Seasons of Love

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes ago (more or less) the first issue of ALXtra landed in your inbox. This seems impossibly long ago, but also as if it were yesterday. When we started we joked that it would last a few issues and then we’d run out of things to write about and well [gestures expansively at the wild year this city has had]. So yeah, it turns out we managed to add a whole heap of words to Al Gore’s internet, all of them nearly all of them about Alexandria.

Why did we start this project though? In some ways, the answer has never been more complicated than what we said in that first post. We love Alexandria. We love paying attention to what’s going on, we love getting in the weeds of the issues the city is grappling with, and we love observing the people involved in getting things done. As long as either of us have lived here we’ve been relentless boosters of the city, of the way its history and community twines together to form a unique connection with all of us, how it defies both quantum physics and geography to be both big and small at the same time.

And for as much as we love this city, we also wanted to create a place to comment on how downright odd and unusual we all can be sometimes. Alexandria is intense! It’s home to smart, focused people who care deeply about what they care about. It’s a city that has 275 years of accrued foibles and quirks and eccentricities and it’s important to be able to point that stuff out and laugh about it together. Collectively chuckling at a community wide exasperation is not only cathartic, it can be an important first step to catalyzing change—the realization that you’re not the only person who has noticed something and wondered why we all put up with it.

Another reason we started this project was to fill a perspective that wasn’t well represented in existing local media, something in a voice and tone that would be recognizable to anyone that came of age on the internet at a particular moment in time. We didn’t (and still don’t) think there is only one correct way to read about and consider local affairs, that prevailing narratives about who should get to have a say in city affairs should go unchallenged, and that it’s extremely awesome to use memes and dumb jokes to lure people into wonky discussions about civics and showing up for your neighbors.

So after a year (a year!) have we met those goals? Is this project working out the way we had hoped? We think so! Maybe?? Over a thousand of you read each issue, and it will never stop feeling gratifying when people tell us how much they enjoy the newsletter or that a joke made them laugh. Even better is the people that tell us they learned about a local issue for the first time from us, or they gained an appreciation for a city office we talked about, or they attended an event we highlighted or praised. That’s the part of this that feels like it matters—the genuine connections made and the community that’s growing. Is this newsletter everyone’s cup of tea? Of course it’s not, but that’s nothing more than a true statement about every single editorial product since Johannes Guttenberg pressed out Joe Biden’s birth announcement. 

One thing that is absolutely true is that we could not have possibly anticipated the twists and turns of the year. We had two extremely high profile public policy debates in Zoning for Housing and the arena proposal in Potomac Yard. We had a local primary election enlivened by Mayor Wilson not seeking reelection, leading to a contested race for mayor and a bumper crop of council candidates. We opened two new schools and thirty new pizza places [Editor’s note: don’t check this] and knocked down an old mall to start building a new future for the West End.

And as we look ahead, we know this year is likely to be the same. Even as things feel relatively chill right now—the spiciness of last winter and spring mostly having abided—there will always be a new unexpected issue, a new challenger emerging to dominate local discourse. When that does happen, it’ll be important to remember how things feel now. How this current moment stands as evidence that all things pass in time and community spirit bounces back, that the fundamental nature of Alexandria as a place of people that look out for one another will always prevail.

Whatever comes to pass, we’re excited to be there with you to talk about it, to joke about it, and yes, to occasionally use bad words about it. Because we love this city, and we love trying to make it better—with all of you.

Things You May Have Missed Because You Have a Life 

• U.S. News & World Report ranked Alexandria as the second-safest community in the country. “Well, that’s a relief,” thousands of area Nextdoor users remarked in unison, deleting their accounts.
• A famous TikTok food influencer visited a food truck on Duke Street and gave it a mixed review. We’re happy to see the visibility for a local business but we’re also a little disappointed he left town before trying our signature dish, a slice of Detroit-style pizza wrapped inside a slice of Neapolitan-style pizza stuffed inside a pupusa.
• “This Alexandria monument has hidden ties to the Freemasons!” and the “hidden tie” is… it’s just made out of leftover rocks from the Masonic Memorial?? We thought it was going to be something actually cool, like a plaque with a secret message that’s revealed if you know the secret passcode (“the water taxi sails at midnight”) or instructions for standing at a certain spot in front of the pillar at 3:33AM so a ghost will whisper George Washington’s secret syphilis cure. Leftover rocks?? Fuck outta here with this weak clickbait WTOP, you’re better than this.

Local Discourse Power Rankings

1. Off the Veep End (Last week: 1). A truly staggering amount of ink has been spilled this week about the closing of a public park and street to accommodate JD Vance’s security detail. Most of these articles have been about the disruption it’s caused, but has anyone stopped to think about the upsides? There are some real winners in this scenario! Most obviously, every neighborhood resident who’s ever dreamed of being interviewed by the Washington Post. Little kids who love motorcycles and the companies that manufacture pop-up shade tents are also doing pretty well for themselves here! Not to mention, anyone who lives nearby now has a handy excuse whenever they run late for something. “Oh sorry, I got stuck behind a Secret Service motorcade.” No one can argue with that! So let’s focus on the silver linings here. This isn’t a burden, it’s a gift. Like being blessed with a child or, just spitballing here, a cat. 
2. Don’t Zone Me Bro (Last week: NR). Great news for people who love unnecessary government expenditures: the legal challenge against Zoning for Housing is going to trial. Earlier this week the judge ruled that at least some of the plaintiffs have standing to sue, which is absolutely not to be confused with “understanding how land use law works.” The Coalition for a Livable* Alexandria (*offer valid only if you’ve ever used “summer” as a verb) was dismissed from the case because despite the fact that Mayor Wilson lives rent-free in their heads, the organization doesn’t actually own any residential property. The individual homeowner plaintiffs got to stay because the zoning changes could force them to suffer such devastating harms as more neighbors to help shovel their sidewalks in winter, improved transit options, and an increased customer base to help support local businesses like [*pulling random local business name out of a hat*] Alexandria Pastry Shop. Why do they hate Alexandria Pastry Shop??? Anyway, guess now we all have to stay tuned for the trial, which is sure to be entertaining given that based on the quality of their filings thus far, plaintiffs’ attorneys appear to have learned everything they know from the ALXnow comment section.
3. Unnecessarily Aggressive Weather Phenomena (Last week: 4). “The worst of the heat is over,” they said. “It’s time for PSL season at Starbucks,” they said. Well, THEY LIED!!! [Editor’s note: Not about the PSLs though, those are currently available.] This week we were treated without our consent to a special showing of Perspirosa: An Ass Sweat Saga as the mercury hit 100+ degrees for the sixth time this year. And just… no. This isn’t right. It’s late August! The only 100 that anyone should be experiencing right now is listening to the new Sabrina Carpenter album one hundred times. And furthermore? “Code Orange” should just be a Mountain Dew flavor, not an air quality level. If you agree, please sign our change.org petition to make it a federal workplace safety rule that if Capital Weather Gang declares a daily weather score of 1/10 we should all get to go back to bed and try again tomorrow.
4. Oh Say Can You DNC (Last week: NR). This year’s Democratic National Convention had everything: tan suits, union leaders quoting Nelly before ripping their shirts off, Kathy Hochul asking us whether we’re ready to elect Kamala Harris “the first president of the United States” for some reason, probable ALXtra reader Lil Jon rapping “Turn Out for What” during roll call, cheeseheads, Rudy, surprise guests where the “surprise” was that they didn’t exist, Michelle Obama reminding us that when they go low, we go high cut a bitch, Barack Obama holding his hands an insultingly low number of inches apart from each other, and most importantly, a whole lotta Alexandrians. Many of our local notables attended as congressional staff, delegates, and even superdelegates (okayyy, we see you Don Beyer). Others were there as volunteers. The owner of Fibre Space in Old Town was featured in a video montage of small business owners. And Del Ray resident Olivia Troye spoke from the main stage to represent ALX Republicans who are 1000% sick of Trump’s shit. At times it felt like everyone in the city had temporarily relocated to Chicago! Well, except for Del Ray’s own JD Vance (see item #1)… but we get it, sometimes it’s hard to get off the couch.
5. ALX Olympians (Last week: 2). We know it’s been a couple weeks since the Olympics ended, but since we took a publishing break for most of August can we just rewind for a sec and talk about how fun that was? Not just the weirdly hilarious moments like Snoop twinning with Martha Stewart in matching helmets at the dressage competition or the French pole vaulter who lost because he forgot to put on underwear, but more relevant for purposes of this newsletter: Noah Lyles is the World’s Fastest Man™! That’s cool as hell! We don’t know about you all but we’ve been basking in that reflected glory all month. In fact, both athletes representing ALX at the Games medaled in all their events. If our math is correct that’s a 100% medal rate, something no other city in the world has ever achieved [Editor’s note: what did we tell you about not fact-checking us, stop that, Jesus Christ]. Now we just need to get these guys back here and celebrate. Victory party? Yes. Keys to the city? Hand them over. Parade? We’ve been practicing for this for 275 years baby, let’s fucking go!!!

Alexandria’s Hottest Club Is… School

Congrats everyone, we made it! No more complaints about summer camps, no more fighting about sunscreen, no more finding sand in places that sand shouldn’t be found in. We’re back to school and excited for [checks notes] complaints about after school care, fighting about clothes, and finding little bits of soccer field rubber in places that soccer field rubber shouldn’t be found in [extremely long, extremely tired sigh]. It’s great to be at the start of a new school year, that magical time when everyone posts the same proof of life pic of their front porch and you get to visit Target eight times in one week because your kid tells you about school supply needs individually, class by class. We’re also excited for the return of the particular joy that comes from getting three dozen text messages a day about Bus 24 covering for Bus 76 which was replacing Bus 703 which wasn’t actually a bus but just a U-Haul box truck with “703” graffitied on the side.

The stakes for back-to-school feel slightly higher than usual because this feels like a big year for ACPS. Not necessarily a make-or-break one, but nonetheless a key moment for school leaders to show us they’re finally making progress on issues that have dogged the system in recent years, from facilities investments to east-west disparities in overcrowding to resources for EL students to teacher pay and retention. They also need to successfully execute their vision of the high school experience in Alexandria—discussion in some of the local Facebook groups for the school community suggests that early returns on that second point have been rocky, which makes it all the more crucial for administrators and school leaders to listen and iterate and follow through.

Given all that, it feels unusual that we don’t have a single competitive school board race this fall with only nine candidates running for the nine positions. Mark Eaton wrote this issue up and unpacked it far better than we ever could (please go read that piece, it’s great–in fact you should just subscribe to his newsletter which is consistently smart and excellent despite its lack of memes) and we agree with him that this feels like a missed opportunity, even as we likewise share his gratitude and appreciation for the nine people stepping forward, who seem great. The lack of a race should at the very least create the occasion for our local electeds to ask the question—is an elected school board still the right leadership and accountability model for our public schools? The answer may very well be yes! But we won’t know unless we talk about it seriously, and understand how we arrived at this juncture and where we go next.

And hey, at least these discussions and debates will give us something to do while we’re home with our kids on the [weeps quietly while typing] forty days schools are closed this year. 

Overheard in ALX

“The energy is aggressively hopeful and inclusive,” [Alexandria Democratic Committee chair Sandy] Marks told ALXnow. “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” 

Quote from an article about the DNC, or us staying up late to write this newsletter on Thursday night?

One Awesome Thing in ALX

It’s no secret that we’re big DASH fans here at ALXtra, and in news that might surprise several Duke Street in Motion commenters, it turns out the rest of the city loves riding the bus too! DASH just announced that it beat last year’s ridership record with an even higher total in FY24: 5.3 million rides, which is slightly greater than the population of [googling furiously] New Zealand, but only if you don’t count hobbits. To celebrate, DASH is going to have a block party on September 19—because just like with the Olympics, we are all about celebrating our wins in this town. If it’s even half as rowdy as an 8am ride on the 103/104 toward Braddock Metro with a homeroom’s worth of hyper GWMS students then we know it’ll be a great time.

As bus enthusiasts who also enjoy hosting social gatherings, we also just want to flag that we’re available in case the DASH team needs help planning this party. We’re standing by to help brainstorm essential party needs such as:

• Food and drink (snacks seasoned with Mrs. Dash, Greyhound cocktails)
• Music (“Wheels on the Bus,” Weird Al’s “Another One Rides the Bus,” “Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover” so we can all yell “hop on the bus, Gus!” together)
• Party games (bus route trivia, a contest to see who can best maneuver a bus around drivers who don’t understand what the white line on the road before a red light means)

Finally, DASH is asking people to submit artwork so they can create a “special thank you card featuring art that represents Alexandria”—what symbolic Alexandria scene/object would you draw? Wrong answers only, tell us in the comments!

You can follow Becky @beckyhammer.bsky.social and Jesse @oconnell.bsky.social on Bluesky, or you can e-mail us anytime at alxtranewsletter@gmail.com.

ALXtra is a free-to-read newsletter about current events in Alexandria, Virginia. Subscribe to get it delivered directly to your inbox. Paid subscriptions give you access to the comments. Revenue from subscriptions gets used in the following ways: 1) a third goes into a charity fund, and every time that fund hits $500 we make a donation to a local charity in the name of ALXtra’s readers and we feature and write about that organization; 2) another third of the money goes toward investments in the newsletter; and 3) the final third of the money goes toward self-care for your two intrepid authors.