Politics

Night Court

Lawmakers to consider eliminating no-knock warrants and creating new hurdles for nighttime search warrants.

The sad and tragic case of how a police department in Kentucky mishandled the execution of a warrant after midnight has prompted soul-searching among police agencies and law-enforcement officers across the country.

Republican Women Honor the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment Ratification

The Commonwealth Republican Women’s Club (CRWC) met briefly – with masks and social distancing – to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote in August of 1920.

Fairfax County Democratic Committee Calls Virtual Unassembled Caucus

Party partisan endorsements in local nonpartisan election.

The issue of partisan party endorsements in a nonpartisan election appears to be one of the pending topics for discussion by candidates in the November 3 Town Council General Election in Herndon this fall.

Progressive Prosecutors Lobby for Justice

Commonwealth’s Attorneys from Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax join forces to press for reform.

As lawmakers prepare to return to Richmond for a special session on criminal justice reform, this group of likeminded prosecutors known as the Progressive Prosecutors for Justice will be pushing for a package of criminal-justice reform bills that does not have the backing of the Virginia Association of Commonwealth’s Attorneys.

Mount Vernon Unitarian Church Dedicates ‘Black Lives Matter’ Signs

About 25 members of Mount Vernon Unitarian Church (MVUC) — masked and socially distanced — joined Pastor Kate Walker the morning of July 7 to dedicate three Black Lives Matter signs, one at the drive to the church on Windmill Lane and two on Fort Hunt Road under the directional signs to the church.

‘Cancel Our Rent’ in Alexandria

Southern Towers residents protest eviction hearings.

Residents of Southern Towers apartments gathered July 15 at the Franklin P. Backus Courthouse in Old Town to protest for the cancellation of rent payments and demand an extension to a statewide moratorium on evictions, which expired last month.

Seniors to Protest Via Zoom

Online forum scheduled for July 27.

An online protest for older adults is being planned via Zoom to allow seniors to “gather in solidarity and bring attention to the need to end systemic racism and push for police reform,” according to the event organizers.

Arlington Launches Review of Police Policies and Practices

• Fifteen-member citizen group to report back by end of the year

At the Crossroads

Lawmakers to slash the state budget and consider criminal-justice reforms.

The threadbare Franklin and Armfield office on Duke Street stands at the crossroads between racial injustice and economic crisis. It’s a ramshackle building now, but it was once the headquarters for the largest domestic slave trading firm in the United States, present at the creation of the systemic racism that plagues Virginia cops and courts. It’s also the city’s latest acquisition, and the state budget was to include $2.5 million to help transform it into the Freedom House Museum. But then the pandemic hit, and the governor hit the pause button on that line item as well as all the other spending priorities of the new Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.

National Artifact Loaned to Suffragist Memorial

Women’s Suffrage reaches Centennial in August.

Last month, the National Park Service (NPS) announced the planned loan of a historic section of iron fence, once used to protect the White House, to memorialize the first group of protestors to stand before it.

More for Enforcement, Less for Assistance

Since the recession, funding has increased for public safety but decreased for social services.

Since the recession, spending on public safety in Alexandria has increased year after year. According to documents from the Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts, that category of government spending has increased 38 percent since 2010 as city leaders increased salaries for police officials and funded new positions at the city’s emergency communications center. But during that same time, spending on health and welfare programs has increased only 12 percent. Spending on social services has actually gone down since 2010.

T.C. Williams: What’s in a Name?

Efforts intensify to change name of T.C. Williams High School.

When the Disney movie “Remember the Titans” was released in 2000, it brought national attention to T.C. Williams High school. Starring Academy Award winner Denzel Washington, the movie shone a spotlight on the integration of Alexandria’s public high school and the 1971 undefeated season of its football team.

The Connection