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

This week nearly 150 years ago, Alexandria ‘cracked down’ on children flying kites and playing marbles

By Vernon Miles
Children playing with marbles (image via James McNeill Whistler/Library of Congress)

The Office of Historic Alexandria’s weekly newsletter includes fascinating glimpses into the city’s history, and this week the newsletter explored a battle between city leadership and local children.

The Office of Historic Alexandria noted that the ban on public kite flying and marbles in 1876 came from Mayor Kosciusko Kemper, a former Confederate officer, after complaints from local businesses.

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News

New VPRA work in Alexandria could bring long-awaited bridge and tunnel replacements

By Vernon Miles
Telegraph Tunnel location (image via City of Alexandria)

The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) has a series of capital projects in the region on the horizon could benefit rail service in the area but have some additional impacts  for Alexandria specifically.

In a memo (page 9) from Hillary Orr to the Transportation Commission ahead of a meeting yesterday, Orr said the VPRA is working on installing a fourth track along the rail corridor between Witter Field in Alexandria and the Arlington Aquatic Center.

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News

Old Town restaurant cracks top ten in Washingtonian’s ‘100 Very Best Restaurants’ ranking

By Vernon Miles
Dish at Nasime Japanese Restaurant (via Nasime Japanese Restaurant/Facebook)

Two Alexandria restaurants made Washingtonian’s 100 Very Best Restaurants 2025 list, with one Old Town spot landing at the number 8 spot.

The list ranks restaurants around DC, Maryland and Virginia.

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Opinion

Poll: Do you support using DASH instead of school buses to transport Alexandria high school students?

By Vernon Miles
A DASH bus on King Street in Old Town Alexandria

At a City Council meeting last week, City Council member Abdel Elnoubi and Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley introduced a proposal that could change the way Alexandria City High School students get to school.

Elnoubi and Bagley, with the unanimous backing of the City Council, asked staff to explore the utilization of the DASH bus network to transport for high school students, eliminating the need for school buses at the high school level.

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News

JUST IN: Alexandria City Public Schools to open on two-hour delay Wednesday

By Vernon Miles
Cora Kelly Elementary School, 3600 Commonwealth Avenue, on Jan. 6, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City Public Schools will open two-hours later tomorrow (Wednesday) than usual thanks to extreme cold temperatures.

Alexandria and its neighbors are under a cold weather advisory tonight and tomorrow morning. The National Weather Service warned of wind chill around five degrees below zero.

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News

Alexandria could ditch school buses for high school students and switch to DASH

By Vernon Miles
A DASH bus on King Street near Alexandria City High School, Jan. 6, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City High School (ACHS) students’ days of taking the school division’s yellow school buses to and from school may be numbered.

A memo from new City Council member Abdel Elnoubi and Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley asks city staff to explore the feasibility of transitioning transportation of high school students to the city’s DASH bus network.

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News

Old Town’s Mount Purrnon Cat Cafe celebrates getting 1,000 cats adopted

By Vernon Miles
Tigger, the 1,000th cat adopted at Mount Purrnon (photo via Mount Purrnon Cat Cafe and Wine Bar/Facebook)

Cute kitty Tigger has found his “forever home” and has the unique distinction of being the 1,000th cat adopted via Old Town’s Mount Purrnon Cat Cafe and Wine Bar (109 S. Alfred Street), Alexandria Living Magazine reported.

The cafe posted on social media that the cat marks a milestone for the cafe that started back in 2020.

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News

Alexandria Police arrest man after weapon brandishing incident at King Street Metro station

By Vernon Miles
Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Earlier this week, the Alexandria Police Department arrested a man on an outstanding warrant from Arlington after he allegedly brandished a weapon at the King Street Metro station.

On Wednesday around 5 p.m., scanner traffic noted reports came in that a man had pulled out a gun at the station, though later review of video footage found that he had pulled out a knife.

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News

Late director David Lynch went to High School in Alexandria

By Vernon Miles
David Lynch (photo via David Lynch/Facebook)

Among the tributes pouring in for acclaimed director David Lynch, who died yesterday, there’s one title even locals may not have known: Alexandrian.

While David Lynch was born in Montana, his family moved to Alexandria when he was 15 and Lynch eventually graduated from Francis C. Hammond High School.

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News

Alexandria warns light snowfall could impact evening commute tonight

By Vernon Miles
E. Reed Avenue in Alexandria, Jan. 6, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria is forecast to get a light dusting of snow, according to the National Weather Service, but the City of Alexandria put out an alert warning that it could be enough to affect commuters.

“The National Weather Service has advised that snow is likely Thursday, January 16 through the early evening and may impact the evening commute,” the release said. “Visibility may be reduced, and snowfall may be present on roadways between 5 and 8 p.m. Our area will most likely see a light dusting of snow, but accumulation may be up to 0.5 inches.”

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News

Alexandria Planning Commission says street vending in Arlandria ‘consistent with master plan’

By Vernon Miles
Selling fruit in Arlandria. (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria’s Planning Commission endorsed a new pilot program (docket item 4) that will allow on-street vending in designated spaces on Mount Vernon Avenue as consistent with the city’s master plan.

The one-year pilot will allow limited vending on the 3800 block of Mount Vernon Avenue. Vendors are allowed to sell whole, uncut produce and a limited number of small, non-food items in on-street spaces.

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