This weekend, the Old Town Business Association is planning to install a holiday update to Alexandria’s street lamps.
“Starting today, the art is being installed on the selected lamp posts in Old Town,” the Old Town Business Association said in a press release. “The arts are alive in Old Town this holiday season with the debut of its first-holiday art walk.”
In the latest virtual townhall, Mayor Justin Wilson said the largest source of COVID-19’s spread in Alexandria remains contact between family members or roommates.
“About 44% of folks who tested positive have lived with someone who recently had COVID,” Wilson said. “Household contact is a significant source.”
Historic Old Town Home Uprooted and Relocated — “If you were driving down Washington Street Wednesday, you may have noticed a historic brick townhouse being moved on beams and dollies.” [Alexandria Living Magazine]
Duke Street’s Transit Focused Redesign Starts — “In early 2021, city staff will begin collecting community input for the future of the Duke Street Corridor from Landmark Mall to the King Street Metro Station.” [Alexandria Times]
COVID-19 has definitely put a damper on the already slimmed-down list of winter activities, but there are still dozens of activities residents can start registering for next week.
Registration is offered through the City of Alexandria’s Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities will begin at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 9, for City residents and on Friday, Dec. 11, for nonresidents. Winter registration applies to programs taking place January through March 2021.
The Friendship Firehouse Museum has come to the rescue yet again. With Alexandria’s Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend called off this year, the city’s oldest firehouse will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5.
The one-day-only event costs $2 for an entire group of up to per ticket (free for city residents), and only groups of 10 people will be allowed in at a time. The museum has sporadically opened since the onset of the pandemic, and anyone wanting to stay safe can also take a Google 360 virtual tour.
While the Scottish Christmas Parade is cancelled this year, President and CEO of The Campagna Center Tammy Mann said the non-profit’s early childhood programs that rely on the fundraising this weekend are no less in demand.
Usually, The Campagna Center hosts a holiday store, where families can come into the building and an entire floor is dedicated to giving low-income families a positive holiday shopping experience. This year, The Campagna Center is planning an alternative drive-through program on Saturday for families in the program.
The City of Alexandria is urging locals to become acquainted with overdose treatment as cases rise both statewide and locally.
“The Virginia Department of Health’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner reports that 2020 may be the worst year on record for fatal overdoses in Virginia,” the city said in a press release. “Preliminary figures from the second quarter of 2020 indicate a 66.8% increase in fatal drug overdoses in Virginia from the same period in 2019, suggesting a possible correlation with the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Women’s clothing store LOFT (423 King Street) has permanently closed.
The store had mostly positive reviews and was often busy, but was victim to Ascena Retail Group’s wider bankruptcy filings. The store had survived earlier rounds of closings this summer, which had claimed the stores in the Tysons Corner Center and Potomac Mills Mall but was closed as of early December.
A new restaurant could be coming to the west end of Carlyle
Developers are looking for anew restaurant to fill between 1,708-9,600 rentable square feet of space in the new Shops at Carlyle Tower development along Eisenhower.
Today Marks 69th Anniversary of Annexation of the West End — “Happy Annexation Day, West end! Today, December 3rd in 1951, the city of Alexandria received the land west of Quaker Lane, doubling the size of the city!” [John Chapman/Facebook]
Alexandria Libraries Go Back to Curbside Only — “Effective this Monday, Dec. 7, the library will offer curbside-only and virtual services until further notice. Although library buildings will be closed, library staff will offer telephone support and virtual reference during curbside hours.” [Alexandria Living Magazine]
Alexandria’s continued and weekly unemployment claims are continuing to go down, according to the Virginia Employment Commission.
There were 1,513 continued claims for the week ending Nov. 21, a slight decrease from the 1,628 continued claims filed for the week for the week ending Nov. 14. There were also 1,933 continued claims for the week ending Nov. 7; 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.
