ALXnow will be running a series of City Council candidate interviews through the local election filing deadline on April 4.
Kirk McPike jokes that he no longer has a work-life balance, he has a work-Council balance.
City Council
Alexandria’s annual George Washington Birthday Parade brought the usual pomp and circumstance befitting the country’s first president.
This year’s parade marshals were the recipients of the prestigious Living Legends of Alexandria award. The theme of this year’s parade was “George Washington: Alexandria’s Living Legend.”
Alexandria’s City Council unanimously approved releasing $657,629 to allow the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center to continue operating, but that doesn’t mean they’re happy about it.
Council was told that the detention center (200 S. Whiting Street) has seen a dramatic increase in usage over the last year, and that the center is pursuing a pilot program with National Capital Treatment & Recovery to introduce a substance abuse recovery program to the unit. They were also told that an unused portion of the facility was being studied for future use.
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ALXnow will be running a series of City Council candidate interviews through the local election filing deadline on April 4.
(Updated 2/15) After the tumult of the pandemic, Alexandria City Councilman Canek Aguirre thought this term would be a breeze.
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Alexandria’s been hit with a series of swatting calls recently and the city is eyeing new legislation that could make perpetrators literally pay for it.
A proposed section of the city code, which Mayor Justin Wilson said takes advantage of authority granted by the state, would allow the City Manager or a designee to bill a flat fee after “determining the reasonable expense of an appropriate emergency response.”
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(Updated at 9 p.m.) Virginia’s House of Delegates voted to pass the arena bill 59-40, sending the proposal to an uncertain future in the Senate.
Earlier this week, the Democrat-controlled Virginia Senate voted not to table the bill on the arena’s stadium authority for a hearing.
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(Updated at 12:05 p.m.) The Virginia House of Delegates on Friday printed an updated version of the bill establishing the Virginia Stadium Authority, which would own and finance construction of the $2 billion Potomac Yard arena and entertainment district.
While the Senate version of the bill is still in the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, the House version stipulates that a 15-member Virginia Stadium Authority board would be made up of:
(Updated 4:15 p.m.) Alexandria experienced a 12.4%, or $440 million, drop in office property values this year, according to the city’s Office of Real Estate Assessments, and it could mean a reduction in city services.
Alexandria’s real estate tax base grew by just .33% this year, about $200 million, for a total of $48.49 billion, which is the smallest growth in 15 years, Mayor Justin Wilson tweeted. The city’s commercial property tax rate fell 4%, or $736.9 million.
Alexandria City Council members are crying foul over the proposed makeup of the Virginia Stadium Authority, which would finance construction of the $2 billion Potomac Yard arena and entertainment district.
Both the proposed Virginia House and Senate bills establishing the authority stipulate that the nine-member Virginia Stadium Authority board would be comprised of six members appointed by the governor and three from Alexandria.
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Alexandria’s political scene is heating up, as a number of Democrat candidates formally launched their campaigns over the weekend.
City Council Member Alyia Gaskins held a packed kickoff at Indochen in Cameron Station on Sunday, following her opponent Vice Mayor Amy Jackson’s kickoff on Jan. 21 at Doyle’s Outpost in the West End. On Saturday, City Council Member Kirk McPike launched his campaign at Pork Barrel BBQ in Del Ray and City Council Member John Taylor Chapman did the same at Port City Brewing Company.
The ongoing public opinion war over the Potomac Yard arena continued this weekend with a public town hall at the Charles Houston Recreation Center (901 Wythe Street) on Saturday and a protest against it outside.
The two-hour town hall included a discussion of the economic impact of the new arena and public safety, but transportation continued to be the central piece of the Potomac Yard arena discourse.