Vernon Miles | ALXnow

Pit stops and free giveaways planned for Bike to Work Day next week in Alexandria

Published May 9, 2024 at 10:55AM

Alexandria’s been expanding its bike infrastructure and next week’s Bike to Work Day could be a perfect opportunity to check that out.

Bike to Work Day is an annual tradition encouraging locals to ride a bike to their offices. This year, Bike to Work Day is on Friday, May 17.

News

Portside in Old Town Summer Festival returns next month

By Vernon Miles

Published May 9, 2024 at 9:45AM

Portside in Old Town festival (photo courtesy Chris Cruz/Visit Alexandria)

The Portside in Old Town Summer Festival will return to Waterfront Park (1A Prince Street) next month.

The two-day free festival features a mix of live music, art and historical activities, and more. The event is put together by Visit Alexandria and the Office of the Arts.

News

New research maps racially restrictive covenants around Alexandria

By Vernon Miles

Published May 8, 2024 at 2:50PM

Documenting Exclusion's map of racial covenants in Northern Virginia (image via Documenting Exclusion and Resilience)

Alexandria’s history with racially restrictive covenants was a major topic during the Zoning for Housing/Housing for All debate last year, and a new interactive map shows the location of those covenants around Alexandria and surrounding localities.

ARLnow reported that the new interactive map comes from researchers at Marymount University. Many of the covenants listed on the map exclude “any person not of the Caucasian race.”

News

Alexandria Library hosting forum on human trafficking this weekend with trafficking survivor and activist

By Vernon Miles

Published May 8, 2024 at 1:45PM | Updated May 8, 2024 at 2:13PM

Evelyn Chumbow, director for the Human Trafficking LEgal Center (image via Alexandria Library)

This weekend Evelyn Chumbow, the director of the Human Trafficking Legal Center and a survivor of child labor trafficking, will lead a discussion at the Alexandria library on the ongoing work to end modern-day slavery.

The event is scheduled for Saturday, May 11, from 11 a.m. to noon at the Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library (4701 Seminary Road).

News

Helicopter and K9s called in for early morning police pursuit of wanted suspect in Braddock neighborhood

By Vernon Miles

Published May 8, 2024 at 9:35AM

Police brought in K9s and helicopter support for the pursuit of a wanted suspect spotted in the Braddock neighborhood, though scanner traffic indicated he ultimately escaped.

Around 12:47 a.m. police stopped a suspect at 1250 Braddock place. The man was wanted on drug and gun charges.

News

City taking feedback on plans to overhaul King Street near Bradlee Shopping Center

By Vernon Miles

Published May 7, 2024 at 3:50PM

King Street-Bradlee Safety and Mobility Enhancements Project area (image via City of Alexandria)

An upcoming meeting will give locals a chance to weigh in on the city’s plans to make changes to King Street where it runs past the Bradlee Shopping Center.

The city is considering adding bike lanes and an additional sidewalk — none exists on the northern side of the street. A few alternatives are being considered for the service road that runs parallel to King Street, including two-way traffic with transit improvements or one-way traffic with a bus lane.

News

Hard Times Cafe sails through zoning hearing with one city request: don’t change the chili

By Vernon Miles

Published May 7, 2024 at 2:55PM

The Board of Architectural Review (BAR) is most often in the news as a hurdle for local property owners, but the Board had nothing but praise for local restaurant Hard Times at a meeting to discuss upcoming renovations.

Hard Times Cafe is a restaurant on King Street known for its chili, burgers and general American cuisine. The restaurant is planning to temporarily close later this year for a series of internal changes.

News

200th anniversary of Lafayette’s visit to Alexandria celebrated with concert Tuesday night

By Vernon Miles

Published May 7, 2024 at 10:55AM

Portrait of Marquis de Lafayette by Ary Scheffer (National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution)

The Office of Historic Alexandria will celebrate Marquis de Lafayette, the acclaimed Hero of Two Worlds, with a concert and lecture marking 200 years since the city first threw its arms open to a hero of both the American and French revolutions.

Lafayette, a French nobleman and military officer, served under George Washington throughout the war and commanded Continental Army troops at the siege of Yorktown. Lafayette was also a prominent voice early in the French revolution, though he was later driven out of the country by more radical factions.

News

Survey finds pests, smoke and mold to be the biggest home concerns in Alexandria

By Vernon Miles

Published May 6, 2024 at 2:55PM | Updated May 6, 2024 at 3:55PM

(Updated 3:50 p.m.) The results of the Healthy Home Network survey last fall found that the biggest concern for most residents in Alexandria is pests.

The survey was run by the Alexandria Health Department with the goal of identifying issues affecting homes around the city.

News

New map shows how sea level rise would impact Alexandria

By Vernon Miles

Published May 6, 2024 at 11:15AM

Flooding on lower King Street in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

A new interactive map published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows how rising sea levels will impact Virginia cities, Newsweek reported.

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) forecasts global sea levels are likely to rise up by 3.51 feet by 2100 but could possibly rise as high as 6.6 feet above Mean Higher High Water (MHHW).

News

Alexandria resident arrested on felony assault charges for Jan. 6 riot

By Vernon Miles

Published May 6, 2024 at 10:15AM | Updated May 6, 2024 at 5:50PM

The FBI alleged the man on the far left as Alexandria (image via Department of Justice)

Alexandria resident David Marshall, 57, has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges for allegedly assaulting law enforcement during the Jan. 6 riot in 2021.

Marshall was arrested on May 1 for multiple alleged assaults on law enforcement officers and on a member of the news media, according to the Department of Justice.