Good Monday morning, Alexandria!
☀️ Today’s weather: Expect sunshine and a high around 55 degrees, with calm winds picking up to 5-9 mph from the south in the afternoon. The night will remain partly cloudy, as temperatures drop to approximately 39 degrees and south winds maintain a speed of 5-7 mph.
🚨 You need to know
Alexandria’s Congressman Don Beyer (D-8) pressed the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), Sethuraman Panchanathan, to reinstate employees terminated in a mass firing last week.
Around 10% — 168 people — of the NSF personnel were fired last week. Politico reported the firing included most probationary employees and all of its contract experts. The cuts come amid a widespread slashing of government agency workforces.
Beyer served on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. The NSF in Alexandria’s Carlyle neighborhood is in the 8th district.
In a letter, Beyer said the terminations violated labor agreements and worker protections and relied on unlawful, retroactive reclassifications of permanent NSF personnel.
According to the letter:
I write to express deep concern and outrage over the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) recent firing of NSF employees and the reclassification of hundreds of employees’ employment status from permanent to a probationary status. The dismissal of some of our nation’s top-notch scientists, as well as this arbitrary extension of the probationary period from one to two years undermines NSF’s policy and statutory mission to promote scientific advancement in the United States.
📈 Friday’s most read
The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for Feb 21, 2025.
- Notes: Outrage at National Science Foundation in Alexandria over mass firings (5778 views)
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- Department of Beer and Wine moving from Potomac Yard to Del Ray (1340 views)
📅 Upcoming events
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