Multifamily Units Approved on King Street — “Alexandria City Council made several notable decisions at its Saturday meeting, including an approval of multifamily residential units on King Street and denial of an appeal to remove nine parking spaces on Polk Avenue.” [Patch]
It’s Tuesday — Clear throughout the day. High of 81 and low of 67. Sunrise at 6:56 am and sunset at 7:10 pm. [Weather.gov]
Without discussion, the Alexandria City Council on Saturday (September 17) unanimously approved a proposal to charge rent to local businesses that use their street parking spaces for dining and shopping.
The new rule combines the city’s commercial parklet program with the outdoor dining program that was implemented during the pandemic.
After months of back and forth, Alexandria’s City Council ultimately rejected an appeal from neighbors to keep a sidewalk from being built on Polk Avenue at the western edge of Seminary Hill.
The north side of Polk Avenue directly abuts Polk Park with no sidewalk, meaning anyone walking along the north side of the street is forced to cross the street — without a crosswalk at the western end. But the proposed sidewalk would also involve eliminating nine parking spaces neighbors say are desperately needed and would slightly cut into Polk Park.
Alexandria’s knitters and crocheters can celebrate their finished work at a new interactive mural at yarn shop fibre space (1319 Prince Street) in Old Town.
The mural allows for customers to take photos with their finished objects (known as FO’s), and pretend to be holding an umbrella under a shower of knitting notions and tools.
A system upgrade to the city’s Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities (RPCA) website could be a windfall for local residents who, today and tomorrow, can access most rec center amenities without charge.
The city is updating its WebTrac service today, leaving RPCA unable to access household information, handle reservations or registrations, or process payments or refunds.
The Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority (ARHA) has announced some next steps for plans to redevelop Ladrey High Rise, a public housing building in Old Town North.
The current building is an 11-story, 170-unit high rise building housing seniors and residents with disabilities. The redevelopment plans will see that building and an adjoining property demolished for a new mid-rise construction. The new development is slated to be a one-to-one replacement of the units on the site.
Teen Killed in Fairfax — “Police are investigating a shooting outside an apartment complex in the Woodlawn section of [Fairfax] that left a 19-year-old man dead.” [FOX5]
It’s Monday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 83 and low of 66. Sunrise at 6:55 am and sunset at 7:12 pm. [Weather.gov]
The top two stories this week in Alexandria pertained to an incident inside one of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) buildings.
It was a mental health crisis where police were involved but no one was killed, but it has kept the offices shut down until Saturday and neither the USPTO nor the Alexandria Police Department are sharing more information about what took place, which has only further fueled questioning and rumors from employees at the site.
A pair of gatherings are planned for Saturday, Sept. 24, to commemorate the recently deceased founder of local news sites Red Brick Town and Port City Wire: Lee Hernly.
Lee was a pioneer of local journalism in Alexandria, launching the popular hyperlocal blog Red Brick Town in 2006, which eventually grew into the local news site Port City Wire. Lee died suddenly in July from complications from a cerebral hemorrhage.
Boosted by multi-million dollar endowment, ownership of the 45-acre Winkler Botanical Preserve (5400 Roanoke Avenue) was signed over to NOVA Parks on Thursday (September 15).
Mayor Justin Wilson was joined by members of City Council, interim Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt, City Manager Jim Parajon and city staff for the deed signing ceremony.
A man acquitted by reason of insanity for a brutal stabbing death in Old Town has been ordered to stay off all social media except LinkedIn.
The news came Thursday afternoon, after 38-year-old Pankaj Bhasin was ordered by the Alexandria Circuit Court to stay off the websites after lying about himself and his whereabouts during a period that he was in prison for murder.
