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Coyote Spottings in Arlington? — Some residents in the Leeway Overlee area of Arlington have recently reported spotting a coyote in their neighborhood. While video has proven the presence of coyotes — or at least one coyote — in Arlington, naturalists question whether the animal spotted might actually be a fox or a mangy dog. [NBC Washington]

GOP AG Debate at GMU Law Tonight — The George Mason University School of Law in Arlington will host a debate between the two Republican candidates for Virginia Attorney General tonight. The event, which is open to the public, will start at 7:30 p.m. and will be moderated by former attorney general and governor Jim Gilmore. [Republican National Lawyers Association]


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Schools, Gov’t Offices Closed Today — Arlington Public Schools are closed today for all classes and activities. All Arlington County offices, libraries, courts, schools, community centers and nature centers are closed. Federal government offices are also closed. ART bus service has been suspended for the day and Metro bus and rail service has been suspended for at least the morning.

Candidates Night Canceled — A local candidates debate scheduled for tonight at 7:00 has been cancelled. The debate was to be held at Resurrection Lutheran Church (6201 Washington Blvd) and was sponsored by a number of north Arlington civic association. In lieu of the debate, an informal candidate meet and greet may be held, weather permitting, at the Westover Beer Garden (5863 Washington Blvd) at 7:00 p.m. [Facebook]


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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.


Events

The private fundraiser will start at 6:15 p.m. tonight (Thursday) and is being held in advance of the vice presidential debate, which airs at 9:00 p.m. The event includes a roundtable meeting, a VIP photo reception, and a general reception that starts at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets for the fundraiser range in price from $100 to $5,000 and benefit the Romney campaign.


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We’ve already established that Arlington is a company town — with some 46 percent of respondents to our poll saying they work for the federal government or a government contractor.

Since government is the predominant local industry, one would think that last night’s presidential debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney would have been the programming of choice on most local TVs. But was that actually the case? Let’s find out.


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Local Parties to Hold Debate Watching Parties — Local Republicans and Democrats will be holding viewing parties for the first of the 2012 presidential debates tonight. The Arlington Republican viewing party will be held at Mad Rose Tavern in Clarendon (3100 Clarendon Blvd). The Arlington Democratic viewing party will be held at Bailey’s Pub & Grille in Ballston (4238 Wilson Blvd).

Parents Say Bus Changes Are Taking a Toll — Students are not performing as well academically and at least one mom lost her job as a result of changes to the County’s school bus policies, according to a group of parents. Parents of Campbell Elementary students are planning to carpool — to Thursday’s School Board meeting, to voice their concerns. [WTOP]


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While Independent Jason Howell and Independent Green candidate Janet Murphy focused on changing the current state of affairs by overcoming partisan battles, Republican Patrick Murray largely set his sights on taking jabs at incumbent Jim Moran (D).

Murray said one topic he actually agrees with President Obama on is disgust over certain members of Congress using privileged information to benefit on Wall Street deals. He aimed his insider trading frustrations directly at Moran.


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Garvey’s main push is for more communication and transparency in government.

“I think we’re having a little trouble keeping our priorities straight. Is it all about education, infrastructure, public safety? Or is it all about Artispheres and street cars and that sort of thing,” Garvey said. “I think we need to be very clear about our priorities and make them our core services.”


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Romney Wins Va. Primary — Mitt Romney won Virginia’s Republican presidential primary yesterday, capturing 59.5 percent of the vote statewide. The only other candidate who qualified for the ballot, Ron Paul, received 40.5 percent of the vote. In Arlington, Romney received 64.6 percent of the vote to 35.4 percent for Ron Paul. Voter turnout was light, as expected. A total of 7,623 votes were cast in Arlington, representing 5 percent of registered voters and 6.3 percent of active voters.

County Board Candidates Square Off at Forum — The three candidates for County Board squared off last night at a candidates forum organized by the Arlington County Civic Federation. Democrat Libby Garvey was flanked by Republican Mark Kelly and Green Party candidate Audrey Clement, who together called for less spending and for the creation of an independent inspector general to monitor county spending. Kelly and Clement also took turns bashing the planned Columbia Pike streetcar. [Sun Gazette, Sun Gazette]


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County Board Debate Scheduled — The six Democratic candidates for County Board, along with Green Party hopeful Audrey Clement, have been invited to participate in a candidate’s night debate on Tuesday, Jan. 10. The debate, which is sponsored by a number of civic associations as well as the Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance, will take place at McKinley Elementary (1050 McKinley Road) at 7:30 p.m. The Arlington County Democratic Committee has also scheduled its own candidate forum.

Petraeus Spotted in Shirlington — CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus was reportedly spotted eating and drinking with his wife at Guapo’s in Shirlington Village over the weekend. Petraeus isn’t the only powerful Guapo’s fan: House Speaker John Boehner has also been spotted there several times. [Shirlington Village Blog Spot]


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Merrick started out the night with a stump speech that focused on her background as a successful businesswoman and on her desire “streamline regulation and taxation so we can unleash the entrepreneurial spirit.” During the speech Merrick, a McLean resident, tried to strike a bipartisan tone.

“I am not running as a partisan, I’m running to represent every one in this district,” she said. “I am not running on social issues.”


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“Merrick, who is running against Democrat Barbara Favola for the 31st state Senate seat, has declined to appear at a number of joint appearances in Arlington,” McCaffrey wrote. “It’s happened so often, it must be a strategy rather than a series of coincidences.”

While skipping neighborhood-level political debates may not seem on its face like a great strategy, one wonders how much damage it could really do.


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