Author: Katie Taranto

Katie Taranto is a reporter at ALXnow. She previously covered local businesses at ARLnow and K-12 education at The Columbia Missourian. She is originally from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania.

Around Town

MacMillan Spirit House closes in Old Town North amid landlord rent dispute

By Katie Taranto
MacMillan Spirit House at 500 Montgomery Street (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

A restaurant and bar with a focus on spirits has closed after nearly two years in Old Town North amid a legal battle with the landlord over rent.

The MacMillan Spirit House is no longer in business at 500 Montgomery Street, the MacMillan Restaurant Group confirmed to ALXnow. The spirit house first opened in late March 2024, as a sister establishment to the MacMillan Whisky Room at the Mosaic District in Fairfax County.

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Around Town

March Madness in Alexandria: Where to watch and find deals

By Katie Taranto
Inside Don Taco (via Don Taco/Facebook)

Numerous restaurants and sports bars in Alexandria are gearing up for March Madness this week, with plans to offer specials on drinks and bites while the games play on.

Fans will get to see how their March Madness brackets fare when the NCAA men’s tournament’s first round begins Thursday (March 19) and women’s tournament follows on Friday (March 20). Games run until the final championship games on April 5 (women) and April 6 (men).

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Around Town

The Commodore cuts ribbon on new Old Town dive bar

By Katie Taranto
Rob Van de Graaff and Steve Kim pierce the ribbon on the new Commodore bar using a trident at 220 N. Lee Street (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

The Commodore, a self-described “five-star dive bar,” is now open for business in Old Town.

Owners Rob Van de Graaff and Steve Kim used a huge trident to pierce the ribbon on their new bar and restaurant at 220 N. Lee Street yesterday (Thursday). It was an on-brand move for the business, which is filled with nautical decor.

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Around Town

Live music, bar crawls and more coming to Alexandria for St. Patrick’s Day

By Katie Taranto
Daniel O'Connell's Irish Restaurant and Bar at 112 King Street in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade may have come and gone, but there are plenty more festivities coming to Alexandria celebrating the Emerald Isle.

Across the city, upcoming events include multiple bar crawls, live performances of Irish music and a feline-friendly “St. Catrick’s Day” at Mount Purrnon Cat Café + Wine Bar.

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Around Town

Alexandria resident launches new app to help job hunters tailor resumes

By Katie Taranto
Craig Certo and dog, Frank (courtesy of Craig Certo)

A software developer in Alexandria is piloting a new digital tool to help job seekers improve their resumes.

Craig Certo created Career Catalyst last year. It’s an application designed to cross-analyze a user’s resume and offer fine-tuned editing suggestions based on job postings they’re applying for.

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Around Town

New children’s book tells story of Alexandria’s 1939 library sit-in

By Katie Taranto
Audrey Davis, Director of the African American History division of the Office of Historic Alexandria, speaks at the "Fight for the Right to Read" family program in February 2026 (courtesy of the Office of Historic Alexandria)

A new children’s book is highlighting the historic work of Samuel Wilbert Tucker, an attorney from Alexandria who pioneered one of the first library sit-ins against Jim Crow segregation.

“Fight for the Right to Read” tells the story of the Alexandria Library sit-in as Tucker, at age 26, led a group of five young Black men to enter the whites-only Alexandria Library on Aug. 21, 1939. Co-authors Jeff Gottesfeld, Michelle Y. Green and illustrator Kim Holt came to the Alexandria recently to discuss the September release and sign copies during Black History Month.

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News

Dead raccoon in Old Town tests positive for rabies, health department says

By Katie Taranto
The entrance of the Alexandria Health Department (Credit: Alexandria Health Department)
The entrance of the Alexandria Health Department (courtesy of the Alexandria Health Department)

A dead raccoon found in Old Town last week has tested positive for rabies, according to the Alexandria Health Department.

The animal was recovered after two people reported being bitten by a raccoon in Old Town last Tuesday. It’s not confirmed if the raccoon was responsible for one or both of the attacks, “but the location and aggressive behavior line up with how a rabid raccoon in that area might act,” AHD said in an announcement yesterday (Monday).

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News

Grand jury indicts ex-D.C. police officer on multiple sexual assault charges in Alexandria

By Katie Taranto
APD Chief Tarrick McGuire speaks during a press conference regarding multiple sexual assault cases in the region, joined by Prince George’s County Deputy Police Chief, Curtis Lightner (left), Prince George’s County State’s Attorney, Tara H. Jackson and Alexandria Commonwealth's Attorney, Bryan Porter (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

An Alexandria grand jury indicted a former D.C. police officer on more than two dozen felony charges today (Monday) related to a series of sexual assaults in Alexandria last year.

Timothy Valentin, 30, of Fort Washington, Md., is currently accused of multiple sexual assaults in Alexandria and Maryland that occurred between 2024 and 2025. The suspect, an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department until 2022, faces new charges including rape by force, rape by incapacitation and abduction with intent to defile in connection to three cases in Alexandria last year.

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Around Town

Free Lyft rides coming to Alexandria for St. Patrick’s Day

By Katie Taranto
Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Chief Carlos Heraud helps launch the 2025 St. Patrick's Day SoberRide effort (via Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments)

Free Lyft rides will be available on St. Patrick’s Day as part of a D.C.-area nonprofit’s efforts to curb drunk driving.

Free rides totaling up to $15 will be available on Lyft from 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 17 through 4 a.m. the next morning, courtesy of the Washington Regional Alcohol Program’s SoberRide initiative.

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Around Town

Adoptable Pet of the Week: Mia, a sweet, playful pup awaiting her forever home

By Katie Taranto
Mia (courtesy of AWLA)

Meet Mia, a sweet, smart pup from the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria who is eager to make new friends.

At just over a year old, Mia loves playing tug and fetch, and a volunteer with the AWLA told ALXnow that she’s picking up training pretty quickly. She also savors a good nap.

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News

JUST IN: Va. health officials partially lift Potomac River recreational advisory

By Katie Taranto
A sailboat on the Potomac River (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The Virginia Department of Health has partially lifted its recreational water advisory for a portion of the Potomac River as repairs continue from January’s massive sewage spill.

The advisory, first issued Feb. 13, has now been lifted for a stretch of the river including Alexandria’s waterfront. The cleared area starts south at the Route 120 Chain Bridge and ends at the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge in King George County, according to a VDH announcement this afternoon (Thursday).

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