Good Saturday morning, Alexandria!
🌧️ Today’s weather: Scattered showers, mainly after 5 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 54 degrees. North wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. The chance of precipitation is 40%. Tonight, there will be scattered showers, mainly before 8 p.m. It will be mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. Northwest wind 6 to 8 mph. The chance of precipitation is 30%. It will be mostly sunny on Sunday, with a high near 63 degrees—northwest wind 8 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
🚨 You need to know
Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins marked her first 100 days in office with a detailed email to residents this morning (April 12), outlining accomplishments and future priorities amid challenging circumstances.
In her message, Mayor Gaskins reflects on a period that included not only anticipated events like the presidential inauguration and General Assembly session, but also unexpected challenges including two snowstorms, a plane crash at DCA, and a pipe burst that shut down city hall.
The full message;
| Dear Friend,
It’s been 100 days since I was sworn in as Mayor and chaired my first City Council meeting – and what a hundred days it has been! We knew that this period would include the presidential inauguration, the start of a new Congress, and the beginning of the General Assembly’s 2025 session. But we had no idea that we would also face two snow storms, a horrific plane crash at DCA, a pipe burst that would shutdown city hall, and a torrent of executive orders, many of which are directly affecting Alexandria residents.
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We are now living in a time of constant change that is sparking deep uncertainty, anxiety and even fear for many of us. But we still have the strengths and opportunities that drew me to this city and to our city government.
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We remain committed to caring for each other and to making our city a welcoming, safe, sustainable home for all of us. While I have spent much of my first 100 days responding to crises and helping our new City Council run smoothly, my goal in everything I am doing as Mayor is to protect our community, prepare us to navigate our current circumstances, and position us to continue to make meaningful progress on the priorities of our residents.
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THE FIRST 100 DAYS: ACCOMPLISHMENTS
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Engaging residents in identifying city priorities and co-creating solutions to our challenges was central to my mayoral campaign, and it continues to be the heart of my approach as Mayor. In the first 100 days, we:
- Launched the Mayoral Youth Forum with a group of 30 enthusiastic young people
- Hosted 25 people at the first meeting of the Mayoral Interfaith Council
- Held 2 resident roundtables and a resident town hall that drew over 100 people
- Met with individuals and groups in 175 constituent meetings
- Issued 42 proclamations
- Sent over 7,000 letters to local businesses thanking them for choosing Alexandria and sharing resources on how we can support them through these uncertain times
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Ensuring that City Hall and City Council are accessible, efficient, and effective is critical to taking action on resident priorities. In the first 100 days, we:
- Held a City Council retreat to set shared priorities, where the School Board joined us to strategize on how we will work together to support Alexandria
- Streamlined Council meeting agendas
- Worked with staff to create a new template for presentations that includes a summary of the issue at stake as well as its impact on and importance to residents
- Incorporated more work sessions to brief Council and community members on upcoming issues before we vote on them, including leaf blowers, city hall renovations, the waterfront pump station, crime trends, and the state of the economy
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Advocating to legislators at the state and federal level for policies that address Alexandria’s top priorities, including flooding, housing, and federal workers. In the first 100 days, we:
- Traveled to Richmond to brief over 15 legislators on Alexandria’s legislative packet and to testify on legislation to prevent rent gouging
- Coordinated with local mayors and chairs on a letter to the General Assembly House Emergency Committee on Impacts of Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions advocating for NoVA to have a seat at the table
- Sent a letter to budget conferees pushing back on attempts to take away local authority to regulate skill games
- Partnered with Congressman Don Beyer to host a resource fair for federal workers attend by over 900 people. In response, the city created a dedicated resource page for federal workers
- Joined Mayors for Guaranteed Basic Income to advocate for policies to address wealth and income inequality
- Joined the Mayors Alliance to End Hunger to oppose federal cuts to SNAP
- Traveled to our sister city in Caen France deepen our bond and international friendship
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Moving the city budget forward, with an emphasis on finding new ways to engage residents in the process. In the first 100 days, we:
- Created a new budget communications strategy that included a Budget 101 video, Budget Bonanza, and budget information pop ups across the community
- Set the maximum property tax rate at $1.135, in a Council vote of 4-3. This sets the ceiling for our budget deliberations and reflects no change in the current tax rate.
- Worked with staff, Council members, and residents to prepare for the April 30 meeting at which Council will vote on the budget.
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| As I look ahead, I will be focusing on helping Alexandria to adapt and pivot as we work to support and protect our whole community and especially our federal workers and immigrants. |
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Key to these efforts will be some of my top priorities, which you’ve been hearing about since I was a Council member and a mayoral candidate. These include:
- creating a citywide workforce development strategy, now with an emphasis on displaced federal workers
- supporting housing preservation efforts that will make it possible for current residents to remain in their homes
- expanding opportunities for residents to inform policy decisions and priorities as we navigate economic uncertainties
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I will continue reaching out and asking you if we are on the right track, if we need to pivot and what ideas you have to help us move forward. I want to hear from you and I hope that you will also keep reaching out to me.
Despite the uncertainty that surrounds us, Alexandria’s resilience, resolve, and resources make me enormously hopeful for our future. I look forward to continuing to create that future with you.
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Alyia Gaskins
Mayor, City of Alexandria
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📈 Friday’s most read
The following were the most-read ALXnow articles for April 11, 2025.
- BREAKING: No injuries after shots fired in armed robbery at Old Town deli
- JUST IN: Police say suspect in Old Town deli robbery is armed and dangerous
- ACPS redistricting process advances with release of two new proposed boundary maps
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