Archive for 'Columns'

Hobie & Monk: Dating advice is tricky business

Hobie & Monk: Dating advice is tricky business

Dear Hobie & Monk, My best friend keeps dating — and getting dumped by — the wrong women. First he went out with this girl who complained and bossed him around all the time. He was [...]

Before hotels, magnate dabbled in restaurants

Before hotels, magnate dabbled in restaurants

On May 20, 1927, J. Willard “Bill” Marriott opened a nine-stool A&W root beer stand along 14th Street in Washington. Although a newcomer from Utah, Marriott had passed through the District six years earlier, noticing the [...]

Alexandria’s descent into the slave trade

Alexandria’s descent into the slave trade

Although Alexandria’s economy in the 18th and early 19th centuries was largely centered on the prosperity of Virginia’s agricultural abundance, by the 1820s things had started to change. Lands overused growing wheat and tobacco for a [...]

Putting the spotlight 
on small businesses

Putting the spotlight 
on small businesses

To the editor: The February 15 letter to the community from City Manager Rashad Young describing the city’s plan to amend the zoning ordinance and revote the waterfront plan is an unfortunate example of things to [...]

Hobie and Monk: How to let matchmaking friends down easy

Hobie and Monk: How to let matchmaking friends down easy

Dear Hobie & Monk, I recently came out of the closet at college. Since then, however, all of my friends have been wanting to set me up with their other gay friends, even if I am [...]

Quick Takes

Quick Takes

A lukewarm thumbs up to city council for avoiding further legal costs by agreeing to re-vote on the waterfront plan. I agree with critics of the plan that holding the vote at this point is pretty [...]

Port City’s short-lived bid to become ‘children’s capitol of the nation’

The filled area adjacent to the Jones Point Lighthouse witnessed significant use during World War I when the Virginia Shipbuilding Co. began constructing major warships at the site. But the shipyard closed soon after hostilities ceased, [...]

Need help aging in place? City Hall is here for you

Adapting your home to meet changing needs can be financially and emotionally challenging — for owners and renters. To ease that transition, the City of Alexandria offers a number of home-improvement programs and partnerships to help [...]

The mysterious origins of the seminary post office

The mysterious origins of the seminary post office

The history of the small post office along Seminary Road, located on the grounds of the Virginia Theological Seminary, has been the subject of considerable discussion in recent years. Unfortunately, no known records document the exact [...]

Monthly Chat: Interview with 
Christine Candio

Monthly Chat: Interview with 
Christine Candio

Monthly Chat is an interview that runs on the Times Opinion pages. Look for this space each month to see conversations between Publisher Denise Dunbar and Alexandrians from all walks of life. This month’s conversation is [...]