A large black truck repeatedly smashed into the front entrance of the CVS at 415 E. Monroe Avenue early Saturday morning but the would-be thieves failed to get away with their likely target — the store ATM.
The truck drove into the business front-first two times at around 3:40 a.m., the store manager told ALXnow. The manager also said that the ATM was probably the intended target, but it is bolted to the ground and wasn’t taken.
Sharp words are being batted around Alexandria, as the fifth annual Del Ray vs. Old Town Softball Battle is intended to settle a few scores.
Thursday’s contest pits a number of Old Town businesses against neighborhood rival Del Ray, and the series is tied at two apiece. Del Ray won the first year, followed by two consecutive Old Town wins, and then Del Ray took back the John Porter cup in a win last year. The cup, which was created by Old Town metal artist Chris Earny, now sits behind the bar of Pork Barrel BBQ, which is owned by Del Ray’s coach Bill Blackburn.
About 50 people gathered in Del Ray early Thursday evening to decry increased development and to hear about a recent “endangered” designation within the neighborhood.
Preservation Virginia recently designated The Town of Potomac — once an independent and racist town and now a sub-neighborhood within Del Ray — in its annual list of endangered historic sites. The Town of Potomac was created in 1908 as a white-only community in Arlington County. It was annexed into the Alexandria in 1930, after which it “ceased to exist,” according to the city.
Crooked Beat Records will reopen in Del Ray in the first week in June, owner Bill Daly tells ALXnow.
The record shop closed at 802 N. Fairfax Street in Old Town on April 29, a week after Record Store Day. Daly signed a five-year lease for the 1,200-square-foot basement in 2417 Mount Vernon Avenue — in the same building that houses Cheesetique, the Del Ray School Of Music and Piece Out Del Ray.
Last week, Richmond-based historic preservation non-profit Preservation Virginia called for the Town of Potomac — today part of the Del Ray neighborhood — to receive greater protection from demolition and redevelopment.
According to the group, redevelopment is bringing larger residential developments to the neighborhood and demolishing older homes:
Good Friday morning, Alexandria!
More gunfire was reported near the Braddock Road Metro station yesterday afternoon, prompting the Alexandria Police Department to tweet that it’s “determined” to solve recent crime issues.
After a request from the Del Ray Citizens Association, Alexandria is leaning toward extending a public comment period by two months after it releases its controversial zoning for housing plan later this year.
The massive plan would upend a number of zoning ordinances. One of them is a bonus height amendment that would incentivize developers to add affordable housing to projects in exchange for two additional stories of construction in areas where height limits are 45 feet or more.
A gas leak across from George Washington Middle School has shut down traffic along Mount Vernon Avenue.
Alexandria Fire Department spokesperson Raytevia Evans said there was a report of a gas leak on the 700 block of Mount Vernon Avenue. Scanner traffic indicated that the incident started around 1:30 p.m.
The brothers behind the new Dos Hermanos Tex Mex restaurant in Del Ray want to open by this summer.
On April 1, Wilmer and Elmer Cruz Villatoro signed a 10-year lease for the 4,000-square-foot space at 1603 Commonwealth Avenue. The interior renovations are nearly finished, with bright red and yellow walls adorned by colorful sombreros and prints of Mexican paintings.
Jet’s Pizza, a Detroit-style pizza chain, is opening its first location in the region at 6 E Glebe Road in the Lynhaven neighborhood, the Washington Business Journal first reported.
The new shop will be taking the place of the now-closed Auburn Cleaners. The Washington Business Journal said no opening date has been announced yet.
A number of Alexandria businesses are donating a percentage of proceeds to local charities and nonprofits for this Wednesday’s Spring2ACTion fundraiser.
ACT for Alexandria’s goal this year is to raise $2.5 million from 10,000 donors for 185 participating nonprofits and charities.
