Port City Dispatches: ARHA Plans, T.C. Williams Teacher Sentenced, Attempted Abduction and Fireworks

Here are some of the important, interesting and fun stories concerning Alexandria and its people from the last week or so.

From Alexandria Patch sites:

ARHA Seeks Partners to Redevelop Seven Low-Income Housing Sites — By Drew Hansen

The Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority will issue a request for proposals next week seeking partners to assist in the redevelopment of seven of its housing sites across the city.

ARHA, which provides public housing for lower-income families, is seeking mixed-income, mixed-finance and mixed-use components in the redevelopment of its sites, which include Hopkins-Tancil Courts, the Ladrey Senior Building and others.

ARHA CEO Roy Priest said the redevelopment plan is about leveraging the value of the authority’s land to create more units.

“It’s consistent with our strategic plan,” Priest said. “The effort for us will be looking at mixed-income situations and finding sustainable housing models over the long term.”

Priest said he expected a very strong response to the RFP considering the prime real estate in ARHA’s stock, including the Andrew Adkins homes located just steps from Braddock Road Metro station and other Old Town properties like the Samuel Madden homes.  

More:

• Former T.C. Williams Teacher Sentenced to One Year in Prison — By Drew Hansen 
• Alexandria Police Investigating Attempted Abduction in Del Ray — By Drew Hansen 
• Police Impersonators Stage Robberies in Alexandria Hotels — By Drew Hansen 
• Alexandria Police Seek Suspect in Old Town Bank Robbery — By Drew Hansen 
• Alexandria Fire Crews Extinguish New Year's Day House Blaze — By Drew Hansen 
• Report: Bike Theft in Alexandria at Five-Year Peak — By Drew Hansen 
• In Wake of McDonnell Scandal, Transparency Bill Aims to Limit Gifts — By Jason Spencer 
• Fireworks! First Night Alexandria Finishes with a Bang — By Drew Hansen 
• Mexican Restaurant Coming to Old Town — By Drew Hansen 
• Professional Recording Studio in the Works for Del Ray — By Drew Hansen
• Alexandria Man to Attempt 'The Metrothon' — By Drew Hansen
• Yarn Tree Takes Top Honors in Del Ray Christmas Contest — By Drew Hansen 
• Yates Corner 7-Eleven Opens — By Drew Hansen 
• Wild Turkeys, Pet Raccoons: Top Alexandria Animal Control Stores of 2013 — By Drew Hansen 
• Suds Up! Port City Brewing Co. to Launch in NYC Market — By Drew Hansen
• Waterfront Market Named to Top Restaurant Openings List — By Drew Hansen
• Society Fair Receives Nod from 'Food and Wine' — By Drew Hansen 
• Courtney Finds Ben — By Drew Hansen 
• Alexandria's First Snow of 2014 — By Drew Hansen 
• Marching Titans Ready for Sugar Bowl — By Drew Hansen 
• Winning $25,000 Lottery Ticket Purchased in West End Alexandria — By Rachel Hatzipanagos 

From elsewhere:

Alexandria Prosecutor Retires After 16 Years — By Rachel Weiner, The Washington Post

When S. Randolph Sengel retired last week as Alexandria’s commonwealth’s attorney, he packed a photograph that now sits on his desk at home. It’s of Katelynn Frazier, a 3-year-old who was beaten to death by her mother’s boyfriend while in city custody 13 years ago.

“Those kinds of cases just tear you up,” he said recently while cleaning out his office after 16 years as the city’s top prosecutor. “I felt like it was something that was preventable, and it shouldn’t have happened, and it was a wake-up call.”

Sengel, 64, personally tried the case against the boyfriend, one of several high-profile killings and police shootings his office handled during his four terms in the elected post. He has become well-known in the legal community for his quiet, unassuming manner and his dry sense of humor.

“There are a lot of people who stay in the criminal justice system too long, and I didn’t want to be one of them,” he said. In retirement, he hopes to spend more time cooking and traveling with his wife; they are planning trips to Southeast Asia and Italy. He will also be able to devote more attention to his 91-year-old mother, who lives in Woodbridge.

More:

• A Month Later, No Clues in Ronald Kirby’s Murder — By Rachel Weiner, The Washington Post
• 'Gateway' Project Proposed for Former Alexandria Hospital Site — By Michael Neibauer, Washington Business Journal
• Clock’s Ticking on Boat Club Negotiations — By Derrick Perkins, Alexandria Times
• Parking-Ticket Disputes Go Back to the Courts — By Derrick Perkins, Alexandria Times
• Waterfront Hotel Receives Another Lukewarm Reception — By Derrick Perkins, Alexandria Times
• 2014 Living Legends Of Alexandria Announced — AlexandriaNews.Org