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BREAKING: AFD Battles House Fire in North Ridge

Published November 27, 2019 at 2:00PM | Updated November 27, 2019 at 3:18PM

The scene of a house fire in the North Ridge neighborhood. Editor's note: some readers may find other photos in this gallery mildly disturbing. (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 3:10 p.m.) Firefighters from Alexandria and Arlington battled a house fire in the North Ridge neighborhood this afternoon.

Dark smoke was seen coming from a home on the 2900 block of Mayer Place around 1:45 p.m. Arriving firefighters reported finding an active fire on the first floor of the split level home, prompting additional units to be dispatched to the scene.

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Morning Notes

By ALXnow.com

Published November 27, 2019 at 8:00AM

A man feeds birds at Waterfront Park in Old Town (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Alexandria Keeps High Bond Rating — “S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service have reaffirmed the City of Alexandria’s top bond ratings of ‘AAA’ and ‘Aaa,’ respectively, in advance of the City’s planned sale of $205 million in general obligation tax-exempt bonds to fund the Potomac Yard Metrorail Station and school facility capital projects.” [City of Alexandria]

More Phone Problems for City — A week after an issue with a fiber optic line knocked out incoming calls for most Alexandria non-emergency phone lines last week, the same issue with incoming calls cropped up yesterday. It was reported to be resolved later Tuesday afternoon. [Twitter/@AlexandriaVAGov]

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Morning Notes

By ALXnow.com

Published November 26, 2019 at 6:30AM

Alexandria Home Sale Prices Rise Above Arlington — “The Amazon HQ2 effect on home prices in Northern Virginia continues and, at least by one measure, the Alexandria housing market is now more expensive than Arlington County. At least it was in October, the most recent month for which data is available.” [WTOP]

Trampoline Park Hoping to Open By End of Year — “Management for Get Air Trampoline Park, an indoor recreation and amusement park, confirmed that the Alexandria location is scheduled to open in the second half of December. The space Get Air is occupying at 340 S. Pickett St. was formerly a U.S. Post Office in the West End Village shopping center.” [Alexandria Living]

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Morning Notes

By ALXnow.com

Published November 25, 2019 at 6:30AM

T.C. Wins First Playoff Game Since 1990 — “T.C. Williams’ varsity football team won its first playoff game in almost 30 years [on Friday, Nov. 15], defeating West Springfield 21-20 and advancing to the district semifinals. While the Titans have gone to the playoffs as recently as 2017, this was the team’s first playoff win since 1990, according to athletic director James Parker.” [Alexandria Times]

T.C. Falls to South County — This past Friday, T.C. Williams’ playoff run ended with a 34-0 loss to South County High School. Mayor Justin Williams congratulated the team: “Congrats @TCTitanFootball on an amazing season… Well done.” [Twitter/@justindotnet]

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Alexandria to Receive $2.6 Million in Grants for Fire Department

By ALXnow.com

Published November 22, 2019 at 11:55AM

Alexandria is getting just over $2.6 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for upgrades to the city’s fire department.

Of the FEMA grants, one will provide $1.5 million over three years to add nine full-time firefighter/medics to the staff, allowing for the recommended four-person staffing on fire trucks and engines. Nine new fire cadets have already been hired, the city says.

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Morning Notes

By ALXnow.com

Published November 22, 2019 at 8:00AM

Fox 5: No Additional Delays on Seminary — Alexandria’s Seminary Road controversy has taken another turn in the local TV news spotlight. This time, Fox 5 looked at the lane reduction issue and concluded that the brief periods of gridlock on the road during peak times are not, in fact, worse than it was when the Seminary was two lanes in both directions. [Fox 5, Twitter]

Population, Housing Continue to Grow — “Alexandria’s housing inventory is barely keeping up with its population growth. That’s a key takeaway from Alexandria’s recently released fiscal 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report… The city added an estimated 2,300 residents in the last year, climbing to 156,800, and roughly 2,900 total residential units, ending fiscal 2019 with 82,310.” [Washington Business Journal]

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JUST IN: Gas Leak Prompts Evacuation of GW Middle School

By ALXnow.com

Published November 21, 2019 at 9:50AM | Updated November 21, 2019 at 10:30AM

(Updated at 10 a.m.) A suspected gas leak has prompted the evacuation of George Washington Middle School.

The school at 1005 Mount Vernon Avenue, near the Braddock Road Metro station, was evacuated shortly after 9:30 a.m. amid cool (45 degree) but sunny weather, due to an odor of natural gas inside the building. The fire alarm was said to be sounding as students walked out of the building.

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Morning Notes

By ALXnow.com

Published November 21, 2019 at 8:00AM

Meeting About Detention Center Held Last Night — “Should a youth detention center in Northern Virginia stay open? That question spurred passionate debate at a series of public meetings this month, as the operators of the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center make decisions about the future of the facility… ‘I would like to see the facility stay open because it helps youth,’ said Bill Cleveland, former vice mayor of Alexandria.” [WTOP, Twitter/@AmyJacksonVA]

City Council Approves Waterfront Restaurant — “The Mill, a southern kitchen and market, gained approval to open in a historic Alexandria warehouse at 10 Duke Street on the waterfront. City Council voted on Nov. 16 to approve the special use permit and encroachment into the public right-of-way on Duke Street for a balcony, steps and signage.” [Patch]

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Video: NBC 4 Looks At Seminary Road Traffic Controversy

By ALXnow.com

Published November 20, 2019 at 3:20PM

Some residents are downright angry at what they describe as major traffic backups caused by recent changes to Seminary Road.

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Morning Notes

By ALXnow.com

Published November 20, 2019 at 8:00AM

Shopping in Old Town (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

City Phone Service Restored — The City of Alexandria’s non-emergency phone lines are working again after service was restored Tuesday night. A cut to a fiber optic line caused the outage, a city spokeswoman said. [Twitter/@AlexandriaVAGov]

House With George Washington Connection on Airbnb — “George Washington may have slept here, and now so could you… in the heart of Old Town Alexandria in Virginia, where a house that once belonged to the first U.S. president is available to rent. The George of Old Town is a 6000-square-foot townhouse on Cameron Street, and it is available on Airbnb.” [WTOP]

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Minor Flooding in Old Town as Coastal Flood Advisory Continues

By ALXnow.com

Published November 19, 2019 at 2:30PM

The sun is shining and last night’s light rain is a distant memory, but the lower portion of King Street in Old Town is flooded nonetheless.

The Potomac River has inundated portions of King Street, Prince Street and The Strand, as it has done in the past — as recently as last month. The water is thus far only causing minor impacts, including prompting the King Street Trolley to temporarily turn around at City Hall.