Ryan Belmore | ALXnow

Alexandria School Board sets budget planning session for Thursday

Published September 22, 2025 at 12:30PM | Updated September 23, 2025 at 11:14AM

Alexandria School Board meeting in 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria School Board will hold a budget planning session Thursday evening to begin crafting the fiscal 2027 spending plan amid uncertainty over potential federal funding cuts.

The meeting, scheduled from 6 to 10 p.m., will feature ACPS Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt launching the budget process with the School Board. The session will lay the groundwork for releasing her proposed 2027-2036 Capital Improvement Program budget in November, the draft Combined Funds Budget in January, and final budget adoption in June.

News

Virginia Tech names Alexandria campus leader to expanded D.C. area role

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 22, 2025 at 11:30AM

Lance Collins, vice president of the greater Washington, D.C., area. Photo by Craig Newcomb for Virginia Tech.

Lance Collins, who has led Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus in Alexandria since 2020, has been promoted to vice president of the greater Washington, D.C., area, the university announced Wednesday.

In his expanded role, Collins will oversee Virginia Tech’s growing regional presence beyond just the Alexandria campus, taking responsibility for administration, operations, and strategic direction of all university activities in the D.C. area.

News

Alexandria man killed in Woodlawn shooting; $5,000 reward offered

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 22, 2025 at 8:58AM | Updated September 22, 2025 at 2:16PM

Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Fairfax County police are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for killing a 21-year-old Alexandria man in what investigators believe was not a random act of violence, according to WJLA.

Jaylin Hartless, 21, of Alexandria, was found fatally shot in the early morning hours of Friday in the Woodlawn area of Fairfax County. Officers responded to the 3400 block of Buckman Road around 4:45 a.m. for reports of vehicle tampering and discovered Hartless on the ground beside his vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds to the upper body.

News

Equipment fires knock out power, traffic signals in Old Town

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 22, 2025 at 8:50AM

Dominion Energy Power Outage Map on Monday, Sept. 22 (Screenshot)

Multiple traffic signals in Old Town Alexandria went dark Monday morning following equipment fires that left nearly 700 Dominion Energy customers without power, according to Alexandria Police Department and utility outage maps.

The department issued a traffic alert at 8:46 a.m. warning drivers that many signals were out of service after what police initially described as a “manhole incident” at the intersection of Cameron and Fayette streets. Transportation and Environmental Services is deploying generators to restore power to the affected intersections.

News

Notes: Google faces federal breakup trial in Alexandria court today

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 22, 2025 at 7:49AM | Updated September 22, 2025 at 8:43AM

The Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse in Alexandria (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Good Monday morning, Alexandria! Today is Monday, Sept. 22, the 265th day of 2025. There are 100 days left in the year.

🌤️ Today’s weather: Mostly sunny, with a high near 80°F. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 7 mph in the morning. Partly cloudy tonight, with a low around 64°F. South wind 3 to 5 mph.

Sports

Titans football off to perfect start in 2025

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 21, 2025 at 10:10AM

The Alexandria City High School Titans run onto the field, Sept. 19, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria City High School Titans football team has opened the 2025 season with four consecutive victories, sitting atop the Virginia High School League Division 6A District 4.

The Titans have dominated opponents with their most recent victory coming Sept. 19 in a 71-0 rout of Lewis High School. The performance marked the team’s second shutout of the season and came on the same night the school celebrated the 25th anniversary of the film “Remember the Titans.”

News

Notes: Alexandria Film Festival expands to Virginia Tech campus for November event

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 21, 2025 at 8:37AM

Virginia Tech Innovation Campus (staff photo by James Cullum)

Good Sunday morning, Alexandria!

☀️ Today’s weather: A slight chance of showers before 8 am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76. East wind 5 to 7 mph. The chance of precipitation is 20%. Partly cloudy tonight, with a low around 60. East wind around 6 mph, becoming calm after midnight.

News

Trump nominates White House aide to lead Alexandria federal prosecutor’s office

By Ryan Belmore and The Associated Press

Published September 21, 2025 at 7:30AM

FILE - Lindsey Halligan, special assistant to the president, speaks with a reporter outside of the White House, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he would nominate senior White House aide Lindsey Halligan to serve as the top federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia, just one day after the Alexandria-based office was thrown into turmoil by the resignation of U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert.

The nomination drew sharp criticism from Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), who represents Northern Virginia including Alexandria, where the federal prosecutor’s office is headquartered. “Donald Trump hates the rule of law and is making all of us less safe by firing seasoned professionals, to replace them with goons and yes men who will bend the law to his whim,” Beyer said in a statement Saturday. “This is corrupt as hell.”

News

City services continue relocating ahead of Alexandria City Hall renovation

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 20, 2025 at 12:42PM

Alexandria City Hall sign (staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

The City of Alexandria will relocate more city services this month as part of ongoing preparations for major renovations to City Hall and Market Square, with construction set to begin in January 2026.

More than 400 city employees will relocate from their current offices to temporary or permanent spaces throughout Alexandria. Several departments have already moved, including the Office of Housing, which relocated to Banker’s Square in August.

Around Town

Notes: Alexandria celebrates final summer weekend with seasonal events, Oktoberfest

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 20, 2025 at 7:24AM

Oktoberfest at Atlas Brew Works (photo courtesy Atlas Brew Works)

Good Saturday morning, Alexandria!

☀️ Today’s weather: Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Northeast wind 6 to 8 mph. Increasing clouds tonight, with a low around 64. East wind 5 to 7 mph.

News

Alexandria-based US attorney resigns under pressure amid James investigation

By Ryan Belmore and The Associated Press

Published September 19, 2025 at 5:07PM | Updated September 19, 2025 at 8:28PM

FILE - Erik Siebert, interim U.S. Attorney for the eastern district of Virginia, speaks as Attorney General Pam Bondi, right, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, left, listen during a news conference at the Manassas FBI Field Office, March 27, 2025, in Manassas, Va. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File)

Erik Siebert, the U.S. Attorney who led the Eastern District of Virginia federal prosecutor’s office from its Alexandria headquarters, resigned Friday under pressure from the Trump administration amid its push to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Siebert confirmed his departure in an email to colleagues, reviewed by The Associated Press, in which he praised them as the “finest and most exceptional” of Justice Department employees but made no mention of the political turmoil that preceded his resignation.