Saturday, November 01, 2008
HeraldTrib Today: Nov. 1, 2008
I have to give a little shout-out to the county government employee(s?) who posted signs recently alerting people to the sewage that flooded Lubber Run park, twice.
You can read the full stories below about how and when the sewers overflowed, but what you need to know here is that back in June when someone purposefully emptied port-a-potties into the creek, the only signs posted by the county were near the entrances to the park. If you walked by the signs, and that was easy to do, you never saw them.
I found the signage for this batch of sewage all over the place, on bridges and trees, and yes at the entrances. When I think about it, too, this is no easy task since Lubber Run drains into Four Mile Run. If they were posting in Four Mile Run as well as in Lubber Run, it was a bit of work, no doubt. So, thank you, whoever you are.
Telesis Corporation of Washington, D.C. has won the right to redevelop Buckingham Village 3, the portion of the Buckingham Village Apartments that was placed under the protection of the county’s Historical Affairs and Landmarks Review Board last year.
Many companies vied for the right to renovate the apartments, and a working group of citizens, county staff and residents of Buckingham Village was set up to evaluate the choices.
“The County and the Buckingham community reached an important milestone with the selection of the Telesis Corporation to lead the team that will renovate the Buckingham Village 3 apartments, offering both rental and ownership opportunities,” reports the August 2008 edition of Arlington Housing Online.
Village three sits between N. Pershing Drive and N. 4th Road, and between N. George Mason Drive and N. Thomas Street. The county placed Village 3 on the list of protected historic places as part of the huge deal it brokered with Paradigm Development company which owns the property. In that deal, Paradigm was given higher density and the right to tear the garden-style buildings in Village 1, near the Culpepper Garden Assisted Living Center, and build the massive, four-story apartment buildings that is under construction on N. Pershing Drive.
Buckingham Village 3; click to view a larger map.
Buckingham Community Civic Association President Patrick Hope won the “Rusty Garth ‘You Are The Change’ Award for his work with the intellectually disabled community. The award was named after its previous recipient, a prominent local activist who died earlier this year of Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” wrote David Schultz in the Connection Newspapers.
I have to give a cheer for Kristen Hope, Pat's wife, who supports him in all his civic activity. You go, girl!
If you do not recall my “About Arlington” column in the Arlington Connection last October, then let me fill you in: I said the rule regarding when candidates can put yard signs on public spaces are too restrictive for political discussion. Thirty-one days before the general election is too few. I thought a compromise might be “any 31 days you choose.” More yard signs, earlier (if the candidates want to use their campaign dollars in that way).
With the county practically making it official policy that people SHOULD vote early (how many emails have encouraged you to vote early so that lines are short and tempers don’t flare?), it would seems that my idea is even more important now. In-person absentee voting started on Sept. 22, a COUPLE WEEKS BEFORE Oct. 4, the date yard signs can go on medians legally.
The proper day to allow the signs to go up in the general election was Aug. 22. Restricting political speech so that much of the speech comes AFTER people start voting is just ridiculous.
Businessweek ranked Arlington the best place to survive a recession, fyi.
The Week’s Headlines…
As always, you can scroll down to see all the recent stories, or simply click the links below (if the link doesn't work, scroll down to find the story, and email to tell me what's busted: heraldtrib@gmail.com --Steve Thurston).
Headlines from Earlier in the Week:
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