There have been four more deaths in Alexandria due to COVID-19 since last week, bringing the death toll from the virus to 148.
In the meantime, Alexandria was praised last week by Governor Ralph Northam for having the highest vaccination rate among teens in Virginia. The city is also currently preparing to provide vaccines for children under the age of 12.
Alexandria is reclaimed its third-place ranking in this year’s Condé Nast survey of best small cities in the United States after being bumped down to fifth.
The city took 5th place in last year’s survey after winning 3rd in 2019. The survey tallied over 800,000 votes, the publication said.
Alexandria will begin implementing a vaccine mandate on October 25, ALXnow has learned.
City employees who aren’t vaccinated by that time are required to get weekly COVID-19 tests, the city said in a statement.
Local teen with cancer knits blankets to raise awareness — “West Potomac High School senior Jessica Foss should have been thinking about prom, graduation and heading off to college in the fall. Instead, in May 2020, in addition to missing out on typical senior year activities because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Foss received a diagnosis that would turn her world even more upside down – cancer.” [Alexandria Living]
Deadline nearing to register to vote in November election — “Oct. 12 is the deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 2 General Election. Any eligible US citizen who will be 18 by 11/2/21 can register to vote. Questions about your registration status? Call us at 703.746.4050. vote.elections.virginia.gov” [Twitter]
After an extensive period of community discussion and development, the new townhouse portion of the Oakville Triangle development (2610 Richmond Highway) is headed to city review later this year.
“The applicant is seeking approval of a development special use permit with site plan to construct 84 fee simple townhomes with the accompanying subdivision,” developer Tri Pointe Homes DC Metro Inc. wrote in the permit application.
How do you know you’re in Del Ray? Visitors can wonder no longer, as a new 15-foot-tall marker will be unveiled later this month at Pat Miller Neighborhood Square.
The marker was designed by Maryland artist Kirk Seese, has been in the works since 2018. It was open to the public for last Saturday’s Art On The Avenue festival, and the tentative date for its official unveiling is October 15, according to Visit Del Ray.
Among the changes the city is making to its mobility plan, Alexandria is starting to lay the groundwork for autonomous vehicles on city streets.
There are currently serious concerns about the safety of self-driving cars, with specific concerns about the ability of these cars to reliably avoid hitting pedestrians and cyclists. But at the technology advances, city staff are still including plans for self-driving cars on Alexandria streets as a future possibility worth planning for.
A man driving a Nissan Sentra with D.C. plates crashed into a light pole on Mount Vernon Avenue in Arlandria early Monday morning (October 4).
The incident occurred after 1 a.m. just outside of Casa Chirilagua at 4901 Mount Vernon Avenue. The crash smashed the Sentra’s windshield and caused its front and side airbags to deploy.
The power went out on the busiest day of the year in Del Ray on Saturday (October 2).
An estimated 50,000 people descended on Mount Vernon Avenue for the 26th annual Art On The Avenue festival that day, but many restaurants and other businesses were forced to shut down due to the outage.
Contaminated Legacy: From slave plantation to industrial pollution, a hidden history of North Old Town — “The land where the power plant is now located was once a slave plantation owned by the first rector of Christ Church, Townshend Dade. In the 1920s, the area experienced rapid industrialization. The American Chlorophyll Company set up operation on the spot where the power plant would later locate the coal pile. And the Potomac River Clay Works had an operation on what is now the parking lot of the power plant. Neighbors in North Old Town say they want all that contaminated soil cleaned up rather than capped in place and left where it is, a common way to deal with these kinds of heavily polluted sites.” [Gazette]
Alexandria Symphony Orchestra opens fall season — “So thrilled the @Alex_Symphony is back, live and in-person at the Schlesinger Center! Live music is back, masked and vaccinated and better than ever!” [Twitter]
A power outage in Del Ray has shut down a number of businesses, although the annual Art on the Avenue festival today (October 2) is still happening. The event is one of the biggest events in the city and draws tens of thousands of people.
“We have a right to expect more from @DominionEnergy,” tweeted Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson. “Plunging a central business district into darkness for the better part of their biggest day of the year, with no inclement weather, is UNACCEPTABLE.”
