News | ALXnow - Part 737

Alexandria Police say quarrels over music may account for some school violence

Published October 21, 2021 at 9:55AM | Updated October 22, 2021 at 9:59AM

(Updated 10/22) One of the possible motives being the recent violence in Alexandria City Public Schools being investigated by the Alexandria Police Department seems to be, of all things, disagreements over music lyrics, a police officer said at a meeting of the Gang Prevention Task Force last night (Wednesday).

“The issues at the school… appear to be a dispute over rap music,” said Lt. Jerry Newcomb, commander of the Crimes Against Persons Section. “It’s an ongoing investigation. We’re hoping to find out more… It’s a dispute over lyrics. Some of them think that the lyrics they’ve come up with are proprietary in some way, but we’re still trying to dig into it. That’s the underlying reason that we’re hearing.”

Morning Notes

By Vernon Miles

Published October 21, 2021 at 5:00AM

DASH ridership up 26% — “[DASH] says its Sept ridership was up 26% (215,963 vs 171,589 in Aug) after it launched revamped bus route network, made fares free. Probably got a bump from more reopening/activity.” [Twitter]

Mount Vernon Trail marked for bump removal — “The trail bumps were marked by spray paint with care with hopes that our volunteers would remove them from there. Volunteer to remove trail bumps on 10/23 or 10/30.” [Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail]

Local woman seeks help to pay for tumor removal surgery

By Vernon Miles

Published October 20, 2021 at 3:45PM | Updated October 20, 2021 at 5:48PM

Amana Bhuiyan, courtesy photo

(Updated 5:50 p.m.) Amana Bhuiyan wakes up at 4 a.m. at her home in the Huntington neighborhood of Fairfax and immediately starts driving Uber. Around 9 or 10 a.m. she’ll switch to Instacart or DoorDash. Then around 2 or 3 p.m., it’s working at Walgreens until closing until around midnight. Then, another few hours of late-night Uber before returning home to sleep for two or three hours before starting it all again the next day.

It’s an exhausting schedule, but Bhuiyan said it’s what it takes to try t try to raise the money necessary to pay to remove a painful tumor.

Alexandria School Board Candidate Bridget Shea Westfall says son was her hero during pandemic

By James Cullum

Published October 20, 2021 at 2:30PM | Updated October 21, 2021 at 12:29PM

Bridget Shea Westfall says she’s not a status quo kind of person. Westfall, the parent of a second grader at Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School, also calls her son her hero.

“My son was my hero during the pandemic, and he just had to do a lot of adult things,” Westfall told ALXnow, fighting back tears. “He had to be very resilient, brave and strong and use executive functioning skills that most adults haven’t mastered in their professional and personal lives. But my son said to me, ‘Mom, you should do it. You should. You should run.'”

City looking for $60 million in federal and state floodwater funding

By Vernon Miles

Published October 20, 2021 at 1:15PM

After achieving some funding from earlier grants, the City of Alexandria is going back to that well to try and finance more flood mitigation.

At a meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 26, the City Council is scheduled to review a request for a grant of up to $50 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and up to $10 million from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and Virginia Resources Authority (VRA).

Man arrested in Braddock for selling drug paraphernalia, giving police false name

By James Cullum

Published October 20, 2021 at 10:50AM

Alexandria Police cruiser (staff photo by James Cullum)

A 43-year-old Orange County man was arrested in the Braddock area earlier this month for selling drug paraphernalia and providing a false statement to police after a concerned resident reported people passed out in a car.

On October 7, Alexandria Police found a black Acura TL parked in the 900 block of North Fayette Street. The man was asleep in the driver’s seat, and provided police with the false name of Thomas Sprow, police said in a search warrant affidavit.

City warns National Airport noise mitigation could be two or three years away

By Vernon Miles

Published October 20, 2021 at 9:45AM

At Gravelly Point, a man in a folding chair reads a book as planes land at National Airport (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

It’s another beautiful, sunny day in Old Town where you occasionally can’t hear the person standing next to you speaking because an airplane from National Airport is flying directly overhead.

Sound familiar?

Morning notes

By Vernon Miles

Published October 20, 2021 at 5:00AM

Alexandria political cartoonist shifts to radio — “Following a 30-year political cartooning career, Steve Artley has transitioned his satirical prowess to another form: radio.” [Artley Cartoons]

National Industries for the Blind awarded $8.9 million contract — “National Industries for the Blind, Alexandria, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $8,898,968 modification exercising the third one-year option period of a one-year base contract with four one-year option periods for moisture wicking t-shirts.” [Defense Daily]

City to host historical discussion about Confederate statue removal

By Vernon Miles

Published October 19, 2021 at 3:30PM

As part of an ongoing effort to commemorate civil rights efforts both past and ongoing, the city hosting a film screening and virtual discussion about Confederate statues around Virginia and their recent removal.

The discussion will center around How the Monuments Came Down, a documentary produced by Field Studio and the VPM Media Corporation.

First responder unions say underfunding is a crisis in Alexandria, but city officials say it’s a false alarm

By Vernon Miles

Published October 19, 2021 at 2:45PM | Updated October 20, 2021 at 9:24AM

(Updated 3:40 p.m.) Organizations representing Alexandria police and firefighters are taking the city to task for what they say are chronic underpayment issues that put local residents at risk, but city officials say the push is a negotiation tactic in the ongoing collective bargaining discussions.

Local labor unions Alexandria Committee of Police, IUPA Local 5, and Alexandria International Association of Firefighters Local 2141 issued a joint press release decrying current pay conditions.

Visit Alexandria says the city’s tourism rebound will be gradual

By James Cullum

Published October 19, 2021 at 1:20PM | Updated October 19, 2021 at 1:59PM

Walking on King Street in Old Town, Alexandria (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria’s recovery from the pandemic is going faster than expected, according to Visit Alexandria.

Alexandria’s tourism bureau, in its annual meeting last week, reported that consumption-based tax revenue for fiscal year 2021 came in at $59 million. That’s $6 million more than the initial forecast of $53 million, but well below the all-time high of $66 million in fiscal year 2019.