West End | ALXnow

Alexandria’s Port City Brewing Co., Mieza Blendery win top awards at Great American Beer Fest

Published October 14, 2026 at 2:45PM

Alexandria’s Bill Butcher, owner of the Port City Brewing Co., took home a gold medal in the Vienna lager category at the 2026 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado (via Bill Butcher/Facebook)

Port City Brewing Co. has done it again.

Fresh off their bronze medal-winning performance at the 2026 Virginia Craft Brewers Cup in August, the Alexandria-based brewery at 3950 Wheeler Avenue won gold for their Oktoberfest Vienna Lager at the 2026 Great American Beer Festival. The festival was held Oct. 10-11 and featured distinct beers from 1,300 breweries from across the country. Port City won gold in the Vienna-Style Lager category over silver medalist DC Brau Brewing Co and bronze medalist Almanac Beer Co.

News

UPDATED: Most outages restored after over 2,200 lose power in West End

By Emily Leayman

Published October 12, 2026 at 3:15PM | Updated October 12, 2026 at 4:17PM

Power outages in the West End on Oct. 12, 2026 (via Dominion Energy)

Dominion Energy customers in Alexandria’s West End were experiencing outages Monday afternoon.

According to Dominion Energy’s outage map, more than 2,200 customers lost power in the city as of 3 p.m. Most outages were concentrated in neighborhoods along Duke Street, Edsall Road and Interstate 395, extending into Fairfax County. The majority were resolved by 4:15 p.m.

News

AFD improvises to free child pinned under SUV within six minutes

By James Cullum

Published October 12, 2026 at 11:45AM

Alexandria Fire Department (staff photo by James Jarvis)

A juvenile is expected to make a full recovery after getting struck and pinned under an SUV in Alexandria’s West End.

The girl was struck and pinned under the front axle of the vehicle in the 600 block of N. Ripley Street, near Holmes Run Parkway on the night of Tuesday, Oct. 6. Multiple people called in the incident around 7:10 p.m.

News

Red light cameras, bike lanes among proposals for West End intersections

By Emily Leayman

Published October 12, 2026 at 9:15AM

Seminary Road and Mark Center Avenue intersection (via Google Maps)

Red light cameras, bike lanes, new sidewalks and pedestrian islands are some of the changes proposed for several West End high-crash intersections the city identified.

The city identified the seven high-crash intersections during a 2022 crash analysis and received federal funding to perform safety audits and develop concept designs.

News

Goodwin Living breaks ground on new 257-unit senior housing development in Alexandria

By Emily Leayman

Published October 9, 2026 at 3:45PM | Updated October 14, 2026 at 10:40AM

Rendering of Goodwin House Seminary Road (courtesy of Goodwin Living)

Additional senior living units from a locally-based operator are coming to Alexandria’s West End.

Goodwin Living broke ground Wednesday (Oct. 7) on the $360 million Goodwin House Seminary Road at N. Beauregard Street and Seminary Road. Mayor Alyia Gaskins and City Council Members Sandy Marks and Abdel Elnoubi joined Goodwin Living and Clark Construction leaders for the groundbreaking.

Around Town

Old Town Oyster Week, Paws in the Park lead packed weekend of Alexandria events

By Emily Leayman

Published October 9, 2026 at 9:15AM | Updated October 11, 2026 at 4:45PM

Paws in the Park (via Duane Rogers for AWLA)

It’s shaping up to be another busy October weekend in Alexandria.

There are plenty of festivals going on, including the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria’s Paws in the Park with its largest Rescue Row yet. For those looking for a shucking good time, Old Town Oyster Week returns starting with an oyster shucking competition.

News

Thieves target Inova at Landmark construction site for copper wire

By James Cullum

Published October 8, 2026 at 2:45PM

Inova Alexandria Hospital at Landmark, April 13, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria Police Department is investigating the theft of copper and security wire from the Inova Alexandria Hospital at Landmark construction site.

No arrests have been made, but around 4:15 p.m. on Aug. 30, the senior superintendent of Clark Construction reported a burglary to APD. Just 10 minutes before, at 4:05 p.m., surveillance footage showed a white U-Haul cargo van drive into the construction site and two male suspects enter one of the hospital buildings under construction, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.

News

Alexandria leader sees Route 7 transit project as model for rest of state

By Scott McCaffrey

Published October 6, 2026 at 1:45PM

F20 Metrobus service runs from Tysons east to Alexandria (photo courtesy of NVTC)

A key Alexandria leader wants the planned Route 7 bus rapid transit (BRT) network to serve as a statewide transportation blueprint.

Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley said the Tysons to Alexandria BRT initiative represents a “landmark project” others will be able to learn from.

News

ACPS returns bus service to 450+ students across Alexandria after walk zone backlash

By James Cullum

Published October 5, 2026 at 3:45PM

School buses preparing at Alexandria City High School (staff photo by James Cullum)

Hundreds of families have found relief after Alexandria City Public Schools reinstated school bus routes to neighborhoods across the city.

The new routes went into effect today (Oct. 5). ACPS approved 183 appeals and denied 138 appeals. In all, the school system found that 456 students are newly eligible for bus service, with routes returned in Arlandria, the West End and Old Town.

News

Fingerprints on White Claw can lead police to alleged West End carjacker

By James Cullum

Published October 5, 2026 at 2:45PM

The Franklin P. Backus Courthouse in Alexandria (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A Maryland man facing 15 years to life in prison for an armed carjacking in Alexandria’s West End was identified by fingerprints found on a discarded White Claw can inside the stolen vehicle.

Around 10:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, the victim was reportedly sitting in his white 2021 Lexus NX300 in a parking lot in the 100 block of S. Reynolds Street when a man opened his driver’s side door and told him he would be killed unless he got out, according to a recently unsealed search warrant affidavit.

Around Town

October kicks off in Alexandria with Art on the Avenue, Oktoberfest and more weekend events

By Emily Leayman

Published October 2, 2026 at 3:45PM

Checking out work by Scrap Art Crone, at Art on the Avenue in Del Ray, Oct. 4, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

It’s a busy start to October as many visitors will arrive to the city for a returning arts festival.

Art on the Avenue will draw tens of thousands to Mount Vernon Avenue in Del Ray. But if you’re looking for something smaller, check out Civil War Shelter Day at Fort Ward, Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill’s Pumpkin Patch, Douglass Cemetery tour or Rosemont Citizens Association’s Oktoberfest.