county government | ARLnow.com

Striking ART Bus Drivers Fired, County Reacts

Published June 23, 2011 at 9:25AM

In a statement, Forsythe said the drivers were fired for violating a clause in their contract that prevented them from striking unless the company violated terms of an arbitration.

“We knew that this could happen, but we were surprised by the number of terminations,” Arlington County Transit Bureau Chief Stephen Del Giudice told ARLnow.com. “It’s a regrettable situation all the way around… It’s regrettable that drivers took the job action, and its regrettable that Forsythe felt the need to terminate the employees.”

Around Town

Slow Progress on Courthouse Plaza Brick Work

By ARLnow.com

Published June 10, 2011 at 1:04PM

We’re told by a source that the project will most likely not be completed this month, the anticipated completion date that TBD.com reported in February. No official word yet on how much longer the project might take. Multiple calls seeking information from the owner of Courthouse Plaza, Vornado Charles E. Smith, have gone unreturned over the past week.

Courthouse Plaza is the home of restaurants, small shops, a movie theater, a hotel, county government’s main office building and a Courthouse Metro entrance. The project has resulted in a gauntlet of fences around the plaza, and the displacement of some outdoor seating, but access to businesses and Metro has been maintained.

Weather

Following Storms, Power Outage Hits Courthouse

By ARLnow.com

Published June 10, 2011 at 2:37AM | Updated June 10, 2011 at 2:57AM

As of 2:30 a.m., 1,734 Dominion customers were without power in Arlington. The outage was said to be centered in the Courthouse and Clarendon area, along Wilson and Clarendon Boulevards.

In addition to restaurants and commercial offices, the outage also hit county government buildings in Courthouse. Some of the county’s internal computer networks were said to have been knocked offline by the outage. Firefighters responded to the county jail after the emergency generator reportedly failed to start, leaving the facility in the dark.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 8, 2011 at 8:27AM

High Temperatures, High Humidity — With temperatures expected to soar to just below 100 degrees today, the National Weather Service has placed the region under a Heat Advisory. “Drink plenty of fluids… stay in an air conditioned room… stay out of the sun… [and] take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside,” NWS cautions. The area is also under a ‘Code Orange’ air quality alert, meaning that air pollution concentrations “may become unhealthy for sensitive groups.” [Weather Channel]

Rosslyn Concert Moved Indoors — Due to the excessive heat, the lunchtime concert that normally takes place in Rosslyn’s Central Space plaza has been moved to the Artisphere (1101 Wilson Blvd) ballroom. Local group The Joe Rathbone Trio will perform in air conditioned comfort from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 27, 2011 at 6:00AM

Where Are the GOP Candidates? — So far, Arlington Republicans have not been able to find a single candidate willing to run in any of this year’s six county government races. The last time a Republican was elected to the County Board was the late 1990s. [Sun Gazette]

Police Looking for Missing D.C. Man — Police are hoping for the public’s help in finding a missing D.C. man. Matthew Hill, 26, was reported missing on Tuesday. His last debit card transaction was recorded at noon on Tuesday at an Exxon gas station in Arlington. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is encouraged to call D.C. police. [WUSA]

News

Fitch Affirms Arlington’s ‘AAA’ Bond Rating

By ARLnow.com

Published May 25, 2011 at 10:52AM | Updated May 25, 2011 at 4:29PM

With the sale of more than $200 million in bonds coming up, Arlington got some good news yesterday from one of the bond rating agencies.

Fitch Ratings affirmed Arlington’s ‘AAA’ rating and said that its rating outlook is ‘stable.’

Around Town

Video Throwback: The County’s New Web Site in 1997

By ARLnow.com

Published May 4, 2011 at 8:00AM

It’s hard to believe this video is only 14 years old, because for many of the internet generation it will feel like ancient history.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 17, 2011 at 6:00AM | Updated March 7, 2024 at 1:53PM

Spring Cleaning For Bikes — Forecasts suggest we’re in for two very nice days to end the work week. It’s going to be warm enough that many seasonal cyclists may be thinking about dusting off their bike for a spin. Local cycling advocate Mark Blacknell has advice for getting your bike into proper riding condition after a winter in storage. [Patch]

Gas Company Urges Residents to Report Leaks — A public forum about gas leaks didn’t attract a large crowd, but it did feature officials from Washington Gas who asked residents to report leaks as soon as they smell them. [Sun Gazette]

News

County Sees Revenue Loss As State Funds Dry Up

By ARLnow.com

Published March 16, 2011 at 9:56AM | Updated March 16, 2011 at 12:23PM

Arlington has had to make service cuts in each of the past two budgets as taxes and other revenue sources dried up. After 2009, assessed property values suffered their first year-over-year decline since 1995, prompting the county to hike property taxes to make up for what otherwise would have been a dramatic loss of revenue.

When it comes to real estate taxes, the county can always increase the tax rate for an expected revenue shortfall. But one area that’s largely out of the county’s control is the funds it receives from the state. And in the past four years, overall state funding to Arlington County — excluding schools — has dropped $18 million.

News

Should Employers Have Let Employees Out Earlier?

By ARLnow.com

Published January 27, 2011 at 12:30PM

With the federal government getting out only two hours early, the roadways were already jammed with traffic as heavy snow started to fall around 4:00 p.m.

“Instead of having a staggered rush hour, like you typically do, you had everybody leaving at the same time… right as the storm hit,” said state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller. “Roads started deteriorating rapidly, and the vehicles started sliding into one another.”

News

Parking To Get Cheaper in Certain Areas

By ARLnow.com

Published January 10, 2011 at 9:15AM

There are about 4,800 metered parking spaces in Arlington, according to Traffic Engineering and Operations Bureau Chief Wayne Wentz. After studying the occupancy rate of parking spaces around the county, officials decided to take action to improve the utilization of about 180 spaces that are on the fringes of commercial areas.

The rate at those spaces will be lowered from $1 per hour to $0.50 per hour for a six month “trial period.” After the trial period, county officials will evaluate the results of the change and decide what to do next.

News

A Busy Month for Water Main Breaks

By ARLnow.com

Published December 22, 2010 at 9:04AM | Updated December 22, 2010 at 9:34AM

Overnight, water crews responded to several small water main breaks around the county. The pace of the breaks was similar to a span of nine days earlier this month when, partially thanks to last week’s frigid temperatures, the bureau responded to 18 separate water main breaks.

Dave Hundelt, WSS’s Chief Operating Engineer, says the “rash” of ruptures is notable, but not particularly unusual this time of year. Most water main breaks happen when there are significant variations in temperature, or when it gets so cold that the ground around the pipes starts to freeze.