Members of the Arlington County Board say they have their work cut out for them in 2022.
They were unanimous in their chief priorities for the new year — COVID-19, housing, climate change and equity — just as they were unanimous in choosing a new board chair, Katie Cristol, and a new vice chair, Christian Dorsey.
Exactly one month ago, the average Covid test positivity rate in Arlington was 3.5%. Today that rate is 26.1%.
The positivity rate has been soaring amid a Covid wave fueled by the highly-contagious Omicron variant. The wave has produced sky-high case totals, but has yet to correspond to a surge in serious illness.
(Updated 2:35 p.m.) Some parents and students are pushing Arlington Public Schools to reverse its decision to temporarily halt sports and other extracurricular activities due to COVID-19.
After the snow clears, the majority of APS students will return to their classrooms for in-person learning, but their sports practices and games, band and choir classes and club meetings will be “paused” until Friday, Jan. 14.
(Updated at 10 a.m.) A frigid night is on tap and the refreezing of melting snow could make roads and sidewalks extra slippery.
The National Weather Service on Monday issued a Special Weather Statement about the ice concerns overnight:
A tweet correcting the grammar and style of a press release from the Arlington teachers union has gotten some national media attention.
A local homeschooling mom tweeted pictures of the corrections she says she and her children made to a press release sent by the Arlington Education Association, which represents educators and staff in Arlington Public Schools.
(Updated at 1:55 p.m.) A brief downturn in reported Covid cases in Arlington after Christmas was just that — brief.
With people returning from their holiday trips and testing locations back open, the Virginia Dept. of Health reported a new local record today for the seven-day moving average of daily cases.
Arlington Public Schools will open its doors for regular in-person instruction next week amid concerns about the Omicron variant and record-high rates of new Covid cases.
Buildings will open on Monday, Jan. 3 with normal schedules for in-person instruction and Extended Day programs, APS said in an email to families yesterday (Wednesday). Free COVID-19 testing at schools will resume Monday as well.
Hotel Redevelopment Plan Paused — “The redevelopment of one of Arlington’s oldest hotels looks to be on hold indefinitely, as the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic disrupt the hospitality-focused project. Grant Investment Properties is asking county planners for more time to complete its overhaul of Rosslyn’s old Best Western Iwo Jima, now known as the Red Lion Hotel Rosslyn Iwo Jima, at 1501 Arlington Boulevard. A site plan for the project projected that it would be finished by March 2022, but the Chicago-based firm filed papers last week to ask for an extension through March 2025.” [Washington Business Journal]
Proposed APS Changes Questioned — “Based on feedback from the Arlington School Board, the Arlington Public Schools system is focusing on what they call more equitable grading practices. The preliminary proposal calls for: No late penalties for homework… No extra credit… Unlimited redoes and retakes on assignment… No grading for homework.” [WJLA, Washington Post]
Gift Wrap Recycling FYI — From Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services: “Unfun Post-Holiday Fact: If wrapping paper has a thick glossy finish, it can’t go in the blue recycling bin. Same for anything with glitter.” [Twitter, Arlington County]
More Big Lines at County Testing Sites — “Walk-in #COVID19 tests at County @curative kiosks may not be available due to holiday volumes and weather-related shipping delays. Appointments are strongly encouraged.” [Twitter, Twitter]
This week, Arlington Public Library will once again be giving away at-home COVID-19 test kits.
Starting Thursday at noon, some 2,000 kits will be available across all seven library locations, the library system announced Monday evening.
A pre-Christmas testing bonanza helped contribute to a steep, record-breaking rise in Covid cases in Arlington last week, but the holiday managed to bend the curve.
A more modest 126 cases were reported today, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data, bringing the seven-day moving average down slightly to 364 daily cases. Reports of serious illness remain muted, with an average of one hospitalization per day.
There’s good news and bad news on the Covid front in Arlington.
The bad news is that the graph of new Covid cases continues going up and to the right. Arlington set fresh single-day and seven-day case records today, with 359 new cases reported today and a seven-day moving average of 258 cases per day, well exceeding the previous records — set yesterday.
