A race through Old Town this weekend will cause some road closures on Saturday and Sunday.

The PNC Parkway Classic is scheduled for Sunday, April 28. The city said in a release that there will also be a couple of closures on Saturday — we’re told that’s for race setup near Oronoco Bay Park.

According to the release:

For the safety of those involved, there will be numerous road closures in Old Town beginning Saturday, April 27
at 8 a.m. through Sunday, April 28 at 2 p.m.

Saturday, April 27, 8 a.m. – Sunday at 2 p.m.
N. Union between Oronoco Street and Pendleton Street
Pendleton Street between Fairfax Street and Union

Sunday, April 28
5 a.m. – 7:30 a.m.
Fairfax Street will be closed to through traffic between Canal Center and Pendleton Street for buses to shuttle race participants.

6 a.m. – 2 p.m.
S. Washington Street closed from the city limit on the south side of the city to Washington and Gibbon

7 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Franklin Street between Washington and Union Street
Union Street between Franklin and Oronoco Street

The start line for the 5k is at Oronoco Bay Park, the 10-mile run starts at Mount Vernon. There will be no parking on Mount Vernon and towing will be enforced.

Photo via PNC Parkway Classic/Facebook

Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) is the biggest winner of a 2.5 cent tax rate increase being considered by City Council, but it still falls short of the budget voted on by the School Board.

The School Board voted earlier this year to request $384.4 million from the City Council — $21 million more than previous budgets and double the budget proposed by Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt. Mayor Justin Wilson previously said that fulfilling that budget request would require an unprecedented 6-cent tax increase.

Of the roughly $11 million the city would gain from a 2.5 cent increase, the current Add Delete being considered by the City Council would send $8.7 million to ACPS — $4.7 million for capital contributions and $4 million for the operating budget. The additional funding to ACPS comprises 2 cents of the 2.5 cent increase.

The next most expensive projects being considered are $3 million for affordable housing projects and $3 million in contingency funding for mental health staffing.

According to a budget request submitted by City Council member Alyia Gaskins:

Fully funding the School Board Approved FY 2025 – FY 2034 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) funding request would require the addition of $65 million for George Mason Elementary Hard Costs, Cora Kelly Elementary Soft Costs, and Cora Kelly Elementary Hard Costs. Budget memo #53 outlines that it would be possible to use a mixture of additional borrowing and pay-as-you-go cash capital to alleviate some of the longer-term cost burdens of borrowing. This $4.7 million is then intended to be used to increase cash capital to the Schools capital program and mitigate the amount of borrowing required for the additional $65.0 million.

Mayor Justin Wilson said there’s still uncertainty about how much ACPS will receive from the state budget.

The relationship between the City Council and the School Board has historically been tense, especially when it comes to budget discussions, and there was some reticence from the Council to hand over the majority of the tax rate increase to ACPS.

“Not to say that they don’t need it, but there’s need on the city side as well,” said City Council member Canek Aguirre. “There’s a lot of need on the city side we’re not addressing unless we kick it down the road to next year.”

Gaskins said she recognized that the funding to ACPS was a big ask, but that it’s one that’s desperately needed.

“I in no way deny that these are not significant increases,” Gaskins said, “but I think they’re trying two very important sides of what ACPS is dealing with on the capital and operating side.”

Budget adoption is scheduled for Wednesday, May 1.

Vermilion at 1120 King Street has some pretty prestigious fans.

Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema shared a list of his five favorite spots around the area with an emphasis on international cuisine.

The last location on the list was Vermiilion, an Americana restaurant in Old Town known for its wine pairings.

Sietsema particularly praised the work of head chef Tony Chittum:

 Seemingly overnight, Chittum jump-started the Old Town stalwart with dishes that marry local bounty with practiced creativity.

Fried oysters? Been there, done that, but never where the crisp oysters are staged atop shells filled with what tastes like Waldorf salad. Chittum’s salads are beautiful haystacks, one night speckled radicchio with sheeps’ milk cheese, chips of fried Jerusalem artichokes and folds of country ham. Sweet scallops share their plate with fritters that mimic scrapple, and even steak — straightforward steak — is elevated when the beef comes with a bright salsa and blue cheese suspended in tempura.

Sietsema also praised the aesthetics of the restaurant, from the brick walls to flickering lanterns.

The restaurant is open nightly for dinner starting at 5 p.m. The bar opens at 4 p.m. Weekend brunch runs from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. The restaurant is closed on Mondays.

Photo via Vermilion Restaurant & Bar/Facebook

Good Friday morning, Alexandria!

☀️ Today’s weather: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 66. Still mostly cloudy tonight with a low around 47, then cloudy again tomorrow.

🚨 You need to know

An Alexandria man was sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing the scooter and phone of an Uber Eats driver in D.C., ABC7 reported.

The man and an accomplice approached a delivery driver outside of a Pizza Hut in Northeast D.C. last July. He and a few others surrounded the driver as he was putting his phone into the handlebars of his motorized scooter, then said that he had a gun.

The man took the driver’s phone and keys to the scooter, but tried and failed multiple times to start the scooter until he ended up dragging it away. ABC7 reported that the driver was able to flag down a police officer who, after a short pursuit, took the man into custody.

📈 Thursday’s most read

The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for Apr 25, 2024.

1. Crumbl Cookies coming to the Bradlee Shopping Center (1,447 views)

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on today in Alexandria, from our event calendar.

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Alexandria Civil Rights leader Ira Robinson, the first Black man elected to the City Council after Reconstruction, died last Friday at his home in Temecula, California.

Robinson was 85 years old.

Robinson was elected to the City Council in 1970. Before the election, 19-year-old Robin Gibson was murdered at a 7-11, which sparked three days of rioting. Robinson was credited with settling the riots and, at one point, saving the life of an Alexandria policeman surrounded by an angry crowd.

Robinson served on the City Council for three years and was instrumental in working toward full compliance with desegregation laws.

During the many challenges in America at a time, Ira Robinson represented hope for a new America,” said McArthur Myers, who was the youth coordinator for Robinson’s campaign.

In a release, the City of Alexandria detailed some of Robinson’s history with the city:

During his three-year term on the Council, Robinson was instrumental in bringing about major changes in education, housing, and law enforcement, including a 1971 secondary school integration plan that brought the Alexandria public schools into full compliance with federal desegregation law.  Nearly three decades after that plan consolidated three previous high schools into T.C. Williams secondary school, the turmoil of that period – and the resulting football championship that reunited the community – remained such a potent story that it became the basis of the Disney movie, Remember the Titans.

Also marking that era in Alexandra politics were the titanic, but civil, debates between Robinson, a Democrat, and Wiley F. Mitchell, a Republican, whose priorities for the city, though often at odds, led to steady increases in minority hiring, the distribution of moderate and low-income housing city-wide, the development of the Metro area transit system, and eventual redevelopment of the Potomac Railroad Yard, Cameron Station, and the neighborhoods along the Route 1 corridor and Mount Vernon Avenue.

Before his election to council, Robinson focused much of his activism on changing the face of policing in the city and on relations between police officers and Alexandria’s African-American youth.  In 1968, he served on the Alexandria Crime Commission and, the following year, as adviser to a Michigan State University team, hired by the city manager to produce a “Study of Police Community Relations” in Alexandria. Robinson also served on the Alexandria Commission on Criminal Justice and the Metropolitan Council of Government’s Task Force on Drug Abuse.  He also chaired the city’s Urban League voter registration drive, served on the boards of the local branch of the NAACP and the Boys Club, and was a member of the Alexandria Economic Opportunities Commission and the Mayor’s ad hoc Committee on Health Care.  An avid sports fan, he advocated for young African American athletes who needed legal advice.

Port City’s Optimal Wit, its most iconic beer, took home the gold medal at the World Beer Cup.

The World Beer Cup is an international beer competition hosted by the Brewers Association that breaks prizes down be categories of beer. The ceremony was held yesterday (Wednesday) in Las Vegas.

In the category of Belgian-style Witbier, Port City won out over 88 other entries.

Silver went to Belgian Wheat from Devils Backbone Brewing Company in Roseland Virginia, while bronze went to Upland Wheat from the Upland Brewing Company in Indiana.

OPTIMAL WIT JUST WON GOLD AT THE WORLD BEER CUP! IT’S THE BEST BELGIAN WIT IN THE WORLD!!!! https://t.co/euF8oWwkJU

— Port City Brewing Co (@PortCityBrew) April 25, 2024

Eisenhower Avenue’s days at the hot-spot for local drag racing could be coming to an end soon.

At a Transportation Commission meeting last week, Senior Transportation Engineer Dan Scolese laid out plans to potentially reduce lanes at the western end of Eisenhower Avenue to install new bicycle lanes and improved transit options.

Scolese said at the west end of Eisenhower Avenue, the intersection with Van Dorn Street causes backups along Van Dorn Street and pedestrians said it’s difficult to access the Metro station.

“Another really big issues is accessibility,” Scolese said. ” We’ve consistently heard it’s difficult to get to the metro. At the western end, there’s nothing to address accessibilty in the sidewalks. West of Telegraph is uncomfortable; we don’t have access for bikes or scooters.”

The project’s website said new plans for the intersection include:

1. For the intersection of Van Dorn Street and Eisenhower Avenue, relocate the left turns from southbound Van Dorn Street to eastbound Eisenhower Avenue and from westbound Eisenhower Avenue to southbound Van Dorn Street. These movements will use the ramps from Van Dorn Street to Metro Road, located to the north of the intersection. This will improve traffic flow and operations at the intersection.
2. Construct a new sidewalk on the south side of Eisenhower Avenue from Van Dorn Street to the Van Dorn Metro Station by reducing capacity and re-utilizing one lane on eastbound Eisenhower Avenue between Van Dorn Street and Metro Road. The new sidewalk will provide a direct pedestrian connection to the Metro station, eliminating the need to cross Eisenhower Avenue.
3. Improve the bus stop on the south side of Eisenhower Avenue (adjacent to eastbound traffic) near Van Dorn Street. The new sidewalk will add better connectivity to the transit stop and allow for a transit shelter similar to the bus stop on the opposite side of Eisenhower Avenue.
4. Build a two-way cycle track along the north side of Eisenhower Avenue from the Van Dorn Metro Station to Van Dorn Street. The cycle track will be approximately 1,700′ in length and include two 5′-wide lanes. Future projects will build connections along Van Dorn Street and east to Holmes Run.

The area toward the middle of Eisenhower Avenue, Scolese said, is also a hotbed of drag racing, particularly from the Holmes Run Trail to Telegraph Road.

“What we’ve heard here is speeding and [it’s dangerous] crossing the road,” Scolese said. “From what [the Alexandria Police Department] says, it’s prime real estate for drag racing.”

Scolese said, because there’s seldom congestion on that section of the road during the day, the city is considering extending the bike lanes considered on the west end of Eisenhower Avenue further east.

Finally, while Scolese said much of the current planning is focused on getting central and western Eisenhower Avenue caught up with the infrastructure work at the east end of the street, there are other projects in the work at the east end: including replacing the intimidating, dimly lit tunnel connecting Eisenhower Avenue to Duke Street. The tunnel has occasionally been called the tetanus tunnel, and not without good reason.

“On the east end [of Eisenhower Avenue] there are issues, but it’s the area with the most identified projects funded,” Scolese said. “We want to provide other connections besdies the tunnel. On that one, we have to work with [the Virginia Department of Transportation].”

A survey about the city’s Eisenhower Avenue plans is available online through May 10.

Image via Google Maps

(Updated 4:40 p.m.) The large office building in Carlyle containing the Motley Fool headquarters is heading to a foreclosure auction.

The 164,407-square-foot office building has a stately appearance at the northern entrance to the Carlyle neighborhood — with the iconic lion statues out front and a distinctive circular turret design — but the building has been the victim of market upheaval since the pandemic devastated office real estate.

In 2023, building tenant Motley Fool significantly downsized its space in the building.

The Washington Business Journal reported that the building’s owner, The Shidler Group, defaulted on its mortgage of the building.

A news release said the building will be sold at a foreclosure auction on Thursday, May 16, with RealMarkets handling the sale.

“The successful bidder will own the five-story building on approximately 1.6 acres subject to a ground lease,” the release said. “The building is approximately 44 percent occupied by two full floor tenants. It features five floors, a marble lobby, entry security and 296 private underground parking spaces. The fourth and fifth floors, as well as some smaller spaces on the ground floor, are available.”

According to the release, it will sell to the highest bidder over a $500,000 minimum bid. The building sold for $57.75 million back in February 2019.

Image via Google Maps

The historic cemetery tour: it’s the one locals are dying to get into.

A tour coming up this Saturday (April 27) will reacquaint Alexandrians with some of their post-mortem neighbors and hear buried histories of duels, cavalry battles and more in the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex (1475-1501 Wilkes Street).

According to the Office of Historic Alexandria:

Embark on an extraordinary walking tour through the historic Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex. Immerse yourself in the captivating lives of remarkable individuals laid to rest here who share a profound connection to the landmark Lee-Fendall House. This exclusive tour offers a rare opportunity to visit gravesites not typically covered elsewhere, unveiling tales of duels, cavalry battles, encounters with the Marquis de Lafayette, and many other intriguing narratives.

Tickets for the tour are $20 per person and all proceeds go directly to the preservation and maintenance of the Lee-Fendall House. The tour is limited to 25 participants, starts at 1 p.m. and lasts approximately one hour.

A little over two years after it opened, Foxtrot in Old Town is closed — swept up in a series of closures affecting all locations in the Washington D.C. area.

The shop was a more upscale version of the typical corner store and cafe. The first D.C. location opened in 2021 and it quickly spread around the region before imploding today.

“It is with a heavy heart that we must inform you of a difficult decision we have had to make,” the company said on Facebook. “After much consideration and evaluation, we regret to announce that Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen & Market will be closing their doors starting on April 23, 2024.”

The closure affects all 33 Foxtrot locations in D.C. as well as Chicago, Austin and Dallas.

“We explored many avenues to continue the business but found no viable option despite good faith and exhaustive efforts,” the company said.

Photo via Foxtrot/Facebook