Ryan Belmore | ALXnow

Commission for the Arts approves ‘Now or Never’ Site See concept for waterfront

Published September 17, 2025 at 2:24PM

"Now or Never" public art design from the artist's presentation (via Alexandria's Office of the Arts)

The Alexandria Commission for the Arts unanimously approved artist Alicia Eggert‘s concept for “Site See 2026: Now or Never” Tuesday evening, giving the green light to the eighth temporary public art installation in the Site See: New Views in Old Town series at Waterfront Park.

The installation, planned from March through November 2026, aims to address the current political climate through monumental signage. It features two billboards positioned face-to-face across a narrow passageway. One billboard displays “NOW” in black text on a white background, while the other shows “NEVER” in white text on a black background.

News

Alexandria schools clarify no federal funds withheld despite ‘high-risk’ status

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 17, 2025 at 1:20PM

Alexandria City High School (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City Public Schools clarified to ALXnow on Wednesday that no federal funds have been withheld from the district despite being placed on “high-risk” status by the U.S. Department of Education over transgender student policies.

“While ACPS has been designated as a high-risk entity by the United States Department of Education, no federal funds have been withheld from ACPS as of today,” the district said in response to ALXnow’s inquiry about the specific funding amounts at stake.

News

City postpones domestic violence vigil hours after announcing it

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 17, 2025 at 1:06PM | Updated September 17, 2025 at 1:56PM

Silent Witness Alexandria is designed to raise public awareness of domestic violence and create a space for healing through a visual memorial honoring those lost to domestic violence. (via City of Alexandria)

The city of Alexandria postponed a planned candlelight vigil to honor local victims of domestic violence just hours after announcing the event.

The Alexandria Domestic Violence Program announced Wednesday that the Silent Witness Candlelight Vigil and Memorial Program, planned for Oct. 2 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Market Square outside City Hall, has been postponed. A new date and time will be announced once confirmed.

News

Notes: Five Alexandria leaders make Northern Virginia Magazine’s 50 Most Influential list

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 17, 2025 at 7:59AM | Updated September 17, 2025 at 3:23PM

Northern Virginia Magazine's 50 Most Influential of 2025 (Credit: Northern Virginia Magazine)

Good morning, Alexandria! Today is Tuesday, Sept. 16, the 259th day of 2025. There are 106 days left in the year.

⛈️ Today’s weather: Showers, mainly before noon. High near 68. North wind 10 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

News

Single-vehicle crash closes West Braddock Road, causes power outages

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 17, 2025 at 5:17AM | Updated September 17, 2025 at 2:35PM

Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Jarvis)

West Braddock Road remained closed in both directions Wednesday after a single-vehicle crash into a utility pole left power lines down and caused widespread outages affecting thousands of customers.

Emergency crews were dispatched to the 900 block of West Braddock Road at 2:33 a.m. after callers reported a single vehicle had struck a utility pole, according to dispatch scanner reports. The pole fell, and live wires were down with transformers blown in the area.

News

Sora Ethiopian restaurant closes in Alexandria after 12 years

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 16, 2025 at 12:52PM

The former Sora Ethiopian Market, Cafe & Carry-Out storefront on Duke Street in Alexandria shows closed blinds and an empty interior after the restaurant's closure in late August. (Ryan Belmore/ALXnow)

Sora Ethiopian Market & Cafe on Duke Street has permanently closed after 12 years in business, with an online auction of its equipment confirming the shutdown of a business that served as both a market and community gathering place.

The restaurant, which opened in 2013, closed over the weekend of Aug. 31, according to customers who posted in a local Facebook group. The building at 5145 Duke St. sold for $2.85 million on July 1 to ADRS Properties LP, according to Alexandria property records.

News

Alexandria’s childhood vaccination rate drops below critical threshold for disease prevention

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 16, 2025 at 8:25AM

The entrance of the Alexandria Health Department (courtesy of the Alexandria Health Department)

Alexandria’s childhood vaccination rates have fallen to concerning levels, dropping from 95% in 2019 to just 88% last school year for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccines, according to new data from an NBC News investigation published Monday.

The decline affects Alexandria City Public Schools’ 16,335 students across 18 schools. It puts the city below the critical 95% vaccination threshold needed for “herd immunity” — the level required to prevent measles outbreaks and stop disease spread within a community.

News

Notes: Parker-Gray door changes could require new review process

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 16, 2025 at 8:00AM

Uptown Parker Gray Historic District courtesy DHR Virginia Department of Historic Resources

Good morning, Alexandria! Today is Tuesday, Sept. 16, the 259th day of 2025. There are 106 days left in the year.

⛈️ Today’s weather: A chance of showers, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 69—northeast wind 13 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. The chance of precipitation is 60%—new rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

News

D.C. officer charged with DWI, sexual battery after trying to grab Alexandria officer’s gun

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 15, 2025 at 6:55PM

Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Jarvis)

A D.C. police officer was charged with multiple crimes Sunday after allegedly assaulting two Alexandria officers and attempting to grab one of their weapons while in custody at a local hospital, NBC Washington reported.

Officer Trevon King, a five-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department, was initially arrested for drunken driving following an 8 p.m. crash on Russell Road, according to Alexandria police. Police transported King to a hospital, where he allegedly attacked the officers and tried to disarm one of them.

News

Virginia senators demand Education Department restore funding to Northern Virginia schools

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 15, 2025 at 6:25PM | Updated September 17, 2025 at 1:15PM

Alexandria City High School (staff photo by James Cullum)

U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner sent a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Monday demanding the immediate reversal of federal funding cuts to Alexandria City Public Schools and four other Northern Virginia school districts over transgender student policies.

The letter represents the latest escalation in a monthslong standoff between the Trump administration and Northern Virginia schools that has put more than $300 million in federal funding at risk for more than 386,000 students across the five districts.

News

Alexandria pastor’s Charlie Kirk comments spark national debate

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 15, 2025 at 9:41AM | Updated September 15, 2025 at 11:51AM

The Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley delivers his Sunday sermon at Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va., on Sept. 15, 2025. During the sermon, Wesley criticized the decision to fly flags at half-staff for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, calling Kirk "an unapologetic racist." (Screenshot via YouTube)

A video of the Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley condemning the decision to fly flags at half-staff for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk has ignited a firestorm on social media, drawing both support and fierce criticism for the Alexandria pastor.

Speaking to his congregation at Alfred Street Baptist Church on Sunday, Wesley didn’t mince words about Kirk, who was shot and killed last Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University.