Host Nation Update, Nov. 28, 2022
Stern Center in Sindelfingen – Adapted Corona vaccine has arrived
At the local Vaccination site (KIS) at the 1st floor of Stern-Center Sindelfingen, a new vaccine will be available from Monday, November 28. Moderna’s vaccine is also now adapted to the currently prevalent coronavirus variant BA.4/5. In addition, an adapted BA.4/5 vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer will be available for children five to 11 years of age beginning Dec. 5. According to the Standing Committee on Vaccination (Stiko), there should be an interval of at least six months between administration of the new vaccine and the last previous COVID vaccination. As before, the flu vaccination is also offered in the site. This can be combined with the Corona vaccination and also vaccinated at the same time. The Stiko recommends the Corona booster vaccination as well as the flu vaccination for risk groups or people aged 60 and over. Vaccination is possible with or without registration. Info and link to registration on the net at www.lrabb.de. If pre-registered, there is less waiting time on site. The KIS is open Tuesday through Saturday from 2 to 6 p.m.; in addition, the Böblingen Test and Vaccination Center (Kremser Straße 5) is open Sunday and Monday from 10 a.m. to noon. The same vaccines are also available there. Doctors’ offices and pharmacies in the district are also vaccinating now extensively. (Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Nov 25)
A81 near Leonberg – Engelberg tunnel closed in both directions
The Engelberg Tunnel on the A81 in Leonberg (Böblingen district) had to be fully closed in both directions early Monday afternoon. According to police, there had been an alarm that led to the closure. As a spokeswoman for the Ludwigsburg police reported, the alarm occurred shortly before 1 p.m., leading to the closure of the two tunnels. Whether this was a false alarm or whether there were actually technical problems in the tunnel tubes cannot be said at the moment. It is also not yet known when the closure will be lifted. Drivers must expect obstructions and are asked to avoid the section. (Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Nov 28)
Maintenance work in the Schönbuchtunnel – A 81 closed at night due to construction work
The highway company is performing maintenance work on the Schönbucht Tunnel this week, starting Monday. This will reportedly require nighttime closures of the tunnel in both directions of travel on the A81. According to the highway company, the following closures are planned: in the direction of Stuttgart during the night from Tuesday, November 29, 9 p.m., to Wednesday, November 30, 5 a.m.. Additionally, another closure is possible in this direction from Wednesday, November 30, to Thursday, December 1 – also on this night from approximately 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. In the direction of Singen, closures are planned at the following times: from Monday, November 28, to Tuesday, November 29, from approximately 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Access to the Schönbuch-West service area will no longer be possible from 7 p.m. on Monday, November 28. The onward journey from the Schönbuch-West service area onto the A 81 in the direction of Singen will then only work for the following two hours until the full closure of the A 81 at 9 pm. A further optional closure in the direction of Singen is scheduled from November 30 to December 1 (9 p.m. to 5 a.m.). (Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Nov 28)
Sindelfingen’s Mayor Bernd Vöhringer faces criticism – Poor climate, many personnel changes
Sindelfingen’s mayor Bernd Vöhringer is a popular man among the general public. People know the Sindelfingen native in the city and like him for his jovial interaction with the population. A joke here, an open ear there. The 54-year-old comes across as uncomplicated and approachable. The other side is shown by Bernd Vöhringer in the town hall, say so many who work there. The closer he is to the boss, the more closely tied to his staff, the more explicit the accusations. There have been whispers and rumors about this for a long time, basically for years. The fact that Bernd Vöhringer is too seldom in the house and dances too often at “European” or other weddings – that, too, has long since gotten around. Many people in the town hall criticize him for this. On the one hand, they don’t miss their boss, because businesses sometimes run better without a boss anyway – a life experience or truism. But when he is back, he puts his staff under stress. You have to be shown dynamism, even though he himself thinks things over and over again and doesn’t deliver them promptly; meeting drafts, for example, and council minutes. The beating for things that did not go forward would then be given to the wrong people. Employees say that the OB does not like to be talked back to. There is “fear”, many are intimidated, say officials and employees when asked – without wanting to read their name in the newspaper. Those who have fallen from grace, they say, can suddenly find themselves in a different job – the directive power of a city hall regent. “Watch out you don’t end up in the basement,” are comments in the offices. “I maintain a situational management style,” defends the city’s head Vöhringer, asked in writing for a statement, and cannot understand the criticism leveled at his behavior. He maintains, he writes, a “situational style of leadership”. Where things are going well, he lets “a long leash”. And: “Appreciation is an important concern for me.” (Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Nov 28)
Funny action at the airport – pedaling for the Christmas spirit
For some, the run-up to Christmas feels like a treadmill. But that is probably not the intention of the Stuttgart airport company, which is now making sure that travelers pedal hard so that the airport terminal is filled with Christmas lights. Pre-Christmas harmony is all around, and to keep the lights on the Christmas tree burning, this year for the first time the airport is relying on the health and energy awareness of its travelers. The six-meter-high Christmas tree in Terminal 3 will only be lit up if the passengers start pedaling on one of the energy bikes. The airport company also provides valuable information on the eternal question of when the tree should be taken down again after the holidays. The campaign will continue until January 8, 2023. The company has decided not to hang Christmas lights on the characteristic supports of the terminal roofs. In addition, “the temperature in office buildings and terminals has been reduced, hot water has been turned off in many places and the operation of illuminated advertising installations has been restricted,” the airport company says. (Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Nov 28)
