This morning, DC and Arlington leaders held a big ol’ press corral down at Navy Yard to mark the launch of the Capital Bikeshare system. The event featured balloons, bright red Bikeshare bikes lined up in neat rows like soldiers in a North Korean military parade, and a soon-to-be ex-mayor trying to avoid his post-election Dukakis moment.
Along the Arlington folks on hand were County Board Chairman Jay Fisette, Crystal City BID president Angela Fox and board member Walter Tejada.
There are plenty of reasons to go on a walk on Sept. 26.
It’s the first Sunday of the fall. It’s the first Sunday after World Car-Free Day. And it’s a great way to discover a neighborhood’s hidden parks and historic landmarks.
The interview, published on Sunday, revealed that Fisette is really, really into cycling, as transportation, recreation, and as spectator sport. It also revealed that Fisette is burning the candle at both ends at Clarendon’s Silver Diner — he goes there for late night food and for morning breakfast meetings.
When he’s not biking to work or presiding over an eight-hour-long county board meeting, Jay Fisette can also be found at Whitlow’s on Wilson. “Whitlows serves a great meal,” he said.
Board Approves $250,000 in Art Grants — The county board voted unanimously last night to provide a quarter million dollars worth of grants to 19 Arlington-based arts organizations and three individual artists. The grants range from $44,600 to $1,240. See a list of recipients here.
Fisette Pens Green Jobs Op-Ed in Richmond Paper — In a column for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Arlington County Board Chairman Jay Fisette compares Thomas Jefferson’s far-sighted and, at the time, controversial Louisiana Purchase to proposed federal spending on clean energy. Fisette argues that investing in green jobs now will pay off in a big way down the road.
For the tenth straight year, Arlington has scored a financial “triple-triple.” All three major bond rating agencies have just affirmed Arlington’s AAA bond rating, the highest rating available.
“I think it’s especially important at this time, which is very difficult for the economy, local governments and bond markets,” County Manager Michael Brown told board members while announcing the good news today.
“It seems like about every five or six years, a group of senators decide to push the envelope and change the Perimeter Rule,” Arlington County Board Chairman Jay Fisette said in a phone interview, referring to the most recent effort by congress to allow more long-haul flights out of Reagan National Airport. “It’s not a new issue.”
Indeed, it’s not. The last time it was attempted was, in fact, June 2008. At that time, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments issued a resolution, stating:
“Considering the emphasis that the County Board has placed on social services, it’s not all that surprising that this category would be one of the highest per-capita spending items in Arlington,” Budget Director Richard Stevenson told the Arlington Connection’s Michael Lee Pope.
The county spends more on welfare and social services than on law enforcement. The welfare expenditures are greater than Arlington’s spending on parks, libraries, courts, sanitation and building maintenance combined. The only individual category that tops welfare is education, at $1,814 per capita. Taken as a whole, law enforcement and fire and rescue account for $588 spending per capita.
Fisette Delivers State of the County Address — After delivering the annual State of the County address before a group of business leaders in Crystal City, County Board Chairman Jay Fisette was peppered with pointed questions about some of the county’s costly projects and initiatives. Fisette defended Arlington’s lawsuit against proposed high-occupancy toll lanes, said the $160 million Columbia Pike streetcar plan will not be put to a referendum vote unless necessary to obtain financing, and called BRAC, the federal law that will result in thousands of defense jobs moving out of Arlington, “one of the worst decisions ever.” More from the Sun Gazette.
D.C. Bummed About Poor Ranking in List Topped By Arlington — Yesterday we told you that Parenting Magazine had bestowed the somewhat unscientific title of “Best City for Families” on Arlington. Now one commentator is wondering why the District was so low on the list. NBC Washington’s P.J. Orvetti rightly points out the absurdity of D.C. being ranked third from last in terms of recreation. Orvetti goes on to make the case for D.C. being ranked closer to Arlington, but fails to mention the elephant in the room: that the District’s low-performing schools and high crime rate preclude it from serious consideration on a list of family-friendly cities.
Twenty professionals, including Arlington Chamber of Commerce president Richard V. Doud, Jr., signed a memo urging county board chairman Jay Fisette to embrace the toll lanes project.
“The primary obstacle to advancing this innovative, multi-modal improvement is the Arlington County Board’s lawsuit that precludes the project from securing any private or public sector funding,” the letter stated.
County Board Chairman Jay Fisette did not mince words when responding to a public comment about the proposed change in Arlington’s form of government at Saturday’s board meeting.
“It is certainly my view that this would be a step backwards for Arlington,” he said of the proposal. “I think the message is, if you’re asked to sign that petition, please decline to do so.”
At a Bike to Work Day event at Gateway Park in Rosslyn, Fisette called the program “a great system to help us promote cycling and promote health in Arlington.”
Initially launching in Crystal City this fall, the Arlington-DC bike share system will feature 1,100 bikes that will be available for rent at docking stations located primarily around transit centers. Bike usage will cost $5 per day or $80 for a year. Fisette said the county hopes to eventually expand the system to the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor.
Arlington will host three gathering points, or “pit stops,” for Bike to Work Day, which is an opportunity for regular bike commuters and curious car devotees to get together and ride into D.C. en masse. The pit stops include Rosslyn Gateway Park (1300 Lee Highway), the Crystal City Water Park (1750 Crystal Drive) and Conte’s Bike Shop in Ballston (3924 Wilson Boulevard).
Participants are asked to register here.
