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Marijuana Is Now Legal

The long strange trip from a failed war on drugs to social equity licenses

Smoke 'em if you've got 'em because pot is now legal in the commonwealth of Virginia.

Rebuilding Hospitality

Restaurants, hotels and performing arts venues struggle with recovery

Now that the pandemic is fading into a bad memory, Alexandria's hospitality industry is at a crossroads.

Declining birth rates and the pandemic have conspired to send Alexandria's Kindergarten enrollment down 17 percent since 2018, a trend that school officials say will have a long-term influence on how the division operates and plans for the future. Some of the decline is driven by the pandemic as parents opted for private schools or kept their children in daycare rather than enroll them. But the long-term forecast for schools will be shaped one birth at a time.

Contaminated Legacy

From slave plantation to industrial pollution, a hidden history of North Old Town.

The shuttered power plant dominating the landscape in North Old Town has layers of industrial pollution, a hidden history buried under the contaminated soil of the Potomac River Generating Station. Even before the coal-fired power plant was constructed in 1949, the property was home to the American Chlorophyll Company and Potomac River Clay Works. That means the long and complicated task known as "remediating" the property could mean removing everything from coal ash and mercury to industrial fertilizer and hazardous metals.

Zoned Out

City Council to determine future of single-family housing in Alexandria.

"We need to apply strict scrutiny on the zoning provisions we have and ensure that they do not have a disparate impact, particularly to ensure that some of the provisions are not segregating our communities." — Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson

Alexandria City Council Election Returns: Precinct By Precinct

How the candidates ranked in all of the city's voting precincts.

A listing of which candidates won which precincts.

Tougher Tests Cause Alexandria Scores to Plunge

School officials say more rigorous standards are to blame.

Test scores are down across Alexandria. But school officials say that doesn't necessarily mean students are doing worse. It means that the tests have gotten harder.

Following the Money

City Council candidates raise money from friends and supporters.

Running a campaign for the Alexandria City Council isn't cheap. Former Mayor Bill Euille says he often advises potential candidates they'll need to raise $20,000 to $30,000 just to get through the primary and then twice that for the general election.

Three Republicans Vie for Virginia Lieutenant Governor Nomination

Two state senators and a delegate hope to snag bid to preside over Senate sessions.

Week in Alexandria

Looking for the perfect holiday gift? King Street Gardens Park Foundation chairman Rodger Digilio has an idea — buy a brick.

Three Democrats Vying for Virginia Lieutenant Governor

Two former prosecutors and veteran political operative on ballot.

List of Rejected Budget Cuts Reveals Thinking Behind Budget Proposal

Cuts that were cut may become key as budget season moves forward.

Imagine a world without school crossing guards or security screening at the courthouse — a city so strapped for cash it closes one of its fire stations and eliminates life insurance for its retired workers.

Democratic Candidates for Virginia Governor Run to the Left

Two candidates try to ignore moderate records and repackage themselves as hardcore progressives.

Study Shows $54 Million Retail Gap Along Richmond Highway Corridor

Supply is not meeting demand in Mount Vernon.

Supply is not matching demand along Richmond Highway, according to a new study from the Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation.

Council Notebook

Saying Goodbye

Saying Goodbye They fought like cats and dogs. They pounded their fists of the dais at City Hall. On several occasions, they raised their voices at each other.

Alexandria School Board To Get Seven New Members

One School Board incumbent ousted as voters select new direction for school system.

The past few years have been some of the most turbulent in the history of Alexandria City Public Schools, which was blasted in a recent audit as having a budget office with a “dysfunctional environment.”

Council Notebook

They fought like cats and dogs. They pounded their fists of the dais at City Hall. On several occasions, they raised their voices at each other.

Three Republicans Running for Virginia Governor Offer Dueling Tax Plans

Cut taxes or raise taxes? GOP primary debate offers an unusual array of options.

Beauregard Waiting Game: Half the Affordable Housing Units Are a Decade Away

Supporters of the plan praise set-aside units; opponents fear complacency and inaction.

For the thousands of people who live in low-slung garden apartments on the West End, the future is an ever-present worry.