Abdel Elnoubi | ALXnow

‘Do you want to be in the jail business,’ Sheriff Casey asks City Council amid budget talks

Published April 20, 2026 at 3:55PM | Updated April 21, 2026 at 9:00AM

Sheriff Sean Casey at the unveiling of the Alexandria Police Department Suicide Memorial, Sept. 26, 2023 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria Sheriff Sean Casey and members of his staff argued against a proposed budget reallocation before City Council on Saturday (April 18).

Casey said a proposal by Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley and City Councilman Abdel Elnoubi to transfer $200,000 out of the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office budget for a jail operational efficiency study is a waste of valuable resources and will hurt an already cash-strapped agency. While a number of speakers at Saturday’s public hearing called for Casey’s budget to be cut over what they see as voluntary collaboration with U.S. Immigration and Enforcement, several City Council members defended the proposed study, saying the measure is intended to improve ASO operations.

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Alexandria School Board members push City Council for staggered term reforms

By James Cullum

Published April 20, 2026 at 12:15PM | Updated April 20, 2026 at 5:29PM

Alexandria School Board meeting in 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City School Board members are asking the public to help push for reforms to the nine-member board, including staggered elections, higher salaries and more.

The clock is ticking, School Board Members Ashley Simpson Baird and Kelly Carmichael Booz wrote in a recent blog post. The pair wrote that City Council must act this year by beginning a process to amend the City Charter — a change that would need to go to the Virginia General Assembly’s 2027 session for approval.

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Sunday paid parking proposal opposed by majority of Alexandria City Council

By James Cullum

Published April 15, 2026 at 1:45PM

An Alexandria parking enforcement vehicle (staff photo by James Cullum)

A majority of Alexandria’s City Council won’t support City Manager Jim Parajon’s proposal for paid parking on Sundays, but the door to increasing parking meter rates and fines is still open.

City Council had first reading on a number of parking-related ordinances yesterday (Tuesday), which, if approved later this month, would increase parking meter rates and parking ticket fines and add paid parking to metered spots on Sundays.

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BPOL tax increase, no new ACPS funding in City Council’s add/deletes as budget vote nears

By James Cullum

Published April 14, 2026 at 2:45PM

Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins in Council Chambers, April 8, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City Council members have submitted their proposed additions — and one deletion — in their Fiscal Year 2027 budget deliberations.

The proposed additions to the budget include a 5-cent increase to the city’s Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) tax; $200,000 for a jail operational efficiency study; and $350,000 for improvements to the pedestrian zone in the 200 block of King Street.

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Despite School Board protest, City Council votes to change ACPS appropriation process

By James Cullum

Published March 12, 2026 at 1:00PM

Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins in Council Chambers, April 8, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

City Council ignored a plea from the School Board Tuesday night, unanimously approving a resolution to change how the city appropriates funding to Alexandria City Public Schools.

City Council’s resolution directs ACPS, in preparation for the Fiscal Year 2028 budget, to submit estimates for funds needed through major classifications instead of a lump sum. The School Board asked that the move, which was introduced at a March 4 joint work session with City Council, be postponed as it restricts the school system from redirecting budgeted funds to pay for programs and services.

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Buddhist monks share message of peace in Old Town during 2,300-mile pilgrimage

By James Cullum and Katie Taranto

Published February 9, 2026 at 3:45PM

Lead monk Bhikkhu Pannakara talks to hundreds of people outside Christ Church in Old Town, on the final stretch of a 2,300-mile peace march, Feb. 9, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Hundreds gathered to see the group of Buddhist monks on a 2,300-mile “Walk for Peace” as they passed through Alexandria today (Monday).

Joined onstage by city officials, the group’s leader, the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, gave an address outside Christ Church, touching on themes of mindfulness and reflection in today’s heavily digital — and often divided — world.

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Councilmembers lobby for housing, school funding and gun safety laws in Richmond

By Emily Leayman

Published January 30, 2026 at 2:45PM

Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley testifies in support of a gun safety bill in the House Firearms Subcommittee (via Virginia General Assembly)

Members of City Council traveled to Richmond yesterday (Thursday) to advocate for more authority to expand housing options and increase state funding for school construction, among other goals.

Mayor Alyia Gaskins, Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley, Councilmembers John Taylor Chapman, R. Kirk McPike, Abdel Elnoubi and Canek Aguirre visited the state Capitol for a lobby day to advocate for their legislative priorities, which were set in December. They met with several lawmakers and members of Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration.

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Advocates support proposal for new ACPS subcommittee focused on capacity challenges

By James Cullum

Published December 15, 2025 at 3:45PM | Updated December 15, 2025 at 7:41PM

Jefferson-Houston PreK-8 IB School at 1501 Cameron Street (via Jefferson-Houston/Facebook)

A proposal to create a new City Council/School Board subcommittee focused on Alexandria City Public Schools’ capacity challenges has won the support of a local advocacy group.

Save Jefferson-Houston (Save JH), which opposes the Alexandria City School Board’s plans to convert two K-8 schools into a middle school and elementary school, has voiced support for the proposal, which was offered by ACSB members Ryan Reyna and Kelly Carmichael Booz during a Capital Improvement Program work session last week.

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PHOTOS: Thousands gather for Alexandria’s 276th Birthday Bash at Oronoco Bay

By James Cullum

Published July 13, 2025 at 6:15AM | Updated July 14, 2025 at 10:29AM

The grand finale of Alexandria's birthday celebration at Oronoco Bay Park, July 12, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria celebrated its 276th and the U.S.’s 249th birthday in style along the Potomac River at Oronoco Bay Park on Saturday (July 12).

Thousands attended the annual event. For about four hours, the park was turned into a maze of beach blankets, lawn chairs, and barefoot kids with lightsabers and bubble guns. Flanked onstage by City Council and city staff, Mayor Alyia Gaskins and Poet Laureate Maria Cristina Donoso made brief remarks before the program was turned over to the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, which wrapped up in time for a spectacular fireworks show (see video below).

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ARHA asks city to back loan for ‘Silver Fox’ senior housing complex

By James Cullum

Published June 11, 2025 at 7:45PM

Erik C. Johnson, former CEO of ARHA, asks City Council to back the Silver Fox plan, June 10, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria City Council has mixed feelings about serving as a cosigner for the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s plan to keep its senior residents in the city.

Faced with a $40 million budget shortfall, ARHA abandoned plans to replace the aging 11-story, 170-unit Ladrey Senior High-Rise with a six-to-seven-story 270-unit L-shaped building. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development subsequently ended its operating support for building management and maintenance, issuing vouchers for the relocation of Ladrey’s residents by the end of the year.

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City Council recognizes Emergency Medical Services Week, honors Alexandria’s EMS heroes

By Ryan Belmore

Published May 13, 2025 at 8:00PM

City Council Recognizes Alexandria's EMS Heroes with Official Proclamation (Staff photo by Ryan Belmore)

Alexandria City Council honored its emergency medical services (EMS) providers at its Legislative Meeting on Tuesday (May 13) with a special proclamation for Emergency Medical Services Week, which runs from May 18 to 24, 2025.

During the meeting, Mayor Alyia Gaskins and the Alexandria City Council declared the week “Emergency Medical Services Week.”