Alexandria high jumper Tynita Butts-Townsend has qualified for the U.S. Olympics.
Butts-Townsend, 31, joins Alexandria runner Noah Lyles and boxer Troy Isley on the team. The seven-time All-American has been ranked as ranked one of the top high-jumpers in the world, and had her best year competing in 2019 when she made it on Team USA for the World Games.
The story behind Alexandria’s hand-me-down graduation gown — “Five outstanding T.C. Williams High School students, five prestigious universities and colleges, two on-stage graduation performances – and one graduation gown. What began as an unplanned sharing of a typically once-worn garment has become has become an Alexandria tradition.” [Alex Times]
Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial recognized by African American Civil Rights Network — “Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial is the oldest and first site in Virginia to be added to the network.” [Zebra]
Developer Mid-Atlantic Realty Partners is scheduled to host a meeting in two weeks to discuss a mixed-use development in the heart of Chirilagua/Arlandria.
According to a press release from the city of Alexandria, the meeting will discuss redevelopment plans for 3811-3825 Mount Vernon Avenue, currently the Mount Vernon Shopping Center. The new development, the press release said, will be a mixed-use project with multifamily residential market-rate and affordable units, along with ground floor retail including a grocery store and open space.
The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning for Alexandria.
“Avoid small streams and do not drive through water on roadways,” the city’s emergency services said.
Aria isn’t afraid to exhibit her underbite.
The 10-year-old Chihuahua is up for adoption via the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria, and aside from sticking out her tongue constantly is a relatively low-key pup.
Alexandria’s unemployment rate has been cut roughly in half since this time last year, the Virginia Employment Commission revealed in a recent report.
As of May 2021, Alexandria’s unemployment rate was 3.9%, with 3,814 residents filing claims. The city’s unemployment rate in 2020 was 8.1%, with 7,950 residents getting unemployment payments.
Amid questionable calls and weather-related issues, Old Town businesses are claiming victory in Wednesday night’s softball battle against Del Ray.
Old Town Team Captain Trae Lamond of Chadwicks said his team won in a text message to ALXnow, and that he put the John Porter Cup in the trunk of his car after everyone scattered to avoid bad weather.
Want to go into business?
The latest listings on BizBuySell show businesses for sale in and around Alexandria. Many are restaurants, which have been heavily impacted by the pandemic.
New Virginia laws on marijuana, death penalty take effect today — ” Virginia lawmakers voted earlier this year to end executions, marking a dramatic change in direction for a state that has executed the most people in the nation’s history. Only two men remain on death row in Virginia. Their sentences will be commuted to life in prison without parole. The state will also legalize simple possession of marijuana, effective July 1, and allow adults to grow up to four marijuana plants per household.” [Patch]
Rare bird visits Huntley Meadows Park — “A Roseate Spoonbill, which the Audubon Society describes as “gorgeous at a distance and bizarre up close,” landed in Huntley Meadows this week, drawing hundreds of local nature photographers. The bird is far from its normal home in Florida, Louisiana, Texas and other parts of the far Southeastern United States. No one is sure why this spoonbill came so far north, but a recent tropical storm in the Southeast may have sent many birds flying for safer locales.” [Alexandria Living]
The Sportrock Climbing Center has been pretty packed since President Joe Biden visited with the First Lady and Governor Ralph Northam last month.
Sportrock staff claim that it’s the first time any president has ever visited a climbing gym, and that it has shined a spotlight on their 35,000 square-foot operation. On a recent weekday evening, every parking spot was taken outside their location at 5308 Eisenhower Avenue. Inside the massive gym, masked and unmasked climbers hung out, lifted weights, belayed, and worked their ways to the top of the tallest climbing walls in the Mid-Atlantic.
As Alexandria works through the first stages of its Duke Street transit overhaul, city staff are laying out expectations for what’s being considered for the corridor.
In a public meeting last week, staff presented early plans for a transit-focused overhaul of Duke Street and fielded both questions and some early concerns from residents.
