News

Alexandria was approved for $59.6 million in American Rescue Plan funding, City Manager Mark Jinks announced to the City Council on Tuesday night.

Jinks said the city’s Congressional delegation was successful in convincing U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to include Alexandria as not only a city, but as a county as well, resulting in the City taking home double what it would have otherwise received.


News

(Updated at 9:10 a.m. on May 13) Virginia State Police have arrested a woman after she allegedly fired a gun outside near the Alexandria Courthouse on King Street. One shot was allegedly fired, and no one was injured in the incident.

The area of King Street between Washington Street and St. Asaph Street was shut down for hours in the late afternoon. A VSP special agent was walking out of his vehicle near the courthouse when he heard the shot.


News

Master gardener Joyce Hylton was awarded the Ellen Pickering Environmental Excellence Award by the Alexandria City Council on Tuesday night.

Hylton, a local training coordinator for the Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Training Program, received the award during a virtual City Council meeting. The award, which is the top environmental honor given in the city, is usually handed out in person at the annual Earth Day celebration and cleanup on April 22, but the pandemic forced the event to shift to a virtual format.


News

Mark Jinks isn’t getting any younger, and the Alexandria city manager says he is closing in on the end of his career.

“I turn 70 in 2022,” Jinks told ALXnow. “I am closer to the end than the beginning, that’s for sure.”


News

State of emergency declared in Virginia over gasoline shortages — “Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency Tuesday afternoon to address gasoline supply disruptions across the state due to a cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline.” [Patch]

Potomac Riverkeepers disavow Silberberg mailer — “Potomac Riverkeeper Network learned today that Allison Silberberg’s campaign to be the next Mayor of Alexandria recently distributed a flyer that included an apparent endorsement by Dean Naujoks, the Potomac Riverkeeper and a member of our staff… Potomac Riverkeeper is neutral and does not endorse Alison Silberberg’s candidacy for Mayor of Alexandria. Potomac Riverkeeper Network supports clean water, not individual candidates.” [Twitter]


News

At a debate Monday night, Delegate Mark Levine couldn’t think of any policy differences between his opponent, Alexandria Vice Mayor Elizabeth Bennett-Parker.

“I’m not sure there are any,” Levine told Alexandria and Arlington Democrats in a Zoom debate.


News

An Alexandria certified nursing assistant faces multiple charges of identity theft against six residents under her care at Vitality Senior Living in Arlington.

On April 16, the suspect was arrested after allegedly admitting to the Vitality Senior Living executive director that she cashed a fraudulent $1,200 check from a resident in her care.


News

Details have been released on the 27-year-old man who was arrested for allegedly making bomb threats against Metro, unspecified government buildings and the Alexandria Police Department.

Henock Seyoum Pastoor was arrested by Metro Transit Police last month and charged with threats to bomb or damage buildings or means of transportation. Pastoor allegedly told police that he was “upset with the government of the United States of America and planned to blow up” the Spring Hill Metro station in Fairfax County. He also allegedly told police that he was planning a “terrorist attack on unspecified government buildings and the local Alexandria Police Department Headquarters,” according to a search warrant affidavit.


News

Alexandria’s initial (first time) unemployment claims fell significantly, and continued claims remained steady for the week ending May 1.

There were just 310 initial claims for the week ending Mat 1, according to the Virginia Employment Commission. That’s a 78% dip in the number of claims from the previous week, which saw 1,498 initial claims.


News

ACPS enrollment goes down — “In September 2020 — the start of this school year — enrollment was at just 15,588, a decrease of 3 percent. Since September, ACPS has gained about 300 students, but had ACPS enrollment continued at its average growth rate of 2.86 percent per year (since 2014), enrollment would have been 16,521 students this academic year.” [Alexandria Living]

Goodwin House and George Mason University partner for memory study — “The study will involve Goodwin House Alexandria and Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads residents, as well as seniors who participate in Goodwin House at Home.” [Zebra]


News

The Alexandria Police Department honored its fallen officers in an annual wreath laying ceremony on Monday, May 10.

“These individuals who we just recognized did make the ultimate sacrifice,” Alexandria Police Chief Michael Brown said at the city’s Fallen Officers Memorial outside APD headquarters. “In tough times they were there.”


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