CHESTERFIELD, Va. (AP) — With President Donald Trump noticeably absent from Virginia’s race for governor, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears turned to a prominent Trump ally to help energize supporters Friday night.
And Democrats may have been more excited than Republicans to welcome the special guest.
Alexandria City Public Schools presented an implementation update Thursday during the school board meeting for redistricting changes approved in June, detailing how students will transition to newly assigned schools beginning with the 2026-27 academic year.
The redistricting implementation update was listed as a monitoring item on the Sept. 18 school board meeting agenda, providing information on the initial implementation of boundary changes the board voted to approve on June 12.
The Chinquapin Park Recreation Center and Aquatics Facility will reopen Monday, Sept. 22, after being closed for renovation for more than a month.
The recreation center closed for the $1.2 million project on Aug. 9. The city estimates the project to wrap up Jan. 31, 2026, and said that visitors may “notice some construction activity, including occasional noise and dust.”
Good Friday morning, Alexandria!
☀️ Today’s weather: Expect sunny skies and a high near 87 degrees during the day, accompanied by a light northwest wind at 3 to 5 mph. As we transition into Friday night, skies will be partly cloudy with a low around 64 degrees. The wind will become calm, shifting to a gentle northeast breeze of around 5 mph after midnight.
Three out of five Alexandria City High School students oppose the city’s proposal to replace school buses with DASH public transit, student representatives told the school board Thursday.
A survey of 131 high school students found 60.3% oppose the proposal — with 37.4% strongly opposed and 22.9% moderately opposed. Only 26% support the plan, while 13.7% reported being indifferent, according to data presented by student representative Madesen Lynch during the representatives’ regular update to the board.
Emil LaSida, 21, a record-holding swimmer at Case Western Reserve University and a former captain of the Alexandria City High School swim and dive team, died Sept. 15.
Case Western Reserve University announced Sept. 17 that LaSida had died, but the cause of his death has not been released. A fourth-year student majoring in engineering, LaSida set the school record last year in the men’s 50 freestyle with a time of 19.98 seconds at the NCAA Division III Championships and earned All-American Second Team honors, according to the university.
Alexandria will conduct a pre-construction meeting for the Fort Ward Park playground later this month.
The city will conduct the virtual meeting on Monday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m. and provide information on the project construction and archaeological monitoring. Construction is expected to start this fall and be finished next summer, according to the city.
A new farmers market opens Thursday, Sept. 25, across from the King St.-Old Town Metro station.
The King Street Station Farmers Market will be held every Thursday from Sept. 25 to Oct. 30 from 3 to 7 p.m. at the King Street Station Office Plaza at 1800 Diagonal Road. The market is free to attend and sponsored by the King Street Station Association.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner criticized the Trump administration’s targeting of Northern Virginia school districts over transgender bathroom policies during a media availability Thursday, calling the federal government’s actions against some of the state’s best school divisions “remarkable.”
Warner responded to a question from ALXnow about the timeline for potential federal funding cuts to Alexandria City Public Schools, which along with four other Northern Virginia districts faces ongoing disputes with the U.S. Department of Education over Title IX compliance.
Six Alexandria intersections have emerged as critical safety hazards where pedestrians and cyclists face daily risks from distracted drivers and inadequate infrastructure, according to a new report analyzing more than 300 near-miss incidents over 18 months.
The report, provided to ALXnow on Thursday by Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets, examined 318 near-miss incidents reported between January 2024 and July 2025. According to the report, 47% of incidents involved children, with most occurring during school commuting hours from 6-9 a.m. and 3-6 p.m.
An Alexandria man who was already under court supervision for a previous child pornography conviction has been found guilty of continuing to distribute and possess child sexual abuse material through a mobile messaging app.
Antonio Rudy Gonzalez, 41, was convicted Wednesday on two counts of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession following a bench trial in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The conviction carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 40 years due to his 2013 conviction for similar crimes.
