News

With a new principal at the helm, Alexandria City High School administrators will focus their efforts this school year on chronic absenteeism and implementing Virginia’s stricter ban against smartphones and other smart devices in schools.

On Wednesday morning (July 15), new principal Michael Burch told students, parents and administrators that he’s been sending out emails about the “bell-to-bell” phone ban signed into law by Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D).


News

A new sandwich and wine shop is opening Sunday (July 19) at the Bradlee Shopping Center.

Chord Bread & Bottle will soft launch with complimentary appetizers and wine tastings from 6-8 p.m., right after the end of the World Cup final. The space at 3690 J King Street was previously home to the Unwined wine shop, which closed at the end of 2024. The soft opening was announced on Instagram.


News

An Alexandria man faces a felony hit-and-run charge after allegedly fleeing the scene of a crash in the city’s Fairlington neighborhood.

The Alexandria Police Department responded to the intersection of N. Quaker Lane and Fern Street around 3:45 p.m. on June 6, for the report of a crash involving a Toyota Tacoma and a Honda CR-V. The driver of the Honda suffered a minor hand injury and her car was totaled.


News

A Maryland man faces felony and misdemeanor charges in court this month for allegedly possessing and trying to deposit a forged check at a bank in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood.

The suspect was arrested at the bank in the unit block of Herbert Street on June 16 after the alleged attempt to deposit a check for $11,585 into a friend’s account, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.


Around Town

For those who relish Del Ray, a new Chicago-style Italian sausage and hot dog concept having a grand opening in the neighborhood on Saturday, July 18.

Cubbies will be located in the upstairs bar space of the Del Ray Public House (2218 Mount Vernon Avenue). Restaurant owner Laurel Fisher previously told ALXnow that she was bringing in a partner to operate the business.


News

A 21-year-old Alexandria man faces a slew of charges after allegedly destroying multiple license plate reader cameras and their attached solar panels across the city.

A city resident alerted police on the morning of Tuesday, June 16, that a man parked a dark-colored Subaru Forester on the curb next to a Flock Safety Automatic License Plate Reader camera outside Francis C. Hammond Middle School (4646 Seminary Road) “and climbed on top of the vehicle to destroy the Flock ALPR camera at that location with a baseball bat,” according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.


News

More details have been released about a fired Alexandria sheriff’s deputy going to court next month after allegedly attempting to smuggle drugs to an inmate in the city jail.

During the first week in April, an inmate at the detention center informed the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office that at least one sworn officer had given an inmate food items and narcotics. A widespread investigation found then-Deputy Sheriff Amarachukwu W. Igwe had an “overly familiar relationship with a male inmate,” according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.


News

If parts of Alexandria are feeling the heat more than others, heat islands may be to blame.

The temperature is forecast to be 100 degrees on Thursday (July 16), when more than 30 teams will fan out to identify the hottest areas across Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax County. The teams from George Mason University’s Virginia Climate Center and  Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions will monitor temperature and humidity variations at 30 locations as part of their “Urban Heat Island Mapping Project.”


Around Town

Alexandria’s 277th birthday ended with a bang and a fizzle on Saturday (July 11), as the evening of entertainment at Oronoco Bay Park was capped with a dazzling fireworks show and a brief rainstorm.

Raindrops started to fall just before 9:30 p.m. as the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra started to play Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, sending hundreds of people under cover of tents and umbrellas at the very start of the fireworks. The evening was otherwise overcast and cool, and city leaders, the town crier and poet laureate rang in the annual celebration onstage and handed out birthday cupcakes from Wegmans.


News

A kitchen fire may have been accidentally set off by a dog this morning (Monday) at a West End home, according to the owner.

The Alexandria Fire Department responded around 9:31 a.m. after a resident reported the smell of smoke from a neighbor’s home in the 600 block of N. Ripley Street. Units encountered a fire on the stovetop and confirmed it was out as of 9:50 a.m., according to scanner traffic.


News

After climbing through Alexandria’s political spheres, it’s almost as if R. Kirk McPike is starting over.

The new 5th House District delegate to Virginia’s General Assembly resigned his seat on the Alexandria City Council just before winning a special election in February to fill the seat vacated by now-state Sen. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-39). In order to comply with state law, the Democrat also had to quit his full-time job as chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA).


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