Like many Alexandrians, Tonya Kemp faced a difficult 2020 early on when she lost her job in May. But out of that loss came a new project that became a new business: West End candy shop Rocket Fizz (1721 Centre Plaza).
Alexandria’s Rocket Fizz is a locally-owned franchise of the mostly-America based soda pop and candy shop chain.
It was a cold and news-filled week in Alexandria.
It all started with the report of two public safety incidents over the weekend — a serious car crash in Old Town and another shooting in the West End.
The Newport Village development is hoping to demolish two garden-style apartment buildings at the intersection of W. Braddock Road and N. Beauregard Street near Northern Virginia Community College and replace them with a 383-unit residential development.
The developer is asking for a rezoning permit that would nearly double the allowed building height at the site from 45 feet to 92 feet, which staff expressed support for — citing the 120-foot maximum height approved for the Array at West Alex development on King Street.
Alexandria Police reported another shots fired call for service over the weekend in the West End, and there was also a serious crash with four cars in Old Town that sent two men to the hospital.
The shooting is the third in Alexandria this month, and occurred at around 5 a.m. on Sunday morning in the 200 block of Century Place in the West End near Holmes Run. Multiple shell casings were found at the scene, but no one was reported injured.
It was a short, but news-filled week in Alexandria.
With Monday off in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we started the week running with a COVID-19 update. Cases of COVID-19 in the city now stand at 8,975 and fatalities are at 99. That’s an increase of three deaths and 165 cases since Tuesday, according to the Virginia Department of Health.
Alexandria Police are investigating a series of hit-and-runs that damaged cars in the West End last month.
On Dec. 13 at around 11:15 p.m., Alexandria police responded to the area of N. Van Dorn Street and Sanger Avenue in the West End in reference to a motor vehicle crash.
Just after midnight on Dec. 21, Alexandria Police received a 911 call from a city resident saying that she could hear a woman screaming for help in the 2200 block of N. Van Dorn Street in the West End.
The woman in distress allegedly pulled out a knife when approached by police, and was then commanded to drop it. An officer used a TASER on the woman and she was placed in handcuffs, according to a search warrant affidavit.
A 52-year-old Alexandria man has been charged with driving while intoxicated in a crash on Jan. 5 that put a 59-year-old man in critical condition.
“The victim was transported to an area hospital, where he lost both legs as a result of the crash,” Alexandria Police reported. “He remains in critical but stable condition.”
New taco shop, Taco Rock 2 is opening today at the western edge of Alexandria.
Chef Mike Cordero announced in a press release that the spin-off of Rosslyn-based Taco Rock is opening at 6548 Little River Turnpike in the Pinecrest Plaza shopping center.
Police are investigating another shots fired call at 5700 Eliot Court — barely a block away from a shooting last week — even as the police department prepares for a presentation at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
Police said on social media that the police responded to a shots fired call at Eliot Court in the West End at around 11 p.m. last night (Thursday). Senior Public Information Officer Amanda Paga told ALXnow that multiple shell casings were found at the scene but there was no property damage.
Two Fairfax County men were arrested last month and charged with drunkenness, resisting arrest and assault and battery after a fight at a West End bar.
On Dec. 11, police arrived at the Hashtag Restaurant & Lounge at 654 South Pickett Street and found the 23-year-old and 22-year-old men with swollen knuckles and welts on their faces. Both men were highly intoxicated and told police that they were assaulted while they fought by bar security staff and a bartender.
