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.
An Alexandria climbing gym is surviving by its fingertips amid a slow recovery.
“We are talking about a year of survival,” said Sportrock spokesperson Sean Taft-Morales, “not a year of thriving.”
Lena’s Wood-Fired Pizza and Tap could be undergoing a bit new expansion if its special use permit gets approved.
According to the application, new plans would expand Lena’s into the second floor of 515 Mount Vernon Avenue. The expansion would add 180 additional indoor seats to the restaurant.
Alexandria’s Restaurant Week is back, though in the takeout and delivery format that many restaurants have had to adapt to during the pandemic.
From this Friday, Aug. 21, to Sunday Aug. 30, over 60 restaurants in Alexandria will offer a $49 takeout, delivery, or curbside pick-up dinner for two. The event, which started in 2009, is being rebranded as Alexandria Restaurant Week To-Go.
Fall 2020 is going to be an unusual start to the school year for all involved, but ACPS is taking some special precautions to help guide parents and students who have the additional challenge of being new to schools.
Within the Virtual+ model ACPS is pursuing, some specific measures are aimed at the school system’s new Pre-K and Kindergarten families.
In 2016, Alexandria’s Office of Voter Registrations and Elections sent out 1,668 absentee ballots by mail in September. This year, there are 18,498 applicants already signed up.
“We have definitely seen a large increase in absentee by mail ballot requests,” said Angie Maniglia Turner, Alexandria’s new General Registrar. “[As of] this morning we’ve had 18,498 applications processed and they’re coming in every moment. This year is going to be very unique.”
A new convenience shop called Old Town Mini Mart is working through the city’s approval process to open in the heart of Old Town.
According to documents filed with the city, Old Town Mini Mart is planned to open at 822 King Street, once home to Old Town Pack & Ship. That store is still open, staff there said, it just moved around the corner. One of the co-owners of the new Old Town Mini Mart is Rodrigo Restrepo, who is listed as the owner of Old Town Shoe & Luggage Repair next door to the proposed market.
After a brief uptick in the unemployment figures a few weeks ago, the city’s figures have been trending down both in both initial and continued claims, according to data from the Virginia Unemployment Commission.
The city has 5,042 continued unemployment claims as of the week of Aug. 8. That’s the lowest number of continued claims since April 25 when there were 4,881 claims.
Alexandria is hosting an online open house this Wednesday to try to connect local families with an affordable range of child care options.
A virtual open house is scheduled for August 19 from 7-8:30 p.m. on Zoom. Participants can register online to receive a link to the Zoom call.
After months of limited curbside service, Alexandria’s libraries have reopened today with some safety modifications.
The protective measures are standard for what many other locations have been doing to open indoor operations safely as the city still struggles with coronavirus.
A man walked into a Del Ray gas station on Saturday and robbed the location, according to police.
The incident occurred at a Shell Station on the 1600 block of Mount Vernon Avenue on Saturday afternoon, police said.
Alexandria City Public Schools is preparing to go back to school with an all-online model, school administrators are working to adapt the school systems’ athletics program to a new, condensed schedule.
James Parker, Director of Athletics and Student Activities, said that like the rest of the state, Alexandria sports will have a modified schedule with sporting events currently planned to start again in January.
