Alexandria Local

Alexandria Local

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COVID-19: Not a Fair Fight in Alexandria

Regional perspective: pandemic exposes health inequality leading up to discrepancies in life expectancy.

In Alexandria, the Latinx population, which comprises 16.8 percent of the City, accounts for 55.5 percent of Alexandria’s positive cases of COVID-19.

Opinion: Commentary: Moving Forward: The Anatomy of Racism in our Everyday Lives

In the past few weeks, many people, especially African Americans, have had to reconcile what they have seen in witnessing the murder of George Floyd and that of their own experience. I am no exception.

Opinion: Commentary: Public Demands Changes, Not Studies and Delays

Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus Police Reform and Criminal Justice Equity Plan

The deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor has awoken Americans and Virginians to long standing problems in policing in America.

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Alexandria Reckoning

Police launch formal inquiry into why Black people make up majority of arrests.

Black people are 23 percent of the population in Alexandria, and yet most arrests in the city are of African Americans. Most cases when police use force are against Black people. Most drug arrests are of Black people. And almost half of the inmates at the Alexandria jail are Black people.

Appetite: Not Ready for Indoor Dining? Eat Al Fresco Here in Alexandria

Here on the precipice of Virginia’s Phase 3 of reopening, most of Alexandria’s restaurants are back to business as usual – within the scope of a major pandemic, that is.

Opinion: Letter to the Editor: Alexandria Police Department Has a Systemic Racism Problem

The Alexandria Police Department is one of the most professional and respected law enforcement agencies in the country. And yes, the Alexandria Police Department does have a systemic racism problem within it. The two can be synonymous.

Opinion: Column: Mourning, Afternoon and Evening

We had to euthanize Biscuit, our oldest cat, on Saturday, June 20th. He would have been 14 on September 20th.

Marijuana Decriminalized July 1 in Virginia

Will decriminalization of marijuana stop inequitable treatment for communities of color?

Who is more likely to be charged, asked Braddock Supervisor James Walkinshaw. An executive of a defense contractor smoking marijuana on his deck overlooking woods in Clifton or Great Falls, or the Black teen or young adult walking down Route One in Mount Vernon, or on a street in the Annandale or Culmore sections of Fairfax County?

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Using Holistic Practices

How Yoga and Meditation can help ease anxiety over racial injustice.

Before the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent stay-at-home orders, Kesha Davis’s weekday evening routine included picking up her fifteen-year-old son at a bus stop in Old Town Alexandria.

Opinion: Letter to the Editor: A Different Way of Looking at the Data

The Gazette reports that “African Americans are often targets of strong-arm tactics” by the Alexandria Police Department, and that disproportionate growth of the Department’s budget over the last 20 years has “led many to question the allocation of public resources.” (“Disproportionate Use of Force”, June 11, 2020.)

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Engin Artemel Dies at 81

Former Alexandria Director of Planning spearheaded waterfront development.

The story is one of family legend. When Engin Artemel first arrived in the United States from Istanbul, Turkey, he had $20 in his pocket and virtually no English in his vocabulary.

Opinion: Letter to the Editor: Black Lives Matter

The people of our nation are being attacked by the very system that is required by law to help them, serve them, and protect them from crimes against them.

Opinion: Letter to the Editor: Terminate Local Agreements with Park Police

As you know, on Monday, June 1, 2020, the United States Park Police (USPP) used tear gas on citizens at Lafayette Square who were peacefully exercising their constitutional rights prior to any curfew.

Opinion: Letter to the Editor: It’s Time to Rename Pickett Street

In 1953, the Alexandria City Council renamed more than 30 streets for Confederate military leaders after it annexed a portion of Fairfax County.

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