News

Visit Alexandria celebrates 30th anniversary as city records $1 billion visitor spending milestone

By Emily Leayman
Man in a dark suit speaks at a podium on a stage, with a large blue screen reading 'TOURISM CHAMPION AWARD' beside him, in an audience hall.
Visit Alexandria President and CEO Todd O’Leary announces the first-ever Tourism Champion Award (staff photo by Emily Leayman)

Visit Alexandria founders, city leaders and businesses from the hospitality industry gathered to celebrate the organization’s 30th anniversary and the tourism industry’s achievements Wednesday (Sept. 16).

The milestone came as Visit Alexandria reported strong financial results from visitor spending. At the Visit Alexandria meeting at The Westin Alexandria Old Town, Mayor Alyia Gaskins reported the city had reached a milestone of $1 billion in visitor spending in 2025 for the second consecutive calendar year. The figure applies to visitors coming to Alexandria from 50 or more miles away.

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APD: Clerk pepper-sprayed during cigarette theft at Richmond Highway gas station

By James Cullum
Alexandria police cruiser (staff photo by James Jarvis)

The Alexandria Police Department is investigating the theft of multiple cartons of cigarettes after a clerk was pepper sprayed at a gas station near Potomac Yard.

The employee reported that around 7 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22, the suspect walked into the convenience store of the Exxon gas station at 2320 Richmond Highway and asked what time they started serving food. The clerk responded, and the suspect then allegedly pepper-sprayed the clerk, walked behind the counter and stole multiple cartons of Newport cigarettes, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.

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Metro’s Yellow Line service to be suspended over two weekends

By Emily Leayman
The Potomac Yard Metro station (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Alexandria Metro riders looking for that Yellow Line shortcut into D.C. won’t find it this weekend.

Metro announced Yellow Line service will be shut down Saturday, Sept. 19 and Sunday, Sept. 20. That’s due to planned bridge and track rehabilitation, according to the transit agency.

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Morning Notes for September 17, 2026

By ALXnow.com
Walking at the Potomac waterfront (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

On This Day in Alexandria History — “On September 17, 1949, the George Washington High School in Del Ray was just beginning its football season. It was a magnificent fall day; the stadium was filled with excited fans, including the President of the United States, Harry S Truman, who had come earlier to Alexandria to assist with the burial of a time capsule, honoring the City’s bicentennial at the flagpole near the north goal post. The capsule, a stainless steel cylinder, approximately 4 feet long and 8 inches in diameter, was filled with photographs, newspapers, documents, books and artifacts recording life in Alexandria dating back to 1749. Warner Brothers Pathe News recorded the event and it was shown in over 176,000 theaters nationwide.” [Historic Alexandria]

Taste of Old Town North is Today — “The Annual Taste of Old Town North, a free, family- and pet-friendly event held in Montgomery Park returns on September 17, to include a weekend of great food and drink tastings, interactive art activities, and live music.” [Old Town North Community Partnership]

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ALXnow Daily Debrief for Sep 16, 2026

By ALXnow.com
ALXnow daily debrief banner with the date Sep 16, 2026, over a twilight cityscape featuring a tall central building and surrounding trees and buildings

Good Wednesday 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 — Sep 16, 2026.

Here are today’s most-read articles:

  1. ACPS targets intersections across Alexandria in rush to resolve bus dispute (1007 views)
  2. JUST IN: Arlandria stabbing suspect arrested, was recently indicted after traffic incident (792 views)

📅 Upcoming events

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

⛅️ Thursday’s forecast

This afternoon will be mostly sunny with a high around 89°F and a slight 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 PM, with south winds at 5 to 7 mph. Thursday night will be mostly cloudy with a low near 71°F, and there is a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11 PM, then continuing as showers until midnight. Southwest winds will be 3 to 5 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.”
– Henry David Thoreau

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading!

JUST IN: Arlandria stabbing suspect arrested, was recently indicted after traffic incident

By James Cullum
Tiger Mart and Bakery at 3903 Mount Vernon Avenue in the city's Arlandria neighborhood (via Google Maps)

A 21-year-old Alexandria man is under arrest for allegedly stabbing a man early Tuesday morning (Sept. 15) outside a convenience store in the city’s Arlandria neighborhood.

Jelzon Garcia Gonzales was arrested in the 7000 block of Columbia Pike in Annandale after the Alexandria Police Department received “multiple tips from the community” and a photo of the suspect from a nearby business, APD announced today (Sept. 16). He was charged with aggravated malicious wounding and is being held without bond.

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Alexandria home sales soften in August as buyers react to higher interest rates

By Scott McCaffrey
Happy couple moving into a new home, the woman holding a small potted plant in a white wooden crate and the man carrying a large cardboard box.
Home move (photo by Vitaly Gariev/Unsplash)

Alexandria recorded a significant year-over-year decline in home sales during August as the regional and national markets slowed due to rising interest rates.

Total sales across the city for the month were 130, down 28.6% from 182 transactions in August 2025, according to figures reported by MarketStats by ShowingTime.

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ACPS targets intersections across Alexandria in rush to resolve bus dispute

By James Cullum
Front and side view of a yellow school bus with 'SCHOOL BUS' sign, parked on a street near a brick building; another bus is in the background.
School bus outside Alexandria City High School (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City Public Schools staff are evaluating potential road hazards across the city this week as families await answers on how they can get school buses returned to their neighborhoods.

That was the message relayed at Monday night’s (Sept. 14) Joint City Council and School Board Subcommittee meeting. With a looming Sept. 30 deadline to respond to parent requests to reinstate bus service, city and ACPS staff laid out a process of evaluating public complaints.

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Morning Notes for September 16, 2026

By ALXnow.com
The George Washington Masonic National Memorial (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Board of Architectural Review Meets Tonight — The agenda at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16 includes a concept review of the proposed townhouses at 330 N. Washington Street and other requests for alterations in the Old and Historic Alexandria District. [City of Alexandria]

Chamber ALX’s Best in Business Nominees Announced — The Best in Business Awards finalists were named in the Micro Business of the Year, Small Business of the Year, Medium Business of the Year, Large Business of the Year, Rising Star Business of the Year and Nonprofit & Association of the Year categories. The 2026 Best in Business Awards, also honoring Business Leader of the Year Jen Walker, will be held from 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28 at the Westin Alexandria Old Town. [Chamber ALX]

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ALXnow Daily Debrief for Sep 15, 2026

By ALXnow.com
ALXnow Daily Debrief for Sep 15, 2026 over a muted photo of a train station platform and building façade at dusk/overcast light.

Good Tuesday 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 — Sep 15, 2026.

Here are today’s most-read articles:

  1. Cocaine, guns and codeine seized from Alexandria apartment in multi-county probe (2883 views)
  2. Rus Uz bids farewell to Alexandria as Hoffman Town Center location closes (905 views)
  3. Hundreds of near-misses prompt push for stop sign cameras, more measures in Alexandria (733 views)
  4. Morning Notes for September 15, 2026 (458 views)

📅 Upcoming events

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

☀️ Wednesday’s forecast

Expect sunny skies with a high near 86°F and a gentle south wind blowing at 3 to 6 mph. Wednesday night will be mostly clear, with temperatures dropping to around 66°F, and the south wind will continue at 3 to 6 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
– Theodore Roosevelt

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading!

Suspect wanted in early morning stabbing in Arlandria

By Emily Leayman
Alexandria Police Department cruisers on Nov. 7, 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria Police Department is seeking a suspect after a stabbing early Tuesday (Sept. 15) in Arlandria.

Around 3:20 a.m., police believe an unknown man approached a man sleeping on the ground near the Tiger Market parking lot (3903 Mount Vernon Avenue) and stabbed him multiple times. EMS requested officers to respond around 4:08 a.m. for “unknown trouble,” and the victim reported that the stabbing happened an hour or two prior.

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