Anyone who has walked or biked along the Mount Vernon Trail is familiar with a few of its scary parts — places where cyclists or runners round corners without having a clear view of what’s on the other side.
Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail is looking for some help clearing up vegetation around one of those spots: the area just north of Old Town but south of Daingerfield Island where two parts of the trail converge.
The Alexandria Jail is slowly easing COVID-19 restrictions, and the Sheriff’s Office says it is looking at resuming in-person visitation between family members and inmates.
The jail population is hovering at around 250-270 inmates, said Captain Sean Casey. That’s an ideal figure, he said, since capacity is 338 and the extra space has been needed for distancing.
The Virginia Theological Seminary’s (VTS) ongoing effort to pay $1.7 million in reparations to the descendants of those enslaved at the school was highlighted this week in the New York Times.
The reparations program was launched in 2019, but the school started to issue payments to more than a dozen families in February.
Demolition complete at Douglas MacArthur Elementary School — “It’s official, the Douglas MacArthur Elementary School of old is now fully demolished, and we are on our way to a new building, opening January 2023! Watch the construction on the project website from Skanska: https://bit.ly/3bXgncs” [Facebook]
ACPS in early stages of developing safety plan without school resource officers — “Alexandria is not alone in re-evaluating its relationship between police and schools, but it is the only Northern Virginia jurisdiction to remove SROs from schools so far.” [Alexandria Living]
Virginia State Police briefly chased a suspect driving a white U-Haul pickup along Mount Vernon Avenue in Arlandria. The suspect was chased from Arlington and into Alexandria before turning onto West Glebe Road and taking out a road sign at around 4:15 p.m.
The U-Haul truck drove on the wrong way of the street on West Glebe Road, and nearly struck a VSP cruiser. The suspect veered out of the way and struck a road sign, which was knocked into the middle of the street, and has since been cleared away.
After less than a year in business, Hank & Mitzi’s Italian Kitchen has closed at 600 Montgomery Street in Old Town North, the owner announced on its website and social media on Tuesday.
“Opening a restaurant in the middle of a global pandemic was not without challenges and even with dedicated staff and loyal customers we find ourselves needing to pause, regroup, and determine the best way to move forward in this space,” the business said. “Effective immediately, we are closing Hank & Mitzi’s for the foreseeable future. We thank you for your understanding: it’s been a true pleasure serving you and the North Old Town community.”
As the nation was going through economic turmoil and the city’s unemployment reaching historic highs, at least 1,899 residents have also faced eviction threats from their landlords.
In a newsletter, Mayor Justin Wilson noted that from last July to this April, there were 514 eviction judgements in the city and 1,128 evictions that were pursued but eventually dropped or dismissed. There are 257 cases pending.
An annual mailer from Del. Mark Levine to Democratic voters in the 45th District has his opponent, Alexandria Vice Mayor Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, raising concerns of an ethical breach of conduct.
Levine is running for lieutenant governor and his seat in the 45th District. The 17-page annual update is written on Commonwealth of Virginia letterhead, and asks for support in the upcoming June 8 Democratic primary. The letter also includes his campaign websites markfordelegate.com and levineforvirginia.com, but not a disclaimer stating that it was paid for by his campaign.
With the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, dancing is returning to Rock It Grill in Old Town, but the pool tables likely won’t be coming back anytime soon.
Remnants of the pandemic are still visible at the hangout at 1319 King Street. Staff continue to wear face masks and a plexiglass screen separates the deejay from the audience for karaoke, which was brought back late last summer and is now held every Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
Goodie’s Frozen Custard & Treats officially opened its doors in the the 1930s-era ice house at 200 Commerce Street over Memorial Day weekend.
The frozen custard shop is now open Thursday through Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., or whenever they sell out. In the meantime, owner Brandon Byrd’s ice cream truck “Gigi” will be used for special events.
Alexandria announces modified out of school time school year recreation program — “The City of Alexandria will offer a modified Out of School Time Program (OSTP) for elementary school aged children enrolled in kindergarten through fifth grade for the 2021-22 school year. The after-school recreation program is scheduled for August 23, 2021 through June 10, 2022, from 2:30 to 6 p.m. at the Charles Barrett; Charles Houston; Mount Vernon; Leonard “Chick” Armstrong; Nannie J. Lee; Patrick Henry; and William Ramsay recreation centers, and at the Ferdinand T. Day; John Adams; and Douglas MacArthur elementary schools.” [City of Alexandria]
Council candidate Patrick Moran testifies for bringing back School Resource Officer funding — “Moran calls for the full implementation of body cameras for Alexandria Police Department (APD) officers and for corrective action to protect Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) students’ safety in 2021-22 School Year.” [YouTube]
