Got any spare drugs? In an effort to curb misuse, Alexandria is asking residents to drop off expired prescription medication on Saturday (April 27).
It’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. residents can drop off their unneeded prescription drugs (including pet medication) at:
- Alexandria Police Department Headquarters (3600 Wheeler Ave.)
- Fire Station 210 (5255 Eisenhower Ave.)
- The Neighborhood Pharmacy of Del Ray (2204 Mt. Vernon Ave.)
- Walgreens Pharmacy (3614 King St.)
Expired and unused medication is “highly susceptible to misuse, especially opioid prescriptions,” the city said in a release. Additionally, many drugs are environmentally hazardous and can contaminate waterways if flushed.
Last year’s Drug Take Back Day took in 2,647 pounds of unused medication in Alexandria — a 40% increase over 2022.
The drop-offs will be staffed by the Alexandria Police Department and Sheriff’s Office.
Needles are not accepted at the event, and can be dropped off at other permanent medication locations, according to the city.
If you can’t make it to the drop-off event, the city recommends the following:
- Remove medication from its original container. Do not crush
- Mix medication with an inedible substance, such as kitty litter or coffee grounds
- Place mixture in a sealable bag or container and throw away in the trash
- Black out all personal information on the prescription label so it is unreadable
Photo via DCHS/Facebook
Alexandria’s City Council will approve its fiscal year 2025 budget in a little more than a week, and important actions will be taken between now and then.
On Wednesday (April 24), Council will hold a public hearing on the city’s tax rate. Last month, a 4-cent tax ceiling was approved for consideration, allowing city staff and local legislators wiggle room in analyzing funding options in exchange for raising taxes. Each penny added to the tax rate is about $4.7 million, and a 4-cent tax increase would bring in $18.8 million.
This year’s residential taxes are expected to rise due to underperforming commercial real estate assessments, as well as a proposal to raise salaries for teachers in Alexandria City Public Schools.
Alexandria’s commercial property tax rate fell 4% this year, or $736.9 million. The value of the city’s office properties fell 12.38%, from $3.58 billion in 2023 to $3.14 billion in 2024, according to a city report. It’s the second year in a row that office properties dipped in value, dropping 10% last year.
Council will also conduct a budget work session on Wednesday with their proposed budget additions and deletions.
City Council will approve the fiscal year 2025 budget on May 1.
The deadline has now passed for members of Council to propose amendments to the Manager’s proposed budget.
Amendments must have the support of 3 members to be considered during the remainder of the process.
This is the preliminary list of amendments:https://t.co/82LQDifJYN
— Justin Wilson (@justindotnet) April 5, 2024
Alexandria is seeking community feedback on a series of changes to South Pickett Street in the West End, including new pedestrian safety measures and protected bike lanes.
The project would cover S. Pickett Street from Duke Street down to Edsall Road. That route along the West End Village shopping center, Hillwood Condominiums, and ends near Samuel Tucker Elementary School.
“Today, South Pickett Street serves fast-moving vehicular traffic, has very few pedestrian crossings despite a robust crossing demand, and has no bicycle facilities,” a city report said. “This corridor has gradually been redeveloping into a higher-density neighborhood conducive to non-automobile travel, but the existing street design is challenging and hostile for people walking, biking, and taking transit.”
The road, currently four lanes, could be cut to two lanes for car traffic, one center-running turn lane, and a protected bike lane on each side of the street.
The report said “no significant differences in traffic operations” was expected based on a traffic analysis.
Other proposed changes include:
- Dedicated center turning lane
- Posted speed limit reduction to 25 mph
- New pedestrian crossings at key locations
- Traffic calming measures
- Upgrades to pedestrian ramps
- Lead Pedestrian Intervals and no turn on red restrictions at signalized intersections
Feedback can be submitted online until May 5. A virtual community meeting on the project is scheduled for Thursday, April 25 at 7 p.m. The meeting ID is 968 5930 1979 and the passcode is 968 5930 1979.
Following community feedback, the city said recommendations will be sent to the Traffic and Parking Board later this spring or this summer.
Image via Google Maps
Good Monday morning, Alexandria!
☀️ Today’s weather: Expect sunny skies with a high temperature near 66 degrees and a northwest wind at about 8 mph. Monday Night will be mostly clear, with the temperature dropping to around 40 degrees. The northwest wind will ease to around 5 mph before becoming calm in the evening.
🚨 You need to know
If you’ve been cruising around Alexandria without paying for car insurance, it’s time to start shopping around with insurance companies.
Starting July 1, a new law passed in 2023 eliminating the “uninsured motor vehicle” option will take effect.
Previously, drivers could pay a $500 fee and drive without insurance. 13 News Now reported that around 12% of Virginia drivers are uninsured, slightly lower than the national rate of 14%.
📈 Friday’s most read
The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for Apr 19, 2024.
- Alexandria considering big plans for properties next to Eisenhower Avenue Metro station (2728 views)
- Alexandria City Council approves new ‘neighborhood’ at former Vulcan Materials site (1063 views)
- Del Ray bank closes after incident with fired employee (526 views)
📅 Upcoming events
Here is what’s going on today in Alexandria, from our event calendar.
- No events today. Have one to promote? Submit it to the calendar.
It was another busy week in Alexandria.
This week’s top stories focused on development projects all over the city, from Old Town North to Carlyle and in the West End. News of the mixed-use projects comes as affordable housing advocates are protesting against being priced out and are asking for greater assistance from the city.
Politics-wise, City Council Member Alyia Gaskins celebrated two recent victories in her Democratic primary race for mayor. Gaskins is leading with fundraising, having raised $149,107 with $69,425 on-hand, according to quarterly campaign finance reports released Monday. Her opponent Vice Mayor Amy Jackson has raised $59,984 and has $22,682 on-hand, while former real estate developer Steven Peterson has raised $44,700 with $14,019 on-hand.
Gaskins also handily won the recent Alexandria Democratic Committee’s Straw Poll by 81%, followed by 16% for Jackson and 3% for Peterson. The primary is on June 18.
On Tuesday, we reported on a new movement to return Alexandria’s City Council to ward/district representation. While the nine-member Alexandria School Board is divided into three districts, the seven members of City Council are at-large, representing the entire city. The Communities for Accountable City Council is a self-described non-partisan group of city residents “exasperated with the intransigent Alexandria City Council that is unaccountable to communities and neighborhoods because of Alexandria’s At-Large election system.”
In our poll this week we asked whether City Council should return to a ward system. Out of the more than 500 votes, 57% voted yes and 43% voted no.
The most-read stories this week were:
- Notes: Old Town North building sold for $15.4 million to be turned into mixed-use apartment building (8413 views)
- Alexandria considering big plans for properties next to Eisenhower Avenue Metro station (4987 views)
- Alexandria City Council approves new ‘neighborhood’ at former Vulcan Materials site (4603 views)
- CVS set to close in Taylor Run neighborhood on Duke Street (3611 views)
- Affordable housing advocates rally outside Alexandria City Hall (3559 views)
- No arrest after fistfight leads to gunfire in Lincolnia (3351 views)
- Notes: Fundraiser for motorcyclist killed on Duke Street raises thousands (2390 views)
- Local organization forms to push Alexandria back to district/ward elections (2303 views)
- Mystic BBQ & Grill opens on Lee Street in Old Town (2235 views)
Have a safe weekend!
All of Bishop Ireton High School skipped classes today for a good cause.
More than 700 students, teachers and administrators participated in a cleanup of 30 sites in and around Alexandria, including along the city’s waterfront, Holmes Run and Four Mile Run Park.
Sophomore Trevor Pickard spent four hours picking up trash along the Potomac River waterfront. He said he picked up a lot of plastic bottles, tennis balls, diapers, cigarette butts and a lot of disposable vaporizers.
“Obviously not going to school is nice, but it was good to help on our community and beautify these parks for the people in Alexandria,” Pickard said.
B.I.’s Head of School Kathleen McNutt said that the school’s theme this year has been about giving back, and that the cleanup will be repeated next year. The effort meant 25 buses full of students, as well as coordination with parks and churches in the city, Fairfax County and Arlington.
“We wanted to be able to go out into the community as an entire group,” MCNutt said. “We feel like we’ve accomplished that today.”
Senior Zoe Falcone said that the effort was a fun reminder to not litter.
“I think it’s important that everybody start thinking about that, because it’s like a communal area and a shared space,” she said.
Bishop Ireton’s cleanup included:
- Holmes Run
- Ben Brenman and Booth Parks
- The Old Town Waterfront (Windmill Hill Park, Point Lumley, The Marina, Oronoco Park)
- Fort Ward Park
- Four Mile Run Park
- Chinquapin Park
- Dora Kelly Nature Center
- Gil McCutcheon Park (Fairfax County)
- Franconia Recreation Center (Fairfax County)
- Rising Hope Mission Church
- St. Martin de Porres Senior Center
- Sunrise of Springfield (Fairfax County)
- Good Shepherd Parish (Fairfax County)
- Community Lodgings
- Alternative Paths Training School (Fairfax County)
- Arlington Cemetery Kitchen Gardens (Arlington County)
Incidentally, Alexandria’s Earth Day celebration is this Sunday.
The Truist bank at 2809 Mount Vernon Avenue is temporarily closed today (Friday) after an alleged altercation with a former employee.
A former employee who had been terminated allegedly told bank staff that they “had a gun in the car and would be right back,” per scanner traffic.
Bank employees locked the doors at the bank and called police around 1:20 p.m.
As of 1:35 p.m. the bank was still closed with Alexandria Police cars parked around the building and officers inside speaking to bank staff.
James Cullum and Vernon Miles contributed to this story
Over time, Alexandria’s Alex311 service hotline has been getting better at responding to requests from locals.
The City of Alexandria usually gets a little over 30,000 requests through the Alex311 hotline. Those range from reports of missed trash collection to questions about trees and potholes.
A new presentation, scheduled to go to the City Council on Wednesday, April 24, showed that the Alex311 has gradually been getting more responsive and passed its goal last year.
Last year, Alex311 completed 84% of service requests within the estimated service resolution timeframe. That varies by the request, from 3 to 240 business days based on the complexity of the request.
That’s an increase over 76% in FY2022 and 72% in FY2021.
The report also said changes have been made behind the scenes to communicate more of the Alex311 requests to City Council. There’s a City Council liaison assigned as a point of contact to ask “non-routine questions,” who will then work with departments to get a response within seven business days.
The City Council also now receives a file of all requests submitted to all members of the City Council every week. The reports include details on the status of the request and responses from department staff.
Photo via Alex311/Facebook
After two years of reconstruction, two Del Ray dog parks will be reopening to the public over the next several months.
The formerly dusty, not-grassy Simpson Dog Park at 521 E. Monroe Avenue is expected to open within the next three-to-four months, according to the city. The work includes tree and sod plantings, grading and stormwater improvements.
“The majority of the work is complete, although there are important items remaining to allow the park to safely open to the public,” according to the city’s Department of Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Activities.
Improvements to the half-acre dog run at Mount Jefferson Park and Greenway (2607A E. Randolph Avenue) are also nearly finished, the city says.
“With the exception of the Dog Park, Mount Jefferson Park is open for public use,” DRPCA told us in an email. “The grading plan for the dog park to correct drainage is approved and improvement activities are anticipated to begin within the next two weeks. Weather permitting, the dog park is anticipated to open late May or early June after turf establishment.”
The two-year construction schedule has irked some residents.
“It’s puzzling that Alexandria, a city that prides itself on being dog-friendly, takes two years to build these dog parks,” a Del Ray resident said.
Photos via Facebook and City of Alexandria
Good Friday morning, Alexandria!
🌧️ Today’s weather: Showers are possible after 2pm, accompanied by cloudy skies and a high near 65°F. The southeast wind will be around 7 mph, and there’s a 30% chance of precipitation. Moving into Friday night, showers remain a possibility, with mostly cloudy conditions and a low around 54°F. The southeast wind will slow down to 6 mph before becoming light and variable, and the chance of precipitation increases to 50%.
🚨 You need to know
Del Ray’s annual GardenFest celebration is on on Sunday. The event will be held from noon to 5 p.m. at the Nicholas A. Colasanto Baseball Field (next to 2700 Mount Vernon Ave).
The free outdoor event is hosted by the Del Ray Citizens Association (DRCA), and will have free native tree seedlings and vegetable and herb seed packets to give away, in addition to booths, seminars, and interactive demonstrations about all things gardening. The event will also host the city’s Ellen Pickering Award in Environmental Excellence.
According to DRCA, this year’s booths include:
- The Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia plant clinic
- Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, who will bring seed cleaning equipment and give a talk introducing basic seed-saving techniques, the organic seed-saving movement, and the importance of seed-saving in the urban setting
- The Wildlife Rescue League, with a wildlife match game for kids and pinecone bird feeder kits
- The Northern Virginia Beekeepers Association
- Love & Carrots, a company that provides assistance to people who would like to grow healthy food in their yard, porch, patio, eatery, balcony, or rooftop
- Tree Stewards of Arlington & Alexandria, volunteers who take the lead to enhance a sustainable urban forest through volunteer activities and public education programs
- Organic Edible Gardens, a sustainable garden design, build and maintenance company specializing in creating edible and ecologically-sustainable landscapes that sustain and regenerate local ecosystems while providing material and aesthetic benefits to people
- The Alexandria Beautification Commission, announcing the Alexandria Beautification Awards and providing sustainability tips
- The Genius Genus, a local business offering a wide selection of houseplants, vacation plant care services, and tips and resources to help you create a thriving indoor jungle
- The Warwick Village Citizens Association, which will highlight the five City parks and many gardens in their neighborhood and the seed and seedling exchanges that they host each year, and will share information about their “No Bite Summer Initiative,” offering demos on how to build non-toxic mosquito traps and how to sign-up to participate in their initiative this year
- Friends of Duncan Library, who will host garden story-time for kids
- The Del Ray Farmers Market
- Several City of Alexandria divisions, including Alexandria’s Office of Climate Action, Resource Recovery Division, Stormwater Management Program, and the Office of Environmental Quality / Sanitation
📈 Thursday’s most read
The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for Apr 18, 2024.
- Alexandria considering big plans for properties next to Eisenhower Avenue Metro station (1870 views)
- LGBTQ+ pop-up bar ‘Pride on the Avenue’ to open next month in Del Ray (996 views)
- Alexandria police want $20K to monitor crime in real-time (632 views)
📅 Upcoming events
Here is what’s going on today and this weekend in Alexandria, from our event calendar.
- 1:00 pm Friday: Character Building Workshop
- 10:00 am Saturday: Old Town Alexandria Historic Home and Garden Tour Kicks Off Spring Tradition
- 👉 10:00 am Saturday: Del Ray Kitchen Confidential Design Tour
- 11:00 am Saturday: Garden Day Tours
- 1:00 pm Saturday: Miracle League Games
- 5:00 pm Saturday: ReFashion Show
- 👉 7:00 pm Saturday: Pro Coro Alexandria – To the Sea
