The Alexandria Police Department announced that a 17-year-old male has been arrested and charged with crimes related to a shooting on Four Mile Road last week.
Last Sunday, Oct. 10, a juvenile male was shot at Park Vue of Alexandria apartments (511 Four Mile Road) just before noon. The victim had a gunshot wound on his upper body, but the injuries were considered not life-threatening and he was taken to the hospital.
A Bonchon Chicken franchise plans to open its doors in December in the Bradlee Shopping Center, ALXnow has learned.
It’s the first Korean fried chicken franchise for Maryland-based owner Stanely Grabowski, who says he wants to open more locations in the area.
Bun Papa in Belle View expands into D.C. — “Its with gratitude and great excitement that I get to share that therealbunpapa is taking a giant step forward tonight… with the launch of our new (and second) location inside of Capital One Arena in Washington, DC!” [Facebook]
Alexandria Ranks Among Top Cities for Office-to-Residential Conversions — “Alexandria is a leader nationwide in converting under-used office space to residences, according to a new study from RentCafe.com.” [Alexandria Living Magazine]
A new report from DASH shows that the bus network has received significantly fewer angry public calls about the new bus network overhaul than had earlier been expected.
A report made at a meeting of the Alexandria Transit Company’s Board of Directors last week indicated that the bus systems’ new DASH network has been a success in terms of recent complaints. According to the network’s customer service report call volumes and complaints regarding DASH operations have fallen below projections for the month of September.
Dreams of the long-planned Yates Pizza Palace (3000 Duke Street) are likely dead as the owner of the stalled development has filed a permit to sign the location over to be used as a hub for food delivery, the Washington Business Journal reported.
The Business Journal reported that a change of ownership permit indicates that the pizza restaurant — formerly Generous George’s Positive Pizza & Pasta Place — will be owned by a company affiliated with Reef Technology, a firm that converts spaces into neighborhood kitchens.
Alexandria City High School rallied in the final moments to send their homecoming game into overtime Friday night, but it just wasn’t enough. The West Potomac Wolverines edged their way to a 22-21 win.
The evening included an unexpected appearance by world champion sprinters Noah and Josephus Lyles, who watched the game from the sidelines with ACHS Principal Peter Balas and Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr.
(Updated at 425 p.m. Tuesday, October 19) Alexandria has reached yet another grim milestone, as the city surpassed 14,000 reported cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, according to the Virginia Department of Health.
As of today (Monday, October 18), the number of cases has climbed to 14,070, up 171 cases since this time last week.
New data from tax collection over the summer shows a minor rebound for sales and meals in Alexandria, but while it’s a positive sign, Mayor Justin Wilson cautioned that they don’t quite tell the full picture.
In March, local sales tax revenue reached a high of nearly $3 million. Since the start of the year, sales tax revenue has been higher than it was in those respective months the last two years, but the fact that COVID-19 seemed to have a negligible impact on sales last summer indicates that most of that is driven by online sales rather than local business, which Wilson confirmed.
Metro running at 40% today — “As part of the investigation into the Blue Line derailment, Metro is holding out of service all of its 7000-series railcars, which is about 60% of its rail fleet. Without these rail cars, Metro will operate about 40 trains tomorrow.” [Metro]
Alexandria’s Communications Director Appointed To New Position With Governor’s Office — “The city’s longtime Director of Communications and Public Information, Craig Fifer, has been appointed to a new position. He has been selected by Gov. Northam to serve as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for the Commonwealth of Virginia, effective Oct. 25.” [Zebra]
This week saw possibly the most contentious meeting between the City Council and School Board in years for a debate over School Resources Officers that ultimately culminated in the Council voting to temporarily restore the program. The reversal has been advocated by school officials and some parents, but was lamented by advocacy group Tenants and Workers United that saw it as a step-backward for racial justice.
The following day, ACPS was also hit with lockdowns at Alexandria City High School’s King Street and Minnie Howard campuses and Hammond Middle School, though police later said initial calls about a school shooting were unfounded. At the same time, a gas leak near Potomac Yard led to two homes being evacuated and the temporary closure of Richmond Highway.
The Scholarship Fund of Alexandria has raised enough funding to establish a new scholarship that will be named after a beloved former teacher.
The recently retired Beverly Vick was a highly regarded teacher at Douglas MacArthur Elementary School for 38 years and received the Excellence in Education award in 2009. Vick also worked with children through the American Girl Literature Club.
