With a bit of luck, Alexandria Health Director Stephen Haering said the city could start to get its hands on a vaccine by December.
A limited supply of vaccine and a high public demand has led to national, state, and local plans on determining who gets the vaccine, when, and how. Haering outlined some of the plans for Alexandria at a City Council meeting last night.
A 23-year-old man was shot in Old Town early Tuesday evening, as Alexandria Police continue to investigate an uptick in shots fired calls for service.
At around 5:40 p.m. on Tuesday (Nov. 24), police announced they were responding to a call for shots fired in the 1200 block of Wythe Street in Old Town — not far from a police shootout that killed one man last month.
With the Alexandria School Board approving changing the names of two Alexandria schools, the question is what to call the school formerly known as T.C. Williams High School?
Several alternatives have been raised in online forums and in meetings. Some have suggested other local figures that could replace Thomas Chambliss Williams, including longtime former principal John Porter or Petey Jones, a member of the 1971 championship team and an employee at the school who died last year.
Latest Torpedo Factory Plan Redesigns First Floor — “As far as the first floor, staff plans to make the space more interactive, which could involve relocating artists throughout the building. Specifically, Ruggiero mentioned relocating a print-maker studio from the third floor to the first, as well as the Art League’s art supply store.” [Alexandria Times]
Alexandria Offers Emergency Child Care for Low Income Families — “The Alexandria City Council approved a request in September from DCHS and the Alexandria Emergency Child Care Collaborative (ECCC) to utilize Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to support this child care initiative. The initiative is limited to 150 children total, who will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.” [City of Alexandria]
Local nonprofit Casa Chirilagua is planning to keep with the spirit of Thanksgiving by distributing meals to those in need, but needs some public help for setup and distribution.
“We are distributing 500 meals for Thanksgiving on Wednesday, Nov. 25,” said the organization, which provides assistance in the Chirilagua and Arlandria neighborhood. “The setup will begin at 1:30 p.m. and the distribution will begin at 2:00 p.m.”
With COVID-19 cases on the rise and the holiday travel season upon us, the Alexandria School Board on Monday approved a recommendation by Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. to delay an in-person plan bringing students back to school until January 2021.
Specifically, the move delays bringing back kindergarten through fifth graders with disabilities who receive self-contained Language Arts and Math, which was planned for Nov. 30, and middle schoolers in the citywide special education program in December. No new set dates were presented, and Hutchings told the Board on Monday that he is following the advice of the Alexandria Health Department and does not want to act impulsively.
As the city continues to adapt to primarily virtual meetings, Vice Mayor Elizabeth Bennett-Parker is spearheading an effort to open up new ways for the public to provide input on city affairs.
While the move coincides with the extended online-only year of city governance, Bennett-Parker said the issue also taps into earlier lack of online access for city residents.
There’s been another indecent exposure in Del Ray, this time in an alleyway in the unit block of East Bellefonte Avenue.
The incident occurred at around 6:30 a.m. on Friday, November 20. There was also another incident in the 2200 block of Mount Vernon Avenue at around 6 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 13, according to Del Ray activist Gayle Reuter. The police did not file a report for the Nov. 13 incident, Reuter said, as the officer told the victim who witnessed the exposure to call him if she saw the suspect again.
With the approach of the yuletide season, the Lee-Fendall House (614 Oronoco Street) in Alexandria has decked out the home in full 19th century regalia for candlelight tours.
“Celebrate the holiday season with evening candlelight tours of the Lee-Fendall House decked out in Victorian splendor,” the Lee-Fendall House Museum & Garden said on Facebook. “Our antique toy exhibit will also be on view.”
After a unanimous vote at the Alexandria School Board meeting last night, the names T.C. Williams High School and Matthew Maury Elementary School were voted out — with the replacements still to be decided.
Over the next few months, the School Board will seek public feedback before settling on a new pair of names. The new names will be chosen by the Board in the spring and go into effect at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year.
Alexandria Library Offers New Online Learning Tool — “During this time of school closures, expanded online learning, and social distancing recommendations, access to premium research tools that provide access to information from reliable sources is important. Alexandria Library Offers Online Resource Tool EZProxy to make access to these resources easier to use.” [Zebra]
Southern Living Profiles Alexandria at Christmas — “Although it may look the part, Alexandria, Virginia, is not the kind of Hallmark-movie small town where all the locals grew up together and you’ll undoubtedly run into your high school sweetheart while picking up a fresh baguette at the neighborhood bakery. The community here is tight-knit, but anyone can join.” [Southern Living]
