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RCA Newsletter: February 2026

  • Writer: Jol Silversmith
    Jol Silversmith
  • 1 day ago
  • 3 min read

The Rosemont Citizens Association is 100% volunteer-driven, but it is readers, members, and donors like you who power it—thank you! Would you consider a gift to the RCA to keep it moving forward?


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A New Option to Connect


The RCA has established an email list to provide an additional means to provide information and updates about neighborhood and city developments, which also can be used for community discussion.  To sign up, please visit https://groups.io/g/RCA.


Expanding Options for the March RCA Meeting


We are still working on the details, but we tentatively are planning to experiment with holding a virtual meeting in March, at the already scheduled time (Thursday, March 19, at 7pm), with topics likely to include an introduction to city zoning procedures and spring gardening tips - details will be circulated shortly.

Election Updates


On February 11, Elizabeth Bennett-Parker and Kirk McPike were elected to fill vacancies in State Senate district 39 and state House district 5, respectively.  An election to fill the now-vacant City Council seat vacated by McPike will be held on April 21.  The Democrats have selected Sandy Marks as their candidate.  Former City Council Member Frank Fannon also has stated that he intends to run as an independent.


Neighborhood Businesses


The RCA website includes a list of physical businesses in the neighborhood (https://tinyurl.com/437mu8mx) but we would like to expand it to include home-based businesses, as well as businesses owned by Rosemonters even if located outside of the neighborhood.  If you would like to be added, please email us at mailto: jol@thirdamendment.com.


Braddock Road Project


At its February 23 meeting, the Traffic & Parking Board approved a staff proposal to install bike lanes and remove most parking from Braddock Road.  The RCA previously had voted to oppose the removal of parking.  There has been various media coverage of the meeting and possible subsequent developments.  The City’s website for the project is https://www.alexandriava.gov/transportation-planning/project/braddock-road-corridor-improvements.

PELT Committee


You Can Monitor Local Rainfall & Flooding in Rosemont


The snow and rain storms of the past several weeks strain the stormwater sewers that are designed to keep Rosemont dry. If you want to know how much rain is falling in your neighborhood and when you can expect the Hooff’s Run culvert to overflow – you can get that information in real time on your phone or laptop.


Here’s how to get real time rain and flood data for Rosemont:


The City has placed a rain gauge in Beach Park at Johnston Place and a water level gauge on Hooff’s Run at East Rosemont Avenue. Data from both of these gauges are available online at Dashboard.


The data is updated every few minutes 24/7/365. You can watch the rainfall totals grow as the storm intensifies. And you can monitor the water level rise in the Hooff’s Run culvert as the stormwater surges out of Rosemont. You don’t need to venture outside – information that is micro-specific for Rosemont is available from the dry comfort of your home or car.


Why these gauges are important to flood prevention in Rosemont:

As our climate changes, highly localized intense storms of short duration are becoming commonplace. One neighborhood may be deluged – while another neighborhood only a mile away is spared. Rainfall averages over a broad geographic area are no longer

informative.


As Alexandria builds needed stormwater infrastructure, data from the gauges at Beach Park and Hooff’s Run will help the City estimate the size of the pipes required and when it’s time for preventative maintenance.


I encourage you to check out the data available at Dashboard. I always monitor the water level in the culvert during a storm -- it sure beats walking in the rain to Linden Street to see how far the water level is from the top of the culvert!


Resources from Alexandria Sheriff’s Office


The Alexandria Sheriff’s office offers a house-watching service (https://www.alexandriava.gov/sheriff/away-from-home-check).  Additionally, the Sheriff continue to offer “Project Lifesaver” to help track adults and children with special needs (https://www.alexandriava.gov/sheriff/project-lifesaver).

Keeping Informed


We provide regular updates on local news, Rosemont history, and general happenings in the neighborhood.



Jol Silversmith

President, RCA


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Mailing Address

P.O. Box 2873

Alexandria, Virginia 22301

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