Port City Dispatches: Hostel Setback, Carver Nursery Sold, Sur La Table, Alexandria Waterfront and Cat Adoptions

A sampling of this week's important, interesting and fun stories concerning Alexandria and its people.

From the City of Alexandria Patch sites:

Plan for Hostel in Old Town Receives Major Setback — By Drew Hansen, Old Town Alexandria Patch

Paul Cianciolo's plan to open a hostel in Old Town received a major setback this week when the owner of the building at 216 S. Peyton St. opted to lease it to another tenant.

In June, Cianciolo received approval from Alexandria City Council to operate a hostel with a bar at the Peyton Street property.

Cianciolo said the landlord’s decision to sign another tenant caught him off guard.

Cromley Sells Historic Carver Nursery School Building — By Drew Hansen, Old Town Alexandria Patch

Developer Will Cromley informed Alexandria city officials Monday evening that he has sold the historic Carver Nursery School to a company that plans to restore and expand the building so it will eventually house a pediatric dental practice.

Cromley, who purchased the structure about five years ago, sent a note stating Stephanie Sample and Al Cox of the city’s Department of Planning and Zoning facilitated the redevelopment plan for the building.

 “Their commitment and creativity made preservation of this building possible,” Cromley wrote.

Former T.C. Williams Standout Overseeing Redskins Special Teams — By Drew Hansen, Del Ray Patch

Keith Burns, a 1990 graduate of T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, will be roaming the sidelines this fall with the Washington Redskins.

If the team can keep a healthy quarterback, Burns could be in line for a third Super Bowl ring.

Alexandria Yellow Cab Seeks to Dismiss Officer Laboy Civil Suit — By Drew Hansen, Old Town Alexandria Patch

Alexandria Yellow Cab claims it could not have known one of its drivers was dangerous and that the suspect in the February shooting of Alexandria Police Officer Peter Laboy was an independent contractor and not an employee of the cab company, according to court papers.    

Laboy, who was shot in the head Feb. 27 while responding to an incident involving an Alexandria Yellow Cab driver, filed a complaint in June alleging the taxi company was negligent in the hiring and supervision of its drivers and that such negligence contributed to his shooting.

Circuit Court Judge Dismisses Alexandria Waterfront Case — By Drew Hansen, Old Town Alexandria Patch

Circuit Court Judge James Clark last week granted Alexandria’s motion to dismiss a case brought by three residents against the city in regards to its controversial waterfront plan.

Three women living near the waterfront—April Burke, Beth Gibney and Marie Kux—argue that Alexandria City Council should not have approved the riverside redevelopment plan for a second time in March because it did not follow an appropriate process.

The three women, who are referred to as the Iron Ladies, asserted the same grounds on council’s 5-2 approval of the waterfront plan in January 2012.

Opening Soon: Sur La Table on King Street — By Drew Hansen, Old Town Alexandria Patch

Seattle-based Sur La Table tentatively plans to open its new King Street location near City Hall on Sept 4.

In June, building owners EastBanc and Jamestown announced the signing of a 10-year lease to bring Sur La Table to the nearly 6,000-square-foot storefront located at 326 King St.

Norfolk School Board, VSBA Taking On School Takeover Law — By Drew Hansen, Old Town Alexandria Patch

The Virginia School Boards Association and the Norfolk City School Board are filing suit requesting the Norfolk city court invalidate the Opportunity Educational Institution legislation.

The governor-created bill, which the General Assembly enacted in its 2013 session, requires any school that has been denied accreditation or has been accredited with warning for three consecutive years to be transferred to the control of an OEI board. The schools are to remain under OEI control for five years or until the school achieves full accreditation.

Members of the Alexandria City School Board have expressed opposition to the OEI legislation because they want to maintain local control of Jefferson-Houston School, which has lost accreditation and is in line for takeover.

Del Ray Service Center Now Selling Exxon Gas — By Drew Hansen, Del Ray Patch

Del Ray Service Center is now exclusively selling Exxon gas.

The service station, located at 1601 Mount Vernon Ave., made the switch last week when it installed a new Exxon sign with digital price display.

“We are still keeping everything Del Ray Service Center and just selling Exxon gas,” said Asif Mahmood of the service station. “We are going to be reimaging the building with a new Del Ray Service Center sign and dressing it up a little bit.”

From elsewhere:

Even Small Amounts of Precipitation Dump Raw Sewage into Potomac River — By Michael Lee Pope, Alexandria Gazette Packet

Don't believe the signs city officials have posted at the four outfall spots that dump raw sewage into the Potomac River. The truth is much worse.

The signs say rainfalls that are "heavy" or "long" will result in raw sewage overflowing from the city's treatment plant directly into the river. But a new permit application to state officials paints a different picture. According to information submitted to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, one of the outfalls is triggered with as much as 0.03 inches of rain.

"The system cannot carry anything more than a slight drizzle," said Bill Skrabak, deputy director of the Department of Transportation and Environmental Services.

Cat Adoption Drive Averts Crisis — By Erich Wagner, Alexandria Times

For a while this summer, there wasn’t room to swing a cat at the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria.

A sharp increase in pet surrenders combined with a slow adoption season, leaving the Eisenhower Avenue shelter awash in felines. The situation prompted officials to reduce prices for cat adoptions.

And thankfully, the measure worked before the shelter reached capacity, said spokesman Patrick Cole.

State Test Results Present Mixed Bag to Local School Officials — By Erich Wagner, Alexandria Times

While officials are pleased with recent progress at the embattled Jefferson-Houston School, newly released Standards of Learning test results suggest the institution will be denied — once again — state accreditation.

The Virginia Department of Education released preliminary district- and school-level standardized test results Tuesday. While math scores increased almost across the board in Alexandria, English test results lagged behind, which officials linked to a new, more rigorous exam on the subject.

The Mane Attraction: Firefighters to Hold Cuts for Kids Days — By Jeanne Theismann, Alexandria Gazette Packet

Students from throughout the region will be treated to free back-to-school haircuts thanks to Alexandria and Fairfax County firefighters who are sponsoring the third Cuts for Kids Days Aug. 26-28 at area recreation centers.

Alexandria Father-Son Team Finish Cross Country Bicycle Tour — By Scott Newsham, AlexandriaNews.Org

Cycling 3,700 miles since leaving San Francisco on June 23rd, the father-son team of Chris and Alex Wolz arrived at their Allison Street home on Sunday to a welcoming crowd. In weather reminiscent of the San Francisco Bay mist that they set off in, they crossed Little Hunting Creek into Alexandria a few minutes before 2 p.m.

Before heading home, the pair continued on to Founders Park to dip their bike tires into the Potomac River and mark the conclusion of their coast-to-coast trip. Their original plan was to end the trip in Yorktown, VA, but school and work forced a change. Yet they reached their goal. Chris said, “[The Potomac River] is tidal, so [it’s] practically the same as going all the way to the Atlantic in Yorktown.”