Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Streetcars cost up to $4 million each; buses, up to $800,000.
The Arlington County Board spent two hours Tuesday night receiving information and asking questions about mostly highly technical considerations of the planned Columbia Pike streetcar. They talked about the potential length of the streetcar — or cars, as Arlington is in line to buy 20-plus — their width, how low their floors will be to the ground, how close they can go to the curb and how different types of streetcars make right turns. The conversation, at one point, turned into how many inches the county would gain or lose at so-called "super stops" — stations along Columbia Pike where a streetcar and bus can pick up and drop off people — based on different streetcar dimensions. Arlington County Transportation Director Dennis Leach later …
Monday, November 19, 2012
Board divided on best way to fund affordable housing commitment.
The Arlington County Board this weekend authorized a mixture to spending cuts and tax increases to close a projected budget gap of up to $50 million for the local government and school system next year. It's the beginning of a long budget process, one that showed elected officials might already be divided on how to best realize the county's commitment to preserving affordable housing. Board members approved their budget guidance to County Manager Barbara Donnellan on Saturday with a 3-2 vote. Vice Chairman Walter Tejada and board member Chris Zimmerman voted against the direction after failing to push through stronger commitments to preserving affordable housing. Chairwoman Mary Hynes said she wouldn't rule out additional investments in …
Friday, November 16, 2012
Board later this month will likely give the county more flexibility in designing and building major capital projects like the Columbia Pike streetcar.
Arlington County likely will update its purchasing guidelines later this month to allow, in part, for more flexibility in the decision-making and planning processes that will lead to a streetcar system along Columbia Pike. Board members held a three-hour work session Thursday night at Arlington Central Library with transit officials from Salt Lake City, Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul, along with representatives of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the procurement agency for the city of Ottawa, Canada, and a Montreal-based private contractor. "They're giving us information, different mechanisms on how to put this together," County Manager Barbara Donnellan told Patch. "We really can learn from their experiences." They …
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Neighborhood business, civic association and property owner coalition ways in on controversial issue.
The Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization issued this statement in October following a series of Arlington County Board candidate debates. Click here to watch the Patch-Arlington Independent Media forum for county board candidates. Recent publications suggest that Bus Rapid System would be superior to a Streetcar serving the transit needs of our area. The Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization takes this opportunity to reaffirm support for a modern Streetcar. In July 2012, the Arlington County Board and Fairfax County Board chose a modern Streetcar as the preferred transit alternative in our corridor. This decision was correct and well informed. The rationale in support of a BRT alternative has been exhaustively discussed during …
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Federal law requires employers to notify employees, local governments before mass layoffs.
Republican Matt Wavro has called on the Arlington County Board to "stand up" for residents here who could be affected by federal sequestration. The looming $1.2 trillion in cuts to defense and other parts of the federal government was meant to force a compromise between partisan politicians but now could actually be realized. Under the federal WARN Act — that's the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act — most employers are required to give workers a 60-day notice in advance of plant closings or mass layoffs. But some Northern Virginia defense contractors are holding off on those notices — some haven't decided — following a White House memo that says the federal government will cover any liability for doing so. Republicans have …
Friday, October 12, 2012
Patch-Arlington Independent Media forum touched on a variety of issues, from the cost of doing business here to the cost of living and quality of life.
Arlington County Board candidates touched on a wide range of issues Thursday night during a Patch-Arlington Independent Media live forum — touching on the proposed Columbia Pike trolley, affordable housing, the cost of doing business in Arlington and the future of the Artisphere. Democratic incumbent Libby Garvey faced Republican Matt Wavro and Green Party candidate Audrey Clement at Arlington Independent Media's studio in Clarendon. Arlington Patch Editor Jason Spencer moderated. Patch and Arlington Independent Media will feature the video online in upcoming days. Meanwhile, some highlights: If the vote was today, would you support the Columbia Pike trolley? “I would not,” Garvey said, taking a firm stand on the controversial proprosal. …
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Challengers factoring in increased turnout from top-of-the-ticket race in their campaigns.
The presidential race at the top of this year's election ticket casts a long shadow — and will potentially affect down-ballot races. Conventional wisdom says the contest between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney in Arlington will help Democrats. Obama carried Arlington County with more than 70 percent of the vote four years ago. That bodes will for Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey, a Democrat and incumbent seeking re-election. Garvey has only held her post for a little more than six months, winning a special election in March to fill a term that expires at the end of this year. Garvey has taken darts from her opponents — Republican Matt Wavro and Green Party candidate Audrey Clement — for not …
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Democratic incumbent faces opposition from Republican, Green Party candidates.
The proposed Columbia Pike streetcar could be a defining issue in the three-way race for Arlington County Board. The estimated $249 million transit system would connect the Bailey's Crossroads/Skyline area of Fairfax County with Pentagon City, where it may eventually connect with a proposed Route 1 streetcar. At the center of the storm is Democratic incumbent Libby Garvey, who won her board seat in March, filling a term that expires in December. Garvey faces Republican Matt Wavro and Green Party candidate Audrey Clement — both vocal critics of the streetcar. In July, Garvey abstained from a vote to move forward on the Columbia Pike trolley system, saying she needed more time to study the matter. She said this week that she's still talking …
Monday, October 8, 2012
Event will air at 7 p.m. Thursday, replay several more times before the November election.
Patch and Arlington Independent Media will host a forum for Arlington County Board candidates that will be broadcast live at 7 p.m. Thursday. AIM will rebroadcast the forum multiple times before the November election. Patch also will feature the video on its Arlington County and Clarendon-Courthouse sites. Next month, voters will determine who represents them from the federal to the local level. Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey, a Democrat, faces opposition from Republican Matt Wavro and Green Party candidate Audrey Clement. Garvey won a special election earlier this year to fill the unexpired term of Barbara Favola, who ascended to the state Senate. That term expires at the end of this year. Candidates will be allowed to bring …
Saturday, April 28, 2012
McCracken has two children in Arlington Public Schools.
Todd McCracken, president of the National Small Business Association, took the oath of office Friday and was seated on the Arlington School Board. The school board appointed McCracken the night before, choosing him out of a pool of 16 applicants. McCracken will fill the remainder of Libby Garvey's term, which lasts through Dec. 31. Garvey resigned from the school board in late March after winning a special election to fill a vacant seat on the Arlington County Board. McCracken has over 25 years of management, public policy and nonprofit experience, according to a news release. He has years of "extensive" volunteer service with Arlington Public Schools under his belt, including work on overcrowding issues, the release states. "As a citizen …
James Thorne
7:31 am on Thursday, December 6, 2012
There are other ways to help economic development along Columbia Pike than to create an expensive transit system based on 1800s technology. It seems they want to turn Arlington into Mr. Roger's neighborhood, complete with trolley. Keep fighting the good fight, Libby. more ›