Pumpkins outside Whole Foods in Clarendon in 2011 (staff photo)
There’s a nip in the morning air, the leaves are starting to turn, sweaters have been moved to the top dresser drawers, and the citizenry of Arlington is switching from cold brews to hot coffees.
Yes, it’s pumpkin season. And with Halloween less than three weeks away, we were wondering just how many pumpkins the average Arlingtonian buys.
Just one to display proudly? A dozen to line your walkway? None because seasonal decorating isn’t your jam?
Yes, inflation may be hitting our pocketbooks, but pumpkins, despite their size, remain in the mid-single-digits in price at the grocery store. It almost seems like a bargain.
Columbus Day is the one federal holiday that Arlington County government does not observe.
Both because it’s a convenient holiday to swap for an off day on the unofficial holiday of Black Friday — the day after Thanksgiving — and because, despite his exploration feats, Columbus is regarded by some as “a murderer, tyrant, and scoundrel,” Columbus Day here is just any other day for county employees.
Of course, for many — including federal employees and Arlington Public Schools students — Columbus Day is a day off. But Columbus is not always mentioned as the reason.
“No School for Students (Countywide PL for Staff)” is how APS describes today’s day off, while other holidays on the school calendar are named.
Arlington Transit, meanwhile, is operating on a modified schedule, but Columbus is not credited.
“In observance of the Indigenous People’s Day holiday on Monday October 10, 2022, ART will be operating on a Saturday schedule,” the transit agency wrote.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day is now recognized by the White House, but started in the states, with South Dakota first adopting a version (“Native American Day”) as an alternative to Columbus Day in 1989 and other states like Alaska and Minnesota following suit in the mid-2010s. In some cases it’s used instead of the term Columbus Day, while in others it’s used in addition.
Columbus has his supporters, who tout his accomplishments despite all of the negatives associated with his journeys. And there are those who have simply always known today as Columbus Day and aren’t going to start calling it something else now.
But for others, calling the second Monday in October Indigenous Peoples’ Day is preferable.
With Columbus out of favor as a historical figure, especially locally, we’re wondering how many Arlington residents have, in their personal lives, taken to referring to today’s holiday as Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day.
Arlington painted in the style of Vincent van Gogh, generated by AI (via DALL-E 2)
After a two-day glimpse of gorgeous weather that followed a longer stretch of terrible weather, a sunny-if-cool fall weekend is upon us.
As you firm up your weekend plans, be sure to check out our event calendar or, for those who prefer the executive summary, the week’s event highlights.
Now, here are the most-read local articles of the past week:
Feel free to discuss those stories or anything else of local interest (like whether the AI-generated art above actually shows any recognizable portion of Arlington) in the comments. Have a nice weekend!
Virginia often urges residents to have a hurricane preparedness plan, but we’re wondering whether Arlington residents actually do that. After all, it’s the coastal areas like Virginia Beach that are more vulnerable to hurricanes, while Arlington is more insulated from the worst of the impacts thanks to our inland location.
That’s not to say that a hurricane cannot, under the right conditions, eventually cause even worse damage here — so perhaps it will pay to be prepared.
But how many Arlington residents actually take concrete steps to prepare for hurricanes here? Let’s find out.
“This is the guy who thought it would be a good idea to suggest putting 8-plexes in the middle of Arlington neighborhoods? Put him in the room next to the guy who came up with the gondola proposal.”
For opponents, suddenly living next to a multiplex building in what has otherwise been an exclusively single-family home neighborhood for decades may seem like the worst idea ever. For supporters, proposing eight-plexes off the bat, even if only on certain large lots, may seem in retrospect like a blunder that galvanized opposition.
Catch all of Mike Mount’s local ‘toons in the ARLnow Press Club weekend newsletter. Your membership supports our reporting and includes the daily Early Morning Notes newsletter, previewing the stories we’re planning to cover that day.
Golf carts (Photo by Ralph [Ravi] Kayden on Unsplash)An Atlanta suburb is known for its “miles of natural, wooded beauty” — and its 10,000 golf carts.
At 26.04 square miles, Peachtree City is just a touch smaller than Arlington County size-wise, though its population of 36,000 is a fraction of Arlington’s nearly 240,000. The master-planned community is best-known for its unique way of getting around: on almost 100 miles of golf-cart-friendly, multi-use paths.
There’s some suggestion that transportation planners across the country are beginning to see the benefits of adding golf carts to the modal mix. From a Twitter thread (and Slate article) last month:
When you think about it, the golf cart offers powerful advantages over a car:
-Lighter & slower = less likely to kill in a crash -Accessible to those unable to drive a car -~$10k new, vs $48k for a avg car -Less noisy/polluting (esp electric models) pic.twitter.com/tdb58FFzxq
As you might have gleaned above, the places where golf carts are catching on are in Sun Belt cities that rarely experience very cold weather.
The knock on bikes, e-bikes, e-scooters and other micro-mobility options — Arlington has long pushed bicycling in particular as a transportation alternative that doesn’t clog roads or pollute skies — is that they are highly undesirable in wet or cold weather, and not accessible for the elderly and some with differing abilities.
Golf carts at least partially solve those issues, though cold weather and snow remain challenges.
Even setting aside the weather, the advantages of golf carts — greener, cheaper, friendlier and more enjoyable commutes, for instance — run into the wall of reality in Arlington when one considers that they occupy a middle ground between driving cars and walking/biking that our transportation network is not set up to handle.
Peachtree City has an extensive trail network built out and golf-cart-ready, but Arlington’s trails were made for those on foot and on bike, not in electrified passenger vehicles traveling 20 mph.
Still, it’s fun to envision a future for Arlington that involves more golf carts as mobility devices. At the very least, the size of Arlington and its growing network of urban villages makes it more realistic.
Today we’re wondering: on the completely theoretical premise that a magic wand is waved and Arlington suddenly golf-cart-friendly like Peachtree City — used by much of the population, with safe and convenient trails — would you drive one?
Feel free to discuss these stories or anything else of local interest in the comments. Have a great weekend, Arlington — hope you enjoy Clarendon Day, Valley Fest, or any other local events you might be attending!
The system, also known as “instant runoff,” prompts voters to rank candidates and a winner is selected over the course of many elimination rounds.
The Board could vote in November to introduce ranked-choice voting (RCV) during the primaries next June. […]
The survey of voter preferences went live yesterday (Wednesday). From now until Nov. 4, locals can share any comments and questions they have about RCV, whether they’ve voted that way before and — on a scale of “very unfavorably” to “very favorably” — how they view it.
The county may be surveying residents, but we also wanted to gauge reader opinions on ranked choice voting, which some see as a way to encourage more candidate diversity while minimizing the chance that a fringe candidate wins due to other candidates splitting the vote.
Opponents say ranked choice is confusing to voters, produces results similar to standard plurality voting, and is inferior to conducting an actual runoff election between the top vote-getting candidates.
In the interest of letting everyone enjoy the outdoors after what has been an exceedingly busy week — at least for us — let’s get right to this week’s top stories.
Sunset near the U.S. Air Force Memorial (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A gorgeous end to the workweek today is expected to give way to clouds tomorrow and rain on Sunday.
Nonetheless, high temperatures in the lower 80s to mid 70s should make much of the weekend perfectly pleasant.
Next week is a County Board week, likely with plenty to report. This week, as well, was busy despite the holiday. Below are the most-read local stories of the past five days.
Excavating continues at the former Rouse Estate site along Wilson Blvd (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The Labor Day weekend is here so let’s get right to it.
For what’s supposed to be a pretty slow pre-holiday week, this week actually turned out to be quite busy, readership-wise. Here are the most-read stories since Sunday:
