Got a Christmas tree yet?
The Alexandria Police Department has already sold more than 300 trees in its annual sale at 110 Callahan Drive — just outside Alexandria Union Station.
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If you haven’t heard, this is the city’s 275th birthday, and the city is giving itself 275 new trees to celebrate.
One of the projects from the Department of Transportation and Environmental Services Stormwater Management Division aims to plant 275 new trees throughout the city to celebrate that birthday. This weekend, the city hit a milestone with the planting of the 100th tree.
After a flurry of activity, the Del Ray Christmas tree is finally at home at Pat Miller Neighborhood Square.
The 32-foot-tall Fraser fir was lifted by a crane and installed on Tuesday afternoon. It’s the 13th straight year that Bill Blackburn of the Homegrown Restaurant Group selected and cut down the tree at the Naughty Pines Nursery in Maryland.
World War II was at its peak when Charles Barrett Elementary School first opened 80 years ago. In recognition of the anniversary, on Wednesday students and school officials gathered in front of the school, planted a baby oak tree and sang the school song.
The tree was donated by the North Ridge Citizens’ Association.
(Updated 1:25 p.m.) Alexandria is still clearing downed trees and in the wake of Saturday’s severe storm.
No one was reportedly injured in Saturday’s storm, which cut off power to an estimated 15,000 residents. As of Monday at around noon, there were still 131 households without power throughout Alexandria, according to Dominion Energy.
A number of Del Ray residents locked arms around an oak tree slated for removal at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park in Del Ray on Wednesday, only days after City Council approved a plan to renovate the park.
Gisele McAuliffe, a 30-year Del Ray resident, says that the city’s approved plan to renovate the park will come at too great a cost — the removal of 40 trees. The age of the trees is in dispute, as the city says the oldest trees on the property were planted in the 1940s, while McAuliffe and her friends measured the trees and claim they are upward of 100 years old.
Old Town just got a little brighter.
On Saturday (Nov. 19), Santa Claus made his way to City Hall on the King Street Trolley to help members of City Council light the holiday tree at Market Square in front of City Hall.
Alexandria is getting a little more green over time.
The City of Alexandria released an Alexandria Tree Canopy Assessment done by the University of Vermont that tracked the change in the city’s tree canopy between 2014 and 2018. The results are mostly positive.
It’s the end of another work week in Alexandria!
There was a lot of crime this week, as police responded to multiple shots fired incidents in the Parker Gray area on September 2. There was also another carjacking in the West End — the latest in a recent uptick that prompted Mayor Justin Wilson to ask the public for help in reducing the number of vehicle-related thefts.
COVID Cases in Alexandria Jump by 21 — “The latest update from the City on COVID-19: Positive tests up 21 to 3,436 in the City; 7-day Positivity Rate down to 4.0%; 1 new hospitalization; Still safer at home, wash hands, wear masks and support our essential workers.” [Twitter]
Alexandria Democratic Committee Hosting Virtual Labor Day Picnic — “Thrilled to announce that the Biden Harris campaign’s National Political Director Erin Wilson will be joining the ADC as a special guest at our Labor Day Celebration!! You will not want to miss this unique opportunity to hear from Erin about the upcoming 2020 election!” [Facebook]
Alexandria City Public Schools today cut down a 150-year-old oak tree to make way for a concession stand as part of the renovation of Parker-Gray Stadium at T.C. Williams High School.
“Shame,” Alexandria activist MacArthur Myers told ALXnow. “A crime has been committed.”