4-2-2015 by Falls Church News-Press

April 2 - 8, 2015

Falls Church, Virginia • w w w . fc n p . c o m • Free

Founded 1991 • Vol. XXV No. 6

Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads

Inside This Week 7 New Eateries Coming To Falls Church Seven new eateries in various stages of opening in the City of Falls Church were profiled in last week’s monthly “Business and Real Estate News” report from the F.C. Economic Development Office. See News Briefs, page 9

‘New’ Marshall High School Unveiled

Mason District’s Penny Gross Gets Primary Challenge for Re-Election

Community Activist Swanson Seeking To Unseat Veteran by Nicholas F. Benton

Falls Church News-Press

A $52 million, three-and-a-halfyear renovation of George C. Marshall High School includes a new state of the art library, new science, art, and business wings and tennis courts, too. See page 10

David Brooks: Religious Liberty & Equality

Over the past few decades the United States has engaged in a great struggle to balance civil rights and religious liberty. See page 14

Press Pass with Eliane Elias

Brazilian jazz pianist, singer, arranger and songwriter Eliane Elias returned to her native land for her new album released on Tuesday and now she’s bringing Brazil to Washington, D.C. on April 14, when she performs at The Hamilton. See page 25

THREE STUDENTS REHEARSE a scene from McLean High School’s production of the “Laramie Project” where a member of the Tectonic Theatre Company (Sydney Studds) goes to the bar where Matthew Shepard was last seen alive to interview Laramie residents, Matt Lucero and Joe Miller. (Photo: McLean Theater Company)

McLean High School Students Set to Perform ‘Laramie Project’

by Liz Lizama

Falls Church News-Press

Index Editorial..................6 Letters..............6, 24 News & Notes.12-13 Comment........14-17 Sports .................19 Calendar.........20-21

Food & Dining .22-23 Press Pass..........25 Classified Ads .....28 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword...........29 Critter Corner.......30

While nearly two decades has passed since the tragic death of Matthew Shepard in Wyoming, the McLean High School Theatre Company brings the story of one of America’s most well-known anti-gay hate crimes to the stage with its production of Moisés Kaufman’s controversial “The Laramie Project” next week. “We are excited to draw atten-

tion to such a prevalent issue in society. Though Matthew Shepard died almost 17 years ago, by producing this show we are demonstrating our continual support for him and for victims of prejudice everywhere,” said Amy Poe, artistic director of the McLean High School Theatre Company. “[The] McLean Theatre Company will explore a different side of theater through this drama. We hope that audience members leave inspired to

help circulate love throughout the community.” The docudrama explores the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old openly gay student at the University of Wyoming, beaten to death for his open sexuality. The two assailants, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, also age 21, abducted Shepard and drove him to the outskirts of Laramie, Wyo.

Continued on Page 5

For the first time since she was first elected in 1995 to her post as the Mason District’s representative on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Penelope A. “Penny” Gross is facing a Democratic primary challenge this spring. A much younger community activist, Jessica Swanson, has filed to oppose Gross in what will be a June 9 primary election, and with the passing of the filing deadline last week, it has been established that she will be standing alone to challenge Gross. Gross, whose Mason District butts up to the City of Falls Church on its southeastern side, has always been keen to challenges from a Republican opponent in her five previous campaigns for election to the powerful job. Although she won the open seat for the first time by a margin of only 327 votes, she’s held the seat by margins of almost two to one every time since. She is known for her pragmatic, results-oriented style and claims a long list of achievements improving with infrastructure, parkland and school construction gains the lives of the 116,000 residents of her district in the last 20 years. “I have done an awful lot to clean up and revitalize” the Mason District, she said in a recent interview with the News-Press. “Campaigning can be fun, but governance is hard, involving a lot of serious issues. Experience matters when you have to weigh all sides and make tough decisions,” she said, contrasting herself to Swanson, although she insists she

Continued on Page 4

PAGE 2 | APRIL 2 - 8, 2015

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PAGE 4 | APRIL 2 - 8, 2015

Easter Sunda r o f s u n y! Joi April 5th 6:30 a.m. - Celebrate the resurrection of

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Gross Faces Primary Challenge from Swanson for Mason District Seat Continued from Page 1

our Lord Jesus Christ at our

is “taking the challenge seriously.” Well she should, observers point out, because her current priGarden adjacent to Noland Street parking lot. mary race bears a certain spooky similarity to another primary chal8:30 and 11:00 a.m. - Worship in the Sanctuary, lenge that occurred just six years with special music at each service. ago in 2009, when State Del. Bob Hull, an entrenched Democratic Be sure to bring flowers to place veteran in the 38th State Delegate on the living cross on the front lawn. district – a district that is a very near overlay of the boundaries of Childcare provided at the 8:30 the Mason District – was caught off guard when then Fairfax and 11 a.m. services. County School Board member Kaye Kory challenged him in a 513 E Broad Street • Falls Church primary and Kory won. By the time Hull fully caught United Methodist 703-532-8060 dulinchurch.org onto what was happening, he was behind the eight-ball and lost the primary. Ironically, just as in Gross’ situation now, there was 2015_Dulin Easter ad_3.8x4.indd 1 3/29/15 10:11:50 PM no way a Republican could unseat him, and he was not expecting a challenge from his left flank, so to speak. By contrast this time, however, Supervisor Gross has amassed a formidable campaign, including compiling lists of about 50 members of the Mason District Democratic Committee and 25 regional Democratic elected officials who are on the record endorsing her reelection. They are all listed on her website. “I am very competitive and I don’t like to lose,” she said, talking about her primary challenge. “I will work as hard as I have to.” But with her strongest suit Now kids can catch the Op wave! Youthful shapes, fresh frame styles being her effective governance, and high energy colors make the Op Kids Collection fun to wear. she said, “I have always been a Designed to fit ‘tweens ages 8-14 this free-spirited and original frame work horse, not a show horse.” collection has a versatile selection of metal and laminate looks. To readers of the News-Press, Comfortable, resilient and sporty, Op Kids embraces the authentic, Gross is a fixture, penning a weekcasual Op lifestyle with frames, while delivering quality and value. ly “A Penny for Your Thoughts” column every week since she first took on the opportunity in the YOUR CHILD’S EYESIGHT IS summer of 1997. Gross accepted the offer of Remember that when you are looking for a a weekly column as the Newsqualified optometrist who knows the importance Press was beginning to expand its of healthy eyes for a young child’s future distribution into Fairfax County, especially the areas that consider themselves part of the greater 701 W. Broad St. (Rte 7) Falls Church postal district. Falls Church VA Unlike many elected officials 703-237-6500 with columns in local media, however, Gross has taken great pride in writing every one of her colwww.pointofvieweyewear.com umns herself. She has also com-

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MASON DISTRICT SUPERVISOR PENNY GROSS (left) faces a challenge from community activist Jessica Swanson (right) in the Democratic primary election June 7. (P��: N��-P�� (�), ��.�� (�))

plied with the News-Press’ wishes to make her columns informational and only minimally politically partisan. As a result, the columns have added up to become an historical chronicle of the developments in the Mason District that she’s played a major role in determining. Her job is effectively as a mayor of a city of 116,000, as the way Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors works, the wider body generally defers to the local supervisors for important developments in each respective district. But Gross’ leadership on the county board is reflected in the board’s selection of her as its vicechairman. The Mason District “has done well” with absorbing the growing diversity in its population, including the aging of seniors and the welcoming of racial and ethnic minorities, especially Korean Americans. Her success lies in her determination that “one size does not fit all,” but a lot of attention to special circumstances needs to be given. Among the achievements she touts is the renovation and reopening last month of the Woodrow Wilson Library, and the opening last fall of the first new elementary school in 40 years, the Bailey’s Upper Elementary for the Arts and Sciences, built to an urbanvertical design. In all, Gross has

overseen the construction of three new schools and the renovation of all three public libraries in her district, along with a new fire station and an addition of 200 acres of parkland, with new walkways and sidewalks installed across the district and bus shelters and a bus hub at Seven Corners. Overall, she’s said, the Mason District has shifted from a suburban area to “a dynamic and cosmopolitan community” with “growth in ethnic, social and economic diversity.” As for Swanson, she says “it’s time for new leadership” in the district. She says on her website, “Despite Fairfax County’s strong reputation, Mason District has missed out on opportunities to fully support our schools and manage development in a thoughtful, user-friendly and environmentally conscious way...many in the Mason District have told me they feel they don’t have a supervisor who listens and responds to their feedback. It’s not about the number of town halls our supervisor holds, it’s about taking input and developing a better approach.” She is the Mason District appointee to the Fairfax County School Board’s Human Relations Advisory Committee and serves on the county Democrats’ Education Committee. From 2010-2014, she was the vice-president of the Ravenswood Park Civic Association.

McLean High’s ‘Laramie Project’ Starts April 9 Continued from Page 1

where they tied him to a fence and left him to die in the cold night. A bicyclist found him nearly 18 hours after the assault. Shepard was rushed to the hospital but died five days later after succumbing to his injuries. “For our cast, this is much more than a simple high school play,” Poe said. The week that the play opens, students have organized a number of LGBTQ awareness events, which includes an exclusive screening of the limited-release new documentary “Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine” on April 8. Before the April 11 play, students will also host a festival featuring booths from many LGBTQ organizations in the area. Just five weeks after Shepard’s death, the Tectonic Theater Project travelled to Laramie to gather the mood and reaction of the small town. The team spent over a year conducting 200 interviews with locals.

“The Laramie Project” portrays those residents by quoting their own words. “I also love docudrama theater because it presents a real acting challenge because actors must learn to speak the actual, candid words of ordinary people instead of the crafted words of talented playwright,” Poe said. The McLean Theatre Company production features Jack Posey as Moisés Kaufman alongside over 50 performers that convey the sentiments of those in Laramie following the murder. Poe said she really wanted to produce this play for members of the theater company that identify as LGBTQ as a means to foster dialogue across the whole student body and encourage acceptance for all students. Senior Camille Calderon said the school administration was very supportive of the production but that some parents raised concerns about the graphic nature of the show. “It’s like our director

LO CA L told us – even though this is hard theater, this is theater. Theater is meant to express opinions and ideas, not just happy thoughts. Even though people aren’t comfortable with this kind of stuff, that’s okay because that is what theater is meant to do – it’s meant to get your point across.” Poe believes it still makes for a great time at the theater. “While this play is about a very morose topic, it actually focuses on themes of hope, acceptance and love,” she said. “There are mutterings around town that the Westboro Baptist Church might show up to protest,” Poe said of possible challenges. Amid the potential discord in the community, the administration agreed that the play is based on a real life story that still has much relevance today. “The Laramie Project” runs April 9 – 12. Performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday with a special 2 p.m. matinee on April 12. The play will be performed at McLean High School, 1633 Davidson Road, McLean. Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors. For more information, visit mcleandrama. TFCE PASO Concert AD com or call 703-714-5700.

APRIL 2 - 8, 2015 | PAGE 5

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Pan American Symphony Orchestra

Nuevo Tango — Argentina’s New Tango

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Saturday, April 11, 2015 • 7:30 p.m. in the Main Sanctuary Donations welcome to support the Young Musicians Scholarship Fund. Reception Follows Concert. email: concerts@TheFallsChurch.org

115 E. Fairfax St., Falls Church, VA 22046 • 703.241.0003 www.TheFallsChurch.org

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F.C. Election Not Until November

In Falls Church in years past, the annual spring budget deliberations (such as are going on now) were always interspersed with campaigning for seats on the local City Council in a May election. The connection between positions taken on the budget – usually involving tax rates and school funding – were in the forefront of everyone’s minds for the municipal election in early May. But that changed for the first time in 2013, when the whopping 2-to-1 landslide in a November 2011 referendum in favor of moving municipal elections from May to November went into effect, and four City Council members were elected that November. The last May election was held May 1, 2012, when current Council members Nader Baroukh, Phil Duncan and David Tarter were elected. Now, going on three years later, the legacy of May elections has faded already, but the seats that were filled in that election will be coming up for contention this fall. That’s right, the current mayor, Tarter, the former mayor, Baroukh, and Mr. Duncan will find themselves faced with what will undoubtedly be lively election challenges that are still a half-year off. Among other things, in order to make the timing work with the shift from May to November elections, these three will be completing their current terms in three-and-a-half rather than four years. So, the new distance between the spring budget deliberations and November elections means that some of the heat that arises from tax rates and other important decisions embedded in a potentially contentious budget process will be cooled by months of separation. Also, the turnout in November will be considerably higher than ever in May. This November, for example, every single state delegate and state senate seat in Virginia will be on ballots all across the commonwealth, and this means for Falls Church that State Sen. Richard Saslaw and State Del. Marcus Simon will likely be facing challenges. Moreover, three Falls Church School Board seats, and the attorney and clerk of the Arlington Circuit Court, which covers Falls Church, will be up for re-election on the Falls Church ballot. So, from our point of view, the prospect of this coming November’s election should be seen as a relief for the three F.C. City Council incumbents whose seats will be contested, assuming that one or more will be running for another term. That’s because there will be far less need to kowtow to the Little City’s citizen activist core on two counts: 1. the heat of the budget tussle will be history, relatively speaking, and 2. the turnout will be far higher than the relatively small, intimate May elections when that activist core had much greater influence on the election outcomes. So, the challenge these Council members face this spring is to gauge decisions not in reaction to the activists who will be in their faces, and instead from the standpoint of a silent but voting wider majority.

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Will City of F.C. Tax Rates Ever Stop Escalating? Editor, On top of an 8 percent assessment increase in 2014 and a 6 percent increase in 2015, I am now facing a potential tax rate increase to $1.345? This means I will pay over $9,100 in property taxes alone for the 2016 fiscal year (plus the stormwater fee). I believe we are at a point where the community and its leadership needs to assess the long-term financial viability

of maintaining an independent police/school/library/municipal government structure for Falls Church. I understand that we are supporting our highly ranked schools. However, the real estate tax disparity far exceeds any academic distinction between our schools and those of neighboring jurisdictions. I expect that successful graduates of Washington and Lee, Yorktown, McLean, or Marshall high

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schools have the same opportunities as George Mason High School grads. Arlington County has three brand-new high schools, more course offerings, publicly accessible pools, etc. Fairfax is completing a complete renovation of Marshall High School just blocks from George Mason. And how much will the proposed renovation/replacement of George Mason High School add to the tax rate? Will we be hitting $1.40 or $1.50 in four to five years? I believe we would maintain our sense of community if we were to be part of a larger, more efficient jurisdiction. We would still have our neighborhood

schools, Cherry Hill Park, the farmer’s market, and our predatory towing practices. We would gain economies of scale, access to a larger library system, and a sustainable level of taxation for all our residents. Arlington’s real estate tax rate actually decreased by one cent, from $1.006 per $100 of assessed value to $0.996 for calendar year 2014. Fairfax’s rate is $1.09. Alexandria’s rate is $1.038. Ours is $1.305 and rising. Will there ever be a time where our tax rates stop escalating? Jim Rice Falls Church

Letters Continued on Page 24

CO MME NT

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APRIL 2 - 8, 2015 | PAGE 7

G � � � � C � � � � � �� 20 Years of Elected Of�ice Serving Northern Virginia B� G�� C��

The end of March is a special time of year. Not only does it come on the heels of my favorite holiday, St. Patrick’s Day, but each year it offers me an opportunity to reflect and remind myself why I entered public service. This year is a particularly significant milestone because it marks 20 years from the day – March 30, 1995 – that I was sworn in as Providence District Supervisor and began my journey in elected office. Serving Northern Virginia is the great honor of my life, and together we’ve come a long way in two decades. In 1995, the plan from the 1960s envisioning the Silver Line to link Tysons, Reston and Dulles with downtown Washington and other parts of the National Capital Region was gathering dust on a shelf somewhere. The Merrifield area, adjacent to Falls Church, was a jumble of sprawling industrial parks. Fairfax had no plan to protect our environment. And the tech boom, which today helps to fuel our region’s economic vibrancy, was still in its infancy. When I ran for Providence Supervisor in 1995, I made the extension of Metrorail to Tysons and Dulles a top priority. It was a long, arduous path, but ultimately we overcame the temporary setbacks and hurdles and it was a great day when Phase One opened last summer. Phase One of the Silver Line, extending

from East Falls Church to Wiehle Avenue in Reston, is already exceeding expectations in terms of ridership. Its completion will continue to transform Tysons and the Dulles Corridor – and provide the missing rail link from the nation’s capital to the region’s major international airport. The list of cham-

“In neighboring Merri�ield, we’ve transformed those sprawling industrial parks into the bustling Mosaic District.” pions who made this project a reality is a long one, but I am proud to have spent my 20 years in elected office fighting to get it done. In neighboring Merrifield, we’ve transformed those sprawling industrial parks into the bustling Mosaic District, bringing in new opportunities for recreation, work, shopping, and dining. We’re attracting vibrant start-up companies like Custom Ink by creating the kinds of communities in which the best and brightest from around the world want to live and work. The revitalization of Merrifield started as a series of community visioning exercises. The community came up with the

plan. I just worked to make it happen. From 1976 to 1995, Fairfax County lost 30% of its open space to development. It was clear something had to be done. So we passed the county’s first comprehensive environmental agenda that today is a model replicated in communities across the country. We set a goal to protect 10 percent of our landmass as open space or parkland. We set an ambitious 30-year goal to increase the tree canopy, and today 40 percent of Fairfax County is covered by trees. We adopted forward-thinking urban storm water management practices into our plan. We created the 41-mile-long Cross County Trail, linking the entire county from Great Falls to the Occoquan. And environmental protection and preservation are now a part of every decision we make in Northern Virginia. Since 1995, we have succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams in making Northern Virginia a global leader in the expanding technology economy. In fact, I like to point out to my Congressional colleagues from California that Silicon Valley is merely the Northern Virginia of the West Coast. Our economic success was built on direct federal employment and federal contracting, and they remain pillars of our regional economy and prosperity. But today we’re branching out by attracting new businesses in new industries and nurturing a vibrant startup community. All of the major tech players and some you’ve never heard of (yet) can be found in Northern Virginia and we continue

to offer these businesses a motivated, welleducated workforce and a great quality of life. Throughout these two decades, I’ve been an advocate of and participant in efforts to work on a regional basis whenever possible and practical. We are a region of wonderful, vibrant communities, each with their own unique offerings, but all with mutual goals and aspirations for our future. The positive changes in Merrifield and Tysons also benefit the residents of Falls Church. The Silver Line opens a new direct portal to Tysons and Reston for residents of Arlington. Environmental success in Fairfax benefits the entire region. And all of our communities benefit from the employment opportunities provided by the growing technology sector. So I’m proud of everything we’ve accomplished together, but more importantly, I’m excited about the things we can and will accomplish in the future. We can continue to grow our economy by building on our strengths in the federal sector and encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship to develop new industries. We can make Tysons the model for transforming a classic sprawling, asphalt-covered “edge city” into a walkable, sustainable urban center. And we can continue working together to seize the opportunities and tackle the challenges that come our way.  Gerry Connolly represents Virginia 11th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Q�� W�� What’s the biggest concern with the proposed Mason Row development? • Traffic issues

• Environmental issues

• Displacing existing business • Size of project • Other

Last Week’s Question:

Should the City of Falls Church accept Clark Construction’s proposal for the new school site?

• No concerns

Log on to www.FCNP.com to cast your vote

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[WRITE FOR THE PRESS] The News-Press welcomes readers to send in submissions in the form of Letters to the Editor

& Guest Commentaries. Letters to the Editor should be no more than 350 words and writers are limited to one appearance every four weeks. Guest Commentaries should be no more than 800 words and writers are limited to one appearance every four months. Because of space constraints, not all submissions will be published. All submissions to the News-Press should be original, unpublished content. We reserve the right to edit submissions for length, grammar and accuracy. All submissions should include writer’s name, address, phone and e-mail address if available.

Email: letters@fcnp.com | Mail: Letters to the Editor, Falls Church News-Press, 200 Little Falls St., #508, Falls Church 22046 | Fax: 703.340.0347

PAGE 8 | APRIL 2 - 8, 2015

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

EASTER 2015

Holy Week and Easter with

The Falls Church Episcopal April 2nd Maundy Thursday

Taizé Service with Holy Eucharist 7:30 pm Main Sanctuary

April 3rd Good Friday

Christ Crossman a United Methodist community 10 a.m. Worship Easter Egg Hunt following worship 384 N Washington St. Falls Church VA 22046 christcrossman.org

Historic Church Open for Quiet Prayer Noon - 3 pm Children’s and Family Service 5:30 pm Historic Church Liturgy of Good Friday with the Duruflé Requiem 7:30 pm Main Sanctuary

April 4th Holy Saturday The Great Vigil of Easter 7:30 pm Historic Church

April 5th Easter Sunday

Festive Eucharist with Children’s Chapel followed by an Easter Celebration on the Lawn 9 am Main Sanctuary & 11 am Historic Church

All are

115 E. Fairfax St.

Welcome

www.TheFallsChurch.org

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Fa l l s C h u r c h

NEWS BRIEFS F.C. Dem Committee, CBC Events in April Two successful Sunday evenings in April will offer receptions for supporters of the Falls Church Democratic Committee and the Citizens for a Better City. On April 12, the Democratic Committee will host its annual Jefferson Jackson Dinner with a traditional potluck supper at the F.C. Community Center that will feature new U.S. Rep. Don Beyer as the keynote speaker. It opens with a social hour at 5 p.m. and then the supper and speaker at 6 p.m. Four Democratic elected officials who will all be on the ballot this November will also be present, including Sen. Dick Saslaw, Del. Marcus Simon, Commonwealth Attorney Theo Stamos and Clerk of the Circuit Court Paul Ferguson. Ticket prices vary and can be found at secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/2015-jandj. The following Sunday, April 19, the Hilton Garden Inn at 706 W. Broad will be the scene for the annual meeting and cocktail reception of the Citizens for a Better City. The reception begins at 5 p.m. including light hors d’oeuvres with the meeting beginning at 6 p.m. Cocktails including 2015 dues for CBC members will be $30.

Jackson Announces Retirement from AHDC Longtime Falls Church affordable housing advocate and Affordable Housing Development Corporation director Carol Jackson announced to a wide circle of friends and associates this week that she will be retiring from her position as of June 30, and that she and her husband, Charlie, will immediately move their home to Charleston, South Carolina. “Charlie and I have long hoped, and more recently planned, to settle there into our active retirement years,” Jackson wrote. “Mid-2015 is much earlier than we have been thinking about. Nevertheless, the time is right.”

7 New Eateries Set to Open in F.C. Seven new eateries in various stages of opening in the City of Falls Church were profiled in last week’s monthly “Business and Real Estate News” report from the F.C. Economic Development Office. Lil’ City Creamery, an ice cream parlor, has signed a lease for the location at 114 W. Broad St. The Pita Pouch hopes to be open by next week in the Falls Plaza at 1112 W. Broad. Cafe Kindred obtained an occupancy permit on March 11 to open at 450 N. Washington. The Happy Tart, a gluten-free bakery and cafe, hopes to open by May 1 at 410 S. Maple Ave. Plaka Grill’s expansion to Falls Church has plans to open mid-April at the site of the former Cosi at 513 W. Broad and, as reported last week in the News-Press, Hot n’Juicy Crawfish plans to be open in the middle of this month at the old Pilin restaurant space at 116 W. Broad. The 205 Park Avenue property, bought by the owners of Arlington’s Liberty Tavern, has cleared two advisory and review boards and will submit a site plan proposal to the Planning Commission soon. Also, the news report indicated that the Burger King at 700 W. Broad St., will be closing in mid to late April to make way for the construction of the new Kensington Assisted Living facility.

Painkillers, Heroin Subject of April 13 Forum Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Services William A. Hazel Jr. will join Fairfax County community leaders, local experts and parents in a special April 13 forum to highlight Fairfax County’s current fight against painkiller abuse and heroin use that has reached epidemic levels across the nation, according to a county statement. “Painkillers & Heroin: Our Community Problem” will be presented by the Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County (UPC) and the Fairfax County Neighborhood and Community Services (NCS) to raise awareness and help take action to prevent and reduce use among youth and young adults. The event will be held Monday, April 13, from 7 – 9 p.m., at the Fairfax County Public Schools Gatehouse Administration Center, First Floor Café, at 8115 Gatehouse Road, Falls Church, VA 22042. The event is free. Hazel, who serves as the co-chair of the Governor’s Task Force on Prescription Drug and Heroin Abuse, is the event’s keynote speaker. He practiced orthopedic surgery in Fairfax County before assuming his state position, where he oversees 11 state agencies with more than 16,000 employees. Panelists will include: a parent who will share the tragic loss of her 21-year-old son; Jesse Ellis, Fairfax County NCS prevention manager; Sgt. Jim Cox, Fairfax County Police Department narcotics officer; Maria Hadjiyane, Inova Behavioral Health Adult Ambulatory Care, director; and Dr. Husam Alathari, Inova CATS Program (Comprehensive Addiction Treatment Services) medical director; and a local Virginia Commonwealth University student in recovery. A question-and-answer session will follow the presentations.

APRIL 2 - 8, 2015 | PAGE 9

NOTICE OF PROPOSED REAL PROPERTY TAX INCREASE (TO15-06) ORDINANCE SETTING THE RATE OF TAX LEVY ON REAL ESTATE, PERSONAL PROPERTY, MACHINERY AND TOOLS AND ALL OTHER PROPERTY SEGREGATED BY LAW FOR LOCAL TAXATION IN THE CITY OF FALLS CHURCH VIRGINIA FOR TAX YEAR 2016.

The City of Falls Church proposes to increase property levies. 1. Assessment Increase. Total assessed value of real property, excluding additional assessments due to new construction or improvements to property, exceeds last year’s total assessed value of real property by 2.32 percent. 2. Lowered Rate Necessary to Offset Increased Assessment. The tax rate which would levy the same amount of real estate tax as last year, when multiplied by the new total assessed value of real estate with the exclusions mentioned above would be $1.243 per $100 of assessed value. This rate will be known as the “lowered tax rate.” 3. Effective Rate Increase. The City of Falls Church proposes to adopt a tax rate of $1.345 per $100 of assessed value. The difference between the lowered tax rate and the proposed rate would be $0.102 per $100, or 8.21 percent. This difference will be known as the “effective tax rate increase.” Individual property taxes may, however, increase at a percentage greater than or less than the above percentage. 4. Proposed Total Budget Increase. Based on the proposed real property tax rate and changes in other revenues, the total budget of the City of Falls Church will exceed last year’s by 3.12 percent. Public hearings on the increase will be held on April 13 and April 27, 2015 at 7:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as they may be heard, in the Council Chambers, 300 Park Avenue, Falls Church, Virginia. The hearings shall be open to the public. The City Council will permit persons desiring to be heard an opportunity to present oral testimony within such reasonable time limits as shall be determined by the City Council. For copies of legislation, contact the City Clerk's office at (703-2485014) or cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov or visit www.fallschurchva.gov. The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703-248-5014 (TTY 711). CELESTE HEATH CITY CLERK

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FAIRFAX COUNTY SUPERVISORS, the Fairfax County School Board and Fairfax County Public Schools cut the ribbon at the George C. Marshall High School’s Grand Reopening yesterday. (P��: C�� D�� S��)

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The “new” George C. Marshall High School is so astonishing; it’s enough to make a senior citizen want to go back to high school. Really. Not only does it have a new state of the art library, it has new science, art, and business wings, and tennis courts, too, said Principal Jeff Litz, of the renovation project which has cost almost $52 million and lasted three and a half years. Last week the school entertained representatives from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, the county school board, and other public figures to show off the new digs. “I was wowed driving up today,” said Fairfax County Chairperson Sharon Bulova, in her remarks at the podium. This is just “cutting edge stuff,” she said, mentioning the roof top garden and active efforts at Marshall to reduce energy costs. About 100 adults and student government officers, musicians, and tour guides attended the grand re-opening where school flutists played, and the Statesmen Singers sang the “Star Spangled Banner” before officials delivered prepared remarks. George C. Marshall High School is the only high school in the nation which bears the 1953 Nobel Prize winner’s name, Litz said. At the event, where attendees drank punch, ate fruit, sandwiches, and a big red, white, and blue cake, Pratip Mandal smiled broadly talking about the school experiences of his daughter, Shromona, 16, a junior at Marshall. “[Shromona] loves the school,”

Mandal said, “and says it’s the most inclusive school in Fairfax County.” His daughter became “quite impressed” by all George C. Marshall’s achievements (the Marshall Plan was named after him, and he served as secretary of defense and state) which led to her dad’s being impressed, too. She helped conduct research on Marshall (1880-1959) for the new Marshall museum at the school. A school with a museum? With researchers and tour guides to tell you all about it and the namesake. While 1940s Glenn Miller music played in the background, Shromona Mandal joined classmates Otilia Lampman, 18, a senior, and Spencer Gilbert, 16, a junior, to lead museum tours. From his study of old school board minutes, Gilbert has learned a lot about the school’s history and said student archivists hope to obtain more artifacts from the Marshall estate. He credited Marshall’s second wife, Katherine Boyce Tupper Brown Marshall (1882-1978) who lived in Leesburg, with helping lay the groundwork for the museum. “She was quite active” at the school, he said. Marshall opened in 1962. Meanwhile, over in the library which faces Leesburg Pike with huge windows that let natural light flow inside, Alanna S. Graboyes and Judith Watson couldn’t wait to tell visitors about the new library which has recorded 50,000 student visitors since last September. “The students are thrilled,” said Graboyes, who quoted a senior who calls the library “’ inspiring.’” It has an archives room with digitized National Geographics going back to 1888 and one of the last printed copies of Encyclopedia

Britannica. The archives are available for students to use for meetings and for quiet time, too, like the girl who wanted “down time” at school while she recovers from a concussion. Near the library are the school’s gardens where Jurius Abdallah, 18, a senior, greeted guests and welcomed questions about the native species which are growing in the school’s outdoor classroom. There students are encouraging wildlife and trying to get a vegetable garden started with their spiral gardens already in place. In 2011, 1,440 were enrolled at George C. Marshall High School, and next year’s student population is predicted to reach almost 2,000, Litz said. Mary Pope, the PTSA president, and Mary Krafft, a PTSA hospitality volunteer, are mothers of Marshall seniors who have lived with the construction over their entire high school careers. It’s a “small school [with a] big heart, we like to say,” said Krafft, whose son, Trevor, a freshman, will be able to attend George C. Marshall High School without construction, noise, workers, and interruptions, all which continued unabated during prior school years. Other officials who helped cut the ribbon included Linda Q. Smyth, Fairfax County Providence supervisor; Karen Garza, school superintendent; Jeffrey Platenberg, assistant superintendent; and members of the school board, Illryong Moon, Ryan McElveen (a Marshall graduate), Jane Strauss, and Penny Reed who thanked Fairfax County taxpayers for approving the bond issue which gave the go-ahead for the renovation.

APRIL 2 - 8, 2015 | PAGE 11

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Check Out All the Fun that's Going on at Victory Comics. Our schedule of events at www.victorycomics.com is jammed packed with fun and games all week long. Come join our new, free Pokemon League which meets every Saturday at 10 am.

SAVE THE DATE May 2, 2015 Victory Comics Brings You Free Comic Book DAY free comic books for everyone comic artists

• star Wars Storm Troopers

Victory Comics hours Sun, Tues 11-6 • Mon, Wed - Fri 11-9 • Sat 10-9

586 So. Washington St. Falls Church, VA 22046

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News-Press

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Community News & Notes Knox Presbyterian Receives Grant for Rain Barrels Knox Presbyterian Church, located at 7416 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church received a I-495 Express Lane Grant from Transurban and Fluor, contractors for the express lanes, the church announced last week. Knox, already recognized nationally by the Presbyterian Church USA as an Earth Care Congregation, has used the grant to install rain barrels and begin to landscape the grounds with native plants. The rain barrels are a part of the Northern Virginia Rain Barrel Program; a program that provides plants with natural water and protects the Chesapeake Bay from chemicals that may be in the runoff from rain. With the stated goal of the grant to educate both church and community members on creation care and environmental stewardship, Knox has involved a diverse community

of workers including neighborhood youth on this project. The project is still being implemented with completion expected in the summer of 2015.

City’s Leaf Mulch Loading Day Set for April 4 and May 9 Falls Church City’s Leaf Mulch Loading Day will take place this Saturday, April 4, from 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the City’s Recycling Center at 217 Gordon Road. A second leaf mulch loading day will take place on May 9 at the same time and location. The City’s staff will use heavy machinery to load any open bed vehicle or trailer, or customers may bring containers and tools for self-hauling. Customers must sign a waiver before participating in the event. Contractors may not bring heavy equipment (loaders, dump trucks) into the Recycling Center. City residents and non-residents

are welcome and there is no limit to the number of loads available per customer. Free double-ground leaf mulching is also available for selfhaul at the Recycling Center seven days a week between 7 a.m. and dusk, while supplies last. For more information about the leaf mulch program or how to create leaf mulch in your own yard, call the Solid Waste Division at 703-248-5456 or visit fallschurchva.gov/LeafMulch.

Cherry Hill Farmhouse Hosts Natural Egg Dying Event Cherry Hill Farmhouse Museum at 312 Park Avenue is hosting a Natural Egg-Dying Open House this Saturday, April 4, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. The open house costs $5 and children of all ages will be able to learn how to dye Easter eggs the old-fashioned way. Event organizers will supply the

materials. For more information, call 703-248-5171 or visit cherryhillfallschurch.org.

F.C. Woman to Compete in National Cornbread Cook-Off Falls Church resident Jennifer Beckman, the 2011 grand prize winner of the Martha White/ Lodge Cast Iron National Cornbread Cook-Off, was invited back to compete in an All-Star Cornbread Cook-Off. For the 19th Annual Martha White/Lodge Cast Iron National Cornbread Cook-Off, the event organizers decided to narrow down past grand prize recipes to the top ten and invite the creators of those recipes to South Pittsburg, Tenn. to compete against each other. Beckman will compete in this year’s competition with her Tennessee Onion Soup Gratin recipe. For more information, visit nationalcornbread.com.

Local Resident Recognized At Air and Space Museum Falls Church resident William H. “Paddy” Harbison, 92, was one of three U.S. Air Force veterans honored on Tuesday at a press briefing at the National Air and Space Museum about a May 8 flyover of up to 70 World War II aircraft over the National Mall to honor the 70th anniversary of the Allied victory in Europe. The flyover, part of a ceremony called Arsenal of Democracy: WWII Victory Capitol Flyover, will begin at 12:10 p.m. and will last approximately 40 minutes. Harbison, a veteran of World War II, will fly in the commemorative flyover. The aircraft in the flyover will represent most of the major battles of the war. Military veterans will be honored with a ceremony and special seating at the World War II Memorial at 10:30 a.m. May 9 is the rain date for the event.

FALLS CHURCH RESIDENT WILLIAM H. “Paddy” Harbison (second from left) was one of three military veterans recognized at the National Air and Space THE FALLS CHURCH KIWANIS T-BALL rookies stretch at the final day of train- Museum on Tuesday. Harbison stands with (l to r) his wife Helen Harbison, ing before the season begins. Coach Jack Villa helps Xander Wagner through General J.R. Dailey and his granddaughter Amanda Harbison. (Photo: Patricia Leslie/News-Press) the paces. (Photo: Courtesy of James Villa)

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, 200 Little Falls St. #508, Falls Church, VA 22046

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

F.C. Garden Club Presents Talk About Dragonflies

The Falls Church Garden Club is presenting a talk called Dragonflies of Northern Virginia at its monthly meeting next Monday, April 6, at 7:30 p.m. at American Legion Post 130 at 400 North Oak Street. The talk will be given by Kevin Munroe, park manager at Huntley Meadows Park, and it’s free and open to the public. For more information, call 703-533-1945.

a.m. – 2 p.m. at the newly renovated Woodrow Wilson Library, located at 6101 Knollwood Dr., Falls Church. Children will be able to get their face painted and play on the FunBus, which features games. There will also be arts and crafts tables. And there will be non-profit organizations and government agencies’ staff members available for people to speak with experts in social programs and government services. Admission to the event is free. For more information, call 703-820-8774.

MPA Accepting Entries for Strictly Painting 10

12th Annual ArtFest Week Slated for April 10-17

The McLean Project for the Arts is currently accepting entries for its biennial painting exhibit Strictly Painting 10 through midnight on Friday, April 17. The show, which is being juried by Vesela Sretenoviç, senior curator of modern and contemporary art at The Phillips Collection, runs from June 18 – August 1. Artists from the mid-Atlantic region are invited to submit up to four jpegs of paintings or works or ten minutes of recorded material related in some way to painting which were completed within the last two years and not previously exhibited at the McLean Project for the Arts, located at 1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean. Work that combines painting with other materials or is conceptual in nature is eligible. Each of the submitted works must be available for exhibit during the run of the show and must be able to fit through an 81” x 64” doorway. The entry fee is $25. Cash prizes totaling $1,500 will be awarded by the juror. For more information, visit mpaart.org.

Arlington Artists Alliance’s 12th annual ArtFest Week is slated for April 10 – 17 at Fort C.F. Smith Park, located at 2411 N. 24th St., Arlington. The weeklong celebration of art in Arlington kicks off with an opening reception from 6 – 8 p.m. on Friday, April 10, in the 1902 Hendry House at Fort C.F. Smith Park, where participants can meet the artists and enjoy light refreshments. Highlights of ArtFest include an art exhibit and sale featuring the work of more than 30 Arlington-based artists, artist talks and demonstrations and weekend workshops. Many of the events, including a Make a Bookmark session, a Backyard/Travel Sketchbooking workshop and a reading of Charles Simic’s book Dime-Store Alchemy, are free and open to the public. There will also be a Treasure Hunt for Kids, where kids can search for answers to questions about the Civil War, on Saturday, April 11. For more information, visit arlingtonartistsalliance.org.

Culmore Multicultural Day Slated for April 18 The annual Culmore Multicultural Day is scheduled for Saturday, April 18, from 10

McLean Community Center’s Spring Fest is This Saturday The McLean Community Center, located at 1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean, is throwing its annual Spring Fest event this

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APRIL 2 - 8, 2015 | PAGE 13

HIGH SCHOOL FINALISTS in the Rotary District Speech Contest shown (l to r) are Virginia Sun, Oriella Mejia, Niles Ribeiro, Nathalia Dunlop and Echo Arnold. Niles Ribeiro, a student at Fauquier High School sponsored by the Warrenton Rotary Club, received $1,000 for first place. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology junior, Virginia Sun, sponsored by the Falls Church Rotary Club, earned $500 for second place and J.E.B. Stuart High School’s Echo Arnold, sponsored by the Bailey’s Crossroads Rotary Club, was awarded $250 for third place. (Photo: Courtesy of Ed Mercer) Saturday, April 4, from 10 a.m. – noon. Spring Fest is an event geared toward young children. Admission is $5, but children three years old or younger will be admitted for free. Activities at Spring Fest include self-guided arts and crafts projects, an egg hunt, entertainment and the opportunity for children to get a professional meeting with the Easter Bunny. Also, The Amazing Kevin will perform his magic show. Advance registration is required for the event; walk-ins will not be admitted. To register, visit mcleancenter.org and use activity number 4501.315. For more information, call 703-7900123; TTY 711.

ACE Hosts Screening of ‘Plastic Paradise’ on April 15 Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment, the Mt. Vernon chapter of the Sierra Club and Tap-In-Arlington are screening the award-winning film “Plastic

LOCAL AUTHOR JONATHAN HARPER READS from his debut collection of short stories Daydreamers at One More Page Books last Saturday. (Photo: News-Press) Paradise” on Wednesday, April 15, at 7:30 at Arlington Cinema N’ Drafthouse, located at 2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington. A discussion will follow the screening. Tickets are $5 with a student ID and $10 for everyone

else. Minors must be accompanied by an adult. To buy tickets or to watch the trailer of the film, visit arlingtondrafthouse.com. For more information, visit arlingtonenvironment.org.

Healthy Smiles Begin Here Family, Cosmetic and Implant Dentistry

Join the Friends of Falls Church Homeless Shelter for the 2015 Cabaret and Auction, a fun night of live music, food, and dancing on Saturday, April 11, from 6 – 10 pm at the NRECA Building at 4301 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA. Tickets for the event are on sale now for $50 per ticket or $95 for two tickets through April 10, and will go up to $60 the day of the event. To purchase tickets in advance, or to learn more about the shelter, visit www.fallschurchshelterfriends.org. Thanks to our generous sponsors, donated auction items have been rolling in and there is sure to be something for everyone. Don’t miss the chance to bid on these great deals while at the same time making a difference in the lives of our homeless clients.

PAGE 14 | APRIL 2 - 8, 2015

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Religious Liberty and Equality

Over the past few decades the United States has engaged in a great struggle to balance civil rights and religious liberty. On the one hand, there is a growing consensus that straight, gay and lesbian people deserve full equality with each other. We are to be judged by how we love, not by whom we love. Gays and lesbians should not only be permitted to marry and live as they want, but be honored for doing so. On the other hand, this was a nation founded on religious tolerance. At their best, Americans have always believed that people should have the widest possible latitude to exercise their faith as they see fit or not exerNEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE cise any faith. While there are many bigots, there are also many wise and deeply humane people whose most deeply held religious beliefs contain heterosexual definitions of marriage. These people are worthy of tolerance, respect and gentle persuasion. At its best, the gay rights movement has promoted its cause while carefully respecting religious liberty and the traditional pillars of U.S. society. The cause has focused on marriage and military service. It has not staged a frontal assault on the exercise of faith. The 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which was supported by Sen. Ted Kennedy and a wide posse of progressives, sidestepped the abstract and polarizing theological argument. It focused on the concrete facts of specific cases. The act basically holds that government sometimes has to infringe on religious freedom in order to pursue equality and other goods, but, when it does, it should have a compelling reason and should infringe in the least intrusive way possible. This moderate, grounded, incremental strategy has produced amazing results. Fewer people have to face the horror of bigotry, isolation, marginalization and prejudice. Yet I wonder if this phenomenal achievement is going off the rails. Indiana has passed a state law like the 1993 federal act, and sparked an incredible firestorm. If the opponents of that law were arguing that the Indiana statute tightens the federal standards a notch too far, that would be compelling. But that’s not the argument the opponents are making. Instead, the argument seems to be that the federal act’s concrete case-by-case approach is wrong. The opponents seem to be saying there is no valid tension between religious pluralism and equality. Claims of religious liberty are covers for anti-gay bigotry. This deviation seems unwise both as a matter of pragmatics and as a matter of principle. In the first place, if there is no attempt to balance religious liberty and civil rights, the cause of gay rights will be associated with coercion, not liberation. Some people have lost their jobs for expressing opposition to gay marriage. There are too many stories like the Oregon bakery that may have to pay a $150,000 fine because it preferred not to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex ceremony. A movement that stands for tolerance does not want to be on the side of a government that compels a photographer who is an evangelical Christian to shoot a same-sex wedding that he would rather avoid. Furthermore, the evangelical movement is evolving. Many young evangelicals understand that their faith should not be defined by this issue. If orthodox Christians are suddenly written out of polite society as modern-day Bull Connors, this would only halt progress, polarize the debate and lead to a bloody war of all against all. As a matter of principle, it is simply the case that religious liberty is a value deserving our deepest respect, even in cases where it leads to disagreements as fundamental as the definition of marriage. Morality is a politeness of the soul. Deep politeness means we make accommodations. Certain basic truths are inalienable. Discrimination is always wrong. In cases of actual bigotry, the hammer comes down. But as neighbors in a pluralistic society we try to turn philosophic clashes (about right and wrong) into neighborly problems in which different people are given space to have different lanes to lead lives. In cases where people with different values disagree, we seek a creative accommodation. In the Jewish community, conservative Jews are generally polite toward Orthodox Jews who wouldn’t use their cutlery. Men are generally polite to Orthodox women who would prefer not to shake their hands. In the larger community, this respectful politeness works best. The movement to champion gay rights is now in a position where it can afford to offer this respect, at a point where steady pressure works better than compulsion. It’s always easier to take an absolutist position. But, in a clash of values like the one between religious pluralism and equality, that absolutism is neither pragmatic, virtuous nor true.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

David Brooks

Imaginary Health Care Horrors There’s a lot of fuzzy math in American politics, but Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, the chairman of the House Rules Committee, recently set a new standard when he declared the cost of Obamacare “unconscionable.” If you do “simple multiplication,” he insisted, you find that the coverage expansion is costing $5 million per recipient. But his calculation was a bit off – namely, by a factor of more than a thousand. The actual cost per newly insured American is about $4,000. Now, everyone makes mistakes. But this wasn’t a forgivable error. Whatever your overall view of the Affordable Care Act, one indisputable fact is that it’s costing taxpayers much less than expected – about 20 NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE percent less, according to the Congressional Budget Office. A senior member of Congress should know that, and he certainly has no business making speeches about an issue if he won’t bother to read budget office reports. But that is, of course, how it’s been all along with Obamacare. Before the law went into effect, opponents predicted disaster on all levels. What has happened instead is that the law is working pretty well. So how have the prophets of disaster responded? By pretending that the bad things they said would happen have, in fact, happened. Costs aren’t the only area where enemies of reform prefer to talk about imaginary disasters rather than real success stories. Remember, Obamacare was also supposed to be a huge job-killer. In 2011, the House even passed a bill called the Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act. Health reform, opponents declared, would cripple the economy and in particular cause businesses to force their employees into part-time work. Well, Obamacare went into effect fully at the beginning of 2014 – and private-sector job growth actually accelerated, to a pace we haven’t seen since the Clinton years. Meanwhile, involuntary part-time employment – the number of workers who want full-time work but can’t get it – has dropped sharply. But the usual suspects talk as if their dire predictions came true. Obamacare, Jeb Bush declared a few weeks ago, is “the greatest job suppressor in the so-called recovery.” Finally, there’s the never-ending hunt for snarks and boojums – for ordinary, hard-working Americans who have suffered hardship thanks to health reform.

Paul Krugman

As we’ve just seen, Obamacare opponents by and large don’t do math (and they’re sorry when they try). But all they really need are a few sob stories, tales of sympathetic individuals who have been impoverished by some aspect of the law. Remarkably, however, they haven’t been able to find those stories. Early last year, Americans for Prosperity, a Koch brothers-backed group, ran a series of ads featuring alleged Obamacare victims – but not one of those tales of woe stood up to scrutiny. More recently, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state took to Facebook to ask for Obamacare horror stories. What she got instead was a torrent of testimonials from people whose lives have been improved, and in some cases saved, by health reform. In reality, the only people hurt by health reform are Americans with very high incomes, who have seen their taxes go up, and a relatively small number of people who have seen their premiums rise because they’re young and healthy (so insurers previously saw them as good risks) and affluent (so they don’t qualify for subsidies). Neither group supplies suitable victims for attack ads. In short, when it comes to the facts, the attack on health reform has come up empty-handed. But the public doesn’t know that. The good news about costs hasn’t made it through at all: According to a recent poll by Vox. com, only 5 percent of Americans know that Obamacare is costing less than predicted, while 42 percent think the government is spending more than expected. And the favorable experiences of the roughly 16 million Americans who have gained insurance so far have had little effect on public perceptions. Partly that’s because the Affordable Care Act, by design, has had almost no effect on those who already had good health insurance: Before the act, a large majority of Americans were already covered by their employers, by Medicare or by Medicaid, and they have seen no change in their status. At a deeper level, however, what we’re looking at here is the impact of post-truth politics. We live in an era in which politicians and the supposed experts who serve them never feel obliged to acknowledge uncomfortable facts, in which no argument is ever dropped, no matter how overwhelming the evidence that it’s wrong. And the result is that imaginary disasters can overshadow real successes. Obamacare isn’t perfect, but it has dramatically improved the lives of millions. Someone should tell the voters.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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APRIL 2 - 8, 2015 | PAGE 15

HBO Documentary Exposes Scientology

Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney’s blockbuster that tore into the consciousness of the world with its first airing on HBO Sunday night, “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief,” lifts a big stone and shines a bright light onto a chaotic teeming universe of slimy, crawly and yucky things. But the scene exhibits not just the festering, brutal cult of Scientology, but also the hidden world of intelligence manipulation of human behavior more widely, and the ultimate victims, human minds – it could be any of ours – that get sucked into this kind of stuff. To call the two-hour documentary “troubling” or “unnerving” is to say not nearly enough. Based on the best selling book by the New Yorker’s Lawrence Wright and the relentless research and FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS blogging by the Raw Story’s Tony Ortega, it is filled with former Scientologists describing life in the cult, revealing patterns of astonishing abuse and brutality toward its followers, veritable blackmail against some of its celebrity adherents (like John Travolta), relentless harassment of its defectors turned detractors, and its brazen assault on the IRS that led in the 1990s to its tax exempt status. Then there is the completely wild and fantastic world view – the story of the universe through Scientology’s eyes – that only an inner circle of members find out about, based on the rich imagination of its science fiction-obsessed founder, L. Ron Hubbard. This documentary is not about a curious oddity on the margins of society, it is about all of us and the kind of world we live in. For one, Scientology is officially shunned in other parts of the world, including in Germany and France. But in the U.S., under the protection of its IRS-granted tax exempt status, it continues to operate with impunity. (Don’t forget, being tax exempt means that the nation’s taxpayers are subsiding this operation). But now, with the rise of the Internet, the inner horrors of the group have begun coming out as Ortega’s blog became a lightning rod for growing legions of brave Scientology defectors to tell the true story. It reminds me of the Jim Jones cult of Jonestown, when in November 1978 a courageous U.S. Rep. Leo Ryan led a fact-finding mission to its compound in Guyana, and was met with a complete coverup of the abuses going on there. Then, when he was about to leave, two or three victims of that cult slipped notes to Ryan saying they wanted out, and he began to catch onto how sinister the operation really was. Ryan paid for that with his life after departing for a nearby airport, and an order was given from within the cult to totally self-destruct through the forced poisonings and shootings of over 900 victims. The Scientology case is not nearly so extreme, but the threats, lawsuits and angry reactions it has hurled against growing legions of ex-members who speak out, and media who give them a platform, often have a violent tone. The “Going Clear” documentary does not go into the context of cookie-cutter patterns of Scientology-like cults that were cooked up by the most sinister faction of post-World War II U.S. intelligence. Experimenting with ways to stem the growing public demand for social and economic justice, this covert intelligence faction fomented mindnumbing cults. Documentation of this undertaking was lost when, on the eve of congressional Church Committee hearings in the mid-1970s, the CIA chief ordered all documents related to what was code named “Operation MK-Ultra” to be destroyed. But Hubbard’s alleged ties to Naval intelligence are well documented and so was the obsession of the CIA with Chinese brainwashing techniques. To produce a brainwashed so-called “Manchurian candidate” was impractical, the CIA found, except as such persons were confined to a very closed environment, cut off from the outside world. Such were the parameters of cults, religious and otherwise, that proliferated from the 1950s onward. Drugs, sensory deprivation, and monotonous repetition were keys to inducing victims to act contrary to their own wills to do the bidding of sinister forces. In the case of Scientology, the idea was to neutralize the best and brightest.

Nicholas F. Benton

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

Ready for 45? MIAMI – James Baker can take credit for two presidencies and one vice presidency in the Bush family. So it’s a tad ungracious for a Bush to take Baker to task. At first Jeb Bush tried to distance himself from Baker distantly. He had his spokeswoman, Kristy Campbell, send an email to reporters the day after Baker – one of his foreign policy advisers and his dad’s best friend, campaign manager and secretary of state – gave President Barack Obama some bipartisan backup on Israel. Speaking to the liberal Israel advocacy group, J Street, Baker faulted the “diplomatic missteps and political gamesmanship” surrounding Benjamin Netanyahu. Baker’s criticism of the abrasive Israeli leader he once banned from the State Department sparked a furor among Republicans who want a loyalty oath on support for the Jewish state. Bill Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard and one of the neocon enforcers who agitated for W.’s blighted invasion of Iraq, threw down the tweet gauntlet the next morning: “James Baker & J Street. The antiNEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE Israel pre-Reaganite GOP meets the anti-Israel post-Clinton left.” An email from Jeb’s nascent campaign crew based here in Florida was not going to cut it. So Jeb personally groveled to his skeptical base on Thursday in Texas, telling Brian Kilmeade on Fox News Radio that Baker “has a different view. I did not believe it was appropriate to go speak to J Street, a group that basically has anti-Israeli sentiments, but I have a vast array of people advising me, and I’m honored that Jim Baker is doing so. The fact that I have people that I might not agree with on every subject advising me shows leadership, frankly. I don’t think we need monolithic thinking here.” This is interesting – and a bit incoherent – on two notes. Is Jeb aware that he tendentiously mischaracterized J Street as having “anti-Israeli sentiments?” Opposing Netanyahu’s policies toward the Palestinians does not disqualify it as a pro-Israeli organization. On the contrary, many polls show that its views reflect the majority of American Jewish opinion. Second, the “monolithic thinking” is a cut on Kristol and other neocon masters of monolith who egged W. into a war in Iraq that has been so long and bloody and awful – reigniting Sunni-Shiite warfare, empowering Iran and creating the Frankenstein of ISIS – that James Jeffrey, Obama’s former ambassador to Iraq,

Maureen Dowd

told Michael Crowley of Politico that “we’re in a goddamn free fall here.” Thanks to the grandiosity and naïveté of W., Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz – another Jeb foreign policy adviser – U.S. Middle East policy is so muddled that, after occupying and blowing up Iraq, we are working with Shiite Iran to push back Sunni insurgents in Iraq and working with Sunnis and their Saudi Arabian allies in Yemen against a Shiite militia that has Iranian support. Jeb, or “45,” as he is already being called, hasn’t even announced, and we’re already trapped in the byzantine psyche of Bushworld. Middle East policy was one of several ways W. proved he was his “own man” by using his father as a reverse playbook. His Own Man is busy doing country club laps to fill his campaign coffers, getting help from the establishment Republicans who got ambassadorships and other treats from the family for decades. His father and brother headlined Texas fundraisers last week. And now he’s being yanked in a tug of war between his father’s side, which insists privately that Jeb is a realist who surely must have disapproved of the Iraq invasion, and his brother’s side, which publicly demands that Jeb go full-hawk, becoming the third Bush to use the military in Iraq. In Commentary magazine, Michael Rubin of the American Enterprise Institute, a Pentagon official under 43, warned: “It is hard to imagine Baker giving such full-throated support to Jeb Bush unless he sees in Bush a kindred spirit.” Though Jeb is more apt to do his homework, he’s unformed on foreign policy, like his brother – except that his brother was elected before 9/11. Now the neocons who treated W. like a host body for their own agenda are swirling around Jeb, ready to inhabit another President Bush. In a silly pander to the right-wing Torquemadas who insist on Neanderthals in primaries, Jeb told Fox News Radio that he watches “Fox & Friends” in the morning instead of reading The New York Times. So he may have missed his brother’s blunt U.N. ambassador, John Bolton, arguing in an Op-Ed article in The Times that the best way to deal with Iran is to bomb its nuclear reactors. Jeb wants it both ways. His litany of foreign policy advisers is a list divided against itself. He wants the money and dynastic privilege that comes with his name, even as he insists he’s a fresh slate. He had better pray that he doesn’t end up in a presidential vote recount as his brother did here in 2000, because then Jeb would really need Jim Baker.

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PAGE 16 | APRIL 2 - 8, 2015

A Penny for Your Thoughts

News of Greater Falls Church By Supervisor Penny Gross

Many Mason District neighborhoods are glorious An RPPD differs from a CPD, or Community in springtime, when mature landscapes burst into Parking District, which restricts the parking of cerbloom as a result of careful tending by homeowners. tain commercial vehicles, boats, RVs, and similar This year spring seems to be playing April Fools’ vehicles anywhere in a designated district. Last fall, I jokes on the region, teasing us with sunshine and notified constituents via my district-wide newsletter, warm breezes one day, and chilling us out on the about consideration of a CPD, to gauge community next. With Easter and Passover overlapping on the support for designating all of Mason District a CPD, calendar this year, let’s hope that buds and blossoms which would restrict parking of certain vehicles on will soon take the place of grey skies and barren public streets in residential areas. A CPD also probranches. hibits parking of vehicles weighing 12,000 pounds One thing that doesn’t change with the sea- or more, vehicles having three or more axles, and son, unfortunately, are parking problems in resi- vehicles transporting 16 or more passengers (except dential neighborhoods. At its March 24 meeting, school buses). Exemptions to the CPD include: the Board of Supervisors approved an expansion vehicles used by federal, state, or local agencies to of the Culmore Residential Permit Parking District provide services; commercial vehicles discharging (RPPD) to include portions of Nevius Street and passengers, performing work, or providing services; Knollwood Drive in the Bailey’s Crossroads area. and vehicles temporarily parked, for up to 48 hours, RPPDs are useful in neighborhoods that experience for the purpose of loading, unloading, or preparing overparking by non-residents, sometimes due to for a trip. proximity to a high school or transit station, or older Responses received to date have indicated subapartment complexes that lack parking capacity for stantial support for creating a CPD for all of Mason today’s tenants. Residents in an RPPD may apply District. There is additional time, however, for citifor permits to park their legally registered vehicles, zens and civic organizations to weigh in on support, and may receive one visitor pass for guests. RPPDs or non-support, for a Mason District CPD, by sendhave helped address parking issues in and around ing an email to mason@fairfaxcounty.gov, by fax to the Culmore area, as well as Robinwood Lane, 703-354-8419, or first-class mail, 6507 Columbia Springdale, Sunset Manor, Munson Hill, Broyhill Pike, Annandale, Virginia 22003. Please let me know Park, and neighborhoods abutting Annandale and your thoughts by April 20. Thomas Jefferson High Schools. A temporary RPPD Welcome Spring! was created in the Camelot community, to address overparking by construction workers at the nearby  Penny Gross is the Mason District Supervisor, in in Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She may be INOVA Fairfax Hospital expansion. That RPPDT:is5.6875the scheduled to expire when construction is complete. emailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov.

Senator Dick Saslaw’s

Richmond Report The Legislature will reconvene on April 15 to review the actions taken by Governor McAuliffe on all bills passed during the General Assembly. Despite it being what is referred to as the “short session,” (45 days), legislators from across the Commonwealth introduced 1,919 bills and 857 resolutions on a myriad of topics. When we adjourned on February 27 very late in the day, the Governor had over 800 pieces of legislation to review. At that point, the Governor can sign a bill into law, amend or veto it. Last week I attended the budget bill signing ceremony. It was a special occasion not seen in several decades – Governor McAuliffe signed the measure without any amendments. Highlights of the budget include getting some of our deputy sheriffs off of food stamps with a pay raise as well as finally giving state employees an increase in their compensation unseen for over eight years. The bill itself was over 500 pages and fully vetted by both the Senate and House of Delegates during the regular session. Additionally, any differences were worked out by the budget conferees from both chambers. A combination of stronger revenue projections, identified savings and an additional one-time windfall from the unclaimed property sales helped to close out the budget. Bear in mind we will be at this again in 2016 when a new bien-

nial budget will be before the legislature. We did see a number of bills make their way to the Governor and recognized that it’s a time like this when a veto pen can be a friend. In all, 17 bills have been vetoed. I intend to support these efforts and will lead the floor fight to ensure things like a law requiring a photo ID to be sent in when requesting an absentee ballot; interminable efforts to continue redistricting the state against even less competitive districts; as well as the transfer of machine guns to individuals. Another bill allowing home-schooled students to participate on public school athletic teams will be vetoed. This is one that I have consistently opposed particularly since there doesn’t appear to be any shortage of public school students trying to make their varsity squads. The Governor has amended another 67 bills. The legislators will accept most of these. However, there is no doubt that it will be a very long day we spend at the Capital in a few weeks. I look forward to seeing you in the community over the coming months. Please continue to support out local businesses and enjoy the Spring weather as we wait for those dog days of summer. Feel free to contact me on any matters of concern.  Senator Saslaw represents the 35th District in the Virginia State Senate. He may be emailed at district35@senate.virginia.gov.

T: 5.25 in

the doctor will hear you now

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Follow Us Online want better health care? start asking more questions. to your doctor. to your pharmacist. to your nurse. what are the test results? what about side effects? don’t fully understand your prescriptions? don’t leave confused. because the most important question is the one you should have asked. go to www.ahrq.gov/questionsaretheanswer or call 1-800-931-AHRQ (2477) for the 10 questions every patient should ask. questions are the answer.

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A nyt hing

b ut

S traigh t

Indiana’s Religious Freedom It was supposed to be a week of triumph for Indiana. Instead it ended in catastrophe. While the eyes of the world were on Indianapolis for the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament, Republican Gov. Mike Pence signed an odious law that arguably gives religious business owners the right to turn away LGBT customers. The negative reaction from corporate America was swift and decisive. It showed that while backwaters still exist where anti-gay bigotry plays, it certainly no longer pays. Apple CEO Tim Cook penned an op-ed in The Washington Post that called the new law “dangerous.” Indiana-based Angie’s List stopped a $40 million expansion. The company was one of nine major Indiana corporations that wrote a letter in staunch opposition to the law. Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson joined the fray with a blunt critique: “The legislation in Indiana – and there are some bills being considered in other states – is not just pure idiocy from a business perspective – and it is that – the notion that you can tell businessmen somehow that they are free to discriminate against people based on who they are is madness.” If this weren’t enough, the governors of Connecticut, Washington and New York banned all non-essential travel using state funds to Indiana; and cities such as San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle and the District of Columbia did the same. “We’ve received more than 600 emails and calls from visitors across the country who’ve let us know they are canceling their trip to Indy because of this law,” said Chris Gahl of Visit Indy, which promotes the city’s tourism. “Then, on top of that, 10 conventions have called with concerns over the bill, including one, a women’s group with 800 people scheduled to come here, backing out.” The NCAA spoke out, as well as the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, and even NASCAR, which said in a pointed statement: “NASCAR is disappointed by the recent legislation passed in Indiana. We will not embrace nor participate in exclusion or intolerance.” Alarmed by the fallout, the state’s largest newspaper The Indianapolis Star ran a huge front page headline: “Fix This Now.” Gov. Mike Pence’s PR efforts to undo the damage boomeranged. In one of the worst interview appearances in recent memory, he came across as defiant and evasive on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” Pence tried the old right wing standard of blaming the media: “Some of the media coverage of this has been shameless and reckless and the online attacks against the people of our state, I’m not going to stand for it,” he said. Host George Stephanopoulos pointed out that Advance America, a key supporter of the law, wrote on its website: “Christian bakers, florists, and photographers, should not be punished for refusing to participate in a homosexual marriage!” Stephanopoulos asked: “So, this is a yes or no question. Is Advance America right when they say a florist in Indiana can now refuse to serve a gay couple without fear of punishment.” Pence looked lost and repeatedly failed to answer this question, instead choosing to change the subject. Stephanopoulos probed further asking: “One fix that people are talking about is adding sexual orientation as a protected class under the state’s civil rights laws. Will you push for that?” “I will not push for that,” said Pence. “That’s not on my agenda.” Pence went on to offer disingenuous platitudes such as, “Hoosiers don’t believe in discrimination.” Clearly, the governor saw no irony or hypocrisy in signing a law where religious fundamentalists received special, extra-constitutional legal protections, yet LGBT citizens were left to depend on what “Dense Pence” called “Hoosier hospitality.” Pence thinks he is a brave martyr who is digging in, but it’s more like he’s digging a grave for the state’s reputation. But Pence doesn’t care because he is an unabashed extremist who was once on the board of the Indiana Family Institute, the state’s largest anti-gay organization. For Pence, gay bashing isn’t a peripheral issue, it is central to his philosophy. His 2000 campaign website said: “Congress should oppose any effort to recognize homosexuals as a ‘discreet and insular minority’ entitled to the protection of anti-discrimination laws similar to those extended to other ethnic minorities.” Pence spent his entire career proudly wearing bigotry on his sleeve. So people aren’t buying it now when he dresses up his intolerance as a deep concern for religious liberty. His actions have backfired and based on the public outcry, this fight in Indiana will be remembered as a funeral for the anti-gay movement. They are just fools who aren’t fooling anyone.

Wayne Besen

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APRIL 2 - 8, 2015 | PAGE 17

Our Man in Arlington By Charlie Clark

Once a month, my downtown day-job colleagues bag lunches for the homeless. To help the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network, I occasionally drive the readied food for distribution at the park behind St. George’s Episcopal Church. It hit me only lately what a tiny thread that is, given the larger fabric of Arlington’s collective effort to alleviate local hunger. The county’s Economic Independence Division of the Human Services Department offers emergency food assistance to qualified applicants who apply in person or online. The nonprofit Arlington Food Assistance Center for 27 years has provided supplemental groceries at nearly 50 dropoff points from its South Nelson Street warehouse for what has grown to 2,000 families a week. Its operations are staffed by volunteers from churches and affinity groups like the Kiwanis Club of Arlington and the Independent Electrical Contractors. AFAC also cultivates fun around donation solicitations, staging a young professionals night in April in Clarendon and a carnival in May at Artisphere.

A volunteer group that has been rolling here since 1971 is the familiarly named Meals on Wheels. It offers home delivery to “homebound individuals who, due to age, illness, or other distress, are confined and unable or willing to secure sustenance themselves.” My neighbor Lex Schembri, a Meals on Wheels board member now in her twelth year as a volunteer, says it’s a “misnomer” to characterize the service as only for the poor. “I delivered to one four-star general dressed in a tie,” she says. “But many have cupboards as bare as old Mother Hubbard’s.” Clients come in all ages and ethnicities. Meals on Wheels is run out of the First Presbyterian Church in Ballston, though many other churches take their turn organizing deliveries that arrive midday, Mondays through Fridays. Some beneficiaries begin the service on their own, others are signed up by a social worker or relative. The cost for a hot lunch and a sandwich supper, plus milk or juice, is $28 a week, with needbased subsidies available from the country and from Meals on Wheels. The food is prepared and baked at the Arlington County Detention Center by inmates, under supervision from Aramark

food company, the idea being to “give inmates some skills,” Schembri says. Having divided the county into 15 routes north and south, volunteers pick up their supplies and client manifest to serve 10-12 households in a shift that may take an hour, including returning the coolers and thermal bags to First Presbyterian. Drivers and runners travel in pairs so that one can knock on the door, greet the client and arrange the “wholesome, tasty meals” while the other sorts the next package, says Schembri, who got involved originally through her church, the Cathedral of St. Thomas More. “These people are waiting, so if you’re ever a few minutes late, they get panic-stricken,” she says. ”In many cases, the volunteer is the only person they see all day. You befriend these people, which is the biggest reason to be a volunteer.” To participate, you have to have some flextime during the day hours (Schembri runs a title company). “It’s such a worthwhile project,” she says. During summers she takes high school kids along so they can appreciate its value. Food insecurity is a chronic, often invisible economic and social problem. Arlington’s generous part-timers tackle it via a safety net with multiple strands.

SPO RTS

PAGE 18 | APRIL 2 - 8, 2015

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Mustangs Boys Soccer Starts Season 4-0

by Liz Lizama

Falls Church News-Press

George Mason High School’s boys varsity soccer team kicked off the season with four consecutive wins, including last Wednesday’s home game against Central Woodstock High School where they defeated the Falcons 2-1. Mason held a 2-0 lead until the Falcons scored a corner kick goal with only 10 minutes remaining in the game. “Central had a very good counterattack where they were able to – once they did get the ball – attack quickly on us.” head coach Frank Spinello said. Junior forward Elliot Mercado and freshman midfielder Kevin Valle each scored a goal for the Mustangs. While the Falcons are the first team to score on the Mustangs this season, Mason dominated their previous opponents. “We’ve maintained about 75 to 80 percent of the possession in each of our games so far,” Spinello said. “We’re definitely possessing the ball and creating dangerous situations.” In the season opener at Warren County High School, the team overpowered the Wildcats 8-0.

Mercado led the team with three goals. Junior forward Donal Reyes de Leon Allen and sophomore forward Olo Sembera Baracco followed with two goals apiece. Senior midfielder Thomas Rund added one goal. Following its success on the road, Mason returned to their home turf to capture a 4-0 victory against Madison County. Reyes de Leon led the Mustangs with two goals against the Mountaineers, followed by senior midfielder Matteo D’Agostino and junior Grant Goodwin each with one goal. Mercado contributed with two assists. Last Tuesday, Mason travelled to Clarke County High School for another 4-0 win. Mercado scored all four goals for Mason with assists from D’Agostino, Reyes de Leon, Sembera Baracco and senior midfielder Kavon Nowroozi. Mason will face off against Manassas Park at home on Tuesday in what has become a soccer rivalry between the two schools. Mason and Manassas Park have owned the past six VHSL State Championships with Mason earning the title in 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014 and Manassas Park in 2011 and 2012. With a 22-1

A MASON PLAYER ATTEMPTS a header during their 4-0 win over Madison County High School in their second game of the season. (Photo: Carol Sly) record last season, Mason’s single loss was to Manassas Park. “Our focus will be on finish-

N ational Q ualifier

DAVID GARDNER, AN 8TH GRADER at Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School, won the Virginia Summer Nationals Qualifiers for fencing in the Y14 Men’s Foil competition on March 22. He has earned the right to participate in the 2015 USA Fencing National Championships to be held in San Jose, California at the end of June. (Photo: Courtesy of Robin Gardner)

ing,” Spinello said in preparation for the upcoming game. “We have to do a lot better with our chances.

We’re creating tons of chances every game but only finishing a handful of them.”

LO CA L

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

APRIL 2 - 8, 2015 | PAGE 19

Fa l l s C h u r c h

School News & Notes

FIRST GRADERS AT MT. DANIEL Elementary School performed a rendition of “HATS!” to a packed house at George Mason High School last week. During the performance, the Mt. Daniel students, who played the part of milliners while being adorned in hats of all shapes and sizes, helped a Hatless Henrietta find the perfect hat. (Photo: Courtesy of Dorothy Sisk/FCCPS Photo)

George Mason HS Sponsors IB Chinese Conference

STUDENTS AT THOMAS JEFFERSON Elementary School participate in the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope for Heart program last week. Students raised more than $11,300 for the American Heart Association in their fundraising efforts leading up to the event. (Courtesy Photo)

Jefferson ES Students Raise Over $11,000 for AHA

Giant Food Nutritionist Visits Churchill Road ES

Students at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School raised over $11,000 for the American Heart Association in the two weeks leading up to the school’s Jump Rope for Heart event, which was held at the school last week. Also, in the two weeks leading up to the jump rope event, students discovered new ways to jump rope: with partners, using stretchy bands and noodles and more. Everyone learned about heart health and filled a wall with their “Heart Hero” actions.

Giant nutritionist Amanda Barnes taught approximately 120 children at Churchill Road Elementary School about balanced meals using the USDA MyPlate icon, which shows you how to create a healthy plate at every meal, on Friday, March 27. Some tips included filling half your plate with fruits and veggies, choosing small portions of lean protein, switching to low-fat or fat-free dairy products and making sure at least half the grains you eat are whole grains. Children were encouraged to live a healthy and active lifestyle in accordance with this year’s theme for National Nutrition Month, “Bite Into a Healthy Lifestyle Everywhere You Go.”

Timber Lane ES Looking for Kindergartners Timber Lane Elementary School, located at 2737 West St., Falls Church, is looking for kindergartners to enroll in the school. In an e-mail to the NewsPress, the school encouraged parents of school-ready children to contact Timber Lane to check to see if they are in the school’s districts. Timber Lane is a kindergartner – grade 6 school with a diverse and loving community, the school said in its e-mail to the News-Press. The school is currently celebrating its 60th year. For more information, call 703-206-5300.

Columbia Baptist CDC Preschool Holds Open House Columbia Baptist Child Development Center at 103 West Columbia Street announced last week that it will be hosting an open house for its preschool on Thursday, April 16, at 10 a.m. The Center’s teaching practices are inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach which has a deep respect for children’s capacity to imagine, explore, plan and create. Columbia’s Child Development Center has

recently launched a new bilingual (Spanish/English) half-day afternoon program. Registration applications are currently being accepted for the 2015-16 school year. For more information, call 703-534-5739 or visit columbiabaptist.org/cdc.

Henderson Students Writing Song with Chords of Courage Students at Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School and Henderson choral director Mrs. Carpel are working with a locally-based nonprofit, Chords of Courage, to write an original song about a person in the Civil Rights Movement. According to an e-mail to the News-Press about the project, the students will identify a person of “unusual courage” from the Civil Rights Movement in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The students will research the individual they choose and, with the help of a professional songwriter, tell that individual’s story in a song. Mrs. Carpel and the choir students are raising funds for the project through Donors Choose and have less than a week left to raise $1,488.18 as of press time. The Donors Choose campaign ends next Wednesday, April 8. For more information, visit chordsofcourage.org.

TheInternationalBaccalaureate Chinese Networking and Chinese Teacher Conference was sponsored by George Mason High School recently and 65 teachers from Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. participated. A key topic was “Empowering Students using Authentic Task and Materials,” followed by four sessions presented by teachers. Participants from the International Baccalaureate networking program and the Chinese Teacher Association in Virginia joined Mason’s administrative team, Mr. Byrd and Richard Kane, and Mason Chinese teacher Ms. Kao.

Alumni Return to TJ to Play in their Original Venue Thomas Jefferson Elementary

School had some alumni and their friends come back to perform last Thursday, March 26. Many members of George Mason High School’s band began their music making years ago in the gym at Jefferson with 4th grade band. In their return, the band performed two back-to-back concerts for the current students and teachers who packed into the space eager for some great music and a chance to see neighbors, siblings and friends perform. The band opened with the march “Footlifter” that they had nailed at District X competition and then moved on to pieces especially chosen for this audience: the themes from “Spongebob Squarepants,” “Frozen,” and “Star Wars,” and some intense taiko drumming. The show provided something for everyone, including some of the teachers who felt the beat and danced a little to the delight of their students.

JEFFERSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS were treated to a concert by a large group of former alumni of the school – George Mason High School’s band – last Thursday. Many of the students in Mason’s band, who performed songs like the theme from “Spongebob Squarepants” and “Frozen,” got their start in the Jefferson 4th grade band. (Photo: Carol Sly)

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Community Events

THURSDAY, APRIL 2

F.C. Rotary Club Meeting. Mark Francis, Executive Director of the McLean Orchestra, will speak about the orchestra at the Falls Church Rotary club’s 6:30 PM dinner meeting. Harvest Moon Restaurant (7260 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). $15 dinner. 6:30 p.m. Thursday Evening Group. The Thursday Evening Book Discussion Group meets on the 1st Thursday evening of each month in the library’s conference room. The group will be discussing Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner. Light refreshments are served. All are welcome. Mary Riley Styles Public Library’s Conference Room (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). Free. 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. 703-248-5034.

FRIDAY, APRIL 3

Wine Tasting. One More Page hosts a wine tasting with wines that are perfect for springtime. One More Page (2200 N. Westmoreland St. #101, Arlington). Free. 6:30 p.m. onemorepagebooks.com. Campfire: Terrific Toads. The whole family is invited to come to Gulf Branch fire ring for lots of old-fashioned fun, including s’mores – as we learn about toadally terrific animals. Gulf Branch

Nature Center & Park (3608 Military Road, Arlington). $5. 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. 703-228-3403.

SATURDAY, APRIL 4

Leaf Mulch Loading Day. City staff uses heavy equipment to load open bed vehicles with our high quality, free double-ground leaf mulch and hard-wood mulch. Participants must sign a waiver prior to loading. Recycling Center (217 Gordon Road, Falls Church). Free. 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. fallschurchva. gov/429/Leaf-Mulch. Invasive Plant Removal. Join community volunteers in protecting the local environment from invasive plant species. This is a ongoing project that occurs the first Saturday of every month to reclaim the natural area in James W. Haley Park. James W. Haley Park (2400 S. Meade St., Arlington). Free. 9 – 11 a.m. 703228-1862. F.C. Farmers’ Market. Vendors offer fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables, cheeses, meats, baked goods, plants, and wine. City Hall Parking Lot (300 Park Ave., Falls Church). Free. 9 a.m. – noon. 703248-5077. Easter Egg Hunt. Join us for this annual family celebration! Children dressed in their spring finest can hunt for candy and

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Send community event submissions to the News-Press by e-mail at calendar@fcnp. com; fax 703-342-0347; or by regular mail to 200 Little Falls St., #508, Falls Church, VA 22046. Please include any photos or artwork with submissions. Deadline is Monday at noon for each week’s edition.

special eggs in Cherry Hill Park and have their photo taken with the Easter Bunny. Please bring a basket – candy, fun and happy springtime memories will be supplied. In addition to scrambling for eggs, children ages 11 and younger participate in a make-your-own-candy-bag craft project and have a chance to meet and take pictures with the Easter Bunny. Cherry Hill Park (312 Park Ave., Falls Church). Free. 10 a.m. – noon. 703-2485077. Natural Egg Dying Open House. Learn to decorate eggs the old-fashioned way. Come to historic Cherry Hill and spend the afternoon naturally dying your Easter eggs. Supplies will be provided. Reservations required. Cherry Hill Farmhouse (312 Park Ave., Falls Church). $5. cherryhillfallschurch.org.

MONDAY, APRIL 6

Preschool Storytime. Stories, ﬁnger plays and songs for children ages 2 – 5 on Monday and Thursday every week. Mary Riley Styles Public Library’s Youth Services Room (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). Free. 10:30 – 11 a.m. & 3 – 3:30 p.m. 703-248-5034. Early Literacy Center. Explore educational and manipulative

items to teach early literacy through play on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday every week. This program is for ages birth to 5 years. No registration required. Mary Riley Styles Public Library’s Youth Services Room (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). Free. 11 a.m. – noon. & 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. 703-248-5034.

TUESDAY, APRIL 7

Preschool Storytime. Stories, ﬁnger plays and songs for children ages 18 – 36 months every Tuesday. Mary Riley Styles Public Library’s Youth Services Room (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). Free. 10:30 – 11 a.m. 703-248-5034.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8

Early Release Wednesdays: Spring Changes with Hidden Oaks Nature Center. Learn about nature’s changes from winter to spring. For children grades K-5th. Registration required. Space is limited to 20 participants. Mary Riley Styles Public Library’s Youth Services Room (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). Free. 3 p.m. 703-248-5034. Bingo at the Library. Play bingo at Mary Riley Styles Library. Ages 5 – 11. No registration required. Mary Riley Styles Public Library (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). Free. 7 p.m. 703-248-5034.

Theater Fine Arts THURSDAY, APRIL 2

FRIDAY, APRIL 3

“Soon.” It is the hottest summer in human history and, in a few short months, all water on earth will evaporate. In response, twenty-something Charlie has taken to her couch with only her beloved possessions: peanut butter, Wolf Blitzer and Herschel, the �ish. Her mother, roommate and sometimes-boyfriend all attempt to persuade her to leave her apartment and enjoy life. However, as Charlie’s memories take over, more complicated reasons for her self-in�licted hibernation emerge as she confronts her deferred dreams and considers the possibility of life and love just outside her door. This is the world premiere of this play, which was written by Nick Blaemire. Through April 26. Signature Theatre (4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington). $39 – $80. 8 p.m. signature-theatre.org.

“Laugh.” This is the world premiere of a slapstick comedy, full of stories of mishaps and moxie, the romance of Hollywood and ultimately a Hollywood-caliber romance written by Beth Henley, who won a Pulitzer Prize for her play Crimes of Heart. The play is set in the west in the 1920s and features Mabel, who’s had a hard few weeks. A dynamite accident at a gold mine has left her wealthy but orphaned, and she’s shipped off to a calculating aunt whose nephew is charged with seducing her to control Mabel’s fortune. Through April 19. Studio Theatre (1501 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $20 – $78. 8 p.m. studiotheatre.org.

SATURDAY, APRIL 4

“Lights Rise on Grace.” Lights rise on Grace,

the daughter of Chinese immigrants, and Large, the young black man she loves. Lights rise on Riece, the sole bright spot in Large’s dark new world as a prison inmate. Lights rise on an unlikely family, bound by forgiveness but threatened by Large’s new desire. Lights fade on three souls, more than the sum of their stories and the past that won’t let go. Through April 26. Woolly Mammoth (641 D St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $55 – $68. 8 p.m. woollymammoth.net.

“Blossom’s Rainbow.” Japanese culture and cherry blossoms are the subjects of this kidfriendly musical written by Margot Greenlee, with music composed and performed by Mark H. Greene. Best for ages 2 – 5. Through April 11. Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H. St. NE, Washington, D.C.). $8. 10 a.m. & 11:30 a.m. atlasarts.org.

CA L E NDA R

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

APRIL 2 - 8, 2015 | PAGE 21

live_music&nightlife THURSDAY, APRIL 2 M�� D�� A�� S��. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E., Vienna). $12 – $15. 6 p.m. 703-2551566. A�� A�� B��. Clare and Don’s Beach Shack (130 N. Washington St., Falls Church). 6:30 p.m. 703-532-9283. T�� S�� T�� M�� L�� W��. 9:30 (815 V St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $18. 7 p.m. 202-265-0930. S�� M�� D�� N��. Black Cat (1811 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $12. 7:30 p.m. 202-667-4490. R�� H��. Blues Alley (1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.). $40. 8 p.m. 202-337-4141. B�� R�� J�� S�� W�� D��. Iota Club and Cafe (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $12. 8:30 p.m. 703-5228340. P�� B��. Dogwood Tavern (132 W. Broad St., Falls Church). 9:30 p.m. 703-237-8333.

FRIDAY, APRIL 3 A� E�� S�� F��. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E., Vienna). $20 – $25. 6 p.m. 703-2551566. G�� J��. Clare and Don’s Beach Shack (130 N. Washington St., Falls Church). 6:30 p.m. 703-532-9283. B�� D�� ZD�� H�� E��. The State Theatre (220 N. Washington St., Falls

Church). $17 in advance. $20 day of the show. 7 p.m. 703-237-0300. 10,000 M�� M�� J�� T�� KFB. The Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria). $39.50. 7:30 p.m. 703-549-7500. J�� P��. Bohemian Caverns (2011 11th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $23. 10 p.m. 202-299-0800. T�� P��. Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Road, Vienna). $24 – $28. 8 p.m. 703-255-1900. G�� C��. 9:30 (815 V St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $30. 8 p.m. 202-265-0930. J�� L��. Dogwood Tavern (132 W. Broad St., Falls Church). 10 p.m. 703237-8333. T�� S��. Clare and Don’s Beach Shack (130 N. Washington St., Falls Church). 10:30 p.m. 703-532-9283.

SATURDAY, APRIL 4 R�� B�� C�� B��. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E., Vienna). $20. 3:30 p.m. 703-255-1566. A�� S��. Iota Club and Cafe (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $10. 8:30 p.m. 703-522-8340. T��R��C�� D�� E�� M��. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E., Vienna). $10 – $15 in advance. $13 – $15 day of the show. 6:30 p.m. 703-255-1566. R�� R�� T�� F�� B�� B�� S��. The State Theatre (220 N. Washington St., Falls Church). $25 in advance. $30 day of the show. 7 p.m. 703-237-0300.

C�� F��. The Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria). $35. 7:30 p.m. 703-549-7500. G�� T�� M�� Z�� B��. 9:30 (815 V St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $30. 8 p.m. 202-265-0930. H�� D�� S��. Iota Club and Cafe (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $10. 8:30 p.m. 703522-8340. K�� L�� B�� H��, W�� P�� E�� I��. Black Cat (1811 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $12. 9 p.m. 202-667-4490. M�� M�� L�� B�� A�� F�� S�� P�� M�� D�� M�� O�� F�� S�� S��, S�� S��, D�� D��. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E., Vienna). $15 – $18. 9:30 p.m. 703-255-1566. T�� A�� S�� B��. Dogwood Tavern (132 W. Broad St., Falls Church). 10 p.m. 703-237-8333.

SUNDAY, APRIL 5 B�� B�� O�� J��. 9:30 (815 V St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $20. 7 p.m. 202-265-0930. S�� C�� S��. Iota Club and Cafe (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $10. 8:30 p.m. 703-5228340.

MONDAY, APRIL 6 R�� T�� T��. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E., Vienna). $18 – $20. 6 p.m. 703-255-

1566. G�� A�� I�� J�� H��. 9:30 (815 V St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $25. 7 p.m. 202265-0930. Y�� B�� P��. Black Cat (1811 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $10 in advance. $12 day of the show. 7:30 p.m. 202-667-4490. A�� B��. Blues Alley (1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.). $25. 8 p.m. 202-337-4141.

TUESDAY, APRIL 7 W�� T�� G�� P�� N��. Black Cat (1811 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $15. 7:30 p.m. 202-667-4490. A�� B�� O��. Blues Alley (1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.). $20. 8 p.m. 202337-4141. H�� S��. Bohemian Caverns (2011 11th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $10 in advance. $15 at the door. 9 p.m. 202-299-0800.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 M�� H�� D�� O� O�� B�� E��. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E., Vienna). $12 – $18 in advance. $15 – $18 day of the show. 6:30 p.m. 703-255-1566. D�� P�� L�� R�� L�� B��. Black Cat (1811 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $15. 7:30 p.m. 202-667-4490. B�� C��. The Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria). $55. 7:30 p.m. 703-549-7500.

P�� A��... Saturday, April 11 – DATE CHANGE: FY 2016 Budget Town Hall. The City Manager

ext Wednesday, the ABVs will be through the roof as Mad Fox – fresh off its Best Beer Program Rammy nomination – holds its Virginia Strong Beer Tasting showcasing double digit selections from top Virginia breweries. Hosted by D.C. beer guru Bob Tupper, the tasting will give craft beer lovers a chance to meet and mingle with presenting brewers while tasting their strong and seasonal beers. Presenting brewers include Mad Fox (naturally), Adroit Theory, Corcoran, Devil’s Backbone, Fair Winds, Forge Brew Works, Heritage, Lickinghole Creek, Lost Rhino, O’Connor, Parkway and Port City. Tickets are $40 to Mad Fox’s Virginia Strong Beer Tasting with doors opening at 6 p.m.

What: Virginia Strong Beer Tasting When: Wednesday, April 8, 6 - 11 p.m. Where: Mad Fox Brewing Company

444 West Broad Street, Falls Church See madfoxtastingevent.eventbrite.com for tickets

will make a presentation and answer questions on the proposed FY2016 Budget. This meeting was rescheduled from April 4 to better accomodate events at the Community Center and school spring break. Falls Church Community Center (223 Little Falls St., Falls Church). Free. 10 a.m. – noon. fallschurchva.gov.

Saturday, April 18 – Arbor Day. Trees will be planted on the grounds of the city’s four

public schools on Friday and there will be a celebration at Donald South Frady Park (East Broad Street and Fairfax Street). Free. 3 – 5 p.m. fallschurchva.gov/228/TreeCity-USA. 703-248-5183; TTY 711.

C�� S�� Be sure to include time, location, cost of admission, contact person and any other pertinent information. Event listings will be edited for content and space limitations. Please include any photos or artwork with submissions. Deadline is Monday at noon for the current week’s edition.

Email: calendar@fcnp.com Fax: 703-342-0347; Attn: FCNP Calendar Mail: 200 Little Falls St., #508, Falls Church, VA 22046

FO O D &D I NI NG

PAGE 22 | APRIL 2 - 8, 2015

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Restaurant Spotlight

Get your free Eden Center magnetic bumper sticker at:

www.edencenter.com/blog/news-events/free-bumper-stickers

www.edencenter.com

Paddy Barry’s 8150 Leesburg Pike, Vienna 703-883-2000 • paddybarrysva.com Monday - Saturday: 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.; Sunday: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.

twitter.com/fcnp

facebook.com/fallschurchcity

It’s almost impossible not to compare Paddy Barry’s to a certain Little City Irish pub. Formerly Finnegan’s Pride, the new restaurant from Falls Church native Brendan Barry opened its doors last September just up Route 7 in Tysons and has the same feel, atmosphere and a very similar menu to that of Ireland’s Four Provinces here. The biggest difference between the Tysons and Falls Church pubs is the location. While the Four P’s enjoys a prime spot at the corners of West Broad and South Washington streets, Paddy Barry’s is rather difficult to find, tucked away on the ground floor of a Leesburg Pike office building in the heart of bustling Tysons. With scant visible parking spaces, it’s easy to overlook the place but with validated parking in an adjacent garage, it’s more accessible than it appears. The menu – smaller than its Falls Church counterpart – consolidates lunch and dinner into one lineup and sticks mostly to traditional Irish fare, but there’s enough generic options available to satisfy in case corned beef and cabbage isn’t your thing. Appetizers run the gamut from the ordinary – fried calamari, chicken wings and salads – to more authentic dishes like Irish potato pancakes called boxty served with chicken or corned beef and a whiskey and leek cream sauce. The plate of tiny hash brown-style potatoes is tasty and a solid start to the meal, but skip the chicken and order the corned beef. More standouts are a wheel of baked brie in Guinness batter served with mixed berry jam and a potato and leek soup that’s heavier on the leeks than the Four P’s version and jazzed up with cheddar and bacon. Main courses consist of all the Irish fare you’d expect to find including a hearty portion of shepherd’s pie, fish and chips, bangers and mash and, yes, corned beef and cabbage but a spicy chicken curry dish dressed up with basil and mangoes adds an unexpected dose of flavor and color into that lineup. All-day Irish breakfast is also here complete with eggs, potato pancakes, grilled tomato, rashers, bangers, black and white pudding and Irish brown bread. For those who like to eat with their hands, there’s a solid selection of sandwiches like chicken and Irish bacon, a smoked salmon BLT, steak and cheese, a reuben and, for the carb conscious, turkey lettuce wraps. Disappointingly though, the plain Jane Silver Line burger misses a chance at being something more than just a regular old cheeseburger. Despite how it looks from the outside, Paddy Barry’s is deceptively spacious. While still cozy, its high ceilings, ample dining room seating and full bar provide for a welcoming feel – even if it’s just yards away from jam-packed Route 7. During the week, the Tysons joint serves lunch and dinner and on the weekends there’s brunch from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. This Sunday, a special three-course Easter menu will also be available with leg of lamb, smoked ham, grilled salmon and more.

— Jody Fellows

FO O D &D I NI NG

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Where to Eat on Easter in F.C.

APRIL 2 - 8, 2015 | PAGE 23

by Jody Fellows

Falls Church News-Press

After an exhausting morning hiding and hunting eggs, spending the next few hours in the kitchen preparing an Easter-worthy meal just isn’t very appealing. That’s where the following Falls Church restaurants come in to play. Rather than stressing over roasted lambs and hams, let the professionals do the hard work and worry about the important stuff: eating.

2941 Restaurant

2941 Fairview Park Dr., Falls Church 2941.com | 703-270-1515

2941 Restaurant is serving a three-course prix fixe menu for lunch and dinner Sunday priced at $75 for adults and $25 for kids 12 and under. The lineup includes appetizers like a Maine lobster salad with tomato water gelee, herb aioli, lobster rillette, puntarella salad and pickled camomile flower, East Coast oysters served on the half shell with lemon, lemongrass-sesame mignonette and cocktail sauce and a warm asparagus plate with quail egg, speck ham, brioche pain perdu and herb sabayon. For the main course, diners have the option of ricotta gnocchi with fricassee of peas, bacon, lettuce and shaved pecorino, almond crusted lamb loin with smoked eggplant, gnocchi alla Greca, semi-dry tomato petals and natural jus and a surf and turf dish pairing butter poached lobster with roasted chicken breast alongside spinach and lobster emulsion, along with several other dishes. When it comes to dessert, there’s a special 2941 “Easter basket“ with flourless chocolate cake, pistachio mousse, vanilla ice cream and raspberry plus there’s also carrot cake, lemon souffle and chocolate bostock options. 2941’s Easter menu will be available 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. this Sunday. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 703-270-1500.

Dogfish Head Alehouse

6220 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church dogfishalehouse.com | 703-534-3342

There will be something for both children and adults at Dogfish Head in Falls Church this Sunday as the alehouse is presenting a special bacon beer lunch for the grownups at 3 p.m. followed by an Easter egg hunt for the kids plus face painting starting at 5:30. The three-course lunch is $45 a person and starts with bacon straws stuffed with shrimp and scallop mousseline paired with Noble Rot, continues with smoked pork bellies in a bourbon maple demi-glaze and 120 Minute IPA and ends up with chicory stout and chocolate chip buttermilk pancakes and a Palo Santo Maron. Reservations for Dogfish’s bacon beer lunch can be made by calling 703-534-3342 or by visiting dogfishalehouse.com

Ireland’s Four Provinces 105 W. Broad St., Falls Church 4psva.com | 703-534-8999

Ireland’s Four Provinces is turning its awardwinning brunch into a holiday affair this Sunday with an Easter buffet priced at $26.99 for adults and $9.99 for children 10 and under. The lineup includes leg of lamb, grilled salmon, a carving station with roast beef and Virginia ham, made-to-order omelets, Irish oak smoked salmon,

TRIO GRILL’s BRANZINO is one of two a la carte options in addition to a brunch buffet available at the Merrifield restaurant this Sunday. (Photo: TRIO Grill)

eggs benedict, scrambled eggs, breakfast sausages, home fries, Shepherd’s Pie, corned beef hash, mashed potatoes, fresh veggies, waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, Irish French toast, potato leek soup, chicken tenders, mac and cheese, Irish bread pudding, fresh fruit, breads and pastries and more. There will also be a make-your-own-Bloody-Mary bar available for an extra cost. The Four P’s Easter brunch runs from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. with seatings every half hour. Reservations can be made by calling 703-534-8999.

Mad Fox Brewing Company 444 W. Broad St., Falls Church madfoxbrewing.com | 703-942-6840

The Falls Church brew pub is opening up early at 9 a.m. this Sunday with an a la carte Easter brunch menu featuring a special lineup of starters, soup, salads and entrees. Small plates include hot cross buns with whipped honey butter, donut holes with vanilla bean, citrus ricotta, mint and candied lemon zest, a parfait with Irish oak granola, orange liqueur yogurt and fresh berries and truffled deviled eggs. Cantaloupe gazpacho, green goddess and grilled romaine salads make up the lighter options and entrees consist of a beerbraised Colorado lamb benedict with IPA hollandaise and Kolsch buttermilk biscuit, a bacon wrapped crabcake with lobster poppy hollandaise and Byrd Mill grits, an IPA glazed ham with pineapple catsup, scalloped potatoes and ale-braised collard greens and an lox pizza with smoked salmon, cream cheese, shaved red onion, lemon zest, fried capers and parsley. Reservations are highly recommended for Mad Fox’s Easter brunch which runs from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

TRIO Grill

8100 Lee Highway, Falls Church triomerrifield.com | 703-992-9200 Merrifield’s Trio Grill is going the Easter brunch route Sunday, with both a buffet and two special a la carte entrees. On the buffet, there will be an assortment of salads and breads plus more substantial options like crab cake benedict, baked apple French toast, deviled eggs with foie gras and a carving station with Virginia ham and roasted leg of lamb. If the buffet is too overwhelming, a whole branzino or a choice of steak along with eggs is available as well. Trio Grill’s Easter Sunday brunch is $55 for adults, $25 for kids 6 –12 (under 6 eat free) and is available from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling 703-992-9200 or by visiting opentable.com.

Superman had foster parents Kids in our community need super parents like you to foster or adopt. You can be the wind beneath their cape.

Call us today! 855-367-8637 www.umfs.org

PAGE 24 | APRIL 2 - 8, 2015

LE TTE RS

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

News-Press

TO LETTERS THE EDITOR Continued from Page 6

F.C.’s Tax Strategy Is Not Sustainable In the Future Editor, With regard to the proposed increase in property tax of 4 percent, I say enough is enough already. The steady increase in taxes every year since I moved here in 2008 has perplexed me. I cannot understand why the water sale and the tremendous increase in the number businesses that have been brought into the City of Falls Church does not cover the increase in operating costs over this time period. Instead, it appears that most of the burden is shifted back on home owners every year. In the long run, this will result in only families with kids moving to the City of Falls Church during school years and then these families will move away as soon as their kids complete school. The City of Falls Church will have a very hard time attracting single people and people without children as home buyers to help cover operating costs. This is not fair to fixed income residents either. This taxation strategy is not sustainable in the future. I believe this will lead to even more requirements to continue to raise taxes every year. The City of Falls Church needs to maintain a diver-

DumpsterMag_4_625x4_875.indd 1

sity of residents to help pay for the school system and other operating costs. Tom Morrison Falls Church

Enjoyed Lasso Article on Mustang Mosaic

Editor, I enjoyed reading The Lasso article “Trampling on Tradition” last week. It was my class of 1967 that donated the marble mosaic of a Mustang embedded in the hallway floor outside the library as our class present to then George Mason Jr.-Sr. High School. The tradition to not step on it must have been started in the early 70’s as it was not a tradition the first couple of years after it was installed. The only tradition at the time was to ring the class bell (a gift from the class of 1966 I believe) after receiving your diploma at graduation. When George Mason was renovated about 15 years ago, I informed Principal Bob Snee of the Mustang, and he made sure it was not covered over as a new floor was installed. It is appreciated by alumni to know that the mosaic represents school and community pride, it goes back 48 years and I hope it keeps on going. Barry Buschow Class of 1967 George Mason High School

5/6/11 10:32 AM

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

A RTS&E NTE RTA I NME NT

APRIL 2 - 8, 2015 | PAGE 25

April

sda Thur

Tribal Seeds with The Movement 9:30 7 p.m. 815 V St. NW, Washington, D.C.

202-265-0930 • 930.com

day

Satur

Robert Randolph and The Family Band State Theatre 9 p.m. 220 N. Washington St., Falls Church

703-237-0300 • thestatetheatre.com

Cleve Francis Birchmere 7:30 p.m. 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria

703-549-7500 • birchmere.com

nday

BY DREW COSTLEY

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

Brazilian jazz pianist, singer, arranger and songwriter Eliane Elias returned to her native land for her new album, Made in Brazil, which she just released on Tuesday with Concord Music Group, and now she’s bringing Brazil to the masses. And she’ll be bringing Brazil to Washington,D.C. on April 14, when she performs at The Hamilton. “It’s the first time, after all these years, that I’ve recorded in Brazil after not living there for 33 years,” Elias said. “[My heart] never left the country, my DNA never changed, but I always recorded in the United States. And it was such a different vibe, a different energy, just to record there around the Brazilians in Brazil.” Elias, who was nominated for a Grammy in 1995 for a piano duo she did with Herbie Hancock, said that she was inspired by writing in Brazil and that’s the natural direction the ELIANE ELIAS (P��: P�� S��) album took. “When I was writing in Brazil, I was writing so much music – I was so inspired “It was beautiful. We shared some real – and the music was definitely going in the tender moments,” Elias said. “To have the direction that it did,” she said. She’s recorded Brazilian music before, she composer there...I’ve always liked the songs of admits, but this record is particularly special his that I recorded.” She also recorded a rendito her when it comes to carrying on the rich tion of the famous Brazilian tune “Aquarela tradition of Brazilian jazz, she said, as she got do Brasil,” which is known in the Englishexcited about the instruments – and artists – speaking world as “Brazil” and was written by she employs on the album. “It’s really special. Ary Barroso, one of Brazil’s most successful Every recording seems to have a life of its own songwriters in the first half of the 20th century. “The song ‘Brazil’ represents the country, the and this one, from the very start, it’s like when you have those babies that are special from the beauty of the people, the beauty of the music beginning,” Elias said. “This one felt like that.” that we have,” she said. Finally, she recordElias’ purpose on this record was to honor ed two tracks by another legendary Brazilian the history of Brazilian jazz by bringing it into composer, Antonio Carlos Jobim, probably the the context of the modern age. Among the things most widely-known of the musicians who Elias she did to accomplish this was collaborating attempts to honor on Made in Brazil. Elias has performed and recorded with with Roberto Menescal, a legendary composer, producer, guitarist and vocalist who was vital to Jobim and recorded songs of his in the past, the founding to Bossa Nova. She recorded three but one of the two songs she put her spin on for of Menescal’s songs for the album, one of which her new album – “Aguas de Marco (Waters of March)” – probably most perfectly accomplishshe said will be an iTunes bonus track.

es what she’s trying to do. Recorded with an a capella gospel group Take 6, the song, which was named the all-time best Brazilian song in a poll of 200 Brazilian journalists, musicians and other artists conducted by Brazil’s leading daily newspaper Fohla de Sao Paulo, is both timeless and modern. Elias said that she was proud of the arrangement she wrote of the song and the job Take 6 did on the track. She said she wishes Jobim, with whom she said she was very close, could hear her rendition of the song. “The album has Brazilian DNA, but it’s not a retro album – it’s the music of today,” Elias said. “It’s special to me, the people who’ve heard it so far, like Menescal and the other guests on the album, everyone’s excited. The company’s excited and we’re all very excited!” • For more information about Eliane Elias, visit elianeelias.com.

Afro Blue Blues Alley

These singles whet the appetites of the FCNP editorial team this week:

8 p.m. 1073 Wisc. Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.

202-337-4141 • bluesalley.com

 Nicholas Benton – MacArthur Park by Richard Harris 

Jody Fellows – Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars 

Drew Costley – Shofukan by Snarky Puppy

LO CA L

PAGE 26 | APRIL 2 - 8, 2015

F� � � � C � � � � �

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

B�� N�� N�� Tuesday, August 11, 2015 9 am-5 pm

Pita Pouch to Open in Falls Plaza Next Week

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Falls Church’s Mad Fox Brewing Company has been named a finalist for Beer Program of the Year by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington for the group’s annual “Rammy” awards to be held later this year. The awards honor individuals and organizations of the region’s restaurants and foodservice community. This is the third Rammy nomination for the Falls Church restaurant which was also up for best beer program in 2014 and Hottest Restaurant Bar Scene in 2012. Winners of the 2015 Rammy awards will be announced June 7 at a black tie gala. For more information on Mad Fox Brewing Company, visitmadfoxbrewing.com. For more information on the Restaurant Association or the Rammy Awards Gala, visit www.ramw.org.

Informal F.C. Chamber Networking Breakfast Set for April 9

Locker Room to Host Karaoke on Sunday Nights The Locker Room Sports Bar and Grill will host karaoke nights on Sundays from 7 – 11 p.m. starting April 12. The sports themed pub and restaurant is located at 502 W. Broad Street, in the former location of Hoang’s Grill & Sushi Bar. For more information, visit thelockerroomfc.com.

Arc of Northern Virginia Seeking Runners for 8K

ric Our P

CelebrexTM $679.41

Mad Fox Nominated for Top Beer Program by Rammys

The Falls Church Chamber of Commerce is hosting an informal networking breakfast for members of the business community on Thursday, April 9 from 8 – 9 a.m. at the Original Pancake House, 7295 Lee Highway, Falls Church. The event, which is open to anyone interested in networking with business leaders, is free although attendees are responsible for their own checks. For more information visit www.FallsChurchChamber.org.

Melissa Morse mmorse@fcnp.com or call 703-532-3267, ext 070

Pri Their

Pita Pouch is expected to open for business early next week (the week of April 6) in the space formerly occupied by Bagels & Donuts in Falls Plaza at 1112 W. Broad Street in Falls Church. Pita Pouch is owned by the same team that operates Burger 7 which has locations in the Idylwood Plaza at Tysons and in Arlington and Alexandria. More information is available at www.facebook.com/pitapouch..

Celecoxib* $64.00

The Arc of Northern Virginia is seeking corporate and community teams of five to seven runners to participate in its Team Challenge 8K to be held on Sunday, May 3 at Burke Lake Park. A 2K walk option will also be available. The race supports The Arc of Northern Virginia’s programs, services, and advocacy for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. For sponsorship and team registration details, visit www. thearcofnova.org.

Generic equivalent of CelebrexTM Generic price for 200mg x 100

World Police & Fire Games Reception at Blackfinn April 8

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The Fairfax 2015 World Police & Fire Games are inviting business leaders to a reception and opportunity to learn about its Merchant Incentive Program on Wednesday, April 8 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at Blackfinn Ameripub. The event is free. Four hour parking will be available in the two adjacent parking garages. RSVP to Astri.Wee@FAirfax2015.com. For more information on the World Police & Fire Games, visit www.fairfax2015.com.  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.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

APRIL 2 - 8, 2015 | PAGE 27

PAGE 28| ARPIL 2 - 8, 2015

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Public Notice NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CITY OF FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA The ordinances referenced below were given first reading on March 23, 2015. Public hearings are scheduled for Monday, April 13 and Monday, April 27, 2015, with second reading and final Council action scheduled for Monday, April 27, 2015 at 7:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as may be heard.

(TO15-04) ORDINANCE FIXING AND DETERMINING THE BUDGET OF EXPENDITURES AND REVENUES, APPROPRIATING FUNDS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2016: GENERAL FUND; SCHOOL OPERATING FUND; SCHOOL COMMUNITY SERVICE FUND; AND SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE FUND; SEWER FUND; AND STORMWATER FUND (TO15-05) ORDINANCE FIXING AND DETERMINING THE FY2016-FY2020 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM BUDGET AND APPROPRIATING EXPENDITURE AND REVENUE FUNDS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2016 (TO15-06) ORDINANCE SETTING THE RATE OF TAX LEVY ON REAL ESTATE, PERSONAL PROPERTY, MACHINERY AND TOOLS AND ALL OTHER PROPERTY SEGREGATED BY LAW FOR LOCAL TAXATION IN THE CITY OF FALLS CHURCH VIRGINIA FOR TAX YEAR 2016 Listed below are the proposed tax rates for the tax year beginning July 1, 2015. $1.345 upon each $100.00 of assessed value of real estate in the City of Falls Church; $4.84 upon each $100.00 of assessed value on tangible personal property, and machinery and tools, and all other property segregated by law for local taxation within the City, including the property separately classified by Section 58.1-3500 et seq. of the Code of Virginia except such personal property as is exempted; and except that pursuant to Section 58.1-2606 of the Code of Virginia, a portion of assessed value of tangible personal property of public service corporations shall be taxed at the real estate rate. (TO15-07) ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTER 42, “UTILITIES,” TO REVISE SEWER RATES AND FEES AS OF JULY 1, 2015 Under the legal authority granted by VA §15.2-2119, an increase to the City sewer commodity rate from $9.40 per 1,000 gallons to $9.73 per 1,000 gallons, effective July 1, 2015 is proposed. Adoption of a rate of $9.73 per 1,000 gallons would constitute

an increase of $.33 per 1,000 gallons used or an increase of 3.5%. An increase to the Administrative Fixed Charge for those who receive monthly bills from $2.00 to $6.00 is proposed. Adoption of a monthly Administrative Fixed Charge of $6.00 would constitute an increase of $4.00 per monthly bill or an increase of 200%. All public hearings will be held in the Council Chambers, 300 Park Avenue, Falls Church, Virginia. For copies of legislation, contact the City Clerk’s office at (703-248-5014) or cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov. The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703-248-5014 (TTY 711). CELESTE HEATH CITY CLERK

ABC LICENSE

Luyen Vo, Trading as Hot N Juicy Crawfish 116 West Broad Street. The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) for a Wine and Beer on and off Premises and Keg and Mixed Beverages On Premises License 101-105. . Luyen Vo, Owner. 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.

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 (703-2485014, cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov, or www.fallschurchva.gov/BC) for an application form or more information. Requests for reappointment must be made through the City Clerk. Applications are accepted until the end of the month. Vacancies advertised for more than one month may be

filled during each subsequent month before month’s end. Architectural Advisory Board Board of Equalization Board of Zoning Appeals Environmental Services Council Historic Architectural Review Board Historical Commission Human Services Advisory Council Library Board of Trustees Tree Commission Regional Boards/Commissions: Fairfax Area Commission on Aging Fairfax Area Disability Services Board Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board Fairfax Partnership for Youth Long Term Care Coordinating Council Workforce Investment Board

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CITY OF FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

The Board of Zoning Appeals of the City of Falls Church, Virginia will hold a public hearing on April 16, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 300 Park Avenue, for consideration of the following subjects: a. Appeal application A1569-15 by U-

Haul Real Estate Corporation appealing the Zoning Administrator’s determination that a “full site plan is required for the entire site as a result of repairs to a small portion of asphalt surface in the rear of the site” on premises known as 1107 West Broad St, RPC #52-102-049 of the Falls Church Real Property Records, zoned M-1 Light Industrial, said property owned by U-Haul Real Estate Co. Information on the above items is available at the Zoning Division, West Wing, City Hall, Suite 300W.

ABC LICENSE

Cafe Kindred Corporation Trading as Cafe Kindred 450 North Washington St. Suite F Falls Church, VA 22046-3439. The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) for a Wine and Beer on Premise, Mixed Beverages Restaurant license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages. Gary O’Hanlon, Pesident. 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.

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Crossword

ACROSS

By David Levinson Wilk 1

21 26

42 44 48

30 32

46 50

Across

1. Musical partner of DJ Spinderella and Salt

1. Musical partner of DJ Spinderella and Salt 5. Commuter’s expense 9. Clutch 14. Their sizes are measured in cups 15. Jai ____ 16. Car repair chain 17. He plays Hal in the 2001 comedy “Shallow Hal” 19. Begins to wake 20. Corps of Engineers project 21. Fathered 22. Flower part 26. Patriot for whom a beer is named 28. Friskies eaters 30. Early bird? 31. 1978 Peace Prize recipient 34. Noted rock site: Abbr. 37. John Irving’s “A Prayer for Owen ____” 38. Hound 39. Keep one’s ____ the ground 41. Narrow waterway: Abbr. 42. Part of rock’s CSNY 44. Suffix with verb 46. Wilbur or Orville Wright 47. “The West Wing” Emmy winner 52. Twins sharing a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame 53. Like many beaches 54. Magazine to which Obama gave his first postelection interview in 2008 56. Plucked instruments

APRIL 2 - 8, 2015 | PAGE 29

57. “Billions and Billions” author 62. Actors Stoltz and Bana 63. Have ____ in one’s bonnet 64. Syringe, for short 65. Screwball 66. Bo : Obama :: ____ : Roosevelt 67. “You said it!” (or what 17-, 26-, 31-, 42-, 47- and 57-Across all are)

DOWN

1. Lunchbox sandwich, informally 2. Period in history 3. Pre-election ad buyer, maybe 4. “Fire away!” 5. Abilities 6. Patron saint of Norway 7. Velcro alternative 8. Dylan’s “____ Rolling Stone” 9. Blowhard 10. Like “The Lion King” 11. Francisco’s female friend 12. “Vamoose!” 13. Blog comments 18. Like tired eyes, maybe 22. Bombards with junk email 23. Basic belief 24. More than bickering 25. Thom ____ shoes 27. Encountered 29. ____ City (Baghdad area) 32. Dennis Quaid remake of a 1950 film noir 33. Turkish title 34. Prepare Parmesan 35. “Challenge accepted!” 36. Father-and-son physics

CHUCKLE BROS BRIAN & RON BOYCHUK

5. Commuter's expense 9. Clutch

Sudoku Level:

14. Their sizes are measured in cups

Nobelists 39. Literature’s Dickinson and Bronte 40. Santa ____ (hot California winds) 42. Hair goop 43. “Anne of Green Gables” setting 44. Next in line 45. Makes an assertion 47. Heaps 48. First Lady before Michelle 49. Bit of tomfoolery 50. Latte option 51. Addis ____, Ethiopia 55. 1988 World Series MVP Hershiser 58. Shout of inspiration 59. Treadmill setting 60. Great ____ 61. Prefix with smoker Last Thursday’s Solution L L O S B I D E J U S T F T H E R A D D E M T G E E V E B A N T O R A N G D U O S E S T N E E T A S

A N D E A N A R N O

F L R A I S N K D I L S E T I O F O

A I N T I

N C Y E G E O I T

N E N A O R T S

R E T H E H M I K E I T E M

T V A D S

A D O A L G O F P A R T H G E S A N S L O W R E S H E G O I T E R A N G I D O L S A

P I S T O L

S N O O P Y

I N T L

R I S D

U E L S T S

By The Mepham Group

1 2 3 4

15. Jai ____ 16. Car repair chain 17. He plays Hal in the 2001 comedy "Shallow Hal" 19. Begins to wake 20. Corps of Engineers project 21. Fathered

22. Flower part 26. Patriot for whom a beer is named 28. Friskies eaters

LOOSE PARTS

30. Early bird?

DAVE BLAZEK

31. 1978 Peace Prize recipient Solution to last Sunday’s puzzle

NICK KNACK

4/5/15

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 www.sudoku.org.uk. © 2015 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. All rights reserved.

PAGE 30 | APRIL 2 - 8, 2015

laz y The dog. c k q u i fox sly p e d jum e r o v lazy the g . d o is Now time the all for o d g o to cows

20 s Yearo Ag

e c o mthe to of aid i r t h e re. pastu w N o the is e t i m all for o d g o to cows e c o mthe to

LO CA L

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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BACK IN THE DAY

20 � 10 Y�� A�� N��-P�� Falls Church News-Press Vol V, No. 3 • April 6, 1995

Falls Church News-Press Vol XV, No. 4 • March 31, 2005

It is no the timw e for g o all o cows d to go to the aid of the pa stu ir re. *** **

10 Year s Ago