BVSCA Newsletter September 2002
Contents:September 24 Meeting Agenda
7:00 pm Executive Committee Meeting
BVSCA dues paying members may participate as observers in meetings of the BVSCA Executive Committee. BVSCA will be meeting in our new community room on September 24. The entrance to the community room is located on N. Utah St. between Gaffney's Restaurant (4301 North Fairfax Drive) and the Windsor Plaza Condominiums. Please note that on-street parking is limited; however, space is available in the two garages that are adjacent to and across the street from the Rio Grande Cafe.
BVSCA Membership Meetings are held on the last Tuesday of alternate months from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm. Our next membership meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 26 at 7:30 pm. The BVSCA newsletter is published six times per year in advance of the monthly meeting.
Parking Meters or Perimeters
Following the events of September 11, 2001, many steps were taken to increase security at public sites, in particular those affiliated with government and military uses. As a result, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) asked Arlington County to remove a number of parking spaces fronting its building at N. Fairfax Dr. and N. Nelson Street and station a police vehicle at the corner for security purposes. DARPA is now working with Arlington County staff to develop a more permanent security plan. At the July 2002 BVSCA meeting, members voted to invite representatives of DARPA and Arlington County to attend our September meeting to ensure that neighborhood concerns are addressed in the planning process. DARPA Security Chief Nancy Keson and Administrative Staff Executive Mark Schaeffer are scheduled to participate in the September 24 BVSCA meeting. Jose Thommana and Steve Bridgett of Arlington County Public Works will also attend. For more information, please contact James Webster at 703-525-4013.
Gutter Talk
Every two years, Arlington County residents vote on a bond to fund neighborhood improvements through the Neighborhood Conservation (NC) Program. Working with county NC staff and civic association representatives to the NC Advisory Committee, residents develop neighborhood improvement projects (signs, parks, street lighting, curb/gutter/sidewalk, etc.). Given the high demand for projects and limited funding, each neighborhood project must compete with other neighborhoods for funding based on a mutually agreed point system. Neighbors have just concluded a petitioning process required by NCAC to develop a curb/gutter/sidewalk project on N. 13th St. from N. Stafford St. to N. Vernon St. Results of the petitioning process will be presented at the September 24 meeting, and BVSCA members will be asked to vote whether or not to recommend this project to the NCAC as a priority for NC funding. For more information, please contact Ed Parks at 202--637-6587 or DeAndra Beck at 703-528-5126.
Waxing on Taxing
Northern Virginia Regional Transportation Bond Act was approved during the 2002 Virginia General Assembly session. The Bond Act provides for a regional voter referendum on the question of whether to increase the state sales and use tax rate in Northern Virginia by one-half of one per cent to be used exclusively for prescribed transportation projects in the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William and the Cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, Manassas, and Manassas Park. Senator Mary Margaret Whipple and Mr. Stewart Schwartz of the Coalition for Smarter Growth will attend the September 24 BVSCA meeting to present opposing views on the merits of the November tax referendum. Information supporting the referendum may be obtained from Citizens for Better Transportation (www.cbt2002.org). Opposition views may be found at Nicola@smartergrowth.net.
Candidates' Forum
BVSCA has accepted an invitation from the League of Women Voters and the Association of University Women to co-sponsor a Candidates' Night forum to be held in the auditorium of Arlington Central Library (N. Quincy St.) on Thursday, October 17th at 7 pm. All candidates for Congress, Arlington County Board, and the Arlington School Board have accepted invitations to participate. BVSCA President Benjamin Axleroad will work with the other co-sponsors to shape several predetermined questions, which will be followed by an open session of question and answers from the audience. If you cannot attend the October 17 forum, the Donaldson Run Civic Association is sponsoring a Candidates' Forum on Wednesday, October 16th at 7 pm at Taylor Elementary School, 2600 N. Stuart Street. For more information, please contact Ben Axleroad at 703-525-3083.
Miscellaneous News Items
Rail~Volution. The Washington Metropolitan Conference on Transit and Livability will be held on Sunday, October 6th. Participants can discuss their priorities and can make recommendations for how to use transit to manage area growth. The conference will conclude with a reception and open house where participants will see many different projects proposed or currently underway in our region. Cost of attendance is $25. Registration can be done on-line at www.railvolution.com. For more information, contact Christopher V. Forinash, U.S. EPA, 202-566-2842, forinash.christopher@epa.gov.
Happy 200th. Arlington House will be open for a special evening program at 7 pm on Friday, October 4 to celebrate the bicentennial of its construction. The event will include lectures, an exhibit launch, period music, a tour, and gingerbread made from a Lee family recipe. Call 703-235-1530 to make reservations for this free commemorative event.
Teen Spirit. Arlington Parks, Recreation, and Community Resources has released a new brochure entitled "Arlington Teen Programs," describing recreational and leisure programs and services being offered during the 2002-3 school year. Contact Kelli Beavers, Arlington County Teen Specialist, at 703-228-4732 to receive a free copy of this brochure.
Listserv. BVSCA members are invited to subscribe to the BVSCA listserv to receive periodic updates on issues of neighborhood interest, as well as the monthly newsletter. How? Send an email message to bvsca@hotmail.com advising that you would like to join. Include your name and post office address in your message along with the email address(es) from which you will be sending messages. When you are added to the list, you will receive a "Welcome" message with details regarding how to use the listserv. Remember that a message sent by a BVSCA listserv member to BVSCA-L@rootsweb.com will be relayed automatically to all listserv members. To prevent senders of unsolicited commercial email from using our list for unauthorized purposes, only listserv members may send messages to the mailing list from a subscribed address.
Editor's Prerogative
Arlington County unveiled a weekday lunchtime shuttle service that makes a loop within Ballston-Virginia Square. Called ART 67, or the "Lunch Loop," look for blue buses with orange and green dots on the side. Hours of operation are 11:00 am to 2:00 pm weekdays, and the service operates every 13 minutes. The bus is ADA accessible with wheelchair lifts and priority seating. For more information, visit www.lunchloop.com. The new shuttle is a great way to navigate our neighborhood, to visit our restaurants, and to avoid traffic and parking congestion. The best news is that it's free to riders. All aboard!
DeAndra Beck
Newsletter Editor
Ben Axleroad, President
3800 North Fairfax Dr., #205, Arlington, VA 22203
703-525-3083
Kate Wilson, Vice President
David Ryan, Secretary
Patricia Horoschak, Treasurer
3800 N. Fairfax Drive, #1804, Arlington, VA 22201
703-524-5080
Ed Parks, NCAC Representative
Theresa Smith, NCAC Representative Alternate
Dennis Burr
James Webster
Mike Ford
How to Join the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association or Renew Your Membership
All individual persons who are residents of the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association's area or who in their individual capacity own residential property located therein, shall be eligible for membership in the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association. For the purposes of this organization, the boundaries of the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association are Kirkwood Road on the east, Glebe Road on the west, Wilson Boulevard on the south, and the I-66 right of way on the north.
If interested in joining the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association, please complete the BVSCA Membership Application Form below and send your application and dues to DeAndra Beck, Treasurer, Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association, at the address below.
Dues are payable when first joining and are renewable each year on or before the annual anniversary of that date. New members and members who have not paid their dues within the three preceding Association years must pay their dues 30 days before they receive voting privileges. Former members who have been members in good standing within any of the three immediately preceding Association years may be reinstated as voting members by paying their dues for that year.
All members of the Association are volunteers. Dues are used to help fund the Association's activities and sponsored events. Please join the Association today, or renew your dues paid membership. Visit us at (http://www.bvsca.org)
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Mail to: Patricia Horoschak
BVSCA Treasurer
3800 N. Fairfax Dr., #1804
Arlington, VA 22203
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