Audrey Clement for County Board

Hello:

AY endorses Audrey Clement for Arlington County Board, for many of the reasons discussed in the post below. Audrey's opponent, Libby Garvey, would do over the next four years what's she's done over the past four years - rubber-stamp neighborhood-by-neighborhood infill gentrification, dismissing the costs and consequences, everything from neighborhood flooding to multi-modal gridlock. Even Senior Democrats, who will likely vote for Libby, are concerned that Arlington will become Portland-on-the-Potomac if Libby is re-elected, and they've made plans to quietly leave the County before that occurs.

Audrey's given Arlington Residents a choice every election for several years when the other political parties opted out of nominating candidates. That is shameful. What other option do we have for changing our Government, besides elections?

Audrey has worked hard as a candidate and as a member of the Transportation Commission. She often takes issue with County Government's growth-for-the-sake-of-growth agenda for the future, and fire-aim-ready planning by planners who don't and won't live in Arlington. Audrey spends a considerable amount self-funding her campaigns, attends debates, maintains a campaign website, audreyclement.com , where she offers pro-active alternatives to the status quo, and engages in all the activities a candidate who is serious about being elected needs to do.

Were it not for the perennially biased local media, specifically the Washington Post, which put profits ahead of Journalism, Audrey would have been elected to the County Board last year.

Consequently, AY endorses Audrey Clement for Arlington County Board.

Arlington / WETA Deal - Welfare for the Rockefellers?

Hello,

Two consent agenda items related to the proposed redevelopment deal between Arlington Government and WETA will be before the County Board on June 16th. The first, Item 2, is a phased development site plan for an addition to WETA's headquarters building. To be taken up at next month's CB meeting. The second, Item 14, is a temporary parking agreement between the County and WETA. A third, Item 29, was deferred by the CB on June 13th until next month and concerns the sale of WETA's studios to the County to be repurposed for outdoor sports.

An AY contributor obtained WETA's last annual report and WETA's last IRS Form 990. WETA is a very wealthy organization and does not need any financial assistance from Arlington County. WETA's CEO, Sharon Rockefeller, is not only wealthy herself but is also on the Board of the Rockefeller Foundation.

There is also the matter of environmental impacts of what will be a multi-jurisdiction sports facility and increased parking and vehicle trips in what is already a densely in-filled area.

WETA has little or nothing to do with Arlington County, apart from its headquarters, studios, and FM broadcasting tower located in Arlington. WETA increasingly appeals to an increasingly upscale audience, e.g., through fictional programming featuring an idealized British aristocracy.

Again, WETA needs no financial assistance from Arlington County.

Time for a Long Time-Out from ArlNow

Hello,

Time for a long time-out from visiting the ArlNow news blog? About time.

ArlNow's Owner and Publisher, Scott Brodbeck, is a long-time New Urbanist Democrat who's shared the goal, since he started ArlNow 11 years ago, of complete mixed-use infill gentrification / millennialization of the County with Arlington's Urbanist Democrats.

Scott no longer lives in historic Fairlington but quietly purchased a 1950's single family home in Country Club Hills a couple years ago, nowhere near the "vibrant" mixed use millennialization he and his fellow Urbanist media publishers promote and profit from, via features, ads, infomercials, weekly columns, and comments that appear under most features, mostly written by Urbanist Democrats who typically trash anyone who doesn't go along with one-party govenment dedicated to infill gentrification redevelopment.

It would be one thing if ArlNow were just another propaganda channel for revitalization through gentrification. But Scott (who has complete control over what is published on ArlNow) also uses his favored commenters as surrogates. Comments appearing on ArlNow are increasingly false and malicious without regard to truth and are directed against anyone who doesn't go along with the Urbanist-Democrat agenda.

Consequently it's time for anyone who's for increased democracy in Arlington to give ArlNow a long time-out. Alternative? Arlington Patch provides almost the same news content as ArlNow but without the overt biases and comments that verge on hate speech. Terri from 22205

ACPD - Mostly Useless?

Hey, Yupette,

Thanks for this blog.

Wonder what the Arlington County Police Department has been up to lately?

Just the usual. Setting up speed traps on lightly traveled arterials, defending malls, convenience stores, fast food restaurants, from shoplifters and disorderly persons. Chasing people out of parks and onto crowded sidewalks and trails. Responding to actions by persons of no fixed address with behavioral health issues. Ignoring any and all reckless behavior by persons riding bicycles, scooters, and skateboards, including reckless endangerment of children.

You would think with schools closed, courts closed, much less motor vehicle traffic, we would finally see community policing, meaning ACPD actually patrolling our neighborhoods. No way. Except for the aforementioned speed traps ACPD is even less visible than 6 months ago.

Check out the weekly crime reports in the Arlington media and you'll notice that ACPD solves few opportunistic crimes, leading me to stay away from places where opportunistic crimes occur. You should also.

T.L., 22201

County Government Approves More Infill Social Crowding

Hello,

In the event you haven't noticed the New Urbanism-addicted Arlington County Board approved a Phased Development Site Plan for Crystal City on March 21st and redevelopment of the Marriott Hotel site in Rosslyn on March 24th that will greatly increase the density of both areas under development.

Same County Board that's calling for social distancing now the CV epidemic has gathered momentum. Same County Board that's re-purposing streets, sidewalks, plazas, trails, neighborhood parks, National Parks, open spaces for high-density Millennialization.

Significant and serious social crowding is presently occurring on Arlington's streets, sidewalks, plazas, trails, neighborhood parks and other open spaces, as the Urbanist County Board has closed all community sports-recreation-entertainment venues.

But social crowding is what New Urbanism aka growth-for-the-sake-of-growth infill gentrification is all about. One can only HOPE that CV 19 will respond to anti-viral meds as the yearly influenza vaccines confer some immunity and anti-HIV meds put HIV into long-term remission.

Consequently, AY cannot recommend re-electing any incumbent Urbanist elected to public office in (and around) Arlington. They are all dedicated to turning what was once a socially and economically diverse County into an infilled gentrified mess.
AY

Rouse Estate Being Sold for $30 Million

Hello,

AY learned today from two sources that the Rouse Estate (corner of Wilson and McKinley) is on the market for $30 million. Likely outcome of the sale will be more residential infill at some density. Arlington County has expressed little interest in acquiring the estate for open space because Upton Hill Regional Park is just across Wilson Blvd.

Stay tuned for details.

AY

Check Your Insurance Coverage Before Spring

Hello,

It's been a mild winter (so far). Another month until Spring. More than obvious that we're going to see multi-modal mayhem on Arlington's streets, sidewalk, plazas, and trails, if not this year by about 2023.

Arlington's been on a "More Cars-More Vehicles-More Vehicle Trips" diet for decades, whether it's free range bicycles or free range SUVs. Latest is free range scooters. Don't expect multi-modal safety initiatives by anyone in authority. It will get worse as streets and sidewalks are repurposed for in-fill recreation that goes along with in-fill redevelopment with no new usable open spaces. County Board Chair Libby Garvey is a bicycle fanatic and can't do enough for what's become a bicycle cult.

Best thing (we think) for anyone who drives a motor vehicle sensibly and also runs or walks is to stay away from major arterials, off trails, and not drive during rush hours, if that's possible. Also check your insurance coverage because many bike riders and scooter riders don't have insurance. Have a safe Spring. A.Y.

Water Mains...Not Bike Lanes

Hello, Yupette,

How much more is this County going to spend on new dedicated bicycle infrastructure and renovating older bicycle infrastructure to benefit what's become a cult? How many Arlington residents are riding bicycles today - it's 30 degrees and snowing? How many water main breaks will have to be repaired this Winter? How many times will we have to boil tap water because large diameter water mains break and take days to repair?

New ductile iron water mains last 100 years and are highly resistant to cracking. Bike lane infrastructure lasts, what, 3 years? How did we get to the point where sports, recreation, and arts consume hundreds of millions every year, including tens of millions for new sports, recreation, and arts infrastructure?

Then there are the injuries caused by bicycles and scooters, which are essentially ridden free-range, and the demands on already-stressed ACPD and ACFD. How much does that cost us?

Terri, 22207

Tie: Wash Post and ArlNow for 'Worst Local Journalism in 2019'

Late last month AY polled its contributors to ask which local news outlet published the worst local journalism during 2019. Results were a virtual tie between the Washington Post and the ArlNow News blog. The Post narrowly edged ArlNow. Here's a sample of comments we received about the Post, ArlNow and the other local media, e.g., Sun Gazette.

Audrey Clement for County Board

No contest this year. Democratic County Board incumbents Katie Cristol and Christian Dorsey are running on a platform of trashing Donald Trump, continually hiding behind Virginia's Dillon Rule, allowing the County to suffer from a devastating flood and a significant drought within 4 months, and having serious conflict of interest issues from accepting many thousands in campaign contributions from WMATA unions who they are supposed to be overseeing via the NVTC Board and WMATA Board.

Then there's their New Urbanist agenda. After 40 years of redeveloping Arlington New Urbanism has become a growth-for-the-sake-of-growth monster that's devouring formerly livable neighborhoods with more cars and vehicle trips, ever-more unaffordable housing, and continuing destruction of open space and the mature tree canopy. With the purpose of making the County an expensive urbanized mess within ten years.

Enough is enough. We deserve better, much better, from a bloated County Government and what we pay in ever-increasing taxes, which seem to only go for more Taj Mahal infrastructure for the so-called "Progressives'" favored special interests. Therefore AY endorses Audrey Clement for Arlington County Board.

Write-in Theo Stamos for Commonwealth's Attorney

Hi, Yupette,

I'm a 53 year old Yuppie with kids out of college several years. I live in Lyon Park.

I'm posting this to ask Arlington Voters to write-in Theo Stamos for Commonwealth's Attorney on November 5th.

We have enough problems with the homeless, drugs and alcohol, crime by non-residents, and free-range Millennials now. If Team Parisa takes control of the Commonwealth's Attorney's office it's going to be "Party's Over Here, in Arlington".

If I wanted to live in "vibrant" and "trendy" DC, I would. I don't need or want the bad behavior that's epidemic in DC moving here.

Thanks for a blog that's an alternative to a continuous stream of infomercials for the status quo, e.g., ArlNow, Sun Gazette, Inside Nova.

L.J.

Discussion: Is County Government Environmentally Responsive and Responsible?

Hi, AY contributors wanted a discussion about the level of County Government's environmental responsibility. So AY is asking for your thoughts.

Replacing Brick Sidewalk Paving is No Big Deal

Hi,

Thanks for this blog.

I live in the B-R Corridor and the brick sidewalks here continue to deteriorate. What's the reason not to replace them with concrete? No good reason. I called one of the local construction companies that bids on County public infrastructure projects and asked. Was told that the bricks are removed and recycled, sand and gravel under the bricks is leveled, concrete is poured. Not a big deal unless other improvements are made, like new curbs. So why not just replace the bricks and make the sidewalks in the Corridor much safer? Funds being used for dedicated bicycle lanes? Or what?

Ted, 22201

Multi-Modal Safety PSAs - Conspicuous by Their Absence

Hi,

I sometimes visit this blog and agree that there's a big problem in Arlington with multi-modal safety.

I took an early vacation in upstate NY after Memorial Day and there are lots of safe pedestrian-bicycle-auto PSAs produced by NY State Government, on network TV and on YouTube. Here's one of them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6ct-uSo10c

Why not in Virginia, especially inside the DC Beltway?

Thanks again for your blog.

John, Dominion Hills

Historic Cemetery to Become a Dog Park

Hi, Yupette,

I work at 2100 Clarendon Blvd., and am not happy where the County is going. I'm a long-time County employee and bought a nice 3-bedroom 2 bath ranch home in Westover 30 years ago. Now, as I approach retirement, I am finding the assessment increases on my home are going to put me under some significant financial stress once I retire.

Never mind about me. You should be aware that several years ago at least two County Board members promised Ballston-area dog owners that historic Ball Cemetery off Washington Blvd. would be "repurposed" into a Dog Park. On the County Board's Regular Hearing Agenda tomorrow (June 18th),

Until about 30 years ago the Ball Family Cemetery was preserved, but after 'Smart Growth" got started the cemetery was allowed to go to ruin, along with the neighborhood's commercial infrastructure.

So now it's Mixed-Use Redevelopment time for the neighborhood and the cemetery.

If the County Board, and it's Progressive-Socialist-Urbanist cronies, can desecrate a cemetery that has no connection whatsoever to the Confederacy to provide a playground for dogs, the County Board is capable of anything.

Mary 22205

No Pay Increases for County Board Members

Hello,

Based upon AY's perusal of County Board Members' desk appointment calendars over several years, and conversations with employees and former employees who worked in the County Board Offices, AY believes that County Board Members should not vote themselves pay increases on June 18th.

Bottom Line: Service on the Arlington County Board (of Supervisors) is a part-time job which many County Board Members over the past three decades have chosen to make a full-time job.

County Board Members already enjoy a 2-month paid Summer Vacation - July 15th to September 15th. In recent years the County Board placed Consent Agenda items related to appropriations off-limits for citizen comments, ostensibly to 'streamline' meetings.

Four Members of the current County Board work for, consult for, or lobby for non-profits. AY has no information about conflicts-of-interest that may occur or are occurring vis a vis them and County Government. The fifth CB Member is apparently growing his "Missing Middle" residential housing corporation through numerous contacts with prospective clients while on the County Board.

Consequently, AY requests this pay request mess be deferred while being evaluated by the County Auditor...however long that takes. Nobody on the current County Board will apparently suffer any financial harm while the audit is occurring.

AY

Theo Stamos for Commonwealth's Attorney

Hello,

Given the direction Arlington County's been headed since before the last Commonwealth's Attorney election, in 2011, and the very different perspectives of the candidates running this year for Commonwealth's Attorney, the choice for Commonweralth's Attorney isn't difficult - re-elect Theo Stamos.

As one Independent told us: The difference between Theo Stamos and Parisa Dehghani-Tafti is the difference between "Party's Over Here in Arlington" and "Woodstock's Over Here in Arlington".

Theo Stamos's current term of office coincided with the rise and fall of pub crawls in the B-R Corridor, near-universal scofflaw behavior by bicyclists, electric scooter riders, and pedestrians, and almost complete lack of community policing in Arlington's residential neighborhoods away from major arterials. Which we blame on the Progressive-Democrat County Board and ACPD, which would rather chase "bad guys" and earn lots of overtime being a nanny police force for Millennials than engage in any community policing. We also blame the avaricious and reckless local media, especially ArlNow, for putting profits over responsible journalism.

We don't like to think about what a circus the County would become if Parisa Dehghani-Tafti became Arlington Commonwealth's Attorney. Therefore AY endorses Theo Stamos in Tuesday's Democratic Primary.

Arlington's Progressive Socialists - Talk like Bernie...Live like Hillary

Hi,

My name is Cindy and I live in Ballston. I'm an Independent and I have posted various comments on the ArlNow news blog criticizing Arlington County Government and one-party (i.e., Progressive Democrat) control of Arlington County Government for going-on 40 years.

This morning I received a campaign e-mail from Reid Goldstein's campaign for Arlington School Board with a photo of a campaign event held over the weekend. Posting the above photo got me banned from posting anything more on ArlNow.

More than obvious to me that, like their Limo Liberal parents decades ago, Arlington's so-called 'Progressives' talk like Socialists but live like wealthy Democrats in the past and present (e.g., the Clintons, Warners, McAuliffes, Beyers, etc.).

It's also evident that the local media are little more than shills for the status quo, i.e., more of the same "Progressive Socialism".

And it's also evident that local media are shills for more-of-the-same so-called "Smart Growth" aka Mixed-Use Gentrification that's destroying the County's social, economic, and environmental diversity.

Thanks for this blog.

Cindy in Ballston

Work at Home Day - May 17th

Hey Yupette,

This Friday, May 17th, is Bike to Work Day.

A GREAT day to work at home on any number of projects. Thousands of free-range bicyclists, including bicycle cult members, will be riding on the County's streets sidewalks, trails, and plazas, and, as usual, obeying traffic ordinances will be optional. A lose-lose for pedestrians and drivers of 4 wheel motor vehicles.

If you're a pedestrian you can expect lots of bicycles on sidewalks. If you drive a motor vehicles you can expect the police will be out ticketing drivers who fail to yield the right of way to bicycle scofflaws. The pols long ago made the bicycle cult one of their pet special interests. This year you can also expect lots of electric scooters zooming on the sidewalks. Nothing will be said or done about them either.

Best thing to do is stay home and telecommute to work, or just take the day off and do spring housecleaning before summer arrives, any day now.

Thanks for this blog.

Jennifer in Westover

'Progressive' County Board is Increasingly Environmentally Irresponsible

Hi,

Thanks for this blog.

I gotta laugh at the so-called "Progressive" Arlington County Board aka Arlington County Board of Supervisors. They were mediocre before and are much worse since the Board became all-Democrat in January.

Latest environmentally irresponsible antic is rescinding glass bottle recycling. They apparently didn't bother checking out options for reuse, like in building materials and for street paving. Then there's their "More Car Diet". Then there's the continuing loss of the County's mature tree canopy. Then there's the creation of more impervious surfaces everywhere, ranging from paving neighborhood parks to widening trails to benefit their pet bicycle cult. Several of their favorite / pet Socialist Democrat VIPs want to take the golf courses from the country clubs and pave them over.

All a consequence of their so-called progressive planning ideology, 'New Urbanism', which has driven the County's development and redevelopment for more than 35 years.

I no longer believe anything anyone in County Government says. I am skipping the Democratic Primary this year and voting for Independent Audrey Clement and no one else in November.

Karen, 22201