Falls Church News-Press 1-10-2019 by Falls Church News-Press

January 10 – 16, 2019

Fa lls Chur c h, V i r g i ni a • ww w. fc np. c om • Fr ee

Fou n d e d 1991 • Vol. XXVIII No. 47

Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads

Inside This Week Metro Mulls West F.C. Station Coordination

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Finance and Budget Committee members are slated to consider approving a solicitation to developers for commercial development at the West Falls Church Metro station site. See News Briefs, page 9

Mustang Girls Break Losing Skid, Crush Rapp

Proposed School Budget Would Allow Funding With No Tax Rate Increase

Superintendent Plan Retains Small Class Sizes, System Goals

by Nicholas F. Benton

Falls Church News-Press

George Mason High School’s girls basketball team snapped a four-game losing streak with an impressive 53-22 victory over Rappahannock County High School last Friday.

Congressional funding for a wall on the southwest border of the U.S. that most experts insist is unnecessary and a fabulous waste of money. At the press conference yesterday, Beyer called Trump’s wall idea “a fifth century wall that can be overcome by a ladder,” and he assailed Trump for not even mentioning federal employees in his nine-minute address to the nation

Falls Church City Schools Superintendent Peter Noonan made official to the School Board Tuesday night that his recommendation for the coming fiscal year budget is a restrained two percent growth, which if adopted by the board and later this spring by the Falls Church City Council would be the smallest growth increase for the City’s schools in years. His proposal for a $52,137,504 budget would keep the schools within parameters of expected revenue growth for the Falls Church city government overall in the coming fiscal year, and if adopted would mean that a new overall Cityschools budget could involve no real estate tax increase for citizens this coming year. Still, Noonan's recommended budget provides a “step,” according to the schools’ salary formula, an average of a 2.95 percent increase, and a one percent cost of living adjustment (COLA) for school teachers and other employees, and increases the average educational cost per student to $19,152 for the 2,680 students in the system due to, Noonan said, the policy commitment to maintain small class sizes. The School Board will begin its own deliberations on the budget with a work session next Tuesday night, aiming toward its formal budget adoption by Feb. 19, following a series of work sessions and public hearings. The board will be led this year by Erin Gill,

Continued on Page 5

Continued on Page 4

See Sports, page 16

Dehghani-Tafti Begins Primary Run vs. Stamos Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, a Democratic candidate for Commonwealth’s Attorney covering Arlington County and the City of Falls Church, held her campaign kickoff event Monday. See News Briefs, page 9

From Caps to Showbiz, F.C.'s Johnson Does it All For lifelong Falls Church resident Wes Johnson, being one of “those guys” in showbiz allowed him to provide for his family, fulfill his soul’s yearnings and ride shotgun on the Capitals’ Stanley Cup run. See page 14

F.C. SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT PETER NOONAN (left) presented his recommended budget for the coming fiscal year to the F.C. School Board Tuesday night. (Photo: News-Press)

Beyer Joins Colleagues on Hill To Denounce Fed Shutdown by Nicholas F. Benton

Falls Church News-Press

Index

Editorial................ 6 Letters..............6, 8 News & Notes.10–11 Comment...... 12–13 Business News.. 15 Sports................ 16

Calendar...... 18–19 Classified Ads.... 20 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword......... 21 Crime Report..... 22 Critter Corner..... 22

U.S. Rep. Donald S. Beyer Jr., who represents the 8th District of Virginia that includes the City of Falls Church, joined colleagues from other D.C.-area districts at a press conference on Capitol Hill yesterday to denounce the ongoing federal government shutdown for the damage it’s doing to 800,000 federal employees, including many in this region, who by this

Friday will suffer the loss of a full paycheck. He noted that thousands of government contract employees are also being affected. Beyer, a Falls Church businessman, is the sponsor of a bill to ensure full pay of all impacted employees retroactively, and was among the strongest critics of the move by President Donald Trump to impose the shutdown, now in its 19th day, in a desperate move to win almost $6 billion in

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Noonan Recommends 2% School Budget Growth Continued from Page 1

voted unanimously to become the new chair at Tuesday’s meeting and Greg Anderson, voted the new vice chair. The cost of building a new George Mason High School is not included in any line item expenses in the coming Fiscal Year 2020 proposed operating budget. That cost is being born in its entirety by the $120 million school bond referendum passed in November 2017, a 2.5-cent tax rate increase introduced last year, and the economic development initiatives coming from the dense development of 10.3 acres on the current high school campus site. Noonan’s recommendations for the FY20 budget include allowing, by attrition, the downsizing by five of positions from across the system, while not impacting class sizes. and resultant savings from salary turnover, from a reduction in post-employment benefits, from transitional retirement programs. This is associated with lower

than projected growth this last year, and in another notable move, the decision by the administration to lower the Weldon Cooper enrollment estimate for next fall from a projected 54 new students next September to 24, anticipating 30 fewer mostly kindergarten and lower grade students. Noonan noted that 11 percent of students in the system face some form of disadvantage, either physically or in terms of language or family incomes, with a projected increase of 28 such students. A total of 82.6 percent of the revenues to cover the cost of the system come from the transfer

from the City, which ultimately the City Council will have to authorize in April for the new fiscal year beginning July 1. Within the school system, 85.4 percent of the costs of its operation are in the form of salaries or benefits for the personnel, including teachers, commanding the vast majority of the costs. “This is all about the development of human capital,” Noonan said. An unexpected $400,000 bill from WMATA for the coming year will be absorbed by the City, he said, and any revenues that come in above the 2 percent revenue growth projection overall will be split 50-50 with the schools.

Baccalaureate program at the Henderson Middle School. But, he said, “Every line item in the FCCPS budget for Fiscal Year 2020 is tied directly to our ‘Triennial Plan’ and support for human capital, ‘all means all’ philosophy, and our work to be the premier pre-kindergarten to grade 12 International Baccalaureate division in the nation.” He said that the Triennial Plan reflects “what have become the drivers of where our school system will move over the next several years and serves as a ‘North Star’ when it comes to the decision making of where we put our resources.”

His budget includes an increase of $2 per hour for substitute teachers to attract more of them, and an expected 10 percent increase in the cost of health insurance premiums. The “position realignment” policy involving the removal by attrition of five positions “does not change our planning factors” but will save $465,613, he said. Unfunded needs of the system, he said, include moving two social worker positions from part-time to full time, a behavioral specialist from part to full time, an added position at Mt. Daniel and a full time “middle years program” coordinator for the International

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Beyer, Dems Denounce Government Shutdown on Capitol Hill Wednesday

Continued from Page 1

carried on all the major TV networks Tuesday night. “There is a crisis, but it’s not the wall,” he said. “It’s the shutdown.” He said that many unpaid federal employees are having to resort to tapping their retirement funds to make ends meet, and that they will face significant penalties they will have to pay for because of that. Northern Virginia Democratic congressmen Gerry Connolly of Fairfax County’s 11th District and the newly-elected Jennifer Wexton of the 10th District joined Beyer at the press conference, along with congressmen from Maryland and Rep. Eleanor Holmes-Norton from D.C. At the Falls Church City Council work session Monday night, City Manager Wyatt Shields was asked about the impact of the shutdown on the City. While he said there was no perceptible impact yet in

terms of services provided by the City, the lost income to federal employees who live in the City will certainly have an impact “that we’re going to have to monitor closely.” In response to an inquiry from the News-Press, City Hall spokesman Susan Finarelli said, “We don’t seem to have stats on how many residents are employed by the federal government.” She added, “Our Housing and Human Services Department has been contacted by a few people looking for assistance. Unfortunately, there’s no financial assistance available from the City in this case. Staff have been referring callers to the suggestions laid out by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and contact information for local food banks.” Concerning the shutdown, President Trump said yesterday, “This is not a fight I wanted. I didn’t want this fight. This is about the people of our country,

and we have to do what’s right at our border and many other places. Human trafficking is not going to stop if we don’t have a steel barrier or a concrete barrier.” His comments came following the regional Democrats’ press conference, and Beyer’s comments, and he said, “They say it’s a medieval solution (a wall). It’s true. It’s medieval because it worked then and it works even better now.” U.S. Rep. Connolly, speaking at the Democrats’ press conference yesterday, called the shutdown “madness” and that furloughed federal employees are “pawns in a bigger game” defined by the “racist, bigoted and tempestuous remarks” made by Trump in his TV address Tuesday, which he called “one of the most sordid moments in the history of the Oval Office.” He said the shutdown is “a violation of the contract between the American public and the government they pay for with their

taxes.” The general public is being denied public health services, food assistance, law enforcement, vehicle safety, housing and IRS services. “We will not be held hostage as pawns in a fight over Trump’s phony promises,” he said. On Sunday at an event in Vienna, Connolly assailed the “anti-immigrant” posture that the Republican Party, exemplified by Trump’s fixation on a southwest border wall, has adopted. “I have attended 26 naturalization ceremonies,” he said, noting that he, himself, is the grandson of an invalid woman who came to America in 1920. He said that

JANUARY 10 - 16, 2019 | PAGE 5

whereas only three percent of the population of Fairfax County was foreign-born 30 years ago, now it is 30 percent, and the result has been a county with the third highest household income of any jurisdiction in the U.S., with some of the finest schools and lowest dropout rates of any system in the country, and with the lowest crime rate among the top 100 jurisdictions in the country.” Meanwhile, according to a poll reported in Politico, “Nearly two-thirds, 65 percent, say the president shouldn’t shut down the government to achieve policy goals, while only 22 percent say a temporary shutdown is acceptable to change policy.”

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FOUNDED IN 1991

Vol. XXVIII, No. 47 January 10 – 16, 2019 • City of Falls Church ‘Business of the Year’ 1991 & 2001 • • Certified by the Commonwealth of Virginia to Publish Official Legal Notices • • Member, Virginia Press Association •

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WWW.FCNP.COM The Falls Church News-Press is published weekly on Thursdays and is distributed free of charge throughout the City of Falls Church and the Greater Falls Church area. Offices are at 200 Little Falls St., #508, Falls Church, VA 22046. Reproduction of this publication in whole or part is prohibited except with the written permission of the publisher. ©2019 Benton Communications Inc. The News-Press is printed on recycled paper.

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America’s Threat From Within

The abomination that currently occupies the White House is doing more than any other foreign agent to wreak havoc in the U.S. and destabilize some of the nation’s most historically stable institutions. The current federal government shutdown is solely his doing, an extension of his relentlessly hateful campaign to punish immigrants and any nonwhite person who seeks the benefits of the American system of justice and opportunity. The wall is not about border security, it is only being insisted upon by Trump to rev up his dwindling political base on the basis of the same kind of racist sentiment that fueled his campaign in the first place. It is frustrating to see people attempting to deal with this man by taking seriously his disingenuous framing of the issues. He is not governed by issues, he’s governed by getting his way, on whatever issue, by appealing to a lowest common denominator in the public mind, to irrational fears and his own demagoguery. We fear that he will resort to an effective declaration of martial law to get his wall, and if that is not stopped in its tracks, then the nation will be further along toward a fascist dictatorship than at any point in its history. Yes, there was a great blue wave in the November election that swept the Democrats into control of the House, largely fueled by opposition to Trump. But it is yet to be shown that elections can stop him, even the ones that he resoundingly loses. What is the solution, how can he be stopped now that he doesn’t require electoral majorities of any kind to carry out his madness? He does require a thin layer of sycophants to reinforce and enable his impulses, and key Republicans like Sen. Mitch McConnell and soon to be a new Senate committee chair Lindsey Graham are foremost among those providing this. They may be among the last to “see the light,” but it is incumbent on anyone else who can speak out to do so loudly and very soon. If the world survives this current danger, history is going to regard the sycophants very poorly, indeed. Perhaps the nation has been softened by too much of the old Roman Empire-style bread and circuses, lulled into taking too little of what is transpiring right now seriously enough. Every citizen will rue the day they failed to step up in these times when the impact of the current madness begins to hit them in their own lives more profoundly. We are alarmed because we are not seeing the level of public outrage that may have to ask more of us than simply getting to the polls one day a year. The country needs to convulse in anger and horror over what is unfolding and to demand the kind of leadership and action that Congress, its Republicans in particular, needs to provide.

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Happy to Finally See Challenger to Saslaw

Editor, Thanks to the News-Press for blowing the whistle on Virginia State Senate Democratic leader from the 35th District, Dick Saslaw. In the front page article in the Jan. 3-9 edition (Saslaw Formally Announces Bid For Re-Election), Nicholas Benton informed us that Mr. Saslaw has

not had a primary challenger since 1979. This is an astonishing bit of news in a democracy. Thirty-nine years without a primary challenger. How did this happen? Fortunately there finally is a challenger, Yasmine Taeb. I am confident that this once-in-39years event will mean balanced

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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6. Give “value received” for every dollar you take in. 7. Make the paper show profit if you can, but above all keep it clean, fearless and fair.

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coverage of the incumbent and the challenger. Curtis Schaeffer Falls Church

We Need Stronger Leadership on Climate Change Editor, In his announcement for reelection, Dick Saslaw, current State Senator of District 35, said he expects “to see” many bills in this session on solar energy. We need a much stronger position

than that from him on climate change. Will he provide robust leadership to remove legislative barriers to wind and solar power? It is past time to tolerate the barriers to progress and survival erected by Dominion Power. The Falls Church News-Press needs to align its views on effective response to climate change with the loud support it provides to the incumbent. At least consider giving the primary challenger, Yasmine Taeb, a turn at bat. Bernard Cook Falls Church

Letters Continued on Page 8

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JANUARY 10 – 16, 2019 | PAGE 7

What Does 2019 Hold for LGBT Community in Richmond? B� M�� S��

Every year pundits and partisans lament how this year is the “Most Important Election We’ve Had” in 10 years, a generation or a lifetime. This is especially true in Virginia where we have elections yearly. In 2017, we saw the beginning of a Blue Wave with a huge swing in the House of Delegates when Republicans went from a 66-34 majority down to a 51-49 majority. This swing of 15 seats, paved the way for a major sea change that resulted in the expansion of Medicaid that will allow 400,000 more Virginians to have health care. In 2018, Democrats picked up more than 40 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and a swing in power of that body occured when the 116th Congress convened on Capitol Hill. Even with the 2017 elections bringing more power to the Democrats in the House of Delegates, the myriad of bills that were introduced in 2018 to provide more equity to LGBT+ citizens floundered. Most bills never made it out of Committee. Republicans still controlled the committees as they controlled both the House of Delegates and Virginia Senate. The same will be true this year, but with the constant scandals within the Trump Administration, and the growing Blue Wave, it is an increasing chance that Republicans will begin to rethink votes. This is especially true among

Republicans in more progressive areas of the Commonwealth, who are facing another election in November of 2019. This year all 100 seats of the House of Delegates and all 40 Virginia Senate seats are up for election.

“We must be vigilant to stop any attempts to pass religious exemption laws that will allow individuals to discriminate against LGBT+ people while hiding behind faith.” There is a real chance that Virginia could vote for the Equal Rights Amendment and be the final state needed to ratify. We also have a good chance of passing key legislation in Virginia that will end discrimination in public employment and in housing practices that is based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Additionally, we must focus on getting the first vote needed to rescind the archaic laws and Constitutional Amendment on the books in

Virginia that place prohibitions on samesex marriages and civil unions. Passage of these laws would be a major victory for all Virginians. It is most important to pass something in this session regarding the Constitutional Amendment because of the three steps needed to eradicate this blight to our Virginia Constitution. Finally, we must be vigilant to stop any attempts to pass religious exemption laws that will allow individuals to discriminate against LGBT+ people while hiding behind faith. Laws of this type have been passed in other state legislatures, and are gaining steam in the Far Right’s fight against LGBT+ people. There are ways that all progressive minded Virginians can help. The Virginia General Assembly convened this week on Jan. 9, and it is imperative that all Virginians reach out to their representatives in both the House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate to let them know that you support equality and expect them to do the same. Tell them that you support ending discrimination in housing and employment. Tell them that you want the ERA passed, and that you demand that laws and the Constitutional Amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage be removed. You can also get involved by joining with LGBT+ groups across the Commonwealth as we come together on Jan. 29 to directly lobby our representatives at the General

Assembly. There was a kick-off event on Jan. 9 as LGBT+ groups from across the Commonwealth represented at the opening day of the General Assembly session. There is also a Day of Action for LGBT+ people on Jan. 29. You can also pre-register for this event at www.equalityvirginia. org/dayofaction. Also, please don’t forget to support your Delegates and Senators who already are in the General Assembly and are up for election this year. No members of the General Assembly are allowed to fundraise while they are in session, so they have a shorter window to raise money than their opponents in November will have. You can help today by donating. The LGBT Democrats of Virginia are already raising money for Delegate Dr. Dawn Adams who represents the 68th House District, and who is the first openly lesbian representative (secure.actblue.com/donate/dawnadamsmidlothian), and for Delegate Danica Roem of the 13th House District, who is the first openly transgender representative elected to any state house in the country (secure.actblue.com/ donate/danicaroeminrichmond). We hope that you will give today! Maggie Sacra is the chairperson of the LGBT Democrats of Virginia and the LGBT+ caucus of the Democratic Party of Virginia.

Q�� W�� Will the F.C. School Board limit its budget request to a 2% increase? • Optimistic

• Pessimistic

• Not sure

Log on to www.FCNP.com to cast your vote

Last Week’s Question: Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future of Falls Church in 2019?

FCNP On-Line polls are surveys, not scientiﬁc polls.

[WRITE FOR THE PRESS] The News-Press welcomes readers to send in submissions in the form of Letters to the Editor

& Guest Commentaries. Letters to the Editor should be no more than 350 words and writers are limited to one appearance every four weeks. Guest Commentaries should be no more than 800 words and writers are limited to one appearance every four months. Because of space constraints, not all submissions will be published. All submissions to the News-Press should be original, unpublished content. We reserve the right to edit submissions for length, grammar and accuracy. All submissions should include writer’s name, address, phone and e-mail address if available.

Email: letters@fcnp.com | Mail: Letters to the Editor, Falls Church News-Press, 200 Little Falls St., #508, Falls Church 22046 | Fax: 703.340.0347

PAGE 8 | JANUARY 10 - 16, 2019

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Exercise your brain and tempt your taste buds this January at The Kensington Falls Church Join us for events throughout the month. For more details an to RSVP, call (703) 992-9868 or email kjanney@kensingtonsl.com SUNDAY BRUNCH OPEN HOUSE

Sunday, Jan 20, 2019 11:00am-2:00pm The Kensington Falls Church The holidays have passed, but the joy of togetherness and celebration continues. Revisit the warmth of family and friends around he table at our monthly Sunday brunch. Mingle with our team, meet our residents, explore our community and enjoy seasonal winter beverages along with a delightful spread of beautifully prepared food.

BOOK DISCUSSION “Brain Health as You Age” Co-authored by Dr. Steven Simmons, Internist & Medical Director at The Kensington Falls Church

Wednesday, Jan 23, 2019 at 6:30pm Hosted by The Kensington Falls Church at Famille 700A West Broad St, Falls Church, VA Signed copy to the ﬁrst 20 registrants Light refreshments • Limited seating

Join us with Steven Simmons, MD, to discuss “Brain Health as You Age,” named one of the best books of 2018 by Library Journal. Learn how to recognize forgetfulness as a sign of normal aging At The Kensington, we promise to love or as cause for concern and what you can do to and care for your family as we do our own maintain brain health as you age.

COOKING WITH SAMIR A Celebrated and Seasoned Chef Teaching the Art of Fine Cooking Made Easy

Classical French Cuisine Thursday, January 24, 2019 • 6:30pm-8:30pm Traditional Italian Fare Tuesday, February 5, 2019 • 6:30pm-8:30pm

Hosted by The Kensington Falls Church at Famille 700A West Broad St, Falls Church, VA Dinner & wine included • Limited seating $65/person per class or $100/person for both classes Classes may be purchased at Famille.

MEMORY CAFÉ

Mondays, Jan 14 & 28, 2019 10:30am-noon Hosted by The Kensington Falls Church at Famille 700A West Broad St, Falls Church, VA A memory café is a social gathering of individuals with memory loss and their caregivers, friends and family. It is an opportunity to participate in an activity, share concerns, provide support and spend time with others who can relate. The memory café is a collaboration between The Kensington Falls Church, Famille, Falls Church Arts and Insight Memory Care Center.

(703) 992-9868 | 700 West Broad Street | Falls Church, VA 22046 www.TheKensingtonFallsChurch.com Kensington Park, another Kensington community located nearby in Kensington, MD

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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TO LETTERS THE EDITOR Continued from Page 6

F.C. Council Should Call for ERA Ratification Editor, Virginia has an historical opportunity to be the 38th and final state necessary to ratify the federal Equal Rights Amendment during the 2019 legislative session beginning Jan. 8. This milestone would trigger a series of judicial and congressional actions which could set the Amendment on the path to becoming part of the U.S. Constitution. By adopting resolutions in support of ratification of the ERA, local leaders and organizations can show their support for constitutional equality and call on the Virginia General Assembly to do the same. The Constitution does not guarantee equal rights for women. The ERA would guarantee that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the U.S. or any state on account of sex.” Despite what some opponents claim, the Equal Rights Amendment does not confer special rights. It simply prohibits discrimination. Eighty-one percent of Virginians want the ERA to be ratified according to a survey conducted by the Christopher Newport University’s Wason Center for Public Policy in December of 2018. In response to growing public support for the ERA, multiple localities around the state have passed resolutions in favor of its ratification or have included resolutions of support in their legislative packages. Local governments calling on the legislature to ratify the ERA include: the Chesapeake City and Radford City Councils in the southeast and southwest as well as Shenandoah and Arlington Counties in the northwest and northeast. These resolutions by local governments in both liberal and conservative parts of the state demonstrate the bipartisan support enjoyed by the ERA. It’s not too late for the Falls Church City Council to add The Little City to the growing list of communities calling for ratification of the ERA. Joan N. Curry Falls Church

Saslaw, FCNP Make False Claims About ERA Editor, Senator Saslaw and this paper insist on making false claims about the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and Virginia’s supposed ability to be the 38th state whose ratification puts it over the top. Congress sent ERA to the states in 1972, stipulating seven years for its approval. All Constitutional amendments but one proposed in the last century contained that limit. Insufficient states ratified ERA by 1979, when Congress extended (unconstitutionally, I’d argue) that deadline another three years. Even on artificial life support, ERA died. The rationale for time limits on amendments, as upheld by the Supreme Court, is that the supermajorities required to change the Constitution should reflect an overwhelming political consensus at a given historical moment. That does not exist. The consensus does not exist because the language itself changed. Saslaw calls ERA a “gender” equality amendment. There is no evidence that anybody in 1972 thought ERA was dealing with anything but two sexes, not 50 shades of “gender.” Back then, when opponents said ERA would forbid sexdifferentiated restrooms, locker rooms, and showers, they were called purveyors of fiction; today, we’d be told ERA requires non-sex differentiated facilities to combat “discrimination.” There is simply no evidence that what people thought they were buying in 1972-74 is what they’d get in 2019. That’s why five states rescinded their ratifications. Saslaw and this paper would cobble together different understandings of what states were approving, force those who changed their minds to be counted as approving, and violate rule of law by changing the explicit conditions everybody agreed to play by at the start. No way! John M. Grondelski Falls Church

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JANUARY 10 - 16, 2019 | PAGE 9

NEWS BRIEFS WMATA Mulls W. Falls Church Coordination Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Finance and Budget Committee members are slated to consider approving tonight (Jan. 10) a solicitation to developers for the commercial development of 24 acres at the West Falls Church Metro station site, a plan that could include 700 residential units, 150,000 square feet of office and 50,000 square feet of retail. The plan would be to limit the solicitation to the two development teams that have already been deeply involved in the development of the City of Falls Church’s 10.3-acre West End Economic Development and the 7.5-acre Virginia Tech graduate center site. These would be the EYA-PN Hoffman team that won the Falls Church bid and the other the Rushmark team that was a finalist but lost the Falls Church bid, and along with the EYA team has already bid on the Virginia Tech project. The limited solicitation would encourage development of a plan to integrate all three projects, according to a report in the Washington Business Journal this week. “Soliciting interest from the developers connected to the adjacent sites could help generate more riders, and by extension, more money, for WMATA than if the three projects progress on separate and unrelated tracks,” a WMATA official told the Journal. Fairfax Supervisor John Foust and county officials are hosting a public forum on the plan next Tuesday, Jan. 15, at Virginia Tech’s Northern Virginia Center, 7054 Haycock Rd., at 7 p.m.

Herman Park Closed Thursday, Friday A portion of the path in Howard E. Herman Stream Valley Park will be closed during business hours today (Thursday, Jan. 10) and tomorrow as contractors work on restoring the stone path from W. Broad St. to just before the Rollins St. footbridge. Access will be available from Rollins St. The construction is part of a project to create a new brick paver plaza entrance with benches, bike racks, landscaping, and an archway sign. In addition, the blue stone pathway will be re-graded and a berm will be added to the upstream side of the path to prevent the path from washing out. The project is projected to cost $190,000 and is part of the the City of Falls Church’s Capital Improvements Program.

Dem Challenger Kicks Off Commonwealth Attorney Run Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, a Democratic candidate for Commonwealth’s Attorney covering Arlington County and the City of Falls Church, held her campaign kickoff event this Monday with a heavily-attended event at Josephine’s Italian Kitchen in Arlington. Tafti will be challenging incumbent Democrat Theo Stamos, who was scheduled to formally announce her campaign for another four-year term last night before the Arlington Democratic Committee. Dehghani-Tafti is scheduled to bring her campaign to the Falls Church City Democratic Committee next Wednesday. Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy introduced Tafti at her kickoff event Monday and Indivisible Arlington has already endorsed Tafti. “I have fought for fairness and accountability in the criminal justice system for almost 20 years,” stated Tafti. “If elected, I will promote justice and safety for all, serve the community equitably, and promote and defend progressive values within our legal system. My priority issues include cash bail reform, decriminalizing simple marijuana possession, resolving disciplinary problems in schools not our courts, and ensuring people who struggle with mental illness and substance abuse receive needed community assistance, not a jail sentence.” The primary will be held this June 11.

We Guuantee Succcs!

Police Seek Victims in Dressing Room Hidden Camera Case After police arrested a man on Christmas Eve for the unlawful filming of a minor in a Fair Oaks Mall store fitting room, authorities discovered additional videos of approximately 60 victims, including many juveniles, from dressing rooms around the area. Mumtaz Rauf, 39, of Alexandria was arrested on Dec. 24 after he was caught filming a minor at the Forever 21 store in Fair Oaks Mall. As Fairfax County Police detectives continue to analyze the data collected, they are calling on the community to help them identify the unknown victims and ask anyone who was shopping at Forever 21, Gap, H&M, and Old Navy between Dec. 15 and 24 at Fair Lakes, Fair Oaks, Springfield Town Center and Tysons Corner to contact them by phone at 703-246-4600, text at 703-718-5806 or email at fcpdtaskforce@fairfaxcounty.org. Police have been able to identify the following locations and time frames from the data: Dec. 22, 2018: 1:15 – 2:10 p.m. Fair Lakes Old Navy; 2:50-3:30 p.m. Fair Oaks Mall H&M; 3:40-4:15 p.m. Fair Oaks Mall Forever 21; 4:25-5:45 p.m. Fair Oaks Mall H&M; Dec. 24, 2018: 12:30-2 p.m. Fair Oaks Mall Forever 21 and H&M. Police also believe there is a time period from 9:15-10 p.m. on Dec. 22 when Rauf was possibly at the H&M and Old Navy at Tysons Corner Center.

125 Rowell Ct, Falls Church (703) 241-8807

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News-Press

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Community News & Notes Falls Church Student Studies Abroad in New Zealand

MANY WERE IN ATTENDANCE for the Falls Church Arts “Exposure: Meet the Photographers” opening at the Falls Church Arts Gallery this past Saturday evening at 700-B W. Broad St. The show is free and open to all and will run through Feb. 10. For more information, visit the Falls Church Arts website at FallsChurchArts.org (Photo: Courtesy Dan Lehman)

Eleanor Freed, of Falls Church, studied abroad in Auckland, New Zealand, while attending Hobart and William Smith Colleges in the fall semester. Freed is a 2016 graduate of J.E.B Stuart (now Justice) High School. For the second year in a row, the Princeton Review has named Hobart and William Smith Colleges the top study abroad program in the country with more than 60 percent of the students participating. The colleges’ study abroad program, which offers more than 50 destinations on six continents, outranks opportunities at colleges and universities across the nation including larger institutions. A number of HWS study abroad programs are led by faculty members and many programs offer opportunities for internships, community service and integrated housing options to encourage students to engage with their host communities abroad. Innovative pre-departure and reentry programming serve to enrich and enhance the students’ academic and intercultural experiences.

Performing Arts Scholarship Competition in McLean

VIRGINIA LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR Justin Fairfax (center) hosted an event at Mad Fox Brewing Company in the City of Falls Church last weekend, and was joined by the City’s two elected representatives in the state legislature, Del. Marcus Simon (left) and Sen. Dick Saslaw. All three were in Richmond yesterday for the opening of the two-month legislative session. (Photo: News-Press)

High school students are invited to showcase their artistic achievements in the 2019 James C. Macdonald Performing Arts Scholarship Competition. Sponsored by The Alden (1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean), this competition encourages the students’ artistic development and promotes the study of the arts. The deadline to apply is Friday, Jan. 25. The competition is open to 9th – 12th-grade students who reside or attend school in Dranesville Small Tax District 1A. A $1,200

scholarship prize will be given to first-place winners in each of the following categories: Dance, Theater, Vocal Music and Instrumental Music; second-place winners in all four categories will receive $800; third-place winners will each receive $400. There are no restrictions on the use of the award money. Finalists must be present and prepared to perform in the preliminary round of the competition the week of Feb. 3, and at the final competition on Wednesday, March 27, to be eligible to receive an award. Applications can be completed online at: bit.ly/2RAG3z2. A non-refundable, $20 fee is required for each application form submitted. For more information, visit mcleancenter.org/performingarts/community-arts-2 or contact Alden Youth Theatre Programs Director Danielle Van Hook at danielle.vanhook@fairfaxcounty. gov or 703-790-0123, TTY: 711. To view the MCC tax district boundaries, visit mcleancenter. org/about/district.

Public Meeting on Unmanned Aircraft Systems Fairfax County is developing a comprehensive Public Safety Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) program and would like to hear from County residents on what they think. The Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department is hosting six public information meetings located throughout Fairfax County, with the local meeting being held in the Community Room at the Mason District Governmental Center (6507 Columbia Pike, Annandale) on Monday, Jan. 14 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Each public information meeting will include a static display of unmanned aircraft followed by a presentation outlining the program. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity for

Send Us Your News & Notes!

The News-Press is always on the lookout for photos & items for Community News & Notes, School News & Notes and other sections of the paper. If you graduate, get married, get engaged, get an award, start a club, eat a club, tie your shoes, have a birthday, have a party, host an event or anything else you think is worth being mentioned in the News-Press, write it up and send it to us! If you have a photo, even better! Because of the amount of submissions we receive, we cannot guarantee all submissions will be published, but we’ll try our best!

Community News & Notes: newsandnotes@fcnp.com | School News & Notes: schoolnews@fcnp.com Mail: News & Notes, Falls Church News-Press, 200 Little Falls St. #508, Falls Church, VA 22046

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Arlington Lions Hold Citrus, Pecan & Syrup Sale

FALLS CHURCH LOCAL Sarah Gomez-Lane had her competition-winning “Dino Doodle” appear on Google’s home page this past Tuesday. Gomez-Lane, a second grader at Pine Spring Elementary entered the Doodle 4 Google competition on a whim to fill a day off from school in March 2018, and wound up winning the $30,000 scholarship as a grand prize last June. (P��: N��-P��) County residents to ask questions of representatives of the Office of Emergency Management, County Attorney’s Office, Police and Fire and Rescue Department. The formal presentation will begin at 7 p.m. To find out more about the UAS program go to fairfaxcounty. gov/uas. The draft public safety UAS program manual is located there along with a link to the email account. Residents are advised to send their feedback or questions to uas@fairfaxcounty.gov or through the link located on the UAS webpage. Written comments on the draft program must be received by the close of business Feb. 8 to be included in the official public record.

Panel Discussion on Title IX This Saturday in McLean On Saturday, Jan. 12, the Falls Church and McLean American Association of University Women have collaborated to provide a panel discussion on Title IX in honor of the 45th anniversary of the act’s passage. The speakers are Dr. Jennifer Hammat and Karen KeysGamarra. The panel will discuss the history and health of the act and what is in the future. Hammat is a Student Affairs and University Compliance professional with a Doctoral Degree and over 20 years of experience in student affairs, Title IX and compliance. Keys-Gamarra is an at-large

JANUARY 10 - 16, 2019 | PAGE 11

Fairfax County School Board member in Virginia. KeysGamarra won a first term in the at-large special election on Aug. 28, 2017. Her work experience includes serving as a courtappointed attorney representing children in cases involving abuse, neglect and contested adoptions. Title IX is a federal civil rights law in the United States that was passed. As part of the education amendment in 1972. The law prohibits on the basis of sex exclusion from education programs and activities where there is Federal financial assistance. The panel discussion will be at the McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean). The program starts at 10:30 a.m..

From Jan. 16 – 24, The Lions of Northwest Arlington will be fundraising for charity at the Overlee Pool – bath house, lower level (6030 Lee Highway, Arlington). Potential donors are advised to enter the pool at the lower entrance off John Marshall Dr. The Lions will be offering fresh Florida and California Citrus, Georgia pecans, and Vermont maple syrup. for sale. The hours the fundraising will take place are: Wednesday — 2:30 – 7 p.m.; Thursday — 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Friday — 8 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.; Saturday — 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.; Sunday — 11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.; Monday — 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Tuesday — 7 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Wednesday — 8 a.m – 1:30 p.m. and Thursday — 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. For more information, contact 703-528-1130.

Open Audtions for ‘Winnie The Pooh’ in McLean The Alden (1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean) is holding open auditions for its spring production, “Winnie-the-Pooh,” from 7 – 9 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 14 and 15; call backs will be held from 7 – 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 16. Walk-ins are welcome if space permits, but it is recommended to schedule an audition in advance by emailing Danielle. VanHook@fairfaxcounty.gov. Please specify the participant’s age and mailing address in the message. The show is dramatized by Kristin Sergel, from the stories of A.A. Milne and produced with special arrangements with The Dramatic Publishing Company. Only students ages 10 to 16 years old, who live in the Small

District 1A-Dranesville are eligible to audition. Selected youth actors will work with The Alden’s team of theater professionals to bring the classic story to life with full sets, costumes and technical elements on The Alden’s stage. Actors who are cast in the show will pay a participation fee of $150. Because theater-making is a group activity, attendance at each rehearsal, tech rehearsal and performance is mandatory. Rehearsals will be held from 7 – 9 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from late January through mid-March. Performances will be presented at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, March 9, 10, 16 and 17, at The Alden.

Local Businesses Help by Holding Shutdown Specials Falls Church-based Beyer Automotive has launched a Federal Government Shutdown Assistance program, saying in a statement, “We will work with local federal government employees who are not getting a paycheck because of the current shutdown. We will assist customers with customized plans to get their vehicles serviced or repaired, including deferring payments.” The company pledges “to do our best to serve its customers with kindness, compassion and understanding.” Similarly, Neighborhood Barbershop (417 W Broad St #103, Falls Church), is also assisting federal workers affected by the shutdown by giving free haircuts beginning at noon on Sunday, Jan. 13. Haircuts for both men and women and beard trims and shaves are being provided at this event. Coloring services, updos and styling are not being offered at this time and all services are subject to availability and barber/ stylist discretion.

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A Penny for Your Thoughts

News of Greater Falls Church By Supervisor Penny Gross

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), commonly known as drones, are increasingly popular in our community, even though restricted from flying in much of Northern Virginia’s airspace due to the proximity of major airports and military airfields. Drones may not be flown legally anywhere in Mason District because of the federal 15-mile no-fly zone proscription. Beyond the entertainment value, however, UAVs may have very beneficial uses for public safety procedures, such as search and rescue, largescale natural or manmade disasters, and life safety operations. UAVs could give incident commanders a better opportunity to oversee and manage a critical incident or event, determine how widespread the event might be, and livestream that information to first responders during the incident. UAVs could be a force multiplier for existing operational resources, but would not be intended to replace helicopters. During a demonstration last year at a Public Safety Committee meeting, the drone on display fit into a container slightly larger than a standard briefcase. Drones could be flown into tight quarters and closer to the ground than a police helicopter could fly, without the noise and crew needed for the chopper. As explained to the board committee members, a drone has a designated “pilot” trained to maneuver the drone and interpret what is being seen. The Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) program and policy, under consideration for public safety use, does not include covert police surveillance operations. Privacy issues were front and center during the committee discussion last year, and the board deferred action on drone policy development and privacy protection until more input from the community could be obtained and analyzed. The first of a series

of meetings about using UAVs for public safety operations in Fairfax County will be this Monday, Jan. 14, beginning at 6:30 p.m., at the Mason District Governmental Center, 6507 Columbia Pike in Annandale. The formal presentation will begin at 7 p.m. You can view the proposed program and additional information about UAVs/drones at www. fairfaxcounty.gov/uas. Comments about the program may be submitted online at the same address through Close of Business on Feb. 8, 2019. The movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” memorialized the legend that every time a bell rings, another angel earns its wings. Well, every time a new business opens in Mason District, it means more jobs and revenue for Fairfax County residents. On Saturday, I was pleased to participate in the Grand Opening of the Hibachi Grill and Supreme Buffet, an attractive new restaurant at 5900 Leesburg Pike, in the Glen Forest Shopping Center. Diners were welcomed by a couple of energetic Lion Dance performers, accompanied by the rhythmic beats of a traditional, and loud, Asian drum. The new restaurant features Chinese, Japanese, and American cuisine in a bright and colorful setting, with row upon row of buffet selections, and two large party rooms for private events. To add to the experience, professional Hibachi chefs will cook your selected meats and vegetables right in front of you. Yum! Hibachi Grill is open seven days a week, for lunch and dinner. Senior citizens and active military personnel get a 10 percent discount. .  Penny Gross is the Mason District Supervisor, in the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She may be emailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov.

before anything else, we’re all human rethink your bias at lovehasnolabels.com

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

From the Front Row: Kaye Kory’s

Richmond Report The 2019 Virginia Legislative session began at noon on Wednesday. There are a number of highly consequential decisions we will take up during this session, including moving forward on the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the constitution, voting rights, the environment and education. Many key decisions follow from Governor Northam’s historic proposed amendment to the biennial state budget passed last year. In total these budget changes rival in significance to Virginians last year’s bi-partisan agreement to expand Medicaid to 400,000 low income residents. The strident objections we will hear from Republicans crying “tax increase,” are predictable; but I found Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment’s comment that the proposed amendment represented “gubernatorial fiscal bulimia” (The Washington Post 2/18/2018) to be downright offensive. The Leader forgets that the last two elections in Virginia suggest that parroting our President — in style and substance — is not likely to play well in the Commonwealth. Virginia’s economy is certainly performing well. Unemployment is at historic lows and tax revenues are up as a result of increased business activity in the Commonwealth. Most economists acknowledge the Trump tax cuts and increased defense spending have been key drivers of this prosperity. Unfortunately, it’s likely that we are experiencing a one-time surge that will wind down based on the underlying economic factors, even without considering the huge uncertainty in the world economy, the President’s legal status and his unpredictable decision-making. Additionally, even as the overall economy performs well, the Republican agenda is perpetuating income and wealth inequality that is slowly shredding the social bonds that provide the foundation for our democracy. No one can know for certain what the future holds for the Commonwealth, but it is undeniable that Virginians and the nation are facing substantial economic and political/military risk. What Governor Northam is trying to accomplish with his

comprehensive budget proposal is to invest some of the proceeds from the current strong economy to protect the fiscal health of the Commonwealth and to make a range of high value investments — in people, critical programs and infrastructure — that will produce tangible benefits and offset some of the greed and corporatism that inspired the Trump tax cuts a year ago. Overall, the amendment calls for a $2.1 billion increase to the Commonwealth’s $100+ billion budget. Of this total, $1.1billion would be used to increase the reserve or “rainy-day” fund. This step is simply prudent financial management, which has been a hallmark of for Virginians for many years. Overall, the Trump tax cuts will reduce Virginia taxes for individuals by $4.6 billion and reduce taxes for companies doing business in Virginia by $4.1 billion. Of this total, 4 percent goes to 1.7 million taxpayers with incomes under $43,000 and 75 percent goes to 829 thousand taxpayers with incomes over $127,000. This is unconscionable! The governor is proposing a very modest measure to make Virginia’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC) fully refundable to working Virginians with incomes under $54,000. Republicans are on record calling for “middle class” tax cuts that reach up to incomes of $125,000 to $150,000. Never mind families in this bracket will already receive Federal tax cuts of about $2,000, while at $54,000 the cut averages $500. Republican orthodoxy would re-reinforce inequality, while Democrats seek to mitigate it. In addition, the governor’s budget includes: 1) 2 percent teacher salary increases and a one-time 1 percent bonus for state employees; 2) over $100 million for K-12 education, including programs and school construction; 3) over $50 million for water quality; 4) $50 million for internet infrastructure in rural Virginia and funding for I-81 road improvements; and many other line items. .  Delegate Kory represents the 38th District in the Virginia House of Delegates. She may be emailed at DelKKory@house. virginia.gov.

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Democracy On The Ropes

The border wall and other domestic policy obsessions of the president and the Mueller investigation of Russian influence in his campaign and life are not separate matters, as so much of the media coverage presents it. Here’s the relevant presumption: To the extent the self-evident and increasingly irrefutable fact of the total, lock-stock-and-barrel control over Trump by Putin and the Russians is operative, then his anti-NATO posture, love of North Korean and other dictators, promotion of trade wars, and domestic discord and paralysis on the order of the kind of hate mongering we’ve seen FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS from the Russian psywar operations through social media flow directly. It is not Putin and Trump. It is Putin is Trump. It takes a certain intellectual discipline to grasp this, apparently. The only added component is the degree to which the ruling elites in the U.S. and the West are gaining from this arrangement and therefore support it. It is the little people, you and me, who are the victims of all this, as we’ve always been. The elites agree with Putin’s utter disdain for democracy, for “we, the people.” Putin sees making gains in the world in terms of weakening the geopolitical blocs that are grounded in their common support for democratic institutions, and he will eventually decide who to invade, who to bomb, who to poison, based on his calculations of how to get ahead on that score. This is why taking for granted even nominal forms of democracy is truly dangerous. Many people who’ve thrived under democracies worldwide are being lulled into postures that leave their collective lunches exposed to theft. We’ve glibly adopted an arrogance that belittles and laughs at would-be dictators and fascists as comical buffoons. Too many people in the U.S. look at Trump that way, allowing them to idly tolerate him while joining a nebulous majority sentiment that opposes him the way one has disdain for an unpopular football team owner. It’s uncool to be too passionate for justice in today’s American culture. That’s permitted only among those who are direct victims of Trump’s treachery, such as the population of Puerto Rico that is still suffering the consequences of the hurricane that he fought with paper towels and million dollar contracts given to incompetent cronies. The saturation of the hundreds of TV channels with the worse than banal should be enough to sound necessary alarms. It is truly as if being what used to be called a “Philistine,” a person of no knowledge, sensibilities or class, is the most desirable social animal of today. Culturally speaking, we “are what we eat,” as when our cultural fare is a militaristic sport where oversized men in tights (and shoulder pads) roll all over each other on a meticulously calibrated field, so as to make double sure no rules can be broken without a whistle, and fancifully attired ladies jump and dance on the sidelines to cheer them on. Oh, Americans love that! They’re even willing to deny that a majority of those “players” on the field will wind up with permanent brain damage. Deny, deny, deny. And our ruling class is perfectly good with that, because they delight in watching the rest of us, the slobs, always preparing for wars, in one way or another, that will advance their perceived interests. What is the correlation between football, brain damage and support for Trump? Has anyone checked that out? In the final analysis, it isn’t just the players themselves, but everyone who buys into the total gestalt of the sport that suffers the mental health consequences. The 100th anniversary year of the end of World War I has passed, but if anyone paid attention to the history of that war, and the one that immediately followed, and the 200 million total lives lost, they’d have to be looking at the world today with a lot of worry. A ruling class in 1914 – the rulers of Britain, Germany and Russia all being cousins – kicked off the wholesale slaughter of such a huge swath of civilization that we have still yet to recover from the insanity it engendered. Putin, Trump and their policies now are simply a continuation.  Nicholas Benton may be emailed at nfbenton@fcnp.com.

Nicholas F. Benton

Our Man in Arlington By Charlie Clark

Herewith some evidence from our county that women in the workforce value networking. And that slogans like “lean in” and “having it all” work better in theory than they do when the ratrace rubber meets the road. I recently discussed the teetering “Lean In” movement launched by Facebook heavy Sheryl Sandberg with a co-founder of the Arlington-based networking group Awesome Women Entrepreneurs. “We’re the antithesis of that,” said digital strategist Evelyn Powers, the group’s creative director who five years ago teamed up with friend and public relations professional Karen Bate in Bate’s East Falls Church living room. “The whole reason we started is that Karen and I lean together, working together. We knew all these women with incredible home-based businesses and decided we should start a book club — without the book,” she said. “We would talk about business in a more relaxed, social way.” As mothers of young children, many female entrepreneurs are not going to go to a co-ed Chamber of Commerce meeting and talk about balancing career and parenting, Powers said. Instead, this group’s approach gives women a chance to unwind, drink wine and talk business informally. Without feeling the pressure and “intense commitment

to bring referrals” like those who join, say, Business Network International, she

added. Surprised that 25 women showed up at that inaugural meeting, Bate recalled that “we had a simple idea: To provide a space for women business owners like us to get together, support one another and share our experiences with peers who understand our lives — the juggle and the struggle,” she said. “Because being an entrepreneur can be hard and lonely,’ Bate added. “We provide a place for our members to connect, collaborate, refer one another and hire one another. We passionately believe this spirit of collaboration, not competition, is how we will all grow and thrive.” Soon those who joined began to “actively refer each other, actively support each other, and make money for each other,” as Powers put it. Today the home-headquartered Awesome Women Entrepreneurs boasts 175 in its Arlington chapter, with chapters meeting in Fairfax Station, Vienna, the District of Columbia, Bethesda, Central Prince George’s County and North Los Angeles. Nationwide, women own 40 percent of businesses, generate $1.7 trillion in sales and employ nine million people, according to Bate. She cites “thousands of incredibly varied businesses” in Arlington itself, ranging from graphic designers to accountants,

to interior designers, to event planners to therapists. Members pay $150 a year for monthly meetings, and take July, August and December off. The group strives to be inclusive in attracting members from all walks, with varying amounts of time to give. “Women can’t lean in for too long unless they have a staff,” Powers said. “I get the essence of what Sandberg is saying. But it takes a really incredible kind of woman to be able to do that. When I had young kids with my own business, it was really hard to not constantly be thinking about the children. I do think it’s biological, and I’m not afraid to say something like that.” Women seem to respond to her group’s “kind of vibe,” Powers added. Sure, “anyone can do it all — just not all at the same time.” *** Organizers of the in-progress Virginia Women’s Monument in Richmond have culled the Arlingtonians who made its accompanying “Wall of Honor.” Among 230 Virginia women noted for contributions to culture and history are former Marymount University president Marie Berg; public television pioneer Elizabeth Campbell; civic activist Esther Cooper; civil rights activist Dorothy Hamm; computer science pioneer Grace Hopper; social activist Matilda Lindsay; legislator Kathryn Stone and educator Evelyn Syphax. The granite plaza and the Wall of Honor that will surround the coming 12 bronze statues are already open to the public.

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

F.C.’s Johnson is Master of Improv & Voice of Capitals’ Cup Run by Matt Delaney

Falls Church News-Press

When you’ve made career out of being one of “those guys” in show business — the ones only the biggest IMDB nerds can sniff out during a cameo or a voiceover — you know you’ll never be wellacquainted with the red carpet. For longtime Falls Church resident Wes Johnson, however, being one of “those guys” allowed him to provide for his family, fulfill his soul’s yearnings and even ride shotgun to the Washington Capitals’ storybook Stanley Cup run. It’s all thanks to a combination of improvisational wit and indomitable will that continues to guide him through the helter skelter nature of showbiz. “Improv is great because it allows you to not say ‘no’ when someone tells you something. I’ve used it in everything I’ve done in my life,” Johnson said while referencing his dreams as the rehearsal room where he refines his fly-bythe-seat-of-your-pants approach to the business. “Even through failure and rejected auditions, I was either too stubborn or too stupid to give up, and pretty soon you’re too high up the ladder to let go, so you keep going.” The performing bug bit Johnson as a kid when he helped out a magician during an act and found himself infatuated with how he could interact with the crowd. He would become enamored with entertaining when he took the stage in his first show, “A Deputy for Broken Bow,” at Marshall High School in his teens. He switched over to Falls Church High School as a junior where he met his mentor and beloved theatre teacher, the late George Robert Allen. Allen repeatedly told his students that he “would never wish a career in showbiz on his worst enemy,” but he privately gave Johnson his support to pursue an acting career. From there, undeterred by the urging of his parents and others to take a safer professional route, Johnson began improvising his way into jobs. He dabbled in community theater as well as stand-up comedy, learning how to engage with the audience, instead of just thwacking jokes at them as if he’s at the driving range. Stand-up comedy was his avenue into sketch comedy, starting with the group Gross National Product where he donned a spot-on (might I say) Ronald

Reagan impersonation. Sketch comedy helped him get into radio. Whether it was doing improv comedy routines with Wolfman Jack live on the air or hosting a morning show on WXTR 104.1, Johnson was able to showcase his range as both a narrative voice and a voice actor. It’s the latter that landed him gigs in the video game industry, notably at Maryland-based developer Bethesda Softworks, working as everything from miscellaneous characters to leading roles in the Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises. He even found his way on camera in bit parts for shows such as HBO hits “Veep” and “The Wire” to an off-beat, NC-17 John Waters film “A Dirty Shame,” where he played the lovingly titled, Fat [Blank] Frank. The portfolio may seem too eclectic to be intentional, but Johnson’s improv chops made his methodically mad progression in show business the most intuitive way for him to go about it. “Every little bit of work informs other work. It doesn’t have to be the same thing,” Johnson added. “I used to be a cartoonist, so I’d do some cartooning and it’d lead to acting work. Acting work leads to voice work and voice work leads to film work — and sometimes, it’d lead to a reception desk if you had to do a temp job, so every little thing leads to another.” Though Johnson’s gotten to work with some his favorite people in the industry, it’s been his now 19-year role as the Capitals’ public address announcer that holds a special place on his career mantle. That tenure was in doubt early on when his agents were trying to lure him out to Los Angeles over a decade ago since he could get more consistent work there. But the allure of a top draft pick by the name of Alexander Ovechkin — and of course, the comfort he and his family had with Falls Church — kept him intrigued enough to stick around. It took 14 years, but Johnson was finally able to voice the karmic tour of a lifetime that was the Capitals’ Cup run in 2018. Beating a string of old demons — former New York Rangers coach John Tortorella in the first round, the dreaded Pittsburgh Penguins in the second, staving off elimination against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the third and defeating longtime Washington heel Marc-Andre Fleury in the Cup final — was a sight to behold for a man who’d

EXHALING WITH THE MASSES is Washington Capitals public address announcer Wes Johnson at Capital One Arena. Johnson and the crowd are reacting to “The Save” made by Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby to preserve a 3-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. (Photo: Courtesy Ben Sumner/Capitals Outsider) been so wedded to the franchise. In a way, to Johnson, the Capitals’ victory was a changing of the guard. The Washington Redskins had long been sports kings of Washington, D.C, but the franchise has squandered a surplus of goodwill. Meanwhile the Capitals’ championship was happily shared with the entire community by owner Ted Leonsis. Johnson witnessed the love for the team starting in the Eastern Conference Finals against Tampa Bay, when Capital One Arena was packed to rafters for free viewing parties during road games. While Johnson would normally serve as a dog futon at home or tweet out his trademark stadium calls whenever a player scored during the Capitals’ road trips, he was giddy to “Unleash the Fury” with thousands of fans during the Cup run and feel the affection the region had for the Capitals and the sport of hockey — despite the delicate balance that can come with working for the team he roots for. “It’s a double-edged sword being a fan and a public figure discussing the team because

sometimes you want to curse the hockey gods. As in go full Tourettes stream,” Johnson said cheekily, referencing the Capitals’ December home game against the Penguins where a blunder by an official negated a Capitals goal. All this talk of how Johnson’s transformed his career from aspiring actor to respectable industry journeyman with a whim-like groove and the Capitals evolution from talent-rich underachievers to Stanley Cup champions, it’d be remiss not to mention his greatest act: the physical transformation he’s undergone in the past 18 months. After years of multi-pill regimens, unhealthy attempts at dieting and being in such poor health he couldn’t qualify for life insurance, Johnson was mentally and emotionally ready to change his lifestyle. Following a gastric bypass surgery in August 2017, Johnson dropped from 360 pounds down to 170. It’s come with a wardrobe overhaul and some adjustments in eating habits as well as an ecstatic family (if only because their home is no

longer the same temperature as a meat locker). Now the sinewy Johnson goes easy on the hearty “Wes Johnson” sandwich at Falls Church’s Celebrity Delly, much to the chagrin of the cheese-loving Sheogorath — one of his Elder Scrolls characters — whose portrait lines the deli’s high wall. But in all seriousness, Johnson knows he has a role to play as the family’s primary breadwinner, whether at his day job as the chief creative officer for Rosenberg Media or in one of his many gigs in show business. And he wasn’t going to let the challenge of a transformation stop him from that or the spiritual-like calling he has to perform. “You have two jobs in this world — one that feeds the body and one that feeds the soul. If you’re not feeding one or the other, you’re going to wither and die in some way” Johnson stated. “We all have our frustrations, but at the end of the day, I’m going to continue doing and pursuing what I love because that’s why we’re alive — we only have one life, so what am I putting it off for?”

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F.C. Chamber Lunch to Discuss Redistricting in Virginia “Redistricting Reform in Virginia: Why It Matters Now” will be the featured presentation at the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce’s monthly networking lunch on Tuesday, Jan. 15 at the Italian Cafe, located at 7161 Lee Hwy., Falls Church. Sara Fitzgerald, a member of the Falls Church League of Women Voters who has tracked the problem of gerrymandering for more than a decade, will be the speaker. Fitzgerald has also been active with OneVirginia2021, the bipartisan coalition working to approve a constitutional amendment to address the issue in the 2019 session of the General Assembly, beginning this month. Tickets with advanced registration are $27 for members and $32 for nonmembers. An additional $5 will be charged for walk-ins, should space be available. For more information or to register, visit www.FallsChurchChamber.org.

Free Workshops in January at Athlete Development Center The Athlete Development Center is hosting free workshops on nutrition and essential oils over the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend. On Saturday, Jan. 19, “Eating Right During the Off Season” will be held from 11 a.m. – noon and “Elevate Your Fitness with Essential Oils” is scheduled from 3 – 4:15 p.m. On Monday, Jan. 21, “Grocery Shop Like a Nutritionist” is scheduled from 10 – 11:30 a.m. and “Essential Oils 101” will be held from 1:30 – 3 p.m. The workshops are free but registration is required. The Athlete Development Center is located in the Southgate Shopping Center at 102 E. Fairfax Street in Falls Church.

Body Dynamics Pilates Class to Benefit Eating Disorder Treatment Body Dynamics, Inc. and Rock Recovery are hosting Eat Well – Move Well on Thursday, Jan. 17 from 7 – 8:30 pm. The event will include a pilates class and cool down with light refreshments accompanied by a short, interactive discussion lead by Body Dynamics nutritional consultant and fitness instructor Chip Coleman. Proceeds from the $15 class will benefit Rock Recovery, an organization dedicated to bridging eating-disorder treatment gaps. For more information, visit www.bodydynamicsinc.com or www.rockrecoveryed.org. The class will take place at Body Dynamics, 410 S. Maple Avenue, Suite 100, in Falls Church.

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PAGE 16 | JANUARY 10 – 16, 2019

Swim & Dive

SPO RTS

Mustangs Take Down Central by Matt Delaney

Falls Church News-Press

GEORGE MASON HIGH SCHOOL’S boys and girls swim teams dove into the second half of the season to win their quad meet vs. Stonewall Jackson, East Rockingham, and Central High Schools. Mason Boys scored 71 points to Stonewall Jackson’s 10 points, 66-16 for East Rockingham, and 69-20 for Central Woodstock. Mason Girls’ total of 72 points to Stonewall Jackson’s 18 points, 74-11 points for East Rockingham and 63-28 for Central Woodstock, enabled both Mason teams to continue their winning season. (Photo: Ari Autor)

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Four straight losses are easier for George Mason High School’s boys basketball team to forget after big wins over Bull Run District opponents Central High School, 62-46, and Rappahannock County High School, 86-42, in the past week. Those who witnessed the 201718 season for Mason (6-4) know how well Central played the role of arch-nemesis for the Mustangs’ last year. Three straight losses — by a combined margin of six points — including an gut-wrenching loss in the Region B semifinals at the buzzer to end Mason’s season and deny the team a trip to the Class 2 state tournament were all at the hands of the Falcons. It’s a new season with new characters acting out the 2018-19 season’s drama, but it still felt nice to snap the losing streak to a District rival. “It was a big win,” senior guard Max Ashton said. “They won the district last year so just to come back and beat them here sets a tone for the rest of the year and we’re gonna try our best to win the district this year. No one can stop

us, not even them.” After halftime, the Mustangs had just finished one of their shakiest halves of the year. Mason was displaying all the indecisive tendencies that have gotten the team into trouble before: picking up dribbles with no clear passing lane, driving to the hoop with little demonstrated will to score and a defense that was too comfortable reacting rather than dictating their opponents’ gameplan. It’s not a matter of effort – the Mustangs are playing hard – but they play with an aloof temperament that keeps their actions a tick slow. It’s why, despite trailing by only three at 24-21, it felt as if Central could blow the game open with a short run. And when the Falcons notched a gimme two inside to open the third, it appeared that run was about to start. But lo and behold, Mason was just warming up. Ashton sank a three from corner and senior guard Jay Nesson stepped into a three of his own to give Mason a 27-26 lead that only grew from that point on. In the final four minutes of the third quarter, the Mustangs outscored Central 11-2 thanks to five points

from senior forward Hollman Smith, another trey from Ashton and a sweet connection between sophomore guard Robert Asel and junior forward Daniel Miller. Starting the fourth up 42-32, Mason didn’t relent. The Mustangs defense pestered Central’s shooters and made life difficult for its athletic big down low. The offense continued its intentional behavior, going strong to the hoop while staying sharp from downtown, and got the frustrated Falcons into foul trouble with over three minutes to play. Mason rode out the clock with trips to the line and a staunch defensive presence. “That was the best half we played all year,” head coach Chris Capannola said. “We moved the ball great, we defended great. And, of course, the shots went down.” Against Rappahannock County on Jan. 4, Mason’s 67-31 lead heading into the fourth removed any doubt the game would be clinched. The most noteworthy statline was Ashton counting his 1,000th point as a Mustang. The Mustangs will host Strasburg High School tomorrow night.

Mason Girls are Back Together & Winning by Matt Delaney

Falls Church News-Press

IN THE INDIVIDUAL EVENTS, three swimmers achieved their first state qualifying times of the season. First place finishers Abby McFall in the 100 Yard Breaststroke (top) and Ian Fry in the 100 Yard Backstroke each qualified for states. Senior TJ Roche, returning to the pool for the first time this season after an injury, also qualified for states in the 100 Yard Freestyle. Other individual event winners included Matt Ng, Ellen Chadwick, Brian Janicki, Maddy Dubois (bottom), Ryan York, Marie Roche, Ian McCracken, Ruby Loeper-Viti and Adam Janicki. (Photo: Ari Autor)

George Mason High School’s girls basketball team snapped a four-game losing streak with an impressive 53-22 victory over Rappahannock County High School last Friday. As Peaches & Herb once said, “Reunited, and it feels so good,” and the Mustangs (4-9) couldn’t agree more. After some key starters missed the games over the break, Mason returned to full form against the visiting Panthers. It took about three minutes for the group to get re-acclimated on the court, but once they found their groove there was little Rappahannock County could do. “We knew we wanted to speed them up as much as we could, and we made them play our pace,” head coach Chris Carrico said. “We were a little lackadaisical in the first three or four minutes of the game, but the attention to detail got better from there” In that brief three minute span, Mason did look tentative on the court. The Mustangs were being

too respectful of the Panthers, allowing a seven-point run where Rappahannock County notched four straight free throws and an elbow three to go up 11-6, before Mason snapped out of its daze. A quick two in transition was followed by senior guard Maddie Lacroix’s own elbow three to tie the game at 11. Lacroix went endto-end with the ball before pulling up for a smooth jumper at the free throw line and followed that up by dropping a pass to freshman forward Rianna Arsenault off an inbound in the offensive zone. Freshman guard Zoraida Icabalceta joined in the spree with a coast-to-coast transition and jumper herself. Junior guard Emma Rollins banked a shot in high off the glass, with Icabalceta’s three and Arsenault’s put back two rounding out a raucous first quarter. The 20 unanswered points had Mason up 26-11 entering the second quarter. The game cooled down significantly in the second quarter, with the Mustangs and Rappahannock County scoring four and five points, respectively. Mason man-

aged to add 10 more points coming out of halftime with Rollins, Lacroix, Icabalceta and freshman Megan Tremblay each contributing to take a 40-19 lead into the fourth. There, a mix of starters and reserves helped to carry the game to its final margin. Outside of the 20-point explosion to end the first quarter, the Mustangs were fairly tame against the Panthers. Part of it, Carrico believes, was losing the hot hand they had in the first quarter. On the other hand, the Mustangs gave into the urge to relax once they built a big lead — a kink they’re confident won’t show up in bigger games against better teams. “There’s a chance we got a little tired and comfortable because we knew we were gonna beat them,” Lacroix said. “In the future, with better competition, we’ll come out with the intensity we needed. We have in the past, just this game we didn’t feel we really needed it.” Mason played Central High School last night but results weren’t available at press time. They’ll travel to play Strasburg High School tomorrow night.

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

IB DIPLOMA RECIPIENTS from George Mason High School’s class of 2018 returned to their alma mater to chat with aspiring IB students about the value of the diploma and how it translated into their college experience. From the looks of this picture, IB was a lot of fun for these recipients... or maybe they’re just cackling at how the new crop of students can’t possibly comprehend how many all-nighters await them in the near future? (Photo: FCCPS Photo/Carol Sly)

Fa l l s C h u r c h

School News & Notes ‘Thank a Teacher’ Art Contest Open for Entire Month The Virginia Lottery launched its “Thank a Teacher” art contest for the second year on Jan. 2. K-12 students attending Virginia’s public schools are encouraged to create the artwork that could appear on thank-you notes that will be distributed to thousands of teachers during National Teacher Appreciation Week, May 6 –10. Open from Jan. 2 – Feb. 1, the Virginia Lottery will accept submissions online. Winners will be selected from three levels: elementary school, middle school and high school. The winners will each receive $1,000 for their school’s art department and a $150 gift card, in addition to having their original artwork featured on thousands of 2019 thank-you notes distributed across the Commonwealth. Thank a Teacher is a statewide campaign organized by the Virginia Lottery in partnership with the Virginia PTA and Virginia Tourism Corporation. Each year, these partners encourage students, parents and the general public to send thankyou notes to Virginia’s public school teachers during National Teacher Appreciation Week. The three student artists selected as

winners last year had their artwork shared on more than 35,000 thankyou notes as part of the 2018 Thank a Teacher campaign. Entries for the art contest will be judged by a blue-ribbon panel of various members of the arts community in Virginia, and winning designs will be revealed in March. For more information about the “Thank a Teacher” art contest eligibility requirements, design criteria, prize structure and submission guidelines, visit ThankaTeacherVA.com.

Youth Mental Health First Aid Training Now Offered The Falls Church City Public Schools Special Education Advisory Committee, in collaboration with the Fairfax County Community Services Board, is now offering Youth Mental Health First Aid training to all staff and parents. This program will be facilitated by certified instructors from the Fairfax Community Services Board (CSB). Participants who complete this 8-hour hands-on course will earn a nationally recognized certification in Youth Mental Health First Aid. Additionally, all FCCPS teachers will receive 10 recertifica-

tion points towards their license renewal. Three sessions are being offered with limited class sizes. To register, visit fccps.org/about/ news/youth_mental_health_first_ aid_training.

F.C. Schools Host STEM Camp at Henderson MS Since Falls Church City Public Schools is hosting one of the week’s of the Northern Virginia Community College’s Systemic Summer STEM camps, FCCPS families have a chance to register early for those three sessions. Beginning on Jan. 10, students and/or parents can register at campscui.active.com/orgs/ SySTEMicSolutions#/selectSessions/2552811/filter/location for any of the sessions the week of Aug. 5 – 9 at Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School (7130 Leesbug Pike, Falls Church), including: • Coding for 3rd-5th graders • VEX 1 Robotics for 6th-10th graders • Cybersecurity 1 for 9th-12th graders There are many other programs at a wide range of locations, see them here. Registration for other sites opens on January 17.

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FALLS CHURCHCALENDAR COMMUNITYEVENTS THURSDAY, JANUARY 10 Middle School Book Club. January Book: “Brown Girl Dreaming” by Jacqueline Woodson. Book Club for grades 6-8. Limited copies of the book are available to borrow from the Youth Services Desk. Registration required. Mary Riley Styles Library (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). 7 – 8 p.m. 703248-5034.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 11 Arm Chair Travel: Mexico City & Zihuatanejo. See the world from the comfort of a chair. Interested attendees can join on the second Friday of each month to watch a video about a different part of the world. No registration required. This pro-

gram is sponsored by the Falls Church Senior Center & Mary Riley Styles Public Library. Teen Center @ Community Center (223 Little Falls St., Falls Church). 10 – 11 a.m.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 12 Farmer’s Market. The award-winning, year-round market is filled with fresh, local produce, meat, dairy, flowers & plants, honey, music and much more. City Hall (300 Park Ave., Falls Church). 9 a.m. – noon. 703-248-5034. Town Hall hosted by Senator Saslaw and Delegate Simon. Virginia State Senator Dick Saslaw and Virginia Delegate Marcus Simon will discuss the upcoming 2019 General Assembly, their legislative agendas and answer questions from constituents. George Mason High School (7124 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church). 10

– 11:30 a.m. Contact Simon at 571-327-0053 or at info@marcussimon.com. Family Bird Walk. Interested families can join Long Branch Nature Center guides for one or all of these informal walks through Long Branch and Glencarlyn Park in search of resident and migratory birds that are found in the winter habitat. Which birds are around in the winter? Some are familiar, year-round inhabitants but others are winter-only visitors such as Winter Wrens and Brown Creepers. Beginners welcome, loaner binoculars available. The group meets at the Long Branch Nature Center. Families ages 6 and up. Register children and adults; children must be accompanied by a registered adult. Long Branch Nature Center at Glencarlyn Park (625 S. Carlin Springs Rd., Arlington). 10 – 11:30 a.m. 703-228-6535.

MONDAY, JANUARY 14 ESL Conversation Group. A general conversation group (for adults) learning English as their second language meets every Monday. No registration required — dropins welcome and encouraged. Mary Riley Styles Library (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). 7 – 8:30 p.m. 703-248-5034.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15 PAWS to Read @ The Library. Children can come and read with a canine companion of their choosing. Readers grades K-5th, registration required. Registration opens two weeks prior to the date of every program at the Youth Services desk by phone or in person. Registration will not be accepted by email. Mary Riley Styles Library (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). 5 – 6 p.m. 703-248-5034.

THEATER&ARTS

FRIDAY, JANUARY 11 “Judy Garland: A Star is Born.” Judy Garland’s career spanned nearly four decades from child celebrity to adult icon. A cast of Signature favorites sings some of her most famous songs including “Over the Rainbow,” “Get Happy” and “The Man That Got Away” along with lesser known gems in a tribute to one of Hollywood’s brightest stars. Awa Sal Secka (Signature’s “Jesus Christ Superstar”) and Katie Mariko Murray (Signature’s “Passion”) are joined by pianist Chris Urquiaga (Signature’s “Entirely Elvis” cabaret) to pay tribute to the one and only Judy Garland. Signature Theatre (420 Campbell Ave., Arlington) $38. 8:30 p.m. sigtheatre.com.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 12 “Passport to the World.” Join the Creative Cauldron on a musical tour of the world in our intimate cabaret space, with a diverse musical line up specially curated

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

by Ken Avis and Lynn Veronneau of the Wammy Award-winning jazz samba group Veronneau. Enjoy blues, jazz, Latin, fusion, bluegrass, folk and a musical experience only the well-travelled know. The Cauldron’s 8th installment of the “Passport to the World” concert series promises another first rate music festival that allows you to travel the world without ever leaving Falls Church! Creative Cauldron (410 S. Maple Ave., Falls Church) $18 – $120. 7:30 p.m. creativecauldron.org.

“Oh, God.” In this witty and touching play, a psychotherapist named Ella, single mother of an autistic child, gets a visit from a new and desperate patient: God. Ella and God must learn to help each other—after all, God is suffering from having accrued too much power, while Ella has lost whatever faith (in God) she might have had. With a clash of biblical quotes framed by a modern-day wit, “Oh, God” brings a funny text that forces us to confront our own issues of faith, hubris and the power of humility. Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H St. NE, Washington, D.C.) $20 – $65. 8 p.m. mosaictheatre.org.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 13 “Miss Saigon.” Experience the new production of the legendary musical “Miss Saigon,” from the creators of “Les Misérables.” This is the epic story of a young Vietnamese woman named Kim. In a bar run by a notorious character called The Engineer, Kim meets an American G.I. in an encounter that will change their lives forever. Featuring a soaring score including Broadway hits like “Last Night of the World,”“The Heat Is on in Saigon,” this is a theatrical event you will never forget. Kennedy Cetner (2700 F St. NW Washington, D.C.) $45 – $175. 2 p.m. kennedy-center.org.

LIVEMUSIC THURSDAY, JANUARY 10 Randoll Rivers Show. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 6 p.m. 703-241-

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Josh Schmidt. Dogwood Tavern (132 W. Broad St., Falls Church). 6:30 p.m. 703-237-8333. The Other Favorites. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $18 – $20. 8 p.m. 703-255-1566. International Act Johnny Rawls. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 8:30 p.m. 703-241-9504.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 11 Dan & Chuck. Clare and Don’s Beach Shack. (130 North Washington St., Falls Church). 6 p.m. 703-532-9283. Happy Hour: Carmen & Garrett Show. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 6 p.m. 703-241-9504. Patty Reese. Falls Church Distillers (442 S. Washington St. A, Falls Church). 8 p.m. 703-8589186. Arnaud Sussmann (Violin), Paul Neubauer (Viola) and David Finckel (Cello). Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Rd. Vienna). $40. 7:30 p.m. 703-255-1900. Caitlin Canty Trio with Special Guests Oshima Brothers Presented by The Americana Music Association. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $10 – $15. 8 p.m. 703-255-1566. Cactus Liquors. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 9 p.m. 703-241-9504.

BIG TOW will be at Clare and Don’s Beach Shack on Saturday. (Photo: Big-Tow.Com) Trap Rd. Vienna). $22 – $27. 8 p.m. 703-255-1900. Hollywood Nights: A True Bob Seger Experience. The State Theatre (220 N Washington St., Falls Church). $22. 9 p.m. 703237-0300.

Eric King Show. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 4 p.m. 703-241-9504. Open Mic (Bob Sheppard Guest MC). Falls Church Distillers (442 S. Washington St. A, Falls Church). 5 p.m. 703-858-9186.

Big Tow. Clare and Don’s Beach Shack. (130 North Washington St., Falls Church). 8 p.m. 703532-9283.

Lost Highway Band. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 9 p.m. 703-2419504.

MONDAY, JANUARY 14

SATURDAY, JANUARY 12

Goodfellas Beatles Show. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 9 p.m. 703-2419504.

Outpatients. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 4 p.m. 703-241-9504.

Damion Wolfe. Dogwood Tavern (132 W. Broad St., Falls Church). 9:45 p.m. 703-237-8333.

Jenn Grinels with Steve Maggiora. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $20. 8 p.m. 703-255-1566.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 13

Line Item Veto. Dogwood Tavern (132 W. Broad St., Falls Church). 10 p.m. 703-237-8333.

The Verve Pipe. Wolf Trap (1645

Dixieland Direct Live. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 1 p.m. 703-2419504.

The Bachelor Boys Band. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $10 – $20. 7 p.m. 703255-1566. Wolf Blues Jam Weekly Show. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 8:30 p.m. 703-241-9504.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15 Guitar Legend Albert Lee (full

band) with The Cryers. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $25 – $28. 7:30 p.m. 703-2551566. Quantum Leap Band. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 8:30 p.m. 703-2419504. Majestic: Weekly Drag Show. Diva Lounge (6763 Wilson Blvd., Falls Church). 10 p.m. 571-2342045.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16 Mommy and Me with Dotty Westgate – Music and Movement for babies & toddlers. Famille Cafe (700-A W. Broad St. Falls Church). 10 a.m. 703-570-8669. Better Said Than Done Presents: Peace & Justice. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $15. 7:30 p.m. 703255-1566.

Calendar Submissions Email: calendar@fcnp.com | Mail: Falls Church News-Press, Attn: Calendar, 200 Little Falls St., #508, Falls Church, VA 22046

Be sure to include time, location, cost of admission, contact person and any other pertinent information. Event listings will be edited for content and space limitations. Please include any photos or artwork with submissions. Deadline is Monday at noon for the current week’s edition.

PAGE 20 | JANUARY 10 - 16, 2019

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Public Notice NOTICE OF PRIVATE SALE The following property will be sold by written bid by 9:00 a.m. MST (7:00 a.m EST) on January 17, 2019. 2014 Kenworth T680 1XKYDP9X1EJ398325. To inquire about this item please call Kaylynn Kotter at 801624-5938. Transportation Alliance Bank, 4185 Harrison Blvd Ogden, UT 84403

ABC LICENSE

ABC LICENSE ALDI (VIRGINIA), LLC., Trading as: ALDI, INC, 155 Hillwood Avenue, Falls Church, Virginia 22046-2913. The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) for a Wine and Beer Off Premises. Jeffrey Baehr, Vice President. NOTE: Objections to the issuance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Objections should be registered at www.abc.virginia.gov or 800-552-3200.

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MYANMAR RESTAURANT, LLC., Trading as: MYANMAR RESTAURANT. The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) for a Wine and Beer On Premise license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages. Than D. Aung, Owner. NOTE: Objections to the issuance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the ﬁrst of two required newspaper legal notices. Objections should be registered at www. abc.virginia.gov or 800-552-3200.

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We are pledged to the letter and spirit of Virginia’s policy for achieving equal housing opportunity throughout the Commonwealth. We encourage and support advertising and marketing programs in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status or handicap. All real estate advertised herein is subject to Virginia’s fair housing law which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status or handicap or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination.” This newspaper will not knowingly accept advertising for real estate that violates the fair housing law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. For more information or to file a housing complaint call the Virginia Fair Housing Office at (804) 367-8530. Toll free call (888) 551-3247. For the hearing impaired call (804) 367-9753.

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Crossword

ACROSS

By David Levinson Wilk 1

37 41

45 50

43 47

53 59

28 34

19 21

1. Taylor of fashion 4. Pulitzer Prize winner for “A Death in the Family” 8. “Things are not looking good” 14. 7 on a grandfather clock 15. Squealed 16. Venus ____ 17. Marcel Marceau after he’s gotten a lot of tattoos in four states? 19. Where to find a bump, in a phrase 20. Aleutian island 21. “No idea” 23. Big to-do 27. Scissors topper, in a game 28. Going on hunger strikes to protest British colonialism in six states? 33. Tummy muscles 36. Operator of weather.gov 37. Cake words in “Alice in Wonderland” 38. Weaving machine 40. George who signed the Declaration of Independence 43. Order (around) 44. China’s Zhou ____ 46. Padlock’s place 48. Rejections 49. Prepare a Mediterranean appetizer in six states? 53. Tough to get ahold of 54. Roomy dresses 58. Shaped roughly, as stone 62. “Let me think ... yeah, that’s stupid” 63. Treasonous groups 64. Agreement among May honor-

Across

STRANGE BREW

1. Taylor of fashion 4. Pulitzer Prize winner for "A Death in the Family"

JANUARY 10 – 16, 2019 | PAGE 21

ees in four states? 68. Many a Monopoly property 69. Perfume container 70. Welcome sight? 71. Score after dribbling, say 72. Knock ‘em dead 73. Fitbit had one in 2015, for short

DOWN

1. Alternatives to Nikes 2. Beethoven’s symphony with “Ode to Joy” 3. Actress Blonsky or Reed 4. Dough dispenser 5. “There but for the grace of God ____” 6. Wand material in the Harry Potter books 7. Temptation location 8. “Ditto!” 9. Like a small farm, perhaps 10. Squarely 11. New York City mayor de Blasio 12. Baseball’s Felipe, Matty or Jesus 13. Venetian magistrate of old 18. Yin’s opposite 22. “Either you do it ____ will!” 24. Aykroyd of the Blues Brothers 25. “____ pronounce you ...” 26. Aussie “Mornin’!” 29. Kind of yoga 30. English school on the Thames 31. “I ____ dead!” 32. Minus 33. Trump portrayer Baldwin 34. Rock singer who was a Time co-Person of the Year 35. Han who’s the title role of a

JOHN DEERING

Sudoku

2018 film 39. Earn a load of money, in modern lingo 41. Soccer star Mia 42. Jacob’s twin 45. Pale eye shade 47. Boston skyscraper, with “the” 50. “Ready when you are!” 51. Chemical in Drano 52. “No need to wake me” 55. Fifth category of taste with a Japanese name 56. Open, as a toothpaste tube 57. ____ voce 58. Evidence of injury 59. Vena ____ (blood line to the heart) 60. Two of them are worth a sawbuck 61. Photo ID issuers 65. Alaskan export 66. Goat’s cry 67. Slick Last Thursday’s Solution T G I F W A S I O M A R E S E G U T R A P O R R R O T H M R H Y B P A I R H A T O E N O O N D U K E P T S D

A W A T S H A T S E S M O D A D I R A D E S O O C K U S B A A N N A

A T R I U M S

S W I N G S

R F A R C E Y E D H O U M E

H O F F A R U A T I H D S S W O W A I K S

N O R T H S E A

A M E R I C A N P W I H E E R D E A S N

Y A D I G

A N I G H

S N A I L

E A T U P

A Y V E A P

By The Mepham Group

Level 1 2 3 4

8. "Things are not looking good" 14. 7 on a grandfather clock 15. Squealed 16. Venus ____ 17. Marcel Marceau after he's gotten a lot of tattoos in four states? 19. Where to find a bump, in a phrase 20. Aleutian island

21. "No idea" 23. Big to-do 27. Scissors topper, in a game 28. Going on hunger strikes to protest British colonialism in six states? 33. Tummy muscles

NICK KNACK

Solution to last Sunday’s puzzle

1/13/19

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit sudoku.org.uk. © 2019 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. All rights reserved.

LO CA L

PAGE 22 | JANUARY 10 – 16, 2019

dog. lazy ick qu The fox sly p e d j u m the over dog. lazy is the Now for all time cows good co me to aid to the the ir of t u r e . pas

20 s Yearo Ag

is the Now for all time cows good co me to aid to the the ir of t u r e . p a s is the Now for all time cows good me to to coaid of the their.

BACK IN THE DAY

20 & 10 Years Ago in the News-Press

Falls Church News-Press Vol. VIII, No. 44 • January 14, 1999

It is now the time fo r all good to go cows to aid of the p a s their ture . * * * Throw * * Pour it up. it up

Falls Church News-Press Vol. XVIII, No. 46 • January 15, 2009

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Critter Corner 10 Year s Ago

It is now the time fo r all good to go cows to aid of the the ir pas ture . * * * Throw * * Pour it up. it up

Berlin Proposes F.C. School Budget Cut, No Job Losses

Two New Faces Voted Onto Planning Commission The Falls Church City Council elected three persons to fill terms on the Planning Commission Monday night, returning Jeff Englander with a unanimous vote and adding two new faces, Don Griner and Linda Neighborgall. Griner and Neighborgall each received four votes from the seven member council.

Responding to a projected deep cut in revenues, Falls Church Schools Superintendent Dr. Lois Berlin delivered her recommended budget to the School Board Tuesday that includes the system’s first-ever net decline in spending over the previous year in the school system’s 50-year history.

Lifelong F.C. Resident Robert Denekas Dies Robert N. Denekas passed away in his home in Linden, Virginia with his wife by his side on Jan. 7. He was born on Nov. 21, 1940 in Washington, D.C. He was a lifelong Falls Church resident until he retired with his wife in 2015, and moved to the country. He lived on Anne Street in West Falls Church for over sixty years. He was a Virginia State Vehicle Inspector for the Falls Church Service Center for a few

years until it shut down. He loved politics, cars, hunting, fishing and spending time with his family. Services will be held in Front Royal, Va. at Omps Funeral Home, South Chapel, (1260 Front Royal Pike, Winchester, VA 22603) on Thursday, Jan. 10 at 10 a.m. for visitation. The services will be held at 11 a.m. at the same location. Everyone who knew him are welcome to come. In lieu of sending

C i t y o f Fa l l s C h u r c h

CRIME REPORT Week of Dec. 31, 2018 – Jan. 6, 2019

was arrested for Drunk in Public and Simple Assault.

Simple Assault, 6763-R3 Wilson Blvd, (Diva Lounge), Dec 31, 11:56 PM, an assault was reported. The two parties involved were known to each other. Warrants are pending.

Narcotics Violation,1000 blk W Broad St, Jan 3, 9:10 AM, following a traffic stop, a male, 21, of Alexandria, VA, was issued a summons for Possession of Marijuana

Dog at Large, 300 blk Shirley St, Jan 1, 11:07 PM, a male, 69, of the City of Falls Church, was issued summonses for having an unlicensed dog and a dog at large.

Hit and Run,1000 E Broad St (24-Hr Fitness parking lot), Jan 3, between 7:50 and 9:40 AM, a blue 4 door Mercedes was struck by another vehicle which left the scene. Investigation continues.

Drunk in Public and Assault, 201 S Washington St (7-11), Jan 2, 3:17 PM, a male, 60, of no fixed address,

Driving Under the Influence, 1100 blk S Washington St, Jan

ROBERT DENEKAS flowers, please consider making donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. 5, 12:31 AM, a male, 46, of Falls Church, VA was arrested for Driving Under the Influence and Refusal.

NAMED “SWEETIE” because of her kind and gentle disposition, this “little” girl was rescued only 6 weeks ago. But she’s had no trouble fitting into her new home with the Tolosa family in Falls Church. Sweetie loves comfy couches, human snuggles and shredded cheese and loathes hardwood floors and bath time. Just because you’re not famous doesn’t mean your pet can’t be! Send in your Critter Corner submissions to crittercorner@fcnp.com.

Drunk in Public, 6763-R3 Wilson Blvd, (Diva Lounge), Jan 5, 1:14 AM, officers responded to a fight in progress call. a male, 19, of Woodbridge, VA, was arrested for Drunk in Public. Narcotics Violation, 100 blk N Maple Ave, Jan 5, 7:45 PM, following a traffic stop, a male, 21, of Burke, VA, was issued a summons for Possession of Marijuana. Driving Under the Influence, E Broad/Berry St, Jan 6, 1:45 AM, a male, 53, of Derwood, MD, was arrested for Driving under the Influence.

Jimmie & Mindy Married February 14, 2016

Drunk in Public, 100 blk E Annandale Rd, Jan 6, 4:49 PM, a male, 48, of Alexandira, VA, was arrested for being Drunk in Public.

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Jimmie was fired from her job as a teacher because of who she loves.

In 31 states in this country, it’s legal to discriminate against LGBT Americans. That means you can be fired from your job, evicted from your home, or even denied medical services because of who you are or who you love. Everyone has the right to marry. Not everyone has basic rights.

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JANUARY 10 - 16, 2019 | PAGE 23

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PAGE 24 | JANUARY 10 - 16, 2019

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