New Torpedo Factory Art Features Local Waste — “The AlexRenew Wastewater Treatment Facility treats a mix of sewage and storm water. The facility runs the wastewater through a series of settling tanks and treatment processes to remove nutrients before discharging it to tributaries of the Potomac River. The brown-colored media was crowdsourced from thousands of area toilets, according to Len.” [WWD Magazine]

Work Resumes on the Fairfax Building with the Massive Fire — “It’s been 10 months since a devastating fire at the South Alex construction site near Alexandria, Virginia, but the project is back up and running.” [WTOP]

New Cafe Vía Volcán Profiled — “Twenty-plus years after buying a farm in the Volcán Barú area of Panama and a little over one year since they began selling roasted beans, Chris and Janina McCausland have opened a brick-and-mortar store for Vía Volcán Coffee in the Old Town neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia.” [Daily Coffee News]

Officials Celebrate Big Week for Alexandria Affordable Housing — “We broke the ground on the Wesley Housing Waypoint project, bringing 81 units serving 30-60 AMI and… We cut the ribbon on Bloom by Carpenter Shelter & AHDCHousing with a new shelter and 97 units (40-60 AMI)!” [Twitter]

Zebra Profiles Local Jeweler Who Changed Christmas in Old Town — “For 32 years, David Martin has made jewelry sparkle in his Alexandria shop, Gold Works, but his iconic charms aren’t all he has done to beautify our city. Take a walk up King Street at this festive time of year and you’ll see firsthand how Martin has beautified Alexandria.” [Zebra]

Local Nonprofit and VT Alum Build Desks for Students — “Building Momentum, a local “problem solving organization,” has been providing easy-to-assemble desks to Alexandria students since the start of the fall 2020 school year, and now some Virginia Tech alumni have joined the project…” [Alexandria Times]

Staff photo by Jay Westcott