Michael Lee Pope is an award-winning journalist who lives in Old Town Alexandria. He has reported for NPR, the New York Daily News and Northern Virginia Magazine. He has a master's degree in American Studies from Florida State University, and he is a former adjunct professor at Tallahassee Community College. Pope is the author of four books.
Recent Stories
Scooting into 2020 in Alexandria
City Council considers extending dockless mobility pilot program.
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Following the Money
Special-interest groups seek power and influence.
A look at campaign-finance documents from the 2019 election cycle reveals an intricate web of special-interest money, everything from Dominion and Verizon to casino developers and car-title lenders. Members of the Alexandria delegation took money from lobbyists and associations who have pending business during the upcoming two-month General Assembly session, when lawmakers will be forbidden from taking campaign cash.
Potomac Yard: Before and After
Transforming a suburban strip mall into an Innovation District.
The strip mall at Potomac Yard is a placeholder, a temporary solution to a thorny question about the relationship between density and traffic.
More Educated, Better Paid
Foreign-born population attracted by government contracting and tech jobs.
Virginia’s foreign-born population is more educated and better paid, according to a new report from the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis. The Richmond-based think tank points out more than 40 percent of immigrants in Virginia have a bachelor’s degree or higher. That’s a significantly higher level of education than the United States as a whole, and it’s even a bit higher than native-born Virginians.
A Tale of Two Neighborhoods
Del Ray has more voters than Old Town, and it carries more clout.
Del Ray can boast that it’s the center of power in Alexandria, the home of both Mayor Justin Wilson and Sheriff Dana Lawhorne. Old Town, on the other hand, doesn’t have as many voters or as much clout.