Table of Contents
Good morning, Alexandria.
The mayor said Tuesday night she doesn't think Flock Safety has a role in Alexandria. Two council members said the same, and the police chief told them he's been meeting with other vendors — though he doesn't have a timeline, and didn't know when the current contract expires. He said it can be canceled at any time. I'll have full coverage from the meeting through the day.
Also today: power went out across Alexandria twice on Tuesday, morning and afternoon, hitting many of the same neighborhoods both times. Dominion still hasn't said what caused either round. And two community meetings run at 7 tonight about a half-mile apart — one on the zoning rules governing the historic districts, the other on Braddock West, approved since 2021 and still not built.
Here's what you need to know for Wednesday, Sept. 9.
1️⃣ Gaskins: 'I do not think there's a role for Flock in this community'
Mayor Alyia Gaskins told council Tuesday night that she doesn't think Flock Safety has a role in Alexandria, though she said technology does and has helped. Councilman Abdel-Rahman Elnoubi asked for a timeline to get rid of it. Councilwoman Sandy Marks said dropping the vendor wouldn't be enough for her on its own, and that replacing it with something similar wouldn't be either without a longer conversation.
Police Chief Tarrick McGuire didn't name Flock in his presentation. He said he's been meeting with other vendors he believes offer stronger safeguards, that the contract can be discontinued at any time and that he doesn't know when it expires. He said he recognizes the urgency but wants to do his due diligence. He also defended the program, saying the department wouldn't have solved its most recent homicide or cases involving a serial rapist and a man exposing himself to women without it, and that 233 officers are trained on the system, every search requires a case number and a stated reason, and a dedicated unit audits it monthly.
Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley said she was leaving without clarity on how many cameras there are or where. Marks said Alexandria has about triple the cameras per resident and per square mile of neighboring jurisdictions and asked why. And APD posted a new dashboard the morning of the hearing showing 1,348 searches by offense type, which doesn't line up with the 322 search sessions on Flock's own portal. The page doesn't say what period it covers.
2️⃣ Thousands lost power Tuesday morning. Thousands lost it again that afternoon.
More than 10,000 Dominion customers in Alexandria lost power Tuesday morning — 10,407 at 7:15 a.m., about 15% of the city and more than Friday's storm peak. Nearly all of it came back within two hours. At that point Alexandria accounted for about 96% of every Dominion outage in Virginia. Arlington had 22 customers out.
Then it happened again. About 5,312 customers lost power around 4 p.m., in three outages covering Rosemont, Taylor Run and Del Ray — many of the same neighborhoods as the morning. Spokesperson Aisha Khan said crews were returning a circuit to its normal feed and expected everything restored within about an hour. Most of it was, but one Del Ray outage carried a restoration window running past midnight.
As of 6:15 a.m. Wednesday, six Alexandria customers were out. Dominion has listed the cause of every one of these outages as pending investigation and hasn't said whether the afternoon round was connected to the morning's. I'm still asking.
3️⃣ Alexandria's office vacancy falls to 18.8%, but Old Town's is rising
Alexandria's office vacancy rate dropped to 18.8% in the first half of 2026 from 21.6% a year earlier, according to a mid-year report the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership released Tuesday. That's better than Northern Virginia's 20.1%. But most of that improvement had already happened by January — the rate was 18.9% at year-end 2025, so it's moved a tenth of a point in six months.
The other main measure runs the other way. Alexandria gave back 160,400 square feet of occupied space while the region added 302,274. Net absorption here has been negative in four of the last five years. AEDP credits the vacancy decline to keeping the National Science Foundation, which took over a 386,600-square-foot building in May, and to office conversions like the long-vacant 5001 Eisenhower Ave. becoming affordable housing.
Old Town is the surprise. It's the only submarket where vacancy rose, reaching 15.5%, and it gave back more space than anywhere else in the city — 102,789 square feet. Carlyle is still the weakest by rate at 27.7%, though improving. Potomac Yard registered 0% vacancy again. And for the first time, the report looks at industrial and flex space, where vacancy rose to 5.9% as demand grows for the little of it left inside the Beltway.
In brief
The city takes comment on potential changes to Article X of the zoning ordinance, which governs Alexandria's historic districts, from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight at the Oswald Durant Center, 1605 Cameron St. Planning and Zoning staff are reviewing six areas, including maintenance standards, curb cuts and ATM placement. No draft language has been released. (The Brief) Correction: The historic district zoning meeting we listed for tonight is Thursday, Sept. 10, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Durant Center, 1605 Cameron St., Room 3-4. The city announced the new date Tuesday.
CRC Companies updates neighbors on Braddock West at 7 p.m. tonight at the Charles Houston Recreation Center, 901 Wythe St. The 180-unit project across from the Braddock Road Metro station has been approved since 2021 and the site has been cleared since 2023. (The Brief)
The National Innovation Quarter named Michael Manuccia as its first chief executive Tuesday, filling the top job at the innovation district that spans National Landing and Potomac Yard along the Alexandria-Arlington border. (The Brief)
A pedestrian was struck and killed Monday night on Interstate 395 southbound north of Duke Street, Virginia State Police said Tuesday. (The Brief)
Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Tuesday appointed Andrea Fletcher, an Alexandria resident, to direct the Virginia Digital Service, a newly created state team assigned to modernize government technology and scrutinize state IT contracts. (The Brief)
The Hume Avenue Stormdrain Bypass Project Construction Kick-Off, scheduled for Tuesday night at the Mount Vernon Recreation Center at 2701 Commonwealth Avenue, was canceled. This meeting will be rescheduled at a later date. (City of Alexandria)
The City of Alexandria is bringing in goats for a pilot program aimed at clearing invasive plant species from hard-to-reach park areas. (Fox5)
Sports
Both Titans varsity volleyball teams lost 3-1 and 3-0 to Lake Braddock on Tuesday — the girls on the road, the boys at home at Minnie Howard. The JV teams split, with the girls winning 2-0 at Lake Braddock and the boys losing 2-0 at Minnie Howard. (AC Titans)
Manny Machado tied the score with a two-run single in the eighth inning, Luis Campusano drove in the go-ahead run and the San Diego Padres rallied past the slumping Washington Nationals 5-4 on Tuesday night. (The Brief)
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Today in Alexandria
⛅ Weather
Today: Sunny, with a high near 89 degrees. South wind 6 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 73 degrees. South wind 8 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
🌖 Sun, Moon, & Tide
Sunrise at 6:44 a.m., sunset at 7:26 p.m. 12 hours & 41 minutes of sun.
High tide at 7:20 a.m. & 7:50 p.m. Low tide at 1:22 a.m. & 2:04 p.m. The moon phase is a Waning Crescent.
🗓️ Things To Do
- 6 p.m.: Wellness Wednesday at Carlyle Crossing
- 7 p.m.: Murphy’s Run Club at Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub
🎶 Entertainment
- 219 Restaurant: Bill Pappas Project at 9 p.m.
- Atlas Brew Works: Bingo at 7 p.m.
- Augie's Mussel House: Rook Richards at 5 p.m.
- Evening Star Cafe: Rebecca Berlin at Hi/Fi at 7 p.m.
- Hops N Shine: Trivia at 6:30 p.m.
- Laporta’s Restaurant: Pete Chauvette at 6 p.m.
- Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub: Kenny Kohlhaas at 8:30 p.m.
- O'Shaughnessy's Pub: Karaoke at 9 p.m.
- Rock It Grill: Karaoke at 9:30 p.m.
- Southside 815: Rook Richards at 9:30 p.m.
- The Birchmere: Margo Price at 7:30 p.m.
🏛️ City & Schools
City Gov.: Open | Flag: Full Staff | Trash, Recycling, & Yard Waste: 1-Day Slide
- 7 a.m.: Old Town Pool open
- 8 a.m.: Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission meeting at Lloyd House
- 9 a.m.: Walk-In Wednesday hiring event for Alexandria Police Department applicants at Police Headquarters
- 10 a.m.: Senior Academy at Beatley Library
- 4 p.m.: Minnie Howard Pool open
- 5:30 p.m.: Alexandria Community Remembrance Project steering committee meeting at Alexandria Black History Museum
- 5:30 p.m.: Alexandria Transit Company board of directors meeting at Alexandria Transit Company Board Room
- 7 p.m.: ARHA Board of Commissioners special meeting at 401 Wythe St.
- 7 p.m.: Commission on Persons with Disabilities monthly meeting at Lee Center
📚 Alexandria Library
- 10:30 a.m.: 1s and 2s Time at Charles E. Beatley Jr. Central Library
- 11 a.m.: Just Babies at Kate Waller Barrett Branch Library
- 11:30 a.m.: 1s and 2s Time, second session, at Charles E. Beatley Jr. Central Library
- 4 p.m.: Teen Art Cafe at James M. Duncan Jr. Branch Library
- 5:30 p.m.: English Language Learning 2 Workshop — Intermediate Conversation at Charles E. Beatley Jr. Central Library
- 6 p.m.: The America 250 Book Club at Local History/Special Collections, Sprouse Rare Book Room
- 6 p.m.: Burke Branch Friends monthly meeting at Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library
- 6 p.m.: Literary Virginia Book Group — "The Correspondent" by Virginia Evans at Virtual
- 6:05 p.m.: STEM Explorers: Model Airplanes at James M. Duncan Jr. Branch Library
- 6:30 p.m.: English Language Learning — Intermediate Conversation
- 7 p.m.: Small Business Series: Financial Planning 101 at Virtual
⚾ Sports
D.C. Sports
- 4:10 p.m.: Washington Nationals at San Diego Padres
- 7:30 p.m.: Columbus Crew at D.C. United
ACHS Titans
- 4 p.m.: Golf vs. Lake Braddock at Army Navy Country Club
- 7 p.m.: Volleyball (boys) vs. Meridian at Minnie Howard
- 7:30 p.m.: Field hockey (girls) at Thomas Edison
- Varsity only. Full schedule, including JV and freshman.
On this day in Alexandria's history
Two things happened in Alexandria on Sept. 9.
In 1891, a fire broke out at the southeast corner of Wythe and St. Asaph streets, in one of the buildings that made up Portner's Brewery — a bottling and storage complex spread across several blocks bounded by Washington, Pitt, Wythe and Pendleton. Robert Portner, a German immigrant, started the business in 1864 out of a small grocery store. By 1890, he was producing more than 60,000 barrels a year of brews called Vienna Cabinet and Tivoli, and running one of Northern Virginia's largest employers. (Historic Alexandria)
And in 1942, the city manager proposed a board to review alterations, new construction, and demolition in the city's oldest sections. He modeled it on the historic districts in Charleston, South Carolina, and New Orleans. The proposal was controversial, and it took four years — but it became the Old and Historic Alexandria District. (Historic Alexandria)
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Publisher: Ryan Belmore, an Alexandria resident, journalist, and neighbor. Send news, tips, and feedback to ryan@alexandriabrief.com.
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