Arlington: Police Begin Body Camera Pilot Program
Testing camera models, assessing issues, determining costs.
Arlington has become one of the first jurisdictions in Northern Virginia to put cameras on patrol officers.
Alexandria: The Royal Mile
Bike for Good hauls fresh fruit and vegetables from City Hall to those in need.
Seven bicyclists worked their way in a convoy up Royal Street on Aug. 17. Wagons trailed behind the bikes, each loaded with corn or tomatoes or fruit.
Alexandria: Helping To Ensure Success
While local Alexandria children got their haircuts and balloon animals from a clown at the Charles Houston Recreation Center, they had their eyes on the table full of backpacks.
Albright Visits Alexandria
Albright visits Alexandria Democratic headquarters.
After a few minutes of greeting Democratic supporters and talking about her experiences with Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright walked into a secluded side room.
Arlington: Block Party Brings Police, Community Together
When the community interacts with police, Ashley Savage, the Arlington Police public information officer, says it’s usually not because everything is going well.
Arlington’s Pirate Cove
Tampa, Pittsburgh, and Minnesota NFL teams find homes in Arlington bars.
Most of Arlington cheers for the Redskins, but if you’re walking past Arlington Rooftop Bar & Grill near the Courthouse Metro and hear a stray cheer for the Buccaneers, don’t be alarmed.
Alexandria: What’s Shaking Old Town?
Neighbors rattled by Robinson Terminal South demolition.
Robinson Terminal South is going through demolition, and neighbors say they can feel it. While developer EYA proved that the vibrations from construction work falls within the standard set by City Council, local residents argued that a stricter standard be put in place.
Expanding Scope of Alexandria’s Public Art Projects
“We’re looking at things like traffic boxes, but do we want to do more or look at other projects?”
Traffic Control boxes are metal containers. They help make sure the traffic lights run smoothly, but they’ve never been accused of being beautiful.
Upcoming Trials in Alexandria
Commonwealth Attorney's Office braces for a flurry of murder trials.
Fall 2016 and early 2017 are scheduled to be a busy time for the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office.
Arlington: Scores Grow, Gap Shrinks
Arlington Schools achievement gap still wide, but narrowing.
Arlington Public Schools have two top goals: making sure every student is challenged and engaged and eliminating achievement gaps.
Alexandria: Solar Panel Program Continues
Alexandria kicks off second year of its Solarize program.
three goals: to highlight the city priorities and for solar energy, so educate consumers on the price accessibility of greener energy options, and to help Alexandria citizens through the often technical and sometimes foreboding process of adding solar panels to a home.
Alexandria: City Schools’ Testing Scores on the Rise
Despite a few fumbles.
The Standards of Learning (SOL) test results are in, and for the most part, Alexandria City Public Schools has passed. The Virginia Department of Education released the data for the testing results in Alexandria over three years, showing a steady increase in both reading and science categories.
Alexandria: ‘Play Ball’ Initiative
Alexandria Summer Camp ends with baseball event.
Mac Slover, the regional program director for Alexandria’s Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Activities, loves baseball.
Alexandria: Virtuosos for Veterans
The Medical Musical Group and actor Michael York perform celebration of America’s veterans.
The performance had a mix of themes, from Shakespeare to Star Wars to Downton Abbey, but through it all the Medical Orchestra and hosts kept the key focus on celebrating America’s veterans. On Aug. 14, the Medical Musical Group (MMG) came together with actor Michael York and others to perform a salute to veterans and their families at the Schlesinger Concert Hall.
Arlington County Fair Returns for 40th Anniversary
Fair to have 1970s theme.
Arlington may be part of the D.C. urban environment, but on Aug. 17 it gets back in touch with its rural roots with the Arlington County Fair.
Arlington: Inside the Artisphere's Office Space
New development at the Artisphere.
The Artisphere is gone. In its place near the Rosslyn Metro, workplace developer Regus will lease the space from owner Monday Properties to develop 45,000 square feet of new office space.
Alexandria Brief: Hearing Set for Arrested WMATA Officer
Nicholas Young, a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority officer, was arrested Aug. 3 for allegedly providing material support to ISIS. Young, a Fairfax resident, appeared briefly in Alexandria’s Eastern District Courthouse where his defense waived his preliminary hearing. Young’s next court date is scheduled for Aug. 11 at 2 p.m.
Alexandria: Paws to Read
Encouraging confidence in reading through puppies.
Maggie doesn’t talk back. Caroline Schofield, a second grader, can read to Maggie without judgment or being corrected. Maggie lays next to Caroline, occasionally wagging her tail and resting her head against the girl’s left while Caroline reads from a book.
Alexandria: Seniors at the Wheel
Accident highlights need for alternative travel options for elderly.
According to police, at 10 a.m. on Aug. 2, Leonard Wainstein, a 92-year-old Fairfax resident, was looking for a parking spot at a bank in Old Town Alexandria.
Arlington: National Debate Hits NoVa Infrastructure
Local politicians take sides in Presidential feud.
If Hillary Clinton is elected, the economy will grow by 10.4 million jobs nationwide while under a Trump administration, the economy would lose 3.4 million jobs. This was the finding of a recent report by Moody’s Investors Service economist Mark Zandi.
Arlington: Technology, Tradition and Transition at Kenmore
New interim principal discusses his predecessor's legacy and future of the school.
Becoming the new principal of Kenmore Middle School would be difficult enough, but David McBride is stepping into a role Dr. John Word had occupied for 18 years.
Alexandria: Robinson Terminal North Reconsidered
Developers say plans for Old Town warehouse no longer economically viable.
Rooney Properties and CityInterests are reconsidering their options at Robinson Terminal North.
Alexandria Celebrates National Night Out
Law enforcement and community come together for a night of celebration.
There was a tense moment between law enforcement and a member of the local community on National Night Out in Alexandria.
Alexandria Survives Metro Mayhem
Reviewing a month of metro-shutdowns.
July was rough for the metro in Alexandria, but the city has emerged through the worst of it. Between July 5 and 18, Surges 3 and 4 involved complete line shutdowns between Reagan National Airport and Braddock Road, then in the other direction between Reagan National Airport and Pentagon City. The latter didn’t take place in Alexandria, but kept commuters from using the Metro to get to Washington D.C.
Alexandria: Teen’s Presidential Business
One hundred years of American elections at one Alexandria table.
It’s election season in America, but Trump and Hillary aren’t the only campaign pins showing up in Old Town Alexandria. Outside Big Wheel Bikes on The Strand, 14-year-old Diego Antonio Moore has a table full of election pins promoting candidates from Eisenhower to Obama.
Alexandria: Local Red Cross Blood Supplies Critically Low
Donate now.
Blood has a shelf life of 42 days, but in the Washington D.C. area, all available units are being snatched up within five days.
Arlington: End of Summer Safetracking
Metro gets back on track.
Surge 5 ended with a bang. On Friday, July 29, a Metro train derailed near the East Falls Church Metro Station.
Arlington: Groundbreaking for Transform I-66 Tolling Project
Garvey pitches parks overhead.
After 30 years of talking and planning, work is finally starting on the Transform I-66 project. Eight toll gantries will be installed along I-66 inside the beltway with tolling operations expected to begin in summer 2017.
Alexandria: Resurrecting Fort Ward
Committee pieces together the controversial history of historic Alexandria site.
Alexandria’s Fort Ward has a long history, but resources to commemorate that history are limited.
A Mother’s Grief: Arrest in Hall Homicide
An arrest in Saquan Hall homicide brings cycle of revenge to a close, but no satisfaction.
In the days after Saquan Hall’s murder, his mother, Patrice Hall, learned details about the shooting. She learned how he was shot once, stumbled, fell, and how the man who killed her son came up and shot him again in the head. The details, Patrice Hall says, that no mother should ever have to learn about her son.
New Heights for Alexandria
Impending 355 foot residential tower is just the start for Carlyle’s upward growth.
While arguments rage in Old Town over three- and four-story buildings, at the western end of Eisenhower Avenue the city is moving forward with plans for some of the tallest buildings in Northern Virginia.
New Homes for Arlingtonians in Need
“In terms of affordable housing, we had nothing but positive things to say about it.”
The long struggle against declining affordable housing in Arlington just received a boost. The expansion of the South Rhodes Street project near Columbia Pike will include 105 new committed affordable housing units. More than half of those units will be multi-bedroom apartments. At the July 20 County Board meeting, board members praised the new affordable housing and unanimously approved the project.
Alexandria: The Band Plays On
Students, parents, and teachers reflect on music camp experience before Friday’s concert.
On Friday, the George Washington Middle will host a student orchestra and jazz concert. For attendees, the concert will be a free hour of live music. But for the performers, the concert is the culmination of a week of practice and learning at the Alexandria City Public Schools’ music camp.
Alexandria: Market Affordable Homes in Freefall
Tax increases push rent increases; rent increases push out residents.
Alexandria has lost of 8,000 market affordable homes since 2010. Most weren’t lost to dramatic demolitions or fires. They were lost in moments like the one Clifford Wilkening is facing; where an increase in property taxes is forcing the owner of 31 buildings housing 200 city residents to consider his first rent increase in around eight years.
Alexandria: Cora Kelly Pre-Testing Irregularity Under State Review
Administration takes disciplinary action against principal.
A pre-Standards of Learning test irregularity at Cora Kelly School for Math, Science, and Technology resulted in disciplinary action against Principal Brandon Davis and an ongoing investigation by the Virginia Department of Education.
Arlington: Parents Decry Speed of Site Decision
County Board approves Wilson School as a temporary fire station site.
Just two weeks after Arlington County announced that it was planning on placing a temporary fire station on the future Wilson School site, the County Board unanimously voted to move forward with an agreement that would allow the fire station to occupy nearly half of the field space at the Wilson site until at least 2020.
Alexandria: Changes Coming to Victory Center
Planning approves three additions.
The Victory Center has sat empty and untouched for a decade, but after a controversy over the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) potential move to the site, developers are working to make the complex more appealing.
Alexandria: Transit Improvements Arriving
Governor announces road and rail projects.
The Atlantic Gateway is underway. Gov. Terry McAuliffe discussed the details of the $1.4 billion plan to reform regional road and rail projects at Alexandria’s Union Station on July 8. For Northern Virginia, the program means road expansions and more express lanes, but for Alexandria a big piece of the proposed improvements could be the rebuilding of the Long Bridge parallel to the 14th Street Bridge.
Alexandria: Residents React to Revenge Killing
Police chief says July 2 murder was “street justice.”
The July 2 murder of Saquan Hall in the 1000 block of First Street comes only weeks after the murder of Pierre Clark less than a block away. At a community meeting on July 6, local residents urged the audience to come together. But many said they couldn’t escape the sense that these same pleas and plans had been spoken again and again at these meetings but the violence keeps occurring.
Arlington: Lift Off for Potomac Gondola
A look at the initial feedback from citizens and advice from an existing gondola system.
The Georgetown-Rosslyn Gondola baffles people. The proposed tram alongside the Key Bridge has drawn a mixture of interest and confusion.
Arlington: Readying for Long Bridge Project
The Atlantic Gateway is underway. Gov. Terry McAuliffe discussed the details of the $1.4 billion plan to reform regional road and rail projects at Alexandria’s Union Station on July 8.
Alexandria: Governor Discusses Voting Rights Restoration
Ex-convicts meet with governor to discuss voting rights restoration.
The right to vote is one of the most fundamental American freedoms, and one denied to many Virginians released from prison on felony charges. On June 29, Gov. Terry McAuliffe met in Alexandria’s Northern Virginia Urban League with advocates for the restoration of ex-inmate’s rights.
Portner Brewing Returns to Alexandria
Great, great granddaughters of Robert Portner plan to resurrect family legacy in the city.
Though separated by a century and a half, Robert Portner and his great, great granddaughters Catherine and Margaret Portner have a few things in common.
Alexandria: Bikeshare Installation Draws Local Ire
“I’m not happy when the city is acting as though they are above the law.”
The Capital Bikeshare’s journey into Old Town is off to a bumpy start. While city officials say the Capital Bikeshare has been a success so far, one particular station has incensed local residents who say the city isn’t following its own implementation rules. Residents say their objection to the South Royal Street Bikeshare station has nothing to do with the bikeshare or bikes in the city, but anger over the city installing a colorful sign without any type of approval or public outreach.
Ex-convicts Discuss Voting Rights Restoration
Arlingtonian ex-convicts meet with governor to discuss voting rights restoration.
The right to vote is one of the most fundamental American freedoms, and one denied to many Virginians released from prison on felony charges. On June 29, Gov. Terry McAuliffe met in Alexandria’s Northern Virginia Urban League with advocates for the restoration of ex-inmate’s rights.
Back to Business in Ballston
Nine new projects to provide retail, office and residential.
As the Ballston Mall slowly begins to continue towards new life, all across Ballston new development plants are emerging.
Alexandria: ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly’ of Ramsey Redevelopment
Council weighs options for Ramsey redevelopment.
Three of Alexandria’s top priorities are historic preservation, open space, and affordable housing. At the June 28 City Council meeting, a decision over the future of Ramsey Homes found these interests, and the council, pitted against each other.
Alexandria: Two Guilty Pleas in MS-13 Homicides
Love triangle and gangland hit go to court.
The two murders were unrelated, happening a month apart, but they share similarities.
Alexandria Snapshot: New Bus Line Planned to National Harbor
Starting in October, a new bus route could make it easier for Alexandrians to get to and from National Harbor and the new MGM Casino.
Arlington: Triumph Over Loss at Yorktown Graduation
Parents and students celebrate perseverance.
The Green Household is going to be a little quieter after graduation. On June 23, Viktor Green was one of the 440 graduates from Yorktown to walk across the stage at Constitution Hall in D.C. Viktor Green lives one block away from Yorktown High School, and so throughout the sports seasons the teams would come over to their house for lunches and snacks.