(Updated 11:20 a.m.) Good Wednesday morning, Alexandria!
⛈️ Today’s weather: Expect scattered showers and possible thunderstorms after 11am, with a partly sunny sky and a high near 89. The light variable wind will shift to the north around 5 mph in the morning, bringing a 40% chance of rainfall. During Wednesday night, showers and storm potential continues, mainly before 2am, with a low around 71. The east wind of about 5mph will become light and variable later in the evening, carrying a 30% chance of precipitation.
🚨 You need to know
At long last, the Fairfax County Police Department will start using community names rather than referring to parts of Fairfax as “Alexandria”.
Mislabeling areas like Fort Belvoir or Mount Vernon as Alexandria has long been the White Whale of blogger Dave Statter.
(1) NEW: My battle of 40 years is over. 2 weeks ago @ChiefKDavis committed to having @FairfaxCountyPD stop using phrases like "Alexandria/Falls Church section of Fairfax County". Instead, they'll use community names within the county. As you can see it has already begun. (more) pic.twitter.com/wCy4tTeTHP
— Dave Statter (@STATter911) July 12, 2023
The change has already won some gratitude from Alexandria leadership.
“I think having a commitment by the Fairfax County police and other elements of the Fairfax County government to be more accurate in how they communicate to the media particularly, but also to the public, is really, really important,” Wilson told FFXnow. “I think [the change] will go a long way because there’s so many times where you’ll turn on the TV, and you’ll hear NBC or Fox…saying this incident, this stabbing, this whatever has occurred in Alexandria, and we’ll get a call from people saying, ‘Wait, where did this happen?’ And we’ll say, ‘No, it was actually in the county, it wasn’t in the city.’”
📈 Tuesday’s most read
The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for Jul 18, 2023.
- City of Alexandria says over 50 committed affordable units at Southern Towers need residents (2656 views)
- New Landmark Mall development plans include an ice skating rink (1561 views)
- Woman assaulted and robbed of phone in Landmark area (1320 views)
- Notes: Construction on major new affordable housing project in Arlandria starting next month (534 views)
📅 Upcoming events
Here is what’s going on today in Alexandria, from our event calendar.
- No events today. Have one to promote? Submit it to the calendar.
Recent Stories
There are some exciting changes underway this week, from new businesses to new infrastructure improvements. While Astro Beer Hall (4001 Campbell Avenue) is outside of Alexandria in the Shirlington neighborhood,…
At a town hall meeting last Sunday, most City Council members said — in no uncertain terms — that they are opposed to a ward system in Alexandra. Currently, all…
Alexandria is bracing for a federal government shutdown at midnight on Sunday (Oct. 1). The city is preparing a package of services for impacted city residents, should Congress not come…
Shuttles are running between the Potomac Yard Metro station and National Airport Metro station after a derailment this morning. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) said there were no injuries…
If you had a chance to enhance a child’s future with a time commitment of less than 2 hours a week, how would you respond? You have that opportunity right now to join over 200 Alexandrians as a reading tutor volunteer with the Alexandria Tutoring Consortium (ATC).
ATC tutors work with one child in kindergarten, first, or second grade in Alexandria public schools who need extra help with reading. Tutors meet with their Book Buddy 1-2 times each week for 30 minutes October-May at school, during school hours. Many struggling readers only receive one-on-one instruction through this program, and it makes all the difference. Last year, ATC served 195 children, of whom 82% ended the year reading on grade level and 96% made substantial reading gains. But the need is great, and we are still seeing learning lags from the pandemic.
This year, ATC plans to significantly increase the size of the program to reach over 250 students and to serve every elementary school in Alexandria. This is very exciting news, but we will only succeed if we can recruit more tutors. ATC trains you, matches you with a child, and provides ongoing lesson materials and support.
If you have been thinking about buying your first home or haven’t owned one in the last three years, THIS IS FOR YOU!
In the DMV area, it can be difficult to save the downpayment necessary for you to get into your own home. We have a solution. The Funder’s Summit!
We have assembled a summit with different municipalities to tell you how to access their funds for your home purchase.
Family Fun Fall Fest
Mark your calendars and join us for the Family Fun Fall Fest on Saturday, October 7, 2023, from 11am – 2pm!
This FREE in-person event will be held at the Shoppes at Foxchase, located at 4641 Duke St, Alexandria, VA
2023 Alexandria Fall Festival
Food trucks, bounce houses, pony rides, magic shows and more at the 2023 Alexandria Fall Festival, an Alexandria Living event presented by The Patterson Group. Join us at River Farm on Sunday, Nov. 5 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
