Opinion

Peter’s Take: Virginia Should Pass New Gun Safety Legislation

By Peter Rousselot

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

In the wake of the mass shooting at a Virginia Beach municipal building, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has set July 9 for a special session of the Virginia legislature to consider new gun safety legislation.

Rising above political polarization

Gun violence, mass shootings, and what to do about them have been incredibly politically polarizing nationally and in Virginia. Calm, rational conversations in which people listen carefully to each other before inflexibly insisting upon their own points of view are rare. That’s a shame.

Sure, partisan politics are involved: Virginia Democrats are trying to take control of the legislature, Virginia Republicans are trying to retain control, and Governor Northam is trying to repair his reputation.

Nevertheless, our elected officials were elected to solve problems. Our tax dollars pay their salaries. We are entitled to a full public discussion, followed by up-or-down votes, on proposed key gun safety legislation because gun violence and mass shootings can kill any of us anytime.

Gun safety legislation that might be introduced by Democrats

Democratic Governor Northam is considering recommending legislation on the subjects discussed below, among others. If he or a Democratic legislator does so, that legislation should receive a full hearing and up-or-down votes on the floor at the special session.

Expand local options to prohibit guns in public buildings

Virginia localities like Arlington have very limited powers to regulate the use of guns. An analysis of the current law is here. Virginia law should be amended to give localities the option to limit the possession of guns in public buildings to only certain categories of owners (e.g., police officers).

Universal background checks

Private sellers of guns in Virginia are not required to conduct universal background checks. This loophole should be closed.

Virginia law should be amended to require private sellers to:

  • conduct background checks through a central law enforcement agency that has access to federal and state databases of prohibited purchasers
  • maintain records of all firearm transfers for a lengthy period
  • report all transfers to state and local law enforcement

Red-flag law

A red flag law permits police or family members to petition a state court to order the temporary removal of firearms from a person who may present a danger to others or themselves. Even Donald Trump has endorsed red flag laws. Unlike 15 other states, Virginia doesn’t have a red flag law. Virginia law should be amended to add one.

Reporting stolen firearms

Virginia does not require firearm owners to report the loss or theft of a firearm. Virginia law should be amended to require individuals to report to law enforcement the loss or theft of a firearm. Examples of laws like this that have been adopted by other states are available here.

One-a-month limits

Laws limiting the number of firearms an individual can purchase per month help reduce the number of guns that end up at the scene of a crime. For that reason, Virginia used to have a one-gun-a-month law. But Virginia repealed that law in 2012 at the request of the NRA. That law should be re-enacted.

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The Right Note: Progress Report for the Chairman

By Mark Kelly

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.

Reading through the remarks of Chairman Christian Dorsey from last week’s “State of the County” address to the Arlington Chamber, I was not surprised to find that the Chairman pronounced our status as “excellent.” But what is his report card so far?

Once again, the Chairman predictably talked about our bond rating and the customer satisfaction survey. He also talked about a desire for county officials to collaborate with the community. He took credit for ongoing improvements in public safety, economic incentive deals, and the county’s yet to be launched efforts to streamline the permitting processes. For keeping the trains running on time, Dorsey gets a C. This grade would have been a B if the Board had not claimed financial hardship before passing a 6.2% spending increase and a potentially massive pay raise.

Nothing new has really been accomplished when it comes to affordable housing, despite promises to the contrary. This is not unique to Chairman Dorsey. Every Board member talks about the rising costs of living in the county. In a 2018 speech, Dorsey himself previewed support for increasing housing density and reducing the size of single family houses that could be built on lots in order to combat market forces. However, little ever seems to change except for raising our property taxes, making it more expensive to live here. Grade: F.

Keeping an eye on Amazon. The county approved the package to finalize the deal and can claim a small victory as the online retailer agreed to send $3 million back to the county’s “efforts” on affordable housing. A lot is still to be determined here. Grade: C+.

Equity remains a high priority buzzword for Chairman Dorsey. No one really knows for sure what new policies he is seeking to implement or goals he is seeking to achieve, though he did discuss child care and public health.

Last year, Dorsey suggested Arlington should create a consumer protection bureau to make sure everyone is treated fairly. He also suggested it might mean an examination of county housing policies to ensure diversity is being achieved. Maybe we will need to wait till Dorsey’s wrap-up speech at the end of the year to find out what equity outcomes he accomplished? Grade: Incomplete.

Last but not least, Dorsey also gets an Incomplete for glossing over the subject of our schools in his speech. Despite the fact that the County Board cited the schools budget as a primary reason for increasing our property tax rate this year, Dorsey did not address it in his speech, except for brief mentions while discussing equity and diversity.

You can assign your own grades to Dorsey’s chairmanship so far. And remember, he still has six months to pull them up.

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

Progressive Voice: Teardowns and McMansions — Can We Do More Than Just Talk About It?

By Progressive Voice

Progressive Voice is a weekly column. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of their organizations or ARLnow.com.

By Laura Saul Edwards

What’s a surefire way to get people talking in Arlington? Tear down an old house and replace it with still another McMansion that will be listed for more than a million dollars on the market.

“In neighborhoods across Arlington last year — at the doors, in coffees, and at civic associations — I heard concern regarding the size of single family homes being built to replace smaller, older homes,” confirmed County Board member Matt de Ferranti recently.

Meanwhile, teardowns continue. Neighbors and passersby watch an excavator methodically rip apart an old house, and they wonder how much the new house will affect the neighborhood, the environment, flooding and school crowding.

In one recent teardown, an approximately 1,500 square-foot home built before WWII was demolished, and all the surrounding trees were cleared, to make way for a new house more than triple the size of the one it replaces.

What can be done about this trend?

“While we can and should respect individual property rights, we also should recognize the impacts large homes can have on our neighbors, including storm water runoff,” de Ferranti said. “We must make sure the regulations are enforced, monitor and update our own ordinances, and work to obtain additional authority from Richmond, where appropriate, to make sure Arlington remains a sustainable place to live.”

The high price of land in Arlington and Virginia’s strong property rights laws generally mean a homebuilder will construct the largest allowable house to maximize economic value. Sales figures validate market demand for these large homes. Moreover, some of Arlington’s small older homes are too decrepit and outdated to make renovation a practical option.

This doesn’t mean, however, the county’s footprint and height allowances can’t be reviewed or tightened. The last time the County Board dug into this issue was in 2005, when Arlington’s 1950 zoning ordinance was amended to reduce the maximum lot coverage for single-family homes.

“Home sizes that were once the theoretical maximum are now the de facto minimum for new home rebuilds,” observed County Board member Erik Gutshall. “Arlington needs to initiate the modernization of our zoning ordinance with a frank discussion of just what character do we want in our neighborhoods.”

Longtime Arlington real estate agent Bob Adamson said, “Affordability is a worthy aspiration. Economic feasibility is crucial. The devil resides in the details.”

Updating Arlington’s zoning and land use requirements for single-family homes could be a genuine success story if it identifies practical, feasible changes responsive to factors that vary across the county, such as topography and lot size — while also honoring the rights of property owners.

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Op-ed: Commonwealth’s Attorney Nominee Parisa Dehghani-Tafti on the Road Ahead

By ARLnow.com

The following op-ed was written by Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, the Democratic nominee for Arlington and Falls Church Commonwealth’s Attorney. As the presumed victor in the unchallenged November election, which followed a heated primary campaign, Dehghani-Tafti will be the area’s chief prosecutor amid questions about how the prosecutor’s office will change under her leadership.

Moments after 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 11, while standing on a sidewalk on Clarendon Boulevard near Courthouse, I received a phone call from my friend and deputy campaign manager excitedly telling me that the voters of Arlington County and the City of Falls Church had selected me as the Democratic nominee for Commonwealth’s Attorney. In that moment, with the sounds of supporters cheering in the near distance and the sight of young people milling about on a warm spring evening, I was reminded, as I knew from the very start of the campaign, that it would soon be my charge, together with other branches of law enforcement, to help maintain the safety, welfare, and wellbeing of nearly 250,000 people.

The campaign had been long and hard-fought, but in our very first debate, I was asked to name one thing I admired about Commonwealth’s Attorney Theo Stamos. I honestly answered that I found it admirable Ms. Stamos had chosen public service when she could have long ago leveraged her skills into more lucrative private sector work. Had I had another moment for thought, I would have added what I also believe to be true: she persevered in a field that had long been dominated by men and, in doing so, opened a path for other women, myself included.

The campaign, of course, is not over. As I prepare for the November general election, I will be guided by three principles. First, I want to keep faith with members of the community who supported, volunteered, and voted for me, and earn the trust of those who did not. Elections come and go, but what endures is community. Second, I want to approach the work ahead with both an open mind and moral courage. I fundamentally believe that the choice between safety and justice has always been a false one; at the same time, I have the utmost respect for the institutional knowledge and professional expertise that resides in the current office. Last but not least, I want to keep foremost in my mind that what’s needed for the office is both integrity and humility. Our delegates, senators, county board, and school board members have deep and intimate knowledge of the needs in our community; I see as one of my main tasks to be an honest partner with them, to listen to their expertise, and take heed of their priorities — because I know the criminal justice system cannot and should not be the tool to solve every problem.

Late Tuesday evening, after all the well-wishers had gone and I’d returned home to my family, I stayed up into the early hours of the morning, making two lists: one, of the people I needed to personally thank for making this moment possible; the other, of the immediate tasks I needed to accomplish to plan for the office. Both lists grew incredibly long but each list, in different ways, made it clear to me that at this moment we have a chance in Arlington and the City of Falls Church to show the Commonwealth and the country what it means to have a criminal justice system that is safe and transparent, truly cares for victims, treats everyone fairly and humanely, and honestly addresses systemic disparities in race and class. “The world stands before you,” James Baldwin once wrote, “and you need not take it or leave it as it was when you came in.” I’m eager for the work ahead.

ARLnow Weekend Discussion

By Airey

It’s June 21, which means it’s officially the first day of summer and the longest day of the year!

It’s been a big week for long-term projects in Arlington, with updates to the Rosslyn boathouse project and salary bumps for the Arlington County Board.

For the civically engaged among you, the county announced it will soon hold public meetings on Amazon’s first permanent buildings and code changes to allow the installation of 5G wireless technology. The county is also asking for residents to help test a new online permitting system.

Heading into the weekend, everyone might want to know ACPD is planning to close an intersection to investigate a crash, and Clarendon is planning a power outage.

Some other articles you may have missed this week include:

What’s your favorite article from the week? And what are your plans to make the most of the daylight this weekend? Let us know in the comments below.

Peter’s Take: Support APS Implementation Plan to Prevent Discrimination Based on Gender Identity

By Peter Rousselot

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

As ARLnow.com previously reported in 2015, the Arlington School Board unanimously amended its non-discrimination policy to add gender identity as a protected category.

The current version of that APS policy (J-2) is here.

Overwhelming health and scientific evidence support APS’ policy

The current SB policy is strongly supported by conclusions reached by prominent national health, scientific and educational organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychological Association, National Education Association, and National School Boards Association.

APS experience since 2015 underscores need for prompt adoption of implementation plan

Since the SB adopted its policy, there has been widespread confusion about how to implement it. Very inconsistent decisions about implementing the policy have been reached from one school to another.

The need for prompt adoption of an implementation plan is illustrated by the following actual situations APS students have faced:

  • a transgender student who was not comfortable using either the boys’ or girls’ locker room to change for P.E. was required to go down to the gym on the first floor to retrieve gym clothes from a P.E. teacher’s office, go up a flight of stairs to change in a private bathroom, then go back down the stairs in P.E. uniform to the gym for class… and then repeat this process in reverse after class
  • a teacher insisted that a student wear a skirt for band concerts, despite the student’s desire to wear the pants uniform (the student’s gender expression is masculine, she never wears skirts); the student ended up quitting band because the teacher would not relent
  • a non-binary student was left standing in the middle of the gym after the gym teacher divided up the students into boys’ and girls’ lines… and then had to instruct the teacher on what being non-binary means
  • a student had arranged with the administrators and PE teachers that he could use the PE teachers’ bathroom for changing. Halfway through the school year, one of the PE teachers (not the student’s) no longer liked the arrangement, and the child lost that option
  • students have been harassed by both staff members and other students while using the bathroom; some students have had staff and other students try to block them from entering a bathroom
  • students have avoided using the bathroom at school, due to both fear of harassment and inconvenience; students have avoided drinking water so that they can make it through the day without needing the bathroom
  • students have not been allowed to change their gender or name on school forms and records, even after getting a court ordered name change or new birth certificate
  • a transgender student was diagnosed with PTSD because of bullying and abuse from peers

These examples illustrate why it is vital for APS staff to adopt a formal policy implementation procedure (PIP). This is a K-12 issue. The PIP will lead to more consistency throughout schools, more understanding on the part of staff and parents, and more training for staff on best practices in supporting transgender and non-binary students.

Summary of draft PIP

The draft PIP that APS staff is proposing to adopt is discussed in the ARLnow story and posted here. It is supported by the overwhelming health and scientific evidence cited above.

Key topics covered by the draft PIP include definitions of “gender identity” and “transgender;” bathrooms and locker rooms; co-curricular and extra-curricular activities and athletic team student participation; dress code; extended instructional field trips or athletic events; names, pronouns, and classroom records; and privacy and educational records.

If this draft PIP had been in effect and properly implemented over the last four years, the traumatic incidents APS students experienced could have been avoided.

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Arlington Pet of the Week: Leon

By Airey
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Arlington’s newest pet of the week is orange foster kitty Leon whose best friend is a stuffed lion named Leo.

Here’s what Leon’s owner Jolie said the feline had to say about his life as a foster so far:

So here’s my story: See, I was living out in Winchester and my mom decided to bolt. Me and my sisters were like, ummm, hello, we’re only five weeks old. BUT, luckily, these really nice people from the Animal League of Arlington picked us up, gave us this fantastic meal and comfy bed to sleep in. Quite the B&B for a night! Then they found us a cool place to live temporarily… or at least that was their plan. But you see, I am very charismatic and with my charm, wit and good looks, “the lady” of the house gave into MY plan. I’m now officially hers and her two humans. They love me more than I ever thought I could be loved. Not only that, “the lady” found another cool house for my sisters so I can visit! How neat is that?

So back to me and Leo… as you can see I’m in training for when the next foster group comes through my new house. I will be ready to take charge and teach the new kittens all the things kitties need to know. I want to help them like Leo has helped me. “The lady” said you should always pay it forward. So I will make sure I foster my new kittens really well. With Leo’s help, of course.

Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email [email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet. Please don’t send vertical photos, they don’t fit in our photo galleries!

Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $100 in Becky’s Bucks. Becky’s Pet Care is the winner of six consecutive Angie’s List Super Service Awards, the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ 2013 Business of the Year and a proud supporter of the Arlington County Pawsitively Prepared Campaign.

Becky’s Pet Care provides professional dog walking and pet sitting in Arlington and all of Northern Virginia, as well as PetPrep training courses for Pet Care, CPR and emergency preparedness.

Morning Poll: County Board Approves Potential Salary Hike

By ARLnow.com

The Arlington County Board members voted last night to give themselves the ability to raise their pay by more than 50% next year.

Currently, Board members are paid $55,147 annually while the Board Chair is paid $60,662. Board members set a salary cap for their jobs every four years and last night voted for a significant hike.

The Board voted to “set the new cap at 100 percent of the Individual Area Median Income for the Greater Washington Region, or $89,851 for a Board Member and $95,734 for the Board Chair.” The new salary cap will take effect Jan. 1, 2020, but the Board has to take a separate vote to actually set their salaries.

More from a county press release:

“It is important to underscore that the Board’s action today sets a new salary cap, but does not increase Board salaries,” County Board Chair Christian Dorsey said. “The Board will not consider an increase in salaries in this calendar year, and whether we consider an increase in our salaries in 2020 will depend greatly on the overall outlook for the Fiscal Year 2021 Budget. “While it is awkward for the Board to have to vote to increase its own maximum salaries, state law leaves that responsibility to the Board,” Dorsey said. “We have not voted to increase the salary cap since 2011, and if we did not do so today, we would not be able to, under state law, for four more years. I support increasing the salary cap because I believe it will encourage more people, from varied economic backgrounds, to think about serving on this Board.”

Under state law, the Board may set a new maximum salary only once every four years, when 40 percent of the Board (two members) are standing for election. Dorsey and Board Member Katie Cristol are both up for re-election in November 2019. Any increase in salaries under the new cap would require separate Board action.

Board members, in their discussion of the proposed salary cap increase, noted that Board salaries are below the average salaries of jurisdictional comparators, and currently are at the level of 64.9 percent of Individual AMI for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Metro Area for a Board Member.

The Board heard from 223 people who took an online survey that asked respondents to indicate what salary level they thought was appropriate for members of the County Board and provide comments on the Board’s consideration of setting a new salary cap. The Board also received messages from more than three dozen residents on the proposed increase in the salary cap. The Chair sent letters to every civic association in the County, and community organizations, seeking their input through the online survey, and the County included a link to the survey in “Inside Arlington,” the County’s weekly e-newsletter, which has 135,000 subscribers.

The Board was considering setting the cap even higher — up to $135,312 for the chair, commensurate with the area median income for a family of four.

Arguments in favor of a pay raise for the County Board center around the belief that being a Board member for a prosperous county of 230,000 residents has become a full-time job, even if the position is technically considered part time. Being a County Board member, proponents argue, shouldn’t just be an option for the well heeled, and even a $90,000 salary isn’t high for leaders of a county with a $1.4 billion budget.

Arguments against the pay raise mostly assert that the Board has willfully made their jobs full time, when really it should function as more of a part-time, decision-making body supported by full-time county staff.

What do you think of the pay raise?

The Right Note: Pay Raise, Amazon & George Soros

By Mark Kelly

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.

Thumbs Down. After Chairman Christian Dorsey said earlier this year it was not the right time to consider a pay raise, the Arlington County Board will vote to raise its pay cap tonight. Members will choose between three options. Will it be 10%, 63% or 135%?

One can assume the Board would not vote to raise their salaries up to $129,429, but at least one Board Member, Libby Garvey, will almost certainly make the case for it. Garvey believes the County Board is already a full-time job, not a part-time job.

There is a strong case to be made that we benefit from the perspective of people on the Board who continue to hold down another full-time job. And the idea of turning the County Board into a full-time position has not been thoroughly debated with the public. It would raise a number of interesting questions. Would Board Members be allowed to hold outside jobs? If so, would there be a cap on their outside earned income? Would they provide additional services to constituents to correspond with the pay raise?

The staff report laying out the options revealed that an overwhelming majority of Arlingtonians who participated in the survey urged the Board to stay closer to option 1 than option 3. However, the Board has hinted that they were headed for $80,000 more since they released the news that the pay raise would be on the June agenda.

Assuming the County Board opts for a new cap of $89,851, Board Members would not necessarily get a 63% raise all at once. They could incrementally raise it over the next four, or more, years.

Chairman Dorsey should not have said it was not the right time for a pay raise if he did not intend to keep his word, but here we are. So, the Board should stay part-time and choose option 1. Ten percent is enough to provide a COLA for the next four years until the cap could be revisited again.

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Progressive Voice: Stay Passionate, Democrats

By Progressive Voice

Progressive Voice is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of their organizations or ARLnow.com

 By Jill Caiazzo

The 2019 Democratic primary in Arlington was a bruiser. On all sides, emotions ran high while the rhetoric ran disappointingly low at times. With the votes now in, the hue-and-cry of the campaign trail has given way to calmer calls for unity. This article is not one of them.

Don’t worry, I’m not calling for ripping up the cobblestones and taking to the barricades either. Instead, my post-primary call is this: Stay passionate, Democrats. Whatever else can be said about this year’s primary, it was passionate! The 2019 primary sparked many discussions about important issues in our community that are too often muted for a variety of reasons — not the least of which is the cacophony of terrible from the Trump-led GOP.

The extreme nature of the Trump-led GOP has grown our already big tent, as people of conscience of all shades of blue, purple and even a little red have sought refuge within the Democratic Party. This is a joy — but also a challenge, for of course such a diverse array of people will not always agree on each and every policy or candidate. To that end, not everyone is happy with the outcome of Arlington’s primary. That’s OK. I, for one, am not asking you to pretend otherwise.

Whether you’re happy or not, by all means, stay loud. Keep it clean for the kids of course, and perhaps try some civil leadership training courtesy of the Arlington Young Democrats. This training seeks to improve community relationships and individual interactions, to foster better understanding of differences across race, class, culture and politics.

Bridging these divides is important and possible only through active participation. So stay loud. Remain engaged. Keep at it. Democrats didn’t lose the 2016 presidential election because we were too boisterous; in the end, we lost because of apathy (with some help from several thousand Russian bots).

Let’s not make the same mistake this time around. Pour your energy left over from the primary into one of the many candidates seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.

Even better — give everything you’ve got to a Democratic candidate for the Virginia General Assembly who best reflects your views. Our entire state legislature is up for election this year, and Democrats have the opportunity to retake the majority and move the Commonwealth forward on issues that matter to your daily life. If you want to protect access to affordable healthcare, improve education, implement gun safety measures, and combat climate change, only a Democratic majority in the state legislature can do it. Help make that majority happen, and ensure that the legislature includes at least one member who really gets you and will champion your key issues.

Building a noisy and diverse coalition of independent thinkers with shared core values always should be our goal. I chafe at the notion that an effective Democratic Party must require its members to move in lockstep. That’s a fool’s errand — not only because it’s impossible, but because its pursuit is destructive.

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ARLnow Weekend Discussion

By Airey

It’s Friday and that means it’s time to turn your attention away from primary politics and focus on the weekend ahead.

On Tuesday, incumbent prosecutor Theo Stamos lost her bid for re-election to challenger Parisa Dehghani-Tafti in an upset that some experts say is unprecedented in Arlington. And on the national election stage, presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg visited Arlington for a private fundraising event.

Now that that’s over, it’s time for the Columbia Pike Blues Festival and the Arlington County Board’s next meeting this Saturday about a development some hope will help a historic cemetery.

Here are a few other stories from this week you might have missed during the election whirlwind:

What was your favorite story this week? And how are you going to enjoy the sun this weekend? Let us know in the comments below.

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