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NOW: Alexandria preparing new face mask ordinance as CDC says fully vaccinated folks don’t need them

By James Cullum
Walking on King Street in Old Town, Alexandria (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson has asked City staff to prepare a revised face mask ordinance since news broke that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising that anyone who is fully vaccinated no longer needs to wear them.

“Fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask outdoors, except in certain crowded settings and venues,” the CDC said Tuesday. “For the purposes of this guidance, people are considered fully vaccinated for COVID-19 (more than) 2 weeks after they have received the second dose in a 2-dose series (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna), or (more than) 2 weeks after they have received a single-dose vaccine (Johnson and Johnson (J&J)/Janssen).”

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NEW: Alexandria shifts to open scheduling for COVID-19 vaccine

By James Cullum

Alexandria turned another corner in the fight against COVID-19 on Tuesday, as the city has moved into vaccination open scheduling.

“This is a big moment, as the days of long waiting lists for vaccinations are largely behind us,” Mayor Justin Wilson told ALXnow. “The next phase is a new challenge as we must work to bring doses to those who have not sought them and continue to spread the word that we have three very safe and effective vaccines that are available to Alexandria residents. This is how we get our residents and businesses back to normal.”

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Parents and students protest for expanded in-person instruction outside ACPS Central Office

By ALXnow.com
Protesting outside of ACPS Central Office on Monday, April 26, 2021. (Staff photo by James Cullum)

Surrounded by about 100 other protestors outside of Alexandria City Public Schools’ Central Office, Kathryn Grassmeyer started to cry.

The mother of three wants schools to reopen to four or five days a week, and got emotional when talking about some of the difficult choices she and her husband have made regarding their children’s education.

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COVID-19 Update: City says anyone who registered by April 10 for COVID-19 vaccine should have an appointment

By James Cullum

Alexandria residents 16 and older who registered for a COVID-19 vaccine by April 10 should have been contacted by the city’s Health Department to schedule their appointment, according to the city.

Residents eligible for Phases 1a, 1b, or 1c, who pre-registered before April 10, “should have received an invitation to schedule a vaccine appointment,” according to the city. “If you have not received an invitation to schedule, first check your spam folder. Please complete this form if you have not been contacted.”

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ACPS looking for more space this fall, opening 4-day instruction for special needs students in early May

By James Cullum

Alexandria City Public Schools will open to four days of in-person instruction starting the first week of May, according to ACPS staff.

There are 1,700+ special needs students in ACPS, and only a fraction of those students who require services in specialized citywide programs will return four days a week, according to ACPS.

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ACPS announces Virtual Academy, will open to 4-days a week for special needs students

By James Cullum

While Alexandria City Public Schools plans on reducing distancing to three feet in classrooms on April 26, the school system will also reopen to four days a week of in-person instruction for students in the citywide special needs program.

Additionally, Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. has announced that the VirtualPLUS+ hybrid learning model will come to a close. In its place will be an ACPS “Virtual Academy”.

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Update: COVID-19 vaccine alert for residents 16+ today

By James Cullum

Three more Alexandria residents have died of COVID-19 since this time last week, as an emergency alert will go out Monday at 10 a.m. to notify anyone 16 and older that they are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Virginia will send alerts through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) to participating wireless carriers, which then push the alerts to compatible mobile devices in the area,” according to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

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Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Alexandria health director reflects on sudden retirement, tenure with city — “When Dr. Stephen Haering, director of the Alexandria Health Department for the past 11 years, unexpectedly announced his retirement on April 9, he did so for what he called ‘deeply personal’ reasons. Haering, whose retirement was effective immediately according to a city news release, told the Times in an interview that his departure was ‘not associated with the pandemic response.'” [Alex Times]

Vaccination drive brings a dose of hope for restaurant workers — “More than 1,000 restaurant and small business employees have filed through the doors of the old Fireflies restaurant over the past few weeks with the same purpose: receiving COVID-19 vaccinations. The location’s current vacancy made this the perfect site to administer such a large number of shots, Bill Blackburn, restaurateur and co-owner of Homegrown Restaurant Group, said. Blackburn joined forces with community organizer Charlotte Hall and Scott Shaw of Alexandria Restaurant Partners – who donated the space – to orchestrate the Alexandria Restaurant Drive whereby restaurant workers could receive vaccinations in a streamlined way.” [Alex Times]

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Silberberg addresses old defeats and new challenges in campaign to reclaim mayorship

By Vernon Miles

Former Mayor Allison Silberberg very publicly didn’t plan on running against Mayor Justin Wilson in the Democratic primary, but as weeks slipped by and no other challenger came forward — and Council Member Mo Seifeldein dropped out — Silberberg said she felt she needed to step up.

Three years after Silberberg lost her reelection bid to Wilson, she’s back to reclaim the position.

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Southern Towers residents nervous as landlord steps up eviction proceedings

By Vernon Miles

Low-income residents at Southern Towers (4901 Seminary Road) in the West End have been among those most affected by historic highs in unemployment and a sluggish economic recovery — but on-top of this, many of the residents face a new problem: a landlord pursuing hundreds of evictions.

At a meeting today between residents and elected officials, several immigrants living one of the city’s few remaining bastions of market rate affordable housing shared a sense of uncertainty and fear as new landlord CIM Group begins taking legal actions against residents.

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