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Off-Year Campaign Cash
Money from Alexandria will help shape Election 2019.
More than $3.5 million in campaign cash has an Alexandria mailing address this election cycle, a spending spree that reflects the stakes this year’s election. Control of the House of Delegates and state Senate is at stake, and partisans on both sides are trying to influence the outcome.
Divided Government in an Off-Off Year
Democrats want to take the House; Republicans want to take the Senate.
"I think there's a sense that people want one house to check the other. They don't want total control in both Houses." — Former Gov. Doug Wilder
Arlington Schools Scramble to Fund Enrollment in Challenging Budget Environment
$439.4 million budget represents a 3.1 percent increase over last year.
Arlington Superintendent Patrick Murphy's proposed budget for the coming school year would scale back a program aimed at helping students older than age 22, add trailers to deal with the crush of new students as well as add four new bus drivers and create a new coordinator for transporting special-equation students.
School Stabbing Cast Long Shadow
Did Alexandria’s tough-on-crime approach in the 1990s work?
Stabbing
Ebbin to Face Challenger in Alexandria
Senate race will be the lone contested election in Alexandria this November.
election
Fear-mongering Fail
New poll shows Virginians feel safe after criminal justice reforms.
Poll on Crime
Following the Money
Alexandria delegation pulls in almost $3 million despite lack of competition.
“The amount of money is fascinating, although I’m not sure what it says about our current state of democracy.” — Brian Moran, former Alexandria delegate who served as chairman of the House Democratic Caucus
Northern Virginia Poised to Lose Influence
Democratic primary might shift power to Hampton Roads.
Democratic primary might shift power to Hampton Roads.
Tax Code Thunderstruck in Alexandria
Lawmakers consider easing bracket creep by making tax code more progressive.
Taxes
Rethinking Duke Street
Alexandria to determine future of bus rapid transit along congested traffic corridor.
Duke Street
Nickel and Dimed Behind Bars
Lawmakers take a look at fines and fees charged to inmates at jails across Virginia.
People who were locked up in the Alexandria jail are not staying there for free, and taxpayers are paying only part of the bill.
Green Rollback May Hit Blue Wall
Republican efforts to undo environmental laws to face opposition in Democratic-led Senate.
Environmental laws
Ban Battle Botched
Inside the failed effort to ban assault weapons in Virginia.
Banning assault weapons was a major priority for gun-violence prevention advocates in early 2020...
Rethinking Juvenile Justice
Alexandria detention facility may be consolidated as part of statewide effort.
The Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center has 70 beds with an average population of 12 juveniles.
Student Growth Outpaces Staffing
Number of new teachers hasn't kept pace with surge in enrollment.
Since 2008, Alexandria schools have added more than 4,000 new students. But a new report from the Commonwealth Institute shows staffing has not kept pace. City schools have added only 100 new teachers during that time, and the number of teacher aides has actually declined by 10 positions.
Oops! They Did it Again
Lawmakers accidentally gave overtime protection to farmworkers and domestic workers, now they're taking it back.
They didn't mean it. Seriously. And now they're about to undo what they did last year. Lawmakers say the vote last year to create a cause of action for farmworkers and domestic workers to seek overtime pay was a mistake. Senators say they were misled, snookered by the blitzkrieg pace of the General Assembly. Now they're taking action to rectify the situation, stripping farmworkers and domestic workers of the ability to sue for overtime.
Budget in Transition
$881 million budget proposal unionizes firefighters, ditches Confederates, maintains tax rate.
Expenditures for the Alexandria Fire Department are expected to grow about 8 percent largely based on unionization of its workforce. The Department of Transportation and Environmental Services is setting aside $60,000 to replace street signs currently celebrating Confederate military officials. And half a million dollars has been set aside in contingent reserves for City Council members to load up the budget with their proposals ahead of the May 3 deadline. But none of those things are likely the first question that will be asked about the budget proposal for fiscal year 2024.
Inclusionary Dreams
What if Alexandria could force developers to build affordable housing?
If Alexandria wanted to take a carrot-and-stick approach to development, city officials would soon run into a problem. The lure of density is a big fat carrot, which seems to be getting larger each year. But officials in Richmond are holding all the sticks. Chief among them is the idea of inclusionary zoning, which would require the General Assembly to give Alexandria permission to force developers to build affordable housing.