Alexandria is about to embark on a public relations campaign in response to the 5 cent Plastic Bag Tax, which goes into effect next month.
In a meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 14, the City Council will consider the release of $30,000 from contingent reserves to the city’s Department of Transportation and Environmental Services for outreach on the matter.
With all due respect to Mount Vernon Avenue, King Street is probably Alexandria’s most iconic roadway — but it wasn’t intended to be.
Today, King Street is synonymous with Old Town and runs out to the northwest corner of the city, where it becomes Leesburg Pike. According to Historic Alexandria, the office that oversees the city’s museums and historic sites, back in 1749 city planners had intended for Cameron Street to be the main avenue in Alexandria.
Alexandria already feels like home. It’s the trails you walk, the restaurants you return to, and the easy reach of D.C. that make it all work. The question is whether your home feels as right as the city around it. For those who love Alexandria but want more space, more privacy, and more choice, Van Metre at Banner Heights offers a new opportunity to have it all, just minutes from I-495, I-95, and Old Town Alexandria.
Every Van Metre homesite at Banner Heights has a backyard that doesn’t face into another homesite, so the space behind your home is entirely yours, and a deck or covered terrace makes it the spot for a quiet morning or a long evening with friends. Four levels offer up to five bedrooms and an optional elevator. From there, 20+ personalization options let you decide the rest: add a bedroom on the lower or fourth levels, a great room fireplace with ceramic detailing, or a wet or dry bar, plus upgraded flooring and packages for electrical, tech, and comfort.
With more than 70 years of building across Northern Virginia, Van Metre designs homes around the way people live. At Banner Heights, that means the T-27 townhome plan with 3-5 bedrooms, 3-4 full and 1-2 half baths, 3,014+ square feet, a 2-car garage, and 20+ personalization options, starting from the $1.25Ms.*
Van Metre at Banner Heights is now open for Early Access, giving interested buyers the chance to purchase before our grand opening, when initial homesites deliver.
*Pricing, offers, and availability are subject to change without notice. Some images and renderings may represent a similar home or may have been created or edited using artificial intelligence (AI), and may depict design elements, furnishings, finishes, landscaping, views, or other features that are not included in the home or may not be available. Please see a Van Metre New Home Advisor for details.
Earlier this month, Alexandria City High School senior Abdelraman Aboud Abdelsadig received life-changing news. After submitting all his paperwork and waiting a month, Abdelsadi was awarded the competitive QuestBridge Scholarship to attend Colby College in Maine.
The scholarship is worth about $300,000, and Abdelsadig found out about the award at school on Dec. 1.
The NOVA Guide has launched, giving Alexandria residents a new source for local news, upcoming events, business stories, and ideas for their next outing.
The website covers news, businesses, and life across Northern Virginia, with a dedicated Alexandria page for readers who want to explore what is happening nearby. It brings together local stories, upcoming events, business features, and Top Picks lists, making it a useful starting point for both everyday plans and weekend adventures.
After taking some flack for not having the financial impacts at-hand; Diane Ruggiero, director of the Office of the Arts, returned to the Waterfront Commission on Monday with pricing for modernizing the Torpedo Factory.
Julian Gonsalves, assistant city manager for public/private partnerships, talked through the cost estimates for the Torpedo Factory overhaul. Continuing as-is, with relatively minor building repairs funded over time with artist space being left mostly untouched, was priced at $16 million.
**Sips & Shells: Holiday Oyster Shell Workshop at Hank's Oyster Bar**
Gather your girlfriends for a creative night out in Old Town Alexandria!
City seeking an aquatics coordinator — “The Aquatics Recreation Coordinator works with the Aquatic Manager and Chinquapin management team in overseeing and leading programs and staff for all aquatic facilities.” [Washington Post Jobs]
Alexandrian publishes book on local Scottish history — “Hamilton began research on the project in 2016, spending over a year diving into Alexander’s book, his citations, and other archival sources related to the migration of Scots to America.” [Zebra]
(Updated 4 p.m.) In a note to Alexandria City High School (ACHS) students, families and friends, Principal Peter Balas said a potential threat to the school was investigated this morning by school security and school resource officers but determined there was no credible threat.
The post in question was a potential threat aimed specifically at the Minnie Howard Campus, a branch of Alexandria City High School that serves 9th-grade students.
Alexandria’s COVID transmission rate has risen from “Substantial” to “High”, as the number of reported cases has surpassed 15,000.
As of Tuesday, Dec. 7, there have been 15,056 reported cases of COVID-19 in the city, according to the the Virginia Department of Health. There has also been another death since last week, bringing the death toll from the virus to 155.
The Sushi Bar at 2312 Mount Vernon Avenue is closing for good tonight (Dec. 7), and will soon reopen as a Christmas-themed pop-up bar, owner Bill Blackburn informed ALXnow.
“Joy On The Avenue – A Christmas Pop-up Bar” will open in its place sometime next week, Blackburn said.
The Alexandria Police Department is investigating a home invasion in a West End neighborhood that may have been caught on tape.
In a press release, the police department said they’re investigating a robbery that took place at 5:18 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 4, on the 1400 block of Catlin Drive in the West End.
At its October general membership meeting, the NAACP Alexandria Branch 7043 Nominating Committee presented its slate for the 2027–2028 term and named John Hopkins-Gillispie as its nominee for Branch President.
Hopkins-Gillispie is a life member of the branch. He has chaired the Freedom Fund Dinner for the past two years, and this year’s dinner raised more than $40,000 for the branch. He serves on the Legal Redress Committee, reviewing discrimination complaints brought to the branch. He has provided input on issues from the Alexandria Police Department’s hate crimes policy to the proposed Edsall Road data center. He also represents the branch as co-chair of the host committee for the 2027 Virginia State Conference convention.
