We made it to Friday in Alexandria! Here’s a look at our top stories of the week.
Our top post was on the plan to close Waterfront Park and Point Lumley Park for two years. It’s part of the city’s efforts to fight flooding by rebuilding sections of sea wall and installing a pump station to recirculate floodwaters to the Potomac River.
Alexandria’s Independent Community Policing Review Board unanimously opposes proposed changes to its authority to investigate allegations of police misconduct.
Earlier this month, the board opposed ordinance changes reducing its subpoena power, as well as a proposal to let the City Council act as a final arbiter on whether cases are investigated in the event of an impasse between the Board and the Independent Policing Auditor. The changes were drawn up by a subcommittee, which includes Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley and Council Member Canek Aguirre.
Among the movers serving Alexandria, VA, 495 Movers stands out for a simple reason: its local hourly rate includes packing materials, furniture disassembly and reassembly, and protection for floors, walls, and elevators. The company has been in business since 2009 and has completed more than 20,000 moves, a number that keeps climbing.
Anyone who has hired movers in the DC area knows the familiar pattern. A low hourly rate wins the call. Then the invoice arrives with a charge for boxes, a charge for taking the bed apart, a fee for the stairs, and another for the elevator. By the end, the number on the bill has little to do with the number in the ad. 495 Movers was built to avoid that.
495 Movers is a full-service moving company serving Alexandria and the rest of the DMV, founded in 2009 by people who had worked as movers for several other companies first. They wanted to do it differently.
“We wanted to take a different approach, offering a simple, honest, and transparent approach for the customer,” said Moti Kachlon, co-owner at 495 Movers. For local moves, that meant building the most common extras into the hourly rate. Seventeen years and more than 20,000 moves later, the company is still growing.
Alexandria is a hard place to move. A truck on an Old Town block gets watched by neighbors, property managers, and a family wondering whether the sofa will make the turn on a staircase built long before sofas got this big.
Old Town’s rowhouses have narrow staircases and tight turns, which is why large furniture often has to come apart to get out. Del Ray’s bungalows and rowhouses have basements that hold more than anyone remembers. And condo and apartment buildings in Carlyle, Potomac Yard, and the West End often require movers to carry a certificate of insurance and book the elevator, with building managers who care a great deal about scuffed hallways. The street adds its own complications, from cobblestones to limited curb space.
That’s the context for how 495 Movers prices its work.
For local moves, the rate covers four things that many movers bill separately:
A century-old Sears kit house turned music studio is hosting a community celebration this summer, featuring both professional artists and up-and-coming young musicians.
The Crab Shack Live Centennial, set for June 14, 2025, celebrates the 100th anniversary of the building known as “The Shack.” The event showcases performances by students and established artists who have recorded at the studio.
Eight local choirs are coming together for the first-ever One Voice Alexandria Choir Festival on May 9, 2025. The event, hosted by the Alexandria Choral Society, kicks off at 7 p.m. at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall.
This festival marks the end of Alexandria Choral Society’s 55th season with a bang, bringing together about 450 singers from across the city.
It's that time again – The November 14 Del Ray Vintage & Flea Market!
Saturday, November 14
9am-2pm
Good Friday morning, Alexandria!
☀️ Today’s weather: Increasing clouds, with a high near 78 degrees. South wind 6 to 11 mph increasing to 12 to 17 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph. It will be partly cloudy tonight, with a low around 63 degrees. South wind 10 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. There will be increasing clouds on Saturday, with a high near 86 degrees. Southwest wind 11 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia is giving $110,000 to five Alexandria organizations through its 2025 Community Investment Funds. These grants, ranging from $15,000 to $30,000 each, support programs in the arts, child and youth development, and education.
Alexandria Symphony Orchestra gets $20,000 for its artistic programs and community outreach. Community Lodgings and Wilderness Kids Alexandria each receive $15,000 for their work with children and youth.
Citing potential plans to move a small number of students from the newly rebuilt Douglas MacArthur Elementary – a school with projected capacity – into a school slated for swing space, a group of “Scroggins Triangle” parents contends in the following letter to the editor that minimizing student upheaval should be prioritized in the current ACPS redistricting process.
The letter is in response to our ongoing coverage of the ACPS redistricting efforts and process.
The 19-year-old victim of Wednesday night’s (April 16) hit-and-run on King Street has succumbed to his injuries.
The Alexandria Police Department has identified the victim as Abdullahi Mumin and said that he succumbed to his injuries at Inova Fairfax Hospital. Mumin was struck near the intersection of King Street and Dawes Avenue, at around 8:40 p.m.
The Alexandria City Council is preparing for its April 22, 2025, legislative meeting, which has a packed agenda that includes public hearings on stormwater utility fees and residential parking permits, as well as special recognitions and updates on economic development.
The meeting will begin at 6:15 p.m. with an executive session to discuss investment of public funds, followed by two public hearings and the regular meeting agenda.
