Tessera

City Council will meet tomorrow at 8:30 a.m for the purpose of “Acceptance of resignation of a City Council appointee.” I’ve been working on a story that’s possibly regarding this all week and will share as soon as I can.

The map went up late this afternoon. Here's where Alexandria police have their 61 license plate readers, what the department's new numbers say, and why the outside audit it expected to start today isn't happening in its traditional form.

The Alexandria Police Department published a map Thursday showing where its 61 license plate reader cameras are located, meeting the Oct. 1 date it set last week.

Technical.ly talks to National IQ's first CEO about the innovation district that runs from Arlington into Alexandria — 350 jobs, $100M in startup funding, 32 businesses by 2028. technical.ly/civics/micha...

How a former FBI specialist plans to juice tech and startups in Northern Virginia

National IQ's first CEO is targeting 350 new jobs, $100 million in startup funding, and 30+ new businesses across Arlington and Alexandria by 2028.

technical.ly

Spent this morning with both pursuit policies. Alexandria's permits a chase only for six violent felonies — murder, rape, abduction, armed robbery, felonious assault, arson causing death. Auto theft isn't one, and APD didn't pursue. State Police policy has no offense threshold, and troopers did.

This story was updated Wednesday morning with additional comments and background from the Alexandria Police Department.

Story's up: the full draft Duke Street Land Use Plan is out. A 20-year plan that caps most redevelopment at 85 ft, adds height only where it buys affordable housing, and expects 1–2 new buildings a year. Council could vote in December. Comment through Nov. 13.

Draft Duke Street plan is out, and city council could vote by December

X now charges 20 cents per post with a tappable link via API, and shows those posts to fewer people. For a one-person newsroom, that's a bill to reach a shrinking audience. Likely winding down for over there, finally.

Got beat on this one. Worked on it most of the day. It happens... I've got the petition, the management correspondence and Metropolis's written answers to residents, plus questions out to both companies. If the answers add anything, I'll report it. www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/n...

Residents concerned over AI parking cameras in Alexandria aprtment community

“We actually don’t want convenience at the cost of our privacy, safety and wellness,” one resident said. “And so we responded, and we have about 109 residents who have said, ‘No, we don’t want this co...

nbcwashington.com

The full draft Duke Street Land Use Plan is out — 253 pages, first rewrite since 1992. Heights up to 150 ft near transit, 10% affordable tied to new density, 12 districts. Comment through Nov. 13, hearings in December. Story coming. www.alexandriava.gov/DukeStreetPlan

Duke Street Land Use Plan

On June 9 2025, the City launched an 18-month community planning process that will update the comprehensive land use plan for the Duke Street Corridor from Alexandria Union Station to Van Dorn Street ...

alexandriava.gov

Calling a city press release from Sept. 1 an exclusive on live tv on Sept. 29 is a choice. Also, the mayor's name is Alyia.

Alexandria City Hall renovation project remains on schedule despite unexpected asbestos cleanup

The City Hall renovation project in Alexandria is still on schedule despite the discovery of additional asbestos.

fox5dc.com

Phil Vassar first walked into the Birchmere as a college kid to watch Gordon Lightfoot. On Oct. 22 he plays it the same way — acoustic, no full band. We talked about the last three years, the covers, and George Jones's bus.

After three hard years, Phil Vassar is back at the Birchmere and feeling good

Hard story. Three teens dead after a pursuit through Alexandria. I sent State Police a series of questions to understand more about how it unfolded. Here's what they said.

What we learned from our questions to State Police today: the pursuit covered about five miles in two minutes, the stolen car hit about 90 mph, and troopers had tire deflation devices positioned farther north on 395. The car exited before reaching them. Three teenagers died.

Early look: The Alexandria Brief now has a community events calendar at alexandriabrief.com/events Still building it out — more features and events coming next week. But if you have an event happening in Alexandria, you can add it directly to the calendar right now.

Events in Alexandria

What's happening in Alexandria — updated daily.

alexandriabrief.com

Why did Alexandria land the national Faith & Blue kickoff? Rev. Markel Hutchins told me today it came down to the region and to Chief McGuire — specifically a 54-mile walk from Selma to Montgomery the chief made in 2020. Details and RSVP info in the story.

Alexandria to host national Faith & Blue kickoff Oct. 9 at Virginia Tech's Innovation Campus

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Four nights, four meetings. Tonight it was the chief and about 30 residents on license plate readers.

Police chief tells residents the research on license plate readers is thin, but he still sees a role for them

As a member of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), I fully support this condemnation. www.spj.org/spj-condemns...

SPJ condemns White House ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico

Society of Professional Journalists, improving and protecting journalism since 1909

spj.org

Feeling a little chippy after a long day at the desk. So here's the backstory on the changes I made today... I quietly embedded hidden text in every Brief story. That's how I found out competitor sites were scraping my original reporting and dropping it into AI platforms—without attribution.

Nearly 2.5 hours on DASH's $3.7M overrun at tonight's council work session. How the error happened, what DASH is cutting, and what could change for riders. Story coming on The Alexandria Brief.

Here's why I had to do it: My original reporting — stories I spend hours on — is being scraped, copied, and republished by competitors and AI platforms without credit or compensation. Every day.

Publisher's Note: A small change — and why it actually makes The Alexandria Brief stronger

The city gave the goats up to 10 days. They finished in six. Total cost: $9,500. Now humans have to clean up after them.

Goats cleared invasive plants from a park slope in six days

Alexandria's red-light camera data gets destroyed within two business days if no ticket is issued. Flock license plate data is kept 21 days regardless. Different cameras, different laws, very different rules — and APD spelled out the difference this week. www.alexandriabrief.com/alexandria-p...

Alexandria police will publish a map of their license plate reader locations by Oct. 1

The Police Department told The Alexandria Brief on Sept. 6 that it would not release camera locations. City Council directed otherwise, and the commitment appeared on the city's website Tuesday.

alexandriabrief.com

City staff walked City Council through some of what they've found (so far) during demolition at City Hall, including a playbill dated to about the 1870s, legible enough to read the actors' names and the admission prices: 10 and 20 cents. Story - www.alexandriabrief.com/asbestos-has...

The most striking find was a playbill dated to about the 1870s, legible enough to read the actors' names and the admission prices, 10 and 20 cents. Staff believes it advertises an adaptation of Jack Sheppard, a play that traveled the East Coast, featuring a teenage actress billed as Minnie Palmer. Kotob said a worker on the Kluse Building likely attended the show and tucked the bill into the wall.

Backyard rain gauge has registered just about 3.5 inches of rain so far this week.

A rain gauge in Alexandria showing almost 90 mm. Rain measured from Sunday, Sept.20 - Wednesday, Sept.23.

Alexandria City Council wraps up Legislative at 9:56 p.m., moves into Closed/Executive Session. Coverage to come.

This is exactly why reader-funded, newsletter-first journalism matters more than ever. The link economy is breaking. Direct-to-reader journalism has never mattered more. Axios: Link economy breaks as AI reshapes web traffic www.axios.com/2026/09/19/a...

Alexandria City Council kicked off its public hearing by saying the applicant has requested to defer this item. The request was approved unanimously. www.alexandriabrief.com/city-council...

City Council to hear appeal of Russell Road address change on Sept. 19

Staff recommend renumbering 3600 and 3600½ after nine years of misdeliveries. The owners of 3600 say their number dates to 1939.

alexandriabrief.com

The Alexandria Brief@alexandriabrief.com · 4w ago

Grab a cup of coffee and join me in catching up on the week (so far).

Belmore's Notebook: Cameras, walk zones, and a handshake

The Alexandria Brief@alexandriabrief.com · 4w ago

Tried to narrow it down to 5, ended up posting 7. Truth be told, there were like 12. Thanks to everyone for reading and supporting!

5 Alexandria stories you won't find anywhere else this week: