for MWAA said they are still in the ideas phase and nothing is concrete.” [Washington Business Journal]

Parents Fight Proposed Key Changes — “Parents are battling for the school’s future after Arlington Public Schools surprised them with a plan to relocate Key [Elementary], an announcement that animated larger questions about race, class and the purpose of bilingual education.” [Washington Post]

News

County Considers Changing How It Reviews Major Development Plans, Irking Arlington Chamber

By Alex Koma

Published February 19, 2019 at 11:00AM

Kirkwood Road and Washington Blvd aerial site plan

County officials could soon change how they sign off on major zoning alterations, sparking some pushback from the county’s business community over fears that the new process could make large redevelopments more difficult.

The county is currently mulling an overhaul of its methods for reviewing applications for special “General Land Use Plan” studies.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published January 4, 2019 at 8:45AM | Updated January 4, 2019 at 12:21PM

Overturned Vehicle Near Gunston — A vehicle overturned in a reported four-vehicle crash in the Long Branch Creek neighborhood yesterday afternoon. The crash happened on the 1500 block of 28th Street S., near Gunston Middle School. Two occupants of the overturned vehicle were able to get out safely prior to rescuers arriving on scene, according to initial reports. [Twitter]

Dog Rescued by ACFD — Firefighters rescued a dog named Bling from yesterday’s house fire in Lyon Park. “Medics provided oxygen to Bling with a special pet mask,” the fire department said. “Although Bling did suffer some smoke inhalation, his outlook is good!” [Twitter, Twitter]

News

Arlington Chamber Urges County Board to Avoid Tax Hikes, Despite Looming Budget Deficit

By Alex Koma

Published January 3, 2019 at 12:45PM

As Arlington leaders gear up to confront a yawning budget deficit in the new fiscal year, the county’s business community is delivering a message to officials holding the purse strings: cut spending, but don’t raise taxes.

The Arlington Chamber of Commerce recently staked out a series of local policy positions as 2019 gets rolling, and one of its biggest asks this year is that the “county government seek and adopt additional savings and economies of scale before considering any increase in the real estate tax burden.”

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published January 3, 2019 at 8:35AM | Updated January 3, 2019 at 8:56AM

Chamber Backs Amazon Incentives — “The Arlington Chamber of Commerce has provided its formal stamp of approval, supporting the planned Arlington County government incentive package for Amazon. The package ‘will have positive benefits for the Arlington community as a whole,’ the business organization said.” [InsideNova]

New County Finance Director Appointed — “Maria Meredith has been named Arlington County’s new Director of the Department of Management and Finance (DMF), effective January 14, 2019. She will be responsible for approximately 50 staff involved in the County’s financial operations, including management and budget, accounting, purchasing and real estate assessment.” [Arlington County]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published December 20, 2018 at 8:10AM

Christmas Travel Crunch Starts Today — “A record number of people are expected to travel this Christmas season, spurred on by economic comfort and relatively modest gas prices… This year INRIX, a traffic data firm, has forecast the very worst time for drivers to set out on the highways, and for the Washington region, that’s five days before Christmas, on Dec. 20, between 1:15 p.m. and 2:15 p.m.” [Washington Post]

County Manager Pans ART Service — “‘The ART bus performance, recently, stinks,’ Mark Schwartz said during a meeting with Arlington County Civic Federation delegates… In the second quarter of 2018, on-time performance dropped to 83 percent from 92 percent a year before, according to data provided to the county government’s Transit Advisory Committee. Ridership in that quarter was down 14 percent from a year before.” [InsideNova]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 28, 2018 at 8:50AM | Updated November 28, 2018 at 9:15AM

Still No Answers About Ghaisar Shooting — Tuesday was the one year anniversary of the death of Bijan Ghaisar, who was shot by U.S. Park Police officers. Thus far, Arlington County has declined to release the recording or transcript of 911 calls connected to the case. [WUSA 9]

Spotted: Beto and TMZ at DCA — Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), who narrowly lost his nationally-followed electoral challenge to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), was seen being interviewed by a TMZ producer outside of Reagan National Airport yesterday. [Twitter]