News

Good Monday morning, Alexandria!

⛈️ Today’s weather: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 8am. High near 79. South wind 11 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. At night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm, then a slight chance of showers between 11pm and 2am. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear, with a low around 60. Northwest wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.


News

The biggest news throughout the region was the smoke from the Canadian wildfires that descended on Wednesday and stayed through yesterday. Air quality reached dire levels and the City of Alexandria urged locals to stay inside as much as possible. Alexandria City Public Schools brought all outdoor activities inside and canceled outdoor field trips.

Despite the unexpected hazard, Greater Greater Washington released a report this week showing that overall air quality has improved dramatically in the region over the last ten years, thanks in part to the closure of the GenOn Power Plant in 2012.


News

The Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency visited Southern Towers in the West End this week, signalling to housing advocates that years of protests against rent hikes and evictions are finally paying off.

On Wednesday, FHFA Director Sandra Thompson toured the 2,261-unit Southern Towers complex at 4901 Seminary Road. The tour was hosted by the People’s Actions Homes Guarantee campaign and African Communities Together (ACT), and the groups say that affordable housing residents are at the mercy of a major private equity landlord that only cares about profit. The groups say that since buying the property at the height of the pandemic in 2020, California-based owner CIM Group has evicted more than 250 residents, and that many of them endured uninhabitable conditions and rent increases.


News

(Updated 1:15 p.m.) The Mount Vernon Avenue Bridge was closed to traffic due to police activity, though as of 1:15 p.m. is has reopened.

A foot pursuit across the Mount Vernon Avenue Bridge ended with one suspect in custody. An ambulance was also dispatched to the scene.


Event

Join Kaiser Permanente for Healthy at the Harbor, a free community health and wellness event taking place Saturday, June 6, from 11 am to 4 pm at National Harbor in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Bring your family and friends for free full day of fun, fitness, and preventive care along the waterfront.

Throughout the day, Kaiser Permanente nurses and physicians will offer no-cost health screenings, alongside a health and wellness expo focused on preventive care education. A lively Kids’ Zone will keep children active and entertained with spin-art bikes, face painting, balloon art, games, and more.


News

Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) is working through plans to utilize an office building as school swing space during modernization projects, but that could involve students and teachers changing locations mid-year.

At a meeting earlier this week, ACPS staff laid out the occasionally complicated plans to use the building at 1703 N. Beauregard Street as a temporary school while other schools are being demolished and rebuilt. Those plans involve new protocols on what adults are allowed into the building and how the building can be locked down in an emergency.


News

Good Friday morning, Alexandria!

⛈️ Today’s weather: Isolated showers between noon and 2pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Widespread haze. Areas of smoke before 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 76. Northwest wind 6 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. At night: Scattered showers and thunderstorms before 8pm. Widespread haze before 1am. Patchy smoke between 8pm and 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 57. West wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.


News

Big changes are coming to Village Brauhaus at 710 King Street in Old Town.

The new owners will close the doors of the restaurant for three weeks starting Tuesday, June 20, and will hold a grand reopening on Thursday, July 13, in a newly renovated and renamed Alexandria Bier Garden, managing partner Fito Garcia tells ALXnow.