Morning Notes

Arlington Awarded HUD Homelessness Grant — Arlington County has been awarded a $540,000 competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The money will help homeless families reunite or remain united by providing them with housing vouchers. With the family placed into housing, the children will no longer need to be placed into foster care. The vouchers will also be used by youth exiting the foster care system. A total of 50 individuals and families are expected to benefit. More from Arlington County.

Virginia Hospital Center Cheaper Than Inova Fairfax — Bloomberg reporter Peter Waldman takes a look at the impact of local hospital monopolies on the cost of medical procedures. According to the article, the average cost of a conventional birth at Arlington’s Virginia Hospital Center is $5,100, compared to $6,750 at Inova Fairfax. An abdominal CT scan costs $1,150 at Virginia Hospital Center, but costs $2,300 at Inova Fairfax. One analyst said the price difference is a result of Inova’s dominance in Northern Virginia.

Business Leaders Still Peeved at HOT Lanes Suit — Arlington business leaders are still fuming at Arlington’s costly lawsuit against High Occupancy Toll lanes on I-395. This time, the Chamber of Commerce is speaking out against the recent naming of Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez as an individual defendant in the suit. Mendez will now have to hire his own attorney and face Arlington’s charge that HOT lanes benefit wealthy white people at the expense of poor minorities, Chamber chairman Philip Keating told TBD.