Port City Dispatches: Old Dominion Boat Club, '12 Years A Slave,' Krupicka Re-Elected and Chipotle

Here are some of the week's important, interesting and fun stories concerning Alexandria and its people.

From Alexandria Patch sites:

Alexandria's Little-Known Connection to '12 Years A Slave' — By Drew Hansen

The story of a free black man kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841 has a little-known tie to Alexandria, according to a new story from the Associated Press.

The rowhouse located at 1315 Duke St. was once part of a slave trade complex that grew to be among the largest in the United States.

The last trader to operate on the site, James H. Birch, was the same dealer who paid men to kidnap Solomon Northup and then sold him into slavery in the Deep South.

Northup’s 1853 memoir was recently adapted into a historical film called 12 Years A Slave, now in theaters.

More:

• Krupicka Re-Elected to House of Delegates
• How Did Alexandria Vote in the 2013 Election?
• Election Turnout Steady Across Old Town, Del Ray
• Photo Gallery: 'I Voted!'
• Chef Armstrong Receives Proclamation from Richmond
• Don DeLuca, Bishop Ireton Physics Teacher, Dies at 80
• Pork Barrel BBQ Offers Reward for Finding Houdini
• Discovery Time Learning Center Coming to Leslie Avenue
• Artfully Chocolate's 'Divas' Receive High Praise
• Police Record 3 Arrests in DWI Enforcement Effort
• Chipotle Coming to Potomac Yard

From elsewhere:

Parking Lot or Park? Boat Club’s Riverfront Land Prompts Verbal Battle — By Patricia Sullivan, The Washington Post

The Old Dominion Boat Club and the city of Alexandria squared off Thursday over what will become of the club’s King Street parking lot, in a preview of the arguments both will make in a public hearing later this month.

The city is considering seizing the half-acre lot by eminent domain because, it says, years of attempts to negotiate public access to the Potomac River have led nowhere. The club, which owns the land and has sued the city multiple times over what it considers encroachments on its properties in the area, says it has made concessions, most of the lawsuits have been resolved and it wants to continue negotiations.

In what amounted to a rehearsal of the arguments that will be aired in a public hearing Nov. 19, both sides Thursday night laid out their reasoning for the city’s Waterfront Commission. A partisan crowd of more than 100 people, mostly boat club members and Old Town residents, jammed the City Hall conference room for two and a half hours, lobbing questions of their own after the commissioners had their say.

More:

• Deputy Claims Self-Defense in Man’s Killing — By Rachel Weiner, The Washington Post
• Health Care Law’s Exchange Problems Leave Small-Business Owners in a Difficult Position — By J.D. Harrison, The Washington Post
• Behind the Death of Alexandria’s Sam Del Brocco: The Life of Accused Killer John Snavely — By Tom Jackman, The Washington Post
• Alexandria Democrats Vote Against Cuccinelli, Not For McAuliffe — By Hoai-Tran Bui, WAMU.org
• Living Legends Populate Alexandria’s Black History Museum — By Patricia Sullivan, The Washington Post
• Obama Nominates T. C. Alum To Be Assistant Secretary Of Education — AlexandriaNews.Org
• Windows Oversight Helps Close Coding Loophole — By Erich Wagner, Alexandria Times
• Swordplay is Here to Stay in Old Town — By Jim McElhatton, Alexandria Times
• Above and Beyond: Four Honored for Volunteer Service — By Jeanne Theismann, Alexandria Gazette Packet