coronavirus

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Track Team Denied Trip to State Tourney — “High-school track and field competitors from across the commonwealth’s largest jurisdictions will descend on Virginia Beach March 1 for the Virginia High School League’s Class 6 boys and girls indoor state-championship meets. But Arlington athletes will not be among them. County school leaders have denied permission for teams to make the trip, citing health concerns about the ongoing high level of COVID infection in that part of Virginia and other factors.” [InsideNova]

County Employees Getting Vaccinated — “Arlington government leaders have decided that the entire county-government workforce qualifies as essential for ‘continuity of government,’ which bumps them ahead of several other groups as well as the general public in COVID-vaccination priority. County-government officials last week confirmed to the Sun Gazette that its entire workforce will be part of Virginia’s ‘Group 1b,’ placing them ahead of approximately 50 percent of the state’s population.” [Sun Gazette]

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Schools

Arlington Public Schools, Police Prepare for In-Person School Tuesday

By Jo DeVoe
An Arlington Public Schools student on a slide at school (Image via APS/Twitter)

(Updated 12 p.m. 2/26/21) For the first time in nearly a year, school starts next week for Pre-K through 2nd grade students in Arlington Public Schools.

To help ensure safety for students getting to school — even if only for two days per week — the Arlington County Police Department is getting involved in the process.

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News

Va. Rolls Back Some Restrictions on Dining, Outdoor Gatherings

By Jo DeVoe

Gov. Ralph Northam announced today that he is easing some public health restrictions, including the 10 p.m. curfew on alcohol sales.

Effective March 1, Virginians will be able to buy and drink alcohol at restaurants, food courts, breweries, distilleries and wineries until they are required to close at midnight.

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News

Metro Asking Public To Weigh In On Cuts, Including Closing Several Arlington Stations

By Matt Blitz

Metro is asking the public to weigh in on possible options for drastic service cuts, including potentially closing several Arlington stations in January 2022.

On Wednesday Metro announced that the public comment period for its 2022 fiscal year budget had officially opened.

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News

Vaccine Pre-Registration Sync With State Still Ongoing, County Says

By Jo DeVoe
A vaccine shot (via Arlington County/YouTube)

Arlington County officials say names of people pre-registered to receive a coronavirus vaccine are still migrating into the state’s new Vaccinate Virginia system.

It has been more than one week since Arlington County shut down its pre-registration platform to send 41,000 names to the Virginia Department of Health’s new statewide platform. The delay means that for now, some pre-registered individuals may not see their registration status. But that does not mean the pre-registrations have gone missing, county spokeswoman Cara O’Donnell said in an email.

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News

COVID-19 Cases, Test Positivity Rate Falling in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 11:05 a.m.) The rate of new reported coronavirus cases in Arlington is continuing to fall, today reaching the lowest point since Nov. 15.

With vaccinations happening at a steady clip, and after a winter peak that has seen more than 6,500 confirmed infections since Thanksgiving, the virus is slowing down in Arlington, at least for now.

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News

‘Transition’ Budget Proposal Has COVID-19 Contingency Fund, Higher Taxes for Homeowners

By Jo DeVoe

Last year started out as “a good budget year” for County Manager Mark Schwartz. But nearly a year after the pandemic hit Arlington, Schwartz’s new budget proposal is more austere.

Schwartz calls the upcoming Fiscal Year 2022 budget, which is being presented to the County Board Thursday afternoon, a “transition budget.” While modestly increasing spending, his proposal reflects big pandemic-era declines in some key revenue sources.

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News

Governor Makes Rent Relief Announcement in Arlington

By ARLnow.com
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam delivers remarks on rent relief at Gilliam Place Apartments on Tuesday (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Gov. Ralph Northam made an Arlington apartment building his venue to announce a half-billion dollars in rent relief for Virginia families.

Northam announced the new federal funding for the Virginia Rent Relief Program at Gillam Place, an affordable apartment complex along Columbia Pike. He did so after touring an Arlington vaccination clinic Tuesday morning.

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News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arts Group Pushing for New Venue — “As part of its recently adopted strategic plan, [Embracing Arlington Arts] plans to use the coming three years to build community support for a performing-arts venue that would include a black-box theater and ancillary classroom and office space. Efforts would also be made to identify a site and start raising funds.” [InsideNova]

APS Changing Student Camera Policy — “In response to challenges teachers are experiencing engaging students with cameras off, we have adapted our policy regarding the use of cameras during instruction time, based on input we have received from teachers, staff, parents, the Distance Learning Task Force, and advisory committee members. We are asking teachers to encourage students to turn on their cameras during synchronous instruction and while directly engaging with peers and staff.” [Arlington Public Schools]

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News

Next Two Vaccine Groups Could Take Several Months, County Board Chair Says

By ARLnow.com
Vaccine dose being given at an Arlington County vaccination clinic (via Arlington County/YouTube)

(Updated at 4:45 p.m.) Arlington’s vaccination effort is continuing at a steady pace, but it could still be months before the majority of local residents are eligible to be vaccinated.

As of this morning, 26,180 vaccine doses have been administered in Arlington, and 7,549 people have received both vaccine shots, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data. About 750 doses per day have been administered over the past week. At the current rate of second doses, it would take 481 days to fully vaccinate the remainder of Arlington’s adult population.

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Around Town

At Courthouse’s Bayou Bakery, Mardi Gras Is Looking a Lot Different This Year

By Matt Blitz
Bayou Bakery in Courthouse (photo courtesy Bayou Bakery)

Unsurprisingly, Mardi Gras won’t be the same this year at Courthouse’s Bayou Bakery.

But that doesn’t mean that the decade-old, New Orleans-inspired eatery is out of fresh ideas for Tuesday’s festivities.

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