It’s been another fast week in Alexandria! Here’s our recap of the most-read stories over the last several days.
Our Tuesday (June 24) story on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development taking over the National Science Foundation’s headquarters (2415 Eisenhower Avenue) garnered more than 125,000 views, making it the most-read story of the year. While bringing in more than 2,700 HUD workers, the move will also displace about 1,800 NSF employees over the next two years.
The Savannah Bananas, an exhibition baseball team from Georgia, is taking over the Dunkin’ at 3325 Richmond Highway for two hours on Saturday (June 28).
Dunkin’ is the “official coffee and breakfast partner” of the Savannah Bananas, and from 9 to 11 a.m., players will go behind the counter to take orders, treat guests, and give away free merchandise.
Which business community is better, Old Town or Del Ray? In terms of softball, the arguments will be settled on Monday, June 2, with the seventh annual Del Ray vs. Old Town Softball Game.
Mayor Alyia Gaskins will throw the first pitch at Eugene Simpson Park (426 E. Monroe Avenue) at 6 p.m. The five-inning game will include food trucks and ice cream, and the event is a fundraiser for the Alexandria Little League Scholarship Fund. Del Ray is in the overall series lead with a 4-2 record.
There’s a new indoor gym in Alexandria’s West End dedicated to improving baseball and softball swings.
The Dugout, a 10,000-square-foot facility, recently opened for individual and group training at 315 Hooffs Run Road. It’s owned by Layla Burczak, Lacey Forster, Ben Kelley, Amanda Kelley, Ben Matthews and Katy Matthews — all principals in Alexandria Travel Sports LLC.
The Alexandria Little League All-Star Intermediates are state champs.
Alexandria’s top 13-and-under players won the Virginia State Championship on July 10, defeating the Broadway Community Little League 10-0 at Eugene Simpson Park.
Alexandria Little League’s All-Star Intermediate baseball players are heading to the Intermediate Baseball State Tournament, and they won’t have to travel far.
Eight teams of 13-and-under players from across Virginia will participate in the tournament, which will be held at Alexandria’s Eugene Simpson Stadium Park.
Can Del Ray businesses defend their title against Old Town in the annual softball battle on Thursday?
Mayor Justin Wilson will throw the first pitch at Eugene Simpson Park (426 E. Monroe Avenue) at 6 p.m. The five-inning game will include food trucks and ice cream. The businesses even got permission from the city to serve draft beer from Port City Brewing Company.
A local nonprofit is donating a $50,000 scoreboard at the Kelley Cares Miracle Field outside the Nannie J. Lee Memorial Recreation Center in Old Town.
The scoreboard is a gift to the city from the Miracle League of Alexandria and it will be presented to City Council for approval on April 2. Additionally, the $3,000 installation for the scoreboard’s support beams is being donated by the Simpson Development Company.
Don Dinan, the cofounder of the Alexandria Aces summer collegiate baseball team, died after a period of declining health on Monday. He was 74.
A D.C. resident, Donald Robert Dinan spent decades as an international trade and intellectual property attorney. He was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, and was raised in Ellicott City, Maryland, and met his future wife Amy at Mt. St. Joseph High School in Baltimore. Dinan earned degrees from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1971, Georgetown University Law Center in 1974, and the London School of Economics in 1975. In addition to being a practicing attorney, for 30 years he taught a course in international trade law at Georgetown University.
A number of Del Ray residents locked arms around an oak tree slated for removal at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park in Del Ray on Wednesday, only days after City Council approved a plan to renovate the park.
Gisele McAuliffe, a 30-year Del Ray resident, says that the city’s approved plan to renovate the park will come at too great a cost — the removal of 40 trees. The age of the trees is in dispute, as the city says the oldest trees on the property were planted in the 1940s, while McAuliffe and her friends measured the trees and claim they are upward of 100 years old.
Sharp words are being batted around Alexandria, as the fifth annual Del Ray vs. Old Town Softball Battle is intended to settle a few scores.
Thursday’s contest pits a number of Old Town businesses against neighborhood rival Del Ray, and the series is tied at two apiece. Del Ray won the first year, followed by two consecutive Old Town wins, and then Del Ray took back the John Porter cup in a win last year. The cup, which was created by Old Town metal artist Chris Earny, now sits behind the bar of Pork Barrel BBQ, which is owned by Del Ray’s coach Bill Blackburn.
