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Jones text scandal, ice cream assault case lead Alexandria’s top stories

Published October 10, 2025 at 3:30PM

Democrat Jay Jones speaks in Richmond during his 2024 campaign kickoff for attorney general. Jones is now facing bipartisan backlash over newly surfaced text messages containing violent remarks about a former Republican House speaker. (Photo by Markus Schmidt/Virginia Mercury)

Welcome to Friday, Alexandria! Here’s a look at ALXnow’s top stories of the week.

With less than a month until the Nov. 4 general election, this week’s most-read story is on the controversy surrounding Virginia’s Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones. The National Review broke the news last Friday (Oct. 3) that in August 2022, Jones sent text messages to Del. Carrie Coyner (R-75), “fantasizing about shooting then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his children,” according to the Virginia Mercury story posted on ALXnow.

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Del Ray Psych and Wellness therapist to appear on TLC’s ‘Baylen Out Loud’

By James Cullum

Published October 10, 2025 at 3:00PM

There's a watch party Oct. 14, 2025, to see Amy Begnal, the clinical director at Del Ray Psych and Wellness, appear in the new TLC series Baylen Out Loud (via Facebook)

There’s a watch party in Alexandria on Tuesday, Oct. 14, to see Amy Begnal, the clinical director at Del Ray Psych and Wellness, appear in the new season of the TLC series Baylen Out Loud.

Begnal will appear in three episodes this season, providing pre-marital counseling to Baylen Dupree and her fiancé, Colin Dooley. The watch party will be held from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at Piece Out Del Ray (2419 Mount Vernon Avenue). The show airs at 9 p.m. Dupree, who lives in West Virginia, suffers from a severe case of Tourette’s Syndrome, and the show explores her desire for independence and the steps she takes “toward being in the world on her own,” according to TLC.

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Researchers to share findings on Alexandria’s Civil War history, LGBTQ+ community

By James Cullum

Published October 8, 2025 at 9:30AM

Alexandria during the Civil War (image via Visit Alexandria)

Three grant recipients will unveil their findings on Alexandria’s history during the Civil War, records at Douglas Cemetery and more.

The grants were awarded as part of the Alexandria Historical Society‘s 50th anniversary celebration. The “golden grantees” will present their findings at the free event at the Lyceum (201 S. Washington Street) on Wednesday, Oct. 22, starting at 6:30 p.m.

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Government shutdown moves Taste of NoVA from Fort Belvoir to Manassas

By James Cullum

Published October 7, 2025 at 4:30PM

Taste of NoVA has moved to NOVA LIVE campus in Manassas (via NOVA LIVE/Facebook)

The government shutdown has prompted the Taste of NoVA to move from the National Museum of the U.S. Army at Fort Belvoir, nearly 30 miles west, to the NOVA LIVE event field in Manassas.

More than 120 restaurants and wineries are featured at the Northern Virginia Magazine event on Oct. 11 and 12, and organizers had to think fast as the National Museum of the U.S. Army is closed during the shutdown. Federal workers attending the event can use promo code GOV20 to receive 20 percent off general admission tickets with a valid government ID at TasteOfNoVA.com.

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Metro chase death, hidden bathroom camera, homicide arrests lead this week’s top stories

By James Cullum

Published October 3, 2025 at 3:30PM

Suspected fare evaders captured chasing a man, who tried to elude them by jumping onto the tracks of the Potomac Yard Metro station before being struck by a train (via MTPD)

Welcome to Friday, Alexandria. Here’s a look at the top stories of the week.

ALXnow’s top story this week is on the man who was struck by a train at the Potomac Yard Metro station on September 22 and later died at George Washington University Hospital. Metro Transit Police stated at the time that the man had trespassed onto the tracks, and an investigation revealed that he was being chased by two alleged fare evaders: a 17-year-old female and an 18-year-old female, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.

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Alexandria leaders to speak at first-ever State of Early Childhood event

By James Cullum

Published October 2, 2025 at 2:30PM

Children listen to Paralympic gold medalist Trevon Jenifer at the Dunbar Alexandria-Olympic Boys & Girls Club at 401 N. Payne Street in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria leaders will discuss the early childhood initiatives across the city in a first-ever series of conversations.

The Kids’ First Years (KFY) State of Early Childhood 2025 event will be held at First Baptist Church (2922 King Street) from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 7. Mayor Alyia Gaskins will kick off the free event with opening remarks, along with KFY CEO Michelle Smith Howard. The event is intended to bring together city leaders, educators, and advocates to “build a thriving early childhood system that fuels the city’s economy, strengthens the workforce and supports every family,” according to the nonprofit.

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Friends of Dorothy, a neighborhood queer cafe, is fundraising to open in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published October 2, 2025 at 12:45PM

Dorothy Edwards is working on opening Friends of Dorothy, a neighborhood queer cafe, in Alexandria (courtesy image)

Are you a friend of Dorothy?

Since World War II, the coded question has been used to determine whether someone is queer. Now, Dorothy Edwards is using the phrase as the name for the first-ever LGBTQ+ focused cafe in Alexandria. For the last several months, Edwards has been raising money to cover six months of operating expenses at a yet-to-be-determined space, build-out of the space, and equipment. She says that once the cafe is up and running, it’s all she wants to do for the rest of her life.

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Sweetside Café and Creamery to hold ribbon-cutting Oct. 11 in Del Ray

By James Cullum

Published October 2, 2025 at 11:45AM

The Sweetside Coffee and Creamery opened this week next to Northside 10 restaurant at 10 E. Glebe Road in Alexandria's Del Ray neighborhood. (Photo via @thesweetsideva Instagram)

A new ice cream cafe is holding a ribbon-cutting on Oct. 11 in Del Ray.

The ribbon will be cut at Sweetside Café and Creamery (10 E. Glebe Road) at 10:30 a.m., and specials and giveaways will be offered at the event, according to the Del Ray Business Association (DRBA). The shop is owned by Teresa Keefer, who also owns Northside 10, which is directly next door, and Southside 815 in Old Town.

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George Washington Birthday Parade set for Feb. 14 in Old Town

By James Cullum

Published October 2, 2025 at 5:30AM

George and Martha Washington ride in the George Washington Birthday Parade in Old Town, Feb. 21, 2022. (staff photo by James Cullum)

It’s more than four months away, but on Wednesday, the announcement was made, confirming that the 2026 George Washington Birthday Parade will take place in Old Town on Saturday, February 14.

Alexandria has been celebrating Washington with a parade since 1801, and it’s the largest and oldest parade celebrating the founding father in the world. The parade will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. in Old Town, and this year’s parade marshals are Michael J. Elston, Esq., president general of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and Ginnie Sebastian Storage, president general of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.

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Alexandria to cut ribbon on RiverRenew Plaza along Potomac River in Old Town

By James Cullum

Published September 30, 2025 at 4:30PM

The ribbon cutting for the RiverRenew Plaza at 501 N. Union Street will be held on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025 (via AlexRenew)

AlexRenew will cut the ribbon on the new promenade at RiverRenew Plaza on Oct. 18 at Pendleton and N. Union Streets in Old Town.

The new plaza at 501 N. Union Street sits atop AlexRenew’s RiverRenew project, which will divert millions of gallons of raw sewage from the Potomac River via a 2.2-mile-long underground tunnel that’s been under construction for four years. Speakers at the ribbon-cutting ceremony include Mayor Alyia Gaskins, AlexRenew Board Chair John Hill, AlexRenew CEO Justin Carl, and Waterfront Commission Chair Louise Roseman.

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Lee-Fendall House Museum to host Roaring Twenties speakeasy fundraiser Oct. 4

By James Cullum

Published September 26, 2025 at 7:30PM

The annual speakeasy fundraiser at the Lee-Fendall House Museum and Garden is on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025 (via Eventbrite)

Take a step back in time on Oct. 4, as the Lee-Fendall House Museum and Garden (614 Oronoco Street) hosts a Roaring Twenties speakeasy night.

The annual event commemorating the centennial of state-level prohibition against alcohol will take place in the museum’s historic garden, with music from the Conservatory Classic Jazz Band. Since 2016, the fundraiser has raised over $50,000 to support the museum. Tickets for the event cost $97.88.