All city administrative offices are scheduled to close next Thursday and Friday in observance of Thanksgiving, although some community facilities will still have Friday hours.
The closures will prompt half days at some departments next Wednesday. All city courts, health facilities and the Alexandria Law Library intend to close at noon next Wednesday, Nov. 26.
Alexandria’s annual leaf vacuuming and collection program kicks off today (Monday).
Crews will begin with a “first pass” at two of Alexandria’s five collection zones today. They’ll be in Zone 2, which encompasses some residential areas of Seminary Hill, and parts of Old Town in Zone 5, Section A.
Housing Alexandria is hosting a “laid-back gala” next month with music, games and food.
This year, the annual fundraising event will be held Thursday, Oct. 9, from 4 to 8 p.m. at The Garden Alexandria (5380 Eisenhower Avenue) and will celebrate the nonprofit’s completion of the Cardinal Path Homes project. The project provides 36 townhomes and condos to first-time homebuyers, available via lottery.
The annual Nightmare on the Avenue Halloween pop-up bar will soon be reopening at 2312 Mount Vernon Avenue in Del Ray.
With new spooky interior decorations, food and drink menus, owner Bill Blackburn of the Homegrown Restaurant Group is aiming to reopen sometime next weekend — between Friday, Sept. 12, and Sunday, Sept. 14.
After a brutal heat wave this summer, the National Weather Service (NWS) said temperatures swung wildly to the coolest August low temperature in 20 years this morning.
The NWS said temperatures around the region dropped into the 40s and 50s, with D.C. experiencing a low temperature of 59 degrees, making it the coolest August low temperature in 20 years.
If you haven’t noticed, there are leaves on the ground all across Alexandria, which means it’s time for Alexandria to kick off its leaf collection season.
Residential leaf collection is starting today and will rotate through zones across the city. The city is broken up into five collection zones and each zone will go through three separate passes over the course of fall. The full schedule and an interactive map is available online.
New gift shop in Old Town helps people with disabilities — “B.E.S.T stands for ‘Building Employment Solutions Together’ and is a collaboration between the Joey Pizzano Memorial Fund (JPMF) and ServiceSource to provide meaningful employment for people with disabilities.” [Alexandria Living Magazine]
Alexandria wins housing policy leadership awards — “Affordable and workforce housing policies and programs put in place by the governments of Alexandria, Virginia, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, have been selected as joint winners of the 2021 Urban Land Institute Robert C. Larson Housing Policy Leadership Awards.” [Urbanland]
Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria Napoletana to open Alexandria location— “The Alexandria location will be at the Alexandria Commons Shopping Center, 3231 Duke Street. Frank Pepe, an Italian immigrant from just southwest of Naples, founded the pizzeria in 1925 in Connecticut after working for a macaroni manufacturer and a bakery… The thin-crust pizzas are fired in a coal oven. Small pies start at less than $10 (the tomato pie), and the menu also includes salads, beer and wine. The company has not yet announced an opening date for the Alexandria location.” [Alexandria Living]
Fire Department rescues Golden Retriever with head stuck in Old Town fence — “On Saturday, Engine 201 arrived on a call to find a dog stuck on an iron fence experiencing distress. After requesting Rescue 209, first responders worked to remove the fence from the dog’s neck & return to the owner. The dog was uninjured. Great job by E201 & Rescue 209 B shift!” [Twitter]
Community town hall on City Manager position on Wednesday — “Alexandria City Council will hold a hybrid town hall meeting to receive input from the community about the qualities and values that should be considered in the hiring of the next City Manager. The town hall meeting will be held at City Hall in Council Chamber (301 King St.), from 7 to 9 p.m. and community members will be able to participate either in-person or online.” [City of Alexandria]
Fall fest honors heroes at Greenstreet Gardens — “Greenstreet Gardens kicks off its annual Fall Fest this weekend with a special bonus: All heroes get in free.” [Zebra]
Remnants of Hurricane Ida headed for Alexandria — “Tuesday will be cloudy with only reaching the mid-80s. Scattered thunderstorms will start Tuesday evening and will become more widespread into Wednesday dropping an estimated two to six inches of rain. Alexandria city officials will be handing out sandbags to residents Tuesday morning ahead of the storm.” [Alexandria Living]
City Hall lit blue for Opioid Awareness Day — “Wonder why City Hall was lit up last night? It’s lit up teal through September 1 in recognition of #InternationalOverdoseAwarenessDay! The City is also giving out free Narcan and fentanyl test strips–find out more at alexandriava.gov/123920.” [Twitter]
After getting approval from the General Assembly last year, next month Alexandria will consider adopting a 5 cent plastic bag tax at drug stores, grocery stores and convenience stores.
The proposal, which has been in the works since 2017, will be discussed in a virtual information session on September 8 at 7 p.m.
