ACPS | ALXnow - Part 42

Morning Notes

Published July 29, 2021 at 5:00AM

Man killed in Alexandria part of Fairfax County — “A man was found dead inside an Alexandria apartment building Wednesday night and police said detectives are investigating the death as a homicide. Fairfax County Police Sgt. Tara Gerhard with the Fairfax County Public Affairs Bureau said the shooting was reported just after 7 p.m. in 3100 block of Southgate Drive in Alexandria. Gerhard said a family member found the man with a gunshot wound to the upper body. When first responders arrived on the scene, medics pronounced him dead on the scene.” [WUSA9]

Help name new tunnel boring machine for Alexandria to build cleaner waterways — “Alexandria’s wastewater authority, is seeking the community’s input to name its 250-ton tunnel boring machine (TBM). The TBM, currently being manufactured in Schwanau, Germany, will bore through 100-foot-deep soil to construct the 12-foot-wide, 2-mile-long Waterfront Tunnel — ultimately preventing millions of gallons of combined sewage from polluting the Potomac River, Hooffs Run, and Hunting Creek.” [Zebra]

News

Without School Resource Officers, Superintendent wants more private security inside and police patrolling outside

By James Cullum

Published July 28, 2021 at 4:45PM

The Alexandria City High School logo at the Earl Lloyd Court (staff photo by James Cullum)

Without school resource officers and the next school year starting in less than a month, Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. has a plan to beef up security.

Hutchings and staff, on July 16, sent the School Board a three-page proposal acknowledging serious security implications, including “increased vulnerability at school sites, decreased deterrence of situations such as active threats to students, staff and visitors.”

News

ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published July 16, 2021 at 3:30PM | Updated July 19, 2021 at 10:11AM

The grand finale of Alexandria's birthday celebration over the Potomac River, July 7, 2018 (staff photo by James Cullum)

What a hot week in Alexandria.

With temperatures hovering in the mid-90s, the week started with a power outage at a 17-story apartment building in Landmark area. The outage lasted five days and residents had to find accommodations until the building reopened Friday afternoon.

News

Alexandria City High School is ready to reopen at full capacity next month, principal says

By James Cullum

Published July 13, 2021 at 11:05AM | Updated July 13, 2021 at 11:57AM

Summer school is in full swing, and Alexandria City High School Principal Peter Balas says he and his staff will be ready to open to five days a week of in-person instruction when the 2021-2022 school year starts on August 24.

“We’ll be ready on August 24,” Balas told ALXnow. “I’m excited. Anything other than my kitchen table five days a week would be wonderful… I hope we start in August with no masks, no restrictions.”

News

Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Published July 9, 2021 at 5:00AM

The Alexandria City High School logo at the Earl Lloyd Court (staff photo by James Cullum)

Dessert collection of White House Pastry Chef up for auction in Alexandria – “Coming up soon, this fall, The Potomack Company in Alexandria will be auctioning [Roland] Mesnier’s dessert mold collection, which includes molds used to create peach sorbet for Princess Diana in 1985, as well as molds for dessert centerpieces such as a large American bald eagle, the Statue of Liberty, Big Ben, the Queen of England’s coach and many others that honored kings and queens, prime ministers and governors.” [Alexandria Living]

City launches Unified Planning Team — “In one of the first major plan alignment efforts of the city, the leadership of [the Alexandria City Public Schools system, the Health Department and Department of Community and Human Services], with support from the Alexandria City Council and the ACPS School Board, agreed to the establishment of a Unified Planning Team to jointly develop the three plans.” [Zebra]

News

Mayor ‘dismayed’ by Council relationship with School Board after reallocation of school resource officer funding

By James Cullum

Published July 7, 2021 at 1:00PM | Updated July 7, 2021 at 5:05PM

Despite a last-minute appeal by the Alexandria School Board to slow down on eliminating the school resource officer program, City Council voted 5-1 on Tuesday in favor of reallocating nearly $800,000 toward mental health resources for school aged children.

Mayor Justin Wilson, who voted in the minority against eliminating SROs in the 4-3 Council vote in May, said that the issue was not handled correctly and that he is “dismayed” by the deteriorated relationship between Council and the Board.

News

ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published July 2, 2021 at 3:35PM

It was a quick week in Alexandria. Here’s the rundown.

With summer in full swing, three Alexandria athletes have made it on the U.S. Olympic Team — sprinter Noah Lyles, high-jumper Tynita Butts-Townsend and boxer Troy Isley.

News

ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published June 25, 2021 at 3:30PM

Alexandria Police lights (staff photo by James Cullum)

What was an intense week in Alexandria. Here is the rundown.

History was made, as the new marquees at Alexandria City High School and Naomi L. Brooks Elementary Schools were unveiled this week, and the name changes to T.C. Williams High School and Matthew Maury Elementary School will go into effect July 1. It’s a victory for civil rights, as the namesakes of both old schools had backgrounds steeped in racism. Maury was a Confederate leader and Williams was an ACPS superintendent who worked intently against racial integration.

News

Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Published June 25, 2021 at 5:00AM

Council defers on School Resource Officer funding reallocation — “On Tuesday, Alexandria City Council deferred a decision on releasing funding for school resource officers for other positions at Alexandria City Public Schools. The decision is scheduled for a July 6 public hearing.” [Patch]

Levine agrees to pay for primary mailer on House letterhead — “Levine, who lost both his primary contests, said in an interview he saw the mailing as an “informational letter” explaining the unique circumstances of why he was appearing on the ballot twice. He said he still doesn’t think it clearly qualified as campaign advertising, but agreed to reimburse the clerk’s office to clear up the matter after others complained.” [Virginia Mercury]

News

With Alexandria City High School marquee unveiling, T.C. Williams High School is nearly gone

By James Cullum

Published June 23, 2021 at 2:15PM | Updated June 23, 2021 at 8:55PM

Students unveil the Alexandria City High School marquee, June 23, 2021. (staff photo by James Cullum)

In a victory for civil rights, the marquee for Alexandria City High School was unveiled Wednesday morning, replacing the old sign bearing the name of T.C. Williams High School.

It’s been nearly a year since the effort to change the name of Virginia’s largest high school began. The new name will go into effect July 1, as will the official renaming of Matthew Maury Elementary School to Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School.

News

Alexandria City Public Schools scraps recreation center classroom plans

By Vernon Miles

Published June 23, 2021 at 1:30PM

Alexandria City Public Schools won’t be looking for classroom space in recreation centers.

That’s according to last week’s virtual meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission, which looked over a slew of updates for various projects throughout the city.