Vernon Miles | ALXnow

New auto-shop could move in across from Victory Center

Published May 3, 2021 at 3:30PM

When the Victory Center parking lot does eventually get turned into a housing development, locals won’t have to go far to get their car checked out.

The Planing Commission is scheduled to review an application by Vijay Laxmi LLC to open a light automotive repair shop at 4936 Eisenhower Avenue, directly across from the Victory Center.

News

JUST IN: Power outages across Alexandria as strong winds hit the city

By Vernon Miles

Published April 30, 2021 at 5:45PM | Updated April 30, 2021 at 6:19PM

Update at 6:20 p.m. — Outages remain in Taylor Run, but the Arlandria outage has been fixed.

Several thousand Alexandrians are currently without power as a result of a “wall of wind.”

News

New rooftop restaurant could be coming to the waterfront

By Vernon Miles

Published April 29, 2021 at 2:30PM

A waterfront building at the very end of King Street could be getting a new rooftop restaurant.

The building at 101 N. Union Street, home to Vola’s Dockside Grill and Hi-Tide Lounge — and known more by locals as where Jamey Turner usually sets up his iconic glass harp — could soon be refitted to add an accessible roof with a new restaurant.

News

Stopping Midstream: City Council sends stream restoration projects back for further study

By Vernon Miles

Published April 28, 2021 at 4:45PM | Updated April 29, 2021 at 12:09PM

Taylor Run (Photo via City of Alexandria)

Near the end of a nearly eight-hour meeting, the City Council opted last night to send aspects of the city’s controversial stream restoration projects back to the drawing board in light of widespread public criticism.

Stream restoration became something of a surprise Seminary Road-like issue last year. Many recurring public complaints — namely over a lack of communication from staff and concerns regarding city studies — resurfaced during the Taylor Run and Strawberry Run stream restoration debates.

News

Incumbent delegate and Alexandria vice mayor square off in unique 45th District race

By Vernon Miles

Published April 28, 2021 at 3:30PM

The race for the 45th District House of Delegates seat is a weird one.

Delegate Mark Levine announced in December that he would be running for Lieutenant Governor. A month later, Alexandria Vice Mayor Elizabeth Bennett-Parker announced that she would be running for Levine’s delegate seat. The wrinkle in all of this, however, is that Levine is also running for reelection in the 45th district as a precaution in case he doesn’t win the fairly crowded Lieutenant Governor primary.

Opinion

Poll: Should expanded outdoor dining and takeout remain after COVID?

By Vernon Miles

Published April 27, 2021 at 2:30PM

Enjoying the weather and outside seating on lower King Street in Old Town. (staff photo by James Cullum)

When Virginia first started loosening restrictions around the delivery of alcohol, Mayor Justin Wilson and other leaders noted that it was going to be difficult to get that particular cat back in the bag once the pandemic is over.

Eased restrictions around alcohol was just the start, and in the year since the city went into lockdown during the pandemic, the city has loosened some of its restrictions on outdoor dining, takeout, and curbside pickup parking spots to help struggling local businesses.

News

Del Ray restaurant The Garden to bloom into new outdoor area

By Vernon Miles

Published April 26, 2021 at 2:15PM

A Del Ray beer garden is headed to the Planning Commission on Tuesday, May 4, with hopes to grow beyond the venue’s current confines.

The Garden at 1503 Mount Vernon Avenue is requesting to expand its outdoor seating from 100 to 146 seats and expand hours of operation from the current 10 p.m. closing time to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and at midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

News

Chief says April 6 chase investigation ongoing, discusses 2020 crime wave

By Vernon Miles

Published April 23, 2021 at 2:45PM

At a community meeting earlier this week, police grappled with public concerns over last year’s spike in crime and addressed some of the causes behind it.

The elephant in the room was the shots fired call on April 6 that ended with a chase into D.C. and one of the suspects died after jumping off an overpass. On that topic, some seemed hopeful that Brown could shed more light on what happened.

Opinion

Poll: Would you support a new Waterfront Museum?

By Vernon Miles

Published April 22, 2021 at 10:30AM | Updated April 22, 2021 at 2:57PM

Looking east toward National Harbor from Waterfront Park in Old Town (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

You remember how we knew basically nothing about the proposed Waterfront Museum study? Turns out, many in the city doesn’t either.

At a Waterfront Commission meeting on Tuesday, the Commission took a second look at the Waterfront Museum study and the costs associated with it.

News

New Alexandria museum shifts focus away from slavers to the lives of their victims

By Vernon Miles

Published April 21, 2021 at 3:45PM

Freedom House at 1315 Duke Street (photo via City of Alexandria)

The city has opened up a little about plans to reshape a former slave trading headquarters in Alexandria into a museum centered around the Black Americans enslaved in early American history.

The reopening of the Freedom House Museum at 1315 Duke Street is planned for this fall — after it was originally planned for opening this spring.

News

Rate adjustment could mean higher water bill this year for Alexandrians

By Vernon Miles

Published April 21, 2021 at 2:30PM | Updated April 21, 2021 at 4:43PM

(Updated 4:40 p.m.) Alexandrians could see their wastewater bill go up an average $50 per year with a new rate adjustment aimed at funding the extensive RiverRenew program.

The adjustment has been in the works for a while but was delayed last year in light of the impact of COVID-19 on the local economy. The rate would be in place for two years to finance AlexRenew’s state-mandated efforts to overhaul the city’s sewer system.