2011 ABBIE Winners Announced

More than 7,500 Arlingtonians cast their votes for the very best Arlington businesses in the 2011 People’s Choice ABBIE Awards.

The spotlight shone bright for one Arlington favorite who won in two categories. Lost Dog Café picked up awards for Best Bargain Restaurant and Best Family Friendly Restaurant. Carlyle won Best Brunch, Bob & Edith’s Diner won Best Late Night Spot, Arlington County Libraries won Best Place to Learn Something New and Signature Theatre won Best Performing Arts Organization — all for the third year in a row. First-time winners include:

• Dogma Gourmet Dog Bakery and Boutique, Best Place to Care for Your Pet
• District Taco, Best New Business
• Ireland’s Four Courts, Best Neighborhood Bar
• Circa, Best Customer Service

All nomination submissions and voting for the 2011 People’s Choice ABBIES took place online. Those without access to a computer at home or work were encouraged to use Arlington County Public Library internet stations.

In addition to recognition from the Arlington County Board, the 2011 ABBIE winners will receive a year’s worth of acknowledgment from Arlington Economic Development, including promotion on the Arlington County website, on the ShopArlington website www.shoparlington.org, in Arlington enewsletters, newspapers and online advertisements and special placement in the Arlington County Visitors Guide and Map.

For a complete list of award winners, go to www.arlingtonva. us, search “ABBIES.”

Resolve to Green Your Home

Start the year out right. Make a resolution to save energy and a few dollars with these simple steps and ideas.

1. Clear away clutter. Donate old clothing, books, and toys to charity. Recycle electronics at Arlington’s household hazardous materials facility.
2. Give wisely. Give gifts made from recycled materials or homemade gifts such as photos, pottery or jewelry. Consider giving a gift certificate or tickets to a concert or sports event.
3. Use a bike for short trips. Ride your bike for trips shorter than two miles and cut your carbon footprint significantly, save money on gas, and stay fit — all at the same time. Don’t own a bike? No problem — try Capital Bikeshare. www.capitalbikeshare.com
4. Bring your own bags. More than 1 million plastic bags are trashed every minute. Reusable bags are one of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce your carbon footprint.
5. Line dry clothes. You’ll see a reduction in your energy bill and your clothes will last longer.
6. Revive game night. Unplug the electronics and host a family game night. Save energy and spend time together.
7. Be your own farmer. Imagine serving a salad for dinner with ingredients from your backyard or patio containers. If gardening isn’t for you, simply try to eat more local foods. Visit Arlington’s farmers markets. www.arlingtonfarmersmarket.com
8. Say goodbye to junk mail. Visit www.catalogchoice.org. to unsubscribe from junk mail and reduce unwanted catalogs and newspapers. Switch to paying your bills online.
9. Make your cleaning products. Not only will you save money, but also fewer chemicals will enter our waterways. Learn more at www. eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_ solutions.htm.
10. Snuggle with a Snuggie. Turn down the temperature — for every degree you lower it, you can save three percent on your energy bill.

For more information on how to reduce your environmental impact, follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/arlingtonaire, or email us at climate@arlingtonva.us.

Try a Low Salt Diet this Winter

Excess salt and other deicing chemicals can harm trees and plants, aquatic life in our streams and impact drinking water supplies.  Try a low salt diet this winter and minimize the amount of deicing salt that you use!  The County strives to minimize the impacts of deicing salt during winter storms by using a mix of sand and salt for road treatment, and by setting the salt trucks to distribute a thin layer of salt.  The County also makes a special pass with the street sweepers in the spring to collect the sand from the roads.

This winter, you can help by following these environmentally friendly snow removal practices:

• Shovel First!   Removing the snow first will allow the sidewalk or driveway to dry out and prevent thick sheets of ice from forming.  If you can, shovel the snow into your yard where it can melt into the ground.

If you must use deicing chemicals, follow these suggestions…

• Take care when applying chemical deicers and only use as much as needed.
• Limit your use of deicing salt near plants and environmentally-sensitive areas including streams, ponds, wetlands.
• Sand and sawdust can be used as an environmentally-friendly alternative to commonly used salt products.
• Use salt substitutes that are less harmful including potassium acetate (KA) and Calcium Magnesium Acetate (CMA).
• After the snow melts, sweep up sand and salt residues, to prevent it from washing into storm drains and streams.

Plans Underway for Future Needs

Director of design and construction John Chadwick talks with parents about the renderings that came from the feasibility study.

APS is facing increased enrollment for the foreseeable future. Since 2006, enrollment has grown by 3,394 students, or 18 percent in five years. Because of the growing enrollment, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find space to accommodate the increasing number of students.

By 2013, there will be over 800 more students than available seats. By 2016, APS faces an even greater shortage of 3,400 seats. To plan for the future, APS has been using a variety of solutions to create additional classroom space, including adding relocatable classrooms at a number of schools until more permanent solutions can be implemented.

“Over the last several years, we have been aggressive in our approach to maximize the capacity of existing facilities,” said Superintendent Dr. Pat Murphy. “However, even with the steps we have taken to this point, we will continue to require creative solutions to the ever-growing demand for space in our schools.”

In 2009, the School Board adopted the Progressive Planning Model (PPM) framework, a step-wise approach to developing additional capacity throughout the system. The PPM framework was developed after much community input and through a study with MGT of America, planning consultants.

APS has already implemented many of the initial steps of the PPM.  The next measures for adding system-wide capacity will be to build additional space on current APS sites or acquire (through lease or purchase) new   sites and/or facilities to build or rent space for instruction.

To assist the School Board in developing a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), which includes capacity-building projects, APS has engaged Decision Lens, a local software-solutions company. The Decision Lens software and process will help evaluate capital solutions based on pre-determined School Board criteria.

Facilities planner Alison Denton answers a parent’s question at the Nov. 29 community update.

In October, APS held the first of two forums that provided an overview to parents and the community about the process to develop an action plan that addresses the current and future capacity needs for the school division. The first forum outlined the plan to conduct feasibility studies at 16 APS locations in order to determine options available on APS property. The second forum provided the community with the results of the completed feasibility studies.

The feasibility studies helped determine the maximum reasonable capacity as well as the impact on core spaces, parking and open space. The studies also looked at the options in small, medium and large capacity schools for additions, stand alone buildings, and/or new schools.

The timing of these additions will depend on many factors and construction will likely not start before 2013. Communities will be engaged during the design process.

There will be additional community updates in January and February, and more School Board work sessions will be scheduled as needed for the spring. In May, the Superintendent will present his proposed six-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). A public hearing is also planned for May and the Board is expected to act on the CIP in late May.

For more information on the Capacity Planning Process, visit  www.apsva.us/capacity.