state of Arlington County

Arlington County Board Chairman Walter Tejada gave a 2008 State of the County presentation Tuesday night at a County Board gathering. The above video provides about 8 minutes of excerpts from his presentation. A video of the whole session is available from the Arlington County website. The 2008 Arlington County Annual Report is also available.

According to Chairman Tejada, the state of Arlington is excellent. Arlington has a AAA bond rating and was thus able to float bonds with a 4.17% interest rate. Arlington is well-positioned to ride out what appears to be a major economic downturn.

Chairman Tejada discussed accomplishments in Arlington this year and thanked his fellow board members and Arlington residents who have helped to make Arlington a better place. Among other accomplishments, this year Arlington reformed the county government's compensation and healthcare plans, established an agenda for healthy living and a healthy environment, established a new bus transfer station in Shirlington, expanded the stock of affordable housing, and implemented diversity dialogues. Wilson and Clarendon Boulevards were recognized nationally as Great Streets.

The Board selected current Board Vice Chairman Barbara Favola to be Board Chairman in 2009.

major snowfall hits Austin, Texas

A foreign news correspondent based in Austin, Texas, reports a major snowfall occurred this past Tuesday. Terrified residents stayed in their homes and waited for snowplows to clear the roads. After several days, the situation returned to normal. No fatalities occurred, but one small snowman melted.

leak repair at intersection in Rosslyn

An Arlington public works crew is repairing a water leak at the intersection of Fairfax Dr. and North Lynn St. in Rossyln, just outside the entrance to the Riverplace Condominiums. Because alternative waterpipe routes exist, no residents' water service will be disrupted

Water leaks in winter produce ice. It's good to have leaks repaired.

open house this weekend at Westmoreland Terrace

From the Ode Street Tribune's mail bag:

Mr. Galbi,

Hi, I recently came across your blog, Ode Street Tribune.  I represent FMS, llc; we're a commercial and residential real estate developer based in the region. We've recently renovated a residence at Westmoreland Terrace to prepare for sale and we want to invite you and any other interested residents to an open house viewing this weekend.

Details are as follows:

1320 Ft. Myer Dr. #824
Open House on Sunday, Dec. 14
1:00 to 3:00 pm

We'll serve refreshments.  I've also attached a few photos of work in progress, FYI.

Thanks for your time,
Waqas Ali
FMS, llc
2300 N Pershing Dr., Suite 201
Arlington, VA 22201
Tel 571 218 8018
Fax 703 448 1114

another antenna ornament

Another antenna ornament spotted about 1500 N. Rhodes St. Definitely a trend.

holiday decorations

Some intricate, found-object decoration now adorns the "do not enter" sign at the 66 ramp in Rosslyn just before Key Bridge. Sunday morning a guy is usually there soliciting donations. I would guess that he or some other apparently homeless person did this decoration.

1221 N. Pierce St. construction

The building around Fort Myer Market (remember what is used to look like?) is rising rapidly. Construction will be complete in May, 2009. Across from the Quarterdeck will be a gazebo and outdoor grills. The 1200 N. Queen building, although currently lagging behind, will be completed with the 1221 N. Pierce St. construction.

According to a construction worker at the site, new particle board is better than plywood. Particle board is straighter, stronger, and doesn't warp. Apparently it's not your parents' particle board. All in all, though, if you want to bang your head against a wall, it would probably be safer to go with the solid brick walls of Westmoreland.

modern holiday tree at Key Park

Perhaps anticipating Cliff Garten's forthcoming North Lynn Street corridor of light in Rosslyn, a tree of pipes and white light has gone up in the Francis Scott Key Memorial Park across the Key Bridge from Rosslyn.

It's rather cold up close.

improving power grid

Occasionally we're had short power outages. To avoid outages and to provide for growth in energy demands, workers are improving the capacity and resilience of the local power network. Yesterday, a crew worked in the cold and the wind on the utility pole that stretches wire across Route 50 from the corner of Nash St. and Arlington Blvd.

The power, water, telephone and sewage networks are marvels of engineering and organization. Think about that the next time you turn on the lights!

new exhibition at TaBois–Bonhomme Galerie d’Art

David Carlson's paintings will be on exhibition at the rising new TaBois–Bonhomme Galerie d’Art from Dec. 6 to Dec. 21. The opening reception is on Dec. 6 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the gallery in McLean (for directions, click on map at right). Gallery hours during the exhibitions are Tuesday and Friday, 7:30 p.m. – 10 p.m., Saturday noon – 7 p.m., and Sunday 1 – 5 p.m., and by appointment.

Terracotta Figures & Portraits by Jake Jacobs will also be on display. In addition, on Dec. 20 and 21'st, from 1-5 p.m., R. A. Comunale will be signing copies of his books, Requiem for the Bone Man, Berto’s World, and Legend of Safehaven.