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Alexandria City Public Schools will not comment on assertions made by the former ACPS Chief Operating Officer Mignon Anthony, who lambasted the school system and the leadership of Superintendent Gregory Huthings, Jr. in a scathing opinion letter published by the Alexandria Times.

Anthony apologized for not fulfilling promises made when she started her job in January 2018, and said that the tide turned against her after raising concerns over de-escalating transportation employee complaints. She also that ACPS leadership is unstable and that it “does not serve our students or educators well.”


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Mayor Decries Hate Incidents in Alexandria — “‪Two sad examples of hate in our community this week. ‬This is not who we are as a City. We reject those that would spew hate and target members of our community.‬ ‪I hope that any violation of the law will be addressed aggressively by City, State and Federal officials, as applicable.‬” [Facebook]

Beyer Says Trump Doesn’t Care About Children — “Trump’s approach all along has been to pretend a miraculous end to the pandemic is just around the corner. He doesn’t have a plan. He isn’t going to lead. He doesn’t care about making schools safe for children and educators. It’s so important to get this right.” [Twitter]


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Alexandria City Public Schools wants feedback from the community on reopening the school system this fall and will hold two public hearings this week.

The School Board is currently awaiting a reopening report from staff to evaluate whether or not to open this fall, and if so, how to keep kids socially distant while minimizing the risk of spreading the virus.


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Amine Ballafrikh was wrapping up one of his daily workout videos at Jones Point Park on Thursday, July 2, when an unidentified man went on a racist rant and threatened to shoot the two-time North American Lightweight Muay Thai champ.

Ballafrikh, who is also the number three Muay Thai lightwight in the world, fought his way out of Moroccan slums to be a U.S. citizen. He trains every day at Jones Point Park, and was filming a video at the end of a workout and speaking in Arabic when a man nearby began a racist and threatening tirade.


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Beyer Warns of Looming Economic Catastrophe — “For months we’ve propped up the economy with strong government stimulus, especially unemployment benefits. Those benefits will expire in 25 days amid dire state and local government shortfalls. McConnell and Trump remain opposed to extending them. Economic catastrophe looms.” [Twitter]

ACPS Asks for Community Input With Reopening Survey — “We are aware that the situation we are facing is unprecedented, constantly changing, and requires a degree of flexibility from all of us. You will be asked to make a decision about your commitment to return to school in late July. By that time you will have a clear idea of our anticipated reopening plans for the fall to assist you in your decision.” [ACPS]


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Alexandria Police arrested a 25-year-old Black man in May on multiple charges, including driving under the influence, assault on police, obstruction of justice with force, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.

Police also found a silver-colored Taurus Hy-lite revolver fully loaded in the center console, in addition to several open bottles of beer and six round of ammunition hidden in a wine bottle in the front passenger door, according to the affidavit.


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The Del Ray Cakery‘s sugar cookie sales have been so strong during the pandemic that founder Rebecca Underly is thinking about rebranding her business. Now she wants to primarily sell cookies and she’s even come up with a new name — The Del Ray Cookie Co.

After selling hundreds of cookie bouquet packages and more than 500 cookie kits for families to decorate their own baked treats at home during the pandemic, Underly is starting to think she’s found her niche.


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Former ACPS Chief Executive Officer Decries School System Leadership — “Some ACPS leadership and staff recognized a downward shift in my influence about a year ago. I remained focused. Then, this past December, after a disagreement about how to de-escalate transportation employee complaints, my position of chief operating officer, among other positions, was eliminated by the school board as part of what came off as a hastily generated restructuring plan by Superintendent Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings Jr., Ed.D.” [Alex Times]

City Buys 10K Face Masks for Local Nonprofits — “This week, Griffin, Jenelle, and Caroline helped bag some of the 10,000 masks purchased by the City of Alexandria for distribution to local nonprofits!” [Facebook]


News

The July 4 holiday weekend is here, and it’s hard to believe that 2020 is more than halfway over. Not only has the year flown by, but so has the last week.

Alexandria joined the rest of Virginia in entering into the third phase of its reopening, the oldest resident in the city turned 109, a police officer was charged with assault and battery for a January arrest


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