Mayor Marries Couple in Socially Distant Ceremony — “Alanis sang about rain on your wedding day. I’m not sure she envisioned THIS. It was such an honor to put on real pants (first time in weeks!), grab my mask and walk to Parkfairfax to marry a wonderful couple whose original plans were scrambled. Congrats!” [Facebook]
‘Mind The Mat’ Hosting Virtual Meditations at 9 a.m. — “Join MtM Monday-Friday mornings for this free 15 minute guided mediation to start your day off right.” [Facebook]
Two more people have died in Alexandria due to COVID-19, bringing the death toll from the virus to 10.
The city now has 421 positive or probable cases of the virus, an addition of 38 new cases, which is the biggest surge since the first case was announced on March 11, according to a city announcement.
The Alexandria Health Department is now conducting virtual restaurant inspections for the first time, and the department’s environmental health manager estimates that the COVID-19 pandemic has closed half of the city’s 860 permitted food establishments.
“We’re touching base with all of our restaurants and focusing very much on employee health, obviously, with a COVID-19 focus,” Rachel Stradling said. “We’re doing that so that we can keep in touch and keep up with our infection work.”
Fresh off a recent expansion into Tysons, Nicole Jones was ready to expand her Del Ray cafe Stomping Ground (2309 Mt Vernon Avenue) into a neighboring space with a new bagel shop next door called Bagel Uprising.
That was last fall, and as spring came around, the nationwide pandemic now has Jones and her staff scrambling to them afloat.
Updated 4:40 p.m. — Adhering to proper social distancing protocol, tenants and other supporters rallied outside of Southern Towers in cars making slow circles through the parking lot with signs and chants of “No pay! No Rent!” and “No job! No Rent!”
“How are people going to be able to make a rent deferral plan work?” asked Sarah Jacobson, organizing director for UNITE HERE Local 23 DC, a food service workers union operating out of D.C. “Even if people went back to 100% employment tomorrow, that would be challenging. Uber drivers won’t be getting the kind of pay they had before.”
There will be no tax increase on the city manager’s proposed fiscal year 2021 budget, as the City Council swept through its budget public hearing on Saturday, paving the way for approval next Wednesday, April 29.
Council also unanimously approved the plan for the construction of the southern access to the Potomac Yard Metro station. The access will be a bridge that connects to the northern entrance, and will open at the same time as the station in March 2022.
ACPS Adjusts Hours for Grab & Go Meals — Beginning on Monday, April 20, meals will be available 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Cora Kelly School, Francis C. Hammond Middle School, Jefferson Houston School, T.C. Williams High School and William Ramsay Elementary School. [Twitter]
Scholarship Fund of Alexandria Nearing $50K Goal — “Thanks to the generosity of the Alexandria community, the Scholarship Fund awards approximately $1 million in scholarships to T.C. Williams graduates each year. Most of our scholarships range from $12,000 to $20,000 over four years and can often mean the difference between a student being able to afford college, or simply staying home. Thank YOU for Giving.” [Scholarship Fund]
Another Alexandria resident has died of COVID-19, bringing the number of fatalities to eight, and there are also 29 new cases in the city, according to a city announcement.
There are now 383 cases of COVID-19 in Alexandria, including the eight fatalities.
Alexandria now has 354 new cases of COVID-19, an increase of 33 cases since yesterday, according to the Virginia Department of Health.
There are no reports of additional fatalities, and so far seven people have died from the virus in the city.
There are now 321 cases of COVID-19 in Alexandria, an increase of 18 cases since yesterday.
There were no COVID-19-related deaths in the city today, and the number of fatalities is still at seven.
As of Monday, Alexandria City Public Schools will have issued more than 1,200 mobile hotspots to families without internet access and more than 12,000 Chromebook laptop computers to students to keep them learning throughout the COVID-19 shut down until the end of the year.
Making sure that students have access to their teachers and modified curriculums has been an unprecedented logistical puzzle that took a lot of work for ACPS Chief Technology Officer Elizabeth Hoover and her team to accomplish.
