ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

What a hot week in Alexandria.

With temperatures hovering in the mid-90s, the week started with a power outage at a 17-story apartment building in Landmark area. The outage lasted five days and residents had to find accommodations until the building reopened Friday afternoon.

On the coronavirus front, Alexandria experienced a slight uptick, and the health department says unvaccinated residents account for a majority of new cases. There have been 39 new cases reported so far this month in the city, and 13 cases were reported on July 9. That was the biggest single-day jump since May 20, when 18 new cases were reported.

In school news, this week we spoke with Alexandria High School Principal Peter Balas, who said that his staff are ready to fully reopen for full-time in-person instruction when the 2021-2022 school year starts on August 24.

Important stories

• Chef Justus Frank is focusing on family with Elo’s Italian Pop-Up in Del Ray
• Mayor pushes for state-level building safety reform after Florida disaster
• Bilingual Montessori prechool to open in Rosemont church
• RiverRenew construction throughout Old Town to start this fall
• ARHA documents outline affordable housing organization’s shift toward rental-assistance
• Alexandria Drive-In to be discontinued after ‘Shrek’ this weekend
• Hotel Indigo in Old Town seeks to open private garage to waterfront visitors
• Planning Commission to review turning Old Town parking garage into townhouses
• Former chef at ‘The Alexandrian’ opening new restaurant in Arlandria on Monday
• Developers eye Beauregard redevelopment with West End upgrades on the horizon
• New city health improvement plan aims to fix inequities

Top stories

1. Here’s the plan for Alexandria’s birthday celebration this weekend
2. City Council approves massive high-rise project without affordable housing near Eisenhower Metro station
3. ‘Call Your Mother Deli’ signs lease in Old Town
4. Del. Mark Levine raises eyebrows with letter that passes buck on constituent service
5. Shortened Alexandria Birthday celebration is still on for July 10
6. Alexandria City High School is ready to reopen at full capacity next month, principal says
7. School Board Member Jacinta Greene faces reelection, wants race relations taught in ACPS
8. Tropical Storm Elsa’s dregs tear through southern Alexandria
9. Poll: Do you agree with reallocation of school resource officer funding?
10. West End high-rise apartment building evacuated after power outage
11. The Alexandria Police, Sheriff’s Office and Fire Department all want raises

Have a safe weekend!