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Arlington County Civic Federation

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May, 2003 - Volume 87, No. 9 ------


May 17th Special Meeting


The Arlington County Civic Federation, The Arlington Branch of the American Association of University Women and The Arlington League of Women Voters will co-sponsor a community forum on The Patriot Act on Saturday, May 17th, from 2pm to 5pm. The program will take place at the Arlington County Central Library, and will feature a panel consisting of Robert Weinberg, Constitutional Law Professor at the University of Virginia; Jeff Stein, Editor of the Congressional Quarterly Homeland Security publication; Jim McGee, Reporter for the Congressional Quarterly Homeland Security publication; and a speaking from the American Civil Liberties Union.

Mr. Weinberg will address the relevant provisions in the Constitution; Mr. Stein will address the nature of the threat; Mr. McGee will discuss the provisions of the Patriot Act and the speaker from the American Civil Liberties Union will address the balance between national security and civil liberties.


May 6th meeting

Main Program on Baseball in Arlington

The main program at the May 6th meeting will feature a discussion and debate on baseball and stadiums in Arlington The program will feature a panel including Gabe Paul Jr. from the Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority, State Senator Mary Margaret Whipple, Sarah Summerville, Founder of NoArlingtonStadium.Org, and Stephen Fuller, Ph.D. an economist with The Institute of Public Policy at George Mason University.

Following the panel discussion the membership will debate a resolution to express the Federation's position on baseball in Arlington.


Nominating Committee to Report

The Nominating Committee will report its recommended slate for Executive Committee and Officer positions. Elections will be held at the June regular meeting.


Resolution on Spout Run Bridge

The Federation will also consider a resolution, introduced by the Transportation Committee regarding the proposed replacement of the "Spout Run Bridge." The proposed resolution is as follows:

Whereas the former one lane bridge crossing Spout Run from North Highlands neighborhood to Woodmont (then Parkway) neighborhood was damaged and removed by Arlington County in the 1970�s, and

Whereas a group of Woodmont residents has proposed replacing the bridge with a pedestrian and bicycle bridge using a design inspired by Leonardo da Vinci providing convenient bicycle and pedestrian access to the new Fort C. F. Smith Park in Woodmont from North Highlands as well as a route for the upcoming extension of the Mount Vernon Trail out Military Road and beyond, and

Whereas the sponsors of the bridge pledged to find financing for the project outside of Arlington, using no County funds, and

Whereas the bridge has become a contentious issue for the three civic associations involved, and following much discussion the Woodmont, North Highlands and Spout Run Homeowners Associations have each taken a careful vote resulting in substantial majorities supporting positions opposing the replacement of the bridge with a pedestrian and bicycle bridge,

Therefore be it resolved, by the Arlington County Civic Federation that the Federation recognizes the benefits of improving access to Fort C. F. Smith Park and facilitating the extension of the trail, but is unwilling to support the construction of the bridge while three civic associations actively oppose it.


Bylaws Resolution

The Civic Federation will also act on the Bylaws Committee�s recommendation to amend the bylaws. The proposed revision would specify that members of the Executive Committee must be a Delegate or Alternate Delegate to the Federation at the time of nomination/election Status as Delegate or Alternate Delegate would be a continuing requirement for Executive Committee membership..


Community Forum

This month�s Community Forum will feature presentations from two organizations, Healthy Families Arlington and Crisis Link.

Healthy Families Arlington and Early Head Start Arlington, both programs of Northern Virginia Family Service, provide home visiting services to expectant and new parents at risk of child abuse and neglect, sharing information on child health and development and promoting positive parent-child interaction. Service strategies focus on: prenatal care, nutrition, healthy pregnancy behaviors, developmental screenings, linkages to health care providers, parent education, overall family functioning and early literacy.

Currently, the two programs combined serve approximately 225 families. Healthy Families and Early Head Start Arlington have developed key partnerships and agreements for ongoing collaboration and consultation with community agencies to provide a continuum of services for families of young children in Arlington County. These include Arlington County Child and Family Services (screening, assessment and referral), Mental Health, Mental Retardation, Substance Abuse and Public Schools (teen parenting programs). Evaluated since its inception in 1997, Healthy Families Arlington has consistently met or exceeded nearly every objective at each reporting period since program inception. In FY2002, Healthy Families Arlington served 162 families.

Some program outcomes from that year were:

100% of prenatal enrollees delivered babies weighing at least 2500grams; 99% of target children had a primary health care provider; 97% of mothers had at least 24 months between subsequent births; 92% of target children were up-to-date on recommended immunizations due; 96% of parents surveyed reported Healthy Families improved their parenting; 100% of families had no substantiated cases of child abuse or neglect.

The success of the Healthy Families home visiting program administered by Northern Virginia Family Service was the basis for a recent Federal grant award to operate an Early Head Start program in tandem with Healthy Families Arlington. Serving 60 additional at-risk pregnant women, infants and toddlers in Arlington County, this integrated, home visitation and family childcare program began operation in July of last year.

The Community Forum is provided as a service to the community by the Civic Federation. It allows for private and government-based groups and organizations to speak to community leaders about what they do in Arlington. Any group wishing to participate should contact dan+.


Committee News

The Airport Issues Committee is continuing its involvement in the Part 150 Noise Study Committee at Reagan National Airport. The recommendations of the Part 150 Committee (of which Steve Baur, co-chair of the Airport Issues Committee, is a member) will be used by the FAA to implement noise abatement . The Part 150 Committee recommendations are being solicited from all stakeholders with interest at the airport (regional citizens and elected officials, business community, airlines and airline pilots). Starting in June, open meetings will be held throughout the summer and fall for all stakeholders to present their ideas for noise abatement. The Part 150 Noise Study is our best chance at implementing noise abatement procedures to reduce the noise impact on our neighborhoods. If airport noise is a concern to you, then your involvement in this process is essential, either directly through the Part 150 public meetings, or through your Civic Association or the ACCF Airport Issues Committee. Please contact Steve Baur (steveb+ 703-217-7565) or Steve Geiger (steveg+ 703-522-0026) for more information


As the Executive Committee begins its countdown to a change in leadership in June, we wish to thank all those who have worked with us and who have shared their ideas on how to maintain the strength of the Civic Federation and the solid objectivity and factual basis of the work we all do for the betterment of Arlington.

Issues that bedevil us and bewitch us have been brought forward for consideration by the very hard-working committees of the Federation and ultimately the delegates. While we have not shied away from controversy, we have attempted to bring forth interesting programs that reflect the needs and concerns of our delegates. We have also attempted to pay close attention to the policies, procedures and guidances that enable the Federation to function reasonably smoothly.

One area that has had a few bumps is the date of our meetings. Once again, we are changing our date. Fridays were crashing in to life! Therefore, our next Civic Federation Executive Committee meeting will be May 7th at 7:30 p.m. at the Hospice of Northern Virginia. All Committee Chairs and delegates with an interest in the work of the Executive Committee are, as always, welcome.

The Federation is looking for volunteers to man this year�s booth at the Arlington County Fair. The 27th Arlington County Fair is to be held August 21st through August 24th at the Thomas Jefferson Community Center, 3501 South Second Street. The theme for this years fair will be "The Many Faces of Arlington". Persons interested in volunteering should contact Federation Vice President Patrick Smaldore at Pat@Civfed.org.


The Parks and Recreation Committee is currently preparing for a program updating Federation members on goings on with the North Tract Task Force and the Open Space Master Plan. All Arlington walkers and runners are invited to participate in the Neighborhood Day One-Mile Run, Saturday, May 10, at 1:58 pm, two minutes before the parade. Register and start in front of Clarendon Alliance, Wilson Boulevard and Irving Street.

Registration race-day only, from 1:00 pm to 1:45 pm, in front of Clarendon Alliance. $1 for adults, free for children. Call 703-218-2726 or e-mail racedirector@att.net or see http://www.civfed.org/ndrun.htm Finish in front of reviewing stand at Wilson Boulevard and Wayne Street. Free pizza afterwards, courtesy of Mario's Pizza House and Dr. Delivery.


The Public Services Committee met to consider a resolution put before us on the issue of an Oversight Committee on Public Safety Departments. This arose from a variety of problems with the Police Department in specific and a long-term interest in the successful performance of the law enforcement function in Arlington in general.

Invaluable insights were shared by Bobi Wallace, whose experience in law enforcement provided us with greater understanding of the issues before us. As a result of this meeting, we have requested a meeting with the new Chief of Police, Doug Scott, within the next several weeks. Once that meeting is held, we will have a better awareness of the avenues necessary and open to us to insure that we have the best possible public safety agencies in the Commonwealth!

Another issue in which we are tangentially involved is the current concerns being expressed regarding the Animal Shelter � the focus of this committee several years ago. We are meeting with members of the County Board in the near future to attempt to gain a better understanding of the issues and problems being experienced by AWLA.

Within the next several months, delegates will be asked to consider areas and committees that might be of interest to them. We encourage you to give Public Services a try. This is the "catch-all" committee, the committee that works with any taxpayer-funded issue not covered by any other Civic Federation committee. It is always interesting, never boring, and eternally challenging. Please give Anne Fisher (703-838-8502) or Kim Smith (703-527-0294) a call if you�re interested in serving � or exploring the possibilities!


The Transportation Committee has been considering several parking-related issues. The County Board has been considering an ordinance to limit parking of commercial vehicles, motor homes, camping trailers, boats and boat trailers in residential neighborhoods. Consideration of the ordinance has been postponed several times. The Board plans a public hearing on June 28, and an ordinance could go into effect as as early as July 1. The committee solicited and received a number of comments from various neighborhood associations. New legislation enables the county to prohibit the parking of boats and boat trailers on residential streets and provides a new definition of commercial vehicles. The Transportation Commission is also considering having a symposium for public input on parking issues. The committee willconsider whether specific resolutions should be drafted for consideration by the Civic Federation (and welcomes input on this subject).


Civic News and Events

Neighborhood Day May 10th

The Federation is a co-sponsor of Arlington�s 7th Annual Neighborhood Day May 10th. Some of the community events will include the Arlington Community Hero Awards, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington Walk for Animals, the Fort Myer Military Community's Twilight Tattoo Ceremony and a One Mile Run held before the big parade begins at 2PM. For all the details, go to http://www.civfed.org/neighday.htm.

Want to help out? We still need a few volunteers! If interested, contact jdalcais@comcast.net.


New County Emergency Alert System announced

If you are at home and don't want to keep a radio or TV on all day, you can still be alerted if an emergency occurs in Arlington. The County has a new service to contact your phone, email or pager. Arlington County's Community Alert System uses the Roam Secure Alert Network to immediately contact you during a major crisis or emergency. This system delivers important emergency alerts, notifications and updates to you on all your devices and email accounts: email account (work, home, other); cell phone; pager; blackberry device; or PDA (Palm, iPAQ, etc...) When an incident or emergency occurs, authorized Arlington County Emergency Management personnel will rapidly notify you using the Community Alert System. This system is solely for the use of Arlington County residents and people working for businesses located in Arlington County. Registration is free of charge. The service does not replace existing public safety warning methods also used by the County. Registration is quick and easy through the County Web page at http://www.arlingtonalert.com/ You will find a link on the County's home page as well. http://www.co.arlington.va.us. For more information see the Web page or send an email to casupport@co.arlington.va.us.

Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment
Celebrate 25th Anniversary with Special Event

Discover Arlington. May 1 to 31. This fun-filled scavenger hunt is ideal for people of all ages. Throughout May, participants will explore 25 locations answering questions related to Arlington�s history, art, wildlife, and more. Entries must be received or postmarked by May 31. Prizes will be awarded to the entry with the highest score, with three categories: adult, teen, and child. All participants are eligible for a prize drawing on June 7. Entry forms will be available May 1 by visiting www.arlingtonenvironment.org or calling 703-228-6427. Discover Arlington is being organized by Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment in celebration of its 25th anniversary.




Are you still receiving your copy by mail? Save the Federation some of its limited resources�get the electronic version of the newsletter. Not only will you save the Federation money, but you will receive the newsletter several days earlier, and get the �full color� version! It�s easy to switch�just send an e-mail to dan, with �E+-mail version� in the header.




ACCF Officers

    President Dan Krasnegor 703-534-4024 dan+

    Vice President Patrick Smaldore 703-528-3935 patrick+

    Treasurer Frances Finta 703-528-2882 Fax 528-0182

    Secretary Tim Wise 703-243-8345 tim+


Executive Committee

    Chairman - Kim Smith 703-527-0294 - kim+

    Member - Robert Atkins 703-527-8859 - (voice or fax) - robert+

    Member - Nancy Graham 703-243-4650 - nancy+

    Member - Mike Lane - mike

    + Member - Randy Swart 703-521-2080 - randy+


ACCF Committee Chairs





This page was last revised on: December 27, 2003.
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