The Sun Gazette reports this morning that the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization is asking residents to consider leaving Fido at home when they go to the Pike farmers market on Sundays.
Responding to a complaint to the county health department, market officials are asking residents to voluntarily leave their dogs at home or, at the very least, “keep them out of vendor booths and away from tables that have food on them.”
The Saturday farmers market in Courthouse, meanwhile, is more explicit about its policy about dogs.
“We love your pets, but please leave them at home,” the market says on its web site. “With the exception of service animals, Public Health regulations preclude the presence of live animals in the Courthouse Farmer’s Market.”
Should dogs be allowed at farmers markets in Arlington?
Even with the national economy in the dumps three years ago, the economy in the D.C. region — and especially in Arlington — remained strong, with low unemployment and a healthy real estate market.
Now, as the national economy teeters once again, there’s some question of whether the local economy can remain an island of vibrancy. With federal discretionary spending decreasing, and with the possibility of even steeper cuts down the road, Uncle Sam may not be able to provide the steady flow of cash that kept the local economy going during the last recessionary period.
The local economic indicators are a mixed bag. Unemployment in Arlington is still remarkably low, at 3.9 percent. Home sales are up in the most recent period, but home sale prices are down considerably in Arlington and in the D.C. metro area.
How do you feel about the direction the local economy is heading?
It’s sort of like summer’s grand finale — when folks begin packing in the remaining warm weather fun on their ‘To Do’ list before the arrival of shorter days and cooler nights.
(Updated at 12:20 p.m.) Next week, construction is expected to begin on a number of controversial changes to Arlington Ridge Road from 23rd Street to Meade Street.
The four-week, $200,000+ construction project will eliminate a bus pull-off lane, will extend permanent curbing at the intersection of Arlington Ridge and Oakcrest Road, and will include various curb, gutter and sidewalk improvements — all in the name of improving pedestrian safety.
But one change in particular has prompted vocal protests from dozens of residents: the elimination of the slip lane from southbound Arlington Ridge Road to S. Meade Street.
The slip lane is used by residents who live in the neighborhood, and by parents dropping their children off at Oakridge Elementary School. Critics of the project — who are publishing a blog called Save Our Streets — say that eliminating the slip lane will actually make the area less safe by forcing turning traffic to stop on a steep downhill portion of Arlington Ridge Road, risking rear end collisions and making the sharp turn difficult during bad weather.
In response to a letter from the Arlington Ridge Civic Association (ARCA), which said the S. Meade Street portion of the project “is viewed as unneeded and potentially dangerous… with little or no gain for pedestrians,” county staff wrote that the elimination of the slip lane is “a major component of the project plan.”
“The existing slip lane allows vehicles to exit Arlington Ridge and enter S. Meade Street at a higher rate of speed,” staff said. “Requiring vehicles to slow to a safe maneuvering speed at the proposed singular entry site improves the safety for vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians… The necessary reduction in speed for turning vehicles under the proposed plan is also supported by the current [25 mph] speed limit on Arlington Ridge, the lowering of which was heavily supported by ARCA.”
Arlington County Director of Transportation Dennis Leach reiterated that view in a recent WUSA9 story on the Arlington Ridge changes.
“Slip lanes actually encourage traffic to speed… it creates hazards for pedestrians,” Leach said.
The plan to turn the slip lane into an expanded sidewalk and green space is consistent with other county road projects that have eliminated slip lanes, including at the intersections of N. George Mason Drive and N. Frederick Street and S. Joyce Street and 15th Street. Another slip lane — at the bottom of a steep hill on S. Walter Reed Drive at the Four Mile Run access road — is also slated for removal this summer, and at least two slip lanes at Glebe Road and Fairfax Drive are slated for elimination in the next year or two.
Do you agree with the county’s approach to eliminating most slip lanes due to safety concerns, or do you agree with the ‘Save Our Streets’ citizens who argue that eliminating (at least certain) slip lanes is unnecessary and may actually have the opposite intended effect, safety-wise?
“Arlington has it all,” proclaims the web site of the county’s newest paper-based publication. “Active, educated residents. Amazing schools. Great restaurants, shopping and nightlife. Beautiful neighborhoods. And a strong sense of community… And now it has a magazine.”
‘Arlington Magazine’ will begin publishing six times a year starting in late October. The magazine “will bring the editorial and design standards of a national magazine to our community while covering the lives and lifestyles of local residents.”
In the words of the Washington Business Journal’s Missy Frederick, it “looks like WBJ and ARLnow will now have some competition breaking such tidbits as ‘Where will the new Dr. Dremo’s sign a lease?'”
According to the magazine’s media kit, Arlington Magazine will serve Arlington, McLean and Falls Church. It will have an initial circulation of 20,000 25,000 copies, 15,000 of which will be “mailed to subscribers, prospective subscribers, and community and business leaders.”
How interested are you in a new bimonthly magazine about Arlington?
We’ve remarked on Twitter that the new restaurants seem to be doing boffo business at night, especially the businesses in the new Clarendon Center buildings. We’re wondering if they’re merely taking business from older restaurants in the area, or if they’re driving business by making people more likely to go out in Clarendon.
In an editorial, the Washington Post suggests that now would be the “wrong time” to start building a proposed streetcar line along Columbia Pike.
After all, the Post opines, the federal funds that the county hopes to receive for the $140-million-plus project may become difficult to obtain now that the federal government is on the verge of approving spending cuts. Arlington’s leaders, the Post editorial board says, would be better off spending the county’s share of the 4.7-mile streetcar line’s big price tag “elsewhere” — perhaps on additional capacity for the burgeoning Arlington Public School system.
The editorial comes three weeks after the Washington Examiner’s editorial board blasted the streetcar as a “colossal, unjustified waste of tax dollars.”
With temperatures expected to reach the upper 90s today and the lower 100s Friday, some people have got to be getting sick of summer and nostalgic for cooler weather.
If you could press a button and fast forward to the weather and climate of a different month — assuming you couldn’t go back — would you do it, and which month would it be?
It seems that every time we run a story on a new retailer coming to Arlington, someone chimes in in the comments, saying that they’d much rather have a Wegman’s.
We asked folks on Twitter why the supermarket chain is so popular and heard a lot of different explanations. If you’re a Wegman’s fan, what are your top three reasons for wanting to shop there?
Barbara Favola’s state Senate campaign is defending a telephone poll that erroneously identified Democratic primary opponent Jaime Areizaga-Soto as a Republican.
The poll, conducted on behalf of the Favola campaign, asked residents negative questions about both candidates. In a statement, the Favola campaign said calling Areizaga a Republican was a “clerical error.”
The Barbara Favola for State Senate Campaign is in the field with a standard political tracking poll.
The final question of the poll asked:
If the election in the Democratic Primary were held today, would you vote for Jaime Areizaga-Soto, the Republican, or Barbara Favola, the Democrat?
The wording of this question is obviously incorrect, and it was caused by a simple cut-and-paste, clerical error.
When the error was brought to our attention, we immediately fixed the question.
Any suggestion this was done as a campaign tactic is entirely incorrect. We apologize if this clerical error caused any confusion among the people who received our poll call.
The kerfuffle, which comes on the heels of criticism of Areizaga-Soto’s negative mailers, has prompted one local political-type to endorse Areizaga-Soto. Ben Tribbett, who was once considering a run for the 31st District state Senate seat that’s being vacated by state Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple, says that he’s “disappointed” with Favola.
His endorsement statement (after the jump) mimics Del. Bob Brink’s endorsement of Favola, which decried “Karl Rove-style mudslinging” in the race.
Update at 4:45 p.m. — The Washington Post reports that Favola has ordered her pollster to stop calling Areizaga-Soto a “Republican” during the poll.
The Jaime Areizaga-Soto state Senate campaign, criticized last week for its negative campaign mailers, is now fighting back against a telephone poll apparently conducted on behalf of opponent Barbara Favola’s campaign.
According to three independent sources who received the calls, the pollster gave “negative quotes” about both Democratic candidates and asked the respondents to evaluate each. Most of the quotes, however, focused on Areizaga-Soto. Among the reported questions:
How do you feel about Areizaga-Soto claiming to be a “senior advisor” to Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple – who has endorsed Favola — when the temporary position only paid several hundred dollars?
How do you feel about Areizaga-Soto’s work on behalf of several corporations, at least one of which may have been criticized for environmental violations?
How do you feel about Areizaga-Soto’s work as a Bush administration White House fellow and as a Treasury Department staffer during the financial crisis?
How do you feel about trips and gifts Favola accepted while serving on the County Board?
“Having worked on several campaigns, the poll was a standard way to test negative messages before bringing them on the field [sic],” one call recipient told ARLnow.com. “The District 31 state Senate race is about to get a bunch nastier.”
According to sources and the Areizaga-Soto campaign, the calls were conducted by a polling firm on behalf of the Favola campaign. Favola spokesperson Mary Lawson confirmed that the campaign is conducting a telephone poll this week.
“Democrats in the 31st District deserve to know the facts so they can make an educated choice,” Areizaga-Soto said. “My campaign has been tough — we’ve pointed out some uncomfortable facts about who funds my opponent — but I have been and will always be honest.”
Areizaga-Soto campaign spokesperson said the poll contained “exaggerations” about the candidate, but did not elaborate.
The Sun Gazette reports this morning that the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization is asking residents to consider leaving Fido at home when they go to the Pike farmers market on Sundays.
