Mayor Jeff Williams has been working for almost four years to make a measurable impact on the quality of life for Arlington, Texas residents. One of Williams’ priorities, when he took office, was to ensure that city amenities and public spaces reflected cleanliness, promoting a standard that he campaigned on—and has since delivered.

With the help of local churches and public organizations, the Restoration Challenge was launched on social media at the start of this calendar year to focus on cleaning up specific city sites. Fish Creek in southwest Arlington became the rallying point for the city’s efforts after years of garbage buildup, and in the dead of winter, the Mayor announced a new effort to make a difference for the community and for the environment.

Local resident Angel Carter, backed by Mayor Williams, sought to leverage local Arlington news sources and social media to do something more than build up local political debates. The call was made to residents to volunteer in the Restoration Challenge’s call to clean up Fish Creek.

Garbage accumulation had become more than an eye sore on the creek banks. It was threatening the “river’s living world,” which in turn would threaten the health of residents if action wasn’t taken.

The call for volunteers to clean up Fish Creek was launched on social media to all Arlington residents to come out on a Saturday in early February to target a four-mile stretch of the creek between Matlock Road and Highway 360.

And the call worked—residents from neighboring communities joined the effort, and the city replied by providing bags and gloves for all volunteers.

Students from the University of Texas at Arlington are hosting a cleanup of the trail for the Big Event, a day of community service and outreach for students, faculty, and staff, April 6 from 9 am to 1 pm. This will be open for community members and students alike to continue the vision of a cleanly city. You can RSVP here.

After seeing the tremendous response, the community is planning more clean-up events in the future. Stay tuned for more Restoration Challenges around Arlington, especially as spring begins next week.

The infamous pizza place is to bring its authentic wood-fired Neopolitan pizzas to downtown Arlington. Cane Rosso was listed as D Magazine’s “Best Pizza in Dallas” 5 years in a row, and Arlington Foodies are ready for the culinary experience to come to their backyards.

Downtown Arlington is booming right now with new developments, the Urban Union being one of them. The mixed-use district is reviving the industrial building nestled between Abram and Division.

As part of the Urban Union development, Cane Rosso will be one of the new restaurants that sit between Downtown Arlington and the Entertainment District. The restaurant is set to open on the corner of North East Street and East Front Street. This will be the eighth Cane Rosso to open up across North Texas and is expected to open by the end of this year. The pizzeria’s opening will include a full-service bar, outdoor patio, and their signature pizza oven.

Owner Jay Jerrier stated: “We’ve had customers asking us to come to Arlington for years, and we finally felt the neighborhood vibe we were looking for with Urban Union. We love the vision for the area and feel like we’ll be a great fit with our new neighbors. We’ve got some really fun things planned for the space.”

Cane Rosso will neighbor other young restaurants including 4 Kahuna’s Tiki Lounge, Legal Draft Brewery, and Cartel Taco Bar.

Spring Break is here, and historically, it’s one of the most dangerous seasons on the roads of Texas since many celebrations cause intoxication, and where designated drivers aren’t coordinated the number of auto accidents spike every year.

Because of this, the Texas Department of Transportation is spreading the new campaign called “Plan While You Can” to prevent car accidents in the upcoming weeks as families and young adults head to spring break destinations.

With this campaign, the Department of Transportation aims to urge everyone with plans to travel or celebrate to plan a sober driving plan before the fun times even start.

The Executive Director of TxDOT, James Bass, stated, “Drinking alcohol and driving can
severely impact a young person’s future. Many promising lives are cut short due to the poor decision to drink alcohol and drive. We urge young drivers to make responsible choices during the Spring Break holiday. Before heading out, please plan ahead for a sober ride to ensure you get to and from your destination safely.”

Last year over spring break, 444 crashes occurred in Texas, many of which involved young
people driving under the influence of alcohol. In those crashes, 11 people lost their lives and 37 people were left seriously injured.

The campaign is a proactive effort of the State DOT and will be a part of a tour across all 50 states that will feature the “Plan to Win” virtual reality game. In this game, participants will have the chance to answer trivia questions related to drinking and driving. If players answer the questions correctly, they avoid going to jail in the game, and those that win will wait for a taxi to take them home after the game, which demonstrates the point at the heart of the campaign.

This experience will be available to drivers from 10 Texas cities during the month of March. For anyone interested in being safe over break, visit SoberRides.org or make your own plans such as having a designated driver or calling an Uber or Lyft when you planning to drink. The DOT reminds residents that catching a cab or public transport or spending the night somewhere is always an option, too.

Nationwide household leaks cause up to one trillion gallons of water wasted annually, which is why the annual Fix-a-Leak Week hosted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency is rolling out in Arlington this year.

The federally-driven Fix-a-Leak Week provides necessary information to the residents so they can easily fix their leaks in their homes, thereby saving both money and water.

Fix-a-Leak Week will be happening from March 18th through the 24th and will have a kick-off on Saturday, March 23 rd at the George W. Hawkes Downtown Library, 100 S. Center St. The event will start at 10 a.m. and will last until 12 p.m. and is available to the residents of Arlington thanks to the partnership between Arlington Water Utilities and the Arlington Public Library.

If you want to participate in the event and learn how to save yourself a lot of money this year, you need to register for the Arlington Fix-a-Leak Week event by emailing the Communication Coordinator Traci Peterson at [email protected]. The first 25 registrants will get the gift of a water-efficient shower head.

Many professionals will be at the kick-off to demonstrate how to do easy fixes in homes and to share tips with residents regarding outdoor and household leaks.

According to the EPA, the average household is wasting around 10,000 gallons of water a year, and by fixing water leaks homeowners can save up to 10% on their water bills.

Arlington Water also provides professional resources that are a part of Arlington’s own water conservation initiatives, and across our community are proving to work. In the period between October 2017 and September 2018, 213 residents from the city of Arlington used the free sprinkler evaluation program. Of those households, 114 had at least one broken spray body, and 56 of them had at least one broken nozzle. One broken sprinkler can contribute up to 25,000 gallons of wasted water in a 6-month period. If you want to sign for the sprinkler evaluation, visit www.SaveArlingtonWater.com.