Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed, The District

Tornado Alert Issued For Arlington County

Photo courtesy of
‘206/365: Stormfront’
courtesy of ‘Amber Wilkie Photography’

Effective immediately The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for Arlington County lasting until 4:00 pm this afternoon. It’s reported that severe storms have formed west of Arlington and the atmospheric conditions are favorable for tornadic development.

The NWS advises resident to be prepared as tornadoes can form from severe thunderstorms with little or no advanced warning. Know your safe room in your home, at school, and at work.  If driving and a tornado is spotted, leave your car immediately and move to shelter or a low lying area. Do not use highway overpasses as shelters.

The Daily Feed, We Love Arts

Funding for the Arts to See Cuts


knife by youngthousands

When times are tough and governments start cutting their budgets, arts programs are often the first to feel the pain.  Case in point, Arlington County is planning on cutting arts grants by 36% next year, an equivalent of $100,000, while DC is proposing a 10% or $1 million cut (PDF) to its operating budget.  As a patron of the arts, this isn’t something I like to hear about, but understand that other spending generally takes precedence over the arts.  Susan Kalish of Arlington County’s parks and recreation department says, “Arts or cops? The county’s got to make a tough decision.”

My hope is that as the economy improves in the years to come, arts funding will go back up.  If you’d like to speak your mind about the arts budget cuts in DC, stop by to testify at the budget hearing for the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities on April 27th at 10AM.