Feature

Legal Review: Virginia Declines to Install Speed Cameras in School Zones

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

By Criminal Defense Attorney Karin Riley Porter of Price Benowitz LLP

A bill in the Virginia legislature that would have installed speed cameras to take photos of vehicles traveling in excess of 12 miles per hour above the speed limit failed to advance out of committee, despite having no public opposition.

The cameras proposed are the same ones that Virginia uses for catching drivers running red lights. Pictures are generated that show the vehicle’s license plate and other information regarding the violation. The tickets are then mailed to the address associated with the license plate.

“Legislators, in discussing the bill, seemed concerned that allowing ticket enforcement through the mail would reduce the seriousness of school zone speeding violations,” said Karin Riley Porter, a Virginia Speeding Ticket Lawyer with the firm of Price Benowitz, LLP.

School zone speeding violations are treated very seriously in any jurisdiction, but in Virginia, any speeding violation can be treated one of two ways: as a standard traffic offense, or as reckless driving. The differences are substantial.

A speeding ticket that is issued as a traffic offense has a fine and only affects your driving record, which may have an impact on your insurance rates. A ticket for reckless driving, however, is considered a Class I misdemeanor, which is criminal in nature. It is not only accompanied by fines of up to $2,500, but it can result in jail time.

Unfortunately for drivers, a speeding ticket issued for reckless driving looks no different than a speeding ticket that is a traffic infraction. In some instances, the officer will write “RD” on the ticket to indicate that it is a reckless driving charge, something that drivers may not even recognize.

The issue this creates is that some drivers simply choose to pay the fine on speeding tickets. Failure to appear in court for a reckless driving ticket could result in the driver not only being fined but could also result with a criminal conviction that could impact an individual’s long-term future.

If you have been cited for speeding in Virginia, do not simply pay the fine. Contact a Virginia Speeding Ticket Attorney and allow them to review your citation in order to determine the best course of action.

If you have been cited for reckless driving, the attorney will be able to ensure that you are represented in court and argue on your behalf. Do not take the chance that the prosecutor or judge will be lenient — especially if you were ticketed in a school zone. Allow a Virginia Speeding Ticket Attorney to help.

Arts Focus: The Science, Data and Inspiration of Creative Genius

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Supporting entrepreneurs, small businesses and creatives is all part of Arlington’s Creative Economy initiative. With public/private partnerships, growth of these endeavors is an important part of business sector diversity and economic sustainability.

Check here for ongoing Creative Economy listings and opportunities. More Creative economy stories on the blog.

Creativity drives business innovation and growth. But is it reserved for the lucky few?

In the latest of the Return on Creativity series on October 2, hear Allen Gannett, author of The Creative Curve and Ben Rubin, Director of the Center For Data Arts talk about maximizing the discovery and application of creativity.

Big data entrepreneur Allen Gannett, author of The Creative Curve, overturns the mythology around creative genius, and reveals the science and secrets behind achieving breakout commercial success in any field.
 
We have been spoon-fed the notion that creativity is the province of genius — of those favored, brilliant few whose moments of insight arrive in unpredictable flashes of divine inspiration. And if we are not a genius, we might as well pack it in and give up. Either we have that gift, or we don’t.

But Allen shows that simply isn’t true. Recent research has shown that there is a predictable science behind achieving commercial success in any creative endeavor, from writing a popular novel to starting up a successful company to creating an effective marketing campaign.

Artist and designer Ben Rubin is the Director of the Center for Data Arts at the New School in New York and knows a lot about applying data to creative output. Rubin engages with social, cultural and environmental data to create large scale media installations and performance designs.

His work has been presented at the Whitney, MoMA, the Science Museum, London and he has been commissioned to create permanent installations for the Public Theater, The New York Times Building, Brookfield Place, Calgary among others.

Rubin’s groundbreaking projection design for Arguendo, a play by Elevator Repair Service that played at Woolly Mammoth theater and earned him an Obie Award in 2014.

October 2, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Marymount University, Ballston campus
Free event, registration is required

Just Reduced Properties in Arlington

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Each week, “Just Reduced” spotlights properties in Arlington County whose price have been cut over the previous week. The market summary is crafted by licensed broker Aaron Seekford of Arlington Realty, Inc. GET MORE out of your real estate investment with Aaron and his team by visiting www.arlingtonrealtyinc.com or calling 703-836-6116 today!

Please note: While Aaron Seekford provides this information for the community, he may not be the listing agent of these homes.

Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!

Translation: Arlington is the number one dog-friendly city in the U.S. according to Yelp. In a recent scoring of localities throughout the country, Arlington came in at numero uno for its dog parks and number of dog-friendly establishments, among other criteria.

So, Fido has plenty of places to play and relax here. But, before you decide to call Arlington County home, where will you and Fido live? Dog-friendly communities and residences can be tough to find. But, being the animal lovers that we are, we are loaded with recommendations and can help you find the perfect spot.

When you (and your furry friend) are ready to GET MORE out of your transaction, we’re ready to roll. And, don’t worry. We don’t bite or bark.

As of September 10, there are 201 detached homes, 52 townhouses and 253 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 49 homes experienced a price reduction in the past week.

Here is this week’s selection of Just Reduced properties:

Please note that this is solely a selection of Just Reduced properties available in Arlington County. For a complete list of properties within your target budget and specifications, contact Aaron Seekford.

Ask Eli: Buying Your Rental/Selling to Your Tenant

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Question: I am interested in purchasing the condo I currently rent and my landlord is interested in selling, but that’s as far as we’ve gotten. Do we need an agent for the transaction? Is there anything unique about this type of transaction we should be aware of?

Answer: The sale of a rental property to a tenant is usually a dream scenario for both parties, each realizing financial benefits and simplifying an often-difficult process. The transaction reflects a normal sale except that the buyer and seller have a direct relationship which usually is not the case. Thus the question — should you use an agent?

I’m going to take a wild guess and assume most of you reading this are thinking “No way! If you don’t need somebody to open a door, you don’t need an agent.”

Yes, part of an agent’s role in a sale between tenant and landlord is not necessary — the buyer doesn’t need help defining criteria or accessing properties and the seller doesn’t need help preparing the property for market and marketing it. Yes, two parties can enter into a contract to sell property without an agent and just hire a title attorney to handle the legal transfer.

However, I would encourage you to consider some questions/scenarios when you’re deciding whether or not to use an agent for the direct sale of a rental to a tenant:

Market Value

This is the most obvious and common request for an agent to be involved in a direct rental sale. Are both parties comfortable discussing what they believe fair market value is and negotiating the right price? Some people are perfectly comfortable with these conversations, while others would rather it be handled by a 3rd party.

Contract & Transactional Support

Our contracts are the result of decades of transaction history. They exist to provide protections to both buyer and seller and define rules in the event something doesn’t go as planned. You should consider whether or not you want the services of a professional to set-up the contracts in a way that protects your interests.

Think of this as an insurance policy on the transaction — if everything goes perfectly, a simple contract works just fine, but as soon as something (or somebody) derails, you want the right contract language in place and somebody to advise on best practices.

Representation

In Virginia, you have the option of each party being individually represented, whereby the agent has fiduciary responsibility to represent the sole interests of the party they work for or an agent can act as a Dual Representative, whereby the agent acts more like an unbiased facilitator/mediator of the transaction.

It is also worth noting that while one party may seek representation, the other party may choose to be unrepresented.

Commission/Payment

In a traditional home sale, the seller pays the commission of their agent and the agent who represents the buyer. However, in a direct rental sale, it’s my opinion that this is much more negotiable and ultimately gets built into the structure of the deal.

For example, if the seller chooses to be unrepresented and the buyer chooses to hire an agent, the buyer should bear the cost of said representation directly or within the terms of the deal.

It is also worth noting that, like any professional service, the cost of the representation is negotiated between the hiring party/parties and the agent.

Rental Agreement

Landlords and tenants should review the terms of the agreements they signed, if applicable, with the agent they used when they rented the subject property.

There are terms in many agreements that require a commission payment to the previous agent/broker if the property is sold during the tenancy. If you’ve already agreed to pay a commission in the event of a sale, you might as well utilize their services in the deal as well.

There is not one set answer to whether you should use an agent for your direct rental sale, but it’s important for both parties to understand their options for representation and what they are giving up or gaining by their decision. A direct sale changes the role an agent plays in a transaction, but it doesn’t eliminate it. In many cases, the negotiation and contract-to-close services are the most important role an agent will play.

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at www.EliResidential.com. Call me directly at (703) 539-2529.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland with Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.

Legal Review: The Fight for Equal Rights Heats Up in Virginia Beach

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

By Employment Attorney Tom Spiggle of The Spiggle Law Firm

Four bills that would have perpetuated discrimination against the LGBTQ community in housing and public employment decisions were struck down in the Virginia House of Delegates in February. Advocacy groups say they will not stop pressuring GOP legislators who continue to push for discriminatory bills.

Those groups, Virginia Beach for Fairness and Equality Virginia, held an awareness and advocacy campaign in Neptune Park at the Oceanfront in July.

During that campaign these groups tried to build awareness for how the LGBTQ community is currently discriminated against, with a focus on housing and employment in the public sector. They would like to not only pressure the legislature to change the current laws, but they are also encouraging residents and businesses to do the same.

Their hope is that by the time elections are held in November, lawmakers would have listened to what they had to say. And more importantly, that they will start passing the laws that could greatly help this community.

“Whether or not someone gets a job or is accepted into housing should not have anything to do with their sexual orientation or what gender they identify with, ” says Tom Spiggle of The Spiggle Law Firm. “It is illogical and shameful that either of those factors would ever be considered — but especially in 2018.”

Historically, marginalized communities have struggled to overcome a variety of barriers to access housing and professional opportunities, though great strides have been made in the past decade.

Robert Roman, a co-owner of a furniture store in Norfolk, pointed to Fortune 500 companies that are intentional in implementing inclusive hiring practices. Due to the fact that they often want to set up their headquarters in states that have anti-discrimination laws, Roman argues that passing such laws in Virginia could have an impact on the entire state and its economy as companies decide where to open new locations.

Lawmakers should consider their obligation to constituents is deeply tied to their stance and protection of anti-discrimination laws and take swift action accordingly.

Legal Insider: Elon Musk’s Use of Marijuana Raises Question of Whether Clearance Rules Apply Equally to All

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This is a sponsored column by attorneys John Berry and Kimberly Berry of Berry & Berry, PLLC, an employment and labor law firm located in Northern Virginia that specializes in federal employee, security clearance, retirement and private sector employee matters.

By John V. Berry, Esq.

Billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, was recently videotaped smoking marijuana on the Joe Rogan talk show. According to reports, Mr. Musk holds a security clearance as part of his CEO role at SpaceX, a major government space contractor.

As a result, news reports first indicated that the U.S. Air Force has started an investigation into Mr. Musk’s alleged drug usage due to his holding of a security clearance.

Later, news reports indicated that there was not necessarily an investigation but that the U.S. Air Force was attempting to evaluate what to do about the issue. The question is whether or not the same rules governing every other clearance holder involving drug usage will apply to Mr. Musk if he did smoke marijuana.

My suspicion is that the answer will be no.

We often represent and defend individuals who have engaged in one-time or other minor illegal drug use (yes, the federal government still considers marijuana an illegal drug no matter where it is consumed).

Many individuals who engage in minor drug use may still lose their security clearance over even one usage, depending on the circumstances. The ultimate result will likely highlight the distinction between high level individuals and other clearance holders (the other 99%).

This sort of double standard was recently seen at the White House where the President’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, apparently had so many foreign contacts that he had to amend his clearance submission (SF-86) multiple times (something that isn’t usually permitted for others).

The type of contacts that Mr. Kushner admitted to having, if they had involved just about anyone else, would have barred them from obtaining a security clearance.

We often represent individuals from Pakistan, Egypt, India or Taiwan, where having just a few relatives from their home country, or owning small amounts of property in that country can disqualify them from holding a security clearance.

It seems that there are now two sets of rules for security clearance holders and applicants. Those that are important or well-connected and then the rules for the rest of us. I find this to be troubling and very wrong.

In a case like Mr. Musk, it might usually take a year or perhaps over a year, for a person to be able to mitigate having engaged in even a one-time drug use issue. The point of having a system for adjudicating security clearances is to have ensure that everyone, a billionaire, the son-in-law of the President of the United States and Jim Jones (a GS-13 civilian employee for the Department of the Army) all live by the same rules.

Hopefully, the next President will see fit to take action in order to make the security clearance rules apply equally to all of us regardless of wealth or position.

We represent federal employees and government contractors in security clearance cases. We can be contacted at www.berrylegal.com or by telephone at 703-668-0070. Please also visit and like us on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Maywood-Based Geocodio Aims to Provide Simplified, Useful Geocoding Services

By Melanie Pincus

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. 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.

Before virtually every business’s opening and closing times became available via search engine, Michele and Mathias Hansen developed an app to help people find grocery store and coffee shop hours near them.

In order for nearly 5,000 stores to be displayed in that app, which launched in 2013, they needed to convert addresses to latitude and longitude coordinates.

“Whenever you see a map online… the addresses are always converted to latitude and longitude first,” Michele Hansen said. “A computer doesn’t really understand an address, but it understands coordinates.”

The services available to perform that conversion had several shortcomings, and the married couple knew there had to be a better way. So, they came up with it.

Geocodio, which launched in Jan. 2014, makes that address to coordinate conversion and goes beyond it, offering services like data appends that enable users to get congressional district and timezone information with their lookups.

“What we focus on is trying to make things as easy as possible,” Michele Hansen said. “No one sits around and collects latitude and longitude coordinates for the fun of it.”

With other services, if you needed to convert more than 2,500 addresses a day, you had to upgrade from free use to a $20,000 per year enterprise license, Michele Hansen recalls.

Looking up 5,000 addresses, the number the Hansens had needed for their app, costs $2 on Geocodio without add-ons.

And with other services, “you weren’t allowed to store that crucial information in your database so that you could show the map later,” Michele Hansen said. “Conversely, with our services, you can just get it once… and then you can store the database and never need it from us again.”

Geocodio’s clients “run the gamut,” and include academics studying elections, insurance companies looking to understand the risk of insuring a property and “the website that our daughter’s swim team uses to coordinate scheduling,” Michele Hansen said.

“We have 18,000 companies using the service, or thereabouts,” she added.

Geocodio works as a “foundational building block where we [are] sitting behind a curtain and providing the data that other apps need to shine, essentially,” Mathias Hansen said. “It’s crazy how many different use cases there are.”

In one innovative application of their service, the Hansens created a map based on addresses individuals stranded during Hurricane Harvey posted to Twitter.

After they stayed up until 2 a.m. building the map, “I sent out an email to anyone on our customer list who had either a Red Cross email or had something to do with Texas,” Michele Hansen said.

Though “we can’t say for sure whether we helped anyone get rescued,” she said, “we did have a couple of organizations reach out to us asking to use it.”

Michele Hansen has worked on the company full-time since last fall, while Mathias works on it part-time. Geocodio has been funded via bootstrapping so far.

“We’re not opposed to [investment], it’s just that we have never needed it,” Michele Hansen said.

Going forward, Michele and Mathias Hansen plan to continue to listen to their customers and work to improve their service.

“From the beginning, we set out to solve those frustrations that we have, and so it’s very important to us to be affordable and easy to work with,” Michele Hansen said, “And not just stand over our customer’s shoulders and nitpick them about how they’re using our service and the data they’re getting back from it.”

Photos courtesy Michele Hansen

Rethink Energy: Free Energy Saving Kit

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/5

This regularly-scheduled sponsored column is written by the Arlington Initiative to Rethink Energy team (AIRE). This county program helps you make smart energy decisions that save you money and leaves a lighter footprint on the environment.

When we spot a great opportunity for Arlingtonians to save energy, we share it.

Washington Gas has an Online Home Energy Profile tool. The tool will give you an energy ranking, savings estimate and upgrade recommendations that make the most sense for your home. It takes less than five minutes.

Above all, if you are a Washington Gas customer, you can submit your address and have a FREE energy conservation kit sent to your home.

Free Energy Kits Include:

  • A high-efficiency showerhead
  • A bathroom faucet aerator
  • Door sweep weather stripping
  • Roll closed cell foam weather strip

Sealing air leaks, lowering water and sewer bills and reducing the amount of hot water used at home for free is a no brainer. Don’t delay, get yours before they run out!

Washington Gas Online Home Energy Profile Tool

FREE Energy Conservation Kit

Open Houses in Arlington This Weekend

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Looking for a home? There are plenty of houses and condos open for viewing this weekend.

Check out the Arlington Realty website for a full list of homes for sale and open houses in Arlington. Here are a few highlights:

2522 N Upland Street
8 bed/6 bath, 2 half bath single-family home
Agent: Ruth Boyer O’dea
Listed: $2,425,000
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

631 29th Street S
5 bed/4 bath, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: Claudia Kern
Listed: $1,049,900
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

5250 26th Street N
4 bed/3 bath single-family home
Agent: Christine Rich
Listed: $935,000
Open: Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

6029 19th Road N
3 bed/1 bath, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: Jane Morrison
Listed: $715,000
Open: Saturday 1-3 p.m. and Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

3409 N Wilson Boulevard #309
2 bed/2 bath condo
Agent: Sheena Saydam
Listed: $649,900
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

907 S Scott Street
3 bed/2 bath condo
Agent: Dawn Wilson
Listed: $499,900
Open: Saturday and Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

4500 S Four Mile Run Drive #412
2 bed/2 bath condo
Agent: Daniel Lesniak
Listed: $327,900
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

WWBG: Natural Wines

By ARLnow.com Sponsor


Editor’s Note: This biweekly column is sponsored by Dominion Wine and Beer (107 Rowell Court, Falls Church). It is written by Sarah Garratt, a wine and food pairing blogger. Follow her blog  or on Instagram @grapepairings.

Looking through a wine aisle or a wine list, you may have spotted the words “natural wine” on a bottle or description. Natural wines are becoming more and more prevalent in wine stores and restaurants, and it is important to know what “natural” really means in the wine world.

What is Natural Wine?

Natural wines are as pure, raw and bare bones as grapes and wine can be. They are unfiltered and made from all local grapes and yeasts. The grapes are typically grown by small and independent producers, and everything is done organically and sustainably.

During the winemaking process, nothing is added or taken away. This means no additives or preservatives. However, this also means that they can spoil quicker, as there is nothing to help them to age. Being unfiltered, many natural wines have a cloudy tint to them (coming from the yeasts) and can taste quite unique!

Is Natural Wine Healthier?

Not necessarily.

True, there are no added sulfites in natural wine. However, there is still no proven evidence that sulfites cause headaches, so that is not exactly a bad thing.

True also, natural wines are unfiltered and have no additives. However, this means that whatever bacteria or imperfections that were grown on the grapes of the natural wine have also been unfiltered and are in the final product.

It is also good to know that not all additives are bad for you! There are usually more harmful additives in the processed foods we eat than in the wine we drink! While not necessarily healthier than any other bottle of wine, natural wines are definitely a great way to try something new.

Three Wines to Try

Dominion Wine & Beer has some natural wines for you to try, three of which are featured today! All of them are unique, from smaller producers, and excellent to pair with food.

Let’s start with an Italian white wine, 2016 Montenidoli Vernaccia Di San Gimignano ($20). This Vernaccia has so many flavors going on! Each whiff of the wine brought out a different note. Smells and tastes of lemon, peach, camomile, yellow apple and freshly baked bread are all present in this white wine.

It is definitely a conversation starter! Being very full bodied for a white wine, oil or mayonnaise based salads would be excellent. Think tuna, chicken, bean, pasta or potato salads.

The 2017 Biha Andreas Vineyard Gewürztraminer ($20) is an orange wine from Oregon.

Don’t be fooled! There is no food coloring in this wine! While white wine is made from grapes without the skins on during fermentation, orange wine is made with white wine grapes and fermented in the skins. This gives the wine that orange color.

This gewürztraminer is bright orange, and full of honeysuckle and orange blossom notes. It has a long and acidic finish that would make it delicious with curry, chutney and hummus.

Not all natural wines are white. This 2015 Sono Montenidoli Il Garrulo Chianti Colli Senesi ($20) from Italy (same producer as the Vernaccia mentioned above) is a red wine with a gorgeous, garnet color.

Due to its medium tannins, this Chianti was made for pairing with tomato-based sauces, such as spaghetti with meatballs, pasta bolognese or lasagna.

Similar to the Vernaccia, the tasting profile is endless and has lots to offer. Flavors of violet, tobacco, spice, vanilla, cherry and stewed strawberries are all evenly balanced within the wine.

Do you like natural wines? Have you ever tried them? Curious to learn more? Stop by the shop and pick some up!

View More Stories