Good Thursday morning, Alexandria!
☀️ Today’s weather: Expect sunny skies and a high of around 51, as light south winds shift to southwest at 5 to 10 mph during the morning. For Thursday night, the sky will remain mostly clear, with temperatures dropping to a low of about 32. The west winds at 6 mph will become calm as the evening progresses.
The Alexandria Police Department was the victim of a swatting call on Sunday night (Jan. 8), after a male told a 911 dispatcher that he “accidentally” shot his brother in the chest after playing with their father’s gun.
The call was made at around 11:25 p.m. on Sunday. The caller told police that the incident occurred in an apartment in the 5400 block of Richenbacher Avenue near Holmes Run.
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.
Among all the hubbub about the Potomac Yard arena, there’s been one looming question: how would people travel to and from the new facility?
Transportation has been the key item of concern for both public critics of the project and many civic leaders. While Mayor Justin Wilson said the development will minimize parking to reduce the amount of people taking cars to the site, Metro General Manager Randy Clarke said the newly built Metro cannot handle the levels of arena traffic proposed in this development.
A 42-year-old Alexandria man was arrested last month for allegedly brandishing a firearm against a neighbor living in the same West End apartment building.
Antwain Young, 42, was arrested Dec. 21, six days after the alleged incident. He was charged with brandishing a firearm, possession of a firearm by a nonviolent felon and possession of 11 to 49 marijuana plants. The marijuana charge was dismissed, and Young goes to court for the other offenses on Feb. 16.
Event location
Duvall House
305 Cameron Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Join George Washington at the beautiful, historic Duvall House—the site of his “coming home” celebration after the Revolutionary War! Libations and hearty hors d’oeuvres will be served. Tickets are $150 per person, with proceeds benefiting the 2027 George Washington Birthday Parade in Alexandria. Reserve your space at the event website, or email us at [email protected] if you prefer to pay at the door.
I have bad news for anyone else tired of reading about the Potomac Yard arena: the city announced a three-month schedule of public engagement for the project.
The schedule includes community engagement events, listening sessions, project briefings, site tours and more.
Good Wednesday morning, Alexandria!
🌤️ Today’s weather: Expect partly sunny skies and a high near 49, accompanied by a breezy southwest wind of 16-21 mph, gusting up to 39 mph. For Wednesday night, the sky will be mostly clear with a low around 31, as the west wind transitions from 8-13 mph to a light southwest wind after midnight, with gusts potentially reaching 18 mph.
(Updated at 11:30 p.m.) Tim Beaty, the retired former global strategies director for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, was declared the winner in tonight’s special election for the open School Board District A seat. He defeated Gina Baum, an Alexandria City Public Schools parent and former longtime member of the city’s Park and Recreation Commission, and will be sworn into office next week.
Beaty won the election 1,270 votes (56%) to Baum’s 962 votes (43%), and 5.5% of the registered voters in District A (41,335 voters) cast ballots on this rainy Tuesday. District A includes Old Town, Del Ray, Potomac Yard and Arlandria. The results will be certified in the Alexandria Voter Registrar’s office near City Hall on Friday.
Talk about a good pairing: An Ethiopian honey wine-tasting room just opened on Vine Street in Alexandria’s West End.
Gize Negussie has a steadily growing list of about 40 Ethiopian shops and restaurants that he sells wine to, and late in the fall opened Negus Winery and Meadery Tasting Room in a renovated space in an industrial area at 5509 Vine Street.
The impact that the proposed Washington Wizards/Capitals arena at Potomac Yard will have on local businesses will be discussed in a virtual town hall meeting this week.
Stephanie Landrum, CEO of the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership (AEDP), will speak about the ramifications in a Zoom meeting at noon on Thursday (Jan. 21).
