Author: ALXnow.com

This is the staff byline for ALXnow, used by editors and other full-time staff. Launched in October 2019, ALXnow is the place for the latest news, views and things to do around Alexandria, Virginia.

ALXnow Daily Debrief for Dec 29, 2025

By ALXnow.com

Good Monday evening, Alexandria. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Dec 29, 2025.

Here are today’s most-read articles:

  1. Alexandria seeks to streamline office-to-residential conversions (1160 views)
  2. After 50 years, Chris Collins wants dance studio to stay in Alexandria (707 views)
  3. Ulta Beauty ‘opening soon’ in Potomac Yard Center (348 views)
  4. Woodbine health care center receives three-year extension for stalled expansion project (331 views)
  5. Morning Notes for December 29, 2025 (286 views)

📅 Upcoming events

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

☀️ Tuesday’s forecast

Expect a sunny day with a high of 35 degrees accompanied by breezy west winds ranging from 17 to 23 mph, gusting up to 37 mph. For Tuesday night, the clouds will increase while the temperature drops to a low of 26 degrees. The west wind will settle down to 7 to 10 mph, gusting up to 22 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”
– Vidal Sassoon

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading!

News

Morning Notes for December 29, 2025

By ALXnow.com
As seen around Old Town Alexandria and Waterfront Park (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

First Night Alexandria Returning for NYE — “First Night Alexandria will bring hours of live music and performances, family-friendly fun and fireworks to Old Town and Carlyle for New Year’s Eve next week. In its 31st year, the annual holiday festival includes a packed schedule of activities and arts, culminating in a countdown to midnight at the Old Town waterfront.” [ALXnow]

Chamber Releases 2026 Agenda — “The Alexandria Chamber of Commerce has officially released its 2026 Legislative Agenda—their most important advocacy document of the year. Crafted by Chamber members, the agenda reflects the collective voice and priorities of Alexandria’s business community and outlines how the Chamber will advocate on their members’ behalf in the year ahead and beyond.” [Alexandria Living Magazine]

Go to Morning Notes for December 29, 2025 Read more

ALXnow Daily Debrief for Dec 26, 2025

By ALXnow.com

Good Friday evening, Alexandria. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Dec 26, 2025.

Here are today’s most-read articles:

  1. Morning Notes for December 26, 2025 (815 views)
  2. Firefighters make rescue from flipped vehicle in North Ridge (690 views)
  3. Plaintiffs in Zoning for Housing lawsuit file notice of appeal (451 views)
  4. Most and Least Expensive: December 23, 2025 (241 views)

Since it’s Friday, we’ve also compiled a list of the most-read articles of the week, below.

  1. Man arrested after robbery and barricade in Del Ray (4590 views)
  2. Police investigating assault and robbery at bus stop in Alexandria West (3874 views)
  3. Waterskiing Santa returns to Old Town waterfront for 40th annual Christmas Eve show (2818 views)
  4. Annual New Year’s Eve music, fireworks and performances returning to Old Town (2120 views)
  5. Man stabbed early Saturday morning in Landmark (2083 views)
  6. UpCycle Creative Reuse Center reopens in new location after six-month closure (1364 views)
  7. Former mayor getting settled into new leadership role with regional parks (1344 views)

📅 Upcoming events

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

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

🌤️ Saturday’s forecast

Expect a partly sunny day with highs near 43 and a north wind between 8-10 mph. Saturday night will be mostly cloudy with lows around 32. The northeast wind around 5 mph will become calm in the evening. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.”
– Plutarch

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

We hope you have a great weekend, Alexandria!

News

Morning Notes for December 26, 2025

By ALXnow.com
At the Scottish Christmas Walk Parade in Old Town, Dec. 6, 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Firefighters Make Rescue, Battle Holiday Blazes — “A busy holiday for our members. This evening, Engine 206 and Tower 203 arrived first due at a garden apartment fire in Maris Avenue. Yesterday crews worked to extricate one person from an overturned vehicle on West Braddock Road. Crews also assisted Fairfax County on a 2 alarm fire on Little River Turnpike.”[Alexandria Firefighters, Inc. IAFF Local 2141]

Transportation Funding Hangs in Balance — “Virginia’s transportation system is massive, with about 129,000 lane miles of roads and roughly 5,900 miles of rail criss-crossing the commonwealth, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation and a 2022 Virginia Statewide Rail Plan. There’s always some kind of improvement or expansion underway, leaving drivers and commuters wondering when relief will arrive. But before unpacking what projects Virginians can expect in 2026, federal funding looms as a major factor shaping what moves forward — and what does not.” [Virginia Mercury]

Go to Morning Notes for December 26, 2025 Read more

ALXnow Daily Debrief for Dec 23, 2025

By ALXnow.com

Good Tuesday evening, Alexandria. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Dec 23, 2025.

Here are today’s most-read articles:

  1. Man arrested after robbery and barricade in Del Ray (1948 views)
  2. Former mayor getting settled into new leadership role with regional parks (420 views)
  3. UpCycle Creative Reuse Center reopens in new location after six-month closure (335 views)

📅 Upcoming events

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

☀️ Wednesday’s forecast

Expect sunny skies and a high of 51 today, with northwest winds at 6-14 mph and gusts up to 25 mph. Tonight, there’s a 30% chance of rain and snow from 1am to 4am, followed by a chance of rain after 4am, with temperatures around 35 and light southerly winds. On Christmas Day, the chance of rain continues until 1pm, and the high will be near 53, with winds shifting from south to northwest during the afternoon. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
– Nelson Mandela

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading!

Opinion

Morning poll: Are you traveling this holiday season?

By ALXnow.com
Duke Street near Landmark and Cameron Run (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Alexandria and the rest of the D.C. area are expected to see a record-breaking amount of travel through New Year’s Day this holiday season.

Holiday travel is ramping up nationwide, with an estimated 3.4 million Virginians predicted to drive at least 50 miles from home between Dec. 20 and Jan. 1. They join a record-breaking 122.4 million estimated travelers across the country, according to the American Automobile Association.

Go to Morning poll: Are you traveling this holiday season? Read more
News

Morning Notes for December 23, 2025

By ALXnow.com
A view of the boat line up. Leading the pack is "Splish Splash, Taking a Bath" which was the winner of the 2025 category "Thinking Outside the Christmas Box" (via Visit Alexandria)

On This Day in Alexandria History — “On Dec. 23, 1783, George Washington resigned his military commission at Annapolis, Maryland. He returned to Alexandria on December 31, where his arrival was announced by the firing of thirteen cannons. Afterward the cannon discharge, General Washington was feted by the Town’s leading citizens at a reception held at DuVall’s Tavern, 305 Cameron Street.” [Historic Alexandria]

Holiday Parking Reminder — Parking restrictions at metered parking spaces and residential permit parking districts will be suspended on Dec. 24-25 and Jan. 1. “This suspension applies only to legal parking spaces and does not permit parking in locations where it is normally prohibited. All other parking regulations remain in effect, including temporary no-parking zones, fire lanes [and] crosswalks, loading zones, and other restricted areas. [Alexandria Police Department]

Go to Morning Notes for December 23, 2025 Read more

ALXnow Daily Debrief for Dec 22, 2025

By ALXnow.com

Good Monday evening, Alexandria. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Dec 22, 2025.

Here are today’s most-read articles:

  1. Police investigating assault and robbery at bus stop in Alexandria West (1408 views)
  2. Man stabbed early Saturday morning in Landmark (1082 views)
  3. Waterskiing Santa returns to Old Town waterfront for 40th annual Christmas Eve show (403 views)
  4. Morning Notes for December 22, 2025 (333 views)
  5. Alexandria’s total unemployment up 33% from 2024 as delayed jobs data is released (300 views)

📅 Upcoming events

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

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

🌦️ Tuesday’s forecast

Expect rain primarily before 9am, followed by cloudy skies that will gradually clear up to become mostly sunny. The high will be around 53 degrees, with southwest winds ranging from 7 to 10 mph and gusts reaching up to 20 mph. The chance of precipitation stands at 30%. As for Tuesday night, it will be mostly clear with a low temperature of approximately 39 degrees and a west wind blowing at 6 to 9 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”
– Mark Twain

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading!

News

Morning Notes for December 22, 2025

By ALXnow.com
At the Alexandria Christmas tree lighting at Market Square, Nov. 22, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Visa Barriers Cut ACHS Teacher’s Time Short — “Over a year and a half, [Misa] Suzuki has established herself as a valuable member of the ACHS community and connected with students through ASL, however, her time has been tragically cut short due to an inability to acquire a new work visa … ‘Under the Trump administration’s policies, the options for obtaining this work visa are extremely limited,’ said Suzuki. ‘It is hard to accept, but I will treasure my two years of work experience and strive to do my best in Japan.'” [Theogony]

APD Warns of Funeral Home Scam — “As part of APD’s Holiday Crime Prevention Plan, we want to make our community aware of a scam affecting parts of Virginia. Scammers are posing as funeral home employees and calling families to demand immediate payment. They often use real business names and staff names to sound credible. No cases have been reported in Alexandria at this time.” [Alexandria Police Department]

Go to Morning Notes for December 22, 2025 Read more

ALXnow Daily Debrief for Dec 19, 2025

By ALXnow.com

Good Friday evening, Alexandria. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Dec 19, 2025.

Here are today’s most-read articles:

  1. Baltimore woman arrested as two suspects flee from brazen Old Town yoga store theft (1035 views)
  2. One person transported to hospital after Friday apartment fire in Alexandria West (661 views)
  3. New names for ACPS sports facilities, library and courtyard receive final approval (421 views)

Since it’s Friday, we’ve also compiled a list of the most-read articles of the week, below.

  1. Ross Dress For Less will close in Old Town next month ahead of private school conversion (4550 views)
  2. Former Washington Post journalist running unopposed to lead Alexandria Democrats (3983 views)
  3. New Old Town affordable housing building and 640-unit Potomac Yard project receive approval (3217 views)
  4. ‘Indochen’ in Cameron Station will close permanently later this month (3121 views)
  5. Alexandria police investigating November hit-and-run after driver ran over student’s foot (1968 views)
  6. Winning $50K Powerball ticket purchased at Arlandria convenience store (1760 views)

📅 Upcoming events

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

Here are the events planned for Sunday:

🌤️ Saturday’s forecast

Expect a mostly sunny day with a high temperature near 44 degrees, as calm winds in the morning shift to the south, ranging from 5 to 9 mph. For Saturday night, skies will be partly cloudy, with the temperature dropping to around 36 degrees and a south wind blowing between 8 to 11 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”
– Mark Twain

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

We hope you have a great weekend, Alexandria!

News

Morning Notes for December 19, 2025

By ALXnow.com
Umbrellas and rain along King Street in Old Town (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Spanberger, Dems Introduce Affordability Plan — “Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger and Democratic leaders are rolling out what they call their ‘Affordable Virginia agenda,’ which describes how they’ll deliver on their key campaign promise: reducing costs in the state. It comes a day after outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin presented an upbeat picture of the Virginia economy and said lawmakers should be able to offer even more tax cuts.” [NBC4 Washington]

Lawmakers Plan More Enforcement on GW Parkway — “Rep. Don Beyer unveiled legislation (Wednesday) to authorize revenue generated by any speed cameras on roads maintained by the National Park Service, such as the GW Parkway, to be used for speed camera installations, maintenance and construction projects on those same roads … Separately, Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34) confirmed to FFXnow that he will reintroduce a bill in the Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 session authorizing local and state police to respond to traffic violations on the GW Parkway.” [FFXnow]

Go to Morning Notes for December 19, 2025 Read more
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