Arlington NAACP to Arlington County Board: Hands Off Black Owned Home; DOJ Fines Tech Firm for 'Whites Only' Job Ad
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Arlington NAACP to Arlington County Board: Hands Off Black Owned Home
The Battle for 1802 Columbia Pike. An effort to take down a home owned by a Black family in Arlington is in the news after the five member, and currently all-white, Arlington County Board moved in the direction of taking down the home using eminent domain. A petition drive has been started against that action. The 3-bedroom, 2 bathroom brick house built in 1929 is 1,750 square feet.
In a May 29, 2024 letter, Arlington NAACP President Michael Hemminger wrote that, “NAACP Arlington Branch demands that Arlington County immediately stop all efforts to take an elderly and disabled Black woman’s long-time family home at 1802 Columbia Pike. We further urge the County to consider alternative designs for streetscape improvements that would not require taking the home but would still accomplish the County’s safety goals.”
The current average home price in Arlington, Virginia is $806,272 according to the real estate website Zillow. According to the NAACP’s letter, the Arlington Board attempted to purchase the property at 1802 Columbia Pike for $200,000 less than the value of the home. But the owners of the property have no intention of selling the property.
A statement on the situation by Libby Garvey, published by Fox5DC on May 22, is below. Garvey is the Chair of the Arlington County Board
“The project at the center of this issue has long been requested by the Arlington View community as a way to provide a safer intersection and another signalized route out of their neighborhood. It will improve access for the adjacent neighborhoods, increase safe connectivity for people walking and biking, and create a more predictable intersection of Rolfe Street and Columbia Pike—all of which are goals of the County’s Vision Zero effort, which seeks to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries. This realignment also supports the goal of the Columbia Pike Multimodal Project, which seeks to turn this major road into a complete street that balances all modes of travel and supports high-quality, high-frequency transit service in one of Arlington’s most diverse neighborhoods.
Unfortunately, an easement alone is not enough to build this new intersection in a way that would provide the entire community with all of these increased safety benefits. Currently, no one is living in the home, and no one has lived in it for years. The County has been attempting to engage in discussions with the property owner’s conservator since January 2023 and has provided a bona fide offer to purchase the home above appraised value, based on two separate appraisals. The County has communicated a willingness to consider other appraisals to resolve any dispute as to value, but to date, it has not received a counter appraisal or any other objective basis upon which it can offer a higher price.”
A relative of the family who owns the property, Sandra Forston, has started a petition drive. With the woman who owned the home facing a medical challenge, Fortson wrote:
Arlington County is trying to capitalize off of this tragedy and have made several underhanded attempts to steal this property. While there are alternative solutions to improve public safety, including the original plan, they are targeting this home, threatening eminent domain and condemnation, in the disguise of a minor road project as a public safety issue.
The County is playing dirty due to poor planning and an accelerated schedule, Fortson concluded.
DOJ Hits Virginia Tech Firm for ‘whites only’ Job Listing
A Virginia-based technology company will pay more than $38,000 in penalties for posting a discriminatory job advertisement that only sought to hire White U.S. citizens, the Justice Department announced.
Arthur Grand Technologies Inc., a firm that provides information technology services, in March 2023 posted a job advertisement for a business analyst position on the hiring site Indeed that asked in a bolded note for “Only Born US Citizens [White] who are local within 60 miles from Dallas,” according to a Justice Department news release. “Don’t share with candidates,” the advertisement read in brackets. Outrage quickly followed when the job posting was shared on social media. READ ENTIRE
May 28: Richmond Town Hall
Photos by Paulette Shipman Singleton
Last night in Richmond five members of the Virginia General Assembly took questions for over an hour from constituents. From left to right, Virginia Legislative Black Caucus Chair Senator Lamont Bagby, Del. Mike Jones, Del. Betsy Carr, Senator Ghazala Hashmi and Del. are Cousins. The town hall tool place at Forest Hill Presbyterian Church.
Issues discussed included affordable housing and gun violence in Richmond.
Soul Food: First Impression Soul & Seafood in Arlington
The highly recommended First Impression Soul & Seafood in Arlington is a must visit location in Northern Virginia. Aaron Green’s family run business is located at 2534 S. Shirlington Road in Arlington.
Events
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