On This Day in Alexandria History — “On October 15, 1862, with deaths from Civil War battles in Virginia increasing drastically, the City of Alexandria formally leased land at the west end of Wilkes Street to the Federal government for creation of the Alexandria National Cemetery, the nation’s first military cemetery. Within a year, the cemetery was filled almost to capacity nearing 4,000 graves, most of which contained the remains of soldiers brought to Alexandria for medical care. Running out of burial ground in Alexandria, Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs seized on the idea of burying war dead on the lawns surrounding ‘Arlington House,’ the vacated Custis homestead owned by the wife of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, which was then occupied by Union troops just north of the city.” [Historic Alexandria]
Old Town Eyed as Stop for Ferry Study — “Old Town is one of six sites recommended for further study as a terminal for a hydrofoil ferry pilot that its backers say could reach Navy Yard in 20 minutes, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments board heard Wednesday.” [Alexandria Brief]
PFAS Found in Alexandria Drinking Water — “The testing demonstrated that there is a consistent PFAS signal coming from the drinking water in Alexandria. At every location except the Burke library, multiple PFAS compounds were present. A ranking of the tested locations from most-total-PFAS to least-total- PFAS is as follows: Old Town, Chinquapin Park Recreation Center, Barrett Library, North Ridge, West End and then the Burke library.” [Alexandria Times]
Meeting Planned on Sanitary Sewer Project — “The City of Alexandria invites community members to join a design kickoff open house for the Holmes Run Sanitary Sewer Armoring Project on Wednesday, October 21 from 6 to 7:45 p.m. at the William Ramsay Recreation Center (5650 Sanger Ave). City staff and members of the project team will introduce the need for the project, the project’s goals and proposed improvements, and the overall project schedule. There will also be an opportunity for the community to ask questions and provide feedback to help prepare the overall design.” [City of Alexandria]
Ben Brenman Award Winners Named — “The Alexandria Archaeological Commission (AAC) is proud to announce the two winners of the annual Bernard “Ben” Brenman Archaeology in Alexandria Award. The awards were presented by Mayor Gaskins on Tuesday, October 13, at the Alexandria City Council meeting. Councilman John Chapman read the proclamation. Stephanie Johnson accepted the award on behalf of the Friends of Frederick Douglass Memorial Cemetery. Steven L. Nelson accepted the other award on behalf of the Social Responsibility Group.” [Alexandria Archaeology/Historic Alexandria]
Open House Focuses on West End Transportation Projects — “Take a look at what’s next in the West End! Join the City of Alexandria for an open house covering 15+ transportation improvement projects coming to the area on October 29 at the Minnie Howard campus.” [Alexandria T&ES/X]
Rep. Beyer on FAA’s AI Testing at D.C. Region’s Airports — “The FAA’s rush to deploy a system that could affect the lives of millions of Americans is especially concerning for residents of this region, who are still grappling with questions about air safety following last year’s fatal crash at DCA. Before deploying its AI-enabled SMART air traffic control tool, the FAA must demonstrate, through air traffic controller feedback and independently verified testing, that this technology is safe and reliable, and it must clearly communicate those findings to the public.” [Rep. Don Beyer]
Metro Plans Single Tracking on Multiple Lines in December — “From 10 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 16, through Wednesday, Dec. 30, the Green Line will single-track between U St and Georgia Av-Petworth while crews complete work including repair or replacement of rail and fastening systems, restoration of communications, signal system and lighting infrastructure …From Sunday, Dec. 20, through Wednesday, Dec. 30, the Orange, Silver, and Blue lines will single-track between McPherson Sq and Smithsonian stations.” [Metro]
Fairfax County Prepares to Tax Recreational Cannabis in 2027 — “On a 10-0 vote, the supervisors directed staff to develop an ordinance that would impose a 3.5% cannabis tax on top of the state sales tax and a 6% state marijuana tax, all slated to take effect when Virginia starts permitting retail sales on July 1, 2027. State law requires localities to impose a tax, giving them leeway to set the rate between 1% and 3.5%.” [FFXnow]
Chesapeake Bay’s Health Score Improves — “The Chesapeake Bay earned a C+ on the annual report card that calculates improvements or losses in key indicators of health and conditions in the estuary and surrounding areas. This is the highest the Bay has ever scored since the record-keeping began in 2006.” [Virginia Mercury]
Thursday Is Wear Purple Day for Domestic Violence Awareness — “Supporting survivors is part of our commitment to a safer Alexandria. October 15, join APD and the Alexandria Department of Community and Human Services in wearing purple to raise awareness of domestic violence and show survivors they have our community’s support.” [Alexandria Police Department/Facebook]
It’s Thursday — Showers are likely after 1pm with mostly cloudy skies, a high near 64, and northeast winds at 5–9 mph. Rainfall may total around 0.10–0.25 inches. Tonight will stay cloudy with a low near 58 and a chance of showers, especially before 2am. [NWS]
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