News

Democrat Sandy Marks has claimed victory in the special election for City Council Tuesday, and Alexandrians overwhelmingly voted yes on the redistricting constitutional amendment.

According to unofficial election results, Marks leads with 53.37% of votes over independent candidates Frank Fannon (29.41%) and Alison O’Connell (15.02%), 32 precincts reporting vote tallies. There have been 51,256 ballots cast out of 116,366 registered voters, representing 44% turnout.


News

More than 42% of registered Alexandria voters have headed to the polls to vote on today’s congressional redistricting referendum and a special election for an open seat on Alexandria City Council.

As of 4 p.m., 19,183 voters cast in-person ballots across the city, in addition to 22,836 mail-in and in-person early ballots, adding up to 42,019 total ballots cast, according to figures released by Angie Maniglia Turner, the city’s general registrar and elections director. Turner said she is expecting gubernatorial-level turnout on the decision to amend Virginia’s Constitution to allow the General Assembly to temporarily redraw congressional maps for the upcoming election and resume the normal redistricting process after the 2030 U.S. Census.


News

Criticism has been leveled against the Alexandria Library Board after Libby Bawcombe, a voting member, was expelled earlier this month for supporting a study on converting the library system into a city department.

At a special meeting of the Alexandria Library Company on April 8, Bawcombe was expelled by a secret ballot for voting with three other Library Board members in February to direct Alexandria Library Director Rose Dawson to work with city staff on assessing the library system’s transition into a city department.


News

On Saturday (April 18), Alexandria City Council approved an office-to-residential conversion that will bring 32 four-story townhomes to Old Town.

Without discussion, City Council unanimously approved the Planning Commission’s recommendation to tear down the Essex Building — an office building at 333 N. Fairfax Street built in the 1970s — and replace it with townhomes. A parking garage and lot will also be demolished. Plans for the 1.4-acre site from EYA and Simpson Development reveal four-story homes with two-car garages and roof decks just a few blocks from King Street and the Potomac River waterfront.


News

Alexandria Sheriff Sean Casey and members of his staff argued against a proposed budget reallocation before City Council on Saturday (April 18).

Casey said a proposal by Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley and City Councilman Abdel Elnoubi to transfer $200,000 out of the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office budget for a jail operational efficiency study is a waste of valuable resources and will hurt an already cash-strapped agency. While a number of speakers at Saturday’s public hearing called for Casey’s budget to be cut over what they see as voluntary collaboration with U.S. Immigration and Enforcement, several City Council members defended the proposed study, saying the measure is intended to improve ASO operations.


Around Town

A family that opened a coffee shop inside a recently closed Italian restaurant in Old Town North has launched a GoFundMe.

In January, Dream Chasers Coffee owners Leo and Brittani Maggio opened Valletta Espresso Bar inside Italian restaurant Valletta Port at 682 N. St. Asaph Street. On Friday (April 17), the restaurant abruptly closed. Maggio told ALXnow that he arrived at work to find the doors locked and the business shut down.


News

Alexandria City School Board members are asking the public to help push for reforms to the nine-member board, including staggered elections, higher salaries and more.

The clock is ticking, School Board Members Ashley Simpson Baird and Kelly Carmichael Booz wrote in a recent blog post. The pair wrote that City Council must act this year by beginning a process to amend the City Charter — a change that would need to go to the Virginia General Assembly’s 2027 session for approval.


News

Alexandria City Council has a full docket at its upcoming meeting Saturday as final budgetary decisions approach.

City Council will conduct a number of public hearings, including setting the real estate and personal property tax rates for the next fiscal year, additions and deletions to City Manager Jim Parajon’s proposed $977 million Fiscal Year 2027 budget, an increase to the stormwater utility fee, new parking fees and the addition of paid metered parking on Sundays.


Around Town

After being open for less than two years in Old Town, Italian restaurant Valletta Port has permanently closed.

The business’s last social media post was on Thursday, April 9, announcing live music that weekend. The business’s website now says that the restaurant is permanently closed.


News

The Alexandria Fire Department rescued three people and a dog this morning (Friday) from a stalled elevator in a high-rise condominium building in the West End.

AFD was called just after 4:30 a.m. to a report of three people and a dog stuck in a blind shaft elevator near the fourth floor of a 16-story building in the 4600 block of Duke Street.


Around Town

A new owner wants to take over operations at a pet grooming and boarding facility in Old Town.

Delaware-based Pet Resort Hospitality Group has filed new ownership paperwork with the city to convert the former Board Hound at 133 S. Peyton Street into an Olde Towne Pet Resort. The company, which also owns Olde Towne Pet Resorts in Springfield, Sterling and North Bethesda, Md., is proposing to increase daycare and boarding capacity at the site.


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