A proposed cafe on King Street in Old Town will head back to the Board of Architectural Review next month after being deferred in the spring.
Business owner Kahan S. Dhillon, Jr., wants to open Kingsley Cafe at 910 King Street, currently the site of a three-level, 1850s-era townhome. The board deferred the cafe in May, and it is now slated to return for consideration during a public hearing on Wednesday, Dec. 3.
Following hefty city pushback, the Board of Architectural Review unanimously advanced plans to renovate City Hall and Market Square with a new certificate of appropriateness at last night’s public hearing (Wednesday).
Board member Andrew Scott introduced a motion to approve a final design stipulating the inclusion of decorative chimneys, lifted archways and other 19th-century flourishes at the site of the 1871 building, garnering some dissent from Director of General Services Jeremy McPike.
A plan to construct 32 four-story townhomes at the site of two Old Town office buildings is still struggling for the blessing of the Board of Architectural Review.
Members of the review board are requesting more exterior variety and colonial influence in the proposed townhomes, after reviewing new renderings of the project at 333 N. Fairfax Street. The board did not vote on the item during last night’s public hearing (Wednesday).
For the sixth year in a row, Alexandria has received a “perfect score” from an annual evaluation of United States cities by a national LGBTQ+ rights nonprofit.
Alexandria earned a maximum score of 100 points on its Municipal Equality Index scorecard from the Human Rights Campaign, the city announced yesterday (Wednesday). The score accounts for factors like non-discrimination laws, protections for LGBTQ+ employees and fair enforcement of the law.
On This Day in Alexandria History — “On Nov. 20, 1818, the Alexandria Common Council authorized space in the new City Hall and Market House for an Alexandria Museum. The space, located on the second floor corner of the building overlooking Cameron and N. Royal Streets, was operated by the local Masonic Lodge and was the site of many important public receptions overs the years, including one for the Marquis de Lafayette who visited Alexandria for a month in 1824.” [Historic Alexandria]
NYT Covers HOA Quarrels — “Mr. [Frank] Capone has spent $40,000 suing the HOA over his right to plant a Mickey Mouse flag in his front flower pot and revoke the street parking privileges of 22 neighbors. Seeking to oust him from leadership, his association started a multimedia campaign … The case is another example of how the nation’s partisan divide has reached the hyperlocal level. Nearly one-quarter of Americans belong to an HOA, whose dominion over private property draws ever more complaints.” [The New York Times]
Good Wednesday evening, Alexandria. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
The following articles were published earlier today — Nov 19, 2025.
Here are today’s most-read articles:
Here is what’s going on Thursday in Alexandria, from our event calendar.
Expect mostly cloudy skies with a high temperature near 52 degrees accompanied by a light and variable wind. Thursday night will also be mostly cloudy, while the temperature drops to around 43 degrees and a calm wind prevails. See more from Weather.gov.
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
– Mahatma Gandhi
Thanks for reading!
Amid deepening federal funding cuts to programs for crime victims, commonwealth’s attorneys gathered in Alexandria today (Wednesday) to listen to survivors’ stories.
The public officials attended the discussion at the National Organization of Victim Advocacy on 510 King Street. Among them were Steve Descano of Fairfax County, Parisa Dehghani-Tafti of Arlington and Falls Church and Remin Fatehi of Norfolk.
The city of Alexandria will receive $10.9 million in federal grant funding toward DASH, Sens. Mark Warner (D) and Tim Kaine (D) announced today (Wednesday).
Funding will benefit the transit system’s Bus Fleet Replacement & Facility Rehabilitation project, an undertaking that aims to transition Alexandria to 100% zero-emission buses over the next decade and build infrastructure to support the growing fleet, according to a release.
The Alexandria Fire Department transported two people to Inova Fairfax Hospital last night (Tuesday) after responding to a two-alarm high-rise apartment fire in Landmark.
The fire on the 14th floor of London Park Towers at 5375 Duke Street was reported at around 6:30 p.m. Tower 203 crews arrived and found the apartment unit engulfed in flames which were visible from the street.
Former FBI Director James Comey will make another run Wednesday at getting his criminal case dismissed, with his lawyers looking to convince a judge that the prosecution is vindictive and rooted in President Donald Trump’s hatred of him.
The arguments arrive as the Comey case appears freshly imperiled following a judge’s excoriation of the Justice Department on Monday and as multiple challenges to the indictment may result in its dismissal.
The historic Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House site is collecting non-perishable food donations in exchange for admission discounts this holiday season.
Now through Dec. 29, guests who bring one canned good to the Woodlawn admissions desk can receive a 10% discount on individual tour admission. The food drive comes as the museums aim to provide non-perishable, shelf-stable foods in “waterproof food pantries” outside the front gates at the Quaker Meeting House.
