Vernon Miles | ALXnow

Alexandria aims to adjust vaccination efforts as city moves into next phase

Published April 8, 2021 at 4:30PM

Alexandria is gearing up to move into the next phase of vaccination later this month, and the city’s Health Department is getting ready to launch some new programs and make adjustments to help make getting the shot a little easier.

So far, around 47,434 Alexandrians have been partially vaccinated, and 26,717 have been fully vaccinated. The target goal is 80% of the city vaccinated (106,618 people).

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Tiny lot in Parker-Gray neighborhood could become a home

By Vernon Miles

Published April 8, 2021 at 10:30AM | Updated April 8, 2021 at 3:55PM

1117 Queen Street (photo via Google Maps)

In what is possibly the ultimate example of making use of the city’s land scarcity, a new application coming up at the Monday (April 12) Board of Zoning Appeals meeting seeks to turn a Parker-Gray alleyway into a new single-family home.

The 2,000 square foot lot at 1117 Queen Street is strip of gravel between two other homes mainly used for street parking.

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City looks to Landmark Towers deal to save Arlandria

By Vernon Miles

Published April 7, 2021 at 3:30PM

Landmark Towers has a problem.

The West End residential property at 101 S Whiting Street, originally built in 1964, was more or less falling apart and a planned ten-year rehabilitation project was prohibitively expensive.

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National Park Service announces George Washington Parkway to go on a diet

By Vernon Miles

Published April 7, 2021 at 10:45AM

Some changes are coming to the George Washington Memorial Parkway to make it safer for travelers between Alexandria and the eponymous President’s home at Mount Vernon.

According to the National Park Service (NPS), part of the change will be a road diet — a term that could trigger flashbacks for veterans of the 2019 Seminary Road Comment Wars.

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DASH bus could be completely free starting this fall

By Vernon Miles

Published April 6, 2021 at 2:30PM

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

Alexandria’s DASH bus network could soon be completely free for all passengers.

In a recent newsletter, Mayor Justin Wilson said he is proposing to make DASH free for all riders to go along with a planned overhaul of the bus network going into effect in September.

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Major city projects report released, with a few unexpected cost increases

By Vernon Miles

Published April 6, 2021 at 10:45AM

A trail over Holmes Run closed in 2020 after flooding damaged the trail system (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The Duke Streeet transitway, the Potomac Yard Metro station, and several other city projects have made some substantial headway recently with some big new developments scheduled for the next few months.

A quarterly report headed to the City Council tonight details the latest on several of the city’s major infrastructure projects.

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Bill Campbell pushes for equity on City Council, addresses coaching controversy

By Vernon Miles

Published April 5, 2021 at 11:00AM

Bill Campbell knows he probably isn’t going to be your first choice in the June 8 democratic primary for the Alexandria City Council.

It’s a crowded race for the slate of candidates, which in the heavily blue Alexandria is almost heavily favored in the November general election.

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Amy Jackson highlights government transparency and economic recovery as key issues in election

By Vernon Miles

Published March 30, 2021 at 3:35PM

Even from the dais, City Council member Amy Jackson says there are things that happen in the inner workings of government that fly below her radar.

Grant programs approved, private discussions that shape public policy, funded projects with stalled progress — Jackson said her time on the Council has helped show that there’s still more that needs to be done to make city government more transparent.

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Pete Buttigieg visits Alexandria to sign onto Virginia rail expansion

By Vernon Miles

Published March 30, 2021 at 1:00PM | Updated March 30, 2021 at 8:31PM

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg joined Governor Ralph Northam, Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th) and regional railway leadership at Alexandria’s Union Station to mark a $3.7 billion investment in Virginia rail and the signing of the Transforming Rail in Virginia agreement.

The investment and agreement is designed to pave the way towards increased VRE and Amtrak service, greater connectivity to other parts of Virginia, and to lay the groundwork for a high speed rail corridor — something that’s been a talking point for Buttigieg over the last few months.

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DASH bus route overhaul rolling ahead toward September implementation

By Vernon Miles

Published March 30, 2021 at 9:45AM | Updated March 30, 2021 at 10:19AM

A DASH bus on King Street in Old Town Alexandria

After years of public outreach, a new planned overhaul of the DASH but network is scheduled to launch this fall.

At a meeting last night, DASH representatives said the phased replacement of the current coverage-focused network — a design with a focus on ensuring all Alexandrians have access to some level of bus service — to a service focused model — one that decreases coverage but increases frequency and reliability of its bus lines.

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Alexandria considering alternatives to funding school resource officers

By Vernon Miles

Published March 29, 2021 at 3:45PM

Prompted by a question from City Council member Canek Aguirre, the city is reviewing alternative uses of funding that could be freed up if the city moves forward with plans to do away with the school resource officer position.

School resources officers (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.