Homebuyers are out in force across Alexandria, and more sellers in the city are dropping their prices to encourage faster sales, according to new data.
Alexandria saw a total of 625 home showings for the week ending Nov. 2, according to new data from Bright MLS. That’s up 6.1% from the same week a year before and is well above the D.C.-area increase of 3.6% to 23,070 showings during the same period, reflecting “a significant amount of pent-up demand,” according to the report.
WASHINGTON — The government shutdown has entered its 36th day, breaking the record as the longest ever and disrupting the lives of millions of Americans with program cuts, flight delays and federal workers nationwide left without paychecks.
President Donald Trump has refused to negotiate with Democrats over their demands to salvage expiring health insurance subsidies until they agree to reopen the government. But skeptical Democrats question whether the Republican president will keep his word, particularly after the administration restricted SNAP food aid despite court orders to ensure funds are available to prevent hunger.
It’s the end of the week, Alexandria. Here’s a look at ALXnow’s top stories.
The most-read story this week is about the potential sale of two large Alexandria properties that could settle millions owed to the government by real estate developer and former Connection Newspapers CEO Peter Labovitz.
The 10th annual Walk to Bust Cancer at Fort Hunt Park in the Alexandria area of Fairfax County on Sunday, Oct. 19, has been postponed due to the government shutdown, organizers said.
“With Fort Hunt Park closed and the National Park Service scheduling system offline, organizers are currently unable to secure a backup date,” organizers said in an email. “After an extensive search to try and find an alternative non-government location, this decision rooted in safety, logistics, and respect for survivors, families, volunteers, and supporters was not taken lightly. The Walk is a deeply meaningful moment to honor loved ones and rally the surrounding community.”
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.
Several Alexandria businesses are offering discounts and freebies to federal employees affected by the government shutdown.
Made in ALX (415 King Street) is offering discounts on workshops, has items on sale, and is putting out one of their artists’ 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles for anyone to work on during regular business hours. “I’m in a federal family, and have gone through several shutdowns in the past,” Beth Lawton, a cofounder of Made In ALX, told us. “I know firsthand how stressful it is, and if we can make things easier on people affected this year, we’re happy to do that.”
In the event of a government shutdown Wednesday, two Alexandria restaurants are offering impacted federal employees free food.
Pork Barrel BBQ (2312 Mount Vernon Avenue) and Sweet Fire Donna’s (510 John Carlyle Street) are offering a free pulled pork sandwich to federal employees who bring their IDs to the restaurant. The deal is limited to one sandwich per day per federal employee Monday through Friday. Both restaurants are owned by Bill Blackburn and “Mango” Mike Anderson of the Homegrown Restaurant Group.
Our top story this week is on a new report that Alexandria is among the hardest-hit localities affected by the Trump administration’s layoffs of federal workers. According to a new Brookings Institution report, Alexandria and its neighboring jurisdictions saw sharp unemployment increases. More than 13,000 federal workers live in Alexandria, and more than 76,000 federal employees live in Virginia’s 8th Congressional District, which includes Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church and parts of Fairfax County, according to U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8).
“I do worry that might be a sign of the sort of federal government cuts causing people to feel they need to leave the city,” Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley said in a City Council meeting on Sept. 9.
Federal agents were spotted in the city’s Arlandria neighborhood on Friday, Sept. 5.
There were no reports of arrests. Footage taken by ALXnow at around 9:30 a.m. shows multiple vehicles with Texas license plates in the parking lot of The Birchmere at 3701 Mount Vernon Avenue. A photo submitted to ALXnow also shows federal officers speaking to people at Four Mile Run Park near Casa Chirilagua (4109 Mount Vernon Avenue).
An Alexandria man has been sentenced to four years in prison for conspiring to collect and send the Chinese government national defense information.
Michael Charles Schena, a former South Caribbean Desk Officer in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs with the U.S. State Department, sent classified documents to individuals he believed were agents of the People’s Republic of China, and received between $13,000 and $37,000 in return, according to court records.
The Alexandria Democratic Committee held its annual Labor Day Picnic this afternoon, and special guest speakers called on a fierce resistance against the Republican administration of President Donald Trump.
