Vernon Miles | ALXnow

Mount Vernon Trail-adjacent office could become cyclist-themed outdoor venue

Published June 20, 2023 at 11:00AM

Outdoor event space at 99 Canal Center Plaza (image via City of Alexandria)

An event space just off the Mount Vernon Trail at Canal Center is looking to undergo a small expansion to make the Old Town North location a little more exciting.

Chalkboard Canal Center LLC, is proposing to add two temporary trailers to the event as well as a permit for live music to create a venue called The Bike Club.

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ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

By Vernon Miles

Published June 16, 2023 at 3:30PM

Milkshakes at The Crazy Mason (image via The Crazy Mason Milkshake Bar Old Town Alexandria/Facebook)

It’s been an interesting week in Alexandria, with a preview of new Alexandria City Public Schools’ leadership and an announcement earlier today of another principal’s departure.

Two candidates are squaring off to fill the sizable shoes left in Alexandria City High School by the departing Principal Peter Balas. Alexander Duncan III, the Minnie Howard Campus administrator, and Marcia Rice, principal at Meadowbrook High School, answered a variety of questions Monday night in a Zoom meet-and-greet moderated by former ACHS principal John Porter.

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After years of neglect, Alexandria starting to restore historic Black cemetery

By Vernon Miles

Published June 16, 2023 at 1:45PM

Douglass Memorial Cemetery following flood damages in 2021 (photo courtesy Michael Johnson)

Alexandria is finally making progress on fixing issues as a historic Black cemetery thanks in part to a city employee who spent years flagging ongoing problems at the site.

Douglass Memorial Cemetery (1421 Wilkes Street) has faced repeated flooding that has already washed away some of the grave markings.

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Fort Ward museum temporarily closing

By Vernon Miles

Published June 16, 2023 at 11:00AM

Fort Ward Museum staff shows models with Union uniforms to guests (photo courtesy Fort Ward Museum)

Renovations are doing what the Confederacy couldn’t: temporarily shutting down Fort Ward (4301 W Braddock Road).

While the park itself will remain open, the central Fort Ward Museum is closed for the next month. A release from the City of Alexandria said the museum is scheduled to reopen on July 6.

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Rainbow crosswalks and new Pride artwork could be coming to Old Town next year

By Vernon Miles

Published June 15, 2023 at 3:45PM

City Council member Kirk McPike (image via City of Alexandria)

By next June, Alexandria could have more Pride-themed decorations around town, including rainbow crosswalks and artwork in the new pedestrian zone.

At a City Council meeting earlier this week, City Council member Kirk McPike urged city staff to take another look at adding a rainbow crosswalk to King Street and Pride-themed art in the pedestrian zone.

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Alexandria leaders boiling mad over watered down stream restoration projects

By Vernon Miles

Published June 15, 2023 at 1:45PM | Updated June 15, 2023 at 4:19PM

Taylor Run (photo via City of Alexandria)

The first time the Taylor Run and Strawberry Run restoration projects went to City Council, some in the community were angry. The second time around, it’s city leaders that are angry.

The core of the problem seems that, in an effort to appease everyone involved, Alexandria ended up with a solution that accomplishes virtually nothing when it comes to Strawberry Run.

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Reminder: Parking enforcement lifted and other city service impacts for Juneteenth on Monday

By Vernon Miles

Published June 15, 2023 at 11:00AM

A parking meter in Old Town Alexandria on King Street

This upcoming Monday is Juneteenth, a federal holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the United States. Around Alexandria, that means some services will be reduced or fully unavailable.

Yesterday, the City of Alexandria released a list of affected local services.

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Alexandria ranked in top 20 places for families

By Vernon Miles

Published June 14, 2023 at 3:45PM

The Old Town Alexandria waterfront (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Just behind Iowa City but just above Peachtree Corners, Fortune Magazine listed Alexandria as the 18th best place in the country to raise a family.

While it’s not as high as other rankings, Fortune Magazine described Alexandria’s dining scene and lively neighborhoods as major attractions.

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Covid funding could help restore ‘Green Book’ lodging in Parker Gray

By Vernon Miles

Published June 14, 2023 at 1:35PM

1022 Pendleton Boarding House (image via City of Alexandria)

The owners of an Alexandria rooming house could have gotten a significant paycheck from developers for the property, but the home owner is working with the city to keep it affordable.

At a City Council meeting last night, the Council unanimously authorized to pay $1.95 million from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act grant funding to renovate and preserve a rooming house at 1022 Pendleton Street.

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New exhibit peels back the layers of history on one block in Old Town

By Vernon Miles

Published June 13, 2023 at 1:30PM

Alexandria Archeology Museum (image via City of Alexandria)

A new exhibit in the Alexandria Archaeology Museum (on the third floor of the Torpedo Factory, 105 N. Union Street) highlights a “microcosm of the city” on Lee Street.

The new exhibit dives through the layers of history at one site in Old Town, along with glimpses at a few other waterfront sites.

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ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

By Vernon Miles

Published June 9, 2023 at 3:30PM | Updated June 11, 2023 at 7:06PM

The biggest news throughout the region was the smoke from the Canadian wildfires that descended on Wednesday and stayed through yesterday. Air quality reached dire levels and the City of Alexandria urged locals to stay inside as much as possible. Alexandria City Public Schools brought all outdoor activities inside and canceled outdoor field trips.

Despite the unexpected hazard, Greater Greater Washington released a report this week showing that overall air quality has improved dramatically in the region over the last ten years, thanks in part to the closure of the GenOn Power Plant in 2012.