Arlington County is losing its top communications official.
Bryna Helfer, Assistant County Manager and Director of Communications and Public Engagement, will be departing from the county’s leadership ranks at the end of this month.
community engagement
This reporting was supported by the ARLnow Press Club. Join today to support in-depth local journalism — and get an exclusive morning preview of each day’s planned coverage.
Three years into his tenure as Penrose Neighborhood Association president, Alex Sakes can proudly say he got a grocery store to corral its shopping carts roaming Columbia Pike.
Tomorrow (Friday) is the last day to submit feedback on a proposed 370-unit apartment building in Crystal City.
The design is less than half the height recommended in the Crystal City Sector Plan, but developer JBG Smith argues that it would function on a more “human scale.”
In 2025, Arlington County will embark on a major project to rehabilitate the Gulf Branch stream.
Planning for the project began in 2019. The project was paused during the pandemic due to budget constraints but remained in focus due to the stream’s poor conditions today.
Go to County seeks public input as Gulf Branch restoration project design nears completion
Read more
The Arlington County Board is ringing in the New Year with a sweeping public engagement opportunity to envision what the county should look like in 2050.
Libby Garvey, named Chair during the Board’s annual organizational meeting yesterday (Tuesday), announced the forthcoming initiative during her remarks.
Arlington County will kick off the New Year with the next phase of engagement on its forthcoming plan to manage its deer population.
A study found two years ago that Arlington’s deer population exceeds healthy levels, with the county’s forested areas home to about 20 and 39 deer per square. About 1.5 years ago, the Dept. of Parks and Recreation began considering a management plan in response.
Drones could soon figure into the future of public safety in Arlington.
Arlington’s police and fire departments, the Sheriff’s Office and the Dept. of Public Safety Communications and Emergency Management are developing a joint program to use drones when responding to public safety and emergency incidents.
|
Two significant county plans — one governing stewardship of trees and natural resources and the other historic preservation — are reaching the finish line.
On Saturday, the Arlington County Board set hearings for both plans. Members will vote on adopting the plans at the hearings.
Arlington Public Schools has a new internal social media platform for families but its anonymous commenting policy prompted a tense discussion among some School Board members.
This year, the school system launched ThoughtExchange, which allows people to comment on topics or proposals administrators bring to the community for public comment. Users can also rank the comments others make 1-5 stars.
Hunting and sterilizing deer and fencing off parks are options Arlington County could pursue to cull its reportedly oversized, and hungry, deer population.
Over the last two years, consultants estimated Arlington has a herd of whitetail deer numbering 290 and, in some areas, the concentration exceeded “healthy” levels.
|
Six months ago, the Arlington County Board adopted ranked-choice voting for the upcoming Democratic primary.
Since then, the Arlington elections office has been busy educating anyone who asks on the method, which only applies to candidates for County Board.