Arlington County Board Chair Mary Hynes had her chair “yarn bombed” at this afternoon’s Board meeting.
A group called the “Guerilla Stitch Brigade” created a colorful, monogrammed yarn cover for Hynes’ chair and presented it to her at the meeting. Hynes, whose gavel was also covered in yarn, seemed delighted.
Republican County Board candidate Matt Wavro has an idea for the millions of dollars of unspent tax revenue typically left over at the end of the county’s fiscal year.
Instead of simply finding a way to spend the money or putting the money in reserve, as Arlington County does now, Wavro wants to see the “close-out funds” returned to county residential and commercial property holders in the form of a tax rebate. As the Sun Gazette reports, Wavro presented the idea at the County Board meeting on Saturday, saying that the county should provide tax relief after years of tax rate increases.
Campbell Students Allowed Back on Bus — Students who were bused to Campbell Elementary School last year but were judged to be in the “walk zone” this year will be allowed back on the bus. Arlington Public Schools made the decision to diverge from its controversial Transportation Modernization Plan after 20 families threatened to pull their children from Campbell and enroll them at their neighborhood school, Carlin Springs Elementary, which is over capacity. [Arlington Mercury]
Fairfax Wants Say in Arlington School Expansion — Officials in Fairfax County want to review and analyze the Arlington Public Schools plan to add 300 middle school students and 600 elementary school students to the Williamsburg Middle School campus, which is near McLean. Fairfax officials are concerned about the traffic impact to McLean neighborhoods. [Sun Gazette]
Among the proposed changes, county staff is recommending an increase in the fine for a noise violation from $25 to a maximum of $2,500. Jail time would also be possible under the revised ordinance.
The county started the process of revising the ordinance in 2009, which the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that a provision in Virginia Beach’s noise control ordinance — a “reasonable person” standard for judging noise violations — was “unconstitutionally void due to its vagueness.”
As part of this year’s taxicab certificate allocation process, Donnellan is recommending that a total of 65 additional taxis be added to the county’s existing licensed fleet of 765 cabs. Among the companies receiving a recommended allocation from Donnellan is an Arlington-based upstart, EV Taxicabs.
In addition to being all-electric, the cabs will be equipped with a high-speed 4G WiFi hotspot and an Apple iPad, both for passenger use. The cabs will be dispatched using what’s described as a “state-of-the-art cloud-based dispatch solution… running on Samsung Galaxy 7 tablet.” Passengers will be able to book the cabs via smart phone or the company’s website.
The participants were the three candidates for Arlington County Board: incumbent Democrat Libby Garvey, Green Party candidate Audrey Clement and Republican Matt Wavro.
Despite the fact that the audience lives north of Route 50, in a neighborhood that has plenty of concerns about traffic, development, aircraft noise and other issues, the main topic of the debate was the Columbia Pike streetcar. The streetcar so dominated the first half of the debate that the moderator had to eventually ask the audience to refrain from asking about it.
The Reevesland Learning Center is a group of Bluemont, Boulevard Manor and Dominion Hills residents who want to convert the Reevesland property (at 400 N. Manchester Street, near Bluemont Park) to a center for learning about “the science and practice of growing and eating healthy foods and building relationships.”
The group has been trying for more than a year to convince Arlington County to embrace its vision for the farmhouse, which has remained mostly dormant since it was purchased by the county following the death of owner Nelson Reeves — Arlington’s last dairy farmer — in 2000.
The Arlington County Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to grant the permit, which will allow the Greene Turtle to host bands and DJs inside the restaurant. Live entertainment will be permitted between 5:00 p.m. and midnight Sunday-Wednesday, and from 5:00 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Thursday-Saturday and on certain holidays, like Cinco de Mayo, Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day.
Initially, the Greene Turtle also requested live entertainment outside on its patio, but dropped the request after encountering neighborhood opposition. Before Tuesday’s vote, representatives from the restaurant noted that the music from inside will not be broadcast outside by way of speakers, another neighborhood concern.
Park Contracts Approved — The Arlington County Board has voted unanimously to approve contracts for improvements to two county parks. The tiny 0.6 acre Nauck Park at 2600 19th Street S. will get a renovated restroom, new swings, a slide and a “spinner bowl.” Virginia Highlands Park, at 1600 S. Hayes Street, will get the county’s fourth “sprayground” park for children. [Arlington County]
Bus Stop Moved Away from Sex Offender — An Arlington mom has succeeded in getting Arlington Public Schools to move her middle-school-aged daughter’s bus stop further away from a convicted sex offender’s house. The stop was six homes away from the man’s house. APS spokeswoman Linda Erdos called WUSA 9’s story on the situation a “cheap shot.” [WUSA 9]
The Board had previously deferred the issue at its April meeting in an effort to give the business owners more time to prove themselves worthy of being granted a permit. Similar to past meetings, residents from the surrounding area showed up on Saturday to voice concerns about issuing the permit. They cited the property’s history of consistent problems with patrons being violent and noisy. Some neighbors noted how peaceful the neighborhood has been for approximately six months because there has been no live entertainment on the site.
“The past six months have been a welcome reprieve from some of the extreme loud noise and violence,” said resident Aristia Glinka.
At 24 stories and 719,704 square feet, the building — 1900 Crystal Drive — will be second only to the Pentagon in Arlington in terms of floor space.
(Alhough 1900 Crystal Drive will be the tallest in Crystal City, the 580,000 square foot, 35-story office building currently under construction at 1812 N. Moore Street in Rosslyn is still expected to be the tallest countywide.)
Board members deferred the issue at their April meeting, when a number of neighbors spoke out against allowing the permit. The restaurant co-owners were given five months to establish the business as one that police do not have to visit regularly, and to improve relations with neighbors.
The county staff report indicates that police have not encountered problems at the site during the past five months. There were also no complaints from community members. Additionally, the owners attended an Arlington Heights Civic Association meeting, and are working with county staff on conditions for allowing the permit.
