The Alexandria Health Department is encouraging residents to get vaccinated and practice healthy habits as cold and flu season approaches, officials announced Tuesday.
As temperatures drop, health officials warn that respiratory illnesses, including influenza, RSV, and COVID-19, typically increase, potentially leading to serious health complications, missed work and school days, and hospitalizations.
With construction expected to start next year, plans to demolish and encapsulate City Hall are heading to the city’s Board of Architectural Review.
Development plans call for City Hall (301 King Street) to be gutted and for the demolition of the Market Square plaza and the underground two-level parking garage. The BAR will review the plans on Thursday (Oct. 16). If approved by City Council at a yet-to-be-scheduled meeting, the project will break ground in the second quarter of 2026 with a completion goal of 2028, according to the city.
Before the pandemic, I ran a Reddit forum that brought people together for local happy hours. It became a great outlet for an in-person social life: you could get out, get to know people nearby, and have a familiar group to spend time with. I enjoyed being the person who helped make that happen.
Getting people together became harder after the pandemic. Friends moved away, had kids, or settled into different routines, and organizing a night out took more effort. I still wanted that camaraderie, but having people to invite didn’t necessarily mean we could get something on the calendar.
I’m in my late 30s and live in Old Town. About a year ago, I joined Choros, a local membership community that helps guys build friendships through small-group activities. Since then, I’ve been to close to 50 hangouts, and it’s given me a regular group of guys to do things with around Alexandria and beyond.
I host board game nights and help host a monthly happy hour at the Commodore in Old Town. I’ve done escape rooms on King Street, trivia, food festivals in Del Ray, movie discussions, and Dungeons & Dragons (which can be especially tricky to get going as an adult with a busy schedule). Having that variety means I can find something that fits my mood and schedule, and there are usually familiar faces when I get there.
One of my favorite things, though, is getting on my bike, picking a destination, and making a day of it. Through Choros, I’ve found a consistent crew to ride with almost every month. That’s the kind of thing I wanted more of: people who enjoy the same stuff and make time to get out and do it together.
I still like hosting and bringing people together. What makes Choros useful is having a community to draw from, so every plan doesn’t depend on the same few friends being available. Other guys suggest and host things too, which gives me plenty of opportunities to join something without organizing it myself.
Over time, seeing the same guys at different activities builds familiarity. You have conversations to pick back up and another reason to make plans together. That’s how it’s become a circle of friends for me.
If you’re in Alexandria, check out Choros and come to one of our monthly happy hours at the Commodore. I’d be happy to meet a few more neighbors, whether you’re into board games, bike rides, or just getting out for a drink. There’s plenty happening here, along with activities throughout the rest of the D.C. area.
By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is making this government shutdown unlike any the country has ever seen, enabling his budget office a rare authority to pick winners and losers — who gets paid or fired — in an unprecedented restructuring across the federal workforce.
Early voting turnout in Alexandria is running well ahead of the 2021 election cycle, with more than 9,600 ballots cast so far for the November general election.
As of Oct. 13, Alexandria has recorded 9,621 early votes, according to data from the Virginia Public Access Project. At the same point in 2021 — 22 days before Election Day — the city had received just 5,434 early ballots, meaning current turnout is running 77% ahead of the 2021 pace.
**Sips & Shells: Holiday Oyster Shell Workshop at Hank's Oyster Bar**
Gather your girlfriends for a creative night out in Old Town Alexandria!
Alexandria is repaving several streets this week.
The city said that temporary “No Parking” signs will be displayed before work begins, and that businesses and residents in the affected areas got advance notice through project signs and letters. While street repavings are subject to change due to weather conditions, equipment issues or utility work coordination, below is the listing of all the streets the city will repave between October 14 and October 17.
Get your running shoes ready, because the Saint Rita Catholic School 5K and 1K Kids Fun Run are returning to Alexandria on Saturday, Nov. 15.
The races are a fundraiser for the school, and the course starts outside George Washington Middle School (1005 Mount Vernon Avenue), then heads down tree-lined Main Line Boulevard and Potomac Avenue, and returns to GW. More details on the races are below.
The Alexandria Choral Society is collaborating with the Alexandria Children’s Chorus later this month for a concert that invites audiences to listen “with your heart, mind, and spirit.”
The “Do You Hear What I Hear” concert will explore sound and silent spaces in musical pieces such as “The Sound of Silence” and “Ain’t No Grave” at Westminster Presbyterian Church (2701 Cameron Mills Road). The concert will be held on Sunday, Oct. 26, from 3 to 5 p.m.
ACPS Backs Sales Tax Increase for School Construction — Alexandria City Public Schools supports a 1% local sales tax increase for school construction, in addition to several other legislative priorities that will be discussed at a School Board work session on Thursday. ALXnow
Collegiate Inventors Competition Comes to Alexandria — The future of American innovation is on display this week in Alexandria as 10 finalist teams from Purdue, Calvin University, Michigan State, Washington University in St. Louis, Rice, UT Austin, Dartmouth, Cornell, and MIT present their groundbreaking inventions at the 2025 Collegiate Inventors Competition at the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday, Oct. 16. National Inventors Hall of Fame
As the federal government shutdown stretches into its third week, Virginia’s U.S. senators are backing a bid to shield federal workers and contractors from the fallout. Last week, Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined 16 other Senate Democrats in introducing the Federal Employee Civil Relief Act, a bill intended to protect federal employees, federal contractor staff and their families from evictions, foreclosures, repossessions and defaults during a funding lapse.
The legislation would halt evictions or foreclosures, stop repossession of vehicles or other property, prevent negative credit impacts, pause student loan default consequences, and let workers stay current on bills and insurance premiums — protections that would remain in place for the duration of a shutdown plus 30 days afterward.
