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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.
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.
Scooting into 2020
City Council considers extending dockless mobility pilot program.
Alexandria is bitterly divided over scooters, and a recent survey showed that the city is just about evenly split between people who hate the dockless mobility program and people who love it. That’s the backdrop for members of the Alexandria City Council, who are now considering extending the pilot into next year. A public hearing on the issue is scheduled for Dec. 14.
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.
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.