<sh>BikeArlington.com
<bt>Arlington County has launched www.BikeArlington.com, a new Web site with information about bicycling in and around Arlington. It includes recommended rides, tips on bike commuting, county bike maps and links to cycling organizations.
<sh>Arlington Expands Car-Share Program
<bt>Arlington County will be making their "Car-Share" pilot a permanent program, as well as expanding it to include new Zipcars at new locations for more residents to access. The program will be a part of Arlington's "Way to Go Arlington" initiative that encourages residents to ride bikes, walk, use public transit and now rely on car-sharing rather than ownership, in an effort to reduce traffic, parking and environmental problems. Incentives are offered for new members who sign up before July 18. In addition to waiving application and annual fees, Zipcar will be giving free driving credits to new individual members and $250 worth of credit going to new business accounts. At noon on Wednesday, May 18 at 2700 S. Quincy St., Arlington County and Zipcar staff educate residents about the benefits of car-sharing. In attendance will be Jay Fisette, chair of the Arlington County Board; Gabe Klein, regional vice president of Zipcar and Neil Peterson, Founder of Flexcar. For more information visit www.zipcar.com.
<sh>Emergency Families Needed
<bt>Volunteer Emergency Families For Children (VEFC) needs volunteers willing to open their homes and provide short-term (one-21 days) emergency shelter to local children who are victims of abuse and neglect. VEFC currently does not have enough volunteers in Alexandria and Arlington to meet the needs of children and youth who are in crisis. Volunteers can choose the age, gender and length of stay for each placement. Most requests in this area are for three-to-five-day stays. Visit www.vefc.org to learn more.
Upcoming training dates in for host families are Saturday, June 4 from 9 a.m.–2 p.m. and Saturday, June 11 from 9 a.m.–2 p.m.
<sh>Summer School Deadlines
<bt>Arlington Public Schools summer school will begin on July 7 and end on Aug. 6 for elementary and middle school students and Aug. 18 for high school students. Enrichment courses meet for three weeks within this time frame. Classes meet Monday though Friday, and times depend on location.
All students currently enrolled in the Arlington Public Schools are eligible to attend summer school programs. A registration fee of $55 and tuition, if applicable, are due at the time of registration as shown on pages 6-8 of the Summer School Catalog, which is available online at www.arlington.k12.va.us/instruct/summer_school/downloads/catalog_2005_english.pdf.
Summer school deadlines are as follows:
Friday, May 6:
* Student registration for elementary summer school, including math, language arts and special education, closes.
* Student registration for high school new-work-for-credit summer school classes closes.
* Student registration for the summer Stratford Program (middle and high school) closes.
Friday, May 28:
* Student registration for driver’s education closes.
Friday, June 3:
* Student registration for middle and high school summer make-up-and-strengthening classes closes.
* Student registration for middle school Spanish Immersion program closes.
Friday, June 25:
* Late registration for middle and high school students who are registering for make-up-and-strengthening courses will be held from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. in the Washington-Lee High School cafeteria. Students will not be able to register for new-work-for-credit classes during late registration.
June 28:
* Student registration for the English SOL strengthening classes closes.
July 7:
* First day of summer school.
July 16:
* Student registration for all other SOL strengthening classes closes.
Aug. 6:
* Last day of summer school for elementary and middle school students.
Aug. 18:
* Last day of summer school for high school students.
Parents and students should register at their home schools by 4 p.m. on the deadline. For more information call 703-228-7646.
<sh>Cell Phone Drive
<bt>In order to fight domestic violence and combat community crime, the Virginia Crime Prevention Association and the Allstate Foundation, along with the Wireless Foundation and local law enforcement agencies, have launched a statewide public-private partnership drive to collect used cell phones. Known as the Call to Protect program, the new initiative urges Virginia cell phone users to donate old cell phones and batteries in specially marked boxes at participating Allstate agencies. All Call to Protect phones are pre-programmed to dial 911 and usually one or two non-emergency numbers like a domestic violence shelter. Members of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association donate free emergency airtime. All cell phone donations are tax-deductible. To print a tax receipt visit www.wirelessfoundation.com. There are two participating Allstate locations in Arlington: 2404 S. 26th Road and 200 N. Glebe Road, Suite 803. For more information call 804-231-3800 or e-mail vaprevent@aol.com.