weekend discussion

The weekend is here — and it’s expected to be a warm one for mid-February.

It’s going to be warm enough that one might even forget we started the week with a significant snow and ice storm. Or that another storm — rain with some snow possibly mixed in — is in the works for next week.

Feel free to discuss the crazy weather or anything else of local interest in the comments.

A three-day weekend is here. And it’s going to be freezing cold all weekend. Sounds like a great opportunity to stay inside and watch some Netflix with your valentine, your roommates or anyone else who happens to be nearby.

Alternatively, if you want to head out and brave the cold, there’s an abundance of Valentine’s Day events and even an anti-Valentine’s-Day event to choose from in town. See our Arlington Agenda post and our full event calendar for event listings and details.

Barring breaking news we’ll be off on Monday, so feel free to use this post to discuss any issue of local interest.

Flickr pool photo by Chris Rief

The weekend is here and the remnants of last weekend’s blizzard are continuing to melt.

Expect relatively mild temperatures this weekend and into next week, says the Capital Weather Gang.

While much of the snow is likely to disappear over the next week, the biggest piles are like to to stick around for some time. In 2010, after the “Snowmageddon” blizzard, a big pile of snow near Ballston Common Mall was still around in early April.

So let’s get your best guesses: what’s the over/under for the last snow pile in Arlington? After which date will there be no more snow to be found anywhere in the county?

Feel free to discuss that or any other issue of local interest in the comments.

Flickr pool photo by John Williams

This weekend will be another snowless one in Arlington — with the possible exception of Sunday night — much to the dismay of the 62 percent of you who took our poll and said you wanted to see more snow this winter.

Still, if you’re disappointed by the lack of the fluffy white stuff, hopefully you have a long weekend to look forward to since Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Here at ARLnow, we’re also taking the day off, but we’ll be back to our normal publishing routine Tuesday morning with a special guest editor or two.

Feel free to discuss topics of local interest in the comments. Have a great weekend!

Happy New Year, Arlington!

The first full week of 2016 proved to be a busy one, from robberies — of both banks and pizzas — to the story of a good Samaritan helping an Arlingtonian in need get home, and everything in between.

Looking back at the stories from this week, one common theme seemed to arise — change.

So far, this change has come to the county in a few different forms.

First, the County Board unanimously chose Libby Garvey as its new chair. There is the long-standing tradition that the Board member up for reelection serve as chair — and Garvey announced her reelection campaign yesterday — so the selection wasn’t much of a surprise. Still, she promised reform in areas including county government customer service and civic participation in government.

There’s also been quite a bit of action with Arlington businesses.

District Taco is now open in Rosslyn, Ballston is getting a Total Wine & More and New District Brewing Co. is opening near Shirlington this weekend. At the same time, long-time Arlington business CD Cellar is moving from Clarendon to Falls Church and the beloved Knightsbridge Trading Co. is also closing its doors in Clarendon.

With a new year often comes a new sense of opportunity, whether its for individuals, organizations, neighborhoods, businesses or families to inspire change, for better or for worse. While it’s obviously way too soon to tell what 2016 will bring for the county, one constant in Arlington is change.

What changes would you like to see in 2016? What opportunities do you hope to capitalize on this year, or hope local or state government will?

As always, feel free to discuss these or any other topic of local interest in the comments.

The weekend is here. And it’s freezing.

The good news, for those who don’t need the Hollywood vision of a white Christmas to make the holiday merry, is that warmth will be returning. Forecasters say a record high temperature of 72 degrees is possible on Christmas Eve.

So think warm thoughts this weekend while you’re wrapping up your holiday shopping, heading to see the new Star Wars movie or out getting an early start on your New Years exercise resolutions.

Also, while we’re at it, we wanted to wish a happy retirement to County Board members Mary Hynes and Walter Tejada. A goodbye party was held for Hynes and Tejada at The Salsa Room on Columbia Pike Thursday. A large crowd was on hand to honor their service to Arlington County.

Agree or disagree with their policies, those who serve on the County Board are dedicated public servants. Board members get paid a part-time salary for what it in actuality a full-time job. And they often have to endure blistering criticism and derision from those they’re trying to serve, all with a smiling face.

This isn’t to say Board members and their policies shouldn’t be immune to criticism from citizens — it’s the interplay between opposing viewpoints that helps make our democracy work. And as the online news outlet of record in Arlington, we do our best to bring the sunlight of public attention to local government actions.

But some seem to mistake policy disagreements with bad intentions, treating local elected officials as if they’re out to “get” them rather than seeing them simply as a fellow resident who’s doing what they think needs to be done to make our community better. Don’t be that guy. Disagree without assuming nefarious intentions.

Let’s face it, in Arlington our local elected officials are Boy Scouts compared to the pols elsewhere in our great country. If anything they may be too concerned with public opinion and the local squeaky wheels, even if the squeaky wheels don’t have the self-awareness to recognize it when they don’t get their exact way.

Feel free to discuss Mary Hynes and Walter Tejada’s record on the County Board, or any issues of local interest in the comments.