F.C. Projects: Ahead of the ‘Pause’

The wisest observers, according to our sources, say that we are not out of the woods on the current banking crisis, noting that banks everywhere are scared and locking down in terms of lending and that these current conditions will not abate for a year or more.

This being said, everybody is trying to assess what this will mean for their budgets and their development plans. The question was broached at Tuesday’s joint meeting of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce and Merrifield Business Association to the region’s two state lawmakers, Del. Marcus Simon and Sen. Chap Petersen. Both are seeking re-election in reconfigured districts that include the City of Falls Church. Simon having served as the City’s man in the House of Delegates for four terms already, and Petersen, though a veteran of 16 years of elected service in Richmond, now vying in a Democratic primary this spring to represent Falls Church for the first time. Neither professed to have a crystal ball for forecasting the impact of the current crisis for Virginians, other than to note that, unlike North Carolina, for example, banking is not a major industry here.

It can be expected, though, that the $3 million budget surplus the state enjoyed this past year that the governor and Democratic lawmakers have been fighting over how to deploy (the usual options being tax cuts versus education spending), will not be available next year. The fighting will heat up in the context of this fall’s state elections and next year’s big presidential election over efforts by Democrats, now in the minority in the House of Delegates, to deter book banning (Simon says he has a personal lending library in front of his home where controversial books are offered to borrowers), codifying the Roe v. Wade decision in the state constitution and repealing the state’s constitutional amendment outlawing gay marriage, plus whatever gains on gun control can be hoped for in the current Richmond environment.

While the current banking crisis can be expected to put a slammer on new lending for development, for example, the City of Falls Church is now the envy of the entire region for the number of construction cranes now dotting the Little City’s skyline. Three projects are full steam ahead now in this little 2.2 square miles, the funding having already been secured, on top of everything else that’s been built here the last two decades. They are the Hoffman-led massive 10-acre development adjacent the new Meridian High School campus, rising now over the grave of the former George Mason High, the Insight Group’s major work at the intersection of Broad and Washington where a deluxe Whole Foods and new expanded home for our local theater troupe, Creative Cauldron, is set to go, and the Modero, formerly known as Founders Row 2, just getting started.

Falls Church citizens are very fortunate to benefit from the huge revenues generated by these, their funding coming ahead of the current “pause.”

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Response to Del.

Simon’s Column

Editor,

I know Del. Marcus Simon to be a hard-working, intelligent state legislator. That’s why I found his recent column on the redistricting process (“Richmond Report,” March 16) so dispiriting.

Partisanship in Richmond is not the result of redistricting, it’s the result of geography. In the current political climate, Northern Virginia and Richmond will elect Democrats and more rural parts of the state will elect Republicans. Incumbent protection only serves to make elections (including primaries) less competitive.

What Simon characterizes as an “ill-considered” constitutional amendment (approved overwhelmingly by voters across the state) was the handiwork of two longtime Democratic senators, Dick Saslaw and George Barker. It was only after Democrats gained control of the General Assembly that they opposed the amendment, arguing that redistricting would end up in the Republican-controlled Virginia Supreme Court. But their feared nightmare never occurred. After the Virginia Redistricting Commission broke down in partisan rancor, the court appointed two special masters to draw the maps. Their districts were judged by non-partisan analysts, such as the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, to be “some of the fairest and best” adopted during the 2020 cycle, not the “redistricting fiasco” that Simon describes.

Yes, there will be pain involved. As of this writing, Simon himself may have to run against Democratic Del. Kaye Kory. But the special masters concluded that the approved criteria did not include protecting incumbents. Simon characterizes their work as “packing us all into nice, geometrically pretty districts.” The special masters, on the other hand, noted that the previous, legislator-crafted districts split 46 counties 78 times in the case of the State Senate, and 60 counties 138 times for the House of Delegates. Instead the special masters focused on the needs of voters and preserving the “communities of interest” where they lived.

This year’s elections will force many legislators to “up their games” and voters to make some tough choices. Arguably, Dick Saslaw became a more attentive legislator after 2019, when he faced primary opposition and won by fewer than 500 votes. Let’s wait and see what happens before predicting that the new reforms will lead to more partisanship.

As a member of Virginia’s redistricting commission, Simon should address ways that the process could be improved for 2030. But providing more protection for incumbents is not one of them.

Sara Fitzgerald Editor,

Clarification on Little League Story

What a great article about a valuable volunteer organization—Falls Church Kiwanis Little League (FCKLL) who is celebrating its 75th Anniversary this Saturday at Westgate Field at 8:30 a.m.! Greater Falls Church and Little League Baseball have had a rich history together since 1948 when first established by our granddads and great uncles and their wives!! As a ballplayer, 11 and 12 years old (‘71/’72), I directly received all the benefits and blessings that are the stated goals of FCKLL namely team play, honesty, fair play, understanding, sacrifice for others, encouragement i.e. characterbuilding! Most important to me was the impact of my Head Coach on my pre teenage chapter of life—Mr. MacNevin was the Dad I was without and set the right path clearly for me and the other boys too! Thank you to Mr MacNevin and ALL the coaches both mine AND the other teams’ too back then!

To clarify one issue noted in the wonderful article, FCKLL back in early ‘70s was in fact a large and robustly vibrant League of kids and parents and sponsors! There were actually three divisions called Eastern, Western and National! I am so thankful for my experience to be on a winning team (LIONS) my final year and it is all thanks to that wonderful volunteerism that makes America great! Dedicated coaching was crucial along with family and community support! NOTE PLS:

I understand there is an electronic memory page being designed to capture old photos and memories so please contact Erika at erika@ fckll.org for more info! See you Saturday! Play Ball!!

Craig Day