city government | ALXnow

Second Wreath Placed for Alexandria Lynching Victim, First Wreath Stolen

Published May 4, 2020 at 11:30AM

Last month, Alexandria residents and city leaders honored the legacy of Joseph McCoy by placing a wreath at the location of his lynching at the corner of Cameron and Lee Streets in Old Town. Within 36 hours, that wreath was stolen, and on Saturday a group of determined residents placed a new wreath at the site.

“Mr. McCoy was killed, murdered, by the act of hate,” MacArthur Myers told ALXnow. “We can’t bring him back, but we can be a voice for him from now on. God has given us two powerful words to express emotion — hate and love. Let the healing begin with love, which is so much more powerful.”

News

Most Alexandria Boards and Commissions Won’t Meet Until Late Summer

By Vernon Miles

Published April 30, 2020 at 4:35PM

Alexandria City Hall (staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

The City of Alexandria will go another few months before the members of its numerous boards and commissions will set eyes on each other.

At a City Council meeting on Tuesday, City Manager Mark Jinks laid out a calendar that partially pushes back in-person meetings to June or later. While the Council will continue to meet in May, Jinks encouraged most other boards and advisory committees to cancel their meetings.

News

Alexandria Department Heads Lay Out Dire Needs, Recovery Path for City Services

By Vernon Miles

Published April 29, 2020 at 4:35PM

Alexandria City Hall (staff photo by James Cullum)

The City Council is figuring out who in Alexandria needs the most assistance through the coronavirus pandemic — and how to get them aid.

City Manager Mark Jinks is expecting roughly $20 million in federal assistance, all of which must be allocated to new programs not in previous budgets and must be spent this year. In a Tuesday night meeting, Council discussed grants and funding needs with various department heads, starting with some of the most basic necessities.

News

Alexandria Virtually Commemorates Man Lynched in Old Town

By Vernon Miles

Published April 23, 2020 at 5:30PM | Updated April 24, 2020 at 9:29AM

Memorial post for victims of Alexandria lynchings (photo via City of Alexandria)

Several Alexandria organizations collaborated virtually to memorialize the 1897 lynching of Joseph McCoy.

McCoy was murdered by a lynch mob today (April 23) in 1897 at the corner of Lee and Cameron Streets in Old Town. Today, Alexandrians placed a wreath at the site of the killing to honor McCoy.

News

Poll: What Should Be Done With the Confederate Statue in Old Town?

By Vernon Miles

Published April 22, 2020 at 10:15AM

There were years of debate and lobbying, Alexandria finally has state authorization to move the Appomattox statue in the middle of the S. Washington Street and Prince Street.

The statue has defenders who say that the statue should not be moved at all. The placement in the center of the street represents the spot where Alexandrians gathered to leave the Union-occupied Alexandria and join the Confederacy. The statue also, pointedly, faces away from Washington D.C. and to the south. While many of the statues being removed across the south glamorize the southern cause, defenders of the statue note that the pose was more solemn.

News

COVID-19 Leaving City With $1 Million Affordable Housing Funding Loss in New Budget

By Vernon Miles

Published April 17, 2020 at 11:30AM

Tying affordable housing funding to meals tax seemed like a safe bet in 2018, but with restaurants facing a dramatic loss in revenue due to coronavirus, affordable housing is out $1 million in the new budget.

According to the budget:

News

Alexandria Moves Forward With Southern Access to Potomac Yard

By Vernon Miles

Published April 16, 2020 at 11:30AM

While city business has mostly been limited to pandemic related emergencies, the Alexandria City Council is moving forward with time-sensitive decisions about southwest access to the new Potomac Yard Metro station.

Southern access to Potomac Yard was a selling point for businesses and organizations moving into the parts of that area, but was cut back to save money on the project. The new plan does not include the full southern entrance as originally envisioned, and instead replaces it with a bridge that connects to the northern entrance.

News

Alexandria Allows Sidewalk and Parking Lot Vending for Restaurant and Retail

By Vernon Miles

Published April 10, 2020 at 5:20PM

The same day that take out and delivery for mixed drinks opened up throughout Virginia, the City of Alexandria announced a suite of eased restrictions on businesses in Alexandria.

The biggest of these is opening up sidewalks and parking lots to vending for restaurant and retail establishments. In a press release, the City of Alexandria announced that retail and restaurants can set up shop on adjacent sidewalks or parking lots.

News

Torpedo Factory Art Center a Ghost Town, Artists Haunted by Rent Payments

By Vernon Miles

Published April 10, 2020 at 3:15PM | Updated April 10, 2020 at 10:48PM

The Torpedo Factory Art Center in Old Town(staff photo by James Cullum)

Update 10:40 p.m. — City Spokesperson Craig Fifer noted that the city has offered deferred payment of certain businesses taxes until June 30 and offered 12-month payment plans after that, which is the same offer available to the artists. Fifer also said that rent is paid to the city because the city owns and manages the building, with management resumed in 2016.

Artists can still access their studios and derive value from having a place to work, make online sales, and store their supplies and art. Because some artists derive more income from walk-in sales than others, it would not make sense to apply a one-size-fits-all approach to studio rent. We notified each of our 119 leaseholders on March 31 that they could request rent relief with just a simple email, and only eight so far have done so.

News

Inside Alexandria’s Emergency Operations Center (It’s Nearly Empty)

By James Cullum

Published April 9, 2020 at 2:00PM | Updated April 9, 2020 at 4:07PM

Alexandria’s Emergency Operations Center is fully operational through the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s nearly empty.

Ray Whatley, the city’s acting emergency manager, is operating the EOC with a skeleton crew of four full-time staff in the Public Safety Building at 2003 Mill Road. The EOC remains pivotal during the city’s first bonafide emergency since the facility opened last year.

News

Budget Cuts Push Back T.C. Expansion and Waterfront Redevelopment

By Vernon Miles

Published April 8, 2020 at 10:30AM | Updated April 8, 2020 at 1:53PM

Alexandria City Hall (staff photo by James Cullum)

(Updated 1:10 p.m.) As expected, this year’s $753.3 million city government budget will be significantly cut down — with a $46.6 million reduction from the operating budget and $140.6 million in the capital budget put forward in April.

City Manager Mark Jinks called the new document “Budget 2.0,” representing the possibility that its contents are subject to change at next Tuesday’s (April 14) City Council meeting and throughout the budget process. Jinks said the total projected revenue loss for the 2020 and 2021 fiscal year is $92.2 million, and that the sharp reduction in the budget is due to a deferral of the 2 cent tax residential tax increase initially proposed and a steep drop off in commercial tax revenue.