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Fiscal Year Follies: Latest Budget Blunder Involves Increased Utility Tax
'Mistake' comes on the heels of 'communication issue.'
Shortly after City Council members approved the budget for fiscal year 2014, they had to reconsider two dedicated sources of revenue that had been spiked despite a lack of consensus among elected officials. Now City Manager Rashad Young has acknowledged a new blunder in revenue collections, a failure to follow all the necessary steps to increase utility taxes.
Arlington County Board to Consider More Changes to Sign Ordinance
Elected officials to consider commercial signs along roadsides.
For Dan Magnolia, the headache of dealing with Arlington County government is a sign of the times. Visitors to his business in south Arlington are likely to see a four-foot by three-foot sign announcing the business.
Fear-mongering Fail
New poll shows Virginians feel safe after criminal justice reforms.
Poll on Crime
Voters to Have Final Say on Eminent Domain Amendment
Opinions are divided as to what kind of influence the amendment could have if passed.
This fall, voters across Virginia will be confronted with a hotly debated amendment to the Virginia Constitution that seeks to limit the ability of local governments to use the power of eminent domain.
Transitway to the Future
Alexandria and Arlington set to break ground on region's first transitway with dedicated lanes.
This week, elected leaders and government officials from Alexandria and Arlington will turn swords into plowshares, setting aside their previous differences about the Crystal City Potomac Yard transitway and wielding ceremonial shovels to break ground.
Board of Zoning Appeals Overturns Planning Director's Determination on Waterfront Plan
City officials vow to appeal ruling to Circuit Court in dramatic turn of events.
The waterfront plan is dead, at least for now.
Week in Alexandria
Seven Alexandria businesses got stung last weekend during a regularly scheduled crackdown on businesses that sell alcohol to minors.
The Indispensable Library
$40 million facility now taking shape at Mount Vernon Estate; opening set for September.
Drivers zooming along Mount Vernon Memorial Highway are seeing history in the making. There, nestled in the thick woods of George Washington's estate, is a construction zone that will shape how future generations will view a figure historian James Thomas Flexner dubbed "The Indispensable Man."
Texas Official Appointed to Lead Alexandria
City Council hires James Parajon as city manager.
New City Manager
This Week in Alexandria
Highlights of this week in Alexandria.
Drop-Box Election
Pandemic protocols rewrite rules on voting.
When absentee ballots are distributed in the next two weeks, voters will have a new option to exercise their franchise: a drop box, which will be installed outside the Registrar’s office on North Royal Street.
Three-Way Race for the House of Delegates Special Election
Voters to choose between Democrat, Republican and Libertarian in lightning-fast campaign.
Voters in the special election for the House of Delegates have a variety of choices, offering candidates on the left and the right and somewhere in between.
Fundraising and Connections Help Former Lieutenant Governor Emerge Victorious
Don Beyer edges out six competitors in crowded filed of candidates.
When asked about animals rights, former Lt. Gov. Don Beyer quotes author Peter Singer. He describes his wife as the "sine qua non" of his life. During his victory speech in the hotly contested Democratic primary to replace longtime U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8), he quoted St. Augustine and Winston Churchill. He reads widely and has five policy proposals for every issue before Congress.
Myth-busting the Vote
A look at how the election will really happen in Alexandria
For most Alexandria voters expected to cast a ballot this year, Election Day has already come and gone. The unprecedented spike in early voting comes at a time when the city is battling a deadly pandemic and a whirlwind of misinformation. Here are a few myths about the election this year and why they are wrong.
Parents Rally to Save FACE as Alexandria School Board Considers Budget Cuts
Board members must close a $3 million gap before sending budget to City Hall.
Dozens of parents appeared before members of the Alexandria School Board last week with a simple plea — save FACE.
Griffin’s Final Budget
Outgoing county executive proposes 6.1 percent budget increase compared to last year.
Appearing before members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for the last time, outgoing county executive Anthony Griffin had the luxury of taking the long view. When considering the challenges that currently confront the county, Griffin reminded the elected officials that it wasn’t all that long ago that Fairfax County has essentially a rural backwater of the capital.
Furloughed and Waiting
Uncertainty lingers as furloughed workers hope temporary layoffs come to an end.
When Joy Phansond was furloughed from her job as sales coordinator at the Holiday Inn in Old Town, the temporary layoff was initially supposed to last until April 5. Then it was extended to May 5. Then it was extended again until June 5. She suspects that it’ll be extended again until July at least because the hotel business in Alexandria has been slammed by the collapse of tourism, trade shows and conventions.
Absurd Leverage
Lawmakers to reconsider mandatory minimum for assaulting law enforcement
Earlier this year, lawmakers rejected a bill that would have ditched the mandatory minimum sentence for assaulting a law-enforcement officer. Now the General Assembly is about to consider the issue again.
Council Notebook
Yea, though members of the City Council walk through the valley of the shadow of Beauregard, they seem to fear no evil.