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Drawing the Line
Newly created redistricting commission zooms toward new maps in 2021
Now that voters have approved a constitutional amendment creating a new redistricting commission, the pieces have already started falling into place for how the commission will work and who will serve on it.
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.
Food Truck Amuse-Bouche
Draft regulations would allow food trucks to 15 city parks and recreation centers.
Think Alexandria is about to be overrun by food trucks? Think again. Draft regulations now under consideration by the Parks and Recreation Commission would limit the pilot program for food trucks to parks and recreation centers that have 10 or more parking spaces. Only three would be allowed at one place at a time, and they would be limited to vending for four hours at a time. The parking lots must be paved, and the spaces must be designated. Although the city has more than 100 parks and recreation centers, only 15 sites would qualify under the draft regulations now under consideration. The Alexandria City Council is expected to review the recommendation next week. Food trucks could start vending as early as July 1.
Recovering After Disaster
New approach allows disaster loans to become grants, avoiding glut of uncollected debt.
The Small Business Administration has issued more than $1 million in low-interest disaster loans in Alexandria since 1987, and most of those loans were never paid back in full, according to documents received through a public-records request. Now, with the economy in crisis, leaders at the federal officials are rolling out a new loan program that recipients won’t need to pay back in full if they keep their employees during the downturn. The move comes as businesses across Alexandria are trying to figure out how they are going to stay afloat now that Gov. Ralph Northam has ordered residents across Virginia to stay at home until June 10.
Undercutting King’s Dominion Law
Governor supports Northern Virginia’s plight to start schools before Labor Day.
Ever since Republicans gained a narrow one-vote majority in the state Senate, many in Northern Virginia have been fearing a loss of influence in Richmond.
City Attorney Gave Green Light to Hensley Before All Documents Were Reviewed
Federal grant from 1970s provided barrier to private development of public land.
Recently unearthed documents from city and state archives show Joseph Hensley Park is protected by the Land and Water Conservation Act, which financed development of the city-owned property in the late 1970s.
Massive Resistance in Warren County Explained to Diverse Arlington Crowd
Civil rights pioneer explains segregation to fourth-grade students.
As the students assembled in a conference room at Campbell Elementary School, it was clear that the Rev. James M. Kilby had his work cut out for him.
Alexandria City Hall Loses Wales Alley Case to Old Dominion Boat Club
Virginia Supreme Court rejects argument from City Attorney James Banks
Justices of the Virginia Supreme Court have rejected the argument City Attorney James Banks outlined during oral arguments back in September that the city has the ability to lease a public alley to a private business.
National Park Service Shutters Mount Vernon Trail Amid Budget Crisis
Parts of trail are barricaded;; parking lots closed/ Park Service Police issue parking tickets.
Woody Guthrie observed "This Land is Your Land." But that apparently does not apply to federal land during a government shutdown.
Alexandria Fire Chief Takes Role as Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security
Adam Thiel to leave Alexandria and join McAuliffe administration.
When Adam Thiel became chief of the Alexandria Fire Department in 2007, he took over an agency that was clinging to the past — and not just the antiques at the Friendship Firehouse Museum.
Dieting Sisters in Virginia
From road diets to balancing the books, Alexandria and Norton compare notes.
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Council to Consider Waterfront Master Plan Without Making Zoning Change
Two appeals and a court challenge have put the brakes on zoning changes.
During today's public hearing, members of the Alexandria City Council are set to consider an ordinance officially incorporating the controversial waterfront small-area plan into the city’s master plan.
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.
Half a Loaf, Sort of
City waives $1 million affordable housing contribution; council to consider restoring half next year.
Hidden in the margins of the incentive package Alexandria leaders offered to lure the National Science Foundation from Arlington was a million-dollar motivation. Officials at City Hall said they were willing to waive the $1 million contribution to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. City Council members later said they didn't know the incentive was part of the package until it was too late. Removing it might jeopardize the deal, putting City Council members in a difficult spot. "It was my oversight," said Deputy City Manager Mark Jinks. "I take full responsibility." Fixing the problem was difficult and divisive for council members. Some were willing to let the affordable-housing contribution go the way of floppy disk. Others wanted to see the full contribution. Councilman John Taylor Chapman offered a compromise motion to direct budget officials to earmark $500,000 worth of tax revenue from the property to affordable housing during the next budget cycle. Although he initially circulated a memorandum outlining a $1 million contribution, he ended up cutting it in half to make sure he had the necessary support. "To be honest, I didn't think I would the votes to pass it," explained Chapman of the million-dollar proposal. "Some folks were not behind that idea."
Invasive Restrictions: Effort to Restrict Sale of Invasive Plants May Wilt in Richmond
Legislative delegation wary of running afoul of the free market.
They’re all over Mount Vernon — English ivy, Bradford pear, porcelainberry, oriental bittersweet and bamboo.
Decriminalizing Suicide
General Assembly to consider abolishing common-law crime of suicide.
Suicide is illegal in Virginia, one of the few states that has not yet abolished the English common-law tradition of criminalizing the act of intentionally causing one's own death.
Massive Resistance from an Eyewitness
Civil rights pioneer explains segregation to diverse group of students.
As the students assembled in a conference room at Campbell Elementary School, it was clear that the Rev. James M. Kilby had his work cut out for him. How would a 71-year-old civil rights pioneer explain massive resistance to this diverse crowd of students — a group that included not only whites and blacks but also Hispanics and Indians?
Voters to Determine Fate of Amendment to Limit Use of Eminent Domain
Measure will allow property owners to seek damages for loss of profits and access.
Nowhere is the debate about eminent domain more intense than the foot of King Street in Alexandria, where city officials threatened to take land owned by the Old Dominion Boat Club using the power of eminent domain for flood mitigation.
Virginia Voters Choose Firebrand
Corey Stewart to lead Republican ticket this fall.
Conservative firebrand Corey Stewart was denied an opportunity to be the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor in 2013. And then he came within striking distance of being the party’s standard-bearer in the gubernatorial campaign last year. Now, finally, the chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors has secured a spot at the top of the ticket, bringing his brand of anti-immigrant, pro-Confederate Trumpism to the race against incumbent U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine.
Dangling Liberty
Lawmakers to consider putting pretextual stops in the rearview mirror.
Do you have a parking pass dangling from your rearview mirror? What about rosary beads or a graduation tassel? Police officers can use that as a pretext to pull you over and ask to search your car.