Reminder: School and Trash Collection Delays — Alexandria public school students are preparing to go to school after a two hour weather delay this morning. Curbside trash and recycling collection, meanwhile, may be delayed today and Thursday after being suspended Tuesday afternoon. [Twitter, Twitter]

Wind Advisory Issued for Alexandria — Alexandria and surrounding areas are under a Wind Advisory from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today. Gusts of up to 50 mph are possible, which could cause trees and power lines to topple, forecasters say. [Twitter]

Alexandria’s Kiwi Kuisine Profiled — “Since opening in 2007, Kiwi Kuisine’s savory meat pies and strategic business model have continued to grow. The business is the brainchild of resident Bert ‘Ram’ Todd. With his hulking build and thick New Zealand accent, Todd’s professional rugby past comes as no surprise. Unforeseen, however, is his true passion for cooking.” [Alexandria Times]

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Performing Next Week — “Now is your chance to see Big Bad Voodoo Daddy live at The Birchmere on Jan. 16 at 7:30pm. You probably have heard their smash hit ‘Go Daddy-O,’ or you’d at least recognize it if you heard it.” [Zebra]

As Alexandrians are getting ready to celebrate New Year’s Eve tonight, be aware that some city services will not be available on New Year’s Day.

Trash will be picked up today (Tuesday), but will not be picked up tomorrow (Wednesday). Trash collection services scheduled for Wednesday through Friday will be delayed by one day.

Libraries will close at 5 p.m. today and libraries, recreation centers, and the Torpedo Factory Art Center will all be closed on Wednesday, according to the city website.

As on Christmas, there’s no need to feed the meters on New Year’s Day. Metered parking restrictions will be lifted throughout the city, though this only applies to legal parking spaces and parking in no parking zones, loading zones, or spaces for persons with disabilities is all still prohibited.

DASH will operate its regular schedule today and will operate a special trolley service between the Durant Center (1605 Cameron Street) and the George Washington Masonic National Memorial (101 Callahan Drive) from 5:30-11 p.m. tonight for First Night activities.

DASH buses will not be operating tomorrow, but the King Street Trolley will run on its regular schedule.

(Updated at 11:50 a.m.) Alexandria will no longer collect glass curbside for recycling, starting next year.

Starting Jan. 15, if you’re hoping to get your glass recycled rather than just tossed out with the trash, you’ll have to take it down to the purple bins at one of four facilities in southern Alexandria.

According to the city, glass recycling can be dropped off at:

• S. Whiting Street (At the end of S. Whiting Street, intersecting at Tower Court)
• 3224 Colvin Street 
• 4251 Eisenhower Avenue
• Jones Point Park (On the left, at the end of S. Royal Street, heading South)
• MOM’s Organic Market (3831 Mt. Vernon Ave.) – opening in January 2020

Only glass bottles and jars — of any color — can be dropped off, though they have to be emptied and rinsed first. The change reflects the reality that single-stream recycling of glass is no longer feasible from an economic and environmental standpoint.

“Currently, glass collected for recycling by our contractors is ending up in landfills due to a variety of issues, including recycling contamination, rising recycling costs, and lack of a regional glass processing capacity,” the city said.

For residents who don’t want to take a trip to the big bins, glass should be tossed out in the trash starting Jan. 15.

After China stopped accepting some recyclable materials from the United States, the cost of recycling in the United States skyrocketed and left localities nationwide grappling with what to do with costly waste.

Alexandria is just the latest locality to ditch glass. Arlington County eliminated glass recycling in April, though like Alexandria several locations were designated as drop-off locations to be sent to Fairfax County, where the glass is crushed and used in road and other projects. Prior to the change, Arlington said, glass placed in curbside recycling bins was just being sorted and ultimately sent to landfills — not recycled.

According to the city website:

The City is actively monitoring the market for a viable option to recycle glass and working with our neighbors to propose and advocate for innovative solutions. While glass is still accepted in the blue recycling bin, the City has partnered with Fairfax County and established four drop-off centers to improve the recyclability of glass. Glass separated at these centers will be hauled to a processing plant in Fairfax County to be recycled into gravel and sand that can be used locally. These end products can be used in landscaping, construction projects, and even remanufactured into new glass items.

On Twitter, some residents were upset with the announcement from Mayor Justin Wilson last night, though the mayor pushed back on the assertion that Alexandria can do much to solve the larger glass recycling problem. Still, curbside glass collection could eventually be restored, Wilson said.

Unfortunately the international recycling markets are very much out of the City’s control. We have partnered with Fairfax and Arlington to develop some glass recycling options. If this works, we will explore whether we can restore curbside collection in the future.

— Justin Wilson (@justindotnet) December 11, 2019

Photo via City of Alexandria

Alexandria Home Sale Prices Rise Above Arlington — “The Amazon HQ2 effect on home prices in Northern Virginia continues and, at least by one measure, the Alexandria housing market is now more expensive than Arlington County. At least it was in October, the most recent month for which data is available.” [WTOP]

Trampoline Park Hoping to Open By End of Year — “Management for Get Air Trampoline Park, an indoor recreation and amusement park, confirmed that the Alexandria location is scheduled to open in the second half of December. The space Get Air is occupying at 340 S. Pickett St. was formerly a U.S. Post Office in the West End Village shopping center.” [Alexandria Living]

Trash Will Be Picked Up on Thanksgiving — “Thursday trash/recycling routes: your trash and recycling WILL BE collected starting at 6AM this Thursday so the route can be completed in advance of the Turkey Trot. If you are not up that early, please set your material out Wed. night!” [Twitter/@AlexandriaVATES]

Meeting About Southern GW Parkway Safety — “On Tuesday, Dec. 3, the National Park Service will host a meeting to discuss George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP) visitors’ recommendations about how to improve safety at key intersections between the City of Alexandria and George Washington’s Mount Vernon.” [National Park Service]

If your property is damaged by a city vehicle, there’s a good chance you could be out of luck when it comes to seeking payment.

With its blue background and city seal, the marker set up in the yard at Shuter’s Hill within eyeshot of the backside of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial could be mistaken for an official sign, but the sign tells the story of one resident’s struggle with the City of Alexandria over an archaic legal precedent.

According to the sign, a city truck struck the fence on May 22 and was captured on video, but the city has claimed sovereign immunity — a term derived from British common law doctrine that means the government cannot be sued without its permission.

This isn’t the first time damages from an garbage truck has led to frustrations over sovereign immunity. Across Virginia, there have been several instances of localities citing sovereign immunity when faced with costly liability charges, according to Washingtonian.

Craig Fifer, a spokesman for the City of Alexandria, said logistically that paying claims would necessitate an increase in taxes and fees, reductions in services, or other savings:

The City’s services are designed and operated to provide the maximum benefit to the community.  Under federal and state laws and court rulings, the City is generally not liable for damages caused in the course of providing core government services. While the City conducts extensive planning and training to avoid damaging property, some damage does occur given the vast scope of City operations. Exemption from these claims saves a significant amount of money every year for taxpayers as a whole.  If the City were to pay claims for which it is not legally liable, it would necessitate some combination of increases in taxes and fees, reductions in services, or savings in other areas.

The City is expected to defend itself against claims for which it is not legally liable. If the claim involves a core government function (including trash collection), sovereign immunity would apply. If the claim involved another situation (such as the operation of a City vehicle while not performing a core government function), sovereign immunity would not apply and the claim would be paid if appropriate.

Jonathan Siegel, a law professor at George Washington University, said the arguments over sovereign immunity aren’t new.

“This has been around forever,” Siegel said. “It’s a fundamental feature of government and it causes all kinds of problems for centuries. Ever since the founding of the nation, it’s been legally true that governments have sovereign immunity.”

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Bald Eagle Rescue Near Cameron Run — “A bald eagle that appeared to be injured was spotted Wednesday morning on the ground at the Cameron Run Regional Park, near the Metro tracks in Alexandria, Virginia. It seemed like something was wrong with one of its wings.” [WTOP]

Old Town Eatery to Offer Original Menu — “Longtime Old Town Alexandria Italian restaurant Landini Brothers, at 115 King St., is marking its 40th anniversary Oct. 28 by taking diners back to the past. The family-owned restaurant, founded in 1979, is bringing back for one night only the original menu that waiters brought to diners’ tables. And that means 1979 prices.” [WTOP]

Trash Collection Reminder — “DYK which November Holidays the City’s trash & recycling collection is delayed by one day? It’s a trick question: NONE. On both Veteran’s Day AND Thanksgiving, trash and recycling is collection as scheduled.” [Twitter, City of Alexandria]

More Local Halloween Events — “Celebrate a safe Halloween with friends and neighbors during Halloween Spirit Week, October 25 through October 31. The Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities offers a variety of fun options for families, and even their four-legged friends, throughout Alexandria.” [City of Alexandria, ALXnow]