Merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah to all of our listeners! We close out 2016 with a special holiday podcast, featuring Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen of Central United Methodist Church in Ballston, Dr. Leonard L. Hamlin Sr. of Macedonia Baptist Church in Nauck, Rabbi Lia Bass of Congregation Etz Hayim along Route 50, and an exclusive interview with Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. This is a family-friendly episode that you can feel free to let your kids listen to.
Chris Farley is the owner of Arlington-based Pacers Running, which operates local running stores and organizes local races. We talked with Chris, a native Arlingtonian, about how Pacers came to be and how the business grew over the past dozen or so years. We also asked him about his podcast, Pace the Nation, about some of his famous clients and about the retail climate in Arlington County.
As leader of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, Kate Bate has lately taken an active role on issues like trespass towing and Airbnb rentals. We asked Kate about that, about the current business climate in Arlington and about her ascension to President and CEO of the Chamber at a relatively young age.
Bryna Helfer is trying to improve and modernize the way Arlington County communicates with its residents and businesses.
Helfer joined county government as Assistant County Manager for Community and Public Engagement in September and has been seeking input on the county's public outreach since. We asked her about her position at the county, about technology and its role in updating the "Arlington Way" system of public outreach, and about why residents occasionally feel "blindsided" by the county's decision making process.