Vernon Miles | ALXnow

Mayor pushes for state-level building safety reform after Florida disaster

Published July 12, 2021 at 9:45AM

Southern Towers (staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Last week Mayor Justin Wilson shared information on building inspection requirements following the disaster in Florida, but now the city is also pushing for state-level reform on building inspections.

The city’s scope of implementing building code inspection requirements is bound by the Dillon Rule, which states that localities can only exercise powers expressly granted by the state. On July 8, Wilson sent a letter to Governor Ralph Northam urging him to start the legislative process toward overhauling the state’s barebones inspection requirements.

News

ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

By Vernon Miles

Published July 9, 2021 at 3:30PM

A tour guide tells a story on a hot July day in front of the Carlyle House at 121 N. Fairfax Street in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

Turbulent week in Alexandria, with tropical storms battering the city and locals struggling with a dangerous heat wave.

It was a big week for city politics, with the City Council meeting in-person for the first time in over a year. At the meeting, the Council approved some development plans for Landmark Mall and cut funding away for school resource officers.

News

City looking for 100-year-old residents for centenarian celebration

By Vernon Miles

Published July 9, 2021 at 2:15PM

Senior citizen, via Tiago Muraro/Unsplash

The city is looking to get a count-of and celebrate it’s 100+ year-old residents.

The City of Alexandria announced in a press release that, in partnership with the Successful Aging Committee, the city is celebrating National Centenarian Day on Sept. 28 with a look at the experiences and achievements of Alexandrians who have lived long enough to be designated for historic preservation by the Board of Architectural Review.

News

Here’s the plan for Alexandria’s birthday celebration this weekend

By Vernon Miles

Published July 9, 2021 at 1:00PM

A multi-frame exposure of fireworks over Arlington's Westover on July 4th (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Were you wondering where the city’s fireworks were this weekend?

Fret not: the city reserves its fireworks and pageantry for Saturday, July 10, the celebration of the City of Alexandria’s birthday — a tradition that outdates 4th of July.

Opinion

Poll: Do you agree with reallocation of school resource officer funding?

By Vernon Miles

Published July 9, 2021 at 9:30AM

Earlier this week, the Alexandria City Council overrode the objections of the School Board and voted to reallocate funding away from the school resource officer (SRO) program — eliminating the program.

SROs are police officers stationed inside T.C. Williams High School, Francis Hammond Middle School and George Washington Middle School and specialize in handling kids with emotional and education issues, search and seizure on school grounds, and school shooting situations. The program started in 1997.

News

AHDC unveils new designs and specs for planned Chirilagua affordable housing

By Vernon Miles

Published July 8, 2021 at 2:30PM

Rendering for Mount Vernon and Glebe, via AHDC

As the Alexandria Housing Development Corporation (AHDC) moves forward with its plans to build a 482-unit affordable housing complex in Chirilagua-Arlandria, the local non-profit unveiled the first renderings for the site and stats that raised some eyebrows online.

The City Council approved a loan for the AHDC project in May as part of an ongoing effort combat gentrification likely incoming with Amazon’s arrival in nearby Crystal City. The new development will come at the intersection of Mount Vernon and Glebe Road.

News

Apothecary Museum reopening this weekend in Old Town

By Vernon Miles

Published July 8, 2021 at 10:45AM

Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum at 105-107 S. Fairfax Street in Old Town (Staff photo by James Cullum)

It’s not 1805, so the local apothecary reopening may not have the relevance it once did, but the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum in Old Town is rejoining several other local historic sites this weekend as it reopens for public visits.

The apothecary at 105 South Fairfax Street was once the go-to spot for medicine, farm equipment, and other necessities. The apothecary was converted into a museum in 1939 and purchased by the city in 2006.

News

Long-awaited Landmark Mall redevelopment clears City Council approval

By Vernon Miles

Published July 7, 2021 at 2:30PM

Landmark Mall rendering (image via City of Alexandria)

The sweeping redevelopment of defunct shopping center and Wonder Woman setting Landmark Mall cleared a major hurdle last night as the City Council approved some early financing and plans for the site.

The unanimous approval with little discussion on the City Council was in sharp contrast to a contentious meeting with the Planning Commission, the latter of the approval additional environmental requirements.

News

Local board game ALX-opoly now available for individual purchasing

By Vernon Miles

Published July 7, 2021 at 9:45AM | Updated July 7, 2021 at 4:27PM

ALX-opoly, courtesy Chamber of Commerce

(Updated 4:25 p.m.) ALX-opoly is finally available for the masses, offering many Alexandrians what may be their only chance to own property in the city.

The Chamber of Commerce launched the locally-themed board game last year, a riff on a “popular board game” that they can’t name for legal reasons. Players take pewter replicas of local icons like the Old Town Crier or a construction hat around a map littered with Alexandria streets — like King Street or Mount Vernon Avenue — or local landmarks like George Washington Masonic National Memorial and the Carlyle Lions.

News

Heritage project in Old Town returns for design review

By Vernon Miles

Published July 6, 2021 at 4:45PM

Rendering of Block 1 of the Heritage Project, via City of Alexandria

The Heritage stirred up significant community uproar in the lead up to its approval in February, and now the project is coming back to public review for its design phase.

The project, once described by some on the Board of Architectural Review (BAR) as “Lipstick on a Pig“, is comprised of three new apartment buildings in southeast Old Town along S Patrick and Washington Streets. Each of the buildings scale from three and four stories up to seven stories in parts.

News

City offers cookouts this week to promote local services for families

By Vernon Miles

Published July 6, 2021 at 2:30PM

Hot dog, via David Todd McCarty/Unsplash

The promise of learning more about what types of city services are available through various departments might sound painfully dull, but fortunately someone in city bureaucracy understood that the promise of free food helps add spice to that offer.

The City of Alexandria, along with a handful of partners like Alexandria Redevelopment Housing Authority and the Campagna Center, is hosting a series of cookouts this week and next to provide more information on local youth and family programs, including Safe Space and anti-bullying programs.