Doctor on a computer (Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash)
A notoriously contagious stomach bug’s spread through Arlington has public health experts urging extra precautions.
An alert about a wave of suspected norovirus cases went out to Arlington Public Schools families last week as reported “norovirus-like outbreaks” have surged in Northern Virginia since late 2024.
Wakefield High School in the snow in 2022 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
After a winter break extended by three consecutive snow days, Arlington Public Schools students are going back to class today, albeit on a delay.
APS announced the two-hour delay last night, shortly before Fairfax County Public Schools announced it would stay closed on Thursday. Loudoun County first announced a delay, then shifted to a closure.
Among other nearby school systems, Alexandria and Montgomery County are both on a two-hour delay, while D.C. schools are open on time for the second day in row.
When APS announced it was staying closed on Wednesday, the school system cited “persistent hazardous conditions on side streets, sidewalks and parking lots near our school sites.”
A student-created online petition showed photos of still-snow-covered roads and trails, and cited frigid wind chill temperatures today, in arguing that APS should remain closed Thursday and Friday.
The petition has garnered more than 6,750 online signatures.
“The school has recently announced a delayed start for the day,” an update post on the petition says. “While this is an improvement, we still believe that more can be done to ensure the safety of the APS community. Continue to sign this petition to show that we still don’t feel safe going to school.”
Given the current conditions and the actions of other jurisdictions, do you think APS made the right call today?
Peanut butter on supermarket shelf (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)
It’s been the practice for some years, but now peanuts and their derivatives are formally banished from food served in Arlington public-school cafeterias.
Cafeterias now must “provide exclusively peanut-free food,” an Arlington Public Schools policy implementation procedure (PIP) mandates.
Rosslyn’s skyline rises beyond a wintry landscape seen from the Arlington Memorial Bridge (staff photo by James Jarvis)
Arlington residents spent Monday shoveling sidewalks, clearing cars and cautiously navigating icy roads — at well as sledding and having fun — as snow blanketed the county.
People with shovels and a handful of vehicles creeping along snow-dusted roads were among the few signs of life in typically busy areas like Rosslyn and Crystal City. A few commuters could also be spotted bundled up against the cold, waiting for buses and trains to carry them through icy conditions.
Kenmore Middle School field project (Arlington County)
Plans for a four-sports-field complex on the campus of Kenmore Middle School have started working their way through the county government’s advisory process.
One of the key challenges still to be worked through as the process moves forward: How to manage parking issues around the new facility.
Eight new school zone speed cameras are being installed around Arlington.
The new cameras will start issuing warnings with the start of school after winter break, before issuing $100 tickets to speeders starting Feb. 5. Today’s announcement of the new cameras follows a similar announcement in August, which revealed plans for ten cameras that are now in operation around the county.