Ryan Belmore | ALXnow

Molly’s Dog Care opens at former District Dogs location in Alexandria

Published July 2, 2025 at 11:15AM | Updated July 2, 2025 at 1:52PM

Molly's Dog Care opens at 2403 Mandeville Lane in Alexandria (via Molly's Dog Care)

A new dog care business has opened at a recently closed District Dogs location in Alexandria, marking the latest development in a story that began with tragedy and led to the creation of an entirely new brand “focused on enhanced safety standards”.

According to a New Administrative Special Use Permit notice, Steve Gaudio filed an application (SUP #2025-00031) seeking approval to operate “Molly’s Dog Care Alexandria” at 2403 Mandeville Lane, the former home of District Dogs Alexandria. The company announced on its website that the Alexandria location is now open for business.

News

Alexandria Fire Chief reports dramatic turnaround in employee retention after first year

By Ryan Belmore

Published July 2, 2025 at 10:15AM

Alexandria Fire Department Update on July 1, 2025 (via City of Alexandria)

Alexandria Fire Chief Felipe Hernandez Jr. delivered an upbeat assessment of the department’s transformation during his first year in office, reporting significant improvements in employee morale and retention that have addressed longstanding staffing challenges.

Speaking to City Council Tuesday night (July 1), Hernandez said the department’s monthly attrition rate has dropped from 3.3 employees to 1.1 over the past year, with four former employees returning to work. The 10-year average attrition rate stands at 2.1 employees per month.

News

Alexandria Police search for missing 82-year-old man

By Ryan Belmore

Published July 2, 2025 at 9:45AM | Updated July 2, 2025 at 12:19PM

Missing Senior Male (via Alexandria Police Department)

The Alexandria Police Department issued a missing person alert late Tuesday night for an 82-year-old man who was last seen in the area of 5837 Quantrell Avenue.

Alexander Polyak, 82, is described by police as 5 feet tall, weighing approximately 140 pounds, with blue eyes and white-gray hair. He was last seen wearing a green jacket, white shirt, gray pants, and white sneakers.

News

State of Health presentation reveals major disparities between Alexandria neighborhoods

By Ryan Belmore

Published July 2, 2025 at 9:00AM

State of Health Presentation. (screenshot)

The Alexandria Health Department presented findings from its comprehensive community health assessment to the Alexandria City Council Tuesday night (July 1), revealing stark health disparities between neighborhoods and outlining plans for a more targeted approach to community health improvement.

Dr. David Rose, Director of the Alexandria Health District and Alexandria Health Department, told the council that the extensive assessment revealed “large differences in health between our neighborhoods” and calls for collaboration “with the people most impacted to move the needle on health outcomes.”

News

Notes: Free Summer Concert Series features City of Alexandria Pipes and Drums

By Ryan Belmore

Published July 2, 2025 at 8:00AM | Updated July 2, 2025 at 9:42AM

The City of Alexandria Pipes and Drums at a celebration for Noah Lyles at Chinquapin Park, Sept. 22, 2024 (Staff photo by James Cullum)

Good morning, Alexandria! Today is Wednesday, July 2, the 183rd day of 2025. There are 182 days left in the year.

🌧️ Today’s weather: Showers and thunderstorms before 1 p.m., then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. High near 84. Light and variable wind. The chance of precipitation is 80%—new rainfall amounts between a tenth and a quarter of an inch, except higher amounts are possible in thunderstorms.

Around Town

The Chewish Deli takes the crown in Alexandria’s great bagel battle

By ALXnow.com and Ryan Belmore

Published July 2, 2025 at 6:08AM | Updated July 2, 2025 at 9:43AM

Fresh photos from The Chewish Deli (Photo via The Chewish Deli/Fcebook)

After more than two weeks of voting, Alexandria residents have spoken: The Chewish Deli reigns supreme as the city’s best bagel shop, according to ALXnow’s latest Readers’ Choice poll.

The Chewish Deli captured 46.53% of the vote with 2,502 ballots cast in their favor during the polling period that ran from June 15 through July 1, 2025. But the victory wasn’t a landslide—Bagel Uprising mounted a strong challenge, finishing a close second with 41.57% of votes and 2,235 supporters.

News

Alexandria outlines economic development roadmap following community summit

By Ryan Belmore

Published July 1, 2025 at 9:20PM | Updated July 2, 2025 at 5:55AM

Alexandria Economic Summit on May 8, 2025 (Staff photo by Ryan Belmore)

The Alexandria City Council received a comprehensive update on Tuesday night regarding the city’s May Economic Summit and the ongoing development of a strategic framework that will guide economic development efforts over the next five years.

Tracye McDaniel, President of TIP Strategies, presented findings from extensive community engagement efforts that reached over 840 community touchpoints through 75 roundtables or one-on-one interviews, 35 participants in pre-summit events, 530 survey respondents, and more than 200 summit participants at the May 8 event held at the Westin Alexandria.

News

Alexandria Police seek public help in series of indecent exposure incidents

By Ryan Belmore

Published July 1, 2025 at 8:38PM

Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Jarvis)

The Alexandria Police Department is asking for the community’s assistance in investigating multiple indecent exposure incidents that have occurred during early morning hours across three Alexandria neighborhoods.

The investigation appears to be connected to incidents ALXnow previously reported on June 25, when two indecent exposures occurred approximately half a mile apart in Rosemont during the early morning hours.

News

More than 2,800 Dominion Energy customers without power across Alexandria

By Ryan Belmore

Published July 1, 2025 at 4:41PM | Updated July 1, 2025 at 4:57PM

Dominion Energy Power Outage Map on July 1, 2025 (screenshot)

More than 2,800 Dominion Energy customers in Alexandria are experiencing a power outage this evening (July 1).

Severe thunderstorms brought high winds and heavy rain to Alexandria on Tuesday afternoon.

News

Warner, Kaine say GOP budget bill would strip insurance from 323,000 Virginians

By Ryan Belmore

Published July 1, 2025 at 2:30PM

(Left to right) Del. Charniele Herring, Lamice Albaayno, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, Lance Collins, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin at the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus ribbon cutting, Feb. 28, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Virginia’s two Democratic senators voted against a Republican budget package that passed the Senate Tuesday morning in a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote after an all-night session.

The nearly 1,000-page legislation now returns to the House where its passage remains uncertain. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine released a joint statement opposing the measure.

News

Mayor: Alexandria ‘betting’ on keeping NSF as 2,700 HUD workers relocate to city

By Ryan Belmore

Published July 1, 2025 at 2:00PM

Ryan Belmore, Publisher of ALXnow, and Mayor Alyia Gaskins chat on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.

Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins said the city is prepared to accommodate thousands of incoming federal workers while working to prevent the displacement of a major science agency during her monthly conversation with ALXnow on Tuesday.

The federal government recently announced that over 2,700 HUD employees will relocate to the National Science Foundation building in Alexandria, potentially displacing 1,800 NSF workers who currently occupy the space.