Good morning, Alexandria! 👋 Today is Friday, Aug. 1, the 213th day of 2025. There are 152 days left in the year.
⛈️ Today’s weather: Scattered showers, mainly before 8 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77 degrees. North wind 9 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. The chance of precipitation is 30%.
Alexandria firefighters responded to an apartment fire Thursday evening in the 5400 block of Sheffield Court, according to Alexandria Firefighters Inc. IAFF Local 2141.
Engine and Truck 208 arrived first on scene and found smoke showing from a terrace-level apartment. Crews located a fire in the living room and successfully extinguished the blaze.
Game, set, Gala! On Saturday, Nov. 14, the USTA Mid-Atlantic Foundation’s annual Tennis Creates Gala, presented by QTS, comes to The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner, celebrating the transformative power of tennis.
The evening raises critical funds to make the sport accessible to all across Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and eastern/southern West Virginia.
Every dollar goes back into local communities through programs like Girls Rule the Court™, which has served more than 2,000 girls, along with Junior Player Scholarships and Tennis in Schools. Gala funds also help restore public courts. Over the last three years, the Foundation has invested $505,000 across 17 public facilities.
Emceeing the evening is Emmy Award-winning ESPN journalist Malika Andrews, host of NBA Today and NBA Countdown, who joined ESPN’s tennis coverage this year for the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
Andrews has pointed to the electric moment American tennis is having, with stars like the DMV’s own Frances Tiafoe reaching the 2026 US Open men’s semifinals, and says she’s grateful for the chance to support the sport at the local level.
Joining the celebration is new USTA CEO Craig Tiley, who took the helm of the national governing body in July after over 20 years at Tennis Australia. As he leads the USTA toward its goal of 35 million players by 2035, the USTA Mid-Atlantic Foundation drives the grassroots work to grow the sport right here in the region.
The Foundation will present its Tennis Creates Impact Award to Vice Admiral Sean S. Buck, U.S. Navy (ret.), 63rd Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, recognizing his leadership in fostering character, community, and well-being through tennis.
The heart of the night is the 2026 Tennis Creates Awards, honoring local changemakers. Alexandria’s Leigh Ann Jackson receives the Adult Leader Award for coaching Girls Rule the Court at Groveton Elementary, where she has served 130 students over five seasons and championed the program’s expansion to Hybla Valley.
Arlington’s Gabrielle Berg earns the Youth Leader Award for founding a Northern Virginia chapter of Tennis For Fun, which runs free year-round clinics for people with special needs in partnership with the Arlington YMCA. Burke’s Khoi Truong, head coach at Lake Braddock Secondary School, is the 2026 Coach of the Year.
They’ll be joined by fellow honorees Dr. Ellen Markowitz (Community Champion), James Skinner (Provider Champion), and Janelle Nichols (Tennis in the Classroom Awardee).
Tickets and tables are now available. Can’t make it? Make a gift to USTA Mid-Atlantic Foundation or bid in the silent auction to help put a racquet in the hands of the next generation of players.
The Tennis Creates Gala takes place Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, from 6:00 – 11:00 p.m. at The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner, 1700 Tysons Blvd., McLean, VA 22102.
For more information, visit TennisCreatesGala.com.
The City of Alexandria has extended the deadline for its Duke Street Corridor community poll until Aug. 18, officials announced Thursday.
The poll, which launched as part of an 18-month planning process that began June 9, has already drawn more than 800 participants, according to the city. The planning effort covers the Duke Street Corridor from Alexandria Union Station to Van Dorn Street at the future Landmark/West End development.
The Real Housewives of Potomac just wrapped its 10th season, and the Alexandria-based production crew will soon send all its footage for editing in New York City.
ALXnow sat down for a few minutes with the show’s production manager Juancarlo Morales. While the show is filmed in and around the Town of Potomac, Maryland, since April, Morales and his crew of about 30 producers and video production specialists have lived in apartments in Potomac Yard and worked out of The Link coworking office (215 N. Payne Street) in Old Town.
Event location
Woodson High School
9525 Main Street
Fairfax, Virginia 22031
Northern Virginia Fairfax Families for Safe Streets (NoVA FSS) cordially invites you to attend and support our upcoming World Day of Remembrance (WDoR) for Road Traffic Victims.
World Day of Remembrance is an annual event where we honor those whose lives were prematurely ended after being struck by a person driving. This year is particularly painful and sad as we think about the recent death of a 13-year-old Frost middle school student who was struck and killed by a person driving a truck on Pickett Road. We will also honor the nearly 30 other people (as of today’s date) who have been killed on Northern Virginia streets while, walking, biking, or rolling since last year’s day of remembrance.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) introduced legislation today requiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to identify themselves and remove masks during routine immigration enforcement activities, citing concerns about unidentified officers conducting operations across Virginia communities.
The bill, co-sponsored with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), establishes the same identification standards for ICE agents that currently apply to state troopers, sheriffs and local police officers. Warner says the legislation responds to increased ICE presence in Virginia and repeated instances of masked agents causing panic during arrests.
Military helicopter traffic over Washington was a longtime worry among aviators operating around the airport where an Army helicopter and commercial airliner collided this year, killing 67 people, federal investigators heard during testimony on Thursday.
It is the second of three days of witness testimony and public inquiry by the National Transportation Safety Board into the January midair crash over the Potomac River.
The Alexandria A Cappella Collective will travel to Ireland Aug. 4-12 for a concert tour featuring performances in Galway, Cork and Dublin alongside Irish choruses.
The internationally acclaimed organization includes two choruses: the Harmonizers, formerly known as the Alexandria Harmonizers, and Metro Voices. Both groups will perform at three venues during the nine-day tour.
Some dogs just have that special something that makes you stop and smile. At the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria, that dog is Ace – a stunning 2-year-old black brindle mix who’s looking for his forever adventure buddy.
With his striking coat pattern and soulful brown eyes, Ace is undeniably handsome. But it’s his zest for life that truly sets this 65-pound charmer apart. Despite being two years old, Ace still carries that infectious puppy energy that makes every day feel like a new adventure waiting to happen.
Good morning, Alexandria! 👋 Today is Thursday, July 31, the 212th day of 2025. There are 153 days left in the year.
⛈️ Today’s weather: Showers and thunderstorms are likely, mainly after 3 p.m. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Increasing clouds, with a high near 93 degrees. Heat index values as high as 106 degrees. Calm wind becoming south around six mph in the afternoon. The chance of precipitation is 60%—new rainfall amounts between three-quarters and one inch possible.
