Federal Prosecutors Uncover Schoolyard Prostitution Ring in Suburban Fairfax County
U.S. Attorney: Underground Gangster Crips led prostitution ring that spanned Northern Virginia.
The high school girls were threatened with violence if they attempted to leave. They were sexually exploited by customers of the sex trafficking operation as well as the men who ran the prostitution ring.
Alexandria and Arlington at odds Over Streetcars Versus Bus-Rapid Transit
Transit riders could have to get off the Arlington streetcar to board an Alexandria bus.
Arlington and Alexandria planning officials are moving in different directions along Route One.
Business Matters
Alexandria's chief tourism promoter Stephanie Pace Brown is leaving a city her organization calls “Charm-ville.”
Alexandria City Council Campaign Shifts Westward As Two New Candidates Enter Race
Displacement of poor and Latino citizens to be central issue in upcoming campaign.
With two more candidates entering the race for Alexandria City Council, the lines of combat are moving west.
Week in Alexandria
In an emotional speech to the Alexandria Democratic Committee Monday night, four-term Del. David Englin (D-45) said he will not seek reelection to the House of Delegates next year.
Struggling Nonprofit Fights Against Cuts to At-Risk Children
City Council members consider elimination of Urban League program for troubled youth.
Since 1981, the city of Alexandria has been funding an Urban League program to help at-risk youth.
Council Notebook
For years, city leaders have thought the surface parking lot at the King Street Metro is just too suburban.
Fairfax Board of Supervisors Considers Raising Stormwater Management Fee
One-penny hike on property tax could raise $35 million for projects throughout the county.
When it rains, it pours. That’s why Fairfax County taxpayers may have to fork over more money this year for stormwater management.
Census Records Show Alexandria is Getting Older and More Educated
New report shows shifting black population and an increase in African-born residents.
Alexandria is getting older and more educated, and its residents are increasingly likely to take public transportation to work.
Business Matters
The Old Town Farmers Market is about to get a little later.
The Rise and Fall and Rise of Commercial Property in Arlington
Was instability in property values caused by the Pentagon?
When the market tanked, Arlington’s residential market remained flat when the rest of the country was in freefall.
County Executive Recommends More Cuts to Libraries
Walk into the Centreville Library and one is confronted with an institution in crisis. Attendance is up and demand has increased, even as the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors slashed $5 million out of the library system's budget in the past four years. Longtime Library Director Sam Clay says the library has had to make some difficult decisions in recent years, reducing staffing and hours throughout the 21-branch library system.
Week in Alexandria
Everybody knows that Baltimore is Charm City. But what is Alexandria?
Business Matters
The metaphor usually used for governing is making sausage. Although you might appreciate the final product, you don’t want to see it being made.
Mount Vernon Supervisor Gerry Hyland Calls for Meals Tax in Fairfax County
Adding 4 percent to restaurant meals could raise $80 million for roads and schools.
Supervisor Gerry Hyland has his eye on that burrito.
Arlington County Board Considers New Housing Grants
Expanded program would help increasing number of people in poverty.
For Arlington’s poorest residents, the recession is far from over.
Alexandria School Board Standing By Embattled Superintendent
Members regret what happened, but feel confident superintendent took decisive action.
Members of the Alexandria School Board are standing by embattled school superintendent Morton Sherman, despite calls for him to step down in the wake of a scathing auditor's report.
Virginia Officials Deliberately Moving Slowly on Health Care Exchange
If Supreme Court upholds health-care reform, governor would have to call special session.
Virginia has eight months to create a certification plan for how it plans to create a health-care exchange, a legal requirement of President Barack Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Week in Alexandria
The budget standoff in Richmond could have dramatic consequences in Alexandria, where every service from education services to transportation funding is on the line.
Business Matters
How far did the empire of Orange Julius reach? What’s the capital of Banana Republic? Is Aeropostale aerodynamic?
Dysfunctional Budgeting Prompts Crisis at Alexandria City Public Schools
Independent audit rips school system; vice mayor calls for superintendent to step down.
An independent auditor has concluded that the budget office at Alexandria City Public Schools suffers from a “dysfunctional environment," approving contracts that had not been budgeted and providing inaccurate information to School Board members.
Stakes Are High in Virginia Budget Standoff
Lawmakers flee Capitol, where partisan gridlock reigns.
The budget standoff in Richmond could have drastic consequences in Northern Virginia, where every service from education to transportation is on the line.
Fairfax Supervisors to Consider Even More Cuts to Library System
In the last four years, more than $5 million has been slashed from the library budget.
Walk into the Centreville Library and one is confronted with an institution in crisis.
How Would City Council Candidates Have Voted on the Waterfront Plan?
Candidates for office take sides in debate on controversial waterfront proposal.
The waterfront is no longer a partisan issue. As more candidates throw their hat into the ring to run in the election for Alexandria City Council, a broader field of possibilities is opening up to voters.
Not-So-Super Tuesday
Turnout for Virginia's presidential preference primary was lowest in recent memory.
With two of the major candidates in the Republican presidential contest failing to qualify for the ballot in Virginia, Super Tuesday was anything but super.
Local Governments Enjoy Record Spending
Bucking national trend, local governments here expand while others are contracting.
As local governments across America are laying off firefighters and teachers, governments in Northern Virginia are experiencing record levels of spending and an all-time-high number of employees.
Democrats Crowd City Council Field
Twelve candidates have announced for six seats, and one more is likely to join.
As the campaign season heats up, the Democratic field is getting more crowded. Four new candidates gave their first pitch to members of the Alexandria Democratic Committee Monday night.
Business Matters
Facing his first difficult decision as the new president and CEO of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, John Long is already in a no-win situation. Where to live?
City Council Members Warned of Affliction and Loss in West End
A Proverb for the Beauregard small-area plan.
Yea, though members of the City Council walk through the valley of the shadow of Beauregard, they seem to fear no evil.
Andrew Macdonald ‘Seriously Considering’ Independent Campaign for Mayor
Former Democratic elected official appears before Republicans to ask for support.
Former Democratic Vice Mayor Andrew Macdonald says he is “seriously considering” an independent campaign for mayor, and he’s asking Republicans for support.
State Senate Committee Kills Effort to Overturn King's Dominion Law
School boards were encouraged by support from governor, but couldn't win over Senate committee.
The Senate Committee on Education and Health voted today to kill an effort overturning the King's Dominion Law, which mandates that school divisions across Virginia begin classes after Labor Day.
Outgoing County Executive Tony Griffin Presents Final Budget Proposal
$6.7 billion proposal is a 6.1 percent budget increase.
Appearing before members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for the last time, outgoing county executive Anthony Griffin had the luxury of taking the long view.
Governments Across Virginia Hope to Kill Local Aid to the State Program
Jurisdictions hope to kill funding scheme created at height of recession.
In the darkest days of the global financial crisis, leaders in Richmond were willing to do almost anything to balance the budget.
Changes to Waterfront Zoning Put on Hold While Challenges Are Considered
As challenges to small-area plan multiply, upzoning has been put on hold.
Think the waterfront plan passed? Think again.
In Session
What happens if a jury finds a murderer guilty but comes to an impasse on sentencing?
Council Notebook
Yea, though members of the City Council walk through the valley of the shadow of Beauregard, they seem to fear no evil.
Arlington Superintendent Suggests Raising Class Sizes to Balance Budget
$493.8 million spending plan represents a 4 percent increase over last year’s budget.
With Arlington’s classrooms bursting at the seams, school officials say there’s no end in sight.
Griffin’s Final Budget
Outgoing county executive proposes 6.1 percent budget increase compared to last year.
Appearing before members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for the last time, outgoing county executive Anthony Griffin had the luxury of taking the long view. When considering the challenges that currently confront the county, Griffin reminded the elected officials that it wasn’t all that long ago that Fairfax County has essentially a rural backwater of the capital.
Council to Consider Waterfront Master Plan Without Making Zoning Change
Two appeals and a court challenge have put the brakes on zoning changes.
During today's public hearing, members of the Alexandria City Council are set to consider an ordinance officially incorporating the controversial waterfront small-area plan into the city’s master plan.
Voters to Have Final Say on Eminent Domain Amendment
Opinions are divided as to what kind of influence the amendment could have if passed.
This fall, voters across Virginia will be confronted with a hotly debated amendment to the Virginia Constitution that seeks to limit the ability of local governments to use the power of eminent domain.
Block by Block, 1940s Concentrated Public Housing in Alexandria is Being Demolished
All the units will be replaced, but will scattered-site housing work?
For more than half a century, the Parker Gray neighborhood has been home to blocks of public housing.
In Session
Alexandria’s Senate delegation is divided on the King’s Dominion Law, the 30-year-old mandate that prevents school systems from opening before Labor Day.
Week in Alexandria
This weekend, members of the Alexandria City Council are set to conduct a public hearing on an ordinance officially incorporating the controversial waterfront small-area plan into the city’s master plan.
Waterfront Rezoning Put On Hold As Appeals Are Considered
Two challenges in Board of Zoning Appeals, another in Circuit Court.
The Fat Lady has yet to sing an aria for the waterfront plan, and now the controversial upzoning has been put on hold. At least for now.
House Rejects Amendment Requiring Consent for Ultrasound Procedures
Effort was reaction to bill requiring women seeking abortions to undergo transvaginal ultrasound.
The effort to require women seeking abortions to undergo an ultrasound has also sparked some of the most heated debate in Richmond this year.
Bill Would Set Aside Unallocated Money for Preschool Funding
Effort seen as way to use money for preschool rather than returning it to the general fund.
Every year, millions of dollars worth of preschool funding goes unused. Here in Alexandria, for example, Virginia offered $1.6 million worth of matching funds for preschool programs in the city.
In Session
Abortion has sparked some of the sharpest exchanges in the General Assembly session this year, with two controversial bills making it out of the House of Delegates at the halfway point this week.
New City Manager Offers Proposal to Increase Average Residential Property Tax Bill by $52
Rising property values mean most residential property owners would pay more.
With two months under his belt as the city’s new chief executive, City Manager Rashad Young proposed his first budget to City Council members on Valentine’s Day.
Alexandria Paramedic Remembered for Perpetual Optimism and Wry Humor
Joshua Weissman, 33, dies while responding to a car fire on Interstate 395.
Joshua Weissman, a popular and optimistic Alexandria paramedic with a wry sense of humor, died last week after receiving a head injury while responding to a fire on Interstate 395. He was 33.
Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board Steps Out of the Jazz Age
Bill would increase representation for Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads.
For almost a century, the Commonwealth Transportation Board has been partying like it was 1922.