After an online celebration last year, Alexandria’s First Night celebration is back, fireworks and all on New Year’s Eve.
“I’m thrilled First Night is back,” said Laverne Chapman, chair of the board of First Night. “It took us two years to come back, and we’re ready to come back.”
New Alexandria officers, Sheriff’s deputies graduate from academy — “The new law enforcement officers completed 21 weeks of training before their graduation from the Criminal Justice Academy.” [Patch]
Richmond Highway motel could be replaced with multi-family residential building — “The transformation of Richmond Highway continues with plans to replace the Brookside Motel with a new multi-family residential building.” [Alexandria Living Magazine]
Alexandria Town Crier Ben Fiore-Walker was largely silent during the pandemic. Now he’s back, bell and call and all.
Earlier this month, Fiore-Walker stood at the reviewing stand in his Colonial uniform and opened the Campagna Center’s Scottish Christmas Walk Parade in Old Town. While he’s spoken at numerous online events and small outdoor concerts over the past year, the Scottish Christmas Walk was his first large public gathering since he previously walked through Old Town ringing his bell and declaring, “Hear ye! Hear ye!” at the George Washington Birthday Parade in February 2020.
The City of Alexandria is trying to get the word out about major changes coming to a stretch of Duke Street and the connecting streets.
The proposed overhaul will change traffic patterns along Duke Street near Telegraph Road, a major connection to I-395 and a source of significant backup onto nearby residential streets. The pilot phase for the program is planned to start Monday, Jan. 3. The pilot project is scheduled to end on March 30, followed by a period of traffic analysis.
Families and friends looking to celebrate are in for an annual holiday tradition. For the third year, Ice & Lights: The Winter Village At Cameron Run is open with light displays, Christmas trees and ice skating.
The winter village (4001 Eisenhower Avenue) opened in mid-November, and will shut down on Jan. 2. The ice skating, however, will remain open on weekends until Feb. 27. General admission to the park is $8 and ice skating is $12.
(Updated 3:20 p.m.) Ahead of the new City Council being installed in January, the current body is scheduled to take another look at the city’s ethics pledge.
The Mayor and City Council make a pledge when being sworn in to abide by a somewhat nebulous one-page code of conduct. The pledge was a point of contention when it was introduced by then-Mayor Allison Silberberg, who fought tooth-and-nail to get the pledge passed.
Tours have been getting going around Alexandria’s historic sites over the last year, and one of the most iconic — the Gadsby’s Tavern Museum — is looking for public help to handle new visitors.
“Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, part of the Office of Historic Alexandria, is recruiting volunteers to lead guided tours,” the Office of Historic Alexandria (OHA) said in an email. “Guides are trained to use the historic tavern spaces to share the stories of diverse people in early America who both shaped and were shaped by the young nation.”
Indoor dog park and bar opening in Alexandria’s West End — “Snouts & Stouts will offer a 6,000 sq. ft. indoor dog park, dog daycare, and drinks and snacks for humans.” [Alexandria Living Magazine]
Gingerbread house decorating event raises nearly $6K for Carpenters Shelter — “On Wednesday, Dec. 8, the 4th annual Gingerbread Decorating Event, sponsored by Visit Alexandria and Federal Conference, raised almost $6,000 for Carpenters Shelter, the local nonprofit that supports homeless and transitioning families and individuals.” [Alexandria Times]
The city is looking for feedback on a planned new trail at the east end of the Eisenhower corridor in the Carlyle neighborhood, though the construction of the trail is still years away.
The plan is to build a half-mile shared use path between Hooffs Run Drive and South Payne Street. Another quarter-mile section will connect it to redevelopment between Mill Road and Hooffs Run Drive.
(Updated 12/14) Remember the American Rescue Plan Act? Earlier this year, the city received $29.8 million in funding to allocate toward projects across the city.
Five months later, a new report to the City Council scheduled to be presented at a meeting tomorrow breaks down how that’s been going so far. Here is ALXnow’s simplified, condensed version:
Alexandria’s transmission rate remains “High” for the second week in a row, as the first case of the Omicron variant has been detected in Virginia, which just surpassed 1 million cases of COVID-19.
There have been 1,000,694 reported cases of COVID-19 in Virginia since the pandemic began in March 2020. There have also been 14,957 deaths statewide.
