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.

Opinion

Poll: What do you think of proposed Old Town Business Improvement District?

By Vernon Miles
A cloudy day in Old Town (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Earlier this week, Old Town Business debuted new plans for a Business Improvement District along King Street.

The new effort comes after multiple earlier efforts to get a BID launched for Old Town, but BID proponents highlighted at a meeting earlier this week that this effort will be different.

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News

Dedicated bus lanes could come to parts of Duke Street

By Vernon Miles
Traffic backup heading eastbound along Duke Street (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Alexandria’s Duke Street transitway could have dedicated bus lanes, but it’s unlikely they’ll run the full length of the corridor.

At a presentation to the City Council on Monday, city staff offered a look at how plans for the Duke Street transitway plans are coming together.

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News

DASH leadership says bus service has work to do to improve accessibility

By Vernon Miles
A DASH bus at Southern Towers (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

Nearly half of Alexandria’s bus stops do not meet federal accessibility standards.

It’s been a good couple years for Alexandria bus service DASH, but a new report presented to the City Council at a meeting this week by Chairman David Kaplan highlighted areas where there’s still room to improve.

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News

Alexandria cancels grant program for minority-owned businesses after lawsuit

By Vernon Miles
Alexandria City Hall sign (staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Alexandria has shelved a grant program aimed at helping minority business owners after a lawsuit claiming the program discriminated against white people.

The program’s cancelation was first reported by the Washington Post.

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News

BID backers race against the clock to get Old Town property owners on board

By Vernon Miles
Shopping in Old Town (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

After years of doing marketing and advocating for local businesses, members of the volunteer-run group Old Town Business say they’re tired — and ready for a Business Improvement District (BID) to take over.

In the first public meeting about a possible BID, leaders of Old Town Business made a case for the district as the only sustainable path forward for businesses running along King Street “from the rails to the water.”

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News

Alexandria’s state representatives rally around bill prohibiting abortion-related extradition

By Vernon Miles

Last week was crossover in the Virginia General Assembly, the halfway point that marks when bills swap houses for votes, and Alexandria legislators have made some progress and had some setbacks.

In the State Senate, Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-30), Richard Saslaw (D-35) and George Barker (D-39) were both sponsors on a bill that prohibits extradition for a person for violating another state’s reproductive health care laws unless those laws are also a criminal offense in Virginia. The bill has crossed over from the State Senate to the House of Delegates.

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News

Seichou Karate fighting to survive Old Town North development plans

By Vernon Miles
Richard Romero, founder of Seichou Karate (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

Seichou Karate Old Town was born in the 2007 Recession and adapted to survive the 2020 Covid pandemic, but after 16 years in the heart of Old Town North, it may not survive the neighborhood’s development boom.

Seichou Karate is one of a dozen stores at the Montgomery Center (807 North Royal Street) in Old Town North. The squat building sits at the heart of a rapidly developing area of the city. Carr Companies purchased the building and announced redevelopment plans last year.

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News

Alexandria replacing its oldest Capital Bikeshare stations

By Vernon Miles

It’s been 12 years since Alexandria joined the Capital Bikeshare network and it’s starting to show on some of the city’s oldest stations.

After more than decade, some of the stations have started to show some wear and tear. A memo from Hillary Orr, deputy director of Transportation & Environmental Services, said after years of expansion the City of Alexandria is focusing this year on replacing some of those older stations.

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News

Six years after its last defeat, the BID proposal rears its head in Old Town once more

By Vernon Miles
Lower King Street, closed to traffic (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Time and time again, a group of business owners has pushed the Old Town Business Improvement District (BID) boulder up the hill, only to have it roll back down again.

Now, a group called Old Town Business is trying — again — to get the boulder to the top.

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News

Alexandria receives grant for safety audits at seven high-crash intersections in the West End

By Vernon Miles
King Street and 28th Street (image via Google Maps)

The City of Alexandria has been picked for a Safe Streets grant that will help the city take another look at seven high-crash intersections around Alexandria’s West End.

The grant approval comes as Alexandria is going through a sweep of safety audits looking at some of the city’s most crash-prone intersections. The projects involve examining the causes of the crashes at the intersection and providing analysis, as well as a community engagement and design process.

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