After seven years, body-worn cameras are back in the city budget, but both planned funding and congressional support are still just a drop in the bucket compared to the full cost of the program.
Though the program has been in the budget in previous years, Alexandria communications officer Andrea Blackford said the city hasn’t put any money into the program yet.
In addition to ARPA funding, Alexandria is getting some love from the federal coffers for several longtime local priorities.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th) announced last week that $5.4 million had been secured for ten infrastructure projects around Northern Virginia, all of which were in Beyer’s community project funding requests added to the omnibus spending bill.
A miscommunication on the formation of an advisory group left the Alexandria School Board in disarray on Thursday night (March 10).
As expected, Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. and staff discussed the creation of a school law enforcement partnership (SLEP) advisory group, but Board Member Tammy Ignacio was not pleased with communication between Board members on proposed edits to Hutchings’ proposal.
Alexandria kicked off a discussion of the FY 2023 budget with a public hearing last night (Monday), where climate and housing advocates pushed for the city’s budget to do more to address these issues.
There was little feedback from the City Council in the 45-minute session as the floor was mostly turned over to public speakers.
After missing quarterly reporting deadlines on school safety, Alexandria City Public Schools says it will deliver a report this week.
In a joint City Council/School Board work session on Wednesday night, some Council members were not pleased that ACPS has not delivered quarterly performance reviews on the school resource officer program. At the meeting, ACPS staff announced that the Board will soon receive a report on school safety data and the proposed school law enforcement partnership (SLEP) advisory group. The report has not yet been made public, and should be posted today (March 3) or tomorrow as an agenda item for the upcoming meeting.
Alexandria had another heist involving eyeglass frames on Saturday. This time, it was at an optometrist on King Street at S. Saint Asaph Street.
Around 1:10 p.m., a group of three males arrived at the optometrist offices in Old Town Alexandria. At least one of them was armed with pepper spray when they entered the shop to steal the frames.
An Alexandria juvenile was apprehended and transported to the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center after allegedly robbing another juvenile of $8 with a fake handgun.
The incident, which occurred at around 7:15 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 12., was reported to police by the victim’s parent. The parent reported that one juvenile held a gun on the victim while the other took $8 and “attempted to take the victim’s shoes and coat,” police said in a search warrant affidavit.
A suspected gas leak early this morning at the Braddock post office (1100 Wythe Street) has turned into an investigation of a possible burglary and more — with no clear explanation.
Alexandria Fire Department (AFD) Senior Public Information Officer Raytevia Evans said the fire department was dispatched early this morning for a possible gas leak.
A 39-year-old Alexandria man skipped his court date this week after being charged with brandishing a firearm against his mother.
Linwood Gunter did not show up for court on Tuesday (Feb. 22), and his case is pending. He was arrested on the date of the incident, Feb. 8, and released on $1,000 bond the next day after receiving the brandishing charge.
A juvenile was arrested in connection to a report of shots fired in the West End on Sunday afternoon, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
The George Washington Birthday Parade returned to Alexandria on Monday after a two year hiatus. The streets of Old Town were lined with celebration for Washington’s 290th birthday.
Alexandria’s health care workers and first responders marched as parade grand marshals. The parade, which started at Gibbon and Fairfax Streets and snaked around City Hall, was attended by thousands. The event is the largest of its kind in the world honoring the founding father and first president.
