Author: Vernon Miles

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.

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Coronavirus Claims Longtime Irish Gift Shop in Old Town

By Vernon Miles

After 50 years in business, The Irish Walk at 415 King Street will close by the end of July.

“It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that after 50 years in business; The Irish Walk will be closing its doors on July 31, 2020,” owner Patty Theobald said in an email. “From the original owners, the Butler Family, to the Troy Family, to me and my staff, we have all enjoyed getting to know our customers and community over the last five decades.

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ALXnow Weekend Discussion

By Vernon Miles
Abyssinia Market and Coffee House (photo via Abyssinia Market and Coffee House/Facebook)

A pair of incidents — racist threats at a local martial arts champion and a man spitting at a local coffee house owner — were the prevailing stories Alexandria.

Alexandria Police told ALXnow that a suspect in the incident was found and taken into custody, but ultimately was not identified and “received services.”

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Pandemic Sends Demand Skyrocketing at Old Town Bike Store

By Vernon Miles

If it has air in the tires, Charles Bennett Moore — owner of the Alexandria location for Big Wheel Bikes — has been selling it.

While businesses across Alexandria have been struggling to pull out of the pandemic, the last few months have been an unusual windfall for Old Town waterfront business Big Wheel Bikes (2 Prince Street).

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Alexandria Parking Enforcement to Start Again Later This Month

By Vernon Miles
A parking meter in Old Town Alexandria on King Street

After weeks of laissez-faire parking enforcement during the pandemic, Alexandrians may want to start being more careful about where they park later this month.

“The City of Alexandria will resume enforcement of residential parking zones, weekend meters, and other parking regulations beginning Monday, July 20,” the city said in a news release. “Enforcement has been temporarily suspended since March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

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City Council Authorizes Purchase of ‘West End City Hall’

By Vernon Miles
4850 Mark Center Drive. (Courtesy photo)

The office building at 4850 Mark Center Drive may not be known to many Alexandrians, but on Tuesday it was approved as the eventual headquarters of the city’s Health Department and Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) — and potentially a temporary hub of city administration once repairs to City Hall move forward.

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the council approved purchasing the building for $58.7 million and to relocate the Health Department andn DCHS into the 10-story building.

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New Mixed-Use Development Sparks Frustration With Density in Parker-Gray Neighborhood

By Vernon Miles
Concept rendering of 701 N. Henry Street project (photo via City of Alexandria)

There were public concerns about the massing, height, and construction hours for the newly approved development at 701 N. Henry Street. Behind those criticisms though was a recurring theme: many residents of the city’s historic Parker-Gray neighborhood are unhappy with the new density coming to their neighborhood.

Before it was part of the trendy Braddock neighborhood, with Metro adjacent coffee shops and bars, the Parker-Gray neighborhood was a historic black community formed as a haven for former slaves after the Civil War and solidified into a distinct center of Black life in Alexandria during segregation, according to the Washington Post.

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Director of Finance: Full Economic Recovery From COVID-19 Shutdown Likely Two Years Away

By Vernon Miles

Alright, which of you went to a movie in April?

At the height of the pandemic, when nearly everything in the city was shut down, the city’s latest revenue report shows that the city still collected $2 in admissions tax. The city’s finance officials ran the numbers and said that meant that four people bought tickets at movie theaters in Alexandria while nearly everything in the city was shut down.

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Alexandria Launches New Program to Help Unemployed Locals Find Jobs

By Vernon Miles

Alexandria’s Workforce Development Center has launched a new program aimed at offering training and services for the thousands of Alexandrians currently unemployed after the COVID-19 shutdown.

Strive & Thrive: Helping Alexandria Stay Resilient & Get Back to Work offers free online programs on topics like resume building and mastering job interviews.

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Poor Business Revenue Amid Shutdown Leaves Alexandria Government With Empty Pockets

By Vernon Miles
Alexandria City Hall (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria businesses struggled with poor sales during the shutdown, and now that drop in revenue is coming around to leave the City of Alexandria with little commercial tax support for an already strained budget.

According to information shared by Mayor Justin Wilson, the city faced a dramatic drop off in business taxes in April and May.

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