As planning efforts move eastward toward Alexandria, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) has embarked on a new round of community engagement in its Envision Route 7 effort to upgrade transit options.
Both in-person and online opportunities will be available over the next month, focused on the eastern portions of what will become a 14-mile bus rapid transit (BRT) line running from Tysons to Alexandria’s Mark Center.
Numerous Alexandria elected officials have thrown their support behind Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) in his reelection bid, his campaign announced Monday (May 18).
The endorsements include Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins; Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley; City Council Members Canek Aguirre, John Chapman, Jacinta Greene, and Sandy Marks; Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter; Clerk of Court Greg Parks; Sheriff Sean Casey; School Board Chair Michelle Rief; School Board Vice Chair Christopher Harris; and School Board Members Abdulahi Abdalla, Tim Beaty, Kelly Carmichael Booz, Alexander Crider Scioscia, Donna Kenley, Ashley Simpson Baird, and Ryan Reyna. Former Mayors Bill Euille, Allison Silberberg and Justin Wilson also endorsed Beyer.
Trial in 6-Year-Old’s Shooting of Virginia Teacher — “Jury selection began Monday in the trial of a former assistant principal in Virginia accused of ignoring warnings that a 6-year-old student brought a loaded gun to school that was later used to shoot his first grade teacher. Ebony Parker is charged with eight counts of felony child neglect, one for each of the bullets in the gun brought into Richneck Elementary schoolteacher Abby Zwerner ‘s classroom in Newport News in January 2023, prosecutors have said.” [NBC Washington/AP]
Energy Bills Backed by Dominion Energy Signed — “Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Thursday signed legislation that directs regulators to assign electricity costs to data centers and allows Dominion Energy to spend $900,000 a mile burying local distribution lines. The bills from Senate President Pro Tem Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, and Del. Destiny LeVere Bolling, D-Henrico, could have also required data centers to cover the costs of buying electricity from the capacity market through PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator for Virginia, 12 other states and the District of Columbia. But that requirement was removed by Spanberger and replaced with more regulatory authority to allocate costs.” [Inside Climate News]
Good Monday evening, Alexandria. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
The following articles were published earlier today — May 18, 2026.
Here are today’s most-read articles:
Here is what’s going on Tuesday in Alexandria, from our event calendar.
Expect a sunny day with a high temperature of around 96°F and a southwest wind blowing at 6 to 10 mph. Tuesday night will be partly cloudy, with temperatures dropping to about 75°F. A south wind will persist at around 10 mph, with gusts reaching up to 20 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
– Theodore Roosevelt
Thanks for reading!
A bill allowing church-based by-right housing development and several other laws passed during the 2026 Virginia General Assembly will require or allow local action, according to a presentation to Alexandria City Council last week (May 12).
Wendy Ginsberg, the city’s legislative director, provided an update on key bills the city has been tracking or will be impacted by during City Council’s May 12 meeting. Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, which means localities can only use authority granted through state law.
After an 11-hour public hearing with more than 100 speakers Saturday (May 16), a divided City Council upheld the Traffic and Parking Board’s decision to redesign a 0.8-mile section of Braddock Road in Alexandria’s Rosemont and Del Ray neighborhoods.
The 4-3 decision means city staff will continue designing the project into 2027. In 2028, parking will be removed on Braddock Road between Mount Vernon Avenue and Russell Road to make way for new bike lanes. Braddock Road will also be reduced from two lanes to one in each direction between West Street and Mount Vernon Avenue, creating two-way bicycle lanes on one side and a commercial delivery loading zone on the other.
NextEra Energy is seeking to acquire Dominion Energy in an all-stock deal valued at about $67 billion, creating a massive power company as the energy needs of artificial intelligence drive demand higher in the U.S.
It is one of the biggest proposed mergers so far this year and would create the world’s biggest regulated electric utility business by market capitalization, the companies said on Monday.
A fatal officer-involved shooting followed the suspect’s fatal shooting of a female victim in Alexandria early Monday (May 18), according to police.
Around 4:05 a.m., the Alexandria Police Department responded to a report of a female victim who had been shot at an apartment complex (27 Canterbury Square) in the West End. Two relatives had left the apartment, leaving the suspect barricaded inside a room with the victim.
On This Day in Alexandria History — “On May 17, 1860, the first passenger in the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad traveled from Alexandria to Leesburg. A year later, when the Civil War started, Union troops seized the AL&H rails, equipment and buildings, and converted the station at Princess and Fairfax into offices for the Quartermaster Department.” [Historic Alexandria]
Supreme Court Rejects Redistricting Appeal — “The Supreme Court on Friday rejected Virginia’s bid to restore a congressional map that would have given Democrats a chance to pick up four seats in the closely divided House of Representatives. The court’s order, issued without any noted dissent, is the latest twist in the nation’s mid-decade redistricting competition.” [ARLnow/AP]
Good Friday evening, Alexandria. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
The following articles were published earlier today — May 15, 2026.
Here are today’s most-read articles:
Since it’s Friday, we’ve also compiled a list of the most-read articles of the week, below.
Here is what’s going on Saturday in Alexandria, from our event calendar.
Here are the events planned for Sunday:
Expect sunny skies with a high of 84°F and calm winds shifting to southwest at 5 to 9 mph in the morning. Saturday night will be partly cloudy, with a low around 65°F and a southwest wind at 5 to 8 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
“What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.”
– Plutarch
We hope you have a great weekend, Alexandria!
Two candidates for the open principal position at Alexandria City High School were introduced at an online meeting Thursday (May 14).
The candidates are Michael Burch, the ACHS lead administrator for operations and student support, and Anthony McWright, the executive principal at Denver School of the Arts and president of the Arts Schools Network. The meet-and-greet was moderated by former ACHS principal John Porter, who said Alexandria City Public Schools will conduct the final candidate interview next week before the finalist’s name goes to the School Board for consideration on May 28.
