city government | ALXnow

Morning Notes

Published November 27, 2019 at 8:00AM

A man feeds birds at Waterfront Park in Old Town (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Alexandria Keeps High Bond Rating — “S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service have reaffirmed the City of Alexandria’s top bond ratings of ‘AAA’ and ‘Aaa,’ respectively, in advance of the City’s planned sale of $205 million in general obligation tax-exempt bonds to fund the Potomac Yard Metrorail Station and school facility capital projects.” [City of Alexandria]

More Phone Problems for City — A week after an issue with a fiber optic line knocked out incoming calls for most Alexandria non-emergency phone lines last week, the same issue with incoming calls cropped up yesterday. It was reported to be resolved later Tuesday afternoon. [Twitter/@AlexandriaVAGov]

News

Human Rights Campaign Ranks Alexandria Highly for Inclusivity, but Low for Gender Identity Protections

By Vernon Miles

Published November 26, 2019 at 3:30PM

Alexandria has ranked highly on the 2019 Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Municipal Equality Index of cities, with a 90/100 score, but it also highlighted where there’s room to improve.

Alexandria’s lowest category is in non-discrimination laws, where HRC gave Alexandria 15 of 30 possible points. Of localities in Virginia, Alexandria ranked third behind Richmond and Arlington. Where Alexandria loses is in its protections for gender identity, where there are no protections in employment, housing, or public accommodations from discrimination.

News

Thanksgiving Closures in Alexandria

By Vernon Miles

Published November 26, 2019 at 10:35AM | Updated November 26, 2019 at 10:57AM

Alexandria City Hall (staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 10:55 a.m.) Thanksgiving is just two days away, and much of the city government will be shutting down for the holiday.

On Thursday (Nov. 28), all city facilities and the Torpedo Factory will be closed. DASH bus service will not operate, but the King Street Trolley will still be running. The Vola Lawson Animal Shelter will be closed on Thursday except for its Kongs-giving event to make treat packages for animals in the shelter.

News

City Asks for Public Input on Eisenhower East Plan

By Vernon Miles

Published November 25, 2019 at 2:15PM | Updated November 25, 2019 at 2:52PM

Rendering of a proposed park under the Eisenhower Metro station (image via City of Alexandria)

As Eisenhower East continues to grow, the City of Alexandria is hoping for input on how to shape the community as it continues to grow.

City staff is working on an update to the 2003 Eisenhower East Small Area Plan. A lot has changed for the area since 2003, with the National Science Foundation moving in and new developments taking shape. A draft of the update to the Small Area Plan focuses on how to build or maintain affordable housing and open space amid new development in the area.

News

City Boards and Commissions Divided on Issue of Scooters on Sidewalks

By Vernon Miles

Published November 25, 2019 at 10:45AM

As the City Council considers approving Alexandria’s e-scooter pilot program for another year, several of the city’s boards and commissions have written letters asking that scooters be prohibited from city sidewalks in one form or another.

A draft recommendation being presented to the City Council tomorrow (Tuesday) includes banning sidewalk riding in Old Town and along Mount Vernon Avenue, which runs through Arlandria and Del Ray.

News

City Approves Visual Overhaul for Old Town Gas Stations

By Vernon Miles

Published November 25, 2019 at 9:30AM

Shell station at 801 N. Washington Street (photo via City of Alexandria)

A few months after telling a pair of local companies to pump the brakes on plans to renovate three Washington Street gas stations, the Board of Architectural Review has approved changes to the facades.

The stations in question are the Shell station at 801 N. Washington Street and a pair of Exxon stations at 703 N. Washington Street and 501 S. Washington Street. There are assorted changes with the stations themselves, but the biggest changes for anyone driving down Washington Street will be the price signs that currently are manually set will be replaced by LED signs that can update as prices change.

News

City Changing Streetlights to LEDs

By Vernon Miles

Published November 22, 2019 at 3:30PM

Alexandria’s lights are about to shine a little differently than most folks in the city might be used.

The City of Alexandria is working with Dominion Energy to retrofit the city’s streetlights with new LED lights. Currently, 150 lights have been swapped out, with the goal of replacing 2,500 by summer 2020. The city will have to replace 12 lights per day to reach that goal by June 20, the start of summer.

News

Potomac Yard Metro Finishes Permitting, Moves Into Construction Phase

By Vernon Miles

Published November 22, 2019 at 10:40AM | Updated November 22, 2019 at 1:38PM

(Updated at 1:40 p.m.) With the acquisition of a Clean Waters Act permit, the Potomac Yard Metro station has been cleared to start construction.

On Friday, Nov. 15, the Army Corps of Engineers issued the final permit required for construction on the Metro station to start in the wetlands, staff said at a Nov. 19 meeting. The announcement was followed by a small round of applause from the Potomac Yard Metrorail Implementation Work Group (PYMIG), a group that’s been meeting since 2011 to consider issues related to opening a Metro station in Potomac Yard.

News

Alexandria Gets Rolling on Plan to Create New Impound Lot Across from Port City

By Vernon Miles

Published November 21, 2019 at 10:30AM

It’s a problem for which sympathy may be difficult, but the City of Alexandria has too many impounded cars on its hands.

The city is considering purchasing 4001 Wheeler Avenue, a parking lot across the street from the Port City Brewing Company, and turning it into storage for impounded vehicles. The city would purchase the property from the Jeffrey Lee Yates Trust, which earlier this year received a go-ahead from city officials to open the long-awaited Yates Pizza at 3000 Duke Street.

News

Morning Notes

By ALXnow.com

Published November 20, 2019 at 8:00AM

Shopping in Old Town (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

City Phone Service Restored — The City of Alexandria’s non-emergency phone lines are working again after service was restored Tuesday night. A cut to a fiber optic line caused the outage, a city spokeswoman said. [Twitter/@AlexandriaVAGov]

House With George Washington Connection on Airbnb — “George Washington may have slept here, and now so could you… in the heart of Old Town Alexandria in Virginia, where a house that once belonged to the first U.S. president is available to rent. The George of Old Town is a 6000-square-foot townhouse on Cameron Street, and it is available on Airbnb.” [WTOP]

News

City of Alexandria Non-Emergency Phone Lines Are Down

By Vernon Miles

Published November 19, 2019 at 4:45PM | Updated November 20, 2019 at 8:55AM

If you’re trying to call a City of Alexandria and getting a dead line, you’re not alone.

The city’s inbound phone service is not available due to a problem with Verizon’s network, according to a press release from the City of Alexandria.