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County Board Candidate Forum Scheduled

Published December 29, 2011 at 1:35PM | Updated January 3, 2012 at 3:53PM

The Arlington County Democratic Committee has scheduled a candidate forum for Wednesday, Jan. 4. The forum will be held during the ACDC meeting at 7:00 p.m. at ~~the NRECA building in Ballston (4301 Wilson Blvd)~~ George Mason University Law School’s Founders Hall in Virginia Square (3351 Fairfax Dr.).

To date, the candidates who have announced their intention to seek the Democratic nomination for County Board are: Melissa Bondi, Peter Fallon, Libby Garvey, Kim Klingler, Elmer Lowe, and Terron Sims.

News

Library Looks to Future at Upcoming Public Sessions

By Katie Pyzyk

Published October 27, 2011 at 2:00PM

The first session is tonight at 7:00 p.m. at the Walter Reed Community Center (2909 16th St. S.). The second is next Thursday, Nov. 3, at 7:00 p.m. at the Fairlington Community Center (3308 S. Stafford St.), and the last is Thursday, Nov. 10, at 7:00 p.m. at Washington-Lee High School (1301 N Stafford St.).

Tonight’s session will have a significant focus on technology and which trends are shaping, or will shape, the library. The results from the recent Library User Satisfaction Survey will also be discussed. You can take part in the new, very short, online survey regarding services and programming by clicking here.

Schools

APS to Discuss School Capacity Challenges

By ARLnow.com

Published September 27, 2011 at 3:57PM

The forum will be held next Wednesday night at the Washington-Lee High School auditorium, not far from where several new trailer classrooms were installed over the summer. School officials will discuss the steps they’re taking to address the burgeoning student population, which is expected to reach 3,400 seats overcapacity by 2016.

Among the possible solutions to be discussed are “building opportunities” on existing Arlington Public School sites. The APS press release is below.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published September 1, 2011 at 8:44AM

Aurora Hills Babysitter Co-Op — While the District has been ranked as the most expensive place in the country for childcare, parents in the Aurora Hills neighborhood, near Crystal City, have banded together to save money by taking care of each other’s kids. The Aurora Hills babysitting co-op is “just a group of moms helping each other out,” according to one of the members. [MyFoxDC]

Seasonal Green Chiles Arrive in Arlington — A shipment of green chiles, fresh from the famous growing region of Hatch, N.M., has arrived at Santa Fe Cafe (1500 Wilson Blvd) in Rosslyn. The restaurant is expecting to receive about 100 pounds of Hatch green chiles throughout September. Owner Kip Laramie says he’ll be using the flavorful, spicy ingredient to serve dishes like locally smoked pork chop with green chile peach chutney, grilled spinach with green chile quesadilla, and red snapper with artichokes, mushrooms and green chiles. [Rosslyn Blog]

News

Civic Federation’s Candidate Night Approaches

By ARLnow.com

Published August 30, 2011 at 4:45PM

General election candidates for the 30th, 31st and 32nd Virginia State Senate races and the 45th, 47th, 48th and 49th House of Delegates races will take questions from Civic Federation delegates.

The forum will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 6, at the Washington-Lee High School auditorium (1300 N. Quincy Street). The auditorium is taking the place of the normal venue, Virginia Hospital’s Hazel Conference Center, which is being renovated.

News

Immigration Demonstrators Walk Out, Make Headlines

By ARLnow.com

Published August 26, 2011 at 3:43PM

The forum was organized as a listening session by a volunteer task force charged with recommending changes to Secure Communities, which Arlington tried and failed to opt out of last year.

After a raucous hour of impassioned speeches, about 150 pro-immigrant demonstrators marched and chanted their way out of the building, declaring the forum an “absolute sham” and demanding that the task force resign. The walkout — and many of the speeches and chants that preceded it — was choreographed by the group CASA de Maryland, which has been speaking out against Secure Communities since its inception.

News

County Releases Draft of New Sign Regulations

By ARLnow.com

Published August 24, 2011 at 1:30PM | Updated August 24, 2011 at 3:18PM

After holding sign workshops and promising more business-friendly regulations, the county has come up with a long list of changes to the existing ordinance. The changes are designed to “make the [sign] ordinance earlier to understand and use, and easier to administer and enforce,” while incorporating “best practices in sign regulation.”

Among the proposed changes, the county would allow sandwich board — or A-frame — signs on sidewalks, in direct contrast to the current ban on such signs, which are popular with shop owners in other urban areas. Sandwich board signs would be permitted so long as it doesn’t reduce the clear sidewalk width below six feet. Staff notes that “consideration is also being given to alternatives in areas where a six-foot clear width is not possible.”

Events

DHS to Hold Meeting on Secure Communities in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Published August 22, 2011 at 1:41PM

The meeting will take place between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 24, at George Mason University Founder’s Hall (3351 Fairfax Drive) in Virginia Square. The Homeland Security Advisory Council’s Task Force on Secure Communities is seeking public comments about the controversial program, which Arlington tried and failed to opt out of last year.

From a press release issued by Arlington County this morning:

News

Favola, Areizaga-Soto to Attend AGLA Forum Tonight

By ARLnow.com

Published August 9, 2011 at 3:56PM

The forum, which will start at 7:00 p.m. at the NRECA building in Ballston (4301 Wilson Blvd), will give Favola, Areizaga-Soto and other Democratic candidates (there’s no contested Republican primary in Arlington this year) a chance to woo a group of largely Democratic voters just 14 days before the Aug. 23 primary.

House of Delegates candidates Stephanie Clifford and Alfonso Lopez are both expected to attend the forum. Other invited candidates include Adam Ebbin, Libby Garvey and Rob Krupicka (30th state Senate District) as well as Theo Stamos and David Deane (Commonwealth’s Attorney).

Events

Pike Planning Workshops Wrap Up Tonight

By ARLnow.com

Published June 30, 2011 at 3:59PM | Updated July 1, 2011 at 11:25AM

Tonight county representatives will present the results of a week-long public planning and design process intended to help plan the future of Columbia Pike.

The “Work in Progress Presentation” will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 tonight at the Sheraton National Hotel (900 S. Orme Street). Planners will reveal the work that has been completed through a neighborhood planning day — or “charrette” — last weekend and a series of “open design studios” during the week.

Around Town

Meeting Tonight to Discuss Bikeshare Expansion

By ARLnow.com

Published June 27, 2011 at 3:51PM

As we reported earlier this month, the meeting will seek input on 33 potential sites for Bikeshare stations throughout the corridor. In addition those sites, the county is also soliciting suggestion for other station locations via an interactive ‘crowdsourced’ map.

The selection criteria for new stations stipulate that the stations get 4+ hours of direct sunlight daily, be on flat ground and avoid creating “a dangerous situation for street users,” among other requirements. A total of 30 stations are expected to be built over the next year.

Events

Columbia Pike Charrettes Get Underway Tonight

By ARLnow.com

Published June 24, 2011 at 3:59PM

Want to help plan and design the future of Columbia Pike? A series of charrettes — fast-paced, wide-ranging planning sessions — are being held on the Pike over the next week.

The primary public charrette will be held Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Sheraton National Hotel (900 S. Orme Street), and everybody is invited to participate and help guide the Pike’s continuing development. A light lunch will be provided.