City Councilman R. Kirk McPike has been declared the winner in today’s Democratic firehouse primary to succeed outgoing Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-5).
McPike secured 60.5% of the vote Tuesday among 5th District Democrats, defeating three other candidates in the running. A total of 2,115 voters participated in the primary, placing district turnout at around 3%, according to tallies from the Alexandria Democratic Committee and data from the Virginia Public Access Project.
Good Tuesday evening, Alexandria. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
The following articles were published earlier today — Jan 20, 2026.
Here are today’s most-read articles:
Here is what’s going on Wednesday in Alexandria, from our event calendar.
Clouds will gradually increase throughout the day, reaching a high near 40°F, accompanied by a light southeast wind that will shift to the south at 9-14 mph in the morning and gust up to 25 mph. On Wednesday night, expect partly cloudy skies with a low temperature around 33°F. The south wind will persist at around 10 mph, with possible gusts up to 20 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.”
– Dalai Lama
Thanks for reading!
The Little Theatre of Alexandria’s 2026–27 season continues with She Loves Me, the beloved romantic musical, running October 17 – November 7, 2026.
Thursday through Saturday evening performances at 8:00 PM. Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM. Get tickets $36
In a charming 1930s European perfumery, shop clerks Georg and Amalia can’t stand each other. They bicker across the counter by day, never suspecting that each is the anonymous pen pal the other has been falling for by letter. As the holidays approach and the mystery unravels, two unlikely sweethearts discover that love may have been right in front of them all along. Set to a lush, witty score, it’s the same timeless story that inspired the film You’ve Got Mail.
Book by Joe Masteroff
Music by Jerry Bock
Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Based on the play Parfumerie by Miklós László
Directed and choreographed by Mitchell Aiello, with music direction by Isabel Hernandez-Cata. Produced by Eleanore Tapscott and assistant producer Cassie Cope.
The cast features Shelby Young as Amalia Balash and Antony Galace as Georg Nowack, with Maura Lacy as Ilona Ritter, Brandon Schenk as Steven Kodaly, Michael McGovern as Ladislav Sipos, Phil Krzywicki as Mr. Maraczek and Mylo Cluff as Arpad Laszlo. The ensemble includes Stephen Yednock, Evan Arellano, Dale Dwyer, Lori Bonnette, Alicia Braxton, Rachael Fine, Gavin Hubbard, Jordan Lohmeyer, Jennifer Thomas and Brett Womack.
The Little Theatre of Alexandria is located at 600 Wolfe Street in Old Town Alexandria. Street parking.
Performances are Thursday through Saturday evenings at 8:00 PM and Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM. Tickets are $36 (plus $4 service charge). All sales final; limited exchanges available. Box Office: 703-683-0496. Get Tickets
Following a health inspection at an Old Town juice shop earlier this month, a community petition has launched to allow the business owner’s emotional support animal inside the establishment.
The recent Change.org petition focuses on a recent city investigation into a complaint about dogs inside Zen Press Juice. That includes owner JuAnn Wong’s emotional support dog, Coco, who previously made frequent visits to the shop at 806 King Street.
City Council last week made a few changes to a review board’s conditional approval of the upcoming City Hall and Market Square project.
On Jan. 13, City Council considered an appeal of the Board of Architectural Review’s approved certificate of appropriateness with conditions for the City Hall and Market Square project on Nov. 19, 2025. The Council voted to remove the review board’s recommendation to maintain decorative chimneys on the south-facing side of City Hall, as well as colonial-style windows at the center entrance pavilion.
Event location
Cherry On Top
1021 Queen Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Join us for Trivia Night at Cherry On Top! Grab a team, order your favorite coffee, wine, or snack, and test your knowledge over a fun evening in Old Town. Come with friends or join a team when you arrive. Win a bottle of wine!
Just one Alexandria restaurant caught the spotlight in Washingtonian magazine’s new “100 Very Best Restaurants” list for 2026.
For at least the fourth year in a row, Nasime, a popular Japanese restaurant located at 1209 King Street in Old Town, has been featured on the magazine’s list of its favorite eateries across the D.C. area, released today (Tuesday). This year, the spot ranked No. 12 out of 100.
Celebrations are in order this week for a stretch therapy center that recently relocated to a larger space in the West End.
Movement in Science has moved to Suite 228 at 50 S. Pickett Street, a little under a mile from its previous location 648 S. Pickett Street. The business has planned a “Wellness Open House” from 9-11 a.m. Thursday and a ribbon cutting on Friday.
A night of live music is coming to Continues Arcade this week as a group of Alexandria high schoolers seek to raise funds for a new scholarship.
A group of juniors at Alexandria City High School is aiming to raise $12,000 over the next two months to create a new award through the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria. One fundraising event, the “Titans 4 Scholars Music Festival,” is happening from 6-8 p.m. this Thursday at Continues (1050 N. Fayette Street).
The winner of today’s Democratic firehouse primary for a seat in the House of Delegates will run against Republican Mason Butler next month.
The Alexandria Republican City Committee canceled its party canvas and announced Butler’s candidacy over the weekend. Butler, an IT consultant who has lived in Alexandria for more than a decade, previously ran as an independent candidate for City Council in 2024.
Improving mental health across the city will be in focus in Alexandria’s next Community Health Improvement Plan.
Mental wellness is one of three topics that will be addressed in the city’s new CHIP, AHD announced last week. The topic was selected for further engagement after 47% of 2,020 respondents in the city’s 2025 Community Health Assessment survey selected “mental health” as their top community health issue.
