Vernon Miles | ALXnow

Alexandria Activities This Weekend for Those Stuck at Home

Published April 3, 2020 at 5:15PM

Stuck at home this weekend social distancing but still want to connect with your fellow Alexandrians? A few online or quarantine-friendly activities

If the quarantine has you stressed out, there are several local online meditation classes. Mind the Mat Pilates and Yoga is live-streaming various yoga, pilates and other exercise classes. The Meditation Center of D.C. is also hosting live-streamed meditations every Saturday at 3:30 p.m. with a Buddist monk.

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Mayor: ‘Nothing is Off the Table’ for Upcoming Budget Cuts and COVID-19 Response

By Vernon Miles

Published April 3, 2020 at 4:30PM

In a candid discussion on Facebook last night (Thursday), Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson outlined some of the largest impacts COVID-19 could have on Alexandria citizens and the city government.

How the outbreak could impact plans for schools, economics, and the health of the community were the top issues in Wilson’s “living room town hall”.

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Del Ray Bicycle Co-Op Closes but Business is Booming for Bike Shop in Old Town

By Vernon Miles

Published April 3, 2020 at 2:00PM

Coronavirus is shutting down one Alexandria workshop, but the bike business is booming across town at a local store.

Velocity Bike Co-op (2111 Mount Vernon Avenue) in Del Ray announced yesterday that, after a period of trying to make do with reduced hours, the non-profit, volunteer organization would be temporarily closed

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Casa Chirilagua Thanks Alexandria for ‘Incredible Response’

By Vernon Miles

Published April 2, 2020 at 4:30PM

Casa Chirilagua took to YouTube to thank Alexandria for the recent outpouring of support and to outline ways the organization is trying to help some of the city’s most vulnerable populations.

Casa Chirilagua is a Christian nonprofit in the Chirilagua/Arlandria neighborhood that provides help for local low-income families. Over the last few weeks, as many of these families have lost jobs, Casa Chirlagua has scrambled to help cover rent and grocery needs for the community.

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Online Viewing Party Tonight for Torpedo Factory Art Center Film

By Vernon Miles

Published April 2, 2020 at 11:30AM

A planned screening of a film covering the history of the Torpedo Factory is being turned into an online viewing party tonight.

“A Brush with History” is a film by local director Nora Kubach about the Torpedo Factory’s 100-year history.

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Alexandria Urges State to Ease Up on the Cocktail Restrictions

By Vernon Miles

Published April 1, 2020 at 4:30PM | Updated March 15, 2024 at 2:38PM

With restaurants in Virginia now relying on take-out and delivery for their survival through the pandemic, Alexandria is joining other localities in urging the state government to allow restaurants to make cocktails to-go.

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Former Civil War Barracks in Old Town to Become ‘Delicious Deli’

By Vernon Miles

Published April 1, 2020 at 3:15PM

A new deli is in the works for a building on S. Washington Street that was once Union officers’ quarters during the Civil War.

The site is planned to be turned into Delicious Deli Inc., a full-service, 1,600 square foot restaurant. The restaurant will be a neighbor to Ally & Indy Pet Boutique, which shares the ground floor of the double-house.

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Alexandria Library Boosts eBook Selection During Quarantine

By Vernon Miles

Published April 1, 2020 at 11:30AM

The Charles Beatley library in Alexandria (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

While Alexandria’s library network is closed for the foreseeable future, the library has a new selection of electronic options to help Alexandrians through the quarantine.

“The City of Alexandria has given the Library $50,000 to purchase additional eBooks and eAudiobooks,” the city said in a press release. “With Governor Northam’s announcement that Virginians are to stay at home, residents need virtual options to Library services even more than ever.”

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Local Doctors Struggle with Helplessness and Supply Shortages

By Vernon Miles

Published March 31, 2020 at 3:15PM

There’s nothing more frustrating than knowing you could be helping and being unable to. It’s a plight doctors like Del Ray’s Matthew Haden are experiencing with the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s been extremely frustrating,” Haden said. “We feel sidelined. We’re trained to help for something like this, but we can’t. It’s extremely frustrating to know we can only help virtually, which often means not being able to help those in need.”

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Visit Alexandria Launches Video Series Today with Town Crier

By Vernon Miles

Published March 31, 2020 at 11:30AM

Alexandria Town Crier Benjamin Fiore-Walker and his assistants ringing in the George Washington Birthday Parade in Old Town, Feb. 17, 2020. (Staff photo by James Cullum)

As the coronavirus pandemic brings tourism to a standstill, Visit Alexandria has scheduled a series of virtual sessions with local businesses and attractions called ALX at Home LIVE.

The video series is scheduled to start today (Tuesday) at 2 p.m. with an interview with town crier Ben Fiore-Walker, featuring an original town cry.

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Oakville Triangle Project Loses Retail but Gains New Park Space

By Vernon Miles

Published March 30, 2020 at 4:30PM

The expanded Mount Jefferson Park in the new Oakville Triangle development plan (image via City of Alexandria)

The developers behind the Oakville Triangle redevelopment say the project has been dramatically reshaped by the decline of brick-and-mortar retail.

Early designs for the project were of a predominately retail district set up across several blocks near Mount Jefferson Park, but Doug Firstenberg, a principal with development investment firm Stonebridge, said in a video that the 13-acre project near Potomac Yard is being reshaped.