After years of planning and construction, Alexandria’s Virginia Tech Innovation Campus in Potomac Yard celebrated a grand opening today (Friday).
The Virginia Tech campus broke ground in 2021 and opened to students in January. A three-building campus is planned, with the first building coming online being an 11-story, 300,000-square-foot academic building that visitors toured today as part of the grand opening.
A number of pending bills in the Virginia General Assembly reward Israel and threaten Palestinian supporters, according to protestors outside Alexandria’s City Hall on Saturday afternoon.
The weather was near freezing as more than 50 protestors held signs, chanted and spoke out against legislation that they say targets Palestinian solidarity and activism, in addition to free speech and academic freedom. The effort was organized by three groups seeking a ceasefire in Gaza — Alexandria for Palestinian Human Rights, Arlington for Palestine, and the George Mason University Coalition for Palestine.
By OLIVIA DIAZ Associated Press/Report for America
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Virginia House of Delegates passed resolutions on Tuesday enshrining rights to abortion, voting and marriage equality in a critical step for Democrats hoping to amend the state’s constitution next year.
Public school students across Virginia would soon be getting free breakfasts under a newly proposed bill by Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-5) and Sen. Danica Roem (D-30).
Bennett-Parker and Roem unsuccessfully tried to get free breakfast and lunch approved for students in the General Assembly’s 2024 session. With a $172 million pricetag, Bennett-Parker’s bill never made it out of the House Appropriations Committee.
Three prominent Alexandria Democratic politicians threw their hats in the ring for reelection on Tuesday night (Jan. 7).
Delegate Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-5th), Sheriff Sean Casey and Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter announced their intentions to run for reelection at a virtual meeting of the Alexandria Democratic Committee. The meeting was supposed to be held at Alexandria City High School, but went virtual because of this week’s snowstorm.
After a series of dog deaths connected to the Potomac Yard PetSmart earlier this year, Alexandria is seeking independent authority to inspect animal boarding facilities.
The Animal Welfare League of Alexandria — who the City of Alexandria contracts for animal care and control services — ultimately concluded that there was insufficient evidence to charge PetSmart or any staff with a crime but did cite poor conditions at the boarding facility.
Governor Glenn Youngkin’s recently failed attempt to withdraw Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is “reckless,” says Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson.
Wilson, in his December newsletter, said that Youngkin’s efforts are bad for the environment and remove a “vital funding source” for localities in fighting flooding and severe weather.
Alexandria is hoping for more authority to regulate the use of autonomous vehicles on city streets.
At a meeting last week, the Transportation Commission discussed legislative priorities for the upcoming year. These are topics that the Transportation Commission is hoping the City’s representatives will push for during the legislative session. One of the big transportation topics on the horizon, the Commission said, is regulation of autonomous vehicles.
With an eye on becoming Virginia’s next lieutenant governor, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney says he’ll be spending a lot of time in and around Alexandria before next year’s election day.
With just five months left in office, the 43-year-old two-term mayor of Virginia’s capital city says that his statewide strategy to “dominate the landscape” with his presence has worked in the past, and will work again.
Everything seemed rolled up tight for a legal retail market for cannabis, but a veto from Gov. Glenn Youngkin set those plans ablaze.
Panel program Agenda: Alexandria is meeting tonight (Monday) to discuss the current state of the cannabis market with speakers including Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter and the owner of a dispensary network.
Virginia State Sen. Louise Lucas (D-18) says Monumental Sports and Entertainment owner Ted Leonsis can afford to pay for the entire $2 billion Potomac Yard arena project, as well as supporting transportation and other associated infrastructure projects.
“Anything having to do with enriching billionaires, they need to pay for themselves,” Lucas told ALXnow. “They can proffer anything they want to. They can build the arena and make a profit. They could complete the roads and also provide the perennial upkeep.”
