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Quick Note on Political Ads

By ARLnow.com

You may have noticed some political ads on ARLnow.com over the past couple of days. Those ads have appeared in spaces that are filled by Google AdSense, an advertising network. We do not control the ads that appear in those spaces.

Starting today, however, you will see a political ad that was sold directly by ARLnow.com. Here are some quick facts about political advertising on ARLnow.com:

  • We don’t actively solicit political advertising
  • We charge all political ads the same rate as commercial businesses
  • Political ads are placed in the same rotation as ads for commercial businesses
  • We don’t pick and choose between candidates — any local candidate or cause is welcome to advertise on the site
  • Just because we sold an ad to a candidate’s campaign does not mean we will in any way alter our coverage of the candidate or the candidate’s opponents. Our integrity and reputation for fairness are much more valuable than a three-week ad buy.

Please feel free to spread any advertising-related conspiracy theories in the comments section.

Support Our Advertisers, They Support Us

By ARLnow.com

Without sponsors to help us pay the electric bill, how could we possibly turn on the computer to bring you the latest goings-on in Arlington?

Advertisers make this site possible. Help us thank them by checking out what they have to offer.

ADORE Child and Family Services — Adore is an agency that helps place children in loving homes. Find out more about adoption or becoming a foster parent by attending a special breakfast at Metro 29 Diner (4711 Lee Highway) from 7:00 to 8:30 tomorrow morning. Guest speakers will include Jack Dalaba and county board member Barbara Favola.

Gossip on 23rd — Visit Gossip’s boutique on 23rd Street in Crystal City and find the latest in women’s fashion — all for under $100. See some of the store’s latest arrivals here.

Dudley Chapman — If you’re looking to buy or sell a home, give Dudley a call. He grew up in Arlington, knows the area like the back of his hand, and can help guide you through the particulars of the local real estate jungle.

Pathways 2 Independence — If you’re between 16 and 25 years old and you like money, this free financial fair will help you figure out how to keep more of it. There will also be prizes and the promise of a “surprise celebrity sighting.” Mark your calendar for the afternoon of Sunday, October 17.

Business owners: Click here to learn more about reaching the largest local audience in Arlington.

Shameless Plug: Nominate Us for an ABBIE!

By ARLnow.com

ARLnow.com has only been around for 8 months now, so it’s a bold, presumptuous move for us to try to get nominated for one of Arlington’s Best Business Awards. But heck, we’re going to do it anyhow.

Click here to go to the ABBIES nomination form and — if you think we’re doing a good job — write in “ARLnow.com” in the category for “Arlington’s Best Place to Learn Something New.”

With the long list of bars, bakeries and restaurants that have opened in the past 12 months, we couldn’t possibly expect to win a nomination for “Arlington’s Best New Business.” But hey, if you’re feeling inspired, we’re not going to stop you.

Disclaimer: the ABBIES are an ARLnow.com advertiser. According to officials, however, that does not disqualify the site from award eligibility.

Help Us Thank Our Awesome Advertisers

By Scott Brodbeck

Earlier this week, I thanked our readers for sticking with us while our old server wheezed its way through last week’s heavy web traffic. Now I’d like to take the time to thank our local advertisers, who are helping to keep this site in business.

In no particular order:

The 2010 ABBIES — The annual Arlington business awards ceremony is looking for nominations. If there’s a local business that you think is doing a bang-up job, give them props by filling out a nomination form.

So What’s the Deal — You know Groupon? Yeah, WTD is basically Groupon. But it’s a homegrown, local company that has some pretty sweet deals you won’t find elsewhere. Today, they’re offering six games of Laser Tag at Ultrazone in Falls Church for 20 bucks.

Pathways 2 Independence — If you’re between 16 and 25 years old and you like money, this free financial fair will help you figure out how to keep more of it. There will also be prizes and the promise of a “surprise celebrity sighting.” Mark your calendar for the afternoon of Sunday, October 17.

Dudley Chapman — If you’re looking to buy or sell a home, give Dudley a call. He grew up in Arlington, knows the area like the back of his hand, and can help guide you through the particulars of the local real estate jungle.

Business owners: Click here to learn more about reaching the largest local audience in Arlington.

Technical Difficulties

By Scott Brodbeck

First of all, I want to thank all of you for sticking with us last week when we were experiencing some major server problems. The site struggled with capacity problems all week and went down multiple times.

Over the weekend we upgraded to a new server with a new host. Accessing the site should now be faster and more reliable. That’s the good news.

Unfortunately, our team was working out the kinks until late last night. A change our hosting company applied while we were sleeping went awry, and anyone who visited the site between 5:30 and 9:20 a.m. got an error message. If you tried to visit the home page during that time, and you still cannot see it, you need to clear your browser cache. See instructions on how to do so here.

Also, if you visited the site between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m. on Friday, and saw something weird, please run a quick scan of your antivirus software. Our old hosting service was experiencing major problems across thousands of sites, and ours was affected briefly.

This site is largely a labor of love, and I love how it’s growing into a real community. I hope you can forgive our recent technical transgressions and continue reading and commenting and telling friends

(Also, a big thank you to our awesome, growing roster of advertisers, who are increasingly helping to fund this ‘labor of love.’)

Okay, back to real news.

Help Wanted: Event Photographers

By ARLnow.com

ARLnow.com is seeking professional photographers to help cover special events in Arlington.

In exchange for photographing Arlington’s movers, shakers and entertainers at exciting events around the County, you’ll receive prominent credit on the site and you’ll be free to sell high-res prints.

Of course, we’ll get you free access to the sold-out concerts and the exclusive fundraisers we’ll ask you to cover.

If you’re interested, send a link to your portfolio to arlingtonnews [at] gmail.com.

Email Subscribers: We’re Experiencing Technical Difficulties

By ARLnow.com

If you subscribe to our Afternoon Update, you may have gotten a blank email from us today in lieu of the usual summary of the day’s posts. We’ve diagnosed the problem and assure you that we’ll work to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

Instead of attempting to send the email again, we’re going to stick to our no spam rule and let the newsletter pick up tomorrow where it left off today.

We apologize for any confusion and/or inconvenience.

— ARLnow.com

Discussion About the Discussion

By Scott Brodbeck

Let’s step back and take a quick breather. The past several days have gotten a little crazy on the comment sections. While I appreciate a vigorous discussion of the day’s stories, I think we need to be clear about what is and is not appropriate conduct here.

Here’s what is appropriate: Discussion of the article. Passionately arguing a relevant point. Criticizing companies, government entities or other organizations.

Here’s what’s not appropriate: Name calling. Personal attacks. Racist, homophobic, or other hate speech. Saying, without clear evidence, that someone is “cheating” in a contest. Political discussions not related to the article.

At least 95% of what has been posted to the site is perfectly appropriate. To those who have been commenting respectfully and driving the discussion — thank you. I hope you keep it up.

However, as someone who hoped this site would be a venue for a smart but respectful debate of community issues, it has been distressing to see a few inappropriate comments poisoning otherwise enlightening discussions.

Here’s a message one anonymous tipster sent to us today:

Be nice if you cleaned up the discussion on the Flatbread article. Referring to people as “dumb libs”, “hipster d-bags” isn’t appropriate. Some people may need to be taught to disagree without name calling, and objectifying others. The demeaning nature of the discussion makes me very happy I don’t live in Arlington. I appears that in general you are not very nice people.

I agree with this person’s point about name calling, but I want to prove them wrong about Arlington. So here’s what we’re going to do:

  • We will press the delete button on any comment that falls under the “not appropriate” category.
  • We will issue a warning to anybody who violates the rules more than once.
  • If that warning is ignored, we will add you to the comment moderation list — meaning we’ll have to approve your comments before they are posted to the site.
  • Also, any racist or otherwise hateful speech will be rewarded with an automatic trip to comment moderation land.
  • If someone is really persistent with inappropriate comments, they will be banned.

Already, one commenter has been added to the moderation list.

To be sure, we don’t want to restrict your free speech. In fact, we like to see opposing viewpoints and the occasional crackpot theory. However, we have clearly reached a point where it’s necessary to step up enforcement of existing rules to make sure that ARLnow.com remains a place where everyone can feel free to join in on debates and make meaningful contributions to discussions.

Arlington Police to Launch Project Lifesaver Program

By ARLnow.com

Within the next two weeks, the Arlington County Police Department is expected to announce that it is joining the Project Lifesaver program, which helps more than 1,000 public safety agencies locate adults and children who wander due to various disorders.

The program provides police departments with LoJack-like tracking equipment and training courses that allow them to find wander-prone people who have been outfitted with specialized wrist or ankle transmitters.

The program is especially geared toward those with Alzheimer’s, autism, Down syndrome, dementia, and similar cognitive conditions.

Project Lifesaver International, the organization behind the program, says its technology helps ensure that missing people are found quickly and safely, without the need to organize large, expensive searches. The organization says it’s responsible for 2,142 rescues in the past 10 years, with a 100 percent success rate.

It’s not clear how quickly Arlington County would be able to implement the system after the announcement.

ARLnow.com Goes Mobile

By ARLnow.com

Smartphone users can now view ARLnow.com in a format designed specifically for their phone. Just navigate your phone’s browser to ARLnow.com and you’ll automatically be directed to the mobile edition.

If you have any trouble with the site please describe the problem in the comments section so we can fix it.

ARLnow.com Partnering with TBD.com

By Scott Brodbeck

I’m very proud to announce tonight that ARLnow.com is the first site to partner with new D.C. local news site TBD.com.

TBD is helmed by former washingtonpost.com executive editor Jim Brady and backed by Allbritton Communications, parent company of ABC7, NewsChannel 8 and Politico. We’re excited to be working with Jim and his team, including Erik Wemple, Steve Buttry, Jeff Sonderman, Lisa Rowan, Julie Westfall, Steve Chaggaris and Mandy Jenkins (who did I forget?).

TBD is a completely new approach to local news. With a staff of about 50, TBD will be a primarily web-based and social media-centric news organization with a complementary TV operation, the exact details of which are yet to be revealed.

In addition to original reporting, a large part of TBD’s strategy will be linking to content from partner sites. Along with ARLnow.com, TBD expects to announce partnerships with a number of local blogs and web sites in the coming weeks. TBD will also help partner sites sell advertising space.

Teaming up with TBD will open up a larger, more regional audience for ARLnow.com’s timely original news and features, and will be an important component of our effort to make the site financially self-sustaining.

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