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More Clang Coming to Del Ray
New free service along Mount Vernon Avenue to cost $1 million a year.
Del Ray is sometimes called the “little neighborhood that could,” a reference to its history as a home for railroad workers at Potomac Yard.
A Street Runs Through It
Effort to reduce stormwater runoff moves to the median.
Drivers along Patrick Henry Drive can see the Arlington County’s latest attempt at combating pollution from stormwater runoff. From the road, it may look like a few rocks and plants in the median. But county officials say the bioretention system is a “green streets” project aimed at absorbing and retaining pollutants rather than sending them into to Chesapeake Bay.

School Board Chairwoman Confronts Governor During Alexandria Education Summit
City leaders hope to change school takeover rather than filing lawsuit.
Sitting face to face with Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell at T.C. Williams, Alexandria School Board Chairwoman Karen Graf challenged the sweeping education reform that threatens to remove Jefferson-Houston School from the city's public school system.

Virginia Supreme Court Sends Wales Alley Case Back to Alexandria
Key issue still unresolved: Does city have authority to deprive use of alley to Boat Club?
The Virginia Supreme Court has overturned a decision from the Alexandria Circuit Court about the use of a public alley in Old Town, but the case is not over ye

Half of Fairfax Schools Accredited with Warning are in Mount Vernon Area
Students up and down the Route 1 corridor struggle to meet minimum standards in science.
Poor and Latino students clustered along the Route 1 corridor are struggling to keep up with standardized test scores, according to a report issued last week by the Virginia Department of Education.

Democrats Decide
Voters to determine direction of party in June 8 primary
The June 8 primary will determine the direction of the Democratic Party in Virginia at a critical time, when the commonwealth is emerging from the pandemic and trying to recast itself as something other than a party in opposition to former President Donald Trump.

Landmark Neighborhood Braces for Drastic Redevelopment
11-acre site to become urban village with retail, residential and entertainment.
When West End resident Daniel Daughtry's watch broke, he did the same thing people across the country do — he headed for the local mall.

Patchwork of Approaches to Affordable Housing in Northern Virginia
Jurisdictions use a variety of strategies to prevent homelessness.
Affordable housing means different things to different people at different times. For government officials, it's a phrase that means that a family spends no more than 30 percent of its income on housing costs, including rent or mortgage as well as taxes and utilities
The Safeway Four: Armed Robbers Sentenced
Three defendants sentenced to 35 years each; another sentenced to 12 years.
It was a crime that shocked Old Town, an armed robbery that rattled a neighborhood where most of the illicit activity is limited to petty theft from unlocked vehicles.

Zoned Out
City Council to determine future of single-family housing in Alexandria.
"We need to apply strict scrutiny on the zoning provisions we have and ensure that they do not have a disparate impact, particularly to ensure that some of the provisions are not segregating our communities." — Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson

Freshman Arlington County Board Member Faces Two Opponents in November
Streetcar debate dominates discussion this election cycle.
It’s only been about seven months since voters in Arlington chose longtime School Board member Libby Garvey to fill the unexpired term vacated by Barbara Favola, who was elected to the Virginia state Senate last year.

Motor Fuels Tax Runs Out of Gas in Richmond
Bill would have raised revenue to construct or operate high-capacity transit systems.
In Richmond, as in life, you win some and you lose some. Such is the case with House Bill 1027, which Del. David Englin (D-45) introduced at the request of the Alexandria city government.

Study Shows $54 Million Retail Gap Along Richmond Highway Corridor
Supply is not meeting demand in Mount Vernon.
Supply is not matching demand along Richmond Highway, according to a new study from the Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation.

Alexandria to Stop Dumping Human Waste into Potomac River by Earth Day 2035
Fixing combined sewer overflows to cost at least $200 million.
The year 2035 seems like a distant dream. But it's a Sword of Damocles hanging over the head of officials at City Hall. That's the year Alexandria will no longer dump human waste into the Potomac River.

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.

Spending Spree
General Assembly returns to Richmond to appropriate federal stimulus cash
In the 1985 hit movie "Brewster's Millions," Richard Pryor is given the task of spending $30 million in 30 days.

Following the Money
Special-interest groups seek power and influence.
A look at campaign-finance documents from the 2019 election cycle reveals an intricate web of special-interest money, everything from Dominion and Verizon to casino developers and car-title lenders. Members of the Alexandria delegation took money from lobbyists and associations who have pending business during the upcoming two-month General Assembly session, when lawmakers will be forbidden from taking campaign cash.
Business Matters
As members of the Alexandria City Council enjoy their summer recess, elected officials turn to their day jobs. For Councilman Frank Fannon, that means trying to close some mortgage loans for SunTrust Bank — if he can.

Arlington County Hopes Energy Labels Will Change Business-As-Usual Attitude
Pilot program starts with government buildings, then moves on to private buildings.
Buildings in Arlington are about to become green with envy.
Labeling Energy Performance of Public Buildings
Buildings in Arlington are about to become green with envy. A new county program is now installing energy performance labels in the lobby of government buildings, and Arlington officials say they want to expand the program to private buildings. The pilot would be voluntary, potentially attracting companies that want to draw attention to buildings designed for efficiency. In the long run, though, the idea is that people would take a different approach to what kind of information is available to the public.