The Alexandria City Council will consider a resolution tonight (Tuesday) establishing a community police review board and condemning systemic racism.
Councilman Mo Seifeldein, who drafted the resolution, says he has support from his colleagues and that he envisions the board to have independent authority to review and investigate police misconduct and empower the community and law enforcement members to come forward with concerns without fear of retaliation.
Regal Potomac Yard Movie Theater Closed for Good — “Regal Cinemas has scrubbed the 16-theater multiplex at 3575 Potomac Ave. from its list of Virginia locations on its website. Couple that with the fact Virginia Tech and JBG Smith Properties (NYSE: JBGS) plan to redevelop the North Potomac Yard site on an accelerated timeline, it’s likely the theater showed its last film months ago — when Disney’s “Onward” was No. 1 at the box office.” [Washington Business Journal]
Governor Releases ‘Forward Virginia’ Phase Two Guidelines — “Most of the state will enter phase two on Friday, June 5. Northern Virginia, including the City of Alexandria and Fairfax County, might enter about a week later — but only if local coronavirus and health metrics indicate it is safe to do so. The governor has not given Northern Virginia a projected date for entering the second phase.” [Alexandria Living]
The Alexandria Economic Development Partnership (AEDP) is starting a grant program later this week to help Alexandria businesses recover from coronavirus.
ALX B2B is a new grant program supported, in part, by the City Council as part of the CARES Act funding allocation that also included rental assistance for low-income households.
(Updated 4:55 p.m.) With coronavirus, national outrage over police violence against black Americans, and a host of other issues taking center stage in 2020, the debate over Seminary Road that dominated discussions last year got pushed to the back burner, but the issue is making a small comeback at a Board of Zoning Appeals meeting next week.
A sign saying “Take Back Seminary Road #JustinsTrafficJam” was prominently displayed at 1420 Key Drive but has been cited by the city as being in violation of zoning ordinances. An appeal of that citation is scheduled for review at the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting on Monday, June 8.
The following Letter to the Editor was written by Alexandria City Councilman John Taylor Chapman, who also owns Manumission Tour Company.
As we progress through this quarantine, like many business owners, I was forced to figure out how to keep my business from permanently closing. Like many of the tourism industry, we have seen one of the best times of the year for our business become a time of great uncertainty.
In his weekly virtual town hall, Mayor Justin Wilson said signs are good that Alexandria could be pulling out of the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our percent of positive tests have been going down for an extended period of time,” Wilson said on Thursday night. “Our new hospitalizations are either going down or level at the moment. There’s still a number of days to go, but we’re heading into a situation where we could be ready to go for phase 1.”
The City of Alexandria is working through a three-pronged approach to protect the city’s most vulnerable populations from the dire economic impact of COVID-19.
In a City Council meeting last night (Tuesday), the department heads who approached the city leadership at the April with an outline of their needs came back with plans on how to address housing challenges, food scarcity and keeping small businesses alive in the wake of the pandemic.
(Updated on May 15 at 10:45 a.m.) — Alexandria City Manager Mark Jinks and Police Chief Michael Brown have declined to comment on this developing story, according to city spokesman Craig Fifer.
City Manager Mark Jinks on Tuesday said that Alexandria Police ended their “significant” monthlong teleworking initiative and that police were isolated and made available to respond to a “much worse situation” should the peak of cases not flatten.
Northern Virginia Congressman Don Beyer believes that Governor Ralph Northam’s phased plan to start reopen Virginia is premature for Alexandria, and also heavily criticized the Trump administrations response to the coronavirus in a recent interview with ALXnow.
“The disgrace here is we’re so many months behind the curve on testing availability, on PPE availability,” Beyer said. “We weren’t ready as a country and still don’t have a coordinated national response.”
Governor Asked Northern Virginia Leaders for Letter on Stalling Reopening — “He asked for this formal communication to demonstrate unity across the diverse Northern Virginia region, which is critical to a continued successful mitigation strategy… He appreciates their willingness to work with him on this responsible, data-driven and health-based approach.” [Washington Post]
City Sets Up Frozen Meal Delivery System For Residents Aged 60+ — “Spouses of individuals over age 60 and disabled adults living with someone aged 60 and older also may be eligible. Meals are prepared by Jeffery’s Catering and delivered twice a week by Senior Services of Alexandria. A total of 14 meals are delivered each week. For more information call 703-746-5999.” [Facebook]
One attempted solution to a trash problem in Alexandria has allegedly created another, though the city said it’s working to manage the problem.
In response to the increased demand for recycling services at homes in Alexandria, the city has been encouraging residents to take their surplus recycling materials to a facility at 4251 Eisenhower Ave.
