All results / Stories / Michael Lee Pope
On the Campaign Trail
Back in 1979, the competition to become Alexandria's next commonwealth's attorney was fierce.
On the Campaign Trail
Year after year, members of the General Assembly consider efforts to restore voting rights to nonviolent felons. But year after year, the effort is killed — usually by House Republicans.
Wake for an Irish Restaurant: Pat Troy Bids Farewell to Ireland's Own
After decades in business, outspoken restauranteur sells his business and enters retirement.
Friends and supporters — and even some former enemies — gathered at Pat Troy’s Ireland’s Own Restaurant last weekend to say goodbye.
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.
Food Fight: Work Group Snubbed on Food Trucks
City officials move forward with recommendations without report from work group.
Last May, City Manager Rashad Young issued a series of recommendations that would have opened the door to food trucks in Old Town, Del Ray and Carlyle.
Alexandria Reckoning
Police launch formal inquiry into why Black people make up majority of arrests.
Black people are 23 percent of the population in Alexandria, and yet most arrests in the city are of African Americans. Most cases when police use force are against Black people. Most drug arrests are of Black people. And almost half of the inmates at the Alexandria jail are Black people.
Legislators Are Not Gun Shy About Responding to Connecticut Shooting
Should access to guns be limited or expanded?
Last year's mass shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut has already prompted a heated debate about gun control in Virginia, where the upcoming session of the General Assembly is likely to feature a number of bills on both sides of the issue.
Up and Down Columbia Pike, Businesses are Divided by the Streetcar
Some believe it will bring more customers; others are worried about cost.
Up and down Columbia Pike, businesses have a variety of views about the streetcar that may be soon be trundling up and down one of Arlington's major thoroughfares.
Board of Architectural Review Has Harsh Words for Waterfront Hotel Concept
Chairman calls the project 'too much, too big.'
Last year, the Board of Architectural Review sent Carr Hospitality back to the drawing board on its proposal to build a 121-room hotel on the waterfront.
Hugo Leads Tanner by Less Than One-Half Percent
Narrow margin in District 40 could result in a recount.
Del. Tim Hugo (R-40) was behind Donte Tanner (D) by 68 votes on Election night. Then, as canvassing continued at the elections offices the day after, Tanner was behind by 115 votes.
Politics of Notification
Father takes his plight for increased parental notification to Richmond.
Steve Stuban can’t help but wonder if things could have turned out differently. Back in 2010, his son Nick was considered a model student at Woodson High School in Fairfax County.
Combat Veteran Takes on Former City Councilman in House of Delegates Race
First-time candidate challenges freshman delegate.
Jeffrey Engle is no stranger to combat. The Army veteran spent 11 years in the service, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Now that he has taken a medical retirement from the military, he's ready for a different kind of fight.
Huntington Residents Await Storm Season as They Gear up for November Bond Referendum
Fairfax voters to determine the fate of flood mitigation along Cameron Run.
Everyone in the neighborhood near the Huntington Metro station has a story. Pregnant women rescued by firefighters in rafts. Waste-deep water. Mold. Mildew.
Scattering Low-Income Residents Across Alexandria
Public-housing authority considers redeveloping seven properties.
Uncertainty is hanging in the air for thousands of public-housing residents and their neighbors.
Northern Virginia Democrat Takes Aim at the Gun Show Loophole
Arlington delegates wants to require background checks for all private firearms sales.
Legislators will be dueling over guns this year at the Capitol, with gun-rights advocates set to oppose efforts to close Virginia’s gun-show loophole.
Boat Club, City Strike Deal
Land-swap concludes decades of feuding between the two organizations.
The feud between the Boat Club and the city dates back for decades, a conflict that involved the city threatening the use of eminent domain and the Boat Club winning a case against the city at the Virginia Supreme Court.
After Years of Construction, a New Jones Point Park Emerges from Orange Cones
Southernmost point of the District of Columbia gets a makeover.
Now, after more than a decade hidden behind a veil of orange cones, Jones Point Park is ready to once again take its place among the premier city parks.
A Firehouse Mystery: Who Vandalized Two Antique Dalmatian Statues?
Two separate statues damaged on opposite sides of Old Town in late-night crime.
Ever since they were donated to the two Old Town fire stations a few weeks ago, the antique Dalmatian statues have stood as silent witnesses to the life of Alexandria's firefighters.
Is Money Buying Influence in the Race for Alexandria City Council?
Candidates accept contributions from people with business at City Hall.
Campaign finance documents show candidates for mayor and City Council have taken hundreds of dollars from people with business at City Hall.
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).