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Drawing the Line
How much should cities and counties be divided among lawmakers?
For Mason Cook of the Middleridge neighborhood in Fairfax County, the problem of gerrymandering can be understood in an afternoon commute. During a public hearing of the Virginia Redistricting Commission this week, he explained that if he were to drive from his house to his grocery store and then drop off a package at his post office, he would have gone through three different House of Delegates districts. "We hear a lot of talk about voter suppression. These kinds of congressional districts are all about voter suppression, and they make the congressional elections totally meaningless." — Bill Millhouser of Fairfax County
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.
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.
Baby Bust
Declining birth rates lead to shrinking Kindergarten enrollments.
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.
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.
Democrats Choose Northern Virginia Ticket
Primary voters select candidates with gender and racial diversity but lacking in regional balance.
As election returns started rolling in from the Democratic primary Tuesday, Republicans started boasting about having the most diverse statewide ticket in Virginia history.
Opposition Candidates Falter
Voters reject candidates who said City Hall lacks integrity.
Democratic primaries are usually about biography and personalities, focusing on professional resumes and personal connections.
Democrats Decide
Voters to determine direction of party in June 8 primary
The June 8 primary will determine the direction of the Democratic Party in Virginia at a critical time, when the commonwealth is emerging from the pandemic and trying to recast itself as something other than a party in opposition to former President Donald Trump.
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.
Where to Put Affordable Housing in Alexandria?
City Council candidates disagree about co-locating with schools, accessory dwelling units
When Alexandria housing officials first considered the idea of putting affordable housing over a new fire station in Potomac Yard, Housing Director Helen McIlvaine joked that her office would eventually become known throughout the region for putting “stuff on top of stuff.”
Convention Done, Primary Ahead
Republicans get a head start in the general election; Democrats still fighting each other
The way Democrats talk about Donald Trump, you'd think he was on the ballot in 2021. And in many ways, he is. The former president may be out of the White House and kicked off of social media, but he's still eager to see himself as a kingmaker.
Gutter Politics
City Council candidates campaign on fixing Alexandria's flooding problem.
None of the candidates for Alexandria City Council are for flooding, which has swamped the city's aging infrastructure in recent years as a series of major storm events have repeatedly submerged parts of Alexandria.
City Election: Yo Yo Road Diet
Four Democrats support four lanes on Seminary Road.
The lingering resentment over Seminary Road bike lanes comes with a price tag, somewhere between $300,000 and $700,000 — a cost four City Council candidates say they’re willing to pay for returning four lanes of traffic to the street.
Seven Republicans Running for Governor
May 8 convention to determine direction of party heading into November.
Republicans haven’t won a statewide race since 2009, when Attorney General Bob McDonnell received 59 percent of the vote against Democrat Creigh Deeds. Since then, Republicans have been shut out of the Executive Mansion. Ken Cuccinelli lost to Terry McAuliffe in 2013, and Ed Gillespie lost to Ralph Northam in 2017. Now Republicans are about to determine their statewide candidates in a May 8 convention, which will take place at 37 locations.
Two-Front Primary
Self-styled 'aggressive progressive' wages statewide campaign while defending House seat
Northern Virginia has one of the most competitive Democratic primaries for the House of Delegates this year, a race that's complicated by an incumbent who's seeking reelection while also seeking a statewide office. Del. Mark Levine (D-45) will be appearing twice on the ballot, once toward the top of the ticket for lieutenant governor and then again for reelection to the House seat that he's held since his first election in 2015.
Running for Second in Command
Thirteen candidates are running for lieutenant governor in Virginia.
Seven Democrats and six Republicans are trying to secure their parties' nomination to be the candidate for lieutenant governor on the November ballot.
Lucky Thirteen
June 8 primary will feature more than a dozen Democrats running for six seats
Recent years have seen a dramatic shift in city politics. Three years ago, the incumbent mayor was unseated in an election where two incumbent City Council members were turned out of office. Now three of the six seats on the council are open, and 13 candidates are running for six seats.
Green Summer
Alexandria delegation works with the governor to legalize marijuana on July 1.
Alexandria is about to become the capital of marijuana in Virginia. The city's legislative delegation is at the center of an effort poised to legalize weed this summer, years ahead of an agreement that was struck behind closed doors at the end of the General Assembly session in February.
Ethicist on the Bench
Prosecutor of bad lawyers to take a seat on the Alexandria Circuit Court
Prosecuting unethical lawyers is not a great way to win friends and influence people. Yet somehow Kathleen Uston has been able to figure out a way to trade her job as assistant bar counsel at the Virginia State Bar for a seat on the Alexandria Circuit Court. She'll be installed on the court next week, the culmination of a career that has given Uston an inside look at some of the worst lawyering in Virginia while also giving her a special insight into the role ethics plays in the law. — Yvonne Weight Callahan
Seeing Double
Alexandria delegate is one of four House members whose name will be on the ballot twice.
The ballot for the Democratic primary in June might cause you to do a double take. Del. Mark Levine (D-45) will be on the ballot twice, once running for reelection against primary challenger Elizabeth Bennett-Parker and then again against seven other candidates for lieutenant governor. Levine and three other House members will be doing double duty, asking voters to reject their primary opponents for seats they would vacate if they win stateside office.