Author: Jo DeVoe

After several crashes, county fast-tracks intersection near Lubber Run Community Center for safety improvements

By Jo DeVoe
A collision on Nov. 11, 2023, at N. Park Drive and N. George Mason Drive (courtesy Esther Bowring)

Relief is coming for a crash-prone intersection in front of the Lubber Run Community Center.

Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services says it is working on an expedited design and construction timeline to install a traffic signal at the intersection of N. Park Drive and N. George Mason Drive, near Barrett Elementary School, by the end of 2024.

Last month, the county told ARLnow it was working to get a signal installed within the next three years. The decision to shorten the timeline responds to an uptick in crashes there this year, DES told the Arlington Forest Civic Association in a meeting yesterday (Wednesday).

“The signal project is on target for completion by the end of next year,” Vision Zero Coordinator Christine Baker tells ARLnow. “We must procure all materials and finalize construction plans.”

With the installation date a year away, the county evaluated a trio of interim solutions while removing and trimming overgrown trees and shrubs in the median to improve sight distances.

At this troubled intersection, drivers on N. Park Drive have a two-way stop sign before traversing the four lanes of traffic on N. George Mason Drive.

Left turns and through traffic on N. Park Drive are the primary causes of crashes, says Baker.

After evaluating temporary stop signs, traffic signals or barriers to restrict certain traffic patterns, DES decided to keep exploring how to add barriers.

“We are also assessing the potential impacts to nearby intersections, such as Henderson, to ensure safe alternative routing,” Baker said.

Potential turn restrictions on N. Park Drive and N. George Mason Drive (courtesy Arlington County)

In its presentation last night, DES said turn restrictions are easy to install and effective. Crashes dropped at the intersection of Old Dominion Drive and Little Falls Road when similar turn restrictions were introduced there.

The restrictions on turning and going straight on N. Park Drive are set to be installed before the end of 2023. They will be removed when the traffic signals go in at the end of next year.

Old Dominion Drive and Little Falls Road turn restriction impacts (courtesy Arlington County)

The updates are good news for residents, who have been asking for a solution soon, predicting pedestrians could get hurt. So far this year, the county has lowered speeds on the road near Barrett, repaved and restriped intersection — adding a “SLOW SCHOOL XING” message.

“Arlington Forest residents have been very concerned about safety at the intersection of George Mason Drive and North Park Drive for several years,” Arlington Forest Citizens Association President Esther Bowring said in a statement.

“That is why we are appreciative that Arlington County has now committed to not only expediting installation of a traffic signal at that location, but also to installing interim measures to improve pedestrian and traffic safety until the signal is installed,” she continued.

A traffic signal was recommended back in 2017, when traffic near the site was studied as part of plans for the new Lubber Run Community Center. Ultimately, the county moved forward with a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon and pedestrian refuge.

Staff did pledge to conduct a traffic signal analysis after the community center was finished and new travel patterns settled.

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Arlington to move forward with pickleball courts at Walter Reed after mulling a pause

By Jo DeVoe
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Arlington County will continue with plans to build dedicated pickleball courts at the Walter Reed Community Center.

The county had mulled pausing the project, putting the question to community members in a survey this spring.

“Respondents were slightly more in favor of continuing the project, though it should be noted that respondents who identified as players are more in favor of continuing and those self-identifying as neighbors were more in favor of pausing,” Dept. of Parks and Recreation planning director Erik Beach told the Board on Tuesday.

DPR will forge ahead because the sport has health benefits and the center needs renovations either way, he said.

“The county firmly believes in the benefits of providing places for its residents to receive the physical and mental health benefits of being outside, recreating and socializing,” Beach said. “DPR has observed in real-time and validated through professional literature the opportunity provided by pickleball to be a catalyst for those physical and mental benefits.”

The county has selected designs that would:

  • increase the distance between future courts near 16th Street S. and residential homes to a distance of about 170 feet
  • add acoustic fencing to both sets of courts and landscaping in between
  • add a deck to protect a large existing tree and provide respite space
  • improve circulation for people with disabilities
  • increase parking spaces by four
  • resurface the basketball courts

An online survey about the proposal is open now through Dec. 8 and could inform tweaks DPR makes before selecting a contractor by the third quarter of 2024.

Columbia Heights Civic Association President Ron Haddox, meanwhile, is skeptical of the most recent survey. In a letter to the Board, he said the survey circulated in pro-pickleball online forums nationally and internationally, attaching screenshots.

He says pickleballers recommended people submit responses multiple times across platforms and identify as county or 22204 residents, “even if they were not.”

“This obviously concerns us and calls into question the genuineness of at least some portion of the feedback received,” he said.

Beach told the Board that DPR tried to improve the quality of the data by removing several hundred comments from people at least 10 miles away from the community center. In the age of virtual private networks, Haddox says, this may not have done much.

“The use of DPR’s anonymous survey methodology and subsequent efforts to enhance its usefulness have very likely resulted in skewed results that have limited usefulness other than to let the county know that nearly EVERYONE on BOTH sides of this issue is against the idea of permanent courts at WRCC,” he said in a letter to the County Board.

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County Board allocates closeout funds to tackle public safety staffing shortages and teen substance use

By Jo DeVoe
Maritza Orihuela tells the Arlington County Board to do more for youth programming (via Arlington County)

Arlington County is doling out leftover funds from the 2024 fiscal year toward tackling youth substance abuse, public safety and behavioral health challenges it is facing.

Those are three of several buckets that will benefit from the $46.3 million in discretionary close-out funds — almost double what the county had to spend after last fiscal year, $26.9 million. The County Board approved County Manager Mark Schwartz’s spending plan last night (Tuesday).

Some of the bigger-ticket line items are as follows:

Use of discretionary balances (via Arlington County)

As for public safety, to combat staffing shortages and small recruit sizes for the Sheriff’s Department and the Police Department, deputy sheriffs would get bonuses and ACPD would get money for hiring bonuses that compete with neighboring jurisdictions.

In response to allegations of years of harassment gone unaddressed, levied by several female Arlington County Fire Department employees, the county proposes funding for an Office of Professional Standards, as well as training while an outside law firm conducts interviews about the allegations.

The Dept. of Human Services will get $150,000 for bonuses for hard-to-hire positions. For instance, it has had a hard time finding someone to handle jail diversion programs for adults with serious mental illnesses.

The jail would get an independent medical staff member, as requested by Sheriff Jose Quiroz. Schwartz said the medical staffer would be an independent voice when there are disagreements between state or local clinicians and the jail-based, private medical provider, Mediko.

Sources have previously told ARLnow that the contractor and other jail-based clinicians have disagreed over appropriate drug treatments for inmates, for instance.

Time-sensitive program needs getting closeout funds (via Arlington County)

Most discussion centered around $500,000, increased to $750,000, to augment existing teen resources and programs the county, Arlington Public Schools and community partners offer. The parks department and the schools, for instance, have long lists of programs but advocates say many are not marketed to or are unaffordable to the very families hit hardest by the drug epidemic.

The extra funding — responding to community advocacy — would fund work to review and tailor these programs to the substance use and mental health issues teens are facing. In putting forward this suggestion, Schwartz was complimentary of how the schools and the county are working together on the issue.

County Board member Takis Karantonis carried a motion 3-2 to increase the funding to $750,000 so that these activities can happen in the next six months if needed, without staff having to draw from resources somewhere else.

Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey and Vice-Chair Libby Garvey dissented.

“I hate how that could be misinterpreted as not desiring to spend more money on this initiative. It’s not that at all,” Dorsey said of his vote. He noted the extra $250,000 is not earmarked for something specific and that this effort has generated a lot of ideas but no specific plan, yet, deeming the increase “more symbolic than substantive.”

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County legislative priorities include more speed cameras, more funding for prosecutions

By Jo DeVoe
Arlington County courthouse on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023 (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Widespread speed cameras and more funding for prosecutors are two emerging priorities for Arlington County during the upcoming legislative session.

The Arlington County Board got a first look at its legislative priorities during a meeting last night (Tuesday). They cover a range of topics, from funding for improving public transportation to tackling the behavioral health crisis crippling Arlington and the state.

The new priorities come one week after elections for both chambers of the state legislature. Democrats retained control of the Virginia State Senate and obtained a slim majority in the House of Delegates, previously controlled by Republicans. Still, policymakers — who will meet with the Board on Tuesday, Nov. 28 to discuss their priorities — will have to contend with a divided government, as the GOP controls the executive branch.

Going into the session, which begins Jan. 10, 2024, Arlington County is looking to state legislators to introduce bills granting local authority for automated speed enforcement beyond work and school zones, per a county report.

More speed cameras are part of the county’s Vision Zero initiative to reduce serious injury and fatal crashes, as well as a recommended way to reduce potentially adverse interactions between officers and civilians during traffic stops. In January 2022, the County Board approved their installation in school and work areas to reduce speed-related crashes in these areas.

Since then, however, the process of installing these cameras in these zones has stalled. In March, Police Chief Andy Penn said a contract could be ready this spring but, nine months later, police and Vision Zero Coordinator Christine Baker told ARLnow this week that the contract is still in the “procurement” phase and tied up in negotiations.

Moving from the streets to the county courthouse, Arlington County says it would like legislation to “ensure there is adequate funding for the prosecution of misdemeanors, civil duties, and the creation of diversion services.”

This responds to several issues that have arisen within the local criminal-legal system and others across the state, with the introduction of body-worn cameras, contracted staffing levels and mounting pressure for programs diverting from jail people who commit nuisance crimes or have an addiction or serious mental illnesses.

“The work of prosecution has changed considerably over the past years, and arguably decades, and in some respects, our office has failed to keep pace or appropriately adjust expectations about the services our office could reasonably provide with limited resources,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti said in a 2020 memo to County Manager Mark Schwartz.

Reviewing body-worn camera footage, for instance, became a deciding factor for Dehghani-Tafti to pull prosecutors from jailable misdemeanor offenses such as driving without a valid operator’s license, driving on a suspended license, reckless speeding and numerous registration offenses.

In the memo to Schwartz, the top prosecutor said she did not come to this decision lightly. Rather, she first sought counsel from a state agency that trains prosecutors and the Virginia State Bar Ethics Counsel. Both said prosecutors would need to review thousands of hours of body-worn camera footage to meet their obligations to share all exculpating or incriminating evidence.

“Unfortunately, at present we have neither the staff nor resources to review, process and disclose camera footage and other evidence from 40,000 cases,” Dehghani-Tafti said in the memo.

To that end, Arlington County says it is also wants to see state funding for additional positions to review body-worn camera footage “to increase transparency and accountability with law enforcement.”

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Odd plaque near the Madison Community Center no longer includes antiquated Civil War reference

By Jo DeVoe
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A curious plaque outside a private development in the Old Glebe neighborhood underwent some copy-editing in recent years.

The plaque is attached to a large stone on the corner of N. Richmond and Stafford streets, near where Fort Ethan Allen once stood. It marks the entrance to a development across the street from the Madison Community Center and Fort Ethan Allen Park, built by former developer and prominent philanthropist Preston Caruthers, who died earlier this year.

For years, it sported the following inscription, complete with a cheeky but outdated reference to the Civil War.

FORT ETHAN ALLEN CHAIN BRIDGE GULF BRANCH SANCTUARY FOR WILDLIFE AND NOT SO WILDLIFE HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AS …

THE SANCTUARY

… HISTORICAL SITE OF CIVIL WAR FORT ETHAN ALLEN WHICH COMMANDED ALL THE APPROACHES SOUTH OF PIMMIT RUN TO CHAIN BRIDGE DURING THE WAR OF NORTHERN AGGRESSION (1861-1865)

Coined by segregationists during the Jim Crow era, “The War of Northern Aggression” is decidedly not the preferred nomenclature for modern Arlington sensibilities.

Finally, in 2020 — a year that saw significant upheaval locally amid a national racial reckoning after the murder of George Floyd — “The Sanctuary” got a new plaque.

Preston’s son, Stephen Caruthers, says the homeowners association spent $5,000 to change the sign and leave out the ‘War of Northern Aggression’ reference. One resident, who has since moved away, was “the primary mover and shaker responsible for suggesting that be changed.”

“It was agreed upon by the members here and that’s the entire story,” Caruthers said.

“When my dad wrote that, some of it was tongue-in-cheek,” he continued. “If you read the entire description, he made light of the fact that ‘the Sanctuary’ is for the wildlife and the not-so-wildlife, referring to the residents who live there.”

Still, the younger Caruthers acknowledged that many people were upset by the term, which he says he understands.

Resident John Belz says the plaque aggravated him the first time he saw it and whenever he would think about it afterward. It was his wife who noticed the plaque had changed when she was volunteering as a greeter during early voting this year.

“I’m glad they changed it,” he wrote.

“I recognize that Virginia was part of the Confederacy, but it surprised (shocked?) me that more than 100 years later, someone in this area would refer to the rebellion as ‘The War of Northern Aggression,'” Belz continued. “And plant a sign, which refers to the Union fort that was there, within yards of the place.”

Stephen emphasized that his father, who died at the start of 2023, has a more enduring legacy than this plaque as “Mr. Arlington.”

Preston Caruthers was a prolific donor who contributed land to Arlington County and made financial contributions to the Virginia Hospital Center Foundation, Marymount University, Shenandoah University, and the David M. Brown Planetarium, among other institutions.

“My dad was very involved in many things here in Arlington,” his son Stephen said. “He had a very full life, he loved Arlington, and was always trying to do things to help Arlington.”

Podcast: Va. elections analyst Sam Shirazi on the Democratic upset at the ballot box last week

By Jo DeVoe
ARLnow’s Jo DeVoe and Va. elections analyst Sam Shirazi on the latest ARLnow Podcast

Last week’s election may have had few surprises locally but it shook up the Virginia State Senate and House of Delegates.

Virginia elections analyst Sam Shirazi caught up with ARLnow’s Jo DeVoe to talk about how Democrats won majorities in both legislative chambers and why Arlingtonians should look outside the county’s deep blue bubble and pay attention to state politics.

Listen below or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or TuneIn.

Arlington is close to launching a new call center to divert people in mental health crises from jail

By Jo DeVoe
Arlington 911 dispatcher at the county’s Emergency Communications Center, in 2021 (via Arlington County)

The next year will see some important steps forward as Arlington County looks to uncouple law enforcement from its response to homelessness and behavioral health crises.

In 2024, the county will implement new protocols and a call system to ensure people experiencing behavioral health crises — due to a mental illness, substance use disorder or disability — receive services rather than get arrested and jailed.

The coordinator of the forthcoming Marcus Alert system, Tiffany Jones, provided the update during an Arlington Committee of 100 forum last week, adding that more details will emerge during the implementation stage.

“The main purpose is to ensure that everyone has equal opportunity, accessibility to services and is treated with dignity and respect and given the proper services that they need to thrive,” Jones said. “However, there is a specific mission to increase the availability of and access to racially responsive crisis supports — so, in short, to target the BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, People of Color] community.”

The system comes from the Marcus-David Peters Act, which was signed into law in late 2020 and is named for Marcus-David Peters, a Black, 24-year-old biology teacher who was killed by a police officer in 2018 in Richmond while experiencing a mental health crisis.

Once operational, the system will transfer people who call 911 or 988, the national suicide and mental health crisis hotline, to a regional call center. There, staff determine whether to de-escalate the situation over the phone, dispatch a mobile crisis unit or send specially trained law enforcement.

“Our emergency communications center partners have been doing a wonderful job in getting trained on mental health, psychotic disorders, substance use, suicide prevention, trauma-informed care: various different topics that will help them learn how to assess and manage and transfer calls when they receive Marcus Alert-type calls,” Jones said.

The regional crisis call center is also building mobile crisis teams, Jones said, noting more information on these teams will come out at the time of implementation in December.

“Arlington County and the police department are well ahead of what the state protocols are for the Marcus Alert implementation that we’re working towards in 2024,” ACPD Community Engagement Division Supervisor Lt. Steve Proud said.

The state required localities to ready implementation plans by the summer of 2022. However, localities have until 2028 to stand up a Marcus Alert system.

So far, five localities within each region of the state have operating programs, according to the Virginia Dept. of Behavioral Health and Development Services:

  • Western: Madison and Fauquier counties, plus Warrenton and Culpeper
  • Northern: Prince William County
  • Southwest: Bristol and Washington County
  • Central: Richmond
  • Southeast: Virginia Beach

Jones had another big announcement last week related to the county’s “Mobile Outreach Support Team.”

“When we implement the funding that we will get from the state [for Marcus Alert], we’re going to expand our MOST team due to how effective they have been in the community and pouring into our community members,” she said. “So we’ll be able to have new team with a new van, and expanding hours of operation as well.”

MOST launched this summer and comprises licensed clinician, a peer recovery specialist and an outreach worker from the Dept. of Human Services. Between 1-9 p.m., they respond to referral calls in a retrofitted van equipped with everything from a defibrillator to Narcan and fentanyl test strips.

The vehicle was funded through a 2-year, $390,000 federal grant.

Mobile Outreach Support Team coordinator Michael Keen shows Rep. Don Beyer the county’s behavioral health crisis response van launched last month (staff photo by James Jarvis)

MOST Coordinator Michael Keen said he conducts homeless outreach while shelters, the public and the police department refer individuals to him, so he can introduce them to county programs. He says he has received 45-55 referrals per month in the last two months, up from an average of 15-20, largely from police.

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County Board passes Plan Langston Blvd with several tweaks intended to respond to community concerns

By Jo DeVoe
Arlington County Board on Nov. 11, 2023 during their discussion of the Plan Langston Blvd document (via Arlington County)

(Updated at 4:55 p.m.) A plan guiding the future of Langston Blvd was approved on Saturday.

After hearing from some three dozen speakers, the Arlington County Board passed the plan — with some broad wording changes and neighborhood-specific tweaks that respond to months of public comments, including those made in the days leading up to the vote.

The county said in a press release that the newly adopted plan will help turn the 4.5-mile-long, car-oriented commercial and residential corridor into a “green, mixed-use main street that provides safe and multimodal access and is rooted in environmental resiliency, economic sustainability, and equity.”

“I am proud of the new vision for a resilient and equitable Langston Boulevard that was developed through years of work with the community,” Board Chair Christian Dorsey said in a statement after the vote.

“The plan’s land use framework and design guidelines will shape the new development in this corridor by helping expand the housing supply and its commercial base, improving its transit network and the connectivity of its public spaces, and strengthening the overall climate resiliency of the corridor by managing stormwater effectively, adding quality green spaces, and improving energy efficiency,” he continued.

Board members added and removed language in an attempt to firm up commitments to more aggressive affordable housing goals and county investments in better infrastructure. They added language intended to ensure privately owned public spaces — the bedrock of new green space envisioned on the boulevard — feel as accessible as their government-owned counterparts.

Some changes were tailored to specific neighborhoods and sites, made by individual community members and property owners. For instance, height transitions were lowered from five stories to four along 22nd Road N., a narrow road populated with single-family homes that abut commercial properties along Langston Blvd, including Moore’s Barber Shop.

Board members also lowered maximum heights from five stories to four, and transitional heights from four stories to three near the Calloway United Methodist Church in the historically Black neighborhood of Halls Hill/High View Park. For some supporting Board members, this vote was done with the neighborhood’s history in mind, as it was once segregated from a development for white residents by a wall.

Interim Board member Tannia Talento says lot size and street widths increase on the formerly “white” side of the segregation wall.

“What [the Halls Hill neighborhood is] asking for is not to feel locked in again,” she said. “Based on the history and recognizing and acknowledging mistakes made in the past, it’s important to hear the community, respect our history, respect what the request is, recognize that we have generational families who experienced that segregation.”

Board member Matt De Ferranti said he listened to John M. Langston Civic Association president Wilma Jones explain the rationale for her request in a recent ARLnow podcast. He said these concerns led him to support the amendment.

“Until I have next to me a 7-Eleven, I shouldn’t over-talk about [density],” he said.

Dorsey opposed the vote on the grounds it could create unintended consequences.

“We have made it more likely to develop by-right, providing no community benefits,” he said. “While I know you are all quite sincere to bring an equity lens and support historically Black communities, I don’t think they’re asking us at this point to deny them the opportunity to receive community benefits from redevelopment, which could be a consequence of this action.”

Board members also softened tree canopy requirements around the Lyon Village Shopping Center, which requested relief, saying the 35% canopy requirement would be impossible to meet if the property owners were to redevelop. They struck a recommendation to extend 25th Road N. west to connect with N. Harrison Street, instead adding language to suggest increasing pedestrian and bicycle connectivity between these two streets.

The Board also included a directive to the County Manager ensure that conversations move forward with the Virginia Dept. of Transportation and WMATA about redeveloping land these agencies own near the East Falls Church Metro station. De Ferranti says he would like to see staff directed to assess “re-zonings that lead to more affordable housing as fast as we can reasonably and appropriately do so.”

More about the plan’s passage, below, from a county press release.

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Four Arlington startups rank among North America’s top 500 fastest-growing tech companies

By Jo DeVoe

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Three Ballston Plaza. 

Four Arlington-based startups have made it onto Deloitte’s 2023 North America Technology Fast 500 Rankings list, released last week.

They are:

  • 29. GoTab, with 6,080% growth
  • 372. Brazen, with 342% growth
  • 423. Interos, with 287% growth
  • 525. Govini, with 212% growth

Awardees were selected based on percentage fiscal year revenue growth from 2019 to 2022, which ranged anywhere from 201% to 222,189% but had an average growth rate of 1,934% and a median growth rate of 497%, per a press release.

“Each year, we look forward to reviewing the progress and innovations of our Technology Fast 500 winners,” said Paul Silverglate, vice chair, Deloitte LLP and U.S. technology sector leader, in a statement. “This year is especially celebratory as we expand the number of winners to better represent just how many companies are developing new ideas to progress our society and the world, especially during a slow economy.”

Deloitte 2023 Technology Fast 500 Rankings illustration (via Deloitte)

All four Arlington companies have seen big changes recently. For most, the challenges Covid presented became fuel for their achievements.

GoTab’s streamlined ordering platform tailored to customers and restaurant staff rocketed into the public eye during Covid, when venues had to adapt to contact-less interactions. It has since launched new platforms, raised millions and expanded into Canada.

The fintech company Interos was founded in 2005 but its mission — using artificial intelligence-powered software to help businesses identify disruptions to their supply chain — became especially relevant during Covid, which caused trade restrictions and product shortages.

In 2021, Interos became Arlington’s first private startup to reach “unicorn” status, or a $1 billion valuation. Between 2019 and 2021, the company grew by 303% and has had its platform used by NASA, the U.S Department of Defense and several Fortune 500 companies.

Brazen provides virtual and in-person recruiting solutions to speed up the hiring process and works with some of the top brands in the world, including 15% of the Fortune 100. It has been expanding since it raised $3 million in 2019, but saw a marked increase in interest during Covid, when virtual events became the norm.

It was recently acquired by the cloud-based talent acquisition software provider Radancy.

Govini uses data and machine learning to advance U.S. competitiveness and combat eroding military dominance. Its claims to fame include a $400 million indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity, 5-year contract for data and analytics with the Pentagon, which it landed in 2019.

This year, it launched Ark.ai, which uses AI and machine learning to scan commercially available data for information to address “challenges in supply chain, nuclear modernization, acquisition, procurement, science and technology and foreign influence,” per a press release.

The company tied its recent growth not to Covid but with other current events: China’s rise to power and Russia’s war with Ukraine.

“In the face of these threats, national security leaders have realized that maximizing the Defense Acquisition Process is the first step to building an enduring military advantage,” Govini CEO Tara Murphy Dougherty said in another press release.

“This shift is evident in our growth and the widespread adoption of our flagship product, Ark.ai, across the Department of Defense,” she continued. “Govini remains deeply committed to equipping the defense community with a platform that answers the growing call for rapid, data-informed acquisition.”

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New docs show APS had no formal contract with Kaiser, which admits it ‘dropped the ball’

By Jo DeVoe
AEA members protest the Kaiser contract termination during the Thursday, Oct. 12 School Board meeting (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Threads from the decision to change insurance providers for Arlington Public Schools staff continue to unravel.

When APS entered a new contract with CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield this year, ending a 36-year relationship with Kaiser Permanente this September, it drew the ire of teachers, retired and active.

Stressed by having to find new providers mid-year, some criticized APS leadership for being opaque and disrespectful. APS apologized to staff for how it went about providing this information.

The most recent revelation is that APS says it has no record of a formal contract with Kaiser Permanente, with whom it instead had yearly extension agreements.

The healthcare provider, however, says it was under the impression it had a continuously operating contract since 1986 but ultimately conceded to APS that it “dropped the ball,” according to correspondence between the school system and the company, provided to ARLnow.

“The traditional way of entering into an agreement for the services provided by Kaiser would be for the two parties to sign an agreement,” a school system spokesman said. “However, there is no record of this happening. Instead, the services were renewed annually through a renewal rate sheet provided by Kaiser.”

Kaiser does not see it that way, though. The provider says it has operated “under a sole source contract” continuously since 1986 and that this contract was amended in 2022 to include three one-year extensions, according to a September letter from Kaiser to APS, provided to ARLnow. The letter requests APS reverse course on its decision.

APS submitted Requests for Proposals in December and again in January because its annual extension with Kaiser was coming to a close, as was a concurrent agreement with Cigna. It initially sought one provider but rewrote the RFP to allow for two contracts and extend the deadline.

APS ultimately awarded the deal to CareFirst and did not receive a bid from Kaiser. Citing procurement rules, it maintains it could not reach out to Kaiser directly for a bid during this time.

APS also disputes Kaiser’s characterization that the agreement was a “sole source contract,” or, one that is issued outside a competitive bidding process because only one company is able to provide the requested services.

The argument that Kaiser could enjoy this privilege is that, unlike traditional health insurers, it provides the bulk of the healthcare services itself. APS, however, says “it would be impossible” to recommend a sole source contract with Kaiser because there is competition, as evinced by the several proposals it received.

In its plea to APS to reverse course, Kaiser points out the school system did not mention a forthcoming termination when it confirmed services would extend through 2023. This confirmation letter, provided to ARLnow, is sparse, informing Kaiser of the renewal through Dec. 31, 2023 and noting “all other terms and conditions shall remain unchanged,” with no mention of available extensions.

In response, APS told the company it has no record of a two-way agreement and that it cannot reverse course.

“APS is not able to show that a two-way agreement was issued between APS and Kaiser for the Services,” the letter said. “In an attempt to provide a more formal structure to the renewal process, a two-party amendment was introduced in 2023… There is no mention of it being a second extension.”

In a follow-up email, the provider noted its team “dropped the ball” and requested further conversations to understand what went wrong.

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‘Plan Langston Blvd’ nears finish line, though some resident concerns linger

By Jo DeVoe
1/8

Plan Langston Blvd — a sweeping document outlining the future development of the corridor — is teed up for a vote by the Arlington County Board on Saturday.

The vote would culminate years of grassroots activity, followed by a county planning process that included about a year of public engagement. Despite the long lead time, the plan was recently criticized during County Board campaigns and commission meetings for introducing too many last-minute changes, which the county maintains were largely technical.

Although these tweaks have had time to settle, longstanding concerns continue to arise, pertaining to affordable housing, retail, building heights and park space. The Planning Commission addressed some of these earlier this month when, after voting to recommend the Board adopt the plan, members added in a few recommended changes.

On affordable housing, the Planning Commission, residents and community groups asked the County Board and staff to push for more committed affordable units.

“We don’t ask enough of our developers,” Commissioner Elizabeth Gearin said, per meeting minutes. “I hope we’re looking at how to get more on-site units. We should identify tools to where the County doesn’t need to outlay money. We haven’t fully exhausted this issue.”

Plan Langston Blvd projects to create 2,500 committed affordable units along the corridor by 2075, while the county’s 2015 Affordable Housing Master Plan previously called for the creation of those units by 2040. A sticking point for affordable housing advocates, the breakdown is because the Affordable Housing Master Plan, or AHMP, “was a projection, not necessarily a goal,” county planner Natasha Alfonso-Ahmed said, per meeting minutes.

“We’ve done extensive analysis of development capacity, and at the end of the day, the building envelope is set,” she said. “The result based on the recommended building envelopes is somewhat less than the AHMP projection.”

Planning commissioners approved a motion articulating their support for a countywide effort to “identify new tools and strategies to preserve and achieve more affordable housing related to a review of the Affordable Housing Master Plan,” according to the minutes.

Rev. Ashley Goff and Pat Findikoglu, representing VOICE — Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement — wrote that the Board has a vested interest in doing this.

“You have consistently shown your support for housing affordability for Arlingtonians across the income spectrum in many other areas of the County,” they said in a letter to the Board. “Now you have a chance to make clear that the North Arlington Langston Boulevard corridor, like all the other areas, also has a significant role to play in ensuring future housing opportunities for a broad range of residents.”

Attachment to the Lee Heights Shops — a one-story retail strip that includes an independent wine store, a salon, restaurants and a toy store with distinct colored awnings — also generated buzz.

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