Opinion

The hearing will start at 7:00 p.m. at the Arlington County Board offices at 2100 Clarendon Blvd. Residents can sign up to be one of the speakers commenting on the tax rate at the hearing.

County Manager Barbara Donnellan has proposed holding the property tax rate steady at $1.006 for every $100 in assessed value. Because the County Board advertised no change to the tax rate, it can now only set a tax rate at or below the current rate.


Events

Hundreds of Arlington business leaders, politicians, media members and residents attended the first ARLive community networking event last night (Tuesday) in Crystal City.

Attendees included Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey, County Board candidates Alan Howze and John Vihstadt, Commonwealth’s Attorney Theo Stamos, Crystal City Business Improvement District President and CEO Angie Fox, Vornado SVP of Development Mitch Bonanno, ARLnow.com founder and publisher Scott Brodbeck, Grade A Marketing founder Amanda Fischer, Falcon Lab Managing Partner Borzou Azabdaftari, Penzance Senior Advisor Peter Greenwald, Arlington County Democratic Committee Chairman Kip Malinosky, Rep. Jim Moran spokesman Tommy Scanlon, former County Board candidate Peter Fallon, Spider Kelly’s owner and ARLnow.com contributor Nick Freshman, A-SPAN Director of Development and Communications Jan-Michael Sacharko, BbG Fitness owner and ARLnow.com columnist Ginny Wright, singer/songwriter Justin Trawick, ARLnow.com reporter Ethan Rothstein, and ARLnow.com Director of Sales and Business Development Meghan McMahon.


News

In theory, Restaurant Week, which features about a dozen Arlington restaurants this year, allows patrons to try out nice restaurants around the area at lower, fixed prices. In practice?

“A look at nearly two dozen restaurants participating in Restaurant Week shows not only that many of these dinners aren’t not much of a deal, but that you may actually be paying much more than what they’re worth,” reports the Washington City Paper.


Opinion

One of the county’s best-known Christmas tree sellers, the Optimist Club of Arlington, is expecting a record number of sales this year, according to the Sun Gazette. The club has ordered 1,200 trees from forests in North Carolina — 100 more than last year, when all trees were gone by Dec. 18.

The Optimist Club sells its trees from the parking lot of the Wells Fargo bank at Glebe Road and Lee Highway. Other Christmas tree sellers around town include the Boy Scouts (6000 Wilson Blvd), the Lions Club (Columbia Pike and George Mason Drive), and the Knights of Columbus (830 23rd Street S.), according to a recent forum thread.


News

Arlington’s polling places have been open for about four hours, and so far election day appears to be proceeding without a hitch.

As of 9:00 a.m., Arlington County Registrar Linda Lindberg reported being very busy but said there had been no significant issues to report. Although not a major incident, people at the Barrett Elementary School (4401 N. Henderson Road) polling place reported the school’s principal pulled campaign signs out of the ground, claiming they weren’t allowed to be there. After witnesses made a few phone calls to lawyers and the superintendent, the principal learned he was incorrect and apologized for taking down the signs.


News

Metro Keys Stolen from Arlington Fire Truck — Two men wearing masks and black clothing stole keys to secure areas of the Metro system from an unattended Arlington County fire truck last week. The theft happened during a medical call in Crystal City, and the thieves also stole a forcible entry tool called a Hydra Ram. [NBC Washington]

New Wakefield Aquatics Center Debuts — A ribbon cutting ceremony was held for the new aquatics center at Wakefield High School on Sunday. The center is expected to draw a larger crowd than the aging, existing Wakefield aquatics facility it replaces. The cost of entry is up to $5.50 per day for Arlington residents. [Sun Gazette]


Opinion

That’s what conservative commentator S.E. Cupp said of her current home, during a party to celebrate the relaunch of CNN’s Crossfire earlier this week.

Cupp, who is one of the four co-hosts on the show, told the packed party crowd that, when she recently moved to Arlington from New York City, she didn’t realize she was moving to the “Hoboken of Washington.”


Opinion

The new Ben’s will be located in at 1725 Wilson Blvd, in the former Ray’s Hell Burger space, WBJ reported.

But will the idea of scarfing down a chili half smoke closer to home be enough to drive Arlington residents to the new restaurant? Or is part of Ben’s allure tied to the original U Street NW location — whether it be the location’s history or proximity to popular bars?


Opinion

As the Sun Gazette reports, the higher rate is due to a 1 percent increase in the state sales tax — a tax hike that’s earmarked for transportation projects. In all, half of the 10 percent tax will go to the state, while the other half will go the Arlington County.

Arlington’s restaurant tax revenue includes 4 percent for the county meals tax and 1 percent for the county’s share of the sales tax.


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