A woman was beaten up by a mob and pepper-sprayed during the middle of the day in Old Town North on Sunday, June 6, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
The adult woman was assaulted in the 800 block of N. St. Asaph Street, and was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Alexandria Police Chief Michael Brown says that he’s on the level about his surprise retirement announcement, and that he and his wife will soon pulling up stakes for the West Coast in the near future to take care of urgent family business.
“This was a personal decision that my wife and I came to manifest in me having to retire,” Brown told ALXnow.
What a week in Alexandria. Here’s the rundown.
Our top story was on President Joe Biden stopping by the Sportrock Climbing Center in Alexandria last Friday with First Lady Jill Biden and Governor Ralph Northam.
Nine years after closing, the GenOn plant is an otherworldly scene reminiscent more of Andrei Tarkovsky’s “Stalker” than the dense city-scape surrounding it.
Old railroad carts are rusted and mummified in vines. Trees burst through old offices. It’s an abandoned, contaminated wilderness that Hilco Redevelopment Partners is hoping to turn into a sprawling mixed-use development.
After less than a year in business, Hank & Mitzi’s Italian Kitchen has closed at 600 Montgomery Street in Old Town North, the owner announced on its website and social media on Tuesday.
“Opening a restaurant in the middle of a global pandemic was not without challenges and even with dedicated staff and loyal customers we find ourselves needing to pause, regroup, and determine the best way to move forward in this space,” the business said. “Effective immediately, we are closing Hank & Mitzi’s for the foreseeable future. We thank you for your understanding: it’s been a true pleasure serving you and the North Old Town community.”
It’s Memorial Day weekend in Alexandria, and it’s also a short work week for ALXnow.
Yes, we’re taking a quick breather by taking off most of tomorrow (Friday, May 28).
A 20-year-old Gainesville woman was arrested last month after allegedly breaking into a home in Old Town and fighting with a witness who is set to testify against her boyfriend in a murder trial.
Essence Amir Heard was arrested on the early morning of April 9 after allegedly breaking into a home in the 800 block of Montgomery Street in the Braddock area. Hours before, the murder suspect called the victim, who has a child with him, after he was informed that his trial would be moving forward after court delays due to COVID-19, and that she would be subpoenaed as a witness.
Hilco Redevelopment Partners is preparing a sweeping redevelopment for the GenOn power plant in Old Town North, and at a public meeting held last week the developer and city staff gave an overview of how plans for the site fit alongside other nearby developments.
Jeffrey Farner, Deputy Director Department of Planning and Zoning, said the GenOn team faces the challenge of designing something that is in many ways the opposite of the current plant. The GenOn site is a closed off and very likely polluted site, and the city aims to work with the developer to turn the site into an open mixed-use development complete with open park space.
At a community meeting earlier this week, police grappled with public concerns over last year’s spike in crime and addressed some of the causes behind it.
The elephant in the room was the shots fired call on April 6 that ended with a chase into D.C. and one of the suspects died after jumping off an overpass. On that topic, some seemed hopeful that Brown could shed more light on what happened.
Alexandria health director reflects on sudden retirement, tenure with city — “When Dr. Stephen Haering, director of the Alexandria Health Department for the past 11 years, unexpectedly announced his retirement on April 9, he did so for what he called ‘deeply personal’ reasons. Haering, whose retirement was effective immediately according to a city news release, told the Times in an interview that his departure was ‘not associated with the pandemic response.'” [Alex Times]
Vaccination drive brings a dose of hope for restaurant workers — “More than 1,000 restaurant and small business employees have filed through the doors of the old Fireflies restaurant over the past few weeks with the same purpose: receiving COVID-19 vaccinations. The location’s current vacancy made this the perfect site to administer such a large number of shots, Bill Blackburn, restaurateur and co-owner of Homegrown Restaurant Group, said. Blackburn joined forces with community organizer Charlotte Hall and Scott Shaw of Alexandria Restaurant Partners – who donated the space – to orchestrate the Alexandria Restaurant Drive whereby restaurant workers could receive vaccinations in a streamlined way.” [Alex Times]
It was a historic week in Alexandria. Here are some of the highlights.
President Joe Biden visited the Neighborhood Health COVID-19 vaccine site at Virginia Theological Seminary on Tuesday, just before announcing that the date for adults to get access to the vaccine has been moved to April 19.
