News

On This Day in Alexandria History — “On August 4, 1898, the City received a novel complaint, that perambulators were occupying too much space on the sidewalks of King Street, forcing pedestrians to zig-zig their way along the main commercial thoroughfare, while unperturbed mothers shopped in adjacent stores at their leisure. Though sympathetic to the complainant, legally there was little recourse to restrict the increasingly large baby carriages of the period. [Historic Alexandria]

It’s Election Day — Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the 8th Congressional District Democratic primary and U.S. Senate Republican primary. [ALXnow]

On This Day in Alexandria History — “On August 3, 1950, Alexandria residents began complaining about a bad taste in the local drinking water. Alexandria Water Company soon officials determined the cause to be chemicals that had been dumped into a storm sewer by men at Cameron Station, the U.S. Army’s Quartermaster Depot. The affected water had to be drained from the water company’s reservoir and the City’s water supply was impacted for a week.” [Historic Alexandria]

Plaque Honors George Washington Connection to Alexandria’s First Catholic Church — “The Basilica unveiled the plaque at 310 S. Royal St. to commemorate a historic 1788 gathering. During that dinner, Revolutionary War veteran Colonel John Fitzgerald proposed building a Catholic church in the city. Washington’s financial ledger entry on March 17, 1788, records the contribution toward St. Mary’s building fund.” [The Zebra]

On This Day in Alexandria History — “On July 31, 1934, a contract was let for the construction of George Washington High School at 1005 Mount Vernon Avenue in the city’s Del Ray neighborhood. The new school, which opened a year later, replaced the old Alexandria High School on Cameron Street and merged it with the George Mason High School, the former high school of the Town of Potomac, annexed as part of Alexandria several years earlier. The new high school was designed in the Del Ray’s prevalent Art Deco style, and was funded as part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. The school initially housed a student population of 1,200 with a staff of 35. At the time of its construction, critics claimed that the school was built so large that there would never be enough students to fill its cavernous halls. By 1944, the addition of three wings proved them wrong! The old George Mason High building is still standing as part of the Mount Vernon Elementary School.” [Historic Alexandria]

Rep. Beyer Urges Fairfax County to Deny Substation Associated with Data Center — “U.S. Representative Don Beyer (D-VA) [Thursday] urged the Fairfax County Planning Commission to deny the permit application filed for Edsall Data Center Substation 2232 at the Plaza 500 site at 6299 Edsall Road in Lincolnia … In a letter to the Fairfax County Planning Commission, Beyer noted that while Fairfax County has adopted guidelines intended to minimize the impacts of data center infrastructure on surrounding neighborhoods and preserve land for housing, economic opportunity, and transit-oriented development, he shares the concerns of many residents and stakeholders that the proposed substation is inconsistent with those goals.” [Rep. Don Beyer news release]