News

Construction of Inova Alexandria at Landmark is expected to be done in four years, and city staff are in favor of the hospital system’s comprehensive sign plan. Here’s what that looks like.

On Tuesday (Feb. 6), the Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing on Inova’s sign plan for the 10.4-acre development on the 52-acre WestEnd property that was formerly home to Landmark Mall.


News

The Alexandria Health Department is warning residents of the potential for a measles outbreak, after another traveler with the viral infection was reported at Washington Dulles International Airport last month.

The Virginia Department of Health reported the potential exposure at Dulles and at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Jan. 3 and Jan. 4, and a notice was released by the Maryland Department of Health of another exposure at Dulles airport on Jan. 27.


News

Don Dinan, the cofounder of the Alexandria Aces summer collegiate baseball team, died after a period of declining health on Monday. He was 74.

A D.C. resident, Donald Robert Dinan spent decades as an international trade and intellectual property attorney. He was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, and was raised in Ellicott City, Maryland, and met his future wife Amy at Mt. St. Joseph High School in Baltimore. Dinan earned degrees from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1971, Georgetown University Law Center in 1974, and the London School of Economics in 1975. In addition to being a practicing attorney, for 30 years he taught a course in international trade law at Georgetown University.


News

Alexandria experienced a nearly 30% increase in Part 1 crime in 2023, and Mayor Justin Wilson says new initiatives will help stem the flow.

Part 1 crimes, or crimes against people, include homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and auto theft. There were 4,410 total Part I incidents in 2023, an increase of 31% over the 3,361 incidents reported in 2022, according to the Alexandria Police Department Crime Dashboard.


News

Who doesn’t want a little bit of Willy Wonka in Alexandria?

This spring, Madame Coco’s Emporium And Everything Chocolate will open at 103 S. St. Asaph Street in the Old Town space that was the previous home to the Mint Condition consignment shop (now at 122 S. Royal Street). The creative force behind the project says that once it opens it will be a salon-styled chocolate shop for hanging out and getting Tarot card readings.


News

A man was robbed of personal property by two suspects in the West End just off King Street on Monday morning, according to the Alexandria Police Department.

The incident occurred in an underground parking garage in the 4500 block of Ford Avenue, a little more than a week after an automobile was reported stolen from that same garage, according to the city’s crime database.


News

Chase Bank cut the ribbon on its new location in the heart of Old Town this morning.

Chase Bank bought 628 King Street for $11 million in December 2022, more than double its assessed value ($5.2 million last year), according to Alexandria property records. The building was previously a Banana Republic for decades, and closed along with The Gap at 622 King Street in January 2022.


News

An Alexandria City High School student suffered a suspected non-fatal overdose inside the school, Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt announced to parents this afternoon.

“I am writing to make you aware of a suspected school-connected, non-fatal student overdose that happened today at Alexandria City High School — King St. Campus,” Kay-Wyatt wrote.


News

Alexandria City Public Schools officials want to reach a collective bargaining agreement by the end of this year, and a resolution to approve the process will be presented to the School Board next week.

The draft collective bargaining resolution was reviewed last Thursday by the Board’s Collective Bargaining Committee, and Board Chair Michelle Rief said that the school system has a goal of coming to an agreement with staff by the end of this year. Such a deadline means that any major changes to staff benefits and compensation would be realized with next year’s passage of the Fiscal Year 2026 budget.


News

Alexandria’s political scene is heating up, as a number of Democrat candidates formally launched their campaigns over the weekend.

City Council Member Alyia Gaskins held a packed kickoff at Indochen in Cameron Station on Sunday, following her opponent Vice Mayor Amy Jackson’s kickoff on Jan. 21 at Doyle’s Outpost in the West End. On Saturday, City Council Member Kirk McPike launched his campaign at Pork Barrel BBQ in Del Ray and City Council Member John Taylor Chapman did the same at Port City Brewing Company.


News

Alexandria Police Chief Don Hayes is stepping down to take a new federal job, the city announced today. His last day is Feb. 9, and Assistant Chief Raul Pedroso will be interim police chief until a replacement is hired in a national search.

Hayes has been police chief since 2022, before which he was acting chief for a year after the departure of former Chief Michael Brown. He started his career with the Alexandria Police Department in 1981.


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