Sen. Kaine and Wife Anne Holton Test Positive for Coronavirus Antibodies — “After testing positive for the flu earlier in the year, the state’s junior senator said in a statement he experienced new symptoms in late March. He initially thought the symptoms were flu remnants and a reaction to a high pollen count. But when his wife developed fever and chills, then congestion and a cough, they went to health providers in early April.” [Patch]
Police Chase Ends With Suspect Falling 25 Feet Off Beltway — “A man behind the wheel of what Virginia State Police thought was a stolen Ford Expedition rammed two police vehicles on the Capital Beltway, lost control, slammed into a Jersey Wall and then ran across the interstate, jumped over another wall and fell 25 feet Wednesday night.” [WTOP]
Indoor Mask Mandate in Effect Today Throughout Virginia — “Effective at midnight tonight (this morning) Executive Order 63, requiring the wearing of face coverings while inside buildings, becomes effective.” ‬[Facebook]
Lower King Street to Be Closed Off Through Phase 1 — “This week, members of the Alexandria City Council adopted emergency zoning regulations, relaxing the rules as part of a new experiment to get a sense of how people can avoid dining indoors while maintaining social distancing rules. One of the most noticeable changes will be on lower King Street, where city officials are planning to close the 100 block to traffic through the duration of Phase One.” [Gazette]
ACPS Students Can Opt Out of Online Summer School — “All students will be expected to participate in summer school; however, any family who does not wish for their student to participate can opt-out.” [ACPS]
Suspect Beat Veterans’ Motorcycles With Hammer Outside Alexandria Hotel — “It was like 17 bikes and somebody come in an SUV, got out of an SUV with a hammer and decided to get down through there and start busting our bikes up.” [NBC 4]
Del Ray Cafe Prepares for Phase 1 Reopening — “Phase 1 re-opening starts tomorrow  We will open our porch with two tables beginning tomorrow at 9am. Please call 703-717-9151 for a reservation or curbside pickup. We have submitted our application to the City for temporary use of our parking lot for outdoor dining and expect approval before the end of next week.” [Facebook]
Alexandria Farmers’ Markets to Resume On-Site Sales — “Vendors will be required to use enhanced cleaning and sanitizing procedures, and there will continue to be no food preparation, food sampling, or on-site dining allowed.” [City of Alexandria]
New Job: Temporary Firework Stand Manager — “Location managers are paid a salary based on the number of days they work. This is a great opportunity to make between $1,600 – $2,200 in a 2 week period!” [Indeed]
Schools Preparing for Coronavirus — “ACPS has partnered with the Alexandria City Health Department and local first responders to form a COVID-19 Task Force Planning Committee to work closely to monitor this evolving situation. We plan to provide updates as we progress with this planning and work.” [ACPS]
Reminder: Primary Day is Tomorrow — “On Tuesday, March 3, there will be a Democratic Party presidential primary election in the City of Alexandria. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.” [City of Alexandria]
Business Robbed in Old Town on Sunday — “The Alexandria Police Department is investigating a commercial robbery in the 800 block of South Washington Street. Expect police activity in the area.” [Twitter]
Kaine Campaigning for Biden Today — Sen. Tim Kaine is scheduled to help Joe Biden’s re-energized presidential campaign phone bank at its Eisenhower Avenue office this afternoon.
Resident: Parking Is Too Sparse in Old Town — “Personally, I have consciously put off or cancelled Old Town plans several times because the parking crisis made visiting a business or meeting up with friends impossible with my own vehicle. I believe our city planners should consider building a public parking deck or similar facility somewhere in the neighborhood in order to alleviate the impossibly high demand on our limited parking situation.” [Gazette Packet]
Pedestrian Struck on Patrick Street — APD responded yesterday around 4 p.m. to a pedestrian reportedly struck on N. Patrick Street at Madison Street. The road was blocked temporarily. The pedestrian was taken to a local hospital; the nature of his or her injuries is not currently known. [Twitter]
Remembering a Local Legend — “Many African Americans in Alexandria, Virginia, fondly remember Phillip Bell by his nickname ‘Chick.’ He owned Lewis Funeral Home at 311 North Patrick Street. Phillip ran a professional funeral business for many years on Wolfe and Patrick Streets.” [Gazette Packet]
T.C. Student Attends SOTU — “Nicole Rosario-Flores, a Junior ROTC member at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia, was invited by Sen. Tim Kaine to be a guest at the State of the Union. News4’s Drew Wilder spoke to Rosario-Flores about the honor.” [NBC 4, Patch]
A T.C. Williams student and JROTC cadet will be attending tonight’s State of the Union address at the Capitol with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.).
Kaine invited Nicole Rosario-Flores after meeting with cadets at the high school last month and discussing his bipartisan war powers resolution, intended to limit the president’s ability to deploy troops without Congress’ approval.
The senator said in a statement, below, that “it’s important to hear from young people who have a large stake in this debate.” Alexandria City Public Schools, meanwhile, tweeted that the school system is “thrilled” that Rosario-Flores will be able to take in such a unique experience.
Today [Monday], U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, announced that his guest at Tuesday’s Presidential State of the Union Address will be Alexandria, VA native and JROTC Cadet Nicole Rosario-Flores. On January 10th, Kaine met with Cadet Rosario-Flores and other JROTC cadets at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria. Kaine talked to the students about his years-long efforts to reclaim Congress’s constitutional duty to weigh in on whether the nation goes to war, including his bipartisan war powers resolution to prevent further escalation of hostilities with Iran.
“I’m excited Cadet Rosario-Flores will join me as my State of the Union guest on Tuesday,” said Kaine. “I was so impressed with her and all the T.C. Williams High School JROTC cadets I recently met with to discuss my bipartisan war powers resolution. The legislation is about ensuring we don’t send our troops into harm’s way unless there’s a carefully reached consensus in Congress that war is in the national interest. Any time we’re in the middle of a discussion about matters of war and peace in Congress, it’s important to hear from young people who have a large stake in this debate.”
“I am thrilled and honored to be Senator Tim Kaine’s guest at the State of the Union Address. I am equally grateful for the JROTC program at T.C. Williams High School that is truly one of a kind, has opened doors for me and given me the opportunity to attend such an important event as this one. Having the opportunity to witness the way our government functions first hand will definitely be something that I will always remember,” said Cadet Nicole Rosario-Flores.
We're thrilled to announce that @TCWJROTC Cadet Nicole Rosario-Flores will be Senator @timkaine's guest at the Presidential State of the Union Address tomorrow evening. More to come about this exciting experience! #TitansRising @TCWTitans #SOTU2020 #SOTU https://t.co/oycFUJZVGX pic.twitter.com/0atfZ4fti4
— Alexandria City Public Schools (@ACPSk12) February 3, 2020
Photo via @ACPSk12/Twitter
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) was careful with his words at T.C. Williams High School on Friday.
The lawmaker spoke for more than an hour to JROTC students about his war powers resolution, which would limit the president’s ability to strike against foreign countries without congressional approval. Kaine said that the Trump administration’s Jan. 3 assassination of Qasem Soleimani outside Baghdad International Airport was based on U.S. intelligence that fell “far short of what I view as an imminent threat.”
“It’s not just the striking Soleimani, though. It’s doing it in Iraq, a nation that’s an ally when they have objected to it and doing it without informing Congress or any congressional authorization. It’s the combined weight of all of those together that has made this so controversial,” Kaine said, adding that he has taken out all reference to President Trump in his resolution. “I’m trying to, you know, maximize the support [for the bill.]”
Kaine introduced a war powers resolution last week in the Senate, which would limit the president’s ability to conduct such strikes against foreign countries. The resolution, he said, will likely go to the Senate floor after the upcoming Democratic Presidential debate on Tuesday, Jan. 14., when three of the candidates will be able to vote in its favor. A similar bill just passed the House of Representatives.
Cadet Command Sergeant Major Andy Ramirez is planning on joining the U.S. Military after graduating from T.C. this year, and said that meeting Kaine was the opportunity of a lifetime. He also called the recent U.S. action in Iraq “very concerning.”
“Having the Senator, who is so well informed of what’s going on around the world, to be conducting a whole conversation with high school students, it’s just a great opportunity to be a part of it. For us to be able for us to be able to have a voice, talk to the Senator about things that are happening, like in Iran,” Ramirez said. “Like, it affects everybody, not just people in the military, but their family and friends.”
Kaine believes he has solid support from Senate Democrats, and from at least two Republican Senators, Rand Paul (KY) and Mike Lee (UT).
“We have a good relationship with Iraq that have been purchased with an awful lot of American blood and treasure,” he said. “Now Iraq is asking us to leave. If we leave Iraq, my prediction is that Iran is going to get more powerful there.”
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) is scheduled to meet with JROTC cadets at T.C. Williams High School on Friday afternoon.
The senator, who’s a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, “will talk to students about his efforts to more clearly define the roles of Congress and the President in making our nation’s most important decision – whether to send our servicemembers into harm’s way,” according to a media alert.
The visit comes at a time of tensions and talk of war — but recent deescalation — between the U.S. and Iran. The House of Representatives is set to vote on a war powers resolution later today, with a goal of limiting actions President Trump can take against Iran.
“For years, Kaine has been the leading voice in Congress raising concerns over Presidents’ efforts to expand the use of military force without congressional authorization,” Kaine’s press office noted. “Last week, Kaine introduced a war powers resolution to force a debate and vote in Congress to prevent further escalation of hostilities with Iran.”