Politics

‘Cancel Our Rent’ in Alexandria

Southern Towers residents protest eviction hearings.

Residents of Southern Towers apartments gathered July 15 at the Franklin P. Backus Courthouse in Old Town to protest for the cancellation of rent payments and demand an extension to a statewide moratorium on evictions, which expired last month.

Seniors to Protest Via Zoom

Online forum scheduled for July 27.

An online protest for older adults is being planned via Zoom to allow seniors to “gather in solidarity and bring attention to the need to end systemic racism and push for police reform,” according to the event organizers.

Arlington Launches Review of Police Policies and Practices

• Fifteen-member citizen group to report back by end of the year

At the Crossroads

Lawmakers to slash the state budget and consider criminal-justice reforms.

The threadbare Franklin and Armfield office on Duke Street stands at the crossroads between racial injustice and economic crisis. It’s a ramshackle building now, but it was once the headquarters for the largest domestic slave trading firm in the United States, present at the creation of the systemic racism that plagues Virginia cops and courts. It’s also the city’s latest acquisition, and the state budget was to include $2.5 million to help transform it into the Freedom House Museum. But then the pandemic hit, and the governor hit the pause button on that line item as well as all the other spending priorities of the new Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.

National Artifact Loaned to Suffragist Memorial

Women’s Suffrage reaches Centennial in August.

Last month, the National Park Service (NPS) announced the planned loan of a historic section of iron fence, once used to protect the White House, to memorialize the first group of protestors to stand before it.

More for Enforcement, Less for Assistance

Since the recession, funding has increased for public safety but decreased for social services.

Since the recession, spending on public safety in Alexandria has increased year after year. According to documents from the Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts, that category of government spending has increased 38 percent since 2010 as city leaders increased salaries for police officials and funded new positions at the city’s emergency communications center. But during that same time, spending on health and welfare programs has increased only 12 percent. Spending on social services has actually gone down since 2010.

T.C. Williams: What’s in a Name?

Efforts intensify to change name of T.C. Williams High School.

When the Disney movie “Remember the Titans” was released in 2000, it brought national attention to T.C. Williams High school. Starring Academy Award winner Denzel Washington, the movie shone a spotlight on the integration of Alexandria’s public high school and the 1971 undefeated season of its football team.

GOP Women of Alexandria Host Douglass Leadership Institute Chairman and State GOP Party Candidates

The Commonwealth Republican Women’s Club (CRWC) of Alexandria met via Zoom to discuss state party candidacies and the recent US Senate primary, and to hear a special guest speaker on African American conservatism.

Alexandria City Council Prohibits Firearms on City Property

Following a public hearing June 20, the Alexandria City Council unanimously adopted an ordinance prohibiting firearms and ammunition in City facilities, parks and areas requiring special event permits.

School Board Votes to Change the Lee High School Name

The Fairfax County School Board has voted to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School, and will gather community input prior to voting on the new name on July 23.

Honoring the Confederacy Does Not Honor Black Lives

Seven descendants of Confederate colonel support renaming of Mosby Woods Elementary.

As mass movements across the United States and Virginia respond to generations of police brutality and systemic racism by toppling Confederate statues and holding protests, members of the Fairfax County School Board are using their power to effect change.

National Landing BID Unveils Unified District

The Crystal City Business Improvement District is officially renamed the National Landing Business Improvement District (BID) following an action by its voting membership at its annual meeting today.

Black Lives Matter Banner Stolen from Reston Church

Theft reported Juneteenth 2020.

A large banner reading Black Lives Matter was reported stolen along with its supporting posts on Juneteenth 2020 from church grounds of the Unitarian Universalist Church Reston.

Seniors Join Protests for Racial Injustice

Remembering the past to inform the future.

Long before there was a Black Lives Matter movement and smart phones that captured police brutality on video, and long before throngs of people filled streets around the world to protest racial injustice, there were smaller crowds of pioneers fighting to tear down barriers imposed by Jim Crow laws.

‘We Can’t Wait Until 2021’ in Fairfax County

Calls for police reform intensify in the days since Fairfax County officer charged with assault for tasing man in Gum Springs.

The institution of policing dates back to the institution of slavery. “It has to be acknowledged as such. What happened 400 years ago is actually manifesting itself in practice today,” said Fairfax County Chief Equity Officer Karla Bruce.

The Connection