Author: Emily Leayman

Emily Leayman is the editor of ALXnow and contributes reporting to ARLnow and FFXnow. She was previously a field editor covering parts of Northern Virginia for Patch for more than eight years. A native of the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania, she lives in Northern Virginia.

Around Town

Mudhouse Specialty Coffee Roasters opens doors on King Street this week

By Emily Leayman and James Cullum
Mudhouse storefront with black awning and banners announcing 'Coming Soon!' above large windows and a wooden door.
Mudhouse Cafe at 1119 King Street (staff photo by James Cullum)

The King Street corridor in Old Town is gaining another coffee shop as Mudhouse Specialty Coffee Roasters opens its doors this week.

Mudhouse will open on Wednesday (July 29) at 1119 King Street, staff confirmed to ALXnow. This will be the Charlottesville-founded coffee roaster’s sixth location, joining two in Charlottesville, and ones in Richmond, Crozet and Charleston, S.C.

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News

Alexandria officials and residents push back against planned data center near city limits

By Emily Leayman
Data center server (via Scott Rodgerson/Unsplash)

Data center plans just outside Alexandria city limits has raised concerns among residents and officials.

Starwood Capital Group filed the permit application and building plans to Fairfax County for the 34-acre Plaza 500 site at 6299 Edsall Road in Lincolnia. The application is for Plaza 500 South, the first of two data center buildings it is seeking.

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News

ACPS makes registration push ahead of new school year to avoid first-day rush

By Emily Leayman
Students at Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School, Aug. 23, 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City Public Schools is making a push to get new students registered in time for the new school year.

The city’s public school system has already seen 1,637 early student registrations between April 15 and July 1, a 15.5% increase of early new student registrations compared to April 23 and July 1 last year. Over 900 families have been fully registered or are completing enrollment.

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Around Town

Alexandria Restaurant Week returns in August at over 75 eateries

By Emily Leayman
Bowl of seafood pasta with mussels, shrimp and herbs in tomato sauce on a wooden table.
1799 Prime Steak & Seafood (via Misha Enriquez for Visit Alexandria)

Foodies will have the chance to try new eateries or return to old favorites during the next Alexandria Restaurant Week in August.

Alexandria Restaurant Week, held twice a year in January and August, will be held over 10 days from Friday, Aug. 14 to Sunday, Aug. 23. Full-service restaurants will serve prix fixe dinner menus at $35, $45 or $55 per person, and fast casual restaurants will have their own offers.

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Around Town

Adoptable pet of the week: A mix of energetic and zen from Ares

By Emily Leayman
Close-up of a brown dog with a white chest wearing a blue collar and pink leash on green grass, looking at the camera and smiling.
Adoptable Ares (via Animal Welfare League of Alexandria)

Meet Ares, a large dog with lots of love to give.

This 4-year-old dog at the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria offers a good balance of an energetic and chill nature. Ares enjoys running and playing but won’t want to miss his cuddle time too.

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Around Town

Penny Post expects line for popular Stationery Store Day in August

By Emily Leayman
Colorful craft store filled with pens, markers, stickers, and greeting cards on white shelves and displays in a bright space.
Penny Post at 1201 King Street (courtesy of Penny Post)

Old Town stationery store Penny Post is getting ready for its biggest day of the year.

Penny Post (1201 King Street) will hold its fifth annual Stationery Store Day, an in-store-only event to celebrate all things pen, paper and analog. It will take place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1.

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News

Alexandria-affiliated GQ becomes first all-female barbershop quartet to win international title

By Emily Leayman
Four women in black dresses hug on a blue-lit stage, wearing gold medals around their necks with a trophy in front, celebrating.
GQ winning the international competition (via Girls Quartet)

Several choral groups affiliated with the Alexandria A Cappella Collective have earned international awards, including a historic first for world’s best barbershop quartet.

All-female quartet GQ (Girls Quartet) won gold at the Barbershop Harmony Society’s 2026 international competition on July 4. Their win came from the performance of six songs, including humorous songs, ballads and a Broadway tune arrangement of Chappell Roan’s “Coffee.”

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Around Town

Self-taught Hammond Middle School coder launches CalcHub with over 50 custom calculators

By Emily Leayman
Left panel shows a Budget Calculator web app with inputs for Monthly Income, Needs, Wants, and Savings; right side features a smiling person making a peace sign.
Hammond Middle School student Emmanuel Adu-Wadier created CalcHub with more than 50 custom calculators (via Emmanuel Adu-Wadier)

An 11-year-old student at Hammond Middle School is behind a new resource covering everything from budget calculators to random password generators.

In July, Emmanuel Adu-Wadier launched CalcHub, a free website with more than 50 unique calculators covering finance and investment, mathematics, science, health and wellness, education and everyday tools. The rising seventh grader built the site using JavaScript, HTML, CSS and AI.

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Around Town

Alexandria artist uses crowdsourcing to bring original puzzle game to Made in ALX

By Emily Leayman
Smiling woman sits at a wooden table with a colorful board game and tokens; shelves of board games behind her.
Alexandria artist Maritza Maxwell created a new game called Trapdoors (via Maritza Maxwell)

An Alexandria artist who has invented a puzzle game has started a crowdsourcing campaign to bring it to stores and to customers’ doors.

Maritza Maxwell of Hatch Skills came up with the concept for Trapdoors, a tabletop map in which players take turns sliding tiles to match the challenge image while avoiding trapdoors that take pieces.

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News

Alexandria pushes back timeline for $2.1M Taylor Run stream stabilization

By Emily Leayman
Areas covered by the Taylor Run Infrastructure Stabilization Project (via City of Alexandria)

Alexandria has pushed back the timeline on a project to stabilize the Taylor Run stream and sanitary sewer infrastructure at risk of damage from erosion.

The city’s Department of Transportation & Environmental Services Stormwater Division and design consultant AECOM hosted a community briefing Monday (July 20) to present the 60% design on the Taylor Run Infrastructure Stabilization Project. The $2.1 million project is based on recommendations from the Taylor Run Consensus Building Group, a stakeholder group formed to address community concerns from the previous stream restoration proposal. The former proposal drew controversy over its environmental impacts, leading City Council to send the full stream restoration back to study in 2021.

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News

Democratic early votes far outpace Republican turnout in Alexandria primaries

By Emily Leayman
A voting sign at the Alexandria Registrar of Voters, 132 N. Royal Street, in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

Early voters participating in the Democratic primary are far outnumbering those in the Republican primary, according to data from the Alexandria Office of Voter Registration and Elections.

Thousands of votes have been cast in about a month of early voting for the Aug. 4 primary elections.

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