Alexandria HomeLifeStyle Gazette Packet Page, 18 25 Cents Serving Alexandria for over 200 years • A Connection Newspaper May 10, 2018 End of Watch Vice Mayor Wreath laying for Justin Wilson and Mayor fallen Alexandria Allison Silberberg at officers. their first By Vernon Miles mayoral debate Gazette Packet before the June 12 primary. etired Alexandria Cap- tain Ken Howard has a Photos by favorite story he likes Vernon Miles/Gazette Packet James Cullum/ R to tell about his old Police Chief Michael Brown Gazette Packet partner, Michael Cody. Howard worked with Cody in the patrol milkshakes. Once, while Cody was wagon, colloquially known as a savoring a strawberry milkshake, paddywagon back at the time, and he left it sitting up on the dash Rumble in Del Ray Cody loved strawberry See Honoring, Page 22 The first shots came on the topic of parking and Silberberg and Wilson small businesses, where Wilson noted that Silberberg was the lone vote against a parking Targeting Revenue square off in first initiative late last year that allowed businesses operating during different peak hours to utilized mayoral debate. shared parking spaces. In what became a com- Advisors and business leaders mon refrain throughout the evening, Silberberg By Vernon Miles accused Wilson of taking her vote out of context, encourage city to develop Gazette Packet arguing that the broader policy being voted on was allowing commercial properties to provide less Revenue Master Plan. fter three years of spats on the City Coun- parking. By Dan Brendel base, particularly on the commer- Acil dais, Mayor Allison Silberberg and Vice A few moments later, Wilson pointed to another Gazette Packet cial side.” In 2017, the Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson finally climbed into vote where the council had moved to cut red tape Chamber of Commerce called for the ring for the long expected showdown. At the for small businesses as part of zoning reforms he city should develop a a RMP “to align economic growth May 2 debate at the Mount Vernon Community despite objections from Silberberg. Wilson noted longer-term and more and capital improvement goals School, Silberberg defended her record of fre- that while on the council he’d helped reformed T comprehensive revenue with strategies to increase in- quently dissenting council votes, often against the city code to make it easier to open tattoo shops strategy, especially in connection come.” The chamber may again council coalitions built by Wilson. and massage parlors, which had been limited un- with land use and development, address revenue generation in its der city code that he said read like a bad romance to meet its long-term goals, say 2019 Legislative Agenda, said novel. Silberberg said she agreed with the idea of certain finance and business pro- Chief Operating Officer Maria streamlining the city’s processes, but that the city fessionals. Ciarrocchi. needed to make greater efforts in public outreach This year, as in past years, the A RMP should entail “concrete before approving them. city’s Budget & Fiscal Affairs Ad- revenue goals” and “actionable One day before the council’s approval of the FY visory Committee (BFAAC) recom- strategies,” according to BFAAC’s 2019 budget, Silberberg and Wilson revisited their mended a Revenue Master Plan recommendation. It should look to feud the earlier year when Silberberg had voted (RMP) “to grow the city’s revenue See Revenues, Page 29 against the tax rate increase proposed by Wilson. “I fully supported the City Manager’s reason- 22314 VA Alexandria, To: 1604 King St., King 1604 To: ted able and proactive budget,” said Silberberg. “It Reques Service Address met the school needs. But I couldn’t support the material. historic tax hike.” Time-sensitive Postmaster: Former Mayor Bill Euille listened to the Wilson had embraced the tax increase as neces- Attention debate between incumbent Mayor Allison sary to vouchsafe the city’s fiscal future. Permit #482 Permit Silberberg and Vice Mayor Justin Wilson VA Alexandria, See Mayoral Debate, Page 22 PAID at the Mount Vernon Community School. Postage U.S. PRSRT STD PRSRT www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Alexandria Gazette Packet ❖ May 10-16, 2018 ❖ 1 2 ❖ Alexandria Gazette Packet ❖ May 10-16, 2018 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Alexandria Gazette Editor Steven Mauren News 703-778-9415 or [email protected] SFA raises $440,000 for Titanic Success students in need. Back2Bad By Jeanne Theismann Gazette Packet Metro announces o the chant of “We Are the Ti- tans,” students from the T.C. full summer TWilliams High School class of Alexandria 2018 entered the ballroom of the Mark Center Hilton April 28 for the 32nd annual Scholarship Fund of Alexan- shutdown in 2019. dria Gala. With 560 attendees, the gala was the larg- By Vernon Miles est in the event’s history and raised more Gazette Packet than $440,000 to send students in need to college. ust one year after Metro’s “This was a record-breaking year for J SafeTrack program closed sec- scholarship applications,” said scholarship tions of Alexandria’s Metro, recipient Cindy Do, who spoke on behalf of deep in the throes of the “Back2Good” the class of 2018 scholarship recipients. public relations campaign, the Washing- “That means there are more students with Jack Taylor Toyota Raffle Grand Prize Winner David Lord (left) with SFA ton Metropolitan Area Transit Author- dreams but also more students with needs. Executive Director Beth Lovain, Incoming ACPS Superintendent Dr. ity has announced that in summer 2019 On behalf of all of us — thank you.” Gregory Hutchings and T.C. Williams Principal Peter Balas. the entire Alexandria section of the Do, a lacrosse player and co-cap- Photos by Lily Morton Metro south of the Reagan National Air- tain of TC’s cheerleading squad, port station will be closed for repairs. holds a 4.0 GPA and will attend the “On Thursday we will be getting a University of Virginia in the fall with much more detailed update on the an- plans to become a physician’s assis- nouncement we heard earlier this tant. Her parents immigrated to the week,” said Councilman Paul U.S. from Vietnam and like many of Smedberg at the City Council’s May 8 her fellow scholarship recipients, she meeting. “This has been an issue that will be the first in her family to at- is well known. Several platforms are tend college. in urgent or dire need of repair. For “My parents came to this country us, we have three in particular that for a better life and better chances, are in the worst shape in the system.” both for themselves and for me,” Do The closure will shut down the lo- said. “Because of the Scholarship cal blue and yellow line from Memo- Fund, I have kept their dream alive.” Cindy Do, a senior at T.C. Williams High rial Day 2019 through Labor Day. The gala also honored three “Por- School, thanks attendees on behalf of Smedberg noted that currently several traits of Success” past scholarship the 2018 Scholarship Fund of Alexandria platforms are supported with steel recipients from the class of 1998: recipients at the SFA Gala April 28 at the bars and thick pieces of wood. Micheline Diakite, senior construc- Mark Center Hilton. “It is going to cause severe disrup- tion manager for Boston Properties; tion regardless of how the repairs are Clark Mercer, chief of staff to Gov. Ralph was a scholarship fund recipient in 1995. Micheline Diakite, right, is hon- implemented,” said Smedberg. “The Northam; and Dr. Kenneth Shumate, a den- “I am a former scholarship recipient,” ored as a “Portraits of Success” real issue here with this service as we tist at Waldorf Dental Care. Hutchings said. “That scholarship changed recipient by John Porter at the saw with Safetrack is we only have Incoming Alexandria City Public Schools the trajectory of my life.” April 28 SFA Gala. two tracks. Not having the third re- Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. also ally complicates things. There’s really attended the event. Hutchings, an Alexan- For more information, visit no other way to do it than shut it dria native and graduate of T.C. Williams, www.alexscholarshipfund.org. down. Even doing one side vs the other still causes real service disrup- tions.” A full-summer shutdown was hard news to find a silver lining in, but if there was one, Smedberg said that it might coincide with the construction of the Potomac Yard metro. “This is something nobody is look- ing forward to,” said City Manager Mark Jinks, “but we have a year to prepare and get ready for this.” Mayor Allison Silberberg said the city will be providing bus transporta- tion from the nearest functioning Metro station. “This is not something we can sugar coat,” said Vice Mayor Justin Wilson. “Having notice is good thing, but also bad because live with fear of the un- known. This is going to have negative impacts on ridership, not just during it but before it. We’re going to see macro-economic impacts during this SFA supporters Harlene and Bill period and building up to it.” Members of the organizing committee pose for a photo at the SFA Gala. Clayton at the April 28 gala. www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Alexandria Gazette Packet ❖ May 10-16, 2018 ❖ 3 News A Second Chance ... Through Baking Nonprofit helps people improve their lives. By James Cullum Gazette Packet lexandria’s Colida Johnson was honored by a standing ovation on Wednesday at Athe George Washington Masonic Memo- rial. Johnson, a graduate and now pro- gram manager of the Together We Bake workforce Photo by James Cullum/Gazette Packet and personal development program, lived on the Together We Bake program manager couches of friends and family for six years and told Colida Johnson speaks at the nonprofit’s the audience of her second chance.