Alexandria: And Now for Something Different–Consensus
Council and School Board agree on capacity priority.
Here’s how budget sessions go: the Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) puts together a list of funding requests. The city puts its budget together and tells the school system to get its numbers lower. There’s some haggling over prices and priorities, with the city eventually transferring a little more money into the schools and the schools announcing cuts to various programs or plans to reach the city’s funding requirements.
Alexandria: Residents Displaced by Church Expansion Assured Housing
The Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley presents affordable housing relocation plan.
“One of our missions is to sustain affordable housing,” said the Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley at a meeting with the local residents on Feb. 11.”This affects people and families. It’s not something we take lightly.”
Alexandria: Scholarship Honors Peter Williams
Application deadline Feb. 28.
Applications for the Peter Williams Memorial Scholarship are being accepted through Feb. 28.
Alexandria: Presenting Move2Learn Grants
RunningBrooke awards $70,000 to local nonprofits.
Brooke Curran, founder of the RunningBrooke fund, presented $70,000 to 12 local nonprofits Feb. 10 as part of the 2016 Move2Learn grants awards.
Alexandria Brief: Absentee Voting for Primary Open
Absentee voting for Virginia’s March 1 Democratic and Republican Presidential Primary is underway.
Alexandria: Making of a Megachurch
Alfred Street Baptist Church prepares for 181,151-square-foot expansion.
On Sundays, Alfred Street Baptist Church, one of the city’s oldest black churches, is one of the most popular spots in Alexandria’s Historic District. According to Deacon James Garrett, the church has added more than 3,000 new members over the last eight years. If all goes according to plan, it’s going to get a little more spacious inside Alexandria’s historic Alfred Street Baptist Church, but some residents are concerned it comes at the cost of crowding their neighbors.
Alexandria: War of Passive Aggression
South rises again in Alexandria to fight renaming streets and moving memorial.
Speakers at a city meeting compared the potential plans to de-Confederate Alexandria to everything from the backlash against soldiers returning home to Vietnam to ISIS and the Taliban. At the second meeting of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Confederate Memorials and Street Names, a public comment section sparked tensions and highlighted a deep divide in how Alexandrians still view a war over 150 years ended.
Alexandria: Rotary Club Accepting Grant Applications
Deadline is Feb. 26.
The Rotary Club of Alexandria is accepting applications for its annual Grants Program which provides financial support to nonprofit organizations that advance literacy for children and adults or improves the lives of children, youth, seniors and others with special needs in the Alexandria community.
‘Mercy Street’ Shines Light on Alexandria
PBS series draws attention to Alexandria’s landmarks.
The Office of Historic Alexandria has joined Extraordinary Alexandria to celebrate the spotlight on its heritage and present new visitor experiences for fans of the PBS miniseries, “Mercy Street.”
Alexandria: City Health Department Offers Guidance on Zika Virus
Case of Zika virus in Virginia was imported from outside the U.S.
As of Feb. 8, there is one known case of Zika virus in Virginia, according to Alexandria Health Department Director Stephen Haering.
Alexandria: Stowe Honored as Officer of the Year
American Legion presents inaugural award.
Alexandria Police officer Carl Stowe Jr. was presented with the 2015 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award Jan. 13 by American Legion Post 24 in Old Town.
Campaign Spending in Alexandria Election
The Virginia Public Access Project compiled the finance reports from the last City Council and mayoral races, giving the public a view of how much running for an office in the city can cost.
Virginia Cigarette Tax Remains Lowest in Nation
Opportunity for increase in cigarette tax blows up in smoke.
Dale Stein and the McLean Citizens Association couldn’t even raise a match before legislators in Richmond extinguished a possible increase in the cigarette tax for Fairfax County.
Alexandria: Ethics Reform Roils Council
Progressive transparency or potential witch hunt?
One month into her term as mayor, Allison Silberberg got the process started on enacting a new set of ethics reforms. At its Jan. 28 meeting, the City Council voted to approve an Ad Hoc Study Group to examine ethics reform. It’s the first legislative step forward on an issue Silberberg had put forward as a centerpiece of her election last year. But on the rest of the council, feelings toward the new committee were a little more tepid, some even drawing parallels between Silberberg’s ethics reform and McCarthyism.
Alexandria: Two Republicans Enter Race Against Beyer
Incumbent gains Republican opponents.
It’s been a little over a year since U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) took office, and both the first term congressman and his political opposition have been busy in that time.