Happy New Year, Arlington!
The first full week of 2016 proved to be a busy one, from robberies — of both banks and pizzas — to the story of a good Samaritan helping an Arlingtonian in need get home, and everything in between.
Looking back at the stories from this week, one common theme seemed to arise — change.
So far, this change has come to the county in a few different forms.
First, the County Board unanimously chose Libby Garvey as its new chair. There is the long-standing tradition that the Board member up for reelection serve as chair — and Garvey announced her reelection campaign yesterday — so the selection wasn’t much of a surprise. Still, she promised reform in areas including county government customer service and civic participation in government.
There’s also been quite a bit of action with Arlington businesses.
District Taco is now open in Rosslyn, Ballston is getting a Total Wine & More and New District Brewing Co. is opening near Shirlington this weekend. At the same time, long-time Arlington business CD Cellar is moving from Clarendon to Falls Church and the beloved Knightsbridge Trading Co. is also closing its doors in Clarendon.
With a new year often comes a new sense of opportunity, whether its for individuals, organizations, neighborhoods, businesses or families to inspire change, for better or for worse. While it’s obviously way too soon to tell what 2016 will bring for the county, one constant in Arlington is change.
What changes would you like to see in 2016? What opportunities do you hope to capitalize on this year, or hope local or state government will?
As always, feel free to discuss these or any other topic of local interest in the comments.