Arlington County Holiday Food Drive Dec. 8-12

There have been a few articles in area publications about food banks and families needing food for this upcoming holiday season. It is a tough ecnonomy for a number of families and Arlington Village is not immune to this.

Providing food is a good way to share, and help your neighbors. Please consider helping if you are able to do so --

The below is from the Arlington County Website:

Arlington County Holiday Food Drive Dec. 8-12

Help "Take a Bite Out of Hunger" for the holidays -- for the more than 1,000 families who reach out for food assistance in Arlington every week... a number that is growing.

December 8-14, 2008 is "Arlington Takes a Bite Out of Hunger Week." Most major County facilities will have donation boxes for food donations to support the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC). Help us help those who are in need by donating non-perishable items:

Soups
Cereals
Canned Goods
Pastas
Peanut Butter

Where to donate

Most major County public facilities are accepting donations.

Join us for the presentation of the collected food on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 6:30 p.m. in the County Board Room, 2100 Clarendon Blvd., Room 307. During the Arlington County Board Chairman's formal closing of the 2008 legislative session, he will present the food donations to AFAC.

Website to AFAC: http://www.afacinfo.org/howtohelp.html

Arlington County Website: http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/Communications/PressReleases/page67265.aspx

Happy Thanksgiving!

The blog will be taking a break over the Thanksgiving Holiday. Please feel free to use this open thread to talk about anything Arlington Village related.

The blogger did have a couple of comments and questions to get you started:

• Have the Board officers been elected? I guess the Crier will tell us.


• What will the Committees be focused on in 2010?


• When will the rain stop so the leaves can be picked up?


• When will we have a new General Manager in place?


• When will Columbia Pike be back to normal? I am tired of my car bottoming out every time I drive by Bob & Edith's.

Everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Lost Dog Cafe - Break from the Thanksgiving Rush

As the clock ticks closer to Thanksgiving, and in the rush to get things ready, you may consider ordering a pizza from one of the newest additions to Columbia Pike, the Lost Dog Cafe. I personally find the pizza to be top notch and if you like beer, the selection is one of the best around.

http://www.lostdogcafe.com/

Yelp gives the food fairly decent reviews:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/lost-dog-cafe-and-gourmet-pizza-deli-arlington

Farmers Market On Sundays

Good news! The Sunday Farmers Market at the corner of Columbia Pike & Walter Reed will continue year around. This was published in yesterday's Washington Post. The hours are 9am - 1pm.

The Blogger has stopped by the market on several occasions and it is well attended. I wonder if Arlington has thought about expanding the market area into a larger space? That could attract more vendors and residents.

Election Results for the Board

Here are the winners:

Ed Miltenberger
Takis Karantonis
Greg Mesack
Craig Freer

Congratulations to them and thank you to everyone that ran for the Board.

Annual Meeting Tonight!!!

Attention Arlington Village residents! In case you missed the signs and notice in the Crier, tonight is the Arlington Village annual meeting. It will be at 7:30pm in the AV meeting room.

Who will be elected to represent our community next year? The blogger has another commitment and will not be there. Please let the blog know what happens.

New Board = New Ideas from Residents

Thank you to everyone who contributed comments under the previous post. I know there were a number of people who did not agree that the Blogger should post the comments received from Residents regarding the GM dismissal. I, however, felt is was important that all sides be heard on this topic. There were some, er, interesting posts about religion. There were also personal attacks which I chose not to post. Clearly, there are issues between some residents. I believe 90% of AV residents could not care less about the fighting between residents and who wins the battle of the condo board Wednesday night. Most residents care only about what we pay in condo fees and sustaining the current level of service.

Now it is time to move our community forward.

With that, let's move on to another topic. We will have a new Board on Wednesday. What would you like to see improved in the community? I personally would like to see the pool dates and times extended. I would also like to see a GM in place who will help bring the community back together again with innovative and new ideas.

Annual Meeting Next Week & Misc. Items

I am creating an open thread for residents to comment on next week's Annual Meeting and whatever else is on their mind. It is set to be a contentious one. I hope that everyone in the Village plans to attend or turns in their proxy.

I received a number of requests from owners asking me to post items about the dismissal of the GM. I have been debating it. As an owner, I feel like the owners need to know. So, instead of me writing it, I thought I would let the comments speak for themselves.

PLEASE remember these are comments from OWNERS and not the BLOGGER. I do not have first hand knowledge of them. I am just passing them along to be sure there are several sides of this debate out in the open.

Comments received:

"The gm failed to pay our phone bills and the office phones were turned off the day after the board meeting in which she was let go."

"I received a notice about an unpaid maintenance bill from four years ago. Looks like the office is cleaning up the mess left behind."

"Why is it that the board is not telling more people about the GM's issues? I feel like if more residents knew they would not be so hard on the current board of directors."

"The file room was a pit. I can not believe the former board failed to see how bad things were or do anything to correct it. And the former president is running again on the alternative ballot? This person is who should be kept from the board."

"From my understanding, the AV audit reports clearly state the GM had a number of failings. Also, she failed to collect over $30,000 in funds due to the village just last year."

"There were several thousands of dollars of checks found in the gen managers office. She never got around to depositing them."

Washington Post: The face of a changing Columbia Pike

The Washington Post printed an article today about Columbia Pike and the improvements we are seeing. Looks like even with the economic decline Arlington is moving forward. What will be the impact on Arlington Village? The first thing that comes to my mind is the availability of parking.

----------------------------------------

The face of a changing Columbia Pike

Most of the area's revitalization plans are on track, with new housing, retail and transportation
By Yamiche Alcindor, Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Despite the tough economy, the majority of plans to revitalize and enhance Arlington County's Columbia Pike Corridor have remained on schedule, county officials said.

Before the economy began to flounder, the County Board approved several major projects, including hundreds of apartments and townhouses and dozens of retail venues and public spaces. Officials also set aside funds to build a streetcar and are working to enhance bus stops along Columbia Pike to improve transportation.

"Within two years, people will get the sense that Columbia Pike is changing," said board Chairman Barbara A. Favola (D). The changes will make driving and walking along the road a more engaging and attractive experience, she said.

The rest of the article can be found at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/11/AR2009111112866.html

Updates from the November Crier

Yesterday, Arlington Village residents received our monthly Crier. Wow! You can tell there is a great deal going on behind the scenes with the Annual Meeting next week. A couple of highlights from this month's edition:

1) There are several call outs asking owners to submit proxies by Friday, November 13.

2) Letter from the Board President indicating "......by now you have received an "alternative" ballot in the mail. If you are confused, let me make it clear. That mailing did not come from the Board of Directors or Village Management. Further, if you have already sent in your proxy you do not have to send in another if you are content with your first choices. I know the letter was confusing, but if you have already mailed your proxy then you do not have to do anything else."

3) From the bottom of the first page: "Former GM accepts severance package and signs a waiver that protects AV from any potential lawsuits and other legal actions."

4) Its official! Good news (at least to this blogger). Condo fees are being reduced by 2.22%.

5) We're still having a Holiday party (December 16) and lighting contest. Again, the Village is collecting Toys for Tots. This is a very worthy cause.

I am looking forward to what our dear residents have to say about this edition.

Veterans Day Holiday Tomorrow

As we reflect on what happened at Fort Hood last week, let us not forget that tomorrow is Veterans Day. We live so close to Arlington National Cemetery is it often easy to forget that soldiers who are buried there died protecting Americans and American freedom. Regardless of your personal views on the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, I hope you will take the time to thank a veteran or current service member for their service to our great country.

Veterans Day is also a Federal Holiday. From Arlington County's Website:

All Arlington County administrative offices, courts, schools, public libraries and nature centers will be closed Wednesday, November 11 in observance of Veterans Day. Pools are open limited hours. County offices, courts and schools will resume normal schedules on Thursday, November 12.

Curious about why Veterans Day is November 11? World War I ended on November 11, 1918. On the same date three years later an unknown soldier from that war was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. November 11 eventually became the date when America honors all who have served the United States in war. The President will lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown solider tomorrow.

Village Owner Mailing with Alternative Candidates

Yesterday, like many Village owners, I received a mailing from concerned residents indicating there are alternative candidates who are running for the Board of Directors. Huh???

This mailing analyzes and provides opinions of the candidates who are on the official Arlington Village ballot sent by the Secretary last month. The signers DO NOT recommend any of the current Board candidates but the alternative slate.

Why are these current candidates running for the Board members so bad? Haven't many of them served this community for a long time? See the opinions in the mailing. I have my own, but I will keep them to myself and let the community speak up by voting.

Who are these alternatives? What will they provide for AV and who analyzed their voting records? There is at least one former Board member on the "alternative" slate. They have a voting record too and I would be interested in a similar analysis.

Let Your Voice Be Heard! Vote for Candidates of Your Choice!

We all know the outcome of Tuesday's elections. What about our own upcoming Board of Directors elections? Predictions, recommendations?

I received an email this afternoon from someone about getting in your proxy ballots:

-----

Dear fellow residents,

As many of your may know, Arlington Village's Annual Meeting is Wednesday, Nov 18th. The big item at every Annual Meeting is the election of members of the Board of Directors.

You may vote in-person at the meeting, or via mail or by faxing proxy. Either way, I strongly encourage you to vote!

There is no better way to be involved in your community.

A Proxy Ballot was mailed last month with the Annual Meeting Packet, which also contained candidate bios.

Simply complete the ballot and mail or fax it to the addresses below. Ballots received by 11/13 will be entered in the drawing for a $100 credit toward January condo fees.

MAIL your ballot to:
Arlington Village Condominium c/o Legum & Norman, Inc.,
4401 Ford Avenue, Suite 1200
Alexandria, VA 22302
Attn: Proxy Ballot


FAX your ballot to: 703-848-0982

Meet the Candidates TONIGHT!

Don't forget! Arlington Village will be hosting a Meet the Candidates event tonight at 7:30pm in the Arlington Village Meeting Room. There are four candidates on the ballot who will be providing their views and answering residents' questions. What important issues will the candidates be discussing?