Justin Wilson | ALXnow

School Resource Officers at ACPS on chopping block as Police chief proposes alternative program

Published April 28, 2021 at 1:00PM | Updated April 28, 2021 at 1:25PM

Alexandria City Hall (staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Alexandria City Councilors seemed surprised by Police Chief Michael Brown on Tuesday night, when he presented an alternate plan to Council Mo Seifeldein’s proposal to reappropriate nearly $800,000 in School Resource Officer funding for mental health resources for school aged children.

“The proposal is to cut the funding and redirect it,” Mayor Justin Wilson said. “It sounds like the Chief is talking about something that involves retaining the funding, and making changes to the way the folks are operating.”

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NEW: Alexandria shifts to open scheduling for COVID-19 vaccine

By James Cullum

Published April 27, 2021 at 12:45PM | Updated April 27, 2021 at 1:22PM

Alexandria turned another corner in the fight against COVID-19 on Tuesday, as the city has moved into vaccination open scheduling.

“This is a big moment, as the days of long waiting lists for vaccinations are largely behind us,” Mayor Justin Wilson told ALXnow. “The next phase is a new challenge as we must work to bring doses to those who have not sought them and continue to spread the word that we have three very safe and effective vaccines that are available to Alexandria residents. This is how we get our residents and businesses back to normal.”

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Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Published April 26, 2021 at 5:00AM

T.C. Williams completes comeback to win school’s first volleyball state championship — “For a moment, T.C. Williams sophomore Milan Rex was scared. The Titans were trailing Kellam two sets to one in the Virginia Class 6 championship Friday in Alexandria, and the chance at a perfect season seemed to be fading. Coach A.J. DeSain reminded the Titans they belonged in this moment, enabling Rex to lock in. She then powered T.C. Williams to a 23-25, 25-19, 18-25, 25-19, 17-15 victory — the program’s first state title. [Washington Post]

Mayor Wilson defends donation from Planning Commission Chair — “Planning Commission Chair Nathan Macek gave Wilson a donation the day after Wilson voted with the majority of council to reappoint Macek to his post. Macek’s employer, the engineering firm WSP, has played a leading role in numerous large projects in Alexandria, including the under-construction Potomac Yard Metro.” [Alex Times]

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Alexandria honors lynching victim 124 years after death in Old Town

By James Cullum

Published April 23, 2021 at 9:30AM

A wreath honoring Joseph McCoy in Old Town. (Photo via Justin Wilson/Twitter)

Joseph McCoy was lynched at the corner of Lee Street and Cameron Street in Old Town 124 years ago today. The incident was recognized in a small ceremony Friday morning with a group of residents and Mayor Justin Wilson.

This weekend, City Hall will be lit in purple in memory of the 19-year-old McCoy, who was arrested without a warrant and then murdered on April 23, 1897. A mob of white residents stormed the Police House (now City Hall), where McCoy was being held after being accused of sexually assaulting three women. He was shot, stabbed and hanged from a lamppost.

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Alexandria City Council candidates focus on racial equity, affordable housing and flooding in DPC forum

By James Cullum

Published April 21, 2021 at 1:45PM | Updated April 21, 2021 at 9:29PM

A voter leaves City Hall after casting a callot (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Affordable housing took center stage on Tuesday night, as Alexandria’s mayoral and City Council candidates participated in a long candidates forum hosted by the Departmental Progressive Club (DPC).

During the forum, former Alexandria Mayor Allison Silberberg praised the Tuesday unveiling of the Lineage affordable apartment complex in Old Town earlier that day. Silberberg voted against a rezoning for the project on one of her first meetings as mayor in February 2016. That vote was unanimously rescinded days later.

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Election: Wilson, McPike top fundraising leaderboard in run up to June 8 Democratic primary

By James Cullum

Published April 20, 2021 at 2:15PM

Voting at the Mount Vernon Recreation Center in Del Ray, November 3, 2020. (Staff photo by James Cullum)

The June 8 Democratic primary is only 49 days away, and Mayor Justin Wilson has raised the most money of any candidate in the city. Kirk McPike is also leading among City Council candidates.

Below are fundraising totals from the Virginia Public Access Project, as of March 31, 2021.

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‘Lineage’ affordable apartment complex unveiled at former Ramsey Homes site in Old Town

By James Cullum

Published April 20, 2021 at 1:15PM

ARHA and the City of Alexandria host a ribbon-cutting event for the Lineage, a new 52 unit affordable housing complex on North Patrick Street. (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Four years of development came to a close Tuesday as the Alexandria Redevelopment Housing Authority cut the ribbon on Lineage, a 52-unit affordable apartment complex at the former Ramsey Homes site in Old Town.

“It’s about helping people that need affordable housing, and that’s the passion of mine, given that I’m a product of public housing,” ARHA CEO Keith Pettigrew said, adding that he thought the project would be easy when he started his job four years ago. “I was led to believe that Ramsey was easy, but it was anything but easy, and being in this industry for as long as I have I should have known better, but I didn’t.”

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ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published April 16, 2021 at 3:35PM | Updated April 16, 2021 at 10:05PM

It was another busy week in Alexandria. Here are some of the highlights.

This week, ALXnow profiled Mayor Justin Wilson and his opponent, former Mayor Allison Silberberg. The pair are facing off in the June 8 Democratic primary, and have vastly different ideas on city governance.

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Mayor Justin Wilson says 2021 Democratic primary is about the future, not a rerun of 2018

By James Cullum

Published April 15, 2021 at 5:15PM | Updated April 15, 2021 at 10:39PM

Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson speaks at the swearing-in ceremony for Clerk of Court Greg Parks on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020. (Staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson doesn’t want to hold any other political office. He also wants to be elected at least once more in November, and in less than two months he’ll square off in a Democratic primary rematch against his political rival, former Mayor Allison Silberberg.

Wilson says the June 8 primary really isn’t about he and Silberberg, but more about the direction that the city wants to go. In fact, he never mentioned his opponent by name during a 45-minute conversation with ALXnow. He’s raised $90,000 to Silberberg’s $64,000, hired Henry Watkins (Sen. Adam Ebbin’s Chief of staff) as his campaign manager, and has a goal of knocking on more than 2,000 doors.

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Silberberg addresses old defeats and new challenges in campaign to reclaim mayorship

By Vernon Miles

Published April 14, 2021 at 4:45PM

Former Mayor Allison Silberberg very publicly didn’t plan on running against Mayor Justin Wilson in the Democratic primary, but as weeks slipped by and no other challenger came forward — and Council Member Mo Seifeldein dropped out — Silberberg said she felt she needed to step up.

Three years after Silberberg lost her reelection bid to Wilson, she’s back to reclaim the position.

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Alexandria School Board starts conversation on downsizing to 6 members

By James Cullum

Published April 14, 2021 at 1:15PM

The Alexandria School Board has nine members and roughly 16,000 students, and some Board members think the school system could be more efficient if it was smaller.

“We’re actually hurting the efficiency and the goal being achieved within the division of the group this big,” School Board Vice Chair Veronica Nolan said in a Board retreat Tuesday night. “I think we can achieve more for the division by having six (members).”