News

Bruce Shuttleworth, a resident of Arlington’s Old Glebe neighborhood, announced his candidacy this week and is putting his money where his mouth is: contributing $50,000 of his own money to his campaign. The former U.S. Navy pilot is also coming out in full-attack mode asked why he wants to take on the well-connected, ten-term congressman.

“I’ve been very impressed by our wonderfully honest local leaders, and I’ve been very struck by the disparity in integrity between those local leaders and [Rep. Jim Moran],” Shuttleworth told ARLnow.com, specifically mentioning campaign contributions Moran has received from earmark recipients. “I don’t think he can be trusted to uniformly act in the best interest of the citizenry.”


News

Arlington County Registrar Linda Lindberg explained that registration deadlines are 21 days before all primaries and general elections, but 13 days before special elections. That means anyone who wishes to vote in the Republican Presidential Primary on March 6 must be registered by Monday, February 13. The deadline is Monday, March 12 for those who want to register to vote in the special election for Arlington County Board on March 27.

Voters who have previously registered in Virginia and have not changed addresses do not have to re-register. Anyone who has moved since last voting must update their information. Voters may not register at the polls.


News

The Curious Grape to Reopen — There will soon be two competing boutique wine and cheese stores in Shirlington. The Curious Grape, which moved out of its storefront in Shirlington Village earlier this year in order to make way for Cheesetique, just announced that it will be reopening next month in a larger storefront one block away. [Shirlington Village Blog]

Loyalty Oath for Va. GOP Primary — Voters who want to cast their ballot in the March 6 presidential primary in Virginia will be required to sign a loyalty oath. The Virginia Republican Party requested the pledge — which is perfectly legal under Virginia law — as a condition of participation in the primary. The pledge (of support for the eventual Republican presidential nominee) is intended to reduce the number of non-Republicans voting in the otherwise open primary. [Richmond Times-Dispatch]


News

Gingrich Doesn’t Make Cut for Va. GOP Ballot — Despite a last-minute push for signatures, Republican presidential candidate Next Gingrich failed to get enough valid signatures to make it on the Republican primary ballot in Virginia. Texas Governor Rick Perry also fell short of making it on the ballot. [Bloomberg]

Dominion Hills Gets Historical Designation — The Virginia Department of Historical Resources has added the Arlington neighborhood of Dominion Hills to its register of historic places. [News Leader]


News

“I have one opponent: Barack Obama,” Gingrich told the enthusiastic crowd.

But with a dozen television cameras rolling and with members of the national press corps typing notes into their laptops, Gingrich focused his sharpest words on GOP rival Mitt Romney. Specifically, Gingrich bristled at the negative ads Romney and others have been running against him in Iowa.


News

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich will be appearing at a rally in Arlington Wednesday night.

Gingrich’s campaign has scheduled a rally from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday at the Key Bridge Marriott (1401 Lee Highway) in Rosslyn, according to an email published by Politico. The rally is apparently part of an effort to make sure Gingrich collects enough signatures to appear on the ballot in Virginia.


News

Happy Hanukkah! — The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah starts at sunset tonight. Also known as the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah runs through Wednesday, Dec. 28.

Barcroft Construction Enters Phase Two — The initial demolition phase of the construction of a new baseball field in Barcroft Park has concluded. Crews are now moving on to the field’s construction phase. Work on the $3 million project, which is being paid for by George Washington University, is expected to wrap up in Spring 2012. The field will be used by GW’s baseball team but will also be available for public use. [GW Sports]


News

Aftershock Felt Across Region — A 4.5 magnitude aftershock jolted some residents out of bed just after 1:00 last night. The epicenter of the aftershock was five miles south of Mineral, Virginia, epicenter of Tuesday’s 5.8 magnitude quake. [U.S. Geological Survey]

Arlington Was Krupicka’s Waterloo — In the three-way primary battle for the 30th District state Senate seat, Alexandria City Councilman Rob Krupicka picked up nearly half of the vote in his hometown. But he garnered a measly 14 percent of the vote in Arlington, allowing Del. Adam Ebbin to press his local advantage and claim victory. “Ignore Arlington at your peril,” says the Sun Gazette. Meanwhile, Krupicka says his political career may be over. [Sun Gazette, Del Ray Patch]


News

Post-Earthquake Safety Tips — Arlington County is advising residents to call a structural engineer if they find cracks in their brick facades or chimneys following yesterday’s earthquake. [Arlington County]

Favola/Areizaga-Soto Primary By the Numbers — Just over 10,000 people voted in yesterday’s 31st District state Senate primary between Barbara Favola and Jaime Areizaga-Soto, out of 133,577 active registered voters in the district. More than $538,500 had been spent on the race as of Aug. 10. In other words, candidates ended up spending more than $53 for every resident who bothered to cast a vote in the race.


News

Arlington County Board member Barbara Favola has decisively won the acrimonious race for the 31st District state Senate seat. With all precincts reporting, Favola has captured 65 percent of the vote to Jaime Areizaga-Soto’s 35 percent. Favola will face a well-funded Republican challenger, Caren Merrick, in November.

Del. Adam Ebbin, meanwhile, has squeaked by Alexandria City Councilman Rob Krupicka in the three-way race for the 30th District state Senate seat. With 98 percent of precincts reporting, Ebbin has 39 percent of the vote to Kupricka’s 36 percent and Arlington school board member Libby Garvey’s 25 percent. Ebbin will face Republican hopeful Timothy McGhee in November.


News

Voting in Arlington is proceeding as normal, despite today’s earthquake.

All voting centers are open, according to county elections officials, but voting has been moved outside at the George Mason University voting center due to the university’s decision to close all of its buildings. Some voting centers were briefly evacuated after the quake, but polls will close at 7:00 p.m. as scheduled.


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