News

ALXnow Daily Debrief for Oct 16, 2025

By ALXnow.com

Good Thursday evening, Alexandria. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Oct 16, 2025.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Friday in Alexandria, from our event calendar.

  • No events today. Have one to promote? Submit it to the calendar.

☀️ Friday’s forecast

Expect sunny skies and a high of 63 degrees with a northwest 6-to-8-mph wind during the day. On Friday night, the sky will be mostly clear with a low temperature of around 46 degrees, accompanied by calm wind conditions. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“Opportunities don’t happen, you create them.”
– Chris Grosser

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading!

Virginia AG candidates Jay Jones and Jason Miyares clash over violent rhetoric in feisty debate

By Olivia Diaz | Associated Press/Report For America
Democrat Jay Jones, left, and Republican incumbent Jason Miyares shake hands at the start of the Virginia attorney general debate in Richmond, Va., Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (Mike Kropf/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP, Pool)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares and Democratic challenger Jay Jones squabbled over a host of lawyerly issues on Thursday in their first and only debate: criminal prosecutions, consumer protection and unlawful discrimination. But one matter overshadowed it all: Jones’ leaked text messages endorsing political violence toward a former colleague.

Miyares, the Republican incumbent running for reelection, pushed hard against Jones for suggesting to a Republican delegate in 2022 text messages that former Virginia Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert should get “two bullets to the head.”

Go to Virginia AG candidates Jay Jones and Jason Miyares clash over violent rhetoric in feisty debate Read more

Police investigate after masked trio threatens, attempts to break into Alexandria home

By Ryan Belmore
Three masked individuals attempted to break into an Alexandria home near Duke and South Jordan streets Tuesday evening. (Ring doorbell video via WUSA9)

Updated Oct. 17, 10:10 p.m.: Alexandria Police issued a press release with new details about the investigation, including a specific address and timeline.

Alexandria police are searching for three masked individuals who allegedly threatened a family and attempted to break into their home in the 100 block of South Iris Street on Oct. 14.

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New spa cuts ribbon at Archer Hotel in Old Town

By James Cullum
JoyLife Spa team members, spa owner Roshelle Veney (in black), Chamber ALX CEO Joe Haggerty, Archer Hotel sales director Andrea Mellado, ad more Archer Hotel staff (courtesy photo)

A new spa just had a ribbon-cutting at the Archer Hotel (1600 King Street) in Old Town.

JoyLife Spa held its grand opening and ribbon cutting today (Oct. 16), offering customized facials, therapeutic massages, and nail care. The business was founded by massage therapist and esthetician Roshelle Veney, and its opening marks the only hotel in Alexandria with a full spa, according to the Chamber ALX.

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Fundraiser at Old Town bar to benefit Scholarship Fund of Alexandria

By James Cullum
Chadwicks at 203 Strand Street in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

An annual Alexandria City High School alumni fundraiser at Chadwicks (203 Strand Street) on Oct. 22 (Wednesday) will benefit the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria, and will feature some special guests.

Starting at 6 p.m., former ACHS Executive Principal Pete Balas will act as bartender, along with current teachers Andrew Orzel and Matt Zahn. The event, which includes raffles, is a great way to reconnect with former classmates, according to the online event announcement.

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ASO to play Mozart, Joplin and Mendelssohn at November concert

By James Cullum
The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra plays at the city's birthday celebration at Oronoco Bay Park, July 12, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

The music of Amadeus Mozart, Scott Joplin, and Felix Mendelssohn is coming to Alexandria next month.

On Nov. 8 and 9, the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra (ASO) will play its second concert of the season with special guest Michael Rusinek, principal clarinetist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, who will play Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto. The concert includes Joplin’s Overture to Treemonisha and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 “Italian.”

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Warner calls for Trump to engage directly in government shutdown negotiations

By Ryan Belmore
Senator Mark Warner held a remote media availability with Virginia media on Oct. 16, 2025. (Screenshot)

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) says the 16-day government shutdown can only be resolved if President Trump becomes directly involved in negotiations, arguing that Republican congressional leadership lacks the independence to act without White House direction.

“Donald Trump rules the Republican Party with an iron fist, and he has to be in the negotiations to get this dispute resolved,” Warner said during a media availability with Virginia media on Thursday. “The idea that there would be any kind of independent acting Republicans, and I’ve been proud to work on all of those gangs in the past, at least at this moment in time, would be simply a fantasy.”

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Georgetown Olive Oil Co. planning October opening on King Street in Old Town

By James Cullum
Georgetown Olive Oil Co. is opening at 1314 King Street in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

Georgetown Olive Oil Co. is opening at the end of this month at 1314 King Street in Old Town, its owner tells ALXnow.

Emil Merdzhanov and his team have been working on the interior of the space since July, and said he’s excited to reopen a brick and mortar location since his Georgetown location closed on M. Street four years ago. The company was founded in 2016, and bottles and sells dozens of olive oil and balsamic vinegar flavors, among other items, in their warehouse, distribution center and showroom at 4719 Eisenhower Avenue.

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Silent auction for Animal Welfare League of Alexandria closes Oct. 19

By James Cullum
Pets at Paws in the Park (photo by Martyn Griffen/Animal Welfare League of Alexandria)

There are 76 items up for bid in the Animal Welfare League’s Paws in the Park silent auction. The final day to make a bid is 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 19.

The cancelation of the Paws in the Park fundraiser at Oronoco Bay Park due to weather on Oct. 12 was a blow to the AWLA, as it’s the biggest moneymaker for the nonprofit every year. Consequently, the silent auction deadline was extended, and items include second-row seats for the Washington Capitals game against the New York Rangers on Dec. 23, a week-long vacation in the Outer Banks, a U.S. flag flown over the Capitol, and lunch with U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th).

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Northern Virginia Imagination Library launches book program, starting in Alexandria

By Ryan Belmore
The Northern Virginia Imagination Library is a local program partner of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, serving children across Northern Virginia. (Credit: Northern Virginia Imagination Library)

A new Northern Virginia chapter of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library announced Thursday it is launching a fundraising campaign to provide free books to young children, with Alexandria the first city in the region to host the program.

The Northern Virginia Imagination Library aims to begin registering Alexandria children by summer 2026, with plans to expand throughout Northern Virginia eventually. The program will mail one age-appropriate book per month to enrolled children from birth to age five at no cost to families.

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Retired admiral to lead Alexandria-based Institute for Defense Analyses

By Ryan Belmore
Adm. Charles Richard (Retired) To Serve as IDA’s Next President (via IDA)

The Institute for Defense Analyses has selected retired Adm. Charles “Chas” Richard to serve as the Alexandria-based organization’s next president, effective March 14, 2026.

Richard brings more than 40 years of service in the U.S. Navy, culminating in his role as commander of U.S. Strategic Command from 2019 to 2022. In that capacity, he was responsible for the global command and control of all strategic U.S. nuclear forces, overseeing a workforce of more than 150,000 personnel focused on strategic deterrence, nuclear operations, and missile defense.

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