Washington, D.C
Alexandria residents form coalition to challenge Potomac Yard arena plan for DC teams
POTOMAC YARD, Va. – A coalition of residents and community members in Alexandria are banning together against the proposal to move the Washington Capitals and Wizards to Virginia.
“The Coalition to Stop The Arena at Potomac Yard” was formed shortly after the tentative deal was announced in December, according to co-founder Andrew Macdonald.
The three major concerns shared by the group Thursday were over transparency, financial impacts, and transportation issues.
“We have a new metro station here. It doesn’t have the capacity to carry the number of people it should. Even if it did, people are going to drive and there’s not going to be anywhere to park,” Macdonald told FOX 5. “Mayor [Justin] Wilson says, ‘We’ll put 2,500 units underground.’ Here’s what’s going to happen, people are going to drive, they’re going to go to the neighborhoods, park there, and cause all sorts of traffic havoc.”
Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson appeared on FOX 5 Wednesday morning, one day before the press conference on Thursday.
Mayor Wilson addressed issues that have been shared by community members who have concerns over the proposal.
On the issue of transportation, Wilson said the city is prepared to work with residents to ensure the quality of life is not impacted negatively. They will encourage people to take public transit to the games, though Wilson said he recognizes people could opt to drive.
“I think big picture, right? We invested in the metro station because we wanted to diversify our revenue. We wanted to grow economically in Potomac Yard. We’ve actually planned a significant amount of density for Potomac Yard but the question in this post-pandemic world is what does that use look like?” Wilson said Wednesday. “We’re not building office buildings. We’re not building large office buildings even on top of the metro, so this is an opportunity to create those experimental uses. Those are the uses that cannot be virtualized that are going to bring people to Potomac Yard, help drive our economy but ultimately be viable for a long time to come.”
Shannon Curtis, a board member with the coalition, said she’s convinced the area’s infrastructure was built to support both fans and residents on game days.
“I had no idea if this happened, how I was going to get home from work in the evening when 20,000 people were headed in the same direction,” Curtis said. “I think a lot of us feel the transportation concerns are insurmountable. You can’t put more freeways into Alexandria. There’s no room to expand what we already have.”
The coalition stressed on Thursday that they felt the tentative plan was a “backroom” deal and unveiled to the public without enough time for the public actually to weigh in.
Under the tentative deal, which still needs to be approved by the Virginia General Assembly, the WNBA team Mystics would move from their current arena in Southeast D.C. and play at the Capital One Arena in Chinatown.
Ron Moten with the group Don’t Mute D.C. was also at the event Thursday.
“I would just go to Washington, D.C. to tell the people of Alexandria that everything that glitters is not gold,” he told FOX 5. “We had an owner that came to Southeast D.C. and had D.C. spend $65 million for a facility that was supposed to spark growth just like they’re talking here. Along with that, 15 Black businesses — some inside the area, some right outside the area — were given some hope, and just like this, you said it wasn’t good enough. You left my city hanging.”
FOX 5 received the following joint statement from Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the Commonwealth of Virginia, the City of Alexandria, and JBG SMITH:
“We are at the beginning of a process to share the vision to build a world-class Entertainment District and engage with the Alexandria community and listen to their feedback. Alexandria residents are rightfully proud of their city and can be assured we will listen to the needs and concerns of the community. Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the Commonwealth of Virginia, the City of Alexandria, and JBG SMITH look forward to partnering with community members in Alexandria and fans across the Greater Washington Area to bring to life a collective vision for Potomac Yard and create exceptional experiences and regional economic growth for decades to come.”
Washington, D.C
Storm Team4 Forecast: A chilly, gusty Sunday before a cool start to the week
4 things to know about the weather:
- Chances of rain in the morning
- Gusty Sunday
- Chilly Monday
- Temps will rise again through the work week
Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.
After a nice and warm Saturday, changes arrive for part two of the weekend.
The first half of your Sunday will have a chance for showers. Winds will pick up with our next system and are expected to gust to about 20-30 mph. Cooler air will settle in, and lows Sunday night fall into the 40s.
Highs temps Monday will reach only into the mid to upper 50s.
However, temperatures will rise through the week, so you won’t need your jackets every day.
QuickCast
SUNDAY:
Showers, then partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 30 mph
HIGH: Lower 60s
MONDAY:
Partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 25 mph
HIGH: Upper 50s
Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.
Washington, D.C
‘It’s a twilight zone’: Iran war casts deep shadows over IMF gathering in Washington
The most severe energy shock since the 1970s, the risk of a global recession and households everywhere stomaching a renewed surge in the cost of living – hitting the most vulnerable hardest.
In a sweltering hot Washington DC this week, the message at the International Monetary Fund meetings was chilling: things had been looking up for living standards around the world. But then came the Iran war.
“Some countries are in panic,” said the fund’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, addressing the finance ministers and central bank bosses in town for the IMF and World Bank spring meetings. “The sooner it [the Iran war] ends, the better for everybody.”
Such gatherings are not typically used to fight geopolitical battles. “You don’t get people shouting at one another at these things,” one senior figure remarked. But, as a record-breaking April heatwave swept the US capital, no one could ignore the mounting damage from the Iran war.
Those familiar with the mood over breakfast at a meeting of the G20’s representatives on Thursday, which included Donald Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and the outgoing US Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell – said the atmosphere in the room was sombre amid an open exchange of serious views.
“It is such a twilight-zone meeting,” said Mohamed El-Erian, a former IMF deputy managing director who is now chief economic adviser at the Allianz insurance group. “There are several shadows hanging over it: one is the shadow that comes from concern about the global economy as a whole.
“The second is that some countries are going to be particularly hard hit, and it’s mostly countries that very few people are talking about. But the third concern is the adding of insult to injury: the fact that the US, which started a war of choice, is going to be hit, but by a lot less than elsewhere in relative terms.”
Before Thursday’s breakfast, Rachel Reeves had started her day with an early-morning jog. Joined by her counterparts from Spain, Australia and New Zealand for a run down the iconic National Mall, she posted an Instagram selfie with a not-so-subtle dig: “Friends that run together – work together.”
A day earlier, the chancellor had told a CNBC conference that she thought “friends are allowed to disagree on things” as she criticised Trump’s Iran war as a “mistake” and a “folly” that had not made the world safer.
Speaking at a venue just steps away from the White House, before a one-on-one meeting with Bessent, she said this “fair message” was needed because UK families and businesses were feeling the pain from higher energy prices triggered by the conflict.
Those close to Reeves insist her meeting remained cordial. Britain and the US have significant shared interests in AI, financial services and trade. The chancellor also said the UK government had little time for the Iranian regime.
But with the IMF having warned on Tuesday that the Iran war could risk a global recession – in which Britain would be the biggest G7 casualty – it was clear Reeves had travelled to Washington ready to pick a fight.
“I’m struck by how vocal she has been and the words she used,” said one global financier. “We know the disagreement between Bessent and [European Central Bank president] Christine Lagarde earlier in the year. But that was in private.”
At a cocktail party held at the British ambassador’s residence for hundreds of diplomats and financiers – including the Bank of England’s governor, Andrew Bailey, the chief executive of Barclays, CS Venkatakrishnan, and dozens of senior figures – this transatlantic tension, weeks before King Charles’s US state visit, was a major topic of conversation.
The other, in the balmy residence gardens, was one of its former occupants, Peter Mandelson, as revelations about the former ambassador’s appointment threatened to further rock the UK government.
Before the war, the agenda for the IMF had been about global cooperation; the adoption of AI, jobs and work to eradicate poverty. Each of those tasks had now been complicated, but not least the task of countries working together.
For many at the meetings, the focus was on forging closer global cooperation without the world’s pre-eminent superpower.
“Everybody is talking about how you hedge against American decisions,” said David Miliband, the former UK foreign secretary, who now runs the International Rescue Committee. “You can’t do without them, because they’re 25% of the global economy. But, in a lot of fora, they’ve pulled out.
“So everyone has to think, how does one structure international cooperation? The old west is not coming back. And so everyone has to figure out how to position themselves for that world.”
For those gathering in Washington, there was irony in the fact that they were meeting in the halls of institutions founded, under US leadership, to promote global cooperation after the second world war. The whole idea of the Bretton Woods institutions was to avoid the dire economic conditions and warfare of the 1930s and 1940s. Yet this year’s meeting was taking place amid these intertwining problems.
In their conversations about the best economic policy response to the shock of conflict, the economists also knew the real power to make a difference lay two blocks across town from the IMF and the World Bank – behind the security cordons and construction equipment blocking the White House from public view. “It is not clear they can do anything about it,” said El-Erian.
Still, with a booming economy driven by AI – including Anthropic’s powerful Mythos model, the topic of much conversation – most countries cannot afford to completely break off US ties.
“People want to find ways to insulate themselves from the mess. But, on the other hand, they admire the US private sector,” El-Erian said. “The best way I’ve heard it put, is: they want to go long the private sector and short the mess. But it’s almost impossible to do.”
Washington, D.C
Rosselli opens in DC, serving classic Italian flavors from chef Carlos
Washington, D.C. (7News) — Rosselli is the newest restaurant to open in DC.
Bringing in classic Italian flavors, Chef Carlos explained how he hopes his food is a unique addition to the Italian food scene in the DMV.
Chef also demoed a signature dish with Brian and Megan.
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You can learn more and book your table here.
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