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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French cafe in Del Ray seeking permit to significantly expand seating into adjacent empty lot

By Vernon Miles
2207 Mount Vernon Avenue (image via Google Maps)

Del Ray restaurant Gustave Boulangerie & Brasserie could be getting a significant expansion.

The restaurant sits at 2213 Mount Vernon Avenue right at the corner with East Del Ray Avenue, but the new application seeks permission to add 86 outdoor dining seats to the empty lot at 2207 Mount Vernon Avenue.

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New plaques honor Alexandrians who died in the Vietnam War

By Vernon Miles
Vietnam War plaque (image via City of Alexandria)

A pair of new plaques honoring the Alexandrians who died in the Vietnam War will be installed and dedicated over the next month around Alexandria.

VFW Post 609, American Legion Post 24, and the Office of Historic Alexandria are memorializing the Alexandrians with a plaque dedication ceremony on Monday, Memorial Day.

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Rep. Beyer pushes for more AI transparency after Scarlett Johansson controversy

By Vernon Miles
Rep. Don Beyer, of Virginia's 8th District, speaks to supporters on election night at Pork Barrel BBQ in Del Ray, Nov. 8, 2022 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th) is doubling down on a push for new transparency standards after a controversy surrounding OpenAI and actress Scarlett Johansson.

OpenAI claimed its new ChatGPT assistant, which sounded eerily similar to Johansson, wasn’t based on Johansson despite the actress saying the company previously tried to hire her for the chatbot. Further adding to evidence that it was, in fact, based on Johannsson’s voice was OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posting a one-word reference to the 2013 movie Her, which notably features Johansson playing an AI.

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Alexandria hosting open house this week for major Del Ray flood mitigation project

By Vernon Miles
Commonwealth, Ashby, Glebe Flood Mitigation Project (photo via City of Alexandria)

The City of Alexandria will host an open house this Wednesday (May 22) to discuss one of the city’s largest flood mitigation projects.

The Commonwealth, Ashby, Glebe Flood Mitigation Project should provide flood mitigation for Lynhaven and the northern end of Del Ray.

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VDOT to lift lane closures for Memorial Day weekend

By Vernon Miles
VDOT travel trends map (image via VDOT)

Alexandrians planning on driving this upcoming Memorial Day weekend may be relieved to hear that the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is suspending highway work zones and lifting most lane closures for the upcoming weekend.

“VDOT will be suspending many highway work zones and lifting most lane closures on interstates and other major roads in Virginia from noon on Friday, May 24, until noon on Tuesday, May 28,” VDOT said in a release.

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Alexandria poet laureate to speak at the United Nations on Friday

By Vernon Miles
Poet Laureate Zeina Azzam reads her poem 'Like The Trees of Alexandria' at Alexandria's birthday celebration at Oronoco Bay Park, July 10, 2022. (staff photo by James Cullum)

Zeina Azzam, the Poet Laureate of the City of Alexandria, is scheduled to speak at United Nations this Friday, May 17.

Azzam will be there as part of a commemoration of the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

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Pro-Palestine protestors temporarily shut down City Council meeting Tuesday night

By Vernon Miles
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators disrupting an Alexandria City Council meeting (photo courtesy Alexandria for Palestine)

After months of contention between Alexandria leaders and a group of pro-Palestinian activists, a group of demonstrators temporarily shut down a City Council meeting last night (Tuesday) to demand leaders pass a ceasefire resolution.

The City Council chambers had been filled up with demonstrators holding signs calling for a ceasefire resolution and, around 7:50 p.m., protestors went to the front of the room and hung a Pro-Palestine banner in front of the dais.

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Two schools put into secure status after reports of ‘weapons violation’ on Duke Street

By Vernon Miles
4349 Duke Street (image via Google Maps)

Reports of a man with a gun chasing someone else at a shopping center along Duke Street led to two nearby schools being put into “secure the building” status, though it later turned out to be a false alarm.

According to the scanner, around 8 a.m. a man rushed into a store at 4349 Duke Street and said he was being chased by someone with a gun.

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