Vernon Miles | ALXnow

BREAKING: Alexandria firefighter injured while responding to fire in Old Town home

Published March 15, 2023 at 1:15PM | Updated March 15, 2023 at 2:04PM

Alexandria Fire Department responding to fire at 200 block of South Fairfax Street (staff photo by James Cullum)

(Updated 2 p.m.) The Alexandria Fire Department (AFD) has put out a fire in a home on the 200 block of South Fairfax Street.

AFD spokesperson Raytevia Evans said Alexandria units are responding to a single-family residential building fire. The 200 block of South Fairfax Street and some of the surrounding streets have been closed.

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Alexandria’s City Council and School Board clash in intense budget battle

By Vernon Miles

Published March 14, 2023 at 3:55PM | Updated March 14, 2023 at 4:55PM

ACPS headquarters and clock (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The tense discussions between Alexandria’s City Council and School Board came to a head over Alexandria City High School’s Chance for Change Academy.

The joint work sessions are a chance for the school and city leaders to close the $7.5 million gap between the School Board’s $58.7 million request and the City Manager’s proposed $51.3 funding to the schools in the fiscal year 2024 Capital Improvement Program (CIP). But while both sides agreed relations between the two bodies are better than they’ve been in the past, the conversation still reopened old wounds between the two leadership teams.

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A look back at the ‘urban renewal’ project that reshaped Old Town

By Vernon Miles

Published March 14, 2023 at 1:50PM

The view from the Alexandria City Hall's clock tower. (Staff photo by James Cullum)

Fights over historic preservation are nothing new in Alexandria, and a recent edition of the city’s This Week in Historic Alexandria offered a look back at one of the controversial projects from the 1960s that shaped Old Town as it’s known today.

This year marks 60 years since Alexandria’s City Council approved the “Gadsby Commercial Urban Renewal Plan” in 1963 — a project that saw the large-scale demolition of much of King Street’s older buildings once construction began in 1965.

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Federal grant could boost electrification of DASH fleet

By Vernon Miles

Published March 13, 2023 at 4:10PM

Alexandria is hoping a federal grant could help push Alexandria’s DASH bus network a little closer to full electrification.

A memo from Deputy Director of Transportation Hillary Orr to the Transportation Commission said the city is hoping federal funding can help cover a sizable budget gap looming for electric bus replacement plans.

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New residential development coming to former Mark Center Hilton site

By Vernon Miles

Published March 13, 2023 at 11:00AM | Updated March 17, 2023 at 3:32PM

The Rutherford at Mark Center (image via DCS Design/City of Alexandria)

After some zoning changes at the Mark Center Hilton last year, a developer is hoping to build a new 367-unit residential building on the site (5000 Seminary Road).

Applicant Mark Center Residential, LLC — aka The Requity Group — has submitted a development special use permit (DSUP) application to build the new multifamily building called The Rutherford on a recently subdivided 4.5 acre lot in the Beauregard Small Area Plan.

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ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

By Vernon Miles

Published March 10, 2023 at 3:55PM

The Squirrel Nut Zippers perform at The Birchmere (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

It was a big week for local businesses.

The Birchmere has brought some big names to bat for their new electric sign, like frequent guests Chris Issak, Rick Springfield and John Waters.

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UPDATED: Wayward crow behind Potomac and Del Ray power outage this morning

By Vernon Miles

Published March 10, 2023 at 9:25AM | Updated March 10, 2023 at 10:30AM

Power outage on March 10 (photo via Dominion Energy)

(Updated 9:30 a.m.) Another day, another massive power outage in Alexandria. This time, there’s a corvid to blame.

There were around 4,251 residents in a stretch of Alexandria from the Braddock neighborhood up to Potomac Yard and Lynhaven without power this morning, according to Dominion Energy’s power outage map, though as of 9:20 a.m. the largest outage has been restored.

News

New grant could help relieve Alexandria’s overworked firefighters

By Vernon Miles

Published March 9, 2023 at 3:55PM

The Alexandria Fire Department responding to a blaze in the 100 block of E. Del Ray Avenue on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria’s City Council is looking to a federal grant to help relieve some of Alexandria Fire Department’s (AFD) chronic understaffing.

The city is applying for a grant for $6.8 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to fund 25 additional firefighter positions for AFD.

News

Massive housing reform process for Alexandria kicks off this month

By Vernon Miles

Published March 9, 2023 at 1:45PM

The Eisenhower Square townhouse development (staff photo by Brandi Bottalico)

Alexandria is preparing to launch a massive overhaul of its housing zoning with a kickoff event later this month.

The Zoning for Housing/Housing for All initiative was announced late last year but has been in the works since 2020. The initiative is essentially a top-t0-bottom review of the city code to rewrite the city’s zoning code to emphasize affordability and equity.

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West Glebe Road bridge partially reopens to vehicle traffic

By Vernon Miles

Published March 9, 2023 at 11:15AM

West Glebe Road bridge partially reopened (staff photo by James Cullum)

The West Glebe Road bridge partially reopened yesterday, though pedestrian and bicycle traffic will have to wait to make use of the bridge.

The bridge was previously in a severely deteriorated state, necessitating partial closures over the years until the bridge fully closed last summer.

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Arlington attorney arrested for allegedly stealing credit cards from Alexandria office building

By Vernon Miles

Published March 8, 2023 at 10:15AM | Updated March 8, 2023 at 4:21PM

The Franklin P. Backus Courthouse at 520 King Street in Alexandria (staff photo by James Cullum)

(Updated at 10:25 a.m.) An Arlington defense attorney has been arrested and charged with allegedly stealing credit cards from an Alexandria office building multiple times last year.

The attorney is charged with credit card theft and credit card fraud, both as felonies, and another credit card fraud misdemeanor charge.