Protestors calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas repeatedly interrupted a reelection campaign event for U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) today in Old Town.

Virginia’s junior senator spoke before a packed house at Augie’s Mussell House (1106 King Street), and was interrupted five times by protestors, who were escorted out of the restaurant.

“Call for a full ceasefire now,” one protestor shouted before being led from the room.

In February, Kaine, who is a member of Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, wrote a letter to President Biden urging a deescalation to the conflict, which started last October when Hamas launched an attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip and killed an estimated 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages.

Jonathan Krall of Grassroots Alexandria was one of the protestors who interrupted Kaine.

“The political landscape has changed,” Krall told ALXnow after being escorted from the event. “The majority of people want a cease-fire. Many, many people have woken up to what’s going on with national-scale ethnic cleansing of Palestine, and so we’re speaking up. On top of all that, there’s an area-wide starvation of Gaza. People are starving and they’re dropping bombs on them, and we’re funding it. And he refuses to acknowledge that this is a genocide and they refuse to stop the money or weapons going to Israel, like 500 pound bombs. Those are only meant to kill lots of people.”

Kaine has spent the last two days opening campaign offices throughout Northern Virginia as part of his “Standing Up For Virginia” tour — his first official launch week of his 2024 Senate campaign.

Today’s incident echoes a speech he made yesterday in Charlottesville that was also beset by protestors seeking a ceasefire in Gaza.

Kaine did not respond to the protestors today or take questions from reporters after the event. In Charlottesville yesterday, Kaine reportedly spoke with protestors after his speech and said that he does want a ceasefire, but only when Israeli hostages are released.

Kaine asked Biden to support sending defensive weapons to Israel, and said that the war has resulted in nearly 30,000 Palestinian deaths, two-thirds of whom were women and children.

“Tens of thousands have been wounded and over 1.7 million people displaced,” Kaine wrote. “The facilities to deal with an injured and desperate population have been dramatically weakened. The amount of humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza has been grossly insufficient and starvation for thousands is a real threat. Hospitals in Gaza have been badly damaged and most are no longer functioning. These harsh consequences are tragic and are stoking escalating violence in the region.”

Kaine was preceded in his remarks by his wife, Anne Holton, as well as State Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34), Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-39), House of Delegates Majority Leader Del. Charniele Herring (D-4) and Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-5).

Kaine was Hillary Clinton’s Democratic vice presidential running mate in 2016, and railed against former President Donald Trump.

“At the federal level, we stand up,” Kaine said. “There’s a battle going on in this country, but around the world, between those who stand up for others and stand up together and those who will tear us down and tear us apart.”

Kaine continued, “We are up against the greatest tear-down artist in the history of American politics in the disgraced ex-President Donald J. Trump. He tears down our basic values… like honesty, patriotism, fidelity, respect for others, kindness, tears down rights that we’ve counted on for generations, like the rights of people that make their own reproductive healthcare decisions, tears it down and brags about it. Tears down alliances like NATO, tears down basic concepts like the right of alternative health care.”

There are currently eight Republican candidates in the running to face Kaine this November.

Kaine said that the country needs to coalesce around “meaningful immigration reform that respects our roots as a nation,” with legislation that provides “moral order rather than chaos.”

Kaine also said that he’ll never forget when Republicans attempted to get the Affordable Care Act overturned in 2017, but that the effort was stopped by one Senate vote — by former Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain who voted in opposition.

“We saved healthcare for Virginians and Americans by one vote,” Kaine said. “Sometimes all it takes is one person willing to stand up.”

Alexandria Democratic members of the Virginia’s General Assembly were swept back into office on election night.

There were no surprises from the unofficial election returns Tuesday night. Facing no opposition, Democratic incumbents Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (5th) was reelected to a second term with 21,622 votes, and Del. Charniele Herring (4th) was reelected to her eighth two-year term with 10,368 votes. Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-3rd) was also reelected with 81% (16,837 votes) and defeated independent candidate Major Mike Webb.

State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-39) was reelected with 78% of votes cast (38,789 votes), soundly defeating Republican Sophia Moshasha who got 22% (10,706 votes).

Most of the Democratic candidates spoke after the unofficial results were announced at an Alexandria Democratic Committee watch party at Pork Barrel BBQ in Del Ray.

“With the legislature that we hope to return to Richmond tonight, we’re going to have tell (Republican Governor) Glenn Yongkin that he can work with us or he can face a brick wall,” Ebbin said.

Statewide, Virginia Democrats campaigned on protecting abortion rights and retook control of both houses of the General Assembly, making Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin a lame duck for the remainder of his term.

Bennett-Parker said that she is one of a handful of Virginia legislators to have a child while in office.

“She inspires me every day to do this work,” Bennett-Parker said of her daughter. “I want her to grow up in Virginia where she has the right to make decisions about her own body.”

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine also stopped by to congratulate the winners.

“Times are tough in this country right now,” Kaine said. “Times are tough in this world right now. But when times are tough families pulled together and that’s what we’re doing… I always say I was born with a good compass, and I married a good anchor. And if you have a good compass and a good anchor, there is nothing that will ever stop good.”

Voter turnout in Alexandria exceeded expectations. About 35% (40,166 votes) of the city’s active registered voters cast ballots on Tuesday.

(Updated at 11 a.m. on June 29) U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine sent a letter to CIM Group highlighting the concerns of residents regarding evictions, increased rents and living conditions at their Southern Towers Apartments complex.

In a letter Monday, the Virginia Democrats urged the building owner to resolve long standing disputes with residents. Since buying the property at the height of the pandemic in 2020, residents have protested against evictions, claiming that CIM Group has raised rents and evicted hundreds of residents from deteriorating properties.

“Tenants have shared with our offices that, under CIM ownership, they have been subjected to eviction filings during the eviction moratorium, changes in how utilities are billed combined with rent increases that have led to substantial price hikes, and unaddressed maintenance issues that pose health and safety risks,” the senators wrote. “Further, tenants have voiced that CIM issued unclear eviction notices indicating that tenants who were late on their rent payments had only five days to ‘pay rent or, alternatively, to terminate lease and vacate premises’ – only mentioning later in the notice that tenants located on a ‘covered property’ as defined by the CARES Act were entitled to a 30-day notice before vacating.”

Protests against CIM Group have been led by the People’s Actions Homes Guarantee campaign and African Communities Together (ACT), which say that Southern Towers residents are at the mercy of a major private equity landlord that only cares about profit.

Consequently, last month Southern Towers also got a visit from the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

CIM Group says that they only 31 residents have been evicted due to non-payment, and that living conditions have improved under their ownership.

CIM Group sent ALXnow the following statement:

CIM Group has long been a proud member of the Alexandria, VA community as the owner and operator of several properties, including Southern Towers where the firm took over operations in 2020. It was immediately clear to Southern Towers Management that they needed to address years of deferred maintenance and make important quality-of-life improvements to the development including long-overdue roof replacements; renovation of apartments, corridors, and common areas; resurfacing parking areas and tennis courts; new playgrounds and much more.

While Southern Towers is not an affordable housing community, CIM Group has worked diligently to keep rent 20% below comparable properties in Alexandria, while at the same time, making significant improvements to the habitability of Southern Towers. Residents have always paid a portion of their utilities and continue to be responsible for the costs they incur.

Southern Towers Management has never violated the CARES Act or any local, state or Federal laws. In fact, CIM Group is legally required to utilize a form provided by the State of Virginia–referred to as a 5-Day Notice–to notify residents when they are in arrears. CIM Group has no control over the language used in the form and any call for modifications should be directed to the State of Virginia.

Despite much disinformation, Southern Towers Management will not be deterred from their commitment to the community they serve, their legal obligation and the fiduciary duty the company has to investors who have also helped improve the living conditions at Southern Towers from what existed prior to CIM Group’s ownership.

CIM Group has made significant improvements for the overall wellbeing of the residents at Southern Towers, including:

1. Providing assistance during the pandemic to residents who suffered financial setbacks that resulted in more than $5 million in rental assistance secured for hundreds of families.
2. Increasing the level of regular maintenance well beyond what was the norm under the prior owner by 96%, which is more than $8.2M to address significant deferred maintenance issues.
3. Instituting an online resident portal that provides transparent and open communication, as well as a seamless way for residents to submit work orders, which expedites necessary repair and maintenance.
4. Prioritizing community involvement by organizing farmers markets, job fairs, food drives, and vaccination clinics.
5. Engaging residents in a transparent and ongoing way by holding monthly meetings and appreciation events, as well as communicating important dates and information in the resident portal, as well as the weekly and monthly newsletters.

Fostering a secure and healthy environment by:

1. Installing security cameras in each elevator landing in each tower and upgrading cameras on the lobby level in each tower. The entire project is anticipated to be completed by the end of July 2024.
2. Upgrading all smoke detectors and replacing every unit on the campus with smoke detector/CO2 combo units.
3. Repairing the retaining wall near the Ashlawn.
4. Installing Flock Security – license plate reading cameras installed at each entrance to the property.
5. Upgrading the fire alarm panel at Sherwood.
6. Purchasing a new Jeep for patrolling the campus.
7. Performing a thorough Pest Control inspection and preventative treatments of all common areas and every apartment home as well as sealing of any holes found during the inspection.

Making material upgrades to improve the quality of living at Southern Towers:

1. Making significant laundry room upgrades, including purchasing new washer and dryer equipment for each floor at every building. The new equipment also included upgraded payment panel allowing residents the option to use cash, credit/debit cards or an app to pay for service.
2. Enhancing and upgrading the dog park.
3. Tennis Court resurfacing, striping and new nets. Upgrade also included replacing the solo player wall.
4. Resurfacing the overflow parking area.
5. Asphalt resurfacing at Beauregard entrance near The Graham and Monticello.
6. Replacing all of the playground equipment.
7. Beautifying the property including removing 26 dead or rotting trees from the campus and pruned trees in the community park to raise tree canopy by 3 feet, allowing better sight lines.
8. Replacing 4 outdoor gas grills at Graham.
9. Installing new grilling areas throughout the community park.
10. Expanding concrete pads at grilling areas which include new accessible seating.
11. Installing a new pergola over the grilling area closest to the Monticello pool.
12. Complete resurfacing of the Monticello main and small pools.
13. HVAC convector project completed at the Sherwood.
14. HVAC system inspections completed across the campus.
15. Window and Balcony door mock-ups completed at Ashlawn and Monticello. Each building scheduled for full window replacement byQ4 2023.

The full letter from Warner and Kaine is below. Read More

Virginia’s junior U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine was in Alexandria today to discuss early childhood education and said that the current debt ceiling fight in Washington should be wrapped up by the June 1 deadline.

Kaine and his staff took a field trip of sorts today, starting with a roundtable discussion in Arlington on the fentanyl crisis, followed by a tour of the Campagna Early Learning Center (5140 Fillmore Avenue) in Alexandria and ending with a meeting with women leaders in Falls Church.

Campagna Center CEO Tammy Mann applauded federal funding boosts for Head Start programs and said that employee retention is one of her biggest problems. Campagna offers both yearly early Head Start and Head Start programs for children up to five years old.

“I think there just needs to be an incredible focus on understanding compensation,” Mann said.  “It is insufficient, and all of the work that is being done to generate resources to support that area would be hugely helpful… I think, as the [fiscal year 2024 federal budget] negotiations are happening, just continuing to educate members of Congress on the cost of care. It’s far outstretched the ability of most people to pay for it, and we need a national solution.”

Kaine sits on the Senate’s Health, Labor, Education & Pensions Committee, and said he’s working on a bill with Committee Chair Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) that would increase funding for Head Start programs and provide families with rebates so that they do not pay more than 8% of their salaries on childcare.

“If I was having this meeting in Floyd, Virginia, I would hear that exact thing,” he said. “Patty and I have a bill, that is a very big bill, that is more than just increasing the Child Care Development Block route or increasing the funding to Head Start, it would guarantee that no parent would have to pay more than 8% of their income for child care. If anybody was at a center, and it was more than that, then they could get a rebate back.”

Mann said that she is continually understaffed.

“It’s difficult competing with other sectors for talent,” she said. “Our teachers get recruited away to the public school system… The Head Start program is constantly having to reset and retrain, and that takes a lot of time. And then the kids are they’re getting used to the teacher they really liked, and now there’s that turnover so that better salary means better continuity.”

Kaine said that the budget deal being hammered out in Washington will make it hard to pass his bill, although he said that he will continue to push for its eventual passage.

“I’ll be honest, I’m a little bit nervous today because of this debate that’s going on about what’s the budget deal that gets the House (of Representatives) to agree to do what we should always do, which is raise the debt ceiling,” Kaine said. “It sounds like there’s gonna be a set budgetary cap for defense spending, and then a different budget with a cap for non-defense items. And that will be a two-year deal, so we’ll raise the debt to debt ceiling for two years.”

Kaine said he advised his colleagues in Congress to raise the debt ceiling while Democrats had control of the Senate and House between 2020 and 2022.

“I really tried to urge my colleagues in November and December to do it, before the House majority became Republican,” Kaine said. “Here we are on waiting to see what gets announced. I think I have a fairly good sense of it… I think what will happen is a debt deal will be announced today or over the weekend. The Senate will then go and put that deal together next week.”

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine visited Alexandria for a reelection campaign happy hour on Monday, and said he’s partly running to keep Virginia out of Republican crosshairs in 2024.

Kaine says that he’s concerned about former President Donald Trump’s calls to protest if he is indicted today.

“Obviously I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow (today),” Kaine said at Pork Barrel BBQ in Del Ray. “I’m worried about it. You learn not to dismiss it.”

Kaine continued, “It’s just not a good time for our country. It’s not a good time for people that have energy and passion for doing good to kind of move aside, because there’s real issues at stake about the future of our democracy. What we’ve seen in the last few years, particularly on January 6, but there was a long run up to it, a long set of consequences to it.”

Kaine announced in January that he was running for a third term in 2024, and said that there would be “some chaos” in the national democratic party if he chose not to run. The former 2016 democratic vice presidential candidate is a former Governor of Virginia and Mayor of Richmond. Virginia’s other U.S. Senate seat is filled by Democrat Mark Warner, also a former governor.

“It’s probably a little more likely that at the national level, the Republican Party would said, ‘Oh, great. Virginia has an open seat, we’re all in in Virginia,'” Kaine said. “Right now, they’re probably looking more at Ohio, West Virginia or Montana. If I can keep their attention off us (in Virginia), then that’s valuable.”

The audience was full of local elected officials, including Mayor Justin Wilson, who recalled being in Richmond when Kaine announced his intention to run for reelection.

“I believe about eight different people called me and told me they would run if you (Kaine) were not running that day,” Wilson said. “The biggest relief in the world was when I heard that Sen. Tim Kaine is going to run for reelection to be our senator for another six years.”

Kaine said that the decision to run again wasn’t easy.

“It was a hard decision, because it’s an eight year decision,” he said. “Two years of campaigning, six years of service. And an eight-year decision when you’re 65 is different than when you’re 55 or 45… But the ability to do good every day, still energizes and excites me.”

Virginia Senator Tim Kaine and Congressman Don Beyer (D-8th) took a quick break from work in Washington today (March 18) for a tour of Alexandria Renew Enterprises’ RiverRenew Tunnel Project.

The $454.4 million project will replace Old Town’s combined sewer system to prevent 120 million gallons of combined sewage from flowing into the Potomac River every year. The project is partially funded through a $321 million loan from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act and $50 million from the American Rescue Plan Act.

The Virginia General Assembly mandated that the project be completed by 2025. Alexandria, Lynchburg and Richmond all have CSO projects in development — the latter of which Kaine worked on when he was a member of the Richmond City Council in the 1990s.

“The project had started before I got onto the council, and it’s still going on,” Kaine said after the tour. “It’s such an expensive and massive thing to do… It’s really interesting to see how you solve your challenge here.”

After the tour, Kaine discussed infrastructure and job training at Northern Virginia Community College’s Woodbridge campus.

Virginia Senator Tim Kaine got an earful on military family needs at a roundtable he hosted Tuesday morning at the National Military Family Association in Alexandria.

Facing few childcare options, one military spouse had to take three years off of work as a physician’s assistant to take care of her young children.

“I have three kids that will have to go to different (childcare) places,” the woman said. “Because in this area it’s really hard, at least in my experience, to find childcare from infant through the lower elementary ages. So, I’m going to be driving around or finding a nanny for my youngest, which is on the plus side of $20 an hour is what we’re finding, which is cost prohibitive.”

On-base childcare options are scarce, as an estimated 65% of U.S. military families are forced to pay for childcare out of their pockets.

Kaine wrote the Jobs and Childcare for Military Families Act, which was introduced into the Senate last month. He’s trying to get the Act attached to the massive National Defense Authorization Act, which Congress will be considering later this summer. As active duty military spouses experience high rates of unemployment, Kaine said he at least hoped the pandemic has taught employers that their workers can largely work from home.

“if we can help families with children have more knowledge in their pocket, and we can fund more childcare — those would be two big things,” Kaine said.

The Act would help military spouses get jobs with the expansion of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, in addition to the creation of flexible spending accounts so that childcare expenses are paid with pre-tax dollars.

One Space Force officer living in Alexandria said that her civilian husband was kept from taking jobs that required travel, since getting childcare was too difficult.

“In the space force between 30 and 40% of our missions are in 24/7 facilities,” the officer said. “There’s an assumption that a spouse is always going to be there to pick up the slack.”

Kaine, the former Virginia Governor and Mayor of Richmond, was a missionary in Honduras and never served in the military, although one of his sons is a U.S. Marine reservist. He is also a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, as well as the Foreign Relations and Budget Committees.

“I’m sort of hoping that maybe a silver lining of the last year has been people realized, ‘Wow, a lot of folks can do really great work, even if they’re not in the same zip code as the office.’ And I know it’s been a challenge for military spouses, this move phenomenon — ‘I’d rather not hire this person even though they may be the more qualified because they’re probably gonna have to move somewhere.’ Well, employers are much more comfortable now with realizing we have a whole lot of great employees who were doing their work for home for last year and they were being very productive.”

Alexandria to Get Johnson & Johnson Vaccines Next Week — On Saturday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use. Adding a third vaccine to Alexandria’s pandemic response is significant and will ultimately mean that more vaccines are available to protect more people… Johnson & Johnson vaccines will become available in Alexandra starting later this week.” [City of Alexandria]

Beyer, Kaine Introduce ‘The Cost of Police Misconduct Act’ — “Most Americans have no idea how much cities and counties they live in spend on police misconduct because cases are often settled in secret. The Cost of Police Misconduct Act would make these costs public, which we hope and believe would help save lives.” [Twitter]

Council to Vote on 2-Hour Heavy Vehicle Parking Limit — “In response to community concerns re long-term heavy vehicle parking in commercial areas, staff is proposing a 2-hour heavy vehicle parking limit ordinance (except for loading/unloading)” [Twitter]

St. Patrick’s Day Parade Canceled — “This year would have been the 40th annual parade. In 2020, the March 7 parade was the last major event in Alexandria before COVID-19 restrictions began to be implemented.” [Patch.com]

National Park Service Predicts Peak Cherry Blossom Bloom — “The National Park Service (NPS) just released its 2021 cherry blossom peak bloom prediction for 2021: April 2 – April 5. The prediction varies year to year based on weather conditions, but it is typically between the last week in March and the first week of April, according to the NPS Bloom Watch webpage.” [Alexandria Living]

Today’s Weather — “Mainly sunny (during the day). High 59F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph… A mostly clear sky (in the evening). Low 37F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.” [Weather.com]

New Job: Dog Walker/Pet Sitter — “Pay ranges from $350 to $650 per week, depending on the number of dogs scheduled for that week. Must have a valid driver’s license and must be able to safely transport numerous dogs in your vehicle.” [Indeed]

Senators Kaine and Warner Urge GSA to Begin Transition Process — “An orderly and peaceful transition process is critical as the country continues to grapple with the loss and far-reaching impacts brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.'” [Twitter]

Beyer Asks Residents to Stay Home — “Being tired of the pandemic won’t make it stop, we need to be as careful as possible right now.” [Twitter]

Virtual Restaurant Touchdown Wings & Burgers Opens — “Touchdown Wings & Burgers runs out of Joe Theismann’s Restaurant. In mid-October, ARP opened Touchdown Wings & Burgers, a new brand for the organization.” [Alexandria Living]

Alexandria Library Gets Grant for Climate Change Programming — “By receiving the grant, Alexandria Library has committed to becoming a Climate Resilience Hub.” [Zebra]

Casa Chirilagua 5K Extended to November 11 — “GREAT NEWS! Christ the King Church has extended the Casa Virtual 5K to November 11! You now have 2.5 more weeks to register and participate. This is one way you can support the Chirilagua families that face so much adversity with strength and courage. Can you help us reach our 1,000 km goal?” [Facebook]

Today’s Weather — “Rain early…then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. Morning high of 65F with temps falling to near 55. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Cloudy skies. Low 48F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.” [Weather.com]

New Job: Dog Trainer/Instructor — “Olde Towne School for Dogs, the premiere dog training company located in Alexandria, VA serving the D.C. metropolitan area, is looking to hire new full-time trainers to our high energy team in a fast-paced and dog-filled environment!” [Indeed]