The a 10-year-old Lhasa Apso may sometimes resemble the head of a mop, but he’s actually a sweet and snuggly senior pup who loves spending all his time with people, according to the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria.
“Bandit’s a pretty chill guy who keeps a slower pace but is always up for a walk or a lap around the yard,” AWLA spokesperson Gina Hardter told ALXnow.
Alexandria reducing COVID-19 news release updates to twice a week — “With nearly 54% of Alexandrians ages 12 and up partially vaccinated and considerable progress in the past five months toward the state’s goal of 70% and Alexandria’s target of 80% of the eligible population fully vaccinated, the frequency of this COVID-19 news release will reduce to twice per week. Going forward, this news release will be published on Tuesdays and Fridays, unless there is a major announcement to share. Daily COVID-19 case, death and vaccination data will continue to be available at alexandriava.gov/Coronavirus. The seven-day moving average of cases in Alexandria is now at its lowest point since the start of the pandemic.” [City of Alexandria]
King Street-Old Town Metro station bus loop to open — “On June 6, DASH and Metrobus will move to the new bays in the Metro station’s bus loop off Diagonal Road. Bus bays and the station entrance kiosk will feature new digital screens with real-time bus arrival information. New crosswalks and redesigned station lighting have also been added to boost pedestrian visibility.” [Patch]
(Updated 6/3) In an election where former School Board member Bill Campbell is hoping to move to the City Council, former City Council member Willie Bailey is hoping to make the move in the other direction.
Bailey, an Army veteran and Deputy Chief of the Office of the Fire Marshal for the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, was elected to the Alexandria City Council in 2015. Over the next three years, Bailey was one of the Council’s prominent advocates for greater emphasis on affordable housing and supporter of a controversial 1% increase to the city’s meals tax, and lost reelection in 2018.
Virginia State Police lost track of a stolen white U-Haul pickup truck that was chased through Arlington, Alexandria and D.C. on Tuesday afternoon.
At around 4 p.m., police spotted the 2019 U-Haul Chevrolet Silverado traveling northbound on Interstate 395 near the Little River Turnpike exit.
The Alexandria Fire Department will undergo an organizational restructuring this month that will shift resources to better respond to emergencies.
“Over the past year, our team has reviewed various data including response times, call volume, response coverage and staffing to help us make a data-driven decision that will benefit our workforce and the community,” Fire Chief Corey Smedley said in a recent AFD video.
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.”
