CenLamar | Est. 2006

  • Joe Barton Would Like to Apologize

    JoeBartonWouldLikeToApologize.com (Keep hitting “refresh”)

  • Security!

    Yesterday morning in Downtown Alexandria, several people witnessed a middle-aged man walking around and subsequently entering a government building clutching a handheld video camera. Apparently, the man was exclusively interested in documenting security features of the building, including the locations of access card entry points, a metal detector (which was turned off at the time), and the sign-in desk for visitors. Although the man was not breaking any law, his behavior was obviously suspicious, particularly given his focus on the government building’s security. The man showed up unannounced and by himself, and he did not attempt or request to meet personally with…

  • Capitalism

    For more than 25 years, the City of Alexandria has been directly invested in the hotel business. In the early 1980s, with the assistance of an Urban Development Action Grant,  the City helped construct a 170+  room hotel and convention center, originally flagged as a Hilton. In the mid-1990s, the State and the City spent nearly $20 million taxpayer dollars on the adjacent Alexandria Riverfront Center. In the meantime, the City provided a ground lease to a third-party operator/manager of the hotel. Both of these publicly-owned properties were tied to the privately-owned historic Hotel Bentley, and, obviously, at no time…