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.

News

Some Amtrak trips to run from Alexandria instead of D.C. for nine days in October

By Emily Leayman
Alexandria Amtrak station platform (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

Alexandria Union Station will be busier than usual for nine days in October as it replaces D.C.’s Union Station for some Amtrak trips.

Amtrak announced Monday that it will be replacing aging track components for nine days, prompting a service suspension at the control point between D.C. and Virginia. Work will start after service ends on Friday, Oct. 16 and be completed before morning service on Monday, Oct. 26.

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News

Old Town North Alliance names three finalists to design arts and cultural district banners

By Emily Leayman
Sculptor Christian Benefiel’s art installation in Old Town North (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Old Town North Alliance is one step closer to developing branding for the neighborhood’s new arts and cultural district.

The alliance’s board of directors named three artists as finalists in the Old Town North Arts and Cultural District Banner Design Project. They will be subject to a public vote to determine the winning artist.

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News

Alexandria’s Breast Cancer Collective keeps focus on patient outcomes after rebranding

By Emily Leayman
The Walk to Bust Cancer (courtesy of Breast Cancer Collective)

Nearly a year after rebranding as the Breast Cancer Collective, the Alexandria-based organization is preparing for major fundraisers in the fall to continue its work to make breast cancer screenings and treatments accessible.

The collective officially announced its rebranding as the Breast Cancer Collective last October. The name change from the National Breast Center Foundation sought to clear up confusion with other national breast cancer entities.

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Around Town

Regional summer restaurant week draws participation from Alexandria eateries

By Emily Leayman
Outdoor sidewalk cafe on a sunny day with diners at white-clothed tables under umbrellas, brick buildings and trees lining the street.
Outdoor dining at Vermilion (via Vermilion/Instagram)

Even though Alexandria Restaurant Week ended Sunday, diners have another chance to score special menus for a second restaurant week.

Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington’s Summer Restaurant Week runs from Monday, Aug. 24 to Sunday, Aug. 30. Participating eateries have a choice of offering $25 or $35-per-person brunch or lunch menus and $40, $55 and $65-per-person dinner menus. Some restaurants may extend specials beyond the weekend.

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News

Alexandria students begin school year with stricter cell phone rules, new boundaries

By Emily Leayman and James Cullum
Man in a light gray suit shakes hands with a student at a classroom career fair; other students use laptops at desks nearby as a police officer stands in the background.
Alexandria School Board Chair Christopher Harris shakes hands with a student on the first day of school at Alexandria City High School, Aug. 24, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City Public Schools welcomed students back for the first day of school today (Monday) as the district implemented a stricter student cell phone policy and new school boundaries.

More than 15,000 students started school at ACPS, from the incoming kindergarten class who will graduate in 2039, to the seniors graduating next year. Acting Superintendent Grace Taylor, Mayor Alyia Gaskins, School Board Chair Christopher Harris, Alexandria City High School Principal Michael Burch and Police Chief Tarrick McGuire visited classrooms at ACHS’s King Street Campus on the first day.

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News

Herd of goats recruited to tackle invasive plants in an Alexandria park

By Emily Leayman
Two goats with white and brown coats gaze upward toward the camera in a sunlit, bokeh-filled background.
Goats (via Bailey Mahon/Unsplash)

In a developed city like Alexandria, residents may soon be surprised to find four-legged landscapers wandering a West End park.

Alexandria’s Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities is launching a pilot program to bring 35 to 40 goats to All Veterans Park (4725 Duke Street). Starting Sept. 8, the herd of goats will be brought to graze on invasive plants on the slopes of the park. The invasive plants being targeted in the pilot program are kudzu, garlic mustard and multiflora rose.

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Around Town

Mount Vernon Trail wins public vote for national Hall of Fame induction

By Emily Leayman
Exercising along the Mount Vernon Trail in Alexandria (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Mount Vernon Trail has secured a place in Rails to Trails Conservancy’s catalog of the nation’s best trails.

Trails advocacy organization Rails to Trails Conservancy announced that the Mount Vernon Trail received 58% of public votes to win the Hall of Fame accolade. The other nominees were National Battlefield Trail in Texas and the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in Ohio. Public voting was open from Aug. 5 to 16.

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News

Three ACPS naming ceremonies scheduled for September and October

By Emily Leayman
The Parker-Gray Stadium Field at Alexandria City High School King Street Campus (via ACPS)

Three Alexandria City Public Schools facilities that the School Board voted to rename will be dedicated in the next two months.

The Alexandria City School Board voted in December 2025 to name Keith Burns Field at Alexandria City High School’s Parker-Gray Memorial Stadium after a 1990 T.C. Williams High School graduate who had an NFL career. The athletic field complex at the high school’s Minnie Howard Campus will be named after the late Alexandria Mayor Kerry Donley, and a media center at Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School will be named after Jean Reid, who taught at various ACPS schools.

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News

Freedom 250 Grand Prix IndyCar travels on Metro from King Street station this morning

By Emily Leayman
A sign for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix is seen on the National Mall, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

An IndyCar in the Freedom 250 Grand Prix will be making its way from the King Street Metro station in Alexandria this morning (Aug. 20).

Metro said the IndyCar will make its way through the Yellow Line between the King Street Metro and D.C.’s Mount Vernon Square. The trip will happen between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., and there will be brief stops at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and L’Enfant Plaza stations. A return trip from Mount Vernon Square is expected to end by 12 p.m.

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News

Alexandria nonprofits receive support from regional Builders for Babies diaper drive

By Emily Leayman
The 2026 Builders for Babies diaper drive (via HomeAid National Capital Region)

Alexandria nonprofits were among the 52 nonprofit recipients of nearly 1.3 million diapers and wipes from HomeAid National Capital Region’s latest donation drive.

HomeAid, which builds housing and programming space for nonprofits serving the homeless, organized the 2026 Builders for Babies diaper drive to benefit organizations serving families in the D.C. region and Richmond. Builders, trade partners, suppliers, community collection sites and donors helped HomeAid distribute a record 1,292,097 diapers.

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