News

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

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

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

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

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

Use of discretionary balances (via Arlington County)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(more…)

Events

Annual Jennifer Bush-Lawson 5K and festival slated for Saturday

By James Jarvis
Jennifer Bush-Lawson 5K race (via Jennifer Bush-Lawson Foundation/Facebook)

Get ready to dust off those old running shoes.

The ninth annual Jennifer Bush-Lawson 5K race and festival is set for Saturday in the Yorktown neighborhood.

The event commemorates Jennifer Bush-Lawson, an Arlington resident who was struck and killed in 2014 by a dump truck while placing her child into a minivan near Nottingham Elementary. More pedestrian fatalities have since occurred on the same stretch of Little Falls Road, though new safety measures were installed earlier this year.

The race, first held in 2015, kicks off at 9 a.m. at the Knights of Columbus (5115 Little Falls Road). Those who want to support the cause without running in the cold can participate in a “Family Fun Day” festival, featuring a beer garden, a children’s fun run, moon bounces, laser tag, a rock wall, balloon animals, face painting and live performances.

The registration fee for the race is $40, which includes a T-shirt, or $35 for those opting out of the shirt. Participants can also choose to donate without participating in the race.

Festival-only tickets are priced at $25, granting access to all activities excluding the 5K. A combined ticket for both the race and festival is available for $50.

Proceeds support the Jennifer Bush-Lawson Foundation, founded in 2015 by Jennifer’s husband, Neal Lawson, to provide women in need and their babies with maternal and infant care.

“This event carries on the legacy of Jenn Lawson, a dedicated mom and runner who was passionate about making available to all mothers the same level of care she received for her own complicated pregnancies,” the event page says.

In line with previous years, the Arlington County Police Department has announced several road closures for the duration of the event.

The following roadways will be closed from approximately 8:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. to accommodate the event:

  • Yorktown Boulevard, from Little Falls Road/N. Greenbrier Street to N. Kensington Street
  • Little Falls Road, from N. Edison Street to Yorktown Boulevard and from Yorktown Boulevard/N. Kensington Street to N. Ohio Street
  • N. Lexington Street, from Yorktown Boulevard to 27th Street N.
  • 27th Road N., from the dead end to N. Lexington Street
  • 27th Street N., from N. Lexington Street to N. Ohio Street
  • John Marshall Drive at 27th Street N.
  • N. Ohio Street, from 27th Street N. to Little Falls Road

When safe to do so, residents of the affected areas will be escorted through the road closures, as necessary, to minimize the impact on the community. All roadways are expected to reopen at 10:30 a.m. Community members are asked to park vehicles in driveways to reduce the congestion on the course and to allow for standard traffic conditions to return as quickly as possible.

Photo via Jennifer Bush-Lawson Foundation/Facebook

Sponsored

Halls Hill native recalls making history with Civil Rights-era lawsuit over voting in Arlington

By Scott McCaffrey

As a 23-year-old voter in still-segregated 1960s Virginia, Portia Haskins was convinced she had followed all the rules in order to cast a ballot in Arlington.

Election officials disagreed, saying she had failed to pay the appropriate poll tax still required in the Old Dominion, maintained in part to disenfranchise Black voters.

Haskins took the county, and state, to court. She won, with her case ultimately being folded into the landmark 1966 Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Haskins was an unusual legal combatant, committed to seeking unity.

“I’m the type of person who wants to bring everyone together,” the Halls Hill native said at a weekend presentation sponsored by the county library system and hosted by the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington.

After her efforts to vote were rejected at the local level, Haskins enlisted support from the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to challenge the ruling. She traveled several times to the U.S. District Court in Richmond, then watched as the case and others like it moved to the Supreme Court.

Her reaction at the final outcome? “I was so happy,” she said.

The 6-3 ruling in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections effectively outlawed requiring poll taxes for state elections in those few states, like Virginia, that retained them. The poll-tax requirement for federal elections had been eliminated with ratification of the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1964.

Lessons from the struggle are still valuable today, said Haskins, now 83.

“Everybody has to come together and fight” when they see injustice, she said. “You have to get together.”

Historical photo of Portia Haskins (via Black Heritage Museum of Arlington)

Haskins is among the Arlingtonians profiled in the “From Barriers to Ballots,” an exhibition marking the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Several versions of the exhibition are on display across Northern Virginia, with one at Central Library running through Nov. 4.

The Arlington Historical Society partnered on the exhibition, and was excited about the Haskins presentation, former president David Pearson said.

“She is someone we really wanted to learn about,” he said, pointing to a renewed effort to “really get out the stories of the complete history of Arlington.”

Haskins has been a member of Mount Salvation Baptist Church near the Glebewood neighborhood since 1951, and in the community she has promoted “the spirit of community and empowerment,” said Scott Taylor, president of the Black Heritage Museum.

Haskins lamented that much of the history of the civil-rights movement is being lost in the public consciousness.

“We went through a lot, but people today don’t know,” she said. Young people in particular, she said, “don’t care because they don’t know.”

Her request to today’s youth? “Let everybody know how you feel” and use the ballot box to create change.

“Voting is important. That’s what everybody really needs to do,” Haskins said.

News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(more…)

Announcement

National Chamber Ensemble’s 2022-23 Sweet 16 Season

By National Chamber Ensemble

(This Community Post was written by the National Chamber Ensemble and underwritten by Embracing Arlington Arts )

The National Chamber Ensemble is thrilled to introduce its 16th ” Season of Cultural Expressions “, an inspiring collection of beloved masterworks, and thrilling discoveries that have become part of mainstream American life. There’s something for everyone in this new season, from internationally renowned performers to inspirational programs. We are excited to share the live music, the energy, humor, a welcoming atmosphere and the fine musicianship of National Chamber Ensemble. The NCE plans to do LIVE performances but rest assured that we will continue to provide a superb- quality view-at-home option.

Go to National Chamber Ensemble’s 2022-23 Sweet 16 Season Read more
Around Town

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

By Jo DeVoe
1/2

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

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

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

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

THE SANCTUARY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I’m glad they changed it,” he wrote.

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

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

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

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

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