technology | ARLnow.com

Arlington Recognized Again As Top Digital County

Published July 21, 2017 at 10:00AM

The award recognizes the use of technology in areas of open government, transparency, citizen engagement, cyber security and operations. Arlington was the winner among counties with a population of 150,000-249,999 people.

Its open government program won recognition for its work using technology to make government transactions, planning and decision-making more accessible and transparent. The program introduced an app this year allowing access to the Arlington Public Library catalog, and helped establish an Open Data Advisory Group that uses data-driven analysis to inform policy.

Around Town

Arlington Independent Media Launches On Demand Programming

By Brooke Giles

Published July 17, 2017 at 5:30PM

It is a part of AIM’s effort to make local productions more accessible to those around Arlington or elsewhere.

With the on demand option, AIM programs can be viewed online, from home or elsewhere. The move is intended to help expand AIM’s viewership beyond those who have access to the network’s cable channel via Comcast or Verizon.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published July 13, 2017 at 9:00AM

DOE Highlights Discovery Elementary — The U.S. Department of Energy has profiled Arlington’s Discovery Elementary in a new video. DOE lauds the school for its net zero energy design, which “saves $100,000 per year in utility costs, enough to cover the salaries of two teachers” and was implemented under-budget. [YouTube, Blue Virginia]

Hackathon in Clarendon — Capital One is holding a Women in Tech hackathon at its Clarendon “lab” office next week. “Attendees will have the opportunity to ‘create a technical solution for Women Who Code that empowers girls and women to stay in the tech field.'” [Technical.ly DC, Women in Tech Demo Day]

Around Town

How to Use Lynda.com For Free With Your Arlington Library Card

By Brooke Giles

Published June 27, 2017 at 4:45PM

Search through the site for different videos.

Arlington County’s public libraries offer free access to online learning service Lynda, home to video tutorials on software, business, creatives skills, computer programming and more.

Now owned by Linkedin, Lynda offers more than 9,000 courses for use by individuals, schools and companies. Subscriptions start at $19.99 per month, but anyone with an Arlington library card can access it for free by setting up an account using their card number and PIN.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 22, 2017 at 8:55AM

Alamo Drafthouse Coming to Crystal City — An Alamo Drafthouse Cinema will be coming to Crystal City to anchor a residential redevelopment by the JBG Smith. The redevelopment will convert the aging office building at 1750 Crystal Drive to a gleaming glass-and-metal residential building while topping it with a six-story addition. Also planned is an as-yet unsigned “specialty grocer” — think: Trader Joe’s or something similar. [Washington Business Journal]

Home Prices Rise in Arlington — “Long & Foster Real Estate Inc. says the median selling price in Arlington County last month was $613,500, up 15 percent from May of 2016. The change was based on 350 closed sales in Arlington in May.” [WTOP]

Events

Rep. Don Beyer to Hold Public Forum on Net Neutrality

By Kalina Newman

Published June 16, 2017 at 11:00AM

The event is happening on Monday, June 26 from 7:30-9 p.m. Beyer will be joined by former Federal Communications Commission chair Tom Wheeler and former FCC general counsel Jonathan Sallet.

The forum will take place in George Mason University’s Founders Hall (3351 N. Fairfax Drive) and is free to attend, though registration is strongly advised.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 13, 2017 at 9:10AM | Updated June 13, 2017 at 9:40AM

D.C. and Arlington: Tech Towns? — The Greater Washington area has ranked third on a major real estate firm’s list of “Tech Cities 1.0.” The area received high marks for its educated workforce and pace of startup growth. Arlington, meanwhile, is continuing to land tech firms from D.C. and Fairfax County, in part thanks to active outreach and an incentive program from Arlington Economic Development. State incentives helped keep Applied Predictive Technologies in Ballston; the firm has a new office and is now expanding and creating 350 jobs.

Exotic Pet Ban Vote Delayed — The Arlington County Board is expected to delay its consideration of a new exotic pet ban until the fall. The proposal has garnered strong reactions from both sides of the issue, including from the D.C.-based Animal Welfare Institute, which is urging the Board to approve the ban. [InsideNova]

Schools

Parents, Teachers Divided on APS Technology Initiative Ahead of Possible Plan Tweaks

By Brooke Giles

Published June 7, 2017 at 3:50PM | Updated June 7, 2017 at 4:10PM

A student looks at an iPad (file photo)

Arlington Public Schools parents and teachers remain divided over the county’s one-to-one technology initiative ahead of possible revisions to the school system’s strategic plan later this year.

The rollout of the program began during the 2014-2015 school year and provides iPads for elementary and middle school students, Macbook Air laptops for high school students. The hope was that every student attending an Arlington school would have a device by 2017.

News

DEVELOPING: County Internet, Phones Down After Electrical Failure

By Chris Teale

Published June 1, 2017 at 2:00PM

Phones and internet are down at Arlington County’s offices at 2100 Clarendon Blvd after an electrical equipment failure this morning, meaning some government services are not available online.

The technical problems struck Courthouse Plaza just after 11 a.m., according to an anonymous tipster, and affect some operations including phones, the permitting website, online utility billing, the GIS mapping center and the library catalog and accounts system.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 26, 2017 at 9:00AM

War memorial in Clarendon

Is Yelp Coming to Rosslyn? — Rosslyn’s 1812 N. Moore Street tower, the future corporate headquarters of Nestlé USA, could also be a destination for review website Yelp. The San Francisco-based company is reportedly considering opening an office in the D.C. area and 1812 N. Moore is on the short list. Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman grew up in Arlington. [Washington Business Journal]

Democratic Committee Recommends Primaries — In a move that could be seen as a rebuke of the Arlington County Democratic Committee’s decision to hold a caucus to select a County Board nominee this year, the 8th District Democratic Committee has approved “a resolution saying primaries, not caucuses, should be the main form of nomination of Democratic candidates.” [InsideNova]

Ouli Adds Nonprofit, Community Engagement Features

Published April 4, 2017 at 6:00PM

When we checked in on Ouli a year ago, the new mobile personal concierge app, developed in North Arlington, impressed early adopters with its groundbreaking two-way engagement abilities and it’s ability to learn your likes.

Now meet Ouli 2.0, released in March. Not only does it deliver consumer-choices for you based on your location and previous interaction–and the more you use it, the more it learns about you–the new home page brings you “the best thing to do right now” when you open the app, says Pierre Malko, CEO of Dante Inc., the Arlington-based software company that’s been building technological innovation since 1998.

Schools

Server Issues Again Hamper APS Extended Day Registration

By Chris Teale

Published April 3, 2017 at 3:15PM

Originally, the program’s registration portal had opened at midnight on March 1, but suffered technical issues and was closed indefinitely to be fixed.

APS reopened online registration at 3 p.m. April 1 for Summer School and the 2017-18 school year, but within minutes the system struggled with technical issues.