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Alexandria: Uniting for Clean Energy

Rally spotlights climate change’s effects on people.

A rally to support clean power, held in Market Square on April 2, was interrupted by a heckler denouncing climate change as a fraud. For attendees of the rally, it was an unexpected disturbance, but the legislators hosting the event say it’s par for the course.

Inside the Alexandria Police Department: Evidence

An occasional series, drawn from the Alexandria Citizen’s Police Academy.

The Alexandria Citizens’ Police Academy is a 10-week course hosted by the Alexandria Police Department (APD) to offer citizens a better understanding of how the department works. Throughout the course, participants sit in on emergency calls and ride along with police officers on patrol.

Alexandria: Robbery Ends in Murder

Local grandfather remembered as pillar of community.

Melaku Abraha loved walking. It was his favorite way to explore Alexandria, and family and neighbors in particular remember his frequent walks near his home on South Alfred Street. On March 28, at around 9:33 p.m., he was found conscious but badly injured just a block from his home. A robbery and assault left Abraha with serious head injuries. He was hospitalized, but his condition continued to deteriorate and four days later he died.

Alexandria Letter: Selective Taxing

Letter to the Editor

This past Friday, the Governance Subcommittee of the Waterfront Commission met at the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership’s (AEDP) headquarters in a work session led by Charlotte Hall, who is the Waterfront Commission chairwoman.

Alexandria Letter: Constructing History

Letter to the Editor

History books – and instructors – are not infallible. For example, although our Massachusetts President John F. Kennedy’s Thanksgiving Proclamations issued more than 50 years ago acknowledged Virginia’s Berkeley Hundred Thanksgiving celebration on Dec. 4, 1619, American history texts and teachers still credit the Pilgrims’ 1621 event as the first on these shores by the English. Why do the texts mostly written and edited in Boston and N.Y. not credit Virginia’s preeminence? Why should we care?

Alexandria Letter: Funding Pre-K Centers

Letter to the Editor

Last year, a joint effort by the Alexandria City Public Schools and the City of Alexandria resulted in the creation of a Long Range Educational Facilities Plan (LREFP).

Alexandria Letter: Unnecessary Expense

Letter to the Editor

The City Council’s proposal to remove a statue memorializing our city’s common soldiers who died to protect their state, homes and loved ones from invaders should be unthinkable. And erase all Confederate street names? Must we be defined by such misguided and ignominious acts? George Washington’s, George Mason’s and Robert E. Lee’s hometown must set a better example — not destroy our American heritage.

Alexandria Letter: Volunteers are Champions

Letter to the Editor

April 10-16, 2016 is National Volunteer Week. It is a time to reflect on the civic traditions that make American communities great, and one of the best times to recognize and thank volunteers for their incredible efforts and inspiring actions.

Alexandria: Two Brothers are Going for the Gold

TC track stars raising funds to reach Rio.

Noah and Josephus Lyles, along with their 4x100 meter relay team from T.C. Williams High School, are headed to the Arcadia Invitational in California this weekend as they continue their quest to reach the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Alexandria Column: Strut with Your Mutt for a Good Cause

Commentary–AWLA

Alexandria’s Walk for Animals on May 1 will be a first for a 6-year-old toy fox terrier called Gorgeous. A former show dog champion, Gorgeous has walked the 1.5-mile course around Old Town before, but this will be her first time attempting the Walk without vision. Gorgeous lost her eyesight in December to acute glaucoma.

Alexandria Column: A Proposal for Interim Fitzgerald Square Plan

Commentary

I propose an interim plan for Fitzgerald Square that differs significantly from the two “schemes” city staff has proposed. Specifically, this plan will (1) maximize the use of the existing facilities at the Fitzgerald Square location, (2) meet pressing parking needs in the immediate waterfront area, and (3) cost much less than the schemes staff has proposed.

Mount Vernon: West Potomac Earns First Win Over TC Since 2009

Somuah’s two goals lead Wolverines past Titans.

The West Potomac boys' soccer team defeated T.C. Williams 3-1 on Monday.

Editorial: Move Forward with Independent Oversight

While FCPD has embraced many critical changes, supervisors need to move forward with oversight.

Last week, the Fairfax County Police Department posted a list and progress report of 202 recommendations made by the Ad Hoc Police Practices Review Commission, each currently labeled as one of: implemented, in progress or under review.

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.

Burke: Robinson Girls’ Lax Dominating Opponents

Rams beat Lake Braddock, 19-1.

The Robinson girls' lacrosse team defeated Lake Braddock 19-1 on Tuesday.

Alexandria Appetite: From Sauces to Spices, She Peppers Packs a Punch

Two-woman team of pepper purveyors is expanding its farmer’s market reach — and gaining shelf space in stores.

Many of Alexandria’s gardeners are just beginning to put their spring vegetables in the ground, last-minute frost be darned. But for Stephanie Freeman and Vickie Lucas, the business of peppers is a year-round affair. Instead of waiting until April to till the soil, they’ve been awaiting the beginning of farmer’s market season — and the expansion of their sauce-and-spice business, She Peppers.

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.