Good Friday morning, Alexandria!
☔ Today’s weather: Possible light rain in the morning. High of 64 and low of 34.
⛅ Tomorrow: Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 41 and low of 32. Sunrise at 7:27 am and sunset at 5:09 pm.
This past week saw 25 homes sold in Alexandria.
The least expensive condo, single-family home or townhouse sale over the past seven days was $122,000 while the most expensive was $2,800,000.
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.
Daniel Pearson from the Philadelphia Inquirer recently took his city to task for high traffic fatalities despite a Vision Zero pledge — a commitment by localities to get their pedestrian deaths down to zero. But Philadelphia isn’t alone: many cities vocally promoting Vision Zero plans, many of those cities are faced with continually increasing traffic fatalities.
So, with 2022 in the rearview mirror: how do Alexandria’s crash statistics measure up against the “vision zero” goals?
A 24-year-old Fairfax County man faces assault and battery charges after allegedly breaking into an apartment near Fort Ward early Monday morning, according to Alexandria Police.
The incident, which police describe as domestic in nature, occurred at around 12:30 a.m. in an apartment in the 2500 block of N. Van Dorn Street. The suspect allegedly breached the apartment and assaulted the victim, who did not go to the hospital. Police did not say what was stolen from the apartment.
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**Sips & Shells: Holiday Oyster Shell Workshop at Hank's Oyster Bar**
Gather your girlfriends for a creative night out in Old Town Alexandria!
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Beyond the usual mixed-use development topics planned for the immense power plant in Old Town North, there are two other critical issues up for review at a meeting later this month: how the development will handle the rampant contamination at the site and a look at plans for new open space.
Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP) have scheduled a community meeting to discuss the remediation and open space plans on Monday, Jan. 30, at 6:30 p.m. The developer will stream the meeting online, but attendees can join in person at ALX Community (201 N Union Street).
Good Thursday morning, Alexandria!
☔ Today’s weather: Rain in the evening and overnight. High of 63 and low of 51.
☔ Tomorrow: Light rain in the morning. High of 63 and low of 40. Sunrise at 7:27 am and sunset at 5:08 pm.
At a City Council meeting last night (Tuesday), Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson unveiled the next stage of plans to ramp up the renaming of streets that honor Confederate leaders, the Washington Post first reported.
While the city has renamed the Alexandria portion of Jefferson Davis Highway and removed the Appomattox statue, streets honoring Confederate leaders like the “Gray Ghost” John Singleton Mosby or Ku Klux Klan founder Nathan Bedford Forrest still exist around the city.
Two Manassas men arrested in November for allegedly stealing air bags in Arlington are also suspected of committing 11 similar acts in Alexandria, according to police.
The 43-year-old and 25-year-old suspects were arrested on Nov. 13 in Arlington and charged in connection with three airbag thefts committed that day. The suspects are also accused of 11 similar incidents in Alexandria between Aug. 25 and Oct. 31, 2022, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
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Alexandria business owners that identify as Black, indigenous or a person of color could get $1,000-$7,000 in grant funding from the city.
The city announced in a release that applications are set to launch on Thursday, Jan. 26, and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis.