Alexandria Column: The Mailbox
Not unlike a man of like age, it leans slightly as dictated by their common enemy, age. Eight decades will do that.
Commentary:Blame Local Governance for Police Secrecy
Police shootings where civilians are killed (or wounded) are assumed to occur while protecting the public-at-large, as well as the officer(s) involved. When the public seeks to learn the circumstances of such shootings, police officials lock up the files and send out their spokesperson to say they can reveal nothing, forever.
Resurrection of Ivy Hill
Effort to make historic cemeteries “destinations.”
“Leveraging Mobile Technology for Cemetery Marketing and Maintenance” and “The Use of Mechanical Armatures to Support Weak or Failed Gravestones” are unlikely lures for the ordinary weekend.
Relief Just Moments Away
Alexandria's fireboat comes home.
Named Relief, Alexandria’s fireboat returned to its berth last week and stands ready for action in service to the Port City. However, its responsibilities are broader than one might expect.
An Alexandria Monument
Highly visible, mostly forgotten.
Ninety-nine years ago, almost to the day, a ladies’ patriotic organization made a gift to the City of Alexandria with the permission of the City Council. Its centerpiece is a cannon abandoned by Major General Edward Braddock at the start of his march against the French and their Native American allies in 1755. Braddock’s aide-de-camp was a colonial officer named George Washington. The artillery piece sits upon a pedestal of cobble stones taken from the streets of Old Town. Drivers rushing through the busy intersection of Russell and Braddock roads hardly notice the structure. For pedestrians, access to the small plot can be a challenge.
City in Violation of Its Charter
Citizens hampered from accessing departmental rules and regulations.
While Alexandria’s ordinances are enacted in public by the City Council and are readily accessible to the citizenry, usually in the form of “The Code of the City of Alexandria, 1981,” departments and offices across city government also promulgate official rules and regulations, but they are neither publicized nor readily accessible by the citizenry. This directly violates the express wording of the city’s charter.
The Lions of King Street
The winged lion appeared in many cultures over thousands of years. It symbolized beginnings and endings, “the seeker and the accomplished.” So, in one sense, the winged lion is a perfect business advertisement.