'Democracy Dies in Darkness' That's a D.C. Media Joke, Right?

Hey, Yupette,

I have to laugh at the Washington Post's slogan 'Democracy Dies in Darkness'. In fact, the Post keeps us in the dark regarding important matters we don't deserve to know about (like Amazon's secret memorandum of understanding with Arlington County and all the unwritten promises agreed to by the County and Amazon) while spending huge amounts of ink demonizing Republicans and Conservatives over the past 50 years.

It's gotten worse since Amazon bought the Post. For many years the Post maintained a Northern Virginia News Bureau and a Post Reporter almost always attended County Board meetings. No longer. Amazon raised the newsstand price and cut local coverage. Post reporters seldom cover newsworthy events in Arlington and Alexandria. Don't expect the Post will publish anything negative about Amazon.

Local news blogs and weekly newspapers aren't any better. Their publishers and editors are out for as much revenue as they can get from advertising and various kinds of infomercials. They aren't going to significantly oppose the status quo as determined by the 1% who control everything and own almost everything, including non-residents who make and facilitate the approval of 'growth for the sake of growth' done deals. Nor are they going to forego opportunities for exclusives with County VIPs.

The ArlNow news blog is the worst. ArlNow's publisher, editors, and reporters are out to makeover Arlington into Millennial County, helped by comments from various pro-urbanization 'revitalization through infill gentrification' boosters. Never mind the consequences from cramming 70,000 more residents into 15 square miles of Arlington over the next 25 years.

Ted 22205

ACPD Is Responsible For ACPD's Problems

Hi Yupette,

I viewed the last County Board meeting, including the segment on electric scooters.

Appears there's a massive number of complaints from residents about "free range" electric scooters and complete lack of enforcement of regulations and stipulations about electric scooter operation on Arlington's streets, sidewalks, trails, etc.

One has to ask what's occurring in the Arlington Police Department's chain-of-command? Apparently the same-old, same-old. ACPD's commanders have been on the force for decades. They have a laundry list of things they want to do and things they don't want to do. Which translates into laws and ordinances that are enforced and are not enforced.

Any little thing related to motor vehicles is enforced, like expired vehicle inspection stickers. Anything related to 2-wheel vehicles (except for gasoline engine motorcycles and motor scooters) is not enforced at all.

ACPD Commanders complain the Department is chronically under-strength and can't recruit. Who's responsible for that?

Appears that about a fifth of ACPD employees are out enforcing ACPD Commanders' priorities, the rest of the Department's employees are doing other things. Who set ACPD Commanders' priorities? Ultimately the County Manager and County Board.

Bottom line -- If ACPD's leadership is comfortable with the same-old, same old, we're going to have more of the same.

Ted 22201

Now's a Good Time to Leave Arlington

Hey, Yupette,

I'm 56 years old and my youngest child graduated from college a couple years ago. Thought I'd be retiring here - live in 22205. But face it, the County isn't being honest about the costs Amazon will impose on Arlington residents, especially on homeowners. Those costs are in addition to the the costs that will be imposed on us from County Government wanting to in-fill and urbanize the entire County, neighborhood-by-neighborhood.

Who wants to live in a neighborhood where most single family homes are 'repurposed' into bed-and-breakfasts, child care for up to 9 children, McMansions renovated into 1-bedroom apartments, and with neighborhood schools at capacity 3 years after another school addition is constructed? Not me.

Consequently, I'm selling my well-preserved larger home on a nice-size lot and leaving Arlington for a community where I won't see my real estate taxes increase every year to reward one-party government's pet constituencies and watch neighborhood streets become gridlocked to the point I won't be able to back out of my driveway.

The last election was a referendum on fiscal and social responsibility in County Government, and it's obvious we're going back to the era of neighborhood parks becoming $1.8 million dog spas and out-of-control pub crawls.

Then there's one-party government that gets worse every year, to the point where public meetings are charades because everything's decided by a handful of VIPs in secret.

Thanks for this blog.

22205

The Future -- Urbanized and Millennialized Arlington

Hey Yupette,

First, thanks to Audrey Clement and John Vihstadt for running for School Board and County Board. In a multi-party system it should not be up to Independents to run year after year against an entrenched political machine.

Second, the Election sends a clear signal that the Arlington Democratic Party does not want responsible government, fiscally or otherwise.

What Arlington Democrats want is what they had before John Vihstadt was elected - unrestrained spending for extravagant infrastructure, unrestrained neighborhood-by-neighborhood in-fill urbanization / gentrification, unrestrained free-range behavior by Millennials (remember pub crawls?).

It will be interesting to see how County Government meets the demands of thousands more Millennials Amazon will bring to Arlington.

Unfortunately, anyone over about 50 who is for responsible government, responsible behavior, responsible anything, was seen, is seen, and will be seen as a Donald Trump surrogate, so long as Donald Trump is President.

Next Blue Wave will be in 2019 for the Virginia General Assembly elections. Next Blue Wave after that will be in 2020 for the Presidential elections.

Thanks again to Audrey and John for running.

22206

McDuplexes - Next Big Millennial Mega Millions Jackpot

Hey Yupette,

Speaking of the Mega Millions lottery, a big Millennial Mega Millions jackpot will go to the residential construction firms that renovate and expand small homes and duplexes. Many duplexes were constructed on so-called 'nonconforming lots' decades ago so their owners spend months and years obtaining building permits for interior renovation and exterior additions from Arlington's Zoning Office.

So County Government and the County Board decided to make renovations of and additions to small homes and duplexes much easier by eliminating the need for extensive review by Zoning.

Unfortunately, the assessed value of most small single family homes and duplexes in Arlington has doubled or tripled over the past 20 years, so this housing is barely affordable to middle class families. What extensive interior renovations and/or exterior additions would accomplish would be to increase assessed value of renovated homes while supplying current homeowners with more living space. The County would realize more tax revenue.

But the major league beneficiaries will be residential renovation and construction companies, which have already made thousands of single family homes unaffordable by adding rooms and significantly increasing the structure's footprint.

It's obvious that the County's 'affordable housing' charades are becoming more numerous and insipid. County Government has no desire to retain a middle class in the County.

T.G., 22203

What More Can Arlington Residents Do for APS?

Hey, Yupette,

I'm a parent of an 18 year old daughter who's a Real Millennial (born in 2000) who graduated from APS and who's in her first year at a state university. I was a PTA parent for several years, and as my daughter went through the grades I became more and more unhappy with the total Democratic control over Arlington's public schools. To the extent I will NEVER vote for a Democrat who's running for election or re-election to Arlington's School Board. Certainly not Barbara Kanninen.

Like other APS parents I had to keep my mouth shut while my daughter attended APS. No longer.

To say I was unhappy that my daughter attended class in a trailer classroom while a hundred parents who moved out of Arlington dropped their kids off at my daughter's school in the morning and picked them up in the evening (usually after extended school day activities) would be an understatement. Then there was (and is) the secret APS program that's relocated hundreds of children whose parents were and are economic (not political) refugees from Central America to Arlington. Then there was and is the traffic through my neighborhood because APS allows parents who live a block from a school to drive their kids to school and builds big turn-arounds to facilitate that. Then there are the Taj Mahal schools themselves, built with every amenity that has little or nothing to do with education but too few classrooms.

But what really aggravated me and other parents was that, no matter how many relocatable classrooms, no matter how much traffic, no matter what the costs are imposed on students, parents, taxpayers, everyone, neither the County Board nor the School Board would let go of in-fill urbanizing the County. Every year, more of the same.

Latest Taj Mahal schools will cost $130 million. When will it end? All we wanted was a good basic pre-K through 12 education for my daughter. She didn't receive one because APS is all about sports-entertainment-recreation aka 'enrichment activities'.

Thanks for this blog.

Mike P

'Your County Board Is Insane for Allowing Electric Scooters in Arlington'

Hello,

Like many other Arlington residents AY saw and heard reports of serious injuries resulting from electric scooters ridden inside the Beltway. So AY wanted to see how dangerous electric scooters are. We did a Google search on 'Bird electric scooters crashes injuries' and 'Lime electric scooters crashes injuries'

Short answer. Electric scooters are VERY dangerous and should have been banned from Arlington, not given a 9 month trial in Arlington, including during the Winter. Cities like Nashville, San Diego, Santa Monica, and Los Angeles have either banned or severely limited the places where electric scooters can be ridden.

Only persons who are either elected or a candidate for public office in Arlington who have expressed concern about electric scooters are Audrey Clement and John Vihstadt. The representatives from the Bird and Lime scooter corporations, who attended the last County Board meeting, were only concerned about their corporations' bottom line.

When AY spoke with an attorney at a personal injury law firm that has been deluged with complaints about injuries from Bird and Lime scooters she stated: 'Your County Board is insane for allowing electric scooters in Arlington'.

AY