A dead raccoon found in Old Town last week has tested positive for rabies, according to the Alexandria Health Department.
The animal was recovered after two people reported being bitten by a raccoon in Old Town last Tuesday. It’s not confirmed if the raccoon was responsible for one or both of the attacks, “but the location and aggressive behavior line up with how a rabid raccoon in that area might act,” AHD said in an announcement yesterday (Monday).
Free Lyft rides will be available on St. Patrick’s Day as part of a D.C.-area nonprofit’s efforts to curb drunk driving.
Free rides totaling up to $15 will be available on Lyft from 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 17 through 4 a.m. the next morning, courtesy of the Washington Regional Alcohol Program’s SoberRide initiative.
Alexandria City Public Schools saw a 40% reduction in the number of incidents requiring a police response during the first two quarters of this school year compared to last year, according to a school safety report recently presented to the Alexandria City School Board.
During the first semester this year, ACPS reported 167 total incidents requiring a police response across the school system and 27 student referrals or arrests. The recent incident count represents a 40% drop from the first semester last school year, which saw 279 reported incidents.
A student “may have brought a loaded firearm” to Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School yesterday (Tuesday), according to an Alexandria City Public Schools message sent to the school’s community today.
The Alexandria Police Department recovered a firearm inside an 8-year-old child’s backpack yesterday in a Child Protective Services office at 4850 Mark Center Drive, the department told ALXnow. No injuries were reported, and officers are investigating the cause of the incident.
A pedestrian safety improvement project near George Washington Middle School and Charles Barrett Elementary School is slated to receive $2.17 million in federal funding.
The project, phase two of the city’s Safe Routes to School Crossing Improvements, aims to bolster student safety and “strengthen connectivity to nearby neighborhoods” at the schools by installing curb extensions with crosswalks, shortening crossing distances, improving bus stops and removing a slip lane.
Southbound S. Van Dorn Street at Eisenhower Avenue has been reopened to traffic following a snowplow crash yesterday morning (Sunday).
A snowplow driver with the Virginia Department of Transportation was trapped inside their overturned vehicle at the Fairfax County border after crashing at S. Van Dorn Street and Eisenhower Avenue shortly after 11 a.m. Sunday.
Wegmans has declined to say whether its Alexandria store uses facial recognition technology, after the supermarket chain shared that some of its locations employ the security measure.
Cameras with facial recognition technology have been set up “in a small fraction of our stores located in communities that exhibit an elevated risk,” Wegmans said in a statement. Spokesperson Marcie Rivera declined to comment on the chain’s Carlyle location at 150 Stovall Street and other Northern Virginia locations.
A new report on traffic safety in Northern Virginia is raising concerns about the number of “near miss” incidents in Alexandria, especially those involving children.
A total of 155 near miss incidents involving children were reported in Alexandria from January 2024 to December 2025 — more than in any other Northern Virginia locality, according to the report from Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets (NoVA FSS). Of those incidents, 53 of them occurred at a single intersection in Potomac West.
The National Park Service is seeking input on a proposal to redesign intersections, add new trail connections and expand waterfront access in Old Town North, among other changes.
The agency is planning a slate of future upgrades along the GW Parkway, Mount Vernon Trail and Potomac waterfront, aiming to make the areas “safer, more accessible, and more enjoyable for everyone,” according to a press release. Plans include trail bridge replacement, new bike lanes and crosswalks and “improved views” of the waterfront.
SoberRide, the initiative that has been offering free Lyft rides home in the D.C. area this holiday season, will continue to operate for New Year’s Eve.
Rides will become available starting at 10 p.m. tonight (Wednesday) and lasting until 4 a.m. tomorrow. During that period, residents 21 and older can enter a promotional code into Lyft’s “Payment” tab to receive a ride home. Tonight’s promotional code will be posted at 9 p.m. on www.SoberRide.com.
Free Lyft rides are returning to Alexandria and the D.C. area starting this Friday and lasting through New Year’s Day.
Lyft rides totaling up to $15 will be available free of charge from 10 p.m.-4 a.m. nightly through Thursday, Jan. 1. The rides are courtesy of the Washington Regional Alcohol Program’s SoberRide initiative, which aims to combat drunk driving.
