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Commemorating Hidden History in Arlington and Alexandria
Local 'Green Book' locations may soon be designated historic sites.
Green Book
Green Rollback May Hit Blue Wall
Republican efforts to undo environmental laws to face opposition in Democratic-led Senate.
Environmental laws
Reconsidering Marijuana
Pot is still legal, but the plan to regulate its sale is in jeopardy.
Marijuana
Red Flags, Confiscated Guns
Police across Virginia use new law to disarm people courts determine to be dangerous.
Since Virginia's new red-flag law was signed by the Gov. Ralph Northam last year, according to data from the Virginia State Police, law enforcement officials across Virginia have issued 170 emergency substantial risk orders to temporarily confiscate firearms from people courts have determined could be dangerous. That includes 32 in Fairfax County, six in Arlington and five in Alexandria. Police officers and sheriffs deputies have also used the law in so-called "Second Amendment sanctuaries," including 13 risk orders in Virginia Beach and seven in Hanover County.
Texas Official Appointed to Lead Alexandria
City Council hires James Parajon as city manager.
New City Manager
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.
Casting a Ballot
Recent changes to voting make casting a ballot easier than ever.
Recent changes to voting make casting a ballot easier than ever.
Transforming Potomac Yard
Virginia Tech breaks ground for Innovation Campus in Alexandria.
Potomac Yard Groundbreaking
Bag It?—Not Any More
Arlington to consider a new five-cent tax for each plastic bag.
Bag It?—Not Any More
Reform Is in the Bag
City Council to consider new five-cent tax for each plastic bag.
Alexandria started pressing for a plastic bag tax when George W. Bush was in the White House and Virginia was a red state. Now the years of advocacy have finally paid off, and state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-30) has been able to pass a bill giving City Hall authority to impose a five-cent tax on each and every plastic bag that's used in grocery stores and convenience stores.
Facing Eviction
Virginia has new protections for renters, but temporary measures expire next year.
The clock is ticking for renters across Virginia who are in danger of being evicted. People of color and low-income Virginians are most at risk.
Connecting the Unconnected
Less than 3 percent of broadband spending to help low-income people gain internet access
About 15 percent of Alexandria students did not have access to the internet when the pandemic began last year, a statistic that reveals how many households in Alexandria are locked out of the modern economy.
Whistle Stop
McAuliffe launches DNC bus tour at Port City, dodges question about labor
The Build Back Better Bus caused quite a stir last week at Port City Brewing, and not just because of the alliteration.
Big Money for Big Biz, Not as Much for Poor
Lawmakers go on a spending spree with billions of dollars from Uncle Sam.
Big business cleaned up this week, taking home the biggest prizes in the special session to spend $3 billion in stimulus cash. Meanwhile, low-income Virginians didn't fare quite as well.
Spending Spree
General Assembly returns to Richmond to appropriate federal stimulus cash
In the 1985 hit movie "Brewster's Millions," Richard Pryor is given the task of spending $30 million in 30 days.
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.