Good Monday morning, Alexandria!
⛈️ Today’s weather: Expect isolated showers and thunderstorms after 2pm, followed by mostly sunny and hot conditions with a high near 98 and heat index values as high as 105. A calm wind will turn south at around 6 mph in the afternoon, with a 20% chance of precipitation. Monday night will be partly cloudy with a low of around 79, and a south wind at 6 mph that turns calm in the evening.
It was Independence Day this week, so ALXnow was off yesterday and has a half-day today, but there was a lot of news in the first half of the week.
The biggest story was the murder-suicide at the Onelife gym in Carlyle. Charles Hewitt, a D.C. man, allegedly entered the gym and shot and killed Maryland man Joshua Wilcox before shooting himself. Both were transported to a hospital, but died from their injuries.
Good Friday morning, Alexandria!
⛈️ Today’s weather: Expect showers and thunderstorms after 2pm, with patchy fog clearing by 8am. The day will be partly sunny and hot, reaching a high of 97 and heat index values up to 107, accompanied by a southwest wind at 3-7 mph. Precipitation chances are 40%. For Friday night, there’s a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2am, with mostly cloudy skies and a low of 78. South wind will be around 6 mph.
A woman was pepper sprayed at the Safeway at 500 S. Royal Street on Saturday night (June 29) while attempting to stop two alleged shoplifters.
The Alexandria Police Department said that the 40-year-old victim tried to intervene when two female suspects attempted to leave the store without paying. One of the suspects then sprayed the woman in the face.
The Alexandria City Council upheld the certificate of appropriateness for a contentious development in Old Town after an appeal was filed by residents claiming that it will be an eyesore that destroys the historic nature of the area.
Council voted 6-1 upholding the certificate of appropriateness approved by the Board of Architectural Review in May, with small conditions.
Parking is already in high demand near William Ramsay Elementary School. A change (page 12) coming to the nearby Sanger Avenue could make parking even more scarce, but the tradeoff is making it safer to walk to school.
The plan is to extend the curbs near William Ramsay Elementary School and, in the process, remove three parking spaces. The staff report said that “parking is permitted along Sanger Avenue and there is a high-demand for parking throughout the day.”
Alexandria and regional partners will be getting $3.5 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to “identify and implement” new affordable housing strategies.
The $3.5 million is provided through HUD’s Pathways to the Removal of Obstacles grant. The funding will go to Alexandria and other localities in Maryland and D.C. as part of the Metropolitan Council of Governments.
Alexandria swore in Felipe Hernandez Jr. as the city’s new fire chief in a ceremony at City Hall yesterday (Tuesday).
Hernandez, previously the fire chief for the City of Rochester, New York, will lead the Alexandria Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services.
Good Wednesday morning, Alexandria!
☀️ Today’s weather: Sunny skies and a high near 88 will be accompanied by a south wind at 5-10 mph. Wednesday night will be mostly clear with a low around 72 and a south wind at 6-10 mph. On Independence Day, expect partly sunny skies with a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm, a high near 96, heat index values as high as 101, a south wind at 5-7 mph, and a 50% chance of precipitation.
In general, noise levels from National Airport haven’t gotten noticeably louder in recent years, but there are legitimate reasons it has gotten more noticeable for Alexandrians.
In a community meeting about the South of the Airport Noise Mitigation Project, Vianair Inc. CCO Jim Allerdice laid out some of the goals of the project and explained why airport noise has gotten worse in recent years for Alexandrians.
Alexandrians considering outdoor activities this 4th of July (Thursday) may want to plan a backup or bring a sturdy umbrella.
The National Weather Service is forecasting “a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m.” on Thursday, though it said the chance of precipitation is 50%.
