County Board | ARLnow.com

Audrey Clement: Why You Should Vote For Me

Published November 5, 2012 at 2:45PM

Audrey Clement at the Arlington Civic Federation debate in 2012

Here is the unedited response from Audrey Clement (G):

I’m eight year resident of Arlington County with a doctorate in Political Science and service as a Congressional Fellow. As a long time Green Party leader and civic activist, I’ve worked hard to promote a better quality of life for Arlington residents. As treasurer of the Arlington Coalition for Sensible Transportation, I filed suit in 2009 to compel VDOT to assess alternatives to piecemeal widening of I-66 westbound. VDOT went ahead with the Spot Improvement project anyhow. Yet persistent two mile backups on westbound I-66 show that I was right.

News

Matt Wavro: Why You Should Vote For Me

By ARLnow.com

Published November 5, 2012 at 1:45PM

Here is the unedited response from Matt Wavro (R):

I am running for the Arlington County Board because we need to elect a new voice to make sure that all voices are heard. Arlington residents deserve a County Board Member who will stand up and ensure their concerns are fully considered by the County Board. Arlington faces significant challenges and I will work to make sure that everyone has a voice in local government and not narrowly rely on a one-party echo chamber to guide governmental decisions that have a wide ranging impact on our community’s future.

News

Libby Garvey: Why You Should Vote For Me

By ARLnow.com

Published November 5, 2012 at 12:45PM

Here is the unedited response from incumbent Libby Garvey (D):

I am a proven collaborative leader and have helped lead change in Arlington for over 15 years, first on the School Board and now on the County Board. I’ve helped make our schools among the best in the nation. I know how to do the work of a board member and have already established important relationships around the region and across the state. The relationships and networks I’ve built will continue to serve Arlington well as we work on issues like transit, affordable housing and development.

News

Transportation Commission Recommends Against All-Electric Cabs

By ARLnow.com

Published November 5, 2012 at 9:00AM

While the commission was supportive of the idea of more environmentally-friendly cabs in Arlington, it expressed doubts that the proposal — from Arlington-based startup EV Taxicabs — was feasible.

The company is proposing a taxi fleet of Nissan Leaf electric vehicles, each equipped with 4G WiFi hotspots and iPads for passenger use, plus a network of publicly-accessible electric vehicle chargers around Arlington. A commission member said it’s a good idea in theory, but in practice electric cabs — which would have a range of 60 to 105 miles on a single charge — could present a problem for passengers and drivers.

News

Candidates Make Final Push Before Election

By Katie Pyzyk

Published October 31, 2012 at 4:45PM | Updated October 31, 2012 at 6:49PM

“A lot of people wait until the last week to tune in to make their decision. People in Arlington have busy lives and we want to give them an opportunity to check in if they haven’t checked in yet,” said Matt Wavro, Republican candidate for Arlington County Board. “We’re making a last minute push to get the message out as far as we can. We will be at Metro stations handing out literature and continue talking with voters in every form we can get to to make sure the message gets out. It’s a sprint to the finish line.”

One of Wavro’s opponents, Green Party candidate Audrey Clement, agreed that last minute campaigning could sway voters.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 26, 2012 at 9:10AM | Updated October 26, 2012 at 10:06AM

Election Board Calms Election Fraud Fears — Don’t worry about election shenanigans in Arlington, says the Arlington Electoral Board. The board is made up of two Republicans and one Democrat. At the Arlington County Republican Committee meeting on Oct. 24, Republican board member Scott McGeary said the county’s election staff will “make certain we have the utmost ballot integrity.” Local Republicans have been fearful of a “stolen election” in recent days, given the release of a video depicting Rep. Jim Moran’s son discussing ways to fraudulently cast ballots. [Sun Gazette]

Proposed Courthouse Office Building Still in Limbo — The ‘Clean Technology Center‘ — a new office building proposed for the 2300 block of Wilson Boulevard in Courthouse — had a vote on its site plan postponed by the Arlington County Board on Tuesday. The Board and local residents have been critical of the building’s design and its purported lack of public benefits. [Arlington Mercury]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 24, 2012 at 8:25AM | Updated October 24, 2012 at 8:45AM

Board Votes Against Taxi Driver Proposal — By a contentious vote of 3-2, the Arlington County Board last night voted against a proposal that would allow taxicab drivers to be issued taxi operating certificates on an individual basis. Currently, only taxi companies are granted certificates in Arlington. County Board Chair Mary Hynes, along with Jay Fisette and Libby Garvey, voted against the proposal, arguing that the current system is working well for riders. Chris Zimmerman and Walter Tejada took the side of a coalition of taxi drivers that has been pushing for a driver-based certificate system. [Sun Gazette]

Meetings for Noise Control Ordinance — Updated at 8:45 a.m. — The County Board last night voted unanimously to defer a scheduled hearing on a series of proposed changes to the county’s noise control ordinance. Instead, two public meetings will be held to discuss the changes, in advance of a Board vote on advertising and holding a public hearing on the revisions. The first meeting will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 13, from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. at the 2012 Navy League Building (2300 Wilson Boulevard). The second will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 14, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Shirlington Branch Library (4200 Campbell Street). [Arlington County]

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County Board Chair Gets ‘Yarn Bombed’

By ARLnow.com

Published October 23, 2012 at 3:40PM

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.

Opinion

Morning Poll: Tax Rebates for Arlington Property Owners?

By ARLnow.com

Published October 23, 2012 at 9:55AM

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.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 22, 2012 at 8:55AM

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]

News

Hefty New Fines Proposed for Noise Ordinance

By ARLnow.com

Published October 19, 2012 at 2:40PM

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.”

News

All-Electric, WiFi-Enabled Cabs Get Nod from County Manager

By ARLnow.com

Published October 16, 2012 at 5:05PM

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.