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What a week it’s been in Alexandria. Here’s our recap of top stories.

ALXnow had its highest single-day visitor count ever on Thursday (June 12), with more than 53,000 views, following a report that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is preparing to deploy tactical units to Northern Virginia and four major cities across the country.


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It took months of community meetings and work sessions, and on Thursday (June 12), the Alexandria School Board approved redistricting maps for its elementary and middle schools.

The Board whittled down its choices to the Triangle 3 map for elementary schools and Option E for middle schools. Here’s what that means:


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After serving as the executive principal of Alexandria City High School for two years, on Thursday, Alexander Duncan III announced his departure, effective June 30.

Duncan said that he has accepted another role, and thanked staff in an email. Duncan was the ACHS Minnie Howard Campus administrator, and replaced ACHS Executive Principal Peter Balas after his departure in 2023. Duncan will start his new role as principal of Washington-Liberty High School in Arlington.


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A developer is asking for an extension after permits expired earlier this year on a plan to build hundreds of residential units to Alexandria’s Landmark area.

City Council, in 2022, approved the plan to build 450 residential units in seven townhomes and two multifamily apartment buildings on the eight-acre site at 5901, 5951, and 5999 Stevenson Avenue and 2 South Whiting Street. The three-year development special use permit for the project expired in February and now applicant West End Development Associates wants three more years to finish the project.


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After 15 years in business, the Glass Stache smoke shop permanently closed at 222 N. Lee Street in Old Town this week.

On Sunday, June 8, the shop announced on Instagram that its last day was on Monday. Customers wanting glass pipes, tubes, rigs, vaporizers, rolling papers, cigar wraps, incense, and other accessories have since been directed to Glassstache.com.


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The Alexandria City Council has mixed feelings about serving as a cosigner for the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s plan to keep its senior residents in the city.

Faced with a $40 million budget shortfall, ARHA abandoned plans to replace the aging 11-story, 170-unit Ladrey Senior High-Rise with a six-to-seven-story 270-unit L-shaped building. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development subsequently ended its operating support for building management and maintenance, issuing vouchers for the relocation of Ladrey’s residents by the end of the year.


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Northern Virginia is reportedly among the “five cities run by Democratic leaders” that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is preparing to deploy tactical units to, according to MSNBC.

Citing two unnamed sources “familiar with the planning of future ICE operations,” MSNBC reported that ICE is preparing to deploy tactical response teams in New York City, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Northern Virginia.


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City Council formally recognized June as LGBTQ+ Pride month in Alexandria on Tuesday night (June 10).

“It’s very real that there are people in this country, and even in this city, who, because of who they are, don’t know if they’re going to be welcomed or not,” City Council Member R. Kirk McPike said before reading a city proclamation. “This is a difficult time for many people in our community, LGBTQ+ communities across the country.”


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Ben N Jerry’s, Urbano 116, Patagonia, and Jeni’s Ice Cream are just a few of the 21 mixed-use properties in Old Town that have been put on the market.

North Carolina-based Asana Partners bought the properties along the King Street Mile (between the waterfront and the King Street Metro station) worth more than $100 million between 2016 and 2018. Asana reportedly invested $20 million into their redevelopment, and now the portfolio is being marketed by D.C. firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).


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