News

Morning Notes for August 27, 2026

By ALXnow.com
Two rowing crews race on a calm river at sunset, with an arched bridge and city buildings along the distant shore.
Rowers with Alexandria City High School on the Potomac River (courtesy of Titan Rowing)

On This Day in Alexandria History — “On August 27, 1948, the Alexandria Citizens Band gave a concert outside Maury School to celebrate its first prize honors at Virginia State Fireman’s Convention days before. The band had previously won top honors several times at the competition.” [Historic Alexandria]

School Board Meets Tonight — The Alexandria City School Board is back for a meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27, with an agenda featuring community donations, adjustments to the budget due to state funding, and a closed session to discuss superintendent candidates. [Alexandria City School Board]

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News

ALXnow Daily Debrief for Aug 26, 2026

By ALXnow.com
ALXnow branding with 'Daily Debrief for Aug 26, 2026' over a brick-walled street with statues and steps.

Good Wednesday evening, Alexandria. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Aug 26, 2026.

Here are today’s most-read articles:

  1. How a write-in campaign made Chadwicks the best bar in Alexandria poll winner (675 views)
  2. Alexandria intervenes in proposed Dominion Energy, NextEra merger case (565 views)
  3. Political operative from Alexandria pens debut thriller novel, plans launch at Elaine’s Literary Salon (538 views)
  4. Lanes reopen after crash backs up traffic on southbound I-395 in Alexandria (466 views)

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Thursday in Alexandria, from our event calendar.

🌦️ Thursday’s forecast

Showers and thunderstorms are possible, mainly after 2pm, with some storms potentially severe. Expect mostly sunny skies and a high near 90, with south winds at 7 to 10 mph and a 30% chance of rain. Thursday night, there’s a greater chance of showers and thunderstorms, especially before midnight, with a low around 69. The sky will be mostly cloudy, winds will become calm, and the chance of rain is 50%. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
– Arthur Ashe

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading!

News

Lanes reopen after crash backs up traffic on southbound I-395 in Alexandria

By James Cullum
Busy multi-lane highway with heavy traffic and orange construction/cone barriers blocking some lanes, an emergency vehicle present.
Crash on I-395 southbound at Little River Turnpike on Aug. 26, 2026 (via VDOT)

A driver was reportedly injured in a two-vehicle crash on southbound Interstate 395 near the Duke Street/Little River Turnpike exit Wednesday afternoon.

The crash between a black SUV and a tan Toyota sedan was reported just after 3:45 p.m. Alexandria police and fire responders cut off traffic in the third and fourth lanes near the righthand shoulder of the roadway. The crash occurred just before exit 3 on I-395.

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News

ACPS leaders tout SOL testing gains, but some student groups lag behind

By James Cullum
Front and side view of a yellow school bus with 'SCHOOL BUS' sign, parked on a street near a brick building; another bus is in the background.
School bus outside Alexandria City High School (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City Public Schools officials are touting improvements in standardized testing results from the Virginia Department of Education.

VDOE’s annual SOL standardized test results showed ACPS improved across all content areas divisionwide in the 2025-26 school year, increasing 9% in history (to 71%), 5% in mathematics (to 59%), 3% in science (to 56%) and 1% in reading (to 63%).

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Event

Capital Force Youth Chorus

Capital Force Youth Chorus logo with a stylized music note and star accents on the left and the bold text to the right.

Event location

To Be Provided

To Be Provided

Alexandria, Virginia 22302

Add to Calendar

The Alexandria A Cappella Collective – composed of award-winning men's and women's choruses the Harmonizers and Metro Voices, respectively – is excited to announce that registration is open for the ’26-’27 season of its youth chorus, Capital Force! Students learn a unique form of a cappella from top educators and will perform locally and on the Barbershop Harmony Society International stage in February.

The kick off rehearsal includes voice placement, an informal audition, vocal warm-ups, and singing together. You will also learn about the season’s dates and rehearsal expectations. Interested singers are welcome to try the first rehearsal before deciding whether to join.

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News

Alexandria intervenes in proposed Dominion Energy, NextEra merger case

By Emily Leayman
A Dominion Energy lineman lifts himself up to work on a power line in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in North Augusta, S.C. (AP Photo/Artie Walker Jr., File)

The City of Alexandria is formally intervening in the proposed merger of Dominion Energy with Florida-based NextEra Energy under consideration by state and federal regulators.

The city government has filed as a participant in the case under review by Virginia’s State Corporation Commission. Along with the SCC, the $67 billion merger proposal is under consideration at the North Carolina Utilities Commission, the Public Service Commission of South Carolina, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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Around Town

How a write-in campaign made Chadwicks the best bar in Alexandria poll winner

By James Cullum
Man with beard wearing a navy Chadwick's shirt sits at a bar, a glass of water with lemon on the counter nearby
Trae Lamond, owner of Chadwicks at 203 The Strand in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

Chadwicks in Old Town recently won a write-in effort to be named the winner in ALXnow’s Best bar in Alexandria poll.

With only 15 spots available, Chadwicks (203 The Strand) wasn’t listed in the poll, which was held July 31 to Aug. 14. Owner Trae Lamond says that what followed was a grassroots effort for customers to cast write-in votes. After duplicate votes were excluded, Chadwicks edged out the competition and won the poll.

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News

Delivery truck hits power line, sparking fire behind Shoppes at Foxchase

By James Cullum
Fire behind the Shoppes at Foxchase in Alexandria’s West End on Aug. 25, 2026 (via AFD/Facebook)

No injuries were reported after a delivery truck driver hit a power line behind a shopping center in Alexandria’s West End on Tuesday night (Aug. 25), sparking a fire that destroyed a pickup truck, two dumpsters and fencing.

The fire was reported behind the Harris Teeter (4641 Duke Street) at the Shoppes at Foxchase just before 9 p.m. and was extinguished an hour later. The fire started after the driver of a tractor-trailer making a delivery in the rear of the Harris Teeter “accidentally struck an electrical service drop,” according to the Alexandria Fire Department. No buildings were damaged.

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Around Town

Political operative from Alexandria pens debut thriller novel, plans launch at Elaine’s Literary Salon

By Emily Leayman
Man in a dark green button-up shirt leans on a railing in an alley, looking solemnly at the camera.
Author Matt Lavoie (via Matt Mendelsohn)

Alexandria resident Matt Lavoie has spent decades working as a policy expert and political operative in D.C., and now he has taken that experience to pen and paper.

Lavoie’s thriller novel “Main Street Fringe” will be released by Level Best Books on Sept. 1. This is Lavoie’s first novel, following the story of a Virginia State Police detective going “undercover” as himself to pursue a violent conspiracy group, putting his own family at risk.

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News

Morning Notes for August 26, 2026

By ALXnow.com
Bronze statue of a man in old-fashioned clothing sitting on a bench beside a brick wall. A cane rests in his hand near brick steps and railings.
A statue of George Washington outside 305 Cameron Street, where Washington was feted by Alexandria gentlemen on Dec. 31, 1783 to celebrate his return from the Revolutionary War (staff photo by James Cullum)

On This Day in Alexandria History — “One August 26, 1948, the Alexandria Citizen’s Band was honored to win first prize in a competition held at the Virginia State Fireman’s Convention. The local band, a community organization comprising volunteer members who bring musical entertainment to Northern Virginia, Alexandria, and the DC Metro area, still plays a summer concert series annually at Alexandria’s Market Square and at community special events. The band was organized in 1912 and is one of the oldest community bands in the country.” [Historic Alexandria]

ICE Reveals 2 Alexandria Arrests in Regional Operation — “DHS named 10 of the 1,328 people it said were arrested. Two were arrested in Alexandria, according to the department, which did not say how many arrests were made in the city overall or in any other jurisdiction. The department said Angel Gabriel Ortiz-Hernandez, of Guatemala, has been arrested on charges of rape of a mentally incapacitated victim and two counts of aggravated sexual battery of an incapacitated victim. It listed no convictions for him. It said Rowan Andrew Brown, of Jamaica, has convictions for identity theft, kidnapping an adult and illegal re-entry, and has been arrested on a fraud allegation.” [Alexandria Brief]

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