| ARLnow.com - Part 11

Oakridge Principal, Henry Teacher Earn APS’ Top Awards

Published April 13, 2015 at 2:45PM

The principal of Oakridge Elementary and a third grade teacher at Patrick Henry Elementary are this year’s Arlington Public Schools principal and teacher of the year.

Oakridge Principal Lynne Wright will be honored with APS’ top award for administrators, 11 years after she won the 2004 Teacher of the Year Award while she was at Taylor Elementary School. Wright managed to improve Oakridge’s Standards of Learning test scores while at the helm of Arlington’s most overcrowded elementary school.

“Lynne is an energetic and charismatic leader who creates a positively charged school where students thrive and families are welcomed,” APS Superintendent Patrick Murphy said in a press release. “She recognizes the importance of building relationships with families and community that supports the diverse student population. Lynne is an exceptional educator and dedicated instructional leader who creates connections among staff, families and the community, all leading to the success of students.”

In the 2013-2014 school year, Oakridge raised its SOL pass rate in math from 76 to 85 percent and in reading form 74 to 81 percent. She accomplished this, in part, by integrating technology, data and stronger assessments into her school’s instruction.

Wright was named Oakridge’s assistant principal in 2007 and was promoted to principal in 2010.

“She is firm and demanding, yet friendly and approachable,” counselor Anne Terwilliger said in the release. “She encourages staff to hold each other to high expectations by modeling how to do so in a comfortable and respectful manner.”

Arlington’s 2015 Teacher of the Year is Dahlia Constantine, who serves as an instructional lead teacher and student teacher host, as well as leading her third-grade class.

“Dahlia is an outstanding educator who builds strong relationships with her students and families,” Murphy said in a release. “She has a special talent to inspire children to become lifelong learners and continually seeks ways to involve families in the instructional process to create a comprehensive learning network.”

Constantine came to Arlington, and Patrick Henry, in 2011 after stints teaching in New York City, La Puente and Monterey Park, Calif., and Woodbridge, Va. Her principal, Annie Frye, lauded her use of data to inform her work in the classroom.

“Dahlia’s style, technique and passion for the educational profession are immediately evident when you walk into her room, when you meet her or, better yet, when you see her in action with her class,” Patrick Henry parent Colleen Godbout said. “The children are at such ease in the environment she creates. She respects her students and they can sense it.”

Constantine and Wright will be honored, as well as winning teachers from the other 34 schools in Arlington, at an awards reception at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 27 at Washington-Lee High School. The winners from each other APS school can be seen after the jump.

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Developer Conference Startup Eyes ‘Exponential Growth’

Published April 13, 2015 at 1:45PM

Editor’s Note: Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.

An Arlington startup focused on software developers for mobile platforms was born when the iPhone 2 was the newest smartphone on the market and Blackberry devices were everywhere.

MoDev started back in January 2009 not as a company, but as a Meetup group of a dozen mobile developers in Piola in Rosslyn. The idea was to start a community for developers building mobile application, a vacuum in the D.C. area at the time, MoDev founder Pete Erickson said. The aim was to generate conversation and collaboration among developers in the “new ecosystem.”

“I didn’t plan to run it as a business, it just kind of happened.,” Erickson said. “After doing it for about a year, we had over 1,000 members and people started bringing us money because they were looking for developers and wanted to sponsor our group.”

The first sponsorship was a $50-per-month agreement with Blackberry, and the others started to roll in. Erickson was consulting and launching another startup, Disruptathon, but by 2011, it became clear that MoDev was poised for big enough things for him to jump on full-time and steer the ship.

In December 2011, MoDev organized its first conference, a 350-person affair at Gannett in Tysons Corner. Since then, the company has curated almost 40 conferences around the world with tens of thousands of combined attendees. Several have been at Artisphere in Rosslyn, which is why Erickson is leading the charge to save the arts venue from extinction.

The conferences have ranged from mobile development to wearable technology to exponential growth, the key theme of MoDev’s future, Erickson said, as well as the entire startup industry’s.

“We’re watching a whole bunch of industries transform in a number of years,” Erickson said, citing Uber, AirBnB and Waze as exponential-growth startups that have had groundbreaking impacts on their respective industries. “The opportunity to manage products in an exponential world is vastly different and exciting. It’s actually very daunting, and we think the whole skill and method of developing exponential products is so different, there needs to be a conference that addresses it.”

That idea — having a need for conversation and collaboration surrounding an issue — has always been the impetus for MoDev.

Erickson said the mobile development community in D.C. had to come together when he started MoDev, which has been bootstrapped from the beginning, because that’s the only environment in which true innovation can flourish.

“You want to bring people together as often as possible, because that’s when ideas get born,” Erickson said. “It’s always rewarding for me to hear the testimonials of people who have gone on to build great apps together, be successful together, or even just try together.”

Among the companies that have benefitted from MoDev’s services are local startup success stories LivingSocial and WeddingWire. Other MoDev community members including Rosslyn-based TMSoft Founder Todd Moore and Reston-based app development company SavvyApps.

In addition to organizing their own conferences around the world — including through a chapter in Hong Kong — MoDev also organizes conferences and events for others. Clients include Google, Amazon Samsung, Microsoft and Capital One, which is sponsoring MoDev’s Minimum Viable Product conference, coming to Artisphere next month.

“We’ve watched some of the largest companies in the world use MoDev to reposition themselves,” Erickson said. “We’ve got an impressive roster of companies we’ve worked with to help them build their development.”

More than just conferences, MoDev also helps these companies strategize about their mobile development goals, and what they need to become successful in the changing landscape.

Erickson has called himself a “visionary,” and he’s constantly thinking forward. He operates MoDev and his team from his home office in Arlington, and they don’t even use email anymore.

“We live in an exponential time, and we’ve shifted our company from linear to exponential,” he said. “Understand all that and knowing how important it is to be successful today, we’re going to inject this exponential conversation into everything we do.”

Photos top and bottom courtesy MoDev. Photo, middle, by Paco Alacid

#Startup Monday

Should Metro Be Arlington’s Plan for Columbia Pike?

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 13, 2015 at 12:15PM | Updated April 13, 2015 at 12:52PM

As Arlington grapples with the cloudy future of transit on Columbia Pike, in the wake of the streetcar line’s cancellation, one question has been largely absent: Is Metro the answer?

The Pike, Pentagon City and Crystal City together are projected to account for 65 percent of the county’s population growth and 44 percent of its job growth in the next three decades, and Arlington doesn’t have a long-term transit plan in place for the Pike to accommodate that growth. So far, much of the discussion has revolved around bigger and better buses.

But there is another option, a much bigger, bolder and pricier option than even the streetcar: taking advantage of an existing stub tunnel at the Pentagon Metro station and building a new Metrorail line under Columbia Pike. Such a line was envisioned as a likely expansion by the Metrorail system’s original planners in the 1960s.

When the proposal for Arlington’s short-term plan for the former-streetcar corridor comes before the Arlington County Board next year, two of the five members of the Board will be newly elected, replacing the retiring Board chair and vice chair, Mary Hynes and Walter Tejada.

So far, seven candidates have declared they’re running for the two open seats: Democrats Christian Dorsey, Peter Fallon, Katie Cristol, Andrew Schneider, James Lander and Bruce Wiljanen, and independent Audrey Clement. Will this new crop of Arlington leaders revive the idea of Metro as long-term a solution for the Pike’s growth?

Dorsey tells ARLnow.com that he’s open to Metrorail as part of a more holistic discussion of the Pike’s transportation future.

“We haven’t undergone a process to really do that in a sufficient way, where we’ve looked at a variety of transit options that are possible — not feasible, but possible — and determining whether or not that matches long-range projections,” he told ARLnow.com. “I absolutely think that’s something that needs to be done in consultation with regional partners on heavy rail.”

The county is still planning to install 23 more transit stations along Columbia Pike, for a total of $12.4 million — redesigned to cost far less than the Walter Reed Super Stop prototype — and those stations are designed to accommodate enhanced bus service. However, other than assumptions that more, bigger and fancier buses will be coming to the Pike, it’s unclear how those stations will be integrated. The county has vowed to spend $200 million on the corridor’s transit over the next six years.

Cristol agreed with Dorsey, saying Arlington needs to consider all long-term options in the corridor’s future.

“I believe we need to keep everything on the table as we contend with the forces shaping re-development and transit demand in Arlington,” she said. “Rapid population growth and demand for public transit on the Pike will be a defining feature for Arlington’s coming decades … I will always be for considering and discussing big ideas — even the expensive ones that seem infeasible in the immediate — as we look to address those dynamics.”

WMATA already has a 40-year plan in place for Metrorail’s future development, but that plan, adopted in 2013, includes a connection between Arlington’s since-cancelled and D.C.’s embattled streetcar lines. WMATA has since discussed plans for a second tunnel in Rosslyn and another line in Virginia, but public discussions from the agency have not included Columbia Pike.

Wiljanen said Arlington taking on that discussion would distract from the immediate needs of the Pike’s residents.

“If a Metro line opened tomorrow under Columbia Pike, I would be elated,” he told ARLnow.com in an email. “However, given the current political and budgetary climate, starting the process now will prove to be an exceedingly heavy lift, and the timeline could easily extend 30 years or more into the future. I think we need quicker solutions.”

Clement, a perennial candidate for Arlington public office, thinks Arlington needs to take up these discussions as soon as possible.

“It is definitely time to plan for a Metrorail line under Columbia Pike,” she said. “One of the principal reasons I opposed the Pike trolley was the fact that the trolley tracks would have to be dug up to accommodate the subway, which is the ultimate solution to congestion on the Pike.”

(Fallon, Schneider and Lander did not respond to ARLnow.com’s email asking for comment.)

Dorsey also opposed the streetcar, while Cristol, a Pike resident, and Wiljanen didn’t say whether they supported the project, only that Arlington needs to move on.

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School Board Passes Budget With $6.2 Million Funding Gap

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 13, 2015 at 10:35AM | Updated April 13, 2015 at 11:13AM

(Updated at 11:15 a.m.) The Arlington School Board has approved a proposed $555.9 million budget for the 2015-2016 school year, requesting $6.18 million more than County Manager Barbara Donnellan proposed in her budget.

The School Board’s approved cuts of $7.4 million from Superintendent Patrick Murphy’s budget, unveiled in February. Some of those savings have come from updated revenue figures, but others have come from slashing Murphy’s budget, including cuts to the Arlington Public Schools central office staff.

Other savings came from moving money around, funding replacement buses and new technology with one-time funds from last year’s closeout budget as opposed to ongoing funding.

“We have now shrunk by $6.2 million, and that’s been a lot of hard work,” School Board member Abby Raphael said at the decisive meeting last week. “Everyone was asked to really scrub their budgets and make changes, so we’re making some hard cuts and some hard choices … I think it is very reasonable, very responsible.”

The Arlington County Board will vote on its budget next week, and in the process it could either approve the School Board’s budget, or force APS to make further cuts. If the School Board is not granted the $6.2 million, the next cuts to make would be step increases for staff, eliminating early release from the four elementary schools who still have it. APS could also increase class size by one, which would cut 55 jobs.

If the County Board approves the Board’s adopted budget, all early release programs at Arlington elementary schools would be a thing of the past, paving the way for broader implementation of the Foreign Language in Elementary Schools program.

The adopted budget would mean a cost-per-pupil of $18,558, APS’ lowest since FY 2012 and third-lowest since FY 2008. The Board and staff managed to reduce the cost from Murphy’s budget by $131, while adding new positions along the way.

“We’ve worked well together and stuck to our common values, which is what’s important,” School Board member Barbara Kanninen said. “The changes we’ve made, every one has been careful and deliberate with thought to the taxpayers dollars. When we made a new addition, it’s because we need it.”

Some of Murphy’s proposed cuts the School Board elected to restore, including the World Languages distance learning courses, and its six associated positions. The Board also added three facilities and operations positions to help with the ever-continuing school construction.

The Board also made community outreach a priority, adding a full-time family and community engagement coordinator and allocating $67,000 for “communications support” for the Board.

Morning Notes

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 13, 2015 at 9:30AM | Updated April 13, 2015 at 11:56AM

DCA’s Growth Hurting Dulles — Arlington’s Reagan National Airport is growing fast — it set a new record for passengers on March 27, with 39,073. Congress has widened DCA’s flight perimeter three times and more and more airlines are scheduling flights. In the meantime, Dulles is more expensive to fly out of and won’t have a Metro line until 2018 at the earliest. Reagan now has more daily passengers than Dulles, and Dulles’ consumer base is shrinking. [Washington Business Journal]

Arlington Teacher Selected For Cuba Trip — Yorktown social studies teacher Tom Lenihan is raising funds to participate in Tulane University’s Cuban Culture & Society Teacher Institute. To ensure his place in Havana, Lenihan, also an adjunct professor at Marymount University, must raise $3,000. Lenihan says he will bring back knowledge and experience to share with fellow educators and his World Affairs class. He has set up a GoFundMe page to raise the money. The program is from June 20-July 4.

D.C. Area to Grow By 1.6 Million People? — The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments projects the D.C. area, including the outer suburbs, will grow from 5.05 people in 2010 to 6.62 million people in 2040. The core area, made up of D.C., Arlington and Alexandria, is projected to have a growth rate north of 40 percent. [InsideNova]

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman

Arlington Agenda (April 13-19)

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 13, 2015 at 5:00AM

Arlington Agenda is a listing of interesting events for the week ahead in Arlington County. If you’d like to see your event featured, fill out the event submission form.

Also, be sure to check out our event calendar.

Tuesday

U.S. Army Chief of Staff Hosts Twilight Tattoo
Whipple Field (Marshall Drive, Joint Base Fort Myer-Henderson Hall)
Time: 5:00-6:00 p.m.

U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno will give Outstanding Civilian Service Awards during Ft. Myer’s weekly Twilight Tattoo pageant. Free to attend.

Wednesday

All-you-can-eat Crab Legs*
Mad Rose Tavern (3100 Clarendon Blvd)
Time: 5:00-9:00 p.m.

For $22, patrons can eat all the snow crab legs they want, plus enjoy happy hour specials on domestic bottles, Fireball, sangria, mojitos and margaritas. Reservations are recommended.

Thursday

Live Music: Fatoumata Diawara
Artisphere (1101 Wilson Blvd)
Time: 8:00-10:00 p.m.

African folk singer-songwriter Fatoumata Diawara plays guitar, sings and composes drum arrangements to her music, which has fans like Herbie Hancock. Tickets are $24.

Saturday

AFAC Young Professionals Fundraiser*
Arlington Rooftop Bar and Grill (2424 Wilson Blvd)
Time: 6:00 p.m.-midnight

A night of music, dancing and auction prizes all go to benefit the Arlington Food Assistance Center, feeding families in need. Tickets are $35 each or $60 for two.

Sunday

Carjacking Self-Defense Seminar*
Nova MMA (1425 N. Quincy Street)
Time: noon-3:00 p.m.

“Living in the DMV, car jacking situations are a reality and on the rise,” Nova MMA says. They are offering a three-hour self-defense seminar for $50. Reserve a spot here.

Affordable Housing Public Forum*
Arlington Mill Residences (901 S. Dinwiddie Street)
Time: 3:00-4:00 p.m.

A public forum on the disappearance of affordable housing in Arlington County and the path forward. Featuring County Board member Walter Tejada, moderated by former state Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple.

“Sole Celebration” fundraiser for Doorways*
Lyon Hall (3100 Washington Blvd)
Time: 3:30-6:30 p.m.

an annual fundraiser honoring the memory of a 34-year-old brain cancer victim will benefit Doorways for Women and Families this year. Tickets are $35 each.

*Denotes featured (sponsored) event

#Arlington Agenda

Arlington to Re-Introduce Paper Ballot Voting

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 10, 2015 at 3:30PM

Voting in Arlington will go back to the future this year when the county introduces paper balloting to replace the touch-screen boxes it has been using for years.

The paper ballots will be digitally scanned and allow more voters to vote faster, and provide a hard copy of ballots in case of technical malfunctions, Arlington County said in a press release. It’s the first time the county has used paper ballots since 1950, county General Registrar Linda Lindberg told ARLnow.com.

The county was forced to make the purchases by a ruling by the Commissioner of Elections recommending the electronic WinVote machines be decertified and prohibited.

“Last week, without any notification to the users, the State Board of Elections said they had found ‘vulnerabilities with the machines,'” Lindberg said. “This late-night press release that they did very publicly without our knowledge has basically killed the machines for us.”

When asked what problems Arlington had encountered with the touch-screen machines, in use in the county since 2003, Lindberg said “nothing.”

Arlington had already planned on purchasing paper ballots and digital scanners next year. A 2007 law passed by the General Assembly requires all localities, when procuring new voting equipment, to eschew electronic machines for paper ballots.

Arlington will now have to come up with $750,000 to purchase 60 digital scanners — one for each of the 53 votings precincts with extras for absentee ballots and training — in the FY 2016 budget, which the Arlington County Board will adopt next week.

“This is the minimal amount we can get by on for the time being,” Lindberg said. Next year, her office will have to spend hundreds of thousands of additional dollars procuring extra machines and equipment for a presidential election year, which means a much greater influx of absentee ballots.

The first election the paper ballots will be used for is the June Democratic primary for County Board. On May 9, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Lindberg’s office will be hosting an open house to explain the new balloting system on the ground floor of 2100 Clarendon Blvd.

In 1950, Arlington switched from paper ballots to the lever machines, where voters had to go into a booth and pull a curtain behind them. In 1991, the county introduced its first electronic machines — bulky, “but very reliable,” Lindberg said — and in 2003 they starting using the touch-screen system that is now obsolete.

Open Houses in Arlington This Weekend

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 10, 2015 at 2:30PM | Updated April 10, 2015 at 3:54PM

(Updated at 3:55 p.m.) In between fighting the crowds to see the cherry blossoms at peak bloom, check out some of the real estate on the market in Arlington.

See our real estate section for a full listing of open houses. Here are a few highlights:

1211 S. Eads Street
1 BD / 1 BA condominium
Agent: Nicholas Kuhn, McEnearney Associates
Listed: $372,900
Open: Sunday, April 12, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

1050 N. Stuart Street*
2 BD / 2 BA condominium
Agent: Dawn Wilson, Keller Williams Realty
Listed: $571,800
Open: Saturday, April 11, 3:00-5:00 p.m.; Sunday, April 12, 1:00-3:00 p.m.

2720 S. Arlington Mill Drive*
2 BD / 2 BA condominium
Agent: Helen Harden, The Bryan Group Real Estate
Listed: $699,999
Open: Sunday, April 12, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

6559 28th Street N.*
3 BD / 2 1/2 BA single family detached
Agent: Coral Gundlach, Century 21 Redwood Realty
Listed: $725,000
Open: Saturday, April 11, 2:00-4:00 p.m.; Sunday, April 12, 2:00-4:00 p.m.

2203 S. Monroe Street*
4 BD / 3 1/2 BA single family detached
Agent: Pierce Tracy, Classic Cottages Realty
Listed: $729,000
Open: Sunday, April 12, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

4005 22nd Street S.*
3 BD / 3 1/2 BA single family detached
Agent: Karen Close, Century 21 New Millennium
Listed: $979,000
Open: Sunday, April 12, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

3840 N. Tazewell Street*
3 BD / 2 full, 2 half BA townhouse
Agent: Matthew Shepard, Keller Williams Realty
Listed: $1,125,000
Open: Sunday, April 12, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

*Denotes featured (sponsored) listing

#open house

Driver in Fatal Rosslyn Crash to Serve 12 Years

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 10, 2015 at 1:00PM

The man who killed a 24-year-old Alexandria resident last January in a drunk-driving collision in Rosslyn was sentenced to 12 years in prison this morning.

Aman Singh Lail was sentenced to 20 years, with nine suspended, for aggravated involuntary manslaughter, plus 12 months for driving under the influence. Lail pleaded guilty to the charges last summer.

The sentence was the maximum allowed upon the plea agreement, and Arlington Circuit Court Judge Louise DiMatteo apologized to the family of the victim, Chowdhury Saqlain, saying no sentence could replace the son they lost.

“I don’t even know what to say to the family seated over here,” she said from the dais. “It’s completely unfair what’s happened to you. It’s wrong.”

Lail had previously been arrested twice and convicted once of DUI in Virginia. He had also been charged with multiple reckless driving and speeding charges, totaling more than 30 citations and arrests.

On Jan. 24, 2014, Lail was driving on Lee Highway at between 53 and 64 mph — the Commonwealth’s Attorney and Lail’s attorneys dispute the speed and blood-alcohol content of the case — when his Jeep Wrangler slammed into Saqlain’s sedan at the intersection of Ft. Myer Drive. Lail could not complete a field sobriety test and initially lied to detectives, telling them a friend “Moe” had been driving his SUV.

“He drove like a maniac, was outrageously drunk and displayed callousness after the fact,” Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jay Burkholder said during the hearing. Witnesses said he drank between four and five vodka and orange juice drinks and two tequila shots at a hookah bar in Fairfax County. “Because of perverted fate, the defendant is alive and [Saqlain] is dead.”

Lail’s mother testified that her son had been an alcoholic and told her the evening after the crash he didn’t remember what happened. In the 15 months since the crash, Lail’s attorney claimed he had grown up, and asked for leniency in the sentencing.

“He has changed a lot, he understands and he knows he took someone’s life,” Lail’s mother said. “He is a very nice boy, he is very good-hearted.”

After the hearing, Saqlain’s family and their attorney, David Haynes of The Cochran Firm, held a press conference outside the courthouse and announced they would be pursuing a civil suit against Lail, asking for $20 million in damages.

Haynes said the family hopes Saqlain’s legacy is fewer drunk-driving deaths. They are also calling on state legislators to make bars and restaurants liable in drunk-driving accidents that occurred after over-serving their patrons.

“Without this law on the books, we are unable to hold these establishments responsible,” Haynes said.

During the sentencing hearing, Saqlain’s stepfather read testimony written by his wife — the victim’s mother — who was quietly sobbing in the front row.

“There will be no more birthdays, he will always be 24,” he read. “My heart aches knowing he had no warning, no ability to prepare. He couldn’t say goodbye.”

Can a Tech Startup Save Artisphere?

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 10, 2015 at 10:35AM

While the Arlington County Board enters their final deliberations surrounding the potential closing of the Artisphere, one local entrepreneur is trying to save it.

Pete Erickson is the founder of MoDev, which organizes conferences for mobile software developers. Erickson has hosted a handful of conferences at Artisphere and is planning his latest — MVP (minimum viable product) Conference — for May 18 and 19.

When Erickson heard that County Manager Barbara Donnellan recommended defunding the arts and events venue in Rosslyn, and then realized that no one else seemed to share his vision for its business potential, he could no longer sit idly by.

“I thought I’d wait to see what was going to happen, who was going to come around and just kind of keep tabs on things,” he told ARLnow.com yesterday. “Nothing concrete has come from any other parties. The county is nearing a vote, and they’re under a lot of pressure to cut costs where they can. As that reality began to hit, I sprang into action and said ‘I’ve got a big enough network here to pull together the partners we would need to turn Artisphere into a destination technology, incubation and events hub.’ “

Erickson’s efforts — first reported by Technical.ly — stem from what he’s already been able to do at Artisphere: host events that attract as many as 1,000 attendees. In the D.C. area, there is no place like it.

“It’s hard to find space for a medium-sized conference, which is less than 1,000 people — and 95 percent of all conferences,” he said. “There’s a number of reasons why Artisphere is really well-suited for conferences. Artisphere is a unique space, and you can bring in outside catering, which is a big opportunity, it’s got an IMAX theater, it’s got a black-box theater, an open-air ballroom. It is a good confluence of several things. It’s also hard to find space that’s right on a Metro, close to D.C. and also accessible from the west.”

Erickson is thinking bigger than conferences, too. He has ideas for innovation labs that would bring companies and individuals in during the week, partnerships with incubators like 1776 in D.C. to collocate member businesses. It could turn into its own incubator, and there “could be events happening all the time.”

“One of the downsides with how Artisphere runs currently is everything is linear,” Erickson said. “When a play is happening, there’s not other things happening. When there’s a gallery opening, there’s nothing else that happens.”

The 62,000-square-foot arts center opened at a cost of $6.7 million in 2010 and has been losing money ever since. It was opened up to non-arts events in 2011 — paving the way for MoDev’s conferences — but still is a budget boondoggle for the county.

The County Board appears ready to support Donnellan’s decision — it voted 4-1 in favor of closing Artisphere at a work session earlier this week — but Arlington Economic Development is hoping Erickson can come up with something concrete before it’s too late.

“Right now, it’s just an idea. It’s not even a proposal,” AED Director Victor Hoskins told ARLnow.com yesterday. “The idea is attractive. How you execute it is the question. That’s a much bigger investment than the $250,000 [D.C. invested] in 1776 in 2011.”

“I think MoDev could pull it off, because that’s what they do,” Hoskins added. “But we haven’t even seen a proposal. That’s what we would be looking for.”

(more…)

Year-Round Yard Waste Collection Still Up in the Air After Lawsuits

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 9, 2015 at 4:45PM | Updated April 10, 2015 at 10:08AM

Arlington’s once-planned, year-round yard waste collection is back on the table after lawsuits delayed its inception last summer.

Last year, the county approved moving to year-round yard waste collection, which would require Arlington residents to put leaves, branches and grass in new, green tubs to be collected every week alongside trash and recycling.

The yard waste would have increased the county’s recycling rate by 13 percent, then-Arlington County Board Chairman Jay Fisette said.

The county was forced to put the program on hold last June when, after awarding an all-in-one waste collection contract to American Disposal, the county’s former waste contractors, Bates Trucking and KMG Solutions, sued over the bid process, claiming “cronyism.”

The lawsuit from KMG was withdrawn last November, according to court records, and Bates’ suit was withdrawn in January. Neither the county attorney nor Bates Trucking have returned requests for comment on the lawsuits.

Once the lawsuits had been filed, the county canceled its contract with American Disposal and instituted an emergency contract without year-round yard waste collection, charging homeowners $271 per year for waste collection — cheaper than the previous fees when Bates and KMG were providing services.

During budget talks this year, according to county Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Jessica Baxter, the year-round yard waste question is back on the table.

“Arlington County will finalize a new contract this spring for refuse and recycling services to single-family, duplex and townhouse properties,” Baxter told ARLnow.com in an email. “The County Board will consider whether year-round yard waste will be added to the other waste collection services during its annual budget process.”

The annual fee for homeowners has not yet been determined, Baxter said, nor has the fate of the green cans residents were supposed to receive last year. The County Board will adopt its FY 2016 budget later this month.

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