<sh>Former Board Member Phillips Honored
<bt>The Arlington County Board honored former member Arthur Leslie Phillips, who passed away last month, with a moment of silence during its May 23 meeting.
Phillips served on the board from 1969 to 1973. He was a longtime Arlington resident and graduated from Washington-Lee High School.
He was active in a number of Arlington organizations and devoted much of his time to transportation issues. He served on several regional transportation organizations, including the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and the Governor's Transportation Study Commission.
"The success that we enjoy today is due in no small part to Mr. Phillips and all our predecessors; we are grateful for the legacy they have left us," County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman said.
<tgl>— Seth Rosen
<sh>Walking Town Meeting Approaching
<bt>The County Board will hold its first Walking Town Meetings of the year in the Glencarlyn neighborhood on June 5.
The event will last from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. County staff is still working on the exact route and starting place.
The meeting will give residents and leaders of the neighborhood civic association the opportunity to discuss pressing issues in the community with board members.
The other meetings this year will be held in the Douglas Park neighborhood on June, 27, and in the Waycroft-Woodlawn neighborhood on Sept. 21.
<sh>Englin’s Fortunes Ascending
<bt>The National Journal has pegged Del. David Englin (D-45) as one of Virginia’s rising political "stars."
Hotline, the publication’s daily online newsletter, released its "Futures Market" of up-and-coming Virginia politicians last week.
The article notes that Englin "ran an insurgent race against a group of established Dems in Fairfax County and beat them all."
Actually, most of Englin’s precincts are in Alexandria, with three in south Arlington. As readers will remember, Englin defeated Arlington School Board member Libby Garvey, Elsie Mosqueda — a former aide to Alexandria Del. Brian Moran — and Laura Mandala, past chair of the Alexandria Commission for Women, among others.
Hotline first mentioned Del. Moran as a politician to watch in 2003, and the new article anonymously quotes a source as saying Moran is "definitely going to run statewide of for Congress."
None of the five Arlington County Board members were mentioned in the piece.
<tgl>– Seth Rosen
<sh>Arlington Grabs Metropolitan Cup
<bt>Arlington runners snagged local bragging rights by winning the 2006 Metropolitan Cup from last month's Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Run.
The award is presented to the jurisdiction with the best average time of its top 90 runners in the race. Because Alexandria did not have enough runners, their totals were included with Arlington's.
Phil Stewart, the race's director, presented County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman with the cup during the May 23 board meeting.
Stewart called Arlington "the fittest jurisdiction," as the county supplanted two-time champion Washington as the top locality.
Arlington runners finished in average time of 1:05:48, five seconds faster than the average of the Washington participants. Montgomery County finished in third and Fairfax County landed in fourth place.
Arlington resident Mary Kate Bailey was the top female finisher in the 10-mile run.
<tgl>— Seth Rosen
<sh>County Nets Community Award
<bt>The county has received yet another national award for its leadership in creating a sustainable community and collaborating with local organizations.
The National Association of Counties presented Arlington with its Sustainable Communities Award, which "recognize(s) the most effective and innovative county-led partnerships with private sector, faith-based or community groups in developing economically prosperous, environmentally safe and socially equitable communities."
The county shares the honor with the Rosslyn Renaissance, Clarendon Alliance and Ballston-Virginia Square Partnership.
"Congratulations to all of our partners," County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman said during the May 23 board meeting. "It quite literally 'takes a village' to build our sustainable community and we are grateful for all your efforts."
<tgl>—Seth Rosen
<sh>Regional Transportation Plan Gets OK
<bt>The County Board endorsed a new regional transportation plan during its May 23 meeting.
The plan, dubbed TransAction 2030, identifies critical transportation projects over the next 25 years that will require funding beyond the $12 billion estimated as needed for the region's Constrained Long-Range Plan.
TransAction 2030 calls for additional transportation funds to pay for future transit, roadway, pedestrian and bike projects that will meet the travel demands of a region that the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments has forecasted will add 1 million residents over the next 25 years.
A study resulted in a project list totaling more than $15 billion in capital costs and $1.2 billion in operations and preservation over the next 25 years. The projects evaluated were deemed essential to decreasing travel times and reducing crowded conditions for both highway travel and the region's transit systems.
"TransAction 2030 is a well-constructed plan based on a thorough assessment of Northern Virginia's transportation needs and feedback from residents surveyed in all localities," said Arlington County Board Chairman Christopher Zimmerman in a statement. "These residents favor improving public transportation over developing highways in the future, and have even indicated a willingness to pay more for effective transportation solutions."