Our top story this week is on a new report that Alexandria is among the hardest-hit localities affected by the Trump administration’s layoffs of federal workers. According to a new Brookings Institution report, Alexandria and its neighboring jurisdictions saw sharp unemployment increases. More than 13,000 federal workers live in Alexandria, and more than 76,000 federal employees live in Virginia’s 8th Congressional District, which includes Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church and parts of Fairfax County, according to U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8).
“I do worry that might be a sign of the sort of federal government cuts causing people to feel they need to leave the city,” Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley said in a City Council meeting on Sept. 9.
In that meeting, City data showed Alexandria’s unemployment rate at 3.6% this year, compared with 2.5% in 2024 — a 1.1 percentage point increase that exceeds the Brookings figure. Total employment in Alexandria held steady at just over 80,000 in the first quarter of 2025, similar to 2024 levels.
Our second most-read story this week is on a GoFundMe launched by the family of Jaylin Hartless, the 21-year-old Alexandria man who was fatally shot in Fairfax County’s Woodlawn neighborhood last Friday.
“Friday, 9/19, our beloved Jaylin Theodore Hartless was taken from us way before his time, at 21 years young,” Hartless’s sister wrote on the GoFundMe page. “We just overcame a family battle with our sister, and now having to bury our brother is the most shocking and sad thing my family has ever faced.”
As of this afternoon, more than $17,000 has been raised against the $20,000 goal.
Fairfax County Police Department officers discovered Hartless near his vehicle in the 3400 block of Buckman Road at around 4:45 a.m. FCPD said that the incident does not appear random and offered a $5,000 reward for information that can lead to an arrest.
ALXnow’s third most-read story this week was on a trespasser who suffered life-threatening injuries after being struck by a Metro train near the Potomac Yard Metro station on Monday (Sept. 22).
The injured person was transported to George Washington University Hospital. Rail service between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and King Street was suspended for about 30 minutes, and Metro offered bus service to affected travelers.
The Alexandria Police Department assisted Metro Transit Police in its investigation of the incident.
The most-read stories this week were:
- Federal downsizing hits Alexandria hardest among Virginia suburbs, study shows (24977 views)
- Family seeks funeral funds for Alexandria man killed in Woodlawn shooting (18285 views)
- Metro service restored after ‘trespasser’ struck by train in Alexandria (17320 views)
- Alexandria’s proposed tallest building heads to Planning Commission in November (7646 views)
- Alexandria ranks 2nd on ‘Best Places to Live on the East Coast’ list (6878 views)
- Alexandria woman dies in Hybla Valley after being struck by hit-and-run driver, police officer (6502 views)
- Springfield man killed in I-395 crash after vehicle struck at high speed (6210 views)
- Developer donates Potomac Yard land for 88-unit affordable housing project (5501 views)
- Trump nominates White House aide to lead Alexandria federal prosecutor’s office (4756 views)
