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Notes: Law firm in minority-owned business grant lawsuit has ties to Trump

Good Tuesday morning, Alexandria!

☔ Today’s weather: Light rain in the morning and afternoon. High of 51 and low of 33.
⛅ Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 42 and low of 32. Sunrise at 7:16 am and sunset at 5:29 pm.

🚨 You need to know

The law firm representing the client that challenging Alexandria’s minority-owned business grant also has ties to former President Donald Trump’s tax returns case and a co-founder helped strike down parts of the Voting Rights Act, Patch reported.

The law firm Consovoy McCarthy PLLC is representing Alexandria-based engineering firm Tridentis, which claimed racial discrimination based on the fact that the white ownership is excluded from a city grant program benefitting Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) owned businesses.

One of the founders, William Consovoy, represented Trump in the tax returns case and was involved in challenging parts of the Voting Rights Act in 2013. Consovoy died earlier this month.

The lawsuit says the Equal Protection Clause prohibiting discrimination based on race protects the business owner, who sought to apply for the program but was excluded on the basis of being white.

Kevin Harris, founder of the Alexandria Minority Business Association, called the law firm a sign that the case was political theater.

“Tellingly, Tridentis has hired Consovoy McCarthy PLLC as their legal counsel for this suit.” said Harris. “I think that shows pretty clearly what their end-goal is.”

Multiple attempts to reach Tridentis went unanswered.

The grant program, which has been set to release applications on Thursday, Jan. 26, has been postponed.

📈 Monday’s most read

The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for Jan 30, 2023.

  1. Fire alarms didn’t go off during Saturday’s high-rise apartment fire in the West End (1282 views)
  2. Man arrested with stolen car after keys taken from unlocked West End apartment (475 views)
  3. Notes: Teen shot and killed in West End hotel (318 views)
  4. Outdoor dining permits on King Street could be extended after scheduling problem (303 views)

🗞 Other local coverage

🐦 Tweets of note

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on today in Alexandria, from our event calendar.

  • No events today. Have one to promote? Submit it to the calendar.
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Notes: Teen shot and killed in West End hotel

Good Monday morning, Alexandria!

⛅ Today’s weather: Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 55 and low of 39.
☔ Tomorrow: Possible light rain in the morning and afternoon. High of 51 and low of 33. Sunrise at 7:17 am and sunset at 5:28 pm.

🚨 You need to know

The big news over the weekend was the fatal shooting of a teen in a West End hotel room on Friday night.

A 17-year-old Arlington resident was charged with possession of a firearm by a minor after fatally shooting another 17-year-old in the Courtyard By Marriott Pentagon South (4641 Kenmore Avenue).

There were reportedly multiple juveniles in the room when the 17-year-old male victim was shot in the chest. The victim was transported to the hospital where they died.

The teen who allegedly shot the other teen was found two blocks away at 4800 Kenmore Avenue, according to dispatch recordings.

This is the first shooting death of 2023 in Alexandria. APD did not respond to requests for comment on this incident.

This incident remains under investigation and APD asks anyone with related information related to contact APD Detective Matthew Kramarik via at 703-746-6650 or by email at [email protected]. Callers can remain anonymous.

🗞 Other local coverage

🐦 Tweets of note

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on today in Alexandria, from our event calendar.

  • No events today. Have one to promote? Submit it to the calendar.
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Teen shot to death in West End hotel Friday night

A teen was shot to death at a hotel room in the West End on Jan. 27, 2023 (via Google Maps)

(Updated at 10:30 p.m.) A 17-year-old Arlington resident has been charged with possession of firearm by a minor, after another 17-year-old was fatally shot in a West End hotel room.

The shooting occurred at around 11:30 p.m. on Friday night in a room in the Courtyard By Marriott Pentagon South (4641 Kenmore Avenue), according to dispatch. Multiple juveniles were in the room when the 17-year-old male victim was shot in the chest.

The juvenile suspect was charged with being a minor in possession of a firearm. He was found two blocks away in the 4800 block of Kenmore Avenue, according to dispatch recordings.

This is the first shooting death of 2023 in Alexandria. APD did not respond to requests for comment on this incident.

This incident remains under investigation and APD asks anyone with related information related to contact APD Detective Matthew Kramarik via at 703-746-6650 or by email at [email protected]. Callers can remain anonymous.

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Notes: ACPS vendor accidentally leaks confidential student information

Good Friday morning, Alexandria!

🌤 Today’s weather: Clear throughout the day. High of 42 and low of 33.
⛅ Tomorrow: Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 52 and low of 33. Sunrise at 7:19 am and sunset at 5:25 pm.

🚨 You need to know

Earlier this week, Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) sent out an alert to parents saying that confidential student contact information was made temporarily accessible by a vendor, ACPS said in a message to parents.

The vendor handled BlackBoard Connect services and, while the contract ended last June, months later the vendor made family email addresses, phone numbers, student grade levels, gender and local identifiers public.

“This disclosure came as a surprise to us since our relationship with the vendor ended for BlackBoard Connect services on June 30, 2022, and we had been assured by that vendor that all data and access to our information would be disconnected,” ACPS said in the message. “At our request, this information was removed from public access immediately and the vendor, FinalSite (now the owner of BlackBoard), conducted an investigation to determine how this happened, the information involved and whether the data had been accessed.”

ACPS said a report from the vendor said the information was made public by mistake by an engineer.

According to the release:

We are dismayed and disappointed to learn that this ACPS student information was temporarily made publicly available by our vendor, as we recognize the importance of keeping student information private, per Board Policy JRCA.

We apologize for this incident and will continue working closely with all ACPS vendors whose systems contain student data. We take our role protecting student information seriously and are committed to ensuring that our vendors take all necessary steps to enhance their protection of student data as well.

📈 Thursday’s most read

The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for Jan 26, 2023.

  1. No arrest after woman robbed at gunpoint in Old Town Saturday night (2077 views)
  2. JUST IN: Visit Alexandria unveils new city branding (1369 views)
  3. Village Brauhaus in Old Town aims to open rooftop expansion before summer (579 views)
  4. Smallest and largest homes sold in Alexandria (Dec-Jan 2023) (577 views)

🗞 Other local coverage

🐦 Tweets of note

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on today and this weekend in Alexandria, from our event calendar.

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Smallest and largest homes sold in Alexandria (Dec-Jan 2023)

This past week saw 21 homes sold in Alexandria.

The least expensive condo, single-family home or townhouse sale over the past seven days was $191,000 while the most expensive was $905,000.

Over the past month, meanwhile, a total of 100 homes were sold. Let’s take a look at some of the smallest and largest homes sold over the past month.

Largest homes sold

  1. 1602 Chapel Hill Drive — $1,078,800 (6 Beds | 4.5 Baths | 4,200 SQ FT)
  2. 3608 Orlando Place — $1,750,000 (6 Beds | 5.5 Baths | 3,814 SQ FT)
  3. 814 Chalfonte Drive — $1,600,000 (5 Beds | 5 Baths | 3,705 SQ FT)

Smallest homes sold

  1. 801 N Pitt Street #223 — $210,000 (Studio | 1 Bath | 386 SQ FT)
  2. 515 N Washington Street #204 — $429,000 (Studio | 1 Bath | 437 SQ FT)
  3. 2500 N Van Dorn Street #411 — $122,000 (Studio | 1 Bath | 471 SQ FT)
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JUST IN: Visit Alexandria unveils new city branding

New Alexandria logo design (via Visit Alexandria)

Tourism bureau Visit Alexandria has debuted a new logo as part of an advertising campaign for the city.

The logo features the city’s name in lower case, with the “a” in the middle filled in like a sunrise and sun-lit ripples emanating below it. It was unveiled this morning (Thursday) at a Visit Alexandria meeting.

“Our new logo is sophisticated yet inviting and embraces our identity as a waterfront city that is continually evolving,” said Patricia Washington, President and CEO of Visit Alexandria, in a release. “Even as our brand changes, we’re continuing to highlight our city’s historic character both visually and in our storytelling with a bold new destination advertising campaign that will surprise people and offer potential visitors a glimpse at all there is to know and love about Alexandria.”

Washingtonian senior editor Andrew Beaujon first reported the change on Twitter this morning.

The new logo is part of a paradoxical “Best Kept Shh” marketing campaign aimed at creating a sort of mystique for Alexandria.

“The ‘Best Kept Shh!’ campaign is a nontraditional marketing campaign that seeks to grab attention and spark curiosity as it plays on the idea that Alexandria is so special, it might be too good to share,” a Visit Alexandria release said. “Video executions ‘bleep’ or censor the word ‘Alexandria’ in a humorous way to make viewers stop and wonder what is being said until it is revealed at the end of the ad.”

The previous logo had a more historical styling, with the word “Alexandria” written in a lavish cursive.

The logo for Visit Alexandria (via Visit Alexandria)

Last year, Alexandria City Public Schools mulled changing its logo but after months of work, two logo redesigns were sent back to the drawing board.

Updated 12:15 p.m. — A previous version of the article described the sunny logo as looking like a ‘sunset’. The waterfront does, in fact, face east.

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No arrest after woman robbed at gunpoint in Old Town Saturday night

A woman was robbed of cash in the 1500 block of Princess Street on Saturday Jan. 21, 2023 (via Google Maps)

No one was injured and no arrests have yet been made after a woman was robbed at gunpoint in Old Town on Saturday night, according to the Alexandria Police Department.

The incident occurred just before 8 p.m. outside in the 1500 block of Princess Street.

The 28-year-old female victim was not injured, but was robbed of cash by a man with a gun wearing a black ski mask and trench coat, according to dispatch.

The suspect fled on foot, APD told ALXnow.

Anyone with information on this incident can call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.

Map via Google Maps

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Notes: City leaders meet with Parker-Gray residents after shootings and armed robbery

Good Thursday morning, Alexandria!

☔ Today’s weather: Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 49 and low of 31.
🌤 Tomorrow: Clear throughout the day. High of 43 and low of 31. Sunrise at 7:20 am and sunset at 5:24 pm.

🚨 You need to know

(Updated at 11 a.m.) City leaders met with Parker-Gray residents to discuss a series of recent shots fired incidents, WTOP reported.

The meeting comes in the wake of two shootings and an armed robbery around Princess and West streets.

Police Chief Don Hayes told neighbors the city has stepped up police presence since the first week of the year and a video camera is being set up in the area.

Elsewhere in the city, a shots fired call at the 5400 block of Richenbacher Avenue sent schools into “secure the building” mode on Tuesday. That means normal school operations continue inside the building but no one can enter or leave.

“Today, four Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) were placed in ‘secure the building’ status for a brief period in response to nearby police activity (unrelated to school operations),” ACPS said in a release to parents. “These schools are James K. Polk Elementary School, Patrick Henry PreK-8 School, Douglas MacArthur Elementary School and Francis C. Hammond Middle School.”

📈 Wednesday’s most read

The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for Jan 25, 2023.

  1. Woodbridge man arrested after stabbing incident in West End (796 views)
  2. Crumbl Cookies plans to open in Bradlee Shopping Center this summer (678 views)
  3. Notes: Neighboring Arlington embroiled in single-family zoning fight Alexandria has avoided… so far (526 views)
  4. City Council commits to support collective bargaining with fire department union (79 views)

🗞 Other local coverage

🐦 Tweets of note

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on today in Alexandria, from our event calendar.

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Notes: Neighboring Arlington embroiled in single-family zoning fight Alexandria has avoided… so far

Good Wednesday morning, Alexandria!

☔ Today’s weather: Rain throughout the day. High of 54 and low of 38.
⛅ Tomorrow: Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 50 and low of 36. Sunrise at 7:21 am and sunset at 5:22 pm.

🚨 You need to know

The big topic of conversation today has been just north of Alexandria, where neighboring Arlington is divided by arguments over a “Missing Middle” housing plan.

Arlington County has proposed zoning changes that would allow the construction of multifamily buildings with up to six or eight dwellings on lots currently zoned for single-family housing — along with duplexes and three-unit townhouses.

A meeting on Monday on the topic packed the County Board headquarters with nearly 200 people delivering hours of public testimony — so much so the County had to shorten speaking times. Those conversations continued yesterday and are scheduled to continue today.

The change is intended to help boost the housing supply in Arlington County, but it has been decried by some locals who say it will overcrowd Arlington’s suburban neighborhoods that were built with single-family housing in mind. Some of the County Board conversations around the topic have gotten heated over the last few days.

Alexandria is no stranger to contentious zoning discussions, but so far city policy discussions have carefully navigated around the issue of single-family housing. While Alexandria has been going through its own project aimed at rewriting zoning laws and boosting affordable housing, nothing like Arlington’s “Missing Middle” housing reform has been proposed in the city.

Some advocates have spoken at city meetings in favor of eliminating single-family zoning as a classification, but Alexandria leadership has shied away from the issue in favor of more modest increases to density in single-family neighborhoods like loosening restrictions on accessory dwelling units and codifying residential dwelling in commercial spaces.

“I think everyone gets caught up in different terminology,” said Mayor Justin Wilson said at a meeting last year. “When people say they want to eliminate single-family zoning, they assume we’re coming to take your single-family homes. I live in a single-family home, I’m not planning on giving it up: I like my home. But what we are doing and will continue to do is look for tweaks for all zoning in the city to meet some of that housing demand.”

📈 Tuesday’s most read

The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for Jan 24, 2023.

  1. JUST IN: Suspect on run in shooting ‘incorrectly’ released from jail after arrest (2626 views)
  2. UPDATED: Alexandria BIPOC-focused grant program delayed by lawsuit from local engineering firm (1482 views)
  3. Alexandria City High School students organize walk out protesting cancelation of lunchtime activities (1611 views)
  4. APD investigates shots fired in the West End (1162 views)

🗞 Other local coverage

🐦 Tweets of note

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on today in Alexandria, from our event calendar.

  • No events today. Have one to promote? Submit it to the calendar.
48 Comments

APD investigates shots fired in the West End

5400 Richenbacher Avenue (image via Google Maps)

The Alexandria Police Department is investigating a shots fired incident in the 5400 block of Richenbacher Avenue between the West End and Seminary Hill.

The incident occurred a few blocks west of James K. Polk Elementary School.

There are no reported injuries and APD has a heavy presence on the scene.

Image via Google Maps

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