Community Corner

Port City Dispatches: Old Dominion Boat Club, Del Ray Pizzeria Benefit Dinner, Royal Street Robbery, Why Not? and Bikeshare

A look back at the week's biggest stories concerning Alexandria.

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

Find out what's happening in Old Town Alexandriawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Alexandria will begin steps to implement the process of eminent domain should a 90-day negotiation period with the Old Dominion Boat Club over its parking lot not yield a resolution, city leaders decided Tuesday night.

Council approved the measure by 6-1 vote following a lengthy hearing in which ODBC members urged city leaders to keep negotiating and remove consideration of eminent domain in implementing a waterfront redevelopment plan that seeks connectivity and public access along the Potomac River's shore.

Find out what's happening in Old Town Alexandriawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Mayor Bill Euille has called the boat club’s fenced-in lot located near the foot of King Street “the missing link” to the city’s waterfront plan. The boat club and city officials have been negotiating throughout this year. Euille brought eminent domain back to the table in October when he scheduled Tuesday's hearing. 

Vice Mayor Allison Silberberg cast the lone dissenting vote Tuesday night. When her motion to separate eminent domain from the proceedings failed, ODBC members stormed out of the chamber. Some yelled “dog-and-pony show” and “spend our money wisely” during their exit.

“After having sat through three-and-a-half-hour meeting where only three or four people were in favor of eminent domain out of more than 60 speakers, council immediately defaulted into a position that apparently didn’t take into account what the speakers had to say,” ODBC President Miles Holtzman said. “They seem to want to have their cake and eat it too, meaning they want to be perceived as conciliatory while not giving up the hammer of eminent domain. We can only hope as we go forward they can take what was said tonight into account.” 

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From elsewhere:

Former T.C. Teacher Admits Making Sexual Advances Toward Students — By Erich Wagner, Alexandria Times

Stephen Miarer, a former T.C. Williams teacher embroiled in allegations that he had inappropriate relationships with female students, pleaded guilty Nov. 2 to related charges.

Alexandria City Public Schools removed Miarer from his position when the allegations became public in June, but he was already set to resign at the end of the school year. As such, his termination was immediate.

Indicted in September, Miarer pleaded guilty to two counts of taking indecent liberties with students younger than 18. According to the indictment, Miarer proposed sexual acts to two female students at different times in 2012: one during the spring and another late last year.

He will be sentenced in January.

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