A New Way for Seskey To Serve the City
Six months ago, Joseph Seskey was an Alexandria police sergeant overseeing logistics for special events. Today he’s traded in his police badge for a new one, as deputy director of the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria and the city’s chief animal control officer
Local Lawyers Teach in Ireland
Discussions range from drug cases to Edward Snowden.
A group of Alexandria attorneys have continued their international globetrotting of teaching, lecturing and discussing intricacies of American law.
Migrating Birds Flock to Monticello Park
Monticello Park, tucked away in a neighborhood in Alexandria, is a migrant trap for warblers and other migrating birds such as tanagers and orioles. Beginning in March but escalating in April and at prime season in May, this park has a large variety and number of warblers. In 2013 from May 8-17 in nine out of 10 days there was a 100 day warbler total with some days counting over 20 different species. In early May of this year the number of warblers had exploded, already breaking that record. This park is unusual because it has a small stream running through the underbrush, and warblers often fly down when the sun warms up in the morning to bathe in the water. This means you can see warblers all day long. Birders who are used to the seasonal malady of "warbler neck" from staring into the tall trees for hours searching for movement, are delighted that the birds are only a few feet away from them in the stream.
Piloting Food Trucks
Most of controversial food truck proposal placed on back burner.
The food truck craze is coming to a city park or a farmer's market near you, part of a 16-month pilot program that will allow the mobile vendors to set up shop and see what happens. City Council members approved the pilot program in a four-to-two vote with Vice Mayor Allison Silberberg and Councilman Paul Smedberg voting no. Disgruntled restaurant owners across the city are talking about creating a new association specifically to fight expanding the program to hot spots in Old Town and Del Ray, a move city officials have been pushing for more than a year. The pilot is scheduled to begin in July and run through October 2015.
Alexandria Community Trust Turns Ten
Hundreds of residents attended the ACT Birthday and Barbeque Bash at the Waterfront Market & Café...
Nightmare on Green Street?
Neighbors say house is a nuisance; city officials say their hands are tied.
The 800 block of Green Street is tucked away in a quiet part of Old Town, a few blocks west of Washington Street where spring flowers are in bloom and neighbors know each other by name. Except Michael Wargo. Property records say he purchased 813 Green St. in 1989 for $263,000. But neighbors say he hasn't lived in the house for 12 years, and they are concerned that the house is a firetrap that's attracting wild animals and growing concern.
Serving Up Controversy Over Food Trucks in Alexandria
Council members indicate they're likely to approve a pilot program at farmers markets.
City Council members are bracing themselves for a massive food fight this Saturday, when elected officials will take up a divisive proposal to allow food trucks in Alexandria.
2014 Nonprofit Leaders Honored
The 16th annual Alexandria Business Philanthropy Summit was held May 7 as Volunteer Alexandria honored five individuals for their service to the community. Held at the First Baptist Church of Alexandria, more than 250 people turned out for the event that featured former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina as the keynote speaker.
The Fighter
Longtime congressman celebrated by Alexandria Democrats.
During his first run for Congress, then-Mayor Jim Moran assembled a campaign team that was hungry to oust incumbent Republican Stan Parris. Mame Reiley ran the operation, which included a young communications consultant named Joe Trippi. As the race headed toward Election Day, Reiley and Trippi became concerned that Moran's campaign signs kept disappearing from Eisenhower Avenue. So they set up a sting operation with a video camera to catch the culprit, who turned out to be Jim Moran.
May 14: Council Notebook
Council Notebook briefs.
C-Section Boom in Northern Virginia
Region has some of the highest rates of cesarean-section deliveries for low-risk pregnancies.
Behind the closed doors at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church and the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, a quiet change has been taking shape over the last few decades.
Glory Days
BI alumni football games raises $25,000 for Sean O'Malley scholarship fund.
The helmets, pads and jerseys of years gone by were dusted off as 72 Bishop Ireton alumni suited up for a full contact football game April 12 to raise money for the Sean O'Malley Scholarship Fund. More than 500 people turned out at Fannon Field on the BI campus to watch players from as far back as the class of '68 take to the field for a game that also helped celebrate the school's 50th anniversary.
Learning about Nature for Community Stewardship Day
TC students took part in various Earth Week activities throughout the area.
Approximately 370 students from the new International Academy at T.C. Williams High School took part in Earth Week on Friday, April 25. International Academy students broke into groups across the area to participate in Earth Week activities along the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
Despite Advances, Many Virginians Remain Uninsured
Affordable Care Act expands coverage, but more than 800,000 still have no health insurance.
What is the state of the uninsured in Virginia?
Animal Instinct: Democrats in Hotly Contested Primary Divided on Speciesism
Will Jim Moran's successor share his enthusiasm for animal rights?
Candidates in the Democratic primary for Congress have a wide range of views on animal rights, an issue that has become one of the defining legacies of retiring U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8).