Arlington steps up to fill the need for local information about coronavirus fight

There’s one constant in the whole coronavirus experience, and it’s the vital need people have for reliable, updated local information about what’s happening closest to them.

I came to this conclusion while listening to a telephone town hall meeting sponsored by the city of Arlington.

Mayor Jeff Williams and key members of the city’s management team, including the city manager, the fire chief, the city’s public health authority, the police chief and the president of the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce, were participants to address concerns from across the entire city.

Clearly, nothing was more important to interested citizens than getting answers. Their voices revealed emotions ranging from various degrees of acceptance to confusion about how the pandemic has changed their lives.

Almost all of the callers wanted to know what was going to happen next.

Inexplicably, one complained that there wasn’t enough Arlington information without saying what it was he thought was missing.

The city’s website, updated constantly throughout the day, may be one of the most robust in the country when it comes to informing the public. About three clicks or touches on your phone or tablet gets you deep into every aspect of how the city is addressing your thirst for information.

Among the resources are prevention tips, closings lists, disaster declarations, Tarrant County and CDC updates, and access to several ways the city is offering situational awareness and information sharing.

Over at the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce website, you find resources not only for businesses but the general public as well. Included at that portal is access to the national chamber of commerce and links to federal sources such as the Small Business Administration and the Department of Commerce.

Both the city and the chamber have significant presence on the social media including live updates broadcast daily.

Similar experiences can be found by logging onto the websites of the Arlington Independent School District, Downtown Arlington, Inc., and the Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau.

So, someone may ask, what about anyone without access to the Internet or without the devices that will get you connected to it?

That takes us back to the tele-townhall opportunity the city has provided and has plans to continue.

The vendor the city uses for that communication platform calls 72,000 Arlington phone numbers asking people if they would like to participate. More than 12,000 accepted that invitation.

The city’s communication director, Jay Warren, explains that “citizens have the option to sign up to ensure they are called and they are given the opportunity of pressing “1” to leave their number if they were in need of assistance.

“Some 128 people left a message and the city staff got back to all of them to answer their questions or connect them with resources that they might need during the pandemic,” he said.

Williams wisely suggested that people should not rely on television news to discover reliable information about what is happening in the city.

Unfortunately, and as a disservice to everyone, the national television and cable news networks are so dominated by political bias that their reporting raises doubts about everything they are saying.

Partisanship serves no purpose other than to bring into question everything you see and hear, obliterating any trust in the national media that could otherwise be a source of support for a troubled public.

Use these abundant local resources. They are untainted by political bias and far more useful when it comes to finding real answers to your concerns right here at home.

Richard Greene is a former Arlington mayor, served as an appointee of President George W. Bush as regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency and lectures at UT Arlington.