Falls Church News-Press 10-6-2022

F.C. Council To Act On Movie Deal Changes

by Nicholas F. Benton Falls Church News-Press

The Falls Church City Council at its business meeting this coming Tuesday (instead of the usual Monday due to Indigenous Peoples Day) will take up the issue of approving some late changes to the deal for the construction of long-awaited motion picture theaters at the Founders Row 1 project on W. Broad.

With the announcement by Mill Creek that the theater company of Paragon has been secured for the project, a time table that set Sept. 30 for a for mal lease signing upon approval of terms and conditions by the City Council has been put off pending Tuesday’s vote, which would modify tentative earlier terms with some late changes to the voluntary concessions and shared economic agreement.

The proposed modifications, allowing for an arcade-like entertainment area in the theater

MERIDIAN HIGH SCHOOL

by Kylee Toland Falls Church News-Press

Dating back to the 1600s, the City of Falls Church has been con sidered an “unique” and “historic” city. This year, a new physical reflec tion of its history is allowing people to learn about the city they call home

Local High School Theater Companies Prepare for Season

This year, local high schools are getting ready for the upcoming season with a variety of shows. From “Pippin” to “Mamma Mia,” this year’s lineup is sure to be an entertaining one.

in the form of historical panels now installed on S. Washington Street.

The City is showcasing a series of panels that reflect eight periods of historical development. Located at South Washington Street and Hillwood Avenue at the newlydeveloped transit plaza there, the

panels made their debut this summer and are a permanent installation for all local citizens as well as visitors to this area to learn from and reflect on.

Maggie Redden, senior commu nications and marketing specialist for the City of Falls Church, told the News-Press the idea for creating

School Sports Highlights

Ryan McCafferty and Nick Porr highlight the highs and lows of this past week’s school sports. Field Hockey and Volleyball take home many wins, while some high school teams are preparing to play again

a week’s break.

and placing the panels started with a working group of City staff and com munity volunteers coming together in June of 2016. This meeting was to draft the texts and select the images that would be placed on the panels,

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College Essay Editing

Falls Church NEWS BRIEFS

Coordinated Thefts on the Rise in Falls Church Area

For the past few months, the City of Falls Church has seen an increase in thefts around the area leading to a special announcement from City Hall this week.

According to Falls Church police, the latest spate of thefts have happened at or around the Eden Center, specifically 6751-6799 Wilson Boulevard. Falls Church City police have said plenty about the common features reported by victims of these crimes.

The criminal suspects start by approaching victims in ways like trying to sell fake jewelry, asking for directions, asking to pray with them or asking for a hug. When the suspects are close enough, they place fake jewelry on the victims while taking the real victims’ jewelry.

Falls Church City Chief of Police Mary Gavin told the News-Press that most of these thefts have been committed by people who are surveilling potential victims at shopping centers and local businesses.

Gavin said these people are a “coordinated group” that are watching people and “taking an opportunity” to catch them off-guard while talking to them “very closely and directly and confusing them.”

“The next thing you know [is] that they’re taking [the victim’s] jewelry off their neck,” Gavin said.

The suspects often flee the scene by vehicle, while victims sometimes do not realize their jewelry has been stolen until the suspects leave.

The suspects are described as a “MiddleEastern man with one or two Middle Eastern women driving newer Mercedes SUVs.”

Recent incidents have included a larceny at Roosevelt Boulevard on September 25, where two females distracted a male victim while substituting fake jewelry for real jewelry.

Two incidents at Wilson Boulevard on July 25th and September 30th followed the same pattern with two suspects distracting a victim with conversation while substituting their fake jewelry for real jewelry.

When one is approached by an unfamil iar person, Gavin advised people need to be “leery” of the distance between that person and a possible suspect, as well as being “direct” with someone who gets “too close.”

In terms of valuables, Gavin said people should be “very careful and discreet” about their jewelry and other possessions by hiding them in non-obvious places. Locking doors to both cars and houses is also a way to prevent a potential theft from happening, as well as traveling in pairs to reduce the risk of someone stealing from or harassing a potential victim.

Beyer Committee Finds Link of Anti-Abortion/Poor Economies

The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC)—led by Chairman Don

Beyer of Falls Church—released a new analy sis that finds states with the most restrictive abortion laws have worse economic conditions for families.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn nearly 50-years of precedent that guaranteed the right to safe and legal abortion, states have enacted laws to restrict access to reproductive freedom. In those states that have either completely banned or severely restricted abortion, women will be constrained from making decisions that are right for them, their families and their financial security. The ability to decide if and when to have a child is not only an issue of bodily autonomy and individual agency, it also has far-reaching economic con sequences for the people directly impacted, their families and their communities.

Data shows that the states that more severely restrict access to abortion also do not have poli cies to support economic resilience or positive health and educational outcomes for families.

In states with more restrictive abortion laws: Women have lower median earnings, child poverty rates are higher, health insurance for the neediest families is harder to access, paid family leave does not exist, spending on K-12 education is low.

Transportation Group Gets Report on Reduced Vehicle Use

Members of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission will hear at their meeting tonight how NVTC’s Commuter Choice program has reduced vehicle miles traveled, shortened travel times and lowered greenhouse gas emis sions since its inception five years ago.

NVTC’s Commuter Choice team will report on the results of the first five years of the innovative program to fund traf fic congestion relief efforts in Northern Virginia. Commuter Choice uses toll money from the I-66 and I-395/95 cor ridors to support alternatives to people driving alone. Since the program began in 2017, Commuter Choice has funded $92.7 million in projects that supported a total of 3.5 million trips in the I-66 and I-395/95 corridors, amounting to 82 million fewer vehicle miles traveled, saved commuters 900,000 hours of travel time, commensu rate to $24 million in economic benefits to the region, saved commuters $12 mil lion in fuel costs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 69 percent relative to driving alone for comparable trips, and avoided 100 automobile crashes.

The findings are part of the Commuter Choice 2022 Annual Report. Commissioners will be asked to approve the report and authorize staff to deliv er it to the Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board.

Installation of Panels a ‘Starting Point’ For Educational Resources

also deciding where the panels

be located.

The decision to place them in between the transit plaza at South Washington Street and Hillwood Avenue was deemed perfect, as Redden said it is a “great location to highlight City history since the new plaza is a transportation hub for both residents and non-residents.”

Redden said the overall goal of the panels is to appeal to several fac tors: audience, content, transporta tion focus, images and future uses.

For audiences, the informa tion and images on the panels are designed to be “relevant to residents, commuters, future citizens and tour ists of all demographics.”

The content of the panels is to feature the history of Falls Church in “chronological order.” The eight periods shown on the panels stretch from the 1600s to present day.

The first historical period pre sented is centered on the native peoples and their land before 1700. The panel states how Falls Church was occupied by two native tribes before European colonists disrupted them. The panel also shows a photo of “Big Chimneys,” the first known European structure in the area.

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The Settlement from 1700 to 1815 is displayed on the next panel. In 1734, a church was built near the Potomac River Falls, soon known as “The Falls Church.” This church that gave the City of Falls Church its name was the “center of local life” and served as a Revolutionary War recruiting station.

The Virginia Village panel fea tures the turnpikes and tolls of the area. Covering the period from 1815 to 1861, the panel describes how the city was an “essential” stop along the route from Alexandria’s port on the Potomac River to Leesburg and western mountains. This caused the creation of the Leesburg Turnpike, now known as State Route 7 and Broad Street.

The next panel on the Civil War era focuses on the years between 1861 to 1865 on how a “village was divided” due to many locals not sup porting the Confederacy despite the state joining it. A story is featured on the panel about Harriet Foote Turner, a local free woman of color who led 12 enslaved people to freedom.

The Rebuilding era panel features the historical period when railroads began to spread from 1865 to 1890. The panel states how this was the time where the Falls Church Library Association created the town’s first

public library under the leadership of Mary Riley Styles.

The Turn of the 20th Century panel highlights several historical events during 1890 to 1920 and how they associate with the City of Falls Church. Local black citizens formed what would soon become the first rural branch of the NAACP in the nation. By the time World War I began, women in the area took on new roles by joining the women’s suf frage movement, leading to the 1921 election of Mary Smyth and Mattie Gundry in the town’s council.

The Emerging City panel describes the growth of local roads and how Falls Church flourished despite two World Wars and the Great Depression. From 1920 to 1950, schools and a water system were built, along with the air-condi tioned State Theatre.

The 1950 to Beyond panel high lights how the City of Falls Church truly became a small, independent city. In 1961, a diverse coalition of City activists successfully ended segregation in Falls Church schools, becoming only the second Virginia community to do so. The panel states how the City’s cultural diversity broadened as immigrants from Asia, Central America and South America joined the community.

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Redden said the working group on the panels made a “conscious effort to represent important women and African Americans to create a more balanced representation of the City’s history.”

Because of the Grant Funding received for the panels, the text and images “highlight” transportation’s rel evance to the City’s formation, which Redden said is “fitting” for the panel’s location at the transportation plaza.

The images selected for the pan els “complement” the text while also creating a “balance of maps, build ings and individuals again conscious ly representing the importance of both women and African Americans through imagery.”

Lastly, for future use, Redden said the installation of the panels is a “starting point” for historical walking tours and educational resources for locals and non-locals.

So far, Redden stated the response to the panels by citizens has been positive. Redden also said she and her team hope the panels will bring a “better understanding of those who lived here and how the little city came to be what it is today.”

“Everyone is excited to see the evolution of transportation in The Little City,” Redden said. “We also hope to see tour groups use [the panels] as a starting point and for residents and visitors to learn more about our history.”

THE HISTORIC PANELS are located between South Washington Street and Hillwood Avenue. (News-Press Photo)

Founders Row Movies Await Council OK NEWS BRIEFS

lobby and adjusting the eco nomic agreement with the City to permit the theater group to receive 10 percent of not only the entertainment tax proceeds from ticket sales but also the meals tax proceeds from meals and concessions sold on site, will be on the Council’s agenda this Tuesday.

While the City’s Economic Development Authority has recommended an OK on these modifications, the Planning Commission was deadlocked in a 3-3 vote on the matter last month and therefore stopped short of a recommendation.

In a letter from Mill Creek’s Joe Muffler to the City this sum mer, it was noted that “the new

theater operator “is proposing to utilize a portion of the ground floor lobby as a full service res taurant and bar with entertain ment features such as gaming and bowling,” noting “this is a fairly standard component of any theater operation today.”

Modifications also call for reducing the minimum num ber of seats to 550, down from the earlier agreed-upon num ber of 750, while the maximum number remains at 850. Muffler wrote that the new number is based on “the quality of the the ater environment, larger more luxurious seats reducing the quantity,” along with “the inclu sion of a premium large format theater experience.”

The modifications proposed are “fair and justifiable in light of all that has transpired” in the recent period, including the way the pandemic impacted the the ater business, from which it is now recovering, Muffler wrote.

Still the industry remains a little shaky, with the news last week that the CMX CineBistro at the Tysons Galleria nearby has delayed its grand opening, originally from last month to the middle of this month, but now has no new date announced.

Our Man in Arlington

By Charlie Clark

Local history commemora tors have embarked on a fresh but potentially delicate project.

The Arlington Historical Society has won two grants for its volunteers to trace, docu ment and map out the locations in Arlington where enslaved persons labored in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The result may include an array of plaques—the place ment of which might engender controversy.

The idea came from Tim Aiken, a one time federal humanities grants officer who got interested while writing a history of his Glencarlyn neigh borhood that provided details on African Americans once enslaved there. His newsletter article “generated an ongoing discussion about how we might acknowledge the presence of

enslaved people in Glencarlyn in some public and lasting way,” he said.

Aiken also drew inspiration from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s obser vation that sometimes preserv ing a story “means working through a difficult past to cre ate a more inclusive future.” And he credits Washington Post writer Michele Norris’s June 2021 essay about a sculp tor in Germany who spawned a movement to install 70,000 street-level stones in Europe commemorating victims of the Holocaust.

Aiken’s proposal impressed the Arlington Historical Society (I’m on the board), as well as the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington. After a grueling application process, the society won a $5,000 planning grant

That outfit has 33 locations with 358 screens across the U.S. and the one set for Tysons has 43,268 square feet and 800 seats across eight screening rooms and doubles as a restaurant with full food and drink service and films starting after 8 p.m. lim ited to patrons 21 and older.

Paragon will bring a slightly more modest operation to Falls Church, but its chances for suc cess are augmented by the wider entertainment options it is now seeking the OK to include. Falls Church City Manager Wyatt Shields told the News-Press that it is outfits with an array of entertainment options that are faring far better in the movie business now.

Paragon’s current operations are in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Cary, North Carolina, DelRay Beach and Naples, Florida. The Naples operation has undoubtedly been impacted by Hurricane Ian, but there are no official reports yet,

The Planning Commission action last month on the pro posed changes the Council will vote on next Tuesday saw three “yes” votes – Teates, Stevens and Caumont – and three “no” votes from Weiss, Krasner and Hyra.

from Virginia Humanities. JBG Smith Cares, the philan thropic arm of the development firm, gave another $5,000 that will help pay Arlington Public Schools teachers to create les son plans about local slavery and produce maps.

The Black Heritage Museum “is in the process of finding names of enslaved people who resided in Arlington and then immortalizing them with mark ers close to where they were enslaved,” says its president, Scott Taylor, who is seeking volunteers who know geneal ogy research. “It is important to myself and BHMA to be a voice for these people whom many have forgotten. Arlington is one of those counties where many don’t know slavery exist ed here.”

Jessica Kaplan, the society’s chief researcher on the project, shared with me some progress so far. There’s a digital map based on work by Bill Grether Jr. of the county government’s GIS Mapping Center that locates some 40 sites based on the homes of the enslavers on an overlay of modern Arlington

Amazon Announces Wage Hikes for Its Workforce

Amazon is increasing wages for its U.S. operations employees as part of a nearly $1 billion investment over the next year, it was announced this week. Average hourly pay for employees in customer fulfillment and transporta tion will increase from $18 per hour to more than $19 per hour.

Hourly Amazon employees will now earn between $16 and $26 per hour, depending on their position and location in the U.S.

The new wage increases begin in October, as will access to more career advancement and develop ment programs, such as the Amazon Intelligence Initiative. The 12- to 14-month development program is designed to place employees in engi neering roles within Amazon Web Services.

Interior Dept. Changes Lauded by Beyer

Falls Church’s Rep. Don Beyer today applauded the

streets.

Her fact sheets report on households of Arlington estab lishment families with names such as Harden, Birch, Minor, Hunter and Roach, who listed— with necessarily varied consis tency—the first names of the enslaved workers, their genders and occupations: farmhand, house servant, chambermaid, cook, washer, driver, teamster, canal worker, field work fore man, assistant gardener, “util ity” or handy man, and “boys given to Alexander Hunter Jr. as playmates.”

What kind of plaques would be produced and where they might be placed is still being determined. In Germany, some locals—even victims of the Holocaust—complained about the stones being placed on streets where pedestrians trod on them. An Arlington fight for another day.

***

Trevor, the panhandler bear ing the sign “Combat veteran, always faithful” stationed for more than a decade at the exit from I-66 onto Langston Blvd.,

Department of the Interior’s announcement of new law enforcement policies for its officers, including key changes for which Beyer has long advo cated.

“The reforms announced by the Department of the Interior today will increase transpar ency and accountability while improving trust in the com munities its officers police,” said Rep. Beyer. “I have long urged the adoption of body cameras for all federal police, advancing legislation with Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton to achieve this, and Interior’s decision to adopt them now is very welcome. The updated use-of-force guidelines are particularly salient to my district following the killing of Bijan Ghaisar, and the restric tion on no-knock entries is an important policy that should be adopted by police everywhere.

I thank Secretary Haaland and her team for prioritizing police reform, and with my colleagues will be following closely as these proposals implemented.”

has landed a job.

After more than a decade as a regular on the sidewalk near the Falls Church border (I occasionally donated), he told me last month he qualified to be trained as a truck driver by the Alexandria-based 1st CDL Training Center of NOVA. May the road rise up to meet him!

***

A noted Arlington nonprof it has joined the beneficiaries of philanthropist MacKenzie Scott—ex-wife of another donor to local causes, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness, whose national headquarters is on Wilson Blvd. in Ballston, announced Sept. 29 that it received an unrestricted gift of $30 million.

“Mental health is health, and this gift will contribute to our ongoing work to change the way mental health care is treat ed and delivered in this coun try,” said NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr., citing its state and national efforts to combat stigma. “More and more people are now asking for help.”

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Church

Better Angels Of Our Nature

A Northern Virginian writing a letter to the editor in the Washington Post last week about the Post’s decision to eliminate after 68 years its weekly Sunday “Outlook” section said he is “incredibly disappointed to learn” of this news, noting he “looked forward to reading the Outlook every week for as long as I can remember.” It’s a shared sentiment among many, especially in these troubled times when democracy, itself, is being seriously challenged at every level in our society.

The reader, whose letter of complaint was one of eight run by the Post on October 1, identified himself as Anjali Sadrana of Vienna and made an extremely important point. He wrote, “Reading articles online does not provide the same experience and engagement as reading the print edition.” Whereas, he wrote, he might not click on an article with a headline he dis agreed with in an online format, “when I came face to face with it on paper, I was forced to reckon with it,..having been challenged by perspectives that challenged my opinions.” This was not coming from an old “curmudgeon rail ing against digital transformation,” he said, but from a 20 year old.

We could not agree more with his and the seven other letters published, all of whom urged the Post to reconsider. They all shared the sentiment that the “Outlook provided something not found in any other section: a weekly anthology dedicated solely to analysis and essays that provided a perspective not often heard.” Dispersing them to different sections of the paper “will lose this unique focus.” Another writer, Steven Watkins of Fairfax Station, called the “Outlook” section “the most valuable section of the paper,” saying, “It was the one section that sought to lift readers out of the morass of daily news and present them with a variety of perspectives, a bigger picture, a greater context with which to make sense of the world.”

Such a “bigger picture” perspective is, to us, the most critical element for righting the great wrongs that have brought our nation to the brink of irretriev able disaster. “Dumbed down” thinking and discourse have been our bane the last 40 years. The true arguments to save our republic are not between two different ideologies or parties, but between notions of our higher or lower selves. When Lincoln referred to the “higher angels of our nature” in his First Inaugural Address, he was speaking to us not in our pettiness or our selfish fits of anger.

Our national purpose is found in rising above prejudice and low, ill tem pered rage and foul mouthed name calling to draw from our greatest thinkers and most compassionate saints (in the generic, not exclusively religious sense) concepts that inspire and move mountains and generations.

Keep in mind that enemies of democracy always look for ways to degrade people and their ideas, so that our popular discourse requires challenging and deep thoughts and dreams to articulate and share.

L etters

Rep. Beyer

Co-Sponsoring

Alzheimers

Legislation

Editor,

My Dad passed away in 2009 due to Alzheimer’s, so I understand firsthand the impact this disease has on individuals, their families and caregivers across America. My Dad had an interesting life. As a young boy he was an accomplished horseman and he later served in Patton’s Army during World War II in Germany, France, Belgium and North Africa over four years. He also practiced law for almost 50 years and enjoyed fishing and tinkering with cars. Near the end of his life, he only knew me, my brother and sister as nice people who would visit him on occasion.

Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia, is a dev astating condition that negatively impacts over 6 million Americans living with the disease and their families. Over time, Alzheimer’s causes progressive memory loss and impairs one’s cognitive func tioning which rises to a debilitating level. In Virginia, there are over 150,000 people living with the dis ease, with over 350,000 caregivers providing assistance and much of that care is unpaid.

This year, to continue the fight against Alzheimer’s, there are sev eral federal legislative bills before Congress which address a broad range of issues relative to the dis ease. I’m pleased to report that

Congressman Don Beyer (VA-08) is continuing his support in the fight against Alzheimer’s and I would like to encourage his con stituents to contact him and request that he co-sponsor the bills as described below.

In brief, these items include the reauthorization of the national plan to address the disease with rapid research and an improved delivery of care (National Alzheimer’s Project Act H.R. 7775); requesting a $226 million NIH funding increase in support of targeted Alzheimer’s medical research;/BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act which would implement a dementia care man agement model to reach Medicare beneficiaries, especially those from diverse and underserved populations; increasing the par ticipation of underrepresented populations in Alzheimer’s clini cal trials (H.R. 3085, Equity in Neuroscience and Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials ENACT); and pro vide grants to organizations for the expansion of training for family and unpaid caregivers (H.R. 1474, Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support Act).

The Alzheimer’s community has a champion in Congressman Beyer. Please be sure to contact him and request his co-sponsor ship of these vitally important leg islative items. He can be reached at https://beyer.house.gov/contact

In 2022, as our nation contin ues its collective focus on keeping people safe and healthy, we should be mindful of those suffering from Alzheimer’s.

Guy Mayer Alzheimer’s Association Ambassador to Congressman Beyer

Platform

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Business Flexibilities Extended

Falls Church City Council has decided to allow the Covid-19 emergency declaration to end on Oct. 1, while allowing some business flexibilities under the pandemic to continue through an ordinance. The zoning regulations eased includes signage for drive-up and carry out food, accepting food orders outside of restaurants and use of parking spaces for tents, outdoor dining, and carryout. During the six-month extension, beginning October 1, city staff will evaluate the practice and submit recommendations to the zoning ordinance.

Local McDonalds Renovation Considered

The second-oldest McDonald’s in Virginia may receive renovations that include a drive-through. Located at 6729 Arlington Boulevard, the size of the building would be increased slightly and the exterior modernized, keeping the golden arches on either side since it was built in 1958. Proposals for safety on the busy section of road are also under consideration. The Fairfax County Planning Commission deferred the zoning exception until October 12 in order to address safety concerns.

Amazon Raises Wages

Amazon.com Inc. has announced a pay increase for hourly workers in the US. Among the changes, front-line employees in transportation and warehousing will receive an increase in the average starting wage to more than $19 an hour. The minimum level of $15 an hour will not change. It is reported that this will increase company spending by nearly $1 billion over the next year. Amazon is also expanding access to a program allowing more frequent payroll options than twice a month.

Careviso Raises Funds for Diagnostic Testing Platform

Careviso, a healthcare technology company and market leader in molecular diagnostic patient access technology announced that it raised over $17 million in Series B funding led by Ballast Point Ventures with participation from existing investors Mercury and Lytical Ventures. The new funding will enable Careviso to expand its existing technology platform into the diagnostic space delivering real-time cost estimates, administrative requirements, and approvals, all of which will support providers, payors, labs, and patients alike.

Irving Burton Associates, Inc. Awarded Contract

Falls Church-based Irving Burton Associates, Inc. was awarded a one-year contract under a Blanket Purchase Master Agreement which represents one of two BPAs awarded under a Contractor Team Arrangement (CTA) represented by both Irving Burton Associates, Inc. (IBA) and Deloitte Consulting LLP (Deloitte-IBA Team) working together to perform the requirements for Solution Delivery Division (SDD) Program Management Support. This entails performing a variety of functions that includes configuration management, requirements management, assist with acquisition planning processes and services, financial services, deployment activities and other business, technical and administration activities, all supporting SDD product-lines.

Spin Systems AWS Status

Spin Systems, Inc. (SpinSys), has achieved Amazon Web Services (AWS) Government Competency status which acknowledges their experience working with government customers on mission-critical workloads and applications on AWS. In order to receive the designation, AWS Partners must have AWS expertise and deliver solutions seamlessly on AWS. SpinSys is an Advanced Tier Consulting Partner with AWS certified professionals. The company provides a comprehensive range of cloud services including stabilizing, modernizing, and migrating legacy and complex enterprise applications, developing migration plans and roadmaps, creating solutions for Big Data problems, refactoring applications, and developing new cloud-based systems.

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SCHOOLS

Mustang Field Hockey Wins 3 Games!

by Ryan McCafferty and Nick Porr

Meridian High School:

The Mustangs’ football squad’s struggle of a season continued with a 54-8 loss to Skyline last Friday, as they remain winless. However, this week brings some potential hope as their matchup against Warren County will be the Homecoming game, so they will be sure to put their best efforts forward.

Meridian girls’ field hockey saw plenty of action this week, and swept all three games it took part in. The Lady Mustangs defeated Liberty 5-0 at home on Tuesday before going on the road to beat Kettle Run 2-1 on Wednesday and Broad Run 2-0 on Monday. They are now 10-2 for the season with games against Fauquier and Sidwell Friends on the schedule for this week, both on the road.

Volleyball defeated Brentsville 3-0 on Thursday at home, improv ing their record to 6-13. They’ll face Skyline and William Monroe this week, the former at home and the latter on the road.

Meridian’s cross country crew had a successful outing in their tour nament at Randolph Macon, with Henry Hladky winning the boys’ varsity race and Vaishnavi Constance winning the girls’ JV race. Molly Moore and Carter Williams also picked up podium finishes in their respective events.

Justice High School:

Following a week of rest, Football (0-5) will travel to Hayfield (2-3) in search of their first win this season.

Field Hockey win of the year defeat

ing Thomas Edison 2-0. Now at 3-5 on the season, Justice will take this week off before they continue to fight back to .500 with a game at Thomas Jefferson next Monday.

Justice Volleyball (13-9) had an up and down week. They dominated Mt. Vernon in a 3-0 win Wednesday, but were put on the losing end of another 3-0 score to the Hayfield Hawks Friday night. They have two home games this week, against John R. Lewis Monday and Thomas Edison Wednesday.

In a meet at Mason District Park on Wednesday Justice Girls Cross Country won in dominant fashion behind a winning pace from Ella Galway and a second place finish for Mica Karotkin. Boys Cross Country impressed as well, finishing second behind a second place finish from Adam Syar and a fifth place fin ish from Richard Do. The Wolves will run again at Franconia Park Thursday evening.

Golf competed in the Regional Tournament Monday at Twin Lakes Golf Course, with results not yet in at the time of this article’s submission.

Falls Church High School:

After a week off, football (1-4) returns with a game Friday at home against Thomas Edison (3-3).

Field Hockey (2-8) came back down to earth this week, losing on the road at Annandale 6-0 Tuesday night. They play their penultimate game Monday night against Thomas Jefferson Science and Tech and will finish up the regular season Wednesday against the Hayfield Hawks.

After starting the game tied 1-1,

win-streak for the Jaguars. They will be on the road for a pair of games this week, headed to Thomas Edison Monday and Mt. Vernon Wednesday.

Cross country competed in the Lake Braddock Relays on the 27th, where the Boys “A-team” finished 37th out of 51 teams, and the Girls “B-team” outpaced their A-team fin ishing 23rd.

Marshall High School

Football (1-5) dropped a fourth straight, falling to James Madison 42-6. They will get this week off before they face Yorktown on the 14th.

Field hockey had a weekend to remember. They ran through the competition at the Lake Braddock Invitational winning all four games: 1-0 vs Centerville, 3-1 against West Springfield, 6-0 vs Edison, and 2-0 against the Lake Braddock Bruins. They will look to keep rolling when they play host to Yorktown Friday.

Volleyball dropped back to back games this week, falling to Langley 3-0 and Herndon 3-1. A game against McLean Monday could worsen the pain, or break the short losing streak for the Statesmen.

Cross Country competed in the Braddock relays on Tuesday, where the Boys “A-team” finished 6th and the Girls “A-team” finished 25th. Both teams will look to improve on their performances when they compete in a meet at Nottoway Park on Thursday.

Senior Leo Perez Siino will be headed to the Golf State Tournament on October 10th. An impressive sand shot sunk into the 18th hole for an eagle to clinch his qualification for the State

Falls Church School News & Notes

Farm Day Volunteers

Needed

Want to spend a festive fall day volunteering at a family-fun event? Farm Day volunteers are needed to manage, instruct and encourage kids and their parents on a variety of Farm Day activity stations. It will be hosted on Saturday, October 8th at Cherry Hill Park from 9:00 a.m. — 3:15 p.m. Pizza and snacks will be provided, and water, restrooms and food purchases will be nearby. Email Danny Schlitt at dschlitt@ fallschurch.gov to sign up.

Golf Scramble Hosted by FCEF

Falls Church Education Foundation and the Mustang Athletic Booster Associated have teamed up to host another Golf Scramble.

Over 120 golfers and school sup porters were there to participate last week. One hundred percent of the

Boosters Association. The funds help students and their families with sup plemental assistance to ensure that students are ready to learn and able to play high school sports.

FCHS Festival Coming Soon

Falls Church High School is hosting a Fall Festival on October 15th, partnering with a Spotlight Theater Company. The event features various FCHS clubs and organizations, with participants playing and buying food with tokens.

The event is from 10:00 a.m. — 3:00 p.m. and is hosted at Falls Church High School

Music Trivia Night Coming October 8th

Check out Music Trivia Night, hosted by the FCCPS Choral Boosters on October 6th at Ireland’s 4 Provinces. 6:30 p.m.

took a local field trip on Friday, September 30th to visit the Tinner

THE VIRGINIA HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE tling as a separate sport, the culmination of a years-long effort by advocates in the wrestling community. (Photo: Kish Rafique)

MERIDIAN JV AND VARSITY VOLLEYBALL beat Brentsville on Thursday, September 29th. On Tuesday, October 11th, the varsity team will be playing Warren County and Manasas Park on Thursday, October 13th. (Photo: Katie Rosenbusch)

SCHOOLS

Local High Schools Prepare for Upcoming Shows & Musicals

by Kylee Toland Falls Church News-Press

For both local high school theatre students and students in general, the upcoming 2022/23 season should be an exciting one. Whether it be the variety of shows/musicals being perfor med or the return to normalcy due to the pandemic, this sea son’s high school shows and musicals are ones to be on the lookout for!

Meridian High School

On November 17th through the 19th, Meridian High School is performing “Pippin,” based on the book by Roger O. Hirson and music by Stephen Schwartz. “Pippin” is the story of Prince Pippin as he tries to figure out how to make his life “fulfil ling.” The story is a “play-wit hin-a-play” in which a band of players present Pippin’s story and “promise the greatest finale ever seen on stage.”

In the spring, Moliere’s “The Love Doctor” will be performed by Meridian’s theater company on March 24th through March 26th. The show is based on a French farce about young lovers and a mistaken identity. Since Moliere’s farces are short, the theater company will be combi ning four of his farces into one: “The Flying Doctor,” “The Doc tor In Spite of Himself,” “The Love Doctor” and “The Love Tiff.”

Shawn Northrip is the direc tor of Meridian High School’s

theater company, as well as a theater and film studies teacher for the school. He shared what he is most excited for each show being performed.

For “Pippin,” he said the “heart” of the show is “the story of light,” which features sun sets, sunrises, fires and more. Northrip said the theater com pany is going to try to present “Pippin” in a “mostly illumi nated” UV light setting while cast members will be wearing “phosphorescent” clothing and makeup and playing on a set painted with phosphorescent paint. For “The Love Doctor,” Northrip said the show is a “high energy play with qui ck-witted characters running about in a seemingly endless supply of doctor’s coats.”

As for what the student cast members are feeling about the upcoming shows, Northrip sim ply stated they are enthusiastic about “the world feeling nor mal.”

Falls Church High School Falls Church High School is taking an age-appropriate spin on the hit Broadway show “Chicago.” Showing from De cember 1st to the 3rd at 7:00 p.m. and December 4th at 3:00 p.m., the show is a “teen edi tion” rated PG-13, a vast diffe rence from the more mature and scandalous musical most people are familiar with. In April, the spring show will be “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” based on the children’s fantasy novel by C.S. Lewis.

Beth De Marco, the theater arts director at Falls Church High School, said she is excited to see her students excited about both shows and “the concepts that we have around them.” De Marco stated the teen edition of “Chicago” is a “surprise” as it is a “unique take” on the musical and something she said to her knowledge “has never been done.” For the showing of “The Lion, the Witch and the War drobe,” De Marco said students have already looked up videos on how to create “cosplay cos tumes” to be worn throughout the show.

As for pandemic precautions, De Marco said students can wear masks if they prefer to while practicing and performing either show.

Marshall High School

Marshall High School’s Statesmen Theatre company is featuring three productions throughout the school year. This season will be the first for Marshall High School since the pandemic that will feature live performances and non-mask wearing during the shows.

To start off the season, Jes sica Swale’s “Blue Stockings” will be showing at Marshall High School from November 10th through November 12th. First produced at the Globe Theatre in London, the show is about a group of female students and their teachers in 1896 going against the strict patriarchy and strict gender roles at Girton College, one of the first wo men’s colleges at Cambridge University.

Bernie DeLeo, the theater di rector for Marshall High Sch ool, said he searches for plays that “highlight” the female po pulation in the theater company. The choice of having “Blue Stockings” as the fall produc tion is a way to “empower women” by having most of the main roles be occupied by women and have the men “take the back seat.” DeLeo also stated this is “the most excited” he’s been about a play than any thing he has done, as well as saying his female students are excited to take part of it as well. In the winter, the theater company will be presenting its 2nd Annual One-Act Festival of Student Produced Works — an event highlighting works

written, directed, acted and pro duced by students. The plays are yet to be announced, but they will be performed on February 2nd to February 4th.

Lastly, the spring musical will be “Xanadu,” which was supposed to be performed in the spring of 2020 until the rise of the pandemic shelved the show. Based on the 1980s pop musical movie featuring the recently-de ceased Olivia Newton John, DeLeo said the production will be “zany” and “wacky” com pared to the more serious fall play, but also features many fe male roles. Dates for the show will be from May 4th to May 6th.

Mclean High School For the 2022/2023 season, Mclean High School is featuring three shows throughout the year: “Much Ado About Nothing,” “Claudio Quest” and “Mamma Mia.”

“Much Ado About Nothing” is based on the comedy by Wil liam Shakespeare. The story is about a group of soldiers co ming home from war in the 1920s, where old connections and new connections are for med.

“Claudio Quest” is a “brandnew” show with music and ly rics by Drew Fornarola and Marshall Pailet. The musical tells the story of Claudio and his younger brother Luis, two video game characters from the Eg gplant Kingdom and their quest to rescue Princess Poinsettia from Bruiser, an evil platypus, with the help of Poinsettia’s sis

ter Princess Fish. Dates are to be announced.

“Mamma Mia” is a jukebox musical based on the discogra phy of Swedish group ABBA. The musical is about a young woman on a Greek island and her search for truth about who her possible father is that uphends both her and her mother’s life.

Arielle Elise is the student head of publicity for Mclean High School’s theater company. She said she is most excited to work on all “these vastly diffe rent shows” as well as showcase the “Mclean edge we bring to each one of our productions.”

Elise stated that from “Shake peare, to a video game, to a jukebox musical, the range is all encompassing and engaging as both an actor and crew member.”

She said the theater students are most excited about putting “these visions into fruition and coming together as an en semble.”

Following the “Covid-19 era,” Elise said the Mclean thea ter department could not be more thrilled to fully immerse themselves onstage and tell a story to its entirety for au diences and more.

Justice High School

Justice High School’s theater company will be performing “Pippin” in the fall from No vember 10th through November 12th.

The spring show will be “Shakespeare on Stage,” which will be showing from April 27th through April 29th.

MARSHALL HIGH SCHOOL’S THEATER COMPANY will be per forming Jessica Swale’s “Blue Stockings” on November 10th — 12th to kick off their 2022/23 season. (Photo: Bernie DeLeo)

MCLEAN HIGH SCHOOL is featuring three shows throughout this season. Pictured above is the theater company perform ing “Airness” at the Cappies. (Photo Courtesy: The Kennedy Center)

Community News & Notes

Local Animal Rescue Takes Pets Affected by Hurricane

Southern States were hit hard by Hurricane Ian, Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation (LDCRF), a pet rescue organi zation, has been preparing their Rescue Care Center for an emer gency intake. In partnership with BISSELL Pet Foundation, LDCRF has committed to tak ing in 60 dogs and cats from southern partners to allow for the critical sheltering of home less pets from the storm.

BISSELL Pet Foundation, a national animal welfare organi zation, is facilitating the evacu ation from two Florida shelters, Citrus County Animal Services and Suncoast Humane Society. The rescued pets are being shel tered at Greater Birmingham Humane Society before being transported by Charleston Animal Society to partner facilities including the LDCRF Rescue Care Center.

The Rescue Care Center, located in Falls Church, Va., was built as a dedicated resource to provide extra capacity in the face of pressing challenges like Hurricane Ian. Volunteers are quickly mobilizing to ensure that the necessary supplies and care are ready for the pets’ arrival. There are multiple ways for people to be involved including fostering, adopting, shopping various wishlists, and volunteering at the Rescue Care Center.

Virtual Candidate Forum Set for October 13th

The Falls Church League of Women Voters, in association with the Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria Leagues, invites the pub lic to meet the candidates for the 8th Congressional District of Virginia at a virtual forum on Thursday, October 13 at 7 pm. All three can didates for office will be attending: Donald S. Beyer, Jr (D), Karina A. Lipsman (R), and Teddy Fikre (I). This will be an opportunity for the public to hear from each candidate and get ready to vote in the election. Attendees will be able to submit questions for the candidates. In

order to receive a link to attend the forum, please register on Eventbrite at https://LWV8thdistrictforum. eventbrite.com.

F.C. Arts Holds Opening Reception October 8th

Fifty-one artists will be featured in the ‘Scapes’ exhibit at the Falls Church Arts gallery from October 8 through November 12. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, October 8, at 7:30 pm. Artists will be on hand to share their processes and inspirations. Juror and internation ally renowned landscape artist Bryan Jernigan will speak about the jurying process. This event is free and open to the public.

The exhibit theme, “landscapes, memoryscapes, seascapes, dreams capes,” challenged artists to contem plate the “‘scapes” that inhabit their world—inner or outer, real or imag ined, representational or abstract, macro- or microscopic—in this allmedia show.

A $150 Juror’s Choice Award and a $50 People’s Choice Award were made possible by a donation from DuBro Architects + Builders, 429 S. Maple Avenue, Falls Church, VA 22046. Jernigan will announce the Juror’s Choice Award at the opening.

The People’s Choice Award will be announced on October 30, based on votes from visitors to the gallery.

Artworks can also be viewed online at www.fallschurcharts.org.

All pieces can be purchased at the gallery or on the website.

Artworks can also be viewed online at www.fallschurcharts.org. All pieces can be purchased at the gallery or on the website.

Tysons Interfaith Sponsors Art and Essay Contest

For the second year running, Tysons Interfaith is sponsor ing an art and essay contest to celebrate the communi ty. Under the theme “Out of Many, One,” this year wel comes entries exploring one of the following topics: “How My Heritage Has Impacted My Life,” “My Family’s Journey to/in America,” or “Welcoming People Who Are Different From Me.” Cash prizes are offered for youth (12 and under) and

teen(13-18).

The contest runs through mid night October 17, 2022. Winners will be announced November 1.For information, see the Website at https://tysonsinterfaith.org/

Businesses Wanted for Virtual Employment Expo

Register at virtualexpos.access jca.org to participate in one or more of the three Northern Virginia Virtual 50+ Employment Expos. The next Expo is Friday, Oct. 14th. Registration is complimentary. The time commitment on the day of the Expo is 30-minutes. The Expos are open to all age 50+ Jobseekers and all NOVA employers with at least three openings. The free Expos are funded by The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation and hosted by the Jewish Council for the Aging (JCA) of Greater Washington. The Expos are one of JCA’s Senior Employment pro grams. Questions? Please email Ann Happ, SeniorExpo@AccessJCA.org

Fire Prevention Week Spotlights Fire Escape

During the week of October 9, 2022, the National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) will observe the 100th anniversary of Fire Prevention Week, the longest-run ning public health observance in

the United States. The timing of the annual event commemorates the date of the Great Chicago Fire, which began on October 8, 1871,

ration specialists with SERVPRO in the Falls Church area remind home and business owners that the single most important thing to do when

more than 17,400 structures, and burned more than 2,000 acres of land.

In support of this year’s theme for Fire Prevention Week — “Fire won’t wait. Plan your escape” — the fire and water cleanup and resto

home fire,” says Rick Isaacson, CEO of Servpro Industries, LLC. “The NFPA warns that today’s homes burn faster than ever, leaving residents two minutes or less to safely escape a home fire after the smoke alarm sounds.”

IT’S PUMPKIN TIME! Help Support the MHS Robotics Team. The Meridian HS will once again be selling pumpkins of various sizes to raise funds for their club. 100% of proceeds go to purchasing tools, robot parts and fees for the Robotics competitions. The Robotics pump kin stand, located in the Meridian parking lot, along Route 7, next to the bike share stand, is operating 24/7. There is an Honor System box for payments, venmo : @NoVaPumpkinS or make checks out to FCCPS Robotics Team. Robotics members will be staffing the stand on weekends to assist. (Photo: Robotics Mentor: Mr. Knight)

LOST DOG & CAT RESCUE FOUNDATION has committed to taking in 60 dogs and cats from southern partners to allow for the critical sheltering of homeless pets from Hurricane Ian. (Photo Courtesy: Chloe Grishaw-Floyd)

Bike F.C. Has Large Turnout at City Council

At the Falls Church City Council meeting on Tuesday, September 27, over 35 members of Bike Falls Church turned out to advocate in support of making the City safer and more welcoming for people to use bicycles for transportation.

During the first hour of the Council meeting, 26 people shared their stories. The consistent theme was that Falls Church could be an extraordinary place for people to choose bikes for getting around but a lack of safe infrastructure is a major barrier today. Bike Falls Church leaders emphasized that they want to help the City accomplish the goals that are already established in the City’s

Vision, Comprehensive Plan, Small Area Plans, and Bike Master Plan. Washington Area Bicyclist Association representatives emphasized that the City had the potential to set a new standard that neighboring jurisdictions and the county could aspire to.

At the conclusion of the public comments, Mayor Tarter expressed the full Council’s support of Bike Falls Church’s mission. He and the City Manager noted that while the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) has some bicycle-related projects in it, most are several years out. Vice Mayor Hardi and Councilperson Snyder spoke of the need to examine how to include bicycle infrastructure in the upcoming budget and how to make progress more quickly than in the large CIP projects.

Over the coming months, Bike

Falls Church plans to build on this meeting with several actions: Advocacy with the City to build “low hanging fruit”, low-cost bike lanes in FY23 and get more permanent funding for FY24 and beyond. Bike Falls Church meetings involving rides, building popup bike lanes with chalk and tape, and W&OD Trail cleanups.

American Legion Post Hosting Oktoberfest

On Saturday, October 8th, the American Legion Post 130 will be hosting their Oktoberfest celebration. It is open to the public.

Their Oktoberfest will inlcude food, entertainment, raffles and more.

American Legion Post 130 is located at 400 N Oak Street in Falls Church. The event will be hosted from 6:00 p.m. — 10:00 p.m.

THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BROAD STREET BRIDGE was celebrated by Craig Day and Richard Rhoades. Rhoades, pictured left, was one of the initial contributors to the bridge out of around 900 people. ( C������� P����: C���� D��)

BIKE

THE ‘SCAPES’ EXHIBIT at the Falls Church Arts Gallery will feature 51 artists and their work. Juror Bryan Jernigan, pictured above, will speak about the jurying process, along with the artists sharing the process of their art pieces to viewers. The exhibit opens on October 8th. (P���� C�������: S���� H������)

FALLS CHURCH CALENDAR

LOCAL EVENTS

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6

GOBLIN GOLF. Halloween arrives early at the Burke Lake Park mini-golf course. Enjoy a festive themed expe rience with goody bags for all. Ghosts and Goblins will be appearing all day from 11:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m. Bring a date, a friend, or the whole family, this mini-golf experi ence is fun for everyone! Buy tickets before they sell out.

MUSIC NIGHT AT HILTON GARDEN.

Hilton Garden Inn Falls Church is hosting music night again this Thursday, October 6th from 7:00 p.m .– 9:00 p.m. featuring music from The Blue Ridge Sky Band band).

SATURDAY, OCTOBER8

SUNSETCINEMA.Bring thewholefamilyouttoenjoyafreemovieonthebig screeninHistoricCherryHillPark.Allyouneedisablanket andbugspray. Popcorn, candy and drinkswillbe availableforpur-chase.CherryHillPark(312Ave.,Falls Church).7:45p.m.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8 SCAPES EXHIBIT

OPENS AT FCA Fifty-one artists will be featured in the exhibit at the Falls Church Arts gallery from October 8 through November 12. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, October 8, at 7:30 p.m.

FARM DAY. The annual Farm Day event returns this year to Cherry Hill Park. Enjoy a day of old fashioned fun and activities for the whole fam ily, including a petting farm, pony rides, pumpkin painting,

scarecrow making (bring your own long pants and a sleeved shirt), live music, tours of the Cherry Hill Farmhouse and barn, blacksmith demonstra tions, and more. Cherry Hill Park (312 Park Avenue). 10:00 a.m. — 3:00 p.m. Free admission; some activities require a small fee (cash only).

NATIONAL PIEROGI DAY COOK OFF. Settle

Down Easy Brewing is host ing their 1st annual Pierogi cook off. Anyone interest ed in participating needs to make a minimum of 20 pierogies and they are only allowing 20 entries. Hosted at Settle Down Easy Brewing in Falls Church. 12:00 p.m. –1:00 p.m. is set up; 1:00 p.m. is the four rounds of tasting; 2:00 p.m. is the two rounds of tasting. 3:00 p.m. is when the final four chefs will decide who moves to the finals.

JAZZ CONCERT. Quentin

Walston is an active pia nist, composer, and music educator in the Washington DC area. He composes for piano, his jazz trio, and large ensembles, blending memorable melodies, strik ing rhythms, and adventur ous improvisations. Walston will be performing at Mary Styles Public Library from 1:00 p.m. — 3:00 p.m. for a jazz concert hosted by the library. RSVP is requested, but drop-ins are welcome space provided.

CITY OF FAIRFAX FALL

FESTIVAL.

The 46th Annual City of Fairfax Fall Festival will feature more than 400 arts, crafts, information, food and gourmet food vendors, chil dren’s activities and three stag es of music and entertainment for all ages. Located in Old Town Fairfax. 10:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m. and a late night concert will run from 5:30 p.m. — 8:30 p.m.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10

TOUCH A TRUCK Enjoy

the Fairfax County Public Schools' holiday by joining the McLean Community Center 1234 InglesideAve,McLean,VA for this free eventthatgiveskidsthechancetosee, touch and explore some of their favorite cars and trucks. 10:00 a.m.—12:00p.m.

Tuesday, OCTOBER 11

COMMUNITY CHAT: ENVISION ROUTE 7.

Come to a Community Chat with Northern Virginia Transportation Commission staff to learn more about the Route 7 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. Enjoy local baked goods and join the conversation to better understand the project. Meridian High School (121 Mustang Alley, Falls Church). 6:30 p.m. — 8:30 p.m.

SUNSET CINEMA will be hosting a showing of the "The Goonies" at Cherry Hill Park on Friday, October 7th starting at 7:45 p.m. People can bring a blanket and bug spray, while popcorn, candy and drinks will be available for purchase. (Photo Courtesy: Scarlett Williams)

TOUCH A TRUCK on October 10th at 10:00 a.m. is an event hosted by McLean Community Center 1234 Ingleside Ave, McLean,VA (Photo Courtesy: Sabrina Anwah)

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6

THRILLBILLYS JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd, Falls Church, VA). (703)241-9504

THE ROADDUCKS.

The State Theatre (220 N Washington St., Falls Church, VA) 7:30 p.m. (703) 237-0300

REBIRTH BRASS BAND.

Wolf Trap (1551 Trap Rd., Vienna). 8:00 p.m. (703) 255-1800

SIERRA HULL. Birchmere Music Hall (3001 N Beauregard St., Alexandria) 7:30 p.m. (703) 845-6156

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7

JOSH ALLEN DUO. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd, Falls Church, VA). 4:30 p.m. (703) 241-9504

BETHANY GATES.

Solace Outpost (444 W Broad St., Falls Church, VA ). 8 p.m. (571)378-1469

HOLLY MONTGOMERY.

Dogwood Tavern (132 W Broad St, Falls Church, VA) 9:30 p.m. (703) 237-8333

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8

CAROL GAYLOR BAND

JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd, Falls Church, VA). 4:30 p.m. (703) 241-9504

HIROSHIMA. Birchmere Music Hall (3001 N Beauregard St., Alexandria) 7:30 p.m. (703) 845-6156

THEATER &

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6

Ichabod: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Creative Cauldron’s twenty-year anni versary and 2022-23 Season, its first producing entirely origi nal works, begins with a World Premiere musical: “Ichabod: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Created and directed by Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith, “Ichabod” blends humor, enchanting music, and fully realized characters with the classic suspense of Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” one of America’s first and most famous ghost stories. Performing from October 6th

— October 30th at Creative Cauldron. Starts at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Sundays.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8

After the Storm. Mickey and Carolyn emerge from their storm shelter to discov er their home is destroyed. Each character reacts to the disaster differently. Join NOVA Nightsky Theater for "After the Storm" by Ward Kay. Oct 6th — 8th. Show starts at 7:30 p.m. in the park ing lot of the Falls Church Presbyterian. Tickets are $18 online or $20 at the door.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8

Furia Flamenca: “A Trip To Spain.” This interactive Hispanic Heritage Month show for families by Furia Flamenca introduces children to flamenco music and dance, shares some of the art form’s history and invites audiences to participate in flamenco-making. Playing at the Mclean Community Center on October 8th at 11:00 a.m. Prices start at $15.

Wednesday, OCTOBER 8 Shear Madness. Shear Madness is the interactive comedy whodunit that lets the audience solve the crime! Set in present-day Georgetown, Shear Madness engages localsand visitorsalikeasarm-chair detectives to help solve the scissor-stabbing murder of a famed concert pianist who

lives above the Shear Madness unisex hairstyling salon. The show combines up-to-the-min ute improvisational humor and a mixture of audience sleuth ing to deliver a unique perfor mance each night. With more than 13,500 performances at the Kennedy Center, Shear Madness is the second lon gest-running play in the history of American Theater. Kennedy Center. 8:00 p.m.

BETHANY GATES is a singer-songwriter from Richmond, Virginia who has opened up for artists such as Chris Young, Scotty McCreery, Taylor Hicks and more. A passionate vocalist and instrumentalist, Gates uses her craft to tell genuine stories about her life as well as the lives of the people around her. She will be performing at Solace Outpost on Friday, October 7th at 8:00 p.m. (Photo: Bethany Gates)

FURIA FLAMENCA'S "A TRIP TO SPAIN" is an interactive Hispanic Heritage Month show for families. The show introduces children to flamenco music and dance and invites audiences to participate in flamenco-making. It is playing at Mclean Community Center on October 8th at 11:00 a.m. (Photo: Sabrina Anwah)

Is the Fed Braking Too Hard?

Paul Krugman

If you’ve ever found yourself driving in stop-and-go traffic, you know that there’s a strong temptation to overreact to changes in the flow. When the cars in front of you final ly start moving, you floor the gas pedal, then you slam on the brakes when traffic slows down again, and if you’re a normal human being, you probably do this over and over.

Overreacting to traffic conditions wastes fuel and annoys your passen gers. More important, it creates real dangers: Accelerate too fast and you may rear-end the car in front of you; brake too hard and you may be hit by the car behind you.

Well, setting economic policy in difficult times can be a lot like driv ing on a congested road. And I’m hearing growing buzz, both from economists and from businesspeo ple, to the effect that the Federal Reserve — which clearly kept its

foot on the gas too long last year — is now braking too hard in compen sation. And the risks of an accident are growing.

The story so far: Last year, as inflation began to accelerate, many people — myself included — wrong ly minimized the risks, asserting that much of the inflation was transitory, the result of temporary kinks (such as disrupted supply chains) as we emerged from a pandemic economy. Over time, alas, inflation didn’t just rise; it broadened, spreading from a relatively narrow range of goods to much of the economy. It was hard to avoid the conclusion that the U.S. economy was running significantly too hot.

So the Fed began hitting the brakes. It didn’t start raising the inter est rates it controls until March, but long-term interest rates — which are what matter for the real economy and reflect not just current Fed actions but expectations of Fed actions — have been rising since the beginning of the year. They’re now up about 2 1/2 percentage points, which is a lot by historical standards and well above the levels that prevailed on the

eve of the pandemic; mortgage rates are higher than they’ve been since the 2008 financial crisis.

These rate rises will surely cause a major economic slowdown, quite possibly a recession. True, for the moment, the U.S. labor market is still running hot, with low unem ployment and high levels of job vacancies and quits. (Workers are more willing to quit when jobs are abundant.) But there are well-known lags in the effects of monetary pol icy. It takes time for higher interest rates to reduce investment and for this investment downturn to spread to declines in consumer spending. And let’s not forget that govern ment spending is no longer boost ing the economy. Outlays from the American Rescue Plan, which was enacted early last year, are receding in the rearview mirror.

Now, the U.S. economy did need to cool off, so the coming slowdown doesn’t necessarily mean that the Fed is overdoing it. As I said, how ever, there is growing buzz to the effect that the Fed is braking too hard. As far as I can tell, this buzz reflects three main observations.

The Crisis of Men and Boys David Brooks

If you’ve been paying atten tion to the social trends, you probably have some inkling that boys and men are struggling, in the U.S. and across the globe.

They are struggling in the classroom. American girls are 14 percentage points more like ly to be “school ready” than boys at age 5, controlling for parental characteristics. By high school two-thirds of the stu dents in the top 10 percent of the class, ranked by GPA, are girls, while roughly two-thirds of the students at the lowest decile are boys. In 2020, at the 16 top American law schools, not a single one of the flag ship law reviews had a man as editor-in-chief.

Men are struggling in the workplace. One in three American men with only a high school diploma — 10 mil lion men — is now out of the labor force. The biggest drop in employment is among young men ages 25 to 34. Men who entered the workforce in 1983 will earn about 10 percent less

in real terms in their lifetimes than those who started a gen eration earlier. Over the same period, women’s lifetime earn ings have increased 33 per cent. Pretty much all of the income gains that middle-class American families have enjoyed since 1970 are because of increases in women’s earnings.

Men are also struggling physically. Men account for close to 3 out of every 4 “deaths of despair” — suicide and drug overdoses. For every 100 mid dle-aged women who died of Covid up to mid-September 2021, there were 184 middleaged men who died.

Richard V. Reeves’ new book, “Of Boys and Men,” is a landmark, one of the most important books of the year, not only because it is a comprehen sive look at the male crisis, but also because it searches for the roots of that crisis and offers solutions.

I learned a lot I didn’t know. First, boys are much more hin dered by challenging environ ments than girls. Girls in poor neighborhoods and unstable families may be able to climb their way out. Boys are less likely to do so. In Canada, boys

born into the poorest house holds are twice as likely to remain poor as their female counterparts. In American schools, boys’ academic per formance is more influenced by family background than girls’ performance. Boys raised by single parents have lower rates of college enrollment than girls raised by single parents.

Second, policies and pro grams designed to promote social mobility often work for women, but not men. Reeves, a scholar at the Brookings Institution, visited Kalamazoo, Michigan, where, thanks to a donor, high school gradu ates get to go to many in-state colleges free. The program increased the number of women getting college degrees by 45 percent. The men’s graduation rates remained flat. Reeves lists a whole series of programs, from early childhood education to college support efforts, that produced impressive gains for women, but did not boost men.

Reeves has a series of policy proposals to address the cri sis, the most controversial of which is redshirting boys — have them begin their schooling a year later than girls, because

First, the Fed’s urgency in tight ening largely reflects concerns that inflation might become entrenched — that people might begin expect ing high inflation to persist for years and might build those expectations into price and wage setting. That’s what happened in the 1970s, and squeezing out those expectations was extremely painful.

But every indicator I know about shows expected inflation falling; the risk of a rerun of “That ’70s Show” now seems remote.

What about actual inflation? There are many private sector indi cators of price movements, which often show breaks in trends well before they’re reflected in official statistics. And many of these indica tors, from shipping costs to rents on newly leased apartments, seem to show inflation abating.

In an ironic role reversal, many of the people who correctly warned about inflation risks last year are now insisting that the recent good news is transitory, and some of it probably is. But a rapid decline in inflation looks more likely than it did a few months ago.

Finally, there’s growing risk that monetary tightening will produce not just a slowdown but an economic

on average the prefrontal cor tex and the cerebellum, which are involved in self-regulation, mature much earlier in girls than in boys.

There are many reasons men are struggling — for example, the decline in manufacturing jobs that put a high value on physical strength, and the rise of service sector jobs. But I was struck by the theme of demor alization that wafts through the book. Reeves talked to men in Kalamazoo about why women were leaping ahead. The men said that women are just more motivated, work harder, plan ahead better. Yet this is not a matter of individual responsi bility. There is something in modern culture that is produc ing an aspiration gap.

Many men just seem less ambitious. College women are roughly twice as likely to enroll in study abroad programs as college men. In 2020, amid Covid, the decline in college enrollment for male students was seven times that of female students. As Reeves puts it: “It is not that men have fewer opportunities. It is that they are not taking them.”

More men are leading haphazard and lonely lives. Roughly 15 percent of men say they have no close friends, up from 3 percent in 1990. One in

crisis — a crisis that would have a strong international dimension. For one thing, the fact that central banks are raising interest rates almost everywhere creates the danger of destructive synergy.

Also, Fed tightening has led to a large rise in the value of the dol lar — a currency that still plays a special role in the world economy. And because of that role, a rising dollar often creates financial prob lems for other nations, which can blow back on the United States.

Do we know for sure that the Fed is braking too hard? No. The current economic situation is full of uncertainty, and any policy deci sion involves making trade-offs among various risks. What we can say is that the risk that the Fed is moving too slowly to contain infla tion has declined, while the risk that high interest rates will cause severe economic damage has gone up — a lot.

Right now the Fed seems set to pursue further big rate hikes in the coming months. I would urge it to look hard at what’s happening and think twice.

By Paul Krugman © 2022 The New York Times

five fathers doesn’t live with his children. In 2014, more young men were living with their parents than with a wife or partner. Apparently even many who are married are not ideal mates. Wives are twice as likely to initiate divorces as husbands.

I come away with the impression that many men are like what Dean Acheson said about Britain after World War II. They have lost an empire but not yet found a role. Many men have an obsolete ideal: Being a man means being the main breadwinner for your family. Then they can’t meet that ideal. Demoralization follows.

Ambition doesn’t just hap pen; it has to be fired up. The culture is still searching for a modern masculine ideal. It is not instilling in many boys the nurturing and emotional skills that are so desperately impor tant today. A system that labels more than one-fifth of all boys as developmentally disabled is not instilling in them a sense of confidence and competence.

Masculinity has gone hay wire. Reverting to pseudomacho cartoons like Donald Trump and Josh Hawley doesn’t help.

By David Brooks© 2022 The New York Times

Supreme Court Majority Joins Assault on Democracy

We are in the midst of one of the most dangerous periods in our nation’s history. It calls for all lovers of democracy to step up with a level of engagement heretofore not known to most.

The next month will be critical, as voting is already underway for crucial midterm elections that culminate on Election Day, Nov. 8, barely a month away.

There are sinister machinations of anti-democratic forces now in play at all levels here and abroad, and the only way they can be thwarted is by an unprecedented effort to get out the vote, an option we still have, but maybe not for that much longer.

Our enemy operates at all levels. What they all share in common is a hatred of democracy, and they are in an activist mode to undo our democracy as soon as possible. It is a devil’s shared compact from Putin to Xi to the pro-Trump elements in domestic politics from school boards to senators to media influencers.

It includes a roadmap for subverting many of the institutions we have taken for granted in our elections until the last year or so. Trump’s effort to cheat and lie about the 2020 election outcome and the subsequent attempted cancellation of the result with a mass riot at the Capitol January 6, 2021, are now manifesting a full court press around the U.S. of efforts to intimidate, lie and seek ploys to undermine how election outcomes are handled.

Consider what kind of shape we’d be in now if Trump had remained in the White House after losing the popular vote by over seven million in November 2020. Not only would that wide margin in favor of Joe Biden have been canceled out, disenfranchising every American voter, no matter who he or she voted for, but Trump staying in office would have paved the way for Putin to walk into Ukraine effectively unchallenged.

A Trump win would have set in motion an expansionist escalation of Russia by Putin, driven by a horridly racist and anti-democratic na-

tional ideology he’s embraced from his principal “spiritual advisor,” the arch-feudal, western and democracy-hating Alexander Dugin. All of western Europe would have been in immediate peril and engaged in feverish efforts to allay more Russian aggression, while from the U.S. would have come nothing, no resistance but a new “America First” dogma that would have left Europe alone and completely vulnerable.

It was only when it appeared clear that Trump would not hold onto power here that Putin was compelled to go with “Plan B,” a direct invasion of Ukraine without the U.S. presidency in his pocket. So now he has been faced by the West, overall, with a fierce resistance that is now moving to slap him with a monumental defeat.

Still, on the U.S. side, the fight is far from over. Just as it was an amazing mobilization of the freedom-loving American people in 2020 that threw the monkey wrench in the Putin/Trump plan, so it is up to us again this fall to push this menace back even further, to deny it any substantial access to the corridors of power in this country.

The anti-democrats in the U.S., aka Trumpians, hope to get their way with a series of critical election victories that will enable them to block legitimate voting results going forward. They hope to use what will be more heinous rulings by the Trumpian U.S. Supreme Court coming up in its session to give state legislators the power to overturn voting results and to expand on the anti-Roe V. Wade decision of last summer to not only hamstring every woman in the nation, but also those seeking to utilize the nation’s history of expanding support for human rights.

This Supreme Court will decimate laws protecting minorities, from Dreamers to LGBTQ persons, and further enfranchise those violent dogs of tyranny from within our very midst.

Putin’s Red Square speech earlier this week, in the context of his fantasy-driven fake annexation of four Ukraine territories, dripped with vile hatred for the kind of diversity that is the hallmark of our democracy, sadly akin to what so many Trumpians also contend here.

This is one big enemy that we are faced with, and we will defeat it with our mobilization to get out our votes for the next six weeks.

What Putin’s ‘Outcrazy Your Opponent’ Strategy Means for the World

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With his annexation of parts of Ukraine on Friday, Vladimir Putin has set in motion forces that are turning Russia into a giant North Korea. It will be a paranoid, angry, isolated state, but unlike North Korea, the Russian version will be spread over 11 time zones — from the Arctic Sea to the Black Sea and from the edge of free Europe to the edge of Alaska — with thousands of nuclear warheads.

I have known a Russia that was strong, menacing, but stable — called the Soviet Union.

I have known a Russia that was hopeful, potentially transitioning to democracy under Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin and even the younger Putin. I have known a Russia that was a “bad boy” under an older Putin, hacking America, poisoning opposition figures, but still a stable, reliable oil exporter and occasional security partner with the U.S. when we needed Moscow’s help in a pinch.

But none of us have ever known the Russia that a now

desperate, back-against-the-wall Putin seems hellbent on delivering — a pariah Russia, a big, humiliated Russia, a Russia that has sent many of its most talented engineers, programmers and scientists fleeing through any exit they can find. This would be a Russia that has already lost so many trading partners that it can survive only as an oil and natural gas colony of China, a Russia that is a failed state, spewing out instability from every pore.

Such a Russia would not be just a geopolitical threat. It would be a human tragedy of mammoth proportions. Putin’s North Koreanization of Russia is turning a country that once gave the world some of its most renowned authors, composers, musicians and scientists into a nation more adept at making potato chips than microchips, more famous for its poisoned underwear than its haute couture, and more focused on unlocking its underground reservoirs of gas and oil than on its aboveground reservoirs of human genius and creativity. The whole world is diminished by Putin’s diminishing of Russia.

But with Friday’s annexation, it’s hard to see any other outcome as long as Putin is in power. Why? Game theorist Thomas Schelling famously suggested that if you are playing

chicken with another driver, the best way to win — the best way to get the other driver to swerve out of the way first — is if before the game starts you very conspicuously unscrew your steering wheel and throw it out the window. Message to the other driver: I’d love to get out of the way, but I can’t control my car anymore. You better swerve!

Trying to always “outcrazy” your opponent is a North Korean specialty. Now, Putin has adopted it, announcing with great fanfare that Russia is annexing four Ukrainian regions: Luhansk and Donetsk, the two Russianbacked regions where pro-Putin forces have been fighting Kyiv since 2014, and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which have been occupied since shortly after Putin’s invasion in February. In a grand hall of the Kremlin, Putin declared Friday that the residents of these four regions would become Russia’s citizens forever.

What is Putin up to? One can only speculate. Start with his domestic politics. Putin’s base is not the students at Moscow State University. His base is the right-wing nationalists, who have grown increasingly angry at Russia’s military humiliation in Ukraine.

To hold their support, Putin may have felt the need to show that, with his reserve call-up and annexation, he is fighting a real war for Mother Russia, not just a vague special military operation.

However, this could also be Putin trying to maneuver a favorable negotiated settlement. I would not

A Penny for Your Thoughts News of Greater Falls Church

By Supervisor Penny Gross

Less than a week after Fairfax County’s launch of “Take A Moment,” a county wide campaign to eliminate traffic-related deaths and injuries, a hit-and-run driver killed an elderly woman who was crossing Annandale Road in downtown Annandale. The driver did not stop, leaving the victim abandoned in a heap in the middle of the road. Few witnesses were in the vicinity on Sunday night, so the Crash Reconstruction Unit will have a more difficult job to find the driver.

This accident was near the corner where several pedestrians were hit by a distracted driver in May, and down the block from another pedestrian fatality on Maple Place last year. In the May accident, longtime Annandale resident and volunteer Eileen Garnett died of her massive injuries, and at least one injured county employee still is in treatment for her severe injuries. Sadly, vehicle-pedestrian crashes are on the rise. Between 2017 and 2020, 42 percent of fatal crashes in Fairfax County involved a pedestrian, and a third of those crashes occurred between 3 and 7 p.m.

The “Take A Moment” campaign is simple – drivers approaching intersections need to take a moment, be aware of their surroundings, and make eye contact with each other, especially pedestrians, before turning their vehicles. The Annandale Road/Maple Place intersection is espe cially tricky. The traffic signal allows left turns on the green arrow, but also allows pedestrian crossings. It is not unusual for a pedestrian to enter the crosswalk about the same time the driver has decided to make a turn. If neither person took a moment to be aware of their surroundings, both might end up having the worst day of

their lives. Even Chairman Jeff McKay had a close call, as he related that he nar rowly avoided being hit by a car turning right while he was jogging near his home. His point was clear – taking a moment could make all the difference.

The seasons are changing. Darkness falls earlier these days, so Take A Moment to put your vehicle headlights on at dusk (have you noticed how many drivers fail to do that?), be aware of your surroundings, and allow extra time for commuting. Slow down for winter weather – this week’s remnants of Hurricane Ian have made for slick roads and streaked windshields, and the weather is bound to get worse. Drivers should stop for pedestrians trying to cross the road, whether in a crosswalk or not. Don’t text and drive. Slow down in school zones and in neighborhoods. The most numerous complaints to my office are about speeding on residential streets; the many speed humps in Mason District reflect the community’s effort to slow traffic. If you are a pedestrian, wear high visibility clothing or equipment when out at night. Thank you to the cyclists who use pedal power for lights front and rear. You can’t miss them! Use your phone’s flash light when walking in the dark. It helps increase your vision and visibility.

It only takes a moment to make a tragic mistake when driving, cycling, or walk ing. And it only takes a moment to “Take A Moment,” and arrive safely at your destination.

 Penny Gross is the Mason District Supervisor, in the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She may be emailed at mason@ fairfaxcounty.gov.

of Falls Church

Trespass, Wilson Blvd, September 26, 12:38 PM, a male, 51, of Ft. Belvoir, VA, was issued a summons for Trespass.

Larceny from Building, W Broad St, September 27, 12:20 PM, unknown suspect took items of value and left the store without paying. Suspect described as a black male wearing a white “Adidas” shirt, black pants and white shoes.

Trespass, Wilson Blvd, September 27, 4:08 PM, a male, 51, of Ft. Belvoir, VA, was

issued a summons for Trespass. Drug/Narcotic Violation, Roosevelt Blvd, September 28, 9:18 AM, a female, 34, of Annandale, VA, was arrested for Felony Possession of Methamphetamine.

Larceny, Wilson Blvd, September 30, 5:30 PM, two unknown suspects driving a blue Ford Explorer, distracted the vic tim and substituted fake jewelry for real. Suspects described as: Middle Eastern male, 45-50 YOA, 5’9”, 180 lbs., beard, wearing a gray jacket and blue jeans. Middle Eastern female, 42-45 YOA, 5’2”, 200 lbs., and wearing a white scarf around her head.

We are a little more than a month out from the mid-term Election Day of November 8. This is a critical election cycle with significant consequences for our nation hanging in the balance. Close to home in less than a year, Virginians have seen the great reveal of the Republican Agenda. It is predicated on perpetuating social and cultural wars while fielding candidates to unwind state law that conflicts with their power grab scheme. We are witnessing how well that is working with a stacked Supreme Court and a steady effort to capture state government houses with candidates championing the big lie.

Governor Youngkin has strategi cally positioned himself as a potential national candidate at the expense of Virginians – assaiing children, women, the environment, public and higher education. His pathway to the future is to rewind legislation and/or circumvent the intent of duly elected law makers in the General Assembly. The continuous berating of previous administrations reflects a “back(ward) to the future” vision for the Commonwealth.

Unabashed, Governor Youngkin is traveling the country in support of extreme candidates who align with the most hard right conservative Republicans. His magnetic attraction to support these throwback candidates under the auspices of the “Great Divider “ is a deliberate courting. Is there any more compelling reason to cast your vote for our proven Democratic leaders in the region?

Recently, Attorney General Myares formed an Election Integrity Unit in the office of the Attorney General. The mis sion of this 20 person unit is to ensure “purity and integrity” of the electoral process in the Commonwealth. All this manpower and funding dedicated to casting doubt on Virginia’s elections sets the stage for future elections even before those ballots are printed. Don’t you find it a little disingenuous there is not a single shred of evidence of voter fraud in VA and the Republican ticket did not contest their victories in 2021?

During the 2020 and 2021 General Assembly, we passed legislation that makes it easierfor citizens to vote. I repeat, easier — not less secure. The Commonwealth expanded no-excuse mail absentee voting, early in-person voting, and passed the Voting Rights Act of Virginia, which is designed to prevent voter discrimination by local election officials. It begs the question why Republicans fear the power of vot ers exercising their most fundamental right in a democracy. Mind you, many Americans made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that right.

Make a plan to ensure our demo cratic process. Early voting in the Commonwealth began September 23 and will continue through Saturday, November 5. Check on the status of your voter registration – including change of address. Voter registration cards are being sent to individuals not ing precincts and locations for in person voting on election day.

Our region is represented by some of the most thoughtful and compas sionate individuals. Don Beyer, Gerry Connolly and Jennifer Wexton have proven to be outstanding leaders. The choice is clear. Democrats look for solutions to problems, putting constit uents and the nation first. By contrast, the Republican Party continues its mis sion to detract, distract and dismantle the progress we have made since the President has taken office.

Riding the “rewind wave,” the Youngkin Administration has announced model education policies calling for the public outing of trans gender students amongst other strident reversals from current policy. Our schools should be “safe zones” for students and the environment where they can thrive. Despite discrimi nation, potential physical harm and mental health issues, his agenda item is flat out wrong, misguided and bigoted. Thousands of people have posted their thoughts during this 30 day comment period.

The recent hurricanes are sharp reminders of potential flooding along Virginia’s coast and in low lying com munities. In 2020 legislation was passed authorizing Virginia to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. The law was intended to aggressively reduced carbon emissions and provided options to utilities to meet those goals. One of the benefits of our participation includes millions of dollars that should be used to reduce flooding in our streets and lower energy costs. Pull back the curtain and you will see this Governor looking for ways to circumvent the law at the same time he is promising relief to flooded communities. Our Commonwealth cannot afford to live in the past when it is facing the chal lenges of the present especially aging infrastructure indifferent to realities of climate change.

We certainly have our work cut out for us during the 2023 General Assembly. Rest assured I will continue to fight for Virginia’s future based on lessons from the past.

Senator Dick Saslaw’s Richmond Report  Senator Saslaw represents the 35th District in the Virginia State Senate. He may be emailed at district35@senate.vir ginia.gov.

Final day of registration is Monday October 17 for the November 8, 2022 General Election. Sample Ballots can be found online: http:// www.fallschurchva.gov/vote

All citizens, including those who are currently 17 years old, who will turn 18 years old by the November 8, 2022 General Election are eligible to register and vote.

Online Voter Registration and early/absentee ballot by mail applications: http://www.vote. virginia.gov/

Deadline for applications submitted online via the Virginia Department of Election website is 11:59 pm on October 17, 2022. Only ap plicants with a DMV ID like a driver’s license can submit an application electronically and these applications may also be untimely if missing material information. Please note: those applications filled out online that are required to be printed and delivered to the registrar should be treated as regular mailed in applications and need to be postmarked by October 17, 2022, to meet the deadline. The 5:00 p.m. deadline on October 17, 2022, applies if any of these are submitted in-person at the registrar’s office.

The deadline for mailed in applications re mains that they be postmarked by October 17, 2022.

Early/Absentee Voting for the City of Falls Church

In-Person early voting began in September at our office at City Hall, 300 Park Ave, and will continue through Saturday, November 5, 2022. During that time, residents wishing to vote early can do so 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday through Friday. We are closed on October 10 for the holiday. We are also open the following additional hours.

Saturday, October 29th: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, October 30th: Noon to 3 p.m. Wednesday, November 2nd: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, November 5th: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Vote By Mail: The deadline for an absentee ballot by mail is Friday, October 28th but we don’t recommend that you wait that long.

Election Day Reminders for the City of Falls Church Residents are reminded that on Election Day, street parking is available on both sides of Little Falls Street by the Community Center and on Oak, Seaton, Fellows, Parker, Timber, and Jackson near Oak Street Elementary School (formerly Thomas Jefferson Elementary School). Additional details, including a voter ward map, can be found online at www.fallsch urchva.gov/Vote. Contact the Registrar’s office at 703-248-5085 (TTY 711) or vote@ fallschurchva.gov for more information.

David B. Bjerke, MPP, CERA, VREO Director of Elections & General Registrar of Voters, City of Falls Church Office of Voter Registra tion & Elections 300 Park Ave., Room 206C , Falls Church, VA 22046 Office: 703-248-5085; Fax: 703-248-5204 vote@fallschurchva.gov; http://www.fallschurchva.gov/vote

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CITY COUNCIL

CITY OF FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

The following was heard at the April 25, 2022 City Council meeting. A public hearing and final City Council action is scheduled for Monday,

October 24, 2022 at 7:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard. (TR22-17) RESOLUTION TO GRANT A SPECIAL EXCEPTION SITE PLAN (SEC. 48-488.B(3)) FOR A MIXED-USE BUILDING WITH A BUILDING HEIGHT UP TO FIFTEEN (15) STORIES ON APPROXIMATELY 0.76 ACRES OF LAND FOR THE PROPOSED SENIOR HOUSING BUILDING OF THE WEST FALLS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT, LOCATED AT 7124 LEESBURG PIKE (PORTION OF REAL PROPERTY CODE NUMBER 51-221-010) ON APPLICA TION BY TC MIDATLANTIC DEVELOPMENT V, INC.

All public hearings will be held in the Council Chambers, 300 Park Avenue, Falls Church, Virginia. Remote participation information at www.fallschurchva.gov/publiccomment. Com ments may also be sent to cityclerk@fallsch urchva.gov. For copies of legislation, contact the City Clerk’s office at (703-248-5014) or cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov or visit www. fallschurchva.gov/councilmeetings. The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703-248-5014 (TTY 711).

CELESTE HEATH, CITY CLERK

Volunteers who live in the City of Falls Church are needed to serve on the boards and commissions listed below. Contact the City Clerk’s Office (703-248-5014, cityclerk@ fallschurchva.gov, or www.fallschurchva.gov/ BC) for an application form or more informa tion. Positions advertised for more than one month may be filled during each subsequent month.

Architectural Advisory Board Arts & Humanities Council of Falls Church Aurora House Citizens’ Advisory Committee Board of Equalization Board of Zoning Appeals (Alternate) City Employee Review Board Economic Development Authority Environmental Sustainability Council Historic Architectural Review Board Historical Commission Housing Commission Human Services Advisory Council Planning Commission Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Towing Advisory Board

Regional Boards/Commissions Health Systems Agency of Northern Virginia Long Term Care Coordinating Council Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Com mission Virginia Career Works Northern Region Ad Hoc Committee Sold Waste Management Plan Advisory Committee: This Committee will advise the City Council in the development of the City’s 20-year Solid Waste Management Plan.

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Falls Church City Public Schools have announced the passing of faculty member Torey Fay. Torey Marie Fay passed away at the age of 40 on her birthday on September 22, 2022. She was born in Stewart, Florida on September 22, 1982.

In a recent statement, Falls Church City Public Schools stated: “The Falls Church City community continues to grieve the loss of Torey Fay, and we know her family is very appreciative of all the kindness shared.”

Ms. Fay’s funeral will be at St. Mary’s Church in Dansville, New York on October 8th at 11:00 a.m. Following the service will be a burial at Holy Cross Cemetery, followed by a wake. There is a viewing the day before (October 7th) at Hindle’s Funeral Home at 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

“Planning has begun for a local event for Ms. Fay. Coordination with the family is ongoing, and we will share more information as soon as it is available. The family has requested donations in Ms. Fay’s honor to

the C.U.R.E Childhood Cancer Association. We know that some are interested in donations to a scholarship fund, and we are working with our partners at the Falls Church Education Foundation to shape this.”

BAIA IS A 15 YEAR OLD BRITTANY AND GUS is a 6 month old Schnoodle, who tries very hard to get his older sister to play with him. Here are the two of them taking a stroll around the block in FCC.

Putin’s Actions and The Consequences

be surprised if he soon announces his willingness for a cease-fire — and a willingness to repair pipelines and resume gas shipments to any country ready to recognize Russia’s annexation.

Putin could then claim to his nationalist base that he got something for his war, even if it was hugely expensive, and now he’s content to stop. There is just one problem: Putin does not actually control all the territory he is annexing.

That means he can’t settle for any deal unless and until he’s driven the Ukrainians out of all the territory he now claims; oth erwise he would be surrendering what he just made into sovereign Russian territory. This could be a very ominous development. Putin’s battered army does not seem capable of seizing more territory and, in fact, seems to be losing more by the day.

By claiming territory that he doesn’t fully control, I fear Putin is painting himself into a corner that he might one day feel he can escape only with a nuclear weapon.

In any event, Putin seems to be daring Kyiv and its West ern allies to keep the war go ing into winter — when natural gas supplies in Europe will be constrained and prices could be astronomical — to recover terri tories, some of which his Ukrai nian proxies have had under Russia’s influence since 2014.

Will Ukraine and the West swerve? Will they plug their noses and do a dirty deal with Putin to stop his filthy war? Or will Ukraine and the West take him on, head-on, by insist ing that Putin get no territorial achievement out of this war, so we uphold the principle of the inadmissibility of seizing terri tory by force?

Do not be fooled: There will be pressure within Europe to swerve and accept such a Putin offer. That is surely Putin’s aim — to divide the Western alliance and walk away with a face-sav ing “victory.”

But there is another shortterm risk for Putin. If the West doesn’t swerve, doesn’t opt for a deal with him, but instead dou bles down with more arms and financial aid for Ukraine, there is a chance that Putin’s army will collapse.

That is unpredictable. But here is what is totally predict

able: A dynamic is now in place that will push Putin’s Russia even more toward the North Ko rea model. It starts with Putin’s decision to cut off most natural gas supplies to Western Europe.

There is only one cardinal sin in the energy business: Never, ever, ever make yourself an un reliable supplier. No one will ever trust you again. Putin has made himself an unreliable sup plier to some of his oldest and best customers, starting with Germany and much of the Eu ropean Union. They are all now looking for alternative, longterm supplies of natural gas and building more renewable power.

It will take two to three years for the new pipeline networks coming from the Eastern Medi terranean and liquefied natural gas coming from the United States and North Africa to be gin to sustainably replace Rus sian gas at scale. But when that happens, and when world natu ral gas supplies increase gener ally to compensate for the loss of Russia’s gas — and as more renewables come online — Pu tin could face a real economic challenge. His old customers may still buy some energy from Russia, but they will never rely

so totally on Russia again. And China will squeeze him for deep discounts.

In short, Putin is eroding the biggest source — maybe his only source — of sustainable long-term income. At the same time, his illegal annexation of regions of Ukraine guarantees that the Western sanctions on Russia will stay in place, or even accelerate, which will only accelerate Russia’s migration to failed-state status, as more and more Russians with globally marketable skills surely leave.

I celebrate none of this. This is a time for Western leaders to be both tough and smart. They need to know when to swerve and when to make the other guy swerve, and when to leave some dignity out there for the other driver, even if he is behaving with utter disregard for anyone else. It may be that Putin has left us no choice but to learn to live with a Russian North Korea — at least as long as he is in charge. If that is the case, we’ll just have to make the best of it, but the best of it will be a much more unstable world.

By T homas L. F riedman © 2022 The New York Times

Faces of Falls Church