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.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for Alexandria and surrounding Northern Virginia communities, warning of potential flash flooding from heavy rainfall expected Thursday afternoon through late evening.
The watch, which remains in effect from Thursday afternoon through late Thursday night, covers Arlington, Falls Church, Alexandria, Fairfax and Prince William counties, along with the District of Columbia and portions of Maryland.
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.
In a year when Virginia voters will choose their next governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and all 100 members of the House of Delegates, a little-noticed legislative panel is asking a potentially seismic question: Should the state stop voting every year?
The Joint Subcommittee to Study the Consolidation and Scheduling of General Elections met for the first time last week to begin exploring whether Virginia — one of just a handful of states with statewide elections in odd-numbered years — should sync up with the federal calendar and move all general elections to even-numbered years.
Incorrect altitude readings on the Army helicopter that collided with a passenger plane over Washington, D.C., in January contributed to the aircraft getting too close, but air traffic controllers warned about the hazards helicopter traffic presented years before the crash.
Those warnings came even before the 85 near misses near the airport in the three years before the crash. But despite the concerns that were raised about the route the Black Hawk helicopter followed that night, the Federal Aviation Administration didn’t make changes to it or warn pilots about it.
Event location
Cherry On Top
1021 Queen street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
A mystery is brewing at Cherry on Top!
Join us for a thrilling Murder Mystery Night filled with secrets, unexpected twists, and a little detective work. Follow the clues, uncover hidden motives, and see if you can solve the mystery before the night is over!
The votes are in, and Alexandria has spoken: Smoking Kow BBQ is the city’s favorite barbecue destination, according to the ALXnow Readers’ Choice Awards.
After two weeks of voting that concluded Tuesday night, Smoking Kow BBQ at 3250 Duke Street secured victory with 31.67% of the vote, earning 711 votes from barbecue lovers across Alexandria. The restaurant maintained its frontrunner status throughout the entire voting period.
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Commuters traveling through northern Alexandria faced significant disruptions Wednesday morning as a critical infrastructure repair project began, with the National Park Service issuing closure alerts warning of major impacts to evening rush hours on both Wednesday and Thursday.
East and West Abingdon drives closed to all traffic at 9 a.m. Wednesday, forcing drivers onto the George Washington Memorial Parkway as the primary detour route. The closure, scheduled to last until 6 a.m. Thursday, marks the first phase of essential railroad crossing repairs.
Good morning, Alexandria! 👋 Today is Wednesday, July 30, the 211th day of 2025. There are 154 days left in the year.
☀️ Today’s weather: Sunny and hot, with a high near 98 degrees. Heat index values as high as 107 degrees. Calm wind becoming south around six mph in the afternoon. Mostly clear tonight, with a low around 77 degrees. South wind around five mph, becoming calm in the evening.
Three days of investigative hearings on the deadly midair collision over Washington in January begin Wednesday and aim to reveal new insights into what caused the crash between a passenger plane and an Army helicopter that killed 67 people.
The National Transportation Safety Board will question witnesses and investigators about how the actions of the Federal Aviation Administration and its air traffic controllers and the Army may have contributed to the nation’s deadliest plane crash since November 2001. It’s likely too early for the board to identify the cause of the crash.
