News

Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Simon Pearce Glassware store opens Friday in Old Town — “Vermont-based glassware-maker Simon Pearce will open its doors Friday at their new store in Old Town Alexandria at 721 King St., according to a spokeswoman for the company. The space was formerly home to Papyrus, the greeting cards and gift wrap store.” [Alexandria Living]

Family raises $70K+ in GoFundMe campaign for mother with cancer — “Our lives changed forever three weeks ago when our mom was unexpectedly diagnosed with an advanced cancer known as metastatic adenocarcinoma. The diagnosis took us completely by surprise. Three months ago, she was walking five miles a day, eating a pescetarian diet, going on her own day trips. She started reporting shortness of breath and fatigue in late March, but doctors were unable to diagnose these symptoms as cancer until early June.” [GoFundMe]

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Heritage project in Old Town returns for design review

By Vernon Miles
Rendering of Block 1 of the Heritage Project, via City of Alexandria

The Heritage stirred up significant community uproar in the lead up to its approval in February, and now the project is coming back to public review for its design phase.

The project, once described by some on the Board of Architectural Review (BAR) as “Lipstick on a Pig“, is comprised of three new apartment buildings in southeast Old Town along S Patrick and Washington Streets. Each of the buildings scale from three and four stories up to seven stories in parts.

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Alexandria looks closer at Virginia building safety regulations after Florida condo collapse

By James Cullum
The Sherwood apartment building at Southern Towers in Alexandria's West End. (Staff photo by James Cullum)

In the wake of the condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson says that Virginia needs to update its building safety regulations.

While calling the June 24 collapse of the 40-year-old building a rarity, Wilson tweeted that it has raised safety concerns since Alexandria has “most of the older high-rise residential buildings in Virginia.”

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City offers cookouts this week to promote local services for families

By Vernon Miles
Hot dog, via David Todd McCarty/Unsplash

The promise of learning more about what types of city services are available through various departments might sound painfully dull, but fortunately someone in city bureaucracy understood that the promise of free food helps add spice to that offer.

The City of Alexandria, along with a handful of partners like Alexandria Redevelopment Housing Authority and the Campagna Center, is hosting a series of cookouts this week and next to provide more information on local youth and family programs, including Safe Space and anti-bullying programs.

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Man shot multiple times in West End on Saturday night

By James Cullum

A 29-year-old man was sent to the hospital in serious condition after being shot multiple times in the West End on Saturday night, Alexandria Police reported.

The incident occurred at around 11:45 p.m. at the intersection of N. Beauregard Street and Sanger Avenue, which is near Holmes Run, apartment buildings and the William Ramsay Recreation Center.

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West End office building could become new Alexandria school

By Vernon Miles
Swing space at 1703 N. Beauregard Street, via Google Maps

Three years after ACPS converted a West End office building into Ferdinand T. Day Elementary School, the school system is looking to make a similar move into a neighboring office building.

At tonight’s City Council meeting, the Council will consider funding for the purchase of 1703 North Beauregard, an office building directly across from Ferdinand T. Day.

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Alexandria wants feedback on recognizing African American gravestones at Fort Ward Park

By James Cullum
Fort Ward (photo via Visit Alexandria)

Alexandria is looking for community feedback on the recognition and demarcation of Black cemetery areas and burial sites at Fort Ward Park.

The park at 4301 West Braddock Road, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, became an African American community after the Civil War. For more than a decade, the city has worked on identifying graves that were part of “The Fort” neighborhood, and made ground-penetrating Radar Surveys in 2009.

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Morning Notes

By James Cullum

‘Ghost kitchen’ could be headed to Alexandria — “Commercial kitchens like the one proposed are also known as ghost kitchens and they allow restaurants and food entrepreneurs to prepare delivery orders. Ghost kitchens grew in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic when many traditional restaurants were forced to close and the demand for take-out increased.” [Alexandria Living]

Face masks required at public and private schools until July 25 — “To address potential gaps in critical prevention measures at schools this summer, the State Health Commissioner, Dr. Norm Oliver, issued a Public Health Emergency Order effective July 1, requiring children and adults aged 5 and older to wear masks in public and private K-12 schools through July 25. The requirement applies to individuals regardless of vaccination status. The mask order also applies on school buses. Individuals are not required to wear masks when outside on school property, however the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) recommends that unvaccinated individuals aged two and older wear a mask in crowded outdoor settings.” [City of Alexandria]

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Mayor: City more vaccinated than health department data indicates

By Vernon Miles

On paper, Alexandria has had a hard time closing the gap to the city’s goal of 80% of residents getting vaccinated or even the Virginia target of 70%.

Several explanations for the challenge have been put forward, but in a town hall this week Mayor Justin Wilson put forward another: the city has already hit that goal, but the way the calculations work don’t show it.

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