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Councilmembers lobby for housing, school funding and gun safety laws in Richmond

By Emily Leayman
Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley testifies in support of a gun safety bill in the House Firearms Subcommittee (via Virginia General Assembly)

Members of City Council traveled to Richmond yesterday (Thursday) to advocate for more authority to expand housing options and increase state funding for school construction, among other goals.

Mayor Alyia Gaskins, Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley, Councilmembers John Taylor Chapman, R. Kirk McPike, Abdel Elnoubi and Canek Aguirre visited the state Capitol for a lobby day to advocate for their legislative priorities, which were set in December. They met with several lawmakers and members of Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration.

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Nonprofit leader Roberto Gomez joins race for open seat on City Council

By James Cullum
Cornerstone Craftsman Executive Director Roberto Gomez is launching a campaign for Alexandria City Council (courtesy photo)

Roberto Gomez, executive director of nonprofit Cornerstone Craftsman, will soon launch a special election campaign for an open seat on City Council.

Gomez plans to formally announce his candidacy at the Alexandria Democratic Committee’s meeting on Monday, he told ALXnow. The 38-year-old longtime West End resident said he is prepared to outwork opponents and can relate to the city’s underserved constituencies.

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Alexandria’s apartment rents decline but remain above the regional median price

By Scott McCaffrey
Mason at Van Dorn apartments at 140 S. Van Dorn Street (via Mason at Van Dorn/Facebook)

Despite a year-over-year decline, apartment rents in Alexandria remain above the regional average, according to new data.

The overall median rental rate of $2,166 in the city was down 2.7% year-over-year in January, according to figures reported Jan. 28 by Apartment List. But it remained 2.3% above the median metro-area rate of $2,116 for the month.

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City Council endorses regional ‘DMVMoves’ plan to secure $460M in new funding for Metro

By James Cullum
Escalators at the King St-Old Town Metro station (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City Council has unanimously endorsed a regional plan that would increase annual Metro funding by $460 million.

The “DMVMoves” plan from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) would require an estimated $136 million from Virginia, $152 million from Maryland and $173 million from D.C. before fiscal year 2029, with a 3% annual escalation, to support Metro’s capital needs.

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Morning Notes for January 30, 2026

By ALXnow.com
Virginia Tech Innovation Campus in the snow, Jan. 25, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

On This Day in Alexandria History — “On January 30, 1849, resident Montgomery D. Corse, a prominent Alexandrian and military officer who had served in the Mexican War, left the city with a group of like-minded Alexandrians to seek their fortune in the California gold rush.” [Historic Alexandria]

Today: Deadline to Request Ballot By Mail — “Last day to request a ballot by mail for the February 10, 2026 Special Election. Applications must be received in the Voter Registration Office by 5pm.” Early voting, meanwhile, begins tomorrow. [City of Alexandria]

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ALXnow Daily Debrief for Jan 29, 2026

By ALXnow.com

Good Thursday evening, Alexandria. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Jan 29, 2026.

Here are today’s most-read articles:

  1. Alexandria police investigating fatal shooting on N. Patrick Street (2287 views)
  2. Alexandria temporarily suspends sidewalk enforcement while ‘Snow Buddy’ requests rise (1316 views)
  3. New memorial on Alexandria’s waterfront will honor 67 victims of fatal midair crash (813 views)

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Friday in Alexandria, from our event calendar.

☀️ Friday’s forecast

Expect mostly sunny skies and a high of around 21 degrees during the day, with wind chill values dropping as low as -1 due to a 6 mph northwest wind. The night will be mostly cloudy, seeing a low of around 9 degrees, identical wind chill values, and a calm wind that will shift to north at around 6 mph after midnight. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
– Walt Disney

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading!

JUST IN: ACPS continues virtual learning Friday, as officials monitor weekend forecast

By Katie Taranto
Alexandria crews continue to work on snow and ice removal (via City of Alexandria)

Alexandria City Public Schools students will round out this snowy week with another day of synchronous virtual learning tomorrow (Friday).

ACPS facilities will continue to remain closed, Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt announced this afternoon. ACPS is “monitoring the weather forecast for this weekend and will provide an update on Sunday by 6 p.m.,” Kay-Wyatt said.

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Alexandria temporarily suspends sidewalk enforcement while ‘Snow Buddy’ requests rise

By Katie Taranto
Sage Goyda and son participate in the Snow Buddy Program (courtesy of Volunteer Alexandria)

Alexandria has temporarily suspended its sidewalk-clearing requirements but is encouraging residents to help clear snow across the city, as the Snow Buddy Program is experiencing an uptick in assistance requests this week.

The city typically requires residents, businesses and property owners to clear sidewalks, driveways and entrances within 24 to 72 hours after snowfall, but enforcement is on pause, according to a city announcement this afternoon (Thursday). This comes as Volunteer Alexandria’s snow removal initiative has seen at least 25 new applications for help over the past few days.

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New memorial on Alexandria’s waterfront will honor 67 victims of fatal midair crash

By Katie Taranto
On Feb. 5, 2025, locals in Alexandria gather at a vigil for the 67 victims of the Jan. 29, 2025 midair collision over the Potomac River (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

A new memorial in Alexandria will honor the lives of the 67 people killed in last year’s midair collision over the Potomac River, which happened one year ago today.

A bench, newly planted trees and plaque bearing the names of the 67 victims will be installed on the Potomac waterfront on the northeastern portion of Rivergate Park, Mayor Alyia Gaskins announced last night (Wednesday) during a ceremony in D.C. honoring the victims, their families and first responders from the tragic night.

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Alexandria police investigating fatal shooting on N. Patrick Street

By Katie Taranto
Alexandria Police lights (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria Police Department is investigating a fatal shooting that killed one man and injured a juvenile in the city yesterday (Wednesday).

According to APD, officers responded to shots fired at the 900 block of N. Patrick Street at around 6:36 p.m. and found a man “inside an apartment building suffering from an apparent gunshot wound, as well as a juvenile man with an apparent gunshot wound.”

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Morning Notes for January 29, 2026

By ALXnow.com
Alexandria crews continue to work on snow and ice removal (via City of Alexandria)

On This Day in Alexandria History — “On January 29, 1947, just a year after establishing America’s third regulated historic district, in what would become known as “Old Town”, the Alexandria City Council directed that a new ordinance be prepared covering public signs in the City. In the years after World War II signs across the city began to become larger and larger to attract the attention of the increasingly motorized population driving through the city.” [Historic Alexandria]

Ceremony Remembers 67 Killed In Midair Collision — “Families of the 67 people who died in an aircraft collision last January gathered on Wednesday evening to mark the first anniversary, just one day after investigators testified about years of ignored warnings and near-misses.” [ABC]

Go to Morning Notes for January 29, 2026 Read more
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