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

‘Thriller’ flash mob, Spooky Mad Science Expo take over Alexandria this weekend

By Emily Leayman
Three pumpkins on a wall at Halloween on Lee Street in Old Town, Oct. 31, 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Halloween festivities are starting to ramp up in Alexandria as October continues on.

This weekend, the “Thriller” Zombie Flash Mob descends upon Old Town, retailers will host the new Sticker Treat sticker crawl, and the Spooky Mad Science Expo returns for an 11th year at Patrick Henry Recreation Center. The Ethiopian Fall Festival has also been rescheduled for this weekend.

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Potomac Yard’s 0% vacancy rate reveals missed opportunity, officials say

By Emily Leayman
Virginia Tech in the background of the Potomac Yard Shopping Center (staff photo by Emily Leayman)

Even as Alexandria’s office vacancies improve, city officials learned about a missed opportunity with Potomac Yard’s 0% vacancy rate.

During City Council’s Tuesday (Oct. 13) legislative meeting, Alexandria Economic Development Partnership staff briefed officials on economic progress since City Council in January approved ALX Forward, a framework for the city’s economic future.

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ICE arrests former Del Ray restaurant worker convicted of unlawful filming in bathroom

By Emily Leayman
The William G. Truesdale Alexandria Adult Detention Center (via Google Maps)

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested a man that had been sentenced for unlawful recordings in a Del Ray restaurant bathroom.

ICE said in a release on its “worst of the worst” arrests, Joshua Gabriel Car Hombrebueno, 21, of Oxon Hill, Md. was arrested earlier this week. In August, he had been sentenced to serve 179 days in jail after being found guilty of making hidden camera recordings inside the employee restroom of Gustave Boulangerie & Brasserie (2213 Mount Vernon Avenue) in September 2025. ICE said Hombrebueno is from the Philippines and is not legally in the U.S.

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Around Town

South Korea’s Twosome Place to hold grand opening for Old Town café, first in U.S.

By Emily Leayman
Exterior storefront with a dark gray awning, large glass doors, and a brick facade; a bold TWOSOME sign above the entrance.
Twosome Place’s first U.S. location at 404 King Street in Old Town (photo by Beth Lawton)

A grand opening for the U.S. debut of South Korean café Twosome Place is set for this weekend in Old Town.

The grand opening will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17 at 404 King Street. Guests will enjoy free coffee and cake samples from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., a gashapon capsule giveaway with prizes and surprises from 10 a.m. to noon, and more. The first 100 guests in line will receive a free tote bag.

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Alexandria City Council votes to establish friendship city with Osijek, Croatia

By Emily Leayman
Stipe Pletikosa, the technical director of the Croatian Football Federation, presents the Alexandria City Council with a jersey at Episcopal High School, June 10, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

After hosting its World Cup soccer team this summer, Alexandria is on the way to forming a formal bond with a Croatian city.

Without discussion, City Council on Tuesday (Oct. 13) approved the resolution to form a friendship city agreement with Osijek, Croatia. The agreement is for a one-year trial, and a task force will be formed to report on progress to City Council throughout the year.

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Around Town

New sticker crawl joins packed Halloween event lineup in Alexandria

By Emily Leayman
Local businesses on King Street in Old Town. (staff photo by James Cullum)

A new sticker crawl will join the spooky season festivities this month in Old Town and throughout the city.

Old Town retailer Penny Post is hosting the first-ever Sticker Treat, a Halloween sticker crawl, from Friday, Oct. 16 to Sunday, Oct. 18. Ticketed participants at Penny Post (1201 King Street) will receive a reusable sticker book and treat map designed by local design studio No Plan. Using the map, they can locate where to find stickers and show the sticker book at each participating business to gain a sticker.

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News

Alexandria officials join march protesting Plaza 500 data center near city border

By Emily Leayman
Crowd of protesters holding signs, including a yellow sign that says "BUILD HOUSING NOT DATA CENTERS" and a dark sign reading "PAUSE TO PROTECT VIRGINIA!"
Participants hold signs during the March for a Moratorium, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (courtesy of Christopher Frakes)

After Alexandria’s mayor and City Council spoke out against an electric substation for a data center development near the city, some elected officials joined a march against data centers.

On Saturday (Oct. 10), residents and community groups marched from Aslin Beer Company in Alexandria’s West End to the nearby Plaza 500 site in Lincolnia where a data center campus is planned.

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JUST IN: Alexandria Health Department director to step down in November for state role

By Emily Leayman
Smiling man in a navy fleece jacket posed against a green wall, looking at the camera.
Dr. David Rose, the director of the Alexandria Health Department (via AHD)

The Alexandria Health Department will see a leadership change next month after director Dr. David Rose departs his role.

After Nov. 9, Rose will be leaving the AHD to take a role as regional director of the north/northwest region at the Virginia Department of Health. The AHD is part of the state-run Virginia Department of Health and falls under the northern region that Rose will oversee.

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Around Town

Professional ensemble The Thirteen to begin season with debut at Alexandria venue

By Emily Leayman
Conductor directs a large mixed choir in formal wear, standing in a semicircle on a wooden stage with sheet music books.
(courtesy of The Thirteen)

A professional choir and orchestra hopes to hit the right note as it debuts at an Alexandria venue this week.

The Thirteen will open its fifteenth season, titled “In Our Time,” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16 at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall (4915 E. Campus Drive). The same show will follow in D.C. and Bethesda, Md. on Saturday, Oct. 17 and Sunday, Oct. 18, respectively.

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News

UPDATED: Most outages restored after over 2,200 lose power in West End

By Emily Leayman
Map of the Lincolnia area showing hazard zones around the I-395 interchange with overlapping orange and yellow polygons and safety icons marking alerts or warnings below the highway junctions.
Power outages in the West End on Oct. 12, 2026 (via Dominion Energy)

Dominion Energy customers in Alexandria’s West End were experiencing outages Monday afternoon.

According to Dominion Energy’s outage map, more than 2,200 customers lost power in the city as of 3 p.m. Most outages were concentrated in neighborhoods along Duke Street, Edsall Road and Interstate 395, extending into Fairfax County. The majority were resolved by 4:15 p.m.

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‘Thriller’ flash mob to take over lower King Street in Old Town

By Emily Leayman
200 block of King Street (staff photo by James Cullum)

On the evening of Saturday, Oct. 17, onlookers on lower King Street might feel like they’ve been transported into a Michael Jackson music video.

Coldwell Banker Realty real estate agents Barb Scheeler and Rachel Knapp are coordinating a “Thriller” Zombie Flash Mob in the unit block of King Street in Old Town, at 5 p.m. Saturday. Scheeler and Knapp told ALXnow there are about 100 dancers signed up to participate, and hundreds of spectators are expected to attend with the dancers.

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