Mayor Alyia Gaksins endorsed Alexandria City Council candidate Roberto Gomez at his campaign kickoff in Landmark yesterday (Sunday).
About 50 people attended the event, which was the third Democratic campaign kickoff so far in the Feb. 21 firehouse primary. Five Democratic candidates are competing for the seat left by outgoing City Councilman R. Kirk McPike, whose resignation goes into effect today as he runs for Virginia’s 5th House District in tomorrow’s special election.
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.
After their case was dismissed in Circuit Court in November, the plaintiffs in Alexandria’s Zoning for Housing/Housing for All lawsuit are now seeking donations to fund an appeal.
Members of the Coalition for a Livable Alexandria, a group of Old Town residents, are asking supporters to help raise $28,000 for attorneys at Dunn, Craig and Francuzenko, according to an email announcement last night (Monday).
City Council has committed funding for three collective bargaining agreements with unions representing the Alexandria Police and Fire Departments and the city’s administrative and technical employees.
Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the three-year agreements on wages, benefits and work hours, which are now set to go into effect on July 1. The agreements include a reduction from 49 to 46 weekly work hours for AFD personnel, “significant” pay increases for police officers, and structured raises and merit increases for administrative and technical employees.
Four candidates made the 4 p.m. filing deadline Sunday to participate in Tuesday’s firehouse Democratic primary for Virginia’s 39th senate district.
Democratic candidates who paid the $360 fee to meet the Alexandria Democratic Committee’s filing deadline were Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-5), former Del. Mark Levine (D-45), former Alexandria Vice Mayor Amy Jackson and World Wildlife Fund senior executive Charles Sumpter.
A new perfume boutique with an emphasis on niche fragrances is opening on Cameron Street in Old Town next week.
Arielle Shoshana will officially open its doors at 313 Cameron Street next Wednesday, Jan. 14, with a ribbon cutting scheduled at 5:30 p.m. Mayor Alyia Gaskins will be in attendance, the business announced this morning (Thursday).
It’s been 17 years since Alexandria’s sister city of Dundee, Scotland, creamed the city in the first-ever Mayors’ Cup rugby match.
Mayor Alyia Gaskins says it’s time for a rematch. On Dec. 6, Alexandria Select XV team tryouts were held at the George Washington Middle School athletic fields.
An Alexandria nonprofit that teaches trades to underserved youth received 100 refurbished laptops and $10,000 from AT&T and Human I-T today (Thursday).
Apprentices at Cornerstone Craftsman will each receive one of the laptops after they graduate from high school. The donations were made by AT&T after Garrett McGuire, the company’s regional director of external and legislative affairs, spoke with Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins about workforce development.
The Alexandria City Council ended the collective bargaining impasse regarding three outstanding issues between the Alexandria Police Department’s union and the city late last night (Tuesday).
In a meeting at City Hall that lasted until 11:30 p.m., Council decided in favor of the Alexandria chapter of the Southern States Police Benevolent Association’s request for $10.2 million in increased salaries for APD officers, sergeants and lieutenants over the next three years, while backing the city’s positions on pay parity and an annual $1,200 longevity bonus for those sworn staffers.
Updated at 1 p.m., Dec. 9: An earlier version of this story included a previous offer from the city on pay compensation in its collective bargaining negotiations with the Alexandria Police Department. The city’s most recent offer increases starting pay for police officers 17.21% from $63,988 a year to an annual salary of $75,000; a 21% increase for sergeants from $72,300 to $87,500 and police lieutenants 15% from $89,800 to $106,900.
With collective bargaining at a standstill, the Alexandria Police Department’s union is calling for increased salaries as the department’s pay has fallen behind other Northern Virginia localities.
A team of professionals in Alexandria has received a top statewide award for its work responding to allegations of child abuse.
Earlier this month, the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) from the Center for Alexandria’s Children received the 2025 MDT of the Year recognition by the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Virginia (CACVA) at the Virginia Crimes Against Children Conference in Virginia Beach.
