Dear Friends, This time last year we had just adopted a drastically slimmed down emergency budget; were struggling to get the ability to test for Covid; and were setting up our Covid protocols to make sure people could, and would, distance and wear masks. I doubt any of us imagined that it would be a whole a year before we would be where we almost are to now, when anyone who wants a vaccination can register and get one. We continue to pre-register people for vaccinations to ensure that people who live in Arlington get priority for appointments and to keep our centers operating efficiently … [Read more...]
March Meetings: Budget, Vaccinations and More Than You Want to Know About Stream Restoration
Dear Friends, March is a busy month for the Board and during our meetings we continued our budget work sessions and vaccination efforts. https://newsroom.arlingtonva.us/release/march-county-board-meeting-agenda-highlights-2/ Stream ResiliencyOur regular monthly meeting had a number of land-use items. However, the issue that got the most attention was awarding a contract for the construction of the Donaldson Run Tributary B stream restoration project. This project has been in the works for many years. While it is still called a “restoration” project, it is more accurately called a stream … [Read more...]
February Board Report With FY ’22 Budget & Vaccine News
Dear Friends, Our February agenda had several items of interest and Covid issues continue to evolve. Residential Permit Parking (RPP) The difficult issue of Residential Permit Parking (RPP) finally came for a vote after years of study and engagement. While County streets are public, many people want to be assured they can park on their street and close to their house (if not right in front of it), especially if they have no private driveway. The RPP was put in place decades ago when residents of the Crystal City Area were finding their streets clogged with commuters’ parked cars. It was … [Read more...]
Vaccines & The Virginia State Pre-Registration System
Dear Friends, We held a Covid work session yesterday and I want to share some information. The new Virginia site went live yesterday. 1. The very good news from the session is that, although there is a new Virginia-wide pre-registration system, everyone who pre-registered with Arlington County is still in our system. There are over 41,000 people who have pre-registered in Arlington, including myself. Virginia is incorporating our pre-registrations into their new system, and all who pre-registered with Arlington will be contacted by Arlington County when it’s time for their … [Read more...]
Clarification Re: News: COVID Vaccine For 65+
Dear Friends, After receiving some questions, I realize I was not clear in my previous newsletter/post when I talked about the “site” being closed. I’m resending that email – with editing – below. I was referring to our website, not a physical site. Nothing should change if you have already pre-registered via the County system, or if you have received an appointment for a first and/or second shot. However, if you have not pre-registered for an appointment yet, you will be able to starting Tuesday, the 16th, when, hopefully, the State website will be ready for everyone to use. I am … [Read more...]
News: COVID Vaccine For 65+
Dear Friends, Many of you have likely seen this press release, but in case you have not I want to call your attention to it for two reasons: First, the very good news is that we have completed first vaccinations of most of those 75 and older in Arlington and are now beginning to vaccinate those 65 and older. While I’ve not yet gotten my notice, several people I know in the 65+ category have been invited to sign up for their vaccination. The invitations are going out in roughly the order in which they were received. You can read about it in the press … [Read more...]
February Vaccine Update
Dear Friends, While many of us are still waiting for word of our first vaccination being scheduled (including yours truly), this was a much better week for our vaccination program, and I thought perhaps my readers might like to hear some of the feedback and information I have from this week. As you know, our staff were working hard over the past week to reschedule the appointments that had been cancelled by Virginia Hospital Center (VHC) for those 75 and over. From Friday a week ago through this Tuesday, 63 of our staff made 3,191 calls and scheduled 2,336 appointments. This was a … [Read more...]
January Board Meeting, Covid Vaccines, Rosslyn & Crystal City Improvements
Dear Friends, Update on Covid Vaccines Covid vaccinations are dominating everything at the moment and understandably so. I am hopeful that the sudden change in vaccine distribution by the State late last week and the following necessary cancellation of scheduled vaccinations by Virginia Hospital Center (VHC) was the low point in the vaccine roll out; and that the vaccination process will only improve moving forward. This past week, County staff organized the information from VHC about whose appointments were cancelled and we trained several dozen staff on calling and … [Read more...]
January 23rd Vaccine Update
Dear Friends, I know many of you have received, or heard about, emails from Virginia Hospital Center (VHC) cancelling appointments for Covid vaccinations. We were just briefed on the situation by our staff at the end of today’s County Board meeting. Once the meeting is posted, you may want to watch the discussion, which began at about 12:50 pm today. VHC will no longer receive vaccines from the state. VHC will give second doses of vaccine to those who already have had their first shot, but they are cancelling all other appointments. Arlington County will now receive … [Read more...]
MLK, Jr. Day, Vaccine Update & Inauguration Day
Dear Friends,I hope everyone has had a good Martin Luther King Jr. Day and found a way to recognize his life and legacy. I was pleased to attend some of our programs today and want to give a shout out to Volunteer Arlington for their great work putting together a good virtual program. The pandemic and George Floyd’s murder have helped put the issue of racial equity front and center.Vaccine UpdateI know many of us are worried about getting vaccinated and some have experienced problems with our on-line sign up link. We are doing our best to fix issues as we become aware of them. For … [Read more...]
