As the state legislature continues to work towards marijuana decriminalization, members of the City Council at a meeting last night urged that revenue and opportunities from legal marijuana sales work their way back into communities long punished for its use.
“My concern is that any revenue generated by [decriminalization] is where those funds are going to,” said City Councilman Canek Aguirre. “It’s important to stress this going to people whose lives affected [and] who were locked up.”
There’s no doubt that Gunner‘s gaze will bring a smile to your face, and the medium-sized terrier is up for adoption with the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria.
“Gunner is an energetic, intelligent young man who loves to show off his tricks for treats and shower his friends in kisses,” said Gina Hardter, a spokesperson for the AWLA, who says he is currently her favorite pet at the shelter. “I’m trying to teach him the command, ‘Give kisses,’ but he loves to kiss so much that he’s already way ahead of me.”
For two years, city staff have been haggling over your water bill.
Late last week, the city announced that the State Corporation Commission (SCC) has significantly reduced Virginia American Water Company’s requested increase in customer water rates, which will result in a refund of previous overcharges to customers.
For Alexandrians looking for work after widespread pandemic layoffs, the City of Alexandria is offering free workshops to help build resume and other job-seeking skills.
The workshops are hosted through the Alexandria Workforce Development Center, which has been running similar programs since the summer. All of the workshops are free and held online.
Experts Predict Alexandria Economic Recovery by 2022 — “The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have dominated the economy here in Alexandria, but the region may not see a full recovery until 2022.” [Alexandria Living Magazine]
Alexandria Refreshes Bid for Fiber Network — “The City of Alexandria last week issued an invitation to bid (ITB) for the construction of a City-owned fiber network to support broadband services among the City’s public institutions.” [Broadband Communities]
While holiday festivities like the Scottish Christmas Parade are being cancelled around town due to coronavirus concerns, the Alexandria Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee is still planning to go forward with the organization’s 10th annual Alexandria Holiday Lights Ride and Walk.
The annual ride takes cyclists and pedestrians on a tour of the best of Del Ray’s lights. The event is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 12, from 5:30-7 p.m.
As of late November, a little under half of ACPS’ staff said they are unwilling to return to work.
Stephen Wilkins, chief of staff for ACPS, said at a School Board meeting last Thursday that 45% of ACPS staff reported an inability to return in a survey sent out in late November. The highest reason — 43% of those who said they would not return — said it was due to fear and anxiety, while 29% said it was because of underlying medical conditions.
Alexandria artist Laurel Prucha Moran started painting watercolors at home during the pandemic, and now she’s so busy painting commissioned pieces that she can’t take on any more Christmas orders.
Moran, a freelance graphic designer for the last 20 years in Alexandria, has five paintings she has to finish by this weekend alone. She recently launched Blue Room Studio, and sells prints of her watercolors as cards and stationary. She’s also married with three kids, and until this year only found time to paint while taking classes at the Torpedo Factory Art Center.
Three Alexandria children are safe after being left home alone in “deplorable conditions,” according to police.
Charges are pending against the mother of the children, a woman in her 20s, who was described by the children’s grandmother as suffering from mental issues and being off her medication, according to a search warrant affidavit.
Alexandria’s police department leadership has openly supported calls for reform in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, but a central pillar of that reform — more civilian oversight of the police — has hit a stumbling block.
City Councilman Mo Seifeldein has spearheaded a plan to set up a civilian board to independently investigate allegations of police misconduct. The board was unanimously approved despite concerns from Police Chief Michael L. Brown, but Seifeldein has been vocally frustrated that attempts to give the board teeth by having greater investigative and disciplinary power have gone nowhere.
A winter preparation update headed to the City Council tonight (item 27) outlines plans for what looks to be a mild winter — a small mercy for city services at the end of a somewhat literally plagued year.
While day-to-day weather can be unpredictable, the staff presentation notes that information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows that the city is not anticipated to have higher than normal precipitation and is within a belt of areas likely to see temperatures above the city’s winter average of 39.3 degrees. The trend is in keeping with steadily increasing average temperatures in the D.C. area over the last twenty years.
