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.

News

Holmes Run Trail repairs delayed to 2026

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

In a City Council meeting earlier this week, City Council member Kirk McPike reported that portions of the Holmes Run Trail won’t be fixed until 2026 — eight years after they were damaged by a storm.

In 2022, Mayor Justin Wilson said it was frustrating that some of the final pieces of the recovery wouldn’t be finished until 2024. The new timeline places final repairs two years later.

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News

Large fire on Wheeler Avenue this month caused $5 million in damages

By Vernon Miles
Fire on Wheeler Avenue (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria Fire Department (AFD) said a massive fire earlier this month on Wheeler Lane caused an estimated $5 million in damages.

In a release, AFD said the fire was “accidental and electrical in nature”. The fire caused $1.5 million in structural damage with an estimated $3.5 million in damage to the contents of the businesses in those buildings.

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BREAKING: Charles Barrett Elementary evacuated and Cora Kelly on lockdown due to threats

By Vernon Miles
Charles Barrett Elementary School (image via Alexandria Police Department/Twitter)

(Updated 3 p.m.) The Alexandria Police Department evacuated students and staff from Charles Barrett Elementary School (1115 Martha Custis Drive) earlier today and Cora Kelly has gone into lockdown after threats to the schools.

Police said a report came in of a weapons violation at Charles Barrett around 12:05 p.m., according to the scanner. The scanner indicated that a man was making threats to shoot at the school, targeting a teacher, and that a ‘device’ was placed in the school. At 3 p.m., APD said no threat was found at Charles Barrett Elementary School.

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News

Former Francis C. Hammond student nominated at the Oscars

By Vernon Miles
Killers of the Flower Moon Academy Award nominations (image via Killers of the Flower Moon/Facebook)

Jack Fisk, an acclaimed film production designer and former Francis C. Hammond High School student, has been nominated for best production design at this year’s Oscars for his work on Killers of the Flower Moon.

Fisk was born in Illinois but the Washington Business Journal noted that Fisk graduated Francis C. Hammond High School in 1964, where he went to school with filmmaker David Lynch. Francis C. Hammond became a junior high school in 1979 and a middle school in 1993.

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Alexandria City Council approves redevelopment in Old Town North with more affordable housing for seniors

By Vernon Miles
Proposed massing for the Ladrey High-Rise (via ARHA)

At a meeting this weekend, Alexandria’s City Council unanimously approved an affordable housing redevelopment for seniors despite pushback from neighbors.

While many projects in Old Town come under fire from neighbors for being too tall, the Ladrey redevelopment is creating a shorter building but one more spread out across 600 N. Fairfax Street.

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Dueling Restaurant Weeks ongoing across Alexandria this week

By Vernon Miles
Brunch at Hen Quarter (photo via Hen Quarter/Facebook)

This week is the peak of restaurant weeks for the season, with both the Metropolitan Washington Restaurant Week extended to this week and Alexandria Restaurant Week in full swing.

The Metropolitan Washington Restaurant Week has been extended through the end of this week, thanks to the snowy weather last week, giving locals another chance to check out the seven Alexandria locations participating. Restaurant Week involves restaurants having special menus at fixed prices: $25 or $35 for lunch or brunch and $40, $55 or $65 for dinner — which still isn’t exactly cheap, but in some cases is saving at certain local restaurants, and is designed to be an approachable introduction to these restaurants.

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News

Potomac Yard arena legislation introduced to Virginia General Assembly

By Vernon Miles
Rendering of aerial view of Monumental Arena development (image courtesy of JBG SMITH)

Bills have been introduced in both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly for a crucial piece of the Potomac Yard arena plans.

The arena requires a state-created Virginia Sports and Entertainment Authority to finance the arena’s construction and nearby buildings.

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News

More ‘no turn on red’ restrictions coming to Old Town North

By Vernon Miles
Pendleton Street and N. Saint Asaph Street (image via Google Maps)

Four intersections along N. Saint Asaph Street, near the Trader Joes and Harris Teeter, could have new ‘no turn on red restrictions’.

A report (page 12) to the Traffic and Parking Board — ahead of a meeting tonight (Monday) — said the intersections along N. Saint Asaph Street can be a dangerous combination of pedestrian traffic around the grocery stores coming into conflict with traffic spilling off Washington Street.

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News

George Washington Masonic Memorial photo honored in Wikipedia photo competition

By Vernon Miles
George Washington Masonic Memorial at Night (photo via Daniel Horowitz)

A nighttime photo of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Old Town took fifth place in the Wiki Loves Monuments 2023 photo contest.

The annual contest, held by Wikipedia, highlights photographs of historic sites from the National Register of Historic Places.

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News

Capital Bikeshare saw record high ridership in Alexandria last year

By Vernon Miles
Matt Neumann with Capital Bikeshare checks bikes on King Street in Old Town Alexandria. (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Reports of high ridership last fall held steady through the end of the year and made it official: Capital Bikeshare had its best year yet in Alexandria.

A report to the Traffic and Parking Board ahead of a meeting tonight said the bikeshare system ridership grew steadily post-Covid to a high of 109,487 trips starting or ending in Alexandria last year.

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News

Major Alexandria roadways are mostly clear, but many side streets remain snow covered

By Vernon Miles
Cleared I-95 interchange in the Eisenhower neighborhood (Image via VDOT)

If you’re thinking of heading out for a drive in the snow, you may want to hold off on that unless you live on one of the city’s arterial roads.

The City of Alexandria’s SnowReport website provides a look at current roadway conditions around Alexandria during a snowstorm.

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