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Good morning, Alexandria. It's Monday, June 29 — and it's the calm before a long, hot week.
The forecast climbs sharply: high near 87° today, near 89° Tuesday, then 99° Wednesday, 103° Thursday, and 103° on Friday before the holiday weekend. If you don't have air conditioning at home, the city operates cooling centers at five recreation centers and all six Alexandria Library branches — full list and hours here. For seniors, the Senior Cool Care Program offers cooling fans to eligible adults 60 and over. Heat safety tips from the Alexandria Health Department are here.
Here's what's happening in Alexandria.
1️⃣ Dalić reveals how he steadied Croatia — as the team's Alexandria countdown begins
For nearly a month, the question of how long Croatia would call Alexandria home kind of stayed open. On Sunday, it finally got an answer — and so did the question of how the team pulled its World Cup back from the brink.
Speaking at a press conference at Episcopal High School, the day after Croatia reached the Round of 32 with a 2-1 win over Ghana, head coach Zlatko Dalić offered a candid look at the turnaround behind the run — and the federation confirmed the team's stay in the city is now on the clock. Croatia will remain at its Alexandria base through Tuesday before leaving for Toronto and its knockout match with Portugal, ending a base-camp stay that began in early June.
Read more: Dalić reveals how he steadied Croatia — as the team's Alexandria countdown begins | Croatia advances: Vlašić header off Modrić corner beats Ghana, and the team is back in Alexandria
2️⃣ 'You are welcome here': Alexandria marks Pride with proclamation, purpose, and community
Alexandria's LGBTQIA+ community and its allies gathered Saturday afternoon at John Carlyle Square Park for the 9th Annual Alexandria Pride, a free, all-ages event hosted by the Alexandria LGBTQIA+ Task Force that ran from 2 to 6 p.m.
Despite humid conditions and a forecast that carried a chance of afternoon showers and storms, the rain held off through the fair's four-hour program. The event featured more than 100 exhibitors, food trucks, live music, a mobile art lab, health services and a Kids' Corner — drawing participants from across the city and region for an afternoon spanning advocacy, wellness, faith and entertainment.
Read more: 'You are welcome here': Alexandria marks Pride with proclamation, purpose, and community
3️⃣ In Alexandria's inaugural police annual report, a 29% crime drop and a department determined to be more than its statistics
Tarrick McGuire has been Alexandria's police chief for nearly two years. His first full calendar year on the job has now been captured in the department's inaugural annual report — and the 29% drop in overall crime is, he says, only part of the story.
"I will never take the credit for outcomes," McGuire said in a one-on-one sit-down interview with The Alexandria Brief on Friday morning. "What I will take the credit for is the men and women who are producing the outcomes."
4️⃣ Alexandria-Arlington innovation district lands $3.9M state grant — the largest in this GO Virginia round
The National Innovation Quarter, the technology and national-security innovation district spanning Alexandria and Arlington that launched earlier this year, has been awarded nearly $3.9 million in state economic-development funding — the largest single grant in a $5.6 million statewide round Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced Friday.
The $3,933,000 award, made through the Growth and Opportunity for Virginia (GO Virginia) program, accounts for about 70 percent of the seven grants announced statewide. It goes to a Region 7 Northern Virginia project covering both the City of Alexandria and Arlington County.
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📰 In brief
Less than 48 hours before the start of Virginia’s new fiscal year, the General Assembly will meet in Richmond Monday to consider Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s proposed amendments to the state’s two-year spending plan lawmakers passed one week ago. (The Brief)
Alexandria's civilian Independent Community Policing Review Board holds a public hearing tonight from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Del Pepper Community Resource Center on the auditor's final report into the August 2025 in-custody death of Allan F. Tucker II. (The Brief)
Heidi Haggerty-Wagner, principal of Alexandria City Public Schools' Early Childhood Center, is among the inaugural class of the Virginia Department of Education's Principals of Distinction, a recognition the state finished awarding last week. (The Brief)
Alexandria remains under a state drought warning after the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, in a June 25 update, continued the existing advisory covering most of the commonwealth, citing persistently low groundwater and streamflow levels despite recent rain. (The Brief)
The Department of Transportation and Environmental Services has two streets scheduled for repaving this week: West Abingdon Drive from Slaters Lane to the end, and Crest Street from West Braddock Road to Dogwood Drive. Night paving on King Street between 30th Street and North Hampton Street begins Monday, July 6, with crews working 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. to limit daytime traffic impact; lane closures and delays should be expected during work hours. Temporary "No Parking" signs will be posted before work begins; residents should observe them to avoid ticketing or towing. (City of Alexandria)
Sports
Sonia Citron scored 32 points, including the basket that put her team ahead to stay with 21.4 seconds left, and the Washington Mystics held off the Portland Fire 124-123 on Sunday in four overtimes — tying the longest game in WNBA history. (The Brief)
Luis García Jr. homered twice and drove in five runs to lead the Washington Nationals to a 6-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. (The Brief)
Croatia is moving on — and, for at least a little longer, it is doing so from Alexandria. The Vatreni beat Ghana 2-1 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Saturday night to finish second in Group L and reach the World Cup's Round of 32. (The Brief)
The Alexandria Aces split a weather-disrupted weekend, beating the Metro South County Braves 6-3 on Friday at Frank Mann Field through a weather delay before dropping the opener of Saturday's doubleheader at Olney 10-1; the second game of the doubleheader was suspended in the top of the fifth with Olney leading 8-6. Sunday night's home game against the Southern Maryland Senators was postponed. The Aces sit at 11-11 on the season.
Today in Alexandria
⛅ Weather
Today: Patchy fog before 8 a.m. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 87 degrees. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 66 degrees. South wind around 5 mph, becoming calm after midnight.
🌖 Sun, Moon, & Tide
Sunrise at 5:46 a.m., sunset at 8:37 p.m. 14 hours & 51 minutes of sun.
High tide at 8:44 a.m. & 9:20 p.m. Low tide at 2:31 a.m. & 3:33 p.m.
The moon phase is a Full Moon.
🗓️ Things To Do
- 6:30 p.m.: Joggers & Lagers at Port City Brewing Company
🎶 Entertainment
- 219 Restaurant: Just For Fun at 9 p.m.
- Clyde’s at Mark Center: Trivia at 6:30 p.m.
- Daniel O’Connell’s: Traditional Irish Music at 7 p.m.
- Del Ray Public House: Trivia at 7 p.m.
- Epicure on King: Open Mic at 7 p.m.
- Laporta’s Restaurant: Jim West at 6 p.m.
- Mason Social: Rook Richards at 5 p.m.
- Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub: Colby Sard at 8:30 p.m.
- O’Shaughnessy’s Pub: Karaoke at 9 p.m.
- Rock It Grill: Karaoke at 9:30 p.m.
🏛️ City & Schools
- 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Chinquapin Pool Open
- 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.: Minnie Howard Pool Open
- 11 a.m. to 6:45 p.m.: Warwick Pool Open
- 12 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.: Old Town Pool Open
- 4:30 p.m.: Annual Meeting of the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership at 1940 Duke Street, Suite 6700
- 6:30 p.m.: ICPRB Public Hearing on the Allan F. Tucker II review at the Del Pepper Community Resource Center
- 7 p.m.: Duke Street Land Use Plan Meeting #7 at Washington Masonic National Memorial (hybrid; Zoom available)
- (City of Alexandria calendar) (ACPS calendar)
📚 Alexandria Library
- 10:15 & 11:15 a.m.: Baby Time at James M. Duncan Jr. Branch Library
- 10:30 a.m.: Storytime in the Reading Garden — Cuentos en el jardín de lectura at Charles E. Beatley Jr. Central Library
- 10:30 a.m.: Senior Bingo at Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library
- 1 p.m.: English Language Learning (ELL) at Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library
- 5 p.m.: Dungeons & Dragons at Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library
- 5:30 p.m.: ELL 2 Workshop — Intermediate Conversation at Charles E. Beatley Jr. Central Library
- 6 p.m.: Air-Dry Clay Dinosaurs at Kate Waller Barrett Branch Library
- 6:30 p.m.: Stability in Motion — Weekly Yoga with Seven Petals Yoga at James M. Duncan Jr. Branch Library
- (Alexandria Library calendar)
⚽ Sports
- 1 p.m.: World Cup Round of 32 — Brazil vs. Japan at NRG Stadium, Houston
- 4:30 p.m.: World Cup Round of 32 — Germany vs. Paraguay at Gillette Stadium, Boston
- 7:10 p.m.: Washington Nationals at Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park
- 9 p.m.: World Cup Round of 32 — Netherlands vs. Morocco at Estadio BBVA, Monterrey, Mexico
🗓️ On this day in Alexandria history
On this day in 1929, the U.S. government announced plans to construct the George Washington Memorial Parkway from the nation's capital southward to Mount Vernon.
Four years after the parkway's announcement, on June 29, 1933, the Alexandria City Council repealed the city's Prohibition laws.
The Alexandria Brief
Alexandria, Va., news and information you won't find anywhere else.
Publisher: Ryan Belmore, an Alexandria resident and journalist. Send tips, photos, and story ideas to ryan@alexandriabrief.com.
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