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Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments helping Metro avert ‘death spiral’ from $750 million shortfall

By James Cullum
A Metro train headed toward the Van Dorn Metro station (staff photo by James Cullum)

(Updated 9:55 p.m.) Bailing Metro out of its $750 million budget shortfall is going to sting the budgets of localities next year, and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) expects to release a plan addressing it next month.

COG Director Clark Mercer said that the organization’s Chief Administrative Officers (CAO) Committee work group on Metro’s cost structure will release a report next month outlining three options for Metro to consider. One of those options includes a one-time option to use Metro’s preventative maintenance fund against the balance for the next year or two, potentially cutting the shortfall by hundreds of millions of dollars.

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30% voter turnout expected today in Alexandria

By James Cullum
Casting a ballot at the Mount Vernon Recreation Center precinct on election day, Nov. 7, 2023 (staff photo by James Cullum)

About 30% of Alexandria voters are expected to turn out at the polls on election day today, Nov. 7.

As of 10 a.m. — four hours after polls opened — 21,661 voters cast their ballots, which is about 23% of the city’s 96,232 active registered voters. A vast majority of those ballots, 13,927 votes (64%), are from absentee voters. Also as of 10 a.m., 7,734 voters cast their ballots in person, according to the city’s Office of Voter Registration and Elections.

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Election Day is Tuesday, with state legislature seats on the ballot

By Jo DeVoe
Voting at Alexandria City Hall (staff photo by James Cullum)

Election Day is tomorrow, Tuesday, which brings to an end an entire season of voting that kicked off in September.

Alexandrians voting on Tuesday will face few decisions tomorrow, as the only contests on the ballot are for the 39th District of the Virginia State Senate and three House of Delegates districts.

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Alexandria School Board member storms out of Board restructuring meeting

By James Cullum
ACPS headquarters and clock (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 2:55 p.m.) A School Board work session on restructuring the makeup of the Board stopped short late last night after one member, Willie Bailey, walked out of the meeting.

Board Members were hammering out whether to expand terms from three to four years, stagger elections and switch from districts to at-large elections. The work session was held after a two-hour Board meeting and ended after 11 p.m. because the Board no longer had an in-person quorum after Bailey left.

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Alexandria School Board to present Council with staggered terms proposal this fall

By James Cullum
ACPS Headquarters in Alexandria (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Some big changes are coming to the Alexandria School Board.

Tonight, the Board will conduct a work session on whether to stagger the election cycle for its members, as well as reducing the number of members. There are currently nine Board members serving three-year terms in Districts A, B and C, and their elections run concurrently with City Council.

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Alexandria’s state representatives rally around bill prohibiting abortion-related extradition

By Vernon Miles

Last week was crossover in the Virginia General Assembly, the halfway point that marks when bills swap houses for votes, and Alexandria legislators have made some progress and had some setbacks.

In the State Senate, Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-30), Richard Saslaw (D-35) and George Barker (D-39) were both sponsors on a bill that prohibits extradition for a person for violating another state’s reproductive health care laws unless those laws are also a criminal offense in Virginia. The bill has crossed over from the State Senate to the House of Delegates.

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Alexandria leaders watching marijuana retail legislation ‘grow’ with interest

By Vernon Miles
Marijuana (photo via Wesley Gibbs/Unsplash)

Marijuana was legalized in 2021, but Alexandria is hoping 2023 is the year the state finally settles the weird issues around selling weed.

Currently, it’s legal to possess small amounts of pot and grow them at home, but it’s still illegal to buy it commercially without a medical card.

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Alexandria striving to make it easier for non-citizens to join law enforcement

By Vernon Miles
Police at the Bradlee Shopping Center where and 18-year-old was stabbed and killed on May 24 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Among the many topics covered in the legislative package, Alexandria is sending to the state is a proposal that could make it easier for locals who are not citizens to join the Police Department and Sheriff’s Office.

At a meeting last week, Legislative Director Sarah Taylor told the City Council about a proposal she received from Alexandria’s Sheriff’s Office.

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Alexandria School Board considering staggered terms, fewer members and eliminating districts

By James Cullum
ACPS headquarters and clock (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated 4:15 p.m.) Are there too many Alexandria School Board Members? Should their terms be staggered and should districts be eliminated? The Board wants these questions answered by the time voters cast their ballots in November 2024.

Yesterday (Tuesday), the nine-person Board unanimously agreed to establish a process for asking the public these questions. The answers will inform a Board resolution that is expected to go before the Alexandria City Council next year and the Virginia General Assembly in 2024.

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Alexandria is pushing for an independent health department

By Vernon Miles
Alexandria Health Department (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

Alexandria is gunning for authority to run its own health department.

Every year, Alexandria sends representatives to Richmond to plead its case to the General Assembly. With the city under the yoke of the Dillon Rule — which says that local government can only exercise powers expressly granted by the state — often times those legislative priorities focus on areas where the city wants a little more wiggle room.

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Elizabeth Bennett-Parker announces reelection campaign for House of Delegates

By James Cullum
Elizabeth Bennett-Parker casts her vote on primary day, June 8, 2021, at Matthew Maury Elementary School. (Staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria Delegate Elizabeth Bennett-Parker is running for reelection for Virginia’s 45th District, she announced on Wednesday.

Bennett-Parker will kick off her campaign formally on Jan. 7.

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