On This Day in Alexandria History — “On October 28, 1947, the submarine U.S.S. Sea Robin docked in Alexandria and received thousands of local visitors. The sub, a Balao-class submarine, was named for the reddish brown, spiny-finned fish that uses its pectoral fins to actually walk along the sea floor. Sea Robin was constructed in 1944 at Kittery, Maine, and served in the South Pacific during World War II. Peacetime service brought Sea Robin to SubRon 6, the submarine port based at Balboa in the Panama Canal Zone. Just five months before arriving in Alexandria, the submarine set out on a simulated war patrol around the South American continent, becoming the first U.S. sub to round Cape Horn.” [Historic Alexandria]
Blue Line Single Tracking Continues Through Friday — “From 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m., trains will single track on the Blue Line between Van Dorn St and Franconia-Springfield for thermite welding, using intense heat to join tracks, replace rail, and remove rail defects. To learn more, visit: wmata.com/weekday.” [Metro/Bluesky]
Visit Alexandria Announces New Hire — “Visit Alexandria, the official destination marketing and management organization for Alexandria, Virginia, announced that Barry Draper has joined the organization’s leadership team as Vice President of Membership and Visitor Experience. In this role, he will lead membership acquisition and engagement efforts as well as visitor experience programs, all meant to better connect local small businesses to Alexandria’s lucrative tourism economy, that now exceeds $1B annually.” [Visit Alexandria]
Jason Kelce Records PBS Special in Alexandria — “Kelce performed with the Jazz Ambassadors of the U.S. Army Field Band during a video production at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at Northern Virginia Community College on May 13, according to the Army, which released photographs of the session Monday.” [Alexandria Brief]
Former Salon Sold in Del Ray — “A well-known Del Ray property has changed hands. The building at 2100 Mount Vernon Avenue, affectionately known as ‘The Duchess of Del Ray’ and formerly home to the Anne Welsh Salon, was sold Friday, October 23. [The Zebra]
Financing Package to Support National Harbor Sphere — “The council’s unanimous approval of several bills related to the financing and economic impact of the 302-foot suburban Maryland venue positions Sphere Entertainment Co. to begin site work on the $1.4 billion project by the end of this year, as long as the the Prince George’s County Planning Board approves its detailed site plan next week. The company wants to break ground in late 2027 and finish the project by 2030.” [Washington Business Journal]
Self-Driving Car Company Mapping in N. Va. — “Waymo is now mapping Arlington’s residential streets, the robotaxi company confirmed. ARLnow spotted one of the self-driving car company’s mapping vehicles in a residential part of Arlington this past Friday (Oct. 23), and a reader separately reported seeing another on a local street.” [ARLnow]
Metrorail’s Winter Construction Schedule Updated — “An updated schedule for winter construction on Metro lines in the District has been released. WMATA said the updated schedule is to better accommodate winter breaks for schools in DC to reduce impacts on students.” [DC News Now]
Toys4ALX Volunteers Needed — “We are looking for volunteers to deliver empty boxes to locations throughout the city the week of November 9th. These locations will serve as collection sites for our TOYS4alx toy drive. You will come to the Volunteer Alexandria office, pick up an agreed-upon number of boxes, and deliver them to assigned locations by Friday, November 13th.” [Volunteer Alexandria]
It’s Wednesday — Increasing clouds with a high near 68. Calm winds will become easterly around 5 mph in the afternoon. Wednesday night will be mostly cloudy at first, gradually becoming mostly clear, with a low around 52 and a light southeast wind. [NWS]
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