Good Monday morning, Alexandria!
⛅️ Today’s weather: A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 84. Northwest wind 7 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. At night: Mostly clear, with a low around 67. North wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.
It’s been a pretty short week, what with Independence Day on Tuesday, but even over the last three days there’s been plenty of news around Alexandria.
Unfortunately, a fair amount of that was not good news. An Alexandria resident, a former interpreter who fled Afghanistan with his family and worked with Lyft, was murdered in D.C. Surveillance video shows four people running from the scene, with one of them telling another “You killed him” and the other responding “He was reaching, bro.”
Crooked Beat Records officially opened today in the basement of 2417 Mount Vernon Avenue in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood.
Owners Bill and Helen Daly hosted a ribbon cutting at the new record shop on Friday that was attended by dozens of customers. The 1,200-square foot basement is 300 square feet bigger than their old shop that closed at the end of April in Old Town North.
Time to roll up your jacket sleeves, because it’s going to be an 80s summer in Del Ray.
Tonight is the soft opening for Miami Vibes, a Miami Vice-themed pop-up bar at 2312 Mount Vernon Avenue in Del Ray. The party starts at 6 p.m., and the drink menu is full of summer drinks like frozen daiquiris, mojitos and even an Old Fashioned with watermelon rum.
You have noticed a few more bike racks around Alexandria.
Since May, Alexandria’s Department of Transportation and Environmental Services (T&ES) has installed a little over 200 new bike racks around the city, already more than double the usual amount of bike racks installed each year.
If you can sort out your archeology digs from your mystery goosepigs, there’s a trivia event tonight just for you.
The staff at the Carlyle House Historic Park and the Lee-Fendall House Museum have collaborated to create a new bi-weekly trivia event and tonight’s topic is focusing on something ALXnow readers should know well: Alexandria history.
Where’s Waldo? Kids and parents with eagle eyes can spot him this month in 25 Alexandria businesses.
After you find Waldo at 10 businesses, spotters can collect prizes at Hooray for Books (1555 King Street) in Old Town. Collectors with at least 20 stamps on a passport (found at any participating business) can claim a Waldo temporary tattoo and store coupon.
Good Friday morning, Alexandria!
☀️ Today’s weather: Scattered showers and thunderstorms before 3 p.m., then showers between 3-5 p.m. Otherwise, party sunny with a high near 91. Slight chance of showers tomorrow with a high near 88.
The Office of Historic Alexandria (OHA) is hoping to take a hammer to a dozen later additions to the Freedom House Museum (1315 Duke Street) to take the building back to its mid-19th century look.
The museum was once the Franklin and Armfield Office, a slave trafficking hub that forcibly shipped thousands of Black men, women and children around the country between 1828 and 1861.
From the Summer Art Market at Del Ray Artisans to the City of Alexandria’s 274th Birthday Fireworks & Celebration, there’s something for everyone this weekend in Alexandria.
Ryan Belmore is an award-winning news publisher, editor, and journalist. Originally from Rhode Island, he now resides in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and two rescue dogs. He serves as 1st Vice Chair of the Alexandria Commission for the Arts.
Alexandria Police are investigating an armed carjacking that occurred early this morning in the West End.
The male victim was robbed at gunpoint of his black 2017 Mercedes-Benz AMG at around 4:30 a.m. outside the 24-hour gym X-Sport Fitness at 4300 King Street. The area is near the intersection with Park Center Drive.
