The Alexandria Brief: Tuesday, March 24

Good morning, Alexandria. It's Tuesday, March 24.

Today, we're taking a look at the week ahead for the City Council and the School Board. Council meets tonight for a legislative meeting, then holds its final budget work session tomorrow before add-delete begins. The School Board meets on Thursday with a redistricting update.

Here's what you need to know today.

1️⃣ City Council takes up government operations budget Wednesday as final work session before add-delete begins

Alexandria City Hall (City of Alexandria)

City Council holds its sixth FY 2027 budget work session Wednesday night, turning to the departments that keep city government running — from the City Attorney's office and Finance Department to Information Technology Services and the Office of Voter Registration and Elections.

The "Accountable, Effective & Well-Managed Government" functional area totals $189,918,397 across 15 departments and offices. The dominant line item by far is Non-Departmental at $109,419,580 — a catch-all covering city memberships, insurance, debt service, cash capital, employee compensation, contingent reserves, and emergency response. That single line represents more than half the functional area's entire budget.

The session begins at 7 p.m. at the Del Pepper Community Resource Center.

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2️⃣ Little Theatre of Alexandria wins six WATCH awards; mother-daughter duo takes top acting honors

Little Theatre of Alexandria (Visit Alexandria)

The Little Theatre of Alexandria took home six awards at the 2025 WATCH Awards ceremony Sunday night, including top acting honors for a real-life mother and daughter who played mother and daughter on stage.

Sally Cusenza won outstanding featured performer in a play for her portrayal of Grandma in Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers," while her daughter Sarah Cusenza received outstanding lead performer in a play for her role as Bella in the same production. The pair's wins marked the evening's most heartwarming moment at the Birchmere in Alexandria.

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3️⃣ 860 ACPS students will change schools next fall as redistricting enters final phase

New Elementary School Boundary Map (ACPS)

Alexandria City Public Schools will present a redistricting implementation update to the School Board on Thursday — the latest chapter in a boundary overhaul that has been nearly a year in the making and will affect hundreds of Alexandria families this fall.

According to Thursday's presentation, 860 students will be changing schools in the 2026-27 school year, either because they live in a redistricted area or because they are returning to their boundary school from a capacity transfer. An additional 333 students elected to use the deferral option, allowing them to remain at their current school for at least one more year. Another 128 students did not respond to the redistricting deferral form at all.

The numbers represent a narrowing of the pool since the process began. When the district sent placement notifications to families on Nov. 14, roughly 1,400 enrolled students were believed to be impacted by the new boundaries. The deferral process, which ran through a Jan. 15 deadline, allowed families to opt for continuity while the district finalized its figures.

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📰 In brief

The Alexandria City Council will hold its next legislative meeting tonight at the Del Pepper Community Resource Center. (The Brief)

Alexandria's week ahead: City Council acts on Arlandria housing, budget reaches final stretch (The Brief)

Peter Labovitz, former president and CEO of Connection Newspapers, and his wife, Sharon Labovitz, sold 510 Wolfe St. on Monday for $7.1 million. (Washington Business Journal)

Starting this week, the National Park Service will close lanes to resurface sections of the George Washington Memorial Parkway between Spout Run Parkway and Interstate 395 and between DCA and First Street in Alexandria. (NPS)

Jaclyn Talon connects young Jewish families in Alexandria (Washington Jewish Week)

As of March 21, 2,889 residents have voted early in person for the April 21 Special Election, and another 9,964 have requested mail-in ballots. Early voting continues today from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 132 N Royal Street. (City of Alexandria)

Four weeks before the April 21 referendum, early voting shows a stronger turnout in GOP-leaning areas (Virginia Mercury)

Today in Alexandria

⛅ Weather

Sunny today, with a high near 53 degrees. Increasing clouds tonight, with a low around 38 degrees.

🌖 Sun, Moon, & Tide

Sunrise at 7:04 a.m., sunset at 7:23 p.m. 12 hours & 19 minutes of sun.

High tide at 12:56 a.m. and 1:04 p.m. Low tide at 7:10 a.m. and 8:21 p.m.

The moon phase is a Waxing Crescent.

🗓️ Things To Do

5:30 p.m.: VIDA - A Tango Life at The Rectory on Princess
7 p.m.: Beer Yoga at Port City Brewing Company

🎶 Entertainment

219 Restaurant: Justin Gillen Trio at 9 p.m.
Atlas Brew Works ALX: Trivia at 7 p.m.
Laporta’s Restaurant: Antonio James at 6 p.m.
Lena’s Wood-Fired Pizza & Tap: Annie Stokes at 6 p.m.
Lost Dog Cafe: Trivia at 7 p.m.
Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub: Pete Baker at 8:30 p.m.
O’Shaughnessy’s Pub: Trivia at 9 p.m.
Rock It Grill: Karaoke at 9:30 p.m.

🏛️ City & Schools

6 a.m.: Chinquapin Open at Chinquapin
6 p.m.: Minnie Howard Open at Minnie Howard
6 p.m.: Alexandria Transit Company Stockholders Meeting
6:15 p.m.: City Council Legislative Meeting

The ACHS Titans and middle school sports schedule can be found here.

📚 Alexandria Library

10:15 a.m.: Family Storytime at Burke Branch Library
10:30 a.m.: Bilingual Storytime at Barrett Branch Library
11 a.m.: Playtime! at Beatley Central Library Reading Garden
11 a.m.: Baby and Toddler Time at Barrett Branch Library
2 p.m.: America's Failed Response to the Opioid Crisis with Shoshana Walter & Barbara Kingsolver (virtual)
2 p.m.: Baby and Toddler Play Date at Burke Branch Library
4:30 p.m.: Tuesday We Play at Beatley Central Library
5 p.m.: One-On-One Computer Help at Barrett Branch Library
6:45 p.m.: Eco:mmunion - Conversations to Sustain People and Planet at Barrett Branch Library