Vernon Miles | ALXnow

Alexandria Health Department working on providing blood lead level tests for elementary school students and staff

Published October 1, 2024 at 3:30PM

Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School (image via Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School/Facebook)

The Alexandria Health Department said it is working to provide lead testing for students, faculty and staff at Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School, which closed after possible lead exposure.

Testing for lead requires a blood test. According to the Alexandria Health Department:

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Alexandria holds onto bronze prize for ‘Best Small Cities’ list behind South Carolina and New Mexico cities

By Vernon Miles

Published October 1, 2024 at 11:45AM

Tables and chairs on the sidewalk on a rainy day, in front of restaurants on King Street in Old Town Alexandria (credit: coachwood - stock.adobe.com)

For three years in a row, Alexandria has held onto its title as the third best small city, according to a reader survey in magazine Condé Nast Traveler.

This year’s Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards, announced today, saw Alexandria hold onto its third-place spot, just behind Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Charleston, South Carolina.

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Alexandria Police Department stepping up patrols in Braddock neighborhood after recent shootings

By Vernon Miles

Published October 1, 2024 at 9:00AM

Police at the scene of a shooting near the Braddock Road Metro station, Sept. 19, 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria Police Department is stepping up patrols and implementing other security measures around the Andrew Adkins development after a pair of recent shootings nearby.

On Thursday, Sept. 19, three people were shot in the Braddock neighborhood near the Andrew Adkins development, including a 15-year-old boy. One victim, Kwakia Frazier, was fatally wounded in the shooting.

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Overdue Old Town bridge replacements could come with pedestrian improvements

By Vernon Miles

Published September 30, 2024 at 3:50PM

A VRE train crosses a bridge over King Street (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The much-needed replacement of Alexandria’s most-strikable bridge could come with some benefits to the cramped sidewalk beneath.

At a City Council meeting last week, City Council member Sarah Bagley said the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is moving forward with the replacement of a pair of bridges that passes over King Street and Commonwealth Avenue.

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Alexandria Police seeking information about young girl seen alone in parking lot near Brookville

By Vernon Miles

Published September 30, 2024 at 2:30PM | Updated September 30, 2024 at 4:09PM

Location where a young girl was seen alone (image via Google Maps)

The Alexandria Police Department (APD) is seeking help from anyone who might have information on a very young girl who was seen alone early this morning (Monday) near the Brookville neighborhood.

APD conducted a search of the area around the 900 block of N. Van Dorn Street but said no investigation is currently ongoing.

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Alexandria elementary school still closed after lead exposure last week

By Vernon Miles

Published September 30, 2024 at 11:30AM

Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School (image via Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School/Facebook)

Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School in the Rosemont neighborhood remains closed today (Monday) after being closed last week due to a lead exposure incident at the school.

Principal Suzanne Hess sent a letter to the school’s community last Thursday saying contractors at the school for window replacement work discovered lead in two classrooms.

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Police: Two men shot early this morning in Braddock neighborhood

By Vernon Miles

Published September 28, 2024 at 8:20AM

N. Fayette Street and Wythe Street (image via Google Maps)

The Alexandria Police Department confirmed two men in their car at the intersection of N. Fayette and Wythe Streets were shot in their car just before 2 a.m.

Witnesses told police they heard what sounded like automatic gunfire, according to the police scanner.

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After Arlington Missing Middle changes overturned, Alexandrians wonder if Zoning for Housing is next

By Vernon Miles

Published September 27, 2024 at 2:25PM

Protestors and supporters of Arlington's Missing Middle zoning change (staff photo)

Circuit Court Judge David S. Schell, who is also set to rule on Alexandria’s Zoning for Housing/Housing for All litigation, overturned neighboring Arlington’s Missing Middle zoning changes today.

The Missing Middle and Zoning for Housing reforms were both substantial zoning reforms that, among other changes, eliminated single-family-only zoning. As a group of Alexandrians have been filing suit against the City, locals have been watching the Arlington case as a weather vane.

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Traffic stalled on Route 1 after crash involving Alexandria Police cruiser

By Vernon Miles and James Cullum

Published September 27, 2024 at 11:35AM

Crash involving a police cruiser at Wythe and N. Patrick Street (staff photo by James Cullum)

Traffic slowed on Route 1 this morning for a crash involving an Alexandria Police Department (APD) cruiser on N. Patrick Street.

The crash occurred around 10:27 a.m. As of 11:20 a.m., the right lane of northbound traffic on N. Patrick Street was blocked and the eastbound lanes on Wythe Street were closed.

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Three years after initial purchase, Mudhouse Coffee moving forward with new Old Town location

By Vernon Miles

Published September 27, 2024 at 9:20AM | Updated October 3, 2024 at 9:03AM

Holy Cacao Mocha at Mudhouse Coffee Roasters (image via Mudhouse Coffee Roasters/Instagram)

Three years after purchasing the building, Mudhouse Coffee Roasters could finally be moving into 1119 King Street.

The owner filed a new special use permit this week to renovate the existing retail/mercantile space into use as a coffee shop. The shop will have 20-25 maximum patrons, according to the permit.

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Former Trump administration official talks living in Del Ray as a Republican

By Vernon Miles

Published September 26, 2024 at 3:30PM

Former national security official Olivia Troye with former Rep. Barbara Comstock (Left) and former Rep. Denver Riggleman (right) (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

The battle over Judy Lowe Park’s closure exposed a divide between vice presidential candidate JD Vance and many of his more liberal neighbors, but Vance isn’t the first Trump affiliated person to live in the Del Ray neighborhood.

At an event today (Thursday) for Republicans speaking out against former President Donald Trump, Olivia Troye, former top aide to Mike Pence, spoke to ALXnow about her experience living in the liberal enclave while working in the Trump administration.