Falls Church News-Press 3-4-2021 by Falls Church News-Press

March 4 – 10, 2020

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Virginia Tech Alters Course On West End Development Effect of Sudden Move Unclear For Long-Term BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

Shock waves were felt throughout the Northern Virginia region last weekend when Virginia Tech suddenly announced it was dropping its agreement to be a part of the massive 9.6 acre West End Gateway project in the City of Falls Church. A two-year planning effort with HITT construction to fully develop the 5.6 acres where it sits adjacent to the City’s own project site is now no more. Plans had been emerging to meld the development efforts of the City’s West End project, the Virginia Tech development next to it, and next to that, the development of over 20 acres owned by Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) right at its West Falls Church Metro station. Combined they would involve over 40 acres of contiguous development centered around a wide and (perhaps) yellow road that would

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A MAJORITY of residents who took part in the Use of Force committee’s survey were pleased with the Falls Church’s police department conduct, but Chief Mary Gavin believes there is always room for improvement. (P��: N��-P��)

Use of Force Committee’s Report Spurs F.C. Police Changes

BY MATT DELANEY

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

The City of Falls Church’s Use of Force committee presented its comprehensive report to the City Council last week, and looks to motivate some changes to Falls

Church’s police department in both the short and long term. The 189-page report is the culmination of months of work after the 13-member committee was initially established by the City last summer following nationwide protests against police brutality. Its

goal was to review all instances where Falls Church’s police used force over a five year period from Jan. 2015 – June 2020. The committee recorded 113 uses of force during that period. When responses that involved wildlife were removed (such as

confronting rabid animals), that number dropped to 86 instances. Those 27 instances involving wildlife were also the only ones where officers fired their weapon — on only nine occasions (or 10 percent

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Capping an unusual season, the Mustang Boys and Girls swim teams traveled to Christiansburg last week to compete in the Class 3 Swimming State Championship, where the boys finished seventh among 28 teams and the girls finished 10th among 22. See Story, page 12

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As most schools and public gatherings are closed during the coronavirus pandemic due to adhering to social distancing, what has become of the traditional school play in this school year? Wolfpack Theatre at Justice High School has hit upon a very creative solution. See Story, page 19

INDEX

Editorial............................................... 6 Letters................................................. 6 Comment ................................ 7,16,17 News & Notes.............................10-11 Business News ................................. 15 Crime Report .................................... 16 Calendar ........................................... 18 Classified Ads ................................... 20 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ......... 21 Critter Corner.................................... 22

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F.C. Police Chief Intends to Address Need For Body Cameras With Budget Requests

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of all instances) in the observed time frame did officers approach anything remotely aggressive. That included examples cited in the report such as “arm injured when broke window; bump/cut on forehead when individual slammed head on plexiglass in patrol car; hit head when tackled; said head hurt, required medics; and required medics for hand pain from prior surgery.” Considering the City’s crime rate was 36 percent lower than the national average in 2019, according to website Area Vibes which relies on the FBI’s publicly available data, it’s fair to wonder what the committee is trying to improve about City police. In fact, Chief of Police Mary Gavin told the News-Press that the last time a Falls Church officer shot and killed a suspect was in January 1999. But Gavin was also effusive about the role the committee will play in helping improve the department. “The profession as a whole is

evolving and changing, and so are the expectations of the community,” Gavin said. “And so where we may not have any egregious acts of use of force, there’s still a need to absolutely change with the times and ensure that we are on the cutting edge of all of the current techniques and all of the less than lethal options that we have out there to ensure that we don’t get into trouble.” Part of that evolution is Gavin joining the call for body-worn cameras by the City’s officers — a stance she wasn’t committed to as recently as three years ago. Though dependent on budget space, the head of Falls Church police believes they will come in the near future. Other tasks already being worked on by police includes training for crisis intervention so they can handle people suffering from mental health episodes appropriately. Gavin said she would be interested in a dedicated crisis intervention specialist riding along on patrols if the budget permits it, similar to what Prince William County implemented in

November. At the City Council meeting on Feb. 23, Gavin told committee chair Janis Johnson and vice-chair Brian Creswick that she can work on some of its recommendations in the short term. Explicitly outlining when “last resort” tactics are appropriate to use — for instance, trachea holds, carotid artery holds and baton strikes to the head — is one suggestion. Writing out the police department’s own core values and updating language on how it monitors uses of force, biases among its officers and its disciplinary guidelines were recommended as well. The idea of a Citizen Review Board (CRB) was one of the more significant changes pitched by the committee. The CRB essentially audits a completed police investigation and allows the board to offer ways to improve police procedures going forward. Neighboring Fairfax County created its Civilian Review Panel in 2017, three years before the Virginia legislature made it law to give citizen oversight bodies their

FALLS CHURCH CHIEF OF POLICE Mary Gavin (top right), gives her impression of the Use of Force committee’s report during the City Council’s Feb. 22 meeting. (S��: N��-P��) own investigative powers, and has published 12 reports on officer responses since then. In its system, someone who interacted with or witnessed an officer interacting with a suspect can file a complaint to the board, and then the board will review the case and publish a report afterward. A majority of the board’s work has reaffirmed Fairfax County police’s handling of a given case, but there have been some scenarios where it revealed conflict between what is deemed as acceptable conduct by officers.

One such instance was a report filed last October that covered racial bias in policing. The incident in question took place in May 2019 when a detective followed someone to their apartment complex’s parking lot and approached them to ask if they live there because, as the office admitted in a recording, he didn’t believe the person did. Even after the interaction ended, the officer sat in his car and observed the person for a while before leaving.

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Virginia Tech Move May Forgo New Research Center at Project Site

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run through the center of all three as a glorious boulevard linking Route 7 where the “Central Commons” of the Gateway project proceeds from the intersection of Rt. 7 and Chestnut St. all the way to the West Falls Church Metro station. The City of Falls Church, WMATA and Virginia Tech have all been in talks about this grand plan, and the concern is that Tech’s decision will effectively throw cold water over the whole thing. It is true that the City and Virginia Tech have been in negotiations for some time concerning the terms of its lease on land owned by the City of Falls Church. That lease includes an option to buy the land after 20 years. While Falls Church City Manager Wyatt Shields confirmed to the News-Press that negotiations over the sale of the land are, indeed, ongoing, he said he did not feel that has anything to do with Tech’s most recent decision. In a statement to the News-Press in light of the news, Shields said, “I was sorry to hear the announcement that Virginia Tech and HITT

will not be moving forward on a public private partnership. The City of Falls Church and Virginia Tech have a long and productive history together, and we believe that a strong Virginia Tech presence here is needed and good for our region. We will continue to be very interested in and supportive of Virginia Tech’s plans for its West Falls Church campus.” For its part, Virginia Tech, through its spokesman Michael Stowe, issued a statement to the News-Press that said the following: “I will reiterate Virginia Tech’s commitment to Falls Church and to working with Fairfax County, the City of Falls Church, and other partners to create a vibrant district around our campus. “One great example of that is the plan by the City of Falls Church and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, in partnership with the Virginia Department of Transportation, to develop a Smart City test bed on and adjacent to the university’s campus off Haycock Road. The state budget recently approved by the General Assembly includes $10 million to support the project, thanks in large

part to the support of Senator Dick Saslaw.” It’s true, Shields told the City Council Monday, that the $10 million designated from the State legislature to the City and Virginia Tech for the Smart City test bed will happen, also thanking Sen. Saslaw. The brief press statement made through Virginia Tech’s online Daily News feed announced the new development. It said a mutual agreement between Virgniia Tech and HITT Contracting resulted in the decision after a lengthy review process of proposals to expand Tech’s site on Haycock Road near the West Falls Church Metro and adjacent the site of the City of Falls Church’s 10-acre West End mixed use development plan. The proposed project would have added a new academic building and a research center for design and construction to the center, which currently houses administrative offices and a handful of graduate-level academic programs. It would have also featured a new headquarters for HITT, which is currently located about three miles away on Fairview Park Drive. Virginia Tech originally

announced an intention to redevelop its Falls Church property in July 2019 after it received an unsolicited proposal from HITT through Virginia’s Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act (PPEA) process, which allows private entities to develop certain public facilities and infrastructure projects. Virginia Tech Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer Dwayne Pinkney was quot-

ed saying the university will continue to work with HITT to advance building construction research. “Virginia Tech has a long history in Falls Church,” Pinkney said. “We are committed to being there and working with Fairfax County, the City of Falls Church, and other partners to create a vibrant district around our campus.” HITT still plans to develop a

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Status Update on Tuesday, March 1 City of Falls Church Date

Cases

Monday, March 1 Monday, February 22 Tuesday, February 16 Monday, February 8 Monday, February 1 Monday, January 25 Monday, January 18 Monday, January 11 Monday, December 28 Monday, November 30

353 341 330 315 290 274 246 208 170 103

Hospitalizations 20 20 20 20 19 18 18 18 16 14

Deaths # Cases per 100,000 People 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 6 6*

2,398.7 2,308.4 2,234.0 2,132.4 1,963.2 1,854.9 1,665.3 1,408.1 1,150.8 697.3

*NOTE: This data point decreased as the Virginia Department of Health found that the individuals lived in the Fairfax County part of Falls Church, not the City of Falls Church.

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Affordable Housing In the Spotlight

It was hardly a pretty picture painted by the panel of Falls Church experts Sunday during an informative, if not so pretty, virtual presentation on the history of affordable housing advocacy efforts in the Little City. The panel, presented by the Falls Church chapter of the League of Women Voters and moderated by Citizens for a Better City (CBC) head Hal Lippman, accomplished its purpose of presenting a thorough, if sobering, look at the history up to the recent period in Falls Church. We specify “up to the recent period” because there have been more positive achievements on this front, inclusive of Sunday’s panel, in the last 90 days than in perhaps any comparable period in the City’s history. Currently there is a “united front,” so it can be called, between the City Council with Letty Hardi in the lead and the Economic Development Authority, with local developer Bob Young as its proactive chair, and the City’s appointed Housing Commission, with young homegrown activist Joshua Shokoor in its lead, who all share a passion for uprooting the region’s long standing discriminatory housing practices. Far from diminishing property values, it has been demonstrated in numerous cases across the U.S. that the opposite is true, in fact, because it is now being realized that augmenting a community with a robust representation of lower income households makes it more robust and interesting, and more able to retain a higher quality workforce for its classrooms, health services and retail options. So recently the City obtained its first voluntary concession from the developer of a large-scale project for an affordable housing component in excess of 10 percent of its total rental units. Since the City’s official policy is still at 6 percent, this milestone, achieved for the Broad and Washington (the Whole Foods) site comes in advance of negotiations still to be had with other large scale projects. This development, along with the acquisition of Amazon grant funds and a truly extraordinarily swift action last month to obtain an affordable four-plex to add to the mix, suddenly put the City in the middle of a renaissance of affordable housing initiatives unseen here in over a decade. Sunday’s forum featuring the likes of former one-term mayors Alan Brangman and Brian O’Connor, both still City residents, and housing activist Katie Emmons, recalled how zoning laws dating back to the post-World War II era were drafted explicitly to exclude lower income and racial minority families. In 2011 the City Council ditched the last concerted effort, the so-called Wilden House plan that had, including with the help of U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, amassed over $10 million for a senior housing building near the center of town. Constantly, the contending forces were between “Not In My Back Yard” (NIMBY) obstructionists, on the one hand, and the challenge of sufficient political will by affordable housing advocates on the other. Up to now, the former had always won.

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Last Week’s News-Press Poll Felt Like a Swipe at Parents Editor, Your recent question: “Should people pushing for the schools to reopen volunteer to make it happen?” is loaded with implications with which I take issue. First, it plays on the guilt that all parents have that we are not doing enough for our children. Second, it implies that somehow we are asking our teachers and school employees to do something

we ourselves are not willing to do. Finally, it assumes that we are sitting idly by doing nothing while we demand our schools open. As a parent with three children who has worked throughout this pandemic, I take offense to all of these implications, intentional or not. While working full time, I have used every available moment and resource to help my children stay safe and stimulated through-

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out this time, including filling in the gaps where online learning failed and finding creative means to meet their emotional and social needs. I, like many others, had no choice and worked full time throughout the pandemic, doing my job despite the risk. I do not think it is reasonable to ask me to “volunteer” to do a job that others are trained and paid to do. The evidence is accumulating that keeping the schools closed has had a devastating impact on children both educationally and emotionally, and that opening them poses much less risk than previously thought. I hope that our

educational professionals have the courage to take an honest and hard look at the impact virtual “learning” has had on our children both to tailor a curriculum to their current needs and allow us to make a more informed decision should further closures be proposed in the future. Virtual “learning” has proved a poor substitute for in person learning. Our schools need to open full time, and our educational professionals need to do what all of us have done — adapt, figure it out, and do their job. Jim FitzGerald Falls Church

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MARCH 4 – 10, 2021 | PAGE 7

To Change Police Culture, Of�icers Need Community Input B� M�� G��

As the City of Falls Church Police Chief, I receive comments and feedback from all corners of our community. Some of the wisest and most profound messages have come from our youngest community members. In 2015, a seven-year-old named Rose wrote to me with a simple, outright question: Chief Gavin, what are you doing to make sure black men are safe with our police officers? I paused and felt the weight of my responsibility, not only as a police officer but as a Chief of Police. Rose was questioning my leadership: I had a seven-year-old holding me accountable for all the actions, policies, and culture of the Falls Church Police Department, and to an extent all police officers and departments around the country; and that is exactly what I needed. During that summer, we witnessed the brutal murder of a black man, Walter Scott, at the hands of a white North Charleston Police Officer. Children watch violent acts like this play out on a 24/7 news cycle and then ask the wisest and most profound questions. Rose helped motivate me to re-enforce and bolster a path of reform for law enforcement in the City. That same year, President Obama’s 21st Century Policing Taskforce Report was published. Our Police Department took a collective dive into the Report and evaluated our practices, policies, and approach to policing. We committed to the Six Pillars of the 21st Century Policing framework: Building Trust, Policy/Oversight, Technology/Social Media,

Community Policing/Crime Reduction, Training/Education, and Officer Wellness/ Safety. (An important side note: The Taskforce has roots to Falls Church. The co-chair was

“In the wave of change for restorative justice within the criminal justice system, I believe the most important skill set we need to hone is our listening skills.” former Falls Church community member, Laurie Robinson, a George Mason University professor and the longest tenured presidential appointee for the U.S. Department of Justice. Whenever I’m lucky enough to speak with Ms. Robinson at policing seminars, she fondly asks about the Little City and wishes us well.) While we’ve made changes with policy, practices, and external service delivery, the Police Department strives to make continuous improvement to pursue and ensure a cultural shift. 21st Century Policing isn’t just about changing policy and training; it’s about

changing police culture into a public safety ethos. One aspect of shifting police culture is opening our organization for community review, for it is the community that upholds the authority which is entrusted to our officers to perform their job. In June 2020, following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, City Council created the Use of Force Review Committee to audit Falls Church law enforcement. The committee consisted of community members and City staff (including Police Officers and Sheriff Cay) who volunteered their time and talent to explore the complicated and difficult topic of law enforcement’s use of force, which is one of our government’s most critical functions and greatest responsibilities. For nine months, the committee diligently reviewed City law enforcement’s use of force data, the policies associated with use of force, collected anecdotal data from the public, and developed recommendations. From this body of work, the committee presented the City Council with a comprehensive report at their February 22 meeting (available at www.fallschurchva. gov/ufrc). The beauty of this report is that it is Falls Church specific and is essentially a roadmap for effective and continuous change within our Police Department. The committee’s ten recommendations cover topics such as staffing, training, policy management, and a pathway for continual community input. The Falls Church Police Department is committed to advancing the committee’s recommendations, in collaboration with our City leadership

and most importantly, in consultation and partnership with our community. I thank the committee for their service, which ensures that the City’s law enforcement stands on a firm foundation of justice for all people. Also I thank and admire the brave hard working men and women of the Falls Church Police Department that service with a guardian heart and mind. In the wave of change for restorative justice within the criminal justice system, I believe the most important skill set we need to hone is our listening skills. From community activists to seven year-olds, open your ears and minds to the calls for equal justice and peace for all. As Mary Riley Styles Public Library Director, Jenny Carroll, often reminds me: it’s not only the police that need to change; we need to ensure equality in every aspect of society and especially in our governing systems. In the spirit of Women’s History month, I would like to thank all the Rose(s), Laurie(s), Jenny(s) Parisa(s), Melissa(s), Cindy(s), Sandy(s), Clare(s), Celeste(s), Nancy(s), Carol(s), Susan(s), Jody(s), Kiran(s) Nicole & Alex(s) and all of the women serving in the Falls Church Police Department that are making a difference in City service. They inspire me to dig deep and seek better solutions for the Criminal Justice System and The Little City to make it a better place to work, play, and live. Mary Gavin is the Chief of Police for the City of Falls Church Police Department

Q�� W�� Will the Use of Force committee’s report prompt significant changes to F.C.’s police department? • Yes

• No

Last Week’s Question: Should people pushing for the full reopening of schools volunteer to make it happen?

• Not sure

Visit www.FCNP.com to cast your vote

[WRITE FOR THE PRESS]

4% Not Sure

50% No 46% Yes

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

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NEWS BRIEFS Library Renovation Project On Time, Under Budget There was good news in the report on the progress of the Mary Riley Styles Public Library renovation at its Park at N. Virginia Ave. location presented at the Falls Church City Council meeting Monday. Project Director Lionel Millard reported that at the 3/4th completion marker, the project is on time and under budget by about $200,000. Pending weather factors, it is expected to be completed by mid-June and open to the public by mid-July. A safe reopening plan in the era of Covid-19 is being developed and the City Council was slated to tour the site yesterday.

VDOT OK’s New Plan At Chestnut & Rt. 7 Adjustments to the intersection of Route 7 and Chestnut Street at the location of the planned 9.45 acre West Falls Gateway Project have been approved by VDOT, it was announced during a report on an update to the project at Monday’s Falls Church City Council work session. The adjustment allows for traffic to cross Rt. 7 at that intersection into the “Central Commons” thoroughfare and later extensions to the project will advance to the West Falls Church Metro. The new plan involves shifting the entrance to Chestnut slightly to the east so that it aligns directly with the Central Commons. Other minor changes to the West Falls Gateway project, that the Council will vote on in May, involve architectural improvements that Council member Ross Liktenhous said are “great improvements,” including presenting a more permeable, rather than a fortress look. New estimates on the fiscal impact of the overall project will be available in about two weeks. Even though the lease has been signed, the grocer that is expected to fill about 40,000 square feet at the intersection of Rt. 7 and Haycock has continued to go unnamed for the time being, according to Evan Goldman of

EYA and the partners. The opening for the first stage of that project is slated to be completed by the summer of 2024.

F.C. Council Pauses Noise Ordinance Vote Lacking more concrete data on the impact of noise levels emanating from some local businesses on surrounding residences, the Falls Church City Council paused action on a new noise ordinance pending more precise data on decibel levels. With the help of local police, it is hoped that some readings will be taken this weekend at a couple of the more sensitive sites that will better inform them pending a vote as early as Monday. One way or the other, a revised ordinance needs to be adopted to replace the language of the current “reasonable person” standard which has been rendered unconstitutional. The bigger challenge is to mediate between local businesses that need to provide live music to stay in businesses and nearby residents who have been complaining to police about excessive noise. With indoor dining limits proposed by response to the Covid-19 pandemic, some Council members suggested that a decibel limit of 75 be operative until 10 p.m. on weekends.

Warner, Kaine Offer Eastern District Choices Virginia’s U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine yesterday sent a letter to the White House recommending candidates for the U.S. Attorney vacancies in the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) and the Western District of Virginia (WDVA). In their letter, the Senators recommended Jessica Aber, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and John Hall, civil litigator at Covington & Burling, for the EDVA position. The Senators recommended Christopher Kavanaugh, Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Western

District of Virginia, and Erin B. Ashwell, Chief Deputy Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia, for the WDVA position. “Panels of esteemed attorneys from across the Commonwealth interviewed Ms. Aber, Mr. Hall, Mr. Kavanaugh, and Ms. Ashwell, along with many other excellent candidates. After considering the panels’ reviews and conducting our own interviews, we find these four candidates to be exceptionally qualified for the position of U.S Attorney,” wrote the Senators to President Biden.

Herring Gets Student Debt Relief for 700 Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring yesterday announced that he has secured debt relief and restitution for 700 Virginia student loan borrowers through a settlement with Equitable Acceptance Corporation (Equitable). Under the terms of the agreement, Equitable is required to cancel over $50,000 in debt and provide $40,000 in restitution for nearly 700 Virginians. The settlement resolves allegations that Equitable violated the Virginia Consumer Protection Act (VCPA) by making loans with illegal interest rates that were used by Virginians to purchase fake student debt relief services from companies that partnered with Equitable.

‘People’s Debates’ Set For March 11 & 16 Dozens of racial justice, economic justice, gender justice, climate and environmental justice, and clean government groups across Virginia are coming together to host “People’s Debates” for the three 2021 statewide elections in Virginia this year. The attorney general debate was held this Tuesday, and the lieutenant governor debate is set for Thursday, March 11 and the gubernatorial debate for Tuesday, March 16, both at 7 p.m., according to Falls Church activist Pete Davis

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PAGE 10 | MARCH 4 – 10, 2021

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Community News & Notes

LOST IN ALL THE EXCITEMENT about kids returning to class last week was a big “Thank You” to the teachers, bus drivers, and especially, the custodial staffs that have done the work to make all of the Falls Church City’s schools a safe place to learn. Next time you see them around town, be sure to let them know you appreciate them! (Photos: Courtesy FCCPS Photos/Carol Sly)

Free Shredding Event In Annandale on March 13 A free shredding event will take place on Saturday, March 13, from 9 a.m. – noon at Classic Realty (7353 McWhorter Place, Annandale). The shredder can handle staples, paper clips and spiral notebooks. It cannot handle 3-ring binders. This event is being hosted by The Mike Korin Real Estate Team. For questions or to RSVP please email Assistant@MikeKorin.com.

Deadline for Environmental Scholarship is March 19 All environmentally conscious students are encouraged to apply for the Craig Tufts Scholarship, which is made available to those

interested through the National Wildlife Federation. The scholarship accepts applications from young naturalists between the ages of 8 – 18. It provides travel, room, board, and program fees for the recipient and an adult family member to attend the week-long Family Nature Summit, an outdoor educational family adventure camp. This year’s Family Nature Summit takes place in the Adirondacks, on Lake George’s shores in New York State, from July 10 – 16. More information and the application can be found by visiting familynaturesummits.org/ scholarships/craig-tufts-scholarship. Applications are due by Friday, March 19.

F.C. Synagogue Offering Bagel Bags for Pre-Order Women of Temple Rodef Shalom have come up with a solution to bring their bagels to patrons safely. Those interested can order their Bagel Brunch for two for just $25, and help the synagogue continue to support the Temple Rodef Shalom. A Bagel Brunch bag will include two bagels, lox, cream cheese and two desserts. Bagel Brunch Bags are available only through pre-paid orders received by March 7. Contactless, curbside pick-up will be Sunday, March 21 from 9:30 a.m. – noon. This activity has been approved by the Temple’s Covid-19 Task Force. Be aware: if the Temple hasn’t

received a sufficient number of orders before March 7, it will have to cancel this fundraiser. To order one or multiple boxes, visit eventbrite.com/e/wotrs-bagel-brunchto-go-tickets-135561667597. Participants will be contacted by email later to make payment if/when we make our minimum number of orders. One dollar from each purchase goes to Mazon-A Jewish Response to Hunger. For more information about the Bagel Brunch fundraiser, contact Su Hale at bobsu147@ aol.com or at 703-560-7712.

Local Students Make Dean’s List at Their Colleges The following residents were recognized for achieving outstanding grade-point-averages for

their respective universities for the Fall 2020 semester. All students are from Falls Church, unless otherwise noted. Biola University — Paul Riegert. Coastal Carolina University — Cailey Dorman. College of Charleston — Giuliana Tosi. College of the Holy Cross — Alexandra Biggs. Connecticut College — Miranda Ma and Zoe Dubelier (from McLean). Dixie State University — Emily Puntso. Georgia Institute of Technology — Dylan Kemelor. Gettysburg College — Gabriella Gilpin. Grove City College — Dana Ross.

Send Us Your News & Notes!

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

Community News & Notes: newsandnotes@fcnp.com | School News & Notes: schoolnews@fcnp.com Mail: News & Notes, Falls Church News-Press, 105 N. Virginia Ave #310, Falls Church, VA 22046

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Ohio University — Hershel Carrillo-Klein, Hayley Danesi and Sophia Chavez. Miami University — Grant Brown and Megan Hayes. Rochester Institute of Technology — Neil Johnston and Anusha Holavanahali. Seton Hall University — Ayanna Armour. Shenandoah University — Madison Shannon, Karina Starling and William AranibarVargas. Stonehill College — Ian Anderson and Lauren Shue. Susquehanna University — Dalia Hamilton, Max Miller and Ubaidullah Samadi Abdul Razique. University of Alabama — Madeline Schley. University of Delaware — Mackenzie Cogar, James Fishman, Thomas Roche, Elizabeth Sterba and Stephanie Synnott. University of Minnesota Twin Cities — Robert Axtell, Benjamin Ayanian (both from McLean), Brady Johnson and Rachel Lipetz. University of WisconsinMadison — Claire Allen, (the following students are all from McLean) Nicole Berry, Lucy DuBois, Katherine Hoskins, Gwen Liston, Alison Sadler and Erin Schlegel. Wheaton College — Joseph Thomas. Worcester Polytechnic Institute — Nathaniel Bajakian, James Englander and Dylan Turetsky. York College of Pennsylvania — Savannah Wilson. Youngstown State University — Dai Hong.

Marshall Academy Students Pick Brain of Entrepreneur Entrepreneurship students at Marshall Academy, a Governor’s STEM academy, had the opportunity to hear from Nahum Jeannot,

founder and Chief Oatmeal Officer of GoOats, a nutritious oatmeal-in-a-ball snack, inspired by his mother and grandmother. Jeannot’s entrepreneurial journey began at 17 when he opened his first business. After a number of business ventures and working as a chef at the Four Seasons, Hyatt Regency, and Marriott hotels, he created GoOats with the belief, “Breakfast shouldn’t be a chore,” for people on the go, especially parents and kids. In 2020, he was featured on the show “Shark Tank” where he pitched GoOats and was accepted by investor and businesswoman Barbara Corcoran, which allowed him to expand GoOats to more markets. Jeannot’s shared words of wisdom and encouragement with the Entrepreneurship students as well as the passion, drive, sacrifice and resilience needed to operate a business. He also shared tips on marketing the GoOats brand, financing, supply, and demand, scaling the business, hiring, staff management and the importance of social media marketing. One of the Entrepreneurship students, who is also a business owner, shared his business with Jeannot and was able to get valuable feedback on ways to grow his business.

Culmore Clinic Announces New Board of Directors Culmore Clinic announced that Cynda Tipple, Philip Eliot, Jonathan Engler, Terry O’Hara Lavoie and Andrés Jimenez have been elected to serve on the clinic’s Board of Directors. The Rev Andrew T.P. Merrow, Rector of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church and President of the Culmore Clinic Board of Directors praised the selection of this group: “Each of these newly elected members of the Board brings specific gifts and deep commitment

GAME ON. Justice High School’s �ield hockey team got their season started off on the right foot with a 6-0 win over Annandale High School on Monday night. Seen here is senior forward Tigist Demeke (left, in white) making a tackle against Annandale while sophomore forward Samantha Schrecker recovers behind to support. (P��: C�� S�� V��) to ensuring that everyone in the Culmore community has access to high quality health care.” Anne-Lise Quinn, Culmore Clinic’s Executive Director added, “I am delighted to be working with our new Board Directors and the rest of the Culmore Clinic Board as we build our capacity to reduce inequities and provide compassionate, high quality primary care to a community so disproportionately affected by the Covid pandemic.” In addition to electing new directors, the Culmore Clinic Board established a Young Professionals Committee (YPC), a non-voting advisory commit-

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tee of the Board whose mission it is to work with the Board of Directors to promote Culmore Clinic’s mission among students, recent graduates, and those early in their careers. The YPC identifies opportunities to attract and appeal to a 18-30-year-old, diverse demographic and serves as a think tank for new and emerging trends in medicine, community health, communications, social media, and technology. More information coming soon about this committee. To read more about the new board members, visit culmoreclinic.org/blog/welcome-a-board.

‘Gardening Without Fear’ Virtual Class This Friday Participants can take the first half of Extension Master Gardeners’ entry-level, step-bystep course on creating a vegetable garden online on this Friday, March 5 10 – 11:30 a.m. Master Gardeners Dona Lee and Susan Wilhelm will teach participants how to select a site for their vegetable garden; improve their soil; plan their garden layout, including attracting pollinators to it, and obtain seeds, plants, and equipment to fill it out. Free. RSVP at mgnv.org/events to receive the link to attend.

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PAGE 12 | MARCH 4 – 10, 2021

SENIOR JACK LINDLY leads off as the Mustangs boys’ first swimmer in the 200 yard freestyle relay, which resulted in a fourth place finish for the Mustangs. (Photo: Courtesy Ari Autor)

Mustang Girls & Boys Swimmers Finish Virus-Shortened Season in State’s Top 10 by Ari Autor

Special to the News-Press

Capping an unusual season, the Mustang Boys and Girls Swim Teams traveled to Christiansburg last week to compete in the Class 3 Swimming State Championship. The championship wrapped up an abridged varsity swim experience featuring fewer meets, limited numbers of competitors at regular meets, and rules yielding smaller state teams than usual. To ensure a limited number of state meet entries, the Virginia High School League instituted changes requiring athletes to qualify on the basis of top four finishes at regional meets only and not by qualifying time standards. As a result of the changes, the Mustangs sent smaller teams than in past years, with only eight male swimmers and five for the girls. In spite of entering fewer competitors, the Mustang Boys placed seventh out of 28 teams with 112 points, while the Mustang Girls placed tenth out

of 22 teams with 87 points. With no spectators, fewer competitors and volunteers on deck, the Christiansburg Aquatic Center sounded eerily quiet. All events were finals, eliminating much of the typical fanfare of the A and B Finals such as the traditional A Heat competitors parade to the blocks and award ceremonies normally interspersed throughout the evening. What the meet may have lacked in festivity, it packed in more emotion, with many Mustang senior swimmers grateful to realize the culmination of four years of varsity competition in spite of uncertainty, training disruptions and other hardships this year due to Covid-19. In individual events, senior Ryan York was the sole swimmer who medaled, finishing third in the 50 yard freestyle and fifth in the 100 yard freestyle. Making his debut in high school diving this season, senior Ian Fry earned fifth place in the Boys diving competition, held earlier as a separate event. Strong freestyle relay performances contributed substantial

points for both teams. The Boys 200 yard freestyle relay consisting of seniors Jack Lindly, Ryan York and Sophomores Ben McCracken and Carson Ruoff placed fourth as did the Boys 400 yard freestyle relay team of seniors Alec Autor with Fry, McCracken and Ruoff. The Mustang girls 200 yard freestyle relay featuring seniors Maddy Dubois and Ellen Chadwick, along with sophomore Anna Dickson and freshman Lexi Reis placed fourth. The girls 400 yard freestyle Relay with Dubois-ChadwickDickson-Reis quartet again, this time placing seventh. Other individual state team finishes earning points for the Mustangs included Autor, 12th in the 200 yard freestyle; Chadwick, 11th in the 50 yard freestyle and 10th in 100 yard freestyle; Brian Janicki, 14th in 100 yard butterfly; Dubois, 12th in 100 yard butterfly; Elysha York, 13th in the 500 yard freestyle; Dickson, 13th in 100 yard backstroke and Natalie Burke, 10th in the Girls diving competition.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Faces of Falls Church

JAMES is one of Falls Church’s young professionals who’s having trouble staying motivated as the pandemic hits the oneyear mark. “I finished up my Masters in engineering back in December and have been meaning to make a career switch, but the thought of landing my next job over Zoom kind of takes away some of the accomplishment for me. After three years of balancing work and school, you want that handshake at the end of it all.” (Photo: J. Michael Whalen/JMichaelWhalen.com)

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MARCH 4 – 10, 2021 | PAGE 13

F.C.’s Fully Vaccinated Residents Remain Cautious Despite Immunity

BY ORRIN KONHEIM

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

As more and more Falls Church residents are getting inoculated against Covid-19, people are breathing a sigh of relief. However, many local residents feel they are not out of the woods just yet. “Until our friends that we love, they can all get vaccinated, I think it’ll be just hard to relax or feel relief in general,” said Arden Sperty, a cardiac device technician who has received both shots. Sperty and her husband have a 2-year-old daughter and parents in Woodbridge that they visit approximately once a month in conditions where they all wear masks (except their child). They have a pod with one other family. They also have their daughter in an in-person day care so they live with the risks of that. Various residents said they’re eager to enjoy “normal” things again, but are also aware that the vaccine doesn’t prevent someone’s ability to transmit the virus. Max Wohlschlegel is a 19-yearold volunteer EMT for Fairfax County, and while he has received both shots, he is still not altering his schedule or lifestyle. This is primarily because he lives with his 16-year-old brother and two parents who still have not gotten the vaccine. His relief comes in the comfort of his personal safety and not being a liability to his patients. Heather Lancaster is a registered nurse in the CVICU at Inova Fairfax. She got her second shot by mid-January. Since getting the vaccine, she

HEATHER LANCASTER receives one of her vaccine doses. (P��: C�� H�� L��) got her hair cut for the first time in a year and went to a museum, but she’s still not entirely comfortable going to restaurants just yet. Lancaster lives alone and has been hanging out with co-workers during the pandemic “We have the same exposure risks and we’re all going crazy so it was safe for us to all hang out together,” she said. She has her relatives in Baltimore in their open yard and they’re “still not hugging each other.” On the other side of the proverbial fence is 79-year-old Mim Keo. “It’s wonderful because I have a lot less fear. I figured if I got it, I would die, and I’ve had enough

emergencies with bad backs and operations that I know pain.” Keo has been extra careful. She stopped going to the supermarket or her outdoor photography meetup because people weren’t social distancing enough to her satisfaction. Because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 94.1 percent effectiveness with the Moderna vaccine, but since it’s not 100 percent, she will still continue to quarantine. “The problem is that no one has had it before,” said Falls Church clinician, Dr. Gordon Theisz. “I think as more and more people get the vaccine, they’ll lower their guard, but I also think their risk is going to

decrease, so we’re going to see how this thing is spreading” Theisz has been trying to follow the recommendations for social distances but adds that being a doctor doesn’t make him any less stoical about the virus. “I fear this Covid like everyone else does, I’m in my 50s, it kills all ages, it doesn’t care, it can’t care,” added Theisz. He thinks every one has to make their own decisions for what the risks are. On the whole he’d recommend following the proper guidance from the federal, state, and local governments. “As a physician, I can’t tell a

patient they can’t go to a restaurant if the restaurant’s doing all the right things,“ he said. The CDC estimates that when approximately 70-80 percent of the population gets the vaccine, we will have achieved herd immunity. Part of how eager people are returning to normal life depends on what their lifestyle might have been before the pandemic. Sperty’s primary social activity is visiting friends and having game nights in their houses. To compensate, they’ve been meeting outdoors with fire pits. In her old age, Keo devotes herself to photography, but that has proven difficult because a lot of times she photographs in places where people aren’t social distancing. For Lancaster, her lifestyle is more affected by the fact that she lives alone. “I’m the type of person, if I had seven nights out of the week free, I would spend six of them by myself, but certainly not having the option of being able to go out was definitely very isolating,” There’s also the question of whether the first group of people being immunized is more cautious because they largely work in the medical field and are more knowledgeable about the risks. As for now, however, most residents agree that there’s a long way to go. “It is great but I think we’ve been in this for so long that it’s hard to feel a whole lot of relief. I think there’s so much that we’re not relieved about that it’s hard to feel relieved,” said Sperty.

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PAGE 14 | MARCH 4 - 10, 2021

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B�� N�� N�� Clare & Don’s Beach Shack Reopening March 11

MARCH 4 – 10, 2021 | PAGE 15

Patio Opening Party Night The Big Tent is Coming Back!

Clare & Don’s Beach Shack will reopen its big tent and patio for outdoor dining starting on Thursday, March 11 at 5 p.m. Initially, hours will be Thursdays from 5 – 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 11:30 a.m. – 9 p.m., and Sundays from 11:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. The independent business owned and operated by the brother-sister team of Rebecca Tax and David Tax closed its on-site dining in early winter to protect its customers and staff. For more information about the patio, the specialty take out items such as Meatless Monday Meals, Take and Bake Boxes, and Sunday Beach Boxes, or how to support their efforts to feed frontline hospital workers, visit www.clareanddons.com.

Code Ninjas F.C. Hosting Esports Youth Tryouts in March Code Ninjas Falls Church is hosting XP League competitive tryouts on Fridays and Saturdays through March. XP League is Virginia’s first youth esports league for elementary and middle school players. XP League teams are led by PCA double goal certified coaches who teach players game skills as well as life skills such as sportsmanship and teamwork. Weekly matches are live streamed. Code Ninjas offers a variety of daytime and evening coding programs and camps is located at 475 S. Maple Avenue. For more information or to sign up for an audition, visit https//bit.ly/xplfctryouts.

Body Dynamics Inc. Offering Free Lunch & Learn Webinar Body Dynamics Inc. is offering a free Lunch and Learn virtual webinar, Identifying and Managing Emotions, featuring Emily Lawyer on Friday, March 5 from noon – 1 p.m. This session will help heightened emotions many are feeling due to worry about the pandemic, sadness over being apart from family, anger about a job loss, and disappointment in relationships and teach attendees how to pause, reflect, and identify the emotions and learn ways to better manage them. Visit https://bodydynamicsinc.com/ for more information.

F.C. Chamber Hosting Virtual Networking Breakfast The Falls Church Chamber of Commerce is hosting a virtual networking breakfast on Thursday, March 11 at 9 a.m. The event is free and open to anyone who would like to meet local business leaders and decision makers. Attendees must register in order to receive the Zoom link. Visit the calendar at www.FallsChurchChamber.org for more information or to register.

DMV Connect Will be at American Legion Post 130 March 11th DMV Connect will be at the American Legion Post 130 Thursday, March 11 from 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. and Monday, March 15 from 1:30 – 4 p.m. Appointments are strongly recommended although walk-ins may be accepted should timing allow. Services provided by DMV Connect include vehicle registration renewals, new and replacement titles, driver’s license renewals, including Real IDs. Visit the DMV website to make an appointment. American Legion Post 130 is located at 400 N. Oak Street in Falls Church. This program is offered through the Falls Church City Commissioner of the Revenue’s office but appointments are available to residents from any VA locality.  Business News & Notes is compiled by Sally Cole, Executive Director of Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce. She may be emailed at sally@fallschurchchamber.org.

Hours of Operation Monday- closed Tuesday - Thurs 11:30am - 8:30pm Fri and Sat 11:30am - 9pm Sun 11:30am - 8pm

SPOT OF THE WEEK OUR FCNP STAFF WILL BE ON HAND NEXT THURSDAY, MARCH 11TH TO ANSWER QUESTIONS OR PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PAPER!

We are OPEN and ready to safely serve your dental needs! Currently accepting new patients

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PAGE 16 | MARCH 4 – 10, 2021

A Penny for Your Thoughts

News of Greater Falls Church By Supervisor Penny Gross

Fairfax County’s annual budget process is underway! County Executive Bryan Hill released his proposed FY 2022 county budget last week; during the next two months or so, the Board of Supervisors will examine the budget proposals, and make adjustments, before approving a final budget on May 4. By law, budgets for Virginia localities must be balanced; they cannot run a deficit. Under Virginia’s antiquated tax structure, the real estate tax, on both residential and non-residential properties, is the principal source of support for county services. Real estate taxes account for nearly 68 percent of General Fund receipts; personal property taxes account for another 14 percent. The other 16 percent comes from a variety of local sales and license taxes and fees, including revenue from the Commonwealth and the federal government, a tiny fraction at 3.2 percent of the total. The Virginia General Assembly has been loathe to make any major changes to the tax structure. In 1950, Virginia was a rural state with a rural tax base; today, Virginia is an urban state, still with a rural tax base. Countywide, non-residential real estate experienced a decline in value because of increased vacancy and overall market risk, as the pandemic affected an already weakened retail sector. Residential real estate increased in value because of record low interest rates, coupled with low inventory. In other words, people are looking to take advantage of historically low mortgage rates, but can’t find the home they want. Demand is greater than the supply, and those who do purchase often are willing to pay well more than the asking price. Those higher purchase prices affect the assessments of neighboring properties and, in a few Mason District neighborhoods, the increase was in the 10 to 14 percent range. The mean and median rates of change in Mason District were 5.13 and 5.34, respectively. In 2020, the highest sold price in Mason District for vacant land was $399,900 for a third of

an acre in Raymondale; the highest price for a house was $2,250,000 in Lake Barcroft. Although some residential areas of the Dranesville, Hunter Mill, and Springfield magisterial districts experienced decreases in values, that was not the case in Mason District, perhaps reflecting the realtors’ mantra of “location, location, and location!” Mason District’s location in the core of the region bodes well for current and future opportunities. In the FY 2022 Advertised Budget Plan, 52.8 percent of disbursements, or $2.367 billion, is proposed for the school transfer. The next largest disbursement categories are public safety, at $537 million (12 percent) and health and welfare, at $502 million (11.2 percent). The proposed budget does not include any recommendations for employee compensation increases. Readers may recall that, last year, the pre-pandemic county budget recommended a three percent increase in compensation, but that budget was withdrawn and re-written to address the effect of the pandemic on the county’s economy. The County Executive’s proposal recommends a one-cent decrease in the real estate tax rate, from $1.15 to $1.14 per assessed $100 valuation. The Mason District Budget Town Meeting will be held, virtually, on Monday, March 15, from 7 – 8:30 p.m. Chief Financial Officer Joe Mondoro and Department of Management and Budget Director Christina Jackson will present the budget, followed by a question and period. Please email my office at mason@fairfacounty.gov to obtain the link to the virtual meeting. Public hearings about the budget proposal will be conducted on April 13, 14, and 15. More information about that will be provided in future columns.  Penny Gross is the Mason District Supervisor, in the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She may be emailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov.

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

CRIME REPORT Week of February 22 – 28, 2021 Driving Under the Influence, 100 blk W Annandale Road, February 23, 1:10 AM, a female, 25, of Falls Church, VA, was arrested for Driving Under the Influence. Trespass, 100 blk E Fairfax Street, February 23, 7:17 PM, a male, 28, of Washington DC, was issued a summons for trespassing after being forbidden. Larceny from building, 400 blk S Maple Ave, between February 1 and 24, unknown suspect stole a secured bicycle that was stored

inside an unsecured storage area. Trespass, 6700 blk Wilson Blvd, February 25, 09:46 AM, a male, 20, of Falls Church, VA, was issued a summons for trespassing after being forbidden. Driving Under the Influence, 100 blk N Washington Street, February 25, 12:47 PM, a male, 31, of Falls Church, VA, was arrested for Driving Under the Influence. Destruction of Property, 400 blk S Maple Ave, between 8:00 PM, February 24 and 8:00 AM, February 25, unknown suspect

“keyed” a vehicle parked in a garage. Auto Theft, 400 blk W Broad St, between 3:00 PM February 25 and 9:00 AM February 26,, unknown suspect(s) stole a parked vehicle which was unsecured and had keys inside it. This stolen vehicle was recovered in Maryland the following day. Assault- 1100 blk W Broad St. February 27, 6:16 PM, a store employee was assaulted by a customer as the customer claimed of an unsatisfactory service.

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Senator Dick Saslaw’s

Richmond Report Congratulations to Nick Benton and the Falls Church News Press for 30 years of coverage in our community. A big shout out to FCNP for delivering local news into our homes for three decades. The General Assembly has concluded its work for both the Regular and Special Sessions. The days were long and the issues were complex. The pandemic has touched Virginia like an octopus, reaching into our lives, jobs, economy, housing, utilities, education, access to healthcare and in many cases, struggles to survive. With Virginia faring better than many states, due diligence and measured steps have helped keep the Commonwealth in good financial standing. The February revenue numbers added $750 million back into the amended budget we worked on during the Special Session I. In the SFAC subcommittee for K-12, I led the effort to focus on key components from early education to initiatives to help close the student learning gap. Declining enrollment in both K-12 and higher education led to critical funding to keep school districts and universities shored up. Based on current demand for services, money was allocated to add school nurses, social workers, and counselors in K-12. We also focused on early childhood educators and funded many of First Lady Northam’s initiatives as a first step toward addressing educational disparities at an early age. Significant funds have been allotted to address learning loss during this year of the pandemic. They will cover summer learning, afterschool programs, remediation, and recovery programs. In an attempt to provide necessary access for virtual learning and economic development, The Virginia Telecommunication Initiative included $49.8 million for broadband infrastructure grants. Developing the workforce pipeline is instrumental to economic recovery. After years of working on the concept, I was the chief patron of the G3 legislation. “Get Skilled, Get a Job, and Give Back” facilitates high-demand jobs while providing funds for certain qualifying students in the Virginia Community College System. Further, we added funds to the Tuition Assistance Grant and other financial aid programs made available to students pursuing their degrees. Rebuild Virginia and PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) have

been a safety net for many businesses trying to stay alive and provide for their employees. Virginia will allow tax deductions of up to $100,000/ business expenses in these programs that have forgiven the loans and grants. Resources were allocated for job creation and additional capitalization for low-cost credit for Covid-19 impacted businesses. Directly related to the Commonwealth’s Covid-19 response, we incorporated federal monies to implement mass vaccination efforts, communications, and modeling. The budget includes $6 million for additional epidemiologists, communicable disease nurses, and program managers. Funding was restored for behavior health and dementia care. SB 1302 creates a crisis call center for people in a behavioral health crisis. Keeping our region moving is always an issue at the budget conference table. The biennial spending plans include funds to expand commuter rail service; expand the capacity of the Interstate 64 in the Richmond region; fulfill Virginia’s obligation to Metro; provide statewide availability for fare-free services as well as enhancements for multi-use trails. Falls Church was awarded $3.75 million for affordable housing initiatives through Amazon Grants to Virginia Housing as well as $10 million toward a redevelopment project. “The City is delighted to partner with Virginia Tech on the Smart City technology program that will bring cutting edge transportation solutions to Falls Church, like autonomous vehicles, adaptive lighting, and parking garage utilization indicators. These solutions will reduce pollution and traffic congestion and improve public safety,” said City of Falls Church Mayor P. David Tarter. “We are excited that the Virginia General Assembly included $10M in the recent budget, and appreciative to Senator Dick Saslaw for his efforts to bring this important program to the City.” Turning to other highlights, we passed landmark legislation that abolishes the death penalty. Recreational use of marijuana will begin in 2024 along with licensing for producers in the Commonwealth as well as criminal record expungement. It is now the Governor’s turn to review the legislation that flowed through the legislature. Any changes he deems necessary will be taken up at the Reconvene Session in April.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

The Surreal Cult Of January 6

It was downright ugly and degrading. It was the opposite of the imagined heroism and high-minded fantasies that children usually associate with the achievement of great things donning a cape and waving a sabre in a romp around the backyard saving the human race. Images and fantasies of greatness, quite the norm for the youthful acquisition of self esteem and dedication to higher purposes, are filled with concepts and feeling states of nobility and virtue winning the hearts of the beloved masses and special people. So how many of the thousands who plowed into our national Capitol on January 6 did it with similar heroic thoughts and grand music in their heads? How many of them thought this was their FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS date with a glorious destiny? Alas, what a comedown it was in fact. There they were, dirty, nasty, foulmouthed and smelly, belching foul obscenities, mindless chants evoking evil consequences, unthinkable things like beheadings and lynchings, while stomping through surroundings that strangely resembled everything your childhood fantasies saw as the backdrop to your own glories. Yes, the contrast between the beautiful walls, floors and ceilings of the Capitol building around you and the hairy, stinking, raggedy ugly mouthed minions you found yourself shouting with was totally surreal. You found yourself pressed against young, uniformed officers of the law, mimicking others around you flailing against them, those young heroes who looked so much like you envisioned yourself as a boy hero in your backyard. Briefly, your mind stepped outside of itself and asked, “What the hell is going on here? Why am I here? Why as a patriot of the good am I not on the other side of this fight?” But there was too little time for thought. Bang! You are hit on the head and are rendered dizzy. No time left. You retreat with all those around you, fleeing outside and meander. A week later back home somewhere near Denver, you are arrested and charged. And hundreds more. Indeed, there were masterminds who organized the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Eventually it will come to light that there was a complicated tangle of elements involved, and we will find that among them were surely the nation’s strategic enemies, the Russians and Chinese, and maybe more. Good counterintelligence operations, like those of the Russians who worked aggressively for many years to set up the conditions for the January 6 riot, have as among their signatures an indetectable component, a plausible deniability that makes it hard to identify its source. But you ask any expert on cults and they will tell you that the Trump operation was almost a perfect case. Last weekend in Orlando, you will see the assemblage of what one pundit called a “Star Wars Bar” of misfits and losers, reverted to “We Love You!” chants while their cult star was on the stage. This was the kind of adoration that Trump loves and he reacted to that chant with a lengthy riff on how he’s the only president ever who had people say that to them. In reality, these lunatics were the inner circle of Trump’s wannabe cult. Can you imagine, this scenario just over a month ago represented what was running our country? That event in Orlando also made it clear that the Trump phenomenon was not so much the consequence of his own entertainment talents as it was a thirsty phalange of desperate wackos that a certain unsavory cacophony of amoral Wall Street elements along with anti-democratic foreign oligarchs and domestic racists and right-wing cult engineers (count among those a number of prominent evangelical conman “leaders”) combined to try a coup against our constitutional democracy. Don’t forget those on this list that have been the engineers of the assault on the free press in our land, from the architects of the Fox News operation to their willing dissemblers passing themselves off as the media in a variety of forms. But lazy Americans are no more. They’re motivated as never before. They will revive the real American dream. Suburban housewives are now our frontline feminists. Injustices at all levels of our culture are on the way out.

CO MME NT

MARCH 4 – 10, 2021 | PAGE 17

Nicholas F. Benton

 Nicholas Benton may be emailed at nfbenton@fcnp.com.

Our Man in Arlington By Charlie Clark

Our Ballston crossroads, at the start of World War II, was hardly the neon commercial hub the county flocks to today. So, when the Greystone Restaurant was first opened by an entrepreneurial family on N. Glebe Road at Carlin Springs Road, it thrived as the sole eatery in that vicinity. For nearly 50 years, the purveyor of refined comfort food served county officials, business and military leaders and families invited by slogans: “All roads lead to the Greystone….Where you will like to eat and like what you eat.” I recently traded recollections with 96-year-old Beatrice “Bea” Root, now of Bethesda, who worked the counter at her parents’ restaurant while a high schooler. The grill launched in 1941 by Robert and Gertrude Goldman and managed by A.R. Parker was a family affair, with her aunt Mildred running the office and typing menus, daughter Debbie later helping with hostessing. “Two or three dollars bought you a complete dinner, with appetizer, soup, entree, two vegetables, salad, dessert and coffee,” said Bea. Rolls included. The 1942 menu offered braised beef tenderloin tips for 60 cents, fried jumbo oysters for 55 cents and Grape Nut Pudding for 10 cents. Then came wartime inflation. By 1947, the broiled filet mignon set you back $1.75, the

breaded veal chop $1.15. A glass of Nina sherry was 30 cents; Pabst Blue Ribbon on draft was a dime. Bea recalls the two rooms of booths, a bar, uniformed waitresses and a kitchen staff of five: Marion the chef, her assistant Jack, and Becky the pastry chef producing fresh and homemade (except the hamburger rolls and bread). A family garden provided fresh produce. The Greystone was celebrated in a Feb. 22, 1941, Washington’s Birthday newspaper ad signed by neighboring enterprises, among them Old Dominion Floors and Arlington Electric Co. Because of the hardships of fuel rationing, Bea’s parents bought a home next to the restaurant to avoid a commute from downtown. But Bea wanted to finish her senior year of high school (class of ’43) at Central (now Cardoza), so she took the bus across the Potomac from the new Arlington digs. At Christmastime 1944, she witnessed a frightening fire that burned the Greystone. Insurance permitted remodeling. In 1948 she married Samuel Root, of the jewelry store that was on Wilson Blvd. and later on 17th St. in Rosslyn. (Her son Jerry runs it today in McLean.) Jerry Root still owns chairs (reupholstered) from the Greystone, plus matchbooks, plastic stirrers and business cards. His sister Debbie has dishes and a Greystone child’s seat. Clippings show that Jacqueline Bouvier (Kennedy), as a young photojournalist, did an

“Inquiring Camera Girl,” interview at the Greystone. Another visitor: Chicago’s world-famous 8-foot-2 tallman Don Kohler, in Arlington in 1952 to christen the Hecht Co. Memories of segregation cloud the sunny recollections. When Bea caught the bus just outside the restaurant for downtown, she would ride with Greystone staffers who were African American. But by law, they had to sit in the back, as enforced by the driver. “But they were part of our family so I sat as close to them as I could.” In 1988, after a brief new proprietorship, the Goldman family sold Greystone and their house to Goodyear Tire. And that favored haunt in Ballston was no more. *** Widespread hopes for renaming Lee Highway to honor interracial marriage pathbreakers Richard and Mildred Loving were dashed last week. That choice had topped the voting in the process run by the nonprofit Lee Highway Alliance. But the chief executive of Caroline County, where the Lovings’ drama unfolded in the mid-1960s, warned this columnist that the family would object. County Board member Katie Cristol told me she spoke with grandson Mark Loving, “who expressed his family’s strong desire that Lee Highway in Arlington not be changed to feature his grandparents’ names, explaining that they were private people and the family would like to `keep it that way.’ “Ignoring these objections would be “disrespectful.”

CA L E NDA R

PAGE 18 | MARCH 4 – 10, 2021

FALLS CHURCH

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

CALENDAR LOCALEVENTS SATURDAY, MARCH 6 Falls Church Farmers Market. The Falls Church Farmers Market runs every Saturday, where attendees will find fresh, local produce, meat, dairy, flowers & plants, honey, music and more. City Hall (300 Park Ave., Falls Church) 9 a.m. – noon. For more information, visit fallschurchva. gov/547/Farmers-Market-To-Go.

SUNDAY, MARCH 7 Creek Hike. Participants can join this hike led by an Arlington Parks naturalist as the group explores one of the many creeks to see the diverse types of things living in them and why creeks are so important to the ecosystem. Registration required. To register, contact 703-228-4747. Long Branch Nature Center at Glencarlyn Park (625 S. Carlin Springs Rd., Arlington). 11 – 11:45 a.m.

TUESDAY, MARCH 9 Nature Storytime. Interested attendees can come and listen to one of the park’s naturalists read the story, and may even get a chance to meet a live animal, too. For ages 2 – 10. Registration required for children only, but caretakers must attend. To register, contact 703-228-4747. Long Branch Nature Center at Glencarlyn Park (625 S. Carlin Springs Rd., Arlington). 10 – 10:30 a.m.

VIRTUALEVENTS THURSDAY, MARCH 4 Bruce Holsinger: “The Gifted School.” Interested participants can join Mary Riley Styles Public Library staff on Zoom for a chat with acclaimed author Bruce Holsinger about his novel, “The Gifted School,” a Book of the

Month Club main selection, and one of NPR’s Best Books of 2019. “The Gifted School” is a compulsively readable novel about a previously happy group of friends and parents that is nearly destroyed by their own competitiveness when an exclusive school for gifted children opens in the community. Since 2005 Bruce Holsinger has taught in the Department of English at the University of Virginia. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair and many other publications. Email Pete Sullivan at psullivan@fallschurchva.gov. 7 p.m.

MONDAY, MARCH 8 Summer Camp Registration Begins. Summer Camp registration opens for City of Falls Church residents on March 8, then opens to everyone else on March 15. To register for camps, visit fallschurchva. gov/register. 8 a.m. City Council Meeting (online). City Council meetings are held the second and fourth Monday of the month, with the exception of August and December when only one meeting is held. These meetings are open to the public and are conducted to allow Council Members to discuss upcoming legislation and policy issues and the public is invited to speak. All participating members of the City Council will be present at this meeting through electronic means. All members of the public may view this electronic meeting via www.fallschurchva. gov/CouncilMeetings. The meeting may also be viewed on FCCTV (Cox 11, RCN 2, Verizon 35). Video will be available after the meeting both online and on FCCTV. 7:30 – 11 p.m.

THEATER&ARTS FRIDAY, MARCH 5 “Passport to the World of Music” Live Streaming Series. Creative Cauldron returns with two perfor-

HONKY TONK CASANOVAS will be performing at JV’s Restaurant in Falls Church tonight. (Photo: HonkyTonkCasanovas.com)

mances this weekend as a part of its virtual “Passport to the World of Music’’ series. On Friday, March 5, award-winning banjoist, fiddler, singer and ethno-musicologist Jake Blount will perform. And on Saturday, March 6, Susan Derry and pianist Howard Breitbart are back at the Cauldron for another joyful evening of moving, hilarious stories and gorgeous music. All Tickets are $15; both concerts will be live-streamed 7:30 p.m. on their respective show dates. Visit creativecauldron.org for tickets and information.

LIVEMUSIC THURSDAY, MARCH 4 David Thong of Back from the ‘90s plays hits from every decade. The State Theatre (220 N Washington St., Falls Church). 5 p.m. 703-237-0300. Tim

Harmon

Solo

Show.

Falls Church Distillers (442 S. Washington Street, Ste A Falls Church). 6 p.m. 703-858-9186. Honky Tonk Casanovas. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 7:30 p.m. 703-2419504.

FRIDAY, MARCH 5 Josh Allen Band. Falls Church Distillers (442 S. Washington Street, Ste A Falls Church). 6 p.m. 703-858-9186. The Rockits. The State Theatre (220 N Washington St., Falls Church). 5 p.m. 703-237-0300. Martin Sexton. The Birchmere (3701 Mount Vernon Ave, Alexandria). $45. 7:30 p.m. 703549-7500. Kreek Water Band. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 7:30 p.m. 703-2419504.

Christian Lopez — Late Show (Indoors + Distanced). Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $25. 9 p.m. 703-255-1566.

SATURDAY, MARCH 6 Cramer & Ivy. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 3:30 p.m. 703-241-9504. Six Pack Rodeo. The State Theatre (220 N Washington St., Falls Church). 5 p.m. 703-237-0300. Nothing Defined. Falls Church Distillers (442 S. Washington Street, Ste A Falls Church). 6 p.m. 703-858-9186. Kendall Street Company — Late Show (Indoors + Distanced). Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $25. 8 p.m. 703-2551566. Jamison Greene Band. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 8 p.m. 703-241-9504.

MARCH 4 - 10, 2021 | PAGE 19

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

2021 Spring Guide

- Next Week March 11th issue Many of our readers are looking for ways to enhance their homes especially after recently spending so much time in them! Does your company offer products and services that they should know about? Let them know by placing an ad in the Home Improvement Guide at discounted rates! Deadline is March 8th at 5pm.

Contact Melissa: at mmorse@fcnp.com or 703-532-3267

PAGE 20 | MARCH 4 - 10, 2021

C L AS S I F I E DS

AUCTIONS

LEGAL SERVICES

ABC NOTICE

ATTN. AUCTIONEERS: Advertise your upcoming auctions statewide and in other states. Affordable Print and Digital Solutions reaching your target audiences. Call this paper or Landon Clark at Virginia Press Services 804-521-7576, landonc@ vpa.net

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Planning Commission CITY OF FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Preservation One LLC , Trading as: Preservation Biscuit Company , 102 E Fairfax St Falls Church, 22041. The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) for a Wine and Beer On Premises. Patricia Barba , Owner, Authorized Signatory Preservation One LLC, the Operating Member of Preservation Biscuit Company. NOTE: Objections to the issuance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Objections should be registered at www.abc.virginia.gov or 800-552-3200.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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On March 17, 2021, at 7:30 p.m., the City of Falls Church Planning Commission will hold a virtual public hearing to consider the following items and recommendations to City Council: (TR21-05) RESOLUTION TO AMEND CHAPTER 3 OF THE CITY OF FALLS CHURCH’S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO ADD: “ENRICHING FALLS C H U R C H : P U B L I C A RT S E C T I O N OF THE COMMUNITY CHARACTER, APPEARANCE, AND DESIGN CHAPTER OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN” (TO21-03) ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH AN ARTS AND CULTURAL DISTRICT IN THE CITY OF FALLS CHURCH IN THE AREA SHOWN ON THE MAP ENTITLED ARTS AND CULTURAL DISTRICT. THE PROPOSED ARTS AND CULTURAL DISTRICT INCLUDES THE ADOPTED REVITALIZATION AREAS, PUBLIC LAND, AND HOUSES OF WORSHIP. The public hearing will be held electronically. Meeting agenda and materials will be available on the following page prior to the public meeting: http://www.fallschurchva. gov/PC. Public comments will be accepted electronically only until the end of the public hearing. Please submit comments to plan@ fallschurchva.gov. All participating members of Planning Commission will be present at this meeting through electronic means; and all members of the public are welcome to view the meeting at www.fallschurchva.gov/ PC and on FCCTV (Cox 11, RCN 2, Verizon 35). 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 703-248-5040 (TTY 711). 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 (Alternate) Aurora House Citizens’ Advisory Committee Board of Equalization Board of Zoning Appeals (Alternate) City Employee Review Board Historic Architectural Review Board Human Services Advisory Council Retirement Board To w i n g A d v i s o r y B o a r d ( To w i n g Representative) Regional Boards/Commissions Advisory Social Services Board Fairfax Area Disability Services Board Long Term Care Coordinating Council Fairfax Area Commission on Aging

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

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Crossword

A RTS&E NTE RTA I NME NT

MARCH 4 - 10, 2021 | PAGE 21

by Margie E. Burke

The Weekly Crossword

by Margie E. Burke

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 ACROSS 1 Boat's berth 14 15 16 5 Part of a repair 19 17 18 bill 10 Skewed view 20 21 22 14 Multinational money 23 24 25 15 Come about 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 16 A while ago 17 Flashcards 33 34 35 36 subject 37 38 39 40 19 Kind of ID 20 Renter 42 43 41 21 Courting music 44 45 46 47 48 23 Put up, as a picture 49 50 51 25 Flinch, say 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 26 Varied 30 Biased against 60 61 59 seniors 33 Bird feeder filler 62 63 64 34 Small sample 66 67 36 80's group who 65 sang "Take On Copyright 2021 by The Puzzle Syndicate Me" 37 Melville setting 2 Tackle box item 43 Mistake in print 54 Spanish 38 Talk like Porky 3 Blue flower 45 Runway figures sparkling wine Pig 4 Cheap insult 47 Safe from 56 Monetary 40 Slot machine 5 Sing the blues hackers penalty icon 6 You-here link 48 "Fame" singer 57 Type of list 41 Pop-ups, e.g. 7 Tiny amounts 50 Fare with onions 58 Winter coat? 42 Cheyenne 8 Willow for 52 Aquatic plant 61 Conducted shelter basketmaking 53 TV cable, for 43 Ticklish Muppet 9 Craft anew short 44 Navy clerk 10 Pep in one's step 46 Tactful 11 Impossible to fill 49 Koontz creation 12 Got an A+ on 51 Within earshot 13 Parched Answers to Last Week's Crossword: 52 Ivory tower 18 Try, as a case F R O M B A C K S C I T E inhabitant 22 Raring to go L A R A A W A I T O N Y X 55 Etsy wares 24 ____ and go A V A N T G A R D E R O L E 59 Piercing site 26 Test, as ore B E L I E R E D P E P P E R 60 Assessment 27 Glove leather C R U D I N S E R T 62 Chutzpah 28 Like some S T R U N G C A N T E R 63 Now or _____ temperatures L A I R H O A R S E A M C 64 Edit menu choice 29 Old-fashioned O C T E T G I G R E B E L 65 Gives the 31 Cause of a red B O A H A R R O W A L G A heave-ho face M A I D E N I N S E A M 66 WTO's concern 32 Medium's card A B O U N D O N I T 67 Pound sound 35 Oktoberfest F O R G E R I E S S W A Z I souvenir O G E E E N V I S I O N E D DOWN 38 Forestall, with U L N A S T E E P O N T O 1 Close, as an "off" L E O S S O R R Y D E A L envelope 39 Urban housing

Sudoku

Level 1 2 3 4

Solution to last Sunday’s puzzle

NICK KNACK

STRANGE BREW

By The Mepham Group

2/21/21

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit sudoku.org.uk. © 2021 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. All rights reserved.

JOHN DEERING

LO CA L

PAGE 22 | MARCH 4 – 10, 2021

BACK IN THE DAY

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

C�� C��

25 � 10 Y�� A�� N��-P�� Falls Church News-Press Vol. V, No. 50 • February 29, 1996

Falls Church News-Press Vol. XXI, No.1 • March 3,, 2011

Lasso Soothes Jitters of Fairfax-Like Draconian Cuts for City Budget

Fairfax Schools Boost Salary Hike Priority, Will Offer 2% & Full ‘Step’

Reacting to startling news that neighboring Fairfax Country faces a combination record tax increase and draconian cuts in social services, Falls Church City Manager David Lasso offered an unexpected preview of the budget he intends to propose to the city Council next month during his report!

Board members of the massive Fairfax County School System, 11th largest in the U.S. with a $2.2 billion operating budget serving 177,416 students in 196 schools and centers, made a major revaluation of its priorities, the schools’ chief financial officer Susan Quinn said Saturday.

Use of Force Continued from Page 4

Col. Edwin C. Roessler, Jr., the former chief of police for the county, said in the report that the detective showed poor judgment with his assumptions and speech, and should have had a better understanding of the area he patrols (the person questioned by the officer had a parking sticker signaling they did live at the complex, for example.) However, Roessler didn’t agree that there was any bias in the encounter. The panel disagreed overwhelmingly, and asked why the police wouldn’t interview co-workers to examine the detective’s racial bias. Roessler didn’t think that was necessary given the circumstances of the incident, causing the board to formally suggest the police reevaluate how it conducts internal investigations into bias. “During case reviews, the department definitely listens to the

Virginia Tech Continued from Page 5

new headquarters building and a school focused on design and construction. The company said it remains interested in collaborating with Virginia Tech on those projects. “While the redevelopment

panel’s recommendations,” said Anthony Guglielmi, the public affairs director for Fairfax County police, who has previous experience working communications for Chicago and Baltimore’s police departments. “A lot of the things [Chicago and Baltimore police] started implementing post-George Floyd...Fairfax has been doing since 2016. They’re early adopters of what we call a ‘co-production model,’ meaning the policies and procedures of the police department are co-developed with the residents of the county.” Examples of greater citizen input influencing Fairfax’s policing that were cited by Guglielmi have been calls for body cameras and the county’s own use of force policies. Back in Falls Church, the public appeared to be largely in favor of how the police do its job. An open survey put out by the committee from mid-November until early December found that only 16 of 393 respondents to the survey rated the police’s perfor-

mance as “poor or very poor” and 11 respondents rated the overall quality of the Falls Church police department as “poor or very poor in comparison to prior places they lived.” Over 95 percent of respondents had never personally experienced a use of force from City police, and over 85 percent had never witnessed a use of force from police either. Survey respondents were, by gender, majority women (52 percent) and, by race, majority white (70 percent). Of the 111 self-identified non-white respondents to the survey, there wasn’t a noticeable drop off in how the department is viewed from the overall survey results. For example, only five respondents said the police department did a poor job compared to other places they’ve lived. That represented five percent of non-white respondents, compared to three percent of all respondents who felt the same way.

project isn’t moving forward, we believe deeply in the partnership and our work together,” HITT Vice President of Research and Development Megan Lantz said in an interview with the Tysons Reporter. Rushmark Properties had also partnered with Virginia Tech on the Northern Virginia Center redevelopment but according to reports is no longer involved.

The Northern Virginia Center expansion was part of an ambitious redevelopment plan for the West Falls Church Transit Station Area that Fairfax County has been coordinating with the university and WMATA. The next meeting of the task force appointed to develop recommendations for the West Falls Church TSA study is scheduled to take place virtually on Mar. 16.

Share Curiosity. Read Together. w w w. r e a d . g o v

WHO...ARE...YOU? An owl sits perched upon a sign at the boundary between Arlington County and Washington, D.C. For whatever reason, this guy’s presence feels like a good omen for spring, so we hope it makes you bit more optimistic, too. Just because you’re not famous doesn’t mean your pet can’t be! Send in your Critter Corner submissions to crittercorner@fcnp.com.

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“These were jobs that were originally done for free under slavery and then were limited jobs available to African American women,” McClellan said when introducing her bill. “As part of Jim Crow they were excluded from minimum wage, workers’ comp, the Human Rights Act, our OSHA laws, our unemployment comp laws—not just here in Virginia, but throughout the South and at the federal level.” McClellan said she is passionate about fighting for domestic workers’ rights. “I understand from my own family experience how important domestic work is,” McClellan said. “We trust domestic workers to care for our loved ones in our homes, and their work allows other people to work.” Opponents of Gooditis’ measure worried over the protocol that allows for a residence to be inspected when a domestic worker files a complaint. Sen. Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, said before the bill’s passage that he worried “the government will now be able to enter an employer’s house without a search warrant if this conference report is agreed to.” “My concern about this is that now we’re setting up a system where if you have someone who performs childcare in your home or cleans at your home, now the government is going to be able to come in to inspect that residence,” McDougle said. McClellan said that in order to conduct an inspection officials will need permission from the owners of the residence or workplace. “No one would be able to come in without a warrant in the scenario that the senator from Hanover just described,” she said. “Again, there will be no inspections without the consent of the owner, operator of the workplace.”

The Virginia General Assembly passed multiple bills providing protections and benefits for the state’s domestic workers. House Bill 2032, introduced by Del.Wendy Gooditis, D-Clarke, extends employee protection laws to domestic service workers that allows them to file complaints regarding workplace safety. The Commission of Labor and Industry would investigate such claims. Domestic worker is defined as an individual paid either directly or indirectly for services of a household nature performed in or about a private home. This includes jobs such as “companions, cooks, waiters, butlers, maids, valets and chauffeurs.” The bill states that domestic work does not include jobs that are irregular or uncertain. This bill will affect around 60,000 workers in Virginia, according to Erica Sklar, a national organizer for Hand In Hand, a national network of employers of domestic workers pushing for better working conditions. Lawmakers said 90 percent of the workers are women and half are women of color. “Virginia is the 10th state to pass legislation like this,” Sklar said. “There’s also two cities that have passed this legislation, Seattle and Philadelphia.” Domestic workers were exempted from the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which outlined protections such as a 40-hour maximum workweek and minimum wage requirements. Political scholars say that Southern Democrats joined with Republicans in opposition to the FLSA. A Congressional bill introduced in 2019 sought to repeal the exemption and also expand coverage

to domestic workers under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 against discrimination in employment. Alexsis Rodgers, the Virginia state director of the advocacy group Care In Action, said she wants people to understand the challenges of being a domestic worker. Care in Action is a nonprofit that advocates for millions of domestic workers in the nation. Domestic workers are excluded from workplace protection policies, which many lawmakers had not previously considered, Rodgers said. “Sometimes it’s having a new idea or concept introduced and taking a little more time to educate lawmakers,” Rodgers said. “We’ve certainly seen progress along the way.” The original bill would have covered domestic workers under the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act, but that portion of the bill was removed, Rodgers said. She hopes the act will eventually include domestic workers. Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News, also introduced a bill this session advocating for domestic workers’ rights. The General Assembly passed HB 1864, which expands the definition of employer in the Virginia Human Rights Act to protect domestic workers from workplace discrimination. The act prohibits workplace discrimination based on race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and other factors. Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, carried Senate Bill 1310, which includes domestic workers in employee protection laws, including laws regarding the payment of wages. The bill also extends protection to domestic workers from workplace discrimation.

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