election | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published April 8, 2014 at 9:00AM

Voting Now Underway — Voting is underway in the special election to fill the County Board seat vacated by Chris Zimmerman. Four candidates are on the ballot: Alan Howze, John Vihstadt, Stephen Holbrook and Janet Murphy. The polls will close tonight at 7:00 p.m. [Arlington County]

Special Olympics Championship Goes to Overtime — The Special Olympics division championship basketball game between the GMU Patriots and Arlington Blue went into overtime on Sunday. The annual tournament was held at Marymount University. [InsideNoVa]

News

Oprah Attends Political Fundraiser in Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

Published April 7, 2014 at 1:35PM

The event was held at the Crystal Gateway Marriott at 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway in Crystal City. Tickets for the fundraiser started at $150. At the high end, a $2,600 donation to the campaign came with reserved seating, admission to a VIP reception and a photo with Winfrey.

The fundraiser was closed to the press. The Chatman campaign issued a photo (above) and the following press release following the event.

News

Lopez Drops Out of Congressional Race

By ARLnow.com

Published April 4, 2014 at 3:00PM

Del. Alfonso Lopez (D) announced this afternoon that he’s ending his campaign for Congress.

Lopez was one of nearly a dozen candidates in the race to replace the retiring Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) His campaign issued the following press release today.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published April 3, 2014 at 9:05AM

Najarian Tries to Get on Ballot — Democratic candidate for Congress Nancy Najarian is trying to get on the ballot after authorities said she did not submit enough valid signatures to qualify. [Blue Virginia]

Winter Shelter Closes for the Season — Arlington’s emergency winter homeless shelter has closed for the season. More than 450 individuals stayed at least one night at the shelter over the past five months. The emergency winter shelter will reopen on Nov. 1. The county’s new year-round homeless shelter is not expected to open until some point next winter. [InsideNoVa]

News

Alexandria Republican Joins Race for Moran’s Seat

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 1, 2014 at 11:45AM

Dennis Bartow, 39, announced yesterday that he will be vying for the retiring Moran’s seat, facing Micah Edmond in a Republican convention, set for April 26 at Bishop O’Connell High School. Bartow, a U.S. Army veteran and founder of two companies, lives in Alexandria with his wife and son.

Bartow announced his candidacy in a press release, in which he says he served in the military in Iraq, Kuwait and Kosovo. He also founded Bartow Imports, which distributes wine to 10 states, and a federal government contractor. He is running on a platform of economic development and “smaller, smarter government.”

News

County Board Candidate: Opponents Will ‘Burn in Hell’

By ARLnow.com

Published March 31, 2014 at 11:00AM

Holbrook wrote the email, a copy of which was also sent to ARLnow.com, following his participation last week in a forum for County Board candidates organized by the faith-based social justice group Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (VOICE).

The forum, held Thursday at St. John’s Baptist Church on Columbia Pike, was intended “to call on the four candidates in the April 8 special election for County Board to commit to a bold a bold new plan for using public land to develop 1,000-1,500 units of affordable housing on a 3-5-year timetable for families earning $30,000-$50,000 a year,” according to VOICE, which collected more than 10,000 petition signatures for the plan.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 19, 2014 at 8:35AM

Noise Ordinance Approval Delayed — The Arlington County Board decided to delay approval of an update to the county’s noise ordinance after hearing concern from swim clubs that the ordinance could make cheering at swim meets illegal and punishable by fines or jail time. County staff will now try to craft an exemption for the summer swim leagues. In addition to strengthening prohibitions on loud TVs and music, the noise ordinance update calls for a “quiet period” in single-family home neighborhoods that would impact morning swim meets. [InsideNoVa]

Chatman Addresses Fraud Conviction — Fresh off the announcement that Oprah Winfrey would headline her upcoming fundraiser in Arlington, congressional candidate Lavern Chatman is trying to downplay word that she was found liable for $1.4 million in damages in a decade-old fraud case involving a D.C. nursing home operator. Chatman called the case a “nightmare” and said she “didn’t pay much attention to the details” when she agreed to provide a loan to a “trusted friend” — a friend who ended up withholding the wages of nearly 300 employees of the nursing home company. [Blue Virginia]

News

Oprah to Attend Chatman Fundraiser in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Published March 18, 2014 at 11:30AM | Updated February 13, 2024 at 11:27AM

Entertainment icon Oprah Winfrey will attend a fundraiser in Arlington for congressional candidate Lavern Chatman (D) next month, Chatman’s campaign announced this morning.

Winfrey will headline Chatman’s fundraiser, which will be held somewhere in Arlington on Saturday, April 5, according to the campaign. The event will also “feature several prominent leaders speaking on women’s issues, globally, nationally, and in the 8th District of Virginia.”

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 18, 2014 at 9:00AM | Updated March 18, 2014 at 9:50AM

Multimeters Blamed for Parking Ticket Drop — The multimeters that allow drivers in Arlington to pay for parking by using a credit card and displaying a slip of paper on their dashboard are being partially blamed for a nearly 25 percent drop in parking ticket revenue. The meters make it easier for those without change to pay for parking and, thanks to having to search for the slips on dashboards, slow down parking enforcement aides. [InsideNoVa]

Hope Wins Arlington Straw Poll — Del. Patrick Hope, who’s hoping to replace Rep. Jim Moran in Congress, has won a straw poll held at Arlington Treasurer Frank O’Leary’s annual St. Patrick’s Day party. Hope captured 44 percent of the vote, followed by 24 percent for Don Beyer and 20 percent for state Sen. Adam Ebbin. A straw poll held at Rep. Gerry Connolly’s St. Patrick’s Day party, meanwhile, had Beyer placing first, Charniele Herring second and Lavern Chatman third.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 14, 2014 at 9:25AM | Updated March 14, 2014 at 12:01PM

So Far So Good for Ben’s — The day after the new Ben’s Chili Bowl opened at 1725 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn, the line stretched to the back of the restaurant throughout the afternoon. But, the Washington City Paper asks, does the new restaurant capture the authenticity of the U Street original? [Washington City Paper]

Board Candidates on Affordable Housing — The Alliance for Housing Solutions has released the answers to an affordable housing questionnaire sent to the four candidates for Arlington County Board. Each candidate calls affordable housing a “top” or “very high” priority except independent Stephen W.C. Holbrook, who writes “government must stay out of the affordable housing.” [Alliance for Housing Solutions]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 13, 2014 at 8:45AM

Greens Skeptical of Affordable Housing Task Force — A task force appointed by Arlington County to conduct a three-year study of affordable housing issues is being criticized by the Arlington Green Party, which believes the county isn’t doing enough on affordable housing. “Yet another example of government appointing yet another task force and coming up with recommendations not likely to be implemented, nor to be effective in any event, if even implemented,” the party is quoted as saying. [Sun Gazette]

Road Closures for Four Courts Four Miler — The annual Four Courts Four Miler race will take place Saturday morning and will close down large portions of Wilson Blvd and northbound Route 110. [Arlington County]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 11, 2014 at 8:35AM | Updated March 11, 2014 at 8:56AM

Power Issues at Rosslyn Metro — All elevators and escalators were out of service at the Rosslyn Metro station from around 5:30 to 7:00 this morning. The outage was due to a “power problem.” Metro temporarily provided bus service from the station for those who needed it. [Twitter]

County Board to Buy Douglas Park House — The Arlington County Board on Saturday is expected to approve the purchase of a house on S. Quincy Street. The house abuts Douglas Park and would be torn down to expand the park. The expansion plan is predicated on the Board also purchasing neighboring houses when they come on the market. [Sun Gazette]