Good Thursday morning, Alexandria!
☀️ Today’s weather: Expect sunny conditions and a high temperature of about 68°F, accompanied by a gentle southwest wind blowing at 3-6 mph. The night will be mostly clear, with the mercury dipping to around 46°F and a south wind at approximately 6 mph.
Few speakers at a six-hour City Council meeting last night seemed fully satisfied with the Zoning for Housing/Housing for All initiative, but the public comment was divided between those who saw the proposal as a good first step and those who thought it threatened the city’s character.
While nearly all speakers at a six-hour public hearing last night said they supported affordable housing, opinions on the city’s Zoning for Housing/Housing for All initiative varied widely.
(Updated 11/16) An Alexandria homebuilder has joined a Canadian development company, and has become their 100th office in North America.
Matt Bieschke, Owner of Carbon Design Build, opened his business more than a decade ago in Alexandria. Last week, Alair announced that Bieschke agreed to join the Alair franchise as a partner, establishing Alair Alexandria. Alair was founded in 2007, and also owns Alair Arlington and Alair Hunt Country.
The Alexandria Police Department (APD) is investigating a felonious assault in a S. Van Dorn Street parking lot.
A 27-year-old man sustained life-threatening injuries during a fistfight in Alexandria’s West End on Saturday night, according to APD. APD said today (Wednesday) that the incident is being investigated as a felonious assault.
Alexandria School Board member Willie Bailey has resigned, effective Nov. 30.
The announcement came a month after Bailey abruptly left a School Board meeting during a restructuring discussion.
Good Tuesday morning, Alexandria!
☀️ Today’s weather: Partly sunny with a high near 61. Cloudy tonight with a low around 39, and sunny again tomorrow with a high near 67.
(Updated 9:55 p.m.) Bailing Metro out of its $750 million budget shortfall is going to sting the budgets of localities next year, and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) expects to release a plan addressing it next month.
COG Director Clark Mercer said that the organization’s Chief Administrative Officers (CAO) Committee work group on Metro’s cost structure will release a report next month outlining three options for Metro to consider. One of those options includes a one-time option to use Metro’s preventative maintenance fund against the balance for the next year or two, potentially cutting the shortfall by hundreds of millions of dollars.
Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) accidentally shared private student information in a George Washington Middle School newsletter, though an ACPS administrator said fortunately only one person outside of ACPS clicked the link before it was corrected.
In an email to ACPS parents, ACPS Chief of Accountability and Research Clinton Page said the newsletter had information originally intended just for a limited number of staff. Specifically, the newsletter provided access to:
An Alexandria middle school student allegedly admitted to her parents and police that she sent a threatening message to her school’s Instagram page last month, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
On Oct. 11 (Wednesday), at around 5 p.m., a now-unavailable Instagram account sent a direct message to an Alexandria middle school’s Instagram page and said, “Be prepared for October 12, 2023,” and then said that “11th and 12th grade upper school teachers” were targeted and that there were “many more who must suffer.”
Currently, in Alexandria, drivers have to yield to pedestrians, but a new state-level change has given Alexandria the authority to tell drivers to stop.
According to a memo from Hillary Orr, deputy director of Transportation and Environmental Services, a change to City Code requiring drivers to stop for pedestrians crossing the street is heading to City Council in December.
The Lyceum (201 S. Washington Street) in Old Town will host a free magic show next month.
The show, put on by magicians from Ring 50, will also include a toy drive to benefit the Fund for Alexandria’s Children Holiday Sharing Program, which gets presents for children who might otherwise not get gifts during the holidays.
