Arlington residents can participate in the May 3 special election to vote for the bond program, charter amendments and to elect new members to the Arlington Independent School District Board of Trustees. Early voting is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. April 28 to 29. Arlington has seven polling locations. Over $54 million of the $136.9 million proposed in the bond Proposition A: Public Works - Streets, will go into the reconstruction of West Randol Mill Road, encompassing North Fielder Road to North Cooper Street. It will obtain new gutters, curbs, streetlights and a variety of other additions, according to previous Shorthorn reporting. Propositions B, C, D and E aim to improve city parks and libraries, replace major systems in Arlington City Hall and rebuild Fire Station Six on South Collins Street. Amendments to the city charter include changes to how city council meetings are scheduled, an annual election for deputy mayor pro tempore, how runoff elections are conducted and other propositions relating to the city and its council. The AISD Board of Trustees election will fill the vacant spots four and five. David Wilbanks and April Moore are running for place four, and Justin Chapa is running for place five. @wall035203 news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

Dallas-Fort Worth residents can anticipate a warm and dry start to the week, followed by daily chances of rain and thunderstorms through the weekend. Brennen Darrah, National Weather Service meteorologist, said Monday and Tuesday will see highs in the low 80s and bring chances of thunderstorms. Temperatures are expected to drop slightly by the end of the week. “It might trend slightly cooler throughout the week just because of all the cloud cover and the rain,” Darrah said. A cold front is expected by Thursday or Friday, keeping highs near the 80s. Looking ahead, Darrah said the end of April may bring slightly above average temperatures. @samip.parajuli.54 news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

Arlington residents packed East Abram Street on Saturday for the second Hands Off! protest this month. Rallying in opposition to President Donald Trump’s administration and its policies, the movement saw over 1,200 demonstrations across Texas and nationwide April 5, according to the Associated Press. Carol Raburn, Progressive Women of Arlington president, said while this demonstration was smaller than the first, the outcome still gives her hope. “I come home, I’m tired, I can’t talk cause I’ve been talking and yelling,” Raburn said. “I feel like we have a chance to stop this.” The Hands Off! movement protests more than just Social Security for the older generation, she said. Veterans, individuals on Medicaid, people losing food stamps and children losing school meals – this is their outlet to express concern. “As capitulation is contagious, like the law firms that started falling and bowing to Trump once, so is courage,” Arlington resident Kim Martinez, 56, said. “Courage is also contagious.” This is not Martinez’s first protest, having been in demonstrations like this since the late ’80s, she said. Generational activism is important, especially for the youth, but also for older groups who, she said, have to take the blame for this. “We have to help fix it now. We have to get young people out to help us fix it,” she said. “We need to fix it for them as much as we can; it’s pretty messy.” Chants from the crowd were met with many affirming honks and waves from passerby, with only a few showing their opposition to the protest. “It’s really important for everyone to raise their voice. Every single person has got to do it right now. Now is the time,” Martinez said. “We have met the Constitutional crisis, it is on us, so stand up.” Arlington resident Carl Wilkerson, 62, donned a pink bunny suit as he held a sign reading ‘Nope,’ with Trump’s face as the ‘o.’ He’s held on to it since his first presidential run in 2016. He said their peaceful protest aimed to show passersby and the surrounding areas that the current administration does not have America’s interests first. Some demonstrators also felt strongly about recent Texas legislation. Early Thursday morning, the Texas House passed its version of Senate Bill 2, which aims to put $1 billion in taxpayer dollars toward education savings accounts that families could use for private school tuition and other school-related expenses, according to The Texas Tribune. The bill would tie the voucher program’s per-student dollars to public education funding, so the amount available to individuals would increase when public schools receive more money and dip when funding declines. Wilkerson said these efforts will reduce public school funding and education, only benefiting those sending their children to private schools. “I disapprove of using my tax money to benefit people who want to send their kids to private education,” he said. “If they want to do it and pay it on their own nickel, that’s great. But don’t use my money to pay for it.” Arlington residents Katie Duzan, 42, and Whitney Rodrigue, 40, having rallied at the first Hands Off protest, came to stand up for public education and women’s rights. Having been an educator for 17 years, Rodrigue said this is something they’ve never seen before. A small rally like this could make a big difference in a House district seat, and continuing to show up sends a larger message, she said. Both being parents, Duzan said the millions of students in public education need more support and priority from the Texas Legislature. “That’s the future of our commerce and our cities. It’s our future,” she said. “It’s important to educate our kids.” Raburn said hosting events like these can be touch-and-go. If one person calls on groups to protest, many organizers answer the call. She doubts this will be the last one. “People see this, they notice. If you’re paying attention and they see us, see this many people unhappy for a variety of reasons, they should be scared and nervous about getting reelected,” she said. @hjgarcia0 news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu