An Arlington artist with a growing involvement in civic life is planning a new project in the aftermath of Arlington Independent Media’s demise.
Wilson Bender — the Penrose-based satirist behind numerous posters poking fun at local public figures, a new zine about life in Arlington, and a pop-up art studio in Clarendon and Courthouse — has announced plans to launch “Arlington Autonomous Media,” an independently funded Roku channel with a focus on local happenings and political commentary.
An aging culvert in Rock Spring is on track to get replaced through a $5.2 million agreement with the Virginia Dept. of Transportation.
The culvert on the 3800 block of N. Dumbarton Street “has reached the end of its useful life” and is currently “at risk of failure,” a County Board report says. It’s also undersized for its location, which sometimes causes the Little Pimmit Run stream to overflow onto the road.
In 2025, Arlington County will embark on a major project to rehabilitate the Gulf Branch stream.
Planning for the project began in 2019. The project was paused during the pandemic due to budget constraints but remained in focus due to the stream’s poor conditions today.
Arlington County will be stabilizing part of the Donaldson Run stream to prevent erosion.
On Saturday, the Arlington County Board approved without discussion a more than $888,200 contract with Sagres Construction Corporation to complete the work.
(Updated at 4:30 p.m.) Arlington County is moving forward with a project to restore Donaldson Run Tributary B despite some vocal public opposition.
On Tuesday, the County Board voted 4-1 to award a $1.5 million contract to restore a segment of the stream beginning at N. Upton Street and extending about 1,400 feet downstream to where it meets with Donaldson Run Tributary A in Zachary Taylor Park. Takis Karantonis cast the dissenting vote.
In the midst of Arlington’s efforts to protect local streams, the county last week released an extensive guide debunking what it says are common stream restoration “myths,” touching on everything from ecology to rain gardens.
The following six “myths” were challenged by the county:
