Opinion | ARLnow.com

ARLnow Weekend Discussion

Published April 10, 2020 at 8:00PM

A holiday weekend is here, though for many it will not be quite the same with social distancing and without travel.

For those who celebrate it, we hope you had a happy Passover or will have a happy Easter. And no matter your faith, we hope you have a nice weekend — with any luck, one that includes a meal from a local restaurant.

It’s been a long week, so without further ado here are the most-read articles of the week:

Feel free to discuss those stories or anything else of local interest in the comments.

#weekend discussion

Morning Poll: Suspend All Towing?

By ARLnow.com

Published April 10, 2020 at 10:00AM | Updated September 23, 2020 at 11:21AM

There’s a global-pandemic-slash-economic-crisis going on, but you know what apparently isn’t affected? Towing.

Just like death and taxes, being towed is inevitable if you park without a permit in a private lot patrolled by a towing company. Even now.

That hasn’t stopped some people from trying, though, with predictable results. One local resident contacted ARLnow to suggest that trespass towing presents unnecessary risks during this time.

I live in a condo association in South Arlington that has parking policies that during normal conditions ensures that there is enough parking spaces for its residents at night. The policy is in effect from 8PM to 8AM. Virginia is currently under stay-at-home orders. My neighbors are not having gatherings or parties. Parking spots are not taken to local traffic visiting bars and restaurants. There are adequate spaces for residents and their guests. The parking policy does not hold.

However, the condo association is upholding a parking policy. Since my car was towed because I had not shown the proper permit, I need to get an Uber to the towing company in Falls Church and I would need to interact with the towing company to pay for any fees. I am putting my health in jeopardy, along with every person that I interact with. All of these risks could have been avoided if my car was not towed in the first place. I am not sure if towing from a residential property constitutes as essential business.

Who is looking out for our community’s well being for nonessential business that might put us at risk? How do we uphold stay-at-home guidelines when businesses are operating as business as usual?

I suspect that my circumstance is not the only one. I am not confident that Alrington can lower its positive Coronavirus cases if we do not take social distancing seriously.

(ARLnow has received similar messages about the county’s parking enforcement: “I noticed all cars being ticketed on my street this morning… Might be a good article to publish / investigate given the federal government’s recommendation that people not leave their homes / condos.”)

Given the current public health emergency, do you think it would make sense to suspend all trespass towing on private lots — kind of like The Purge but for parking? Or should parking restrictions should continue to be enforced?

What’s Next: The Street Forward

By Nicole Merlene

Published April 9, 2020 at 3:05PM | Updated October 17, 2022 at 11:26AM

What’s Next with Nicole is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.

It has been a strange few weeks. While life seems to stand still, so much is happening in our community.

Close Street Lanes

Maintaining your mental health during these odd times cannot be understated. Getting in regular exercise to kickstart your endorphins is important and recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Whether you are running, pushing a stroller, or walking with a loved one, sometimes our sidewalks are just not wide enough to keep a distance of 6 feet. A majority of people are trying to make enough space but it is oftentimes near impossible.

I would propose closing one lane of traffic in each direction where there are two lanes available in major corridors.

These connective roads could include: Wilson Boulevard, Walter Reed Drive, Glebe Road, George Mason Drive, Lee Highway, and more.

Traffic has decreased significantly and this would not be an undue burden on travelers.

Provide Unemployment Filing Hotline Help

It would be helpful if the Arlington Employment Center or another relevant entity could help residents with phone assistance while the state phone lines are being overwhelmed. While this is not normally a service that Arlington would provide, it would be of great public benefit.

The online filing form for unemployment in Virginia and Washington, D.C. is not set up for shift or gig workers. I add D.C. to this because many Arlington residents’ last job was in D.C. and would thus file for unemployment there. There are case-specific questions that don’t make sense and if answered incorrectly can delay vitally important payments.

About 150,000 filed for uninsurance in Virginia last week, and Governor Northam has stated that the helplines are overwhelmed. If localities can provide their own hotline help this might alleviate some stress on the system and get more people properly filed. (more…)

Peter’s Take: Sustaining APS Operations After the Coronavirus

By Peter Rousselot

Published April 8, 2020 at 3:00PM

Peter’s Take is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.

APS teachers, parents, students, and staff have responded heroically to the shock to their routines presented by the Governor’s decision to end classroom learning for the current academic year. Our community is very fortunate to have educational leaders who have created these full-time distance learning options until in-school instruction can resume.

However, for a variety of reasons — all of which were apparent prior to the coronavirus crisis — APS must transition to revised ways of delivering its educational services. APS’s existing instruction and construction models cannot be sustained long-term.

The Arlington County government also must step up right now and play a proactive role in helping APS plan this essential long-term transition.

Current instruction (operating budget)

On April 6, the County Manager released his revised FY 2021 operating budget, estimating that the revenue available to APS under its revenue-sharing agreement with the County will be $21.6 million lower than estimated in February. This leaves APS with a current $48.6 million operating budget deficit.

But, the balanced operating budget the County Board finally approved last year illustrates why APS’s current instructional model is fiscally unsustainable. In that pre-coronavirus budget year, APS received 75% of the revenue from a 2-cent tax rate increase even though APS currently is only entitled to 47% of locally generated tax revenues.

The County Board unsuccessfully tried to rationalize last year’s decision by pointing to those APS expenses attributable to opening new schools, implying that 2019 was a one-time thing. However, because of very large projected increases in APS enrollment throughout the next decade, APS will have to provide new seats for new students throughout that decade.

Based on last year’s APS enrollment projections, budget, tax rate, and real estate assessments, I explained why Arlington would have to raise its real estate tax rate by about 17 cents over 10 years simply to pay to educate the new students (6,000+) arriving solely due to enrollment growth.

Because APS enrollment is growing even more rapidly than Arlington’s overall population, that means more students per taxpayer, which means higher taxes if there are no significant changes in the ways in which APS operates its schools.

(more…)

The Right Note: Planning Now to Move Forward

By Mark Kelly

Published April 7, 2020 at 1:30PM | Updated September 23, 2020 at 11:21AM

The Right Note is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

We are all feeling the effects of this extended mandatory coronavirus isolation.

It may be as simple as a canceled birthday party or missing the senior year of a spring high school sport. Some may have lost a job or fear losing a job. You or someone you know may be sick. Or you may have experienced the tragic loss of life of someone close to you from COVID-19.

Our elected leaders here in Arlington are dealing with all of the practical effects of governing through uncertainty. They are tackling the “must do” items that come with an unprecedented public health emergency.

Now we are seeing some encouraging signs that mitigation is working and the rate of spread is slowing, even with ramped-up testing. Over the past week, the University of Washington model dramatically reduced the time for Virginia to reach peak hospital usage from May 17 to April 20.

In other words, we may be seeing some of the first signs of light at the end of the tunnel. This reminds us that we need our leaders to find a path forward after the crisis has lifted.

Our government structure in America is set up to make local government the most important in assessing and addressing the immediate needs of the people it serves. While it may be awhile before we are fully back to normal, hopefully our local leaders are keeping one eye on what’s next.

We are in the middle of an interrupted annual budget season in Arlington. Yesterday, County Manager Mark Schwartz presented a revised budget to the County Board that would reportedly reduce spending by $56 million. Here are five suggestions as they continue to make plans for moving forward past this crisis.

Plan for the best case scenario first. If we are able to begin to resume normalcy on May 1 or May 15 or June 1, then what would that look like in Arlington?

Scrub the county budget again to remove any more “nice to have” items that can wait for one, two or even five years. Arlingtonians have come to appreciate the essentials in life over the past three weeks, we are ok if the government does the same.
Give individuals and businesses a substantial property tax rate cut to help our local economy get back on its feet faster. A rate cut of ten cents for one year would make a real difference.
Dip into the rainy day funds to pay for things we need now. We set this money aside for an emergency. A once-in-a-century pandemic should qualify.
Put forward a plan to bring down our long term debt to revenue ratio by 10 to 20 percent, so that we have some breathing room to protect our bond rating moving forward.

Finally, please take a positive and hopeful approach as you plan. Do not waste time pointing fingers or attempting to assign political blame in these uncertain times. Just get the job done for the people you serve.

Mark Kelly is a 19-year Arlington resident, former Arlington GOP Chairman and two-time Republican candidate for Arlington County Board.

Progressive Voice: Local Government Steady and Resolved During Covid-19 Challenges

By Progressive Voice

Published April 6, 2020 at 2:45PM | Updated September 23, 2020 at 11:21AM

Progressive Voice is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the authors’.

By Katie Cristol and Matt de Ferranti

In a conference call, Progressive Voice editors asked Arlington County Board members Katie Cristol and Matt de Ferranti about their insights on the challenges of being a leader in local government during the trying time of the COVID-19 epidemic.

PV: Tell us about the challenge of making pressing leadership decisions, such as on the County budget, when there are fewer known facts, data and projections about 2021 and beyond.

MD: This isn’t an easy budget. In normal years, we have about 10-12 budget work sessions. You have time to learn, synthesize. This year, the fiscal reality has changed during the middle of the process, so it’s challenging to accept the new reality and adjust quickly.

Ultimately, we have to focus on values and what we must do: keeping people safe, making sure people are not evicted, and meeting our commitments and basic human needs. So we will do a pretty basic budget, and in the coming year, may come back and make adjustments. It’s a dynamic environment.

KC: It helps that Arlington’s fiscal fundamentals are still strong. Arlington is in very good fiscal health–such as our bond rating, our fully funded pension plan. What we are really talking about is lost opportunities–the investments we hoped to have made in this budget to attract good people to work here, expand human services, expand our capacity to fix street lights more quickly.

There may be harder times ahead. But what enables me to tell residents we can weather the pandemic as well as the economic challenges is that the fundamentals are still there. We have excellent public health and emergency response teams. We have staff who were with us during 9/11, during the recession starting in 2008. Our public health director got us through H1N1. I hope people feel confident by the amount of expertise brought to bear. We [County Board] are the faces on policy, but a lot of the pandemic response is at the professional expert level.

KC: I was reading through comments, a chat that the county manager did with staff, and it was a reminder of how dedicated the people who work for government are…. EMS, Fire are top of mind but also people who administer food stamps…they are risking their own safety to do that.

PV: What ways have you found to balance necessary health and safety (such as physical distancing) with the desire to shore up the economy, small business and workers? Any new insights about the role of government?

MD: Local governments and state governments have had to step forward, particularly because of an absence of leadership from the federal government, so the breadth of what local government can do is more clear to me than ever. There is an opportunity for innovation as we seek to serve all of our residents well.

KC: At the policy level, we’ve been providing small business technical assistance through BizLaunch, trying to help owners navigate SBA loans.

KC: We’ve been wrestling with how to support our restaurants, which are hurting so deeply. Very quickly, DES [Department of Environmental Services] traffic management set up free parking zones marked with signs outside the restaurants. Those are safer and easier for people [to pick up takeaway orders].

Doing things so quickly now will carry over to expecting it to always be so quick. When people discover how quickly we can do these changes…[laughs] without so much public engagement. People are used to [a long time of] hashing out pros and cons for something like curb space management.

PV: Will there be lingering after-effects on public engagement, move more quickly after the emergency passes?

MD: I think there will be some changes in public engagement. People will still want input and we will engage fully, but I think we will evolve a bit, so our input is both thorough and effective in making sure we hear from our whole community.

(more…)

Morning Poll: Should Arlington Public Schools Have a Spring Break This Year?

By ARLnow.com

Published April 6, 2020 at 10:15AM | Updated April 6, 2020 at 10:35AM

(Updated at 10:35 a.m.) Arlington Public Schools is on spring break this week, which is prompting some people to ask… why?

During normal times, spring break allows teachers and students to get a needed week-long break, leading up to final exams and the end of the school year. It also allows parents to plan vacations and getaways.

During the coronavirus crisis, however, everyone is (or should be) staying at home, so vacations are not really a thing. Parents, many of whom are working from home, have to pull double duty as their kids’ at-home enrichment coordinator even with school in session — more so when it’s not. Meanwhile, the workload for students, who no longer need to worry about SOLs and other high-pressure tests, has been greatly reduced.

This is not to mention APS’ laudable meal distribution for families in need, which buckled under the strain of distributing five grab-and-go meals on Friday for the week ahead. The school system ran out of meals amid long lines, according to the Washington Post.

The argument for keeping spring break is giving students and staff long-planned time off, while giving APS — especially hard-working teachers who have been figuring out how to educate students from a distance — extra time to figure out how to proceed for the rest of the year.

But given all the disruption to everyday life caused by the virus outbreak, should spring break have been cancelled this year?

ARLnow Weekend Discussion

By ARLnow.com

Published April 3, 2020 at 9:30PM

Another week of social distancing, and it’s still not clear how many are to go.

Earlier this week Gov. Ralph Northam said Virginia might see a surge of coronavirus cases as late as the latter half of May. That could push our at-home isolation well into to summer.

Let’s hope that our distancing efforts pay off and we resume some semblance of normal life before that.

Here are the most-read articles on ARLnow this week:

Feel free to discuss those stories, or anything else of local interest, in the comments.

And now here it is, your moment of zen.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-StlVEFdMM/

#weekend discussion

Ed Talk: The New Reality

By Abby Raphael

Published April 3, 2020 at 2:15PM

Ed Talk is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.

There is a new reality for students, families, teachers, staff, and school leaders: K-12 schools are closed through the end of the academic year, as ordered by Virginia’s Governor.

With this new reality, what are the priorities, challenges, and opportunities for Arlington Public Schools (APS) students?

Nutrition

As of October 2019, APS had more than 8,000 students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. That is 29% of the student population – a percentage that will increase as parents are laid off and lose jobs. Ensuring that Arlington youth have nutritious meals daily is a top priority.

APS is providing free grab-and-go breakfast and lunch for all Arlington youth ages 2-18 on Mondays through Fridays available for pick up between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Kenmore Middle School and Barrett, Campbell, Drew, and Randolph elementary schools. For next week’s spring break, a week’s worth of food was made available in advance. Beginning on April 13, Hoffman-Boston and Key elementary schools will be added to the sites offering these meals. The federal government recently waived the requirement that students be present to receive these meals.

APS staff are to be commended for quickly putting this food distribution system in place. However, not all families who need support can access one of these five sites. Across the country, and in neighboring jurisdictions such as Fairfax and Loudoun counties, school buses are being used to provide food to students in their own neighborhoods.

APS should consider expanding its food distribution to include schools buses. In time, school buses also might be used to distribute other items, like school supplies and books, for children in need.

Mental Health and Safety

Another top priority, especially now, is mental health and safety. Families are facing the stress of job losses and managing work with children at home full-time. There is the fear of loved ones becoming infected with the virus.

In these stressful times, child abuse and neglect as well as domestic violence may increase — putting children more at risk. APS has 125 school counselors, 38 psychologists, and 31 social workers serving our more than 28,000 students. In normal times, these dedicated staff is stretched thin. These are not normal times. The County and schools should work together to ensure that students and families are receiving the support that they need.

Learning

Students, their families, and teachers are adjusting to distance learning.

In a March 26 update, APS states that students on track to graduate as of the end of the third quarter will be able to graduate. In addition, students in good standing as of that time will move to the next grade level. During the fourth quarter, students with failing grades will receive assistance to help them improve and advance to the next grade level. These are important priorities.

(more…)

#Ed Talk

The Hurtt Locker: Don’t Let COVID-19 Bust the County Budget

By Matthew Hurtt

Published April 2, 2020 at 3:00PM

The Hurtt Locker is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.

“The mission of the County Manager’s Office is… to ensure high-quality services, with outstanding customer service at a good value to taxpayers; [and] to foster economic and fiscal sustainability…” – County Manager’s Office Mission

COVID-19 could cause Arlington county to raise taxes and dramatically grow the budget in times when revenues are uncertain. The county should instead stress fiscal prudence and tread lightly, starting from zero, and make targeted cuts to preserve room to respond to COVID-19.

Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz touted his proposed Fiscal Year 2021 budget as a “good news budget” following “a few years of tight budgets, involving tax rate hikes and a handful of county staff layoffs,” according to ARLnow coverage just six weeks ago.

Barely a month later, county officials were scrambling to rethink the budget in anticipation of the economic fallout of the pandemic. County leaders are indeed facing unprecedented economic uncertainty. I don’t envy the situation our local elected leaders face. I stand with and support them during these challenging times, despite the policy and philosophical differences between us.

Discussing the FY2021 budget in recent coverage from ARLnow, County Board Chair Libby Garvey said: “We need a budget by July 1… We don’t know what our revenues will be… [and] We don’t know what our expenses will be.”

The breakdown of Arlington County revenue sources is alarming and makes a compelling case to reduce spending. (more…)

#Hurtt Locker

Community Matters: Making Arlington a Permanently Courageous Community

By Krysta Jones

Published March 31, 2020 at 3:00PM

Community Matters is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.

I have always been fascinated by leadership. Studies often focus on important aspects of leadership including authenticity, influence, and communication.

Another common theme that I have recently observed is more focus on courage, especially for women. Whether it’s “leaning in,” “courageous leadership” or confronting your fears, successful leaders address their inner doubts and external criticism, and use their voices and talents for good.

Interestingly, leadership advice can sometimes come from the most unlikely sources. In early March I attended the Junior League of Washington’s Women’s Leadership Summit with Carly Fiorina as the keynote speaker. Ms. Fiorina has recently started consulting with nonprofits on leadership. Regardless of her political ideology, I believe her message of encouraging women leaders to confront their fears is compelling.

I recently heard an interview with Jennifer Lopez where she discussed learning how to not internalize criticism she received early in her career. It is an inspiration to know that a former presidential candidate/Hewlett Packard CEO and talented dancer, actress and international celebrity have challenges with finding the courage and confidence to ignore the 24-hour news cycle and negative online commenters and continue living up to their full potential.

Amid our current COVID-19 reality, opportunities for leadership abound. Some of our leaders are stepping up to the plate, and others are faltering. During a recent interview on COVID-19, a health professional admitted that she is scared, but she must leave that at the hospital door. She can’t effectively serve her patients if she is afraid.

A March 27 article by Aisha S. Ahmad in The Chronicle of Higher Education notes that we should recognize that life has been changed forever by COVID-19. We may slowly start to return to work, dine in restaurants, exercise at the gym, and meet in large groups in a few weeks, but we won’t ever forget this experience.

Sometimes it’s easy to only remember the negative aspects of a traumatic situation. I personally hope that I never forget how I am marveling at the countless health professionals, grocery store workers and other essential personnel whose names we will never know, who bravely battle the pandemic. Or how I admire the leadership in Arlington: those starting community corps and Facebook groups, the entrepreneurs who innovatively pivot to new business models to keep their employees working, the nonprofits that collaborate for those most in need and even local leaders who are both praised and criticized for every decision.

I don’t ever want to forget the spirit of community I felt when I left a roll of paper towels outside the home of a total stranger in Fairlington who posted in the Facebook group “Arlington Neighbors Helping Each Other Through COVID-19 “because I purchased a large pack from Costco a few months back. Or that I was moved to get off my couch and dance around my living room after being inspired by a DJ who was live-streaming hip-hop and 90s music from his basement to raise money and secure matching chicken donations for those on the front lines during the pandemic.

When we begin our post-pandemic lives, I lament that the fear, death, isolation, nonsensical press conferences, persistent media, and any missteps by our leadership will remain in our psyche. We are all applauding the courage of our community today. On the other side of this pandemic, my hope for our community is that the “Arlington Way” will encompass people who have the courage to allow both our individual and collective experiences to transform us into a permanently courageous community.

Krysta Jones has lived in Arlington since 2004 and is active in local politics and civic life. This column is in no way associated with or represents any person, government, organization or body — except Krysta herself.

#Community Matters