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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Plans filed for new athletic field lights for Jefferson Houston in Old Town

By Vernon Miles
Athletic field at Jefferson-Houston (image via Jefferson-Houston/Twitter)

After City Council approved a plan to install lights on athletic fields at several schools, new plans show Jefferson Houston PreK-8 School (1501 Cameron Street) could be the first to get the upgrade.

Plans for the new lights are headed to the Board of Architectural Review on Wednesday, Jan. 4.

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New report shows behind-the-scenes look at successes and challenges of free bus overhaul

By Vernon Miles
A DASH bus in Old Town Alexandria (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated 10:15 a.m. on 12/14/22) As neighboring D.C. moves forward with a fare-free bus network, Alexandria is looking back at lessons from its own first full year with a fare-free bus network.

Alexandria bus network DASH has released its first annual report on the new initiative that eliminated fares for buses.

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Alexandria is pushing for an independent health department

By Vernon Miles
Alexandria Health Department (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

Alexandria is gunning for authority to run its own health department.

Every year, Alexandria sends representatives to Richmond to plead its case to the General Assembly. With the city under the yoke of the Dillon Rule — which says that local government can only exercise powers expressly granted by the state — often times those legislative priorities focus on areas where the city wants a little more wiggle room.

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Alexandria seeking public input on next steps for the Freedom House Museum

By Vernon Miles
Freedom House Museum (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

Within what was once a major hub for the trafficking of enslaved people, the building reopened as the new Freedom House Museum earlier this year. Now, the City of Alexandria is opening up next steps for the property to public discussion.

The Office of Historic Alexandria (OHA) is working on a master plan for the site, weighing options for everything from a name change and exhibit specifications to a discussion of the museum’s overall mission.

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Alexandria partners with local synagogue to obtain hate crime prevention funding

By Vernon Miles
Alexandria Police at night (staff photo by James Cullum)

Last Friday, Alexandria won a $147,600 grant from the state to protect local religious congregations from hate crimes.

The grant funding is the end result of a partnership between the Alexandria Police Department (APD) and the Agudas Achim Congregation. The $147,600 in grant funding comes from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services’ Combating Hate Crime Grant.

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ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

By Vernon Miles
The Scottish Christmas Walk Parade in Old Town, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022 (staff photo by James Cullum)

The big story this week was a fight at Alexandria City High School that got big enough for the police to get involved.

The school was not placed on lockdown, but three students were arrested after the fight. The incident occurs in the middle of intense scrutiny around violence in Alexandria City Public Schools. A student was murdered a few blocks away earlier this year. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares urged the city to work more closely with law enforcement as a result of “the high level of violence and disruption which has taken place in Alexandria City Public Schools recently.”

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Potential impact on Alexandria shuttle programs creates setback for transportation funding overhaul

By Vernon Miles
A bus driver waits outside the Van Dorn Metro station in Alexandria (staff photo by James Cullum)

A plan to overhaul the way Alexandria handles transportation funding from developers was sent back for further review by the Planning Commission.

Members of the Planning Commission said earlier this week that there are too many lingering questions about the impacts on local residents of the proposed changes, though the changes are headed in the right direction.

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Planning Commission backs Landmark redevelopment plans

By Vernon Miles
Thrive (image via City of Alexandria)

Alexandria’s Planning Commission’s recommendation of approval for the long-awaited “West End” development was offset slightly by concerns that the city isn’t doing enough to pressure developers into adopting more environmentally conscious design.

The Planning Commission voted 5-1 in support of development plans for a large chunk of what was once Landmark Mall. The recommendation heading to the City Council supports four sprawling blocks of development with a mixture of multifamily residential, ground-floor commercial, and medical office spaces.

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Inova development could honor woman who pioneered Alexandria healthcare

By Vernon Miles
The Inova At Landmark campus conceptual design. (Via Inova)

(Updated 12/8) A street near the planned Inova hospital anchoring the Landmark redevelopment could celebrate a woman who founded one of the city’s first hospitals.

The Planning Commission voted unanimously at a meeting last night approve of renaming Healthway Place to Julia Johns Place.

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