Welcome to Friday’s weekly roundup of our top stories.
With ALXnow, it’s easy to catch up on the latest news in Alexandria. This week, we focused on coverage of our local, state, and federal governments. We also reported a lot of crime, including a homicide in the city’s West End.
What a busy week it’s been in Alexandria.
Our top story was on big changes planned for 400 King Street in Old Town. The building takes over an entire city block and is currently home to The Alexandrian Old Town Hotel at 480 King Street and Southern restaurant King & Rye.
Alexandria Congressman Don Beyer (D-8th) is sounding the alarm about proposed Medicaid cuts that could have devastating consequences for hundreds of thousands of Virginians who rely on the program for healthcare.
Beyer hosted a roundtable at his Alexandria office Friday with elected leaders, healthcare providers, advocates, and affected Virginians to discuss the potential impact of nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts proposed in a budget resolution passed by House Republicans last week.
Without getting into specifics, Alexandria’s new Mayor Alyia Gaskins says that the city has to be intentional and take “big, bold swings at economic development.”
More than 80% of the city’s revenue comes from residential real estate taxes, versus about 19% from commercial properties. The issue was a major political conversation from council candidates leading up to the Democratic primary in June and general election last month.
About 80% of Alexandria voters are expected to turn out this Election Day, according to the city’s General Registrar and Director of Elections.
Registrar Angie Turner said that 80% of the city’s 99,369 registered voters are expected to vote.
With less than three weeks until election day on Nov. 5, more than 15,000 Alexandria residents have cast early and by-mail ballots, according to the city’s Office of Voter Registration and Elections.
On the ballot this year are nominees for president and vice president, U.S. Senate, Congress, Alexandria’s mayor, City Council and School Board.
An Alexandria charity has been awarded $1.9 million in federal funds to train behavioral health professionals to work with people suffering from racial disparities, drug addicts, and students with mental health disorders.
The funding was announced today in a joint statement by Virginia’s U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. It’s part of a $2.2 million package to fund education programs in Alexandria, Richmond and Harrisonburg.
After briefly shutting down a City Council meeting earlier this month, a group of pro-Palestine residents protested a gala headlined by Sen. Tim Kaine in Old Town.
Outside of the Alexandria Democratic Committee’s fundraiser gala at the Torpedo Factory Art Center Wednesday night, members of Alexandria for Palestinian Human Rights chanted for lawmakers inside to publicly support a ceasefire resolution in Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas.
Protestors calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas repeatedly interrupted a reelection campaign event for U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) today in Old Town.
Virginia’s junior senator spoke before a packed house at Augie’s Mussell House (1106 King Street), and was interrupted five times by protestors, who were escorted out of the restaurant.
Alexandria is getting $3.5 million in federal funds to pay for public safety, transit, affordable housing and flooding infrastructure projects, Northern Virginia Congressman Don Beyer (D-8th) announced today.
“Even in the minority amid a divided and chaotic Congress, I am laser focused on helping my constituents and benefitting Northern Virginia,” Beyer said in a statement.
ALXnow will be running a series of City Council candidate interviews through the local election filing deadline on April 4.
Kirk McPike jokes that he no longer has a work-life balance, he has a work-Council balance.
