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Morning Notes

Published February 20, 2020 at 8:00AM

Half of Popular Duo to Perform at Birchmere — “On the evening of June 24, 1964, Washington was engulfed in Peter and Gordon-mania. Midway through the British duo’s performance at the Alexandria Roller Rink, a desperate Jack Alix, DJ at WEEL radio, halted the music and begged the crowd to please stop pushing. ‘I do remember it was a good gig, where the audience was crazy, with screaming girls throwing themselves at the stage and all that stuff,’ said Peter Asher, calling from his Malibu, Calif., home.” [Washington Post]

Alexandria Man Charged in Arlington Incident — “A 69-year-old Alexandria man is facing a felony charge after police say a minor, two-vehicle crash led to a physical altercation along Lee Highway… [The man] punched a window on the other car several times, then ‘produced a knife and allegedly attempted to strike the victim,’ according to Arlington County Police.” [ARLnow]

News

Jinks Unveils $800 Million Budget With 2 Cent Tax Increase

By James Cullum

Published February 19, 2020 at 9:20AM | Updated February 19, 2020 at 11:36AM

A voter leaves City Hall after casting a callot (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Alexandria City Manager Mark Jinks released his proposed, $799.9 million fiscal year 2021 budget at City Hall on Tuesday night, and it includes a 2 cent real estate tax increase.

Jinks, who also presented a $2.1 billion 10-year Capital Improvement Plan, proposes increasing the current tax rate by six cents over the course of six years — a 2 cent addition every other year — in order to pay for city and school system improvements.

News

Anti-Seminary Road Facebook Group Rebranded to Tackle Citywide Issues

By James Cullum

Published February 18, 2020 at 3:15PM

After months of activism over the much-maligned Seminary Road Diet, the Facebook group dedicated to opposing the lane reduction has rebranded itself and broadened its focus.

On Sunday, the Alexandria Residents Against the Seminary Road Diet Facebook group was renamed “Bring Integrity Back to Alexandria! End Seminary Rd Diet & Other Bad Ideas.”

News

EXCLUSIVE: $184K Stolen From City in Suspected Phishing Scheme

By James Cullum

Published February 13, 2020 at 11:45AM

Alexandria City Hall sign (staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Alexandria Police are investigating the theft of nearly $184,000 from the city’s finance department in a suspected phishing scheme.

On Jan. 28, the department made a payment of $183,956.10 to what it believed was Integrity Construction Services, a vendor to Alexandria City Public Schools. The president of the company, Alex Lucas, told police that he is the victim of a phishing attack. The payment was actually sent to an unknown cyberthief.

News

Alexandria Architect and Historic Preservation Manager Retires

By Vernon Miles

Published February 11, 2020 at 4:45PM

You may not be familiar with the city’s Historic Preservation Manager William “Al” Cox, but if you walked around Old Town you’re familiar with his work.

After 28 years of shaping the city’s policy on architecture and historic preservation and 10 years as the historic preservation manager, Cox is retiring.

News

City Combats Driftwood and Other Waterfront Debris in Old Town

By Vernon Miles

Published February 5, 2020 at 2:15PM | Updated February 5, 2020 at 3:50PM

City Marina before cleanup (photo via City of Alexandria)

Nobody knows where the styrofoam that washed up on Alexandria’s shore came from, but it was one part of the haul of debris that got swept up in a recent deep clean of Alexandria’s waterfront.

“We have a debris problem on the river,” said Jack Browand, division chief of Parks and Cultural Activities.

News

Morning Notes

By ALXnow.com

Published February 3, 2020 at 7:30AM

A runner on the Mount Vernon Trail at sunset near Daingerfield Island (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

City Offers Free Tax Prep — “The City of Alexandria is offering free tax preparation to qualifying residents. Taxpayers are eligible if their income is below approximately $35,000 for individuals and $55,000 for families. Expert volunteers from Community Tax Aid, Inc. will ensure that taxpayers apply for all applicable credits and deductions — especially the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, which people often don’t realize they are eligible to receive.” [City of Alexandria]

More on King Street Pedestrian-Only Zone — “The pilot program is an opportunity to prioritize pedestrians while providing opportunities for the city to move towards urbanist goals like decreasing reliance on cars. It’s not the first time part of King Street was pedestrian-only. The idea was inspired in part by a previous effort, in 2006. Back then, the pilot program did not gain much traction as a permanent idea, though it was very popular with residents.” [Greater Greater Washington]

News

City Manager: Co-Locating Affordable Housing Would Not Have Major Effect on ACPS Plans

By James Cullum

Published January 28, 2020 at 2:15PM | Updated January 29, 2020 at 10:45AM

Alexandria Councilman John Chapman (left) and Alexandria City Manager Mark Jinks (right)

Alexandria is experiencing an affordable housing crisis, city officials say, and that means using school property to try to address the crisis should remain on the table.

School officials, however, are reluctant to rush through plans for housing at schools currently set for redevelopment.

News

City Unenthusiastically Approves Lackluster Eisenhower Project Because It’s Too Expensive to Cancel

By Vernon Miles

Published January 27, 2020 at 4:45PM | Updated January 29, 2021 at 3:17PM

Nobody on the City Council seemed particularly happy about transportation changes planned for Eisenhower Avenue, but at this point too much money has been invested to turn back, city staff argued.

The plan, which has been in the works since 2003, involves turning the traffic circle at the east end of Eisenhower Avenue into a T-intersection, adding turn lanes to the intersection with Mill Road, and widening Mill Road.

News

Open House This Evening to Offer First Look at Arlandria/Del Ray Plan

By Vernon Miles

Published January 27, 2020 at 11:55AM

Historic Del Ray (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The City of Alexandria is hosting an open house this evening to help gather community input for plans to shape Arlandria and Del Ray.

The open house is scheduled to be held from 5-8 p.m. at Casa Chirilagua (4109 Mt. Vernon Avenue). The event will be an opportunity for people to share their thoughts before the start of the formal planning process later this year, according to the city website.

News

City Starts to Eye New Roads for Complete Streets Transformation

By Vernon Miles

Published January 22, 2020 at 11:35AM

Even while the debate still rages on over the Seminary Road diet, the City of Alexandria is looking at other locations that could be altered to be more bicycle and pedestrian-friendly.

Several streets are scheduled for repaving, which the city uses as an opportunity to look at which ones could benefit the most from being redesigned with safety in mind, to align with the city’s Vision Zero plan — though some have questioned whether the redesigns make the streets safer.