ECC Employees Overworked, Underpaid – Arlington’s emergency communications center is suffering from chronic understaffing and staff high turnover rates. The ECC, which handles 911 calls and police/fire/EMS dispatching, is hoping for a 10 percent boost in funding in this year’s county budget. [TBD]
Abortion Regulations Pass General Assembly — Gov. Bob McDonnell is promising to sign a bill that will impose new regulations on Virginia abortion clinics. The bill, which passed the General Assembly yesterday, would hold abortion clinics to some of the same stringent safety regulations as hospitals. Pro-choice groups are warning that the bill could force many clinics to close. [Washington Post]
Map Puts Arlington at Top of the Healthy Heap — Our congressional district, Virginia’s 8th, is the healthiest in the country, according to the American Human Development Project. As this map interactive shows, our residents are expected to live the longest of any other district in the country.
Hang On to Your Hats — Dangerously high winds are expected this afternoon.
Flickr pool photo by Reid Kasprowicz
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CD8 is also likely one of the youngest in the country. Typically, the younger you are the longer your life expectancy. Smog from I395, a dozen pizza joints, and scores of bars will soon turn that.
But frozen yogurt is good for you!
But what about all those cupcakes?
This map shows lots of other variables that are probably related, starting with health insurance coverage:
http://measureofamerica.org/maps/?area=Districts&race=All&sex=All&year=Year2010&index=Uninsured%20%28%25%20of%20individuals%20lacking%20coverage%29&areaID=Districts_5108
well, it seems we still have quite a few uninsured people, probably due to our young population and high immigrant population. The youth may account for part of the reason we’re healthy. I think the fact that we are still healthy despite a high rate of uninsured shows that there’s something else in play. Remember, health insurance =/= healthy.
It shows CD8 as having 10.93% uninsured, well below the national average. I wouldn’t call that “quite a few” though it’s more than it ought to be. It’s not the only factor, but it’s probably a significant one.
I’m too lazy to wait for that link to load on my mobile…does life expectancy have any relation to the percent of population that commutes by public transportation? As in, less likely to get minced in a car accident?
More likely to suffer illness from being sardeened into a tin can underground…..
Not much different from being sardined into a car.
Well, I was referring to the proximity of germs. Alone in a car I have only myself to worry about. I can’t count how many times I’ve been sneezed on when riding Metro.
No, it’s “extremely young” if you only hang out in the yuppie section. If you get out where the families live, some people have lived here for decades. Arlington has an old and dedicated community – it is one of the few ‘burbs where people have come to plant roots (instead of 3 years and then out). One of the reasons Arlingtons schools are so good, the parks are so good, and the transportation plan is so well developed is that there are so many old timers with vested interests in this community.
And least likely to be able to spell.
Re: Healthy district — Are we the healthiest in the county or country? I guess if we are the healthiest in the country, by default we are the healthiest in the county.
Healthy, country. C’mon it’s Friday.
And it’s 5 o’clock somewhere.
What? This is an outrage!!
We need more people like the hero Kermit Gosnell to fight for women and reproductive freedom!
Gosness was a capitalist who cared more for his money than the health and welfare of the women (and children) who sought out his care.
We need people who actually care about other people to fight to ensure that women have access to their legal health care options.
I meant Gosnell, of course.
http://www.damnyouautocorrect.com
Do ECC staff qualify for the uniformed retirement/healthcare rules? That could make a big difference in compensation, if they stay until retirement.
No they are covered under chapter 47 with general employees
As a clarification, ECC employees are not currently classified as uniformed employees. Chapter 46 is the current set of rules governing retirement benefits. Both general employees & uniformed employees are covered by the rules, just different sections.
ECC workers interact closely with fire and police all day/night long, and are critical for public safety. I don’t think you’d want to call 911 and reach someone in another country unfamiliar with Arlington. Yet an ECC tech I starts at $34,300 (grade 6) and does not receive any MAR bonus as other supposedly hard-to-fill positions. The maximum pension is 51%, if they manage to reach 30 years of service. This disparity can add to an already stress-filled, underappreciated job.
Meanwhile raising taxes is not the only answer- the budget amounts allocated to compensation adjustments seem to flow to those at higher pay levels (1% of pay, bonuses to top-step, MAP) while increased costs like healthcare are passed on to employees without regard to pay. With budget season here, it’s time to take a hard look at where county dollars actually end up, not convenient “allocations” toward benefits/compensation.
What is the definition of overworked and underpaid?
Maybe people just don’t like that job.
Outsource to India call center or something if lazy American’s don’t want to do the job. Don’t raise taxes for this job.
“ECC Employees Overworked, Underpaid – Arlington’s emergency communications center is suffering from chronic understaffing and staff high turnover rates. The ECC, which handles 911 calls and police/fire/EMS dispatching, is hoping for a 10 percent boost in funding in this year’s county budget. [TBD]“
Way to spout the angry rhetoric while not knowing anything about what you are speaking of…
tea party up to it again. what happend to “don’t tread on me” i guess they votoed to tread on everyone else. when men can get pregnant that’s when they should stick there two cents in, otherwise butt out of the abortion issue.
+100
Ditto.
You don’t think men have any say in the abortion issue? You do realize that babies are not produced by women alone, right? I understand your point that women are the ones physically pregnant, but to say men should “butt out” is sexist and discriminatory against the role they play in reproduction.
For the record, I’m a liberal, pro-choice woman.