News

Is Aircraft Noise Getting Worse? — Washington Post columnist Petula Dvorak has taken up the issue of aircraft noise complaints in Arlington. Some residents say the noise has gotten worse recently, particularly with more helicopters and tilt-rotor V-22 Ospreys overhead. So far, the Dept. of Defense has not explained the purpose of the numerous Osprey flights. [Washington Post]

Amish Super PAC Has HQ in Clarendon — A political action committee that’s trying to convince the Amish to vote for Donald Trump this fall has its headquarters in Clarendon. [Quartz]


News

Metro Delays and Traffic This Morning — There are residual delays on the Orange and Silver lines due to a malfunctioning train near the Clarendon Metro station earlier this morning. For drivers, morning rush hour traffic is noticeably heavier than usual around Northern Virginia inside the Beltway. [Twitter]

Firefighters Applaud New Metro Move — WMATA will now staff its Metrorail control center with a uniformed fire officer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Arlington’s firefighter association applauded the move, calling it a “positive step for the safety of firefighters and citizens in the DMV.” [WTOP, Twitter]


News

Arlington No. 3 on ‘Walkable’ List — Arlington is the third most walkable “mid-sized city” in the U.S., according to rankings from real estate firm Redfin. The top ranked locales on the list were Jersey City, N.J. and Newark, N.J. “Many of the cities on the list are considered suburbs of the nation’s largest cities, proving that one need not live in the center of a major city in order to enjoy a walkable lifestyle,” said a press release. [Business Wire]

Income Needed to Buy a Home — Want to buy a house in the D.C. area? In order to afford the median sales price of a home in the region — $403,800 — you’ll need a household income of $86,595. The median sale price of a home in Arlington last month was $622,500. [InsideNova]


News

Plaudits for Arlington’s Walkability — Arlington is being called “America’s most walkable suburb.” The nonprofit magazine YES! writes: “The best place to experience the future of suburban living is Arlington County, Virginia… It’s got great transit, plenty of sidewalks, and values people more than cars.” [YES! Magazine]

Arlington Cyclist Riding Cross Country — Madeline Templeton, a 23-year-old lifelong Arlingtonian, is riding her bike 4,200 miles across the country to raise money for affordable housing. On her last cross-country cycling attempt, Templeton was struck by a car and suffered a serious leg injury. [InsideNova]


News

Arlington received $400,000 — and will pledge an additional $100,000 — in federal grant money to improve the walking and biking routes to the three schools in North Arlington.

The funds will go toward building new trails and sidewalks in Bluemont for Ashlawn students and will fund sidewalk improvements at the intersection of N. Kensington and 36th Streets around Discovery and Williamsburg, which are on the same property. Discovery is still under construction, but is expected to open for the 2015-2016 school year.


News

The study, tabulated in infographic form (left) by county-funded transit research organization Mobility Lab, used 2013 data to analyze the commuting habits of of 131,300 working Arlington residents and the 180,300 who work in the county.

According to the study, 7 percent of all commuting trips by Arlington residents are either on foot or with a bicycle, and 4 percent of Arlington workers report either walking or biking to work. While 7.4 percent of commuting trips were biking and walking in the previous study, conducted in 2010, Mobility Lab Research Director Stephen Crim told ARLnow.com that he believes the 576-resident sample did not represent the county’s changing commuting patterns.


News

Patrick Henry Elementary Honored by State — Patrick Henry Elementary School was among 40 schools around the state honored by the Virginia Board of Education for improving the academic performance of economically disadvantaged students. It was named a Highly Distinguished School for exceeding both state and federal benchmarks two years in a row. [WJLA]

Arlington, Falls Church Have State’s Best Jobs Numbers — Arlington and Falls Church tied for the lowest jobless rate in Virginia last month. They both listed a 3.7 percent unemployment rate for September. Arlington’s unemployment rate had been at 4 percent in August. [InsideNova]


Events

Walk to Church day will be June 22, but those who want to participate can pick up T-shirts and pedometers next Sunday, June 15 in the lobby of the church’s building — it rents space in Thomas Jefferson Middle School, at 125 S. Old Glebe Road — before or after their service.

Building on the success of events like Walk and Bike to School Day, the church is promoting its event as “National Walk 2 Church Day.” While it’s trying to encourage other houses of worship to participate, it’s unclear whether any have joined in on the cause.


Events

Not to be confused with Walk and Bike to School Day in October, which has a similar name and a similar mission, Bike and Walk to School Day “encourages students to bike or walk to school while teaching them about the health and environmental benefits of biking and walking.”

“Bike and Walk to School Day also helps to raise community awareness about the importance of bicycle and pedestrian safety education, safe routes to schools, well-maintained walkways, and traffic calming in our neighborhoods and around our schools,” says Bike Arlington, on its website.


Events

The walks, now in their third year, combine light exercise (a one kilometer course through Crystal City’s underground shopping area) with moderate drinking (multiple wine/beer and snack stations are set up along the course).

The 1K wine walks will take place between 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Jan. 12 and 13. The 1K beer walks will take place between 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Jan. 26 and 27.


Schools

Today was “Walk and Bike to School Day” in Arlington and across the country.

The annual event in Arlington, organized by Arlington Public Schools (with the help of local PTAs), encourages students and parents to bike and walk to school more often. At Oakridge Elementary School, this year’s “spotlight school” for Walk and Bike to School Day, hundreds of students and parents walked, biked or even scootered to school.


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