Vernon Miles | ALXnow

City Council Unanimously Approves Call for Rent Freeze

Published April 16, 2020 at 4:30PM

Southern Towers residents wait for the bus. (Staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria City Council unanimously approved Councilman Canek Aguirre’s call for a rent freeze at its meeting this week.

The resolution calls on state and federal officials to put a potential moratorium on rents and mortgages and to suspend the reporting of negative credit information by credit bureaus to protect people’s credit scores.

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Arlandria Bar Fundraises to Support Laid-Off Employees

By Vernon Miles

Published April 16, 2020 at 2:00PM

Arlandria bar Hops N Shine (3410 Mount Vernon Avenue) is running a GoFundMe for its laid-off kitchen staff.

The bar opened last January and has become a local fixture; full to the point of overflowing on Wednesday trivia nights. Like other restaurants, Hops N Shine is operating a limited carry-out and delivery business, and the company said in the GoFundMe that it’s had to minimize the number of employees for financial and health reasons.

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Alexandria Moves Forward With Southern Access to Potomac Yard

By Vernon Miles

Published April 16, 2020 at 11:30AM

While city business has mostly been limited to pandemic related emergencies, the Alexandria City Council is moving forward with time-sensitive decisions about southwest access to the new Potomac Yard Metro station.

Southern access to Potomac Yard was a selling point for businesses and organizations moving into the parts of that area, but was cut back to save money on the project. The new plan does not include the full southern entrance as originally envisioned, and instead replaces it with a bridge that connects to the northern entrance.

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Alexandria Health Director Lays Out Criteria for Reopening City

By Vernon Miles

Published April 15, 2020 at 5:15PM | Updated April 16, 2020 at 4:16PM

Updated 4:15 p.m. — As weeks drag into months and the coronavirus pandemic seems no closer to closure, Alexandria officials are trying to pin down what it will take for life in the city to go back to normal.

Dr. Stephen Haering, Director of the Alexandria Health Department, said reopening will require multiple criteria to be met.

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City Council Moves Into Accelerated Budget Process

By Vernon Miles

Published April 15, 2020 at 11:50AM

The City Council reviewed a substantially cut-back $753.3 million fiscal year 2021 operating budget at its meeting Tuesday night, and are now working through a months-long process that must be approved by April 29.

There were few budget surprises at the meeting, as the information was presented last week. The budget is 5.8% lower than the $800 million operating budget Jinks proposed before the COVID-19 pandemic, and includes $46.6 million in cuts to the operating budget and $140.6 million in the capital budget.

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ACPS Pushes Back School Registration Dates

By Vernon Miles

Published April 14, 2020 at 3:15PM

ACPS headquarters and clock (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Due to Gov. Ralph Northam’s stay at home order, school registration dates in Alexandria are being pushed back.

The most immediate impact is registration for kindergarten. The start date for 2020-2021 kindergarten registration is now May 15, a month later than originally planned.

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City Councilman Calls for Freeze on Rents, Mortgages and Negative Credit Reporting

By Vernon Miles

Published April 14, 2020 at 10:30AM

Alexandria Councilman Canek Aguirre

Councilman Canek Aguirre is docketed at tonight’s City Council meeting to introduce a resolution calling for state and federal officials to put a potential moratorium on rents and mortgages and to suspend the reporting of negative credit information by credit bureaus to protect people’s credit scores.

Aguirre said in a press release that the aim of the resolution is protect renters, homeowners, small businesses, and landlords struggling to make ends meet.

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Governor’s Order Authorizes Alexandria to Remove Confederate Statue

By Vernon Miles

Published April 13, 2020 at 5:15PM | Updated April 13, 2020 at 6:44PM

Once again, the Confederacy has been handed a defeat in Richmond that sends ripples up to Alexandria.

Alexandria has debated and put plans in place for the Appomattox statue at the intersection of Prince and S. Washington Streets for years, but state law stood in the way of actually making any progress toward removing it.

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Police: Male Shot in Braddock Neighborhood

By Vernon Miles

Published April 13, 2020 at 3:10PM

The 1200 block of Wythe Street is closed as police are responding to a shots fired call, with one person reported injured with non-life threatening wounds.

Police Spokesperson Lt. Courtney Ballantine said officers have closed the street after responding to a call around 2:30 p.m.

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CVS Donates Boxes of Easter Candy and Gifts to Inova Hospital

By Vernon Miles

Published April 13, 2020 at 2:15PM

Among the other donations to Inova Alexandria Hospital, from masks to food, the hospital received a shipment of candy and Easter baskets this weekend from convenience store chain CVS.

The company donated $5 million in seasonal treats nationwide as part of an effort to boost spirits at hospitals that are starting to fill up with coronavirus patients. The focus, the company said in a press release, was hospitals, food banks, senior centers, youth programs and other critical resources.

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Severe Thunderstorm Warning Issued for Alexandria

By Vernon Miles

Published April 13, 2020 at 1:00PM | Updated April 13, 2020 at 1:33PM

Updated 1:30 p.m. — A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for Alexandria.

The National Weather Service issued the warning for Alexandria and an alert from the city advising those in the area to seek indoor shelter immediately.