controversy

Areizaga-Soto Criticized for Negative Mailers in Primary Race

By ARLnow.com

Two fellow Democrats are taking state Senate candidate Jaime Areizaga-Soto to task for campaign mailers sharply critical of his opponent, County Board member Barbara Favola.

The latest mailer shows Favola between Gov. Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli with the headline “These politicians have a lot in common” — a reference to the fact that all three have accepted donations from local real estate developer, philanthropist and Republican political donor Preston Caruthers. (Favolva accepted a $5,000 donation from Caruthers.)

“I’m disappointed that my friend Jaime Areizaga-Soto has been persuaded that victory in the primary can be achieved through slick negative campaign mailings,” Del. Bob Brink said in a statement said in a statement last night.

Brink, who intended to stay neutral in the race, said he’s now endorsing Favola because of Areizaga-Soto’s negative mailers.

“Voters in our region have shown repeatedly that they want their public officials to talk about the issues that touch their daily lives, and that they have little tolerance for Karl Rove-style mudslinging,” he said. “Any candidate who doesn’t understand that is unqualified to represent us.”

Technology consultant and Not Larry Sabato blogger Ben Tribbett, who was once considering a run in the 31st District state Senate race, took particular exception with Areizaga-Soto’s accusation that Favola “sold her vote” to developers.

“We have so many voters in Arlington who are national political people, they’re too savvy to be misled like that,” Tribbett said. “I agree with Jaime, I don’t think that Barbara should be accepting donations from developers. It creates the appearance of impropriety. But she’s not doing anything illegal and she certainly has not sold her vote. If she sold her vote she would be in prison… Making an accusation like that really crosses the line.”

“I think a hard-nosed primary campaign on legitimate issues would be welcome,” Tribbett added. “That being said, I think the mailings are way too negative, they’re not factually accurate… and I think that Jaime loses a lot of credibility when he overstates his case.”

Favola has been fighting back against the Areizaga-Soto campaign’s allegations.

“My opponent has decided that the only way he can win is to peddle untruths, distort the facts and use personal attacks,” Favola said last month. “I have always been transparent on where I stand on the issues and I have always been loyal to my values. I have never sold my vote to anyone, ever.”

The comparison to McDonnell and Cuccinelli, meanwhile, is a serious allegation in a Democratic primary. In a debate at Wednesday’s Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting, Areizaga-Soto repeatedly referenced the two Republicans, calling their agenda “the biggest threat for the well-being and for the future of our Commonwealth.”

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Bluemont Residents to Debate Development Plans

By ARLnow.com

A controversial development plan will be debated at the Bluemont Civic Association meeting tonight.

The plan, which we reported on in April, envisions a “Bluemont Village Center,” featuring new mixed-use developments along a stretch of Wilson Boulevard (west of Ballston) currently flanked by single-story shops, restaurants and an older Safeway supermarket. The plan was generated by the Bluemont Civic Association, with the volunteer help of a Virginia Tech graduate student, as part of its Neighborhood Conservation plan process.

The plan is only intended to guide future development along Wilson Boulevard, but its renderings of imagined 4 to 5 story buildings has elicited a strong response from residents who object to the potential increase in density.

“Is this your ‘vision’ of Bluemont?” asks a flyer (after the jump) that has been widely distributed in the neighborhood. The flyer argues that the plan could result in the displacement of existing small businesses (like Two Chefs, Pupatella and Body Dynamics), the addition of 100 to 200 apartments, greater competition for on-street parking and “at least 200 more cars flooding neighborhood streets each morning and evening.”

The flyer also cites a Bluemont Civic Association survey, which found that 54.5 percent of respondents objected to building heights over 3 stories. The same survey, however, found that 69.7 percent of respondents favored a “‘village center’ type development” — defined as “a mix of retail, office, residential, and cultural uses in a compact, pedestrian-oriented center.”

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DEVELOPING — Diocese Sues Arlington Over Bishop O’Connell Lights

By ARLnow.com

The Catholic Diocese of Arlington announced today that it is suing Arlington County.

The suit was filed in response to the County Board’s denial of a request by Bishop O’Connell high school to add lights to its athletic fields.

The Diocese issued the following statement tonight about its legal action.

“The Catholic Diocese of Arlington has filed an action in Arlington County Circuit Court challenging the Arlington County Board of Supervisors’ March 15, 2011, denial of a proposal to add lighting to existing athletic fields at Bishop J. O’Connell High School in Arlington – the addition of which would afford its students the same opportunities as public high schools in the region.

Arlington County had previously approved similar lights at its own public high schools which, like Bishop O’Connell, are located adjacent to residential neighborhoods. In fact, the fields of the public high schools – Washington-Lee, Yorktown and Wakefield – are close to a greater number of homes than those of Bishop O’Connell, as O’Connell’s football field is located across the street from a county elementary school and park.

As a matter of law and of fundamental fairness, there is no reasonable basis for the Board to treat Bishop O’Connell in a very different manner than the county treats its own high schools. The Diocese’s circuit court complaint, filed April 12, 2011, notes that “Bishop O’Connell and the County’s public high schools are similarly situated in all relevant respects with regard to lighted athletic fields. The Board’s denial treats Bishop O’Connell and the Diocese, religious institutions, on terms that are different from the public high schools.”

The Board’s denial of Bishop O’Connell’s application for a Use Permit amendment therefore was discriminatory, the complaint concludes, because “there is no basis, rational or otherwise, for the Board’s discrimination between such applications.”

“We want to continue to improve the school and continue to offer an excellent faith-based education to the citizens of Arlington who choose it for their children,” said diocesan Superintendent of Schools Sr. Bernadette McManigal, B.V.M. “Athletics are but one aspect of a total high school education, but it is an important one. Allowing us to improve the athletic fields helps us to continue to offer excellent faith-based education.”

The proposed lighting would benefit not only Bishop O’Connell students, but the whole community, as the proposal included use of the fields by Arlington County’s recreation department. The fields also could be used by Marymount University’s NCAA Division III track, field hockey and baseball teams.

Bishop O’Connell has been located on the same site on Little Falls Road in Arlington for 50 years. It is one of five Catholic schools in Arlington County – Bishop O’Connell and four parochial elementary/middle schools – with a combined enrollment of 2,140 students. Based upon the Arlington Public Schools’ expenditures per student, these five Catholic schools save the taxpayers over $41.7 million per year. Bishop O’Connell alone saves taxpayers over $21 million per year.”

Earlier this week county officials declined to comment about the suit.

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PETA Weighs in on Arlington Dog Park Debate

By ARLnow.com

A controversial proposal to ban young children from Arlington’s dog parks has caught the attention of PETA.

The animal rights group has written a letter to Arlington Parks Division Chief Caroline Temmermand with a “friendly suggestion” — to ban unsterilized dogs from the county’s dog parks.

“Dogs who haven’t been ‘fixed’ are nearly three times as likely to bite as are dogs who have been sterilized,” a PETA rep told ARLnow.com. Plus, the rep said, dogs that haven’t been spayed or neutered “can contribute to the animal overpopulation crisis.”

“By allowing only ‘fixed’ dogs into Arlington’s [dog paks], the county would make parks safer and send a strong message to dog guardians that spaying or neutering their animal companions is a necessary, responsible thing to do,” PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch said in a statement.

See PETA’s letter to the Parks Department, after the jump.
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New Remy Video Pokes Fun at the TSA

By ARLnow.com

‘Arlington Rap’ guy Remy Munasifi has teamed up with the libertarians at Reason Magazine to produce a new parody video about the much-maligned Transportation Security Administration.

The video, “Do the TSA Pokey Pokey,” makes fun of the TSA’s intrusive airport body scans and pat-downs. It also satirizes recent controversies involving pat-downs of young children.

“We touch you kid like that / We grope your kid like this / We touch them up and down because they might be terrorists,” Remy sings, dressed as a mustachioed TSA agent. “We do the pokey pokey because we somehow are allowed, that’s what it’s all about.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Board Approves Energy Plan Framework — Last night the County Board approved an ambitious set of goals to dramatically reduce energy usage and cut carbon emissions in Arlington over the next 40 years. With the goals set, a new county panel will now set out to figure out how to implement them. Speakers at last night’s board meeting — including members of the local business community — were generally supportive of the energy plan, although a few individuals criticized the additional regulations it will likely impose. [Sun Gazette, Arlington County]

Local Green Group Criticized — Arlington-based Conservation International is being criticized by environmental activists for helping to “greenwash” large corporations in exchange for donations. [Huffington Post]

The Concrete ‘Jungle’ of Clarendon — Are the roads tricky and drivers impatient in the Clarendon/Courthouse area? One writer thinks so. [Patch]

Flickr pool photo by BriankMKA

Today in the Forums

By ARLnow.com

Yesterday we officially launched our new discussion forums section — a message board where the conversation isn’t limited to the articles we publish.

Here are a few of the interesting items posted in the past 24 hours.

Board Approves East Falls Church Development Plan

By ARLnow.com

On Saturday the Arlington County Board unanimously approved a controversial plan for transit-oriented development around the East Falls Church Metro station.

The plan calls for the creation of a mixed-use “neighborhood center” with open spaces, a public plaza and ground level retail. Some of the new development will be built on the Metro Park and Ride lot. The single family neighborhoods surrounding the station, meanwhile, will be preserved.

The height of the new residential buildings — a major source of concern for East Falls Church residents — will range from nine stories along I-66 to three stories closer to the single family homes. Lee Highway, Washington Boulevard and Sycamore Street will be redesigned to add bike lanes, on-street parking, trees and pedestrian improvements. The plan is also expected to add 100-250 units of committed affordable housing to the East Falls Church area.

See the county’s press release about the plan’s passage here.

Lubber Run Amphitheatre Supporters Question County Study

By ARLnow.com

Does the shuttered Lubber Run Amphitheater need some no-frills fixes or a complete overhaul before it can reopen? It depends who you ask.

Earlier this month Arlington County released a decidedly pessimistic study of the 43-year-old amphitheater and its surrounding grounds. The study, conducted by Neale Architects, concluded that bringing the amphitheater up to current code standards would require $2.5 million for an extensive renovation or a $3.5 million for a completely new facility, not including significant costs associated with Americans with Disabilities Act, Resource Protection Area and floodplain compliance.

The study “found a number of existing conditions that represent a hazard to public safety, including open trenches; steep grades; deteriorated benches; tilting walls; crumbling paving,” according to the county’s Lubber Run Amphitheater web site.

“The wooden stage has also deteriorated and the County will take action to remove it,” the assessment continued. “Mold is also present in some locations. Both the deteriorating stage and mold reflect underlying drainage problems.”

A newly-formed group called the Lubber Run Amphitheater Foundation, however, disputes many of the findings. In a letter to the county board (after the jump) and in a corresponding itemized assessment, the foundation says that the study contains errors, omissions and exaggerations. For instance, an “open trench” cited in the report is actually “a one-and-one-half inch depression in the asphalt,” according to the letter.

Instead of waiting for funding to be made available for a complete overhaul, the foundation is asking for “a low-impact, no-frills restoration of the venue that maintains its existing modest footprint.”

“The report seems to be saying that to save the amphitheater we have to totally replace it at the cost of millions of dollars,” said Lubber Run Amphitheater Foundation co-president Esther Bowring. “We’re asking the Board to take a closer look, talk with us and come up with a reasonable budget that will restore the existing amphitheater that has served Arlington’s public and cultural community well for more than 40 years.”

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County Board Rejects Lights for Bishop O’Connell High School

By ARLnow.com

The County Board has rejected a controversial proposal to add lights to the football and basefall fields at Bishop O’Connell High School.

The board’s 3-1 vote to reject the proposal came after nearly 75 speakers — including neighbors, student athletes, nuns and local gadflies — spoke both strongly in favor and strongly against the O’Connell lighting plan.

(Board member Barbara Favola recused herself due to her work for Marymount University. The lighting proposal called for Marymount’s athletic teams to be granted partial use of the fields.)

The nearly three hours of public comment produced a bit of consensus — that Bishop O’Connell was generally a good neighbor and that its plan to renovate the athletic fields themselves was more or less acceptable to the East Falls Church and Williamsburg communities. Otherwise, the two sides were at loggerheads with little hope of an acceptable compromise.

Sister Bernadette McManigal, superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Arlington, asked that Bishop O’Connell be granted the same privileges as Arlington’s public high schools, which have field lights in “neighborhoods comparable to O’Connell.”

“I ask for the same consideration,” she said. Many of the O’Connell student athletes who spoke last night made the same plea — that they wanted the same level of facilities as their public school peers.

In fact, the school argued that its proposed facilities were more modest than the athletic facilities at other Arlington high schools, and insisted that it was being careful to minimize neighborhood impact.

But one resident said that O’Connell’s proposal would have negative effects not experienced in other neighborhoods, according to a lighting consultant hired by neighbors.

“The school’s current design will result in light spillage far in excess of national standards,” said John Seymour, who identified himself as a 20-year resident of the neighborhood. “The spill will significantly impair the lives of neighbors subject to it. It will also impair the values of their homes.”

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APS Appoints Interim Williamsburg Principal, Hires Lawyer

By ARLnow.com

Update at 11:10 a.m. on 2/10/11 — APS has clarified that the scope of the “legal services” provided by the outside legal counsel has yet to be determined.

The brouhaha over the resignation of Williamsburg Middle School principal Kathy Francis continues.

Arlington Public Schools announced last night that it had approved the hiring of an outside legal counsel to defend the school system against review allegations made by Francis, who sent a lengthy resignation letter to parents last week. In the letter, Francis accused superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy of “discrimination” and harassment.

APS also announced additional, temporary leadership changes at Williamsburg. Retired Wakefield High School principal Doris Jackson will work part-time as interim principal of the school, alongside Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Meg Tuccillo.

Assistant Principal Dr. Eileen Wentzel will delay her move to another position in order to stay on at Williamsburg through the end of the school year, the school system said.

“I want to thank the Williamsburg staff for the work they have been doing with our children,” Dr. Murphy said in a statement. “I especially appreciate the leadership of this team, particularly during the past week. Finally, I am grateful for the added help of Ms. Tuccillo and Ms. Jackson.  I am confident that this team will work to ensure that the education and success of our students remain the primary focus for the school.”

The school will start the process of hiring a new principal “in the next several weeks.”

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