Author: Vernon Miles

Vernon Miles is the ALXnow cofounder and editor. He's covered Alexandria since 2014 and has been with Local News Now since 2018. When he's not reporting, he can usually be found playing video games or Dungeons and Dragons with friends.

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Top 10 Alexandria stories of 2024

By Vernon Miles
Friendship bracelet crafted at farewell to Judy Lowe park (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

Well, we’ve reached the end of another year in Alexandria. ALXnow launched back in late 2019 and it’s been a wild ride so far.

The biggest stories were Alexandria’s small intersection with national politics as Del Ray residents had a very Del Ray fight with Vice President-elect JD Vance over the neighborhoods’ Jude Lowe Neighborhood Park.

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Street vending could be (officially) coming to Arlandria neighborhood

By Vernon Miles
Street vending on the 3800 block of Mount Vernon Avenue (image via Google Maps)

A new pilot program (item 4) will allow street venting along Mount Vernon Avenue in the Arlandria-Chirilagua neighborhood, though the staff report said the plan is to create a legal pathway for something already occurring in the neighborhood.

A new one year pilot program is headed to the Planning Commission for review on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

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Former Abyssinia Market in Old Town being replaced by a new location from another local coffee spot

By Vernon Miles
Croissant at Cafe du Soleil (image via Cafe du Soleil/Instagram)

Abyssinia Market, a cafe at 720 Jefferson Street that closed this past June, is being replaced with a new location from Old Town’s Cafe du Soleil.

In a new special use permit filing, Cafe du Soleil owners stated the new location will be a coffee house much like the current location at 215 South Union Street with light breakfast foods like egg sandwiches, avocado toast and other breakfast items like crepes.

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Year of Duke Street closures starting today for Landmark Mall redevelopment

By Vernon Miles
Duke Street closure due to Landmark Mall redevelopment (image via City of Alexandria)

Some streets around the former Landmark Mall site, most notable a stretch of Duke Street, could see some closures starting today and running through next August.

The City of Alexandria said the street closures are tied to construction of infrastructure at the WestEnd project.

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Braddock cocktail bar Captain Gregory’s operating out of Old Town North hotel next month

By Vernon Miles
Cocktail at Captain Gregory's (image via Captain Gregory's/Instagram)

Cocktail bar Captain Gregory’s is pulling up anchor and sailing into Hotel AKA Alexandria (625 First Street) next month while its main location undergoes renovations.

The bar said on Instagram that it will set up shop every Thursday through Saturday in January at Hotel AKA.

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Police: Two students charged with assault and battery after Alexandria City High School brawls

By Vernon Miles
ACHS (staff photo by James Cullum)

A series of fights at Alexandria City High School yesterday injured one student, according to the Alexandria Police Department (APD).

Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) closed the school today and tomorrow after a series of “altercations” at the school yesterday (Wednesday). Classes are being taught remotely for the next two days and will resume in-person on Monday, Jan. 6.

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Evaluator finds Alexandria guaranteed income pilot improved mental wellbeing and financial stability for participants

By Vernon Miles
Money on a table (staff photo via Vernon Miles/ALXnow)

While $500 a month may not have been enough to bring participants out of poverty, an assessment of the city’s guaranteed income pilot program found that it had a substantial impact on participants.

The program, labelled Alexandria’s Recurring Income for Success and Equity (ARISE) in a bit of a backronym, was funded in 2021 for $3 million out of the American Rescue Plan Act. The program gave 170 low-income Alexandria residents $500 per month for 24 months to assess the impact it would have on their lives. In June, the program recieved another $550,000 from the City Council to extend the program to June 2025.

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Alexandria City High School going virtual today and tomorrow after school fights

By Vernon Miles
Alexandria City High School (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Students at Alexandria City High School (ACHS) will be taught remotely today (Thursday) and Friday after a series of fights yesterday at the King Street campus.

Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt shared a letter with school families expressing disappointment with the rash of violence at the school. While Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) has shared few details about what occurred, ACHS students reported that a staff member was hit during one of the fights.

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JUST IN: Alexandria City High School ‘placed on hold status’ after multiple fights at the school

By Vernon Miles
Alexandria City High School (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Alexandria City High School has been placed on ‘hold status’ until dismissal today “due to a number of altercations in the school building,” Principal Alexander Duncan said in a message to parents.

According to Duncan, the hold status means there is limited movement inside classrooms and hallways and after school activities — except for a concert at 7:30 p.m. this evening — are cancelled.

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Potomac Yard Greek restaurant joining Maryland-based The Big Greek Cafe chain

By Vernon Miles
Baklava at SouvlakiBar (photo via SouvlakiBar/Facebook)

Just as the Delian League brought together an alliance of Greek city-states, The Big Greek Cafe is uniting SouvlakiBar locations around the region under a new banner.

Patch reported that SouvlakiBar, which has a location at 2732 Richmond Highway in the Potomac Yard neighborhood, will be transitioning to The Big Greek Cafe, a Maryland-based local chain with nine locations

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Mae’s Market and Virginia’s Darling in Old Town closing

By Vernon Miles
Meal at Mae's Market and Cafe (photo via Mae's Market and Cafe/Facebook)

Alexandria restaurants Virginia’s Darling and Mae’s Market and Cafe Alexandria will be closing over the next month.

Owner Nicole Jones, who also owned Stomping Ground in Del Ray, said on Facebook that the businesses were unable to reach a favorable lease agreement with their landlord.

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