Dear Jack,

I hope you and your family are doing well during these tough times. We'll be sending out weekly Bulletins to update you on all the information you need in the 13th District.

Greenway Bill

This session has been very eventful, but one of the bills that I'm most excited about is SB 1259, which would impose financial accountability standards on the Greenway and finally start to curb the rise of Greenway tolls. We have been working on this issue for years, and I'm proud to say that with the support of a bipartisan team of Loudoun leaders, this bill passed out of the Transportation committee 12-3. The bill still needs to pass the full Senate and House, but I'm optimistic that this year is the year that we're going to pass real Greenway reform.

Vaccine Updates

My office has received many concerns over the past few weeks regarding Virginia's vaccine rollout. It's true that we had a slow start here in Virginia, but the good news is that things are rapidly improving. We have now shot up to #21 in state vaccination rankings after improving reporting procedures and policies regarding vaccine allocations. That said, we are not satisfied to remain at #21, and I am confident that we will continue to get quicker and more efficient at administering these vaccines.

The biggest hurdle ahead of us will be supply -- until this week, Virginia was receiving 110,000 doses per week from the federal government, and the Biden administration has now upped the allotment by 16% to 127,600 doses per week. In order to hit our goal of 50,000 shots per day, we will need about 350,000 doses per week. We will stay on top of the vaccine situation and provide updates as they become available.

Winter Storm

I hope you all are enjoying our snowy weather today! Please try to stay off the road wherever possible as we anticipate more snow and ice over the next day or so. For essential travel, you can check http://www.vdotplows.org for road condition updates.

The following sites in Prince William County will be closed today due to weather.

- Dale City Farmers Market

- Sharron Baucom Dale City Recreation Center

- Chinn Aquatics & Fitness Center

- All Prince William County parks

Loudoun County facilities will be closed today due to the weather. The facilities impacted by the closures include the recreation centers, community centers, senior centers and parks operated by the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services, and Loudoun County Animal Services’ animal shelter.

The Health Department’s COVID-19 call center will be closed today and Monday, Feb. 1. And the county’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic will be closed Monday, February 1; all individuals who had vaccination appointments on Monday have been contacted to reschedule their appointments. You can read more here.

If you experience a power outage, you can report it here.

Coronavirus Numbers 1/31

As always, please reach out to my office if you need any assistance. My Senate email address is [email protected] and my in-district phone number is (571) 367-9080. I hope you and your family are able to stay safe and healthy during these challenging times.

Sincerely,

Senator John J. Bell