Rick Horner | ALXnow

Del Ray featured on PBS show If You Lived Here

Published October 26, 2021 at 10:30AM

Historic Del Ray (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The Del Ray neighborhood was recently profiled on the latest episode of the PBS show If You Lived Here. This episode took a look at three homes in the neighborhood that may be attractive to buyers.

The show followed Jen Walker, a realtor and the unofficial “mayor of Del Ray” who moved to the neighborhood in 1997. Walker gave a tour to hosts John Begeny and Christine Louise and gave a brief history about the Del Ray neighborhood, harkening back to its blue-collar roots when many of the area’s residents worked at the Potomac Yard Railway station. Walker also described its recent evolution which has embraced mom-and-pop businesses as well as a love for dogs and children.

News

Check out Old Town’s most haunted hot spots

By Rick Horner

Published October 25, 2021 at 1:30PM | Updated October 25, 2021 at 2:04PM

Alexandria has a rich tradition of ghost sightings. Stories of paranormal experiences have been passed down and enthralled and terrified listeners for generations.

But where have these sightings occurred? Many buildings in and around the city dating as far back as the Colonial Period have added to that rich tradition of spooky stories.

News

Trick-or-treating returns to Alexandria, Health Department still advises caution

By Rick Horner

Published October 22, 2021 at 2:45PM

Halloween is fast approaching and the time-honored tradition of trick-or-treating will be back in full swing.

Last year, the Alexandria Health Department (AHD) had discouraged the practice for fear of spreading the coronavirus throughout the community. Many holiday traditions in Alexandria, such as the Del Ray Halloween Parade and the Lee Street Halloween Event, were canceled in favor of much smaller, more somber festivities.

News

DASH network overhaul receives fewer complaints than expected

By Rick Horner

Published October 18, 2021 at 3:45PM

A DASH bus in Old Town Alexandria (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A new report from DASH shows that the bus network has received significantly fewer angry public calls about the new bus network overhaul than had earlier been expected.

A report made at a meeting of the Alexandria Transit Company’s Board of Directors last week indicated that the bus systems’ new DASH network has been a success in terms of recent complaints. According to the network’s customer service report call volumes and complaints regarding DASH operations have fallen below projections for the month of September.

News

New scholarship named for recently retired Alexandria school teacher

By Rick Horner

Published October 15, 2021 at 2:30PM

Alexandria School Board member Kelly Carmichael Booz (left), Beverly Vick (center), Gregory Hutchings (right), photo via Scholarship Fund of Alexandria/Facebook

The Scholarship Fund of Alexandria has raised enough funding to establish a new scholarship that will be named after a beloved former teacher.

The recently retired Beverly Vick was a highly regarded teacher at Douglas MacArthur Elementary School for 38 years and received the Excellence in Education award in 2009. Vick also worked with children through the American Girl Literature Club.

News

Tenants and Workers United upset by City Council restoration of school resource officer program

By Rick Horner

Published October 14, 2021 at 3:45PM

The Alexandria City Council’s reversal on a decision to reallocate funds meant for school resource officers toward mental health programs has upset those who fought for the move.

The council voted four to three to temporarily restore the program after several complaints by parents about violent encounters involving their children in Alexandria City Public Schools since the beginning of the 2021-22 school year. This move was a reversal of the decision made by the council in May 2021 to end the SRO program in favor of school-based mental health programs.