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Alexandria to Hand Count All Paper Ballots in Recount For Attorney General
Limitations of election machines prevent electronic scanners from being programmed for recount.
Alexandria election officials will be going back to the future in the next few weeks, pouring over thousands of paper ballots by hand as part of a recount effort in the hotly contested race for attorney general.
Voters to Have Final Say on Waterfront Plan as Legal Challenges Linger
Boat Club occupies the Strand as tensions mount over controversial small-area plan.
Last weekend, members of the Old Dominion Boat Club staged an annual ritual that’s something of a cross between a tailgating party and Occupy Wall Street. Every year, members shut down a section of the Strand for several hours to make sure everybody knows that the land is officially Boat Club property. The yearly affirmation usually goes without much notice.
Boat Club, City Strike Deal
Land-swap concludes decades of feuding between the two organizations.
The feud between the Boat Club and the city dates back for decades, a conflict that involved the city threatening the use of eminent domain and the Boat Club winning a case against the city at the Virginia Supreme Court.
Alexandria to Purchase Storied Waterfront Properties for $5 Million
Sale expected to seal Boat Club deal and open key part of waterfront.
City officials are on the verge of finalizing the sale of two slices of waterfront property, a $5 million purchase years in the making that will help seal a deal with the Old Dominion Boat Club and open up a key part of the waterfront to the public.
City Council Members Warned of Affliction and Loss in West End
A Proverb for the Beauregard small-area plan.
Yea, though members of the City Council walk through the valley of the shadow of Beauregard, they seem to fear no evil.
Parents Rally to Save FACE as Alexandria School Board Considers Budget Cuts
Board members must close a $3 million gap before sending budget to City Hall.
Dozens of parents appeared before members of the Alexandria School Board last week with a simple plea — save FACE.
Nightmare on Green Street?
Neighbors say house is a nuisance; city officials say their hands are tied.
The 800 block of Green Street is tucked away in a quiet part of Old Town, a few blocks west of Washington Street where spring flowers are in bloom and neighbors know each other by name. Except Michael Wargo. Property records say he purchased 813 Green St. in 1989 for $263,000. But neighbors say he hasn't lived in the house for 12 years, and they are concerned that the house is a firetrap that's attracting wild animals and growing concern.
How Will West Rosslyn Be Won?
Neighborhood finds itself at center of conflicting interests.
Neighbors want open space. A developer wants density. Arlington County wants a new fire station. School officials want a new facility. And nonprofit leaders want affordable housing. And all this will happen on about six acres of highly prized land hugging the western edge of Rosslyn, an increasingly urban part of the county that some have taken to calling "Manhattan on the Potomac."
The New New Deal
Uncle Sam is about to make it rain.
Not since the days of the New Deal in the 1930s has the federal government showered so much stimulus cash on Virginia, and Alexandria is about to receive millions of dollars for everything from guaranteed basic income and flash flooding improvements to staffing at the Freedom House and planters to make the King Street pedestrian plaza look more inviting.
Republican Requiem
Democrats take General Assembly, sweep Fairfax School Board; Republicans hold Springfield.
It wasn’t all that long ago that Northern Virginia had its own breed of Republicanism. People like U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-11), U.S. Sen. John Warner and Del. Dave Albo (R-42). Now, after a series of stunning defeats since the election of Donald Trump to the White House, Northern Virginia Republicans are a dying breed, with moderates bowing out or being voted out.
Athenaeum Wants Your Vote to Fund Restoration in Online Contest
Leaders at the Old Town landmark suggest voting early and often.
Do you love the Athenaeum? If the answer is yes, executive director Catherine Aselford is asking for your vote.
Cracking Down on Texting While Driving
Bill would make it a primary offense rather than a secondary offense.
Although he hasn’t been reading them while driving, state Sen. George Barker (D-39) has been receiving a flood of emails about distracted driving. Increasingly,
Chamber Celebrates Tomorrow’s Alexandria
40 Under 40 feted by titans of industry at United Way headquarters in Old Town.
School Board Chairwoman Confronts Governor During Alexandria Education Summit
City leaders hope to change school takeover rather than filing lawsuit.
Sitting face to face with Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell at T.C. Williams, Alexandria School Board Chairwoman Karen Graf challenged the sweeping education reform that threatens to remove Jefferson-Houston School from the city's public school system.
Silence of the Court
Justices deny public access to shield personal conversations.
The Virginia Supreme Court operates in silence, denying public access to audio recordings of its oral arguments. Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, which denies video recordings but allows audio recordings, the commonwealth's top appeals court has a complete blackout on public access to proceedings. In a written response to questions from Connection Newspapers, the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Virginia Supreme Court explained that audio records were once public, but the installation of new equipment in January 2008 created new concerns for justices.
Alexandria and Arlington at odds Over Streetcars Versus Bus-Rapid Transit
Transit riders could have to get off the Arlington streetcar to board an Alexandria bus.
Arlington and Alexandria planning officials are moving in different directions along Route One.
Piloting Food Trucks
Most of controversial food truck proposal placed on back burner.
The food truck craze is coming to a city park or a farmer's market near you, part of a 16-month pilot program that will allow the mobile vendors to set up shop and see what happens. City Council members approved the pilot program in a four-to-two vote with Vice Mayor Allison Silberberg and Councilman Paul Smedberg voting no. Disgruntled restaurant owners across the city are talking about creating a new association specifically to fight expanding the program to hot spots in Old Town and Del Ray, a move city officials have been pushing for more than a year. The pilot is scheduled to begin in July and run through October 2015.
New Superintendent Hopes to Cut the Numbers of Suspensions in Half
Black male students suspended at disproportionate rates.
Less than a month into office, new Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Alvin Crawley is taking on the challenge of reducing the number of suspensions by half.
Alexandria Reckoning
Police launch formal inquiry into why Black people make up majority of arrests.
Black people are 23 percent of the population in Alexandria, and yet most arrests in the city are of African Americans. Most cases when police use force are against Black people. Most drug arrests are of Black people. And almost half of the inmates at the Alexandria jail are Black people.
Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille Elected to Fourth Term
Democratic incumbent wins handily against independent challenger.
Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille hasn’t been in a competitive election since 2003, when he was first elected mayor against Republican Bill Cleveland and independent Townsend Van Fleet.