News

Expensive Bike Parking Spaces — “Metro has spent nearly $20,000 per bike parking space at three bike facilities, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has found. Metro has spent over $5.9 million on the construction of 304 bike spaces at the three facilities… located at the College Park, East Falls Church and Vienna Metro stations.” [NBC 4]

Short Waits to Vote in Arlington — “Eager to avoid waiting in line while casting an early ballot? Try to avoid peak times and you should be fine. ‘Wait times are minimal,’ said county elections chief Gretchen Reinemeyer, with the exception of early morning and occasionally at lunchtime. Other than that, voters have been experiencing waits of 10 minutes or less, and ‘most people are just walking straight in to vote,’ she said.” [InsideNova]


Opinion

(Updated at 9:45 a.m.) Halloween has not been cancelled, but the pandemic is putting a damper on the usual spooky spirit of the holiday.

The owner of a local costume store in the Crystal City Shops told the Washington Post that his sales are down 80%, amid a nationwide drop in Halloween spending. Sales of adult costumes in particular are down significantly, as parties are curtailed.


Opinion

Once can hardly go a block in some parts of Arlington without spotting a Tesla, but the vast majority of vehicles on local streets are still powered by fossil fuels.

The proportion of electric vehicles on the road is expected to increase, albeit gradually. The Edison Electric Institute expects 3.5 million electric vehicles to be sold annually in the U.S. in 2030; that compares to the total of 17 million vehicles sold last year.


Opinion

Arlington was the big winner of the biggest economic development prize of them all: Amazon’s HQ2.

But Amazon’s second headquarters is nowadays feeling like a very distant second, behind the tech giant’s growing presence in the Seattle area.


Opinion

It’s official: the Pumpkin Spice Latte returned to local Starbucks locations today, heralding the imminent arrival of Mr. Autumn Man.

Granted, temperatures today are expected to reach the mid-90s, and the actual calendar start of fall — the Autumnal Equinox — is not for another four weeks. Some people, however, might have their own personal definition of the start of fall.


Opinion

A lot of local businesses are hurting during the pandemic.

Any business that relies on people congregating inside is having a tough time — restaurants, gyms, events organizers, etc. The economic hardship has hit ancillary businesses as well: dry cleaners, for example, are struggling due to few people going to offices and formal events.


News

There was another crash at the intersection of Old Dominion Drive and Little Falls Road yesterday afternoon.

No one was seriously injured in the wreck, which temporarily closed the eastbound lanes of Old Dominion Drive in the Rock Spring neighborhood. But it’s just the latest in a long string of crashes.


Opinion

Arlington Public Schools is planning to start the fall semester with most students spending just two days a week in classrooms.

The “hybrid” model would see students spending the other three days a week leaning remotely, from home, a plan similar to that just announced by the country’s largest school system.


Opinion

Virginia started Phase 3 of its reopening on Wednesday, allowing more activity in indoor public spaces like restaurants and gyms.

While the Commonwealth remains one of just over a dozen states where the COVID-19 epidemic is in decline, some fear that further reopening could send us in the direction of Texas, Florida and other states currently seeing a virus resurgence.


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