County Board | ARLnow.com

County Mulls $88K for Farmhouse Repair Project

Published January 23, 2014 at 11:15AM

The Arlington County Board is likely to approve $87,950 at its meeting on Saturday for a contractor to come up with a plan for stabilizing the deteriorating house and to removing lead-based paint on the building’s exterior. The sole source contract is on the Board’s consent agenda, meaning it’s scheduled to be approved without discussion.

“This design services contract will provide the construction documents needed for the initial work to restore the Reeves farmhouse: to stabilize the foundation, provide a full depth basement and recommendations for the abatement of lead based paint on the farmhouse exterior and adjacent soil,” the staff report says.

News

Higher Bids Push Cost of New Playground to $579K

By ARLnow.com

Published January 22, 2014 at 2:30PM

A new playground is coming to Glencarlyn Park, pending Arlington County Board approval on Saturday.

The playground, for children 5-12 years old, will complement an existing tot playground at the park for 2-5 year olds. It will feature a “treehouse” log play structure, a swing set, seesaw, a dry creek bed adjacent to a sand/boulder play area, benches, interpretive signage and cattail spinners.

Around Town

County Staff Pulls Back on Proposed Patio Restrictions for Velocity 5

By ARLnow.com

Published January 22, 2014 at 10:00AM

In December, county staff recommended that Velocity 5’s popular outdoor patio be forced to stop serving food and drink at 11:00 p.m., in response to “community concerns about noise.” That’s despite a report from the police department saying that noise complaints were down by 50 percent.

The owners of Velocity 5’s Courthouse location, which changed hands in early 2013, rallied supporters via social media after learning of the staff recommendation. Dozens showed up at the Dec. 17 County Board meeting where the proposal — part of the renewal of Velocity 5’s live entertainment permit — was under consideration. The Board ended up deferring the proposal until January to allow staff more time to work with the owners.

Around Town

Staff Recommends Revoking Pines of Italy Entertainment Permit

By Ethan Rothstein

Published January 21, 2014 at 11:30AM

The restaurant/nightclub/hookah bar was approved for the permit in March 2013, but, according to the county staff’s report, its owner never scheduled a meeting with the Arlington Heights Civic Association, which was a requirement of the permit. In addition, the restaurant was allegedly operating with live music on Thursday nights, which was not allowed by the permit.

The permit was scheduled for review in March, but because of the lack of compliance, as well as issues with the police and the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, staff recommended the Board review the license two months early.

Opinion

The Right Note: Talk is Cheap

By Mark Kelly

Published January 9, 2014 at 3:00PM

The Right Note is a weekly opinion column published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

In it, I commented on the false choice Chris Zimmerman often offers to Arlingtonians. If you have listened to his speeches, he often paints a picture that people either believe the government is capable of doing good things or nothing at all.

News

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Published January 8, 2014 at 8:45AM

Fisette Staying Out of Confederate Name Issue — Arlington County Board Chairman Jay Fisette said he has too much other business to worry about in the coming months to get involved with the request to remove the name “Jefferson Davis” from Arlington roads. Fisette says he’s sensitive to the reasons behind the request to remove the Confederate leader’s name, but the process for removal is laborious and has to go through the state. [Sun Gazette]

Burst Pipe at Reagan National Airport — Trader Joe’s in Clarendon certainly wasn’t the only business affected by a burst water pipe during Tuesday’s cold weather. Some pipes burst at Reagan National Airport yesterday afternoon and flooded the area near the baggage claim terminals for American Airlines and United Airlines. [DCist]

News

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Published January 3, 2014 at 9:15AM

Campaign to Remove Confederate Name from Roads — An Alcova Heights resident has asked county officials to remove the name “Jefferson Davis” from Arlington roadways. He says its tie to slavery and segregation is offensive. County officials, however, point out that the removal process is complicated and would require state approval. [Sun Gazette]

Will Board Candidates Support the Streetcar? — There are questions regarding what will happen to the Columbia Pike streetcar project now that one of its biggest supporters — Chris Zimmerman — is stepping down from the Arlington County Board. So far, no candidates vying for his spot have come forward as outright supporters of the project, although two — independent John Vihstadt and Libertarian Evan Bernick — have voiced opposition to it. [Greater Greater Washington]

News

Dems Schedule Five County Board Debates

By Ethan Rothstein

Published January 2, 2014 at 3:35PM | Updated January 2, 2014 at 5:36PM

Alan Howze, Peter Fallon and Cord Thomas all announced their candidacies for the seat at the Arlington County Democratic Committee’s December meeting, and a nominee will be chosen in an instant run-off vote during unassembled caucuses on Thursday, Jan. 30 at Key Elementary School (2300 Key Blvd) from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 1 at Kenmore Middle School (200 S. Carlin Springs Road) from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Four of the five planned debates are sponsored by the ACDC, and the fifth will be hosted by the Arlington Young Democrats on Jan. 15.

Opinion

The Right Note: Ringing in the New Year

By Mark Kelly

Published January 2, 2014 at 1:30PM

The Right Note is a weekly opinion column published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

We learned that the Board has jettisoned the idea of using any federal dollars for the Columbia Pike trolley project. Outgoing Chairman Walter Tejada even suggested accelerating the process now that federal dollars were no longer in the equation. Each defender of the trolley repeated a core message in their speeches yesterday: we decided to build this boondoggle project over the past decade — to question us, or turn back now, is unacceptable.

News

New Board Chair Fisette Makes Economic Development 2014 Priority

By Ethan Rothstein

Published January 2, 2014 at 12:30PM

Fisette, who will serve as chairman for the fourth time since being elected to the board in 1998, made economic development, school capacity, affordable housing and the environment his top priorities for the coming year. Fisette also reiterated, along with outgoing chairman Walter Tejada and newly-elected Vice Chair Mary Hynes, his support for the Columbia Park streetcar project.

“We in Arlington have always welcomed change, carefully managed with broad community involvement and thoughtful review,” Fisette said at the beginning of his remarks. “Sound planning and adaptability are two of our civic strengths.”

News

Libertarian Announces for County Board

By ARLnow.com

Published January 2, 2014 at 10:05AM

Bernick, a legal fellow for the conservative Heritage Foundation, says he wants to reduce spending, cut taxes and require that County Board members be elected by district, rather than at-large.

The date of the special election will be set after Zimmerman formally resigns — which is expected by the end of the month.

Opinion

The Right Note: Opening Day

By Mark Kelly

Published December 26, 2013 at 3:15PM

The Right Note is a weekly opinion column published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Another thing to expect from the Jan. 1 speeches is some good old fashioned Republican-bashing. County Board members usually spend some quality time blaming Republicans in Washington and Richmond. In general, all failures of leadership will be declared to be Republicans’ fault. This is always an interesting perspective from an all-Democratic County Board who rarely takes responsibility for its mistakes.