(Updated 4/5/21) Elena Delle Donne from the Washington Mystics has had two big wins this year.
The team won the WNBA championship last night (Thursday), but earlier this summer Delle Donne won city approval to bump the fence of her Old Town home further into the public right of way.
The connection was noted by Mayor Justin Wilson on Twitter, with some tongue-in-cheek speculation that the two could be related.
In July City Council unanimously approved an encroachment for @De11eDonne and tonight she led the @WashMystics to their first WNBA Championship!
Coincidence?
Congrats to Alexandria resident Elena and the rest of the champions!
— Justin Wilson (@justindotnet) October 11, 2019
The home sits on Old Town. But the question of encroachment also spurred discussion of how the city approaches encroachments into the public right-of-way — meaning additions to a home that may extend into the nearby sidewalk.
(Delle Donne previously lived on Elmwood Drive, just outside Alexandria city limits.)
Councilwoman Redella “Del” Pepper said the reservation of these properties as part of the public right-of-way dated back to Dayton Cook, a transportation and environmental services director, who she said reserved small parcels across the city for eventual public use that never came about.
“[These were set aside] in the hopes that in the future we might want to do x, y or z,” said Pepper. “Well, you know, this is the future, so I have no problem with it.”
Staff noted that the idea behind preserving the right-of-way on this property was potential for future sidewalk widening and tree wells, but the City Council noted that no such additions were currently planned. Still, Wilson said the city should find a better way of approaching encroachment issues.
“We’ve had a number of these cases where, as you know, I’m struggling to come up with a uniform way of approaching these,” said Wilson.
City staff said they were looking to make revisions to encroachment issues, including taking fence and wall encroachment to an administrative level so they would not need to come before public hearings, except in certain circumstances.
As for Delle Donne, she and the WNBA champion Mystics will be celebrating their win in D.C. this afternoon.
BE THERE!!!!!!!!!
We ran it back & it’s time to celebrate.#TogetherDC pic.twitter.com/twkZOlcD53
— Washington Mystics (@WashMystics) October 11, 2019
❤️😩 @BenShotIt these are amazing. @De11eDonne @T_Cloud4 this is real love right here. pic.twitter.com/f2tgKhvvLI
— Arielle (Ari) Chambers (@ariivory) October 11, 2019
https://twitter.com/WashMystics/status/1182684791084183552
Photo via City of Alexandria. Hat tip to CarFreeHQ2.
Recent Stories
Francis Deonte Rose was found guilty today of two counts of aggravated murder in the 2022 shooting deaths of two construction workers in the West End. The Commonwealth Attorney’s Office…
It’s been a busy week in Alexandria. There were multiple mayoral and city council forums and debates this week as the city gets closer and closer to the June 18…
The Cinco de Mayo fiesta is starting early this Sunday in Carlyle. From 9 to 10 a.m., Tequila & Taco (540 John Carlyle Street) will be selling six-ounce margaritas for…
After missing an important mayoral debate this week due to a “freak accident” while canvassing that led to his hospitalization, Steven Peterson says that he’s done sitting on the sidelines….
Good news, D.C. area. You can save money on your next home cleaning with Well-Paid Maids. It’s easy!
We offer a discount when you set up recurring cleans — and the discounts just increased this week!
For weekly cleans, get $30 off each cleaning.
Potomac Harmony is Back! Following a gap year of competing, then virtual rehearsals during the pandemic, followed by the well-earned retirement of our long-term director, a year of a director search, Potomac Harmony hit the regional contest stage in Concord, North Carolina in March for the first time since 2018! It was exhilarating, reaffirming, and rewarding!
The chorus hit all of its goals, the biggest of which was to have fun and sing our best on contest stage — we did both! Because we earned a score over 400 points, our new Director, Allison Lynskey, was awarded the Novice Director award, photo above. Additionally, one of our charter members, Jackie Bottash, was nominated for and honored with the Leadership Excellence award. It was a celebratory weekend!
What’s next? So much! We now look forward to upcoming performances, growing our membership, and expanding our musical product with new arrangements and an education component each week. It’s an exciting time to be part of this ever-growing ensemble!
Alexandria NAACP, Shiloh Baptist Church, DPC to hold City Council…
The Alexandria Branch of the NAACP, Shiloh Baptist Church, and The Departmental Progressive Club to hold the City Council Candidate Forum for ALL Candidates in the City of Alexandria Virginia. The event is Free of Charge and Open to The
