The intestinal illness spreading in parts of the U.S. has been raising food safety concerns, but health authorities in Alexandria say there’s little cause for alarm locally.
Cyclosporiasis is an infection caused by a parasite believed to be linked to some types of imported fresh produce. The illness is most often associated with watery diarrhea, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It can last a few days to upward of a month, but some people do not show symptoms.
On This Day in Alexandria History — “On July 17, 1946 the City of Alexandria designated the Old and Historic Alexandria District, nicknamed at the time the “Charleston Ordinance” after the City of Charleston, South Carolina which had earlier extended the police powers of its zoning code to regulate changes to the exterior appearance of buildings within a designated area. Zoning laws in the United States were first upheld by the U. S. Supreme Court in 1916 in the famous Euclid vs. Ambler case, but that issue dealt specifically with land uses and not aesthetic appearance. Alexandria’s new historic district was the third in the United States including the “Vieux Carre” area of New Orleans. Historic District zoning codes went unchallenged for over two decades until the Supreme Court case Penn Central vs. City of New York upheld that city’s action to denied an application to build a skyscraper atop the historic Grand Central Station.” [Historic Alexandria]
Code Red Air Quality Alert Today — “The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) has forecast a Code Red air day in the metropolitan Washington region tomorrow, July 17, due to smoke from Canada wildfires.” [Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments/X]
The Little Theatre of Alexandria’s 2026–27 season continues with She Loves Me, the beloved romantic musical, running October 17 – November 7, 2026.
Thursday through Saturday evening performances at 8:00 PM. Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM. Get tickets $36
In a charming 1930s European perfumery, shop clerks Georg and Amalia can’t stand each other. They bicker across the counter by day, never suspecting that each is the anonymous pen pal the other has been falling for by letter. As the holidays approach and the mystery unravels, two unlikely sweethearts discover that love may have been right in front of them all along. Set to a lush, witty score, it’s the same timeless story that inspired the film You’ve Got Mail.
Book by Joe Masteroff
Music by Jerry Bock
Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Based on the play Parfumerie by Miklós László
Directed and choreographed by Mitchell Aiello, with music direction by Isabel Hernandez-Cata. Produced by Eleanore Tapscott and assistant producer Cassie Cope.
The cast features Shelby Young as Amalia Balash and Antony Galace as Georg Nowack, with Maura Lacy as Ilona Ritter, Brandon Schenk as Steven Kodaly, Michael McGovern as Ladislav Sipos, Phil Krzywicki as Mr. Maraczek and Mylo Cluff as Arpad Laszlo. The ensemble includes Stephen Yednock, Evan Arellano, Dale Dwyer, Lori Bonnette, Alicia Braxton, Rachael Fine, Gavin Hubbard, Jordan Lohmeyer, Jennifer Thomas and Brett Womack.
The Little Theatre of Alexandria is located at 600 Wolfe Street in Old Town Alexandria. Street parking.
Performances are Thursday through Saturday evenings at 8:00 PM and Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM. Tickets are $36 (plus $4 service charge). All sales final; limited exchanges available. Box Office: 703-683-0496. Get Tickets
Good Thursday evening, Alexandria. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
The following articles were published earlier today — Jul 16, 2026.
Here are today’s most-read articles:
Here is what’s going on Friday in Alexandria, from our event calendar.
This afternoon, expect widespread smoke mainly after 2 p.m., with mostly sunny skies and a high near 92°F. Winds will come from the north at about 5 mph before becoming calm. Tonight, there is a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 a.m., along with widespread smoke. Conditions will be partly cloudy with a low around 74°F, and winds from the southeast at 6 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”
– Buddha
Thanks for reading!
The Alexandria Police Department identified the victim of Wednesday night’s fatal shooting in the West End as 36-year-old Charles Talley.
Talley was shot and killed on Wednesday night at the ParcView Apartments in the 5300 block of Holmes Run Parkway. ALXnow observed a male and female suspect being apprehended in connection to the shooting, but APD made no arrests.
Shifting Waters Leadership Institute (SWLI) is bringing a new kind of leadership experience to Old Town Alexandria and DMV area this fall. On November 19 and 20, 2026, the organization will host its inaugural November Leadership Incubator Weekend at COWO & Crèche, a two-day, application-based program built for leaders who are ready to do more than perform their roles well. They are ready to be formed.
The incubator is led by Grace Adofoli, Founder and CEO of SWLI, a leadership development practitioner, executive coach, and 2026 Alexandria Chamber of Commerce 40 Under 40 honoree who has worked across leaders in more than thirty countries over the past decade. Her background spans global public health, disaster relief, and community development, including field work in the Philippines, Ethiopia, and Cambodia, alongside service with AmeriCorps and in underserved communities across the United States. She holds an ACC credential through the International Coaching Federation and degrees in public health and social work from the University of Michigan.
Mayor Alyia Gaskins has been chosen to join 21 other rising Democratic state and local leaders from around the country to trade ideas on local governance.
Gaskins is joining NewDEAL (Developing Exceptional American Leaders), a network of center-left elected officials, for a year. The mayor will participate in virtual webinars to share ideas and discuss challenges such as rising costs, housing, energy and childcare. She will also take part in the NewDEAL Annual Conference from Nov. 18-20 in D.C.
Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins has joined other local leaders in opposing a potential merger of bus operations across multiple Northern Virginia localities.
Gaskins told ALXnow she is strongly opposed to the idea that Alexandria’s free DASH bus system should merge with Arlington Transit, the Fairfax Connector and CUE (City of Fairfax). Between now and November, the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) is compiling a report as part of the recently adopted biennial budget to consider cost savings and rider impacts of merging the local bus systems.
Joseph Hensley Park has completely reopened in the Eisenhower West neighborhood after years of renovations, the Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities said.
The renovated park (4200 Eisenhower Avenue) includes a new synthetic turf upper diamond field, a full-size natural turf softball field on the lower level, a replacement picnic pavilion and bathhouse and new playground. The athletic fields have new LED field lighting, scoreboards, safety netting, dugouts, spectator seating and batting cages. A flexible court and event space also provides a setting for community and recreational programming.
Two dogs recently surrendered to the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria due to a house fire have received emergency care, but that has put a strain on the organization’s emergency veterinary fund.
Senior dogs Dunya and Jasnah had been surrendered due to a displacement from a house fire. The animal shelter operator confirmed to ALXnow that the dogs were from the house fire Monday (July 13) in the 600 block of N. Ripley Street.
The Lee-Fendall House Museum & Garden has announced the appointment of Jenny Waters as the new museum director in the midst of preservation efforts for the historic property.
The promotion was made by the museum’s board of directors. Waters first joined the Lee-Fendall House as a collections management intern in summer 2022 to catalog and care for the museum’s collection. She was named collections assistant in fall 2022 and the collections and programming manager in summer 2023.
