It’s the end of a busy week in Alexandria.
This week, our top story was City Council’s decision to extend the state of emergency in the city until March 31, 2021. That means that by the spring the city will have been under a state of emergency for more than a year.
Alexandria planning staff are crafting a proposal to make affordable housing contributions mandatory for developers, and they are reportedly not happy about it.
City staff are recommending that council adopt a commercial-to-residential conversion contribution policy (proposed at $1.53 per square foot) and senior housing contribution requirements.
Alexandria has counted 72.7% of residents for the 2020 Census, and with millions of federal funding on the line the city is asking for more participation.
“As a perspective for the city We’re at 72.7% for self response rate, which means we are beating the state average of 70.6%, as well as the national average of 66.2%,” City Councilman Canek Aguirre told Council on Tuesday night.
Virginia’s biggest high school is named for Thomas Chambliss Williams, and on Thursday Alexandria got its first of three discussions on the avowed segregationist.
The three-part community read-in discussion is part of the public engagement process to rename T.C. Williams High School. The school is best known around the world for the 2000 movie Remember the Titans, which focused on its 1971 state championship-winning varsity football team that found greatness by working through racial adversity.
Virtual spin classes don’t work too well for Del Ray’s Ascend Cycle. Owner Kathryn Zajac says that her six-year-old indoor cycling and strength training studio is all about making an in-person connection, and that her expanded garage space in a former auto repair shop helps fit the bill.
“We have 11 bikes under cover, and any day it isn’t going to rain we have an additional four bikes,” Zajac told ALXnow. “There’s a lot of competition in the virtual space, so we opened in the garage to make people feel safe during this time and a part of a community.”
Hundreds of people honored Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Old Town last night (Thursday).
Ginsburg passed away at the age of 87 on September 18. She served on the court for 27 years.
Beyer Says Trump Should Not Reject Strict FDA Guidelines for COVID Vaccines — “Political interference with vaccine development and an open feud with FDA can only further damage the public’s already growing safety concerns. Once again, lives may depend on Trump shutting his mouth and letting scientists do their jobs.” [Twitter]
Pizzeria Paradiso Closing in Old Town — “Like many restaurants in Old Town, Pizzeria Paradiso closed when the coronavirus pandemic reached Alexandria. Unfortunately, the beloved pizza restaurant will not be reopening, the owner announced this week.” [Alexandria Living]
Every seven weeks, Alexandria City Public Schools will evaluate where it stands on reopening schools, Superintendent Gregory Hutchings recently told the School Board.
The school system is currently hearing a backlash from many families of younger students over its VirtualPLUS+ model. Parents are saying their kids spend too much time looking at screens, and Hutchings recently told the Board that staff are working through solutions to provide “different experiences for some of our most vulnerable students, which are our youngest learners.”
For the first time, Antoine Barksdale is now taking appointments.
The owner of the Heads Up Barbershop (300 N. Fayette Street ) just celebrated his tenth anniversary in business in Old Town, and all of his customers used to walk in for their haircuts. No calls. The pandemic changed all that, though, and forced Barksdale to start making scheduled appointments.
Alexandria’s LaMonica Johnston says that the life of her infant son was put at risk when her home was flooded on July 8.
Johnston just put her son down in his Pack ‘N Play and was laying down on her couch when water rushed into her home, located near the Hooff’s Run Culvert, a large tunnel that has some of the worst stormwater management issues in the city and handles runoff from the Del Ray, Rosemont, Beverly Hills and Northridge neighborhoods.
The Animal Welfare League of Alexandria‘s latest adoptee has a name made for love.
Cupid, an affectionate eight-month-old border collie has extra soft fur and needs a new home, said AWLA spokesperson Gina Hardter.
