A series of weekend-long Metrorail closures between Pentagon City and Reagan National Airport will start next month, impacting Blue and Yellow lines departing and entering Alexandria.
Trains on the Blue and Yellow lines will be suspended between those stations during ten weekends this spring, and Metro will offer free connecting shuttle bus services. The closures are planned to accommodate the construction of a second entrance at Arlington’s Crystal City station.
Lindsey Halligan, who, as a hastily appointed Justice Department prosecutor, pursued indictments against a pair of President Donald Trump’s adversaries, is leaving her position as her months-long tenure has now concluded, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday night.
Halligan’s departure from the role of interim United States attorney for the Alexandria-based Eastern District of Virginia came as multiple judges were casting doubt on her ability to remain in the job legally following a court ruling two months ago that declared her appointment illegal.
On This Day in Alexandria History — “On Jan. 21, 1852, the Potomac River was entirely frozen over between Virginia and Maryland. People came to Alexandria from Fort Washington and points further south by traveling across the frozen river, as though it were a road.” [Historic Alexandria]
McPike Wins Firehouse Primary — “City Councilman R. Kirk McPike has been declared the winner in Tuesday’s Democratic firehouse primary to succeed outgoing Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-5). McPike secured 60.5% of the vote Tuesday among 5th District Democrats… [he] will now face Republican nominee Mason Butler in a special election on Tuesday, Feb. 10.” [ALXnow]
City Councilman R. Kirk McPike has been declared the winner in today’s Democratic firehouse primary to succeed outgoing Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-5).
McPike secured 60.5% of the vote Tuesday among 5th District Democrats, defeating three other candidates in the running. A total of 2,115 voters participated in the primary, placing district turnout at around 3%, according to tallies from the Alexandria Democratic Committee and data from the Virginia Public Access Project.
Good Tuesday evening, Alexandria. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
The following articles were published earlier today — Jan 20, 2026.
Here are today’s most-read articles:
Here is what’s going on Wednesday in Alexandria, from our event calendar.
Clouds will gradually increase throughout the day, reaching a high near 40°F, accompanied by a light southeast wind that will shift to the south at 9-14 mph in the morning and gust up to 25 mph. On Wednesday night, expect partly cloudy skies with a low temperature around 33°F. The south wind will persist at around 10 mph, with possible gusts up to 20 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.”
– Dalai Lama
Thanks for reading!
City Council last week made a few changes to a review board’s conditional approval of the upcoming City Hall and Market Square project.
On Jan. 13, City Council considered an appeal of the Board of Architectural Review’s approved certificate of appropriateness with conditions for the City Hall and Market Square project on Nov. 19, 2025. The Council voted to remove the review board’s recommendation to maintain decorative chimneys on the south-facing side of City Hall, as well as colonial-style windows at the center entrance pavilion.
The winner of today’s Democratic firehouse primary for a seat in the House of Delegates will run against Republican Mason Butler next month.
The Alexandria Republican City Committee canceled its party canvas and announced Butler’s candidacy over the weekend. Butler, an IT consultant who has lived in Alexandria for more than a decade, previously ran as an independent candidate for City Council in 2024.
Improving mental health across the city will be in focus in Alexandria’s next Community Health Improvement Plan.
Mental wellness is one of three topics that will be addressed in the city’s new CHIP, AHD announced last week. The topic was selected for further engagement after 47% of 2,020 respondents in the city’s 2025 Community Health Assessment survey selected “mental health” as their top community health issue.
The Alexandria Police Department and Office of the Chief Medical Examiner are investigating the death of an Alexandria Sheriff’s Office inmate yesterday (Monday).
Ricardo Roberts, 60, died shortly after 5 a.m. yesterday “while being treated for chronic medical issues” at Inova Fairfax Hospital, the Sheriff’s Office announced yesterday. The investigations are required by law following an in-custody death.
On This Day in Alexandria History — “On Jan. 20, 1942, the Alexandria City Council authorized the purchase of an ambulance for first time. Alexandria’s first ambulance was acquired in the 1930s, but it had been paid for with donations, after members of the Potomac Truck and Engine Company, which had organized the first rescue squad in Alexandria, raised money to purchase one.” [Historic Alexandria]
Spanberger Sworn Into Office — “Amid a cold drizzle, Democrat Abigail Spanberger was sworn into office Saturday at the state Capitol as Virginia’s first female governor after centuries of men holding the state’s top office.” [Associated Press]
Voters in tomorrow’s Democratic firehouse primary will have four candidates to choose from after Fairfax County Public Schools teacher Gregory Darrall entered the race this weekend.
Darrall, a self-described “proud progressive,” is a special education teacher and vice president of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers. His name will appear on District 5 voters’ ballots tomorrow alongside City Councilmember R. Kirk McPike, former School Board member Eileen Cassidy Rivera and defense attorney Chris Leibig.
