Diagonal Road, the very literally named road between Duke Street and King Street near the King Street Metro station, will be closed this week during working hours to through traffic for milling and repaving.

“Work will be performed between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,” the city said in a press release. “During this time Diagonal Road will be closed to through traffic. However, access to parking garages and the Embassy Suites Hotel will be maintained from Duke Street only.”


River Farm gets taken off the market — “Local residents cheered over email and text messages Wednesday after learning that the American Horticultural Society’s board — or what remained of it — decided not to sell its 27-acre property overlooking the Potomac River.” [Alexandria Living]

Northern Virginia AFL-CIO presents award to Rep. Don Beyer — “When the bus drivers in Alexandria – the DASH workers (who had been trying to unionize over decades, actually), Alexandria City hired a union buster and Congressman Beyer stepped in and was very forceful with his language in making the city aware that the DASH workers had a right to organize.” [Zebra]


(Updated 10/27) Did you know that a little over 90 years before the King Street trolley started ferrying visitors through Old Town, another streetcar ran from Del Ray up into D.C.?

A new Christmas ornament for sale for $25 through the Office of Historic Alexandria celebrates the city’s first streetcar — which ran for 14 years before the popularity of the car helped drive it out of businesses.


Right after the 100 block of King Street discussion last night, the Planning Commission approved a zoning text amendment that could let some West End developers make better use of the Mark Center site.

At the meeting, land use attorney Kenneth Wire represented the Mark Center Hilton and the Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA), two property owners at the site who have been pushing to have underutilized land around the Mark Center repurposed. Wire said the hotel owners are hoping sale of some of the property, particularly a parcel near a stormwater retention pond, could help fund a facelift for the very dated Mark Center Hilton.


The 100 block of Prince Street is impossible to miss. It’s where the one-way street parallel to King Street suddenly becomes a cobblestone lane called Captain’s Row. But with the 100 block of King Street closure getting a Planning Commission endorsement, one of the few remaining concerns is the potential impact on the historic street to its south.

The Planning Commission endorsed making the closure of the 100 block permanent in a pair of unanimous votes, though with some acknowledgment that there are still issues to be resolved down the road, like the need for a better barricade as originally called out at the Waterfront Commission.


(Updated at 2:15 p.m.) Alexandria City High School is back to normal operating status after a lockdown Tuesday morning when a student was arrested outside the school with a handgun.

The school released the following note at around 12:30 p.m.:


Alexandria Police are investigating a former employee at a doctor’s office in the West End, who is suspected of computer trespassing after allegedly changing his computer passwords after getting fired.

The former employee, who was an aide at the office, was fired on September 17 for “failing to adequately perform her job,” and was escorted out by Alexandria Police after becoming “irate” and “disorderly,” police reported in a search warrant.


Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria Napoletana to open Alexandria location— “The Alexandria location will be at the Alexandria Commons Shopping Center, 3231 Duke Street. Frank Pepe, an Italian immigrant from just southwest of Naples, founded the pizzeria in 1925 in Connecticut after working for a macaroni manufacturer and a bakery… The thin-crust pizzas are fired in a coal oven. Small pies start at less than $10 (the tomato pie), and the menu also includes salads, beer and wine. The company has not yet announced an opening date for the Alexandria location.” [Alexandria Living]

Fire Department rescues Golden Retriever with head stuck in Old Town fence — “On Saturday, Engine 201 arrived on a call to find a dog stuck on an iron fence experiencing distress. After requesting Rescue 209, first responders worked to remove the fence from the dog’s neck & return to the owner. The dog was uninjured. Great job by E201 & Rescue 209 B shift!” [Twitter]


Alexandria is getting some state help to boost its stormwater resilience, though the city is at the lower end of the $7.8 million distributed in grants.

Governor Ralph Northam announced today that the $7.8 million would be going to 19 local projects across the Commonwealth that address flooding, sea-level rise, and extreme weather.


A 23-year-old Fairfax County man wounded after a shooting in a West End apartment complex is being held without bond in the Alexandria jail for being a violent felon in possession of a firearm.

Antwain Lee Williams was arrested on Tuesday, September 21, after being driven to Inova Alexandria Hospital by a neighbor. He was alert with police and claimed that he was shot in the head.


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