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Massive Fire Burns Warehouse on South Pickett Street
Blaze sends heavy black smoke into the air.
Firefighters from across Northern Virginia and Maryland are battling a massive, five-alarm fire at 801 South Picket Street, a warehouse building tax records say was originally constructed in 1965.
Financing the Rampage
Economic toll of gun violence is more than $14 billion a year for Virginia.
All those school security measures to harden your local elementary school add up. So do trips to the emergency room and the multiple surgeries needed to address gunshot wounds. While the human tragedy of gun violence often grabs headlines, the economic toll continues to mount with each mass shooting. According to Everytown for Gun Safety, the annual cost to Virginia is more than $14 billion a year.
Pendulum Politics in Northern Virginia
House District 34 has swung to the left, the right and back again.
Northern Virginia’s wealthiest suburbs are also some of its most hotly contested battleground precincts, the House of Delegates district surrounding Great Falls that’s swung left and right and left again in recent years. What once was the home of legendary Republican Vince Callahan has become kind of jump ball after he announced his retirement a decade ago.
Not-So-Super Tuesday
Turnout for Virginia's presidential preference primary was lowest in recent memory.
With two of the major candidates in the Republican presidential contest failing to qualify for the ballot in Virginia, Super Tuesday was anything but super.
City Attorney Says Board of Zoning Appeals Does Not Need Legal Representation
Rare lawsuit pits city officials against their own board.
What happens to members of city boards and commissions who get sued by the city government? It’s an awkward question, one that Alexandria now faces in the Alexandria Circuit Court.
Old Dominion Boat Club Settles With Feds, Continues to Fend Off City Hall
40-year old lawsuit comes to an end as city officials make plans for parking lot.
It’s been almost 40 years since the Richard Nixon administration filed a series of lawsuits against property owners along the waterfront.
Republican Sweep
Democrats lose statewide for the first time since 2009.
Virginia has a long tradition of offering a counterpoint to presidential elections starting after the election of Democrat Jimmy Carter for president in 1976.
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.
School Board Chairwoman Confronts Governor During Alexandria Education Summit
City leaders hope to change school takeover rather than filing lawsuit.
Sitting face to face with Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell at T.C. Williams, Alexandria School Board Chairwoman Karen Graf challenged the sweeping education reform that threatens to remove Jefferson-Houston School from the city's public school system.
Alexandria Leaders Search for Alternative to Alternative B
City officials to reconfigure design for Potomac Yard Metro station.
For years, city officials and Deleware-based CPYR have been planning to build a Metro station known as Alternative B — a design that would allow direct access from land owned by the developer to a new Metro station.
Voters to Have Final Say on Eminent Domain Amendment
Opinions are divided as to what kind of influence the amendment could have if passed.
This fall, voters across Virginia will be confronted with a hotly debated amendment to the Virginia Constitution that seeks to limit the ability of local governments to use the power of eminent domain.
Arlington Officials Release Previously Secret Construction Bids
County leaders change position on secrecy of bids; refuse to reveal expectations.
New documents released by Arlington County officials show the four bids for the new aquatics center at Long Bridge Park range from $81.9 million to $82.8 million.
Should Royal Street Become a Bicycle Boulevard?
Alexandria hires consultant to consider ways to encourage more bicycle traffic.
Pedestrians and bicyclists clash with vehicles up and down Union Street, a concern for city leaders who want to find a way to move cyclists to Royal Street.
Transitway to the Future
Alexandria and Arlington set to break ground on region's first transitway with dedicated lanes.
This week, elected leaders and government officials from Alexandria and Arlington will turn swords into plowshares, setting aside their previous differences about the Crystal City Potomac Yard transitway and wielding ceremonial shovels to break ground.
Justice Delayed
When does a defendant no longer have the right to a speedy trial?
Judges across Northern Virginia are about to be presented with a difficult question: Does the crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic trump a defendant’s right to a speedy trial?
Mounting Layoffs
Businesses notify state officials of 5,000 layoffs in Northern Virginia.
Businesses across Northern Virginia are flooding the Virginia Economic Commission with thousands of layoff notifications, an indication of how deep the region’s economic uncertainty is becoming as the COVID-19 crisis continues its devastating path. Since the beginning of March, the commission has received notification of about 5,000 layoffs in Northern Virginia. That’s more layoffs in one part of the state than all the other regions in Virginia combined.
Senators Meet with Leaders of Industry
In joint appearance, Warner and Kaine talk business in Northern Virginia.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner says Gov. Terry McAuliffe should pick one region of the commonwealth to compete for landing a second Amazon headquarters in Virginia instead of trying to cheerlead for three different areas simultaneously. U.S. Sen. Mark Warner says the federal government should be allowed to negotiate drug prices through Medicare to bring down the cost of prescriptions. These are some of the revelations that Warner and Kaine dropped on industry leaders this week at a meeting of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce.
War on the Waterfront
Iron Ladies file another lawsuit challenging city's efforts to upzone three sites.
When the dispute between Old Town and City Hall was at its height last year, 20th Century Fox movie "Iron Lady" was in the theaters celebrating the life of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. So when Old Town residents April Burke, Beth Gibney and Marie Kux filed a lawsuit against the city, the trio was dubbed the "Iron Ladies" — a tip of the hat to the steely determination of the former prime minister.
Simon To Resign from School Board
Opening prompts special election for this fall.
Simon said he loved doing the work of the School Board and thanked those who supported his campaign in 2012. But he said that he must make his family a priority and resign the seat.
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.