Letter: Value of an Ombudsman
Recently a new group, Democrats for a Better Alexandria, has suggested that the City needs an Ombudsman (or Ombudswoman). According to Wikipedia, an Ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between government, and constituents, representing the broad scope of constituent interests.
Letter: Don’t Encourage ‘Magic Bullets’
As a desperate high school student just sliding by, I too would hope for a magic bullet cram course to improve my standardized test scores and chances of getting into college.
Letter: Fixing Flaws, Building on Successes
The following open letter is addressed to school staff and residents.
Letter: Consider Children’s Safety
The following letter was sent to the City Council and School Board.
Letter: Clear Cutting Of Trees
This morning I watched as contractors for WMATA cut down tree after tree after tree along the property line adjacent to my apartment complex.
Letter: Another Step for Smoke-Free City
The Mayor and City Council are to be congratulated for steps they have recently taken to address what Surgeon Generals of the U.S. have called the two leading causes of preventable death and disease in America: tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke. In January, the City Council, by a vote of 5 to 1, authorized the placement of signs discouraging smoking in all City-owned parks, playgrounds and bus shelters.
Letter: Hybrid School Board?
That in the past few months there have been issues of extraordinary concern and increasing public outrage over ACPS is well-understood.
Letter: Pay More Attention To City Schools
Where there’s smoke there’s usually fire. Unfortunately, for Alexandria City Public Schools, too few people have pulled the alarm.
Letter: GW Memorial Parkway Metro?
Although officially it is referred to as the Potomac Yard Metro, if the option to move the tracks closer to the GW Memorial Parkway is used, it creates a construction zone on the George Washington Memorial Parkway, and furthermore creates a right-in right-out for the trucks and mechanical equipment to use.
Letter: Time To Step Down?
The following letter is addressed to Dr. Morton Sherman, Superintendent of Schools, Alexandria City Public Schools.
Letter: Best Way To Spend $7 Million?
The mayor and the City Council have proven again that they do not represent their Alexandrian citizens.
Letter: Support Cleaner Environment
As a 14-year-old boy growing up in Virginia, I am so happy that President Obama has taken the time to create a plan to clean bodies of water and major rivers of the pollutant mercury.
Letter: Re-evaluate Public Amenities
The recently released Beauregard Small Area Plan Draft includes a complicated and risky provision that earmarks the increase in property tax revenue generated in the plan area into a separate fund.
City Wins Technology Solutions Award
PTI lauds email migration to cloud services.
The City of Alexandria, the first jurisdiction in the state to transition from on-premise enterprise messaging to cloud services, has been awarded the Technology Solutions Award for 2011-2012 by the Public Technology Institute.
Historical Society To Honor Madison, Lee
The Alexandria Historical Society has selected local historian Robert L. Madison and journalist Michael Lee Pope as winners of Special Alexandria History Awards for 2012.
Keep Pets Out of Hot Vehicles
As the region transitions into spring and the warm weather that accompanies it, Alexandria’s animal control officers will be enforcing the new ordinance passed in November 2011 prohibiting the confinement of animals in vehicles when the outside temperature is at or above 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Firefighters Respond to House Fire in Alexandria
On Sunday, April 8, at approximately 10:15 p.m., the Alexandria Fire Department assisted by the Arlington County and Fairfax County Fire Departments responded to a reported house fire at 1147 Palmer Place in Alexandria.
City Council To Hold Hearing on Tax Rates
The Alexandria City Council will hold a public hearing on the 2012 Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Rates on Saturday, April 14, beginning at 9:30 a.m. in City Council Chambers, Room 2400 (2nd Floor) at Alexandria City Hall, 301 King St. On March 13, the Alexandria City Council voted 5-2 to authorized advertising a maximum possible real residential property tax increase to $1.008 per $100 assessed value, an increase of one cent.
Police Investigate Attempted Abduction
Alexandria Police are investigating an attempted abduction and assault that occurred in the 2200 block of Mill Road. Around 5:30 P.M. on Tuesday, April 10, two females were grabbed by a man and pulled into a vacant building.
New Board Members at Volunteer Alexandria
Seven new members have been elected to Volunteer Alexandria’s Board of Directors.