<sh>Bus Fares for Teens Set to Drop
<bt>Starting in January Arlington teens will be able to ride ART buses for less.
The County Board on Saturday adopted a new policy that drops the one-way fare for middle and high school students with a valid school ID from $1.25 to $0.60. That is the same price senior citizens and persons with disabilities pay.
Students will also now have the opportunity to purchase bags of 20 bus tokens for $10.
The idea for cheaper bus fare for middle and high school students came out of County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman’s Teen Transit Initiative, a series of meetings this year between local teenagers and county officials. By decreasing the price of bus tickets the county hopes to induce more students to use the public transportation system.
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<cl>New county seal.
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<cl>Previous county seal.
<sh>Manager Unveils New County Seal
<bt>Arlington officials unveiled a re-designed county seal during the Dec. 11 County Board meeting, and are encouraging residents to submit their opinions on the proposed changes.
The tweaking of the seal is intended to give it "a stronger identity," said County Manager Ron Carlee. The current seal, a depiction of Arlington House, was introduced in 1983, but its elements were never standardized nor approved by the County Board.
The proposed changes to the seal include changing the color of the words, making the background a lighter shade of blue and adding "subtle" changes to the roof and columns of Arlington House.
In recent years there has been confusion as to when the county logo should be used rather than the seal. Carlee said the county will do a better job of using the seal for official government business and leave the logo to "marketing uses."
"The seal is the official symbol of the government and is intended to endure over the years, versus the logo is a marketing tool to help with the image and branding of the county," Carlee said.
Resident wishing to comment on the proposed changes can send an email to paffairs@arlingtonva.us.
Correction
The coordinators of the Northern Virginia gang task force are starting to give more lectures to parents and teachers on gang prevention and intervention, not the Arlington Police Department as the Connection previously reported.