Good Wednesday morning, Alexandria!
🌤️ Today’s weather: Mostly sunny, with a high near 58 degrees. Northwest wind 7 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph. Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low around 36 degrees. Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph. Thursday will be sunny, with a high near 61 degrees. West wind 3 to 8 mph.
Two regional planning experts delivered sobering news to the Alexandria City Council on Tuesday (March 25) about the potential impact of federal workforce reductions, warning that the city faces significant economic challenges if proposed cuts materialize.
Clark Mercer, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), and Jill Kaneff, Senior Regional Demographer for the Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC), presented data showing Alexandria’s vulnerability to federal job cuts.
Alexandria Police report they have found no evidence suggesting that former U.S. Attorney Jessica Aber’s death was caused by anything other than natural causes, according to an update provided Tuesday.
“The Alexandria Police Department continues its investigation into the death of Ms. Jessica Aber. At this time, detectives have found no evidence suggesting that her death was caused by anything other than natural causes,” police state in their March 25 update.
In the final year of his tenure, Gov. Glenn Youngkin carried out his duty to sign, veto and amend hundreds of bills handed to him by the Democratic-controlled legislature for the last time Monday, rejecting a proposal to raise the minimum wage incrementally to $15 per hour, a multiple-year attempt to establish a Prescription Drug Affordability Board and several voter registration and election measures.
Youngkin also signed into law a bill that classifies fusion as a clean energy source, one that expands maternal health care access and a bill banning the personal use of political campaign funds, the most significant campaign finance reform measure the state has passed in years.
Alexandria and nearby areas are under a fire weather watch, signaling conditions that could lead to quick-spreading fires.
The National Weather Service in Baltimore MD/Washington issued the watch Tuesday for Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Alexandria’s Mayor Alyia Gaskins is kicking off two new programs: the Mayoral Youth Forum and the Mayoral Interfaith Council.
The first Mayoral Youth Forum is happening on Saturday, March 29. It’s open to Alexandria teens between 14 and 18 years old, giving them a chance to share their ideas and advice with the mayor on important issues.
Northern Virginia legislators are decrying Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s recent veto of a bill to keep firearms from the homes of domestic abusers.
Youngkin vetoed 157 bills on Monday (March 24), including Sen. Barbara Favola’s (D-40) Senate Bill 744 and Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker’s House Bill 1960 — identical pieces of legislation that amend existing Virginia law by removing firearms from the hands of convicted domestic abusers.
With enforcement at a trickle, the Alexandria Police Department has started seizing skill games machines.
That hasn’t stopped local businesses from carrying the illegal gambling devices. On a recent Saturday, two convenience stores and a restaurant in the city’s Arlandria neighborhood were packed with groups of mostly men playing the games.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will host a live-fly air defense exercise in the National Capital Region today (March 25). The exercise, called FALCON VIRGO, will run from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, it will be moved to tomorrow (March 26) at the same time.
The National Capital Region is defined as the District of Columbia; Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties of Maryland; Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William Counties of Virginia; and all cities existing in Maryland or Virginia within the geographic area bounded by the outer boundaries of the combined area of said counties.
Alexandria is hosting an expungement clinic on Saturday, April 26, as part of Second Chance Month. The clinic will give residents a chance to clear their criminal records.
The event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Charles Houston Recreation Center (901 Wythe Street), is designed to help people expunge court and police records that originated in Alexandria.
Good Tuesday morning, Alexandria!
🌧️ Today’s weather: Increasing clouds, with a high near 63 degrees. West wind 5 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. Tonight, we’ll see isolated showers before 11 p.m. It will be cloudy, then gradually become partly cloudy, with a low around 40 degrees. West wind is around 6 mph and becoming light and variable. The chance of precipitation is 20%.
