With the pandemic forcing more daily activities like work and school to go virtual, Mayor Justin Wilson said the city is doubling down on efforts to provide broadband options for Alexandria residents.
Expanding internet options beyond Comcast has been a several-year project for the city that’s hit a few bumps in the road.
After receiving approval from the state, Mayor Justin Wilson announced on Twitter than Alexandria is moving into the next phase of vaccine distribution.
The new wave of distribution, listed as 1B, opens up the vaccine to several new essential professions. Healthcare workers were able to recieve the vaccine under phase 1A.
(Updated 4:10 p.m.) As part of a continued effort to provide widespread COVID-19 testing, the City of Alexandria and Alexandria Health Department are launching a partnership with private testing company Curative to provide free COVID testing kiosks.
The city said the new kiosks will replace community testing the city has been engaging in since last July.
The City of Alexandria announced today that it has reached an agreement with Inova Health System and the Landmark Mall property owners to create a new hospital campus and mixed-use development at Landmark Mall.
The new campus would relocate the existing hospital on Seminary Hill and expand to over 2,000 healthcare workers. Construction could begin as soon as 2023 with the first parts of the campus coming online in 2025.
Starting on New Year’s Day (Jan. 1) the City of Alexandria joining in the relaunching an online program aimed at helping locals get better access to housing support.
The new 2021 Northern Virginia Housing Expo will focus on offering workshops related to COVID-19 related housing issues, location options, where to buy or rent, improving credit scores, energy efficiency and more.
New plans for the Oakville Triangle received an overwhelmingly positive reception from the City Council at the public hearing on Saturday and unanimous approval.
Plans for the Oakville Triangle include a new Inova HealthPlex and other land use changes. Plans presented to the City Council show dramatically scaled back retail and office space in the area compared to what was approved in 2015.
Waterfront Shipping Container Bar Starts to Take Shape — “On Monday morning, the shipping containers were moved from the barge to the pier for a portion of the restaurant.” [Alexandria Living Magazine]
Drop Boxes Announced for Medication Disposal — “Unwanted medication can be dropped off at one of these 3 locations. Do not flush unwanted medications down the toilet or drain.” [Twitter]
As the state legislature continues to work towards marijuana decriminalization, members of the City Council at a meeting last night urged that revenue and opportunities from legal marijuana sales work their way back into communities long punished for its use.
“My concern is that any revenue generated by [decriminalization] is where those funds are going to,” said City Councilman Canek Aguirre. “It’s important to stress this going to people whose lives affected [and] who were locked up.”
For two years, city staff have been haggling over your water bill.
Late last week, the city announced that the State Corporation Commission (SCC) has significantly reduced Virginia American Water Company’s requested increase in customer water rates, which will result in a refund of previous overcharges to customers.
For Alexandrians looking for work after widespread pandemic layoffs, the City of Alexandria is offering free workshops to help build resume and other job-seeking skills.
The workshops are hosted through the Alexandria Workforce Development Center, which has been running similar programs since the summer. All of the workshops are free and held online.
A winter preparation update headed to the City Council tonight (item 27) outlines plans for what looks to be a mild winter — a small mercy for city services at the end of a somewhat literally plagued year.
While day-to-day weather can be unpredictable, the staff presentation notes that information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows that the city is not anticipated to have higher than normal precipitation and is within a belt of areas likely to see temperatures above the city’s winter average of 39.3 degrees. The trend is in keeping with steadily increasing average temperatures in the D.C. area over the last twenty years.
