Arlington’s elected officials on the County Board and in Richmond appear to have different ideas on who should shoulder higher costs for Metro service.
As part of an annual legislative work session yesterday (Thursday), Board members pressed legislators to find more money in the state budget for transit. In response, two senior lawmakers asked why Northern Virginia localities refused to use a new revenue tool they had been given.
County leaders this week were criticized both for going too far, and not going far enough, in limiting the use of automated license-plate readers in the county.
Most who spoke on the topic at a town-hall meeting on Monday shared the view of Eric Lotke, who said county officials should permanently ban their use by local law enforcement.
The future of housing in Arlington was among the issues taking center stage at a town hall hosted by the County Board on Monday night.
Opinions were varied and without consensus, with some promoting looser zoning restrictions and others contending the county’s signature housing policy is counterproductive.
County leaders appear to be in an uphill battle trying to address community anger over a May police-involved shooting that killed a 33-year-old man along Columbia Pike.
Body-worn footage released last Friday was a “heavily edited, narrated theater piece designed to manufacture a narrative,” said Tia Alfred, one of several who voiced ongoing dissatisfaction at a town-hall meeting hosted by the County Board yesterday (Monday).
Revised rules for designating local historic districts in Arlington could create a more selective process for sending recommendations to the County Board.
County Board members over the summer approved a staff request to study the existing process for designating historic districts and propose potential changes.
County Board members have approved a sizeable increase in the cost of charging electric vehicles at county-owned facilities, saying it sets the program up for long-term success and expansion.
“It will enable us in the long term to make more of those investments,” Board member Maureen Coffey said on Oct. 20 as the charging fee was increased from 17.46 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity provided to 30 cents per kWh.
A proposed sidewalk in the Courthouse area has prompted debate among local residents, some of whom criticize the planned loss of parking spaces and trees.
County Board members on Oct. 17 voted to approve construction of a five-foot sidewalk along two blocks on the west side of N. Cleveland Street between 12th Street N. and Fairfax Drive.
The county government has found a new, if temporary, location to store snow during the coming winter season.
County Manager Mark Schwartz on Tuesday (Oct. 20) told County Board members that the local government has reached an agreement with the owners of the former Key Bridge Marriott site to use it for depositing snow after storms.
The Arlington County Board is suing the Trump administration over worries about potential interference at polling places during the midterm elections.
The federal lawsuit filed yesterday (Tuesday) centers on recent statements from leaders at the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, which the County Board alleges threaten voter safety and have caused county leaders to divert significant resources to plan for potential conflicts with federal agents.
Arlington police expect to release footage of a fatal officer-involved shooting by Friday after sharp remarks from County Board members over the weekend.
Police Chief Andy Penn on Tuesday (Oct. 20) told County Board members that plans to release body-worn camera footage of the May 8 incident are in their final stages. Police also intend to seek public comment on a policy that will guide the handling of such incidents in the future.
Arlington’s police chief intends to continue defending automated license-plate readers amid evolving conversations about the technology.
Despite the County Board’s recent vote to remove all Flock Safety cameras from public land in Arlington, at an Oct. 13 presentation to the Arlington County Civic Federation, Police Chief Andy Penn said that similar surveillance technology performs valuable work.
A deadline to release footage of a fatal Columbia Pike police shooting came and went on Friday, prompting criticisms at this weekend’s County Board meeting.
County Manager Mark Schwartz said on Saturday that he anticipates body-worn camera footage from the May incident will be released to the public by later this week. That did not satisfy a number of County Board members and others, who had expected footage in advance of the meeting.
