While sports are under consideration at ACPS, the Alexandria Soccer Association is gearing up for a youth soccer tournament this March.
“Alexandria Soccer returned to play in fall 2020 and is operating under guidance from the City of Alexandria and the local health department,” the organization said on its website. “While we are thrilled to offer our tournament series at this time we will continue to operate with the safety of participants as our number one priority.”
Alexandria is on schedule to see the Potomac Yard Metro station open in spring 2022, despite letters sent to the city from the contractor that work has been impacted by COVID-19.
“The contractor does continue to submit letters stating that there have been some impacts due to COVID-19,” Daphne Kott, the city’s Design Division Chief, reported to City Council on Tuesday night. “They have not made any formal requests for any time extensions, but again these are letters with potential delays and we’re just trying to be transparent that these are occurring.”
After weeks of climbing to peaks not seen since the height of the pandemic last spring, Alexandria’s initial and continued unemployment claims have gone down.
The Virginia Employment Commission reports that here were 632 initial (first time) claims in Alexandria for the week ending Jan. 16, a 24% drop over the previous week’s total of 836 claims. In December, the number of initial claims reached its lowest point since the pandemic began, but rose sharply after the holidays. For the week ending Dec. 26, for instance, there were 131 initial claims.
Last year was a particularly rough time to be a travel agency, but one local company is trying to reinvent themselves.
Classical Movements, a wing of travel management and tour company Blue Heart Travel at 711 Princess Street, is a local tourism agency that specializes in travel focused on international classical music venues from South Africa to Prague. But with the pandemic effectively killing their industry over the last year, Classical Movements has filed an application to adjust the Old Town business into a live music venue.
Beyer Rails Against Congressional Republicans — “I’m really sick of whining about ‘canceling’ from rich and powerful Republicans who tried to cancel our democracy.” [Twitter]
Deadline Extended for Landlords to Apply for Relief Program — The deadline for landlords to apply for the Rent and Mortgage Relief Program, to cover overdue rent or mortgage payments due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been extended to March 1. Applications that have not yet been submitted can now include requests to cover rent payments through February 2021. Previously submitted applications are also eligible to include rent due in February through a contract amendment process.” [City of Alexandria]
Alexandria’s Department of Transportation and Environmental Services has installed new signs along Commonwealth Avenue, Ashby Street and Glebe Road warning that the road ahead could be flooded.
Nearly half of the Americans killed in floods die in their vehicles. Cars stuck in flooded waters can also result in significant damage to the vehicle, as many locals discovered in 2019’s severe floods.
With an estimated 25,000 Alexandria residents on the waitlist for the COVID-19 vaccine, Northern Virginia’s Congressional delegation want the Biden administration to include a community vaccination site for the region in its plan to defeat the virus.
Virginia Democrats Don Beyer (D-8th), Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11th) and Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-10th) wrote the acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday, and asked that Northern Virginia be included in the administration’s plan to install 100 federally run mass vaccination sites throughout the country.
Del Ray burger joint Holy Cow’s (2312 Mount Vernon Ave) “burgers of the moment” have spotlit local controversies or elected leaders, but this month’s burger is a melancholy memorial to the recent closure of Atlantis Restaurant and Pizzeria.
The Atlantis burger features Angus beef and feta cheese with pickled onion, lettuce, tomato, and tzatziki on a brioche bun. The sandwich is $8.95.
After a marked increase in distribution events across the city, the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria now reports that it gave away more than 40,000 pounds of pet food and supplies in 2020.
“We’ve had programs for years to support our neighbors and their pets,” said AWLA Director of Community Programs Joanna Fortin. “But in April or May of last year, requests for help really increased.”
Old Town residents have banded together against what they say is overdevelopment with the planned construction of the 750-unit, seven-story Heritage apartment buildings.
Made up of more than 80 neighbors, the Citizens Association of the Southwest Quadrant (CASQ) launched a website, sent emails to news organizations and created an online petition against the development, which they say will result in hundreds of additional vehicles on area streets, affect property values and destroy the historic charm of the area.
After many daycares statewide closed during the pandemic, local parents might be relieved to hear a Nest Academy could open a large new daycare and preschool at the east end of Eisenhower Avenue.
According to an application filed with the City of Alexandria, Nest Academy is hoping to open a new 9418 square foot facility at 2476 Mandeville Lane on the northern side of the Hoffman Town Center. The facility will take care of children from six weeks to 12 years old.
