Dear Friends, I hope this email finds everyone enjoying the holiday season despite the continuing need to be cautious about Covid.  We held our final monthly Board meetings of the year and will be back January 3 for our organizational meeting when we elect our new chair and vice-chair.  We had few, but important, items this month. COVID  As I’m sure everyone is aware, the Omicron variant of Covid is rapidly spreading everywhere, including in Arlington. Despite this, we have come a very long way since March of 2020, which seems strangely not long ago to me. 83% of … [Read more...]

Dear Friends, I hope this finds everyone looking forward to the Thanksgiving holiday. COLUMBIA PIKE NEW ZONING ALLOWANCES At our November meeting, the Board adopted amendments to the zoning for Columbia Pike  which added much needed flexibility to the uses that are allowed along the Pike. We now allow activities like craft breweries, museums, animal boarding, micro manufacturing, indoor agriculture, and commercial kitchens either by right or by permit. In the past these activities were forbidden or only allowed with special permits. We find more and more that zoning … [Read more...]

Dear Friends, It’s important to our democracy to Get Out The Vote tomorrow! If you have not already done so, the polls in Virginia are open from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm. Please encourage your friends and neighbors to vote, and see if anyone needs a ride to the polls. It will be fast and easy tomorrow because so many, including yours truly, have already voted.  I had the honor of laying a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier recently. It was another reminder of the sacrifices of our soldiers for generations which call on us to vote. I have always felt it my duty to vote and … [Read more...]

Dear Friends, I hope everyone is enjoying this lovely fall weather. And I hope everyone is voting. These state-wide elections in Virginia are far too close for comfort. I encourage everyone to vote early. It is easy to vote early and you do not need a reason to do so. Life can be uncertain, so my daughter, grandson and I went and voted this week. We grabbed lunch together after. It was easy and fun. Vote-- General 2021 election information may be found at: https://vote.arlingtonva.us/Home -- There are 4 Referenda on this year’s ballot, if you want to read about … [Read more...]

Dear Friends,  I hope everyone had a good summer and is enjoying the delightful fall weather we are having. Our County Board agenda for September was light, but there were several significant items and issues.COVID:  We are pretty clearly entering a chronic phase of the pandemic. What exactly this chronic phase and “new normal” will be is not yet clear. The FDA has approved and recommended booster shots for people who have received the Pfizer vaccine and are over 65, or have underlying medical conditions, or are in jobs that may expose them to Covid. "Arlington County Public … [Read more...]

Dear Friends, As we know, it’s always an election year in Arlington, and 2021 is no exception. Offices on the ballot on November 2nd include governor and our two local boards, among others. I’d like to call your attention to 2 candidate forums. You can Zoom into, and engage with, County Board contenders Takis Karantonis (incumbent, whom I support) and challengers Mike Cantwell, Adam Theo, and Audrey Clement on issues of the day. School Board candidates Michael Webb and Mary Kadera (whom I support) will also be on hand. Don't miss these chances to hear from the candidates. 1) The first … [Read more...]

Dear Friends, The Board added a third day to our regular monthly meeting in July to handle everything. It was not so much the number of issues, but the importance and complexity of several issues, especially Collective Bargaining and establishing a Community Oversight Board for our police. Both of these were just authorized by the General Assembly this year. We began working on both ordinances even before the enabling legislation was passed. During our meetings we also received a report on much good progress made by our Chief Race and Equity Officer, Samia Byrd; and were updated on COVID-19 … [Read more...]

Dear Friends JuneteenthI hope everyone has enjoyed this Juneteenth weekend, for the first time recognized as a Federal holiday. We had a thought provoking and inspiring Juneteenth rally outside the Bozeman Building on Thursday. It was a glorious day with perfect weather. Many of us saw each other in person for the first time since March of 2020. We all recognized the progress made in racial equity, but also the work that still needs to be done. It’s great that Juneteenth is now a federal holiday, but that does not change the fact that many states are … [Read more...]

Dear Friends, A number of you have asked me whom I recommend voting for in the June 8 primary. I am honored and delighted when people ask. This primary season features a lot of candidates. With Democratic primaries, I find that most candidates are very close on the issues, so it is experience and ability to work with people to get things done that are usually deciding factors for me in a primary. For GovernorI have not publicly supported anyone in this race. However, while I like Jennifer McClellan a lot, I think Terry McAuliffe has the best chance of winning in the general election and … [Read more...]

Dear Friends, Our May meetings had few, but significant, items. Police Practices Group Probably the most important issue we discussed was the advertisement of a new Police Practices Review Board and changes to our policing code. When we “advertise” an issue, it is meant to give time for residents to consider and discuss the issue and give us their opinion before we vote to adopt it a future meeting. We can adopt something narrower than what was advertised, but not broader. Although our police department is excellent, no community or police department is perfect or immune from the … [Read more...]