News | ALXnow - Part 858

Morning Notes

Published February 9, 2021 at 9:00AM

City Wants Feedback on Paving Schedule — “The City will be paving: *Braddock Road (from King Street to Russell Road) *Montrose Avenue (from East Raymond Avenue to Richmond Highway) *Richenbacher Avenue (from North Van Dorn Street to North Pickett Street) …and we would like your feedback!” [Twitter]

Collective Bargaining Ordinance Proposed In Alexandria — “Collective bargaining had existed in 19 Virginia localities, including Alexandria, until a 1977 Virginia Supreme Court ruling stopped local governments from collective bargaining with their employees. On May 1, 2021, A Virginia law will take effect allowing counties, cities and towns to adopt ordinances to recognize labor unions or employee associations as a bargaining unit and enter into collective bargaining.” [Patch]

Superintendent: Sports Start Again at ACPS Next Week

By Vernon Miles

Published February 8, 2021 at 4:30PM

Fall sports are back at ACPS starting next week.

Superintendent Gregory Hutchings made the announcement official at a School Board meeting last Thursday, but said that students and parents shouldn’t expect it to look like it used to.

Local Business Owner Robbed of Car While Pumping Gas at Old Town Gas Station

By James Cullum

Published February 8, 2021 at 3:30PM

Police car lights (file photo)

Allison Priebe was pumping gas at the Liberty gas station at 700 S. Patrick Street in Old Town on Sunday afternoon when somebody drove off in her car.

Hundreds of people have since reached out to Priebe, who owns Queen Bee Designs in Old Town, after she posted about the incident on Facebook.

City Councilman’s Virtual Super Bowl Party Ambushed by Racists and Nazi Trolls

By Vernon Miles

Published February 8, 2021 at 2:30PM

What was meant to be a fun, wholesome Super Bowl watch-party with City Councilman John Chapman this weekend was briefly derailed as the meeting was stormed by newcomers with Nazi profile pictures spouting racist slurs.

The meeting was hosted as part of Chapman’s reelection campaign. The event was open to the public and had fairly lax restrictions on who could speak.

ACPS Releases Semifinalist Names for T.C. Williams High School and Matthew Maury Elementary School Renaming

By James Cullum

Published February 8, 2021 at 1:15PM

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Congressman John Lewis and 1972 Titan Petey Jones are just a few names that have made the latest cut in the rename process for T.C. Williams High School and Matthew Maury Elementary School.

The semifinalist names for the schools have been selected, and ACPS has launched another set of polls to further slim down the selection. The polls close on Feb. 19 and the top three names from each poll will be presented to the School Board for final consideration on March 4. There will be a public hearing on March 18, and then the Board will vote on the names on April 8.

BREAKING: Large Power Outage Reported in Old Town

By Vernon Miles

Published February 8, 2021 at 11:30AM | Updated February 8, 2021 at 2:11PM

Update at 2:10 p.m. — Power has been restored for many customers in the area, with only around 80 now without power. An equipment problem was found to be the source of the outage.

Over 2,000 Dominion Energy customers in Old Town are currently without power.

COVID-19 Deaths at 105, Cases Surpass 9,700 in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published February 8, 2021 at 10:30AM | Updated February 8, 2021 at 11:30AM

Alexandria’s COVID-19 deaths are now at 105, and the number of cases has reached 9,744.

That’s one more death and 623 cases since this time last week, according to the Virginia Department of Health. The latest death was a man in his 60s.

Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Published February 8, 2021 at 9:00AM

Carjacking at Gunpoint Near Potomac Yard — “The Alexandria Police Dept. is investigating a carjacking in the 400 block of Calvert Ave. It happened just before 5pm. Victim’s vehicle stolen at gunpoint. No injuries were reported. Expect police activity in the area.” [Twitter]

Port City Brewing Co. Turns 10 — “We can’t celebrate 10 years of PCBC w/ a big in-person event so we’ve put together a Virtual Event to celebrate 10 years. The Anniversary video includes a message from our Founder, a Tasting Room update, 2021 beers, & a Colossal X tasting w/ a brewer!” [Twitter]

Weather Alert: Up to Three Inches of Snow Expected in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published February 7, 2021 at 8:45AM

For the second Sunday in a row, the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning until noon in Alexandria and the surrounding area, as the city is expected to receive up to three inches of snow.

“Plan on slippery road conditions,” NWS said in its alert on Sunday morning. “Visibility will be reduced to around one- quarter mile at times through late this morning. Temperatures will rise well above freezing this afternoon, but temperatures will fall quickly below freezing this evening.”

ALXnow’s Top Stories this Week in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published February 5, 2021 at 3:30PM

What a news-filled week in Alexandria.

Things got off to a snowy start on Monday and Tuesday, as the city was under a winter weather advisory.

ACPS to Return to In-Person School on March 16

By James Cullum

Published February 5, 2021 at 2:45PM | Updated February 5, 2021 at 5:18PM

Alexandria City Public Schools will reopen its doors to students on March 16, after being shut down for a little more than a year due to the coronavirus, Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. told the School Board on Thursday.

“Now it’s time, and we will be returning back to our school buildings,” Hutchings said. “We are now ready. It is now time for this pivot to occur.”