News Briefs

PAGE 2 | OCTOBER 27 - NOVEMBER 2, 2022

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F.C.’s Chavern Now CEO Of Consumer Brands Assn.

The News/Media Alliance’s current President and CEO David Chavern has accepted a position at the Consumer Brands Association as president and CEO. Chavern lives in the Greater Falls Church area after a stint on the Falls Church City Council in the early 2000s.

Below is a statement from Maribel Perez Wadsworth, president of Gannett Media and chair of the board of the News/Media Alliance, about Chavern’s contributions to the organization:

“We are grateful for David’s many contributions to the news and magazine industries during his tenure at the News/Media Alliance. Under David’s leadership, the Alliance was completely rebuilt and transformed into a powerful and effective champion for the future of quality journalism. The organization now enjoys the support of a broad range of the great news and magazine publishers, from the largest national outlets to a wide array of small and local publications. Most important, publishers are now aligned and fully focused on the need to fight for a digital future that rewards and sustains great reporting. This includes the immediate fight for the Journalism Competition & Preservation Act.

“Chavern will remain with the Alliance until the end of the year to continue that fight through the end of this Congress. The Alliance also benefits from having a strong team and we are confident in the organization’s continued growth and impact. We will begin the process of working with David on a transition plan and identifying his successor.”

McKay Calls for Investigation Of Ballot Mailing Errors

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay called this week for a full investigation into an incorrect elections mailing that was sent to 25,000 voters in the towns of Herndon, Clifton and Vienna in the county.

The county board unanimously agreed to a move by McKay to call on the county’s General Assembly delegation for an inquiry into the botched mailing. Herndon residents were directed to an incorrect polling location in the City of Fairfax.

McKay called the issue “the worst breach of election integrity” he has seen in the county.” “At best, a mistake. At worst, nefarious,” he added.

Late last week, the Fairfax County Office of Elections sent letters to affected residents providing correct voter information. The Virginia Department of Elections attributed the mistake to a “printing issue.”

Planners to Mull F.C. Proposed Transitional Zone Change

Next Wednesday, Nov. 2, the Falls Church Planning Commission will hold an open public “listening session” with the public to mull changes to the City’s transitional zone designation that could allow for more housing diversity in those areas that are designed to buffer commercial from residential areas.

The hybrid session will be held in public in the Council chambers of City Hall at 7 p.m.

Kaine, Warner Hail Expanded Silver Line Opening

Virginia’s U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine released the following statement after the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) announced an agreement with the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) that will allow for the opening of the Silver Line ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday:

“After brokering productive discussions with WMATA and Metro Safety Commission last week and over the weekend, we are pleased to see a plan that will allow more 7000 series cars back on the tracks ahead of the busy holiday season. This plan, if carefully followed, will allow the safe and timely opening of the Silver Line to Dulles by Thanksgiving, assuming the remaining routine matters are handled diligently. Once open, the Silver Line will alleviate road congestion and enhance access to economic, entertainment, and travel opportunities in the region—all without compromising rider safety. We look forward to continuing to work with WMATA and the Metro Safety Commission to provide oversight over the careful execution of this plan.”

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F.C. Schools Submit Transgender Statement

LOCAL

OCTOBER 27 - NOVEMBER 2, 2022 | PAGE 3

Continued from Page 1

Instead, the board’s statement calls on the Department of Education to “ask each member district to submit a report describing how its politics and regulations apply relevant to protecting and supporting transgender students while “appropriately involving parents in implementing the policies and regulations.”

In its action, the Falls Church board echoed similar responses from its neighboring Fairfax County, where its Board of Supervisors adopted a similar strongly-worded rejection of the governor’s new policies.

The outline of the Falls Church statement, authored by School Board member David Ortiz and signed by all on the School Board, begins with a summary, then describes the Falls Church School System, a section noting that “Model Policies Put School Districts and Parents in Opposition,” a section noting that “The Model Policies Take Too Narrow a View of Gender,” and “The Model Policies Would Cause Harm to Transgender Students,” and ending with “The Virginia Department of Education Should Compile a Record Regarding How Transgender Students are Treated and Protected.”

A statement put out by the F.C. School Board and staff, including Superintendent Dr. Peter Noonan, to parents recently stated that the board “wants to assure our community that we value and support every student in our charge. We have codified our stance with respect to nondiscrimination and anti-harassment in numerous School Board policies, and will continue to ensure that all students are treated with dignity and respect in our schools.”

It added, “We are committed to following the Virginia Human Rights Act and the settled law of Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, 972 F.3d 586 (4th. Cir. 2020), which requires respect for the gender identity of transgender students just like any other student in FCCPS…We believe all students deserve a community that promotes inclusion and celebrates authenticity and assure you that FCCPS will maintain consistency with settled law and our adopted nondiscrimination and anti-harassment policies.”

In its statement to Youngkin and the Department of Education, the F.C. School Board said it “encourages parents to be active members of the school community and advocates for the education, care, and support of their children and all children in the district. Parents and teachers are expected to work together to help serve the particular needs of students.” In our elementary schools, it noted, “FCCPS faculty ask parents to submit a form regarding their children’s learning style, interests, and needs. This form includes information regarding gender identity if applicable. This information is essential for FCCPS to be able to provide the appropriate support to the student, whether it is access to non-gendered restrooms, requests to be referred by a different name or pronoun, among other possible accommodations. In the middle and high schools, teachers are expected to communicate directly with parents regarding their children’s academic performance and social well being.”

By contrast, it noted, “the model policies, being framed foremost as maintaining the rights of parents, make an implicit and incorrect presumption that school districts somehow are making decisions regarding students without the input of parents.”

In the proposed model, the F.C. statement says, “policies refer only to transgender students, which is too narrow to adequately describe the range of challenges that a school division may face. Indeed, some students may be transgender, but others may be gender nonconforming or gender non-binary. Moreover the definition in the model policies, i.e. that a transgender student can only be identified by a parent submitting written documentation attesting as such, fails to recognize that any transgender (or more generally gender nonconforming) person feels this way independent of written documentation.” The F.C. board statement then asserts that “the most concerning aspect of the model policies is that if they were implemented as drafted, they would codify practices that would harm transgender and gender nonconforming children.”

“In the model policies,” the F.C. letter states, “accommodations for transgender students require that parents request such accommodation and that they be placed into the students ‘official record.’ Our experience helping to support transgender students is that we initially work informally with parents, teachers, and school administrations to determine appropriate accommodations well in advance of any ‘official’ action being taken.”

The F.C. statement adds, “To require that parents make requests for ‘official’ changes raises the bar unnecessarily and would delay needed support. Further, FCCPS, and we suspect most other districts in the Commonwealth, maintains an official student record for the purposes of documenting identity and academic achievement.”

Continued on Page 21

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PAGE 4 | OCTOBER 27 - NOVEMBER 2, 2022

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Construction of Senior Building to Commence in 12 to 14 Months

Continued from Page 1

The West End Partners in the development of the 10-acre site handed off the senior living building to experts in the development of such things, the Trammel Crow company, filing under the name of TC MidAtlantic, which redesigned the original plans to provide for an impressive 15-story structure that will be twice the height of any existing or currently scheduled building in the City.

The new plans had to win the approval of the City Council and other advisory entities, and no one has seemed to mind.

Bill Brewer of the Trammel Crow group appeared before the Council this Monday to outline the new plans that, among other things, calls for the deployment of $228,412 in cash to the City’s Affordable Housing Fund in lieu of designated affordable units in the building in an arrangement negotiated by consultant Ted Richter.

Falls Church City Manager Wyatt Shields explained the preference for the “payment in lieu” arrangement, because it will allow for residents to move around in the building in response to their different stages of care.

Of the 217 residential units planned, 140 are senior independent living units, 55 are senior assisted living and 22 are senior “memory care” units. It is designed that as some residents age, they can be moved from one level of care to the next higher one.

The accommodations are provided “not on a rental, but on a services base,” Shields noted.

Construction on the building, set in the middle of the 10-acre development site, is slated to commence in 12 to 14 months, and to be completed 30 months after that. It will be located along the boulevard that will be constructed through the center of the site running from Route 7 to the West Falls Church Metro station.

Council member Debbie Hiscott noted that this goes with the City’s commitment to care for its residents ranging from child care to elder care.

In addition to the residential units, the plan calls for 7,700 square feet of ground floor retail. Kitchen facilities designed to serve the residents at their different stages of care can also be utilized by a major ground floor restaurant that may occupy part of the space.

There is space for 125 parking spaces with amenities beyond the housing units set for the first, second, third, fourth and 15th floors.

The City staff articulation of the changes were presented by Henry Zhang.

Whereas the staff was not able to provide estimated net income to the City numbers for the building, it was noted that the 10-acre project, overall, projected to bring upwards of $5 million a year to the City coffers.

Meanwhile, WMATA is continuing to elicit public comment on its plans at the West Falls Church Metrostation site to eliminate the south surface parking lot, thereby reducing the total number of parking spaces, reducing the total number of bus bays, reducing the capacity of the Kiss and Ride spaces and eliminating or reducing hourly parking meters.

VIRGINIA STATE SENATOR Dick Saslaw (right) attended a F.C. Chamber of Commerce social mixer Tuesday, shown here with F.C. Councilman Phil Duncan (left) and Chamber CEO Elise Bengtson (center). Sen. Saslaw had a Q-and-A session with Chamber board members prior to the social, and reminded them he’s still the F.C. State Senator, despite redistricting, until the next election in a year. (N���-P���� P����)

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM Commentary

Let’s Say Gay

Pamela Paul

NEW YORK TIMES

Last month, the new president of advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, Kelley Robinson, posted a six-and-ahalf minute video to introduce herself and frame the mission of her organization, which was founded 40 years ago by gay activist Steve Endean to help fund political campaigns for progay-rights candidates. In the video, Robinson talked about voting rights. She talked about transgender kids in school. She talked about abortion access and workers’ rights. She said a lot of things, including getting “to a world where we are free and liberated without exception — without exception — without anyone left behind.”

Not once, however, did she say the word “gay” or “lesbian” or “bisexual.”

She’s not the only one. The word “gay” is increasingly being substituted by “queer” or, more broadly, “LGBTQ,” which are about gender as much as — and perhaps more so than — sexual orientation. The word “queer” is climbing in frequency and can be used interchangeably with “gay,” which itself not so long ago replaced the dour and faintly judgy “homosexual.”

The shift has been especially dramatic in certain influential spheres: academia, cultural institutions and the media, from Teen Vogue to The Hollywood Reporter to this newspaper. Only ten years ago, for example, “queer” appeared a mere 85 times in The New York Times. As of Friday, it’s been used 632 times in 2022, and the year is not over. In the same periods, use of “gay” has fallen from 2,228 to 1,531 — still more commonly used, but the direction of the evolution is impossible to miss. Meanwhile, the umbrella term “LGBTQ” increased from two mentions to 714.

“It is quite often a generational issue, where younger people — millennials — are more fine with it. Gen Xers like myself are somewhat OK with it. Some you might find in each category,” Jason DeRose, who oversees LGBTQ reporting at NPR, said of the news organization’s move toward queer. “And then older people or boomers, maybe, who find it problematic.”

But it’s not only older people who bristle. “The mainstream media, and mainstream ‘LGBTQ’ media, treat the word ‘lesbian’ like it’s the plague,” noted Julia Diana Robertson in lesbian publication The Velvet Chronicle.

Let’s be clear: Many lesbians and gay people are fine with this shift. They may even prefer umbrella terms like “LGBTQ” and “queer” because they include people who identify according to gender expression or identity as well as sexual orientation. But let’s consider those who do not and why. For one thing, “gay” and “queer” are not synonymous, as they are increasingly treated, particularly among Gen Zers and millennials. Likewise, the term “LGBTQ,” which sometimes includes additional symbols and letters, represents so many identities unrelated to sexual orientation that gays and lesbians can feel crowded out.

Last week on “CBS News Sunday Morning,” writer David Sedaris said he was done “fighting the word ‘queer.’” He went on, “Like the term ‘Latinx,’ ‘queer’ was started by some humanities professor and slowly gathered steam. Then well-meaning radio producers and magazine editors thought, ‘Well, I guess that’s what they want to be called now!’ But I don’t remember any vote being taken.”

This raises a question for me, a language obsessive and someone interested in the ways word choices reflect and drive the culture: Why change the word for same-sex orientation? And to echo Sedaris: Who decides these things anyway?

Let’s start with the basic dictionary-sense differences between the words. “Gay” has a clear, specific meaning that applies to both men and women: “homosexual,” which is the first entry in most dictionaries. “Lesbian,” of course, bears the same meaning, but strictly for women.

Whereas the first definition for “queer,” according to Oxford

Seeking a crystal ball for next steps in the Missing Middle housing debate, I watched the Oct. 17 meeting of credentialed volunteers on the Long Range Planning Committee, part of Arlington’s Planning Commission.

The tone was civil, and members have clearly heard the protests against the preliminary framework mostly from single-family homeowners. But it was clear from the session led by James Lantelme and James Schroll that the planning staff, though seeking research and four public hearings, expect to execute whatever the county board might finalize.

I wondered what would be permitted during rewriting of the 1930 zoning ordinance and the 1961 General Land Use Plan.

The goal of a useful zoning code, the officials said, is for owners and builders to have “clear and objective standards applied uniformly” for most properties under simple administrative approval. That avoids expensive and time-consuming involvement by the county board. There’s also a desire to spell out the public’s opportunity for input on controversial projects (such as eightplexes). But some warned against “layering on more public approval” for fear of inhibiting construction.

Several called for architectural reviews that might “allay some community concerns.” Among the criteria could be “compatibility with surrounding neighborhoods.” Because of state laws on lot owners’ rights, the tree canopy is best protected through the coming Forestry and Natural Resources plan, requiring keeping or replanting trees to “enhance beauty and a sense of place.” Most felt no need to cap the number of new housing types that get built, forecasting that the number won’t be inordinate. The staff would, however, track the new types. Final policy on parking minimums will vary by location. And there’s wide interest in reining in “McMansions.”

Matt Ladd, Arlington’s principal planner, told me that currently there is no design-review—except in historically designated neighborhoods such as Maywood. The precise definition of a neighborhood “is not something done in the zoning ordinance,” he said, noting Arlington’s 60-plus civic associations that might define them differently. Zoning maps done in 1930, 1942, and, most relevant, 1950, cover “every square inch” of Arlington as residential, commercial, mixed use or industrial, all of which call for differing standards. But Ladd doesn’t agree with critics of Missing Middle who say it would “end single family zoning,” noting that singlefamily homes would still be allowed by right and would form the bulk of new construction. When debaters refer to the ordinance as a promise to protect single-family homes, they’re referring to 1960s and ‘70s discussions during planning for Metro.

One zoning attorney who asked not to be identified told me the zoning map is “a patchwork of zones next to each other that kind of happened over time and evolution.” While we must await actual language, a rewrite could specify, say, that R-6 to R-10 zones could allow “only duplexes,” but authorize eight-plexes in others. “Even within a zoning district, there are differing criteria” on, say, setbacks, the attorney added, to assure the building is appropriate for the lot. The code can “microzone” — that’s what commercial zoning does on a major thoroughfare, “not advancing into a single-family home community.”

Steven Krieger, a housing attorney, believes the current Missing Middle proposal would not achieve its goals. “Most people are in favor of affordable housing for the middle class, librarians, police, teachers and firefighters who contribute to the great life in Arlington,” he said. “But if you take the more expensive single-family neighborhoods and build a duplex, you get two residences the Missing Middle can’t afford. The plan would increase population, overcrowd schools and dilute the money Arlington pays for services.”

Could neighbors block the county’s rezoning? “If a community wanted to challenge the new ordinance, it would have to demonstrate that it is unreasonable, arbitrary, capricious or created in bad faith,” Krieger said, citing the 1959 Fairfax case Board of Supervisors v. Carper. “To defeat a community challenge, the county would need only identify some justification for the rezoning.” ***

Amid the tangle of campaign signs on N. George Mason Dr. at Washington Blvd., one familiar blue-and-gray panel stood out. “The Name Will Always Be WashingtonLee,” it said, its old logo showing George Washington and Robert E. Lee.

Since the Arlington school board changed the high school name to Washington-Liberty in 2018, I can confirm that some alumni still resist. I asked current school board candidate Dr. James “Vell” Rives if he’d heard of any movement to revert to the old name. No, he said.

My friends in the W-L class of ’71, who invited me for a history talk at their 50thyear reunion Oct. 9, printed a program bearing the name Washington-Lee.Continued on Page 19

COMMENT

OCTOBER 27 - NOVEMBER 2, 2022 | PAGE 5