News | ALXnow - Part 147

Alexandria City Council tackles capital priorities amid tight debt capacity

Published October 8, 2025 at 8:30AM | Updated October 8, 2025 at 4:17PM

Alexandria City Council held a Capital Improvemnt Work Session on Oct. 7. (Photo by Ryan Belmore/ALXnow)

Alexandria City Council members grappled with difficult decisions on Tuesday evening about which major infrastructure projects deserve funding over the next decade, as Alexandria approaches its debt capacity limits while facing $307 million in unfunded needs.

The work session at City Hall focused on prioritizing projects within the city’s Capital Improvement Plan — a $2.1 billion blueprint for infrastructure investments through 2035 that includes everything from school replacements to fire station upgrades and recreation facilities.

America 250 sculpture proposed for Alexandria courthouse courtyard

By James Cullum

Published October 8, 2025 at 8:00AM

Sandy Williams IV speaks at the Torpedo Factory Art Center, Oct. 7, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Next week, Sandy Williams IV will submit his proposal for an art installation in Alexandria to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Williams’ proposal for public art to adorn the courtyard of the Alexandria Circuit Court (520 King Street) from April to November must first receive approval from the city’s Commission for the Arts. The design is still under wraps, although the artist, who is known for creating pieces that defy convention, says that the issues the signers of the Declaration of Independence wrestled with in 1776 are similar to those faced by contemporary Americans.

Morning Notes for October 8, 2025

By ALXnow.com

Published October 8, 2025 at 7:30AM | Updated October 8, 2025 at 9:08AM

The Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse in Alexandria (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Senators Slam Shutdown Messages – Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined 22 Senate colleagues Monday in demanding the Trump administration remove partisan political messages from federal agency websites and employee email accounts. [ALXnow]

Federal Workers Guaranteed Back Pay – Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., whose district includes Alexandria and has one of the largest concentrations of federal employees in Congress, said Tuesday that federal workers are guaranteed back pay “without question or exception,” pushing back against Trump administration warnings that retroactive pay is not assured during the government shutdown. [ALXnow]

Veteran defense lawyer turned judge oversees case against ex-FBI Director Comey

By The Associated Press

Published October 8, 2025 at 7:25AM | Updated October 8, 2025 at 12:16PM

FILE - The Albert Bryan United States Courthouse is photographed Sept. 26, 2025 in Alexandria. Va. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Michael Nachmanoff has built a quiet reputation in the federal courthouse in northern Virginia — a onetime public defender turned judge known for methodical preparation and a cool temperament. On Wednesday, he found himself at the center of a political storm: presiding over the Justice Department’s prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey.

Comey will make first court appearance in Justice Department case accusing him of lying to Congress

By The Associated Press

Published October 8, 2025 at 7:17AM | Updated October 8, 2025 at 8:30AM

FILE - Former FBI Director James Comey, arrivex to testify under subpoena behind closed doors before the House Judiciary and Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 7, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

By ERIC TUCKER, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press737

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Former FBI Director James Comey is set to make his first court appearance Wednesday in a Justice Department criminal case accusing him of lying to Congress five years ago.

Alexandrians launch Victorian mystery game series

By James Cullum

Published October 7, 2025 at 5:30PM | Updated October 8, 2025 at 10:45AM

(Left to right) Kiernan McGowan, Raven Bonniwell, Kerry McGee and Jon Reynolds of the Alexandria-based Literary Adventure Society (courtesy photo)

Ready to solve a mystery at home?

Four years ago, a group of Alexandrians combined their talents to launch the Literary Adventure Society, a play-at-home mystery game series based on classic detective stories set in Victorian London, featuring sleuths Sherlock Holmes and Loveday Brooke. Would-be detectives (up to six at a time) can order the $55 interactive mystery boxes that include audio plays, clues, as well as custom tea blends and scented candles to get everyone in the right frame of mind to unravel mind-bending crimes like A Scandal in Bohemia, The Dancing Men, and The Mystery of the Black Bag.

Government shutdown moves Taste of NoVA from Fort Belvoir to Manassas

By James Cullum

Published October 7, 2025 at 4:30PM

Taste of NoVA has moved to NOVA LIVE campus in Manassas (via NOVA LIVE/Facebook)

The government shutdown has prompted the Taste of NoVA to move from the National Museum of the U.S. Army at Fort Belvoir, nearly 30 miles west, to the NOVA LIVE event field in Manassas.

More than 120 restaurants and wineries are featured at the Northern Virginia Magazine event on Oct. 11 and 12, and organizers had to think fast as the National Museum of the U.S. Army is closed during the shutdown. Federal workers attending the event can use promo code GOV20 to receive 20 percent off general admission tickets with a valid government ID at TasteOfNoVA.com.

Mayor Gaskins discusses federal shutdown impacts, ‘Alexandria first’, and infrastructure projects during monthly Q&A

By Ryan Belmore

Published October 7, 2025 at 3:30PM

Ryan Belmore, Publisher of ALXnow, and Mayor Alyia Gaskins in conversation on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. (via YouTube)

Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins outlined the city’s response to the ongoing federal government shutdown and provided updates on significant infrastructure projects during her monthly virtual conversation with ALXnow on Tuesday.

The mayor emphasized that Alexandria has proactively prepared for the shutdown’s impact on the community, which includes nearly 16,000 federal workers employed full-time and part-time in the city. A resource page on the city’s website offers information on housing assistance, food assistance, and property tax payment plans.

Warner, Kaine demand removal of partisan messages from federal websites

By Ryan Belmore

Published October 7, 2025 at 3:00PM

Screenshot of HUD.gov on Tuesday, Oct. 7

Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined 22 Senate colleagues Monday in demanding the Trump administration remove partisan political messages from federal agency websites and employee email accounts.

The Democratic senators sent a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought claiming the messages violate federal law prohibiting the use of government funds for propaganda purposes.

Alexandria activist group plans 1,200-person protest along Route 1 as part of national ‘No Kings’ movement

By Ryan Belmore

Published October 7, 2025 at 2:30PM

No Kings Protests Return on October 18 with Hands Across Alexandria (via Indivisible Do Something Alexandria)

About 1,200 people are expected to line the sidewalks of Route 1 on Saturday, Oct. 18, as part of a national day of protests targeting the Trump administration, according to organizers.

The “Hands Across Alexandria” demonstration will run from 9:30 to 11 a.m. along northbound Route 1 between Powhatan Park and Potomac Yard, Indivisible Do Something Alexandria announced Tuesday.

Two Alexandria choruses qualify to compete in international competition

By James Cullum

Published October 7, 2025 at 1:30PM

The Alexandria Harmonizers (via The Harmonizers)

Two Alexandria-based choruses have qualified to perform in the Barbershop Harmony Society’s international competition next year in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Alexandria A Cappella Collective’s choruses, the Harmonizers and Metro Voices, recently competed at the Barbershop Harmony Society’s Mid-Atlantic District Competition in Cape May, New Jersey, qualifying to compete at the event, which will take place from June 28 to July 6.