Falls Church News-Press 12-7-2023

December 7 - 13, 2023

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

Fou n d e d 1991 • V ol. XXXIII No. 43

The City of Falls Church’s Independent, Locally-Owned Newspaper of Record, Serving N. Virginia

F.C. Council & School Board Get Positive Fiscal News

‘TIS THE SEASON INDEED

Annual Budget Season Kick Off at Joint Meeting Monday

by Nicholas F. Benton

Falls Church News-Press

As the seven members each of the Falls Church City Council and the FCCPS School Board came together for their annual early December joint meeting as a prelude to the coming year’s budget cycle, this year the news of The Little City’s remarkable economic success dominated the discussions.

In summary, the intense economic growth the city is now enjoying, with construction of large scale projects well underway in numerous locations inside the city’s 2.2 square miles, has brought the forecast of its tax revenue generation far ahead of its regional rivals.

For example, while Falls Church is expected to enjoy a whopping 5.9 percent growth in tax revenues, the City of Alexandria is expected to come in a far more modest 2.4 percent growth, and Fairfax County at at an even slower 1.7 percent.

Three major projects currently under construction in Falls Church are combining to offer an estimated $2.1 million in net tax revenue in the coming year, and that’s $2.1 million that residential home owners will not have to pay.

The new construction includes the massive 10-acre West Falls complex inclusive of a medical building, advertising itself with big signs along Route 7 that will be completed by next spring, a hotel due next summer,

Continued on Page 3

FUTURE THEATER STARS who provided holiday cheer at the annual telethon of the Creative Cauldron at its stage Monday night helped boost fundraising for the Cauldron to over $27,000, it has been reported. The Cauldron’s fundraising drive is to enable a move into new digs in the Insight project now under construction at Broad and Washington. (News-Press Photo: Brian Reach)

F.C. Schools’ & Employees’ Tentative Accord

by Nicholas F. Benton

Falls Church News-Press

It was in the context of unofficial reports that the Falls Church City Public Schools, through their School Board, and the system’s employee bargaining organization reached a tentative agreement, subject to ratification by a vote of the employees, in their first ever collective bargaining negotiation.

While the parameters of all that will not be made public until the entire process has worked its way through, probably not

until mid-January at the earliest, the mood around the schools was upbeat as the School Board and Superintendent Dr. Peter Noonan met with the F.C. City Council Monday to share its needs for the upcoming Fiscal Year 2025 that begins next summer.

In a world where the competition for quality teachers and staff at all levels is particularly acute, the fact that employees and management of the Falls Church system, which is the largest employer in Falls Church, occurred at all, but

moreover that the prospect of a happy outcome exists, helped create a constructive context for this week’s joint meeting.

At this coming Monday’s City Council meeting, the Council will take the input from this last Monday’s joint meeting to present the Schools and all the divisions of the City’s operations and set them all against the coming year’s tax revenue projections also presented last week (see story elsewhere this edition) and from that heady stew announce “guidance” for all concerning how much they

can be expected to get and therefore to ask for.

While this is just the start of a budget process that won’t conclude until next May, coming out of the gate it is doubtful that the Schools can expect to get the 8.6 percent ($4.3 million) increase that Noonan concluded Monday the Schools will need for the coming year.

The components of the sought after increase break down to $600,000 for expected enrollment growth (it is expected that

Continued on Page 4

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NEWS BRIEFS

PAGE 2 | DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Beyer Announces Plans to Run for Another Term

$4 Billion in New Rails In Virginia Coming in 2024

U.S. Rep. Donald S. Beyer Jr. told the NewsPress Tuesday that he was slated to announce his plans to run for another term in the U.S. Congress at a meeting of the Arlington Democratic Committee last night. Beyer is currently serving his fifth term as the U.S. congressman from the 8th District of Virginia that includes Falls Church.

Virginia will break ground on several longawaited rail construction projects next year, at an estimated cost near $4 billion. Virginia’s investment in its passenger rail infrastructure aims to reduce chronic traffic, decrease its carbon footprint and catch up to states with a competitive state-run passenger rail service, such as New York and Illinois. The new focus on investment comes after decades of neglect. (Capital News Service)

News-Press Holiday Party Is “Cash Bar’ Next Thursday The annual holiday party hosted by the NewsPress will be a “cash bar” and dining event at the newly renovated Falls restaurant at 370 W. Broad starting at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15.

All friends of the News-Press are invited to share some holiday cheer with fellow FCNP friends and the News-Press staff.

Arrest Made in Rape Case At Quarry Inn A Falls Church man has been arrested in connection to a sexual assault at the Quarry Inn Motel (7179 Lee Highway) in September.

Erick Vladamir Chacon Martinez, 23, was taken into custody this Tuesday after detectives obtained warrants charging him with raping a woman at the motel adjacent Falls Church on Sept. 16, the Fairfax County Police Department announced yesterday.

Police say that Chacon Martinez arranged to meet the victim in a motel room at 6:40 p.m.

“When she opened the door, the suspect displayed a knife and threatened the victim,” the FCPD said. “The suspect then sexually assaulted her. The victim was able to escape the room and call 911.”

Fatal Overdose Rates Remain Elevated in Virginia Fatal overdose rates remain high in Virginia, even as the state begins to spread opioid settlement money to state and local agencies to help tackle the epidemic. Death from drug overdoses, opioids and fentanyl in particular, has remained dominant as the main method of unnatural death in Virginia since 2013. (Capital News Service)

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The rollout will unfold in phases, with less sophisticated versions of Gemini called “Nano” and “Pro” being immediately incorporated into Google’s AI-powered chatbot Bard and its Pixel 8 Pro smartphone.

Feds Unseal 8 Indictments For Drug trafficking Eight indictments were unsealed in the District of Columbia, Southern District of California, Central District of California, and Northern District of Illinois charging 60 Mexican and foreign nationals with international heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, and marijuana trafficking.

The unsealing of the indictments comes at the same time that the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against 12 of the defendants linked to the Beltran Leyva Organization (BLO).

“The eight indictments unsealed Tuesday charging 60 defendants are the latest installments in the Justice Department’s relentless pursuit of drug trafficking organizations that smuggle illicit narcotics into the United States,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Together with our partners — across the U.S. government and around the world — we will use every tool at our disposal and target every link in the supply chain to dismantle the organizations that flood our communities with deadly narcotics.”

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DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023 | PAGE 3

Strong Economic #’s Presented at Council Joint Meeting

Continued from Page 1

and multi-family and condominium residences due by late next fall.

Then there is an Insight project at the corner of Broad and Washington, right in the center of downtown, that will be anchored by a massive 60,000 square foot Whole Foods flagship store under some 300 apartments, and a new home for the City’s premiere homegrown theater group, Creative Cauldron. The apartments will begin to be available next spring, and the Whole Foods by next fall.

Then there is Founders Row II, across the intersection at West Broad and West Street from its sister already functioning with top notch restaurants, senior living and apartment homes in advance of an expected multi-screen motion picture theater on site.

Those account for the $2.1 million in new revenue projected for the coming fiscal year, as participants in the joint meeting were told Monday night.

Overall, according to the City’s Chief Financial Officer Kiran Bawa in her presentation Monday, real estate taxes can expect to rise by 5.9 percent, all other taxes by 12.7 percent (largely due to whopping meals tax increases), such that, of the total $7.5 million increase in tax revenues, new construction accounts for $2.1 million.

The meals tax component is already

shooting off the charts like a rocket, with the coming fiscal year total expected to go 27 percent higher than the current year, with a three-year average rising by 19 percent annually (compared to a five year pre-Covid average of 6.9 percent). Sales and business gross receipts taxes, owing to the new projects boom, are also proceeding skyward, upward by 6.1 percent in sales tax revenues, and by 11 percent for business (BPOL) taxes.

However, the $7.5 million in new revenue appears at this point to be offset by more than $10 million in new expenditures.

Schools Superintendent Dr. Peter Noonan made a lengthy presentation Monday whose bottom line is that the schools will be needing an 8.6 percent funds increase (see story, elsewhere this edition).

While attention was not paid Monday on anything other than just generalities about how to bridge that gap, it begins to get serious at the Council’s next business meeting this Monday when official “guidance” will be provided to both the schools and the City operations side on how much growth in the expense side of things can be tolerated.

That discussion will include whether or not the real estate tax rate should be lowered, raised or kept the same, and that issue will come to the foreground as the various aspects of the City’s operations weigh in

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between next Monday’s Council “guidance” and next May 13 when the Council will formally adopt the FY25 budget inclusive of schools funding and any tax rate modifications.

So, even as new tax revenues are anticipated to rise by a far greater amount than what is expected elsewhere in this region, the pressure to meet the City’s and schools’ needs will still be there big time.

Two additional factors include $571,000 in tax revenues expected from the West End project, not included in the numbers

for now, on the plus side. That is offset by the additional $1-$2 million WMATA is expected to hit The Little City up for, to make ends meet for its public transit system of buses and Metrorail services.

After the Council’s budget guidance is presented next Monday, there will a hiatus until Superintendent Noonan submits his budget proposal to the School Board on January 9, which will result in the board’s official ask of the Council on February 27, town meetings and public hearings and the adoption of the new budget May 13.

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PAGE 4 | DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

As Budget Season Begins, F.C. Schools to Need 8% More

Continued from Page 1

there will be 85 more students in the system next fall than this year requiring six new teachers and two paraprofessionals), a “step” increase and cost of living adjustment for teachers and other employees costing $2.5 million (driven by the inflation rate), and increased health care insurance costs of $450,000.

Added contract work costs bring the total to the $4.3 million Noonan said the schools will need.

Noonan stressed that “teacher retention” in the face of the startling national shortage is a top priority for the system, and that in addition to the “step” and COLA increases being asked for, the ability of the Falls Church system to add the option of health care coverage under Kaiser are vital incentives to both keep and attract the best teachers, he said. “There is a direct correlation between compensation levels and the F.C. system’s highest results in the state,” he said.

Noonan said “the secret sauce” most responsible for the success of the school system has been its relationship to the Falls Church community.That has resulted in the

consistent support for the schools as reflected in numerous bond referenda the citizens have passed by wide margins.

This has made the FCCPS “the very best IB division in the U.S. and probably in the world,” he stated.

In the current year, and coming out of Covid, there are 85 more students in the system than projected and that includes an increase to 37 percent of students who qualify for free and reduced lunches.

Next year, it is expected another 85 students will join the system and about 100 new students a year after that. But the system has planned for that kind of growth, and will be able to accommodate it with all the new construction and expansion efforts. “There is plenty of room to grow,” Noonan said. As of next fall, it is anticipated there will be 2,719 students in the entire system.

Maintaining class sizes and living up to the challenges of being the best IB system in the U.S. are the baseline priorities, Noonan stressed.

Falls Church City Manager Wyatt Shields chimed in that “this has been one of the more dynamic

years for revenue forecasting” due to the number of variables impacting the projections, such as housing and retail growth and an economic slowdown.

Terry Clower and Keith Waters, of the Fuller Institute at George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis, noted that demand is now far outstripping supply in housing in the City and while they project that there could easily be 3,200 students in the school system by 2050, there will be a great challenge to provide enough housing where young families can effort to raise families.

Still, they said, Falls Church does not face the kind of problems that exist for its Arlington and Fairfax neighbors with their gluts in office spaces.

At the opening of the meeting Monday, outgoing F.C. Council members Mayor David Tarter and Phil Duncan were given special recognition along with departing School Board chair Laura Downs.

Among those present for Monday’s joint meeting were new Council members-elect Erin Flynn and Justine Underhill.

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Becoming Feminists To Defeat Trump Nicholas F. Benton FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

In an oversized four-page essay in last Sunday’s Washington Post, columnist Robert Kagan’s headline is a dire warning: “A Trump Dictatorship is Increasingly Inevitable. We Should Stop Pretending.”

We can only hope that it will not wind up being cited in future history books as a signal inflection point on the road to the end of any even residual hints of democracy in the U.S. that will issue in with a second Trump term.

Yes, it is frighteningly close at hand, something that might be sewn up as early as the Super Tuesday primaries next March.

Kagan writes, “Can Trump win (the presidential) election? The answer unless something radical and unforeseen happens is: Of course he can… If Trump does win the election, he will immediately become the most powerful person ever to hold that office. Not only will he wield the awesome powers of the American executive… but he will do so with the fewest constraints of any president, fewer even than in his own first term.”

He then asks, “How will Americans respond to the first signs of a regime of political persecution? Will they rise up in outrage?

Don’t count on it.”

His essay evoked in this writer’s mind the May 2016 essay in the New York Times by Frank Rich, in the months following Trump’s election, on how Roy Cohn was “the original Donald Trump” who, as a character in Tony Kuschner’s “Angels in America” described him, was “The polestar of human evil…The worst human being who ever lived…the most evil, twisted, vicious bastard ever to snort coke at Studio 54.”

Rich described “the uncanny overlap” between the figures of Cohn and Trump, who operated like a tandem for the ages in New York until AIDS caught up with Cohn. Rich noted that Cohn had survived, as Trump now is, “with indictments and scandals that included accusations of multiple bank and securities law violations, perennial tax evasion, bribery,

extortion and theft.” Rich added, “Trump also flourished for decades despite being a shameless lawbreaker, tax evader, liar, racist, bankruptcy aficionado, and hypocrite notorious for his mob connections, transactional sexual promiscuity, and utter disregard for rules, scruples and morals.”

And Trump has triumphed “despite having all of Cohn’s debits, wartime draft dodging included, but none of his assets – legal cunning, erudition, a sense of humor, brainpower, and loyalty.”

Despite all this well documented deceit and evil, Trump now all but has a lock on the GOP nomination and a clear shot to win the presidential election next year. Notifying the public about what a despicable person Trump is obviously has no effect on his polling chances.

It has become clear that morality, either personal or political, plays no role in how Wall Street, anarcho-populist and other elements of his support base react.

They feel they have a winner for helping to advance their own greed or rage against the “establishment” forces they perceive themselves as arrayed against.

So, it does little good to further “expose” Trump at this point, to hyperventilate over his evil ways or to rail against him.

Where I take issue with the Kagan essay is where it comes to taking action in the face of all this.

My optimism and hope lie in the capacity of the general American public, and in particular women, to do the right thing, and there’s no single issue where this is manifested greater than that of women’s control of their own bodies.

Lacking in the commentaries about our current state of affairs, including the one by Kagan, is the potentially explosive feminist angle. The failing of the typical male point of view is that it sees the abortion rights issue as just that: an issue. On the contrary, it is a matter of individual rights as personal and incredibly relevant and immediate as anything impacting the lives of all women.

It is the impassioned and fighting spirit of women that will prevail in this trying time to stand up and overthrow the heinous excesses of Trump and all he represents.

The campaign narratives of all opponents of Trump need to do a better job of identifying and reflecting this. We defeat Trump best by all becoming feminists.

CO MME NT

DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023 | PAGE 5

CTE Conference Focuses on Football

by Nicholas F. Benton

Two of the most important pioneers in the identification and ongoing research into the terrible impacts of repeated blows to the head in contact sports opened the annual conference on the subject held at Boston University last Thursday. Dr. Ann McKee and Dr. Bob Stern made powerful presentations on the state of the research that morning. The reports add up to a scathing indictment of the impact of tackle football at all ages, and of the stonewalling by the National Football League in the face of ongoing efforts by Boston University’s CTE Center, hosts of the two-day conference, to learn and publicize more about it.

CTE, short for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, has been identified by the work of Dr. McKee and Dr. Stern in the last decade as a condition of brain damage caused by repeated blows to the head and is found most prevalent in football players, even though at present it can only be diagnosed by examining the brains of victims who are deceased.

A lot of the content of Dr. Stern’s remarks, in particular, focused on efforts to find ways to diagnose the condition among living victims.

When a spotlight began to

be put on the condition a decade ago (including in the 2015 film “Concussion,” starring Will Smith), the National Football League, Dr. Stern said, initially donated $16 million to a research effort but the money, which came through the National Institutes of Health, was held up, encountering what Stern called a “long, long, long wait in the summer of silence” of 2015 as the NFL sought to influence decisions on who the researchers would be.

It took a letter to the NFL from a group of congressmen to free up the funds for an eight-year study, called “Diagnose CTE,” at Boston University that was due to end the first day of this conference.

This fall, the CTE Center released a study showing that the condition also profoundly impacts persons under age 30. It examined the brains of 152 contact sport athletes under 30, finding that 41.4 percent had CTE. Of the brains found to have CTE, 71 percent were amateur athletes. McKee referenced data showing that fewer than 1 percent of the general population has CTE. The study also found that CTE became more and more debilitating as exposure grew over time. A video of comments made by an 18 year old

named Alexander, who subsequently committed suicide, was shown.

He described the “racing thoughts, depression and voices taking over everything” that he was suffering.

He subsequently shot himself in the head.

The eight-year CTE study was also held up by the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic, though in March 2020, just as that pandemic hit, the evidence for racial disparities and social determinants of health related to CTE was introduced.

Dr. Stern noted that the ability to diagnose the condition among living victims is advancing, “but we are not there yet.”

Dr. McKee said that millions are at risk, including 20 million high school and college players of football, rugby, soccer and ice hockey, and another 20,000 who have played or play in the NFL. She said a study of deceased NFL players found that 110 of 111 had the condition, and that 91 percent of college players and 20 percent of high school players had it. Mood changes, depression and motor problems are among the most prevalent effects and that they are found most prevalently in football among wide receivers and defensive backs.

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E ditorial

E D I TO R I A L

Why Development?

It’s For The Kids

The news is very good concerning the City of Falls Church’s fiscal health as presented in a report to the annual early December joint meeting of the City Council and School Board this week. That comes as no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to what has been going on here in the last decade or more. As an economic downturn nationally appears to be inevitable, and as that is reflected in less than glowing expectations among Falls Church’s neighboring jurisdictions and the DMV (D,C., Maryland, Virginia) as a whole, conditions are much better for The Little City, if only because of the economic growth that has been encouraged here for the last two dozen years.

A lot has been done, a lot is in the process of getting done, and even more is waiting to happen. And before the voices that are bellowing “enough already” try to step in at this point, citizens here may need to be reminded of why the extraordinary push for development was set in motion in the first place, and how it continues to define us. That is, it’s all about the future, about the next generations of young people who are being prepared to lead the world in precarious times.

In this context, the City and its prized school system have been working in tandem in an extraordinarily effective manner. The fact that a long-awaited revenue sharing approach by the two components of what makes this city tick has kicked in the last half dozen years to remove a lot of unproductive challenges about who gets what revenues and, while it has made for fewer provocative headlines in this newspaper, it has brought the realities of what has been the key to the success of Falls Church still more to the fore.

As Superintendent Dr. Peter Noonan expressed to Monday’s joint meeting, the public schools here are now a complete pre-kindergarten through high school International Baccalaureate (IB) defined and vetted system that, in its mission statement, “offers personalized learning to support each child’s unique needs and to prepare every student to be a responsible, caring and internationally-minded citizen.” This is done by, as the FCCPS Vision statement adds, “striving to create a student-centered innovative learning environment where all students belong, are included, and are empowered to excel” by fostering an “IB learner mindset to help every child develop skills necessary to succeed in the classroom and beyond.”

That is some mighty heady stuff! And the economic development here has done wonders not only to see this approach to education succeeds, but to back it up with first-rate facilities, including a brand new state-of-the-art high school and major upgrades to all the other schools in the City, and doing so while at the same time lowering the real estate tax rate for every citizen.

Everyone should feel rightly proud to be living in The Little City and pitching in to make sure its unique mission and role are advanced.

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

L etter to E ditor

It’s Time for the Polar Bear to Tap Out Dear Editor,

How we communicate about climate change matters. While most U.S. adults perceive climate change as a threat, many of us feel powerless to help stop or slow it. Headlines and news stories are filled with contextless statistics, doomsday predictions, and proposed solutions that sound impossible – like getting everyone to buy electric vehicles.

Then there are fancy innovations that aren’t yet scalable, like carbon capture devices, which rely on geniuses to design and billionaires to fund. But what can the average person do? How can we communicate more effectively about this serious threat in a way that spurs action instead of despair?

Science is hardly a lingua franca for most humans, but images can be powerful communicators that transcend language. The unofficial mascot of climate change, the hungry polar bear standing on a piece of ice no larger than a coffee table, causes many to feel helpless for the damage humans have already and continue to cause. While the hungry bear tugs at heartstrings, it also distances viewers from the issue.

Upon seeing the ubiquitous climate change mascot, one may decide to donate money to an organization dedicated to protecting this animal or mitigating climate change, but rarely causes consequential action by individuals. It’s time for the polar bear to tap out as the embodiment of climate change. In other words, the polar bear is effective at causing guilt but fails to mobilize in a way that inspires creative energy to solve a problem that plagues the globe.

Instead, what if climate change imagery takes a more local approach? Choosing images relevant to information consumers

can instantly relate to, could lead to small actions that cumulatively lead to significant change. Here in the Washington D.C. area, one of climate change’s most recognized impacts are extraordinary precipitation events that lead to flooding and heat waves. Images of local impacts of climate change can bring home this issue’s importance. Or we can take it even further and show images of climate change solutions that are scalable and within reach of the average person in this region. Don’t just tell us what to do — show us what to do! Share more photos of area residents removing English Ivy from their trees to preserve trees’ natural carbon catching superpower or planting rooftop gardens in the buildings of our urban, concrete jungle. Demonstrate impactful actions that are already helping, like infographics of public transportation ridership and corresponding carbon emission cuts, or share delectable meatless recipes that help decrease meat consumption, beef in particular, and the associated carbon emissions. Remind us of the natural treasures on our collective doorstep with trail maps and tips for responsible recreation in natural settings to help us connect with nature and align ourselves to its defense.

For the record, I love polar bears and feel responsible for finding ways to help their plight. But I also need to know what I can do here and now while we work on innovating exquisite solutions for the wicked problem a warming planet and its side effects presents.

It’s time the polar bear retires and taps in the local flora and fauna to help drive home the importance of the defining challenge of our generation that threatens our health and well-being. Flood us with photos that inspire us to climate advocacy, show us that cutting greenhouse gas emissions is possible, and remind us what we’re fighting for. Our climate, and our wellbeing, depend on it!

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SHO P LO CA L

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023 | PAGE 7

In The Little CIty

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PAGE 8 | DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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It’s the best Christmas play ever!

I don’t know if you are as tired of the “same old, same old” seasonal production which rises on area stages about this time of year as I am, but I say “ring out the old, ring in the new!” and that’s just what Creative Cauldron has done with a revival of its highly successful “Madeleine’s Christmas,” an uplifting and happy story for children and adults alike.

The show is a delight with cheery children, lots of action, a talking mouse and even some happy adults.

Dancing and singing fill the stage with a backdrop (by Margie Jervis) reminiscent of the cover of Ludwig Bemelmans’s book he wrote in 1956.

It’s the story of 12 little girls who attend school in a boarding house in Paris who all get sick at the same time (except for the heroine), just in time for the holidays. and ... gulp! No one can go home for Christmas!

Yeeks!

Which is just what they scream when a mouse is spotted in their dormitory room.

The girls’ teacher and mentor, Miss Clavel (Anna Phillips-Brown) who dresses like a nun and acts like a nun, but she is not a nun but a deuteragonist (word for the day, meaning second in importance) with a voice and acting ability soaring beyond what is expected, tries to make the girls feel better about being cooped up at school, unable to go home on Christmas Eve, but it’s little Madeleine who comes to the rescue!

June Tuss sings and dances the title role (intermittently with Diana Alison), expressing herself confidently, as she did last month in Creative’s “Pinocchio,” a spirited and spunky performer whose character, Madeline, is not one to be smitten with anything or body which remotely represents danger like ferocious zoo animals or a magician who turns up to sell rugs?

Huh? Enter Harsha (Noah Beye), a weird man who comes calling, promising fantastic things like magic carpets to take the girls home for Christmas.

He waves, the stage darkens and a swirl of

tiny lights and sounds of triangles suddenly transform the scene into a magic ride on carpets (which Madeleine buys for her classmates) to carry the girls to their homes for Christmas, their most ardent wish.

Oh, no... this means the lovely Miss Clavel will have to spend Christmas alone, but, wait!

There’s the talking mouse to keep her company!

The adorable students are dressed in Madeleine uniforms (Jervis designs) of red coats and straw hats with black ribbons, white stockings and Mary Janes.

Delightful music by Shirley Mier and Jennifer Kirkeby with music direction by Merissa Anne Driscoll make merry to ferry us to a far and distant land where fairy tales come true. (If you’re not in the Christmas mood yet, this will send you there.)

The transfer of the mouse from bed to box and back again, carried by Madeleine and Miss Clavel, is a skilfull undertaking, hidden from view, under the direction of Matt Conner who must be congratulated on the youngsters’ enthusiastic speaking roles which they deliver in exaggerated fashion, so important in theatre.

The other young actors are Emerson Thiebert, Marianne Meade, Whit Jenkins, Madeline Varho, Aida Gibson, Emma Howell, Sophie Misciagno, Margaret Kruckenberg, Marie Solander, Allison Harman, Harper Burns and Nika Temkin.

And Carmen Ortiz, Jo Jo Hockley, Harper Yin, Ja’Nyla Steele, Marco Romero and Chris Espinoza.

Lenny Mendez is the fragile Mrs, Murphy, afraid of a little mouse!

Lynn Joslin was the lighting designer and Nicholas J Goodman, stage manager.

Now through December 17 at 410 South Maple Ave., Retail 116; some shows are already sold out. Free parking behind entrance. Thursday — Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m., and Sunday, 4 p.m. Students, $18; adults start at $20; family four-packs, $75 (use code 4PK). Group rates begin at 10+ persons. Call the box office: 703-436-9948. Duration is about 60 minutes without intermission. Recommended for children ages four and up. Refreshments available for purchase.

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JUNE TUSS (MADELINE), Anna Phillips-Brown (Miss Clavel), ensemble.

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023 | PAGE 9

Falls Church’s Trinity School Performs ‘As You Like It’

by Mark Dreisonstok

Falls Church’s Trinity School at Meadow View is devoted to the study and discussion of the great classics of literature and philosophy.

Yet the eleventh-grade students, following the lead of Shakespeare’s Duke Senior banished in the Forest of Arden, must—for the time being—settle for “tongues in trees” and “books in the running brooks.” This weekend the eleventh-grade class is performing Shakespeare’s pensive pastoral comedy “As You Like It” at the Pozez Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia in Fairfax at two public performances this coming Friday and Saturday.

The play concerns a duke in exile with his loyal retainers; they prefer “the icy fang … of the winter’s wind” in the woods over the intrigue of the royal court, for the Duke Senior’s brother, Frederick, has usurped the throne. Duke Senior’s daughter Rosalind and Duke Frederick’s daughter Celia are among those who “resort to the forest,” disguised as brother and sister, Ganymede and Aliena. Soon, however, Rosalind finds herself in love with Orlando, a noble youth who also has family

turmoil and must also seek refuge in the forest. Much of the humor of “As You Like It” revolves around how Rosalind, disguised as a young man, interacts with Orlando.

We had an opportunity to attend a dress rehearsal. Anna Bray shows a true earnestness in her role as exileat-court Rosalind, while Anisa Jalloh as Celia conveys a comic flair as she realizes Rosalind is in love. Francesca Bayer, the melancholy Jaques, is effective in presenting the “seven ages of man” in the play’s famous “all the world’s a stage” speech. Seth Luisi is a stern Duke Frederick, while Shane Monroe (Duke Senior) and Alexander Pappas (Orlando) play off each other well in the scenes in which they meet in the forest.

Co-director James Clancy notes that students are enjoying the play, even as they approach it with utmost seriousness. Miss Bray (Rosalind) states: “Producing a Shakespeare play provides a beautiful opportunity” both to perform and to ponder the unique views of the world that “the characters in the play depict.” Sophia Hughes, who plays Touchstone the fool, adds: “Being Touchstone has allowed me to see the world from his eyes and perspective. This makes the world seem more dismal in some

ways, but in others it broadens my view on life and allows me to see better in the world.”

The show’s costumes are outstanding. Most suggest the Elizabethan era, although some have a nineteenth-century touch. The velvety, regal garments are color-coded for meaning. Duke Frederick and those at court usually wear blue, while the exiles in the Forest of Arden are generally garbed in green. Jaques wears brown, for the character fits into neither the world of court politics nor of life in the woods.

Trinity School at Meadow View is unusual in that eleventh- and twelfth-grade dramas are performed as a core part of the curriculum. All students take part, spending more than seventy classroom hours learning acting terms and skills, memorizing lines, and practicing for two public performances.

Co-director Patty Whelpley notes that the play was chosen to enhance the school’s “humane letters” curriculum: “Our students are very familiar with reading and discussing Shakespeare in our Socratic Seminar-style classes; by the end of 12th grade, they will have already read and discussed ‘Richard II,’ ‘Hamlet,’ and ‘Macbeth.’ Since our students

are easily able to read Shakespeare, we felt like ‘As You Like It’ was the perfect level of challenge for our 11th grade students to perform. It’s fun and lighthearted, yet it also carries some of Shakespeare’s deeper themes that help the students see how masterfully Shakespeare shines a critical spotlight on certain societal injustices or mores, even during a comedy.”

As Mrs. Whelpley suggests in her comments, it is left to the viewer to make an ethical decision: is it bet-

PASTORAL LIFE IN the Forest of Arden: Le Beau (Khoa Nguyen), Lady Merryman (Julia Ortner), and Amiens (Ellie Friddle). (Photo: Annie Ryland)

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ter to be at peace in exile and allow a usurper to reign, to remain in the physically comfortable court of a tyrant, or to choose neither and, like Jaques, withdraw into one’s own private world?

“As You Like It” will be performed on Friday, December 15, and Saturday, December 16, at 7 p.m. at the Pozez Jewish Community Center, 8900 Little River Turnpike, Fairfax, Virginia 22031. Admission is free, but adults must show ID to enter.

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PAGE 10 | DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

‘Encanto’ Experience and Toy Shop Opens In Tysons Corner Center

by Nick Gatz

Falls Church News-Press

CAMP Washington D.C. has opened its Disney Encanto x Camp location in Tyson’s Corner Mall.

CAMP is a family experience store that combines retail, play and interactive features. Its latest location is on full display in the McLeanbased mall. This new store will make it Camp’s 9th location in the USA. Located next to H&M in Tyson’s lower level. The experience is Inspired by the 2021 animated movie Encanto from Disney.

This 10,730-square-foot store features 5,000 square feet of attractions.

From first glance Camp looks like a high-end toy store that is full of toys, games, gifts, slides, and “schmutz”. However, it is once you pass through the secrete passage that the true delight begins.

It is there that the world’s first immersive Disney Encanto experience begins. There is a reallife Casita, complete with secret passages, interactive magic, live music, and surprises behind every magic door.

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DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023 | PAGE 11

Singalongs, Slides, Games, Slime and More on Full Display Continued from Page 10

Once inside you enter a replica of the film’s town square. There you can purchase custom-made Encanto merchandise from vendors around the world that aren’t available anywhere else.

As you make your way through the experience, families can climb up and down Antonio’s rainforest where there is a leopard on display. From there you can spin your way through Isabela’s Flower-filled room or slide down into the Courtyard.

While you are on your journey

throughout the Encanto experience you will have a Live singalong that includes fan favorite tunes from the Disney movie such as "We Don’t Talk About Bruno," "Surface Pressure" and more.

What differs from other ‘experiences’ that have come to Tysons is CAMP will be a permanent

location that sells toys, clothing and accessories. The store also includes what will sure to be a kid favorite “Schmutz Bar” where they can create slime.

The location also includes a CAMPitheater and party rooms for birthday rentals.

Disney Encanto x CAMP

will stay in Tysons for a limited time before moving on to another location when then a new experience will arrive. CAMP rotates its experiences around their stores. For more information and tickets, visit CAMP's website at camp.com/locations/ washington-dc.

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

PAGE 12 | DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023

On Effective Leadership: It’s All About the Context

by Dr. Joel Schlesinger

Submission to the FCNP Countless behaviors, traits, and values inspire the exercise of leadership; and each leader brings their own special set. In the popular leadership book “Good to Great,” Stanford researcher Jim Collins lists seven. Or, in “Jack: Straight from the Gut,” former GE CEO Jack Welch notes 27 ideas that worked for him. Each emphasizes different qualities of what can succeed in the workplace, but their diversity highlights that there is no single best way to lead. We may perhaps never understand exactly why followers follow leaders but, in the end, we know that leaders resonate: they somehow, some way, connect, big time, with their colleagues, peers, or subordinates and motivate superior productivity, innovation, and commitment. Ironically, what thrives for one leader in one context — situation, circumstance — may not work for other leaders; and it may not even work for that same leader in a different context. So, context has become to leadership what location is to real estate: it is the indispensable factor.

The Context is Always Changing.

Societies mark their social evolution through zeitgeist — the mindset or intellectual fashion of the day; and this mindset defines what we will tolerate when we consider the emergence of fresh ideas. So, leaders are shaped by societal dynamics and cannot simply separate themselves from the beliefs or behaviors of their times. For example, society once frowned upon hiring or promoting women to key organizational positions and leaders acted in accordance with that value. But times change and this is far less the case today.

It Begins with the External Context.

Every organization has its own unique context as it interacts with an external environment of clients, competitors,

suppliers, regulators, and communities. In doing so, they allocate their human and financial resources to cope with breaking opportunities, existing strengths and weaknesses, and potential threats — and this is the basis of strategies whose purpose is to successfully navigate their context. Shifts in that ever-changing external environment can lead to urgent changes in an organization’s internal structures, processes, relationships, and expertise — its core competence. And this urgency impels internal and external environments to realign. For example, the Covid pandemic severely disrupted global supply chains forcing dramatic internal adjustments to accommodate external circumstances. Or a minor competitor may acquire your most feared rival. What then? Leaders, anticipating change, must always be focused on their next best move.

Internal Contexts Can Limit Options.

While we often believe our leaders can unconditionally do as they please, in fact, three key contextual factors temper their ability to act. Together, these factors represent an organization’s internal environment.

•Organizational objectives.

Organizational objectives — for example, expanding operations abroad or going green — set by boards of directors, shareholders, or stakeholders bind organizations and restrict leaders.

Financial considerations (market share vs share value vs profit) and values (fair trade) driven by internal and external environments significantly influence leaders’ choices.

•Organizational culture.

Organizational cultures rest on the assumptions, values, and beliefs at the root of an organizational culture as it interacts with its internal and external context.

Cultures can be goal-oriented or relationship-oriented, maintain a short or long-term perspective, promote open or closed communication, operate formally or informally and — most importantly — skillfully manage change. Organizational cultures, like those of society, can evolve

over time but this is not easy.

•The nature of the workforce.

The nature of people with whom leaders work directly affects their ability to motivate them. Do they prefer autocratic or democratic leadership styles? Are they more comfortable with goal-oriented or relationship-oriented leaders?

Are they sufficiently confident and competent to accomplish what they are asked? Will they take risks? Effective leaders are aware of who their followers are and what those followers expect — on an individual basis — and they adapt and provide it.

Successful leaders know it is not about them.

The workforce must see change driven by some dramatic sense of urgency — the share price falls, or the competition launches a killer new product — as necessary or the natural tendencies to resist change will frustrate it. For that reason, the deep and broad participation of followers in understanding the need for change and defining corresponding solutions is vital.

Otherwise, they may not embrace the change process as their own.

It is the combination of organizational objectives, culture, workforce, and effective leadership that positions an organization for spirited performance and dynamic change when the inevitable sense of urgency — driven by context — occurs.

Shared Contexts.

There are some commonalities with respect to organizational context. First, leadership takes place within organizations all of which exist to achieve specific objectives. Secondly, organizations are groups composed of more than one person, which means that achieving organizational objectives involves the inextricably intertwined efforts of leaders and followers. Thirdly, to survive, organizations must satisfy the demands of relentlessly shifting circumstances which form their unique context.

So, leadership requires constant monitoring and adapting to the needs and demands of the workforce and threats from competitors, customers, and suppliers.

Resonation with the workforce

depends on the leader’s capacity to deal with the many contextual variables. Leaders may be poor or wealthy, modest or smug, ordinary individuals or dazzling intellects; but what they have in common — if they successfully read and respond nimbly to their context — is the ability to connect and unleash enormous creativity and effort.

Leaders Handle Context Differently.

There is a holistic unity to leadership and four leadership qualities — status, esteem, technical competence, and organizational leadership skills such as vision, empathy, and effective communication — always present in some measure — help leaders connect with followers as they address their context.

The proper mix of these qualities depends on the nature of the followers and the situations faced. For example, the newly elected Abraham Lincoln arrived in Washington with low status and esteem; but in confronting a somewhat hostile context comprised of a cabinet of rivals, a demanding Congress, and a skeptical military, he brought savvy political (technical) competence and strong organizational leadership skills. Confederate General Robert E. Lee possessed high esteem, status, and technical (military) competence; but at Gettysburg his inability to exercise sound organizational leadership skills contributed to his organization’s failure to agree upon and execute a common vision (internal context) and the external goals he shared with followers died on the Pennsylvania battlefield.

The annual harvest of popular leadership books focus on specific techniques — the “One Minute” this, or the “Eight Highly Effective” thats — or what leaders should do. But it is the larger task of leaders to define reality and give it meaning, to describe shifting organizational circumstances, and explain why and how the organization must change to meet the new needs. In tackling context, who leaders are is vital, particularly in the eyes of the

workforce and organizational partners. That is, how others perceive a leader’s personal qualities and actions determine their willingness to trust and commit.

Throughout our history character has emerged as the most consistently valued leadership trait: we want our leaders to be people of character, individuals with integrity, honesty, energy, positive attitude, and a sense of community and public spirit.

How leaders act is equally paramount to motivating followers. Within their specific organizational context, adroit leaders adapt to the competence and confidence of their followers, engage with strong interpersonal skills, facilitate a shared vision and back it up with a fear-free culture of continuous learning, introspection, and ethics. Empathetic, they listen. Once these skills were considered soft; they have now become the critical hard skills of leadership. In leadership, it is not always what one does, but how one does it, that counts.

Leadership Now More than Ever.

In the early days of the industrial revolution, economists concluded that land, labor, and capital constituted the three factors of production needed to master the context and produce valued assets. In the latter half of the 20th century many thinkers contended that entrepreneurship had become equally important and added that factor. Today, others suggest that technology deserves a place on the list. Since virtually all of the world’s work is done or significantly influenced by organizations now, more than ever, our future depends on their quality. Therefore, leadership arguably represents the most important asset to an organization’s sustainability and resiliency and a case can be made for adding effective leadership to the list of critical factors of production.

For it is likely that different leaders might achieve very different — better or worse — outcomes than their colleagues based on who they are and how they choose to act — given the context.

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023 | PAGE 13

A Penny for Your Thoughts

News of Greater Falls Church

By Supervisor Penny Gross

My first official Board of Supervisors meeting, on January 8, 1996, almost didn’t happen. I had been in office for a whole week, and had prepared for the meeting, reading the dozens, maybe hundreds of pages of the board package with a yellow highlighter at the ready. The package was all on paper, in a large binder; electronic versions were at least a decade away. I selected a special outfit to wear; after all, the meetings are televised and I was like a kid on the first day of school, wanting to look my best. The board meetings were on Mondays then (today they are on Tuesdays) so the weekend was spent getting ready for the meeting.

That weekend also was the occasion of one of the biggest blizzards ever to hit the Washington metropolitan region. Final snow totals across two days measured somewhere between 25 and 30 inches.

Roads, even the interstates, were impassable, events were canceled everywhere, but one event that could not be canceled was the board meeting. According to the County Attorney, the Board was required, by law, to meet on the advertised day, in the vernacular, “come hell or high water.” The challenge was get-

ting board members to the Fairfax County Government Center for the in-person meeting; if the main roads were closed because of deep snow, neighborhood streets were in worse shape. The depth of the snow camouflaged the usual curbs and shrubs that demarcated local streets, and buried many smaller vehicles, so it was impossible to determine the road pavement.

The meeting was scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m., but was delayed to the afternoon so that police and fire vehicles could be dispatched to Supervisor’s homes for the trip to the Government Center. We live on a steep hill, which makes snow even more challenging, but a fire department 4-wheel drive vehicle, with a plow blade, appeared at the end of our driveway about noon.

Our neighbors were impressed – our little road was plowed (only one lane) by the Fire Department, giving them a head start on clearing driveways and mailboxes. I warned the firefighter not to turn into our driveway, and schussed my way to the street with the board packet firmly in hand.

The 12-mile drive looked like a moonscape: we were almost the only vehicle on the road, even on

the Beltway, and the usual landmarks had disappeared under deep snow. My carefully selected outfit was replaced by warm sweatpants, boots, a sweater, and a parka. My ski hat created “hat hair” for my first television appearance! Nine Supervisors made it to the meeting; Supervisor Elaine McConnell was stuck in Florida. The County Executive, County Attorney, a clerk, and the television camera operator were the only other people in the auditorium. The truncated meeting lasted about three hours, and then the fire department vehicle took me home.

That meeting was an inauspicious beginning to my seven terms as Mason District Supervisor. After attending more than 700 Board of Supervisors meetings, my last board meeting is this week. Many have been challenging, but none more so than the efforts expended to attend that first one. Today, of course, board packets are available electronically, the pandemic introduced us to the efficiency of virtual meetings (which state law carefully controls), and a blizzard would be far less problematic to keep the wheels of local government turning.

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

C RIME RE PORT Week of Nov. 27 - Dec. 3, 2023 Larceny from Vehicle/Destruction of Property, W Broad St, Nov 27, between 5:30 AM and 6:17 AM, an unknown suspect broke the front passenger window of a vehicle took a purse from the front passenger seat.

Larceny from Vehicle/Destruction of Property, W Broad St, Nov 27, between 5 AM and 6:17 AM, an unknown suspect broke into a vehicle and took a purse.

Unlawful Entry/Destruction of Property, W Broad St, Nov 28, 12 AM, an unknown suspect unlawfully entered a locked business suite inside a shopping plaza, damaging the door to the business in the process. The unknown suspect is described as a black male in his 50s, wearing a blue winter hat, gray jacket, black pants, and dark boots.

mately 30 years of age, wearing a green winter coat and blue jeans.

Destruction of Property, Lynn Pl, Dec 2, 8:15 AM, an incident of graffiti was reported to have occurred.

Fraud – Obtain Money by False Pretenses, S Lee St, Dec 2, 11:10 AM, an unknown suspect posted a fake rental property listing online and obtained money from the victims.

Fraud – Identity Theft, W Annandale Rd, Dec 3, 6:30 PM, an unknown suspect obtained the victim’s banking information and transferred money to another account.

Larceny from Vehicle/Destruction of Property, E Broad St, Dec 3, between 5:56 PM and 6:50 PM, an unknown suspect broke the front passenger window of a vehicle and took a bag from the passenger seat.

Trespassing, W Broad St, Nov 29, 7:27 AM, a white male, 29, of no fixed address, was arrested for trespassing.

Larceny from Vehicle/Destruction of Property, E Broad St, Dec 3, between 6 PM and 6:50 PM, an unknown suspect broke the rear passenger window of a vehicle and took a purse.

Shoplifting, W Broad St, Nov 30, 3:35 PM, an unknown suspect took items of value without paying.

The suspect is described as a black male, approxi-

Destruction of Property, E Broad St, Dec 3, between 5:01 PM and 6:50 PM, an unknown suspect broke the front passenger window of a vehicle.

Senator Dick Saslaw’s

Richmond Report The 2024 legislative session is a mere four weeks away. This year, the General Assembly will convene for a 60-day session, with all 140 members enjoying the brand-new General Assembly Building accommodations. As the next class of delegates and senators prepare their agendas, we are getting a sense of the major issues likely to be addressed in this session. Democrats prevailed in the election and now hold a slim, but firm, majority in both chambers.

However, passing any legislation this session will require the signature of Governor Youngkin.

This adds the complicated, but not impossible, task of finding compromise between both parties.

One looming debate set for January is an issue we have seen many times before. Two Democrats have already introduced significant gun violence prevention legislation that restricts the types of guns and ammunition that can be manufactured and further restricts eligibility to own a gun. Year after year, Democrats have tried to pass gun violence prevention legislation, and Republicans have remained obstinate, preventing even the most common-sense measures from passing. Last year, Senate Democrats introduced legislation cracking down on the safe storage of guns inside the home, encouraging responsible gun ownership.

This was in response to the horrific incident in Newport News, where a 6-year-old brought a gun to school and shot his teacher. Additionally, Senate Democrats proposed a bill to penalize individuals who leave their cars unlocked and unattended with a firearm inside. Leaving a weapon unattended is highly irresponsible and allows guns to fall into the wrong hands. Both bills failed to advance in the Republicancontrolled House, with little consideration given to them.

This year presents a new opportunity to consider making more progress on a public safety issue that continues to plague our communities. Frankly, it is upsetting to still be fighting for change after so many instances of violence and lives lost. With Democrats in control in both chambers, we have the chance to make strong headways. My hope is that Governor Youngkin will be willing to work toward a bipartisan solution to

enact meaningful change.

Another main focus of this session will be constitutional amendments, which do not require any approval from the Governor.

Instead, amendments are passed through the legislature during two separate sessions, with an election in between each passage. So any constitutional amendments that are considered this year will still have to pass in 2026, after the next House of Delegates election.

There are currently a handful of constitutional amendments that have been submitted for consideration for the coming session. First is an amendment to ensure reproductive rights. Republicans have made their intentions clear. If they were to win the majority, they would do away with our current protections, interfering with a woman’s right to her own healthcare decisions. Adding an amendment to the Virginia Constitution would further protect those rights and prevent Republicans from easily imposing a ban, should they win a majority in the near future.

Additionally, Democrats intend to pass a constitutional amendment regarding the restoration of voting rights for felons. Virginia is currently among a minority of states in which the Governor has the sole authority to issue the restoration of voting rights to individuals on a case-by-case basis. This poses an issue of equality and fairness in our justice system, as each Governor has the discretion to accept or deny an application as they see fit. Governor Youngkin has taken a much slower and less transparent approach to restoring voting rights than both the Democratic and Republican Governors preceding him. It’s time we bring this judicial process into the 21st century, and align ourselves with the vast majority of other states.

Finally, before the new session begins, Governor Youngkin will announce his legacy budget, which will set the fiscal course for the remaining two years he has left in office. If the past two years are any indication of how he plans to allocate our resources for this biennial budget, I expect him to prioritize tax cuts over increased funding for social services. One major change this year will be the amount of revenue available for Governor

Continued on Page 23

PAGE 14 | DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

News-Press

Community News & Notes

COMMUNITY MEMBERS packed The Falls for a happy hour celebrating and thanking Mayor David Tarter and Council Member Phil Duncan last week. (Photo: Gary Mester) A SLEIGH FULL of toys for local children was collected at 4P’s last weekend. (Photo: Marybeth Connelly)

the Chesapeake Bay and the environment. Alderton has served five years in public office, with leadership roles in establishing the Public School Leadership Network and EduTutorVA.

Ireland’s Four Provinces Donates Sleigh Full of Toys for Local Children

HOLIDAY SHOPPERS browse local vendors at last weekend’s Holiday Gift and Craft Fair. (Photo: Brian Reach)

Community Bids Farewell To Departing Council Members at Happy Hour

On November 27, community members packed The Falls to share stories with, bid farewell to, and thank outgoing F.C. Mayor David Tarter and council member Phil Duncan, both of whom are retiring after decades of service to the city.

F.C. Gift and Craft Show and Library Book Sale Draw Big Crowds of Holiday Shoppers

Last weekend at the Community Center, the Holiday Gift and Craft Show featured nearly 40 crafters and merchants showing their wares, attracting a big crowd with unique homemade items, baked goods, and more. On Saturday the show included a Children’s Holiday Shoppe, where volunteers helped kids choose and wrap gifts for friends and family. Across the street, Mary Riley Styles Public Library held a used book and media sale, with a room filled with stories, movies, and more!

GMU Annual Regional Leadership Awards To Recognize Outgoing Electeds

On Friday, GMU’s Annual Regional Leadership Awards Luncheon will be hosted by the Schar School of Policy and Government’s Regional Elected Leaders Initiative (RELI) at their Arlington campus.

Keynote speaker Dr. Stephen Fuller, GMU professor emeritus and past director of the George Mason Center for Regional Analysis, will provide a stark picture of the region’s economy and a pointed call for regional leadership and coordinated action moving forward.

In addition, Regional Leadership Awards will be given to Sen. Dick Saslaw, Fairfax County Supervisor Penny Gross, and Alexandria School Board member Meagan Alderton. Saslaw is leaving after serving for 48 years in the Virginia General Assembly, including 16 as the Senate Democratic Leader.

Gross has 28 years in local office with leadership roles in many regional bodies, often focused on

Santa’s elves were hard at work at Ireland’s Four Provinces (105 W. Broad St., Falls Church) over the weekend, where guests donated a sleigh full of toys for local children at their annual Friends and Family Holiday Dinner. The donations were given to Falls Church City Public Schools and Welcoming Falls Church to be shared with children and families.

The restaurant will continue to collect toys through Sunday, December 10.

Falls Church Forward Hosts Welcoming Culture Discussion and Gift Wrapping

On Sunday, Falls Church Forward partnered with Welcoming Falls Church to host their final meeting of the year, at Clare and Don’s Beach Shack, with a focus on the welcoming culture of The Little City.

The well-attended event featured presentations from the Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC) and several local organizations serving vulnerable populations in the community.

Jill Kaneff, a demographer at NVRC, kicked off the event with an engaging report on ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic trends in our region.

Organization speakers included

Homestretch executive director Barfonce Baldwin, F.C. Homeless Shelter executive director Julene Jarnot, Welcoming F.C. secretary and co-founder Paul Boesen, F.C. Housing Commission member and Adult & Family Literacy Center founder and director Hannah Jordan, and LGBTQ+ F.C. executive director Brian Reach.

After learning about the work being done in the community, participants stuck around to help wrap gifts collected from the Welcoming Falls Church holiday donation drive supporting refugees, immigrant families, and other vulnerable populations.

For more information on Falls Church Forward, visit fallschurchforward.org or email fallschurchforward@gmail.com.

Holiday Tours of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Pope-Leighey House

Tour Pope-Leighey House during special evening hours and see the home decorated for a mid-century holiday!

During the 1930s, Frank Lloyd Wright designed more than 100 affordable mid-century modern homes, constructed between 1936 and Wright’s death in 1959, including the Pope-Leighey House in 1940.

Commissioned in 1939 by Loren Pope, a journalist in Falls Church, the residence was sold to Robert and Marjorie Leighey in 1946. The house was in the path of an expansion of Highway 66, so Leighey gave the house to the National Trust, which relocated it to nearby Woodlawn and granted her lifetime tenancy. Leighey occupied the

house until her death in 1983.

Tours are available during select 30-minute windows on December 8, 9, 15 and 16. $15 tickets are available at woodlawnpopeleighey. org.

Ideaventions Drone Team Wins First Place at National Robotics Competition

On December 2, team “Daedalus” from the Restonbased Ideaventions Academy for Mathematics and Science won first place overall in the Bell Advanced Vertical Robotics competition (Bell AVR) in Dallas, TX. The team also brought home the first place prize for Best Presentation.

For the competition, teams built a large main drone, and programmed a smaller drone, a ground vehicle, and three Sphero Minis (small robotic balls) to complete tasks for points in a simulated firefighting challenge.

The main drone gathered and dispensed “water” (25mm plastic balls) into burning buildings, while other vehicles completed recon paths.

As a result of their remarkable showing, Daedalus is invited to participate in an exhibition match at XPONENTIAL 2024, the global conference and exhibition for autonomy, in San Diego, CA.

Queen Taken from Her Castle: FCPD Searches for Stolen French Bulldog

Detectives from the Fairfax County Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division are seeking the community’s assistance to locate a stolen french bulldog.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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IDEAVENTIONS ACADEMY’S Drone Team “Daedalus” won first place in the Bell Advanced Vertical Robotics competition in Dallas last week. (Courtesy Photo) On November 27 at 7:50 a.m., officers responded to a burglary of a home in the 7500 block of Tralee Woods Ct. in Springfield.

The victim was alerted by a family friend that her dogs were running loose in the neighborhood. The family friend was able to retrieve two of the three dogs. The victim returned home and was unable to locate the third, a french bulldog named Queen.

Detectives determined a suspect entered the victim’s home and attempted to take all three dogs.

When unsuccessful, he took Queen and left the home. Surveillance footage showed the suspect carrying Queen to a four-door Nissan, possibly an Altima or Sentra, and leaving the area.

The suspect was described as a Black man, 5’8”, wearing a white t-shirt, gray shorts, and blue Crocs.

Detectives are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to call the West Springfield District Station at 703-644-7377 and ask to speak with a detective.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers by phone at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477) or by web at fairfaxcrimesolvers.org.

Tysons Man Charged With Possession of Illegal Machine Guns, Child Pornography

On November 17, Fairfax County Police detectives arrested Craig Strasbourger, a 31-year-old resident of Tysons, with charges related to automatic weapons.

After conducting a thorough investigation on devices belonging to Strasbourger, detectives obtained additional warrants for

three counts of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material, one count of Solicitation of a Minor, and one count Possession of Animal Sexual Abuse Material.

Strasbouger was arrested and is currently being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.

BAE Systems, Red Hat, and The Weather Company Announce Collaboration

BAE Systems is revolutionizing military simulation environments through a new collaboration with Red Hat and The Weather Company.

This strategic collaboration more seamlessly incorporates weather data into various synthetic training environments, including modeling and simulation, adding a new level of realism to simulations.

BAE and Red Hat showcased live demonstrations of these solutions at I/ITSEC 2023 in Orlando, FL last month.

The companies also exhibited next-generation constructive simulation environments, digital twins of the Earth for simulation, and the most advanced synthetic training environments. This collaboration harnesses real-time and forecasted weather into common terrain models and use cases for the military, including air defense, infantry, communications, and special operations.

“In defense analysis, planning and simulation, weather can influence an aircraft’s performance, the tempo of ground operations and the viability of critical infrastructure,” said Sheri Bachstein, CEO of The Weather Company. “To help

effectively address these challenges as weather events become more intense, it’s critical now more than ever to incorporate reliable, globally scaled, real-time and predictive weather data and insights into defense planning and simulation environments.”

SeER Awards Grants to Funds Local Teachers’ STEM projects

The Science Education Research Foundation (SeER) awarded eight grants to STEM educators to support both classroom teaching and science-related projects. Of those, two were awarded to teachers at Falls Church High School.

Shannon Gray and Paul Naanou were awarded a grant to enhance the physical classroom environment for mathematical problem solving. Bridany Keys was awarded a grant to modernize classroom tools and the curriculum for learning statistics.

SeER is a science- and education-focused 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. Formed in 2022, it funds projects led by teachers and researchers that aim to enhance STEM thinking and action in K-12 learners.

I-66 Express Lanes Celebrate One Year of ‘Game-Changing’ Transportation

The 66 Express lanes outside the Beltway marked the first full year of operations this week. The managed-lane mega-project has shown itself to be a game-changer for the region.

Delivered ahead of schedule and within budget despite supply-

DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023 | PAGE 15

DONATED GIFTS are wrapped by community members at Sunday’s Falls Church Forward meeting. (Courtesy Photo) chain issues, a global pandemic, and historic inflation levels, the privately financed project has proven to be a boon to the local economy and workforce. Since construction began in 2017, a total of 9,073 employees have worked on the project, including a daily average of approximately 2,000 on-site workers during the peak construction period. In addition, the project hired 400 local firms as subcontractors.

That workforce has forged an entire ecosystem of new, vital transportation improvements throughout the I-66 corridor, featuring two park-and-ride lots with more than 4,000 spaces, 63 new or reconstructed bridges, 12 rebuilt or improved interchanges, numerous safety enhancements, and more than 18 miles of new pedestrian and bike trails along the I-66 corridor.

3 Step Home Sale Launches Innovative Seller Concierge Program

3 Step Home Sale, a leading real estate solutions and investment firm based in Falls Church, is changing the industry with its new Seller Concierge Program, designed to help homeowners buy property in the current high-priced real estate market.

The program pairs the company’s experienced team of real estate investors with top-performing real estate agents to facilitate the sale and renovation of properties on behalf of sellers.

With funding tightening for institutional cash buyers, 3 Step Home Sale recognized the need for

creative solutions to get properties sold and transferred to buyers in today’s climate of rising interest rates.

“Many cash buyers have lost their warehouse lines of credit and stopped buying houses, while smaller cash buyers are being priced out by skyrocketing hard money loan rates,” said Josh Cohen, the CEO of 3 Step Home Sale. “The number of legitimate cash buyers able to perform in this market has dropped dramatically. Our Seller Concierge program offers a new approach that benefits sellers, buyers and agents alike.”

The company renovates and prepares properties for sale without requiring an upfront acquisition from the seller. This saves on closing costs, loans and holding fees.

Once renovation is complete, 3 Step Home Sale markets the move-in ready home at an affordable price to prospective buyers.

Sellers receive a higher sale price by avoiding excessive fees, buyers gain access to renovated homes at reasonable prices, and agents get improved listing conditions and quicker sales.

“With over 15 years of experience, we saw the need to adapt to changing market forces and develop win-win solutions in real estate,” said Cohen. “The Seller Concierge program helps sellers maximize proceeds, gets houses sold fast for agents, and expands homeownership opportunities for buyers.”

For more information about the company and to get a cash offer, visit 3stephomesale.com.

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

THIS WEEK AROUND F.C. THURSDAY

DECEMBER 7 Tour of Fowler Street Barn

Tour of Fowler Street Barn. Visit fallschurchva.gov for details. Barn on Fowler (1011 Fowler St., Falls Church), 12:00 p.m. — 2:00 p.m.

Economic Dev. Committee Meeting

Economic Development Committee meets. City Hall (300 Park Ave., Oak Room, Falls Church), 1:00 p.m. — 2:30 p.m.

2023 Holiday Networking Mixer

Enjoy a variety of libations and holiday treats at the F.C. Chamber's 2023 Holiday Networking Mixer! Mix and "jingle" with chamber members and city dignitaries. Sunrise Falls Church (330 N. Washington St., Falls Church), 5:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m.

Human Rights Day Film: The Defenders

A free film screening of "The Defenders," held at the German Em-

bassy. Human rights are at the heart of Germany's "China Strategy."

Tickets at bit.ly/FCNP1223ge.

Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany (4645 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC), 6:15 p.m.

FCCPS Band Winter Performance

The FCCPS Band performs. Meridian High School (121 Mustang Alley, Falls Church), 7:00 p.m.

A Christmas Carol

Join all your favorite Dickens characters as they remind everyone of the meaning of Christmas.

Daily except Mondays, December 1 through 16. Tickets at bit. ly/FCNP1123lt. The Little Theatre of Alexandria (600 Wolfe St., Alexandria, VA), 8:00 p.m.

FRIDAY

DECEMBER 8 Budget and Finance Committee Meeting

Budget and Finance Committee meets. City Hall (300 Park Ave., Oak Room, Falls Church), 9:00 a.m. — 10:00 a.m.

Intersection: Identity and Culture

For this exhibit, artists were invited to share works expressing the intersection of their identity and their culture of origin or the culture in which they find themselves. On display through January 7. Falls Church Arts (700-B W. Broad St., Falls Church), 11:00 a.m. — 6:00 p.m.

Matt Rogers: Have You Heard of Christmas?

Matt Rogers: Have You Heard of Christmas? Rogers is a multihyphenate creative and comedian on the rise with undeniable talent and charm. Tickets at thelincolndc. com. Lincoln Theatre (1215 U St. NW, Washington, DC), 7:00 p.m.

Dash: The Musical

A holiday musical fantasy, reindeer sing and dance, Mrs. Claus has a cooking show, and the elves just might do a Christmas “rap.” Tickets at bit.ly/FCNP1223pp. James Lee Community Center (2855 Annandale Rd., Falls Church), 7:30 p.m.

An Irish Carol

A Little Christmas In The Little City

Join for a festive family-friendly event with a live petting zoo, holiday craft stations, a service project for kids, and hot cocoa! Free to attend. Christ Crossman UMC (384 N. Washington St., Falls Church), 2:00 p.m. — 5:00 p.m.

F.C. Dems Caucus and Cookies

F.C. Democrats hold their Caucus and Cookies event, where they vote in up to 45 members. To join, submit a membership application by 12:00 p.m. December 7 at bit.ly/FCNP1223dm. Falls Church Community Center (223 Little Falls St., Kenneth R. Burnett Bldg., Falls Church), 3:00 p.m.

Holiday Pops: Songs of the Season

DECEMBER 9

A festive, family-friendly program of musical favorites, featuring the American Festival Pops Orchestra's big band musicians.

Don’t miss an evening that promises to put everyone — even the “bah humbug” Scrooges — in the holiday spirit! Tickets at bit. ly/FCNP1223hp.

GMU Center for the Arts (4373 Mason Pond Dr., Fairfax, VA), 4:00 p.m.

Falls Church Farmers Market

Arlington Chorale: Of All the Kings

An homage to Dickens’ classic, told as only the Irish can. Tickets at keegantheatre.com.

Keegan Theatre (1742 Church St. NW, Washington, DC), 8:00 p.m.

SATURDAY

Shop the award winning market every Saturday, year-round! City Hall Parking Lot (300 Park Ave., Falls Church), 8:00 a.m. — 12:00 p.m.

Christmas Market and Holiday Craft Show

Over 150 artisans, crafters, independent consultants and other local small businesses showcase their products, just in time for the holidays! John Carlyle Square (300 John Carlyle St., Alexandria, VA), 11:00 a.m. — 4:00 p.m.

LIL MACEO and others perform in "It's a Jazzy Christmas," this Saturday at McLean Community Center. (Photo: MCC)

their annual Holiday Brunch, swearing in of new executive board members, and announcing winners of the annual AYD awards! Tickets available at bit.ly/ FCNP1223yd. Fire Works Pizza (2350 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington, VA), 1:30 p.m. — 3:30 p.m.

Arlington Young Dems Holiday Brunch

Join Arlington Young Dems for

Includes beloved favorites like "Good King Wenceslas" and Nat King Cole’s treasured classic, “The Christmas Song,” as well as the timeless masterpiece, “Gloria” by Antonio Vivaldi. Tickets at bit.ly/ FCNP1223ac. Westover Baptist Church (1125 Patrick Henry Dr., Arlington, VA), 5:00 p.m. — 6:15 p.m.

Winter Lantern Festival

Step into a dazzling world of light with over 1,000 Chinese lanterns, all handmade by artisans with decades of experience. A whimsical walk-through experience to light up and warm up the holiday season!

Weekends through February 18.

Tickets at bit.ly/FCNP1223wl. Lerner Town Square at Tysons II (8025 Galleria Dr., Tysons, VA), 5:30 p.m.

It's a Jazzy Christmas

Nonstop entertainment with a house band and a parade of jazz artists: saxophonist Lil’ Maceo, “gospel violinist” Eric Taylor, trumpeter Isaac Byrd Jr. and others. Tickets at mcleancenter.org.

The Alden Theatre (1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean, VA), 7:00 p.m.

SONOVA Presents: Snow Daze

Join the Symphony Orchestra of Northern Virginia (SONOVA) in an enchanting evening experience, featuring an epic orchestral version of "School's Out" by Alice Cooper, "Cold as Ice" by Foreigner, as well as orchestral masterpieces and holiday favorites. Tickets at sonovamusic.org. George Washington Masonic National Memorial Theater (101 Callahan Dr., Alexandria, VA), 7:30 p.m.

Gay Mens Chorus: The Holiday Show

The Gay Mens Chorus of Washington, D.C. puts on their annual holiday concert: The Holiday Show. Tickets at gmcw. org. Lincoln Theatre (1215 U St. NW, Washington, DC), 8:00 p.m.

SUNDAY

DECEMBER 10 Chanukah Family Fun Event

A Jewish famly fun Chanukah event! Meet other families, make new friends, all are welcome.

No requirements except a desire to connect! RVSP appreciated by emailing rabbi@chabadtysons.com.

Chabad Tysons (2107 Chain Bridge Rd., Vienna, VA), 11:00 a.m. — 12:30 p.m.

Spoons, Toons, & Booze

Aspecial menu of Christmas themed Saturday morning cartoons, plus booze and free cereal. Admission 21 and over unless accompanied by a parent. Tickets at arlingtondrafthouse.com. Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA), 12:00 p.m.

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DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023 | PAGE 17

EVENTS, LIVE MUSIC, & ART Winter Warmer & Winter Market

A cozy and fun-filled afternoon for the whole family, with a "Made in Arlington" outdoor market, live music and storytelling, cookie decorating, and more. Free to attend.

Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington (3550 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA), 12:00 p.m. — 2:00 p.m.

Nutcracker Reimagined: An Artistic Fusion

Enjoy this beloved classical ballet with a little extra spice! An enchanting blend of classical ballet, Mariachi, Tchaikovsky, and other sounds and sights from Latin culture. Tickets at bit.ly/FCNP1223nr.

GMU Harris Theatre (4471 Aquia Creek Ln., Fairfax, VA), 1:00 p.m.

Beau Soir Choir Ensemble

This special concert will feature a flute, viola, and piano trio! The Alden Theatre (1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean, VA), 2:00 p.m.

Madeline's Christmas

Madeline’s schoolmates and tutor are all sick in bed on Christmas Eve, unable to go home for Christmas to be with their families. So it’s Madeline to the rescue!

Tickets at creativecauldron.org.

Creative Cauldron (410 S. Maple Ave., Falls Church), 2:00 p.m.

The Nutcracker

Presented by the Kintz-Mejia Academy of Ballet. In this beloved and timeless story, a young girl Clara is presented with a Christmas gift, a Nutcracker doll. Clara falls to sleep that night and dreams that the Nutcracker has come alive. Come and enjoy this classic ballet for the holidays! Tickets at kintmejiaballet.org.

Meridian High School (121 Mustang Alley, Falls Church), 2:00 p.m.

Accordion Society Holiday Concert

The Washington Metropolitan Accordion Society invites the public to its annual Holiday Concert. $8 donation admission for attendees 12 and older. Refreshments will follow the concert.

Sleepy Hollow United Methodist Church (3435 Sleepy Hollow Rd., Falls Church), 4:00 p.m.

Light up Arlington Menorah Lighting

Clarendon Menorah lighting and community celebration with a festival of lights, delicious latkes, donuts, chocolate gelt, hot cocoa, and dreidels for all. Free registration required at bit.ly/FCNP1223ml.

Chabad Lubavitch of AlexandriaArlington (1307 N. Highland St., Arlington, VA), 5:00 p.m.

No Agenda LGBTQ+ Happy Hour

LGBTQ+ Falls Church and NOVA Pride co-host a fun, noagenda networking event. Come socialize with your neighbors in an LGBTQ+ welcoming space!

Clare and Don's Beach Shack (130 N. Washington St., Falls Church), 6:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m.

Light, Love, & Peace: Songs of the Season

The Fairfax Choral Society presents "Light, Love, & Peace: Songs of the Season," featuring both adult choirs, the youth Master Singers, and The Carol Ringers from St. Matthews UMC. Tickets at bit.ly/FCNP1223ll. Capital One Hall (7750 Capital One Tower Rd., Tysons, VA), 7:00 p.m.

Messiah Sing-Along

The popular presentation and community sing of the Christmas portion of G.F. Handel’s beloved oratorio is in its 31st year.

Free admission. St. Peter's Episcopal Church (4250 N. Glebe Rd., Arlington, VA), 7:30 p.m.

MONDAY

DECEMBER 11 Merry TUBACHRISTMAS

Musicians of all ages gather to perform traditional Christmas music arranged by American composer Alex Wilder on the tuba and euphonium. Free to attend; first come, first served. Kennedy Center Concert Hall (2700 F St. NW, Washington, DC), 6:00 p.m.

Alan Naylor's A Holiday Surprise

Expect something for everyone at Alan's cabaret performances:

THE AMERICAN Festival Pops Orchestra performs "Holiday Pops: Songs of The Season," this Saturday at George Mason University's Center for the Arts (Courtesy Photo) smiles, laughs, tears, daydreaming, thoughtfulness. Alan is back with more wonderful music and silliness, and to introduce a stunning new artist to the DMV. Tickets at creativecauldron.org. Creative Cauldron (410 S. Maple Ave., Falls Church), 7:30 p.m.

City Council Meeting

The public is welcome to address the City Council on any topic during the public comment period.

Sign up to speak at fallschurchva. gov/publiccomment.

View the meeting live or on-demand after the meeting at fallschurchva.gov/ CouncilMeetings and on FCCTV. City Hall (300 Park Ave., Council Chambers/Court Room, Falls Church), 7:30 p.m. — 11:00 p.m.

TUESDAY

DECEMBER 12 Drinks & Dreidels: A Chanuka Soiree

Join the Chanukah Party for Young Jewish Professionals! This event is exclusively for young Jewish professionals in their 20s and 30s.

Tickets at bit.ly/FCNP1223dd.

Chabad Lubavitch of AlexandriaArlington (1307 N. Highland St., Arlington, VA), 6:30 p.m.

School Board Meet & Greet

Meet and greet newly elected FCCPS school board members.

City Hall (300 Park Ave., Council Chambers/Court Room, Falls Church), 6:30 p.m. — 7:00 p.m.

FCCPS School Board Meeting

School board meeting for Falls Church City Public Schools.

The public is invited to attend. Meetings can be viewed at youtube.com/fccpsorg.

City Hall (300 Park Ave., Council Chambers/Court Room, Falls Church), 7:00 p.m. — 10:00 p.m.

Arlington Community Chorus Winter Concert

The program explores themes of welcoming others, the warmth of community, the blessings of home, and the common bonds shared by all humanity. Free and suitable for all ages. Yorktown High School Auditorium (5200 Yorktown Blvd., Arlington, VA), 7:30 p.m.

Frivolidays 2: We're Back, Grinches!

Last year's Frivolidays cabaret was so much fun, it's become a holiday tradition! Becca and Ricky are back for a merry little evening of festive parodies, original carols, and a few other acts of comedy.

Creative Cauldron (410 S. Maple Ave., Falls Church), 7:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 13 Library Board of Trustees Meeting

Library Board of Trustees meets. Mary Riley Styles Public Library (120 N. Virginia Ave., Upper Floor Conf. Rm., Falls Church), 6:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m.

Citizens Transport.

Adv. Cmte. Meeting

Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee meets.

City Hall (300 Park Ave., Dogwood A-B, Falls Church), 7:00 p.m.

Recreation and Parks Adv. Board Meeting

Recreation and Parks Advisory Board meets. Falls Church Community Center (223 Little Falls St., Kenneth R. Burnett Bldg., Falls Church), 7:00 p.m. — 10:00 p.m.

Architectural Advisory Board Meeting

Architectural Advisory Board meets.

City Hall (300 Park Ave., Council Chambers/ Court Room, Falls Church), 7:30 p.m. — 10:30 p.m.

Jessi Shull's A Hollywood Holiday

A whimsical night of song and dance that calls to mind the nostalgia of old Hollywood classics. Featuring favorites such as "White Christmas," and "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy," leave your worries outside and travel back to a simpler time this holiday season.

Creative Cauldron (410 S. Maple Ave., Falls Church), 7:30 p.m.

Appointments Committee Meeting

The City Council Appointments Committee meets to interview candidates and conduct exit interviews. City Hall (300 Park Ave., Oak Room, Falls Church), 8:00 p.m. — 9:00 p.m.

PAGE 18 | DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023

Fa l l s C h u r c h School News & Notes

SCHO O L

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

MERIDIAN’S TRI-M Music Honor Society was awarded the 2023 Virginia State Chapter of The Year in November. (FCCPS Photo)

STUDENTS AT Oak Street Elementary won 12 medals at the Virginia Science Olympiad tournament last month. (FCCPS Photo)

THE RIBBON IS CUT at Meridian High School’s new rooftop solar array during a packed unveiling ceremony attended by elected officials, city leaders, and school faculty/students. (Photo: Brian Reach)

Dozens Bike to School For Friday’s Bikesgiving Last week, the Bikesgiving Bike Bus promoted biking to school for students. Biking is a healthy activity that can help improve overall wellbeing. FCCPS encourages anyone who wishes to bike to school, to read the safety tips on the transportation webpage before biking to school.

MEHMS Students Excel in Lab Experiments The 8th grade Science Team at Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School recently conducted a classic baking soda and vinegar lab, observing the reaction between the two substances and how it affected the balloon on top of the beaker. The Science team is dedicated to providing engaging educational experiences for students, helping them develop a deeper understanding of scientific concepts through effective planning and execution of lab activities.

Growth, Challenges in FY 2025 Fiscal Forecast In a joint presentation to the City Council and School Board, offi-

cials unveiled the fiscal forecast for FCCPS and the F.C. government for FY 2025, projecting robust growth amid financial challenges.

FCCPS forecasts a rise in student enrollment, necessitating the hiring of additional teachers and staff.

Already grappling with national and state-level teacher shortages, FCCPS is planning significant investments in employee compensation, including steps and cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), alongside a ten percent increase in health insurance rates.

FCCPS’s expenditure needs amount to $4.3 million, covering costs related to enrollment growth, salary steps, COLA, health insurance, and unavoidable increases such as utility costs.

The City’s revenue is expected to grow by 8.0 percent, fueled by a 5.9 percent increase in real estate taxes and a significant 12.7 percent rise in other taxes. This increase, amounting to $7.5 million in new tax revenue, is partly attributed to new construction, contributing $2.1 million alone.

However, the city faces a projected budget gap of $3.1 million, considering the new revenues and its own expenditures. While facing these financial challenges, both the city and FCCPS emphasized their commitment to maintaining the high quality of services and education.

City council will vote on budget guidance Monday, with the school board discussing it the next evening.

Superintendent Noonan will present his proposed budget on January 9.

OSE Students at Virginia Science Olympiad Last month, Oak Street Elementary students competed at the Virginia Science Olympiad tournament at Langley High School. The team sent 23 students to compete in events for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders against other Northern Virginia elementary school students. Events included written exams and practical building, where students competed in pairs. The Tigers (and the parents who coached them) did quite well! Below is a list of students who medaled in their events. The team was organized by parents Christina Freyman, Nirav Kapadia, and Julia Goldstein.

First place prizes went to Ekaagra Singh and Ellie Popelier (Data Investigations), E.J. Kemps-Reiling and Ekaagra Singh (Hydraulics), and Lev Gorbos and Tep Raimondi (Plate Tectonics). Third place prizes went to Lev Gorbos and Tep Raimondi (Build-a-Barge) and Myrtle Dietz and Julia Stearns (Forestry). A

DOZENS BIKED to school for Bikesgiving last Friday to promote the healthy way of getting around. (FCCPS Photo: Kenny George)

THE SCIENCE TEAM at MEHMS conduct a classic baking soda and vinegar lab experiment. (FCCPS Photo: Steve Pickering) fourth place prize went to Nathan Conley and Parker Stivers (Crave the Wave). Fifth place prizes went to Jacob Goodwin and Nathan Barnette (Forces), Nathan Conley and Nikhil Kapadia (Gravity Vehicle), Myrtle Dietz and Julia Stearns (Morse Code Busters), Lucas Coulson and EJ Kemps-Reiling (States of Matter), and Jackson Boyd and Max Gilbert (Wright Stuff). Max Gilbert

also won a sixth place prize (Plate Tectonics).

MHS Tri-M Music Honor Society Recognized The Meridian High School Tri-M Music Honor Society was awarded the 2023 Virginia State Chapter of the Year! This remarkable accom-

plishment was officially recognized and celebrated at the Virginia Music Educators Association Conference in Richmond on November 17, to a captivated audience of hundreds of music educators.

The Tri-M Chapter at MHS created coffee houses during free blocks, where students could perform and enjoy their peers’ performances. The initiative expanded to a full-scale talent show, “Meridian’s Got Talent,” raising funds for music organizations. The chapter also contributed to the musical culture of MHS by ushering concerts, performing in classrooms, and organizing a musical toy drive for tots during the holidays.

MHS Cuts Ribbon on Rooftop Solar Array On Tuesday, community members joined school faculty, and the owner and builders on the roof of Meridian High School, where a ribbon was cut celebrating the opening of its remarkable solar array project.

MHS Cheer Fundraises for Nationals Trip The Meridian Varsity Cheer team received a bid to the cheer national tournament in Orlando, FL in February. The team is super excited for the opportunity to compete at the national level. Making this dream a reality means lots of practice and fundraising, of course. To cover

the team’s travel and accommodation expenses, they’re launching a fundraising campaign, and will host a Parents Night Out fundraiser on Sunday, December 10, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Teen Room at the F.C. Community Center (223 Little Falls St., Falls Church), with holiday themed crafts, cheer activities, and other fun. Tickets are $40 for the first child and $10 for siblings. Parents are invited to drop their kids off and enjoy their afternoons. Questions can be emailed to Brittany Sakata at brittanysakata@gmail.com. Sign up at bit.ly/ FCNP1223mc.

F.C. 4-H Club Honored With Multiple Awards On November 18, Fairfax County’s 4-H extension agent, India Pearson, recognized the members of the Falls Church City 4-H Club by presenting it with the First Place Club Fair Supporter Award. This award goes to the club with the highest participation in the Fairfax County 4-H Fair, held in August at Frying Pan Park. The club was recognized for the members’ participation on the fair planning committee, service as fair superintendents, help with setting up and taking down the fair, and participation in the 4-H Community Booth.

In addition, the Ann Marlow “Friend of 4-H” Award was bestowed on Falls Church City Public Schools (FCCPS). During the last few years,

Martino’s Big First Half Leads Mustang Boys Over Trinity Christian

by Ryan McCafferty

ahead 34-17. He scored 18 first half points in all, only one fewer than Trinity’s total score of 19, and then picked up right where he left off after the break. His fourth three-pointer of the game gave Meridian a 42-21 lead early in the third, and from that point on the Mustangs were in cruise control. They led 51-29 after three, and then with mostly reserves playing the final quarter, won by a final tally of 68-37.

Billy Asel (12) and Isaac Rosenberger (10) joined Martino (21) in double figures, while nine players in total scored for the Mustangs, who are still without the services of starting center Grant Greiner and sharpshooter Will Davis.

Their next test will be on Friday when they play Warren County, once again at home.

the school system has donated space at Meridian High School to allow youth from Fairfax County to compete in County Contest Day, which fosters public speaking and presentation skills, fashion review for sewing and clothing arts, and the performing arts. The FCCPS has also provided monthly meeting space to the members of the 4-H club.

The accolades didn’t stop there.

The president of the FCC 4-H Club, Alexandra Blake, won the Clyde Jackson Spirit of 4-H Award, for her countless hours working with 4-H members the county, the 4-H summer camp and fair, and for inspiring others to live up to the 4-H motto.

This honor is presented to an individual who “strives to exemplify the spirit of 4-H” just as its namesake did.

Jackson served as the first president of the Black Virginia 4-H Youth Program and was one of the AfricanAmerican youth leaders to attend the first integrated State 4-H Congress.

He was posthumously inducted into the National 4-H Hall of Fame. .

The Larry Blair Memorial Award was awarded to Kate Diller as the club member with the highest participation in the 2023 fair. In addition to a plaque, Diller received a $100 scholarship. She was also named the Senior Division Overall High Point Winner, determined based on total points awarded for projects entered at the County Fair that win Grand Champion, Reserve Champion, Blue, Red, or White ribbons.

Three club members received the

DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023 | PAGE 19

THE F.C. 4-H CLUB was presented multiple awards for their participation in the Fairfax County 4-H Fair. (Courtesy Photo) Head Award, awarded to the member in each age level showing exceptional leadership skills throughout the year: Molly York won the Junior Head Award for enthusiastically helping the Achievement Night decorating committee; Evie Bachman won the Intermediate Head Award for exceptional leadership skills; and Tony Diller won the Senior Head Award for efforts to create the fair superintendent guides for each department and the Senior Fair Supporter Award.

The Senior Hands Award, awarded to a member at each age level who strives to make a difference in their club and community, went to Owen Penrose for his dedication to the club and joy of teaching other members parliamentary procedure.

Two club members won the Health Award, awarded to a member at each age level who was proactive in helping make their club and community a healthier place:

Elena Jimenez won the Junior Health Award for her work with the Chick Booth at the fair, which included setting the leg of a chick when it was broken; Seamus Cronin won the Junior Health Award for organizing and planning bicycle and hiking trips.

“We are so proud of these 4-H’ers,” said club managers of the Falls Church City 4-H club Mechelle Coppock and Esther Wisdom. “Their enthusiasm and willingness to learn and make a difference in their community embodies the spirit of 4-H, ‘To Make the Best Better.’”

4-H seeks to provide an environment where youth can learn and explore different subjects while having fun. It offers a variety of different project groups to ensure each club member will find a topic they value.

By providing wonderful educational yet fun activities, a club member will retain skills for a lifetime.

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The boys’ Varsity basketball team at Meridian High School has been off to a stellar start this fall, winning each of its first three games and scoring at least 70 points in all of them. They welcomed Trinity Christian to town on Tuesday night looking to stay perfect, and led by point guard Daylen Martino, the Mustangs quickly went to work.

Trinity scored the game’s first basket but Martino hit back-toback triples to put the home team up 6-2, a lead Meridian expanded to 14-6 after a quarter.

Then with the visitors still hanging within single digits late in the second period, Martino went on a solo 8-0 run that consisted of a three-pointer, a successful and-one three-point play, and an inbounds steal leading to a layup, to put the Mustangs

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PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CITY COUNCIL CITY OF FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA The following was given first reading at the October 23, 2023 City Council meeting. A public hearing, second reading, and City Council action is scheduled for Monday, December 11, 2023 at 7:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard.

(TO23-14) ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTER 48 “ZONING” OF THE CITY CODE OF THE CITY OF FALLS CHURCH AS FOLLOWS: ARTICLE 1, “IN GENERAL,” SEC. 48-2, “DEFINITIONS;” ARTICLE II, “ADMINISTRATION,” DIVISION 3, “AMENDMENTS,” SEC. 48-86, “PROCEDURE,” AND DIVISION 4, “OFFICIAL DESIGNS,” SEC. 48-112, “PROCEDURE;” ARTICLE III, “BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS,” SEC. 48-172, “POWERS;” ARTICLE IV, “DISTRICTS,” DIVISION 13, “O-D, OFFICIAL DESIGN DISTRICT,” SEC. 48-585, “INTENT,” AND SEC. 48586, “PRINCIPAL USES PERMITTED BY RIGHT;” ARTICLE V, “SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS,” DIVISION 6, “HEIGHT, LOT AND YARD REGULATIONS,” SEC. 48-1101, “GENERAL REQUIREMENTS,” AND SEC. 48-1102, “ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS, EXCEPTIONS AND MODIFICATIONS;” AND DIVISION 8, “LANDSCAPING,” SEC. 48-1184, “DESIGN CRITERIA” TO: CHANGE ADVERTISING REQUIREMENTS AND VARIANCE CRITERIA IN CONFORMANCE WITH STATE CODE; REMOVE REFERENCE TO T-1 PRINCIPAL USES WITHIN THE OFFICIAL DESIGN DISTRICT; CHANGE FRONT YARD SETBACK DEFINITION SYNTAX FOR CLARITY; REMOVE OUTDATED REFERENCES TO STREET SIDE YARD AND INTERIOR SIDE YARD; AND ADDRESS CODIFICATION ERRORS The proposed amendment to the Zoning Ordinance is intended to: (a) clarify meaning where ambiguity has been identified in the course of administering the ordinance, (b) reflect recent changes to Virginia State Code, and (c) remove general errors.

The following was read at the November 23, 2023 City Council meeting. A public hearing and City Council action is scheduled for Monday, December 11, 2023 at 7:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard.

(TR23-36) RESOLUTION REQUESTING THAT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AMEND SECTION 4.14, “APPOINTMENTS,” OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF FALLS CHURCH TO REQUIRE THAT APPOINTED MEMBERS TO CITY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS BE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE AND RESIDENTS OF THE CITY, AND REMOVING THE REQUIREMENT THAT THEY BE QUALIFIED VOTERS OF THE CITY The following public hearing was continued to Monday, December 11, 2023 at 7:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard.

AN APPEAL TO THE CITY COUNCIL TO REVERSE THE HISTORIC ARCHITECTURAL ADVISORY BOARD’S DENIAL OF AN APPLICATION TO RAZE A PROTECTED STRUCTURE AT 1011 FOWLER STREET All public hearings will be held in the Council Chambers, 300 Park Avenue, Falls Church, Virginia. Remote participation

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

C L AS S I F I E DS

information at www.fallschurchva.gov/publiccomment. Comments may also be sent to cityclerk@fallschurchva.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 information. Positions advertised for more than one month may be filled during each subsequent month.

Architectural Advisory Board Arts and Humanities Council of Falls Church Aurora House Citizens’ Advisory Committee Board of Equalization Citizens’ Advisory Committee on Transportation City Employee Review Board Environmental Sustainability Council Historic Architectural Review Board Historical Commission Housing Commission Human Services Advisory Council Planning Commission Regional Boards/Commissions Advisory Social Services Board Continuum of Care Board Fairfax Area Commission on Aging Long Term Care Coordinating Council Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Commission 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.

FOR SALE Six (6) cemetery spaces at National Memorial Park, 7482 Lee Highway, Falls Church, VA. 22042-1725, located in desirable Block II, Lot 38, Spaces 3 & 4, and Lot 39, Spaces 1, 2, 3 & 4. The cemetery list price is about $12,000 each space and our price is $5,995 each space. Please contact cfsmith@cfaith.com

ABC NOTICE The Regency Convenience Store LLC trading as It’s Amore, 1800 Old Meadow Rd Unit L6, McLean VA, 22102 is applying to the Virginia ABC board for a Convenience Grocery Store, Beer and Wine, Off Premises license. Clara Marshall-Owner/Manager. NOTE: Objections to the issuance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first of 2 required newspaper legal notice.

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DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023 | PAGE 21

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC OF AN APPLICATION BY VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY D/B/A DOMINION ENERGY VIRGINIA FOR REVISION OF A RATE ADJUSTMENT CLAUSE: RIDER U, NEW UNDERGROUND DISTRIBUTION FACILITIES, FOR THE RATE YEAR COMMENCING AUGUST 1, 2024 CASE NO. PUR-2023-00172 · Virginia Electric and Power Company d/b/a Dominion Energy Virginia (“Dominion”) has applied for approval to revise its rate adjustment clause, Rider U. · In this case, Dominion has asked the State Corporation Commission (“Commission”) to approve Rider U for the rate year beginning August 1, 2024, and ending July 31, 2025 (“Rate Year”). · For the Rate Year, Dominion requests a revenue requirement of $149.546 million, which would increase the monthly bill of a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month by $2.18. · A Hearing Examiner appointed by the Commission will hear the case on April 17, 2024, at 10 a.m. · Further information about this case is available on the SCC website at: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information.

On October 3, 2023, Virginia Electric and Power Company (“Dominion” or “Company”) filed an application (“Application”) with the State Corporation Commission (“Commission”) for an annual update of the Company’s rate adjustment clause, Rider U, pursuant to Code § 56-585.1 A 6 and Rules 10 (20 VAC 5-204-10) and 60 (20 VAC 5-204-60) of the Commission’s Rules Governing Utility Rate Case Applications and Annual Informational Filings of Investor-Owned Electric Utilities (20 VAC 5-204-10 et seq.) (“Rate Case Rules”). Through its Application, the Company seeks to recover costs associated with its Strategic Undergrounding Program (“SUP”). Specifically, the Company seeks cost recovery associated with the previously approved Phase One, Phase Two, Phase Three, Phase Four, Phase Five, and Phase Six (collectively, “Previously Approved Phases”), and further requests Commission approval to recover costs associated with proposed Phase Seven of the SUP through Rider U, for the rate year commencing August 1, 2024 through July 31, 2025 (“Rate Year”).

In this proceeding, Dominion has asked the Commission to extend the current rate year by an additional month. In the Company’s most recent application in Case No. PUR-202200089, the Commission approved Rider U for an April 1, 2023 through March 31, 2024 rate year. On August 4, 2023, the Commission extended these Rider U rates until June 30, 2024. In this Application, the Company requests that the Commission further extend the existing rates until July 31, 2024 and approve the new rates for Rider U with an effective date of August 1, 2024.

Dominion states that proposed Phase Seven of the SUP is designed to convert approximately 383 miles of overhead tap lines to underground facilities at a capital investment of approximately $258 million. Dominion states that Phase Seven actual expenditures through July 31, 2023, are approximately $213 million, and projected expenditures for the period of August 1, 2023 through July 31, 2024, are approximately $45 million. The Company states that, in this Application, it is requesting to recover costs of Phase Seven through Rider U for only those projects that will be completed prior to the beginning of the proposed Rate Year, August 1, 2024.

For the Rate Year beginning August 1, 2024, the Company is requesting recovery of a total revenue requirement of $71.409 million for the Previously Approved Phases, and a revenue requirement of $78.137 million for proposed Phase Seven, for a combined Rider U revenue requirement of $149.546 million.

If the proposed Rider U revenue requirement for the Rate Year is approved, the impact on customer bills would depend on the customer’s rate schedule and usage. According to Dominion, implementation of its proposed Rider U on August 1, 2024, would increase the bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month by approximately $2.18 compared to the current Rider U. Dominion indicates it has calculated the proposed Rider U rates in accordance with the same methodology as used for rates approved by the Commission in the most recent Rider U proceeding, Case No. PUR-2022-00089, with the only change being that the FERC account plant balances are, for this case, based on a 2022 end of period cost of service study.

The details of these and other proposals are set forth in the Company’s Application. Interested persons are encouraged to review the Company’s Application, testimony and supporting exhibits for the details of these proposals.

TAKE NOTICE that the Commission may adopt rates, charges and/or terms and conditions that differ from those appearing in the Company’s Application and supporting documents and may apportion revenues among customer classes and/or design rates in a manner differing from that shown in the Application and supporting documents.

The Commission entered an Order for Notice and Hearing in this proceeding that, among other things, scheduled a public hearing on the Application. On April 17, 2024, at 10 a.m., the Hearing Examiner will hold a telephonic portion of the hearing, for the purpose of receiving the testimony of public witnesses. On or before April 11, 2024, any person desiring to offer testimony as a public witness shall provide to the Commission (a) your name, and (b) the telephone number that you wish the Hearing Examiner to call during the hearing to receive your testimony. This information may be provided to the Commission in three ways: (i) by filling out a form on the Commission’s website at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting; (ii) by completing and emailing the PDF version of this form to SCCInfo@scc.virginia.gov; or (iii) by calling (804) 371-9141. This public witness portion of the hearing will be webcast at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting.

On April 17, 2024, at 10 a.m., or at the conclusion of the public witness portion of the hearing, whichever is later, in the Commission’s second floor courtroom located in the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, the Hearing Examiner will convene a hearing to receive testimony and evidence related to the Application from the Company, any respondents, and the Commission’s Staff.

To promote administrative efficiency and timely service of filings upon participants, the Commission has directed the electronic filing of testimony and pleadings, unless they contain confidential information, and has required electronic service on parties to this proceeding.

An electronic copy of the public version of the Application may be obtained by submitting a written request to counsel for the Company: Jontille D. Ray, Esquire, McGuireWoods LLP, Gateway Plaza, 800 East Canal Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, or jray@mcguirewoods.com. Interested persons also may download unofficial copies from the Commission’s website: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information.

On or before April 11, 2024, any interested person may submit comments on the Application electronically by following the instructions on the Commission’s website: scc.virginia.gov/casecomments/Submit-Public-Comments. Those unable, as a practical matter, to submit comments electronically may file such comments with the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission, c/o Document Control Center, P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, Virginia 23218-2118. All comments shall refer to Case No. PUR-2023-00172.

On or before February 20, 2024, any person or entity wishing to participate as a respondent in this proceeding may do so by filing a notice of participation with the Clerk of the Commission at: scc.virginia.gov/clk/efiling. Those unable, as a practical matter, to file a notice of participation electronically may file such notice by U.S. mail to the Clerk of the Commission at the address listed above. Notices of participation shall include the email address of the party or its counsel. The respondent shall serve a copy of the notice of participation on counsel to Dominion. Pursuant to 5 VAC 5-20-80 B, Participation as a respondent, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice, any notice of participation shall set forth: (i) a precise statement of the interest of the respondent; (ii) a statement of the specific action sought to the extent then known; and (iii) the factual and legal basis for the action. Any organization, corporation, or government body participating as a respondent must be represented by counsel as required by 5 VAC 5-20-30, Counsel, of the Rules of Practice. All filings shall refer to Case No. PUR-2023-00172.

On or before March 6, 2024, each respondent may file electronically with the Clerk of the Commission at scc.virginia.gov/clk/efiling any testimony and exhibits by which the respondent expects to establish its case. Any respondent unable, as a practical matter, to file testimony and exhibits electronically may file such by U.S. mail to the Clerk of the Commission at the address listed above. Each witness’s testimony shall include a summary not to exceed one page. All testimony and exhibits shall be served on the Commission’s Staff, the Dominion, and all other respondents. In all filings, respondents shall comply with the Commission’s Rules of Practice, as modified by the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing, including, but not limited to: 5 VAC 5-20-140, Filing and service, and 5 VAC 5-20-240, Prepared testimony and exhibits. All filings shall refer to Case No. PUR2023-00172.

Any documents filed in paper form with the Office of the Clerk of the Commission in this docket may use both sides of the paper. In all other respects, except as modified by the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing, all filings shall comply fully with the requirements of 5 VAC 5-20-150, Copies and format, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice.

The Commission’s Rules of Practice, the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing, the public version of the Application and other documents filed in this case may be viewed on the Commission’s website at: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information.

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

The LGBTQ+ Reach

by Brian Reach

Falls Church News-Press

LGBTQ+ Happy Hour This Weekend!

On Sunday, from 6:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m. at Clare and Don’s Beach Shack (130 N. Washington St., Falls Church), LGBTQ+ Falls Church and NOVA Pride will co-host a “No Agenda Happy Hour,” a now-monthly meetup the second Sunday of every month. Now that winter is here, attendees gather in the inside bar (either in the bar, or the event room behind it).

This monthly event is the beginning of LGBTQ+ Falls Church, a new organization seeking to network and organize the community of Falls Church’s LGBTQ+ community and their straight allies. There is no agenda (as the name suggests) for the event, other than coming together and meeting one another!

I’ll be there, as will Evita Peroxide (a NOVA Pride Board member and hostess of the monthly Sunrise Sunset Drag Bingo held in the same space), and other group leadership.

Come find us on Sunday — look for the rainbows!

LGBTQ+ Bars Raided in Russia On November 30, the Russian Supreme Court outlawed the “international LGBT movement,” designating it as an “extremist organization.”

On November 17, the Russian Justice Ministry filed a motion for the ban, claiming that the LGBT movement promotes “social and religious strife.” No definition of what constitutes an entity within the “international LGBT movement” was given.

Just two days later, Russian media outlet SOTA reported on Telegram that police raided three gay bars and a gay sauna in Moscow. In at least one establishment, word of the raids came enough in advance for patrons to leave.

In others, patrons were forced to the ground, their identification photographed before being released.

One week into the new law, queer people in Russia face heightened uncertainty for their futures.

How it Happened In 2013, Russia passed a law banning “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations around minors.” This includes any public discussion of LGBTQ+ rights or relationships, anywhere a minor may hear it.

Like the “don’t say gay” bills passed in Florida and several other states, the law was

passed under the cloak of “protecting children,” and supporters of the law — including Russian leader Vladimir Putin — repeatedly conflated homosexuality with bestiality and pedophilia.

On December 5, 2022, Russian leader Vladimir Putin signed an expansion of the law, making any public discussion of LGBTQ+ identities illegal for adults.

What it Means Being officially designated an extremist organization in Russia has significant repercussions.

Russian law punishes any supporter of “extremist activity” with up to two years of income forfeiture or 300,000 rubles, and three years in prison. Using mass media for the same is punishable for up to five years in prison and three years of “deprivation of the right to hold certain jobs.”

“Creation of an extremist community” is punishable with up to 200,000 rubles, four years in prison, and five years of limited employment rights.

Participation in an “extremist community” is punishable with up to 40,000 rubles, three years in prison, two years of limited employment. If a person creates or participates using their “official status,” the punishment is up to 300,000 rubles, two years of income, up to six years in prison, and five years of limited employment.

Perhaps most concerning is the clause that immediately follows: “or without any term.”

Gay Man Mutilated, Murdered in Arizona The body of Bernardo Pantaleon was found in Mountain View Park in Phoenix, AZ last week.

Pantaleon’s was beaten and shot multiple times, his body mutilated and naked when found by a passerby in the park.

On Tuesday, three were arrested and charged with first-degree murder in his death: 20-yearold Jose Rodriguez, and 21-year-olds Leonardo Santiago and Manuel Carrasco-Calderon. The trio of suspects, all of whom have confessed to the murder, were also charged with crimes against the dead and assisting a street gang.

In Arizona, “crimes against the dead” apply to individuals that rob graves or illegally store, mutilate, or sexually violate a dead body.

The Police found the suspects through social media posts, including one on Instagram with a photo of Pantaleon’s body.

Pantaleon’s family says they were also sent pictures of his dead body, leading them to believe the murder was motivated by hate.

Saslaw’s Richmond Report Continued from Page 13

Youngkin to allocate. Revenue growth is expected to moderate from pandemic highs and will be sufficient to just cover the K-12 and Medicaid forecast. Between the large tax cuts the Governor pushed in his first year, dwindling pandemic relief funds from the federal government, and moderating ongoing tax revenue, it

is not the time to further cut state tax revenue when we have pressing needs in education, public safety and public health. With uncertain economic projections in the near future, I hope the Governor will keep fiscal responsibility and the Commonwealth’s AAA bond rating at the forefront of his budget proposal when it is revealed in the coming weeks.

DECEMBER 7 - 13, 2023 | PAGE 23

Falls Church Business News & Notes The Kensington Is Growing

Kensington Senior Living has broken ground on another site, Kensington Bethesda.

There are currently three in California, one in New York, two in Virginia, and one in Maryland. Kensington Reston opened in 2021 and Bethesda expects to open in Summer 2025 as the eighth site.

Chemtrec and Areté Sign Leases Fairview Park has signed two tenants to the office building at 3130 Fairview Park Drive. Chemtrec, a hazardous materials transportation company, is moving out of the space subleased from the complex known as the Hitt headquarters into a neighboring office building. Areté Associates, a defense tech company, is consolidating two locations in making this move.

Chamber Holiday Mixer Tonight The Falls Church Chamber of Commerce celebrates the season with the Holiday Mixer. Sunrise Senior Living in Falls Church is hosting the event for members from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Prospective members are welcome.

Scramble for a Holiday Wine Tasting Scramble Falls Church is hosting a wine tasting on Friday, December 8, 5:00 p.m.

– 7:00 p.m. The distributor, Impero Wine, will have new varietals for tasting. The café will be open for orders from the menu and bottles of wine will be available for purchase. Raffle prizes will be announced during the event.

Advance RSVPs to their Facebook page at fb.me/e/5VR568CE6 will receive a $5 discount on the Cheese Charcuterie tray. This event coincides with the Friday Bonanza deal with special rates for children from 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Falls Church Chamber of Commerce members may be admitted to the tasting room without children and will receive a raffle ticket for the gift basket.

Restaurant Week A number of Falls Church restaurants will soon receive the spotlight. Falls Church Restaurant Week is scheduled for January 19-28, offering a special opportunity to try new restaurants or special dishes at longtime favorite restaurants. Over 37 restaurants have signed up with various offers, prix fixe menus, special dishes, and discounts. Ireland’s Four Provinces is joined by Bánh Cuon Thang Long, Bakeshop, Luzmila’s Bolivian Cuisine, and newcomer NUE. There is still time for restaurants to sign on via the website at fallschurchrw.com/ restaurant-sign-up.

Little City Gift Card Bonus Funds Going Quickly For the second year, Falls Church City has invested in a program to support the local The Little City Gift Card, the Falls Church City program to support local businesses, has proven successful in its second year. Last week, $36,450.50 had been issued from the federal ARPA funds of $100,000 and as of this week, $72,217 has been issued. That leaves only $27,783 bonus funds available. To date, 75 local businesses and restaurants are participating and over 1,240 Little City Gift Cards have been purchased.

 Business News & Notes is compiled by Elise Neil Bengtson, Executive Director of the Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce. She may be emailed at elise@fallschurchchamber.org.

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