Alexandria Snapshot: Welcome
Mayor Allison Silberberg, center, and members of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce were on hand March 31 as Long and Foster welcomed Victoria KilCullen and Christie’s Real Estate to their firm. Kilcullen will launch the Christie’s line, a division of Long and Foster Luxury brand, in Alexandria and cover the Northern Virginia region. Shown at the March 31 reception at Principle Gallery are: Former Gov. Jim Gilmore, Christie’s International senior vice president Kathleen Coumou, Chamber of Commerce CEO Joe Haggerty, Silberberg, Long and Foster President Boomer Foster, Kilcullen, Councilwoman Del Pepper and Chamber of Commerce Vice President Shari Simmans.
First Responders Honored at 38th Annual Valor Awards
‘Ready for All Emergencies’
Technician Ryland Chapman and Lieutenant Lawrence Mullin with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department were preparing to return home from a deployment with Virginia Task Force 1 to earthquake-rocked Kathmandu, Nepal when another quake sent them back out for duty.
Lawmakers Wrap-up Richmond Legislative Session
Unspent TANF grant money, prisoner rights among social issues discussed.
On average, low income families in Virginia who are eligible and sign up for funds from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant receive $269 monthly and are cut off after five years. But lawmakers say there’s a lot more unexpended money available in the federal grant that, if it remains unused, could one day be taken back.
Alexandria: Transitway Plan Branches Out
Council approves West End Transitway after argument over tree canopy.
If all goes as planned, implementation is still four years away, but the West End Transitway took a step forward at the March 29 meeting with the City Council unanimously voting in support of guidance for the planning of a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route between the Van Dorn Metro Station and the Pentagon.
Alexandria: Former Deputy Fire Chief Dies
Michael Conner dies at 68.
Each October during National Fire Prevention Week, a solemn ceremony takes place at Ivy Hill Cemetery where a Roll Call of the Fallen is taken to honor firefighters who have given their lives protecting the citizens of Alexandria. This year’s ceremony will take on new meaning when the toll of a bell rings out for Michael Conner, the former deputy fire chief whose recruit class first dedicated Ivy Hill’s Circle of Honor in 1970.
Sex Trafficking Young Victims in Northern Virginia
Federal funds for gang task force expire April 1.
The first article in an occasional series on human sexual trafficking in Northern Virginia.
Alexandria Snapshot: Generation to Generation Gala
Senior Services of Alexandria hosted its annual Generation to Generation Gala March 12 at the Hilton Mark Center Alexandria. The 2016 honorees included Sue Goodhart and Allison Goodhart DuShuttle, and Kitty, Mike, Kirby and Keely Porterfield. H. Arthur Sauer was awarded with SSA’s first Special Service Award. For more information about SSA’s programs and services go to seniorservicesalex.org.
Alexandria Brief: King Street Park Revitalized
Beverley Park isn’t the only Alexandria Park looking at major redevelopment. The park at the end of King Street, appropriately named “King Street Park,” could be seeing a temporary boost before Waterfront redevelopment transforms the area. Currently the site hosts a small anchor monument and a bench, but expansion into two nearby sites could turn the park into the missing link between the northern and southern parts of the Alexandria waterfront.
Alexandria: Old Town North Development Approved
The empty lot in North Old Town, formerly home to Giant, will soon be home for 232-units of residential development. Local citizens protested the traffic and parking impact of the new building, and while City Council did tighten the on-street parking requirement, City Council approved the development at the March 12 public hearing.
Alexandria: Hidden Consequences to Lighting the Landscape
Lights may not be an ideal crime-deterrent.
Beverley Park is a fairly inconspicuous park at the heart of one of Alexandria’s northern residential neighborhoods, but locally it has a somewhat more ominous name: the Pit.
Alexandria Snapshot: Thanking United Way
The City Council recognizes a $100,000 grant from United Way of the National Capital Area to local nonprofits: Family Matters, New Hope Housing, the Dunbar Alexandria-Olympic Boys & Girls Clubs, Alive!, Offender Aid and Restoration of Arlington County, Senior Services of Alexandria, Carpenter’s Shelter, Bethany House of Northern Virginia, and the Ethiopian Community Development Council.
Alexandria: Ramsey Resolved
Despite approvals, Ramsey Homes redevelopment pushed back until 2017.
The Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority has agreed to a work plan with the city. One of the core tenets of this plan, number 3 on the list, is “no surprises.”
Alexandria: Euille Meets with Inmates
Former mayor discusses need for jobs to curb recidivism.
“Before we start, I want you to know that I can’t do anything to get you out sooner,” said former Mayor William Euille to inmates at the Alexandria Detention Center on March 10. Euille spoke about his own experiences with successes and defeats throughout his life, including his recent loss to Vice Mayor Allison Silberberg.
Alexandria: Make Eisenhower Great Again
City Manager Mark Jinks lays out plans for Eisenhower area.
While the city makes adjustments to local transit and fosters more cultural activities in the Carlyle and Eisenhower area, there’s been no word yet on the biggest issue affecting the Eisenhower Valley: whether or not the Transportation Safety Administration will move into the long-vacant Victory Center. At the March 10 meeting of the Eisenhower Partnership, City Manager Mark Jinks said that the city’s been hearing that they’ll find out whether or not Alexandria will be the new TSA home “any day now” since a judge voided the contract in November 2015.
Alexandria: Church Offers Grants to Nonprofits
For the fifth year in a row, Westminster Presbyterian Church opened its call for local grant applications as part of its local mission program. The grant program seeks to award $25,000 to local non-profits in 2016 who aid children, hunger, education, shelter or self-sufficiency for Northern Virginia residents. To date, the Westminster Community Grant Program has awarded 23 grants totaling more than $85,000 to local community programs.