April 2 – 8, 2020
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School Board Votes to F.C. M����� R������ End School Year Early Unanimous Move Changes End Date to June 4
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
Among a mountain of important issues deriving from the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on the Falls Church City Public Schools’ educational mission this spring, after a three-hour virtual, online-only meeting Tuesday night the F.C. School Board voted unanimously to adopt Superintendent Peter Noonan’s request to officially move up the end of the school year from June 17 to June 4. It was done given the cancellation of and revisions to many of the year-end student standards of learning (SOL), International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement tests and evaluations and the need to prepare for a more robust online summer session. Noonan said a decision will be made tomorrow, Friday, on
the grading system for the spring semester, with a pass/fail option being considered. Noonan stressed that all George Mason High School students who were on target to graduate when Governor Ralph Northam ordered all Virginia schools closed on March 13 will graduate in June, and that working with students, plans are being developed for a “suitable celebration” of “such a great milestone” in the lives of the students and an opportunity for caps and gowns and the turning of tassels to occur for all graduates, even if restricted to some virtual online format, given the ongoing “social distancing” requirements needed to limit the pandemic. The School Board Tuesday also voted to turn Friday, April 24, into a teacher planning day. Also,
THE CITY’S FARMERS MARKET was back last weekend, although it looked a little different, after a one-week hiatus. With only eight vendors and operating as a pick-up only event, the Falls Church market was adapted to comply with new pandemic guidance and regulations issued by the state in recent weeks. The to-go market will be back in action this Saturday, Continued on Page 4 with more vendors, in front of City Hall. See story, page 5. (P����: J. M������ W�����)
Stay-at-Home Order Issued for Virginia BY JODY FELLOWS
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
In an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Ralph Northam has issued a stayat-home order for the state, he announced at a press conference Monday. The declaration came the same day Gov. Larry Hogan
and Mayor Muriel Bowser issued similar orders for Maryland and Washington, D.C., respectively. After citing instances of packed beaches over the weekend in the state, Northam said “It is clear more people need to hear this basic message: stay home.” Per the executive order, residents of Virginia must stay at home unless
they need to leave for work, groceries, medical supplies or to seek medical care. Residents can also go outside for exercise and to get fresh air, as long as they adhere to strict social distancing requirements. “You should stay home at the greatest extent possible,” Northam said Monday. Northam said authorities have
the ability to enforce the order criminally and that anyone who does not comply is subject to a Class 1 misdemeanor. Executive Order 55 also directs all higher education institutions to stop in-person classes, shuts down private campgrounds for short-term stays and closes beaches except for fishing and exercise. The order is effective immediately and will remain in place until June 10. With 288 people testing Covid-
19 positive, the Fairfax Health District, which includes the City of Falls Church, City of Fairfax, Fairfax County and its towns, has almost 20 percent of Virginia cases. There are at least three positive cases in the City of F.C., including a City employee who was reported positive last week. However, since Fairfax health officials are no longer releasing the details of each individual case, that number may be higher.
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SEE STORY, PAGE 15
SEE STORY, PAGE 19
While face mask supplies run low throughout the area, two Falls Church business owners are stepping up and making their own homemade masks in an effort to help area healthcare workers and at-risk members of the community in need.
Restaurants throughout the country have been gutted by the coronavirus pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped several empathetic owners in the Falls Church area from crafting new ways to help out and bring their food to the people.
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Northern Virginia’s own “Rockin’ the Suburbs” podcast from Falls Church’s Patrick Foster and Ashburn resident Jim Lenahan will take their show to Jammin’ Java’s stage next Wednesday. SEE PRESS PASS, PAGE 14
INDEX
Editorial....................................................... 6 Letters......................................................... 6 News Briefs ................................................ 9 News & Notes....................................10–11 Comment .................................. 7–8,12–13 Calendar ...................................................14 Business News .........................................15 Classified Ads ...........................................16 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword .................17 Critter Corner............................................18 Crime Report ............................................19
PAGE 2 | APRIL 2 – 8, 2020
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
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PAGE 4 | APRIL 2 – 8, 2020
School Board
Continued from Page 1
following spring break vacation running from April 4 through April 12, there will be a teacher planning day prior to the resumption of online classes at all levels of the system on Tuesday, April 14. Then, a new learning plan now under development will be introduced. Noonan stressed that in all the challenges involved under the circumstances, that it will always be important that students come first, are given the “benefit of the doubt,” and that no harm will come to them from the unprecedented circumstances of the current situation. The decision will be made Friday, Noonan said, about grading for the spring semester, and that a pass-fail option may be adopted, or a combination of pass-fail and letter grades. He said that a passfail grade will have no impact on a student’s grade-point average and that it contrasts with other Virginia systems, like Fairfax County’s, that have taken up the option granted by the state to simply mark no grades at all for the semester. Noonan stressed that with this pandemic “everyone is in the same
LO CA L boat,” regarding the impact of the spring semester on student admissions to colleges and universities, including those colleges and universities themselves, as “everyone is scrambling to figure out what to do.” Noonan noted that the systems’ food services division provided 130 boxes with a two-weeks supply of food to families of all students in the free and reduced meals program, and that the Falls Church Education Foundation provided 230 $50 gift cards to all those families, as well. He said the foundation just authorized an expenditure of another $14,000 for another round of gift cards and that the state is planning to provide benefit debit cards to families of students in need, as well. It was announced Tuesday that the schools’ continuing food aid program be extended to any families in the system with needs and that families should apply Wednesday and pick up a week’s supply of breakfasts and lunches Friday from Thomas Jefferson Elementary or George Mason High. The impact of the current crisis on the school budget is expected to be severe, Noonan suggested, with the state already announcing a $1 billion revenue shortfall and the City of F.C. pausing its budget deliberations for 30 days to see what
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
PRINCIPALS OF ALL FIVE Falls Church City Public Schools were in on the virtual School Board meeting, along with the board’s members, Tuesday night. (Y��T��� I���� C������) its revenues may be looking like. Noonan said emergency federal relief funds provide currently only $25,000 to the City schools. But the City schools are teaming with other smaller school districts in an effort to persuade the relevant authorities to adjust the formula that has led to that number. The Falls Church School System came up for some national attention this week for its creative response to
the current crisis, singled out in the Education Policy Blog in an article entitled, “Adjusting to the New Normal in Education” for its “online system of wrap around supports for students, including mental health services.” In the Apptegy online resource, the system’s “school closure learning plan” was singled out. Tuesday’s virtual online meeting was chaired by Greg Anderson, and all members of the board, as
well as key staff personnel, were connected with video feeds from their homes. A colorful variety of home backgrounds were on display and only one pet wandered into a scene, only very briefly. The meeting was broken into three segments dealing with instruction, the community, and operations. In the first segment,
Continued on Page 18
City Hall is Closed, but Your City Government is Still Open! City Hall at 300 Park Ave. is closed to the public. City staff are available by phone, email, and by in-person appointment. Many services can be completed online. Comm. of the Revenue commissioner@fallschurchva.gov 703-248-5450 (TTY 711)
Treasurer treasurer@fallschurchva.gov 703-248-5046 (TTY 711)
Housing & Human Services hhs@fallschurchva.gov 703-248-5005 (TTY 711)
Info for City Businesses edo@fallschurchva.gov 703-248-5224 (TTY 711)
Permits, Zoning & Building Safety permits@fallschurchva.gov zoning@fallschurchva.gov 703-248-5080 (TTY 711)
Public Works dpw@fallschurchva.gov 703-248-5350 (TTY 711)
General City Information publicinfo@fallschurchva.gov 703-248-5200 (TTY 711)
COVID-19 Questions ffxcovid@fairfaxcounty.gov 703-267-3511 (TTY 711)
More online services and contact information are available on the City's website, www.fallschurchva.gov.
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
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APRIL 2 – 8, 2020 | PAGE 5
Falls Church Farmers Market Returns as Pre-Order, To-Go Event by Katherine Liverman
Falls Church News-Press
A little creativity gave the City of Falls Church’s Farmers Market some reprieve from the capacity restrictions and now allows the weekly event outside City Hall to function as a “To-Go Market” — a change met with a mix of enthusiasm and apprehension. At the new, temporary format’s pilot this past Saturday, Black Rock Orchard’s Emily Zaas, a fixture at the Falls Church market for 25 years, said that “customers showed overwhelming support.” The vendor said she received so many pre-orders she had to cut them off before the day-of to meet demand. At the market since 2005, Mary Ellen Taylor of Endless Summer Harvest, better known as “The Lettuce Lady,” reported a similar experience. She sees her relationship with Falls Church customers as symbiotic, and saw this shine through in “how grateful every single customer was that we were there and taking special orders.” Last Saturday, the market had two entry points and was limited to 10 patrons inside at a time. The
lines never exceeded six people nor was anyone made to wait longer than three minutes to enter. And in the spirit of social distancing, there were always six feet between those in line. At least two vendors had around 100 preorders. One vendor was not even staffed, instead customers simply picked up the bag with their assigned number. Looking forward, Herman is preparing for the 50-vendor summer market; one that makes last Saturday’s eight-vendor version look like a walk in the park. The status of the to-go market is evolving and City officials will release updates on possible changes in the future. It’s a far cry from where the market was barely a week ago. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s state of emergency declaration on March 16, when he put limits on gatherings to 10 people or less at restaurants, influenced the City to shut down the year-round market for a week. There is no evidence that food is a transmission route for the virus. However, social distancing and self-quarantine measures have become critical to slow the
spread of the virus and maintain the capacity of hospitals to care for the sick. Because of this, only stores deemed as providing necessities remain open to the public without patron entry restrictions; namely supermarkets and pharmacies. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services grouped farmers markets with restaurants, resulting in the suspension of the Falls Church market. Many local farmers and vendors were not quick to accept the initial suspension. After the restriction was ordered on March 20, the Virginia Farmers Market Association released two letters. The first was directed at farmers and patrons regarding safe market practices; the second was sent to Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Bettina Ring. The latter was an urgent plea to keep Virginia farmer’s markets open for the sake of family farms. With well over 300 signatures, it urged Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) to “take swift action by issuing a statement affirming the essential role Virginia’s Farmers Markets play
AFTER A ONE-WEEK hiatus, Falls Church’s popular farmers market has returned as a pre-order, pick-up only event in order to comply with new state regulations and guidance due to the pandemic. (Photo: J. Michael Whalen) for Virginia’s farmers, economy, and communities across the State, and affirmatively equate Virginia’s Farmers Markets with grocery stores and other retail outlets for the purposes of COVID19 containment policies.” Not only did it advocate to equate farmers markets with grocery stores, but it also put forth several reasons as to why farmers
markets may be the safer option over a trip to the grocery store: • A shortened supply chain means that food passes through far fewer hands than other retail outlets; • Markets are open-air with space to move away from people if needed;
Continued on Page 18
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PAGE 6 | APRIL 2 – 8, 2020
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E D I TO R I A L
Tuesday’s Epic School Board Meeting
It was a most remarkable three hours Tuesday night. The live online gathering of the Falls Church City Public Schools’ School Board and key administrators of the system, deftly managed logistically by the schools’ technical team for a flawless presentation to the public on YouTube, was truly one for the history books. It deserves to be appreciated and studied for eons to come for its exemplary representation of how these concerned human beings came together to provide a level of care and opportunity for an entire community’s young people in their care. The Covid-19 pandemic represents the gravest threat to human civilization in our lifetimes, with only a massive World War 1 or 2 or threat of a global nuclear war its match. As deaths pile up in the U.S. and as decisive leaders, at least from the state level on down, move to arrest its spread with drastic “social distancing” and “shelter in place” orders, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam last week ordered all schools closed as of March 13 and non-essential workers into their homes. Superintendent Dr. Peter Noonan and other leaders of the Falls Church School System, seeing this coming, set in motion a process at an administrative retreat on February 25 when the decision was taken to put the word out to all the teachers in the system to develop 20-day lesson plans that could be taught online. The plans were completed and submitted just two days before the governor ordered all the state’s schools closed, but all students in the Falls Church system were sent home armed with the resources to continue their education online, including the provision for free meals for those who’d received them at school and still needed them. Falls Church’s schools have not looked back, and have been confronted with the very formidable challenges that can only be imagined for a situation that developed for them...imagined or seen dealt with, that is, by the remarkable School Board, principals of all five schools, administrative staff, teachers, support staff and volunteers who were either present, virtually, or discussed extensively at Tuesday’s meeting. The thoroughness and clearly evident passionate support for the students in the system’s care were hallmarks for this most extraordinary extended meeting. The topics ran the full gamut centered on the remarkable circumstances of the necessary reaction to the pandemic, with amazingly cool-headed discussions of plans that have either already been thought through or needed some input by everyone taking part. For our part, we do not exaggerate when we suggest that this historic meeting should go down in the annals of human history, much less Falls Church history, as a case study in how a collective body of unpretentious but concerned citizen heroes methodically and systematically responded to the extraordinary circumstances of the current time. There remain unresolved problems and difficulties, to be sure, but a heartening mode for handling them has been struck.
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Now Time to Return School Start to After Labor Day Editor, With the uncertainty of Covid19 and the lead time necessary, now would seem to be the time to proactively return the start of school to after Labor Day. The precaution of moving the start of the school year for 202021 to the latest date possible seems advisable in order to prepare for ongoing social distancing and to
allow the pandemic the longest possible time to run its course. The schools already have a calendar extremely similar to the one adopted that starts after Labor Day. This isn’t about who or how many people voted for which calendar. It’s about dealing with the facts on the ground. Starting early to get more instruction days was one of the
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reasons for choosing two weeks before Labor Day. Now, starting after Labor Day provides the greatest likelihood of the maximum possible real, in-person instruction school days. While the virtual classroom is a good makeshift alternative the maximum amount of in-classroom instruction days should be the goal. Also it moves back Mason Moving Day, allowing more time for completion of the new High School facility. Construction must be impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Moving the school year start date to after Labor Day will at least give the possibility of the
new building opening on time. Even if moving day can be only after winter break, the later start of winter break gives almost a month of additional construction time for completion of the new facility. Additionally, I don’t think it’s right to ask people to work on the construction site and risk their health and the health of their families. Even if construction continues, one worker contracting or coming in contact with Covid-19 seemingly would effectively grind work to a halt with quarantines. It’s not worth the risk Dave Rifkin Falls Church
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
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APRIL 2 – 8, 2020 | PAGE 7
Pandemic Highlights Importance of Ensuring Fair Elections B� S��� F���������
The restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic are refocusing attention on steps that can — and may have to be — taken to ensure that our coming elections remain fair and open. As Virginians, we can be grateful that we were able to conduct the March 3 Democratic presidential primary before restrictions had to be imposed. Because Falls Church decided a few years ago to move its municipal elections to November, it won’t face the challenge that some jurisdictions will in holding their local elections in May. But U.S. House and Senate candidates may face primary battles on June 9. Allison J. Robbins, president of the Voter Registrars Association of Virginia, and Barbara Tabb, president of the Virginia Electoral Board Association, recently asked State Elections Commissioner Christopher Piper to take steps to protect both voters and election officials by promoting absentee voting by mail in these next two elections and shutting down most in-person voting. A decision is expected shortly. Dave Bjerke, director of elections for Falls Church, who serves on the registrars’ legislative committee, noted that many municipalities are now having to process a much higher volume of absentee ballot applications for their May elections at a time when their government offices are closed. In its 2020 session, the Virginia General Assembly passed several measures that were designed to make it easier to vote.
As of this writing, the measures are awaiting Gov. Ralph Northam’s signature; he is expected to sign them, but the legislation could still be modified, particularly in light of the new challenges that officials face. The first would implement “no-excuse absentee voting.” In the past, persons seek-
“Ensuring the security of voting equipment and reporting networks continues to be a concern.” ing to cast absentee ballots in Virginia had to specify one of 20-some reasons why they could not vote the traditional way. Under the new legislation, they would no longer have to do so. The State Department of Elections’ online application form at www.elections. virginia.gov/casting-a-ballot/absentee-voting/ has already been modified for those wanting to request an absentee ballot this spring because of the coronavirus. The General Assembly passed additional legislation, also awaiting the governor’s signature, that would relax the requirements for voters to produce a photo ID before they are permitted to vote. Legislation also passed that would designate Election Day as a state holiday. Looking further down the
road, the General Assembly also approved legislation that, if signed by the governor, would permit Virginians to register to vote on Election Day, starting on Oct. 1, 2022. Ensuring the security of voting equipment and reporting networks continues to be a concern. Bjerke said that because many local registrars are working from home these days, the state Department of Elections has instituted new protocols for accessing its databases. Another important aspect of promoting fair voting is ensuring that every U.S. resident is counted so that congressional and legislative districts can be drawn to reflect current population numbers. The decennial census determines how many congressional seats each state gets, how congressional and legislative districts are drawn, and, in many cases, how federal and state funds are allocated. If you have missed the mailed invitation from the U.S. Census Bureau to respond, go to 2020census.gov/en/ways-torespond.html to find out how your household can be counted. Next November Virginia voters will get the chance to take another important step to help preserve our democracy. In the closing days of this year’s session, the General Assembly approved on second reading a constitutional amendment that would create a bipartisan commission of citizens and legislators to redraw congressional and legislative districts after the census is completed. Now the voters will be asked to give their final approval. Ten years ago, Republicans succeeded
in gerrymandering the Virginia House of Delegates and Democrats did the same thing for the Senate, which they then controlled. Efforts to develop alternative maps, through hearings by a citizens’ advisory committee and college competitions, were for naught. After that experience, concerned Virginians launched a decade-long campaign to reform the redistricting process The constitutional amendment was supported by a wide range of interest groups, including the League of Women Voters, as well as editorial boards across the Commonwealth. Since the amendment’s passage, redistricting reform advocates around the country have also hailed it. Earlier this week a member of the New York Times’s editorial board praised the nine House Democrats who “agreed to put down their partisan swords and join the Republicans to support the new amendment,” noting how rare it was for politicians to be willing to relinquish their partisan power for the greater good. The writer said, “It may take more work to win elections by listening to what voters actually want than by simply rigging the maps, but it’s a critical step to save our representative democracy.” Now, more than ever before, it’s important that we all do what is necessary to stay informed — and to continue to be actively engaged in our democratic processes. Sara Fitzgerald is a member of the League of Women Voters of Falls Church.
Q������� �� ��� W��� Do you think Falls Church residents are complying with the governor’s stay-at-home order? • Yes, most are
• No, not many are
• No, not at all
• Not sure
Visit www.FCNP.com to cast your vote
Last Week’s Question:
Do you personally know someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus?
FCNP On-Line polls are surveys, not scientific polls.
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& 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.
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PAGE 8 | APRIL 2 – 8, 2020
Keep Connected, Falls Church
by Hans Miller
Special to the News-Press
On a run the other day I saw chain links (sometimes in the shape of a heart) drawn with chalk on a sidewalk. The links led to this message that put a smile on my face. So simple, but expressive. “Keep us connected — FCC.” The pandemic we are facing is impacting several households and this message can help serve as a simple guide for our actions in the weeks and months ahead. We need to be more than one household, we need to be a community. There are some of us who face real risks from this disease, and others who don’t; but it does and will impact our local and larger community for a long time. The local impact of the necessary restrictions on group gatherings and social interactions and the economic ripples from Wall Street will have a significant impact that no one can fully predict. This will be a long and tough period and we all have a choice to face. Do we approach as a household, or as a community? A time of crisis is a time to show strength of character and a moral compass. This may be one of the greatest challenges our country has faced since the Great Depression and World War II. Tom Brokaw and others have called that generation “The Greatest Generation” based on a common purpose and common val-
ues. How will we look back on our actions at this time and what can we do? “Keep us connected.” Support each other and take your actions with others in mind. Absolutely we need to take care of our families, but this means getting supplies that are needed and not stockpiling for the unknown. Supply chains work on a rhythm based on our need. If you’re thinking of getting several weeks of supplies, take a pause and think of the family that only has the money to buy what they need at a given time. If it is a medical supply, does the process of stocking up prevent a critical care professional from having what is needed today? Stockpiling is a short-term response and gets you through a little bit of time but eventually we will be at the same point. Maintain a calm rhythm; if we stay connected to each other and only get what we need, we can meet this long-term challenge. Think of others when making that decision to go out to a gathering as planned or maintain business as usual. We are all vectors of this virus, and for several in our community exposure to the virus could be fatal. There is so much we still have to learn about Covid-19, but one thing is clear, it can spread easily and quickly. Right now the United States has a Covid-19 doubling rate of three days, i.e. the number of cases is doubling every three days. Our health care system will be overrun and exhausted of supplies if this rate
Déjà Vu All Over Again By Ted White
The current coronavirus situation reminds me of a summer in my youth. It was the mid-’40s. World War II was ending, and I was about to start first grade at Madison School, on North Washington Street. I lived on North Tuckahoe Street, just east of Broadmont, separated from that neighborhood by a thick patch of woods. Tuckahoe was then unpaved, a gravel street. It had been surveyed by my grandfather, who lived next door, and the first neighborhood houses, down the street and to the east, were built in 1940 and 1941, just before the War. As a child, I welcomed neighbors. Some of the new families had kids my age, potential playmates. Over the course of the next few years I made several good friends, kids I saw daily and with whom I went through the Falls Church school system. Well, some of them did. The Arlington County line crossed Tuckahoe in mid-block, just down the street. The Day family lived just over the line, in Arlington. Mrs. Day and my mother were good friends – she sometimes worked as a teacher in my mother’s private kindergarten – and I knew both her sons, the younger one being my age. We hung out together, part of a small neighborhood group of kids all roughly the same age. My friend Bob lived a short block away, at the corner of Sycamore and 11th. His family moved into the new development at least a year after the families of the other kids, and Bob was two years older than we were, so initially we were afraid of him. But he wasn’t a bully, and we all became friends. So one mid-summer morning it was bright and sunny as I walked over to Bob’s house. But instead of Bob, I was greeted by his grandfather. Bob’s grandfather was a kindly man who often gave us kids nickels or dimes for the ice cream truck. A nickel bought a Popsicle; a dime bought a Good Humor bar. You could hear the truck’s slow progress from a block away. But on this day Bob’s grandfather had nothing for me but advice: “Go home, Ted,” he told me. Bob would not be coming out to play with me. Nor would any of my other friends. My mother explained it to me: One of Mrs. Day’s sons had polio. Polio! Of all the then-prevalent childhood diseases, polio was the most dreaded. This was before most current vaccines were available. Childhood was a gantlet of mumps, whooping cough, chickenpox, diphtheria, and at least two kinds of measles (I had both), as well as the mysterious pink-eye.
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does not change. Last week a college student on Spring Break stated “we’re at low risk so I’ll go out as planned and just self quarantine when I get home.” How many cases will come out of that one decision? How many cases will come out of the people gathering at the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms? Each action an individual makes impacts the doubling rate. Share ideas with the community on how we help each other and our businesses. We have seen people post ideas like helping neighbors who are elderly with groceries, sharing resources on home schooling or buying a gift certificate from a local restaurant and using it later to help them with cashflow in the near-term. Share, discuss, act. Social distancing in a way is an unfortunate choice of terminology for what we must do. We need to physically remain distant and separated, but we can still be close as a community and within our families. Some families have coordinated with each other to do scavenger hunts looking for objects or signs in windows. This type of activity allows social interaction and participation while maintaining the physical separation. Families may have time together that didn’t exist before. Last Sunday, I saw several more families out walking or bicycling together than I have in the past. Take care of your families, but also remember we are part of a larger community in this together. Thank you to the residents of Rosemary Lane for your inspiration, I applaud you and your simple message. Keep us connected Falls Church City. Show our strength and let us look back on our actions in this challenging time with pride.
But polio stood out. You got sick from the other diseases, suffered through it, and in most cases recovered whole. Not polio. Many of those who survived it were permanently crippled. Even those who appeared to be fully recovered often suffered relapses later in their lives. This was true of both a cousin and an aunt of mine. And we all heard horrible stories about children who spent months or even years in something called an “iron lung.” This was a respirator in which the paralyzed child was confined, day in and day out. My neighborhood went on effective lock down, at least as far as we kids were concerned. Polio was a children’s disease. So I’m not sure of the degree the adults confined themselves, but the kids all had to stay by themselves. Fortunately, it was summer and I had those woods that bordered our back garden. I loved to play in the woods, finding secret trails and building hidden “forts.” And, if I had an excess of energy, there was the ongoing project of damming the stream, a swimming hole being the ultimate goal (it was never achieved). But I missed playing with my friends. We all did. I have one abiding memory from that occasion: My grandparents had taken the sick Day boy to a hospital, perhaps in D.C., in their car, a 1940 Hudson sedan. When they got back, the car was parked in the drive, not driven into the garage, and my uncle Paul wrestled the back seat out and brought it to the middle of my grandparents’ front lawn (a lawn I mowed far too many times as a kid). There the seat stayed, for most of the day, until evening shadows made it pointless. The object had been to bathe the seat in sunlight, since direct sunlight as we all know is an abundant source of ultraviolet (UV) light, and UV light is a disinfectant. How long did our lock down last? I’m not sure. It felt like forever, but at that age that’s not surprising. Probably until a period — a week or two — had passed and no new cases turned up. An adult decision, to which we kids were not privy. But it was a shocking change in our daily lives for us, one without precedent in our short existence, and wrenching emotionally, fraught as it was with the pervasive fear of catching that dread disease. This time, of course, is different. Rather than a local problem, it’s global. And the disease is different – maybe worse, maybe not, but deadly for some all the same. I wasn’t around in 1918, so I have no idea how this pandemic compares, in terms of our responses, to that one. But I am familiar with the emotional impact we’re all experiencing. I’ve felt it before.
Kids Talk About the Coronavirus
The following was submitted to the News-Press by Olivia Whitney, a fifth grader at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in the City of Falls Church. We, kids, have strong opinions and we would love it if you heard some of them. I am a 5th Grader at TJ Elementary School and have contacted some of my friends, locally and around the globe, and asked them about their feelings and opinions during this difficult time. Jack - Virginia, age: 10 When kids see something to wish on, like a shooting star, they wish for school to be closed, but I don’t think they meant it like this! I learn from home now. I can only be with friends through video talks and texting. I try to help the situation by washing my hands and keeping my distance. I hope this ends soon because I miss my friends and teachers. Cathrine - Virginia, age: 10 I play three sports and Covid19 is not allowing me to practice sports or play games. I think that Covid-19 is affecting children more. They aren’t allowed to see their friends without them getting sick. What I think everyone should be doing is staying away from each other, washing hands and not touching their faces. Stay healthy! Juliet - New York, age: 12 I think Covid-19 is something we should take seriously, which unfortunately a lot of young people are not doing. This worries me because this virus can be deadly and spreads quickly. What each of us needs to do is to stay at home so we can help stop the spread of Covid-19. Keira - Cape Town, South Africa age: 12 Coronavirus is a very frightening disease. I am shocked how quickly it has spread across the world. Two weeks ago South Africa had 54 cases and now it has rapidly increased to 1,280 cases where I live. All of us are in danger, especially our elderly. I feel extremely concerned. My life has quickly changed. Our schools are closed. I’m not allowed out of the house and cannot do lots of my favourite things like seeing my friends and family. I think that we will beat the virus if we do our part by social distancing. Stay safe! Are you doing your part?
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APRIL 2 – 8, 2020 | PAGE 9
Shields in Self-Quarantine After Mother Passes From Virus Falls Church City Manager Wyatt Shields announced yesterday that he is currently in self-quarantine at his home following the passing of his mother last weekend who was infected with the coronavirus disease. Shields, back in his role as city manager after a brief absence earlier in the week, told the News-Press he did not come into direct contact with his mother, but was with his sisters who were in more direct, although protected, contact. In an abundance of caution, he said, he’s chosen to go into a period of self-quarantine.
F.C. City Hall Officially Closed to Public as of Today Falls Church City Hall has temporarily closed to the public indefinitely effective today. The City announced the closure in its daily online newsletter Tuesday afternoon. While the Mary Riley Styles Library, community center and other City facilities had closed earlier this month in response to the coronavirus pandemic, several City Hall offices including the treasurer, commission of the revenue and permits counter, had remained opened. While the building will be closed to the public, the Falls Church government will remain operational and most services for residents and businesses — including tax bill payments, bills for special trash pick-up, school tuition, facility rental payments, vehicle registration, voter registration and building safety permits — can be accessed online. In addition, individual appointments will also be available.
Monday Council Meeting Will Be Virtual
Community * Home * Love
The Monday meeting of the Falls Church City Council will be virtual, similar to last week’s town hall, the City announced this week. The regular meeting will convene at 7:30 p.m. with the first item of business being the proposed adoption of an ordinance that provides, under guidance from Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, for public meetings to be legally convened by virtual means on the condition that their only order of business be matters related to responses to the current pandemic crisis. The Council will also consider a second official declaration of emergency, an updated version of what it adopted at its last meeting.
F.C. Man Arrested for Sexual Battery of Children at Daycare A 50-year-old man was arrested and charged with three counts of aggravated sexual battery against children at an in-home Falls Church area daycare, police reported Tuesday morning. Santiago Alvarado Garcia, of the greater area of Falls Church in Fairfax County, was arrested by Fairfax County Police on Friday after a child from Digna Alvarado Garcia Daycare contacted police last Thursday, March 26 and said Garcia had inappropriately touched them. Garcia was employed by a general contractor and has lived in the homes where the daycare Santiago Alvarado operates, most recently at 2988 Monticello Drive and at 7503 Parkwood Garcia. (Photo: Court in 2016. Fairfax Co. detectives are seeking other possible victims Fairfax Co. Police) and ask anyone with concerns that their child may have had inappropriate contact with Garcia to contact them. Information can be submitted by phone at 703-246-7800, option 3, or can be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers by phone at 1-866-411-8477, by text – Type “FCCS” plus tip to 847411 and online at https://www.tip411.com/tips/ new?alert_group_id=21984.
Staying home saves lives.
F.C. Forms Task Force for Emergency Loan Advice A special task force was formed this week to assist local small businesses, in particular, apply for special emergency relief from the $2 trillion federal CARES bill passed and signed into law last week. Members of the task force include Sally Cole, executive director of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce, Becky Witsman of the City’s Economic Development Office, Bob Young of the Economic Development Authority, prominent local CPA firm owner Michael Diener and consultant David Russell. The City is developing a special page on its website with information and links to apply for business assistance under the Payroll Protection Act and Small Business Administration emergency lending authority.
For more information, visit
coronavirus.gov
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News-Press
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Community News & Notes McLean Center Cancels All Events for April & May At a special meeting of the McLean Community Center (MCC) Governing Board last week, the Board unanimously voted to cancel all Center-
sponsored activities in the months of April and May, including McLean Day 2020. The action came in response to the recommendations of MCC Executive Director George Sachs, who cited the ongoing Centers for Disease Control and Fairfax County Health
Department guidelines concerning large gatherings in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. McLean Day, the center’s largest event, typically draws approximately 10,000 participants. Absentee voting for the MCC 2020 Governing Board Election
is currently underway and will continue through 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13. The McLean Day in-person voting, stipulated in the Center’s Memorandum of Understanding, will be held at MCC (1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean) as scheduled from 10:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 16.
Giant Food Gives $500K Donation to Area Food Banks Giant announced the donation of $550,000 and 1,200 hams to the five Feeding America food banks within its region: Capital Area Food Bank, Maryland Food
FALLS CHURCH CITY Public Schools Director of Facilities and Security Services Seve Padilla near the end of his run after dropping off hand sanitizer and sanitary wipes to local healthcare providers last Friday including The Kensington, Kaiser Permanente, Family Medicine in Falls Church, Capital Area Pediatrics, Northern Virginia Pediatric Associates and PMA Health Primary Care. The supplies, donated by the school system, were collected from Mount Daniel Elementary after teachers and parents alerted officials to the school’s supply stash. (Photo: Laura Downs via Twitter)
Bank, Food Bank of Delaware, Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank and Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. Giant’s five food bank partners will use the donations to purchase food and various supplies to serve children while schools are closed, the elderly and health compromised individuals and families or individuals that continuously face hunger issues in Giant’s footprint. Additionally, Giant is offering its customers an opportunity to get involved and help support their neighbors who may be dealing with food insecurity during the pandemic. Members of Giant’s Flexible Rewards Program will
FALLS CHURCH RESIDENT Paul Hessling would have been running the 2020 Boston Marathon originally scheduled for this month, but has now been delayed until September due to the coronavirus pandemic. This will be Hessling’s first time running the 26.2 mile race and as a member of Team South Shore Health where he will be fundraising to support behavioral health services at the Grayken Center for Treatment at South Shore Health, located in Weymouth, Massachusetts. (Photo: Courtesy South Shore Health)
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
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now be able to designate the value of their Flexible Points for dollar donations to Giant’s five Feeding America food bank partners. One hundred percent of the donations will go to those in financial need of groceries.
Arlington Diocese Suspends Masses Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington issued a video message to announce that all masses in the diocese have been suspended in response to the spreading coronavirus (Covid19). Falls Church’s Saint James Catholic Church is a parish within the Arlington Diocese. An excerpt of some of the Burbidge’s message is below: “The White House Coronavirus Task Force recommends limiting gatherings to 10 people or less. This recommendation is consistent with CDC guidelines for events that serve “high risk” populations. That would certainly include public Masses. “Therefore, it is with great sadness that I announce that as of today, I am suspending the public celebration of all Masses in the Diocese of Arlington until further notice. “Suspending Masses may safeguard our physical health, but I understand that our spiritual health must also be maintained to the best of our ability. For that reason I have asked our pastors to keep our churches open to the public, so that those who choose to pray, are welcome to do so in the presence of our Eucharistic Lord, while keeping a safe distance from one another and not exceeding the 10-person limit. “I encourage you to go to ArlingtonDiocese.org for the latest changes and updates related to our parishes, schools, minis-
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tries and charities. If you sign-up for our e-newsletter, you can get those updates sent to you directly. For updates unique to your parish, please visit your parish’s website. “As some of you know, the Diocese co-sponsors a televised Sunday Mass with the Archdiocese of Washington. It takes place at the Basilica Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, and is available at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays on two local TV stations as well as online. Go to ArlingtonDiocese. org/TVMass for more information or to view the Mass.”
12 Certified for McLean Community Center Board McLean Community Center (MCC) has certified 12 Dranesville Small District 1A residents, three adults and nine teens, to run for seats on the McLean Community Center Governing Board. The board sets policy and provides general oversight for all facilities and programs of the Center, including the Robert Ames Alden Theatre and the Old Firehouse Teen Center. The center is located at 1234 Ingleside Ave. Three adult positions and two youth positions are open this year. The adult candidates (including any write-in candidates) will serve three-year terms. Youth candidates, one from the McLean High School boundary area and one from the Langley High School boundary area, will serve oneyear terms. Youth candidates do not have to attend these schools to serve on the board. The adult candidates are Bill Glikbarg, Melanie Sletten and Barbara Zamora-Appel. The following are the youth candidates that are running in the Langley High School and McLean High School boundary areas:
EDICTS TO SOCIALLY DISTANCE ourselves hasn’t stopped Winter Hill residents from getting together for a little movement. Of course, everyone maintained more than a safe distance from each other while getting their activity in. (P����: C������� G���� P. S�������) Langley High School boundary area: Selina Al-Shihabi, Ivy Chen, Maria Kim, Aidan Nguyen, Fay Shuai and Emily Siryani; and McLean High School boundary area candidates: Tyler Jensen, Nyla Marcott and Sophia Powell. Write-in candidates are allowed. Write-in candidates must receive at least 10 votes from 10 residents of the center’s tax district in order to have their votes counted. For youth write-in candidates, the 10 votes must come from teens who live within the same high school boundary area as the candidate. Absentee ballots are available. A resident may request an absentee ballot package by mail,
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phone (703-744-9348, TTY: 711) or email (elections@mcleancenter.org). Completed absentee voting affidavits and ballots must be received at MCC by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13.
Emergency Aid Fund for NOVA Students Launched The Northern Virginia Community College Education Foundation has launched an emergency student aid fund for students affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The NOVA COVID19 Emergency Student Aid Fund is aimed to meet students’ basic needs to help them stay in school and complete the semester, the
school announced in a press release. The goal of the NOVA Education Foundation is to raise $750,000 and to provide at least 1,500 grants of $500 each. “Ensuring every NOVA student succeeds is our highest priority always,” said Anne Kress, NOVA’s president. “But especially now, as our students face unprecedented challenges, we have an obligation to ensure they have our support. Our students will help our community rebuild and prosper but they can only do this if we provide the assistance they need. I encourage everyone to consider donating to the Emergency Student Aid Fund.”
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A Penny for Your Thoughts
News of Greater Falls Church By Supervisor Penny Gross
Local budgets usually reflect the basic priorities of the community, centered on public education, human services, public safety, and other public services that most people in Northern Virginia consider as basic to our quality of life. The Covid-19 pandemic is causing renewed scrutiny and concern about provision of local services, and the picture is not a pretty one. In fact, it may be quite stark as the pandemic increases its intensity in this country right now. Presentations at the Board of Supervisors’ Budget Committee meeting on Tuesday reiterated the sound budget and finance principles that have formed the basis for budget formation and decisions for decades, and maintain Fairfax County’s AAA bond ratings from Fitch, Standard and Poor, and Moody’s rating services. That was the good news. The not-so-good news about the effect of the pandemic on the proposed FY 2021 county budget was not unexpected. A quick, back of the envelope estimate of anticipated lost revenue is in the upper tens of millions of dollars — reduced retail sales taxes, transient occupancy taxes (hotels in the county have experienced drastic fall-offs, as much as 90 percent of volume since the beginning of the pandemic), personal property taxes, and investment income. Still unknown, of course, are the long-term effects of the emergency as residents and businesses alike struggle to adapt to what apparently is the “new normal.” Calls to the county’s Coordinated Services Planning (CSP) hotline (703-222-0880) increased by 37 percent through March 25, and most requests were for help with rent, utilities, and emergency food assistance. Non-profit partners have stepped up
to help, even as some of their employees are facing potential lay-offs. Spring is the fund-raising season for many non-profit organizations, which have had to cancel galas and other events because of Covid-19. A good way to help during the pandemic is to contribute what cash you can, or maybe new or unused gift cards, to a favorite local charity. County Executive Bryan Hill will present a recalculated proposed FY 2021 budget at a special budget committee meeting next Tuesday, April 7. Chairman Jeff McKay reminded the Board that any budget pain will be shared across agencies, including schools. The Board will hold previously announced public hearings about the budget on April 14, 15 and 16, but the normal process of appearing in person will be changed to permit video testimony and social distancing. Residents who already have signed up to speak will be contacted by the Clerk to the Board regarding the new procedures. Despite the pandemic emergency, according to state law, the Board must adopt a balanced budget this spring, and the budget vote is scheduled for May 5. Yesterday was Census Day. Did you respond to the Census invitation you received at home about three weeks ago? It’s not too late to get online and send in your responses. Your invitation had a password unique to your home, so that you can access the right file. It’s quick, it’s easy, and you already know all the answers! Penny Gross is the Mason District Supervisor, in the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She may be emailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov.
before anything else, we’re all human rethink your bias at lovehasnolabels.com
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Senator Dick Saslaw’s
Richmond Report One month ago, Virginia legislators were wrapping up a historic General Assembly session. Historic for many reasons: an avalanche of introduced bills that the legislators plowed through; huge gains for working families including a plan to increase the minimum wage starting next year; codifying protections against discrimination in employment, housing, and business; and one of the most progressive biennial budgets in decades. It didn’t take but a week after the raucous adjournment of the unprecedented Session for Covid-19 to shatter the well thought out plans. Coronavirus has made its way into our daily lives in every corner of Virginia. It requires unexpected sacrifice and discipline to navigate the challenging waters we now find ourselves in. There is no better time for leaders to rise up and inspire others to act responsibly. I want to assure you that “the doctor is in.” Governor Northam, a former pediatric neurologist, and his Administration are thoughtfully moving through this crisis with a clinical approach, hands-on experience, and collaboration between Virginia’s elected officials and others. Communication lines are wide open and the governor’s 2 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday briefings are aired on TV and streamed on Facebook. While we are totally engaged in delivering the best services against the coronavirus, other necessary functions of government continue. The governor and his cabinet along with staff have been reviewing the hundreds of bills we passed during the legislative session. We are to reconvene on April 22 in Richmond to address the measures he has either amended or will veto. One of the most significant pieces of legislation passed was the biennial budget. When we adjourned on March 12, we had one of the most progressive, structurally-sound spending plans to begin on July 1, the fiscal year. The economy was stable, and we established key priorities that laid the foundation for Virginians’ future in a robust economy. Fortunately, we had planned to add to the rainy day fund and revenue cash reserve which soon may be tapped into. Public service often involves financial sacrifices. The proposed budget provided an infusion in
compensation for teachers, state employees, state supported local employees, state police troopers, and adjunct faculty. This was intentional and aimed to attract and retain the best in their professions. The legislature saw fit to provide major support for education. From pre-K through higher ed, we addressed years of limited funding. We are still playing catch up from 2008. There is an undeniable connection between the new Virginia economy and a skilled workforce. Children learn exponentially before they come to first grade. I supported both First Lady Pam Northam’s initiatives for pre-K as well as the moves we made to ensure the pipeline of workers that will lead us forward with degrees, certifications and/or other industry credentials. Our aim is to get people in the workforce with the least amount of debt. Last dollar support for community college students was an investment we could not pass up. Behavior health, Medicaid, and other health and human services were front burner areas in this spending plan. That also included raises for personal care providers who provide care to our most vulnerable. It remains unclear what the costs of this pandemic will be for hospitals, nursing homes and in-home delivery of services. Rest assured we are seriously reviewing all the resources available including revenue from the CARES Act to implement this particular segment of the biennial budget. In this column, I have previously written about the Transportation Act. It’s no state secret that we have greater demands for moving people and goods throughout the Commonwealth. Road maintenance, mass transit, rail, and new infrastructure construction will be addressed with the earmarked funds. The priorities for Virginia’s spending plan are likely to remain the same but of course will be subject to change. I continue to hear from many people with ideas on how best to combat the silent infection working its way through the nation. I encourage you to pay heed to the professionals and follow the directives that are being shared almost daily from the governor and other elected officials passing along that information. I commend you for your generosity and thoughtfulness as you look after your families and neighbors.
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Our World After The Pandemic
Walt Whitman wrote a lot of his incredible poetry about the beauty of things in life too often taken for granted, or ignored in the context of preoccupied lives. In his own version of “shelter in place,” the result of old age at his home in Camden, New Jersey, he singled out such things and shared them with the world, augmenting their beauty with his own poetic gift. In his short poem, The Commonplace, he wrote the following: “The commonplace I sing; How cheap is health! How cheap nobility! Abstinence, no falsehood, no gluttony, lust; The open air I sing, freedom, toleration (Take here the mainest lesson — less from books — less from the schools), The common day and FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS night — the common earth and waters, Your farm — your work, trade, occupation, The democratic wisdom underneath, like solid ground for all.” Embodied in this poem is not only its subject matter, per se, but the accumulated wisdom and experiences of a long life of keen observation and insight. This entire life is veritably saturating from every word of this seemingly simple few lines. Oh, what he’d seen! This great and passionate lover of America and the energy and enthusiasm for its young democracy and the amazingly diverse forms its people’s activities took, all wondrous in his eyes. He was a man who’d seen the worst during the Civil War, where he toiled as a nurse (too old by then to fight) and up close and personally encountered the incredible pain and suffering of the wounded after battles, and the subsequent deaths of so many, including so many young, mere teenagers. He tended to them in temporary, makeshift hospitals set up near the front lines of war, even in Northern Virginia, even amid church pews, a handful of miles from the nation’s capital. This poet, whose works emanated so much empathy and compassion, found the strength to tend to the individual victims of the horror of war. Little did he know even as he lay dying himself in 1892, that the horrors of wars to come would dwarf the terrible American Civil War and its loss of 600,000 young American lives. The Great War would break out in 1914, devastating the best of civilization of the most advanced human cultures on earth, subjecting so many to its degradations that, with the collapse of infrastructure and human health, the great Spanish flu pandemic would follow in its wake taking more millions of lives of far more than soldiers. Then the misery forced on the losers of that war would set up the inevitability of an even greater era of human misery, the Great Depression, the rise of tyrannical fascist and communist states with their abject brutality and genocides, the onset of a new global war, so now the two wars combined went by World War I and World War II. Humanity allowed no alternative to the second one, as the world’s worst dictatorships sought to stamp out democracy on the entire planet. By 1946, what had begun in 1914 had taken an estimated 200 million human lives in total. In 2020, humanity faces yet another challenge, a coronavirus pandemic with the potential of ranking right up there with the ugliest periods of the past century. As with the other great challenges to our civilization, this one will test as well humanity’s fitness to survive and progress. This one will tempt many to revert back to the days of tyranny and mass oppression, or days of wanton excess in reaction to that. But it is, we must now begin to reflect, days of wanton excess which have brought us to this point now. We did not learn our lesson from the Great Recession of the previous decade. Indeed, we remained stuck as a “consumerist culture,” celebrating dystopia as offered by the elites to further tilt a dominating control of wealth in their favor and of the passive rest of us to eagerly soak it all in. We’ve been fed and eagerly consumed sheer crap in the guise of culture. Whitman knew that from his time. He eschewed such tendencies in favor of the overlooked beauty of simple and productive living.
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Nicholas F. Benton
Nicholas Benton may be emailed at nfbenton@fcnp.com.
Our Man in Arlington By Charlie Clark
Checklist for coronavirus shutins: 1) Assure that your family is fed and kept company; 2) Donate online to charities and small businesses; 3) Binge-watch Netflix, explore old movies and finally make time for those long-moldering classic novels. My additional suggestion: Curate your personal archives. No matter your age or notion of self-importance, your life-long letters, photos, books and trophies form a loosely structured portrait of your multi-compartmental self. Sorting them for the ease of your future heirs is at least as important — and satisfying — as tackling deservedly postponed chores like cleaning the garage or painting shelves. As an Arlington guy of retirement age, I find myself with a houseful of artifacts one could place into two buckets: things that, per Marie Kondo, bring me joy; and things that my heirs, realistically, might actually appreciate. But they’re not the same things. I am an eccentric, selective packrat. I still own student newspapers and yearbooks dating to the ‘60s and ‘70s from Williamsburg Junior High and Yorktown High School. I have trophies and team pictures from Arlington Little League, from Evening Optimist baseball to Tops Cubs football to Shirlington Trust basketball.
(Too bad I mostly ignored my mother’s pleas that I write the players’ names on backs of the photos.) In bags and trunks, I retain nearly every personal letter (plus selected later emails) I received beginning about 1969. Their layered stacks resemble an archaeological site. And I still sloppily alphabetize — and play music on — LPs, reel-to-reel tapes, cassettes and CDs. (The 8-tracks, in a moment of sanity, I trashed years ago.) Yes, modern listener, I too can access 2 million-plus songs on Alexa. But I still prefer the old formats’ warmth, album covers, liner notes and original song sequencing. And my personal tapes are irreplaceable. My bookshelves are lined with what I boast may be the county’s best collection of books on Arlington history (more than 30). Thanks to my mother, I still have a copy of my first stab at writing and illustrating a children’s book, which I produced as a six-year-old living in Cherrydale. (She typed it and sent it to Little Brown—still awaiting a response.) And I designate special storage for books published by my grandfather, and to house my father’s high school and college memorabilia. So, out of kindness to my heirs, I’m creating curator rules. In most families, I’ve noticed, only one sibling per generation attends to the archives. Be kind to that relative. The younger generation today shows little receptivity
for our old books, or antiques or heirloom china and silver. Hence few will mind if I’m ruthless. My college textbooks, for example, having sat statically in basements for decades, likely interest no one but me. They will go. I’m careful to print out my best digital photos and mount them in low-tech albums. If I get really ambitious, I might even re-edit my scrapbooks so they’re chronological — not grouped by when I acquired the pictures. It will make them presentable. Eventually I will toss my flirty letters from ex-girlfriends (my wife, for some reason, displays little interest in them). In due course. As for the Little League trophies, I teased my mother in later life, saying she had fallen down on the job by neglecting to polish them. If the coronavirus crisis persists, I may tackle that job too. *** Recommended children’s book during the pandemic: Dr. Seuss’s 1954 opus “Horton Hears a Who.” Recall that the plot involves an elephant in a pond who picks up a dust speck and places it protectively on a flower. He discovers it contains a tiny civilization of “who” creatures. An evil kangaroo mocks Horton for believing the speck hosts microscopic life. “A person’s a person, no matter how small,” the elephant says. Those itty-bitty whos must shout to prove their existence, and the failure of one stubborn holdout jeopardizes the whole life-saving operation. Hmmmmm.
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PAGE 14 | APRIL 2 – 8, 2020
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
FALLS CHURCHCALENDAR In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic affecting the globe and policies enacted to avoid social gatherings, the News-Press will publish a list of virtual events weekly in lieu of its regular listings. If you have a virtual event you’d like to see listed, please email calendar@fcnp.com. Deadline is 5 p.m. Monday weekly.
CITYEVENTS SATURDAY, APRIL 4 Falls Church Farmers Market To Go. The Falls Church Farmers Market has converted to a preorder, to-go event. All orders must be placed in advance of Saturday’s market which will be open from 8 a.m. – noon for pre-order pick-up only in front of City Hall (300 Park Ave.). A list of participating vendors
and information on pre-ordering can be found at www.fallschurchva. gov/547/Farmers-Market-To-Go.
VIRTUALEVENTS MONDAY, APRIL 6 Virtual City Council Meeting. The Falls Church City Council will meet via virtual meeting. Council will discuss only emergency issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Public comment for the City Council can be sent to cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov. The meeting will be available to view online via the link at www.fallschurchva.gov/Councilmeetings and on FCCTV (Cox 11, RCN 2, Verizon 35)
DAILY Bloom Cam for Cherry Blossoms. While the coronavirus pandemic has closed off visitation
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30 Yees!
to Washington, D.C.’s Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms in person, an alternative has been offered thanks to the Trust for the National Mall in the form of the Bloom Cam. The live feed will allow those who are interested to remotely observe the cherry blossoms in peak bloom from the comfort and safety of their homes. The camera runs 24/7 and is viewable at nationalmall.org/ bloomcam. Virtual Tour of The Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum. The Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History virtual tours allow visitors to take self-guided, roomby-room tours of select exhibits and areas within the museum from their desktop or mobile device. Visitors can also access select collections and research areas at the Smithsonian’s satellite support and research stations as well as past exhibits no longer on display. To start the tour, visit
be found by going to plimoth. org/learn/just-kids/virtual-fieldtrip.
naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtualtour. Lunch Doodles with children’s author Mo Willems. Learners worldwide can draw, doodle and explore new ways of writing by visiting Mo’s studio virtually once a day for the next few weeks. Participants should grab some paper and pencils, pens or crayons and join Mo to explore ways of writing and making together. Daily at 1 p.m. Visit kennedy-center.org/education/mo-willems to watch. Visit a 17th-Century English Village. Interested learners can see what life was like for those who lived during the 17th century in rural England. Watch as they tend to their crops, make the basics that we take for granted in butter and prepared meat and see what their homes look like. The village field trip is hosted by the Plimoth Plantation and can
Flyover of Grand Canyon. Interested browsers can take a journey to the Grand Canyon, one of the deepest canyons in the world. The canyon has been in the making for 10 million years. Four different geological eras of Earth are represented in the canyon. Underground forces pushed the Colorado River bed up, forcing the water to gradually cut into the plateau and wash out the canyon’s soft rocks. To “visit” the Grand Canyon, go to airpano. com/360video/Video-GrandCanyon. The Social Distancing Festival. This online artist community showcases the work of artists from around the world who have been affected by the outbreak of the coronavirus and the need for social distancing. The site gathers live streams and videos from all different artists and performances from all over the world and puts them all in one place. Visit www.socialdistancingfestival. com for the calendar of streaming events.
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APRIL 2 – 8, 2020 | PAGE 15
Fa l l s C h u r c h
Business News & Notes Info on Paycheck Protection Program Now Available The U.S. Treasury Department now has information on the CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program, including an application, available online. The program provides small businesses, including charitable nonprofit organizations, with a loan that can convert to a grant, providing the terms are met. The purpose is to keep employees on the payroll but funds can also be used to cover rent, utilities, and interest, as well as payroll. Applications for small businesses and sole proprietors will be accepted starting April 3 while applications from independent contractors and self-employed individuals will be accepted starting April 10. For more information, visit home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/ top-priorities/cares-act/assistance-for-small-businesses.
The Toy Nest Opens With Curbside Toy Pick-Up The Toy Nest has opened with The Toy Nest To-Go, just as families are starting to feel the sting of school closures and social distancing. The service will feature online reservation and curbside pick-up of over 1,000 disinfected toys, ride-ons, games and puzzles for all ages, available to library members. Items can be checked out for two weeks and renewed twice. Each annual membership sold will be matched with an annual membership for a qualifying family. Once the threat of Covid-19 subsides, The Toy Nest’s 2,100-square-foot play space will open for onsite play and parties. The store also buys and sells pre-loved toys. The Toy Nest is located at 98 N. Washington Street and is currently open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. For more information, visit thetoynest.com.
All Things CBD Distributing Free Hand Sanitizer All Things CBD in Falls Church is offering free hand sanitizer, curbside pick-up, and delivery within a 10-mile radius of the Falls Church location. Free 1 oz. CBD hand sanitizers are available while quantities last, one per customer, per day. Purchases are not required. Curbside pickup orders are to be placed via email to hello@atcbdshop.com. Orders should include a contact number, email address, preferred pick up time, and vehicle make/model/color. For same day delivery, please email your order, with the delivery address, to hello@atcbdshop.com before 3 p.m. Packages will be delivered between 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. (excluding Sunday.) All orders placed after 3 p.m. will be delivered the following delivery day. All Things CBD is located at 901B W. Broad Street. For more information, visit www.atcbdshop.com.
Chamber Produces Video to Encourage Local Patronage The Falls Church Chamber of Commerce has released a two-minute video featuring local Falls Church small business owners encouraging the public to support their efforts to stay in business during the Covid-19 pandemic. Chamber executive director Sally Cole coordinated the effort and urged the public to view it and post it on social media platforms. The video can be viewed above and via the link vimeo.com/402153450.
Covid-19 Newsletters Offered by Welsh Printing Welsh Printing is open and printing newsletters to keep people informed about the Covid-19 crises, absentee voting ballots, and Covid19 information for clinics and nursing homes. To place a printing order, email welshprinting@yahoo.com. Printed materials will either be dropped off or sent via UPS. Welsh Printing is located at 104 E. Fairfax in Falls Church. 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.
ZOYA ATELIER’S AMY BITICI (right) poses for a quick picture with three of her employees at the Falls Church boutique. The small crew at Zoya’s announced a two-week quarantine on March 24 so the usual bridal shop could shift its attention to making masks for those in medical professions as well as vulnerable members of the community. (Photo: Courtesy Amy Bitici/Zoya’s Atelier)
As Face Mask Supply Dwindles, F.C. Business Owners Answer the Call
by Orrin Konheim
Falls Church News-Press
As face masks become sparser at local pharmacies and stores, a push to replenish the supply is popping up from the ranks of two Falls Church business owners. Terry Lederer, who co-owns Lederer’s Sound Service with husband Chuck, has co-organized a volunteer group that has already sewn over 250 masks in the past eight days. That effort is matched by Amy Bitici of the bridal shop Zoya’s Atelier, which has kept four of her employees on the payroll sewing masks in an operation that began this past Monday. Lederer’s is already doing essential work for the pandemic in outfitting hospitals with technology geared toward patient safety. The company’s patented ventilator system allows hospitals greater capacity to monitor patients remotely which is an essential factor in fighting the coronavirus outbreak. While her husband has been working around the clock overseeing the installation of a new ventilator system at Fair Oaks Hospital, Terry and Tyson’s Corner resident Rozita Ezazi spend much of their day sewing masks as well as comanaging the Facebook group that
started to coordinate mask production. On top of that, Lederer remotely works a day job at Little Flock Music through her Oak Hill home while Ezazi continues her day job as a financial manager in IT and spends free time researching and updating the group’s Facebook page with information. “Basically, [Rozita] and I text each other throughout the day to keep tabs on those who need supplies and those who have a completed supply of masks. We use Facebook as our communication with the group, as we share patterns, instructions, helpful hints in constructing the masks and photos of finished masks,” Lederer said in an email. Ezazi and Lederer, who started the operation on March 23, are supplying local nursing homes, a cancer center and are fielding more requests. The pair connected through previous volunteer work with the Touching Heart non-profit organization. The call to action to help the community was intensified after Ezazi had seen the outbreak hit her home country of Iran. “The outbreak first hit my radar in early February in Iran. I was upset, worried and scared for family members and people
in general, specially with the sanction,” she told the NewsPress. Ezazi’s sister-in-law was a dressmaker and began to make masks for local medical institutions to counteract the lack of supplies. Ezazi got advice from her, but reached out to a Facebook group before starting her own. As the group started growing, Ezazi and Lederer decided to cap the group at 73 people to keep it manageable. “All group members are either friends or friends-of-friends and have a passion for this mission and we couldn’t be prouder!” said Lederer. In downtown Falls Church, Amy Bitici has had to shift her mission — like most everyone else affected by the pandemic. The bridal shop announced a two-week (as of now) hiatus for the protection of their employees on March 24. Since then, Bitici has been paying out of pocket to keep her employees on the payroll. “We feel just supported by the community and the Chamber of Commerce and the needs at an unprecedented time,” said Bitici. Bitici plans to give to medical professionals as well as anyone in the “local community to everyone that feels vulnerable.” Although she’s not asking for donations, she’s considering asking for donations for materials. Like Bitici, Lederer and Ezazi have been coordinating to buy materials and some of their members have materials on hand. They anticipate some difficulties and are also asking for donations which Ezazi believes will be easier to procure with a network of 73 members. “We have received a lot of donations of fabric, elastic and bias tape, but our supplies are running low. We are hopeful that we will continue to receive deliveries of donated supplies, particularly with yesterday’s announcement of the stay at home mandate,” said Lederer. Additionally, the coronavirus poses unique challenges for interaction and distribution but the groups are taking it as it comes. For Bitici, this involved the decision to not ask for further volunteers to the store so her employees wouldn’t be infected. For Lederer and Ezazi, there are some nonsewers in the group who have volunteered to pick up and deliver supplies and contact is minimized between people. “We feel very blessed and fulfilled to be able to give back during this crisis,” said Lederer.
PAGE 16 | APRIL 2 - 8, 2020
CLASSIFIED S
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Volunteers who live in the City of Falls Church are needed to serve on the boards and commissions listed below. Contact the City Clerk’s Office (703-248-5014, cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov, or www.fallschurchva.gov/BC) for an application form or more information. Positions advertised for more than one month may be filled during each subsequent month.
upcoming auctions statewide or in other states. Affordable Print and Digital Solutions reaching your target audiences. Call this paper or Landon Clark at Virginia Press Services 804-521-7576, landonc@vpa.net
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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Crossword
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1. Sheryl Crow’s “____ Wanna Do” 5. Love handles, essentially 9. In dribs and ____ 14. Bend (over) 15. “Must’ve been something ____” 16. “Bolero” composer 17. Here’s clue giver Noel: “Spay a popular pet?” 19. “____ hooks” (shipping caution) 20. Stud’s place 21. ____ de coeur 23. Quibble 24. Here’s clue giver Nora: “Breadmaker’s raw material contains a chesspiece?” 29. Only president to administer the oath of office to two other presidents 30. Word-of-mouth 31. It keeps things in focus 32. Extra NBA periods 33. Greek goddess of Earth 35. Ref. that added “xoxo” in 2019 37. Here’s clue giver Noah: “What a bride or groom says during a secret wedding ceremony?” 43. Prefix with tourism 44. Implements for many crossword solvers 45. Ruckus 46. Devastating 2017 storm 49. Misplace 51. Achy 52. Here’s clue giver Norm: “Show one’s behind to a famous structure in Salt Lake City’s Temple Square?” 56. Big supporter 57. “____ washes away from the
Across
STRANGE BREW
1. Sheryl Crow's "____ Wanna Do"
soul the dust of everyday life”: Pablo Picasso 58. “SNL” alum Gasteyer 59. Source of the word “whiskey” 61. Here’s clue giver Nola: “Inhaled anesthetic that’s truly gross?” 67. Mexican president Enrique Peña ____ 68. Harbor mammal 69. Word in many home run calls 70. Come after 71. Flotsam and Jetsam, in “The Little Mermaid” 72. Club ____
DOWN
1. 1980s sitcom featuring the Tanner family 2. Welcoming wreath 3. Loosey-goosey 4. Hell-bent (on) 5. “Guy’s Big Bite” Food Network host 6. Fond du ____, Wisconsin 7. ____ standstill 8. “You ____!” 9. Stonehenge priest 10. Univ. dorm supervisors 11. Word in 17 Monopoly property names 12. Harmless 13. They hang around the rain forest 18. Witchy woman 22. Advance again 24. Singer Perry 25. “Should that be the case ...” 26. Pinot ____ 27. Gallivant
JOHN DEERING
Sudoku
APRIL 2 – 8, 2020 | PAGE 17
28. Quaint, as a shoppe 29. Friend of Huck 33. Major seller of health supplements 34. Like some nerve cells 36. Area 51 holdings, some speculate 38. Withdraw gradually (from) 39. Turn sharply 40. Object of admiration 41. Urgent 42. Tip jar bill 46. “It’s just a scratch” 47. Enter noisily 48. Dollars and euros 50. Like some angles 51. “Lowdown” rocker Boz 53. California/Nevada resort lake 54. Sticks, as a landing 55. Novelist Beattie or Patchett 60. Apt name for a cook? 62. “Fancy that!” 63. Movie villain who says “I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that” 64. Viscous substance 65. “Is there a point to all this?” 66. Beachside view Last Thursday’s Solution
I T E M L O B O K A B U S G E D A R I R A E C A P T T Y P H L E Q W E R T A W N I D I E P U T T S P H
M S U K I D I R T I N S S E O A I N U S N A S T Y K Y E M I A N O S
A B A F T
C O N G O
O F F A F R E R D O C
Y A D D A
Y A C H T S
S T E
R A T N T O O C B O P L E E R
C O B R A D A R C Y
D E A D B E A T D A R D E H I A P B A
F L O U R I S H
D E C A L
E L Y S E
L I M A
S C I S
L D A T G S
By The Mepham Group
Level 1 2 3 4
5. Love handles, essentially 9. In dribs and ____ 14. Bend (over) 15. "Must've been something ____" 16. "Bolero" composer 17. Here's clue giver Noel: "Spay a popular pet?" 19. "____ hooks" (shipping caution) 20. Stud's place
1
21. ____ de coeur 23. Quibble 24. Here's clue giver Nora: "Breadmaker's raw material contains a chesspiece?" 29. Only president to administer the oath of office to two other presidents 30. Word-of-mouth 31. It keeps things in focus NICK KNACK
© 2020 N.F. Benton
1
Solution to last Sunday’s puzzle
4/5/20
Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit sudoku.org.uk. © 2020 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. All rights reserved.
PAGE 18 | APRIL 2 – 8, 2020
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BACK IN THE DAY
25 & 10 Years Ago in the News-Press Falls Church News-Press Vol. V, No. 2 • March 30, 1995
It is now the time fo r all good to go cows to aid of the p a s their ture . * * * Throw * * Pour it up. it up
Falls Church News-Press Vol. XX, No. 6 • April 8, 2010
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Critter Corner 10 Year s Ago
It is now the time fo r all good to go cows to aid of the the ir pas ture . * * * Throw * * Pour it up. it up
Slow Start to Budget Hearings; Only 12 Appear At 1st Council Session to Set Tax Rate
F.C. Budget Showdown Tonight: Which ‘Draconian’ Cuts Will Fly?
The Falls Church City Council got its first direct taste of the ponderous nature of the decisions it will be compelled to make on the new budget Monday night, when an even dozen of citizens stepped forward to offer up vastly differing proposals on how to allocate the City’s expenditures and tax burdens.
In one of the more dramatic Falls Church City Council meetings in years last week, Council members abruptly threw out City Manager Wyatt Shields’ proposal for incremental adjustments to his recommended budget, and called on him to present scenarios for much more draconian cuts in City and school services and less of a tax rate increase.
School Board Continued from Page 4
the goal was identified as “keeping the learning in Falls Church going” in a circumstance “for which there is no playbook.” Noonan said, “We’ve been successful so far.” There are briefings with the Virginia Department of Education every Tuesday and Friday, and F.C. staff “meetings” also Tuesdays and Fridays, while there is a pow-wow with all the five F.C. school principals and Noonan daily. There has been more communication, it was suggested, than before all this, including between the schools and the City government. The new learning plan being devised for after spring break will have as its guidelines “doing what is reasonable, manageable and meaningful,” in the context of timing, given all major assessment tests
To-Go Market Continued from Page 5
• Market trips are brief... and average shopper outings at the market average around 20-30 minutes; • Farmers market booths are non-permanent, so products are not constantly being touched seven days/week, and can be wiped down regularly by vendors. Between the pressure of Falls Church vendors and the duties of City officials was Howard Herman, the manager of the City’s market. Herman fights on no particular side. He is a clear advocate for the farmers market, valuing the deep importance of farm to table. “I don’t think you can downplay that, I think that’s a critical role the market plays.” But at the same time, he understands the role of officials
cancelled, reduced or waived for the spring (no SOL’s, no “seated assessments” for the IB program, and 45 minute exams online for AP students), and pressures on support staffs to manage at home where they are often dealing with their own children there, as well. “Our bar for all of this is our kids,” Noonan stressed. New instruction beginning on April 14 will include both synchronous and asynchronous instruction, being either live or recorded for later use. For privacy purposes, students in virtual online classrooms always retain the ability to cut off their cameras, he noted. With the student school year ending June 4 (and the teachers’ June 5), the month-long summer session, free to all City of Falls Church students, will commence on July 6, anticipating more students than in the past, and the beginning of the next new regular school year will begin on August 24.
The Director of Instruction William Bates discussed the grading and scoring options, saying the focus will be on “fair and equitable policies that serve all students well” with “no negative implications” for the decisions made. Noonan said that while the Virginia Department of Education ruled that school systems could simply issue no grades at all for the semester, as was the choice taken by the neighboring Fairfax School System, “our expectations are different and we are inclined to think outside the box,” an advantage coming from the system’s small size. The final decision on grading will be announced tomorrow, he said. The new post-spring break learning plan will include two hours a day available for teacher conferences with students and the use of “standards, templates and models” for online instruction. The principals of all five schools in the system, Jessie Thackrey Preschool,
Mt. Daniel Elementary, Thomas Jefferson Elementary, Mary Ellen Henderson Middle, and George Mason High School, took turns discussing the unique challenges for students at each of their grade levels. Paul Swanson, principal at Thomas Jefferson, stressed that the situation is presenting teachers “with really hard work.” Matt Hills, principal of George Mason High, said response to the new situation is designed to “provide students with an opportunity to show their mastery.” For ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students and teachers, an online application that
provides three-way conference calls with real time translations is in service, Dr. Jennifer Santiago explained. Noonan said that, in accordance with a mandate from Gov. Northam, the City school sites are prepared to accept children of first responders in the current crisis, something that will be run if needed through the system’s daycare program, under conditions where a maximum of 10 persons per classroom is permitted and available for students from kindergarten through grade 6. Noonan concluded the lengthy meeting saying, “We’ll get through this in a way that will be meaningful for all of us.”
and the pressure they are under to impose the restrictions. “It’s not easy...they’re all trying to make a living, just like everyone who is impacted.” Zaas, who was devastated by the closure two weeks ago, believed the market should stay open as a safer food option for customers. “Falls Church customers are so loyal that even in years that we lose the peach crop to early frosts, they support us by buying more apples, instead,” Zaas said. “They care about buying fruit directly from the farmers, they care about how the fruit is produced, and they don’t care if it doesn’t look perfect.” Like many others, Zaas wants the farmers market to be recognized by the City as a necessary source of fresh local produce for the Falls Church community. “That is something that should not only be important in good times but also
especially now,” she said. Herman’s respect for the value of the market to both vendors and customers is clear. However, he thought the suspension was a necessary time to figure out how to keep the market open while keeping people safe. Although the to-go model was not his initial move, Herman believes it is the best model that could have come out of the negotiations, and it also happened to go swimmingly. But not everyone is jumping back to their spot in the market just yet. Amidst the negative effects of Covid-19 on the food industry, several Falls Church vendors ventured on a different route than pushing to reopen the market. The Virginia Food Cottage Laws detail the foods and products individuals can produce and sell
from their homes without VDACS inspections. This includes foods like dried fruits, herbs, pasta, and acidified sauces like Forbes’. However, in a time where people are reluctant to visit homes, the laws do not clearly state other venues where a vendor can sell directly. In response, Dave Forbes, founder of Disturbingly Delicious Foods and a vendor at the market since 2017, emailed Governor Northam’s office with a proposition: “I propose these venues be articulated so that they are legitimate. Most obvious would be allowing the producer to engage in-home delivery. Another would be allowing the producer to be physically present at a specific location for a period of time (a ‘pop up’) to allow for pick up by consumers.” Because Forbes owns a local shop, he will not be participating in the new to-go market.
Fresh Crunch Food founder Matt Bressan, a vendor at the Falls Church market since 2009, took a different approach. In response to the initial suspension, Bressan, who has not registered for the new market, launched “Community Crunch,” a meal delivery service that brings food to your door with minimal contact — according to his website, “You don’t even have to open the door.” The program supports other vendors in the area by purchasing their products for use as meal ingredients. More information on Community Crunch is available at freshcrunchfood.com. With 17 registered vendors as of press time, Falls Church’s market will be back in action this Saturday, from 8 a.m. – noon, in front of City Hall. Information on pre-ordering is available at www.fallschurchva. gov/547/Farmers-Market-To-Go.
WHAT VIRUS? As us two-legged creatures stay holed up in our homes even more so after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s order to avoid leaving the house came out Monday, these deer lounging on some backyard grass couldn’t have a care in the world.
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
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APRIL 2 – 8, 2020 | PAGE 19
3 F.C. Restaurants Give Back While Getting Battered by the Pandemic by Matt Delaney
Falls Church News-Press
Restaurants throughout the country have been gutted by the coronavirus pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped empathetic owners in the Falls Church area from crafting new ways to bring their food to the people — and just maybe make a little money in the process. The hospitality industry as a whole has been brutalized by the protective measures taken due to the onset of the novel coronavirus. The virus’ high transmissibility has caused government officials to shut down dine-in operations and sternly advise social distancing guidelines where everyone should stay at least six feet apart. The National Restaurant Association reports the industry has lost more than 3 million jobs and $25 billion in sales since March 1 and around 50 percent of restaurant operators think they will have to lay off more people in April. It’s left many restaurants with their heads in the lunette of a guillotine, pushing owners to either close down, let go of some staff or both. However some Falls Church area establishments haven’t wilted yet, and are maneuvering through the crisis by bringing their dishes to those who need them most. Spin Pollo off Arlington Boulevard is one that is shifting its business to focus on food deliveries to health care workers in the area. After a family member shared the idea to owner Germán Andrade, he began setting up the “Buy Our Heroes Lunch” program just last Wednesday, where visitors can donate $9 to cover a meal for a nearby nurse, doctor or aide and Spin Pollo will deliver it for free. Since kick-starting this effort, he’s already delivered 60 meals to the INOVA Women’s and
Children’s Clinic along Route 50 as well taken food to HealthQare Associates in Arlington and Davitas Diálisis clinic in Tysons Corner. Andrade is taking the staples from his Peruvian chicken restaurant to the front line workers. That includes bringing pans of rice, french fries and 15 birds to INOVA’s clinic last week. Spin Pollo even provides plates and flatware so the workers can serve themselves as much as they want. In total, the restaurant has delivered 128 lunches and has orders for 90 more that will be distributed this week. Places on its list include INOVA’s Fairfax Hospital, the Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Alexandria, the Tu Family Medical and Vision Clinic in Falls Church and the Virginia Hospital Center office in Arlington. One nurse shed a couple of tears when Spin Pollo made their drop off at Kaiser, Andrade said. Andrade believes it’s essential to feeding the people who are helping those affected by coronavirus, but it’s also a good way for his business to avoid the red. “The other reason we’re doing this obviously is to keep our doors open and keep our employees afloat,” Andrade said. “We have a lot of people with families and they can’t afford to be unemployed. I’m not taking any salary during all this crisis, but mostly I don’t want to fire or lay off anybody and I haven’t done that.” Another Falls Church restaurant, Mark’s Pub, is turning its attention toward those who have lost their regular meals due to the school’s closing down. The restaurant and bar tucked away in the Idylwood Plaza just off Leesburg Pike gave 250 meals to the Falls Church Presybeterian Church on Wednesday night, said owner Lisa Cedrone. The church
C i t y o f Fa l l s C h u r c h
CRIME REPORT Week of March 23 – 29, 2020 Drug / Narcotic Offence, 6700 blk Wilson Blvd, March 23 9:18 PM, a female, 19, of Vienna, VA, was issued a summons for possession of marijuana.
Trespassing, 300 blk W Broad St, March 26 7:19 AM, a male, 49, no fixed address, was issued a summons for trespassing after being forbidden. Fraud, 300 blk Chestnut St, between March 24 and March
will now distribute those meals to children who would’ve normally been fed at area schools if they were open. Cedrone said that she was always most interested in finding a way to help out kids during the pandemic, so she’s preparing a hot, kid-friendly meal for the church — a sandwich to go with a choice of chili, chicken noodle soup or tomato bacon bisque as well as a granola bar as a snack. With everything going on, she added, she wanted to put her kitchen to good use for something positive. “We should be cooking in there and utilizing that space for something good,” Cedrone said, while adding that she’d love to continue to do this for other places as long as it makes sense money-wise. “We have to figure it out financially. We’re paying for food for 250 people out of our own pocket. We’re happy to keep going, we just gotta figure out how to keep going and get it out there.” One event that was pre-planned but carried on despite the virus was the Original Pancake House’s fundraiser for the Falls Church Education Foundation. Taking place last Thursday, this would’ve been the eighth year the two teamed up to help support Falls Church City schools by donating a 15 percent of all dine-in sales, but since owner Jeff Bulman had to convert his restaurant to carry-out and deliveryonly, the change in format also meant a change in who would be helped by the philanthropic effort. Foundation president Debbie Hiscott said that money raised this year would go toward the Family Assistance Fund, as opposed to the foundation’s general fund, in order to help those families most dramatically impacted by Covid-19. Bulman said that he added an
27, unknown suspect(s) obtained money through fraudulent means. Larceny from Building, 400 blk Lincoln Ave, between March 27 10 PM and March 28 10 AM, unknown suspect(s) took items of value. Assault / Damage to Property, 300 blk Gundry Dr, March 21 7:30 PM, a known male suspect damaged property and assaulted other residents.
FALLS CHURCH’S SPIN POLLO has been cranking out loads of rice, fries and rotisserie chicken to meet the growing demand of deliveries for health care workers, a program the restaurant began organizing last week. (Photo: Courtesy German Andrade/Spin Pollo) extra cook to his skeletal crew to make sure it could meet demand for orders that were picked up either at the restaurant or delivered through GrubHub or DoorDash. By the end of the day, the pancake house brought in $1,270 and cut a check for $190 to FCEF, which is less than half of the usual $300 – $400 it can normally contribute. Still, Hiscott was happy that Bulman and the staff were able to help pull off what turned into an unusual event and give to local families. “We’re so thankful that our businesses are continuing to support our families in need while they’re concerned about keeping
their own business open,” Hiscott said. “They’re thinking about others, which is incredible.” Those interested in donating to Spin Pollo’s “Buy Our Heroes Lunch” program can do so at its website. On Friday, the Original Pancake House is hosting a dineout day for the ARC of Northern Virginia, a nonprofit that supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and on April 7, the restaurant is also doing a dine-out day for Homestretch, a nonprofit that supports homeless families. Mark’s Pub is open to supporting any community-based efforts that assist people during the pandemic.
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