Local small businesses have until the end of the week to file for a grant that could help them retain their workforce during the pandemic.
The Alexandria/Arlington Emergency Layoff Aversion Assistance Program, a state-funded program, aims to save jobs in Alexandria City and Arlington County.
Alexandria City Manager Mark Jinks said Monday that the COVID-19 pandemic has created the worst financial crisis he’s ever seen, and has asked staff to make $100 million in budget cuts and prepare for a $35 million revenue shortfall in his fiscal year 2021 budget.
“We crashed, and we don’t know how long this is going to last, when we’re going to come back up,” Jinks told the City Council/School Board Subcommittee in an online meeting. “I’ve told staff we need $100 million in cuts and savings between the current fiscal year and next fiscal year, is my rough guess. That will be savings and looking at capital projects and seeing what we need to cancel or what we need to reschedule to a future year.”
As Alexandria grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commonwealth Attorney’s office is figuring out how to keep running the city’s Treatment Court.
The Treatment Court is an alternative to jail for individuals with substance abuse issues, and most participants have been to jail multiple times. There are currently eight participants in the court, which launched in August and usually meets every Thursday in the Alexandria Courthouse. But the building at 520 King Street is largely shut down now due to COVID-19.
Following the shutdown of nearly all of its locations last week, Alexandria Restaurant Partners (ARP) has reopened Mia’s Italian Kitchen (100 King Street) for take-out and delivery.
The Italian restaurant will offer a limited menu available for delivery through Postmates, GrubHub and UberEats. Take-out orders can be placed through ChowNow.
Regional Program Awarding 11 Grants to Local Businesses — “The Governor is authorizing $87,619.00 of funding to the Alexandria/Arlington Regional Workforce Council, through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, for employers eligible to remain open during the COVID-19 emergency. Period of performance is from March 1, 2020 to August 31, 2020.” [Twitter]
Beyer to Host 5 p.m. COVID-19 Telephone Town Hall — “I’ll update you on my work to support the public health response and minimize the economic damage, hear from a local public health official, and take your questions.” [Twitter]
The Alexandria Health Department has confirmed three additional cases of COVID-19 since Friday, bringing the total number of cases in Alexandria to nine.
“Locally in Alexandria, we have had nine cases [with] dozens and dozens of contacts, meaning when somebody has a positive case we do an investigation and determine everybody they have had close contact with,” Alexandria Health Department Director Dr. Stephen Haering told City Council and the school board in a joint meeting on Monday night.
The Alexandria Police Department is reducing some of its in-person services to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19.
Police announced today (Monday) that several of the departments are closing their in-person services and switching either to online services or appointments only.
Alexandria City Public Schools are closed for the remainder of the school year.
Governor Ralph Northam made the announcement on Monday, effectively closing all public schools in Virginia.
The COVID-19 shutdown has brought an early summer slide to Alexandria City Public School students.
On Friday, the School Board discussed the issue in its first online meeting since canceling all in-person meetings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has closed the school system until April 14.
ALIVE! has bought and organized thousands of meals to contend with the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the next two upcoming Saturdays will give away a week’s worth of emergency subsistence food to families and individuals at two drive-by locations.
On the Saturdays of March 28 and April 4, families in their cars will be able to pick up four paper bags of free food at John Adams Elementary School and Cora Kelly School from 8:30 a.m. until noon — or until they run out.
Alexandria Hospital Suspends Visitation — “Exceptions to Inova Health System’s Visitation Guidance can be made in extenuating circumstances and with prior approval from a care site’s administration.” [Zebra]
Man Convicted for 2016 Rape — “[P]olice in Alexandria — for the first time — ran DNA through public genealogical databases and developed a family tree based on known DNA profiles, which pointed to Bjerke as a suspect. After Bjerke was arrested, a buccal swab of his DNA matched DNA found on the victim.” [WTOP]
