News

The Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority (ARHA) — now with a new CEO — will be going public with ambitious expansion plans next month.

There’s a lot in ARHA’s FY 2025 Five-Year Plan. A lot of it is vague statements about reaffirming the organization’s commitment to providing public housing and continuing mixed-income partnerships, but the plan also provides details about some specific plans to expand the public housing authority’s footprint in the city.


News

Reminder: Do not stop on King Street to drop your kids off.

King Street and Braddock Road run right in front of the Alexandria City High School and Minnie Howard campuses. Alexandria Police Department (APD) is reminding drivers that both are busy streets and it’s an unsafe area to stop. APD has also stepped up traffic enforcement in those areas with the start of the school year.


News

Lobster lovers shell-abrate: popular lobster roll food truck Cousins Maine Lobster is returning to Alexandria this Wednesday.

This week the food truck will be at Shoppes of Foxchase (4513 Duke Street) from noon to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 21. The food truck offers cuisine like lobster-tacos, grilled cheese, bisque, tails and more.


News

Virginia State Police are seeing public assistance in the investigation of a Reston man found in a car on the shoulder of I-395 near the Seminary Road intersection.

In a release, police said the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Fairfax Field Office is investigating the incident as a suspicious death:


News

The Animal Welfare League of Alexandria has concluded its investigation of PetSmart at Potomac Yard and found that while the facility has problems, there is insufficient evidence to charge the pet care facility or its staff with any crime.

The AWLA reported that a necropsy of Clark, one of the dogs that died after a stay at the Potomac Yard PetSmart boarding facility, likely contracted his illness before his stay at PetSmart.


News

A veteran of housing development in Connecticut will take the reins of the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority (ARHA) next month as the new CEO.

Erik Johnson comes to Alexandria from Hamden, Connecticut, where he served as Director of Economic and Community Development. Before that, Johnson oversaw the housing department for the City of Hartford.


News

Ahead of the start of the school year, the Virginia Department of Education has released a draft of new guidelines for restricting student cell phone use, though for the most part this aligns with the pre-existing cellphone policy in Alexandria schools.

Alexandria City Public Schools approved regulations governing cell phone use in schools last year, effective for the 2023-2024 school year.


News

Alexandria’s popular Tons of Trucks event is returning next month to Chinquapin Park (3210 King Street).

The annual event brings all of the big city vehicles out to the park for attendees to see and explore. Tickets were previously $5 per person, but this year the event is free.


News

The City of Alexandria could be moving forward with regulations on short-term rental properties like Airbnb this fall, but a staff report on the topic revealed interesting statistics on who rents in Alexandria.

There are around 725 short term rentals operating in Alexandria. There are 460 registered with the city and another 265 are probably unregistered units — either not registered with the city or granted an exemption. That’s 0.88% of the available housing stock, which the report said isn’t enough to affect housing prices.


News

New federal funding could be coming to Alexandria, particularly to programs boosting affordable housing and pre-k programs for low-income families.

The funding is in the Senate’s draft government funding bills, which just passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee.


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