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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Metro will be fare-free after 5 p.m. on 4th of July

By Vernon Miles
King Street Metro at sunset (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is celebrating Independence Day by going fare-free for the holiday.

On July 4th (Thursday) all Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess will be free after 5 p.m. The Metro system closes at midnight, but last train times vary by station.

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Shooting at Carlyle gym leaves two dead, including alleged shooter

By Vernon Miles

The Alexandria Police Department is investigating a shooting this afternoon on the 300 block of Hooffs Run Drive that left one man and the alleged male shooter dead.

Police said in a release that both people were transported to local hospitals and there is no threat to the public related to the incident. In an update around 11:45 p.m. police said the male victim and alleged shooter both succumbed to their injuries.

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Alexandria opens new exhibit highlighting community stories and neighborhood history

By Vernon Miles
Francesco interviewing Verdella Jennings (Photo via Mary Bramley/City of Alexandria)

As part of the 275th birthday celebrations this year, the Office of Historic Alexandria has launched a new exhibit in The Lyceum (201 S. Washington Street) dedicated to an oral history project.

The project is called Mapping Alexandria: Stories of a Changing City. It includes interviews with current and former residents to get first-hand accounts of Alexandria history and how its neighborhoods have evolved over time.

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News

Regional gelato chain opens new location in Old Town

By Vernon Miles
Offerings at Pitango Gelato (photo via Facebook)

Regional gelato chain Pitango Gelato opened earlier this week at 115 S. Union Street in Old Town, a block away from the waterfront.

The location held a grand opening on Tuesday, June 25. The new location is next to Union Street Public House and less than a block away from Ben & Jerry’s.

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Former Waterfront Park artwork being moved to permanent home at Braddock Road Metro station

By Vernon Miles
New public art at Waterfront Park (Photo by James Cullum)

Artwork formerly located at Waterfront Park and exploring the complex relationship between Alexandria’s economy and slavery is making a return: this time to a new permanent home at the Braddock Road Metro Station.

The artwork “Wrought, Knit, Labors, Legacies” by artist Olalekan Jeyifous opened in Waterfront Park in March 2020 and is inspired by “Alexandria’s rich and complicated industrial and merchant history.” The artwork was relocated to the Old Town Pool at 1609 Cameron Street, but the location was temporary until a more permanent location could be found, in part due to 2-5 years of construction planned at the Old Town Pool.

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City Manager discusses successes and setbacks in ensuring abortion access in Alexandria

By Vernon Miles
Pro and anti-abortion activists at Alexandria City Hall, June 28, 2022. (staff photo by James Cullum)

At a City Council meeting earlier this week, Alexandria City Manager Jim Parajon said the city has seen some advances but also some hurdles in its efforts to make abortion and other women’s health services accessible.

Two years ago, Alexandria’s City Council adopted a resolution asking the City Manager to consider proposals ensuring “accessibility of reproductive health services, safe abortion services, accessible maternal and child health services for low-income Alexandria residents.”

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Alexandria Mayor echoes transit advocates’ concerns about Woodrow Wilson Bridge toll lanes

By Vernon Miles
Cars travel westbound I-495 on the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge (via Google Maps)

On paper, the plan to add toll lanes to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge doesn’t preclude the possibility of adding Metro access one day, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson joined the Coalition for Smarter Growth in expressing concerns that the new express lanes would make future rail plans unfeasible.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is currently considering converting a portion of the bridge reserved for future HOV/express bus/rail transit into toll lanes. VDOT said future transit could be implemented by shifting one thru lane to a local lane and reducing to one express lane in each direction. But Wilson said Alexandria has had a history of legal fights over the bridge, the notable one being a lawsuit that resulted in the bridge being 10 lanes instead of 12.

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Jet fuel pipeline replacement project starting next month near Braddock and Potomac Yard

By Vernon Miles
Route 1 over the Potomac Yard trail. (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Pipeline company Kinder Morgan SE Products, formerly Plantation Pipeline, will begin a pipeline relocation and replacement project next month along the rail lines running through the Braddock and Potomac Yard neighborhoods.

The project will replace approximately 2.4 miles of pipeline in the CSX right of way.

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New Hotel Heron rooftop bar launching with festive 4th of July event

By Vernon Miles
Good Fortune bar (photo via Hotel Heron/Facebook)

A new rooftop bar called Good Fortune opened last week at Old Town’s brand new Hotel Heron (699 Prince Street) and it’s planning to capitalize on its scenic view with a 4th of July event.

The bar is hosting a party called “Red, White and Views” celebrating the new scenic view of the Potomac River and D.C.

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Alexandria hosting open house for long-awaited fix to damaged Holmes Run Trail

By Vernon Miles
A trail entrance to Dora Kelley Nature Park after flood damage in 2018 (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The City of Alexandria is hosting an open house tonight for a long-awaited trail repair project.

A double whammy of historic floods in 2018 and 2019 wreaked havoc on the Holmes Run Trail — a beautiful forested trail running through woods and along the Holmes Run stream through the heart of Alexandria.

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