city government | ALXnow

Published December 8, 2023 at 10:55AM | Updated December 8, 2023 at 5:42PM

Alexandria City Hall (staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Alexandria has identified dozens of racially restrictive zoning covenants, many of which have been on the books for more than 100 years.

Next Tuesday, City Council will review a report on racially restrictive covenants that, during much of the 20th century, prohibited non-white residents from moving into subdivisions and neighborhoods throughout the city. City staff are also asking Council to review a process for a property owner to get the illegal covenant by filing for a certificate of release from the Alexandria Circuit Court.

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Alexandria’s Natural Resources Manager ‘retires early in frustration’ after battles within city government

By Vernon Miles

Published December 6, 2023 at 3:30PM

Alexandria Natural Resources Manager Rod Simmons (courtesy photo)

Alexandria Natural Resources Manager Rod Simmons has been a prominent voice for environmental concerns around the city in recent years, but Simmons told ALXnow that battles behind the scenes have led him to retire after 27 years in city government.

Simmons, a city employee with the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs, was at the center of controversies related to Taylor Run and other projects.

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‘I’ve done what I could do for the City of Alexandria,’ says retiring Fire Chief Corey Smedley

By James Cullum

Published December 6, 2023 at 2:05PM | Updated December 6, 2023 at 3:03PM

Alexandria Fire Chief Corey Smedley (on left) and Sheriff Sean Casey at the George Washington Birthday Parade in Old Town, Feb. 20, 2023 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Mutual respect, growth, and an ability to be vulnerable: That’s the kind of relationship retiring Alexandria Fire Chief Corey Smedley wants with his next job, wherever that might be.

Smedley says he wants purpose, not a position, and that he’d like for the right opportunity to find him.

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Here’s who’s running in the Alexandria School Board’s special election (so far)

By James Cullum

Published December 5, 2023 at 3:30PM | Updated December 5, 2023 at 5:04PM

Voting at Alexandria City Hall (staff photo by James Cullum)

(Updated at 4:45 p.m.) By the time this story is published, candidates will have just an hour-and-a-half to file the necessary paperwork to run in the Jan. 9 special election to fill the vacant seat on the Alexandria School Board.

The deadline is 5 p.m. to file the following with the city’s Office of Voter Registration & Elections:

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Check out our photos of the Scottish Christmas Walk Parade in Old Town

By James Cullum

Published December 4, 2023 at 3:45PM | Updated December 4, 2023 at 9:36PM

Santa Claus waves at the Scottish Christmas Walk Parade in Old Town on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023 (staff photo by James Cullum)

(Updated 9:35 p.m.) It was overcast and cool — the perfect weather for the Campagna Center’s 52nd Scottish Christmas Walk Parade.

The parade is one of the most popular events in the city, bringing thousands of participants, including Irish dancers, historic reenactors and the City of Alexandria Pipes and Drums. It is considered the highlight of a weekend full of events.

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Longtime Alexandria City Academy leader Elaine Scott retiring

By Vernon Miles

Published December 1, 2023 at 10:50AM | Updated December 1, 2023 at 5:20PM

Senior Community Liaison Elaine Scott (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

Mayor Justin Wilson isn’t the only one leaving city government: after 25 years working for the city, Senior Community Liaison Elaine Scott is retiring.

Scott has run the City Academy — a nine-week program that teaches anyone interested in city government the ins and outs of city departments and operations — since 2009.

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Alexandria hosting public hearing tonight on Confederate street renaming plans

By Vernon Miles

Published November 30, 2023 at 3:30PM

Forrest Street, named for Nathan Bedford Forrest (image via Google Maps)

The City of Alexandria is hosting a public hearing tonight on plans to rename streets that honor Confederate leaders.

Last month, the city identified six streets that could be renamed early next year.

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JUST IN: Alexandria Fire Chief Corey Smedley is retiring in January

By James Cullum

Published November 30, 2023 at 11:40AM | Updated November 30, 2023 at 3:39PM

Fire Chief Corey Smedley at Alexandria's birthday celebration at Oronoco Bay Park, July 10, 2022. (staff photo by James Cullum)

Updated at 11:45 a.m. Alexandria Fire Chief Corey Smedley announced his retirement today, and that he will leave the top job on Friday, Jan. 12.

After more than three years at the helm of the department, the 51-year-old Smedley did not say what his next move would be after his retirement. He’s the city’s first permanent Black fire chief, and led the department through the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as negotiated the AFD first-ever collective bargaining agreement with the fire department’s union.

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Zoning debate in Alexandria includes calls for spanking public officials and housing for ‘deserving Blacks’

By Vernon Miles

Published November 20, 2023 at 3:50PM | Updated November 26, 2023 at 2:04PM

Anti-Zoning for Housing sign in Alexandria (staff photo by James Cullum)

(Updated 11/26) In true Alexandria fashion, a contentious debate over city zoning policy led to some unorthodox and occasionally offensive arguments, from calls for public officials to be spanked to an argument that affordable housing should go to “deserving blacks.”

Almost all of the five-hour public comment period, a follow-up to a six-hour public comment session from last week, was a civil — if heated — discussion over the merits of Zoning for Housing/Housing for All.

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Alexandria hires Cheran Cordell Ivery as new city attorney

By James Cullum

Published November 17, 2023 at 1:45PM

Mayor Justin Wilson welcomes Charan Cordell Ivery as Alexandria's new city attorney (via Facebook)

Alexandria just hired Cheran Cordell Ivery as the city attorney, replacing outgoing City Attorney Joanna Anderson.

Ivery, who starts work on Jan. 8, has been the city attorney in Hampton, Virginia, for the last five years. She replaces City Attorney Joanna Anderson, who has had the role since 2018, and announced her retirement in June.

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Alexandria gets perfect score in equity index and reaffirmed AAA bond rating

By James Cullum

Published November 17, 2023 at 10:45AM

Dining in Old Town. (Staff photo by James Cullum)

All arguments aside, Alexandria’s equity standards and economic prospects have been declared sound.

Yesterday, the city announced that S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service reaffirmed Alexandria’s ‘AAA’ bond rating. The city has maintained the designation since 1992, and it equates to a good credit rating for the city to get low-interest rates from bond investors to provide funding for multiple projects.