Mayor Alyia Gaskins has been chosen to join 21 other rising Democratic state and local leaders from around the country to trade ideas on local governance.
Gaskins is joining NewDEAL (Developing Exceptional American Leaders), a network of center-left elected officials, for a year. The mayor will participate in virtual webinars to share ideas and discuss challenges such as rising costs, housing, energy and childcare. She will also take part in the NewDEAL Annual Conference from Nov. 18-20 in D.C.
Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins has joined other local leaders in opposing a potential merger of bus operations across multiple Northern Virginia localities.
Gaskins told ALXnow she is strongly opposed to the idea that Alexandria’s free DASH bus system should merge with Arlington Transit, the Fairfax Connector and CUE (City of Fairfax). Between now and November, the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) is compiling a report as part of the recently adopted biennial budget to consider cost savings and rider impacts of merging the local bus systems.
Hi Alexandria,
My name is Drew, and I wanted to take a moment to tell you about what I’ve been working on as I try to make my way in the world.
This past year, I took a leap that honestly scared me. I challenged the comfortable path I’d been on and built something new with trusted partners and friends: a local roofing and home‑exterior company called All Team Exteriors. On paper, it’s a business. But in my heart, it’s something much more personal than that.
I don’t just want to make a living here — I want to contribute something meaningful to a place that’s helped mold me.
Why I started All Team Exteriors
I’ve worked in environments where professionalism, follow‑through, and integrity weren’t optional — they were the baseline. But when it came to home services, especially roofing, I saw how often homeowners were left frustrated, confused, or ignored. Slow responses. Vague communication. Contractors disappearing mid‑project.
And I thought:
Someone young, hungry, and honest should try to fix this.
So… I’m giving it everything I’ve got.
What I’m trying to build
All Team Exteriors isn’t a giant corporation. It’s not some out-of-state outfit with a call center. It’s me — and a small team of people committed to doing things the right way. We spent an extensive amount of time training under a perennial award-winning roofing company in Arizona this winter and learned what great looks like.
We’re bringing modern tools, photo-documented inspections, real-time updates, fast communication, and a “do what we say we’ll do” mentality. Not because it looks good in a brochure, but because that’s how I’d want someone to treat my own family.
So far we are off to an absolutely amazing start. It’s been a great first summer and we’d love to help you as well. You can give us a call anytime at 703-705-7207 for an absolutely free inspection and estimate on your roof, siding, gutters, doors, and windows. I’d love to have a chance to swing by and meet you and take a look at how we can work together to make your home safer and more secure.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I sincerely hope we can help you and your family soon.
Joseph Hensley Park has completely reopened in the Eisenhower West neighborhood after years of renovations, the Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities said.
The renovated park (4200 Eisenhower Avenue) includes a new synthetic turf upper diamond field, a full-size natural turf softball field on the lower level, a replacement picnic pavilion and bathhouse and new playground. The athletic fields have new LED field lighting, scoreboards, safety netting, dugouts, spectator seating and batting cages. A flexible court and event space also provides a setting for community and recreational programming.
Two dogs recently surrendered to the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria due to a house fire have received emergency care, but that has put a strain on the organization’s emergency veterinary fund.
Senior dogs Dunya and Jasnah had been surrendered due to a displacement from a house fire. The animal shelter operator confirmed to ALXnow that the dogs were from the house fire Monday (July 13) in the 600 block of N. Ripley Street.
ALIVE! is hosting Truck-A-Palooza!, a volunteer truck driver recruitment and training event on Sunday, September 20, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm at 801 South Payne Street, and you’re invited!
Whether you’re new to ALIVE! or have volunteered with us in other roles, Truck-A-Palooza is a fun, hands-on opportunity to learn what it takes to be part of our volunteer truck driver team. You’ll discover the different ways our drivers and navigators support the community, from picking up and delivering furniture to rescuing and distributing food throughout Alexandria.
The Lee-Fendall House Museum & Garden has announced the appointment of Jenny Waters as the new museum director in the midst of preservation efforts for the historic property.
The promotion was made by the museum’s board of directors. Waters first joined the Lee-Fendall House as a collections management intern in summer 2022 to catalog and care for the museum’s collection. She was named collections assistant in fall 2022 and the collections and programming manager in summer 2023.
An Air Quality Alert and Heat Advisory have been issued for Alexandria as wildfire smoke combined with high temperatures could have an impact Thursday (July 16).
Alexandria and the region are under a Code Orange Air Quality Alert, which means conditions may be unhealthy for sensitive groups. Sensitive groups include children, older adults, and people with asthma, heart disease or other lung diseases.
A 21-year-old Alexandria man goes to court next month after allegedly stabbing a man twice in the bus loop area of the King Street-Old Town Metro station.
On May 5, the victim called 911 to report he’d been assaulted at the King Street Metro station. At the scene, the man told an Alexandria Police Department officer that he was punched in the head, “but upon further examination by medical staff it was determined that he had been stabbed twice,” according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
Lane Closure Coming Up for City Hall Renovation Project — “From Monday, July 20, until Friday, July 31, the southbound lane of N. Fairfax Street will be partly closed for the City Hall Renovation Project. During the closure, crews will install new municipal fiber lines.” [City of Alexandria]
Cooling Bus Deployed During Heat Wave — “Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a bus. A cooling bus, with AC, for anyone who needs to get out of the heat. Parked at 417 King St. through Friday at 6 a.m. More places to cool off: alexandriava.gov/Alert.” [City of Alexandria/Bluesky]
A man was shot and killed in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Alexandria’s West End on Wednesday night (July 15), and two suspects have been apprehended, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
Witnesses nearby reported that a single shot was fired around 11:15 p.m. in the 5300 block of Holmes Run Parkway, and that a man was found lying face down in the parking lot. Two suspects were arrested less than a mile away from the scene in front of an apartment building in the 5300 block of Duke Street. As of 12:50 p.m., APD was still combing the scene with a K-9 officer.
