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Morning Notes

Published December 28, 2018 at 8:55AM

Flood Watch in Effect — Expect periods of rain today. The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch for much of the region through late tonight. “Excessive runoff from already saturated soils will cause the potential for streams and creeks to rise out of their banks as well as flooding in low lying urban areas,” forecasters say. [Weather.gov, Twitter]

Arlington Doesn’t Want to Pick Fight Over J-D Hwy — “The Arlington County government’s efforts to rename its portion of Jefferson Davis Highway could face familiar legislative roadblocks in 2019. But County Board members say they have no interest in forcing a confrontation with the General Assembly on the matter.” [InsideNova]

News

March of Dimes Moving HQ to Crystal City, Will Get $150,000 in County Incentives

By Alex Koma

Published December 17, 2018 at 11:45AM

An office building at 1550 Crystal Drive (via Google Maps)

The March of Dimes is officially moving its headquarters to Crystal City, now that county leaders have signed off on a $150,000 incentive package to lure the nonprofit to Arlington.

The County Board approved a deal with the research and advocacy organization at its meeting Saturday (Dec. 17). The March of Dimes will now move its main offices from White Plains, New York to an office building at 1550 Crystal Drive, bringing 80 jobs to the county in the process.

News

Vihstadt Farewell Remarks from Saturday’s County Board Meeting

By ARLnow.com

Published December 17, 2018 at 9:15AM | Updated December 17, 2018 at 9:37AM

John Vihstadt being honored at the Dec. 15, 2018 Arlington County Board meeting

Outgoing Arlington County Board member John Vihstadt said goodbye, at least for now, to public office on Saturday.

A ceremony was held at Saturday’s County Board meeting to honor Vihstadt and his four years of service on the Board. Fellow Board members and members of the public spoke glowingly of Vihstadt’s work ethic, commitment to serving constituents and ability to find common ground amid disagreement.

News

County Gears Up to Ask for Millions for Lee Highway Changes, Including Dedicated Bus, HOV Lane

By Alex Koma

Published December 13, 2018 at 12:45PM

Arlington is gearing up to ask for millions in I-66 toll revenue to fund a series of changes along Lee Highway, including the creation of a dedicated bus and HOV lane along the road during rush hours.

The County Board is set to sign off this weekend on funding requests for six transportation projects, totaling $6.9 million, four of which focus on reducing traffic along Lee Highway as it runs from Rosslyn to East Falls Church.

News

New Report Shows County Continues to Lag Behind Affordable Housing Goals

By Alex Koma

Published December 12, 2018 at 1:45PM

The Park Shirlington apartments (via Park Shirlington)

Arlington officials managed to create or preserve 515 homes guaranteed to remain affordable to low-income renters this year — but the size of that number masks the fact that the county still isn’t meeting its own affordable housing goals.

In a report released this week evaluating Arlington’s progress toward fulfilling the standards of its “Affordable Housing Master Plan,” county housing staffers trumpeted the 221 new “committed affordable” units officials helped developers build in Fiscal Year 2018.

News

County Calls Off Plans to Buy Springfield Property for New Bus Maintenance Facility, Saving Millions

By Alex Koma

Published December 10, 2018 at 2:45PM

Arlington officials are calling off plans to buy a two-acre site in Fairfax County for a new bus maintenance facility, a move they expect will save the county millions over the years.

The County Board voted unanimously Friday (Dec. 7) to cancel its contract to spend $4.65 million on a site along the 6700 block of Electronic Drive in Springfield, originally designated as the future home of a “heavy maintenance facility” for Arlington Transit buses.

News

State Lawmakers Fear Amazon’s Arrival Won’t Be Enough to Spur Jefferson Davis Hwy Name Change

By Alex Koma

Published December 10, 2018 at 1:45PM | Updated December 11, 2018 at 10:58AM

With Amazon coming to town, Arlington leaders believe the time is ripe to finally change the name of Jefferson Davis Highway — and some of their allies in Richmond are ready to hit the gas on that effort, even as others look to pump the brakes.

Once again, the County Board plans to ask the General Assembly for the authority to remove the former Confederate president’s name from its section of the state-owned Route 1. Alexandria leaders have already taken a similar step, but state lawmakers have repeatedly refused to grant Arlington the permission to make such a change over the years.

News

Cristol Joins Effort Calling on General Assembly to Step Up Education Funding

By Alex Koma

Published December 4, 2018 at 2:45PM

Arlington County Board Chair Katie Cristol is joining a statewide push for more education funding, calling on the General Assembly to send more cash to local school systems.

Cristol, a Democrat, is standing with leaders from 10 other Virginia localities in supporting the “March for More,” a demonstration in Richmond set for this Saturday (Dec. 8). Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney (D) is coordinating the effort and has made school funding a key focus of his administration.

News

Amazon-Focused Town Hall Reveals Community Concerns Over Tech Giant’s Power

By Alex Koma

Published December 4, 2018 at 1:45PM

How might lowly local officials be able to bring one of the world’s largest companies to heel?

That’s the prime question on the minds of many Arlington and Alexandria residents worried about how Amazon might soon reshape their communities.

News

County Plans Hiring ‘Slowdown’ to Cope With Mounting Budget Pressures

By Alex Koma

Published December 3, 2018 at 3:45PM

County Manager Mark Schwartz is calling for a “hiring slowdown” for Arlington’s government, choosing to leave dozens of positions vacant while county officials mull how to cope with a yawning budget deficit.

Schwartz told the County Board last Tuesday (Nov. 27) that he isn’t planning a full hiring freeze for the county workforce, but he will nonetheless direct 10 department heads to hold off on hiring across 45 different positions for the foreseeable future.

News

After Earning Key County Approval, VHC Leaders See Plenty of Work Left on Expansion Plans

By Alex Koma

Published November 29, 2018 at 1:45PM

A new rendering of the Virginia Hospital Center expansion, as seen from 19th Street N. (via Arlington County)

The Virginia Hospital Center might’ve finally won the county’s approval on designs for a hefty new expansion of its North Arlington campus, but officials have months of work left to do before neighbors will start seeing any construction in the area.

Years from now, the hospital will add a seven-story outpatient facility and a 10-story parking garage to its property at 1701 N. George Mason Drive, after the County Board narrowly approved plans for the $250 million project on Tuesday. The expansion will ultimately help the county’s lone hospital add 101 new beds, in a bid to match rising demand in the area.

News

County Officials Wrestle With Legal Strategies to Keep Young Riders Off Dockless Scooters

By Alex Koma

Published November 29, 2018 at 9:45AM

Arlington will soon see even more dockless electric scooters cropping up on its streets, but officials remain a bit vexed about the best way to keep underage riders off the vehicles.

While county transportation officials say they haven’t seen any major safety issues with the scooters beyond a handful of accidents, they also told the County Board Tuesday that the community response to the pilot program expanding the number of dockless vehicles in Arlington has been far from unanimously positive. In all, county commuter services bureau chief Jim Larsen told the Board that his department has received 550 scooter-related complaints from Oct. 1 through Nov. 19.