By Kaitlin Murphykmurphy@alextimes.com A growing family needs space and in Alexandria, the Geffroy family found the perfect home. It came with a lush green backyard, character and a lot of outdated wallpaper. Sarah and Michael lived in a rowhouse on Capitol Hill but as their family expanded, they looked exclusively in Rosemont. The couple purchased the home in November 2012 and then wrestled with what to do to update their new abode. It was Mike who first went to see the house when it was on the market. He called Sarah immediately. “Look at this!” Michael implored. Sarah was wary but ..read more

By Leslie Goldenlgolden@alextimes.com According to a release from the Alexandria Police Department, residents from the City of Alexandria dropped off 335 pounds of expired and unwanted prescription medications during the Drug Take Back Day on April 22. The next Drug Take Back Day will be in the fall. There are permanent options available for disposal year round. For more information, visit alexandriava.gov/opi- oids/disposing-of-unused- and-expired-medication- safely The post Drug Take Back Day disposal details appeared first on Alexandria Times ..read more

By Rob Whittle If, when you buy an econo-sized bottle of shampoo, you wonder which will last longer – you or it – you’re of an age when you might remember the three-martini lunch. I entered the advertising industry at the tail end of the Mad Men era as chronicled, quite accurately, by the TV series of that name. My first week, I was invited to tag along to a lunch given by a radio sales rep. It wasn’t a three-martini lunch only because, as I recall the drinks of the participants were colored brown, but it had the same effect. What, you might reasonably ask,&nbs ..read more

To the editor: I own a bike and sometimes enjoy riding it along our many bike trails. That said, I’m confounded by our city leadership’s seemingly unrelenting effort to convert our primary streets built for automobile and truck travel to alternate uses. If we need more bike lanes than we already have, let’s designate them off the main streets, through parks, trails and neighborhoods. That will allow vehicle traffic to proceed on busier, larger roads and bikes to travel in vast areas of Alexandria that offer a much safer and more scenic option. There’s no need for nearly every arterial and se ..read more

To the editor: I wanted you folks at the Alexandria Times to take notice of the big obituary in Saturday’s Washington Post for former Alexandria resident Hodding Carter. Carter is famous because he was the State Department spokesman during the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979 and 1980. But it’s important to remember that he lived in Old Town Alexandria for many years at the northwest corner of Columbus and Cameron streets across from Christ Church. He continued living there long after he left the State Department in the summer of 1980. In the summer of 1980 I was down at Quantico, Virginia ..read more

To the editor: The Potomac Yard Metro station opened on May 19. But the sordid story of how it came to be sited on wetland, tidal wetland, woodland and national parkland must be told for the record. Please don’t buy the city’s revisionist history that siting the station there was justified because of the positive economic impact. Other sites, that no one opposed, would have provided the same impact with minimal environmental damage. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Mark Warner (D-VA) sent a letter to the Di- rector of the National Park Service in 2014 pressuring for the current site. NPS caved ..read more

Sometimes grace notes sound in the unlikeliest of places. Such is the reminder from Mark Eaton’s story in this week’s Alexandria Times, “Through their eyes,” on page 13. This story, the second in a series Eaton has written about Alexandria’s Johnson Memorial Pool, tells of the days in the 1950s and 1960s when African Americans from Alexandria and surrounding areas gathered at the segregated pool. The pool’s very existence was rooted in the racism of that era and in tragedy – it was opened in 1952 following the drowning deaths of the Johnson brothers in the Potomac River the year prior. Becau ..read more

By Victoria Kilcullen-Bond Have you wondered what improvements or renovations you could make to your home to improve its value? Is it adding a steam room? A home gym with the latest equipment and mirrors? How about a home theater with a state-of-the-art sound system? Home renovations can be a great way to increase the value of your property and make your living space more comfortable and functional. Not all renovations are created equal and some will provide a higher return on investment than others. Here is useful information to answer your questions if you’re considering a home renovatio ..read more

By Mark Eatonaboutalexandria@gmail.com Alexandria opened the Johnson Memorial Pool in 1952 at what was then the corner of First and North Payne Streets as the first swimming pool in Northern Virginia intended for use by African-Americans. The pool, named for brothers Leroy and Lonnie Johnson who drowned on July 30, 1951 while swimming in the Potomac River, was dedicated after a series of swimming deaths of young African-Americans in local waterways. The Johnson Memorial Pool became a central gathering place for African-Americans in Northern Virginia. While the pool is gone, it lives vividly ..read more

5.18.23 Board of Zoning Appeals Legal Notice The post Board of Zoning Appeals Work Session and Public Hearing appeared first on Alexandria Times ..read more