Celebrating the Green on March 17

On St. Patrick's Day 2012, ACE is celebrating the green with Arlington's premier event for green living. Mark your calendar for our third-annual Green Living Expo on March 17!

ACE is also seeking volunteers interested in joining the planning committee to help with exhibitor recruitment, publicity, and compiling the event program. If you are interested, please email us.  Committee meetings will be Thursday, February 2 and Thursday, March 1 at 6:30 p.m. at Washington Lee High School. 

Green Living Expo

Saturday, March 17, 2012

 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.   Washington-Lee High School 

1301 N. Stafford Street, Arlington

The Expo is FREE and will also include these special features:

• Exhibitors on a variety of green living topics. 
• Children's activities
• Green living seminars. 
• Rain barrel sale (barrels must be pre-ordered by March 14).
• Sustainable eating food sales and cooking demonstrations.

PLUS - ACE is looking for volunteers from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on March 17. Please contact us if you want to help. More information: 703-228-6427.

Donaldson Run Trail Re-Route - Volunteer Work Days

You may have noticed at one of the entrances to the Donaldson Run Park, along 30th St, that something is amiss.  Try as the humans might, they have not been able to stop the force of nature.  Donaldson Run waters have eroded away the foundations of the walkway that provides access into the park.  The park authorities (both Arlington and Potomac Overlook) have apparently, smartly, given up.  Instead of trying to hold back the waters, they have decided to move the trail.

I am not sure I see this on the Potomac Overlook Park page, but REI is announcing a volunteer day, indicating when the work will be done:

Work will be done on this project on three weekend days in early 2012: Saturday, January 28, Sunday, February 19 and Saturday, March 10. Work will take place 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. on all three days. Work will include removal of vegetation along new trail route, trail grading, installation of steps and waterbars, application of wood chips and gravel, and other related work.

 If you would like to help out, REI indicates that you should contact Potomac Over look at 703-528-5406; or e-mail Potomac@nvrpa.org.

YHS Last Day of School is Now June 19th!

Due to conflicts with the date the high schools could get Constitution Hall this year and exam schedules, the School Board voted to end school for high school students one day early this year – a change from June 20^th to June 19^th. Exam schedules will be adjusted accordingly. Graduation remains scheduled for Yorktown on June 20^th at 3 PM.

Yorktown Theatre Arts Presents: 4 A.M

Yorktown High School Theatre Arts Presents


4 A.M.

 

ENCORE PERFORMANCE!

Friday & Saturday, January 27 & 28, 7:00 p.m.

Yorktown H. S. Auditorium, 5200 Yorktown Blvd, Arlington

Admission: by donation

 

 

What’s it like to be awake when the rest of the world is asleep? Meet an early morning jogger, a radio DJ who’s show may have an audience of none, a restless sleeper, a modern Romeo and Juliet, the author of a most unusual letter, and many other teen characters as they search for connection in the magic hour. Join them on their journey as they discover whether the monster under the bed is real and collectively wonder…“Is anybody out there”?

HB WOODLAWN PRESENTS OKLAHOMA! Jan. 26 - 28

HB Woodlawn presents OKLAHOMA!, a musical production set in 1906, which tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance with farm girl Laurey Williams.   Tickets are available now for purchase online and online sales will run through January 23rd at 11:55PM.  Ordering online is quick and easy, and you get to choose your seats! To purchase online, go to www.hbwoodlawn.tix.com. Total price for tickets, including fees are $16.20 for adults, and $8.60 for students and seniors.  Prices at the door will be slightly lower but you will not be able to choose your seat and if the production sells out online, there may not be seats for your desired night.  So buy online now. OKLAHOMA! will run Thursday, January 26, Friday January 27, and Saturday January 28.  All performances will be at 7:30 PM

OK We Learned A Lot Today.... The Arl Democrat Caucus and ROBO Calls

What we learned today is that Arlington political candidates are clueless about the Do-Not-Call List.  And the poorer their showing in the polls, the more clueless they were about the Do-Not-Call List.  And since Arlington political candidates appear to be so clueless, let's go over some basics:

The Do Not Call List is a registry maintained by the Federal Government.   Citizens who do not like, appreciate, enjoy, or welcome telephone solicitations can place their names on the list - and it is illegal for businesses to disturb dinner by calling those citizens.

Now the astute (but clueless) politician will argue, "yes, but the do not call list does not apply to political speech."  Sure, sure, this is true (you dumb ass).  But you miss the point.  While the FTC has stated,

Because of limitations in the jurisdiction of the FTC and FCC, calls from or on behalf of political organizations, charities, and telephone surveyors would still be permitted

 it is also true that citizens who place their names on the Do Not Call List have provided clear and conspicuous notice that they detest and despise the infernal invasions of telemarketers.  We hate telephone solicitations!  And if you call citizens who abhor telephone interruptions, you annoy them.  And (is this too complex) annoyed citizens wont vote for you.  And if you call them over and over and over and over and over --- and late at night --- you really annoy them.

Virginia Dels. Mark L. Keam and Jim LeMunyon have an idea.  What if politicians honored the Do Not Call list??

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 9 Offered January 20, 2012 Expressing the agreement of the members of the House of Delegates to not make robocalls in their political campaigns to persons who have indicated that they do not wish to receive such calls. ---------- Patrons-- LeMunyon and Keam ---------- Committee Referral Pending ---------- WHEREAS, a robocall is a term for an automated phone call that uses both a computerized autodialer and a computer-delivered prerecorded message; and

WHEREAS, the proliferation of political robocalls can constitute an annoyance but the National Do Not Call Registry has exempted all political calls; and

WHEREAS, many persons have joined "do not contact" registries, such as the National Political Do Not Contact (NPDNC) Registry, which is a private, nonprofit entity that maintains a database of persons not wishing to receive robocalls and informs political groups of those persons not wishing to receive robocalls; and

WHEREAS, these efforts to avoid making robocalls to persons who do not wish to receive them are voluntary and should be supported; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That the members of the House of Delegates voluntarily agree (i) to publicize the availability of the "do not contact" registries such as the National Political Do Not Contact Registry, (ii) to refrain from knowingly making robocalls during the course of their political campaigns to individuals who have registered with such registries, and (iii) to encourage all candidates for public office in Virginia to do the same.

Any chance Arlington political candidates of any party (Democrat, Republic, Green, Purple...) would pledge to abide by this resolution??

We learned a couple other things (like make sure you have paid your taxes).  Read Arlington County Board Caucus: Winners and Losers. Blue Virginia for some wise observations.  

Clarendon Patch Announcing Garvey Wins Caucus

Clarendon Patch tweeted: Results: Garvey 1,915; Bondi 966; Sims 922; Klingler 333; and Fallon 178

$11K to Pick Weeds in Zack Taylor Park

Arlco has approved a new round of park renovations. In our little corner of A-Town,

• Removing invasive plants at Zachary Taylor Park and planting trees and other native plants in the cleared site:  $10,938.

Does this mean they are not about to tear Zack Taylor park up for the stream renovation?

Arlington Bd Democratic Candidates by the New Media Numbers

Arlington County Board Democratic Candidates by the new media numbers. 

Candidate	Twitter Followers	Facebook Likes	Sites Linking to Website per Alexa	Google Search Results
Melissa Bondi	134	142	3	9290
Libby Garvey	113	74	2	10,100
Kim Klingler	107	154	3	3640
Terron Sims	81	46	3	5810
Peter Fallon	20	51	1	3340

These numbers were captured Thursday January 20.

A portion of the counts are duplicative as many of the candidates are followed by the same people (I follow and like all of the candidates as does many other Arlington new media sources; the candidates themselves also follow each other). 

Candidates were sorted by the number of twitter followers.

Google Search Result was conducted with the following search: "CANDIDATES NAME" ARLINGTON COUNTY BOARD ELECTION   The Candidates name were typed in as they appear above.  The number on the chart is the number of results that Google said was produced.

News Coverage of Arlington County Board Candidates

Still undecided?  Here is the recent media coverage of the Arlington County Board Democratic Caucus Candidates

• Libby Garvey is Democrats' best choice to fill a seat on the Arlington County Board, WAPO Jan. 18
• Bondi Denies Allegations in Arlington Race, WAPO Jan 18
• Garvey leads Board Candidates on Cycling, Ode Street Tribune Jan. 17
• County Board Candidates Have Varied Educational Backgrounds, ARLNOW Jan 17
• County Board Candidates Strike Note of Fiscal Conservativism, ARLNOW Jan 13 
• Mud Slinging in County Board Race Targets Bondi, ARLNOW Jan 12
• Bondi Hires Tax Advisor, Issues Statement Patch Jan 12
• Melisa Bondi, Arlington Board Candidate, Has Tax Lien, WAPO Jan 12
• Tax Problems Dog Arlington Candidate, Patch Jan 11
• County Board Candidates Address Affordable Housing, ARLNOW Jan 9
• Garvey Picks Up Endorsement of Favola in County Race, Sun Gazette Jan 9
• Candidates Iffy on Prospect of Columbia Pike Street Car, Sun Gazette Jan 5
• Specifics on Housing in Short Supply at Candidate Forum, Sun Gazette Jan 5
• Candidate is Running for County Board, Literally, ARLNOW Jan 4

 (Articles were found using Google News and searching for their names.)

STOP SOPA - Where Do Arlington's Reps Stand?

Today is an online protest against the proposed legislation Stop Online Privacy Act, or SOPA.  Why are so many opposed to SOPA?  Because it would break the Internet, it would censor free speech, and it is the wrong solution to the problem.  The problem is pirated copyrighted material - but the real solution is better business models.  Time and again, data has shown that piracy goes down when the content is legitimately available.  In countries where services like iTunes, Spotify, and Pandora are available, piracy has gone done.  People will buy their favorite tunes when given a chance.  The problem is that content owners still believe they have monopoly super powers, controlling the distribution of their content - wanting to charge silly ticket prices at movie theaters or exorbitant prices for movie rentals - frequently creating absurd situations where popular content is not available through any legitimate channel.

Copyright owners have long opposed new technology and new business models.  Jack Valenti, then president of the MPAA, testified before congress against the VCR:

'I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone.' 

And what happened?  The VCR and movie rentals made the movie industry piles of money.  Unfortunately not much has changed.  Content owners continue to oppose innovation and new business models, and instead would just takedown sites like YouTube or Facebook or Twitter or anywhere else they think that might have pirated content.

So where do the Congressional representatives from Arlington stand on this issue?

• Jim Moran has apparently made no statement.
• UPDATE: Jim Moran has tweeted: "I oppose #SOPA. Keep the internet open."
• Mark Warner, according to the website SOPA OPERA, opposes SOPA.  He reportedly joined in Sen. Wyden's effort to draft a legislative alternative to SOPA.
• Jim Webb has apparently made no statement, although his webpage dedicated to the issue of technology does provide a valuable link to DTV Transition information #outofdate

The Electronic Frontier Foundation offers an action page to help you lobby your member of congress on this important piece of legislation.

Arlington County Board Candidate Peter Fallon on Cycling

Peter Fallon answered our questions about cycling on his Facebook page.  Here is what he had to say:

I fully support sharing the road (sharrows and bike lanes, or travel lane) with cyclists. Biking is not just a recreational choice, it's a key modal element of transportation in Arlington. For 5 years, I served on Arlington's Master Transportation Plan (MTP) Plenary Group, which included adding a bike element. I support the adding more safe bike lanes throughout the County and better connections to our trails. As a member of the Long Bridge Park Task Force, I can say that establishing a trail connection from the Mt. Vernon trail, over the GW parkway and Roaches Run, linking up to our new park and beyoned is a priority. We do need Natl. Park Service approval. Congressman Moran is said to be seeking the funding for the connection too.

One accident is too many, and there are far too many accidents happening in Rosslyn. We need to take immediate steps to ensure the safety of the cyclists at the Lynn St. intersection and anywhere else we have a danger point. As a planning commissioner, I've always supported additional bike lockers in new commercial and residential buildings, and shower facilities in the office buildings. Our streetscapes have been adding more bike racks for cyclists convenience. I have supported Arlington's participation in Capital Bikeshare, and recommended potential new locations. Arlington is a leading community in recognizing the importance of using bikes as a transportation option. Many buses are equipped with bike racks for multimodal commuting, While snow is not frequent most winters, we can do a better job of clearing the streets vs just plowing the snow into the bike lanes. We can do more, and with the help of the cyclist community, we will do more. My vision includes making biking a desirable option for more potential riders. expanding our bike lane network as part of our street redesigns, partnering with APS to encourage more students to ride to school, and increasing driver awareness of sharing the road.

No, I don't commute via bicycle. I drop my 3 year old off at preschool on my way to work, so a car is more practical. However, I do telework frequently, so I'm not on driving on the roads, but not getting exercise from cycling either! 

Scholarships for Arlington High School Students

Is your Arlington High School student looking for a scholarship?  One place to look is the Arlington Community Foundation:

Currently we manage over 50 named scholarships for individuals and organizations who want to make a difference in the lives of Arlington High School Students.  ACF oversees the application process that includes promotion of scholarships, review of applications by independent community members who considered various criteria, after which students who are eligible and qualified are matched to the appropriate scholarships by a scholarship committee. 

Every year, the Foundation helps Arlington high school students pay for college, with scholarships ranging in amount from $500 to $5,000. The Community Scholarship Fund renews scholarships of up to $1,000 to those previous recipients who are successfully continuing their studies. Seven scholarships have a renewable value of at least $20,000.•·         One simple online application form makes a student eligible for all applicable scholarships in the ACF Scholarship Program.
•·         Financial need-based scholarships require completion of the FAFSA form. Financial information is kept strictly confidential.

The ACDC County Board Caucus is this Week! Vote!

The ACDC County Board Caucus is this week.  Here are the dates

County Board Caucus at W-L HS
Caucus at Washington-Lee High School (1301 N. Stafford St.) from 7-9pm.
Join Us!  ·  Jan 19, 2012

County Board Caucus at Kenmore MS
County Board Caucus at Kenmore Middle School from 11:00am-7:00pm.
Join Us!  ·  Jan 21, 2012

Dont know who to vote for?  Check out the Ode Street Tribune review of the candidates, particularly video from the candidates debate. 

When you show up to vote, you will be asked to sign the following:

I certify that I am a resident of and registered to vote in Arlington County, Virginia; I am a Democrat; I believe in the principles of the Democratic Party; and I do not intend to support, endorse or assist any candidate who is opposed to a Democratic nominee or endorsee in the ensuing election.

The special election for the County Board Seat will be March 27.

Arlington County Board Candidate Kim Klingler on Cycling

The Donaldson Run Blog asked the candidates for County Board for their views on Bike Friendly Arlington, how cycling fits within the transportation solution, and whether they ride a bike to work.  Here is Kim Klingler's response:

I'm a strong supporter of cycling and believe that it plays a value role in our community. I believe we need to make sure cycling is safe for cyclists, drivers and pedestrians and that we do a better job of educating our community on the 'rules of the road.'  As a volunteer EMT, I have been in the unfortunate position to provide emergency care for bicyclists who have been struck by vehicles.  As a community, we need to address our most dangerous intersections, look to modifying traffic patterns, and ensure well thought-out bike lanes. 

I am very supportive of the Bike Share program and would like to explore making helmets available for participants, as I've noticed these cyclists do not usually wear helmets.  I also believe we need to better enforce road and trail rules.  I would support a day of education and enforcement to better educate drivers, pedestrians and cyclists of safe road/trail share. 

In addition to what I've already said, I would promote cycling by exploring better storage options for bikes, working with business and school communities to expand biking to work/school - beyond a single day, and looking into partnerships (private or volunteer) to clear trails after snow. 

I also will continue to support cycling events like the Phoenix Bike Ride.  I was one of the chief organizers of the 2nd Annual Phoenix Bike Ride in October 2011 and played a large role in fundraising, registration and obtaining door-prizes.  As a health care advocate and certified Cycle Reebox instructor, I will also promote cycling as a way for Arlingtonians to stay in shape. 

Yes, I ride a bicycle.  I have a Gary Fisher.  I don't currently commute to work by bicycle, but have in the past.  In my current consulting position, the office I work at is very unpredictable.  I commute between offices in NW DC, SW DC, McLean, Rosslyn and Rockville.  I did bike into Southwest D.C. in the past and was concerned for my safety.  The trails in Arlington getting to D.C. were fine, but then I had a difficult time safely navigating the city streets into the office.

I look forward to working with the cycling community to continue Arlington's designation as a "Bike Friendly Community" and make cycling safer for all.

Thanks!

-Kim

Arlington County Board Candidate Terron Sims on Cycling

Terron Sims answered our questions about support for Bike Friendly Arlington and cycling as follows:

Cycling has indeed become an integral part of the transportation equation in Arlington. I fully support cycling and will continue to do what I can to keep Arlington's reputation as a "Bike Friendly Community" for the future.

I do not own a bicycle but I support programs and businesses such as Capitol Bike Share that allow people to partake in the sport without the cost of purchasing and storing a bike.

By continuing to encourage Arlingtonians to use safe bike lanes, as well as promote additional bike lanes in neighborhoods where that service is not currently offered, I think the county board would be able to encourage good health and exercise as well as safe cycling throughout our community.

Thank you for taking the time to send me your question and I look forward to continuing this discussion as your county board representative.

Arlington County Board Candidate Libby Garvey on Cycling

We asked the Democratic Candidates for the Arlington County Board to describe their position on Bike Friendly Arlington, whether they ride a bicycle, and how they see cycling fitting into Arlington's transportation plan.  Here is the response of Libby Garvey.

Thank you for your questions.

I currently am on the board of Phoenix Bikes, an organization that ‘empowers youth to become social entrepreneurs through direct participation in a financially and environmentally sustainable nonprofit bike shop that serves the community.’ I began the Kennan Garvey Memorial Fund in my husband's memory to support Phoenix Bikes. Kennan loved to get children involved in cycling. This spring we will have the first annual Kennan Garvey Memorial ride to help raise money and awareness of PB and cycling in our area. For those of you who haven’t heard about this wonderful organization I encourage you to learn more about it. 

For years, our "second car" was Kennan's bike, which he used to commute to work from the mid 1980's until his death in 2008. Bicycling is how I clear my head and try to keep fit, and it was one of Kennan's gifts to me. 2001 we bought a tandem so we could enjoy cycling together. It was an ideal way to allow us to bike together because he was so much stronger a cyclist than I. As I became stronger, we went faster and took longer rides. I am very familiar with the W&OD, Custis and Mount Vernon trails. We would ride the circuit ride of Arlington pretty much every weekend. Whenever we could find extra time, we'd cycle out the W&OD or C&O Canal trails, down to Mount Vernon or in the Shenandoah. We had wonderful vacations cycling, participating in Bike Virginia almost every year from the time we bought the tandem until his death. We also rode in other areas of the country. I'm perhaps proudest of cycling up Cadillac Mountain in Maine on the tandem. After Kennan's death, I bought my own bike. It's not the same, of course, but cycling continues to be important to my physical and emotional health.

Having cycled many times on roads, including in NY City in the rain for the Triboro ride in 2009, I am acutely aware of how much better it is to cycle on a path committed to cycling and walking rather than on the street with cars. As a member of the County Board I will support cycling and be supportive of efforts to connect trails and create dedicated cycling routes. I know cycling is the primary mode of transportation in many areas of the world. While I doubt we will get to that point in Arlington, we could do more to support biking. The Capital Bikeshare program is a great addition to our transportation system. I am pleased that cycling is part of our physical education curriculum and that we are doing more to encourage students to cycle to school. Kennan was a member of WABA for years and I have continued with my own membership.

Patch / AIM Arlington County Board Candidate Forum

What amazes me is that after so many public appearances and debates, a number of the candidates still have to read their opening statements with their noses in their notes on a piece of paper.  Really?

Anyway, all candidates, all the time.... here is one more informative debate

Arlington County Board Candidate Melissa Bondi on Cycling

Previously we asked the candidates where they stand on Bike Friendly Arlington, whether they support cycling, and whether they bike to work (the query was posted to the blog and sent direct to the candidates mail addresses).  Melissa Bondi was the first candidate to respond.

Yes -- absolutely, bikes belong throughout our community, and they are a critical part of my vision for Arlington.

As a County Board member, I will work with cyclists and all of Arlington to further improve the infrastructure, programs, and ridership levels that have earned us League of American Bicyclists recognition. I’m not satisfied with our Silver ranking. I believe our goal for Arlington should be to earn fully and begin to set new standards for the nation as the first Platinum-level Bike Friendly Community in the Eastern United States.

Bicycles are both an indicator and a creator of strong communities. Bicycling is an excellent activity for people’s health and well-being, a great and inexpensive transportation alternative for our natural environment, and an important contributor to our local economy. As our nation moves toward a clean energy economy, the bicycle is playing an increasingly central role.
It’s obvious that cycling should be fully integrated into Arlington’s vision for a multi-modal, environmentally sustainable transportation network. But we need a lot more work to make that vision a reality.
Arlington’s trail system and shared cycling facilities are an important base. Yet, cyclists continue to face undue risks on many of Arlington’s streets and intersections – particularly along and across arterial roads. A number of businesses, multi-family dwellings, and institutions have yet to embrace cycling. Educational and promotional programs have yet to be strengthened to the point that people throughout our community feel comfortable on a bike --- especially young people, older people, and people who are cycling novices. We also need to better educate drivers on how to share the road using predictable best practices, to make transportation safer for everyone.
And as Arlington cycling activists and national experts have pointed out, several key Arlington institutions would benefit from new and enhanced efforts on cycling -- including the Arlington Public Schools and the Arlington Police Department.

In my volunteer community roles, I served on the Arterial Transportation Management (ATM) task force, redesigning our major local streets to accommodate safer modes for all users, including pedestrians, cyclists, cars and buses. I also chaired the Transportation subcommittee of the Elder Readiness Task Force, which looked at cycling as one affordable, accessible means of transportation, recreation, and socialization for interested Arlington seniors.

 

As president of Lyon Park Citizens Association, I worked on the redesign for the Clarendon Sector Plan, which included efforts to more fully incorporate cycling facilities into our site plan development approvals, streets design, and other elements. As a member and chairman of our Housing Commission, I promoted additional cycling facilities on projects to recognize the affordability benefits of bicycling for people of all ages, backgrounds and interests.

As a County Board Member, I will work to bring together people from throughout our community to fully and rapidly implement the Bicycle Element of the Arlington Master Transportation Plan. I will focus on:

* Ensuring adequate cycling facilities on or adjacent to every arterial road, and through arterial road intersections. By making full use of the range of existing and emerging facility types, Arlington can make our “Main Streets” – and all of our streets -- accessible and welcoming to cyclists.
* Creating new and enhanced safety and education programs, targeting young people and other people who are cycling novices. By expanding the number of confident and capable cyclists, we can better serve our community – and create a virtuous circle of reduced traffic congestion, cleaner air, and a more healthy community.
* Promoting more bicycle facilities in and around our affordable housing projects
* Identifying additional and potentially dedicated sources of funding so that key projects won’t be held up by unpredictable or inadequate resources. Among the areas I’d like to investigate is how transportation modes that are pollution-intensive might assume a greater share of the cost of facilities for walking, biking, and other clean modes of transportation.
* Continuing to expand the Arlington-initiated Capital Bikeshare to increase stations and bikes in Arlington’s development corridors and additional areas of potential ridership, and work with public and private employers to market the benefits of Bikeshare participation. I'm a new member of CaBi, and looking forward to taking better advantage of the network myself.
* Working with appropriate state agencies, Federal agencies, and private organizations to improve access and reduce risks at key locations such as the Rosslyn “circle” west of Key Bridge and North and South Glebe Road, and to create new links where they’re needed – including to traverse I-395 in South Arlington and across the rail lines and roadways that inhibit access to the Mount Vernon Trail.
* Greatly expanding bicycle parking facilities on public property, and collaborating with, encouraging, and when appropriate requiring private property owners to provide parking facilities that accommodate and further encourage cycling.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to address such an important matter; I'd welcome your thoughts on cycling in our community. I look forward to working with you, other cyclists, and all of our neighbors to promote these important goals in Arlington.
Thanks again.
Melissa
www.MelissaBondi.org

Yorktown Aquatics Center Opens this Weekend

The Yorktown Aquatics Center opens this weekend.  The new Washington & Lee aquatics center is outstanding - a huge improvement and extremely well utilized.

New Yorktown Aquatics Center to Open Sun, Jan. 15
Are you looking to do something that reminds you of warmer weather now that cold air has made its return? How about a visit to the new Yorktown High School Aquatics Center this weekend?
The grand opening for the new aquatics center will take place this Sunday, Jan. 15. A ribbon cutting ceremony at noon will kick off celebration with a free swim day, demonstrations and other events.
The pool will be available for free swim immediately following the ribbon cutting. Staff will provide tours of the pool throughout the day and a number activities will begin at 12:30 p.m. and run through 6 p.m.
Events will include:
Deep water aerobics and water aerobics classes (12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.)
Senior and Pee Wee Water Polo clinic (12:45 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.)
A SCUBA Primer (from 1-4 p.m.)
A Synchronized Swimming demonstration and “Try It” opportunity (1:30-2:30 p.m.)
A clinic on triathlon training techniques (2:30-3:15 p.m.)
Water Polo scrimmage between the Arlington Water Polo and the Wetskins at 5 p.m.
The facility contains an eight-lane competition pool with a separate diving well and a separate instructional pool. The diving area, completely separated from the lap lanes, includes two one-meter springboards. The instructional pool includes a handicapped accessible ramp. A wet classroom, available for pool party rentals, and a spectator area with capacity in excess of 200 overlooking the pools are also available.
Yorktown High School is located at 5200 Yorktown Blvd. The new aquatics center is located on the Yorktown Boulevard side of the school and can be accessed from the parking area on N. 28th St., through door number 3
For more information about the pool, visit www.apsva.us/aquatics or call 703-228-6264.

Video of the Arlington County Board Candidates Debate

Did you miss the Arlington County Board Candidates Debate?  Wanna see which candidate still supports the way-over-budget street car?  Wanna see which candidate has roots in Arlington that extends back 25 years?  How about the candidate that supports the "volunteerism of volunteers"?  Or how about the candidate that give an opening statement without reading it off a sheet of paper?

Doug Galbi at the Olde Street Tribute recorded the debate and uploaded the video to Youtube.  It is extremely informative.  I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised by some candidates, and fell down laughing at others.

Arl Board Candidates: What's Your Position on Cyclists?

Arlington County has been designated a "Bike Friendly Community."  It has three of the best bike trails in the area: The Custis Trail, the W&OD, and the Mount Vernon Trail.  Bike lanes are abundant and cyclists can be seen everywhere.  With the transportation infrastructure critical failure that Washington DC is experiencing, Cycling has become an important part of the transportation equation. 

Candidates for Arlington County Board, what is your position on cycling? What will you do to promote cycling in Arlington?  Do you ride a bicycle? Do you ride a bicycle to work?

If you provide responses to these questions, I will post them as blog posts -- I will also make sure that members of the Arlington cycling community are aware of this discussion.

Yorktown Ice Hockey Schedule

The Yorktown High school Ice Hockey team competes at the JV level in the Northern Virginia Scholastic Hockey League.  They practice and host games at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex right here in Arlington.  Entrance to all games is free!

Friday, Jan. 13^th, 5:10 PM at Kettler vs. Potomac
Friday, Jan. 27^th, 5:10 PM at Kettler vs. North Stafford/ Colonial Forge
Friday, Feb. 3^rd, 9:40 PM at SkateQuest Reston vs. Flint Hill
Friday, Feb. 10^th, 6:40 PM at Kettler vs. Woodson/TJ
Saturday, Feb. 11^th. 10:20 PM at Ashburn Ice House vs. Briar Woods/Stone Bridge
Friday, Feb. 24th,  5:10 PM at Kettler vs. Lake Braddock/Marshall

ANNIE tonite at Kenmore Middle School

The fantastic production of ANNIE will have its final night tonite at Kenmore Middle School.