Limits to Ranked Choice Voting — “The field may be as many as a half-dozen by the time the dust settles, but for voters in June’s Arlington County Board Democratic primary, there will be some limits on how many candidates one can rank as part of the new instant-runoff process. Technical constraints mean that voters will only be able to select their top three choices, no matter how many candidates emerge, county elections chief Gretchen Reinemeyer confirmed.” [Sun Gazette]
Arlington’s Busiest Battalion Chief — From the Arlington County Fire Department: “The busiest Battalion Chief (BC) for the ACFD in 2022 was Battalion 111 with over 1,000 calls for the year. BC’s are dispatched on all significant incidents to serve in a command capacity. Day to day they manage their battalions which are comprised of multiple fire stations.” [Twitter]
GOP Mainstay Dies at 100 –“In the days before COVID sent public events into lockdown mode for a number of years, Arlington County Republican Committee meetings were made just a little bit sweeter by Clara ‘Delle’ Macrae. A familiar face at GOP meetings, Macrae provided brownies, cookies and refreshments for monthly membership gatherings when they were held at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) building in Ballston for years… Macrae died Jan. 14, having turned 100 years old last summer.” [Sun Gazette]
Yet Another Gun at DCA — “On Wednesday, an Alexandria man was prevented from bringing his 9mm handgun onto his flight. The gun was loaded with 10 bullets… The gun marked the third gun caught at one of the airport security checkpoints within the past week, TSA said. The total number of guns confiscated at Reagan National Airport checkpoints now stands at six in the first 25 days of 2023.” [Patch]
Job Posting Requirement Stats — “Northern Virginia’s employers say they’re flexible about degree requirements for entry-level positions, seemingly opening the door to more community college students and a broader, more diverse talent pool. But their job postings suggest otherwise… 56% required at least a high school diploma or vocational training, while 32% required a bachelor’s degree, 8% an associate’s degree and 4% a graduate degree.” [Washington Business Journal]
Metro Increasing Train Frequency — “Metro announced today that beginning Feb.7, customers on the Blue, Blue + (Yellow Line replacement) and Orange lines will see trains every 12 minutes from 6 – 9 a.m. and 3 – 6 p.m. on Tuesday through Thursday. Beginning Feb. 21, Red Line customers will see trains departing every 8 minutes all day until 9 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday.” [WMATA]
It’s Friday — Clear throughout the day. High of 43 and low of 31. Sunrise at 7:20 am and sunset at 5:25 pm. [Weather.gov]