Around Town

Every Tuesday night for more than a decade, a group of Del Ray dads have gotten together in James Crowe’s basement to rock out.

Last Tuesday, the five-member band officially known as The Derds practiced the lineup for their upcoming annual St. Patrick’s Day show at Evening Star Cafe’s No. 9 Lounge in Del Ray at 2000 Mount Vernon Avenue. The show is from 7:30-10 p.m. Friday, March 13, featuring performers from the Del Ray Strings and the Boyle School of Irish Dance.


News

Alexandria’s professional employees have officially voted to unionize.

On Tuesday, the city’s professional employees voted 155-1 in favor of unionizing with AFSCME Council 20, an affiliate of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. With significant support, the vote “marks 5 of 5 eligible Alexandria bargaining units to file and win their union representation elections since 2021,” according to a release from AFSCME Council 20.


Around Town

A free forum focused on women’s health is coming to the Charles Houston Recreation Center this weekend.

The EmpowerHer Women’s Health Forum will feature panel discussions, curated vendors and breakout sessions to discuss mental, sexual and reproductive health. The event will be held at the recreation center at 901 Wythe Street from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday.


News

Alexandria City Public Schools saw a 40% reduction in the number of incidents requiring a police response during the first two quarters of this school year compared to last year, according to a school safety report recently presented to the Alexandria City School Board.

During the first semester this year, ACPS reported 167 total incidents requiring a police response across the school system and 27 student referrals or arrests. The recent incident count represents a 40% drop from the first semester last school year, which saw 279 reported incidents.


Around Town

An Alexandria food and travel writer will soon unveil his latest cookbook, a culinary journey through Spain with recipes inspired by the works of writer Ernest Hemingway.

“Hemingway’s Spanish Table” is the eighth cookbook for writer Howie Southworth, following his locally inspired “A Taste of Alexandria,” a collection of recipes from the city’s restaurant scene, which was published in 2024.


News

Just before snowflakes fell on Monday afternoon, a class of third graders at Patrick Henry K-8 School were outside in the school basketball court learning how to ride bikes.

For three weeks every school year, all third graders at Alexandria City Public Schools are fitted with Trek bikes and taught bicycle safety and riding by volunteers and staff working with the Alexandria Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee‘s (BPAC) Bicycling in the Schools initiative. This school year, 1,266 students are in the program, which is currently seeking more volunteers.


News

A 33-year-old Alexandria man is facing a felony charge after allegedly shooting a gun in his Landmark area apartment last month.

The man was arrested Feb. 13 and charged with unlawfully discharging a firearm in an occupied building, in connection to an overnight incident reported at his residence in the 100 block of S. Van Dorn Street.


News

A section of the Mount Vernon Trail just north of Old Town will be closed for five to six weeks, starting this Friday.

During that time, contractors with the National Park Service and the Federal Highway Administration project will conduct shoreline embankment repair work. The project will shut down the trail between north of E. Abingdon Drive and 3rd Street, and trail users will be redirected to an alternate trail on E. Abingdon Drive.


Around Town

Maurisa Potts’ award shelf is getting crowded.

Earlier this month, the founder and CEO of the Old Town-based Spotted MP marketing firm was named to the 2026 Virginia Black Leaders list by Virginia Business magazine. The award is the latest in a string of honors for Potts, who last fall was named to the PR Net 100 2025, a recognition for the top-performing firms in the world of public relations and well as MarComms Most Influential by the same outlet.


News

Shannon Steene says that a ritual with keys is his favorite part of the job as executive director of Carpenter’s Shelter.

On the days when clients at the homeless shelter move out to transition into newfound housing, staff and other residents will say goodbye to them by jingling their keys. Now after 11 years leading the nonprofit, Steene said he’s looking forward to his own departure ceremony of sorts, as he’s stepping down later this month to lead Reston-based nonprofit Cornerstones.


News

The executive director of Sheltercare, a short-term group home that provides services to youth in the city’s West End, says she may have to consider cutting staff, services or beds, despite nearly $2 million in funding included in the city’s proposed 2027 budget.

The city manager’s budget fulfills a funding request from the Juvenile Detention Commission of Northern Virginia, which oversees the 14-bed Sheltercare facility. However, the program’s planned budget of $2.14 million is scaled down from executive director Annie Reiney’s initial $2.7 million proposal, which included a 40% increase in funding to pay for extra staffing and building improvements.


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