Snow Way

After the better part of three weeks, it feels like we reached the moment when we can finally put the most dramatic winter storm of the past several decades behind us. What does that moment feel like, specifically, you ask? Well it feels like your foot unexpectedly punching through what had previously been an adamantium-hard crust of ice on the snowpack next to your driveway, unceremoniously dumping you to the ground as you try to bring your trashcans to the curb [Editor’s note: Jesus, Jesse, learn to walk]. But that’s ok! Because it felt good, right even, to step on snow and find that it gives like snow is fucking supposed to, after this arctic interregnum we’ve all been forced to endure. With all due respect to Stringer Bell we have never been so excited about a 40 degree day as the one this week that accelerated the melting and softening of the previously impregnable rime of frozen nonsense that still blocked our sidewalks, streets, and bus stops.

We made it, though we have to confess there were some days there in the middle where it seemed an open question if we would or not. Things got frayed y’all. If you don’t believe us just click through and read some of the comments people were writing along with their 311 requests for snow removal (of which there were more than 800). On Tuesday the city manager described this as a natural disaster, and shared that the city has hauled 1,000 dump trucks worth of ice, which added up to 9,000 tons worth deposited at a half dozen dump sites around the city. If you had the chance to see one of these dump sites in person you know how disorienting they were, like you’d made a wrong turn and wound up in Westeros.

But while the visible impacts of the storm are close to gone—our cars are mostly dug out, our crosswalks nearly navigable again—the impact of it is going to linger for quite some time yet, in a variety of ways. Most immediately is the impact it’s going to have on our budget process, which officially kicked off back in November but really gets going on February 24th when the manager releases his proposed budget. Turns out dump trucks and skid steers aren’t free! Much of the manpower and materiel used in The War on Snowcrete were contract arrangements that we hadn’t budgeted for. And why would we—we’ve seen some criticisms of the city response raise this point about not having sufficient equipment, but that’s just silly. It simply wouldn’t make sense for Alexandria to maintain Buffalo-levels of snow removal equipment, we just don’t experience this kind of weather often enough to make that investment pencil out. When we do need it we bring it in as a contingency, and we take the financial hit then—but make no mistake, we take a financial hit. What was already going to be a very tight budget season has just become downright Dickensian, and we’re all likely to feel the effects as the manager and City Council navigate it.

The storm has also left a serious emotional and psychological impact. Most students were home for 11 days and not back in school full time for 13. Outdoor activities are still mostly canceled or difficult to do safely [Editor’s note: like running, right? This is why you haven’t run in weeks Jesse?]. Pets are cooped up and going stir crazy. It’s been stressful, for all of us. But it’s been especially stressful for local elected officials who have challenging roles in the best of times, but during something like this become the target and repository of so many people’s anger and frustration and feelings of helplessness. It’s natural to complain (both of us definitely found things to complain about during the storm and its recovery) but it can sometimes be hard to tell when you’ve passed from complaining into openly abusing city staff and elected officials that are genuinely, truly, doing their best to manage circumstances that would defeat even the most highly prepared locality.

We’re encouraged that the city is going to engage in a comprehensive after action process, to learn what worked well (transit agency collaboration between DASH and WMATA seemed to be a bright spot for sure) and what would benefit from better procedures and communication (responsibility for clearing sidewalks and bus stops seems high on that list). Hopefully another three or four decades will pass before we suffer a winter storm like this one again, but the more we can do to learn and improve, the better off we’ll all be.

Things You May Have Missed Because You Have a Life 

• If you, like us, feel like you could use a little more inner tranquility these days, we hope you got a chance to see the Buddhist monks passing through Alexandria on their Walk for Peace or at least read this lovely essay about them by Ryan Belmore of the Alexandria Brief.
• West End newcomer Motherwell Distilling Co. is now selling its bourbon in local ABC stores and we have never been more excited to support a local business.
• There’s a new dining series in Alexandria Living Magazine by local food writer Howie Southworth that promises “No reviews, only encounters” and “Food and drink may be the excuse, people are the point.” Finally, a restaurant column for people who go out to dinner mainly to eavesdrop on the couple sitting at the next table.
• King Arthur Baking is opening a store in Old Town and this is absolutely legendary news. We’re so excited we could pull a baguette from a stone. This is the holy grail of baking suppliers! Our kitchens are about to be knighted and our tables have never been rounder!!! We like this news a Came-lot!!!!! [Editor’s note: have you ever considered not being like this?]
• We’ve given The Zebra some stick in the past, so we want to be sure to also praise them when they’re good, and this article about the history of Commerce Street and the reason for its layout was interesting and delightful. Now we want more explainers about why local streets are weird, someone get us 2,000 words on the dark and torrid history of the Quaker/King/Braddock intersection stat!
• The George Washington Birthday Parade is coming up tomorrow (Saturday) and not on Monday (like it had been prior to last year). One of these years we’re going to make good on our plan to put on a John Adams costume and loudly heckle the guy dressed as Washington in our best Paul Giamatti accent, but alas, this is not that year. 

Local Discourse Power Rankings

1. Consider the Lobster (Last week: NR). Last week saw the release of Virginia’s proposed new Congressional district maps and Jesus gerrymandered Christ these things are wild looking. In pursuit of a 10-1 division of the commonwealth that favors Democratic voters, drafters needed to crack the deep reserve of blue votes in Northern Virginia and allocate them across as many districts as possible, leading to districts that start up by the Potomac and (gerry)meander their way all the way down to the James. Alexandria remains in the 8th District, but it’s a virtually unrecognizable 8th (unless you recognize what a brontosaurus standing on its hind legs looks like, in which case this new district is very recognizable) that runs from here down to Williamsburg. Spare a thought for poor Don Beyer who previously could drive from one side of his district to the other before he made it through the ads at the start of his favorite podcast, but now has a circuit to meet constituents that somehow involves hitching a ride on an oyster boat. And our district isn’t even the weirdest part of the new map! Most of Arlington has ended up in a new 7th district that looks like the cheddar bay biscuits logo, and Shirlington has gotten so wary of our bellicose posture that they went and somehow got themselves represented by the 1st, 7th, and 8th districts just to be safe. All of this heads to a vote in late April, and with a strong start like this we can’t even imagine what’s coming next.
2. Democracy (Last week: 2). Our civic engagement muscles remain extremely toned this month as Alexandrians continue to exercise the franchise like it’s a Peloton class, except instead of instructors yelling at you to PEDAL FASTER, BITCH it’s volunteer poll greeters asking for your full name and address. In a shocking twist that no one saw coming, Tuesday’s state legislative general elections delivered resounding victories for Kirk McPike (HD-5) and Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (SD-39). The biggest surprise of all was that Elizabeth’s opponent didn’t cruise to victory on the strength of such messages as blaming housing affordability challenges on the “over population of massive influx of low skilled folks with no personal incomes”—a real unity platform, very inspiring, no notes. Now we’re pivoting directly into City Council mode with yet another firehouse primary on 2/21 to nominate a candidate to fill Kirk’s vacant seat. Our inboxes are filling up with ADC announcements that start with phrases like “yes, again,” which we can only imagine were typed while taking a long drag from a cigarette and staring into the middle distance. Five candidates have thrown their hats into the ring, and while they certainly have different outlooks and approaches none of them are on record telling cyclists to eat shit or taking the Paris Hilton “stop being poor” approach to local economic policy. What did we do to deserve this bounty of riches? Our only complaint is that none of them currently hold an office that would create a fresh vacancy and thus require even more voting—that electoral withdrawal’s gonna hit hard come March.
3. Video Killed the Newsletter Star (Previous rank: NR). One thing we didn’t get into in the opening essay about winter storm recovery was the delightful daily update videos that Mayor Gaskins started doing to help people stay informed. These were really good! The shot on a phone direct to camera style felt casual and approachable, and it’s a visual language familiar to younger residents. You almost expected her to say “come get ready with me to go find a place to dump 400 trucks worth of snow” or to start prepping a viral sheet pan recipe. The posts also helped people to establish a routine, allowed them to expect some information each morning that put everything they were experiencing in context, while also offering glimpses of how the mayor was dealing with the same challenges that many of us also were—related to childcare, getting to work, and managing the disruption. Now, are these daily update videos a better form of mayoral communication than a 10,000 word monthly newsletter? That’s hard to say (especially for us given our demonstrated preferences for, ah, let’s call it, a laissez-faire attitude toward word count?) but it’s certainly a nice change of pace to get information from our mayor without having to clear download space on our hard drive first. 
4. National IQ (Previous rank: NR). Those degenerate placemakers on the other side of Four Mile Run are up to their old tricks again, announcing yet another hostile rebrand of the Crystal City/Potomac Yard corridor as the National Innovation Quarter, or National IQ. What we’re most confused by is why it’s being pronounced “nationalique” despite no obvious French connections to this area. Maybe it’s to boost visits to local shops because it rhymes with boutique? Or we suppose it could be with health and beauty brand Ulta opening in Potomac Yard they’re trying to evoke thoughts of Clinique, and create some synergy that way. It’s certainly not the first time that a weird decision making technique by that Arlington clique has left us in a fit of pique, but calling this place Nationalique is probably the most unique way they’ve managed to piss us off yet. Nationalique, so dumb.

Commissioner’s Corner

A couple issues ago we introduced our new recurring Commissioner’s Corner segment, in which we talk to someone serving on one of Alexandria’s more than 80 [Editor’s note: how is that number correct, that cannot possibly be correct] public boards and commissions. This week we’re joined by Dana Colarulli, chair of the Park and Recreation Commission. 

ALXtra: So let’s get the most important question out of the way right at the top: which Parks and Recreation character is each commission member most like, and why is Joe Fray your Ron Swanson.

Dana: What?

ALXtra: Nevermind, don't answer that. Dana! Thank you so much for doing this. As our readers have gathered by now, you’re on the Park and Recreation Commission. That’s right, Park, singular. It’s different from the title of the television show. Do you ever get tired of correcting people about that? Jesse doesn’t.

Dana: That doesn't surprise me about Jesse; I have only occasionally pointed out the singular. So, I’ve been on the Park and Rec Commission since 2019 (pre-COVID). I currently serve as Chair of this 11 member body—we have 3 members per each of the 3 districts in the city and 2 student members. We provide feedback to the Department and advise City Council on issues related to the use and maintenance of sports fields and facilities, proposals for new developments in the city that affect parks and public space, and facilitating and encouraging the arts! I got involved in the Commission because I wanted to learn more about how the city was taking care of and improving the various spaces I have enjoyed in the city. I have two kids as well that have done sports in the city and enjoyed the rec centers (particularly in Del Ray). As a Rhode Islander, I like water (and thus our Alexandria waterfront, too) and I like to bike.

ALXtra: So the commission advises the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities (RPCA) which as the name suggests, is a lot of things? It’s also a lot of very different things. How do you all balance those priorities across those widely varied areas of expertise?

Dana: That’s true. RPCA does do a lot of things, and I think often sports—and fields, and pools and courts—get a lot of our attention. But, I think our most interesting discussions are about new developments or renovations being proposed in the city and what public facing space may be incorporated in new developments—which often means how to address the increasing needs of new neighbors resulting from new development, but also what opportunities we might have to activate open spaces. I’m also very aware of all the great things that are happening at our Rec centers (aftercare, teen programming and education, adult and senior programming). And, I think we should be talking more about enabling all kinds of arts in Alexandria. It’s a real challenge and you need a flexible and responsive team at the Department to manage this. We have a new RCPA Director as of last year who is doing great, and I have high hopes!

ALXtra: What’s a project that you’re particularly excited the department is working on right now? Have you thought about updating Ewald Park? That would be cool, you should ask people about that.

Dana: Actually, the plans for Ewald are well underway and I understand there was lots of engagement from RCPA and lots of community input. It will be great to see that space finally re-activated especially as we are also rethinking the Duke Street corridor. But there is a lot happening… I’ve been really excited about the Four Mile Run Kayak Launch now finally complete; that was a project that was a result of community matching funds approved by the Commission, and I believe is the only handicap accessible launch in Northern Virginia. I’m also excited about plans for North Old town particularly around the old power plant. There is still lots to be discussed there, but the plans are exciting and a significant amount of new open space (some 10 acres!) will now be available to the public as a result. Check out the designs!  

ALXtra: To be slightly more serious for a moment, managing our city’s open space is a genuinely hard thing to do: we have to manage the needs of different sports across all ages, preserve a balance between fields and natural areas, maintain all of it to a high standard, and also anticipate future changes in use (we joke a lot about pickleball, but it’s a great example of something that as recently as 5-10 years back was not contributing to demand for capacity that we had to plan for). Give us some insight into how the commission and city staff tackle this Gordian knot of different demands.

Dana: I think you’re right; it is a balance, and we have lots of demands in the City from various (and a growing number of) sports at various levels and those who want to simply enjoy the waterfront or our parks and natural spaces (dog parks, skate parks and trails included). These are good problems to have. On the sports side, the City should be enabling organized sports to provide the training, education and fun that external organizations may be better situated to do than through city programming. Our sports affiliate policy is long overdue for updating, and that process is happening now. But it can’t be just about increasing fees (which must be part of this if we want high quality fields and facilities), but also about working with and enabling key partners to provide these opportunities. It’s a partnership—not just a field/court/pool reservation. And by the way, the same is true for visual and performing arts programs which we also need to do a better job of supporting and stimulating.

But, as you pointed out, we need to be flexible to accommodate new needs from the community, and find ways to offset the costs of building, modifying or maintaining the spaces needed. On one side, if we want nice things in Alexandria, then some changes in our cost recovery policy are needed, and that may result in new costs. And, on the other end, we want to enable all residents in our diverse community to access city resources and programs, so we need to ensure lower or no cost for some programs or residents. So that’s a balance as well and something about which the city has been actively discussing and seeking community input—including at our next meeting (Feb. 19 at 7pm at Charles Houston) please stop by!

ALXtra: If the city suddenly had an unlimited budget for one RPCA-related item, what would you recommend they blow it on? You can’t say 50 more Bobcats.

Dana: At the very least an on-demand Bobcat to clear snow-covered pickleball courts. No, seriously, if we suddenly had a bunch of magic money we’d use it to get more covered field space to meet our current and future demands for a variety of sports. Space that is protected from the elements (rain and snow), and where we could co-locate amenities for parents and spectators as well. The goal should be to not only support existing sports but pull in tournaments and spectators from outside the city—to discover what a great place Alexandria is and help invest and support in further improvements.

ALXtra: Ok so we’re putting your answer down as “didn’t want to buy a three-story water slide at Old Town Pool” that's interesting, we were told you were fun. Anyway, we’ll let you have the final word here—what's the best part about serving on this commission?

Dana: Being more connected to what’s happening in the city and what opportunities we might have to build an even more vibrant place to live. I love that we live in a historic city and we have a responsibility to honor that history as we look at new projects. But, we have people also living and growing and building lives here too, so we should be thinking about how parks (plural) and rec centers and services add to and enable that growth. I get to be part of that loop and throw in some ideas too, which is great. Also, getting the heads up on when Tons of Trucks is happening. That’s cool too.

We Get Letters

Longtime ALXtra reader Alex G., who loves sending us letters almost as much as he loves posting pictures of beavers on Bluesky, writes in with some reflections on the past week:

Warning: severe earnestness ahead.

Somewhere between watching amazing artists throw ass and celebrate love & Latinidad on national TV, and sitting through another workweek of hearings & coalition calls, I felt something odd this week: a bit of hope.

The day after Bad Bunny’s spectacle I joined two calls with coalitions working, separately, on housing & immigration in Virginia. Coalition calls always have a mix of vigor and tedium, frustration and joy, but in the midst of all that both these groups took a moment to stop and reflect on the same thing. Right now, advocacy is working. 

In both these spaces, bills that felt like longshots a month ago are moving through the General Assembly. Votes that were firm “no’s” are moving to maybe and yes. Ideas that were firmly outside the Overton window are actively getting amended into legislation.

That isn’t just because legislators suddenly decided to act. They’re being pushed. Lobby day turnouts have exploded. Legislators’ inboxes and voicemails are overflowing with messages. Coalitions are expanding and building power. Advocates from disparate fields are showing up and fighting for each others’ bills, knowing our issues are inextricably linked. I have the most visibility on housing and immigration, but I see this happening in other spaces, too.

Don't hear what I’m not saying. Advocacy “working” doesn't mean everything’s about to be perfect; it just means improving from the baseline. But we aren’t aiming for a utopia; we’re aiming for “better than yesterday” and we’re building power to keep pushing for progress in the long term.

Sometimes all the calls to action, requests for comment, pleas to call your reps, can feel like shouting into the void. That’s even true for me, and I’m often the one sending them! So I guess I’m just writing this to let you know: it’s working.

Movements are made and power gets built by little actions that, taken alone, can feel insignificant. But those little actions stack on top of each other. One by one, little actions build on each other. Each adds a little more weight to the scale. Slowly, together, we’re shifting that weight toward a better tomorrow.

Thanks for sharing this, Alex. There’s been a lot of Super Bowl halftime show analysis this week [Editor’s note: oh has there? Would you happen to know anything about that?] but this is the first take we’ve seen connecting Bad Bunny’s performance to Virginia’s legislative session. It’s giving us reason for optimism about the future of our commonwealth, and perhaps even more importantly, our chances of passing a bill to make perreo the official state dance.

Overheard in ALX

From a letter by the chair of the Alexandria Archeolagical Archelological Archaeological Commission in this week’s Alexandria Times:

Alexandria’s waterfront should showcase the discoveries from the excavation that captured the city’s and the nation’s attention a decade ago. For those of us who have been around since the beginning of this discovery, the rally cry was “Save our Futtocks”—futtocks is the maritime term for the curved timbers of a wooden ship hull just like the ones excavated from the Alexandria waterfront and is pretty memorable if you think about it. We now think it is time to rally around “Show our Futtocks” and figure out the best location on the waterfront to proudly display our ship hull for Alexandria residents and visitors.

While we’re 100% on board with the sentiment, we’re not sure the slogan “Show our Futtocks” is going to rally the people you think it is.

One Awesome Thing in ALX

It’s no secret that we, like all upstanding Alexandrians, are animal lovers—we’ve featured dogs as Alexandria’s hottest club, and we never miss a chance to write about rabid foxes, fancy pigeons, halal chickens, backyard chickens, or really any other kind of chicken. But we realized that we’ve never featured the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria’s awesomeness in this section of the newsletter, and after the recent news about AWLA’s role in the Your Dog’s Best Friends animal cruelty trial (working with the police to gather evidence and providing expert testimony at the trial), we decided to rectify that oversight immediately.

Here are some of the many things we love about AWLA:

• They take in all kinds of animals. Cats and dogs? Obviously. Rabbits and chinchillas? Sure, why not. Iguanas and bearded dragons? HELL YEAH! DRAGONS!!!
• They take amazing portraits of the animals and give them cute names to help them get adopted, like “Paper Clip” and “Jake from State Farm.”

• They run what’s probably the most sought-after summer camp in the city, which definitely earns some cultural cachet around here. 
• They provide pet food and grooming appointments to senior and low-income pet owners in need, as well as short-term pet care for people experiencing a crisis or emergency. 
• They posted this amazing “audition video” of their adoptable dogs trying out to be grass-costumed extras in the Super Bowl halftime show. Yes, we [Editor’s note: we?] are still finding ways to make everything about Benito this week. Deal with it!!!
• AWLA also helps wildlife that’s injured or in distress. They’re basically animal superheroes! That is, they are superheroes for animals… they aren’t animals. Unless you consider humans animals. Which, strictly speaking they are, from a biological standpoint, but ontologically—you know what, let’s just move on.

It’s so important for people to protect and advocate for the most vulnerable among us, and that includes animals. AWLA has been doing it for 80 years, since it was founded in 1946! That also happens to be when our current president was born, in case you were wondering whether a single good thing happened that year. We’re grateful to have AWLA in our community and hope that someday they manage to reclaim their rightful website URL (awla.org) from Arlington. In the meantime, let’s keep showing them the love they deserve for being so paw-some.

We’ll be back next in your inboxes on March 6, but fortunately for you you’ll have plenty of parades and voting to keep you company between now and then.

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’ll make a donation to a local nonprofit in the name of ALXtra’s readers and we’ll feature and write about that organization, like we did here, here, here, here and here; 2) another third of the money will go toward investments in the newsletter; and 3) the final third of the money goes toward self-care for your two intrepid authors.