The Alexandria Brief: Monday, April 13

Correction: This story has been updated to correct that the School Board will host its public hearing on the police MOU on Thursday, not on Wednesday as originally written in the second paragraph of this newsletter. I apologize for the error.

Good morning, Alexandria. It's Monday, April 13— the 103rd day of 2026, with 262 days left in the year. You're one of 5,749 neighbors reading this morning.

This is one of the busiest weeks on the civic calendar. Tomorrow, the City Council takes up parking fines, Sunday meters, a stormwater fee hike, and a business tax increase — all on first reading. Thursday, the School Board holds its public hearing on the revised police-in-schools agreement; sign-up deadline to speak is noon tomorrow. And a week from tomorrow, voters head to the polls. More than 13,200 have already cast a ballot.

Over the weekend, Gov. Spanberger vetoed the skill games bill, drawing praise from Councilman Aguirre, who's been warning about the machines since his first term.

On a lighter note: tomorrow is Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day. The Old Town shop at 103 S. Union St. is giving away free scoops from noon to 8 p.m. You're welcome.

Here's what you need to know today.

~ Ryan

1️⃣ From Del Ray to Old Town, Alexandria spent the weekend talking about local news.

The table was simple: a folding tent, a Local News Day sign, a spread of cards for three local newsrooms, and a handmade bookmark telling the 200-year history of journalism in this city. What happened around it was anything but ordinary.

Over the weekend of April 11 and 12, Bloom Labs founder Stephen Jefferson and students from Theogony, the student newspaper of Alexandria City High School, staffed three Local News Day pop-up events across Alexandria — Saturday morning at St. Elmo's Coffee Pub in Del Ray, and Sunday at both the Old Town North Farmers Market and the Four Mile Run Farmers Market. The Alexandria Brief stopped by all three.

2️⃣ Spanberger vetoes skill games bill, drawing praise from Councilman Aguirre who warned of predatory practices

Skill game terminals made by Georgia-based Pace-O-Matic. (Pace-O-Matic)

Gov. Abigail Spanberger has vetoed Senate Bill 661, legislation that would have legalized skill games in Virginia, drawing immediate praise from Alexandria City Councilman Canek Aguirre, who had been sounding the alarm on the machines since his first term in office.

"I applaud and thank Governor Spanberger for her veto of Senate Bill 661," Aguirre said in a press release on Saturday. "Skill games are predatory and consistently placed in lower-income neighborhoods. You never saw these machines going into country clubs or boutique spas and there's a reason why."

3️⃣ Alexandria's week ahead: Budget hearings, parking overhaul, police-in-schools hearing, and a special election on the horizon

Alexandria City Hall (City of Alexandria)

Alexandria's civic calendar reaches a crescendo this week, with major budget decisions, a consequential school policy hearing, a closed school board session and a special election quick approaching.

City Council's most consequential legislative meeting in months lands Tuesday. The agenda is dense and dollar-heavy. On first reading, Council will take up an ordinance raising the standard parking fine from $40 to $50 — the first increase since 2007. A separate ordinance would activate parking meters on Sundays for the first time in the city's history, affecting metered areas including Old Town, Carlyle, Eisenhower East, Potomac Yard and Oakville Triangle beginning July 1, if adopted on final passage April 29.

📰 In brief

Alexandria's Transportation Commission meets Wednesday, with three items worth watching: a vote on the city's five-year commuter assistance strategy, an update on a proposed Metro station redevelopment near Braddock Road, and a leadership election. (The Brief)

The city will host a neighborhood meeting on Thursday to update residents on upcoming maintenance work along Hooff's Run and planned improvements to a nearby park — work that will require closing the park and its tennis courts for up to six months. (The Brief)

The city's Resource Recovery Division is hosting a free shredding event for Alexandria residents Saturday, April 18, from 9 a.m. to noon in the parking lot of MOM's Organic Market. The event is timed to coincide with Earth Month and the close of tax season. (The Brief)

Alexandrie Fire Department's Truck 208 responded to the 200 block of Gretna Green Drive on Saturday night to investigate an odor in the area. While investigating, crews found light smoke coming from a townhouse. Additional units responded to assist with the structure fire. Crews made entry, located the fire, and then extinguished it on the second floor. (Alexandria Firefighters)

"Is this goodbye to free parking Sundays in the City of Alexandria? The 2027 Proposed Budget looks to implement changes to parking prices and fees for parking violations. News4’s Catalina Pérez de Armiñán explains". (News 4)

April 21 Special Election: As of April 9, 7,496 early in-person votes have been cast, and 5,784 mail ballots have been returned. Early voting continues today at 132 N Royal Street. (City of Alexandria)

🗞️ Beyond Alexandria

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has joined seven other governors in the PJM Interconnection territory in pushing the regional grid operator to adopt policies and regulations that help shield ratepayers from shouldering the cost of increased power demand largely driven by data centers. (Virginia Mercury)

Virginia Early voting climbs ahead of crucial redistricting referendum. (WUSA9)

🏀 Sports

Tomlin scores career-high 26 as Cavaliers defeat Wizards 130-117 in regular-season finale (AP/The Brief)

Ovechkin, Capitals keep postseason hopes alive with 3-0 victory over Penguins. (AP/The Brief)

Nationals win 8-6 to complete first sweep of Brewers since 2011. (AP/The Brief)

Today in Alexandria

⛅ Weather

Isolated showers today after 11 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 82 degrees. Southwest wind 11 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. The chance of precipitation is 20%.

Partly cloudy tonight, with a low around 64 degrees. Southwest wind 7 to 11 mph.

🌖 Sun, Moon, & Tide

Sunrise at 6:34 a.m., sunset at 7:43 p.m. 13 hours & 9 minutes of sun.

High tide at 5:41 a.m. & 6 p.m. Low tide at 11:56 a.m. The moon phase is a Waning Crescent.

🗓️ Things To Do

9 a.m.: Monday Morning Coffee Club at Rosemont Cellar
12:15 p.m.: Concerts at Christ Church: Songs for New Beginnings at Christ Church
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 Irish Restaurant: 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.
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 of Alexandria

6 a.m.: Chinquapin Open at Chinquapin
Noon: Public Health Advisory Commission at 4850 Mark Center Drive
5 p.m.: AlexRenew Governance Committee Meeting at 1800 Limerick Street
6 p.m.: Minnie Howard Open at Minnie Howard
7 p.m.: Board of Zoning Appeals Public Hearing
7 p.m.: Human Rights Commission - Executive Committee
7 p.m.: Alexandria-Caen Sister City Committee
7 p.m.: Alexandria Archaeological Commission Subcommittee (virtual)

📚 Alexandria Library

All day: America 250 Community Mini Art Show Canvas Pick-Up at Burke Branch Library
All day: Exhibit: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka at Local History/Special Collections
All day: Footsteps of History - Virtual Walking Challenge (virtual)
All day: Turning the Lens on Plastic Pollution Through Art at Barrett Branch Library
All day: The Great American PoeTREEs at Beatley Central Library
All day: Tiny Art Show: Tiny Chair Edition at Beatley Central Library
All day: A Commonwealth of Cultures Exhibit at Local History/Special Collections
10 a.m.: Twice Loved Plushies at Beatley Central Library — accepting donations through April 20
10:15 a.m.: Baby Time at Duncan Branch Library
11 a.m.: Storytime in the Reading Garden at Beatley Central Library
11:15 a.m.: Baby Time at Duncan Branch Library
1 p.m.: English Language Learning (ELL) at Burke Branch Library
4 p.m.: Restful Readaloud - Stories from American History at Beatley Central Library
5:30 p.m.: English Language Learning (ELL) 2 Workshop at Beatley Central Library
5:30 p.m.: Teen Takeover at Beatley Central Library
7 p.m.: Unregulated AI Use - Understanding Threats and Regulations (virtual)
7 p.m.: Diversity Book Club (virtual)

🏫 Alexandria City Public Schools

5 p.m.: Strategy & Accountability Committee (via Zoom)
6 p.m.: Advanced Academic Services Advisory Committee at ACHS College and Career Center

ACHS Titans Sports (Full schedule)

4 p.m.: Girls Varsity Tennis vs. W.T. Woodson at ACHS
4 p.m.: Boys Varsity Tennis vs. W.T. Woodson at W.T. Woodson High School
5:45 p.m.: Boys JV Lacrosse vs. West Springfield at Minnie Howard
6 p.m.: Girls JV Lacrosse vs. West Springfield at West Springfield High School
6:30 p.m.: Varsity Baseball vs. George Marshall at Frank Mann Field
6:30 p.m.: Varsity Softball vs. Meridian at Meridian HS
6:30 p.m.: JV Softball vs. Meridian at Witter Field
7:15 p.m.: Boys Varsity Lacrosse vs. West Springfield at Minnie Howard
7:30 p.m.: Girls Varsity Lacrosse vs. West Springfield at West Springfield High School

📜 On This Day in Alexandria History

via Historic Alexandria

On April 13, 1876, building supply entrepreneur John Leatherland and his son, John W., opened a new brass foundry at Queen and Lee Streets, aptly named Leatherland and Son. The new industrial facility opened its doors just in time to be featured on page 102 of Chataigne’s Alexandria City Directory, that also included several other listings outlining the extensive business interests of the Leatherland family in the city during the last quarter of the 19th century.

On April 13, 1943, nearly ten years before the City of Alexandria annexed rural land from Fairfax County west of North Quaker lane, City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting the keeping of swine within the city boundaries. Development to house federal workers and military personnel associated with the war effort, included in-fill housing downtown and suburban developments on the city’s second “West End” between North Quaker Lane and Del Ray, quickly eliminated public tolerance of livestock and agricultural pursuits in the rapidly growing city.