Reporter James Cullum has spent nearly 20 years covering Northern Virginia. He began working with ALXnow in 2020, and has covered every story under the sun for the publication, from investigative stories to features and photo galleries. His work includes coverage of national and international situations, as well as from the White House, Capitol, Pentagon, Supreme Court and State Department. He's covered protests and riots throughout the U.S. (including the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol), in addition to earthquake-ridden Haiti, Western Sahara in North Africa and war-torn South Sudan. He has photographed presidents and other world leaders, celebrities and famous musicians, and excels under pressure.
Sheriff Sean Casey is criticizing a recent Alexandria City Council decision to take $200,000 from his budget for a jail operational efficiency study, while Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley says the city should reevaluate whether it wants to maintain a longstanding contract between the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service.
On Tuesday, City Council moved forward with a proposal by Bagley and City Councilman Abdel Elnoubi to conduct the study, despite objections from Casey and members of his staff. At last Saturday’s public budget hearing, Casey said his office cannot afford the $200,000 budget reduction and asked City Council, “Do you want to be in the jail business?”
