Falls Church News-Press July 10

Index

Falls Church’s own freshman U.S. Senator Jim Webb (D-Va.) reminded a standingroom-only crowd crammed into a Northwest Washington bookstore Tuesday that he was “primarily a writer” before the Katrina disaster of September 2005 stirred him to run for public office.

Webb was on hand to sign copies of his new book, “A Time to Fight: Reclaiming a Fair and Just America,” at the Politics and Prose Bookstore on upper Connecticut Avenue, and to answer a half-hour of questions, including why he

ruled himself out as a prospective Democratic vice-presidential candidate in a Monday announcement.

Unlike perhaps some high profile figures, “I write my own books,” Webb noted, citing his nine previously-published works, including his best seller, “Fields of Fire,” about the Vietnam war. “I have been in office for 18 months now, and I still don’t have a speechwriter.”

Shortly after being sworn in to give Democrats the majority in the Senate in January 2007, Sen. Webb was invited to give the Democratic response to President Bush’s State of the Union message, generally

regarded as one of the most concise and illustrative digests of the fundamental issues that separate Democrats from Republicans.

Webb said he was approached by his publisher with an idea to write a book expanding on the themes in his nationally-televised Democratic response.

Expecting he’d have plenty of time to do it, despite serving as a U.S. Senator, Webb readily agreed. But then seven months went by and he found that, despite his ease with writing, he hadn’t penned a word.

Faced with a deadline to get Continued on Page 4

The Akridge Company, the highly-regarded Washington, D.C., development company, came to City Hall in Falls Church this week confirming its eagerness to build a large, mixed-use project in the teeth of the current housing downturn, and cautiously optimistic that it can sell 150 condominiums.

But for now, Akridge representatives told a joint work session of the Falls Church City Council and Planning Commission they remain unsure whether the residential units would be sold or rented.

Akridge’s Mike Gill and Joe Svatos noted that the proximity to the East Falls Church Metro station of their so-called “Gateway” project, right on the Falls Church City side of the border with Arlington on N. Washington St., could make it a winner for condo sales in a market where condos, generally, are still not moving.

The project was first presented to the City two summers ago, and went through some significant revisions before awaiting its turn to come to bat before City officials following their lengthy review and decisionmaking efforts on the Atlantic Realty City Center project and the Jefferson One Hilton Garden Inn. Among the modifications, the height of three predominantly residential buildings was lowered from seven to five levels, to accommodate neighborhoods behind the site, and the proportion of space dedicated to commercial and retail drew to 31%. The total number of Continued on Page 5

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July 10 - 16, 2008

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City of Falls Church residents should take heart from the fact that, in this gloomy, almost panicky economic climate, a major developer has come to City Hall wanting to build something big. The highly accomplished and respected Akridge Company came back to a joint City Council and Planning Commission work session Monday (see story, Page 1 of this edition) still eager to push ahead with its largescale mixed use project known as “Gateway” on North Washington Street, right against the city’s border with Arlington.

Akridge, which has a decade-long history in Falls Church pursuing a variety of development options, first presented its project for 154 residential units, an office building and street-level retail two years ago.

It downsized its original plans in response to concerns from residential neighborhoods behind the proposed project, and then waited patiently as City Hall focused on getting approvals for Atlantic Realty’s $317 million City Center plan and Jefferson One’s Hilton Garden Inn. Given the economic and housing climate now, it is very significant that Akridge still wants to push ahead. It suggests that smart minds in the development business are recognizing that a location like Falls Church will be among the first opportunities for a real estate rebound. Unlike others perhaps oblivious to geography, they’ve figured out that the still-unfolding recession and housing meltdown are very uneven in how they are playing out, in terms both of ferocity and timing. There are some healthy signs around Falls Church, for example, that people are looking for housing bargains here, knowing that prices are already way below where they may go, especially for any location in proximity to mass transit.

Nervous about the financial, commodities and overseas markets, some are already beginning to think that carefully-selected real estate can be a solid and rewarding place to invest their money.

Real estate decisions cannot be based on bargain hunting alone, because there are some regions where matters are only going to get worse and there will be no rebound. In some outlying areas, high gas prices and imploding real estate values will create ghost towns, and $10 will never earn you $20 in places like that.

Therefore, the news that Akridge still wants to build in Falls Church should be encouraging to everyone around here. Right now, the Akridge folk are being frank, saying they can’t yet say for sure whether the residential units they want to build will be for-sale condominiums or rentals. Again, that can be interpreted in one of two ways. Either it’s because the housing market is still way too fragile, or maybe it’s because Akridge is sensing a favorable shift in the winds. Long and short, if any type of housing can sell in this market, it would be smaller condos within walking distance of a Metro station. The fact they’re keeping the condo option open is again a hopeful sign.

The Falls Church News-Press is published weekly on Thursdays and is distributed free of charge throughout the City of Falls Church and the Greater Falls Church area. Offices are at 450 W. Broad Street #321, Falls Church, VA 22046. Reproduction of this publication in whole or part is prohibited except with the written permission of the publisher. ©2008 Benton Communications Inc. The News-Press is printed on recycled paper.

Editor, David Brooks’ editorial in the June 26 edition of the NewsPress regarding the Iraq war refers to President Bush as having “made a hash of the first five years of the war”...and then goes on to say Bush finally got it right with the “troop surge” decision suggesting that the decision was some stroke of genius that may yet serve to vindicate his performance during the first five years of this folly.

“Making a hash” of it is mild euphemism indeed. Those who are concerned enough to keep track understand that the Bush

team of nation-builders are on their way to burning their way through nearly a trillion dollars of borrowed money; have stretched the U.S. military to the breaking point; destroyed thousands of lives; tarnished U.S. credibility beyond measure; and all done while trying to improvise a policy and a plan as you go.

Those who have given life and limb deserved much better in terms of analysis, planning and judgment.

By the way, wasn’t General Tommy Franks begging for two or three times as many troops to do the job five years ago, when

he was rebuffed by Rumsfeld and Cheney who were convinced they knew better? How clever of Bush to come up with this “surge” decision five years and miles of irreparable damage later.

Robert L. Chaves Falls Church

Editor, I’ve been reading Mr. Whipple’s “Peak Oil” articles since 2005. I live in the U.S. midwest, and had never heard of the Falls Church News-Press before then. He put you on the map for me and, I suspect, many others all over the world.

In my opinion, Mr. Whipple’s hyper-aware writing and blunt

style could place him within the ranks of any publication he chose. Congrats to the NewsPress, and keep it up. The Tom Whipples of the world are gaining headway and credibility in spades, and the importance of their work will only increase as the truths they’ve been describing for years unfold.

David Keith Via the Internet

Editor, The price of a barrel of oil will be what the people who have the brute power say what the price will be until the rule More Letters on Page 6

July 10 - 16, 2008

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July 10 - 16, 2008

it done by the end of the year, he spent all his vacation time in August, and during the Thanksgiving and December recesses putting his thoughts on paper. He said he finished at 10:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. “To those who listened to my Democratic response, or have been following what I have been doing on the Hill, there should be no big surprises in this book,” he said.

The basic themes are the same as those he developed

when he first decided to run in early 2006. His initial impulse to seek public office came following Hurricane Katrina in September 2005, he said, motivating him to visit with his friend, Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, on the nuts and bolts of running. But he didn’t actually decide for almost six months.

“I vowed from Day One of running that I would not change what I believe for a dollar or a vote,” Webb said.

“I was gravely concerned that after 9/11, there was no U.S. national strategy to define

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where to go as a nation. It is something that would have prevented the strategic error of invading Iraq. We needed a plan for how to deal with our allies and our adversaries. We needed a way to achieve economic fairness, to reverse the greatest migration of wealth away from the poor and middle class to the most privileged since the days of Teddy Roosevelt. We needed accountability in government.

Finally, we need to address the nation’s terribly high incarceration rate.”

All these themes are addressed in his new book, he said, under the general themes of, “Who we are, what went wrong, and how do we fix it.”

The nation, he added, now faces the “greatest dual challenge since the Depression and World War II.” He cited his own role in getting his G.I. bill passed as an example of how to get things done with good leadership. “I started with one co-sponsor, and in 16 months had 58 co-sponsors in the

Senate and 302 in the House.

Bush, Sen. McCain and others in the Republican leadership did not want this, but we developed a strong bi-partisan support.”

This fall, Webb said, he will “put his teeth” into the development of a “comprehensive energy policy for the U.S.” His G.I. bill achievement, and his focus on energy policy are reasons

why, he said, he feels he can be more effective remaining in the Senate than become a vice presidential candidate.

Although he now has a home in Arlington, closer to Capital Hill, Webb still retains his long-time residence in the Lake Barcroft area of Falls Church, where his children attended J.E.B. Stuart High School.

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residential units remains the same, despite lesser space, by making each unit 230 square feet smaller than originally planned. The office building will be six stories.

But, Svatos pointed out, Akridge doesn’t want to make a decision on condos or rentals before it absolutely has to.

But for the City Council, there is quite a difference, in terms of anticipated tax yield to the City, between a condo or a rental. If the project is condos, then, according the City’s Economic Development chief Rick Goff, the net annual tax yield would be about $619,991. But if they’re all rentals, that number would shrink to $369,665.

The differential is almost equal to a penny on the residential real estate tax rate, but either number is significantly above the $101,499 annually derived from the current three older

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office buildings on the site.

But the question of whether the residential units are condos or rentals is really not up to Akridge, Svatos explained to the News-Press, in comments following the work session.

“There is simply no financing for condos right now,” he said, referring to current policy of the major New York lending institutions. “The condo market is so dead, that there’s not a dime available for it.”

Clearly, Akridge is hoping that mood might begin to change. The fact that the

Westlee, a large condo project right next door to where the “Gateway” will go, is sold out could be a signal.

Just like the “Gateway,” it is the Westlee’s proximity to the East Falls Church Metro that is a big part of its special appeal to its tenants, especially as gas prices top $4 a gallon. The walk to the station is less than five minutes.

Svatos said that the New York lenders have not yet shown any signs of differentiating between locations where new condo projects might

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stand a far better chance of success, even in the current market, and others which are less likely to enjoy an early rebound.

For the time being, they’re only sensitive to the difference between for-sale condos and rentals, he said.

So, while the City Council may decide it wants to “get tough” and insist that Akridge commit to condos on the site, it will not be that simple.

Apparently, the wider real estate market is going to have to move first, then the lenders will move, then the developers, then the local jurisdictions.

In the “Gateway” case, it would be ideal if the developer were able to move first, proving it can move the market (at least in this location), and thus the lenders. But the developer simply can’t move without the lender.

Svatos conceded that if Akridge built rentals at the “Gateway,” converting them to condos in a few years would be “virtually impossible.”

Meanwhile, builders of The Easton, a half-block into Arlington along N. Washington, are beginning construction there after a significant delay when it was determined that project would not fly as condos. It’s been revamped for all rentals, and with approval from Arlington County, is now ready to go.

Following another work session on Aug. 4, the Council will take up the Akridge proposal for a preliminary first reading at its only official business meeting in August, on Aug. 11.

Second reading, or a vote on final approval, will not come before Oct. 27, giving plenty of opportunity for review after Labor Day.

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of law is restored to a high level of integrity and credibility. For the rule of law to be restored ‘We the People’ will have to awaken to our responsibility to return to stop with the predictive punditocracy and return to basic common sense, reason, justice and the ideal of creating the more perfect union. Nowhere is the phenomenon of the “self fulfilling prophecy” more true and applicable than in a free democracy; in other words if a bunch of people decided to buy into a prediction and talk about it will come true. If these people are bunch of power insiders (suppliers of goods, services and propaganda) then there is not a need even for a critical mass. In fact a good part of the article by Whipple is about, “speculative this could happen and that could happen”.

With the advent of the Internet and the swift flow of information, many secrets of insiders have been exposed.

For a while Internet based day traders played on a level playing field with the expert/insiders until the powerful insid-

July 10 - 16, 2008

ers restored their hierarchy of power and when that happened, it was time for the slaughter.

We saw this with the craziness of the stock market bubble.

The people who lost millions were the ordinary players in the “free market” controlled by powerful insiders.

We saw this with the energy market manipulation by Enron, until miraculously they were exposed.

We saw this with the real estate market manipulation by Bear Stearns, until they were exposed.

Now ITM Trading and Blanchard and company are hyping up gold by scaring people about the falling dollar.

We have to realize that if we are getting fat, sick and broke we need to stop consuming; that the simple equation “expenses > income” means big trouble.

That every technical expert that points us one way about solving the energy crisis, you can find two pointing in the exact opposite and vice-versa.

That detailed technical analysis is beyond the grasp of U.S. citizens because they are busy doing two jobs and totally robbed of their time.

That while the energy crisis is real, finding more or finding ways to create the illusion of more is not the solution.

So the real answer would a broad and deep change in the mindsets of ‘We the People’ toward common sense, reason, rule of law, justice and our Constitution.

When this happens there will be a critical mass of people in business and government who are leaders/decision-makers and followers/decision-implementers, to create authentic free and fair markets that are driven by a balance of capital and labor, business and government and innovation and regulation..

John Nerilkaat Via the Internet

Editor, I was living in Bethesda, Maryland, just across the Potomac River from Falls Church when I discovered Tom Whipple’s “Peak Oil” column back in 2005. Having met him and spoken with him at peak oil conferences since then, I’ll say here what I told him in person: Tom Whipple and the Falls Church News-Press deserve the Pulitzer Prize.

Rob C. Via the Internet

July 10 - 16, 2008

F.C. Council Given 3 Options for New City Hall The Falls Church City Council received some sobering news Monday from a team of consultants retained last summer to review options for expanding and upgrading key government facilities, including City Hall, the Police Department, Library and Community Center. The team led by PSA-Dewberry presented three general options to the Council at a work session, each with variables, as the result of almost a year of work. All three would involve completion over 20 years at a cost of from $59 to $75 million. This would be on top of the cost of a projected new school facility at above $30 million. One option would move City Hall and court functions to a new location in the City Center, and keep the police station at the current City Hall location. A second would expand the current City Hall to keep all functions there. A third would move the police headquarters out of City Hall to an off-site location at the property yard. All three involve moving the library to the intersection of Park and Little Falls, and expanding the Community Center at its current location, possibly adding a natatorium, a structurally-separate building containing a swimming pool. Tight quarters, generally, but primarily court security issues at City Hall were considered the main reasons for launching the study. The City Council currently has no specific plans for action on the options.

Obama Speaks in Fairfax Today At a free event at the Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax today, July 10, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama will speak on “Economic Security for America’s Women” at 1:15 p.m. However, while the event is free, all wishing to attend were required to pick up a ticket for entry at one of two Northern Virginia locations by 9 p.m. last night.

No Predatory Tows in F.C. on July 4 Falls Church Assistant Police Chief Mary Gavin told the News-Press Monday that she received no reports of predatory, involuntary tows of vehicles from parking lots despite the usual crush of parking for Falls Church’s annual July 4 fireworks show at George Mason High School. This was in stark contrast to the City’s Memorial Day Parade and Festival, when there were reports of 17 such tows on May 26. She said the Memorial Days tows almost all happened at the Broaddale Shopping Center, just off the parade route, which is managed by a Maryland-based company that has negotiated with area towing companies to implement the policy. Chief Gavin said that Falls Church’s Towing Advisory Board, that includes herself, representatives of the business community and towing companies, was slated to meet this week to review a range of towing issues.

F.C. Police Seek Burglary Suspect Tuesday the Falls Church City Police Department announced it is searching for a burglary suspect, wanted for breaking into a residence in the 700 block of Berry Street.

The incident occurred on Monday, June 30, at 12:35 a.m.

The homeowners were inside the home at the time when they heard noises downstairs, including what sounded like someone typing on a keyboard. One of the homeowners found the suspect hiding behind a chair. The homeowner reported the suspect saying, “Sorry, sorry,” in a foreign accent before exiting through a sliding door. The suspect was last seen Sketch of burlgary suspect running through the backyard of the home. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male in his late teens or early twenties. He is approximately 5 ft., 6 in. tall with an athletic build. He was described as having wavy black hair parted down the middle and a “five o’clock shadow,” wearing a gray or green t-shirt and long pants, carrying black shoes in his hands. Anyone with information is urged to call the F.C. City Police at (703) 241-5053.

News-Press Announces July 31 Real Estate Report The News-Press this week announced plans for its first special Real Estate Section in its July 31 edition that will double as a stand-alone publication available on newsstands through August. “There will be a number of valuable articles on the market in this area,” Editor Nicholas Benton said. “We have indications of a housing rebound, making this publication timely and important.”

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The picture is not a pretty one at Nationals Park and those at home holding the remote control are inclined to agree.

SportsBusiness Journal reported this week that an average of just 9,000 households tune in Nationals games broadcast on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) and sister station MASN2.

That total is the worst in the majors and represents a decline of 43 percent from last season.

The Kansas City Royals own the second-lowest household average, but still draw roughly 19,000 more households than the Nats.

Let that sink in for a second. More than 19,000 people would rather watch the Kansas City Royals — they of the 285453 cumulative record since Opening Day 2004 — than your Washington Nationals. You can spin those figures all you want, but that’s still got to sting if you are Team President Stan Kasten or a member of the Lerner family.

While the TV numbers are shocking, they can be curbed by an average 2008 attendance that places Washington 15th in the Majors with 29,754 a night.

That’s a pretty nice turnout for a team entrenched in last place of the National League East.

Things could, and likely should, improve on the field and when they do, the fickle fans of Washington will watch en masse.

Just look at this past spring when the once woefully attended Capitals become one of the toughest tickets in town. But given the Nats’ current predicaments — the worst record in baseball on July 7, with the league’s worst run differential and fewest runs scored — there is a lot of work ahead that will require a critical eye rather than rose-colored glasses.

For starters, the Nats shouldn’t be too quick to seize on those attendance numbers as a silver lining. When the Pittsburgh Pirates — the dictionary definition of a struggling franchise — opened their new PNC Park in 2001, they ranked 17th in attendance. By 2003 the Pirates had plummeted back into the bottom five in that category, undoubtedly because of continued struggles on the field. Washington will need to address its own struggles, and soon, if it wants to extend its own new home park honeymoon.

For the past two years, this core group of veterans has proven little except that it has a propensity for injury. Aside from Ryan Zimmerman, Lastings Milledge and Elijah Dukes, I don’t know if anyone should be a lock to

July 10 - 16, 2008

return next season. I would add Jon Rauch to the list, but he may be more valuable as trade bait given the inflated value of highend bullpen help at the July 31 deadline.

With ample openings, the second-half should be an open audition for those minor leaguers closest to The Show, like outfielder Kory Casto and pitchers Garret Mock, Tyler Clippard and Zechry Zinicola.

But some of the most promising draft picks have not yet panned out in the minors. Ross Detwiler (5.87 ERA with the Class A Potomac Nationals) and Chris Marrero (a .250 batting average, albeit with 11 HR before getting injured with Potomac) have been considered among the cornerstones of the rebuilding process but have not risen as rapidly as expected. It’s far too early to label their development disappointing, but it feels like the Nats’ bright future, built around their recent high draft picks, is further off than first thought.

The MASN mess must also be addressed. The team needs to work with the network to further the station’s pathetic coverage of the team. Aside from a half-hour pre-game and post-game show that straddles the game broadcast, there is no Nats-centric programming on the network.

Meanwhile, the Yankees’ YES Network is re-airing classic games, interviewing past players and debating which of Jason Giambi’s mustache hairs demonstrates the most personality.

MASN fills its schedule by broadcasting ESPNEWS, which viewers can already see on — you’ll never guess — ESPNEWS. They also broadcast radio shows by Anita Marks and John Riggins.

Using TV to air radio shows, there’s gripping action for you.

Last but not least, while attendance at the new stadium is OK given the team’s record, it needs to improve. The empty seats in the ridiculously expensive area behind home plate are absolutely embarrassing. If the seats aren’t selling, they should be made available the day before a game to summer camps, Little Leagues or inner city youth programs, giving an up-close-and-personal experience to kids that otherwise can’t afford it. Who knows? Maybe the ticket generosity will be returned upon the Nats when these kids, excited by the opportunity to see big leaguers without the use of binoculars, actually tune in to see the Nats on TV.  Mike Hume may be emailed at mhume@fcnp.com.

Following a recent slide where the Falls Church Colts fell to a season low .500, the 18-under AAU team has found their stride, pounding out timely hits and playing solid defense.

The summer team took three wins last week to bump their record to 8-5-1.

In a complete turn-around from the last week, when the Colts suffered a combined 24 errors and gave up 38 runs in three contests, the Falls Church team allowed nine runs and botched just five balls in as many games.

The Colts broke the losing streak last Tuesday against the Headfirst Gamers, eking out a 5-4 victory at home.

Falls Church surged ahead quickly, with three runs in the bottom of the first inning.

However, the Headfirst pitchers settled down, scattering six hits over six innings.

In the fourth, the Colts scored the go-ahead runs.

Quinn Casteel singled and Kyle Barrand reached on an error.

Casteel was thrown out by Brian Lubnow, but clutch hitting by Andrew Lieber put Falls Church in the lead for good as the rising senior at George Mason doubled in two runners.

On the defensive end, Casteel ran into some trouble in the second inning when the Gamers tagged the rising junior with four straight singles and four stolen bases, scoring three runs.

Zach Glenn then stepped onto the bump, hurling two innings of one-hit ball before giving way to Jake Bennett. Bennett closed out the game with three innings, allowing one run on two hits.

Last Saturday, the Colts stayed hot with a doubleheader sweep over the DC Dynasty behind an offensive outburst by Lieber and stellar pitching by the entire Falls Church staff.

In the first contest, George Mason junior Tyler Roth pitched a complete game, allowing only two hits and two unearned runs in an 107-pitch outing, his best of the summer. Both Dynasty runs were scored in the sixth inning off a two-out error, while the righty Roth went on to strike out four batters on the afternoon.

The Colts plated five runners in the third inning and never looked back. The frame was led off by Stephen Lubnow’s single.

Lubnow was promptly driven in by Mike Wolfe. Mike Ward then doubled to drive in Wolfe before Lieber doubled to plate both Ward and Brian Lubnow.

Falls Church buffered their lead in the sixth when Lieber doubled and scored on a single

by P.J. Anderson. Anderson, Lieber and Ward had two hits each on the day to hand their squad a 6-2 victory.

In the latter contest of the doubleheader, the right side of the infield for the Colts single-handedly bombarded the Dynasty pitching. First baseman Lieber and second baseman Ward combined for seven hits

and 11 runs batted in, with Ward driving in four runs. Lieber, a second-team All-District first basemen for George Mason in the spring, is the Colts’ current leader with a .545 batting average, .643 base percentage, 18 hits, 8 doubles and 22 RBIs. While the top of the lineup accounted for driving in most of the runs, it was the bottom two hitters in the Colts’ order who got on base, aiding the efficient production of Ward and Lieber.

Mike Wolfe and Ben Taylor, the nine and 10 hitters for Falls Church, scored a combined six runs, while Wolfe went a perfect three-for-three with two RBIs. In every inning of the powerful 17-3 slaughter-run win, the Colts scored at least four runs.

On the defensive side, Brian Lubnow went three innings, giving up two unearned runs on three hits before Barrand came in to shut down the Dynasty in the fourth inning.

Falls Church looked to continue their hot streak at the plate on Tuesday, but results were not available at press time. They will play a doubleheader this Saturday at George Mason High School beginning at 10 a.m.

The recent offensive outburst is nothing new for the Colts, who have consistently put up impressive offensive statistics throughout the season. In a contrast to the George Mason High School varsity team, the feeder team for the Colts, which at one point was hitting below .200, the Colts are hitting .333 as a squad with a .455 on-base percentage.

July 10 - 16, 2008

Despite defeat, Falls Church’s (F.C.) All-Star teams finished the season with strong performances from their players, new and experienced alike. Here is a round-up of the All-Star Finals: 9 - 10-Year-Old All-Stars McLean 10 — Falls Church 1: Robert Guenther threw three strikeouts, throwing to Jamie Handley for an out at first base.

With strong defensive play contributed by Noah Anderson, Casey Lauer and Johnny Peterson, F.C. held McLean at three runs early in the game.

Peterson performed strongly as relief pitcher, with heads-up play by Nathaniel Scheinman at shortstop, a fly ball caught by Kiran Menon in right field, and a great throw by Marsden Davis at catcher to Thomas Beddow at second base.

While F.C. couldn’t catch a break, McLean scored six more runs in the next two innings. In the fifth inning, F.C. got on the board when Jamie Handley’s line drive to center field drove in Jake Deeley.

Tuesday, July 1 Alexandria 21 — Falls Church 5: With a good start, Johnny Peterson pitched two strikeouts, and Robert Guenther

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made a catch at second base.

Great hits by Noah Anderson, Jamie Handley and Josh Rankin loaded the bases. Peterson nailed a three-RBI grounder up the left field foul line, taking third base.

In the second inning, Alexandria’s offense generated runs, taking a 9-5 lead by the third inning. Guenther made two outs in the third, but F.C. defense could not contain Alexandria, which scored five more runs in the third and seven in the fourth.

Thursday, July 3 Reston 11 — Falls Church 1: Pitcher Casey Lauer started the game, holding Reston to two runs.

Lauer snagged a bunt, making an out at first base. Johnny Peterson and Noah Anderson caught fly balls at third and second for the last two outs.

In the second inning, Lauer’s single drove in Jake Deeley, who was pinch running for Johnny Peterson after his double to left field. It was F.C.’s only run of the game.

F.C.’s defense stayed strong in the second, with a strikeout by Jamie Handley, and Nathaniel Scheinman caught a pop-up at third. As a duo, catcher Marsden Davis and pitcher Scheinman tagged runners at home.

Despite strong pitching by Thomas Beddow in the fourth, F.C. fell after four innings.

11 - 12-Year-Old All-Stars McLean 12 — Falls Church 9: Richard Marsh started with a walk, followed by Matthew Ledder’s single, sending Marsh to third and Ledder to second.

Marsh scored, and Ledder went to third on a passed ball.

Another walk put runners on first and third with nobody out.

McLean threw the runner out at second, with Ledder scoring.

Alex Handley held McLean scoreless in the first inning and doubled himself in the second.

Pinch runner Maggie Goldsmith took full advantage, scoring on a passed ball. McLean surged at the bottom of the second, narrowing the score to 3-2.

F.C. responded in the top of the third with a walk to Ledder and Tyler Waters’ triple to score Ledder. Lucas Cherry followed with a home run.

McLean scored in the bottom of the third on a single, two passed balls and a ground out. A groundball up the middle was tipped by Handley between short stop and third. Marsh’s strong throw limited McLean’s scoring opportunities.

McLean responded with four runs in the bottom of the fourth on a home run, two singles, an error and a double to lead 76. Goldsmith prevented further damage with a diving catch on a short fly ball.

F.C. loaded the bases in the top of the fifth inning with two outs. Vincent Kanyan’s single put Falls Church back on top at 8-7.

Two walks led to a minor threat in the top of the sixth, but Mike Goldsmith’s F.C. squad was only able to score one more run, with McLean holding out for the win.

10 - 11-Year-Old All-Stars Falls Church 7 — Vienna 4: Before a record crowd at

Westgate Park, F.C. scored a win over Vienna, who had eviscerated F.C. 33-2 in a previous game. F.C. pitcher Ryan Leonard turned in five innings, limiting the Vienna team to four runs.

As Vienna struggled to rally in its final at-bat, F.C.’s ace reliever Daniel Schlitt turned out the lights, with strong play by second baseman Daniel Butler.

F.C. turned on the heat in the third when Leonard led with a single, Sam Selby was hit by a pitch and Chris Meador walked, bringing up the powerful Evans with the bases loaded. Evans blasted a low line drive to the fence.

Before Vienna reacted, three runs had scored, with Evans moving to third. Butler proceeded to lay down a perfect bunt, scoring Evans from third with the game at 5-1.

F.C. was able to add two runs in the fourth making it 7-1. A combination of F.C. errors and hits by Vienna pushed the game to 7-3 through four innings. Vienna would go quietly in the fifth, Leonard’s last inning of work, as the indefatigable hurler induced Vienna into two pop-ups and a third out on a fly to right, where Nate Jones snagged the ball.

F.C. threatened again in the sixth, when Evans ripped another double, but Vienna made a nice play to nail Selby. Reliever Schlitt retired the side. After one strike out, Vienna made it 7-4, with an RBI ground out to second baseman Butler.

Monday, July 7 McLean 13 — Falls Church 10: The confidence from the win against Vienna was shaken when the McLean team built up a 13-3 lead through three and a half innings, battering F.C. with sharp singles, infield hits and a three-run home run.

F.C.’s first run came on an

RBI single by Patrick Evans in the first inning.

In the second, Ben Torpey rapped a hard single and took second on a McLean throwing error.

As the home team entered the bottom of the fourth inning, they were faced with a dire situation: If they did not score a run, the game would be over. The F.C. boys made their run after two outs.

With star Ryan Leonard at the plate, the McLean pitcher worked the count to 0-2 with defeat looming. But Leonard ripped a double.

Leonard was followed by center fielder Sam Selby, who blasted a line drive double to the fence in center, scoring Leonard.

With momentum shifting toward F.C., McLean’s pitcher walked Christopher Meador. A new pitcher for McLean decided to try out his curve ball on the F.C.’s slugger Evans. On the third curve ball, Evans blasted the ball well over the left-centerfield fence, making the score 13-7.

Reliever Daniel Schlitt held off McLean for the rest of the game, aided by Daniel Butler, Leonard and Evans, who threw out a McLean runner on a bunt play. Over his relief stint, Schlitt struck out three and allowed no runs.

In the bottom of the fifth, F.C. made it 13-9 on a two-run home run led by Nate Thatcher.

After a walk to Selby in the sixth, McLean retired the next two batters. Butler’s single, however, kept the home team’s chances alive. Selby scored on an ill-advised pickoff attempt on Butler at first, bringing the score to 13-10.

F.C.’s comeback ended there, as the McLean shortstop went deep into the hole to make a fine stop on a sharply hit ball, then turned quickly to rifle a terrific throw that nailed the hustling F.C. batter, closing another exciting game.

Page 10

July 10 - 16, 2008

From the gun clubs of Northern Virginia to the sports bars of Capitol Hill -- wherever D.C.-area Republicans gather -- you hear the question: “Where’s Murphy?”

“Murphy” is Mike Murphy, the GOP strategist who masterminded John McCain’s 2000 primary race against George Bush, helping McCain come close to pulling off an amazing upset. Murphy was then chief strategist for Mitt Romney’s successful Massachusetts governor run in 2002.

M u r p h y remained close to both men, and as a result sat out the GOP nominating contest this past year, not wishing to work against either of them.

It was widely assumed, though, that if either McCain or Romney won the nomination, the winner would bring Murphy on board for the general election. So far it hasn’t happened. I believe it soon will.

I hasten to disclose that Murphy is a friend. I should also disclose that when I called to say I had heard he might well be signing on with McCain, he went Sergeant Schultz on me, saying nothing.

But here’s what I gather from acquaintances and sources in and around the McCain campaign.

McCain is frustrated. He thinks he can beat Obama (politicians are pretty confident in their own abilities). But he isn’t convinced his campaign can beat Obama’s campaign. He knows that his three-month general election head start was largely frittered away. He understands that his campaign has failed to develop an overarching message.

Above all, McCain is painfully aware that he is being diminished by his own campaign.

This last point is galling. McCain has been a major figure in American public life for quite a while.

And yet his campaign has made him seem somehow smaller. Obama is a first-term senator with no legislative achievements to speak of. His campaign has helped him seem bigger, more presidential.

Even Obama’s adjustments for the general election -- his flip-flops -- have served in an odd way to enhance his stature. Some of them suggest, after all, that he is at least trying to think seriously about what he would do if he were actually president. So Obama has achieved the important feat, as the campaign has moved on, of seeming an increasingly plausible president. McCain seems a less plausible president today than he did when he clinched the nomination.

So McCain decided it was time for a cam-

paign shake-up. Last week he moved the lobbyist Rick Davis aside. He seemed to put Bush-Rove alum Steve Schmidt more or less in charge. But the full plan, as I understand it, was -- and is -to have Schmidt, a good operative and tactician, take over day-to-day operations at headquarters, while bringing Murphy on both to travel with McCain and as chief strategist.

But McCain hesitated to carry out both steps of the plan at once, worried about an overload of turmoil.

And Murphy’s arrival would mean a fair amount of turmoil. The current McCain campaign is chock full of GOP establishment types, many of whom aren’t great fans of the irreverent Murphy. Murphy’s also made no secret of his low opinion of the Bush-Rove political machine that has produced many of these operatives. And Murphy hasn’t made his possible entry into the campaign smoother by telling a New York Times reporter the other day that “the depressingly self-absorbed McCain campaign machine needs to get out of the way” of its candidate.

Still, Jeb Bush -- whose winning Florida gubernatorial campaigns Murphy guided -- was with McCain in Mexico City last week. I’m told he argued that the time to bring on Murphy is now.

McCain didn’t disagree. And so I expect that in the next couple of weeks we’ll learn that Murphy is coming on board as chief strategist, with Schmidt running operations at the headquarters. This would be a structure very much like the Obama campaign, led by the combination of strategist David Axelrod and campaign manager David Plouffe.

Why Murphy? As observers of the 2000 effort know, he has a deep rapport with McCain -- including an ability to tell him when he’s made a mistake.

He’s a creative campaign tactician and an imaginative ad maker -- but his great skill has always been an ability to find a clear theme for his candidates, as he did for McCain in 2000, who ran then as a conservative reformer and champion of national greatness.

The McCain campaign this year desperately needs a message and a narrative that is both appropriate for the candidate and for the times.

Thinking such a complex challenge through, and executing it, is Murphy’s strength. And he’s run victorious statewide campaigns in states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa -- where it’s not enough simply to mobilize the Republican base.

With Murphy in charge, McCain will have the campaign team he wants. Then all they’ll have to do is come from behind to win against a superior organization, more money, a gifted candidate and a Democratic-tilting electorate. Oh well: no challenge, no glory.

In one of the numbers from “Fiddler on the Roof,” Tevye sings, with a mixture of emotions: “We haven’t got the man ... we had when we began.”

Back in January when Sen. Barack Obama pulled off his stunning win in the Iowa caucuses, and people were lining up in the cold and snow for hours just to get a glimpse of him, there was a wide and growing belief - encouraged to the max by the candidate -- that something new in American politics had arrived.

His brilliant, nationally televised victory speech in Des Moines sent a shiver of hope through much of the electorate. “The time has come for a president who will be honest about the choices and the challenges we face,” said Obama, “who will listen to you and learn from you, even when we disagree, who won’t just tell you what you want

to hear, but what you need to know.”

Only an idiot would think or hope that a politician going through the crucible of a presidential campaign could hold fast to every position, steer clear of the stumbling blocks of nuance and never make a mistake. But Barack Obama went out of his way to create the impression that he was a new kind of political leader -- more honest, less cynical and less relentlessly calculating than most.

You would be able to listen to him without worrying about what the meaning of “is” is.

This is why so many of Obama’s strongest supporters are uneasy, upset, dismayed and even angry at the candidate who is now emerging in the bright light of summer.

One issue or another might not have made much difference. Tacking toward the center in a general election is as common as kissing babies in a campaign, and lord knows the Democrats need to expand their coalition.

But Obama is not just tacking gently toward the center. He’s lurching right when it suits him, Continued on Page 34

By huge margins, Americans think the economy is in lousy shape — and they blame President Bush. This fact, more than anything else, makes it hard to see how the Democrats can lose this election.

But is the public right to be so disgusted with Bush’s economic leadership? Not exactly. We really do have a lousy economy, a fact of which Bush seems spectacularly unaware. But that’s not the same thing as saying that the bad economy is Bush’s fault.

On the other hand, there’s a certain rough justice in the public’s attitude. Other politicians besides Bush share the blame for the mess we’re in — but most of them are Republicans.

First things first: pay no attention to apologists who try to defend the Bush economic record. Since 2001, economic conditions have alternated between so-so and outright bad: a recession, followed by one of the weakest expansions since World War II, and then by a renewed job slump that isn’t officially a recession yet, but certainly feels like one.

Overall, Bush will be lucky to leave office with a net gain of 5 million jobs, far short of the number needed to keep up with population growth. For comparison, Bill Clinton presided over an economy that added 22 million jobs.

And what does Bush have to say about this dismal record? “I think when people take a look back at this moment in our economic history, they’ll recognize tax cuts work.” Clueless to the end.

Yet even liberal economists have a hard time arguing that Bush’s cluelessness actually caused the poor economic performance on his watch. Tax cuts didn’t work, but they didn’t create the Bush bust. So what did?

At the top of my list of causes for the lousy economy are three factors: the housing bubble and its aftermath, rising health care costs and soaring raw materials prices. I’ve written a lot about housing, so today let’s talk about the others.

Most public discussion of health care focuses on the problems of the uninsured and underinsured. But insurance premiums are also a major business expense: auto makers famously spend more on health care than they do on steel.

One of the underemphasized keys to the Clinton boom, I’d argue, was the way the cost disease of health care went into remission between 1993 and 2000. For a while, the spread of managed care put a lid on premiums, encouraging companies to expand their work forces.

But premiums surged again after 2000, imposing huge new burdens on business. It’s a good bet that this played an important role in weak job creation.

What about raw materials prices? During the Clinton years basic commodities stayed cheap by historical standards. Since then, however, food and energy prices have exploded, directly lopping about 5 percent off the typical American family’s real income, and raising business costs throughout the economy.

Much of this pain could have been avoided.

If Bill Clinton’s attempt to reform health care had succeeded, the U.S. economy would be in much better shape today. But the attempt failed -- and let’s remember why. Yes, the Clinton administration botched the politics. But it was Republicans in Congress who blocked reform, as Newt Gingrich pursued a strategy of “coagulation” designed to “clot everyone away” from Clinton.

As for high food and fuel prices, they’re mainly the result of growing demand from China and other emerging economies. But oil prices wouldn’t be as high as they are, and the United States would have been much less vulnerable to the current price spike, if we had taken steps in the past to limit our oil consumption.

Bush certainly deserves some blame here, and not just for his destructive embrace of ethanol as the answer to our energy problems. After Sept. 11 he could easily have called for higher gas taxes and fuel efficiency standards as a national security measure, but the thought never seems to have crossed his mind.

Still, in energy as in health care the biggest missed opportunities came 15 or more years ago, when Gingrich and other conservative Republicans in Congress, aided by Democrats with ties to energy-intensive industries, blocked conservation measures.

So here’s the bottom line: Bush deserves some blame for the poor performance of the economy on his watch, but much of the blame lies with other, earlier political figures, who squandered chances for reform. As it happens, however, most though not all of the politicians responsible for our current economic difficulties were Republicans.

And bear in mind that John McCain has gone to great lengths to affirm his support for Republican economic orthodoxy. So he’ll have no reason to complain if, as seems likely, the economy costs him the election.

July 10 - 16, 2008

Crash and burn. That’s what happened to the German hot air ship known as the Hindenburg in 1937, an event that rudely dashed false expectations and shocked the entire civilized world.

Now, the aptly-titled “Hindenburg Omen” is looming over the stock market, portending a similar fate. The omen has an over 90 percent accuracy rate since 1975, appearing on the eve of virtually all market crashes and panics, including the big one in October 1987.

As much as it may sound like it, the “Hindenburg Omen” is not hocus pocus, but based on carefully-scrutinized market trends which belie a more general underlying truth.

Without getting too technical, the phenomenon is characterized by a fundamental instability in the markets, the development of a sort of wobble effect that has almost always resulted in a severe downtown.

It is more of a signal than an omen. Identified by market analysts in the 1970s, it is triggered whenever the daily number of 52 week highs on the New York Stock Exchange and the daily number of 52 week lows are both greater than 2.2 percent of the total NYSE issues traded that day. There are four other technical factors that enter in, but you get the idea: it identifies when the market is exhibiting a behavior that is badly out of sync with itself.

This is only one more indicator of the fact that the U.S. economy is in a tailspin with no end in sight, and routinely toying with a panic.

Early Monday morning, such a panic was beginning to set in on the financial markets after U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson said bluntly in London last week that major U.S. financial institutions “should be allowed to fail.”

Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke sped to the rescue, countering Paulson’s remarks by assuring nervous investors that the Fed will remain poised to intervene with Bear Stearns-style bailouts well into 2009. Another bullet dodged.

We now know, of course, that the Bear Stearns failure could have brought the global economy to its knees virtually overnight.

The fact remains that the overall conditions that created that prospect are far from healed.

Political pressure to bite the bullet and take the approach Paulson advocated continues to grow, however, because the consequence of Fed bailouts is inflation run amok. We are already into the worst of all possible scenarios, akin to the dreaded “stagflation” of the 1970s, with rising inflation and stagnating growth.

But the conditions are different now, and worse. Then, it was perpetuated by inflationary and wage hike pressures. The latter is not a factor this time, only energy resource scarcity, something that will not be relieved for the foreseeable future.

Bubbles naturally arise in situations like this, and many analysts believe that there are dangerous bubbles ready to burst in the areas of oil, food and other commodity prices and so-called BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) investments. The BRIC nations are slowing their growth, they observe, and will leave a lot of investors holding empty bags.

Those pension and other retirement funds heavily invested into oil, helping to inflate the cost and add to misery at the gas pump, are also, in the opinion of many analysts, poised to go up in smoke.

The high price of oil is due to the combination of both supplydemand and speculative factors, not one or the other. There has been a speculative run-up, which may burst, dropping the price precipitously. That will be a short term development that could inflict a lot of pain for pension funds, but will not translate into a significant drop in the price of gasoline at the pump.

That’s because there remains the long-term upward pressure on the price of producing oil. It will still not go away, but continue being driven by the realities of “peak oil,” the fact that extracting a finite amount of oil remaining on the planet will become more and more difficult and costly.

In the 1980s, Federal Reserve Chief Paul Volcker had to vanquish “stagflation” by driving interest rates higher than the inflation rate. It was painful but, some argue, effective. The same approach today, as Bernanke senses, would be downright cataclysmic.

The worst thing about the Hindenburg disaster was that none of the 35 passengers who died were wearing parachutes.  Nicholas Benton may be emailed at nfbenton@fcnp.com

Page 11

WASHINGTON -- The headline on the conservative blog, Townhall, stormed: “Book to Smear First Lady’s Sex Life.”

Radar magazine proclaimed: “On the gossip front, the novel doesn’t disappoint,” adding that its steamy and lurid scenes were “sure to send the White House into a fury.”

MSNBC.com called the sex scenes “too graphic to reprint.”

The cover of this fantasy version of Laura Bush’s life, “American Wife,” is alluring, a woman’s shapely figure in a white gown, with white opera gloves and a diamond ring.

The author is not Anonymous, or Eponymous or Pseudonymous, yet there is the air of a “Primary Colors” stunt about this political roman a clef, which is timed to come out during the Republican convention.

Still, it’s not a salacious tell-all, and words like “smear” and “gossip” are misplaced. It’s a wellresearched book that imagines what lies behind that placid facade of the first lady, a women’s book-club novel by a young woman named Curtis Sittenfeld who has written two best sellers, including “Prep.”

It’s the sort of novel Laura Bush might curl up with in the White House solarium if it were not about Laura Bush. It would be interesting to hear how that lover of fiction feels about being the subject of fiction.

You don’t get any fingerprints from Laura Bush. When you look into her eyes during an interview, you feel as if she is there somewhere, deep inside herself, miles and miles down. But though she is lovely and gracious, the main vibe she gives off is an emphatic: “I am not going to show you anything.”

Once in a while, you’ll read about something she’s said -- like that legendary line she uttered to her future in-laws (“I read, I smoke, and I admire”) -- that makes you realize how intriguing it would be to see the real Laura, with her guard down and outside of the Kabuki-like job of first lady.

But there’s only one vessel that can carry you past Laura’s moat, and that’s fiction. Sittenfeld has creatively applied her crayons to all the ambiguous blanks in the coloring book.

It isn’t an invasion of privacy. Art has always been made out of the stories of kings and queens.

Fictionalizing historical figures is fine. Fantasies about public figures are inevitable. The question of an ostensibly ordinary girl who lives through extraordinary things will always be gripping. For “Madame Bovary,” Flaubert drew on the real-life

story of Delphine Delamare, a village doctor’s unhappy wife who had lots of lovers and a premature and humiliating death.

And the story of the quiet, pretty librarian who could suffer the fate of being an old maid if not rescued by the dashing hero is a favorite American narrative -- from “The Music Man” to “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

During her husband’s presidential runs, many reporters shied away from asking Laura Bush about the freakishly horrible accident she had when she was 17. Hurrying to a party, she ran a stop sign in Midland, Texas, one night on Farm Road 868 and ran into a car that turned out to be driven by the golden boy of her high school, a cute star athlete she was believed to have had a crush on. He died instantly of a broken neck.

As Ann Gerhart wrote in “The Perfect Wife”: “Killing another person was a tragic, shattering error for a girl to make at 17. It was one of those hinges in a life, a moment when destiny shuddered, then lurched in a new direction. In its aftermath, Laura became more cautious and less spontaneous, more inclined to be compassionate.”

Laura has rarely spoken publicly about it, except to say in 2000 that “it was crushing . . . for the family involved and for me as well.”

How could a novelist not be drawn to such a tragedy? It’s easy to imagine all that guilt, shame, conscience, fear, sex and nightmares in the hands of Eudora Welty or Larry McMurtry.

Sittenfeld was not out to sensationalize but sympathize. The portraits of Laura and W. -known as Alice and Charlie Blackwell here -- are trenchant and make you like them more. The Barbara Bush doppelganger, dubbed “Maj,” for Her Majesty, is as tart as ever. “When she turned her attention to me,” Alice says of Maj, “I always felt, and not in a positive way, as if we were the only ones in the room and total vigilance were required.”

In 2004, Sittenfeld wrote a Salon piece confessing that despite her “flaming” liberalism and disdain for W.’s policies, she loved Laura Bush.

She called the first lady “an easy heroine to root for -- smart and nice, but just flawed enough (she still sneaks cigarettes!) to remain likable.”

She identified with Laura’s omnivorous fiction reading.

In the novel, Alice, tormented by the choices her husband has made about the war that she’s stood by, blurts out to a grieving father that she thinks the war should end. In life, we can only wonder how Laura feels.

Page 12

The last few weeks have shown that so-called pro-family organizations are some of the most useless, money-sucking scams in the world.

With real families suffering from economic hardship in America, a declining birthrate in Europe and Google doubling the price of daycare for employees, the only thing right wing family groups want to discuss is their bizarre and all-encompassing fagela fetish.

Recently, The Brooklyn Paper, had a huge headline, “SPLITSVILLE: Brooklyn divorces up 30%.” The article cited a number of reasons including, “when the economy tanks, so do many marriages.”

One would think this would alarm so-called pro-family organizations and they would be out in force repairing marriages.

Unfortunately, as I walked around my Brooklyn neighborhood, I saw not one representative from the American Family Association.

Well, I take that back. I did encounter one of the group’s representatives on CNN Headline News as we debated a Heinz mayonnaise ad in the United Kingdom that featured two men kissing. I’m sure the children of these broken marriages in Brooklyn will feel much better knowing Heinz pulled the ad and they can have gay-free mayo at both mommy and daddy’s separate houses.

A new study by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University showed that in 2006, for the first time in U.S. history, a majority of births to women under 30 – 50.4 percent – were out of wedlock. New York Times columnist Bob Herbert points out that, “By comparison, when John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960, just 6 percent of all births were to unmarried women under 30.

One imagines that this report might have startled “pro-family” organizations and they would have put their millions of dollars towards stopping this trend. No such luck. Instead, they are investing huge piles of money and manpower to pass anti-gay marriage amendments in Florida, Arizona and California. The upshot for “pro-family” groups is that if heterosexuals keep screwing up marriage, by the time gay people finally win the right nationally, we won’t want to use it.

“Evangelicals of the older generation have become obsessed in almost a technical psychological sense in opposing gay rights,” David Weddle, a professor of religion at Colorado College told the Colorado Springs Gazette. “The irony is that homosexuality is not a biblical theme.”

Right wing organizations and their flocks want to be taken seriously, but their priorities and actions are reprehensible. For example, a middle school teacher was fired in Mount Vernon, Ohio last month after preaching in the classroom, refusing to remove his Bible and burning crosses onto the arms of pupils. You read that correctly – he seared crosses on the body parts of impressionable students, as if it were a gang ritual.

Surely, reasonable people can agree that such behavior is inappropriate in the classroom. But, oh no, some of the yahoos in Mount Vernon believe their religion places them above the Constitution - so they are holding demonstrations in the town square. I wonder if these zealots would have the same reaction if a teacher were burning a Star of David or Muslim crescents on the forearms of students?

A New York Times magazine article, “Childless Europe,” explored why certain countries in Europe are losing population. The hopelessly out of touch Pope Benedict chimed in with his typically sunny advice.

“Europe is infected by a strange lack of desire for the future,” the Pontiff said. “Children, our future, are perceived as a threat to the present.”

Instead of selfishness, as the Pope implied, it was the traditional values of the Pope that contributed to the problem. In societies that either offered a safety net or where men shared the burdens of child rearing, women were having more babies. However, when educated women were stuck at home and forced to do all the work they chose to have less children. Will the Pope now call on men to help out more at home or for countries to ensure daycare for families?

Finally, the Wall Street Wonder, Google, plans to raise the amount it charged for in-house day care by 75 percent. Under the revised plan, parents with two children in Google day care could see their yearly bill increase to more than $57,000 from around $33,000.

This crushing blow to the family drove a few employees to tears.

Was the American Family Association in Silicon Valley raising hell and standing up for families? No, they ignored grimacing parents, so they could punish Ronald and Grimace by launching a boycott against McDonalds for supposedly having a gay agenda.

Right wing organizations can be considered many things – but certainly not advocates for the family. They inhale money, exhale anti-gay pollution and have done absolutely nothing for the traditional families they claim to represent. It seems the more such groups proliferate, the more the family deteriorates.

July 10 - 16, 2008

What has been heralded as the most significant upgrade in television since color TV is on the way. The transition from analog to digital television (DTV) is said to represent the most noteworthy advancement of television technology since color TV was introduced. While nearly every new technology we use today has gone digital-- including cell phones, music and radio -- television has been behind the curve. Come February 17, 2009 that will change.

Digital television is promoted as providing crystal clear pictures and CD quality sound; more choices through additional digital side channels – such as all weather or all traffic channels; and the capability of highdefinition broadcasting.

More than 90 percent of fullpower television stations in the U.S. are already broadcasting in digital, but few consumers are aware of it or the February 2009 transition. In an April e-News poll I conducted with constituents, 47 percent said that more needed to be done to make the public aware of the coming transition.

Who needs to get ready? The DTV transition doesn’t directly affect everyone – those who have a digital tuner in their television, or subscribe to cable, satellite or telephone company television service provider need not worry. But those who are impacted are impacted dramatically. You need to take action if you are one of the 19.6 million households that rely exclusively on free, over-the-air broadcasts

made available through a rooftop antenna or “rabbit ears.”

Even if you do subscribe to a television service provider, you may have a television set in your second bedroom or kitchen that is impacted. Overall, the transition will directly impact more than 69 million television sets.

Fortunately, navigating the transition is easy. You have three options 1) purchase a DTV converter box 2) buy a new TV with a built-in digital tuner or 3) subscribe to cable, satellite, or a telephone provided TV service.

I’m going to focus on the first option because it is the cheaper yet newest and therefore least understood of the three options.

Purchasing a DTV converter box will convert the new digital signal into analog for your existing analog television set.

The DTV converter box, sometimes referred to as a set-top box, is an electronic device that makes the new digital signal viewable on an older analog television set. Converter boxes are now available for purchase at most major electronics retailers and cost between $40 and $70. To help cover the cost of the converter box, the fed-

eral government is offering two converter box coupons, valued at $40 each, to eligible households. Each coupon may be used toward the purchase of a single converter box. You will still need an antenna in addition to the converter box to receive a digital signal on analog television sets, (current antennas will work the same as before).

For more information about the converter box coupon program or to apply, you can visit www.

DTV2009.gov or call 1 (888) DTV-2009.

While there is still time to decide how to handle the digital television transition, it’s a good idea to start thinking about which option will work best for you. Eligible consumers are encouraged to apply early for the converter box coupons.

If you choose to purchase a new television set with a digital tuner, take time to learn about available options and features and shop around for the best deal. Leaning toward a subscription to a cable, satellite or telephone company television service? Then spend some time looking into which of these services best suits your viewing needs and fits into your monthly budget.

The digital television transition is coming, and if its proponents are correct, it will mean a better quality television experience for everyone.

Consumers need to be prepared so they don’t lose their free television programming by failing to consider their options in advance.

July 10 - 16, 2008

Page 13

Foreclosure issues continue to dommust be available for purchase followinate the economic forecasts for our ing the fore-closure proceedings, clear region and our nation. The Washington title must be obtained, and the property region, which came to the foreclosure must be free of zoning or building code market more slowly than other regions, violations. The county has strict undersuddenly is a “hot spot” for analysts. A writing criteria for first-time home recent survey of bank executives about buyers who qualify for the program. key issues revealed that a declining econOne Supervisor did advocate using omy, faltering credit markets, stiff comcounty funds to keep people in their

By Penny Gross petition from other financial institutions, foreclosed homes (thereby subsidizing and an uncertain political year are factors bad debts or poor investments), but the contributing to their general discomfort Board did not support that approach. about the financial future. Many of those The Board also authorized direct surveyed believe the financial crisis is purchase of up to 10 foreclosed propnot over, that it will take another six to 12 months erties across the county, which may be abanminimum before an upswing occurs. doned, deteriorated, or otherwise destabilizing There are many opinions about foreclosures, to neighborhoods. No specific homes have been why they happen, what poor decisions were identified; properties would be rehabilitated and made by some homeowners, and the role that sold to first-time homebuyers or non-profit orgafraud plays in the current crisis, but the growing nizations. The overall goal of these expanded proproblem has promoted many local governments, grams is to serve up to 100 families countywide. including Fairfax County, to seek ways to assist For perspective, there are approximately 288,000 both homeowners and potential homebuyers. The single family and townhouse units in Fairfax Board recently took action to expand the hous- County; 2000 properties were in foreclosure in ing assistance available to county residents who March 2008. qualify. First, the Board continued a VirginiaFunding for the programs includes reallocation sponsored initiative to counsel households at risk of modest leftover funds from other housing proof foreclosure. The focus of the counseling will grams; existing project funds for affordable/workbe to connect homeowners with their lenders or force housing; and use of the taxable line of credit other resources through information and referral. available to the Redevelopment and Housing A recent poll indicated that more than half of Authority to purchase up to 10 foreclosed homes. foreclosed homeowners did not even speak with Upon sale of those foreclosed homes to buyers, their lenders about their problem! the line of credit would be repaid immediately.

A second program would help first-time home- More information about housing assistance probuyers purchase a foreclosed home through a grams in Fairfax County is available on-line at Home Equity Loan Program (HELP) second trust. www.fairfaxcounty.gov.

A HELP program for first-time buyers already

exists; now it can apply to foreclosed homes. The  Supervisor Penny Gross may be emailed at top limit for purchase price is $385,000; the home mason@fairfaxcounty.gov

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By the time you read this, Virginia’s 2008 Special Session may have ended. If so, you can skip the next couple of paragraphs.

statewide maintenance funding, rising to $515 million in FY14. Without this funding, all construction funds would be reduced because maintenance requirements

By Jim Scott are taken off the top.

The good news If the measure is is that House passed, it will go Democrats and to the Governor, Senate Democrats who can propose hammered out a compromise that will allow amendments to increase any transportation funding to of the funding. If the Senate advance—if the Republican rejects the measure, it will go majority in the House will to conference committee for allow it to advance. It may compromise discussions.

If those discussions are not allow a funding measure to reach the Governor’s desk if a fruitful, the bill dies. If conat least 15 House Republicans ference committees agree, the measure will then go to the vote for it, The Democrats measure Governor for amendments— would eliminate the gas tax and then back to the House increase from the Senate bill. and Senate for approval.

If one of these alternative Without the revenue from the gas tax the bill would scenarios produces a bill, sevinvolve state enacted regional eral important hurdles will be plans for Northern Virginia overcome, including the critiand Tidewater. The Northern cal funding statewide mainVirginia funding package tenance shortfalls. If not, the would yield approximately transportation funding dis$351 million in FY 2112, ris- cussion will resume in 2009. ing to $376 million in 2014. In With so many Republicans addition, it would remove the signing the pledge not to raise tax on food from the sales tax taxes of any kind, the final dedicated to transportation in resolution may not come until 1986, saving every Virginia after the 2009 elections for family approximately at least Governor and the House of Delegates. $100 annually.

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July 10 - 16, 2008

Resident Wins Piano Concerto Competition

FALLS CHURCH LOCAL and Fox News Correspondent Molly Henneberg, left, is set to tie the knot with U.S. Marine Captain Chris Nagel, right, on July 12 at The Falls Church.

Henneberg and Nagel got engaged in March this year after meeting at a Christmas party through a mutual friend in December 2007. (Photo: Courtesy Eva Synalovski)

Sejoon Park of Falls Church was named the first-prize winner of the Piano Arts 2008 Biennial National Piano Concerto and Solo Competition. Park’s award-winning performance was Beethoven’s Concerto no.

3 in C minor, Opus 37, Allegro con brio, with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra under the direction of PianoArts Music Director Andrews Sill. Park also received a scholarship for the International Keyboard Institute and Festival at Mannes College of Music in New York. Park is a student of Boris Slutsky of the Peabody Conservatory of Music.

18th Century Summer Market Fair The Claude Moore Colonial

Farm (6310 Georgetown Pike, McLean) will hold an 18th century summer market fair that will feature traditional dancing and singing, crafts, a theatre troupe and fortune-telling.

There will be activities for kids.

Traditional foods, beverages and products will be for sale.

For more information, visit www.1771.org.

McLean Rotary Club Installs New Officers Lois Wilson was sworn in as President of the McLean Rotary Club, along with current Vice President and President-elect Paul A. Frank, Secretary William Glenn Yarborough, Treasurer Jamie Bleakley and SergeantAt-Arms Carmen Martinez.

Additionally, Edward J. Shahin was given the Rotarian of the Year Award for his service to the McLean Rotary Club and the World of Rotary, and the Rotary Club of McLean was named both the Large Club of the Year and Club of the Year among all clubs in Rotary International District 7610.

The club received 16 other awards, including the Rotary International President’s Citation.

Calling All Thespians

THE MCLEAN U12 BOYS ALL STAR soccer team poses after winning the Fairfax Police Youth Club’s Father’s Day All-Star Tournament for the second year in a row. (Photo: Courtesy

Robert Boylan)

Prince William Little Theatre will be holding auditions for “On Golden Pond,” directed by Melissa Jo YorkTilley, on July 20 and 21 at 6 p.m. each night. Auditions will be held at Bethel Lutheran Church (8712 Plantation La., Manassas). Actors should pre-

pare a 60 – 90 second monologue and be ready to read cold monologues during the audition. The following characters are needed: one male between the ages of 60 and 80, two males between their late 30s and 40s, one 12 – 13 year-old boy, one 50 – 60 year-old female and one 30 – 40 year-old female. The show will run September 26 - 27, October 3 - 5 and 10 - 12 at Jennie Dean Elementary School (9601 Prince William St., Manassas). For more information, visit www.pwlt. org or email the director at melissayorktilley@yahoo. com.

Local Vietnam Veterans Recognized Chapter 227 of the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) was recently recognized as Chapter of the Year at the Virginia State Council Convention.

Their list of accomplishments includes supporting VVA National, chapter members, veterans and active duty military personnel. Chapter 227 is led by President Bill Dumsik and Vice President Byron Sheldon. For more information on Chapter 227, contact newsletter editor Len Ignatowski at grunt69@gmail.com.

Local Makes Provost’s List Reston resident Tarikua A. Dagnachew, a sophomore at Potomac State College of West Virginia University, was named to the Provost’s List. Dagnachew earned a

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grade point average between 3.7 and 4.0.

College of William and Mary in May with a Bachelor of Arts.

Arlington Free Clinic Hosts 3-on-3 Tournament

Lineup Announced for MPAartfest

The Arlington Free Clinic is holding a 3-on-3 basketball tournament July 29 - 30 at Yorktown HS (5201 N. 28th St., Arlington). The team entry fee is $75, with a maximum of five players per team. The registration deadline is July 21, and spaces are limited. Prizes will be awarded to winning teams. To register or for more information, email Martin Couric at couricjm@gmail. com. For more information on the Arlington Free Clinic, visit www.arlingtonfreeclinic.org.

The second annual MPAartfest, hosted by the McLean Project for the Arts, has selected 40 local artists that will present their work. Artists from the Washington, D.C. area and the mid-Atlantic region – from Delaware to North Carolina – will showcase their work. Of the 40 artists, 16 will be returning from last year’s event.

The event will be Oct. 5 at McLean Central Park (1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean), and more than 3,500 people are expected to attend. For more information and a complete list of artists participating in MPAartfest, visit www.mpaart.org.

Resident Graduates from Dickinson College Hannah Preis Klausner of Arlington graduated from Dickinson College with a Bachelor of Art in Psychology in May. Klausner is the daughter of Cal and Barbara Klausner and is a graduate of The Field School in Washington, D.C. Barnes & Noble to Host Midnight Release Party Barnes & Noble in Tysons Corner (7851 L Tysons Corner Center, McLean) will host a “Breaking Dawn” party on August 1 to celebrate the final book in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga. The book officially goes on sale at midnight.

There will be a number of photo opportunities, themed activities, trivia contests, crafts, dancing and more. Fans of the Twilight Saga are encouraged to come in costume. For more information about the upcoming novel, visit www.bn.com/breakingdawn, and fans may pre-order Breaking Dawn online or at any Barnes & Noble store.

Local Graduates from William and Mary Falls Church resident Zinnia Rocha graduated from the

of Falls Church, and Larisa Mount and Julie Vaselopulos of Arlington.

Veteran Services Agents To Help File Claims Agents of the Virginia

Department of Veteran Services will be throughout Northern Virginia to help veterans file claims for state and federal veteran benefits. Visits are scheduled for the American Legion Post 177 in Fairfax (3939 Oak St.,

Fairfax) and the Pentagon, as well as the permanent offices in Alexandria (5520 Cherokee Ave., Alexandria) and Front Royal (11A Water St., Front Royal). For more information, visit www.virginiaforveterans. com.

Locals Named to Dean’s List at UMW The University of Mary Washington announced that seven local students made Dean’s List by achieving at least a 3.5 grade point average.

Those students were Hanna Ramsey, William Henneberg, Jillian Maier, Lidia VargasClaros and Emily Vorek

THE INTERNS OF FLETCHER PRINCE, a Falls Church-based public relations and advertising firm, held an open house to present their work to their parents and the clients and colleagues of Fletcher Prince. (Photo: Courtesy Mary Fletcher Jones)

MEMBERS OF THE AMANGAMEK-WIPIK LODGE of the Order of the Arrow representing the National Capitol Area Council gather with Smokey the Bear and Woodsie the Owl at the Washington and Jefferson National Parks in southwestern Virginia. Front row, (L to R), Roman Didiomoff, Brian Umberger, Michael Schneeman and Patrick Rooney. Back row, (L to R), Alex Gunnerson and Bobby Kania. Dadiomoff is a resident of Falls Church and a member of Boy Scout Troop 1887. (Photo: Courtesy Robert Didiomoff)

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Vantage Fitness and PNC Bank have partnered to host a blood drive on Tuesday, July 15 from 3 – 8 p.m. The local gym and bank are both located in the Read Building at 402 W. Broad Street in Falls Church. Pre-registration is recommended. To arrange an appointment or learn more contact Marina El-Ghoul, Director of Community Outreach for Vantage Fitness, at 703-241-0565.

The Northern Virginia Tutoring Service, Hughes Financial Solutions and Admissions Consultants are hosting a free seminar for parents of college bound students. “Preparing, Applying and Funding� will be presented on Wednesday, July 16 from 7 -9 p.m. for parents of students who are planning to attend college in the next several years. This workshop will be held at the Falls Church Community Center. Dr. Ralph Perrino (Northern Virginia Tutoring Service), Todd Hughes (Hughes Financial Solutions) and David Petersam (Admissions Consultants) will discuss issues that are on the minds of all parents of prospective college students.

Registration is free but seating is limited. Call 877-855-1708 for more information or to register.

The deadline to nominate local businesses for Acacia Federal Savings Bank’s Nice Guys Awards is Wednesday, July 16. This is an opportunity to acknowledge the businesses in the Falls Church area that provide outstanding customer care, community service, or an emphasis on ethics. Nominations are also being accepted for nonprofit organizations that provide hope, create opportunities, and find creative ways to care and for individuals who help others, show integrity, volunteer, and share resources. Visit www.NiceGuysAwards.com to learn more or to place your nomination(s) before the July 16 deadline.

The Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce and the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce are co-hosting a “Young Professional’s Mixer� at Clare & Don’s Beach Shack from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 17. Young professionals interested in networking with their peers from McLean and Falls Church are invited to attend. The event is free and drink specials will be available.

Clare & Don’s (www.clareanddons.com) is located at 130 N. Washington Street in Falls Church.

The Northern Virginia Society for Resource Management is hosting “Work/ Life Balance - What Employers Need to Know about Competing for Your Employees’ Time� from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, July 22. The seminar will focus on the employment law issues arising from the tension between employee as worker and employee as parent and/or caregiver. Issues to be addressed include Pregnancy Discrimination, the EEOC’s recent Guidance on Caregiver Discrimination, and relevant sections of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Tickets are $35 for members, $45 for non-members. The seminar will take place at the Hilton McLean Tysons, 7920 Jones Branch Drive in McLean. Register at www.NOVASHRM.org.

Falls Church resident Dr. Craig L. Urbauer has joined Tenon Consulting as a director. In this role, Dr. Urbauer will lead Tenon’s efforts in healthcare-oriented public/private emergency management solutions. Tenon Consulting provides general management and operations consulting services to commercial, healthcare, and public sector organizations and spearheads public/private solutions to natural disasters, public health emergencies, or acts of terrorism. The firm is based in Georgia and maintains offices in New York and Virginia. For information visit www.tenonsolutions.com.

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Healthy by Intention is celebrating its 10th year of service to Falls Church by offering Falls Church City staff, teachers, firemen and police officers $10 off one hour or longer massage therapy sessions through September 1, 2008. Its affiliate, the Falls Church Caring Center, which is celebrating its 5th year in the City, is offering free Energy Work for anyone interested on Thursday evenings from 7:30 – 9 p.m. Both are located at 100 N. Washington Street, Suite 307. Call 703-534-1321 for information or an appointment.

The Independence Square Condominium board recently appointed new officers for 2008-9. Dr. Paul Cannon of the Falls Church Foot and Ankle Center will serve as president, Jim Defay of The Pragma Corporation is vice president, Helen Chapman of HRC Properties LLC is secretary and Dr. Gordon Theisz of Family Medicine in Falls Church is treasurer. Gayle Matthews of Gayle B. Matthews Ltd. served as president for many years and will continue to be involved.

Independence Square, also known as Hailey’s Corner, is located at the corner of E. Broad Street and S. Washington Street in Falls Church. ď ľ The Business News & Notes section is compiled by Sally Cole, Executive Director of Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce. She may be emailed at sally@ fallschurchchamber.org

July 10 - 16, 2008

Page 17

Students Win at National Leadership Competition Local students participated in the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference and competed in several occupational and leadership contests.

Team Q, members Brittany Cooksey, Zachary Bowman, Robel Kabthiymer and Mahala Mitchell of Arlington Career Center were awarded a Skill Point Certificate in Broadcast News Production.

Additionally, Monica Munet-Carr of Annandale High School was awarded a Skill Point Certificate in Culinary Arts.

Virginia Tech Names 53 To Dean’s List Virginia Tech announced their Dean’s List recently, which included 53 Falls Church

residents.

These students are: Andy An, Reed Anzalone, Gavin Argo, Marvin E. Aylor, Jessica Carter, Lauren Cobert, Karla Delgado, Matthew Dowden, Graham Downey, Toan Duong, Colin Ehmer, Rebecca Ferk, Gaku Fukiyama, Matthew Glazer, Alyssa Godwin, Courtney Heck, Gareth Highnam, Michael Jansen, Carianne Jones, Tashdid Khan, Sarah Kilbourne, Jung Kim, Sook Kim, Natalie Lauby, Robert Lauby, David Le, Rachel Leonard, Phi Luong, Christine Ly, Brian McCabe, Kieran McCloskey, Andrew Montgomery, Ji-hyun Moon, Chelsea Newman, Caroline Neyland, Anh Nguyen, Duc Nguyen, Griffen Ofiesh, Joseph Periera, Jacquelyn Pontious, Ulysses Puccetti, Thomas Pyne, Kathryn Rebers, James Scarano, Syed

Shamim, Kelly Southern, Paul Truong, Jeffrey Twigg, James Vaeth, Michael Van Atta, Christopher VanEvery, Brooke Veoni and Matthew Ward.

Hyland Joins FC City School Board Charlotte Hyland, elected to the Falls Church City School Board, began her term in office on July 1. Hyland is a freelance writer with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado.

For nearly 10 years, Hyland has been the editor of the FCCPS elementary PTA newsletter, “The Advocate,” and also of the PTSA’s newsletter, “The Maverick.”

Hyland has served on the PTA board as vice president and recording secretary, and she has chaired several PTA and PTSA committees. Also beginning their new terms on July 1 were Joan Wodiska and Kieran Sharpe, who were reelected to their offices.

Falls Church City School Board Elects Leaders At its organizational meeting for the 2008-09 school year, the Falls Church City School Board elected Ron Peppe as Chairman and Susan Kearney

as Vice Chairman. Peppe has served as Vice Chairman for the past year and as a board member the year before.

Peppe has several years experience from serving on the Frederick County (Md.) School Board, where he served as president.

Kearney has been a Board member since 2006 and has served on the Board’s Professional Employees Advisory Committee, the Career and Technical Education subcommittee of the BIE Partnership Council and the Gifted and Talented Advisory Committee. Peppe succeeds Chairman Craig Cheney, who had not run for reelection.

At the meeting on July 1, the Board set the calendar for the upcoming year. The Board will meet at 7:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month in the Chambers at City Hall.

The Board also agreed to look into restructuring meetings to study issues and objectives that support the Board’s strategic plan.

New Assistant Principal At MEHMS Falls Church City Public Schools recently announced that Gail Lovette as the new assistant principal at Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School. Lovette is replacing Vincent Baxter, who will be the principal of Thomas Jefferson Elementary School. Before coming to Falls Church, Lovette was the Intersession Coordinator at Samuel W. Tucker Elementary

Schools of Alexandria City Public Schools. She has also served as a classroom teacher for grades K-6.

Lovette has a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from SUNY College in New York and a master’s degree in educational administration from George Washington University.

GMHS Students Score on National Exams Spanish and French students achieved national recognition for their scores on the 2008 National Spanish Examination and National French Contest, respectively, which were given earlier this year. Amelia Nemitz, Anuraag Sensharma, Alexa Schaefer, Lydia Fairfax, Adam Gann and Mathew Gresko earned gold medals for Spanish, and silver medal winners were: Sophia Knudsen, Reilly O’Hara, Ben Tran, Mollie Read, Jack Brorsen, Sarah Weinberg, Grace Kuipers, Camille Dockery, Will Cunningham, Nicholas Kuipers and Alexa Peyton.

Additionally, there were 15 bronze medal winners and 35 honorable mentions. The National Spanish Examination is sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.

In the National French Contest, or the Grand Concours, George Mason High School students earned 19 Certificats d’Honneur and 13 Certificats de Reussite. The following students placed in the top ten at the state and national levels: Liam Wright, Katie Fletcher, Emma Pierce, Alice Morrison Moncure, Crawford Taylor, Daniel Drawbaugh, Rachel Anderson, Nicholas Desouza, Nicole Mahzoun, Hannah Walker, Ghozlane Kaddache, Yasmina Karrakchou, Johanna Garg, Tina Andriamandranto and Olivia Scott. The Grand Concours is sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French.

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July 10 - 16, 2008

Now that’s a real conservation piece.

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July 10 - 16, 2008

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For Week of July 1- 7, 2008 Drunkenness, 400 blk. S Maple Ave., July 1, 12:00 a.m., police arrested a male, 62, of NO FIXED ADDRESS, for DIP. Urinating in Public, 100 blk. S Washington St., July 1, 12:17 a.m., police arrested a male, 20, of Falls Church, VA for Urinating in Public.

Larceny from Vehicle, 1300 blk. Robinson Pl., July 1, between 12:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m., unknown person(s) stole a blue Lamond Tour Malett bicycle with a Polar Heart Rate Monitor on it. Incident to the case, police recovered the bicycle which was turned over to the owner. The monitor was not recovered.

Fraud by Impersonation, 200 blk. E Fairfax St., July 1, 6:00 p.m., unknown person(s) used victim’s information to file income taxes with the IRS. Drunkenness, 6700 blk. Wilson Blvd., July 1, 6:46 p.m., police arrested a male, 28, of Falls Church, VA for DIP. Larceny from Vehicle, 700 blk.

S Washington St., between July 2, 10:00 a.m., and July 3, 7:24 a.m., unknown person(s) stole the catalytic converter from two vehicles

parked in a lot.

Urinating in Public, 100 blk. W Broad St., July 4, 3:19 a.m., police arrested a male, of Fairfax, VA for DIP. Liquor Law Violation, 200 blk. E Broad St., July 5, 1:33 a.m., police arrested a male, 19, of Arlington, VA for Underage Possession of Alcohol.

Larceny from Building, 900 blk.

W Broad St., July 5, 9:55 a.m., unknown person(s) pumped $67.86 worth of unleaded gasoline in a vehicle and drove off without paying for it.

Larceny from Vehicle, Giant Foods, 1230 W Broad St., July 4, 9:30 p.m., unknown person(s) entered a vehicle and stole a handicapped placard from the rear view mirror.

Drunkenness, 7100 blk.

Leesburg Pike, July 6, 1:55 p.m., police arrested a male, 45, of Fairfax, VA, for DIP. Driving under the Influence, 6700 blk. Wilson Blvd., July 6, 10:48 p.m., police arrested a male, 27, of Lanham, MD for DUI and Refusal.

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July 10 - 16, 2008

Send community event submissions to the News-Press by e-mail at calendar@fcnp.com; fax 703-532-3396; or by regular mail to 450 West Broad Street #321, Falls Church, VA 22046. Please include any photos or artwork with submissions. Deadline is Monday at noon for each week’s edition.

Community Events THURSDAY, JULY 10 Story Hour, Ages 5 and up. Mary Riley Styles Public Library (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church) 10:30 a.m.

‘The New Case Against Immigration’ Signing. Discussion and signing by Mark Krikorian.

Borders (1801 K St. NW, D.C.).

6:30 p.m. Free. 202-466-4999.

Concerts in the Park. Randy Barrett and the Barretones with artist Hannah Shapero. Cherry Hill Park (312 Park Ave., Falls Church). 7 p.m. Free. 703-2485077.

Chalk Festival. Creative chalk art and musical performances.

Smithsonian American Art Museum (8th and F Streets NW, D.C.). Free. 2-5 p.m.

FRIDAY, JULY 11 Musical Story Time with Don Bridges. Interactive music and story hour. Aladdin’s Lamp Children’s Bookstore (2499 N Harrison St., Arlington). 11 a.m.

Free. 703-241-8281.

In Conversation. Research fellow Elizabeth Huey discusses her work with Ryan Hill, curatorial

research associate. Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Independence Ave. and 7th Street SW, D.C.).

12:30 p.m. 202-633-1000.

SATURDAY, JULY 12 Farmer’s Market. Falls Church City Hall (300 Park Ave., Falls Church).

8 a.m.

Hats On! After touring an exhibition, create a hat that reflects who you are.

Smithsonian National Museum of African Art (950 Independence Ave. SW, D.C.). Free. Ages 9 and up. 12 – 3 p.m. Registration required. 202-633-4640.

SUNDAY, JULY 13 KidSpy Magic Performance. Secret Agent Magician James Wand shows magic tricks used by spies.

Ages 7 and up. International Spy Museum (800 F St. NW, D.C.). $12.

10:30 a.m. Registration required at www.spymuseum.org.

Bastille Day Celebration. Special art activity inspired by the elaborate wood designs of French furniture. Hillwood Estates, Museum and Gardens (4155 Linnean Ave. NW, D.C.). $5-

12. 1-5 p.m. 202-686-5807.

Amma. Celebration devoted to world peace featuring Mata Amritanandamayi, renowned humanitarian and spiritual leader.

Hilton McLean Tysons Corner (7920 Jones Branch Dr., McLean).

Free. 10 a.m. 301-476-0927.

Safe in the Sun. Prevention and early detection of skin cancer.

Bethel United Church of Christ (4347 Arlington Blvd., Arlington).

Free. 11:30 a.m. 703-528-0937.

MONDAY, JULY 14 Get Your Game On! Teen night featuring board games and Nintendo Wii. Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy St., Arlington). Free. 6:30 p.m. 703228-5946.

TUESDAY, JULY 15 Children’s Vision & Hearing Summer Clinic. Free vision and hearing summer clinic to metropolitan Washington school children. Free. 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Walk-ins welcome. To schedule appointments, call 202-234-1010.

African Dance. Sylvia Soumah of Coyaba Dance Theater introduces

&

‘The Loving View.’ Works by 10 members of the Washington Society of Landscape Painters.

The Athenaeum (201 Prince St., Alexandria). Free. 12-4 p.m.

703-548-0035.

Stageworks Festival. A range of musical styles from opera and musical theater to jazz and chamber music. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage (2700 F St. NW, D.C.). Free. 6 p.m. 202-467-4600.

FRIDAY, JULY 11 A Body of Water. Memory, identity and allegiance are challenged in a play about a man and woman who wake up without knowing who or where they are. Theatre on the Run (3700 S. Four Mile

‘Golden Bones’ Signing. Discussion and signing by author Sichan Siv. Borders (1801 K St. NW, D.C.).

6:30 p.m. Free. 202-466-4999.

‘Eight Men Out’ Screening. Part of the “Unscripted” film series on baseball movies. Shirlington Branch Library (4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington). Free. 7 p.m.

703-228-6545.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 16 Mrs. Post’s French Furnishings. In 18th century France, decorative arts and furnishings rivaled fine art of the time. Hillwood Estates, Museum and Gardens (4155 Linnean Ave. NW, D.C.). $5-12.

12:45 p.m. 202-686-5807.

‘Victory of Eagles’ Signing. Author Naomi Novik discusses and signs her latest book. Borders - Bailey’s Crossroads (Crossroads Center, Falls Church). 7:30 p.m. Free.

703-998-0404.

T

Theater Fine Arts THURSDAY, JULY 10

children to traditional and contemporary West African dance. Smithsonian National Museum of African Art (950 Independence Ave. SW, D.C.).

Free. Ages 5 & up. 11 a.m.

Registration required. 202-6334640.

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McLean Community Players Present ‘Evita’ July 11 — 20

Run Dr., Arlington). $12-15. 8 p.m. 703-243-6366.

SATURDAY, JULY 12 The Imaginary Invalid. Keith Baxter directs Molière’s comedic satire. The Shakespeare Theatre (450 7th St. NW, D.C.). $3579.75. 2 p.m. 202-547-1122.

Red Noses. Clark Street Playhouse (601 S. Clark St., Arlington). $2535. 8 p.m. 703-418-4808.

SUNDAY, JULY 13 The Great American Epic. Jacob Lawrence’s migration series.

The Phillips Collection (1600 21st St. NW, D.C.). $8-10. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 202-387-2151.

Kista Tucker Dance Company Performance. Lubber Run Amphitheatre (200 Columbus St.,Arlington). Free. 8 p.m. 703228-1850.

MONDAY, JULY 14 Opera Institute. Washington National Opera’s semi-staged opera. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage (2700 F St. NW, D.C.). Free. 6 p.m. 202-467-4600.

TUESDAY, JULY 15 Pearls of Service. The legacy of America’s first black sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. Historical Society of Washington (801 K St. NW, D.C.). Free. 12:30 - 2 p.m. RSVP to rsvp@historydc. org or call 202-383-1828.

Alden Theatre, McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Dr., McLean)

I

can’t pass up the opportunity to tout my favorite Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, rendered veritably immortal by Madonna’s film performance a decade ago. At some future point, “Evita,” “Phantom of the Opera,” and perhaps a couple more may be admitted into an official category closer to classic opera than Broadway musical. It is a special challenge for any amateur troupe to undertake such an ambitious effort as this, but that has to be one of the most interesting features of this run. On a smaller budget, we presume, assembling the devoted masses to hear Evita sing, “Don’t cry for me, Argentina,” from the balcony, will be a lot of fun to watch. July 11-12, 18-19, 25-26 at 8 p.m., July 13 and 20 at 2 p.m. Tickets at Ticketmaster.

July 10 - 16, 2008

Page 21

live_music&nightlife THURSDAY, JULY 10 H����� S����� B���. The Athenaeum (201 Prince St., Alexandria). $10. 7 p.m. 703-5480035.

K��� C�������. Performs live with music, food samplings and merchant specials. Pentagon Row (1101 S. Joyce St., Arlington).

Free. 7 p.m. 703-413-6691.

J��� A����������. With special guest George Stanford. The State Theater (220 N. Washington St., Falls Church). $50. 7 p.m. 703237-0300.

J���� R�����. With Brendan James and Todd Carey. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave., Vienna). $10 in advance, $12 at the door.

8 p.m. 703-255-1566.

D������ S�����. Iota Club & Café (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $10. 9 p.m. 703-522-8340.

G���� F��� B���. Bangkok Blues (926 W. Broad St., Falls Church).

7:30 p.m. 703-534-0095.

FRIDAY, JULY 11 T�� A��� C������� V������ S���. Features five new and unique entertainers hosted by Arch Campbell. The Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pke., Arlington). $15.

6:15 p.m. 703-486-2345.

A� E������ ���� K��� T� K�����.

This elegant soprano makes her only D.C.-area appearance. Filene Center at Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Rd., Vienna). $20-55. 8:15 p.m.

703-255-1868.

B���� C�� B���� B���. Bangkok Blues (926 W. Broad St., Falls Church). 7 p.m. For more information call, 703-534-0095.

O�� T��� B���� F������� C������.

Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave., Vienna). $5. 11 a.m. 703-2551566.

J����� J���� ��� ��� D������ R���. With Sarah White and The Pearls. Iota Club & Café (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $10.

9:30 p.m. 703-522-8340.

SATURDAY, JULY 12 M������� ��� G������. Acoustic guitarists play original songs.

Palladium Civic Place Green (1445 Laughlin Ave., McLean).

Free. 6 p.m. 703-288-9505.

B������. With Degameth.

The State Theater (220 N. Washington St., Falls Church). $12. 7 p.m. 703-237-0300.

O���� S����. Bangkok Blues (926 W. Broad St., Falls Church). 7 p.m.

703-534-0095.

SUNDAY, JULY 13 A� E������ ���� ��� A�����

S����� S�������. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave., Vienna). $10. 8 p.m. 703-255-1566.

T���� B����. Iota Club & Café (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $10. 8:30 p.m. 703-522-8340.

B�������� ���� A����� A�����.

JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). Free. 5 p.m.

703-241-9504.

MONDAY, JULY 14 N����� A�����. With Jesse Ruben and Shannon Curtis. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave., Vienna). $10. 7:30 p.m. 703-255-1566.

J������ J������ � T�� DC H����. Blues Alley (1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW, D.C.). $20.

10 p.m. 202-337-4141.

TUESDAY, JULY 15 J�� M�L�������. With George Simon Stanford. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave., Vienna). $12 in advance, $15 at the door. 7:30 p.m. 703-255-1566.

J��� A������� � T�� J��� U�����.

Blues Alley (1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW, D.C.). $18. 8 p.m. 202-3374141.

C������ W����� T���. Performs jazz fusion tunes. Bangkok Blues (926 W. Broad St., Falls Church). 8 p.m. 703-534-0095.

T�� Z������. Featuring Colin Blunstone & Rod Argent.

Birchmere Music Hall (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria). $39.50.

7:30 p.m. 703-549-7500.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 16 M���� �� ��� G����. Steel drum band in live performance.

Historical Society of Washington (801 K St. NW, D.C.). Free. 6:30 p.m. RSVP at rsvp@historydc.org or call 202-383-1828.

1964: T�� T������. Birchmere Music Hall (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria). $35. 7:30 p.m.

703-549-7500.

O��� M��. Hosted by Mike Maloney. Iota Club & Café (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). Free. 8 p.m. 703-522-8340.

THURSDAY, JULY 17 T��� F���! D.C.’s premier swing band performs hits by Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Bing Crosby. Smithsonian American Art Museum (8th and F streets NW, D.C.). Free. 5-8 p.m. 202633-1000.

A����� �� M�����. Panamanian interpretative dancers demonstrate Afro-Latin dances. Smithsonian National Museum of African Art (950 Independence Ave. SW, D.C.).

Free. 6:30 p.m. 202-633-4600.

P������� A����...

Does the name John Deere get your blood pumping? How about the smell of fresh cut grass? No? Most likely it brings up memories of firing up the mower every few weeks and sweating your way to a trimmed yard. Nothing exciting about that. Well, forget everything you know about lawn mowing and get geared up for the 4th Annual St. Mary’s County STA-BIL Turf Battle. Held at A Maze N Place Farm in Clements, Md., the battle will see four classes of racing lawn mowers, with top speeds reaching 60 mph, compete in this officially sanctioned event. Entrants from across the country including Weedy Gonzales, Sodzilla, the Turfinator and the Prograsstinator will run on what has been described as “the finest permanent lawn mower racing tracks in the country.”

Tickets are $8 and proceeds benefit the 7th District Volunteer Squad and Optimist Club of St. Mary’s County.

What: 4th Annual St. Mary’s County Turf Battle When: July 11 - 5 p.m., July 12 - 2 p.m.

Where: A Maze N Place Farm, 22880 Budd’s Creek Rd, Clements, MD

Friday, July 18 — Celebrate Adoption Weekend. Michael J. Bobbitt, an adoptive father, invites you to join his family in celebrating adoption with the production of “Babe the Sheep Pig.” The Adventure Theatre (7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo). $12. 7 p.m. 301-634-2270.

Saturday, July 26 — Community Gardens Tour. Stroll through featured plantings and confer with the gardeners on what works well in the small urban gardens of Arlington. Ft. Barnard Community Gardens (2101 S. Pollard St., Arlington). Free. 10 a.m. 703-228-6426.

C������� S���������� Be sure to include time, location, cost of admission, contact person and any other pertinent information. Event listings will be edited for content and space limitations.

Please include any photos or artwork with submissions. Deadline is Monday at noon for the current week’s edition.

Email: calendar@fcnp.com Fax: 703-532-3396; Attn: FCNP Calendar Mail: 450 West Broad Street, #321, Falls Church, VA 22046

Page 22

July 10 - 16, 2008

SEE THIS SUMMER’S BEST FAMILY MOVIE!

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“A Fantasy Come True For Action-Adventure Fans!”

Imagine the forges of hell crossed with the extraterrestrial saloon on Tatooine and you have a notion of Guillermo del Toro’s “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.” In every way the equal of his original “Hellboy” (2004), although perhaps a little noisier, it’s another celebration of his love for bizarre fantasy and diabolical machines. The sequel bypasses the details of Hellboy’s origin story, but adds a legend read to him as a child by his adoptive father (John Hurt), in which we learn of an ancient warfare between humans and, well, everybody else: trolls, monsters, goblins, the Tooth Fairy, everybody.

There was a truce. The humans got the cities and the trolls got the forests. But humans have cheated on our end of the deal by building parking lots and shopping malls, and now Prince Nuada (Luke Gross) defies his father the king and hopes to start the conflict again.

This would involve awakening the Golden Army: 70 times 70 slumbering mechanical warriors. Standing against this decision is his twin sister, Princess Nuala (Anna Walton).

And so on. I had best not get bogged down in plot description, except to add that Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and his sidekicks fight for the human side.

His comrades include Abe Sapien (Doug Jones), sort of a fish-man, the fire-generating Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), a Teutonic adviser named Johann Kraus (Seth McFarlane), and of course Princess Nuala. Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor) from the secret center for extra-sensory perception tags along, but isn’t much help except for adding irrelevancies and flippant asides.

Now that we have most of the characters onstage, let me describe the sights, which are almost all created by CGI of course, but how else? There’s a climactic showdown between

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Hellboy and the prince, with the Golden Army standing dormant in what looks like the engine room of Hell. Enormous interlocking gears grind against each other for no apparent purpose, except to chew up Hellboy or anything else that falls into them. Lucky they aren’t perfectly calibrated.

There are also titanic battles in the streets of Manhattan, involving gigantic octo-creatures and so on, but you know what?

Although they’re well done, titanic battles in the streets of Manhattan are becoming commonplace in the movies these days. What was fascinating to me was what the octo-creature transformed itself into, which was unexpected and really lovely. You’ll see.

The towering creatures fascinated me less, however, than some smaller ones. For example, swarms of tens of thousands of calcium-eaters, who devour humans both skin and bone and are the source of the Tooth Fairy legend. They pour out of the walls of an auction house and attack the heroes, and in my personal opinion Hellboy is wasting his time trying to shoot them one at a time.

I also admired the creativity that went into the Troll Market (it has a secret entry under the Brooklyn Bridge). Here I think del Toro actually was inspired by the Tatooine saloon in “Star Wars,” and brings together crea-

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July 10 - 16, 2008

Page 23

J and the world that surrounds them.

Breathtaking underwater photography, philosophical eccentrics, and visionary musings about the end of our civilization. A compellingly watchable film, by one of the great filmmakers of our time. Rating: Four stars.

E

ncounters at the End of the World (Documentary, not rated, 99 minutes). Werner Herzog’s wondrous documentary about the people who inhabit the McMurdo Research Station at the South Pole

, Peter Travers

“HUGELY

tures of fantastical shapes and sizes, buying and selling goods of comparable shapes and sizes.

It would be worth having the DVD just to study the market a frame at a time, discovering what secrets he may have hidden in there. The movies only rarely give us a genuinely new kind of place to look at; this will become a classic.

There are, come to think of it, other whispers of the “Star Wars” influence in “Hellboy II.” Princess Nuala doesn’t have Princess Leia’s rope of hair (just ordinary long blond tresses), but she’s not a million miles distant from her. And Abe Sapien looks, moves and sort of sounds so much like C3PO that you’d swear the robot became flesh and developed gills. I also noticed hints of John Williams’ “Star Wars” score in the score

by Danny Elfman, especially

during the final battle. Not a plundering job, you understand, more of an evocation of mood.

What else? Two love stories, which I’ll leave for you to find out about. And the duet performance of a song that is rather unexpected, to say the least. And once again a strong performance

by Ron Perlman as Hellboy.

Yes, he’s CGI for the most part, but his face and voice and movements inhabit the screen figure, and make him one of the great comic heroes. Del Toro, who preceded “Hellboy II” with “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006) and the underrated “Blade II” (2002) is warming up now for “Doctor Strange” and “The Hobbit.”

He has an endlessly inventive imagination and understands how legends work, why they entertain us, and that they sometimes stand for something. For love, for example.

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utsourced (Comedy, PG-13, 102 minutes). A film bursting with affection for its characters and for India. Josh Hamilton plays an American exec sent to India to train a telephone order-fulfillment center for his tacky novelty company (Wisconsin cheesehead hats a specialty). The beautiful Ayesha Dharker plays an employee who is ahead of the learning curve; they generate amazing chemistry. Not a great movie, but maybe couldn’t be this charming if it was. There is a fundamental sweetness and innocence to it; leaves you feeling good. Rating: Three stars.

T

ell No One (Thriller, R, 125 minutes). Here is how a thriller should be made. A Paris pediatrician is implicated, eight years later, in the death of his wife, and incriminating evidence stacks up.

He’s involved with a cross-section of French society to try to prove his innocence and solve the mystery of e-mails that seem to be from the dead woman. Intelligent, riveting.

Rating: Three and a half stars.

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he Wackness (Comedy, R, 95 minutes). Wall-to-wall drugs supply the background music for a recent high school graduate (Josh Peck) and his psychiatrist (Ben Kingsley), who accepts payment in grams. There’s complication when the kid falls in love with his shrink’s stepdaughter (Olivia Thirlby), and another when the doc’s wife (Famke Janssen) wants a divorce, and third when the kid’s family gets evicted, all in the course of a lazy, crazy 1994 summer. Written and directed

by Jonathan Levine. Rating: Three stars.

T

HE BANK JOB (Crime drama, R, 111 m., 2008). A serviceable B-grade British heist movie, “The Bank Job” is no better than its generic title. It frontloads the naughty sex and backloads the plot twists (the titular crime takes place in the middle), but apart from the prominence of Princess Margaret in the goingson, it’s a pretty routine job, as the use of the hackneyed phrase “plot twists” earlier in this sentence should indicate. For a movie about crime and sleaze and sex, it ought to be a lot more fun. Inspired by the 1971 “Walkie-Talkie” bank job in London. Rated: Two and a half stars. (Jim Emerson)

C

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ourney to the Center of the Earth (Adventure, PG, 92 minutes). There is a world inside our own, populated by glowing birds, man-eating plants, giant-fanged fish and a T-Rex. Reaching it via a series of dizzying falls, a geologist, his nephew and an Icelandic babe realize Jules Verne must have seen it before writing his novel. With Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson and Anita Briem.

In 3-D in some theaters, but the process underwhelms me. Rating: Two stars.

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OLLEGE ROAD TRIP (Comedy, G, 83 m., 2008).

The sort of movie that gets described as “fun for the whole family,” but it really isn’t. RavenSymone plays a high school whiz kid visiting prospective colleges with her overprotective police chief father (Martin Lawrence). This mov

Continued on Page 24

Page 24

July 10 - 16, 2008

P

ENELOPE (Romantic comedy, PG-13, 84 m., 2008).

First-time director Mark Palansky brings us Tim Burtonlight with his debut, “Penelope,” a fanciful romantic fable in which the title character was born with a pig snout for a nose. Surgery is out of the question, as the only thing that will remove the “curse” is if Penelope (Christina Ricci) finds true love. Enter Max (James McAvoy), who pursues her at first for money, but then really falls for her. What bumps the derivative “Penelope” up from a twostar rating is the acting ensemble.

Give casting director Susie Figgis a round of applause. And Palansky while you’re at it, because he was able to get these actors to rise above the so-so script. Is there a better character actor working today than Peter Dinklage?

And the great Catherine O’Hara plays Penelope’s clueless, neurotic mother. Rating: Three stars.

(Teresa Budasi)

S

TOP-LOSS (Drama, R, 112 m., 2008). Writer-director Kimberly Peirce’s uneven film about a young soldier home from Iraq (Ryan Phillippe) who is forced to rethink his ideas about heroism and patriotism when he is “stop-lossed”: involuntarily assigned to another tour of duty.

The story is hampered by awkward construction and its characters’

what is going on, but no feature film can approach the visceral power of any of the hundreds of YouTube clips or superb documentaries that let the soldiers tell their own stories. Rating: Two stars.

(Nell Minow)

Joan Cusack is a P.R. whiz, and Dan Aykroyd seems uncannily like Vice President Cheney. The elements are here, but the parts never come together. Still, an honorable attempt. Rating: Two stars.

V

ERSEPOLIS (Animated, PG13, 98 m., 2008). The story of an Iranian girl’s coming of age. Born under the shah, she and her family were not good fits after his fall and the rise of militant Islam. Outspoken, she’s sent to family friends in Vienna to keep her out of trouble, finds unhappiness, returns, is homesick for a nation that no longer exists. Told in beautifully stylized black-and-white animation, based on the autobiogaphy of Marjane Satrapi, who co-directed with Vincent Paronnaud. Voices

by Chiara Mastroianni as Marjane and Catherine Deneuve as her mother. Rating: Four stars.

ANTAGE POINT (Thriller, PG-13, 90 m., 2008). An edgy, action-packed reprising of an attempted presidential assassination that not only gives us glimpses into an innocent bystander’s recollections, but reveals the viewpoints of the participants -- on both sides of the attack. Starring Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, William Hurt, Forest Whitaker and Sigourney Weaver. Rating: Two and a half stars. (Bill Zwecker)

M

Y BLUEBERRY NIGHTS (Romance, PG-13, 90 m., 2008). An extra-sweet romantic fable from Wong Kar-Wai about love and desserts. You taste “My Blueberry Nights” with your retinas. There are less appetizing things to look at for 90 minutes than this pretty pie-cart of a movie, its glazed slices topped with the faces of Norah Jones, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Rachel Weisz and David Strathairn instead of chocolate-dipped strawberries, dollops of whipped cream or frosting rosebuds. Empty calories. Rating: Two and a half stars. (Jim Emerson)

W

AR, INC. (Comedy, R, 106 m., 2008). Brave and ambitious but chaotic attempt at a political satire. John Cusack stars as a hit man sent to a Middle Eastern country to protect the interests of an American super-corporation. Marisa Tomei is a liberal journalist, Hilary Duff is a Mideast teen idol (!), Ben Kingsley is a shadowy manipulator,

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July 10 - 16, 2008

Page 25

10 It was October of 2007 and Mike Peters, frontman of Welsh rockers The Alarm, was on top of the world. OK, so it helped that he was already at 18,500 feet, doing what he loves most — performing music — on the slopes of Mt. Everest.

“It was an experience I’ll never forget,” Peters says. “It was quite difficult to sing at that altitude because the air is in short supply.”

But even more impressive than a rather winded Peters performing as part of the highest-ever, land-based concert was the fact that the singer was still drawing breath at all. Two years earlier, Peters was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

It was the second time in his life he had heard a cancer prognosis, having prevailed in a bout against non Hodgkins lymphoma in the mid-1990s. The doctors were stunned Peters had even survived to hear the second diagnosis. At the time of the exam, tests revealed his white blood cells numbered

nearly half a million per cubic millimeter of blood. A healthy human’s white blood cell count is somewhere between 4,000 to 10,800.

While Peters received chemotherapy treatments at a hospital in Wales, he often gazed out the window at the peak of Mt. Snowden, the highest point in England and Wales and a summit he had often visited when he had been healthy.

“It became symbolic to me because I wanted to get myself to the point where I was fit enough and well enough to climb back to the top of the mountain again,” Peters says.

“By doing that it meant my recovery.”

Peters continued to perform with The Alarm while he received treatment. During a tour stop in Texas, Peters told his goal of returning to Snowden’s peak to an American leukemia specialist.

“He says, ‘Well that’s amazing, why don’t we go to Everest?’” Peters recalls.

Texans always do think big.

So in October of 2007, in remission from the chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Peters belted out his lyrics from one of the

highest points in the world.

“We had to keep it down though,” he says. “We didn’t want to start an avalanche.”

The bout with cancer again put things in perspective for Peters, who said he gained an unparalleled love for his two boys, his wife and, naturally, his band.

With a new album, Guerilla Tactics, released on Tuesday, July 8, Peters is trying to rekindle a fan base that has followed the band from its early-lineup incarnation that toured alongside the likes of U2 and Bob Dylan. To do so, Peters is making the most of the new tools at his disposal. Releasing several Internet-only, mini-albums over the past few years, and utilizing discussion boards and MySpace pages to build up a cyber community.

“When punk rock happened in 1976, I was a computer operator at the time, so I was aware of what was going on in the world in terms of technology. Now it’s what everyone does,” Peters says. “It’s like the record industry is over and now it’s much more of a level playing field and you’re as good as your ideas.”

To hype the July 8 release of Guerilla Tactics, Peters performed a “guerilla style” show in New York’s Times Square. During the performance, the band was opening an Internet feed to allow laptop-toting fans to rip the album from the airwaves of Midtown Manhattan. Over the phone three hours prior to the 12:30 p.m. show, Peters noted just one slight snag.

“There’s a police car parked right where we’re supposed to perform,” he says. “This should be quite a little adventure. I just hope we don’t get arrested.”

Barring any detention by New York’s Finest, Peters and his current bandmates — bassist Craig Adams, drummer Steve Grantley and guitarist James Stevenson — are set to play 9:30 Club on Thursday, July 10.

As his career continues into its third decade, Peters plans to keep relying on the technological tools at his disposal, and to further draw inspiration from the trying times of his past.

“When we were making our second record Roger Daltrey of The Who came to see us,” Peters says. “We were asking him about his career and how they sustained it for so long. He said that you find out more about your band in the dark times than the successful times and it’s in those moments that you build your futures. And I found it to be really true.”

• For more information, visit www. thealarm.com. Tickets for the 9:30 Club show, which also features The English Beat and The Fixx, are $35. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Page 26

July 10 - 16, 2008

July 10 - 16, 2008

&$ ) Ê

Page 27

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Page 28

Diamonds, we are told, are a girl’s best friend. If you can’t afford diamonds for your girl, you still can be a romantic fool for a lot less but keep it in the gem family.

The Diamond Standard, a Polish grain vodka, has been introduced to the U.S. market, with numerous outlets in Massachusetts the first to stock it.

Expansion into New York and New Jersey is next on the list.

What sets it apart from the gazillions of other vodkas available? It has a patented diamond filtering process it claims is the industry’s first.

“We utilize over 600 cut diaBy William M. Dowd monds of up to one carat in size Hearst Newspapers to purify our vodka,” says the company Web site. “ ... Our filtration system took over three years to perfect. Its yield is 750 carats of liquid elegance since each and every drop has been individually kissed by diamonds.”

The Diamond Standard’s other claim to individuality is its Swarovski Xillion Chaton crystal design embedded in the neck of the elegant, slim bottle design produced by Saver Glass from perfume bottle grade glass.

All of this goes into making the suggested retail price $100 a bottle.

Pricey for vodka, but a lot cheaper than a big rock for that special lady’s ring finger.

Of course, patent or not, this is not the first vodka to go through a jewel filtration process. Even The Diamond Standard is merely an update of something I reported on two years ago this summer when it was introduced to the European market. To wit: “Although the company hasn’t set a firm suggested retail price, its PR people are calling Diaka, a Polish-made spirit, the world’s most expensive vodka because of its unique diamond filtration method.

“Diaka, an acronym for diamond vodka, is filtered using up to 100 diamonds of up to a carat in size to give it clarity and smoothness. It also has crystals in the bottle itself, although they’re not diamonds.”

In that earlier report, I referenced an even earlier report on “the introduction of Diva, a triple distilled wheat-based vodka filtered through Nordic birch charcoal then filtered again -- through such precious gems as diamonds, emerald and rubies, we are told. A glass tube in the bottle is filled with 48 crystals that can be used as a garnish. They include cubic zircona, smoky topaz, pink tourmaline, amethyst, citrine and peridot. Suggested retail price: $60 a bottle.”

And, more recently, I added to my “Tasting Notes” site (http://dowdtastingnotes.com) a report on another gem: Baojing 168 Vodka.

This grain-based import from China differs from others of its ultra-premium ilk in that, say its distillers, it is created in a small-batch fashion and undergoes “unique filtration through 168 carats of diamonds.”

I’m not sure if that is a whole bunch of little diamonds, or even diamond dust, or one gigantic fat rock. I do know the number 168 is regarded in Chinese custom as “being on the road to infinite prosperity.”

That aside, how does it taste? Excellent. Clean, crisp, ever so slightly aromatic of vegetal notes. There’s a hint of lemon about the middle notes, and a clean, slow finish. And, wonder of wonders, it retails for about $38 for the 750ml bottle.

So, shell out a few dollars for these bejeweled vodkas, create some cocktails and a romantic setting, and polish your reputation as a sophisticated man of taste. It’ll give you time to save up for the real rocks.  Bill Dowd covers the beverage world at billdowd.com.

July 10 - 16, 2008

Success at poker is ultimately the result of solid fundamentals and the ability to read your opponents’ betting patterns.

This is especially true when playing online. But playing live poker is a completely different animal. In this venue, the presence of physical tells can not be overlooked.

Picking up a tell — a hint that a player unknowingly gives that reveals the strength of his hand — often means the difference between winning and losing a big pot.

Most physical tells, however, are notoriously unreliable.

What might signify a bluff from one player just might indicate a full house from another. That’s why it’s wrong to generalize physical tells by adhering to profound-sounding statements like, “When a player throws his chips in forcefully, it’s a bluff.” It’s simply not true in all cases.

There are, however, some tells that are more reliable than others. One in particular is the habit of glancing at one’s chip stack. It’s powerful because so many players aren’t even aware that they’re doing it.

Let me explain.

Some players will immediately glance at their chips as soon as the thought of making a bet crosses their mind.

Say a player is holding pocket threes and another three hits on the flop. That player will often take a quick glance at his chip stack as soon as the flop is revealed. It’s like hearing a voice inside your head saying, “Oh, three of a kind.

Next step is to bet. Where are my chips?”

That’s when you’ll notice the quick glance. Once you find a player who has this habit, it will be the most reliable tell you will ever spot.

Now, a player with this tendency might also look at the flop with a blank stare, never once glancing at his chips.

That is a tell, too! Since you know that he glances at his chips when he wants to bet, you can infer that when he doesn’t, he has no intention of continuing with the hand.

The pot is yours for the taking with a bet.

Here’s an example of how picking up on this particular tell can help you avoid being trapped.

You make a pre-flop raise with 8c-10c. The player in the big blind calls. The flop comes Jc-7d-3s and your opponent checks to you.

With an inside straight draw,

you might decide to bluff at the pot.

However, you realize that your opponent could be considering a check-raise. Knowing that, the better option is to check, take a free card, and hope to catch a nine to complete your straight. This play would eliminate the worst case scenario where you bet, get check-raised, and then have to fold, potentially costing yourself a huge pot.

Here’s where the chipglancing tell is most valuable.

Watch your opponent’s eyes as he sees the flop. If he glanced at his chips before he announced check — beware!

There’s something he likes about that flop. He probably won’t fold to any bet you make. Just check and try to catch a card on the turn.

On the other hand, if you

are facing a player w h o habitually glances at his chips when he likes a flop, but doesn’t do it this time -- bet! Chances are he missed the flop. Take the pot right away. Don’t give him a chance to catch a winning card on the turn.

The art of reading physical tells isn’t an exact science. But of all the tells you’ll encounter at the poker table, you can pretty much call this one “Old Faithful.”  Visit www.cardsharkmedia. com/book.html for information about Daniel Negreanu’s new book, Hold’em Wisdom for All Players. © 2008 Card Shark Media. All rights reserved.

real estate auctions

45+ Virginia Homes

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Williams & Williams

July 10 - 16, 2008

Page 29

Level: 1 3

2 4

SOLUTION TO LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE

7/13/08

© 2008 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. All rights reserved.

1. “Hell ____ no fury ...”

5. Suffix with expert 8. In the direction of 14. Height: Prefix 15. Fenway team, for short 16. Key of Brahms’ Fourth 17. Camps in the wilderness, say 19. Rival to 65-Across in 2008 20. Hurricane preceder, often 22. Dinner centerpieces?

23. “Lovergirl” singer ____ Marie 24. Actor Pesci 27. VW forerunners?

29. Motel 6 rival 33. Versus: Abbr.

35. Masons 36. Land 40. Start badly?

41. Artery 43. Part of DMV: Abbr.

44. 1997 Lifetime Achievement Emmy winner 47. Parts of a gym set 50. Rx writers 51. Pew occupants 53. Enthusiast 54. Last to first, say (or what to literally find in 20-, 29- and 44-Across) 58. Garb 61. Like shipped goods 62. Asian capital since 1949 63. “____ be my pleasure!”

64. Cherry discards 65. Rival to 19-Across in 2008 66. Siegfried’s partner 67. Former flames

Down 1. Lee of literature 2. Squirrel’s stash 3. Basis of some films 4. Doesn’t share 5. One offering securities 6. Party at night 7. Stretches out 8. Oreg. or La., once 9. 1847 Melville novel 10. Chicken 11. Raggedy ____ 12. Fish eggs

1

2

3

4

5

14

6

7

15

17

10

31

32

11

12

13

24

25

26

48

49

19 21

22

23

27

28 33

29

30

34

37

35 38

39

41

40 43

42

44

45

50

46

51 54

58

9

16

18

20

36

8

59

55

47 52

56

60

53 57

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

Across

13. Like some wine

1. ____ no after fury ..."

18."Hell President FDR 5. with expert 21.Suffix Villainous Vader

24.In1992 Lifetime 8. the direction of

Achievement Grammy winner 15. Fenway team, for short 25. Unique individual 16. of Brahms' Fourth 26.Key Relative of -trix 28.Camps Tip over 17. in the wilderness, say 30.Rival Resetting setting 19. to 65-Across in 2008 31. “As seen ____” 20. Hurricane preceder, often 32. Not as many 22.

34.Dinner Henrycenterpieces?

VIII’s sixth 23. singer ____ Marie 36."Lovergirl" Radio button 37.Actor Joker, e.g.

24.

Pesci 38.VW Sludge 27. forerunners?

39. 3 on a par 5 29. Motel 6 rival 42. Letter opener 33.

45.Versus: Meet, Abbr. as expectations 14. Height: Prefix

35. Masons 36. Land

© 2008 David Levinson Wilk

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit www.sudoku.org.uk

ACROSS

46. High school sweetheart 48. Latin jazz great Tito 49. Cause of some fractures 52. Ruffian, to a Brit 54. Philbin’s cohost 55. “... ____ saw Elba” 56. The way to a man’s heart?

57. Kids often skip it 58. $$$ dispenser 59. See 60-Down 60. With 59-Down, a popular mint

Last Thursday’s Puzzle Solved

P I N K A L O E S I T E H A I L E A L P I N N E P I N G T A N O O S U N T I P I N E T A S R O M P E E P I E L I O T T I L D E

D E M O O R A L G R U M O N E E R A C A T I E S E N P I R B I T P I N U L A N G T W A U L

E N O L A

E Z P I I O E O I N N S S I T N E A M T N

P E N T U P

C L E A N I T U U P S E D R I I D D U S P

O T D A S S U N A M I

M E G A N

L E O N I

E S S E N

© 2008 N. F. Benton

Page 30

July 10 - 16, 2008

MOVING SALE GOING OVERSEAS. EVERYTHING MUST GO! 301 North Maple Ave (Corner of Great Falls Street) Saturday July 12 8am - 1pm. Follow signs

For Sale 3 BEDROOM PLUS DETACHED GARAGE $419,000 3205 Cofer Road Falls Church, VA. Wonderful 3 Bedrooms PLUS DETACHED GARAGE and 2 BAs, Lg Family Room Addition, Granite Countertops and 42” Cabinets in Kitchen, Hardwood floors, Italian Tile in Family Room Addition and Furnace replaced in 2007.

High Speed Internet Ready! Great Commuter Location. Schools: Sleepy Hollow, Glassgow, Stuart. Don’t Miss this low price. Owners are Licensed Real Estate Agents. Contact: Ryad Daoussi, 703-863-9875 IKON Realty, Inc. Open House, July 13, 2008 2-4pm

LOVELY 2 BEDROOM

1 BA Condo top (6th) floor corner unit w/ balcony. Walk to EFC metro/ Call Linda 703-655-3597.

NEW SIDE BY SIDE CRYPTS ABOVE GROUND National Memorial Park.

Reg. $6600. Bargain $5000. 630-443-3460

WASHER & DRYER Large capacity HotPoint; top loading washer. Excellent condition; used one year only. $100 obo.

Help Wanted ADMIN ASSISTANT/SECRETARY

Full Time Admin Assistant/ Secretary Needed for Falls Church Law Firm. $8-$14 an Hour Please fax Resume to 301-585-6820 or e-mail to Elsar513@ yahoo.com

DRIVERS & O/O’S. 2500 - 2800 miles/wk.

GREAT PAY ALL MILES. No-Touch. Drop & Hook 888-245-9866 www.risingertrans.com

DRIVERS: LOCAL CDL-A

Career Training. Swift Transportation Trains and Employs!

Dedicated, Regional & OTR Fleets. 800-397-2423

HELP WANTED Sheet Metal Mechanic or experienced helper. Dixie Sheet Metal. 703-533 -1111.

PROCESS ENGINEER Review existing

data to see if more research & info need to be collated, & assess adequacy of existing processes & eqpmt; dsgn, install & commission new production units, Bachelor’s deg in Engg & 2 yrs exp. Send resumes to Capital Legal Solutions, LLC, 150 S. Washington St, Ste 500, Falls Church, VA 22046

PROGRAM SUPPORT ADMINISTRATOR Faith at Work, a pro-

gressive Christian organization which helps people explore and discern their call, has an immediate opportunity for a part time (25-30 hrs/wk) Program Support Administrator in Falls Church. Ideal candidate will have excellent organizational skills; love details; be proficient in Word, Excel, Access, Publisher; be internet savvy, and welcome change.

Please email resume to suzanne@FaithAtWork. com or fax to 703-237-0157.

For Rent FURNISHED BEDROOM, living room,

private bath, Kitchen privileges, private entrance, metro bus. Please no pets/smoking. 600/month includes utilities. 703-941-5739

OFFICE SUITE TO SHARE IN F.C. w/ established CPA. Elegant office - 1,150 sf Ideal for professional service provider. Total rent $1,820, utilities included, ample free parking Will be available August 15.

Call Tariq Shafi, CPA 703-534-1848

Services

Trash, Yard Debris, Appliances, Furniture & Estate clean-ups. Call 703-533-0094. We will beat most competitors prices!

GREAT CLEANING SERVICE Residential and Commercial, affordable rates, great references, excellent job call Maria 703.277.1098/703.626.0665

HANDYMAN SERVICE Windows, doors,

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HOUSE

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Available 7 days a week. Week, biweekly, monthly or one time. Good references in Falls Church City.

10 years experience. For further information call me at 703-901-0596. Senior discount, Ask: Susy.

HOUSE CLEANING SERVICES. Low rates. Good references. Call Dolores 571/232-1091.

LAWN & GARDEN Lawn mowing, yard clean-up, mulching & edging. Low rates. Call Ernesto 703-932-9565

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MORALES LANDSCAPE & LAWN CARE

Mulching, seeding & many others. Call David (o) 703-502-3990 or (c) 571-221-4330

Public Notice NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CITY OF FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA The ordinance(s) referenced below was given first reading on May 27, 2008; and second reading and public hearing will be held on Monday, July 28, 2008 at 7:30 p.m., Official Time, or as soon thereafter as may be heard.

(TR8-32) A Resolution to Amend the Comprehensive Plan of the City of Falls Church, Virginia, to change the designation of 1.2 acres of land located at 350 and 370 South Washington Street from “Business” to “Mixed Use” on the City’s Future Land Use Map

KATHLEEN CLARKEN BUSCHOW CITY CLERK

to adopt an infant. Willing to pay legal & medical expenses. Call Brad & Heidi at 1-(877)-217-9873.

CHILD CARE

COMPUTER TUTOR

Computer Tutor - experience preferred - Tues. and Thur. 8:30AM to 10:30AM - City Falls Church - respond to 703237-1783

DOLLAR MASSAGE Affordable professional massage service. Licensed /certified. 2304 Gallows Road, 2nd floor, Dunn Loring, VA22027 (By Postal Office) 703-2259051

A1487-08 by Lilian J. Gemond, John L. Melnick, Laurence J. Tracy and Susan V. Tracy who state they are aggrieved by several determinations made as part of a rezoning and special exception application at 706 W. Broad Street and that these determinations were made by the Zoning Administrator and that these determinations are erroneous, and who now appeal these determinations to the Board of Zoning Appeals, said parcels 126952 identified on the Falls Church Real Property Identification Map as Lots 3 and 4 of Block C of the Sherwood subdivision zoned B-1 Limited Business; Lots 14, 15 and 17 of Block A of the Woodland subdivision zoned T-1 Transitional and Lot 16 of the Woodland subdivision zoned T-1 Transitional; said determinations being: 1. The Application for rezoning and special exception is not complete and thus not properly reviewable.

2. Sec. 38-30(f)(12) of the City Code allows only for a waiver of Sec. 38-30(f)(1)-(11) requirements, and may not be cited as a waiver for other Sec. 38-30 requirements.

3. Sec. 38-28(a) setback requirements are applicable.

4. Sec. 38-30(e) buffering requirements are applicable.

5. Sec. 38-33 restricts location of the parking component of the contemplated project from within 100 feet of the St. James property.

6. Sec. 38-28(a) restricts B-1 buildings to four (4) stories without a variance from the BZA. 7. The Special Exception provision in the Code does not operate as an overriding waiver of all other Code requirements.

8. Sec. 38-31(d)(2) requires one (1) parking space per 250 square feet, not one (1) parking space per 300 square feet, for the contemplated office building.

Copies of the above file may be reviewed in the Office of the Zoning Administrator, City Hall, 300 Park Avenue, Falls Church, VA 22046.

(TR8-33) A Resolution to Grant Special Exception(s) for Residential Development within Mixed Use Projects and for a Residential Height Bonus under Section 384 (f) in a B-2, Central Business district on 1.2 acres of land located at 350 and 370 South Washington Street All public hearings will be held in the Council Chambers, 300 Park Avenue, Falls Church, Virginia. Copies of legislation may be obtained from the City Clerk’s office (703248-5014) or at cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov.

This location is fully accessible to persons with physical disabilities. Special services or assistance to persons with disabilities may be requested in advance. To speak at a public hearing, fill out a speaker slip and give it to the Clerk at the left front table.

Speakers will be called forward by the Mayor at the appropriate time.

GET

NOTICED!

in the News-Press

News-Press Classifieds

The Board of Zoning Appeals of the City of Falls Church, Virginia, will hold a public hearing on July 17, 2008 at 7:30 p.m., in the Council Chambers, 300 Park Avenue, Falls Church, Virginia, for the consideration of the following Appeal:

(T08-11) An Ordinance to Amend Chapter 38 of the Official Zoning Code of the City of Falls Church, Virginia, by amending Section 38-4 (f), Special Exception; 4 (a.)

Primary Criteria.

ADOPTION Loving childless couple wishing

Experienced childcare provider provides quality care for your infant in F.C. home. (703) 241-0605.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Weekly Classifieds are BACK On Line! www.fcnp.com

$20 for up to 20 words 50¢ each additional word Add a box - $10

Deadline: 2 p.m. Tuesdays

(two days before publication)

Fill out our Classified Ad form online at www.fcnp.com Phone: 703-532-3267 • Fax: 703-342-0352 E-Mail: classads@fcnp.com Mail: 450 W. Broad St. #321, Falls Church, VA 22046 - Please include 1 85 with Dolev 19:50 12/10/01 payment (check orAB money order) your ad or

*126952

call us to arrange payment by credit card.

For public & legal notices, please email legalads@fcnp.com

The Falls Church News-Press accepts no financial responsibility for typographical errors in advertisements. Advertising which has minor discrepancies such as misspelling or small type transposition, but which do not affect the ability of the reader to respond to the ad will be considered substantially correct and full payment is required. The Falls Church News-Press is not responsible if the original copy is not typewritten or legible and clear. The Falls Church News-Press is not responsible for copy changes made by telephone.

Fabiano Farm

GIT RID OF IT For Removal of Junk,

Bruce Gilden/Magnum

Yard Sales

Do you see a BALLFIELD? THEN YOU SEE THE POWER OF COMMUNITY COALITIONS.

They help community groups organize resources and fight to keep kids away from drugs. Contact a community coalition and find out what your group can do.

www.helpyourcommunity.org or 1-877-KIDS-313 Y O U

G E T

M O R E

W H E N

Y O U

G E T

T O G E T H E R

Office of National Drug Control Policy

NOTE TO PUB: DO NOT PRINT INFO BELOW, FOR ID ONLY. NO ALTERING OF AD COUNCIL PSAs. Office of National Drug Control Policy -Newspaper (4 1/4 x 3 1/2) ON2TK3-N-09176-C B&W “Ballfield” - screen: 85 Film at Horan Imaging: 212-689-8585 Horan Ref#:126952

July 10 - 16, 2008

Page 31

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See all of the Falls Church listings as soon as they hit the market!

FOOD & DINING

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James Roofing & Home Improvements

Pizza • Pasta • Wings • Subs • Salads • Desserts

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NOTICED! in the News-Press

703-532-3267

Driveways • Steps Sidewalks • Patios Small Jobs Welcome

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With Personal Service

Spring Cleanup, mulching, mowing, edging, trimming.

Residential & Commercial Tree Service & Snow Removal

703-241-4990

Jock Murray postampg@gmail.com 703-629-8698

Postage Stamp Gardens

JEFF L. CADLE

Local brick n’ stone mason installing patios, walkways, steps, chimneys, etc.

Specializing in repairs. Local references.

Free Estimates.

for town homes and city dwellings

Design • Installation • Maintenance

703-698-1390

Insured

Licensed

R. J. Leonard, LLC Construction Company 703.796.1812

• CLASS A CONTRACTOR

• 40 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE • REMODELING, ADDITIONS AND NEW HOMES • DESIGN / BUILD • CALL FOR A FREE ESTIMATE

Lawn Care, Landscaping, and More Weekly Lawn Maintenance, Spring cleanup, Mulching, Aeration, Turf Repair All work done in a timely professional manner at competitive rates.

Please call Travis for a free quote:

703-534-1061

Please visit us online at www.rjleonard.com

Licensed & Insured

We’ll help you find the perfect paint color!

•Yard Cleanup •Mulching • Edging • Trimming • Pruning • Planting & Removal • Lawn Care • Power Washing • Deck • Siding • Painting • Hardscapes • Other handyman services

Serving Falls Church & Northern V.A.

ArlingtonColorConsultants.com

703-241-8548

Free Estimates

703-508-3976 or 703-323-9251

Weaver Enterprises

OTHER SERVICES

Painting • Power Washing, Drywall Repair • Carpentry Work and more

Ledo Pizza Caterers Tysons Station • 7510 Leesburg Pike Falls Church, VA

RE/MAX Allegiance 5100 Leesburg Pike, Suite 200 Alexandria, VA 22302 mobile. 703-868-5999 office. 703-824-4800 ShaunMurphy@remax.net

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256 N Washington St Free Consultation

Family and Employment Based Immigration Petitions

Specializing in custom firplaces, patios, walkways, walls, driveways.

Small and large repairs.

Free estimates Licensed and insured.

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Purchase or Refinance

CGA IMMIGRATION ASSOCIATES

MOTTERN MASONRY DESIGN

LAWN & GARDEN Seven Brothers Landscaping Service

(571) 330-3705

ShinerRoofing.com/FallsChurch

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• Affordable Rates • Certified Technicians

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FALLS CHURCH

HOME IMPROVEMENT Since 1981

Roof Replacements Rubber Roofs • Flat Roofs Leak Specialists • Roof Coatings Chimney • Repair Facia&Soffit Decks Built&Repaired • Coatings Wood Repair • Drywall Repair Gutters • Siding • Ext.&Int. Painting 24 hr. Emergency Service

Licensed Free Estimates 703-593-3383

Gutters Cleaned

Powerwashing Screening and repairs Estimates by phone Licensed and insured Tom. 703/855-3031 REMODELING & ADDITION, CERAMIC, TILE, FINISHED CARPENTRY, CROWN MOLDING, CHAIRS, DECK RAILS, STAIR, WINDOWS, DOORS, CONCRETE, SIDEWALKS, DRIVEWAYS, BRICK INSTALLED & REPAIRED

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Kitchens & Baths Additions • Sunrooms • Decks Porches • Garages • Basements Free Estimates Call 703-503-0350 Licensed and Insured

VICTOR BLAISE DEVELOPMENTS Repairs – Remodels – Handy Services Call for our summer specials Offering Military & Senior Discounts

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CLEANING SERVICES Mike’s Carpet Cleaning 5 Rooms deep cleaned only $98 •Stretching•Mold Remediation •Oriental Rugs•Upholstery•Pet Problems • 24 Hour Emergency Water Damage We Clean the White House!

Call Mike 703-978-2270

703-532-3267

Make a Joyful Splash! with

Eileen Levy Create unique art masterpieces using acrylics, water-based oils, pencils and an innovative variety of tools and brushes.

Held at 111 Park Avenue Falls Church on Tuesday Evenings from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm Cost: $90 On-going monthly enrollment Enroll on-line at www.creativecauldron.org Or call 571-239-5288

YOUR AD HERE FOR LESS THAN $15 A WEEK!

703-532-3267

Business & Service Directory 1 x 1” Ad 3 mo. = $220 • 6 mo. = $400 • 1 yr. = $725 1 x 1.5” Ad 3 mo. = $330 • 6 mo. = $600 • 1 yr. = $1100 1 x 2” Ad 3 mo. = $440 • 6 mo. = $800 • 1 yr. = $1450

1 x 2” 1 x 1.5” 1 x 1”

Page 32

July 10 - 16, 2008

Mayor Robin S. Gardner . . . . . . . . . .

Vice Mayor Harold Lippman. . . . . . . . . . .

City Council Nader Baroukh. . . . . . . . . . . .

Daniel Maller . . . . . . . . . . . . .

David F. Snyder. . . . . . . . . . . .

Daniel X. Sze . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Lawrence Webb . . . . . . . . . . .

City Manager Wyatt Shields. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Home Page <www.fallschurchva.gov> * Indicates TTY 711 Accessibility

july 10 Story Hour, 10:30 a.m.

Concerts in the Park, 7 p.m.

Human Services Advisory Council, 7 p.m.

NVTA Public Hearing, 7 p.m.

12 Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-Noon

Story Hour, 10:30 a.m.

City Council, 7:30 p.m.

Volunteer Fire Department Business, 8 p.m.

15 Story Hour, 10:30 a.m.

Historical Commission, 7:30 p.m.

Housing Commission, 7:30 p.m.

provided as a public service by the city of falls church

Questions or Comments? City of Falls Church, Harry E.Wells Building, 300 Park Avenue, Falls Church,VA 22046 703-248-5003 (TTY 711) The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act.This document will be made available in alternate format upon request. Call 703-248-5003 (TTY 711).

city calendar

14 Yard Waste, Bundled Brush, & Special Collections

The Week

703-534-8644 703-237-9089 703-992-9433 703-731-8433 703-241-0419 703-538-5986 703-532-1043 703-248-5004*

16 General District Court in Session

Story Hour, 7 p.m.

Library Board of Trustees, 7:30 p.m.

Tree Commission, 7:30 p.m.

17 Story Hour, 10:30 a.m.

Concerts in the Park, 7 p.m.

Board of Zoning Appeals, 7:30 p.m.

Environmental Services Council, 7:30 p.m.

19 Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-Noon

Tune In To 1680 AM

In the event of an emergency or power outage, tune to 1680 AM Radio for official City of Falls Church announcements regarding impending emergencies, City operations and responses, and recommended action. Purchase a battery-powered radio today and tune to 1680 AM – your trusted source for emergency information.

Recreation & Parks Online Registration Coming Soon!

The Falls Church Recreation & Parks Division is preparing to launch an online registration system. Any household that has signed up for an activity with Recreation & Parks since Jan. 1, 2006, will have an active account in the database. In order to utilize the online system, all households will need to update current household information to include a valid e-mail address and listed birthdates for family members. Call 703-248-5077 (TTY 711) or visit the Community Center (223 Little Falls St.) to update your information or create an account.

Summer Safety Tips for Parents & Children School’s out and it’s summer — for all parents, this means being extra vigilant to keep your child safe and healthy. The Falls Church City Police Department offers tips children and parents can follow for a safe summer: For Kids • Always CHECK FIRST with your parents, guardians, or the trusted adult in charge before you go anywhere or do anything. Be sure to CHECK IN regularly with your parents, guardians, or a trusted adult when you’re not with them.

• Always TAKE A FRIEND with you when playing or going out. It’s not only safer, but also more fun.

• Never go into a public restroom by yourself.

• Never go alone to malls, movies, video arcades, or parks.

Take a friend with you, and remember, CHECK FIRST with your parents or guardians to make sure it’s okay.

• Don’t get into or go near a vehicle with anyone in it unless you are with your parents, guardians, or a trusted adult. Never take a ride from anyone without CHECKING FIRST with your parents or guardians.

• Be careful playing or riding your bicycle when it gets dark. Sometimes it is difficult for motorists to see you.

Wear reflectors and protective clothing if your parents or guardians say you may play outside after dark and carry a flashlight. Never walk alone at night.

• Don’t be afraid to say NO and GET AWAY from any situation that makes you feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused.

TRUST YOUR FEELINGS and be sure to TELL a trusted adult if anything happens to make you feel this way.

Growing Green Save Gas Money By Taking GEORGE

For Parents • If children use online chatting or e-mail, talk to them about never meeting in person anyone they first “met” online.

• Talk to children about not responding to offensive or dangerous e-mail, chat, or other communications.

Report any such communication to local law enforcement.

Do not delete the offensive or dangerous e-mail; turn off the monitor, and contact local law enforcement.

• Keep the computer in the family room or another open area of your home.

• Be aware of any other computers your child may be using.

• Let children show you what they can do online, and visit their favorite sites.

• Know who children are exchanging e-mail with, and only let them use chat areas when you can supervise.

• Internet accounts should be in the parent’s name with parents having the primary screen name, controlling passwords, and using blocking and/or filtering devices.

• Talk to children about what to do if they see something that makes them feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused.

Show them how to turn off the monitor and emphasize that it’s not their fault if they see something upsetting. Remind children to tell a trusted adult if they see something that bothers them online.

• If you suspect online “stalking” or sexual exploitation of a child, report it to your local law enforcement agency.

For more tips, visit Summer Safety page www.fallschurchva.gov.

the on

By choosing public transportation, not only do you save gas money, but you’re also helping the environment.

The City’s GEORGE clean-diesel buses run between the East and West Falls Church Metro stations and throughout the City of Falls Church. Leave your car at home and take GEORGE when running errands around the City, and to Metro when you’re going to and coming from work.

Trips on GEORGE are free on forecasted Code Red Air Quality days through Sept. 30, 2008, as part of the regional RIDE Free program.Code Red air quality days occur when pollution levels are harmful to all sensitive persons.This program is sponsored by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission.

For fare and schedule information, visit www.fallschurchva.gov.

Concerts in the Park Thursdays Through Aug. 7 Enjoy the best of summer at the free 16th Annual Concerts in the Park series. Bring a blanket and a picnic and enjoy performances by local musicians.

The series is sponsored by the City of Falls Church Recreation & Parks Division and the Village Preservation and Improvement Society, with support from the Friends of Cherry Hill Foundation.

Each concert also features local artists and their artwork, sponsored

by Falls Church Arts.

All concerts are free to the public and are held at Cherry Hill Park (312 Park Ave.). In the event of rain, concerts will be held in the Falls Church Community Center located next to the park at 223 Little Falls St. 2008 LINEUP: July 10 Randy Barrett and the Barretones (Bluegrass) Artist: Hannah Shapero (Pyracantha) July 17

Skyline (a capella) Artist: Mary Exline (Paintings)

July 24

Andrew Acosta and the New Old Time String Band (Bluegrass) Artists: Dede Haas & Mali Phonpadith (Poetry & Photography)

July 31

Bana Ndule (African) Artists: Kathleen Buschow & Eileen Levy (Paintings)

Aug. 7

Tom Principato Band (Rock and Roll, Blues) Artist: Jill Saxton Smith (Woodblock Cuts)

The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703-248-5077 (TTY 711).

Falls Church City Police Department Conducts Citizen Survey Register for the City’s Online Newsletter at www.fallschurchva.gov

Register to Receive Emergency Alerts

FOR THE WEEK of

The Falls Church City Police Department is conducting a citizen survey to evaluate public attitudes and opinions pertaining to the level of law enforcement services provided. This is part of the Department’s ongoing commitment to provide the highest level of public safety services to the community.

The survey is available in City Hall, the Community Center and the Mary Riley Styles Public Library, and can be completed online at www.fallschurchva.gov.

The results of the survey will be used to identify specific ways to improve services for residents. Contact the Falls Church City Police Department at 703-241-5053 (TTY 711) for more information.

Falls Church Recreation & Parks Division 223 Little Falls Street Falls Church, VA 22046 703-248-5077* Phone Numbers Open Gym/Weather Hotline 703-248-5125* Special Events Hotline 703-248-5178* Fax 703-536-5125 Senior Center 703-248-5020*/21* Community Center Hours Monday-Thursday 8 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.

Friday 8 a.m. - Midnight Saturday 8:30 a.m. - Midnight Sunday Noon - 6 p.m.

Open Gym Hours Open Gym hours are updated on a bi-weekly basis and are also posted on the Open Gym Hotline, 703-248-5125*. All hours are subject to change. * Indicates TTY 711 Accessibility

July 10 - 16, 2008

Page 33

ly Focus

Chairman: Ronald Peppe II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Vice Chairman: Susan Kearney . . . . . . . . . . .

School Board Rosaura Aguerrebere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kathryn Chandler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Charlotte Hyland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kieran Sharpe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Joan Wodiska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Superintendent: Dr . Lois Berlin . . . . . . . . . . .

government and the falls church city public schools

july 10-16, 2008

For more news about the Falls Church City Public Schools visit: www.fccps.org

School Supplies needed

The Falls Church City Housing and Human Services Division (HHS) is sponsoring a Fall for Fun celebration at Berman Park (located on Ellison Street) that will include fun activities and information on community resources for all residents.

HHS is seeking donations of school supplies to be distributed at the event on Thanks to donations from the community, Friday, Aug. 8, 2008. The collected sup- these children were equipped with the right plies will be given to disadvantaged supplies before the start of the 2007-2008 school year. children of the community.

School supplies such as notebooks, gift cards, crayons, pens, pencils, erasers, highlighters, rulers, paper and glue are needed by Friday, Aug. 1 and can be brought to: Housing and Human Services Division 300 Park Avenue, Rm. 100 West Falls Church, VA 22046 For additional information, please call HHS at 703-248-5005 (TTY 711).

collect the Emergency Kit Top 10

Be prepared for disasters by assembling an emergency kit. Collect the emergency kit top 10 and place these items in a waterproof backpack, duffle bag, or sealed plastic container for easy transport. Keep a smaller kit in your car. Emergency supplies should be adequate to last at least three days per person.

Extra items for your kit: • Local maps • Cash (small denominations) • Copies of important documents • Special items for pets and infant, elderly or disabled members of household • Landline telephone (not cordless) For more information and tips on emergency preparedness, visit www.fallschurchva.gov or call 703-248-5003 (TTY 711).

FCC-TV Spotlight: Jazz Cardio Strength Stretch Tune in to Falls Church Community Television (FCC-TV) to watch Jazz Cardio Strength Stretch, a public access program produced by Jazzercise .This program gets your blood pumping through a cardio warm up, then moves on to muscle toning and then lets you unwind with some cool-down stretches at the end of the class .This program airs every weekday morning at 8:00 a .m . Now you have no excuse not to get moving every morning!

FCC-TV airs on Cox Channel 12, Verizon Channel 35 and RCN Channel 2 . For a complete schedule of the variety of community programs on FCC-TV, visit www.fcctv.net .

BIE Partner of the Week Pamela Murray-Tuite Virginia Tech, Northern Virginia Center Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering School involvement: Organized high school transportation engineering internship at Virginia Tech; spoke to Mary Ellen Henderson seventh grade students for career day .

Why Pam is a BIE partner: “I want to increase student awareness of careers in transportation engineering . Because the Virginia Tech programs in Northern Virginia are graduate-level, we don’t have undergraduate students to work on research projects . By partnering with George Mason High School, 11th and 12th grade students are able to participate in cutting-edge college-level research projects in their own community and beyond .”

For more information about sharing your expertise through the BIE Partnership, visit www.fccps.org or contact Marybeth Connelly at connellym@fccps .org .

School content published in The Weekly Focus is written and edited by the Falls Church City Public Schools. For more information, contact the Falls Church City Public Schools Communications Office. Phone: (703) 248-5699 Fax: (703) 248-5613.

703-534-4951 703-532-0321 703-536-8638 703-536-7564 703-237-6993 703-536-3130 703-533-1248 703-248-5601*

* Indicates TTY 711 Accessibility

Catch the Reading Bug The Mary Riley Styles Public Library encourages children of all ages to “Catch the Reading Bug” this summer. MRS Library is now accepting registration for its free summer reading program, “SummerQuest 2008.”

All readers who register for SummerQuest 2008 will receive a free book log to record their summertime readings and a small prize for joining the program.

Participants may read any book of their choosing, and do not have to select from the MRS Library catalog. Monday, Aug. 25 is the first day participants can pick up their prizes. The last day to enter books is Saturday, Aug. 30.

SummerQuest 2008 offers reading programs for all ages: Catch the Reading Bug: for beginning readers through age 11. Read books of your choice and then list titles on your personal book log. Read a minimum of five books to receive a new paperback book of your choice at the end of the program.

Kangaroo Crossing: for strong readers, third grade and up, who enjoy the challenge of reading different book genres. Read at least 20 books for an additional prize at the end of the program.

shared, get a colored circle sticker “spot” for the “bug” on your reading sheet.

Book Zone: for ages 12 and up.

Take your book log home and return it to the Library when you have read and listed five books.

Read a minimum of five books to receive a new paperback book of your choice at the end of the summer.

For more information on SummerQuest 2008, call 703-248-5034 (TTY 711) or visit www.falls-church.lib.va.us.

Read To Me: for sharing books with pre-readers. For each title

choose the convenience of DMV Select

Save a trip to the Tysons Corner DMV by conducting your motor vehicle-related business at the conveniently located Falls Church City DMV Select Office in City Hall.

A lighter version of a full-service DMV, DMV Select predominantly handles vehicle-related transactions including all vehicle titles, registrations, special and personalized license plate orders, and dealer title and registration transactions. New voter registrations and voter change of address updates are also available at the DMV Select Office.

Local businesses will also find DMV Select is a convenient and timesaving alternative for conducting title and registration transactions for company vehicles. The Falls Church City DMV Select Office is open to everyone, not just City residents.

The DMV Select Office is operated by Commissioner of the Revenue Tom Clinton at 300 Park Ave., Suite 104 in the East Wing. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call 703-248-5019 (TTY 711) for more information.

School Board Elects New Chairman, Vice Chairman At its organizational meeting for the 2008-2009 school year, the Falls Church City School Board elected Ron Peppe to serve as chairman and Susan Kearney to serve as vice chairman. The change in leadership came July 1st, on the same day the new board took office.

Peppe has served as a Falls Church City School Board Vice Chairman for the past year, and served as a board member the previous year. He also has prior school board experience having served for several years on the Frederick County (Maryland) School Board, part of which time he served as president. He succeeds Chairman Craig Cheney who did not run for re-election.

Kearney became a school board member in July 2006. She has served on the board’s Professional Employees Advisory

Committee, the Career and Technical Education subcommittee of the BIE Partnership Council and the Gifted and Talented Advisory Committee.

She has also served as the vice chairman of the Citizens Advisory Committee for Aurora House, as Chairman of the Falls Church City Women’s Commission and as a volunteer with ChildHelp.

In addition to electing a chairman and vice chairman, the board also set its calendar for the coming school year. The Falls Church City School Board will continue to hold its regular meetings on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the Chambers at City Hall beginning August 12th. The board also agreed to explore the possibility of restructuring meetings to more fully study issues and objectives to support the board’s strategic plan.

The July 1st meeting was the first for the board’s newest member, Charlotte Hyland. Veteran board members Kieran Sharpe and Joan Wodiska were also present to begin their new terms in office.

SCHOOL CALENDAR DATES ARE SubjEcT To chAngE July now –

Aug. 1 Summer School 15-16 Summer SOL Testing (GM) August 7 6:00 p.m. School Board Work Session

(MEH) 12 7:30 p.m. School Board

Regular Meeting (City Hall) (MD) Mt. Daniel Elementary (TJ) Thomas Jefferson Elementary (MEH) Mary Ellen Henderson Middle (GM) George Mason High Check the FCCPSWeb site for more calendar information. www.fccps.org

Mt. Daniel Announces Summer hours ForthemonthofJuly through August 8th, the office at Mount Daniel School will operate on a revised schedule: Mount Daniel Summer office hours Monday – Thursday 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM Fridays – closed

July 10 - 16, 2008

Page 34

BACK IN THE DAY dog. lazy ick qu The fox sly p e d j u m the over dog. lazy is the w No for all time cows od go me to to coaid of the pastheir Now ture.

15 s Yearo Ag

time is the all for cows good me to to coaid of the pastheir Now ture. time is the all for cows good me to to coaid of the their.

15 & 10 YEARS AGO

IN THE

Falls Church News-Press Vol III, No. 16 • July 8, 1993

NEWS-P PREESS

Falls Church News-Press Vol VIII, No. 18 • July 16, 1998

It is now the time for all good to go cows to aid of the p a s their ture . * * * Throw * * Pour it up. it up

CRITTER CORNER 10 Year s Ago

It is now the time for all good to go cows to aid of the p a s their ture . * * * * * Throw Pour it it up. up

‘Yeow! It’s Hot! City Agencies, Residents Cope With Heat Wave’

‘Council Gives First OK To Pay Hike for Rivera’

“The Slurpee machine at a local 7Eleven temporarily broke down from over work, but otherwise, sweltering temperatures, high humidity and Excessive Heat Advisories have not seemed to daunt many Falls Church citizens and workers. As temperatures soared into the high nineties the last few days and the humidity hovered past 50 percent, the City was ... “

“By a 6-1 vote, the Falls Church City Council Monday gave preliminary approval to an ordinance that would increase City Manager Hector Rivera’s annual compensation by 6%. This would be in the form of a $6,000 added contribution to Rivera’s retirement accounts. In addition, the Council would, upon second reading, OK a $400 per month car allowance.”

Bob Herbert Continued from Page 10

and he's zigging with the kind of reckless abandon that's guaranteed to cause disillusion, if not whiplash.

So there he was in Zanesville, Ohio, pandering to evangelicals by promising not just to maintain the Bush program of investing taxpayer dollars in religiousbased initiatives, but to expand it. Separation of church and state? Forget about it.

And there he was, in the midst of an election campaign in which the makeup of the Supreme Court is as important as it has ever been, agreeing with justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas that the death penalty could be imposed for crimes other than murder.

What was the man thinking?

Thankfully, a majority on the court left the barbaric Scalia-Thomas-Obama (and John McCain) reasoning behind and held that capital punishment would apply only to homicides.

"What's he doing?" is the most common question heard recently from Obama supporters.

For one thing, he's taking

his base for granted, apparently believing that such stalwart supporters as blacks, progressives and pumped-up younger voters will be with him no matter what. A taste of the backlash this can produce erupted on the candidate's own Web site.

Thousands of Obama supporters flooded the site with protests over his decision to support an electronic surveillance bill that gives retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that participated in the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program. The senator had previously promised to filibuster the bill if it contained the immunity clause.

There has been a reluctance among blacks to openly criticize Obama, the first black candidate with a real shot at the presidency. But behind the scenes, there is discontent among AfricanAmericans, as well, over Obama's move away from progressive issues, including his support of the Supreme Court's decision affirming the constitutional right of individuals to bear arms.

There's even concern that he's doing the Obama twostep on the issue that has

been the cornerstone of his campaign: his opposition to the war in Iraq. But the senator denied that any significant change should be inferred from his comment that he would "continue to refine" his policy on the war.

Obama is betting that in the long run none of this will matter, that the most important thing is winning the White House, that his staunchest supporters (horrified at the very idea of a President McCain) will be there when he needs them.

He seems to believe that his shifts and twists and clever panders -- as opposed to bold, principled leadership on important matters -- will entice large numbers of independent and conservative v o t e r s t o c l i m b o ff t h e fence and run into his yard.

Maybe. But that's a very dangerous game for a man who first turned voters on by presenting himself as someone who was different, who wouldn't engage in the terminal emptiness of politics as usual.

Time flies and the Iowa caucuses seem a very long time ago.

THE HUMIDITY in Falls Church was far too much for me to handle this summer. I mean, look at me. I’m drowning in fur!

So, the only solution was to pack my bags and head to Alaska.

Don’t worry, Mom. I’ve got my coat and I’m keeping warm, though I have to say, the company here is pretty sparse. I met this nice man outside one of the buildings, but he doesn’t say much. He’s ice-cold and strangely stiff, but he sure does make a great listener. Man, I wish I had some dog food around here.

The only thing I’ve eaten in days is some old carrot this Ice Man dropped. I guess he didn’t want it. He didn’t so much as make a peep when I ate it. Tell everyone back home hi for me!

P.S. I forget whether or not I’m allowed to eat this yellow stuff.

If you would like to see your pet here, e-mail us at crittercorner@fcnp.com or send a picture and short description to Falls Church News-Press c/o Critter Corner, 450 W. Broad St., Suite 321, Falls Church, VA 22046.

FCNP.com Feel The Power of The Press

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July 10 - 16, 2008

Page 35

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July 10 - 16, 2008

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