Hundreds of new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Alexandria in the last week, as the number of positive cases has jumped to 5,366, according to the Virginia Department of Health.
That’s an increase of 356 cases since this time last week. There have also been 668 new cases reported in the city since Nov. 16.
Alexandria Lighting & Supply, a feature of the Braddock neighborhood for the last 50 years, could be making the move to the West End of Alexandria if approved at a Planning Commission meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) and a City Council meeting after that.
After moving away from its current location at 701 N. Henry St, the store is planning to open in a new building called Avanti 550 at 550 South Pickett Street.
Police Investigate More Shots Fired — “The Alexandria Police Department is investigating a “shots fired” call for service in the 5400 block of Richenbacher Avenue. Expect police activity in the area.” [Twitter]
Local Businesses Hopeful for Holiday Shopping Season — “Victoria Vergason, owner of a vintage barware store, says holiday shoppers this season could make or break some small businesses. ‘[It] is a very, very critical time for small businesses to be able to make their profits and run into the next year,’ she said.” [WUSA9]
Continued claims for unemployment continue to fall in Alexandria, while the number of initial (first-time) claims for the week ending Nov. 14 jumped 70% over the previous week, according to the Virginia Employment Commission.
There were 1,628 continued claims for the week ending Nov. 14, a sharp decrease from the 1,933 claims filed for the week ending Nov. 7. There were also 1,942 continued claims for the week ending Oct. 31; 2,340 claims for the week ending Oct. 24; 2,353 claims for the week ending Oct. 17; and 2,891 claims for the week ending Oct. 10.
Seven-year-old Reno moved to Alexandria from Florida, so the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria’s pet of the week might not know what to expect from cold winters.
The black Labrador retriever mix is currently in a foster home, and all of his adoption fees have been paid by a generous donor, according to AWLA spokesperson Gina Hardter.
With a bit of luck, Alexandria Health Director Stephen Haering said the city could start to get its hands on a vaccine by December.
A limited supply of vaccine and a high public demand has led to national, state, and local plans on determining who gets the vaccine, when, and how. Haering outlined some of the plans for Alexandria at a City Council meeting last night.
A 23-year-old man was shot in Old Town early Tuesday evening, as Alexandria Police continue to investigate an uptick in shots fired calls for service.
At around 5:40 p.m. on Tuesday (Nov. 24), police announced they were responding to a call for shots fired in the 1200 block of Wythe Street in Old Town — not far from a police shootout that killed one man last month.
With the Alexandria School Board approving changing the names of two Alexandria schools, the question is what to call the school formerly known as T.C. Williams High School?
Several alternatives have been raised in online forums and in meetings. Some have suggested other local figures that could replace Thomas Chambliss Williams, including longtime former principal John Porter or Petey Jones, a member of the 1971 championship team and an employee at the school who died last year.
Latest Torpedo Factory Plan Redesigns First Floor — “As far as the first floor, staff plans to make the space more interactive, which could involve relocating artists throughout the building. Specifically, Ruggiero mentioned relocating a print-maker studio from the third floor to the first, as well as the Art League’s art supply store.” [Alexandria Times]
Alexandria Offers Emergency Child Care for Low Income Families — “The Alexandria City Council approved a request in September from DCHS and the Alexandria Emergency Child Care Collaborative (ECCC) to utilize Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to support this child care initiative. The initiative is limited to 150 children total, who will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.” [City of Alexandria]
Local nonprofit Casa Chirilagua is planning to keep with the spirit of Thanksgiving by distributing meals to those in need, but needs some public help for setup and distribution.
“We are distributing 500 meals for Thanksgiving on Wednesday, Nov. 25,” said the organization, which provides assistance in the Chirilagua and Arlandria neighborhood. “The setup will begin at 1:30 p.m. and the distribution will begin at 2:00 p.m.”
With COVID-19 cases on the rise and the holiday travel season upon us, the Alexandria School Board on Monday approved a recommendation by Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. to delay an in-person plan bringing students back to school until January 2021.
Specifically, the move delays bringing back kindergarten through fifth graders with disabilities who receive self-contained Language Arts and Math, which was planned for Nov. 30, and middle schoolers in the citywide special education program in December. No new set dates were presented, and Hutchings told the Board on Monday that he is following the advice of the Alexandria Health Department and does not want to act impulsively.
