July 23 – 29, 2020
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FOU N D E D 1991 • V OL. X XX NO. 23
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Superintendent Now Wants Schools To Start Virtually F.C. School Board Votes On New Plan Tonight BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
Out of an abundance of caution in the midst of the current Covid19 pandemic, F.C. Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Peter Noonan changed his mind this week and now wants everyone to stay home this fall when classes are due to resume Aug. 24. In an exclusive interview with the News-Press Wednesday, Noonan said he’d notified a virtual all-schools staff meeting earlier that morning that recent developments have caused him to recommend the previous plans for hybrid teaching this fall be changed in favor of all-at-home virtual instruction. The recommendation, which the School Board will act on at a special meeting Thursday, first came prior to a marathon meeting of the Fairfax County School Board Tuesday when a similar decision was made and following a move by the Arlington County Schools to do likewise announced earlier. Yesterday, Loudoun County schools also voted to go 100 percent virtual. A statement was sent out to all students, parents and staff in the Falls Church system Wednesday. Noonan told the News-Press that he expects the School Board, in its meeting tonight, will concur
based on the data underlying the decision. “I’ve said all along that we need to remain flexible in our planning based on new information and data,” Noonan said. “This data includes numbers of teachers who are announcing intentions to apply for leave, absences or resignations.” It also includes, he said, the new report from South Korea that school-aged children transmit the virus as readily as adults, and awareness that many F.C. teachers and other employees do not live in Falls Church but commute in from areas where the transmission rate is much higher than here. Without providing a number, Noonan confirmed that there is a significant number of system employees who’ve tested positive for the virus and that they, plus numerous others who’ve been in contact with them and therefore must be quarantined as a precaution, represent a major concern. The number, he said, “is not insignificant.” “Our number one concern is to make sure that our kids and staff are safe,” Noonan stressed, and that maintaining a consistent workforce, from teacher, to custodial, food service, busing and other components, is a vital part
Continued on Page 18
COMING ALONG nicely is the new high school, which is still on track to be completed in December. What’s still unknown is whether any students will be attending the school when it finally opens up at the end of the year. (P����: FCCPS P����/S��� P������)
F.C. Council Reviews Downtown Project’s Changes BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
That major proposed development for the northeast corner of Falls Church’s central intersection of Routes 29 and 7 (Washington and Broad Streets) is back, and looks different — but not necessarily worse — than what was promised when it was first submitted five years ago and subsequently won a 7-0 approval
from the F.C. City Council. Its centerpiece is still a 75,000-square foot Whole Foods grocery store. The new presentation was provided to the City Council at its virtual work session this Monday night led by Scott Adams of McGuire Woods and Maury Stern of the Insight Group that owns the land. The major issues that will drive the discussion going forward on whether or not the project gets another OK,
as it now needs, involve negotiations around the City-owned surface parking lot behind what is now Clare and Don’s and the Thompson Italian restaurant in the 100 block of N. Washington and the net fiscal impact to the City of the plan. Other important issues are the retention of the discounted 5,000 square foot new home for the City’s
Continued on Page 5
I����� T��� W��� M����� H����� R�������� ��� V���� F����� F.C. C��� C���� �� S������� P��� �� F.C.’� F��� P���� S�� C������� � A�� L����� The need to socially distance during the coroanvirus pandemic has left many teens and pre-teens socially starved. While Falls Church City Public Schools is doing its part to offer virtual socialization, one area therapist thinks these challenges will be a positive later on. SEE STORY, PAGE 4
Covid-19’s spread throughout the country influenced the City to scale back or outright cancel certain camps during its typically popping summer season, making “fun” one of the lesser known, but more persistent casualties of the pandemic. SEE STORY, PAGE 27
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Long-serving Falls Church City Council member Dan Sze is fighting esophageal cancer, F.C. Mayor David Tarter reported at the outset of Monday night’s Falls Church City Council work session. Sze was absent from the meeting. SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9
INDEX
Editorial............................................... 6 Letters.......................................... 6, 19 News & Notes............................10–11 Comment ................................ 7,12,13 Crime Report .................................... 12 Calendar ........................................... 14 Business News ................................. 15 Classified Ads ................................... 16 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ......... 17 Critter Corner.................................... 18
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PAGE 2 | JULY 23 - 29, 2020
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PAGE 4 | JULY 23 – 29, 2020
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
FIELD HOCKEY, volleyball and football could be lost this fall if the Virginia High School league votes cancel the sports season at its meeting on Monday. That would remove a key source of stress relief and routine for student athletes. (Photo: Carol Sly)
Mental Health Resources for Socially Active Students Part of F.C.’s Fall Plans by Matt Delaney
Falls Church News-Press
Social distancing guidelines used to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus are especially hard for teens and pre-teens, whose friend groups at school help mature their public and personal identities. Falls Church City Public Schools is providing some tools to stymie the pain older students are experiencing from a lost social life, while one area therapist is seeing the present mental health challenges make room for positive growth for both the students and systems placed around them. Rebecca Sharp, Falls Church schools’ executive director for special education and student services, said the school system has started a variety of new resources in order to support the mental health needs borne, in part, from students’ lack of socializing. That includes mental health support forms developed in light of the pandemic. The forms are available for families to fill out, where social workers, school psychologists, school counselors and teachers will respond to their inquiries within a day and help tackle the problem families are bringing forward. For high schoolers, they can take small group counseling on an as needed basis. Summer activity clubs are a remedy offered to middle school students, as well as elementary school kids, and have received an overwhelmingly positive reception, per Matt Sowers, Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School’s director of counseling. Henderson
Middle created 18 clubs with anywhere from two students to 10 participating in them regularly and occasionally multiple times throughout the day. “Students simply want to engage with their teachers, staff, and other peers,” Sowers, who hosts a Secret Life of Pets club, told the News-Press over email. “Hearing students laugh, smile, and be present in the moment is a remarkable thing to experience. After the summer clubs season concludes in two weeks, Sowers continued, the school is trying to plan out how to infuse those activities into the virtual start to the school year to build on the relationships established this summer. Extroverted teens will probably need resources like that to stay engaged with the grind of the academic year more than introverted ones, according to Think Happy Live Healthy founder Christine Willing. The former school psychologist-turned-private practitioner specializes in school age clients at her N. Washington Street office where she sees children and teens from schools in Falls Church, along with Arlington and Fairfax counties. Willing said her more outgoing clients go against the public health grain to get their socialization fix, while the reclusive ones are using it to fall back into old habits where they avoided leaving the house altogether and stunting some of their progress. Another part of Willing’s practice is its focus on how having a healthy mind is connected to
having a healthy body. Younger children in elementary school get their physical activity by going to playgrounds or running around at a park. This somewhat applies to middle school students, too. For teens, however, their exercise typically takes the form of a school sport. Virginia High School League may choose to delay certain programs or even cancel them for the entire year when they meet on Monday, leaving teen athletes without a source of stress relief and structure in their lives. “It’s having a huge impact on how they manage stress. For these athletic kids, that is their stress management; that is their purpose in life,” Willing said. “It also provides a routine. That’s the main thing we’ve worked on in therapy right now is building healthy routines. If you’re so used to having other people build your routine, and now all of a sudden, parents are like ‘You need to exercise,’ so how you structure and still provide that independence is really hard.” As expected with teens who are making the gradual transition into adulthood, Willing mentioned it’s their friends who motivate them to organize their day effectively. One of her teenage boy clients was doing a push-up challenge with friends online, giving the client a regular event to look forward to and a way to interact with others. These adverse circumstances are unearthing some positive nuggets. Willing noted how the cancellations caused by the pandemic put a temporary freeze on the
WITH A POTENTIAL ONLINE OPTION being pitched to Falls Church’s school system to start the year, the regular socialization students had in common areas would also be gone, putting more emphasis on virtual clubs. (Photo: News-press) Northern Virginia area’s perfectionist, hyper-competitive culture that teens experience. It’s allowed them more time to do the things they want to do rather than the things they feel they have to do to advance their lives. Still, Willing added that it hasn’t quashed all concerns over college acceptance. Some students have expressed anxiety to her over how they will get into college without activities buttressing their application. Others have wondered how they’d pay for college even if they did get in, as their families are some of the economic victims of the widespread shutdowns. High school juniors and seniors, Willing pointed out, are the group that she’s seen with the most compromised mental health at her practice. Carrying the effectiveness of this summer’s programs into the school year is a big focus for Falls Church schools. Sharp, the director of student services, said the school system plans to continue all its mental health efforts even with the Falls Church recommending a virtual model to begin the year. Sowers said the counseling team at Henderson Middle plans on creating a needs assessment for students and families. It will help the staff gauge the student body’s
mental health status and learn how to support students either through individual or group counseling, or its new advisory program called “Pack Time.” This scheduled time, according to Sowers, intends to let students build a community in the school through social, emotional and academic growth. For students, knowing what they’re getting into is a major help for their mental health. Willing said when Arlington County schools announced its decision to start the year virtual, it gave students time to mentally prepare and set up a work space in their homes. For Fairfax students, who as Monday when Willing spoke to the News-Press hadn’t yet announced they also planned to start the year virtually, the uncertainty gnawed at them. But Willing believes the strife of the moment will breed a more resilient generation of children, as well as spur some overdue change to how the education system is handled at all levels. “Everything’s going to change moving forward — in terms of what college looks like, in terms of what school looks like,” Willing said. “It needed to change for a long time, and now we’re having the discussions of how it’s going to look and how it’s going to change for the better.”
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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
JULY 23 – 29, 2020 | PAGE 5
Downtown Project to Impact Parking for 8 Months, Rather Than 2 Years Continued from Page 1
Creative Cauldron Theatre troupe and the satisfaction of residential neighbors to the site on Lawton Street behind it. Under the new plan, Insight purchases the City parking lot and includes it in its 3.16-acre project. The issue is not so much the price, which is currently under negotiation, but the impact on the two restaurants currently there, plus the State Theatre, all of which depend on the ability of customers to have access to that City lot. As far as the overall project’s fiscal impact on the City is concerned, the projection said it will provide net annual tax revenues of $1,542,317 to the City, significantly up from the range of $793,000-to$1.1 million projected in the earlier plan, according to F.C. City Manager Wyatt Shields. But almost all members of the Council expressed their concern for the ability of the three popular entities adjacent to the project site — Clare and Don’s, Thompson’s and the State Theater — to weather the whole thing. Stern said that the new plan to
address that involves building out the project in two stages, involving the demolition of the 100 N. Washington building there now (it used to be known as the Robertson Building) and the relocation of the public parking to that space reducing the time when the parking will not be available from two years to eight months. During that eight months, Stern added, alternative parking provisions will be arranged allowing for valet parking and the use of lots controlled by other businesses across N. Washington. “All hands are being engaged in finding a workable solution,” Stern said. Once completed, the project will replace all the parking spaces currently available, including through the dedication of paid public parking in the Whole Foods garage. While the new version increases the number of residential units from 339 to 350, there will be office space included. Most of the residential units will be studio and small onebedroom. The ratio of commercial to residential in the project will be 16 percent to 84 percent. Roughly a third of the area of the new plan is dedicated to green space, including a 3,500 square foot plaza in front of the Whole Foods
right at the Broad and Washington intersection and a proffer of $50,000 for the improvement of the intersection, itself. “This is a great project for the City, better than our submission of 2018,” Stern said, adding that Whole Foods is eager to move as fast as possible and is also very excited about the plan. “We need to hear from the three existing venues there that they’re satisfied with the arrangements,” City Council member Letty Hardi said, a point of view reflected in the remarks by her colleagues Ross Litkenhous, David Snyder, Phil Duncan and Marybeth Connelly. In also concurring, Mayor David Tarter said that the replaced public parking in the new project will need to be clearly identified as designated for the public. In other developments from the Monday City Council work session: • The Council heard a report from City Police Lieutenant Dimitri Assayev on the work of the committee formed to assess how the City may move forward in the wake of State House Bill 421 that was passed and signed in Richmond this spring to give local jurisdictions greater lati-
tude on possession of guns in public places. Led by Councilman Snyder, other Council members shared the view that the most restrictive allowable options should be chosen. “We’ve asked Richmond for years exactly what we’ve now been granted, and we should choose the option that is the most balanced, effective
and restrictive,” Councilman Snyder said. Councilman Hardi added, “This is in response to a long-standing request by us to live our values.” The Council will take up the matter at its meeting this Monday, July 27.
Continued on Page 18
Status Update on Wednesday, July 22 City of Falls Church Date
Cases Hospitalizations
Deaths # Cases per 100,000 People
Wedneday, July 22 Monday, July 20 Wednesday, July 15 Monday, July 13 Wednesday, July 8 Monday, July 6 Wednesday, July 1 Monday, June 29
54* 55 54 53* 54* 55 52* 56*
6* 7 7 7* 8 8 8 8
10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11
365.6 372.3 365.6 358.8 365.6 372.3 352.0 379.1
*NOTE: These numbers went down as the Virginia Department of Health found that the individuals lived in the Fairfax County part of Falls Church, not the City of Falls Church.
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E D I TO R I A L
Social Justice & Affordable Housing
What is the best response people of the City of Falls Church, with their predominantly non-Black collective demographic, can provide to the ongoing “Black Lives Matter” ferment that was sparked with the painfully visible public murder of George Floyd just two months ago and made more historically poignant by the passing of modern racial justice pioneer U.S. Rep. John Lewis last week? Many people in the City, as all over this nation, have been wrestling with this question, seeking answers that are not just symbolic or non-impactful. Yes, expunging whatever remaining tributes to the criminal Confederacy is entirely appropriate, escalating a process that began some years ago. It needs to be accompanied by a thorough-going reset of the thinking that had been badly distorted and twisted by remnant elements of the pro-slavery South to characterize the Confederate rebellion as some sort of moral equivalent with the North. On the contrary, that rebellion led to the loss of over 600,000 American lives for no other reason than to defend the inhuman scourge of slavery. It is a terrible stain on our human psyche that was inflicted upon us that did not end with the surrender of the Confederacy in 1865 but persisted in relentless efforts to restore white supremacist institutions in the land in the subsequent century. It was in opposition to that cruel ongoing prejudice and its dehumanizing consequences on Black Americans that led to the eruption of a new passion for civil rights led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis in the early 1960s, including the historic March on Washington in 1963 where both spoke and Lewis’ spearheading of the Freedom Riders initiative and the march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama where he suffered a cracked skull during a police riot in March 1965. The high profiles attending those events, like the murder of George Floyd this year, sparked a new sense of outrage in an American public, including its pro-civil rights contingents, that had became complacent. Now, the police state actions in Portland have escalated the sense of broad public outrage against the Trump administration here, especially in the context of an out-of-control pandemic and economic disaster. What should we do? Certainly, we as a community must join any efforts to collectively condemn the gestapo actions in Portland and anywhere else they erupt. Certainly we must redouble efforts to purge the City of any remnants of pro-Confederacy or pro-slavery legacies, and provide support for those spearheading “Black Lives Matter” efforts among us. But as a meaningful and practical matter, the best we can do, and must do, is to advance social and economic justice through a serious promotion of affordable housing initiatives in the City. A “John Lewis Memorial Affordable Housing Act” needs to be crafted, introduced and passed by our City Council that will make a difference for disadvantaged persons of color here and now.
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News-Press Story On Parent Survey Was Misinterpreted Editor, I’m afraid that the News-Press (and possibly the Falls Church City Public Schools Superintendent as well) have misinterpreted the survey filled out by parents regarding a return to school. In the survey, we were given three choices for our kids: sending them in-person 2 days a week at 50 percent capacity, participating in an online program offered by the state, or not
returning to FCCPS. I looked at the survey again today and the wording has changed, but those were the options I was offered about two weeks ago. I would have very much preferred an online-only offering from FCCPS, like we had in the spring (but for a few hours a day instead of just one). The online program from the state sounded generic to me, and I am far less
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confident in the quality of instruction compared to what we would get from our city and our teachers. It also didn’t sound like my kids would be assigned a teacher: I would much prefer that someone teaching them online know their names and know that they are there — otherwise it’s just like watching a TV program. Knowing that our schools have many priorities to juggle, and hoping that I could trust FCCPS and the Health Department not to reopen unless the data shows that it can be done safely, I reluctantly chose the 2-day a week option. Now it feels that my response has
been used to push a 100 percent return to school, and also to show parental support for the in-person 2-day a week return to school. I would not have chosen either of those options if given a decent online option. The parents do not “favor the current board proposal for hybrid teaching,” as the NewsPress has reported Dr. Noonan said at last week’s school board meeting. The survey gave us little choice but to accept the proposal or “go it alone.” I am glad that our infections rates in the city are low, but we
More Letters on Page 19
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
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JULY 23 – 29, 2020 | PAGE 7
Redistricting Lets Citizens ‘Into Room Where It Happens’ B� S��� F���������
This fall Virginia voters will finally get the chance to put citizens in the room — and an open one at that — when legislative and congressional districts are redrawn following the 2020 census. Voters will be asked to approve a constitutional amendment that seeks to end partisan gerrymandering by creating a bipartisan commission, made up of citizens and legislators, to draw the maps. A Republican-controlled General Assembly approved the amendment in 2019 and a Democratic-controlled General Assembly followed suit this year. Now the voters will get their chance. I have worked on this issue for 15 years, since I first served on a state League of Women Voters study committee. That work culminated in 2019, when the General Assembly finally approved the constitutional amendment on first reading. Because of my years of effort, I was very disappointed when, five months ago, some Democratic members reversed their earlier support of the amendment, now that their party was back in power. Most recently, I was disappointed in the July 16, 2020 “Richmond Report” column by Del. Marcus Simon. Here’s some historical perspective. As the 2011 redistricting approached, reform advocates, including the state League of Women Voters, believed that a constitutional amendment was too big a stretch to accomplish. Rather, with Republicans in control of the House and Democrats in control of the Senate, the time seemed ripe for a bipartisan compromise. Map
proposals emerged through a college competition and from a bipartisan citizens advisory committee appointed by Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell.
“The amendment is a workable compromise and clearly an improvement over the current system, which lets the party in power choose its voters.” In the end, it was all for naught. The parties agreed to let the Democrats gerrymander the Senate and the Republicans, the House. At a time when Democratic legislators could have pushed for significant reforms, they were more concerned about picking their voters where they could. Then, when a few Senate seats changed parties, they lost that control anyway. In the wake of that partisan debacle, reform advocates organized a non-partisan coalition, OneVirginia2021, which committed itself to reforming the process the next time. In 2018, the organization convened a bipartisan committee to draft an amendment that would have created an independent citizens commission.
Democrats, then still in the minority, took the position that the General Assembly would never approve such a commission, and instead Democratic Sens. George Barker and Dick Saslaw proposed a commission similar to the one now embodied in the constitutional amendment, with eight legislative members representing both parties and eight citizen members. In the 2019 session, the Senate approved the amendment, 39-1, and the House, 85-13. The following November, the Democrats won control of the General Assembly. In the final days of the 2020 session, House Democrats held a closed-door meeting — the kind the amendment would explicitly bar the new commission from holding — and many delegates were pressured to reverse their previous public positions. However, enough House Democrats stuck to their guns that the amendment passed on second reading. Simon references legislation that would have created a non-partisan, independent advisory commission in 2021 (in case the amendment fails) but the Democratic House leadership never scheduled a floor vote on that proposal, suggesting they did not have the votes to pass it. Now voters are asked to believe that if the amendment is defeated, the General Assembly will adopt this approach instead. There is no guarantee that both chambers will do so, since they didn’t do it last January. In the Senate, two veteran Black senators, Senate president pro tempore Louise Lucas of Portsmouth and Sen. Mamie Locke of Hampton, co-sponsored Barker’s amendment bill. Further, Sen. Jennifer McClellan of Richmond spon-
sored the amendment’s supplemental legislation. The amendment will add language to the Virginia Constitution to ensure that legislative district lines are drawn in accordance with any state law addressing racial and ethnic fairness—as well as the Fourteenth Amendment and the Voting Rights Act. The amendment goes further to require that districts shall provide, “where practicable, opportunities for racial and ethnic communities to elect candidates of their choice.” This would mark the first time, in the Commonwealth’s 400-year history, that civil rights protections would be enshrined in the Constitution. General Assembly leaders will be able to choose legislators of color to serve as their representatives on the commission, and to nominate persons of color to the pools from which citizen members will be chosen. That is a further way to ensure that Black voices are heard. Polls have shown that an overwhelming majority of Virginia’s citizens support reform. The amendment is a workable compromise and clearly an improvement over the current system, which lets the party in power choose its voters. Gerrymandering has gone on in Virginia since 1788, when Patrick Henry first tried to do it to James Madison. After decades of debate, we can’t wait any longer to begin a better chapter. Sara Fitzgerald has worked on redistricting reform with the League of Women Voters and with OneVirginia2021. The opinions expressed are her own.
Q������� �� ��� W��� Is F.C. Schools’ recommendation to start the year virtually the right call? • Yes
• No
• Not Sure
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WHO’S THE BEST?
The News-Press BEST OF FALLS CHURCH reader vote is back and it’s time to cast your ballot for your Falls Church-area favorites! Our 9th annual contest features a host of all new categories — now 35 in all — for readers to vote on the best eating, drinking, shopping and more in and around the Little City . Winners will be featured in a special BEST OF FALLS CHURCH edition of the News-Press on August 27!
Vote for Your Falls Church Favorites: FOOD & DRINK Burger • Pizza • Sandwich • Chicken • Seafood • American • International Breakfast • Brunch • Coffee Shop • Bakery • Frozen Treats Outside Dining • Delivery Food • Farmers Market Vendor • New Restaurant
RETAIL & SERVICES Professional Services • Bank/Credit Union • Real Estate Agent • Real Estate Group Doctors • Dentist • Retirement Community • Home Improvement • Dry Cleaners • Auto Grocery Store • Salon • Gym/Fitness • City Event • Specialty Store School • Chiropractor • Live Entertainment • New Business
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Fa l l s C h u r c h
NEWS BRIEFS F.C. Councilman Sze Fighting Cancer, Mayor Reports Long-serving Falls Church City Council member Dan Sze is fighting esophageal cancer, F.C. Mayor David Tarter reported at the outset of Monday night’s Falls Church City Council work session. Sze was absent from the meeting and left last week’s Council business meeting about halfway through. Sze first served on the F.C. City Council from 2006-2010 and did not run for re-election. But he ran again and won in November 2013 and also in 2017. He was vice-chair of the F.C. Economic Development Authority (2002-2006) and was appointed to the Board of Zoning Appeals in 2013. While on the City Council he chaired the Appointments Committee, served as liaison to the Planning Commission, founded the Economic Development Committee and served on the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Climate, Energy and Environmental Policy Committee. A resident of Falls Church since 1988, he concluded three decades of federal service in 2012 dedicated to environmental stewardship while advocating for appropriate, intelligent development. He was with the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy as deputy director of state energy programs, providing interagency liaison and senior advisor functions. Prior to that, he was Director of the Office of Infrastructure and Business Management Systems and from 2000-2005 was the national program manager of Rebuild America, a DOE-sponsored network of state, community and business partnerships focused on energy efficiency and energy technology projects in buildings and infrastructure. During his management, partnerships were involved in two billion square feet of projects and over $3 billion in energy efficiency investments. At the DOE since 1991, Sze has also been involved with oversight and management policy, project management leadership and defense program analysis. He worked for the Department of Defense in procurement, construction management and supervisory engineering positions with the Navy, including a program manager of the Trident Submarine Base at Kings Bay, Georgia. He held a commission as a State Department Foreign Service Officer, playing a key role in the reopening of the U.S. mission in Havana. Sze attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and holds a Bachelors of Architecture from Howard University and a Masters in Science in Urban Design from Columbia University. He was first registered as an architect in 1982.
Jury Queries to Be Mailed in F.C. The Arlington Circuit Court, which includes the City of Falls Church, will soon begin its annual juror qualification process. Juror questionnaires will be mailed in early August to randomly selected residents of Arlington County and Falls Church City. These questionnaires are used to qualify residents for jury duty which begins Jan. 1, 2021, and ends Dec. 31, 2021. In accordance with state law, questionnaires are distributed annually to a random selection of residents of Arlington County and the City of Falls Church. Recipients are selected from registered voter rolls provided by the State Board of Elections. Jury Commissioners appointed by the court review the questionnaires to determine eligibility for service according to criteria established by the General Assembly. Residents are required to complete and return the questionnaire within 10 days of receipt. They are asked to complete the form online to save resources. If someone is qualified by the court to serve, they could receive a summons in the mail next year with detailed reporting instructions. Failure to respond to the questionnaire or providing incomplete information may result in a resident being summoned to court to complete the form in person.
Beyer Calls for Resignation of DHS Chief U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, who represents the 8th District of Virginia that includes the City of Falls Church, issued the following statement Monday following a weekend of civil rights abuses by unidentified federal officers in Portland, Oregon, operating at the direction of Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, and amid reports that similar DHS deployments are expected to begin in Chicago: “Acting Secretary Wolf is overseeing authoritarian abuses that betray our bedrock principles and would horrify our nation’s Founders. These unidentified officers in Portland are unwanted by state and local officials, who have asked them to leave. Their actions plainly violate both the basic purpose of these agencies and the Department of Homeland Security, and the statutory authority which has been used as a pretext for their presence,” Beyer said in the statement. Ordering the occupation of U.S. cities, seeking the escalation of violence, and intentionally risking American lives over peaceful protests and graffiti is unfathomable and unacceptable. Secretary Wolf must resign immediately or be fired.”
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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Community News & Notes F.C. Women Voters Holds Talk on Election Changes
email Barbara Lipsky at blipsky@ cox.net.
The League of Women Voters of Falls Church invites the public to a virtual meeting to learn about recent legislative changes to the voting and registration process in Virginia and plans for holding an election during the coronavirus pandemic. Guest speakers will include Renee Andrews, who is a member of the Falls Church City Electoral Board, and David Bjerke, who is the Director of Elections and General Registrar of Voters for the City of Falls Church. This event will take place on Sunday, July 26 at 3:30 p.m., via Zoom. For more information and to obtain the Zoom link for the meeting,
Nonprofit Seeks Donations For Justice High Pyramid Fairfax-based nonprofit Britepaths is seeking donations from the community to assist students in need who attend schools in the Fairfax County area as part of its annual Collect for Kids Back to School Program. Britepaths’ goal is to provide supplies for at least 2,500 Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) students who attend schools in the Justice High School pyramid, including Bailey’s Elementary School, Beech Tree Elementary School, Belvedere Elementary School, Parklawn Elementary
School, Sleepy Hollow Elementary School and Glasgow Middle School. Britepaths will provide pre-packaged supply kits to its partner schools for distribution to students with demonstrated need. The supply kits will be helpful to students whether they attend school on-site or virtually. Community members are asked to donate funds via Britepaths’ secure on-line donation page at: britepaths.org, or mail a check to 3959 Pender Drive, Suite 200, Fairfax, VA 22030. Write “BTS” in the memo line. For more information, phone 703.273.8829 or email sryan@britepaths.org. Britepaths is collaborating with Fairfax County’s Collect for Kids partnership to serve as many FCPS students in need as pos-
LITTLE CITY RESIDENT Elissa Ruffino (right picture, in pink face mask) had a launch party for her children’s book, “Dream Big Dream Small,” on Monday at the Falls Church home of Caroline K. Duffett, a 2020 Christopher Newport University graduate who hosted and emceed the event. “I decided to write this book to honor Frank J. Guarini, former United States Congressman (New Jersey), who inspires me to dream big. ‘Dream Big Dream Small’ highlights the importance of hopes and dreams no matter how big or small through an endearing story about a young girl living in New York, Ruffino said. The book was kid approved (left photo). (Photos: Courtesy Elissa Ruffino)
Send Us Your News & Notes!
The News-Press is always on the lookout for photos & items for Community News & Notes, School News & Notes and other sections of the paper. If you graduate, get married, get engaged, get an award, start a club, eat a club, tie your shoes, have a birthday, have a party, host an event or anything else you think is worth being mentioned in the News-Press, write it up and send it to us! If you have a photo, even better! Because of the amount of submissions we receive, we cannot guarantee all submissions will be published, but we’ll try our best!
Community News & Notes: newsandnotes@fcnp.com | School News & Notes: schoolnews@fcnp.com Mail: News & Notes, Falls Church News-Press, 105 N. Virginia Ave #310, Falls Church, VA 22046
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AROUND 200 PEOPLE endured Saigon-like temperatures for the Eden Center’s drive-in movie night last Friday. The crowd watched an episode of “Paris by Night,” a Vietnamese language musical variety show, either with lawn chairs they brought themselves or in their air-conditioned vehicles with the broadcast coming over an FM frequency. Eden Center businesses profited from the showing — tea shops in particular. (P����: C������� G����� E���) sible by purchasing school supply kits from Herndon-based Campus Survival Kits. Thanks to this bulk ordering arrangement, a donation of $25 will provide all the necessary supplies for two students. Britepaths is working to raise $25,000 by August 15 in hopes of assisting 2,500 students. Though Britepaths has traditionally collected donations of backpacks and calculators in addition to funds, the organization is not able to accept these donations this summer and is only able to accept financial donations via its web site or check. Britepaths is in its 36th year of providing assistance and a way forward for struggling indi-
viduals and families throughout the Fairfax County area. During COVID-19, Britepaths is providing greatly enhanced Food and Financial Assistance services to Fairfax County area residents in crisis thanks to Grantors, and Virtual Financial Literacy, Job Readiness services and more via the Financial Empowerment Center at South County. For more information, visit britepaths.org.
Virginia School Sports Reveal Reopening Model Monday The Virginia High School League Executive Committee will meet on Monday, July 27, to
vote on the three recommended models for reopening sports and activities. The committee will also make its final decision on when to begin falls sports on that date as well. Furthermore, the committee suspended the July-August dead period for 2020, which means schools can continue out-of-season practice activities. “It’s important to remember that in all these models playing sports in the high risk category depends on being out of the current Phase III guidelines. All our efforts will continue towards advocating for the opening of sports and activities in a safe and reasonable way that will protect athletes, activity participants,
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coaches, officials, and the public,” said VHSL Executive Director Dr. John W. “Billy” Haun. The three models presented to the Executive Committee for the opening of sports/activities are as follows: Model 1 — Leave all sports in current season. Low and moderate contact risks sports that would be allowed to play are golf and cross country. High risk sports that would not be played are field hockey, football, volleyball, and cheer. Fall activities that would be allowed is theatre. Model 2 — Switch Fall and Spring seasons. Low and moderate contact risk sports that would be allowed to play in the fall are track and field, tennis, soccer, baseball, and softball. High risk sports that would not be played are boys/girls lacrosse. Spring activities that would be allowed are theatre, forensics/debate, and film festival Model 3 — Delay all VHSL sports and adopt the Condensed Interscholastic Plan. Leave all sports in the season where they are currently aligned. • Season 1 (Winter) December 14 – February 20 (First Contest Date — December 28) • Season 2 (Fall) February 15 – May 1 (First Contest Date — March 1) • Season 3 (Spring) April 12 – June 26 (First Contest Date — April 26)
Creative Cauldron Kicks Off All Virtual Camp Schedule Creative Cauldron presents its 18th summer camp schedule. It will be all virtual for the first time ever. Every day provides an opportunity for campers to work with the Cauldron’s seasoned and creative teaching artists in the areas of drama, dance, music
JULY 23 – 29, 2020 | PAGE 11
and art. Virtual camps will be held in the mornings with activities from 9 a.m. – noon each day, and offered in two or three-week theme-based sessions. Campers will be grouped by age and can explore science, myth, folklore, music and art based on the theme, and work toward a final recorded zoom performance which will be shared with family and friends at the end of each three-week session. All camps are hosted by the Cauldron’s artists, like music with Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith, art of all kinds with scenic designer Margie Jervis and more. All camps are $300/week. For those interested in a shorter camp day, in the afternoons the Cauldron will be offering mini camp sessions lasting an hour in length and meeting once a day, each week for five days. These are $100/for five weekday sessions. Scholarships and pay-whatyou-will options are available to all who need them. The Cauldron will also offer recordings of previous performances on YouTube, evening art classes for adults and a “Community Cauldron” weekly community open mic night. The current camp in session is “Tales from Mother Earth,” which runs from July 20 – Aug. 7. Revered as a deity or goddess, Mother Earth has many names and faces. Call her Gaia, Pachamama, Houto, or Spider Grandmother, she appears in the creation stories and mythology of many different cultural traditions. Through ancient stories the Cauldron’s modern day campers will learn how different people around the world live in harmony with nature, and honor Mother Earth’s lessons. The final zoom production will be a celebration of all that the planet provides.
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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
A Penny for Your Thoughts
INSTALLS ON NEW & EXISTING GUTTERS
News of Greater Falls Church By Supervisor Penny Gross
Fairfax County’s 427 public parks are among the best in the nation. From 1.44 acre Bel Air Park in Mason District to 1,555 acre Huntley Meadows in Lee District, and everything in between, Fairfax County residents and visitors can find nearly any activity close by, and often free. Trails are the most popular offering, especially in the era of Covid19, and Fairfax County has 325 miles of trails, including the 40 mile Gerry Connolly Cross-County Trail (GCCCT) that rambles through portions of all nine magisterial districts. Golf courses, recreation centers, hundreds of athletic fields, playgrounds, cultural and historic sites, horticultural and nature centers – all provide diverse and daily opportunities for fresh air, exercise, recreation, and leisure activities. Fairfax County parks have been lauded with the National Gold Medal Award for parks, and by CAPRA Accreditation (Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies), and the American Alliance of Museums. Ensuring that our parks remain great is the task of the 12-person Fairfax County Park Authority, whose members are appointed by the Board of Supervisors. One member from each magisterial district, and three at-large members serve four-year terms, without remuneration. Park Authority members are superb volunteers, with demanding fiscal and community responsibilities. One of those volunteers was Dorothy Norpel, a Mason District resident who served as an at-large member in the 1970s and 80s. Dorothy passed away last week, only three weeks shy of her 99th birthday, but her legacy can be seen throughout today’s Mason District park properties. I got acquainted with Dorothy when she taught art after school at Weyanoke Elementary School, and our daughter was one of her young students. Not long after, Dorothy and I helped establish the Friends of Mason District Park, and we embarked
on numerous park adventures, including the Mason District Park Festival, which ran each September for more than 30 years, and the Newton Edwards Amphitheatre and its free summer concert series. Dorothy was instrumental in saving what is now the public Pinecrest Golf Course when development threatened its loss. Likewise, the Clark House on Columbia Pike and historic Summers Cemetery on Lincolnia Road came under the aegis of the Park Authority, because of Dorothy’s perseverance. It was her devotion to Green Spring Gardens, the county horticultural center located in Mason District, that truly is her legacy. Dorothy was a founding member of the Friends of Green Spring Gardens (the FROGs), whose support raises tens of thousands of dollars each year to help maintain the gardens, host children’s programs, and a myriad of other activities that make Green Spring the jewel in the Park Authority’s crown. Dorothy had a keen sense of history and preservation, along with art and gardening, and she knew how to get to “yes,” even though it might take more than a little diligent persuasion sometimes. A mutual friend noted that, when Dorothy pushed for something (which she did frequently), it was never to serve herself, but to benefit the causes she held most dear. Dorothy’s long service, as a Park Authority member or simply as a committed citizen volunteer, was exemplary, and our community is the better for it. Note: Last week, I wrote that virtual summer concerts are being planned from the end of July to the end of August, and promised to provide a link in this column. The links still are being verified; I will provide them when available. Penny Gross is the Mason District Supervisor, in the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She may be emailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov.
C i t y o f Fa l l s C h u r c h
CRIME REPORT Week of July 13 - 19, 2020 Driving Under the Influence, 500 blk N Washington St. July 13, 9:48 PM, a male, 23, of Fairfax, VA, was arrested for driving under the influence. Destruction of Property, 800 blk W Broad St. Between July 13 and July 14, unknown suspect(s) damaged the front door of a business. Larceny-Shoplifting, 1100 blk W Broad St. July 15, 9:20 AM, an unknown suspect took items from a store and left without paying. Simple Assault, 6700 blk Wilson Blvd. July 15, 11:13 AM, police received a report of an unknown
suspect who allegedly struck an individual with his fist and left the area prior to police arrival. Arson, 1300 blk Robinson Pl. July 15, 12:09 PM, a female, 54, of Falls Church, VA, was charged with arson. Larceny-Shoplifting, 1100 blk W Broad St. July 16, 2:00 PM, unknown suspect(s) took items from a store and left without paying. Trespass, 6700 blk Wilson Blvd. July 17, 9:50 AM, a male , 54, of Falls Church, VA, was issued a citation for trespassing after being forbidden to do so. Driving Under the Influence, 200 blk S West St. July 18, 1:24 AM, a male, 28, of Arlington, VA, was arrested for driving under the influence.
Drunkenness (DIP), 200 blk S West St. July 18, 1:24 AM, a male, 27, of Takoma Park, MD, was arrested for appearing drunk in public. Driving Under the Influence, 7100 blk Leesburg Pike. July 18, 10:25 PM, a male, 59, of Sterling, VA, was arrested for driving under the influence. Driving Under the Influence, 900 blk W Broad St. July 19, 10:57 PM, a female, 29, of Dunn Loring, VA, was arrested for driving under the influence.
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Will Trump’s Gestapo Void November Election?
This coming weekend will mark the commencement of the final 100 days of the 2020 elections in the U.S., the last 100 days that we have to pull off a resounding, crushing defeat of Donald Trump in the presidential race, and to secure control by alternatives to the Trump madness in both houses of Congress. It is appearing less and less likely that no matter the outcome of the November 3 election, that Trump will go peacefully. In fact, it can be taken as non-coincidental that more and more polls are showing Trump losing by wider and wider margins, that Trump’s deployment of a camouflaged, as violent domestic gestapo in Portland, Oregon, to assault peacefully assembled U.S. FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS citizens can be seen as a serious escalation of his bid to stay on at the White House despite what the election results may be. It looks now like Trump has abandoned any effort at broadening his electoral base to win at the polls on Nov. 3, but instead has drilled down on his existing, now shrinking, hard core support base, those most likely to stick with him as he reverts to more and more savagely unlawful means to stay in power by force and not by votes. The use of his domestic gestapo, test run in Portland as it was, his Homeland Security goons who beat up and gassed even the moms who came out in force against them to protect their demonstrating children, should be a wake up call for Americans who cherish their democracy and who might somehow still think that this November’s election will be like all others with a (hopefully) peaceful transition of power. No, this acutely disturbed president, whose mental state is so well documented by the professional psychologist who happens to be his niece who had had tons of opportunities to evaluate him up close, has been driven all along by a lust for power and adulation such that he would welcome an “alternative way” of keeping himself in office despite the November election outcome. As Mary L. Trump, Ph.D., says in her blockbuster best-selling book, “Too Much and Never Enough, How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man,” in her book prologue, “I have no problem calling Donald a narcissist — he meets all nine criteria as outlined in the ‘Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).’” She adds, “He also meets the criteria for antisocial personality disorder, which in its most severe form is generally considered sociopathy but can also refer to chronic criminality, arrogance and disregard for the rights of others.” So we have a president who, as a sociopath, has “no regard for the rights” of those he was elected to serve. Finding himself in his current position is not the result of his own work, but of a vast network of cruel and heartless financiers, captains of industry and oligarchs both in the U.S. and abroad, who are delighted to exploit his substantial personality disorder for their own cynical gain. His presidency is modeled in the cookie-cutter format of a mindcontrol cult of the type well-documented by Steven Hassan in his book, “The Cult of Trump.” This cult model was developed in the late 1960s to counter the growing civil rights and antiwar movements, recruiting young people with hypnotic drugs, music and promises of a new “family” into controlled groups led by a typically narcissistic sociopathic “leader.” The cults require suspensions of disbelief, a willingness to absorb whatever the “leader” tells them, with no regard for objective truth or integrity. The Soviet KGB, where Putin cut his teeth, were masters at this, with the cult leaders kept in check by means of blackmail or intimate “Red Sparrow” controllers. Jim Jones, the Hare Krishnas, the Moonies, the Children of God and many more were all cases of this. Now, this is what Trump represents, and it’s going to take some very strong and resolute forces who’d best be prepared for the worst to drag him out of the White House later this year. Putin interference in our election will involve activating domestic chaos and violence on all sides to this ultimate, unsavory end.
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Nicholas F. Benton
Nicholas Benton may be emailed at nfbenton@fcnp.com.
Our Man in Arlington By Charlie Clark
My duties as a reporter broadened last week to accommodate the chance to interview a beauty pageant winner. Courtney Phillips, who makes her home in the Fairlington section of Arlington, on July 10 was picked as “Miss for Virginia” by contest judges down in South Hill, based on her performance in the interview, swimsuit and evening gown competition. She will travel to Las Vegas in October (Covid-19 precautions pending) to compete with 51 young women for the national title of Miss for America. A few caveats: “Miss for America” is not the same as the better-known, century-old Miss America pageant, whose 2020 installment was cancelled due to the pandemic. It’s a new offshoot of the corporate-sponsored Mrs. America organization, which is open to married, divorced and widowed contestants. Because I am decades older than Phillips, I wasn’t surprised that she drew a blank when I asked her if she recalled Bert Parks, the singer who hosted the Miss America pageant on TV from 1955-79. Nor did she recall the famous (but exaggerated) “bra burning” feminist protest at the 1968 pageant in Atlantic City. But Phillips, 36, is a serious, accomplished communications professional who will devote her year-long reign to improving society’s handling of mental health issues.
“I was personally affected by mental illness because my father had PTSD and coped with alcoholism,” she told me. “I lost him 12 years ago. When I started struggling with my own anxiety and PTSD, it took 12 years to overcome while competing in pageants.” She learned coping mechanisms for “invisible wounds” and told her family story, said Phillips, whose mother died of cancer when she was 7. “And I realized I was having an impact on other people’s lives” at the early age of 15 when her comments after the 9/11 attacks comforted others. A native of Houston, Phillips came to Arlington three years ago to do marketing and messaging for federal agencies, a task that, combined with next year’s Miss for Virginia expenses-paid travel, will make her “dual-hatted.” The former Miss Northern Virginia now Miss for Virginia is well aware of feminist critiques of beauty contests and the fact that the Miss America pageant in 2018 discontinued the swimsuit event in the belief that it was degrading. She tells naysayers that her own experience in pageants is that they “empower women and give them confidence. We worked to be the very best version of our self — inside and outside, whether it’s in the gym or the community.” Mentally, she added, one must “be able to have conversations on stage with judges and a personal interviewer. It’s empowering to be able to walk onstage to show the
best of yourself, your full body — mentally, physically and what you do in the community.” I couldn’t help but ask: Do women competing in beauty pageants get rivalrous with one another? “I feel we all lift each other up,” Phillips said. “I love being part of an organization backstage, where you’re feeling nervous. I remember grabbing the hands of other contestants and saying a prayer before going onstage.” *** De-Confederacize Lee Highway? After years of focusing on broad issues of re-imagining the 4.5-mile stretch in Arlington, the nonprofit Lee Highway Alliance joined with county board members last week to launch a community engagement process to select a less-controversial name; a national trend. My neighborhood of East Falls Church boasts one intersection particularly packed with Robert E. Lee’s tottering legacy. The intersection of Lee Highway and Underwood St., I was reminded by historic conservationist Mike Nardolilli, is a twofor. Underwood was likely named for U.S. District Judge John C. Underwood, who in 1865 led a Norfolk, Va., grand jury to indict Lee for treason. In our day, a new set of 27, $1 million-dollar townhouses is rising at this intersection. NVHomes is borrowing the name of both a Columbia Pike neighborhood and one given to Lee’s Arlington House during the Civil War: “Arlington Heights.”
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FALLS CHURCHCALENDAR In response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic affecting the globe and policies enacted to avoid social gatherings, the News-Press will publish a list of virtual events weekly in lieu of its regular listings. If you have a virtual event you’d like to see listed, please email calendar@fcnp.com. Deadline is 5 p.m. Monday weekly.
CITYEVENTS SATURDAY, JULY 25 Falls Church Farmers Market To Go. The Falls Church Farmers Market has converted to a preorder, to-go event. All orders must be placed in advance of Saturday’s market which will be open from 8 a.m. – noon for pre-order pickup only in front of City Hall (300 Park Ave.). A list of participating vendors and information on preordering can be found at fallsch-
urchva.gov/547/Farmers-MarketTo-Go.
VIRTUALEVENTS THURSDAY, JULY 23 Teen Book Club (online). Club focused on books appropriate for ages 13 and up, or for students rising to grades 6-8. This week’s book is “Rapunzel’s Revenge” by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale. This program will be held online via Zoom. For more information, participants should email Laura Miller at lmiller@fallschurchva. gov. 3 – 4 p.m. Jane Austen Book Discussion (online). This meeting’s book discussion will be about “Sense and Sensibility” by Jane Austen. This program will be held online via Zoom. For more information, email Marshall Webster at mwebster@fallschurchva.gov. 7 – 8 p.m.
SATURDAY, JULY 25 Uncle Devin Show (online). The Uncle Devin Show is a live, interactive musical experience for children by renowned drummer Devin Walker. The show cultivates the minds of children through percussion instruments and is a dynamic cross between DC’s Trouble Funk and Schoolhouse Rock. For preschool and school age kids. Visit Mary Riley Styles Public Library’s Facebook page to “attend” this event. 11 – 11:45 a.m.
MONDAY, JULY 27 City Council Meeting (Virtual). The City Council meets the second and fourth Monday of the month, with the exception of August and December when only one meeting is held. The public is welcome to address the City Council on any topic during the public comment period. Public comments will be accepted at
cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov, until the end of the meeting’s public hearing time, or by voicemail at (703) 248-5014 until 3 p.m. on the day of the meeting. The virtual meeting will be held pursuant to and in compliance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, Section 2.2-3708.2 and state and local legislation adopted to allow for continued government operation during the COVID-19 declared emergency. 7:30 – 11 p.m.
TUESDAY, JULY 28 Great Books Discussion. A “Great Books” discussion concentrating on literary classics (both traditional and modern) meeting on the second and fourth Tuesday most months. This month’s books are “Of Friendship” and “Of Solitude” by Michel de Montaigne. This discussion will be held online. Visit fallschurchva.gov/LibraryAtHome for details. 7 – 8:30 p.m.
DAILY
Maritime Aquarium. In response to the Covid-19 closures, the Maritime Aquarium will be streaming some of its most popular educational programs each week. That includes All About Sea Turtles, Shark Safari and Fish Tales. Students, families and individuals are welcome to take part in these live-streaming virtual programs. All programs require advance reservations to receive the needed link. Visit maritimeaquarium.org/virtual-programs to register for classes. Nationals Learning Activities for Kids. As people remain at home and are missing baseball, the Washington Nationals have continued to create fun and educational content for interested fans. All activities for kids in grades 1-6 are posted at nationals.com/ Community. That includes Jr. Nationals Kids Club Fun Pages featuring Nat Libs, word scrambles and trivia, STEM lessons using examples from the game of baseball and instructional baseball videos as Nationals coaches and players demonstrate drills that baseball and softball players can do at home.
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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Fa l l s C h u r c h
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JULY 23 – 29, 2020 | PAGE 15
Business News & Notes Creative Cauldron Offering Two Outdoor Concerts This Weekend Creative Cauldron is offering two outdoor concerts this weekend at Mission Lofts Apartments in Bailey’s Crossroads. Chris Urquiaga will perform “Latin Pop Summer” on Friday, July 24 at 8:00 pm and Veronneau, the Wammie Award winning Latin Jazz, Samba duo will perform Saturday, July 25 at 8:00 pm. Mission Lofts is an innovative live/work apartment building located at 5600 Columbia Pike, Falls Church. For tickets and event details, visit www.creativecauldron.org.
NOVA Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce Hosting Career Event The NOVA Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce is hosting its 2020 Diversity and Inclusion Career Event virtually on Tuesday, July 28, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. The event will provide job seekers an opportunity to connect with employers and have live interactive video interviews with recruiters and hiring managers. The event is being held in partnership with the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. For more information about participating as a job provider or seeker, visit www.novahispanicchamber.com.
Falls Church Chamber of Commerce Hosting Member Orientation Meeting July 28. The Falls Church Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Member Orientation meeting on Tuesday, July 28, 12:15 to 1:15 pm. The free virtual event is designed to help prospective, new, and long-time chamber members familiarize or re-familiarize themselves with the benefits of Chamber membership. For more information or to register, visit www.FallsChurchChamber.org.
Falls Church Dogtopia Offering a Founders Program Dogtopia of Falls Church is offering a Founders Program before its opening in early September, perfect timing for dogs that might experience separation anxiety as their people head back to the office. Dogtopia is the leading destination for dog daycare, boarding, and spa services. Its mission is to make sure four-legged family members are kept safe and have fun at its modern, open-play facility. Founders Program members pay $99 per month and receive two weeks of unlimited daycare, month-to-month freeze/cancel option, and the chance to lock in pre-opening savings. Dogtopia of Falls Church is under construction at 108 W. Jefferson Street in Falls Church. For more information, call or text 571-356-9223 or visit www.dogtopia.com/falls-church/.
Ad Network
Kiln & Custard Lauches New Frozen Custard Subscription Service Kiln & Custard celebrated International Ice Cream Day by launching a new Frozen Custard Subscription Service. Custard lovers can now join and receive 4 pints of custard with toppings and cones delivered monthly or bi-monthly. For more information, visit www.kilnandco.com. The Falls Church location is at 455 S. Maple Avenue in Falls Church.
Falls Church City Allowing Use of Parks for Commercial Activities The City of Falls Church is now allowing City parks and amenities to temporarily be used for commercial activities to help City businesses during the pandemic. Businesses must secure a Temporary Outdoor Commercial Activity Permit available through the Recreation and Parks Department. This exemption to existing regulations will continue through September 30 but may be extended. For more information about the requirements, visit https://www.fallschurchva.gov/452/Recreation-Parks.
Timeshare Cancellation Get your free information kit and see if you qualify:
888-670-0602
Eden Center Hosted Free Drive in Movie Night VISIT US ONLINE
Eden Center hosted a free drive in movie night on Saturday, July 18. Approximately 200 people enjoyed “Paris by Night”, a Vietnamese language musical variety show from their cars or lawn chairs. For more information about the Eden Center and its efforts to keep business employees and customers safe, visit www.edencenter.
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Business News & Notes is compiled by Sally Cole, Executive Director of Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce. She may be emailed at sally@fallschurchchamber.org.
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PAGE 16 | JULY 23 - 29, 2020
APPLICATION BY FALLS CHURCH GATEWAY PARTNERS
ATTN. AUCTIONEERS: Advertise your
The application materials for the above items may be viewed on the City’s web site: http://www.fallschurchva.gov/WFC
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LEGAL NOTICE PUBLIC NOTICE PLANNING COMMISSION On August 5, 2020, at 7:30 p.m., the City of Falls Church Planning Commission will hold a virtual public meeting. All members of the public may view this electronic meeting via www.fallschurchva.gov/PC. The meeting may also be viewed on FCCTV (Cox 11, RCN 2, and Verizon 35). Video will be available after the meeting both online and on FCCTV. The Planning Commission will consider the following items and recommendations to City Council: (TR20-29) RESOLUTION TO GRANT SPECIAL EXCEPTION ENTITLEMENT AMENDMENT FOR A MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT WITH A BUILDING HEIGHT UP TO FIFTEEN (15) STORIES ON APPROXIMATELY 9.77 ACRES OF LAND LOCATED AT 7124 LEESBURG PIKE (PORTIONS OF REAL PROPERTY CODE NUMBERS 51-221-006, -007) ON APPLICATION BY FALLS CHURCH GATEWAY PARTNERS (TR20-30) RESOLUTION TO GRANT SPECIAL EXCEPTION SITE PLAN (SEC. 48-488.B(3)) FOR A MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT WITH A BUILDING HEIGHT UP TO FIFTEEN (15) STORIES ON APPROXIMATELY 8.82 ACRES OF LAND LOCATED AT 7124 LEESBURG PIKE (PORTIONS OF REAL PROPERTY CODE NUMBERS 51-221-006, -007) ON
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(TO20-17) AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE OFFICIAL ZONING DISTRICT MAP OF THE CITY OF FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA, BY REZONING A TOTAL OF APPROXIMATELY 1.7 ACRES OF LAND TO REPLACE THE EXISTING PROFFERED DEVELOPMENT CONDITIONS WHILE MAINTAINING THE B-3, GENERAL BUSINESS ZONING DESIGNATION FOR THE PROPERTIES AT 116 EAST FAIRFAX AND 130 EAST FAIRFAX (REAL PROPERTY CODE 53-108-007 AND 53-108-009) ON APPLICATION BY FAIRFAX ONE, LLC AND THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH The Planning Commission will also consider approval of the following site plan application: SITE PLAN APPLICATION #2019-1177 TO PERMIT THE CONSTRUCTION OF A 1.5 STORY COMMERCIAL BUILDING ON APPROXIMATELY 0.88 ACRES OF LAND LOCATED ON 130 EAST FAIRFAX STREET, RPC #53-108-009 OF THE FALLS CHURCH REAL PROPERTY RECORDS, ZONED B-3, GENERAL BUSINESS, ON APPLICATION BY FAIRFAX ONE, LLC AND THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH The application materials for the above items will be available on the city’s webpage prior to the public hearing: http://www. fallschurchva.gov/PC This location is fully accessible to persons with physical disabilities and special services or assistance may be requested in advance. (TTY 711)
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CITY COUNCIL CITY OF FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA The ordinance referenced below was given first reading on July 13, 2020. Public hearing, second reading and final Council action is scheduled for Monday, August 10, 2020 at 7:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matters may be heard. (TO20-17) AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE OFFICIAL ZONING DISTRICT MAP OF THE CITY OF FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA, BY REZONING A TOTAL OF APPROXIMATELY 1.7 ACRES OF LAND TO REMOVE THE EXISTING PROFFERED DEVELOPMENT CONDITIONS WHILE MAINTAINING THE B-3, GENERAL BUSINESS ZONING DESIGNATION FOR THE PROPERTIES AT 116 EAST FAIRFAX AND 130 EAST FAIRFAX (REAL PROPERTY CODE 53-108-007 AND 53-108-009) ON APPLICATION BY FAIRFAX ONE, LLC AND THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH Public hearings will be held electronically at www.fallschurchva.gov/CouncilMeetings. Unless the Governor’s state of emergency is lifted, public comments will be accepted only electronically at cityclerk@fallschurchva. gov, until the end of the public hearing, or by voicemail at (703) 248-5014 until 3 p.m. on the day of the public hearing. Council members will attend the meeting through electronic means and members of the public may view the meeting at www.fallschurchva. gov/CouncilMeetings and on FCCTV (Cox 11, RCN 2, Verizon 35). Video will be available after the meeting both online and on
FCCTV. For copies of legislation, contact the City Clerk’s office at (703-248-5014) or cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov. The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703-248-5014 (TTY 711).
CELESTE HEATH, CITY CLERK
ABC NOTICE KPCA Corp, Trading as: Pho Hai Duong, 8411 Old Courthouse Road, Vienna, Virginia 22182-3807. The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) for a Wine and Beer On and Off Premises. Ngoc Hai Thi Le, President, Authorized Signatory KPCA Corp, the Operating Members of Pho Hai Duong. NOTE: Objections to the issuance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Objections should be registered at www.abc.virginia.gov or 800-552-3200.
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We are pledged to the letter and spirit of Virginia’s policy for achieving equal housing opportunity throughout the Commonwealth. We encourage and support advertising and marketing programs in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status or handicap. All real estate advertised herein is subject to Virginia’s fair housing law which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status or handicap or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination.” This newspaper will not knowingly accept advertising for real estate that violates the fair housing law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. For more information or to file a housing complaint call the Virginia Fair Housing Office at (804) 3678530. Toll free call (888) 5513247. For the hearing impaired call (804) 367-9753.
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Who will overwhelm The coward’s helm? Joyful lights and a Rightful, brightful, Delightful soldier Of the realm!
A RTS&E NTE RTA I NME NT
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Crossword
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1. One might be slipped 5. Fistfight souvenir 11. Auto additive brand 14. Army no-show 15. French star 16. Address bar address 17. Instagram, Twitter, etc. 19. Modern sweetie 20. Low mil. rank 21. Tree that giraffes snack on 23. Fictional professor said to be based in part on J.K. Rowling’s childhood chemistry teacher 26. Get the sniffles 29. Hunt of “As Good as It Gets” 30. “Ben-____” 31. Side often candied 32. Only place on Earth where crocodiles and alligators co-exist 35. ____ dixit (unproven assertion) 38. Wite-Out seller 39. Prefix with dermis 40. “Iron Man” Ripken 42. Org. for Federer 43. Jessica of “Fantastic Four” 45. Sports equipment seen in a British pub 48. School media depts. 50. Inits. in 1970s-’80s rock 51. “I’m innocent!” 52. A great teacher might be one 55. Cookbook amts. 56. Prime rib choice 57. “____-hoo!” 58. Wet blanket?
STRANGE BREW
59. Some athletic injuries ... or this puzzle’s theme 66. “Why ____ even bother?” 67. Savory Chinese snack 68. Piggish remark 69. Alternative to an Airbnb 70. San ____, Calif. (border town opposite Tijuana) 71. Cunning plan
Down 1. “____ Kapital” 2. ____ Jima 3. Lib. arts major 4. Los Angeles NBAer 5. Pool surface 6. 24-hr. cash source 7. Body part you may wiggle 8. Thing on top of things 9. Hipbone-related 10. Swell 11. Ford Fiestas and MINI Coopers, e.g. 12. Appalachian ____ 13. Make a case 18. Pay back 22. Superfood sometimes called “purple gold” 23. Queen of ____ 24. Author Shute of “On the Beach” 25. Two-time Emmy winner for “30 Rock” 26. Bound, in a way 27. IRS agt.’s review 28. Green Day drummer 33. Retro-cool music purchases
JOHN DEERING
Sudoku
JULY 23 - 29, 2020 | PAGE 17
34. Cinch ____ (Hefty bag) 36. Lumberjack’s remnant 37. Weapons with bell guards 41. Slow musical passages 44. “____ plaisir!” 46. Copa Mundial cry 47. 1987 sci-fi film set in near-future Detroit 49. Raunchy 52. ____-wip (dessert topping) 53. Result of a leadoff single 54. Great Plains natives 57. Often-mocked ‘80s car 60. Bollywood star Aishwarya ____ 61. Flanders who inspired the band Okilly Dokilly 62. Ballpark figure: Abbr. 63. Rap’s ____ Nas X 64. Brian in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 65. Shade of blue
Last Thursday’s Solution I M T O
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R E S O R T A R E A L E S T
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By The Mepham Group
Level 1 2 3 4
Solution to last Sunday’s puzzle
NICK KNACK
© 2020 N.F. Benton
7/26/20
Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit sudoku.org.uk. © 2020 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. All rights reserved.
PAGE 18 | JULY 23 – 29, 2020
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BACK IN THE DAY
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
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Falls Church News-Press Vol. XX, No. 21 • July 22, 2010
Tarbert: Enrollment May Drive Continued School Budget Hikes
F.C.’s Local Bus System GEORGE Once Again on the Chopping Block
In the News-Press’ annual interview with the Mayor of Falls Church, Jeff Tarbert said that, while the City schools must continue to find ways to “economize,” increases in the schools’ budget, if enrollment driven, will have to be accommodated in future years. “If it’s enrollment driven... we just pay it and support it as best we can,” Tarbert said.
The future of Falls Church’s GEORGE bus system beyond September took a major tum for the worse this week, when the Falls Church City Council took a hard look its options for funding the continuation of the service at its work session Monday night after realizing that it would cost taxpayers plenty to keep it running.
F.C. Schools
Continued from Page 1
dial, food service, busing and other components, is a vital part of that. Noonan told the News-Press that he gained major clarity on these matters over “a tumultuous weekend,” when there was an overwhelming outpouring of concern from the public, the vast majority of whom wanted allvirtual instruction and no hybrid models. This was in sharp contrast to an earlier poll by the school system, reported by Noonan at last week’s School Board meeting, which indicated a strong preference for a hybrid model based on the desire for students to be in contact with their peers in classroom settings. But a resurgence of the virus across the U.S., including in parts of Virginia (though not in Falls Church, according to the Fairfax Health Department, notwithstanding new cases among school and City, especially police, employees) and the results of the Korean study have led to a sudden but decisive change of heart. As far as the fate of fall sports at the high school is concerned, that decision will be made by the Virginia High School League at its July 27 meeting, Noonan said (see news item on page 11). Noonan stressed that as plans are made for all-virtual education this fall, “It will be very different this fall than last spring.” There has been a lot of professional development of best practices over the summer, and attendance will be taken and grading will occur. Daily schedules will also be published. “It will feel like school,” he said. He said a major value of the fact the classes are being locally crafted is the fact that the
International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum that has been incorporated into all Falls Church schools, K-12, will be fully integrated into the teaching. The online teaching will include some larger, live face-toface classes and some individual work. “Our biggest challenge is that we’re having to work all this out by ourselves with no leadership being provided from a higher level,” Noonan said. He said that following the School Board meeting tonight, a comprehensive missive to all stakeholders will be sent out via email on Friday. The following is the text of the statement that Noonan issued Wednesday: “As Virginia continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, and with the health and safety of our students, families, staff, and community foremost in mind, tomorrow evening, I will make a recommendation that the School Board adopt a fully virtual start to the FCCPS 2020-21 school year. The Board is expected to discuss and take action on the recommendation at its meeting. “With so much unknown about this virus and its transmission FCCPS does not want to put anyone at risk through in-person instruction. This virtual approach will begin August 24th and remain in place for at least the first nine weeks of school. We will remain online until we are confident of everyone’s safety in our classrooms, buses, and office spaces. Conditions will drive our decision making, not a timeline. Our commitment has always been to safety first, and we stand by that. “While a change of this significance can seem daunting, FCCPS staff members are working hard to make this format mirror a true-
school experience as much as possible. The virtual learning will differ from the “emergency learning model” adopted after the March closure. The 2020-21 virtual format will be rich, structured, and robust, including new learning and graded. It will be a well-articulated and coherent school program, with a well-defined schedule for every student. “We pledge to keep you informed as we work together to engage all our children during this health crisis. We are grateful for your ongoing support. Our schools are working to provide the details you need. Everyone has lots of questions, but we are asking for your patience. We will be working on a new parent FAQ document to provide information about various topics related to the 100% online/ virtual opening plan. Please help our principals and teachers/staff with their work by sending all questions to: reopening@fccps. org, not to your schools. We will be responsive and ensure those questions are answered in a timely fashion and forwarded to the staff who can support you with your inquiry. “On Friday, following the School Board meeting, we will publish our routine Friday edition of the ‘Road to Reopening.’ This will be designed to help parents understand more fully what our models will look like at each level and give further information about the impacts this change has on online instruction generally. Thank you again for your dedication to our schools and your students during this unprecedented time in history. This is not where we imagined we would be a few weeks ago and recognize this is not the ideal situation for anyone, but the health and safety of all is paramount. We need your support now more than ever.”
IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT the domestic animals around here, especially when it’s crisp shots of this rabbit seen bouncing around N. Oak St. that are just too beautiful to pass up Just because you’re not famous doesn’t mean your pet can’t be! Send in your Critter Corner submissions to crittercorner@fcnp.com.
Rent Relief, Assistance Seen As Priority for F.C.’s CARES Act Funding Continued from Page 5
• The Council began discussing how to allocate the $1,275,000 in federal CARES Act money provided to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, noting that support for vulnerable populations for rent and other assistance is a priority, including the fact that City’s police department has been hit by six officers who’ve contracted the virus and have had to be moved to quarantine, along with others with whom they’d been in contact. Shields and some Council members expressed concern that while the City was oversubscribed for the use of the funds by $432,000, little of the money is available for actual virus mitigation. Shields noted that the City of Falls Church’s case numbers have been extraordinarily low because, he said, “This community has been very responsible,” but that areas right around the City report twice the infection rate or higher. Mayor Tarter said the entire Northern Virginia region has been doing well. • The Council heard from the City’s Chief Financial Officer Kiran Bawa that revenues for the first 11 months (through May) of Fiscal Year 2020 held strong in the area of real
estate tax payments, sales, meals and business licence taxes despite the pandemic interruptions such that shortfalls are now projected at $2.1 million (out of a $100 million annual operating budget) compared to a projected $2.7 million just a month earlier. Combined with underspending, the FY2020 net numbers should more than offset revenue shortfalls, she said. The Council also considered an easement request for the West End Park and a draft West End Small Area Plan.
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
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Providence Players’ ‘Librarian’ Entertains Using the Mundane by Mark Dreisonstok
Falls Church News-Press
Social distancing has forced a measure of self-reflection upon many of us. This makes the online production of Providence Players of Fairfax “The Librarian” especially relevant for this Covid-19influenced time. The 20-minute-long production is about a person, known only as “the client,” who is dissatisfied with her life, particularly her career choice of being a professional clown. So, she asks a mysterious, unnamed librarian for help in rewriting her life. The librarian agrees to help, though she will also charge for this service. They then embark on a series of vignettes in which client and librarian visit various key points in the Client’s past to see how they should be “revised.” Elizabeth Keith plays the worldweary client well; she is convincing as a metaphorical “every person” who wishes to feel that her life choices, while not terrible, are less than optimal. Wynter Chatman is also very good as the librarian, who rather paradoxically makes a disinterested character engaging! The other characters are also well-portrayed, including Ariana Colligan as the client’s clown guru/instructor and Mary Zuzik Andrechik marvelously playing a fellow clown. David Rawlings is also quite good as the client’s father,
WYNTER CHATMAN’S (right) role as the unenthused librarian jibes with Elizabeth Keith’s role as the client. (Photo: Mark Dreisonstok) appearing in a birthday memory. The show is impressive in a number of ways. The subject matter is not only topical; it also uses video conferencing for dazzling artistic effect. The actors perform in different locations due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This is often done using a wonderful virtual background of a library, but at times this is displaced by an abstract pattern signifying some sort of virtual reality meta-existence. These computergenerated backdrops, combined with various photos and minimalist costumes, make a virtue out of quarantined necessity. The direction by Julie Janson theater is excellent. Actress Elizabeth Keith, who
News-Press
TO LETTERS THE EDITOR Continued from Page 6
don’t live in a 2-square-mile bubble. Many of the people in our grocery stores and restaurants are from Arlington, Alexandria, and Fairfax, and many our our students also move around and interact with people from outside the city. Many families are traveling all over the country right now. We can’t just look at the numbers for our little area to determine if in-person schooling is safe. As I hope you will be reporting this week, teachers from the elementary schools have also been speaking out this week about their concerns regarding in-person instruction for elementary schoolers at 50 percent capacity. A large number of the teachers at Mt. Daniel, for instance, do not believe that they can safely
teach young students in-person at this time (and have sent a letter to this effect to Dr. Noonan and the School Board). I don’t believe that the results of this survey should be used to pressure teachers and parents back into school. We were not given a valid choice for online schooling, and many of us would chose that if we could. Jess Sabo Falls Church
Even ‘Bad’ History Provides Insight On Reopening Schools
Editor, Those who don’t fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to
plays the client, states that this production “has confirmed that theaters can still connect with the community in creative ways.” The physical interaction in this virtual production of twenty minutes was one of its greatest creative feats, as the clown and the client operate juggling balls, balloons, and stuffed animals from both of their screens synchronizing. This is also true of a credit card which is passed from client to librarian towards the close of the performances. Well-done sound effects include a ticking clock in the library setting as well as typing. These electronic, digital sounds also help to establish the characters are in a virtual realm. Director Janson
does an outstanding job of combining these unusual elements into a new and timely “social distancing” theatre art form. Wisely, the show never really explores the question of how the librarian has the seemingly magical time-travel technology or how it works; it is simply taken as a given, allowing audiences to concentrate on the interactions between the characters and their development. By the end of the show, the client comes out of the world renewed, or at least wiser, as if putting down a library book after a satisfying ending. Though she pays a hefty fee for the experience at the end, she comes to appreciate that the value of one’s life is worth more than money, and
that one must value the life that one actually has, rather than one of fantasy. While the “life do-over” theme has of course been explored in prior artistic works (“It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Peggy Sue Got Married,” and “Groundhog Day,” to name a few), this production explores this theme squarely in the current Covid-19 era. Providence Players of Fairfax recommends watching this production on a large screen, but if one has a home library, it is also appropriate to view it there to add to the atmosphere. “The Librarian” may be streamed at youtube.com/watch?v=tN3L9d_ Tkvs&feature=youtu.be
repeat them...or (my addition) not to repeat them. But it might be that those who study even bad history might find odd good opportunities there. There’s some “bad” history that offers a bit of at-least-temporary relief. During the long period that South Carolina had totally-segregated schools, before the Supreme Court decided that “separate but equal” was a total fiction, racist South Carolina actually had a special-circumstances policy on schools that might be useful for us during the current Covid-19 disaster. Those those “separate-but-equal” school systems were absolutely unequal in the dates of the school years. The white-school schedules in South Carolina closely resembled the dates of the schools in the rest of the country. Not for the South Carolina schools for African Americans. Not at all. African American schools had huge blank spaces in the autumn calendar. To make up for those times,
the African American schools may have started early, or stayed in school longer in the spring, but they definitely had long periods of September & October — in which all of South Carolina’s African American schools were closed. Why? Mostly-white economic reasons. Someone had to pick the cotton. So, that tells me that entire school systems had histories of having breaks in their school years of about six weeks. If then-backward South Carolina could do that, why can somewhatmore-modernized areas do that? If all the other areas of the U.S. are less well educated than is Falls Church City, why can we not exercise our own wisdom?: Have the Falls Church City Public Schools system go entirely to non-attendance/only-online teaching for at least up to the end of October, or at least up to when Virginia again turns negative in the expansionist numbers – yes, we’re expanding again.
Every real health expert across the nation states that mandatory masking is necessary, but even that is not enough – the nation, or at least areas that want to save themselves, need to go to nearly-full-lock-down for at least three weeks. Opening the schools, even only two days a week for individual students, is in no way a lock-down. In a period when the state has its horrible numbers expanding, it is too risky a policy for everyone. Dr. Jack Gosnell Falls Church
[ LETTERS ] Send us a letter and let us know what you think. Email: letters@fcnp.com Mail: Letters to the Editor, c/o Falls Church News-Press, 105 N. Virginia Avenue #310, Falls Church, VA 22046
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