Falls Church News-Press Sept 11

The Taste of Falls Church and Fall Festival, featuring F.C.’s finest dining establishments, is taking place this Saturday at Cherry Hill Park.

See page 5

For the second consecutive year, in conjunction with the Taste of Falls Church, the News-Press publishes a special food and dining issue, with food news, recipes, features and more.

See pages 23 - 34

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the Arctic plain... I hope John McCain doesn’t throw his slippers at Sarah Palin’s head or get as acerbic as Henry Higgins did with Eliza Doolittle when she did not learn quickly enough.

See page 11

Fresh from polishing their “No Country” Oscars, the Coen Brothers return to the comedic genre with the comedy-thriller “Burn After Reading.” The film, featuring an ensemble cast including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich and Tilda Swinton, opens this Friday.

See page 42

Following on the City of Falls Church’s flurry of activity approving an array of large-scale mixed use projects in its commercially-zoned corridors, the board of directors of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce took action at its monthly meeting Tuesday to spur the City to launch and fund a robust marketing effort to bring outside dollars into the new retail and housing products here.

Noting that while marketing approaches have been “studied to death,” and with lots of accumulated market and demographic data sitting on City Hall shelves, board members noted that it was time for action, and a commitment to substantial funding for a sustained effort.

“There has never been a line item in the City budget for marketing,” one member noted at the early-morning meeting held in the conference room at the back of the Original Pancake House. “City officials are simply not tuned into the world of marketing. It’s time for this to change.”

It was noted that the City could benefit from three major marketing firms located within its limits, including one, Smith Gifford, led by Falls Church resident and Chamber member Matt Smith who has earned a reputation of donating his marketing talents to the City school system and the Chamber, among others.

In unanimously voting on a petition to the City Council, the Chamber board called for the formation of a task force tasked with preparing an action plan Continued on Page 4

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September 11 - 17, 2008

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Hopefully the weather will be perfect this Saturday for the third annual Taste of Falls Church, being held in conjunction with the City’s annual Falls Festival, in the parking lot behind City Hall.

For the second straight year, the News-Press has produced a special section dedicated to fine dining, focusing on local restaurants and establishments, in conjunction with the Taste of Falls Church.

The biggest news to come out of City Hall last week was about meals tax revenues in the final report on the fiscal year that ended June 30 from the City’s Chief Financial Officer John Tuohy. Meals tax revenues shot up, to everyone’s surprise, over the previous fiscal year, and this in an overall morose economic climate, when real estate values and retail sales are all otherwise down.

Citizens of Falls Church should appreciate how important this news is in terms of the City’s goal to become a chic destination for outsiders to come and spend their dollars. It is proof that this is already beginning to happen, even in advance of what some call a needed “critical mass” of new mixed use development projects, most particularly the $317 million Atlantic Realty City Center project.

City Manager Wyatt Shields told the News-Press he attributes the unexpected jump in meal tax revenues to “the fact that the restaurants here are very good.” Yes, but it is more than that: it’s also because the word is getting out to the wider region about them. Although no one can tell for sure, it is almost certain that the big jump is fueled by people coming into Falls Church to dine, and not merely from bigger appetites among the City’s existing local residents.

Zpizza’s local proprietor, for example, reports that his Falls Church location is the second-highest revenue generator of all others among the company’s franchises. The high quality of that company’s product, as with Natalia’s, are reported elsewhere in this edition. Already more widely known is the quality of such City restaurants as Haandi, Pilin, Argia’s and Ireland’s Four Provinces. Almost by instinct, new restaurateurs are picking up on the fast-growing popularity of Falls Church establishments, and are making plans to jump into the mix.

At 444 W. Broad, a new Not Your Average Joe’s restaurant is preparing to move in, as is Foster’s Grill nearby on Pennsylvania Avenue.

At the new Tax Analysts building adjacent to Pearson Square on S. Maple Street, another gourmet pizza restaurant is set to open.

In the context of all this, we praise the pro-active approach taken this week by the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce board, voting to spur the City Council to adopt an action plan and financing for a major marketing effort of the City’s offerings to the wider Washington, D.C., metropolitan region. The news of the meals tax revenue hike is the signal that the time is ripe for such a longawaited thrust.

Editor, The school board wants to make it clear that we welcome all public comments. Critical comments are especially useful, because they help the school board do its job of monitoring how things are going. In fact, the school board has gone to great lengths in the past few years to make its actions and information about the system more accessible to all citizens and to make it easier for everyone to share their concerns. One recent change was to revise the meeting agendas to put public comments first, and to move the school board and superin-

tendent comments to the end, so that we can focus on listening.

We also post all agendas and backup materials on the systems website via BoardDocs- just go to www.fccps.org and click on “School Board” and then “Board Agenda.”

While the school board welcomes comments, we have a duty as an employer to handle personnel actions privately.

This is so that any issues can be fully and fairly investigated before any potentially damaging accusations are made in a public forum. This is why personnel matters are discussed by all public bodies in closed meet-

ings, pursuant to Virginia law.

The writer of a prior letter to the editor raised some concerns about the public comment process. She was actually told at that meeting that she had every right to speak about system issues, but that that she should not speak about particular school system personnel while her matter was under investigation. I am sorry if we did not make that distinction clear enough. As she stated in her letter to the editor, she had already filed a written complaint with both the school board and the state about her concerns. The school board had already acknowledged to her in writing that we would investigate, but that we had to wait until we heard the results of the state investigation.

The school board continues to welcome all citizen feedback. Most concerns are appropriate for an open discussion,

but issue that are not appropriate for public discussion can still be brought to our attention privately, if a matter can not be resolved at the source with the school personnel involved.

Ron Peppe, Chair Falls Church School Board

Editor, Alison Kutchma deserves an apology from Falls Church City School Board Chair Ron Peppe.

We were surprised by Mr. Peppe’s harsh tone of voice and his attempts to censor Ms. Kutchma during a recent public meeting. As taxpayers we have More Letters on Page 6

September 11 - 17, 2008

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September 11 - 17, 2008

“Should the City of Falls Church make a major monetary commitment to marketing?â€? • Yes Continued from Page 1

and budget to present to the Council within months. At least a half-dozen board members immediately expressed their willingness to serve on such a task force.

In a similar move, the City’s major arts organizations, the Falls Church Arts, Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation and Creative Cauldron, also petitioned the City Council at its meeting Monday to take action on designating the City as an official “Arts and Cultural District.�

City advocates of business and the arts are apparently trying to light fires under the City Council and others at City Hall to take action, one observer noted this week.

The arts groups’ proposal, presented in the form of a draft resolution that the City Council could adopt if it so chose, underscored the positive financial impact of the arts for local businesses and the tax revenues of jurisdictions.

Citing a region-wide study, they noted that art and cultural venues contributed $2.5 billion to the economic prosperity of the

Washington, D.C., region.

Speaking at Monday’s Council meeting, Laura Hull of the Creative Cauldron, former Falls Church vice mayor Martha Meserve of the Falls Church Arts and Nikki and Ed Henderson of the Tinner Hill Foundation, asked the Council to avail itself of a provision in Virginia State Law that gives specific authority to the City of Falls Church to create an “arts and cultural district,� replete with tax break and other incentives.

Hull and Meserve also reported to the Council on progress toward the development of a 3,000-square-foot arts space on the ground floor of the new Pearson Square mixed use project on S. Maple Street. “We are delighted to be working now with the team from Transwestern (owners of the property-ed.) which has taken an active role in making the project succeed,� they reported.

They also asked the Council to make good on its promise of a $50,000 grant the groups were awarded in 2006 to help build out the space, which was proffered

to the City for $100,000 toward a build out and significantlyreduced rent as part of the original deal to approve special exceptions for the construction of project.

That money taken together will bring the groups’ design and construction budget to $200,000. Meserve noted, “We have engaged an architect who, in conjunction with a lighting expert, has developed a draft architectural design that is guided by the funding available. We will initiate a capital campaign to raise additional funds for equipment and furnishings.� “We envision a space that will be open and inclusive and a resource for the community, and look forward to working collaboratively with all the other arts and culture organizations in the City,� Hull said.

Meanwhile, with the onset of the fall season, the Falls Church Chamber will have three member events in September, including a luncheon in collaboration with the Merrifield Business Association at the Italian CafĂŠ next Tuesday that will feature retiring Congressman Tom Davis.

• No • Don’t know/Don’t care

Vote on-line at www.FCNP.com

Results of Last Week’s Question: “How do F.C. City Schools rank in the region?�

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

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September 11 - 17, 2008

Buoyed by the news that revenues from the meals tax in the City of Falls Church was up dramatically through June, despite poor economic times, participating restaurants in the fourth annual Taste of Falls Church are expecting a record turnout this Saturday in the parking lot behind City Hall.

The last two years, the event has been wedded to the City’s annual Fall Festival, being held for the 33rd straight year this Saturday, and the fun starts at 10 a.m. and goes until 3 p.m.

A special section of the News-Press is devoted to the Taste of Falls Church in this edition.

Participating restaurants will be Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar, Argia’s, Cabot Creamery Cooperative, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Clare and Don’s Beach Shack, Dogwood Tavern, Entre Vous, Hoang’s Grill and Sushi Bar, Ireland’s Four Provinces, La Caraquena, Ledo Pizza Restaurant, Mary’s Café and Catering, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Natalia’s Elegant Creations Pastry Shop and Café, Not Your Average Joe’s and Robeks.

Each will offer samples of their best cuisine for $3 tickets that will be sold on site, and 10 tickets can be bought for $25. Four judges, all local Falls Church celebrities, will sample everything and cast their ballots for the top entry that will be reported next week.

Mayor Robin Gardner, Commissioner of the Revenue Tom Clinton, Treasurer Cathy

Week of September 2 - 8 Destruction of Property, American Legion Post #130, 400 N Oak St., between September 2, 7:20 p.m. and September 3, 1:15 p.m., unknown person(s) broke out the front door window pane of the establishment.

Destruction of Property, Diamond Nightclub, 6763 Wilson Blvd., #R3, September 4, 12:54 a.m., police arrested Michael F. Ngo, 19, of 6545 Kerns Rd., Falls Church, VA for Destruction of Property and Disorderly Conduct.

Larceny, Shoplifting, Staples, 1104 W Broad St., September 4, 4:17 p.m., unknown person(s) entered the establishment and stole (12) printer ink cartridges.

Larceny from Vehicle, 800 blk. Hillwood Ave., between September 4, 7:00 p.m., and September 5, 1:33 p.m., unknown person(s) smashed out the rear passenger side window on a vehicle and stole numerous CDs. Driving under the Influence, 300 blk.

N Washington St., September 6, 2:36 a.m., police arrested a male, 37, of Falls Church, VA for DUI. Larceny, Shoplifting, Staples, 1104 W Broad St., September 6, 5:53 p.m., unknown

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Kaye and Rob Meeks, chair of the Recreation and Parks Advisory Committee, have been designated as judges.

Live entertainment, amusement rides, pony rides, crafters, businesses, civic organizations – all standard fare for the annual Fall Festival – will be interwoven with the Taste of Falls Church component to make it a fun experience for the whole family. A children’s activity tent will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Candidates in the November general election can be expected to make appearances at the booths of the City’s Democratic and Republican committees, although no firm commitments had been announced as of press time.

Around the corner, in its usual location in the front parking lot at City Hall, the weekly Farmer’s Market will be set up in the morning.

The festival and Taste of Falls Church should enjoy an upbeat atmosphere, as City officials and citizens were treated to good news from the City’s Chief Financial Officer John Tuohy, as reported in last week’s NewsPress.

Touhy reported that, in a final wrap-up of the fiscal year ending June 30, revenues from the meals tax was $595,000 above the projected total for the year, the brightest news in his report.

Also good news was the fact that residential real estate tax revenues were close to breakeven with expectations, a far cry from dismal reports from nearby jurisdictions like Fairfax and Prince William counties. person(s) entered the establishment and stole (9) printer cartridges.

Urinating in Public, 700 blk. W Broad St., September 6, 10:15 p.m., police arrested a male, 43, of Herndon, VA for Urinating in Public.

Larceny from Vehicle, 1000 blk. N Sycamore St., September 6, between 8:00 p.m. and 10:56 p.m., unknown person(s) smashed the driver’s side window out and stole a Garmin GPS. Urinating in Public, 6700 blk. Wilson Blvd., September 6, 11:39 p.m., police arrested a male, 43, of Springfield, VA for Urinating in Public.

Assault, Simple, Diamond Nightclub, 6763 Wilson Blvd., #R3, September 7, 1:11 a.m., unknown person(s) assaulted victim with unknown object. The victim sustained a minor small cut to the left side of the head.

Destruction of Property, 700 blk. Parker Ave., between September 6, 11:00 p.m. and September 7, 10:45 a.m., unknown person(s) removed a cement lawn jockey from a front lawn; placing it in the middle of the street. The legs were broken on the statue.

Larceny from Building, 6757 Wilson Blvd., #21, September 7, 3:15 p.m., unknown person(s) stole a purse containing (3) credit cards, (2) driver’s license, food service license, a diamond ring, 1-carat diamond earrings, (2) checkbooks, and $8,700.00 cash.

Larceny, Shoplifting, Giant Foods, 1230 W Broad St., September 7, 4:36 p.m., police arrested a male, 21, of Falls Church, VA; a female, 20, of Manassas, VA; and a male, 18, of Manassas, VA for shoplifting approximately $111.22 worth of merchandise.

But the meals’ tax outcome ran sharply counter to regional trends, and results for other retail components of the City’s and regional economies.

New restaurants added to the City’s roster in recent years have contributed, along with four years of Taste of Falls Church events, to a growing reputation of Falls Church as a dining and entertainment destination, according to some City officials.

The State Theatre, a regionwide live music venue, is the

cornerstone of the developing new reputation, it was noted, along with regular live music at establishments like Ireland’s Four Provinces, the Dogwood Tavern and Bangkok Blues.

The cuisine at the Pilin Thai restaurant, Haandi Indian restaurant, Sweet Rice, and Hoang’s have been acclaimed in specialty publications regionally, and Anthony’s Restaurant has earned its reputation as a family destination for more than three decades.

The arrival of three more

new restaurants in the near future will only deepen the City’s reputation as a destination, adding to the outside visitors spending their dollars to contribute to the tax base here.

Not Your Average Joe’s, a successful Boston-based chain that has a franchise in Loudoun County, will be opening soon on W. Broad, and in anticipation has entered the Taste of Falls Church on Saturday. Foster’s Grill and a gourmet pizza restaurant are also in the process of moving into town.

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September 11 - 17, 2008

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September 11 - 17, 2008

Brazile Speaks at Women’s Conference Saturday The 17th annual Women’s Issues Conference hosted by Rep. Jim Moran will take place in Arlington this Saturday, Sept. 13, featuring high-profile news commentator, author and professor Donna Brazile. A total of nine seminars on an array of subjects, five beginning at 11 a.m. and four at 1 p.m. will be held. Free and open to the public, the event will offer a pizza lunch, and will again be held at the Kenmore Middle School, 200 S. Carlin Springs Rd. Participants are urged to register on Moran’s website at www.moran.house.gov.

Warner Endorsed by U.S. Chamber, Virginia FOP Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner, running as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate this November, earned the endorsements of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Virginia Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) this week. The U.S. Chamber is the world’s largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses. “The Chamber believes that as Senator, Warner will be an effective legislator and supporter of businesses of every size, if elected,” said Chamber senior vice president Bill Miller. The Virginia FOP endorsement came out of Richmond, citing Warner’s “consistent efforts to support law enforcement and protect public safety during challenging fiscal times.” Warner is running against former governor Jim Gilmore, the GOP candidate, seeking to fill the seat of the retiring Sen. John Warner.

2 F.C. Elected Officials Nominated for “Heroine” Award City of Falls Church Mayor Robin Gardner and School Board member Susan Kearney are among 11 finalists for the eighth annual 2008 Heroines in Technology Awards that will be announced Nov. 14 by the Women in Technology and March of Dimes organizations. In their “day jobs,” Gardner is a strategic account manager for GTSI, and Kearney is an executive vice-president at the Falls Church-based Smith Gifford marketing company. The awards recognize women and women-run businesses for their exemplary commitment to community service. The winners will be announced at a black-tie gala on Nov. 14 in Reston.

Choralis’ Chamber Ensemble Concert in F.C. Sept. 13 The Falls Church-based Choralis choral arts and education organization opens its new season this Saturday, Sept. 13, with a chamber ensemble, Echos, concert at the Falls Church Presbyterian Church at 7 p.m. Under Art Director Gretchen Kuhrmann, the concert will feature works by a variety of 20th and 21st century composers, including by Washington, D.C., composers Gary Davison and Deidre Robinson, who will be on hand to meet the public at a post-concert reception. Tickets cost $35 or $25, $5 for students under 22, and free to ages 12 and under.

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Fairfax Co. Launches Absentee Voter Initiative Fairfax County announced this week a “Voters on the Move” initiative to educate voters about options to cast absentee ballots in the Nov. 4 general election. Voters who will be commuting and working for more than 11 hours on Election Day, in the hours between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m., may qualify to vote by absentee ballot, it was noted.

The county’s Office of Elections will offer in-person absentee voting at the county’s Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 323, Fairfax, beginning Friday, Sept. 19 through Saturday, Nov. 1, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and also at seven satellite locations around the county beginning Oct. 15. Information on who is eligible to vote on an absentee ballot is available at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/eb/ absentee.htm.

Webb Honored With Military Coalition Award Virginia Senator Jim Webb, a long-time resident of the Lake Barcroft section of Falls Church, was honored Tuesday with the Military Coalition’s Award of Merit for his leadership in successfully steering his Post-9/11 GI Bill into law. The consortium of 35 military and veterans groups presents this top honor to individuals who have championed the causes of pay and benefit improvements for military veterans. Webb introduced the bill his first day in office, Jan. 3, 2007, and navigated its passage and signage into law on June 30, 2008.

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September 11 - 17, 2008

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September 11 - 17, 2008

None of us have ever lived through an election at a time when 80 percent of voters think the country is headed in the wrong direction. But now that we’re in the thick of it, a few things are clear.

From voters, the demand is: Surprise Me Most.

For candidates, the lesson is: Weirdness Wins.

Last winter, Barack Obama succeeded by running a weird campaign. He wasn’t just a normal politician aiming for office, he was going to cleanse the country of the babyboom culture war mentality.

In his soaring speeches, he denounced the mores of both the Clinton and Bush eras and made an argument for unity and hope over endless partisan warfare.

But over the course of the spring, Obama’s campaign got less weird. The crucial pivot came when he failed to seize on McCain’s offer to do a series of joint town-hall meetings across the country. Those meetings would have elevated the race and shown that Obama is willing to take risks in order to truly change the way things are done.

Instead, Obama’s speeches became more conventional, more policy-specific and more orthodox.

His Denver acceptance speech was different from his Iowa speeches. It was more traditionally antiRepublican and pro-Democratic. In the speech’s crucial contrast Obama declared: “It’s time for them to own their failure. It’s time for us to change America. You see, we Democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country.”

As David Broder noted, Obama’s speech “subordinated any talk of fundamental systemic change to a checklist of traditional Democratic programs.”

It is easy to see why Obama might tack this way. Democrats have a huge advantage in a

straight-up issue contest. McCain is vulnerable on health care and the economy.

But by campaigning in this traditional way, Obama ceded the weirdness edge to McCain.

The old warrior jumped right in. Think about how weird last week was. The Republican convention was one long protest against the way the Republicans themselves have run Washington.

McCain’s convention speech barely mentioned his own party. His vice presidential nominee came out of the blue and seems totally unlike the regular crowd of former eighth-grade class presidents who normally dominate public life. McCain’s campaign ideology, exemplified in a new ad released on Monday, is not familiar conservatism.

It’s maverickism — against the entrenched powers and party orthodoxies.

And it all worked. McCain got a huge postconvention bounce in the polls.

Now the campaign has become a battle between two different definitions of change. The Obama camp has become the champion of policy change — after eight years of failed Bush-McCain policies, it is time for different, Democratic ones. The McCain campaign is the champion of systemic change — after two decades of bickering and selfdealing, its time to shake up the whole system in order to get things done.

The Obama change is more responsible and specific, but it has all the weirdness of a Brookings Institution report. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) The McCain promise of change is comprehensive and vehement, though it’s hard to know how it would actually work in office.

It will still be hard for McCain to win in this environment, but his emphasis on broad systemic change may appeal to swing voters. Independent voters do not believe the country’s problems can be solved merely by replacing Republicans with Democrats. They cast a pox on both houses.

That’s why they’re independents.

WASHINGTON — The American people will have a clear choice in the Nov. 4 presidential election, now that both parties have picked their candidates. The choice is between Republican John McCain — once a “maverick” but now a conservative turncoat pandering to the evangelical right-wing of his party — and Democrat Barack Obama — a liberal and the first black person to win the presidential nomination of a major political party.

McCain has, incredibly, tried to hijack O b a m a ’s slogan — “change.” This is an audacious McCain tactic that tries to separate him from President Bush, most of whose policies McCain has solidly supported for the past eight years.

At last week’s Republican national convention, McCain departed from his previous practice of keeping silent about his excruciating POW experience during the Vietnam War in order to express his support for Bush’s duplicitous policies in conducting the war against Iraq. At this point, McCain has flip-flopped on so many issues, one wonders if he has any steadfast principles.

I liked his impassioned statement that he hates war, but he is the militant hawk who said the Iraq War could last 100 years. And, of course, McCain has got to be kidding when he tries to portray himself as running against “Washington,” whatever that means. He has spent 26 years in the nation’s capital and has accrued a record that is hardly

unblemished.

Now we come to McCain’s stunning selection of Alaska’s governor Sarah Palin, a vastly unprepared politician, to be his running mate. Her political views are to the far right. She supports the National Rifle Association, the teaching of creationism side-by-side with evolution, rejects women’s’ rights to reproductive choice, and promotes abstinence above sex education in schools.

There is an official inquiry underway in Alaska looking into Palin’s drive to fire a state safety commissioner after he refused to fire her former brother-in-law, a state trooper who was in a messy custody fight with her sister. She also put pressure on a librarian in Wassila — where she was mayor — to censor some books, but happily the librarian stood her ground and refused to do so.

The fact that 72-year-old McCain knew so little about Palin before selecting her for the Republican ticket calls into question his judgment. Palin would be a real amateur if she succeeded to the presidency, especially in foreign and domestic policies. McCain obviously thinks anyone can be president.So when McCain speak of “change,” it represents a giant step backwards.

The Republican ticket offers no solutions to the Iraq war — the war without end. McCain, who once called Christian conservatives the “agents of intolerance,” truly made a strange choice for his running mate in view The new occupant of the White House — Obama or McCain — will face problems of rising unemployment and more expensive fuel, food, and health care. There is the Continued on Page 54

Save the home lenders, save the world? If only it were that simple. The just-announced federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the giant mortgage lenders, was certainly the right thing to do – and it was done fairly well, too. The plan will sustain institutions that play a crucial role in the economy, while holding down taxpayer costs by more or less cleaning out the stockholders. But Sunday’s action needs to be seen in a larger context – that of the attempt by the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department to contain the fallout from the ongoing financial crisis. And that’s a fight the feds seem to be losing.

There was indeed a bubble, and since it popped two years ago home prices have fallen faster than they did during the Great Depression. Falling home prices, in turn, have led to the muchfeared phenomenon of “debt deflation.” Yes, deflation: prices are going up at the checkout counter, but the prices of assets, which are what matter for balance sheets, are dropping fast.

As the economist Irving Fisher observed way back in 1933, when highly indebted individuals and businesses get into financial trouble, they usually sell assets and use the proceeds to pay down their debt. What Fisher pointed out, however, was that such selloffs are self-defeating when everyone does it: if everyone tries to sell assets at the same time, the resulting plunge in market prices undermines debtors’ financial positions faster than debt can be paid off. So deflation in asset prices can turn into a vicious circle. And one consequence of what he called a “stampede to liquidate” is a severe economic slump.

That’s what’s happening now, with debt deflation made especially ugly by the fact that key financial players are highly leveraged – their assets were mainly bought with borrowed money.

As Paul McCulley of Pimco, the bond investor, put it in a recent essay titled “The Paradox of Deleveraging,” lately just about every financial institution has been trying to reduce its leverage – but the plunge in asset values has nonetheless left these institutions with more debt relative to their assets than before.

And the numbers keep getting worse. In July 2007 Ben Bernanke suggested that subprime losses would be less than $100 billion. Well, last month write-downs by banks and other financial institutions passed the $500 billion mark – and the hits keep coming. Which brings us to Fannie and Freddie. They’re the only big financial institutions that haven’t joined in the rush to deleverage, which is why they now account for about 70 percent of new mortgage loans. But their financial foundations have been undermined by debt deflation, even though their lending was more responsible than average. (A subprime borrower is basically someone whose credit wasn’t good enough to qualify for a Fannie- or Freddie-backed mortgage.)

So Fannie and Freddie had to be rescued – otherwise debt deflation would have gotten much worse. Indeed, their financial troubles have already caused problems for would-be home buyers: mortgage rates are up sharply since earlier this year. With the federal takeover, which removes the pressure on the lenders’ balance sheets, we should see mortgage rates drop again – which is definitely good news.

But is it enough? I doubt it. The current U.S. financial crisis bears a strong resemblance to the crisis that hit Japan at the end of the 1980s, and led to a decade-long slump that worried many American economists, including both Bernanke and yours truly.

We wondered whether the same thing could take place here – and economists at the Fed devised strategies that were supposed to prevent that from happening. Above all, the response to a Japantype financial crisis was supposed to involve a very aggressive combination of interest-rate cuts and fiscal stimulus, designed to prevent the crisis from spilling over into a major slump in the real economy.

When the current crisis hit, Bernanke was indeed very aggressive about cutting interest rates and pushing funds into the private sector. But despite his cuts, credit became tighter, not easier. And the fiscal stimulus was both too small and poorly targeted, largely because the Bush administration refused to consider any measure that couldn’t be labeled a tax cut.

As a result, as I suggested, the effort to contain the financial crisis seems to be failing. Asset prices are still falling, losses are still mounting, and the unemployment rate has just hit a five-year high. With each passing month, America is looking more and more Japanese.

So yes, the Fannie-Freddie rescue was a good thing. But it takes place in the context of a broader economic struggle – a struggle we seem to be losing.

September 11 - 17, 2008

In the intense global competition among current and emerging superpowers, it is clear to almost all parties involved that the development of science and technology, and the cultivation of “human capital” through mass education and training in those and other disciplines, will determine how things play out.

It is in light of this that the leaders of the U.S.’s major competitors are slapping their knees and rolling on the floor in laughter at the prospect the U.S. may choose to be led by someone who believes the universe was created in a week, and is 5,000 years old.

Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, because she may become a heartbeat from the U.S. presidency, is a menace to U.S. strategic and national security interests.

The obligatory disclaimers apply: No, it’s not because she’s a woman, a mother, a moose killer or small town mayor.

It is for two reasons alone, and each is sufficient to summarily disqualify her from getting anywhere close to the White House in an executive position, at least from the standpoint of common sense or a modicum of rationality.

First, she is categorically unqualified from any number of standpoints, of experience, of testing under fire, of knowledge of global and domestic affairs and their nuances, of a capacity to think and act appropriately on her feet, and so on.

Second, she holds to shallow and extreme right wing views, including a belief in creationism, that she defends with slogans and rehearsed one-liners. There is no evidence she has the intellectual honesty or agility to lead a global superpower.

The Republicans are already making it clear they intend to extend her current fad status using their usual bag of smokescreens and diversionary tricks, including making lipstick a major issue for deciding the next president.

Comparing her lack of experience to Obama’s is another such ruse. Nothing makes her lack of qualifications clearer than the fact that her handlers remain unwilling to cut her loose for the kind of tough and relentless scrutiny, challenges, questions and free-for-all gives and takes that Obama, and all the other candidates seeking their parties’ nomination, have gone through ad nauseum for the last year.

Their cloistering of her is the best single piece of evidence that she’s abjectly unqualified to be president.

But pathetic, bleating major media so-called journalists are being led by their noses by these diversions. Then again, the real so-called “lipstick on the pig” in all this is the cosmetic notion that the media is either fair and balanced, or even more laughable, leftist. In fact, lest anyone forget, every one of the major media outlets in the land are owned by mammoth corporate interests, all of whom want McCain’s tax cuts for the super rich, and so forth.

Such corporate interests are notoriously too myopic to see beyond their next tactical objective, which now involves the election of McCain, and the use of Palin to that end. As for the cataclysmic consequences of Palin becoming president, they figure they’ll cross that bridge when they get to it.

But the American voting public doesn’t have the luxury of such an approach. As the current Bush administration leaves its economy in a shambles, and a world looking ever more hostile to the U.S., a majority of voters will simply not be willing to walk into the polls on Election Day and cast a vote that imperils their nation in the way a Palin presidency would.

In the remaining weeks before the election, Obama supporters should key on the words of former Virginia Governor Mark Warner delivered in his Democratic Convention keynote speech. It’s a race between the future and the past, he said. “If you think there have been dramatic changes in the world and in technology over the last 10 years, you ain’t seen nothing yet. The race is on, and if you watched the Olympics, you know China’s going for the gold.”

With Obama, he said, “We will have an administration that actually believes in science. Then we can again lead the world in life-saving and life-changing cures.”

And as the United Church of Christ, Obama’s progressive Christian denomination, affirms in its latest national advertising campaign, “God makes room for quantum mechanics, and regular ones, too!”

But that’s such a far cry from a mental captivity to myth and superstition that would possess our presidency, if Palin came within a heartbeat of it.  Nicholas Benton may be emailed at nfbenton@fcnp.com.

Page 11

WASILLA., Alaska – The rain in Spain falls mainly on the Arctic plain ...

I hope John McCain doesn’t throw his slippers at Sarah Palin’s head or get as acerbic as Henry Higgins did with Eliza Doolittle when she did not learn quickly enough. McCain’s Pygmalion has to be careful, because his Galatea might be armed with more than a sharp tongue.

For the first time in American history, we have a “My Fair Lady” moment, as teams of experts bustle around the most famous woman in politics, intensely coaching her for her big moment at the ball – her first unscripted interview this week here with ABC’s Charlie Gibson.

Eliza, by George, got it and brought off the coup of passing herself off as a Hungarian princess rather than a Covent Garden flower seller.

Sarah’s challenge is far tougher, and that’s why she’s pulling the political equivalent of an allnighter. She doesn’t have to pass herself off as a different class or change her voice or be more highfalutin. The McCain campaign is reveling in its anti-intellectual tenor.

Sarah, who is now so renowned that she is known merely by one name and has a name ID of 90 percent, has to be a Kmart mom who appeals to Kmart moms and dads. She’s already shown that she can shoot the pig, bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan. Now all she has to do is prove that she can be the leader of the free world on a moment’s notice, and field dress Putin as adeptly as she can a moose.

After devilishly mocking Obama – and successfully getting into his head – with their ads about how he was just a frothy celebrity, like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, it turns out all the McCain camp wanted was an Obama of its own. Now that they have the electric Palin, they’ve stopped arguing that celebrity is bad. All they do is worship at her cult of celebrity. As Rick Davis, a top McCain adviser, said: “This election is not about issues. This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates.”

Wasilla will be crawling with four groups – ABC staffers, frantically getting ready for the big showdown; McCain staffers, frantically tutoring Palin for the big showdown; McCain vetters, who are belatedly doing their job checking to see if Palin is a qualified White House contender and doing their best to shut down Troopergate and assembling a “truth squad” posse of Palinistas to rebut any criticism and push back any prying

reporters; and journalists – from Sydney to Washington – who are here to draw back the curtain on the shiny reformer image that the McCain camp has conjured for their political ingenue and see what’s behind it.

Gibson has his work cut out for him. His problem isn’t coming up with a list of questions, but finding time to drill deeply enough into all the unknown territory of her life.

It’s a task that dwarfs the drilling job the oil companies are doing on Alaska’s North Slope.

In the end, none of it may matter, since Palin has rocketed in the polls, drawing women and men with her vapid if vivacious scripted cheerleading. But if you’re reading this, Charlie, we want to know everything, including: What kind of budget-cutter makes a show of getting rid of the state plane, then turns around and bills taxpayers for the travel of her husband and kids between Juneau and Wasilla and sticks the state with a per-diem tab to stay in her own home?

Why was Sarah for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against the Bridge to Nowhere, and why was she for earmarks before she was against them? And doesn’t all this make her just as big a flip-flopper as John Kerry?

What kind of fiscal conservative raises taxes and increases budgets in both her jobs – as mayor and as governor?

When the phone rings at 3 a.m., will she call the Wasilla Assembly of God congregation and ask them to pray on a response, as she asked them to pray for a natural gas pipeline?

Does she really think Adam, Eve, Satan and the dinosaurs mingled on the earth 5,000 years ago?

Why put out a press release about her teenage daughter’s pregnancy and then spend the next few days attacking the press for covering that press release?

As Troopergate unfolds here – an inquiry into whether Palin inappropriately fired the commissioner of public safety for refusing to fire her ex-brother-in-law – it raises this question: Who else is on her enemies list and what might she do with the FBI? Does she want a federal ban on trans fat in restaurants as well on abortion and Harry Potter?

And which books exactly would have landed on the literature bonfire if she had had her way with that Wasilla librarian?

Does she talk in tongues or just eat caribou tongues?

What does she have against polar bears?

Page 12

The first thing that struck me about the Republican National Convention in St. Paul was the stunning lack of diversity. Only the GOP is capable of making Minnesota whiter. Into this cocoon of Caucasians stepped the ultra-pale John McCain and his moosewhacking VP, Sarah Palin, who together could have billed the ticket as “Powder and Gun Powder.”

This convention proved that the GOP does not run on actual persons or positions, but manufactured personas and plot lines.

The phony dog and pony show began with the enormously wealthy Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, who oddly condemned the snooty northeastern elite. This pampered pretty boy was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, yet he haplessly works to fool blue-collar conservatives into believing that that the shiny utensil is aluminum. Has any politician ever been more “Full of Mitt?”

The most fantastical fiction of the week was the Cinderella story of “Sarah Palin.” The only White House anyone ever thought she would live in was an igloo, yet there she was on America’s largest political stage. The joyous thrill from her two main constituencies -- the religious right and the tabloids -- was palpable.

Palin portrayed herself as a reformer, even though she was for the infamous, “Bridge to Nowhere” before she was against it. She touted her experience as head of Alaska’s National Guard, until it was shown that she had not made one executive decision in this capacity.

Then, she was lauded for her anti-corruption efforts in Alaska, even as she was under serious investigation for abusing her power. Most disturbing, Palin described herself as an advocate for special needs children, as she cut the state’s Special Olympics budget in half.

It is scary to think that McCain believes Palin has enough foreign policy know-how to run this nation during a time of war.

Indeed, his vice presidential pick did not get a passport until 2007.

There are literally college-age backpackers traipsing around hostels in Europe with more overseas experience.

As for McCain, convention speakers endlessly recounted his time as a POW. It truly was inspiring the first 27 times I heard it. I suppose reliving the past is what a candidate, no matter how heroic, must do who has no plan for the future. McCain’s speech was as empty as the vault used to hold the national surplus after eight years of Republican rule.

It was also fascinating to watch McCain portray himself as an agent of change. His message essentially was to re-elect Republicans to reform America from the mess that the same Republicans got us into. This was highlighted by the GOP’s Herculean efforts to render George W. Bush invisible. If they had shoved Bush any deeper into the closet, he would have bumped into Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID).

Cheering on the sidelines was baroness Cindy McCain, wearing an outfit that Vanity Fair priced at $300,000. Republicans went bonkers when John Edwards got a $400 haircut -- yet seemed ambivalent about her majesty’s opulent costume. I suppose the GOP is the party of the working class, if you count the minions toiling on Cindy’s dress, jewelry, make-up and hair, as well as tending to McCain’s private jet plane.

The convention’s most pleasant surprise was its lack of overt gay bashing. Perhaps, attacking gays is not polling as well as it did only a few years ago. Or, maybe “Family Values” was an inappropriate theme considering Palin’s “Family Vaudeville.”

But, gay Log Cabin Republicans had little time to rejoice before Palin’s church said that being gay was a choice. The Wasilla Bible Church was caught promoting Focus on the Family’s Love Won Out conference, with a Bible insert that said, “You’ll be encouraged by the power of God’s love and His desire to transform the lives of those impacted by homosexuality.”

It is imperative that Palin answers whether she agrees with the views of her church. If she does, Log Cabin should immediately withdraw their endorsement of McCain. Unfortunately, Palin will not talk to reporters until the GOP believes she is ready to go without her training wheels. The smokescreen her campaign is using to justify her silence is that she should not have to discuss her religious beliefs. Interesting, how a woman who recently asked Alaskans to pray for a natural gas pipeline now believes religion is off limits.

If Palin says that she endorses Love Won Out, it could cost McCain the election. Consider this: In 2000, national exit polls put the gay vote at 4 percent, with 25 percent saying that they voted for Bush. This translated into one million gay votes for W., which may have cost Gore Florida and New Hampshire.

While homosexuals can’t be turned into ex-gays, Palin’s support of such ministries could create enough ex-Republican gays to swing the election in favor of Obama.

September 11 - 17, 2008

The Republican controlled Congress had a bad habit of stomping on the District of Columbia’s home rule during their 12 years in the majority.

In that time they dictated socially conservative policies, often using D.C. as a guinea pig for untested conservative causes in an effort to garner plaudits from the conservative cognoscenti.

But with victory in the last election, Democrats seized control of the House and Senate and with it the promise of an end to the affront on D.C.’s home rule.

No longer would legislative “riders” attached to appropriations bills enable heavy-handed federal restrictions to rule District initiatives such as stemming the transmission of disease through needle exchange programs.

Unfortunately, that code may be broken this week with consideration of a bill that literally strips the District of their ability to regulate firearms. Coming on the heels of the Heller v. District of Columbia Supreme Court ruling which found D.C.’s ban on handguns and trigger lock requirements to be unconstitutional, this congressional effort, backed by the NRA, would open the door to whole host of

gun activity that DC residents oppose and would make our nation’s capital less safe. The bill would repeal D.C.’s registration requirements (which the Court tellingly stayed silent on), repeal the city’s ban on semiautomatic weapons (also left intact by the Court) and explicitly prohibits District government from enacting any law “to prohibit, constructively prohibit, or unduly burden the ability” to acquire and possess firearms.

I understand full well the politics behind this debate. It appears Republicans have enough votes to successfully file a discharge petition that would take control of the House floor and bring up the bill. If that were to happen, they could use the opportunity to open the door to a whole host of problematic provisions, potentially making a bad bill even worse.

But I will be opposing this legislation and plan to speak out loudly against it when it comes up on the House floor.

The District of Columbia is currently in the process of bringing their laws into compliance with the Heller decision. They should have the ability to enact their own laws, with the lower courts serving as the arbiter for what passes muster with the Supreme Court’s decision.

The NRA is forcing Congress to go on record on this gun issue to help bolster their legal arguments in future Supreme Court decisions, hoping to cite this legislation as what’s known in legal parlance as “Congressional guidance.” My hope is that the Senate will bottle up the bill and it dies a timely death. With only three weeks remaining in session for the fiscal year, District residents are likely to be counting the days till we recess and their gun safety laws are left unharmed.

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Page 13

A furor erupted Monday night with the news that Jack Dale, superintendent of the Fairfax County Public School system, approved a political rally with Republican candidates Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin, at Fairfax High School during school hours. An explanation for the decision was that Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate, had held a town meeting at Robinson High School this summer, and so the McCain campaign request was approved.

School facilities in Fairfax County often are available for community events, both partisan and non-partisan, but not during school hours. No regular classes were going on at Robinson when Senator Obama appeared there this summer. The Fairfax rally appeared to have been designed for student participation – during classes. After several members of the School Board raised objections to Dr. Dale’s waiver of school board policy, the rally was moved abruptly to a City of Fairfax park.

The dust-up brought to mind an appearance by President George W. Bush at J.E.B. Stuart High School in January of 2006. President and Mrs. Bush came to the school to focus on the No Child Left Behind legislation. The school served as a convenient backdrop for the president’s speech, but it had all the marks of a political rally, with lots of Republican supporters invited to attend, along with selected students. The president’s visit threw the school into an uproar. Security was paramount, and the Secret Service presence was heavy all around. Everyone – student and visitor alike – was subjected to intense scrutiny.

Regular classroom activities had to be suspended

Quick now, pull out a pad and pencil and list the qualifications for President of the United States.

Executive ability?

Experience in foreign policy Street ichard issues? smarts? Being Barton a good lawyer? Legislator? A great and innovative business executive?

Growing up with privilege and status? Or a humble background? You name it.

The problem is, the more you analyze the question the more difficult it is to come up with a satisfactory answer.

Back in my early graduate school days, Richard Neustadt published a brilliant study of the presidency – Presidential Power: The Politics of Leadership. As one moves through his book, it becomes clearer and clearer that there are no hard and fast qualifications for the presidency like there may be, for example, for a computer specialist, an intellectual property lawyer, a teacher, or a bricklayer. What we are looking for is someone with the very subtle art of leadership and a reasonably clear idea of where he wants

R

to ensure security, and the school essentially was shut down from the time the President and First Lady’s limousine pulled up to the door, to the time they left. It was as though everyone inhaled, and no one exhaled until it was over.

I can’t imagine that much classroom work got done that day, which is ironic since No Child Left Behind requires that students pass the Standards of Learning to ensure accreditation of their school. Fairfax County schools may provide a fine “stage” for presidential politics, but the disruption to the classroom often is overlooked in the race to sound bites and a flash on television.

The needs of the students and teachers must come first, a focus, fortunately, of school board members, but apparently not for the superintendent.

In-person absentee voting for the November 4 General Election will begin on September 19 at the Office of Elections at the Fairfax County Government Center in Fairfax. Log on to www. fairfaxcounty.gov/eb, or call 703/222-0776 for information.

In-person absentee voting at satellite locations, including the Mason District Govern-mental Center, will begin on October 15 and extend until November 1. Satellite voting hours are Monday through Friday, 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

If you wish to vote absentee by mail, the deadline for applications is October 28. The last day to register to vote in the General Election is October 6 at 6 p.m.

Penny Gross is the Mason District Supervisor, in the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She may be emailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov 

to go. After all, when it comes right down to it, the president does not actually perform the myriad tasks required to govern a country – he/she inspires and leads others who do the actual work.

Let’s look at two back to back presidents, one a total failure, the other perhaps our greatest president. James Buchanan took office in 1857.

Buchanan was a college graduate and a great lawyer. He served five terms in the House of Representatives, then was appointed Minister to Russia.

He then served ten years in the Senate after which he became President Polk’s Secretary of State and President Pierce’s Minister to Russia. Yet, he is considered by virtually every student of the presidency as one of the worst president’s.

Lincoln, on the other hand, just couldn’t get it all together politically. He went to school for only a year and was largely self taught. Here is a long list of failures: Failed in business at the tender age of 31 – defeated for the legislature at 32 – failed again at business at 34 – had a nervous breakdown at 36 – defeated

for election at 38 – defeated for Congress three times in a row – defeated for Vice-President, and defeated for Senate twice.

His total experience was eight years in a frontier legislature and one term in Congress. We would crucify him were he running for election today. Or would we?

I know I am not helping you very much, I just can’t provide a checklist of qualifications for president. We are looking for something much more subtle – a confidence that he/she knows how to lead others and knows where we need to go and the best way to get there.

Ninety-five percent of what we hear is probably irrelevant and misleading. We instead need to look carefully for that knowledgeable grin, that twinkle in the eyes, that toughness of approach, that indescribable nod of the head that shows you that he/she knows what’s up. Like Barack Obama’s. But of course you need to make up your own mind on that!

When not in session….

Every legislator sits on several committees. In my case, those committees are Appropriations, Privileges and Elections and Militia, Police and Public Safety.

Some committees, such Militia and Police and Public Safety (MSP) rarely meet between regular sessions.

Some, such as Privileges and Elections have subcommittee meetings to address specific agenda items. Privileges and Elections meet as a subcommittee, this year as a joint subcommittee with Senate members to consider certain gubernatorial appointments.

This year Chairman (and Delegate) Mark Cole asked me to serve on the joint subcommittee considering those appointments.

Our joint subcommittee will probably only meet once to make recommendations to the full committees. All gubernatorial appointments must be approved by the two committees and the full House and Senate, in this case after a review by the joint committee.

My last committee, the Appropriations Committee, meets several times between sessions. We review agency performance and budget status reports. This week we heard the updates on state revenues, as we do several times each year. As several news reports have indicated, the Governor has asked agency heads to prepare for the 2009 session by submitting budget requests for the rest of FY2009 and for FY 2010 that reflect three levels of reductions: 5%, 10% and 15%.

State revenues will be officially estimated in time for committee action next month—in mid-October.

There seems to be little doubt that the state’s declining revenues will cause reductions on the higher levels of the

Governor’s directions to his agencies.

Bill review Some bills introduced in the regular session are carried over for review by a committee or subcommittee.

Some need extensive review because their complexity.

Some are controversial and cause legislators to ask for more time and review.

In my case this fall, a bill I introduced banning text messaging while driving caused concerns about the extent of coverage of any ban. It was referred to a special committee on the Joint Commission on Technology and Science.

That committee heard from an expert on driving distractions, and decided that my bill needed still more committee review by the Transportation Committee.

While only one state had banned text messaging while driving when we meet in January, several others states have passed bills since our hearing in the winter.

Commission members decided that some action should be taken by Virginia, but could not decide on the limitations or the penalties.

Therefore the bill will be reviewed by a subcommittee appointed by the chair of JCOTS and Transportation Committee, Delegate Joe May of Loudoun County. I expect to introduce the bill again in January unless the subcommittee meets and make a recommendation to amend the bill and carry it over to the 2009 session. If the latter action is taken, the bill will be sent to the floor of House for a vote early in the 2009 session. Either way, the House will be addressing the subject again in January.

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September 11 - 17, 2008

Nationals 2009 Price Drop The Washington Nationals will lower many ticket prices for the 2009 season. The average season ticket price for a non-premium seat will be just under $29, and more than one-third of nonpremium seats will be less than $20 each. A family of four with season tickets may attend a game for $40 in the gallery and $80 on the field level. For more information, visit www.nationals.com.

Student on Dean’s List at Ithaca College Taryn Michelitch was named to the Dean’s List of Ithaca College’s School of Health Sciences and Human Performance for the spring 2008 semester. To qualify for the Dean’s List, a student must maintain a 3.5 GPA while enrolled in 15 credits, 12 of which are graded. Michelitch graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science from Ithaca in May 2008.

She is the daughter of Arlington native John Michelitch.

Student on Dean’s List at Kettering University

MORE THAN $80,000 was raised last Saturday for the Michael Weiss Foundation at the 4th Annual U.S. and World Figure Skating Champions Live benefit at the Kettler Iceplex in the Ballston Mall. The Northern Virginia-based three-time U.S. national champion Weiss started the foundation to provide scholarships for up-and-coming young figure skaters. Here, Weiss (center) is shown with Langley High School star Armin Mahbanoozadeh (left), a Weiss Foundation scholarship recipient who is the U.S. Novice National Champion, and Mary Ann Francois (right), manager of the Seven Corners branch of Commerce Bank, a major sponsor of the event. Stars like Sasha Cohen, Olympic silver medalist, and Jeffrey Buttle, world champion and Olympic bronze medalist, performed. (Photo:

News-Press)

Sarah Yoon of Falls Church was named to the spring 2008 semester Dean’s List of Kettering University, in Flint, Mich. In order to qualify for the Dean’s List, a student must maintain a minimum weighted grade average of 92 out of a possible 100, have received no grades below 85 and earned a minimum of 16 credits.

2008 Scenic Award Nominations Begin Scenic Virginia, a nonprofit

organization geared toward preserving, protecting and enhancing Virginia’s scenic beauty, will begin taking nominations for its 2008 Scenic Awards from now until the end of business hours on Oct. 1. Awards will be given in the following categories: Scenic Viewshed Preservation Award, Scenic Water Corridor Viewshed Preservation Award, Creative Scenic Enhancement Award, Scenic Tourism Award, Local Anti-Litter Practices Award – Organization and Individual – and VDOT TreeTrimming Award (given to a VDOT district). To access the official nomination form, please visit www.scenicvirginia.org/ Awards, and for more information, please call 804-643-8439.

Fall Festival at Cherry Hill Park The Falls Church Fall Festival will be held from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept.

13, in Cherry Hill Park. The Festival will feature amusement rides, pony rides, crafts, children’s events, live entertainment and samples of food from various local eateries. Participating restaurants include: Entrée Vous, Hoangs Grill and Sushi Bar, La Caraquena, Dogwood Tavern and Ledo’s Pizza, among others. This event will be held rain or shine.

Fairfax-Falls Church Budget Meeting The Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board (CSB) will hold a community dialogue meeting to discuss ways to reduce spending in next year’s budget. The government of Fairfax County has

awarded the CSB $16.2 million for the 2010 fiscal year.

Suggestions from community members will be applied to the Reduction Options document, and this document will be adopted by the CSB on Sept. 24. The meeting will be held at the Fairfax County Government Center from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. Sept. 11. There is no need to sign up to speak prior to this event.

Book Signing at Tyson’s Corner Warren Brown, a former attorney turned bakery owner and entrepreneur, will sign copies of his baking book “Cakelove!” at the Barnes and Noble in Tyson’s Corner at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13.

Brown’s book includes recipes for various cakes, cupcakes, glazes, frostings and fillings, and goes over basic baking techniques, equipment and standard ingredients.

East Coast Premiere of West Coast Artist’s Video To celebrate the East Coast debut of his new music video, San Diego, Ca. singer Rick Rutti will perform a concert at the State Theatre on Thursday, Sept. 11. His new video, “Take All The Love That Finds Me,” is from his CD, “Dark Corners.”

Doors open at 8 p.m., and Rutti’s band will take the stage at 8:30 p.m.

Job Fair and Recruitment at Dulles Airport From 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

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host a job fair at Dulles Airport.

Restaurants and retail vendors will recruit employees for various jobs within the airport. The fair will take place within the ground transportation area at the eastern end of the main terminal.

State Theatre Hosts AC/DC Tribute Band Live Wire, an AC/DC tribute band, will play a show at the State Theatre on Saturday, Sept. 13. The band has played shows in Europe, Canada, the United States and South America. They play over 80 AC/DC songs and continually add songs to their repertoire.

For ticket information, please call 703-237-0300.

Artists’ Roundtable Meeting Photographer James D. Steele will present “The Business of Art – How to Price Your Work” to the Falls Church Arts Artists’ Roundtable meeting 7 p.m. Monday, September 15.

The meeting will be held at the Falls Church Arts Gallery (111 Park Ave., Falls Church). As well as creating his own works, Steele teaches at the Art League School, Photoworks at Glen Echo Park and the Smithsonian Institution. He is also a guest lecturer at Georgetown University.

The meeting is free and open to the public.

Local Owner Wins Prestigious Recognition Steve Cassaday, founder and CEO of McLean wealth management firm Cassaday and Company, has been honored with The 2008 Outstanding Financial Advisor Award from Registered Rep Magazine. He was selected as one of 10 from among 242,000 advisors in the nation for his work to aid D.C. area charities through donating money to and managing his foundation, the Cassaday and Company Charitable Fund. For more information

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about Cassaday and Company, please call 703-506-8200 or visit www.cassaday.com.

Children’s Book Author Events in D.C. Author Graeme Base will hold two events in the D.C. area to promote his new book “ENIGMA: A Magical Mystery” on Sept. 18. The first event will be at 10:30 a.m. at Politics and Prose Bookstore (5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.), and the second event will be at Hooray for Books (1555 King St., Alexandria) bookstore at 7 p.m.

Art Exhibit Opening Reception Maryse Lortcher’s exhibit “Jeux d’ombres” will open with an art reception at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 19. The reception will be held at the Alliance Française de Washington (2142 Wyoming Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.). The exhibit runs until Nov. 6, and may be viewed between 10 a.m.

– 6 p.m. Monday – Friday, and from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday.

The event is free; however, reservations are required for the opening reception.

released data that students in Fairfax County Public Schools have improved their results on the Virginia Standards of Learning tests from the 200607 to 2007-08 periods. The general student population received higher pass rates, and more than 40 percent of all completed tests earned a score of pass advanced.

Local Joins Jockey Person to Person® Arlington resident Amy Kowalski recently joined Jockey Person to Person® as a Comfort Specialist® consultant. “It is very exciting to be a part of a company that provides opportunities and has the strength of the Jockey® brand,” said Kowalski. “It is a perfect business to start at any point in life.”

Jockey Person to Person® is the direct sales division of Jockey International, Inc., featuring a unique line of women’s apparel and a new collection of “Comfort Extras” in a home party setting sold only by independent Comfort Specialist® consultants.

FEATURED IN THE NEWS-PRESS last year, Falls Church resident Salem Gafsi’s gargantuan vegetable farming has caught on around his Highland Ave. neighborhood. This beefy organic tomato weighed in around three pounds. (Photo: News-Press)

Social Security Disability Income Seminar Attorney Mitch Lambros will discuss how to apply for social security disability income benefits if you have an illness that is “difficult to diagnose,” such as chronic pain, anxiety or fatigue. The event will be held from 2 – 4:30 p.m. in the Large Conference Room of Mason Governmental Center (6507 Columbia Pike, Annandale). For more information, please call 703-9689818 or visit www.geocities. com/cfsnova.

Area Students Make Academic Gains of

The Virginia Department Education recently

AT THE THOMAS JEFFERSON Elementary School Ice Cream Social Tuesday, Eileen Levy and Laura Hall of Creative Cauldron entertain the kids with some improvisational art. (Photo:

News-Press)

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September 11 - 17, 2008

Gentle Touch Dental Spa cordially invites you to our open house on Saturday, September 13th from 10am to 3pm.

Come and meet me, Dr. Madeline Hidalgo, and my staff as well as check out our new Dental Spa office.

400 South Maple Avenue Suite 103 Falls Church, VA 22046 There will be beverages and snacks, and we will be having drawings to give away the following: • Two Redskin club level seats for the Giant’s game.

• Dinner for two at Capitol Grill Steakhouse • Professional Teeth Whitening

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at 703-237-9025.

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Foster’s Grille will be opening a new restaurant in the Spectrum building in Falls Church in late December or early January. The franchise is owned by husband and wife team Nicole No and Choomg S. Hwang. Headquartered in Haymarket, Foster’s Grille has 7 company owned restaurants in Northern Virginia and 55 franchise locations from New York to Florida primarily owned and operated by customers who relocated out of the area. The restaurant chain was founded by Shawn Foster, previously a chef for The Palm, and Lewie Bloom in 1999. Foster’s Grille is known for its ½ lb. “Charburgers” burgers but also offers hotdogs, chicken, hand cut fries, salads french-fries and more. Foster’s Grille was named Top Ten fastest growing concepts

by RestaurantChains.net for 2008 and as “Ones to Watch” by QSR Magazine. The Falls Church Fosters will be located at 444 W. Broad Street, Suite A with its entrance on Pennsylvania Avenue. For more information, visit www.fostersgrille.com.

Falls Church is home to a number of popular restaurants, several of which will be participating in the 4th annual Taste of Falls Church on Saturday, September 13.

Tastings will be available from Applebee’s, Argia’s, Cabot Creamery Cooperative, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Clare and Don’s Beach Shack, Dogwood Tavern, Entrée Vous, Hoangs Grill and Sushi Bar, Ireland’s Four Provinces, La Caraquena, Ledo Pizza, Mary’s Café & Catering, Natalia’s Elegant Creations Pastry Shop & Café, Not Your Average Joe’s, Robeks and Zpizza. RCN has signed on as the Children’s Tent Sponsor while Buck & Associates, Commerce Bank, Cox, General Motors and Waterford Development have signed on as Supporters and Foxcraft Design as a Friend. For information, contact Jenny Elmore at 703-248-5199 or jelmore@fallschurchva.gov.

Congressman Tom Davis (R, 11th District) is the featured speaker at the annual luncheon hosted by the Greater Merrifield Business Association and the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, September 16. Tickets are $27 for members of either organization or $32 for non-members. Contact the Chamber at 703-532-1050 or info@fallschurchchamber.org or GMBA at 703-849-1200 or nikki@hammondagency.com to reserve seats. Advanced registration is required for this popular event.

The McLean Project for the Arts is hosting Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce members and guests for an Evening at the Gallery on September 24 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the MPA Gallery. The event will feature information about MPA’s current exhibit and programs, cocktails, appetizers and raffles. The MPA Gallery is located in the McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean. For more information, call 703-356-5424, or e-mail kryan@mcleanchamber.org.

Perfect

Madeline Hidalgo, DDS

BOVA Contemporary Furniture has opened a new location at Loehman’s Plaza.

Under the direction of Steen Olsen, President of Atlanta-based BOVA, USA, the furniture retailer carries a wide variety of products from fine leather Italian chairs to clean contemporary Scandinavian office furniture to rugs, lighting and accessories.

The store’s address is 7311 Arlington Blvd. For more information, visit www.bovafurniture.com.

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John Rodock with Ober Kaler Attorneys has signed on to support the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce’s annual Mini-Golf Family Fun Night taking place Tuesday, Sept. 30 at Upton Hill Regional Park. The event will include unlimited miniature golf, access to batting cages, activities for kids and a picnic style dinner.

The Original Pancake House and Upton Hill are also supporting this event. The event is a proven morale booster and team building event for business leaders, their staff members and families. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for kids, and free for children 5 and under. Contact the Chamber office for tickets or more information, 703-532-1050 or info@fallschurchchamber.org.

Anthony’s Restaurant in Falls Church is recognizing Mental Illness Awareness Week by donating 50 percent of their profits on Wednesday, Oct. 8 to PRS (formerly Psychiatric Rehabilitative Service) for their Adult Education Program. PRS provides supports and services to persons with serious mental illness. The funds raised through this project will provide PRS clients with a teacher trained in both adult and special education. Anthony’s, which also has a location in Manassas, offers fine Italian, Greek and American food. For more information about Anthony’s or PRS, visit www.anthonysrestaurantva.com or www.prsinc.org.

Stacy’s Coffee Parlor is hosting a breakfast in the Pavilion for participants in Shelter House’s walk to benefit homeless families in Falls Church on Saturday, October 25 from 8 – 11 a.m. The walk will start at St. James Catholic School and continue along Spring Street to Cherry Hill Park. To register or for more information, contact sarah.schultz@shelterhouse.org.  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.

September 11 - 17, 2008

A couple of years back the Congress decided that a good way to deal with our dependency on foreign oil was to start using lots and lots of domestically produced ethanol in our cars. The government, with some help from farm lobbyists, decreed that by 2022 we should burn 36 billion gallons of ethanol a year of which 15 billion gallons was to come from corn.

Now this is all well and good, except that cornbased ethanol production will be about 9 billion gallons this year and will require a major increase in corn planting in order to reach 15 billion gallons a year and keep us eating at the same time.

The other part of this story is the Chesapeake Bay Commission, a regional governmental organization that was set up in 1980

by Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania with some help from New York, West Virginia, Delaware, and the District of Columbia, to see what could be done about the deteriorating condition of the water in the Chesapeake Bay. The goal of producing 35 billion gallons of ethanol each year did not pass by the Commission unnoticed, so a study was done that concluded that an additional 300,000 acres of corn might be planted in the Bay’s watershed.

If the usual quantities of fertilizer were dumped on these new acres of corn, an additional 5 million pounds of nitrogen could end up in the Bay each year. Improve the Bay? The Commission might as well fold its tents, for the Chesapeake would be on the way to becoming another Dead Sea like the one forming at the mouth of the Mississippi. In reviewing the options, the Commission’s first study looked at the possibility of biofuel production using cellulosic feedstocks rather than corn and other feed grains to make the ethanol.

For those of you new to the issue, cellulosic ethanol can be made from a variety grasses, trees and woody plants that require no artificial fertilizer, and actually remove nitrogen from the soil and carbon from the air. The downside is that cellulosic ethanol is five or six years away from being commercially viable.

Anyway, the Commission liked what it saw. Cellulosic ethanol was a perfect fit for the

Page 17

Chesapeake’s watershed which has lots of forests and underutilized agricultural land, and is not particularly good corn country. A massive move towards growing and using cellulosic ethanol has the potential to help clean up the Bay and the air as well as powering our cars and providing a new source of economic growth for the region.

In conjunction with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Commission undertook a second year-long study entitled “Next Generation

Biofuels – Taking the Policy Lead for the Nation.”

The technology for producing the next generation of biofuels from cellulosic feedstocks, manure, algae and even municipal wastes is advancing on many fronts. There is general agreement that these processes can and will become commercially viable; however, no investor wants to become the Betamax of biofuels. Some 33 pilot projects for advanced biofuels are currently being built or planned around the U.S. However, it will take several years of trials before enough operational experience is gained to determine the most cost-effective way of producing non-grain-based biofuels and what the costs of production might be. One commercial cellulosic ethanol plant is under construction and an additional 21 are being planned.

The committee that prepared the recent report was quite enthusiastic about the prospects for biofuels and prepared a list of recommendations that the member and associate states of the Commission take action.

With six not-inconsequential state governments behind the proposals the chances are good that they will be taken seriously and acted upon at both the federal and state level.

While there were too many recommendations to discuss here, the general idea was for a regional approach to Congress and the federal government to pass laws and develop policies that would encourage and support the development of next-generation biofuels in the region. Suggestions ranged from seeking federal funding to

efforts to affect national energy policy.

The report also makes a number of recommendations for the member state governments to implement. These range from a coordinated and consistent message about the benefits of biofuels, to state mandated guidelines for producing biofuel crops.

Starting a biofuels industry will not be easy. Unlike cornbased ethanol which started with huge surpluses of corn, new and unfamiliar crops such as switch grass, miscanthus and camelina currently have no market. State governments will have to take the lead in guaranteeing temporary markets so that feed stocks will be available when processing plants are built. Some potential feedstocks such as corn stover, sawdust, and wood slash are already available and would make a good place to start.

The report recommends a number of actions such as production, infrastructure and tax incentives that state governments can take right away.

Mandates that state and local government vehicle fleets and power plants start using second generation biofuels would also be an area where legislatures could give demand for biofuels a boost.

While this study concludes that there would be many advantages to a large and vibrant next-generation biofuels industry, the question remains about whether we can get there. All indications are that a combination of depleting world oil reserves, inadequate new production projects, and declining world petroleum exports will combine to effect a reduction in the amount of petroleum products available on the U.S. market within the next few years.

Large scale production of next-generation biofuels is likely to be a decade or more away and people are starting to wonder about whether the increasing scope of U.S. economic problems will leave enough capital for investment in all the projects necessary to remake our oil-based civilization.

In the meantime, it is encouraging that state and regional groups are starting to recognize there is a problem and a partial solution available, and are taking the initiative to do something.

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September 11 - 17, 2008

T

he Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards 2008, at Heineman Myers Contemporary Art gallery (4728 Hampden Lane, Bethesda, Md.). Runs through September 27. Gallery Hours: 1 – 6 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday.

For more information, call 301-951-7900 or visit www. heinemanmyers.com.

The Trawick Prize now in its sixth year has seen some 2,400 applicants, and awarded a total of over $85,000 in prize money. Never mind the principals involved have also run the $14,000 annual Bethesda Painting Awards for the past five years as well. You can quickly surmise that these folks are serious about supporting the local art community in D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

Far from a capricious process, this years show vetted some 350 applicants, out of which 53 semi-finalists were chosen for closer scrutiny requiring an in-depth level of secondary submissions. In the end, the judging panel selected 15 finalists for this exhibit, four of whom went home with hefty checks to deposit in the bank.

Maggie Michael got $10,000 for her first prize entry titled “Start Here” – an amalgamated collection of latex, enamel, spray paint, ink, charcoal, stir sticks, and nails on canvas. This wild free-form image seems at its best when Michael applies lurid quantities of paint that

Page 19

look to be skins of semi-dried oil paint flapping down to reveal different colors beneath; it’s of the moment, action and the materials of painting.

Michael bored a small round porthole dead center in the piece that she termed an entry or exit point for the work. It’s an interesting notion, but seems a tad premeditated given the chaos surrounding it and its deadcenter positioning. It draws the mind to seek sharp geometric forms and finds sole company in the rectilinear edges of the piece itself, thereby breaking the “fourth wall” and forcing the viewer out of the image – thus forming the sort of brusque exit that the artist probably did not intend. Maggie Michael’s husband, Dan Steinhilber, took home the $2,000 second prize.

Steinhilber, probably the best know of the lot shown here, has garnered several high profile reviews on the local art scene, and is currently represented by G Fine Art gallery. Again, we see an artist’s work engrossed with the act of creating art, the materials at hand and reveling in the fleeting moment of it all.

Steinhilber’s untitled video piece on view here is a riotous production that had the artist filling his apartment with 10 giant bags of white foam packing peanuts, then blowing them around the space with a leaf blower and floor drying fan.

The bane of anyone who’s had to chase after errant foam bits after opening a package, this scenario would be something of a neatnic’s worst nightmare.

At times Steinhilber is literally submerged in cascading waves of foam bits, especially when trapped in a dead-end from which they can not escape.

The pure audacity of the whole affair comes to its peak as swirls of foam explore every conceivable nook and cranny of the kitchen counter and stove top, then moving on to the bathroom complete with swirling Styrofoam in the toilet.

It’s difficult to keep from laughing out loud at this work.

While it looks like an obscene amount of mischievous fun, Steinhilber reports that it was a tad terrifying to do. Immersed in the reality of the event he equates it to a fear of drowning, while we the viewers can only appreciate the visual whorls of foam delineating the internal aerodynamics of Steinhilber’s living space. All I can say is I’m glad I didn’t have to clean up after this one.

Like Christmas tree needles in the carpet, I suspect they’ll be finding foam bits for years to come.

Heide Trepanier’s anthropomorphic abstract painting was certainly worthy of award.

Bizarre as it sounds, Trepanier reports that throwing paint is one of the most important things in her life – and after viewing this canvas you’re likely to see why. Think of this as a combi-

nation of Dr. Seuss and Jackson Pollock, and you’ll have a glimmer of insight into its captivating qualities.

Trepanier’s slung paint seems so alive with near-representation that it could not possibly be done in a haphazard fashion. Yet examining the flows of paint, you can’t imagine any other way of doing it. The edges of color fields are often sharply outlined with fine black lines, which gives it all a deliberate illustrative quality. Yet it’s all wonderfully ill-defined as to

what it’s all about. You could look at this work for years and never be fully sure if that’s a rooster, or some internal organ atop the white wave of paint.

The whole image is like that, providing endless wonderment and entertainment. I sometimes waggishly quip that abstraction is just like representational work – you just stop before it looks like something. In that vein, Trepanier has a finely honed sense of when to stop. This is one artist’s work I definitely want to see more of.

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This Saturday brings one of the top college football matchups of the season and with it the first round of playoffs for the sport.

What’s that? You didn’t think there were playoffs in college football? You thought that conference leaders and university presidents were so concerned with the revenue driven by the current bowl system that they squelch even the mention of playoffs with bluster about how they will never happen? Well, you’re right. Technically.

However, because the Powers That Be either can’t or won’t figure out a profitable way to pull off playoffs, we’re left with playoffs that start the third game of the season.

All right, all right, so technically, this isn’t a “playoff” game. However, given that a single loss is often enough to disqualify teams from the national championship game, this Saturday’s game between Ohio State and Southern California holds all of the must-win implications of a playoff game.

It’s terrific drama. Just the best. I mean, this situation is exactly what the BCS has in mind when they argue – with a straight face – that post-season playoffs would “devalue” regular season games.

And they’re right. You can’t beat this! Two national powerhouse teams from two national powerhouse conferences duking it out with their entire season on the line. This, yes, this is the zenith of the college football season.

Who cares that USC quarterback Mark Sanchez is still shaking off the rust from a pre-season knee injury? Who cares that Heisman Trophy candidate Chris “Beanie” Wells is dinged up and likely won’t be 100-percent? Who cares that the best team either USC or Ohio State has played so far is the University of Virginia, whom the Trojans smeared 52-7. Other candidates included such juggernauts as Ohio and Youngstown State.

For those unfamiliar with college football, compared to Ohio State, Ohio and Youngstown State are about as daunting as a pair of gimpy toy poodles.

If you’re looking for another non-conference game to rival Ohio State-USC, you might find one contender – Georgia-Arizona State on Sept. 20. Unless there are some radical shake-ups in the polls, searching for a juicy non-conference match-up after Sept. 20 would be about as fruitful as Oedipus looking for the New World. After that weekend, nearly every game featuring two ranked teams will be the result of mandatory scheduling through conference play.

I give both USC and Ohio State a lot of credit for sched-

September 11 - 17, 2008

uling a difficult non-conference game like this. It’s a rare occurrence these days because by doing so, both programs put their seasons on the line.

Of course, whoever wins this Saturday’s main event will be the No. 1 team in the country. Sorry, Oklahoma – maybe you should have scheduled a ranked nonconference opponent this season.

But maybe the Sooners are smart for playing it relatively safe by opening their season with a slate of Chattanooga (clearly a cupcake), Cincinnati (an upstart with some success in 2007) and Washington (who has beaten one ranked team – Boise State last season – since 2003). You see, the loser of the USC-OSU game will have a huge climb ahead of them. Whoever loses will likely have to defeat three other ranked teams and hope their BCS Championship competitors slip up in order to keep their title hopes alive.

Since the 2002 season, no team has won a championship after losing a non-conference game.

So why schedule tough ones?

During the 2004 season, neither Oklahoma nor USC played a non-conference opponent that finished the season ranked. Ditto for Florida during their championship run in 2006.

The Gators pasted the Buckeyes in the National Championship game, so it’s not like they couldn’t beat a top nonconference team, but why risk it? Why make your road tougher when the BCS incentivizes nonconference cakewalks? Who cares that there are increasingly fewer chances to accurately gauge conference strength? Who cares that the national championship has often resulted in a mismatched blowout? Who cares that to cap the aforementioned 2004 and 2006 seasons the national championship game was decided by a combined 63 points? Hope those primo nonconference games satiated all you fans looking for a good game those years.

Scheduling a Top 10 nonconference opponent shouldn’t equate to playing Russian roulette with your post-season chances. If the upper echelons of college football actually value epic regular season match-ups like OSUUSC, they ought to realize that by maintaining the status quo and banishing any thought of playoffs they’re only further discouraging matchups of this sort.

But will that cry carry over the cha-ching of the BCS cash registers? I tend to doubt it.

College football fans: Savor this Saturday night.

While other area Cross Country meets were canceled due to the effects of Tropical Storm Hanna, the George Mason High School team traveled to Gettysburg, Penn. for the annual Gettysburg Invitational Meet.

The Mustangs had 6 runners place in the top 20 of their respective groups, including a second overall finish from freshman phenomenon Natalie Young. The girls team finished second out of 24 Group 2 schools, and the boys finished third in the less competitive Group 3.

Young and her fellow underclassmen stole the show for Mason, posting three of the top ten best times out of a pool of over 180 runners, many of them coming from larger schools.

Young finished with a scorching time of 19:23 in her varsity debut, showing that the Mason’s Girls Cross Country team will not have to mourn the absence of former Mason star and recent Notre Dame recruit Susannah Sullivan.

Teammate Courtney Ready was impressed by Young’s showing at the meet. “Natalie did an incredible job in her first meet. She blew away the competition.”

Despite finishing over a minute behind Young’s pace, freshman Eva Estrada and sophomore Mollie Breen also man-

aged to finish in the top ten, with respective times of 20:35 and 20:36. Breen began her second year of what looks to be a promising career at Mason after an impressive start as a freshman, according to Head Coach Julie Braven.

Braven anticipated the debuts of Estrada and Young, after the pair spent their eighth grade Cross Country season torching Junior Varsity competition.

Despite their smaller frames, the two girls have combined natural speed with hours of hard work and training to give Mason one of the most dominant freshman duos in the area.

“Eva Estrada and Natalie Young are outstanding,” said Ready. “With this many fast young runners, we are going to do really well at states this year.”

Youth was a running theme for the girls team, as the eighth grade squad finished fourth at Gettysburg, and the JV team placed third in their group.

On the boys team, it was more of the same from their veteran runners. The boys were placed in Group 3 with other schools close to Mason’s size, and fared well as a group.

Out of 104 runners, junior Miles Butler finished 12th with an 18:18 clip. Junior Teddy Rueckert and sophomore Jordan Robarge were just seven and eight seconds respectively off Butler’s pace, but were still separated by two runners.

Mason’s next three finishers were senior Daniel Benn, sophomore Matt Baker and junior Nick Smirniotopolous – the trio finished within eight seconds of each other, and took 22nd through 24th places overall.

“We had six of our runners in the top 25, and last year we only had one, which is a really good sign for this year,” said firstyear runner Smirniotopolous.

The inclement weather Falls Church received on Saturday was also present in Gettysburg.

A steady downpour throughout the morning provided for drenched uniforms and muddy, sometimes slippery surfaces for the runners, and certainly played a role in the way the races ensued.

“Some people were able to use the rain as motivation, while the mud definitely made it harder for others. It’s just a matter of how you’re able to cope with the situation,” said a Mustang runner.

With top four finishes at one of the most competitive events on the schedule, the Mason Cross Country team appears to be stronger than ever across the board. Prodigies on the girls side combined with experience on the boys side became a recipe for success. Following up on Friday’s meet, the team traveled to Rappahannock County this Wednesday in their first meeting with competition in the Bull Run District. Results were unavailable at press time.

September 11 - 17, 2008

F.C. High 7 – South Co. 27 Falls Church High School failed to get their first win once again last Friday when they were soundly beat by South County 7-27. Sloppy weather, along with a sharp South County defense, caused troubles for the normally potent Jaguar offense. Falls Church will look to cease their offensive woes on Sept. 12 in a home game against South Lakes.

Marshall 7 – Fairfax Co. 26 The Marshall Statesmen lost 7-26 last Friday to Fairfax County in a smash mouth style game away in Fairfax. Marshall jumped out in front with a Victor Vanegas touchdown run before becoming stagnant on offense the rest of the game. Fairfax found their groove in the second half, putting up a relentless ground attack and all 26 of their points in the final two quarters. The Statesmen put a 1-1 record on the line as they continue non-district play, hosting Stone Bridge this Friday.

Mason 20 – Page Co. 36 George Mason traveled to Page County on Friday night where they faced a rude awak-

McLean Volleyball Scores 2 Wins At their first home game on Sept. 3, the McLean High School Girls Volleyball squad defeated the Robert E. Lee Lancers in three straight games (25-17, 25-18, 25-15), advancing their record to 2-0. Coach Steve Stotler credited their victories to solid team play and has high hopes for continued success this season. Next week, they face Wakefield at home at 7:15 p.m. Sept. 9 and travel Sept. 11 to West Springfield.

Local Tees Off at White House South Lawn On Sept. 7, Cale Reinfurt, 7, whose father, Ed Reinfurt, is currently deployed to Iraq, represented Falls Church at the 20th and last Tee Ball event of President George W. Bush’s administration, which took place on the South Lawn of the White House. This final game welcomed 26 Tee Ball players who have a parent currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. Previously, Reinfurt’s father had coached the Falls Church Leopards.

President Bush presented each player with a baseball autographed by the president.

McLean Golf Bests TJHSST On Sept. 3, McLean High School’s golf team beat Thomas

Page 21

ening from a revamped Panther team, which trounced Mason 36-20. Page County avenged its 19-42 rout at Mason last year, and continued a strong 2008 campaign. The Panthers caught Mason off guard in the first half, capitalizing on several miscues.

After allowing a quick start, Mason responded in the second half with touchdowns from Joel Chandler and Jamal McLean, but it was too little, too late.

Mason will seek vengeance at 7:30 p.m. this Friday when they host Stonewall Jackson.

Stuart 30 – McLean 14 The J.E.B. Stuart Raiders snapped a 25-game losing streak on Friday evening at home, beating McLean High School from the Liberty District 30-14. His second tenure at Stuart and only the second game into the 2008 season, Head Coach Roy Ferri helped the Raiders break the bad run that dated back to the 2005 season. This Friday, the Raiders travel to Lake Braddock where they will look to continue a new type of streak.

Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) 168161. The four lowest scorers for the TJHSST Colonials were: Stefan Kowalski, Ben Choi, Matt Callahan and Daniel Kang.

TJHSST Defeats Falls Church During their overtime season opener, Falls Church lost 27-28 to the TJHSST Colonials, ending with a blocked pass by Colonial linebacker Adil Dittmer that prevented a 2-point conversion.

Regulation time ended in a 2121 tie with the Colonials scoring three touchdowns. The Colonials missed out on several scoring opportunities, but was the first to score in overtime on a 5-yard run

by Ben Daly, with the conversion kicked by Evan Burch.

Langley Edges TJHSST Late in Game Following a scoreless first quarter during their Sept. 5 game, the Langley High School Saxons capitalized on a turnover from TJHSST Colonials to score the first touchdown.

Despite an intense rainstorm from Tropical Storm Hanna, the Colonials were able to drive deep until time expired.

Leading the Colonials offense in yardage were Ben Daly (16-36, 265 yds, 3 TD), Evan Burch, Mike Howard, Alex Shmorhun and Daniel Barnes, with strong performances from the offensive line:

Kevin Zigadlo, Adam Cho, Matt Becker, Timur Aleshin and Jordan Bundy.

The Colonial defense had another outstanding performance led by linebackers John Kim, Shmorhun, Jason Schwartz, Albert Khim and Adil Dittmer.

On the line, Joe Latta, Zigadlo and Becker made crucial tackles on Langley’s running backs.

Jefferson District Park Golf Competitions Jefferson District Park hosts a senior mens league that competes every Monday morning. All members are residents of Fairfax County and most live within the Falls Church area. Results from the Aug. 18 competition: Roger Loudin and Jerry Svat tied at a net score of 28; second place, Jim Fahey and John Johnson, tying at 30. On the second flight, Dennis Ryan won with net 28; second place, Eugene Khan and Richard Smith at 29. Closest to the pin on the third hole was won by Joe Giroux at 18-feet, 2-inches.

Marshall Field Hockey Loses to Centreville A 1-2 loss to Centreville High School on Sept. 3, Marshall High School’s Girls Varsity Field Hockey team fought hard, having tied the game early and forcing the game into overtime.

The first overtime was scoreless, but in the second, Centreville scored its winning goal in the last four minutes.

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September 11 - 17, 2008

Back to School Night at George Mason HS George Mason High School’s Back to School Night will be held from 7 – 9:30 p.m. Sept. 11 for parents of all grades.

Smile! Picture Day At Mary Ellen Henderson Friday, Sept. 12 is Picture Day for students attending Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School.

GR8 Tailgate and Back to School Dance The GR8 Tailgate, hosted by the Mustang Ambassadors, will start at 6 p.m. at Moore Cadillac Stadium at George Mason High School on Sept. 12. The Back to School Dance kicks off at 9 p.m., after the George Mason varsity football team plays Stonewall Jackson High School.

Falls Church HS Marching Band Fundraiser The Falls Church High School marching band will host a fund-raising dinner at UNO’S Pizzeria (3058 Gatehouse Plaza, Falls Church) on Sept. 15. All proceeds will go to support the band program. For more information, please call 703-207-4000.

George Mason HS Freshman Parent Night GR8 Orientation and Freshman Parent Night, geared specifically towards parents of 8th and 9th graders, will be held at 7 p.m. Sept. 16 in the Mustang Café at George Mason High School.

For more information, please call 703-248-5500.

Senior Parent Night To Be Held at George Mason HS George Mason High School’s Senior Parent Night will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept.

18 in the Mustang Café. For more information, please call 703-2485500.

O’Connell Soccer Coach Earns 500th Win Bishop O’Connell Soccer Coach Alberto Starace, head coach of the Bishop O’Connell girls’ soccer team since 1985, achieved his 500th win with a 2-1 victory over Flint Hill High School on Sept. 3.

Born just outside of Venice, Italy, Starace moved with his father to the United States at age seven. When he was 14, he fell in love with soccer, and decided that during high school that he would like coaching to be his career.

THE GR8 TAILGATE will be held at 9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 12 at the Moore Cadillac Stadium of George Mason High School.

(Photo: Courtesy John Brett)

Since taking the position at O’Connell, Starace has coached four All Americans, more than 30 girls that have gone on to Division 1 college soccer, and over 80 girls that have played at the Division 2 or 3 college levels.

He has won one national championship, and each season his teams reach the top 25 rankings at least one time.

Parent Orientation and Seminar for New Families On the last Friday of every month Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) hosts orientation seminars for parents of families new to the FCPS school system.

The orientations will be delivered in English, Korean, Arabic and Spanish, and will address ways that parents can be involved in their children’s education and school activities, as well as ways to foster cultural development in the educational community. For locations, times and other information please call 703-277-2626 or visit www.fcps.edu.

McLean Students Named As Finalists In Contest The newspaper staff of McLean High School was named as a finalist for the Group AAA Newspaper category of the Virginia High School League (VHSL) Writing, Photo, and Design Contest. The contest winners will be announced at the 2008 VHSL Championship Journalism Workshop in Richmond on Oct. 18 – 19.

Early Release Day and Back-to-School Night Students of Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School

(MEH) will be released at noon on Sept. 17. MEH will host its Back-to-School Night at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 18. For more information, please call 703-720-5700 or visit www.fccps.org/meh/.

Development Screenings for Preschool Children On the first Wednesday of every month Child Find will host a Child Find Day from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. at Mound Daniel School (2328 N Oak St., Falls Church). Children will be tested for difficulties in speech, fine or gross motor skills and cognitive skills and if eligible, will be able to receive special education services through Falls Church City Public Schools.

New Fairfax County Assistant Superintendent Kim P. Dockery, principal of Westlawn Elementary School, has been named the new assistant superintendent for special services for Fairfax County Public Schools. Dockery was hired in 1995 at Mantua Elementary School as a special education lead teacher, where she worked with children in preschool to grade 6 and provided special education services. In 2000, Haycock Elementary School hired her as the special projects coordinator, and in 2001 she became the assistant principal. Her duties included managing the school’s gifted program as well as the programs for autism, learning disabilities and English speakers of Other languages (ESOL). Dockery was named principal of Westlawn Elementary School in 2003. She plans to assume the responsibilities of her new position by the end of this month.

September 11 - 17, 2008

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September 11 - 17, 2008

Entertainer Parking

Taste of Falls Church at the Fall Festival Barn

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Argia’s Dogwood Tavern Ireland’s Four Provinces Ledo Pizza Robeks Cabot Creamery La Caraquena Hummelbuger, Robeson, McCulloch Denise Philipbar Robert H. Davidson Idil Periard Joie de Beads by Cathy The Great Zimbabwe Marriott Vacation Club Ameritech Construction Ameritech Construction Sponsor Tents RCN Cox Communications Waterford Falls Church Commerce Bank

Entrance to the Festival Rec and Parks Info Booth City Info/Emergency Prepardness Mary Riley Styles Public Library City Clerk’s Office In front of Community Center Cub Scout Pack 657 Relay for Life Falls Church News-Press GMHS PTA

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September 11 - 17, 2008

As Tropical Storm Hanna’s showers and gloom finally dissipated, I stumbled upon a restaurant in Fairfax that was comforting in any weather – P.J. Skidoos.

Skidoos is a one-of-a-kind, privately-owned restaurant that leaves a lasting impression. Skidoos’ varying regional antiques and nostalgic framed photos feel strikingly similar to themes other restaurant chains have failed to capture.

The nook that I was seated in had a wistful feel of wartime America with its many WWII army recruiting posters and framed 1940s art. Not to mention that as soon as you walk on the rustic hardwood floors and sit down in the soft worn black leather booths with their large, but somehow fitting silver studs, one feels the age and quality of the environment.

The dining area was well separated from the large bar, which appeared rather crowded. Although you could only have so much of a problem with the echoing cheers and chatter from the crowds that floated to your table, since it was just more of the wholesome all-American fun that Skidoos strives to encourage within its patrons.

The biggest way that Skidoos strives to meet this goal is through there allAmerican menu.

Served at the beginning of the meal, the artichoke and crab soup that came with my entrée mixed the complimenting flavors of artichoke heart and crab meat in hearty creaminess. This appetizer left me longing for one of those long winter days to curl up on the couch under a thick blanket and your favorite soup.

The specialty, Prime Rib ($14.95), fell nothing short of all-American. The cut of meat had a fresh taste and texture that many meat-lovers can recognize. The au jus left the meat with a juicy sweet flavor after being unsparingly dipped. This far into the meal, one might look at the side of baked potato and assume it was merely for decoration.

However, seeing the birthday party next to me with a candle-topped Chocolate Mousse dessert ($3.95), I couldn’t resist. Served with a side of wafer, it was thick and rich, yet not overpoweringly sweet. I felt that it may have done better as the filling to chocolate cream pie.

The menu also offered a variety of salads, sandwiches, burgers, steaks and seafood. Nibbling off of my guest’s plate I discovered more of Skidoos’ offerings.

The Chicken Souvlaki ($7.95) was nothing but fresh and crisp: vegetables, chicken with a hint of rotisserie flavor, a soft, powdery pita to wrap it all in and it came with a side of peppery potato wedges as well.

The prices for food were reasonable, even for Skidoo’s variety of steaks, none of which reach higher than $20. Bottled wines range from $18 - 65.

As well as offering an all you “care” to eat Sunday brunch buffet ($14.95) from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Skidoos offers banquet catering for private parties in a lowerlevel room that fits up to 150 people, as well as offering outdoor seating and a large classy bar.

The service was also excellent, with our waitress more than willing to answer my relentless questions about the restaurant’s theme. The only thing I could really dig up was a story of how a previous customer has once offered to pay $5,000 for a company’s sign that was once owned by his family. However, it still hangs in the restaurant adding to the authenticity of the atmosphere of old-time America.

September 11 - 17, 2008

Page 27

With three of the four judges returning from last year’s Taste of Falls Church, this year’s restaurant entrants will have to step it up in order to impress these veteran taste buds. Here, the judges provide insights on their personal palettes and what gets their mouths watering.

Robin Gardner Mayor, City of Falls Church

Cathy Kaye Treasurer, City of Falls Church

1. Have you judged before, and whether yes or no, do you consider yourself having any food expertise?

1. Have you judged before, and whether yes or no, do you consider yourself having any food expertise?

Yes, I have judged before. I am now an expert judge — hopefully the others will look to me for guidance. I am an expert on vegetarian cuisine and kid-friendly fare. Yes, it is tough to create a menu around these two parameters, but no one ever said it would be easy!

Yes, I have judged before: last year and I had a wonderful time! I consider myself a cook, not an expert in any way! I like being a generalist, food niche-wise, then I’m not limited in my choices!

2. What makes for a good meal or favorite dish? An example?

I could go with the obvious answers of simplicity in a dish, with a good presentation, but instead I will say that I really like meals that others cook.

Being a non-cook by nature (yes, you can ask my husband, this isn’t a big secret) I enjoy meals that can be shared — so family style, large group fare works best for me. I love anything with noodles. My favorite meals range from Thai to sushi to Italian — I run the gamut.

3. Conversely, what makes for a bad meal or dish — what foods don’t pleasure your palette? An example, too?

Meals that are undercooked are a turnoff. Anything that is too spicy I find unenjoyable – I find myself always looking for something to bring the spiciness down, be it drinking water or another beverage, so I don’t appreciate the meal as much. Also, anything slimy is a turnoff. There is some sushi that I just won’t touch.

4. How would you describe your taste buds; do they tingle for spice, tang, perhaps something mellow? What titillates them?

I appreciate the tang in a dish. Some of my favorite ingredients are nuts, coconut, curry and cream.

5. Growing up, what was your favorite dish?

My mom made wonderful stuffing, so I’d have to say it was a roasted chicken with stuffing! How’s that for traditional!

2. What makes for a good meal or favorite dish? An example?

A favorite dish has to have history. You have to be able to connect it either to your childhood, or a special event or a special person. I know that my favorite dish to make is lemon chicken, not only because I like it, but because it is my husband’s favorite and I have been making it for him since before we were married!

3. Conversely, what makes for a bad meal or dish — what foods don’t pleasure your palette? An example, too?

A bad dish is easier to define than a bad meal. I can find fault with a dish because of its ingredients, preparation or presentation. A bad meal is much more complicated. I think I have only ever had one bad meal (my mother made it, hence her permanent ban from the kitchen) in my life. I think a meal has to have at least two people eating it to be considered a meal. If I have good friends to eat with, how can a meal be bad?

4. How would you describe your taste buds; do they tingle for spice, tang, perhaps something mellow? What titillates them?

My taste buds like it HOT!! I like any spicy food, the more intense the better!

Indian, Thai, Mexican, Ethiopian, I like them all!

5. Growing up, what was your favorite dish?

My mother cannot cook, however, she can bake. So my childhood favorite was a treat that she made every summer, her frozen strawberry pie. It was an amazing thing, frozen strawberries, cream and egg whites, whipped until they stood 8” tall, piled in a cookie dough crust and then frozen...it still defines summer for me!

Rob Meeks Falls Church Recreation & Parks Advisory Board Chair 1. Have you judged before, and whether yes or no, do you consider yourself having any food expertise?

I was a judge last year. I am thrilled to be asked back this year. Judging two years in a row is my greatest claim to food expertise. My niche of cuisine is elusive, but I do know a lot about breakfast, the most important meal of the day.

2. What makes for a good meal or favorite dish? An example?

No question what makes a good meal: the people you share it with. Favorite dish is a tough question, I can think of two. The first is my mother’s lasagna.

The second is a Brussel sprout dish that my wife makes. I am not mentioning the second dish to encourage my children to eat Brussel sprouts, but the season is approaching and it is a very nutritious.

3. Conversely, what makes for a bad meal or dish — what foods don’t pleasure your palette? An example, too?

I have had some meals with my in-laws that were not the greatest. And, eggplant, I wish I understood it better.

4. How would you describe your taste buds; do they tingle for spice, tang, perhaps something mellow? What titillates them?

I have been told that I have attractive taste buds, and they seem to be aging well.

5. Growing up, what was your favorite dish?

I called my mother to answer this one.

She was glad to hear from me. She asked why I have not called sooner.

She also scolded me for calling from the car. Then she said there was a time when I was in 6th through 8th grade when I would only eat ham. I don’t remember this. Perhaps, I am still a little bruised about the cell phone discussion.

Tom Clinton, Falls Church Commissioner of the Revenue 1. Have you judged before, and whether yes or no, do you consider yourself having any food expertise?

I have never officially judged food before but I’m looking forward to it. I do like to eat so I hope that counts for something! I grew up in big family, I have eight brothers and sisters, so buffet style with the whole family was both practical and a lot of fun.

2. What makes for a good meal or favorite dish? An example?

I like a variety of foods and all the courses, if time permits. A good meal doesn’t have to be anything specific or overly complicated. Fresh ingredients always taste better.

I think good company, good conversation and drinks are important elements as well.

3. Conversely, what makes for a bad meal or dish — what foods don’t pleasure your palette? An example, too?

If someone else is cooking, how bad can it be? I have two kids so chicken nuggets, or if we’re going fancy they’re called chicken tenders, are usually on the menu. My nickname is “the goat” so I’m not really a big complainer. I’m not into exotic and super spicy.

4. How would you describe your taste buds; do they tingle for spice, tang, perhaps something mellow? What titillates them?

I like spices and tang. I’m quite all right with the comfort food end of the spectrum as well. A really good buffet can be a multihour event for me. My mother was a good cook and was always able to provide both quality and quantity while we were growing up. My father took up cooking later in life. He was a big reader of cookbooks and watched a lot of the early cooking shows.

He was always trying something new.

5. Growing up, what was your favorite dish?

My Dad made the best marinated boneless chicken on the grill. I’m not sure if it had a specific name but it always tasted real good, and the serving plate was always cleared off in no time. You had to skewer quickly to avoid other people’s forks coming at your hand and you couldn’t take more than you allotted portion!

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September 11 - 17, 2008

Often the ability to discern quality wines is a natural gift, as we saw in the case of food for Remy in the Disney cartoon, “Ratatouille.”

James Roth, co-owner of the new wine and cheese shop in downtown Falls Church, Red, White and Bleu, has the gift when it comes to wines.

Only 33, Roth explained how he first got into the wine business, while leading a wine tasting for eight in this writer’s home last weekend, only blocks from his establishment.

Such in-home wine tastings,

that can come replete with complementing cheeses and meats, are among a variety of special offerings at the new store.

Roth, who owns the store with his older brother, Adam Roth of Argia’s Restaurant, and Harry Silverstein, explained that he’d never had an interest in wine, and was drinking beer watching football one night when his girlfriend was struggling in the other room with a take-home exam for school.

Her test was a “blind” wine tasting, as she was studying to become a restaurant sommelier, and she wasn’t getting any of the comparisons right. She was 0-for-8 and almost in tears, Roth

recalled.

He asked her to let him try it. He then got the next eight comparisons correct.

“You’ve got to get into wine,” she exclaimed. The rest is history. When he thought of opening a wine-tasting store, his brother Adam, whose Argia’s Restaurant has filled a niche as a fine Italian restaurant in Falls Church, talked him into trying a location here.

He did, and he and Silverstein moved down from New York City, opening the store just a few months ago.

Already, with in-store wine tastings every weekend and Roth’s ability to recommend

outstanding, reasonably priced wines and the right meats and cheeses that pair with them best, Red, White and Bleu has begun to take off.

During last Saturday’s tropical storm, Hanna, he said, he showed up to open the store at 9 a.m. and was surprised to see customers waiting at the door. The stream of business throughout the day, despite the torrential rain, surprised him, he said.

Sunday night at my place, Roth arrived right on time with seven bottles of some of his personal favorites, coming from Argentina, Italy, Spain, France, Napa Valley, Paso Robles and

Oregon, four cheeses and five cured meats.

Susan, Bob, Stacy, Jeff, Jonathan, Gordon and Jody showed up promptly, realizing it was not the kind of gathering to be late for.

Roth preferred his trusty waiter’s pocket corkscrew to my rabbit. He said his was faster, but we decided not to duel.

The next two and a half hours was like a collective magic carpet ride. Geography, soil, climate, history, seasons, olfactory factors, tannin, acidity, balance, relevant personal experiences, creamier to harder cheeses, Canadian bacon-like to more marbled meats, estate wines, softly-playing Beethoven concertos, swirling, breathing, decanters, philosophies of personal tastes, opinions of the movie “Sideways,” the virtues of screw caps, price points, my bashful cat, all co-mingled and interwoven like a complex tapestry: such a highly-civilized educational experience and bout of wine-drinking.

Roth explained that the Layer Cake brand of “primativo” from the Italian region around Naples got its name from the winemaker’s parents, who described the soil where he grew his grapes as “like a layer cake.” Italian “primativo” wines all are made with the zinfandel grape.

The California Rhone-blend red wine from the Edmunds St. John winery in arid Paso Robles, near the area where the oilman in “There Will Be Blood” dug his pipeline, was appropriately called “Rocks and Gravel.”

Roth matched a Spumante champagne-like Italian sparkling wine, with what he called a truly “decadent” cheese for its creaminess, a Brillat that was originally created in Normandy.

But he noted that, as a small business owner, he prefers to find small producers to buy his

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** cheeses and meats, and in the case of the triple-crème Brillat and others at his store, he found them at the Cherry Glen Farm in Maryland. Buying there also makes them less expensive for his customers.

He rolled out a riesling-like â&#x20AC;&#x153;Albarinoâ&#x20AC;? from the west coast of Spain, north of Portugal. The atlas was opened up to pinpoint the region. Drier, as in lesssweet, than the reisling grape, the crisp â&#x20AC;&#x153;Albarinoâ&#x20AC;? is among the most popular white wines in Spain.

He matched it with a spicy â&#x20AC;&#x153;Palacios chorizoâ&#x20AC;? air-dried meat from Spain, cured with paprika and garlic, and a cowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s milk â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mahon quesoâ&#x20AC;? cheese from the Spanish island of Malaga.

He contrasted that to a

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mostranoâ&#x20AC;? meat that had more fat granules, a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gentile,â&#x20AC;? which is more flavorful and saltier, and a smoked â&#x20AC;&#x153;Speckâ&#x20AC;? prosciutto, from Alto Adige region of Italy and matched it with some of the wines with a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Marissaâ&#x20AC;? goat cheese from Wisconsin.

Roth sang the praises of Argentinean and Chilean wines for their quality and reasonable prices, and chose to present a Traphice Broquel cabernet sauvignon, from Mendosa, Argentina, which turned out to be the surprise favorite of most of the nightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guests when polled at the conclusion. Because of its heavy tannin content, cabernets do best with red meats because the tannin works to break down the fats in the meat, he said.

Two pinot noir wines were included in Rothâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presentation.

The grape is his personal favorite, he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;sexy and elegant,â&#x20AC;? but very â&#x20AC;&#x153;finicky.â&#x20AC;?

The reviews were rave ones from all who attended, as they departed into the night and called back the next day. Roth, himself, said the experience of in-home wine tastings is among his favorite things, and that he always learns as well as dispenses knowledge.

We all decided this would be far from the last such function weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d schedule from Red, White and Bleu. Still so much to learn!

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September 11 - 17, 2008

If you’re a food connoisseur looking for that next gastronomic frontier to cross, perhaps a small red berry may provide the edge you’re seeking.

Sounds somewhat too simple, right? A small red berry, synsepalum dulcificum, known to the layman as “miracle fruit,” has been making inroads to posh parties up in New York, attracting the converted and the curious as it turns all that is sour and bitter to pure, mind-boggling sweetness.

But everyone has to start from square one: what is this so-called miracle fruit?

The process behind the berry is that its red skin contains the glycoprotein, miraculin – after consuming the berry and letting the skin linger in the mouth for a minute or so, the chemical attaches itself to the surface of the tongue. Once the taste buds are lacquered in a Miraculin glaze, well, then the adventure begins.

According to miraclefruitexpress.com – one of your be-all, end-all shopping center for all that is affordable miracle fruit (with free shipping) – the berry

came into Western knowledge around 1725 after a discovery in West Africa by Chevalier des Marchais. Another online enthusiast, Jacob Grier, reports that the berry’s origins are older, having been used in Africa as a dietary aid for centuries. Either way, taste-tripping has never been the same since.

There was a movement in the 1970s to bring miracle fruit into the U.S. market as a diet aid, like the Japanese who use it for diabetics and others who can’t consume sugars. But the movement stalled with the Food and Drug Administration, and the exotic fruit went into oblivion Stateside until some experimental party types came upon the fruit.

You can find various reviews online about miracle fruit experimentation, even the New York Times has a recent feature.

Apparently the berry has made hefty progress in Asian countries, and since its popular consumption there, the fruit has been heavily marketed from companies in Japan and in Taiwan, where miraclefruitexpress.com purchases its shipments.

There is one hitch to procuring miracle fruit stateside. As

you might imagine, it’s not easy to come by fresh at the market.

Thank goodness then for entrepreneurs like William Goldfarb and his enterprise miraclefruitexpress.com, who started his business after he and some friends tried fresh miracle berries.

“This stuff is fun,” Goldfarb thought after his first time. “But it was very expensive, spoiled fast and was fragile. When I met with the distributor from Taiwan

and sampled the tablets, I knew I had to get the word out,” says Goldfarb.

The miracle fruit enthusiast, or the curious culinary adventurer like this writer, can procure 10 hits of miraculin in tablet form at $19.99, with some better package deals as you purchase more tablets.

Sounds expensive? Well, at the time of press, miraclefruitexpress.com didn’t have any fresh

berries available then, so for the real stuff, fresh ripened berries, Curtis Mozie of Fort Lauderdale, Fl. and his website www.miraclefruitman.com offers 30 berries at their peak for $3 per berry – with a minimum purchase of 30 berries with $30 shipping.

Well, now you’re talking about 30 hits at $120. The tablet advantage becomes pretty clear.

Continued on Page 34

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September 11 - 17, 2008

Page 31

Fad diets point the finger at a new culprit each year – carbs, trans fat, sugar or is it animal products. It’s hard to keep up.

In a day and age where calories are the enemy and sweet-tooth cravings are seen as the devil’s doing, it’s often an internal battle to have your cake and eat it too, until now.

From pizza to cupcakes, owners of local restaurants are doing their grandest to keep their menu options healthy without putting customers on a diet of bland tastes. Just ask Natalia Kost-Lupichuk, owner of Falls Church’s Natalia’s Elegant Creations on West Broad Street.

“One thing I don’t skimp on is the quality of my ingredients,” said Kost-Lupichuk, who swears by Whole Foods Market and can be spotted buying summer tomatoes for her gazpacho from the local farmer’s market at the Falls Church City Hall.

Only organic fruits and vegetables and the highest-quality meats grace the plates and palettes of those who frequent the café. Notably, Kost-Lupichuk devotes a portion of her menu to gluten-free and vegan offerings. Crediting her Ukrainian heritage, her European cooking style often produces low-sugar edibles by default, saving her customers from the ever-socommon heavy aftertaste that sweet treats leave on their taste buds.

“With every bite, you’re just tasting the flavor, not that filmy taste that you get from overprocessed foods,” said KostLupichuk.

With the clean flavor of fresh ingredients also comes the health benefits. Kost-Lupichuk said many of her non-vegan regulars are now opting for the vegan options with their waistline in mind. Since traditional vegan recipes don’t use any animal products, customers can rest assured that they’ll be cutting out some cholesterol and fat, which comes from items like cream and eggs, while still being able to chow down on one of Natalia’s signature vegan cupcakes.

Her gluten-free desserts, like Mocha Orange Gateau or Chocolate Rum Cream Ganache Torte to name a few, cater to wheat-sensitive customers or those with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that can cause adverse reactions to the intake of many common baking

ingredients.

“Whether it’s something with nuts, something with chocolate or something without either, I really try to offer something for all my customers,” said KostLupichuk, who can tailor special orders for clients with other food allergies.

Aside from accommodating customers with special diets who still crave a good cheesecake, Natalia’s menu covers all bases of breakfast and lunch.

Locals can start off the day with a freshly-baked apricot butter croissant or grab a turkey, apple and gouda cheese gourmet sandwich with honey mustard for lunch. While the day to day selection may vary, all sandwiches are garnished with a health-conscious side from a versatile selection — baby carrots, tomatoes, fresh berries, grapes, snow peas, peppers, celery and cucumber sticks — versus the calorie-packed french fry norm.

Zpizza in Falls Church is doing its own part in the fight against fried foods — by not serving any. When owner Mike Smith was in the market to franchise a restaurant years ago, an old colleague clued him in on the pizza chain that was all the rage on the west coast.

After flying to Los Angeles to see for himself, Smith said it

was love at first bite and soon introduced the first zpizza to the east coast.

“The minute that I tasted the food, I just knew this was going to be big,” said Smith.

Zpizza’s signature organic tomato sauce is perhaps just the foundation of its empire built solely on a philosophy of health. Ingredients range all the way from Wisconsin skim mozzarella, additive-free sausage, MSG-free pepperoni and Montana winter wheat dough, with topping choices like roasted eggplant, pine nuts, kalamata olives, capers and more. Smith believes it comes down to their tailor-made taste when battling it out with other local competitors.

“Every pizza that comes out of our store is truly customized for the customer from start to finish. Everyday we make the dough, let it rise slowly overnight and roll it out the next day,” said Smith.

Smith’s business plan must be working, seeing as he said that the Falls Church location on West Broad Street is the second busiest zpizza in the country, while probably being the smallest in accordance to square-footage.

“The amount of customers that come through those doors and the amount we deliver to is

just astronomical compared to that little space,” said Smith.

Smith said that zpizza strives to dream up new menu items at least twice a year to keep up with the trends. Their most recent addition is the Rustica, a free-form, crispy-crusted pizza available in chicken sausage and arugula, curry chicken and yam, mediterranean, and pear and gorgonzola cheese. Smith said they’re not done yet in their quest for healthy living.

Zpizza’s dough preparation method will be switching to organic flour in the next few months.

“We sell a lot of wheat pizzas. I really think people like feeding their kids the healthier pizza,” said Smith.

Kost-Lupichuk and Smith attested that eating a variety of foods, while steering clear of single-factor deprivation, is key when it comes to winning the fight against calories.

“Enjoy life. If you deprive yourself of everything, you’re worse off in the long run than if you treat yourself once in awhile,” said Kost-Lupichuk.

“It’s everything in moderation.”

• Contact Natalia’s Elegant Creations at 703-241-8040 and Falls Church’s zpizza at 703536-6969 for more information.

September 11 - 17, 2008

Page 33

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You ask, but the real stuff is more potent, right? No, it isn’t: the tablets, which come in a small medicine-like tin foil sheet identifiable only by some Asian characters, consists of miracle fruit extract and some corn starch for stability. Each pink tablet then is packed with the concentrated potency of the fruit.

To press the point home, this writer took it upon himself to offer his own dear taste buds to take the sweet dip. (OK, this isn’t a trip to Haight-Ashbury of lore, but, hey, a trip’s a trip.)

A friend joined the experimentation as a witness to vouch for the journalist’s impartiality.

Miracle fruit doesn’t seem like a loner’s choice for fun, and it’s so much more fun to share the wonder of taste-tripping with friends.

Miraclefruitexpress.com wastes no time with shipping either – after ordering the package on a Tuesday afternoon, there it was, a small brown box from Scottsdale, Ariz. sitting on the front porch Wednesday afternoon.

That evening is when the experimentation commenced.

Following some suggestions from the “party guide” the shipper included with the package,

September 11 - 17, 2008

we laid out an assortment of food and beverages to sample: lemon wedges, soy sauce, horseradish, beer and liquor – sadly, all we could find in the house on a Wednesday night was some sweet vermouth.

Next, we move on to the consumption of the miracle fruit tablet. Again following the guide, we begin by placing the tablets on our tongues, coating them with their precious cargo of miraculin.

A minute or two later, as the guide puts it best, this is where “things get a little weird.”

First on the menu: the lemonade – I mean, lemon wedges – but the mistake is easily made.

Everything sour or bitter turns into tangy delectables – soy sauce went down as easily as, let’s say, a full-bodied merlot with an Eastern twist.

More impressive is the horseradish. The usually hot condiment loses its tongue-burning edge, and was, to our surprise, the most delicious miraculininspired entrée (so much so, we had seconds).

Much like what you read in miracle fruit press coverage, the room is also full of “Oh! Ah! Wow!” from the experimenters.

As for the evening’s libations, the hint of blueberry in our beer becomes all the more prominent: Welch’s for the

21 and over crowd. Sadly, the sweet vermouth’s tang doesn’t budge much – as it’s already sweet, the taste change wasn’t discernible.

Goldfarb recommends experimenting with liquor and mixed drinks rather than with beer or wine.

Naturally, one should follow the advice of the people who know and sell the product: If it isn’t sour or bitter, don’t waste your time or the miraculin.

It takes one tablet for about an hour, give or take, of experimentation. Miraclefruitexpress. com suggests experimenting with different foods and liquids to get a feel for how they affect the longevity of the miraculin.

With some tablets remaining, this writer has more food curiosities to settle, and for the unique experience, the price and the harmless fun were worth the hour-long trip.

Perhaps then you’ll consider a small pink tablet the next time you want something more than your average palate.

Of course, if you’re convinced this is something you’d like to try and keep enjoying – Goldfarb also sells the plants, which sounds like it might be too much of a good thing.

In the words of Mae West: sometimes too much of a good thing is wonderful. Mind the lemons, though.

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September 11 - 17, 2008

Page 35

Page 38

September 11 - 17, 2008

“I’ve gone by what the late Katherine Graham of the Washington Post said: ‘Do what you love and feel you make a difference, what could be better than that?’”

That’s how Gay Nuttall, a towering giant in the suburban newspaper industry in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region, concluded her exclusive interview with the News-Press last month, conducted within weeks of her retirement after 16 years at the helm of the 1.6million circulation Washington Suburban Press Network (WSPN).

Nuttall, who found her personal niche in mid-career switching from school teaching to newspaper advertising sales, founded the WSPN in the early 1990s, and brought the Times Community Papers of Virginia, the Gazette papers in Maryland and the Falls Church NewsPress, among others, into a loose network whose combined

circulation numbers would draw national advertising accounts away from the major urban dailies.

For the better part of two decades, Nuttall has epitomized the very personality and drive of the WSPN. She tirelessly traveled the Lower 48 to meet with corporate executives, ad agencies and media buyer big wigs in New York, Chicago and other major metropolitan centers.

A true believer, she preached the word relentlessly about the benefits of community and suburban newspapers, about the ability of major media buyers to better target their advertising and get a “better bang for the buck” among newspapers that are often held onto for an entire week, with readerships that are often ferociously loyal.

She also stressed the persisting relevance of such papers, with local news that cannot be found on the Internet or 24-hour news networks on TV, even while large urban dailies are

rapidly losing readership.

She served as president of Suburban Newspapers of America, and for a decade on its board of directors, and was respected as a veritable “Wonder Woman” among the publishing leaders of the industry it represented. She carried her message not only to the captains of industry, but to her own network of publish-

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ers and editors, too. She constantly reminded them of their unique role, and on the lasting value of “digging deeper” into local communities for quality and unique news coverage.

Especially in hard times, she stressed, “It is important not to cut back on the quality of local coverage.”

“The secret to being a good salesperson,” she told the News-Press, “is a willingness to keep beating your head against a wall, and discovering the wall begins to give,” adding, “You must also believe you are doing it for a good cause.”

With the worsening crisis currently unraveling many major urban daily newspapers, involving sharp drop-offs in readership and advertising revenue, and exacerbated by the present recessionary economic trends, the fruits of Nuttall’s tenacious and persistent efforts for 16 years has contributed significantly to the de-coupling of the fate of the big urban dailies from that of good community and suburban weeklies.

Market analysts have reported much lately of the relative fiscal health of good community newspapers compared to urban dailies. Even in the tough economic times, and with the unavoidable decline of critical

components such as classified ads (to the Internet) and real estate advertising, community papers, according to Suburban Newspapers of America, are roughly holding their own, while losses at the large urban dailies are monstrous by comparison.

Nutall’s innovative concept of creating a network out of an array of discrete local and community newspapers was the key to her success. She traveled to community newspaper offices all around the D.C. Metro region, meeting with the local publishers. She wandered unannounced into the small office of the News-Press in the summer of 1993, having been urged to do so by the then-publisher of the McLean ProvidenceJournal, and convinced it to sign on.

Essential was to create the network out of independent, non-competing newspapers, which meant that in some cases of overlapping or competing circulations, she had to chose which paper to invite.

The News-Press was, and has remained, the only paper in the five zip codes of greater Falls Church, a niche covering about 100,000 people.

The Times Community Papers and Gazettes of Maryland Continued on Page 40

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partnered to provide the funding and assume ownership for the launch of her venture. Taking on the role of president and CEO, Nuttall also benefited, she told the News-Press, from the fact that the community newspapers in the Washington, D.C. region “are the best such papers

September 11 - 17, 2008

in the country, by far.”

Armed with an impressive 1.6-million combined circulation of all the newspapers in her network, Nuttall recruited a sales team, and took the point, herself, marching into large corporate headquarters to make a strong case for its competitiveness with the mighty Washington Post, in particular.

Since then, she said, she’s brought $106 million in national advertising into her network’s newspapers. But even more important than that, she’s won the respect among major media buyers for community newspapers that will mean more and more going into the future.

The decline of the urban dailies continues to present an

enormous opportunity for community newspapers, she told the News-Press. They can operate with greater flexibility and agility, bound by far fewer overhead costs, and with access to exclusive, important local news that will not be found anywhere else.

Nuttall graduated from James Madison University and taught high school English for nine years while getting married and having children. She then took a continuing education course in “Planning a Second Career” at a University of Virginia extension. She took a career preference test that showed her greatest interest was in advertising.

She said she couldn’t relate to that test outcome at first.

But then she took a community outreach position with a development company, and then became the advertising director for the Connection Newspapers of Northern Virginia before a tough economy led to layoffs there in 1991. She said that she learned she had cancer on the same day she was laid off.

But she’d fallen in love with the notion of community publications, and approached David Kennedy of the Gazettes in Maryland (now run byt Chuck Lyons) and Peter Arundel of the Times Community Newspapers, who bought into her vision for the Washington Suburban Press Network. It grew to 99 newspapers with a 1.6-million combined circulation.

Stepping down last month, Nuttall handed the reigns to her hand-picked successor, Rich

Whippen, who came on board months earlier from Boston.

While Nuttall said she now wants to chase hurricanes and learn to play golf, the smart money is on the notion she’s far from done with her passion.

She said her daughter in South Carolina is interested in starting a magazine, and she’d love to help out if she does.

But to date, perhaps the most significant contribution Nuttall has made with her relentless efforts to strengthen the hands of community newspapers has been to buoy the communities those newspapers serve.

Insofar as such newspapers provide news coverage and through letters to the editor and commentaries, access to dialogue on important local issues, they bind and solidify communities, and contribute to the process of people talking to each other, understanding their differences more, and working through obstacles more harmoniously.

Rather than being isolated in hardened enemy camps, so to speak, citizens in communities where good community newspapers thrive are drawn out to dialogue, to affirm diversity, and to achieve greater concord and better government.

Not a bad cause for anyone.

Communities in this region who have felt the benefits of such an impact can thank someone who’s spent the last 16 years banging her head on big corporate headquarters in New York and Chicago to help make it happen.

September 11 - 17, 2008

Page 41

Page 42

September 11 - 17, 2008

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some work done on her thighs, abdomen, breasts, underarms and eyes. “I’ve gotten about as far as this body can take me,” she decides.

Clooney is a happily married man, if only he knew it, named Harry Pfarrer. (It’s one of those Jack Lemmony kind of names that sound like a cough, but I don’t remember anyone saying it in the movie, just as nobody said “Chigurh” in “No Country for Old Men.” Those boys, what kidders.) Harry also looks for dates on the Web, and, in general terms, will happily date anyone. He and Linda meet and seem to like each other, and then Linda and Chad find a computer disc at the gym.

They read it and find it belongs to a CIA man named Osborne Cox (John Malkovich), who has just been fired for alcoholism.

Cox is married to Katie (Tilda Swinton), who is also having an affair with Harry. You see how it goes.

No need to describe the plot.

It goes around and around and comes out here, there, everywhere. All nicely put together, of course, but as an exercise, not an imperative. The movie’s success depends on the characters and the dialogue. Linda and Chad, who remind me a little of Rupert and Masha in “The King of Comedy,” try to peddle their disc to the Russian embassy.

Anything to raise money for that plastic surgery. The CIA, baffled, gets involved. A gungho officer (David Rasche), confused but determined, reports to his CIA boss (J.K. Simmons, “Juno’s” dad). The boss doesn’t have much dialogue, but every line is a punch line.

The Malkovich character is a right proper SOB, one of those drunks who thinks he’s not an alcoholic because he prudently watches the second hand on the clock until it’s precisely 5 o’clock. He’s a snarky, shavedheaded, bowtie-wearing misanthrope who would be utterly amazed if he knew how his files got into the hands of two peons at a gym.

As for Clooney, in one movie he’s the improbably handsome,

September 11 - 17, 2008

Page 43

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“GORGEOUSLY ENTERTAINING! HILARIOUS FLAT-OUT FUN. TOPS ‘SEX AND THE CITY’ IN EVERY WAY. SEE IT!” Pete Hammond, HOLLYWOOD.COM

HE WOMEN (Comedy, PG13, 114 minutes). An all-star, all-woman cast in a comedy of interlocking lives and problems involving love, husbands, children, jobs, sex and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Directed and written by “Murphy Brown’s” Diane English, who gives her women more richness and dimension than the “Sex and the City” team. Not a great movie, but a well-crafted entertainment, with stars including Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Jada Pinkett Smith, Debra Messing, Eva Mendes, Debi Mazar, Bette Midler, Candice Bergen and Cloris Leachman. Rating: Three stars.

S

PEED RACER (Action, PG, 129 m., 2008). The cheaply produced 1960s Japanese anime TV series has been reproduced as a $100 million Wachowski brothers feature that, at two hours and nine minutes, is about two hours too long, give or take. The motion picture, which stops by theaters briefly on its way to DVD and video console, captures (almost) all the chintziness, inexpressiveness and incoherence of the TV show.

That is an achievement, no doubt.

Yet some of us would rather just re-rent “Tron” (1982), which was not only a more immersive, dimensional and original take on the Commodore 64 video-graphic sensibility, but funnier and more exciting. With images of Emile Hirsch, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox and Christina Ricci. Rating: One and a half stars. (Jim Emerson)

M

ADE OF HONOR (Romantic comedy, PG-13, 101 m., 2008). Despite the charm of Patrick Dempsey and Michelle

super-intelligent hero, and in the next, he’s the forlorn doofus.

You wouldn’t believe what he’s constructing in his basement.

The Coens say that this film completes their “idiot trilogy” with Clooney, after “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” (2000) and “Intolerable Cruelty” (2003).

Clooney as an idiot? As to the manner born.

Frances McDormand is wonderful. Here she channels a little of the go-getter determination of her police chief in “Fargo.”

She’s innocent of deep thoughts, but nothing can stop her. From the first time I noticed her, in a great scene with Gene Hackman in “Mississipi Burning,” she has had that rare ability to seem cor-

Continued on Page 44

rectly cast in every role.

This is not a great Coen brothers film. Nor is it one of their bewildering excursions off the deep end. It’s funny, sometimes delightful, sometimes a little sad, with dialogue that sounds perfectly logical until you listen a little more carefully and realize all of these people are mad.

The movie is only 96 minutes long. That’s long enough for a movie, but this time, I dunno, I thought the end felt like it arrived a little arbitrarily. I must be wrong, because I can’t figure out what could have followed next. Not even the device in the basement would have been around for another chapter.

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Continued from Page 43 Monaghan, this formulaic, stale comedy is really nothing more than a rehash of “My Best Friend’s Wedding.” This time, Dempsey tackles the Julia Roberts role as the best friend who suddenly realizes he’s losing his true soul mate to another.

Rating: Two stars. (Bill Zwecker)

Y

O U N G @ H E A R T (Documentary, PG, 107 m., 2008). Stephen Walker’s documentary about a chorus of performers in their 80s and 90s, shows that no one has more reason to stick it to the man than people who are most defiantly not going gently into that good night. This is not your grandfather’s choir. Instead of singing songs from their youth like “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” or “Sentimental Journey,” these folks tap their orthopedic shoes, tug along an oxygen tank and slam into the music of their great-grandchildren’s generation. They’ve gone straight from 78s to iPods, literally without skipping a beat. Their rock is stirring, deeply moving, finally transcendent.

Rating: Three and a half stars. (Nell Minow)

September 11 - 17, 2008

with an adventure story that her mind supplies extraordinary images for. The film is a mad folly, an extravagant visual orgy, a free-fall from reality into uncharted realms, directed by Tarsem (“The Cell”). A movie that you might want to see for no other reason than because it exists. There will never be another like it. Rating: Four stars.

M

ARRIED LIFE (Crime drama, PG-13, 90 m., 2008). Chris Cooper confides to trusted friend Pierce Brosnan that he plans to leave his wife (Patricia Clarkson) to be with a much younger woman (Rachel McAdams) who truly loves him. But he has such pity on his wife that rather than break her heart with this news, he plans to murder her. Sort of a mercy killing. A very

strange and twisted film that satisfies only if you like not being quite satisfied. Directed by Ira Sachs.

Rating: Three stars.

W

HAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS (Comedy, PG-13, 99 m., 2008). A formulaic romantic comedy that would be nothing more than a lame laugher, except for the skill of Cameron Diaz and especially Ashton Kutcher, who milk this story for all it’s worth. This tale of opposites attracting -– and finding themselves accidentally hitched in Vegas –- is a mildly amusing tale of love and loss, with a $3 million payday. Rating: Two and a half stars.

(Bill Zwecker) . (c) 2008 The Ebert Co.

No Repro Blue

8

8 MINUTES (Crime thriller, R, 108 m., 2008).127605 This confusing, CLIENTS silly film about a copycat killer is a big waste of time. The plot is full of holes, with a lot of breakdowns in logic. Al Pacino hits only one note here (intense brooding). It’s a sad waste of his talent. Rating: One and a half stars. (Bill Zwecker)

1

04:10

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HE LOVE GURU (Comedy, PG-13, 87 m., 2008). What is it with Mike Myers and penis jokes? Having created a classic funny scene with his not-quite-visible penis sketch in the first Austin Powers movie, he now assembles, in “The Love Guru,” as many more penis jokes as he can think of, none of them funny except for one based on an off-screen “thump.” He supplements this subject with countless other awful moments involving defecation and the deafening passing of gas. Oh, and elephant sex. Co-starring Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake and Ben Kingsley. Rating: One star.

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HE FALL (Fantasy, R, 117 m., 2008). In a Los Angeles hospital, circa 1915, a paralyzed stunt man (Lee Pace) enthralls an angelic little girl (Catinca Untaru)

A R T. A S K F O R M O R E .

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Page 46

September 11 - 17, 2008

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Pot Washers needed for upscale assisted living community in Falls Church / McLean. Weekend & Part Time positions available! Fine Dining quality food cooked from scratch using health oriented, natural & organic ingredients.. Apply in person at Chesterbrook Residences, 2030 Westmoreland St, Falls Church, VA 22043 or email resume to Chef Bonita Woods at bwoods@cri-va.org.

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Massage Therapy Institute, at 803 West Broad All real estate advertised herein Street in Falls Church is open to the public. One is subject to Virginia’s fair hour sesions of Swedish massage are available at housing law which makes it $35.00 per session ($25.00 Senior Citizens). The clinic operates Monday - Saturday. To schedule illegal to advertise “any preferan appointment, or for more information call 1ence, limitation, or discrimina703-237-3905. tion because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, Public Notice elderliness, familial status or handicap or intention to make I Ritu daughter of Mr. Mohan Lal Chauhan resident any such preference, limitation, of 661 Pocket 13 Phase I Lig DDA Flat Dwarka or discrimination.”

Delhi would like to change my name to Ritu This newspaper will not knowChauhan ingly accept advertising for real PUBLIC NOTICE estate1/15/02 that violates fair CLNTS 1 WV the B/W 127093 22:03 Volunteers who live in the City of Falls housing law. Our readers are Church are needed to serve on the boards herby informed that all and commissions listed below. Call the City dwellings advertised in this Clerk, Kathleen Buschow (703-248-5014, newspaper are available on an or e-mail cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov) for equal opportunity basis. For an application form or more information.

Requests for reappointments must also be more information or to file a made through the City Clerk. Applications housing complaint call the are being accepted until the end of the Virginia Fair Housing Office at month. Vacancies that have been adver(804) 367-8530. Toll free call tised for more than one month may be (888) 551-3247. For the hearfilled during each subsequent month before ing impaired call (804) 367month’s end.

9753.

Email: Architectural Advisory Board fairhousing@dpor.virginia.gov.

City Employee Review Board Web site: Economic Development Authority www.fairhousing.vipnet.org Environmental Services Council Falls Church Cable Advisory Corp. Board Girls’ Home Advisory Board Historic Architecture Review Board Historical Commission Housing Commission Human Services Advisory Council Local Board of Building Code Appeals Planning Commission [4 vacancies for terms beginning 1-09] Private School & Day Care Facility Board Public Utilities Commission Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Retirement Board Senior Citizens Commission Towing Advisory Board Citizens’ Advisory Committee on Transportation Tree Commission Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee Regional Boards/Commissions: Fairfax Area Commission on Aging Long Term Care Coordinating Council Workforce Investment Board PUBLIC NOTICE In accordance with VA

15.2-1720, the public is hereby notified that the Falls Church Police Department has recovered the following listed bicycles: Black Magna, no model Blue Schwinn, no model Blue/White Schwinn “Ranger” Green Huffy “Trailtech” Green/Pink Huffy, no model Pink/White Magna “Pretty Lady” Purple Roadmaster “Rockharber” Red Magna “Glacier Point” Red/Black trek “MT-220” To claim any of these items please provide proof of ownership to: Falls Church Police Department Property/Evidence Unit 300 Park Ave. Falls Church, VA 22046 703-248-5278 (please call for appointment)

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PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Page 47

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Page 48

Breaking up a house full of stuff can uncover a cache of treasures or a pile of junk. Of course, defining the terms “treasures” and “junk” is a very personal thing.

I recently extricated a few items that belonged to my parents, useful items back in the ‘50s and ‘60s but eventually tucked away with their memories and other items from their younger days.

One was a yellowing, hardcover copy of “The Official Mixer’s Manual,” the 1949 edition of a book originally published in 1934. The other was a cocktail shaker of about the same vintage. Each item brought back a flood of memories.

When I was a kid of pre-legal drinking age, I used to whip up cocktails and hors d’oeuvres for my parents and their friends, a group that enjoyed partying in the days when the men wore suits and ties, the women wore dresses and pearls, and no one could afford hired help. Luckily for all concerned, I enjoyed the work and had a knack for it.

I learned how to make quite a few cocktails from that book, and the recipes printed on the frosted glass of the cocktail shaker were a handy cheat sheet when memory failed me under pressure.

The pertinence of these items today is simply that, in an era in which there is an increasing interest in classic cocktails, they show what was popular back then: The whiskey sour, the Manhattan, the Bacardi, the Daiquiri, the Tom Collins, the martini and the Alexander.

And it was an era before those who made a living mixing drinks decided to give themselves fancy titles and seek out media stardom.

And, it was an era before spiky hair-do’s, casual-sloppy clothes and a general disregard for the niceties of society became the norm.

Patrick Gavin Duffy was for generations the acknowledged master of the cocktail in much of the world. You still can find copies of his books (“The Bartender’s Guide,” “The Standard Bartender’s Guide,” “The Official Mixer’s Guide,” “The Official Mixer’s Manual for Home and Professional Use”) through eBay, Amazon, and other online sites.

Duffy said in his foreward to “The Official Mixer’s Manual”: “Bartending is an old and honorable trade. It is not a profession and I have no sympathy with those who try to make it anything but what it was. The idea of calling a bartender a professor or a mixologist is nonsense. A good bartender wears a fresh white linen coat, and I personally fancy a carnation.”

About his own drink preferences, he noted: “With very few exceptions, cocktails should be stirred and not shaken.

A stirred cocktail is clear and fresh and retains its vitality. A shaken cocktail is muddy in appearance and has so much ice diluted into it that it is a very insipid affair.”

That tidbit of wisdom is something I’ve carried with me through the years.

That’s one reason I was happy with the ground rules of a little impromptu contest with Tony Abou-Ganim, the celebrity mixologist who helped the cocktail culture return nationwide with a rush over the past decade or so.

It was at the T-Bar in Charlie’s restaurant in Lake Placid, N.Y. Abou-Ganim was presiding at a cocktail seminar and invited me behind the bar to compete with him in making a Manhattan.

He laid down the ground rules: The same recipe had to be followed -- bourbon (we both liked the sweetness of Maker’s Mark), Martini & Rossi sweet vermouth, Angostura Bitters and a maraschino cherry. The catch was that Abou-Ganim preferred to shake his concoction over fresh ice -- which I normally do for a straight-up cocktail -- while insisting I stir mine with ice to properly chill each drink.

He shook. I stirred. We poured.

The audience voted on the cocktail with the most alluring appearance. Modesty prohibits revealing the voters results.

Let’s just say I won’t ask for a recount.

Another comment from Duffy: “It is one of my fondest hopes that the highball will again take its place as the leading American drink. I admit to being prejudiced about this -- it was I who first brought the highball to America, in 1895. Although the distinction is claimed by the Parker House in Boston, I was finally given due credit for this innovation in The New York Times of not many years ago.”

That was in 1934, and Duffy’s wish came true 25 or so years later.

September 11 - 17, 2008

Experienced no limit Texas Hold’em players understand the importance of reading flop texture. So should you. In this column, we’ll examine how your playing strategy should change depending on the type of flop that hits the board.

Okay, let’s assume you’re dealt a high pocket pair like aces or kings. Here’s what you need to look for on the flop.

High flops like K-Q-9, KJ-10 or Q-J-8 are dangerous to pocket aces. That’s because these flops will more likely to connect with the range of hands that your opponents will typically play, like 10-J, K-Q, 1010, or 9-10.

It’s best to proceed cautiously if you have an overpair to this type of board. If you play a big pot with this kind of flop, you’ll either be way behind or just slightly ahead.

Yes, you might be in the lead after the flop but not by as much as you think.

Paired flops can be either very favorable to a big pocket pair or very risky. Because a flop like J-J-4 presents no real draws, your pocket cowboys will win this pot a high percentage of the time -- unless your opponent has one of the remaining jacks.

The danger of paired flops is directly related to how high the pair is; there’s less risk in a flop like 2-2-7 than Q-Q-8. Why? Because most players will fold a hand that contains a deuce but will play hands that contain a queen like A-Q, K-Q, Q-J, or Q-10.

While you’re in good shape with pocket kings against a low paired flop, if you’re raised on a flop of Q-Q-8, seriously consider folding your hand. If your opponent has a queen, you’re obviously in deep trouble.

Flushed flops that contain three of a suit pose a risk to high pocket pairs unless your hole cards contains a card in that suit. For example, if you hold red aces and the flop comes 9h6h-2h, you’ve got a very powerful hand that should be played aggressively.

Change those aces from red to black, however, and you’ll find yourself in a treacherous situation. Not only would you be dead against a made flush, a fourth heart on the board would leave you guessing. Does he have a heart or not? That’s a situation where folding might be the best option.

Play black aces against a red flush draw by waiting for a safe turn card before making a move at the pot. If a fourth

heart hits, you can still get off the hook cheaply. If it doesn’t, and if you think your opponent is on a draw, you can protect your hand with a big bet.

Straight flops are scary to high pocket pairs; the higher the flopped cards, the scarier the situation. But even a 4-5-6 board can cause anxiety. Play defensively on a board like this because a 2, 3, 7, or 8 on the turn can beat you or force you to be bluffed out.

Dead board flops are most favorable to big pocket pairs but they, too, can be very dangerous. A board like 8-2-3, 9-4-2, or 7-5-2 looks good to an overpair but might give your opponent trips if he’s playing a

small pair himself.

N o w, if your opponent raises in this situation, you can usually put him on a smaller pair than yours, two pair, or three of a kind. You’ll be faced with making one of the most difficult decisions after the flop: call or fold. The right decision will often be determined by your ability to get a good read on your opponent.

Planning ning for All Ages & All Needs Need :hiViZ EaVcc^c\ hiViZ E iViZ cc <jVgY^Vch]^eh <jVgY^Vch]^e <jVgY^Vch]^ HeZX^Va CZZYh EaVcc^c\ EgdWViZ L^aah & Igjhih IgjhiZZ dg 6\Zci HZgk^XZh NEEDHAM MITNICK & POLLACK

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400 S. MAPLE AVENUE, SUITE 210, FALLS CHURCH, VA 22046 703-536-7778

WWW.NMPATTORNEYS.COM

INFO@ NMPATTORNEYS.COM

September 11 - 17, 2008

Page 49

Level: 1 3

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SOLUTION TO LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE

9/14/08

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

ACROSS 1. Round at a bar, maybe 6. Has memorized 11. Cable co. that merged with AT&T 14. Czech chief Vaclav 15. Jazzman Blake 16. Babelicious 17. #9 on David Letterman’s Top Ten list of rejected movie titles about 61-Across 19. Letters on an ambulance 20. Swimmer’s ____ 21. Vane dir.

22. “____ Thief” (1950 movie) 24. “Follow me” 27. #5 on David Letterman’s Top Ten list of rejected movie titles about 61-Across 29. Maui neighbor 30. Some coll. tests 32. Archer of film 33. Yank’s foe 35. Be in charge of 37. “Skedaddle!”

38. #6 on David Letterman’s Top Ten list of rejected movie titles about 61-Across 42. Hr. part 43. Bump off 44. Follower of Benedict?

45. Jai ____ 47. 1963 role for Liz 49. Bizet work 53. #10 on David Letterman’s Top Ten list of rejected movie titles about 61-Across 55. They’re not originals 57. Lustrous fur 58. Cries on ships 59. Take the cake?

60. “Vive le ____!”

61. Subject of David Letterman’s Top Ten list 66. Sportscaster Cross 67. “I surrender!”

68. Malice 69. “Science Guy” on TV 70. New Jersey’s ____ Hall University 71. Prudential rival

Down 1. “Fiddler on the Roof” setting 2. “Very funny!”

3. “____ the Meadow” (nursery rhyme) 4. Rolodex abbr.

THE QUIGMANS Buddy Hickerson

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© 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

crossword / By David Levinson Wilk

5. Like a fox 34. Univ. VIPs 6. Musician with the albums 36. Organ ____ 1. at aand bar,“Classics maybe “GRound Force” in 38. Inclined to waste time 6. memorized theHas Key of G” 39. Dormant 7. Zap 11.

Cable co. that merged with AT&T40. Son: Fr. 8. Geisha’s sash 41. Bank takeback, for short 14. Czech chief Vaclav 9. Prevail 42. Concentrate on at college 15. Jazzman Blake 10. Western lilies 46. Voters liked him twice 16.

11.Babelicious River that crosses the 48. About 21% of the atmoequator 17. #9 on twice David Letterman's Top Tensphere list of rejected movie titles about 61-Across 12.Letters “Welcome!”

50. Stage direction meaning 19. on an ambulance 13. “You’re on!” “they go out” 20. Swimmer's ____ 18. “Not ____ million years!” 51. Figure out 21.

23.Vane Org.dir. for Bulls, Bucks 52. It can leave you breathless 22.

Thief" (1950 movie) and"____ Bobcats 54. 100-eyed giant of myth 25."Follow “Waterme" for Elephants” 56. Suffix with legal or journal 24. author Gruen folk album 27. #5 on David Letterman's Top Ten58. list 1968 of rejected movie titles about 61-Across 26. Brandish 62. Chemical ending 29. Maui neighbor 27. They’re game 63. Autumn mo.

30. coll. tests 28.Some “Me too” 64. Neighbor of Penn.

32. of wine film valley 31.Archer French 65. One of a swarm Across

33. Yank's foe Last Thursday’s Puzzle Solved

M O C K O W I E I N T E L P I A L L I S S A I N T I N B S F A R M A T O D R I V G A Y D A O S C A R A H A I E P E R S E D D

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

C U T O F F S A L L E N

O L I O S

O L I G A R C H I E S

S T P E T E

H R O S S

O G R E

T O S S

L O G S I D E O V E N N E E D

nick knack

© 2008 N. F. Benton

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September 11 - 17, 2008

September 11 - 17, 2008

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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>

September 11 - 17, 2008

* Indicates TTY 711 Accessibility

city calendar

SEPTEMBER 11

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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*

Story Hour, 10:30 a.m.

Aurora House Citizens’

Advisory Committee, 7:30 p.m.

Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-Noon Fall Festival & Taste of Falls Church, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Yard Waste, Bundled Brush,

& Special Collections Fall Hobby Classes Begin Third Quarter 2008 State

Estimated Income Tax Due, Voucher #3 (Paid in Treasurer’s Office) Story Hour, 10:30 a.m.

City Council Work Session, 7:30 p.m.

Planning Commission, 7:45 p.m.

Senior Book Discussion Group, 10:30 a.m.

Story Hour, 10:30 a.m.

Historical Commission, 7:30 p.m.

General District Court in Session Senior Citizens Commission, 4 p.m.

Story Hour, 7 p.m.

Citizens Advisory Committee on Transportation, 7:30 p.m.

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

Tree Commission, 7:30 p.m.

Story Hour, 10:30 a.m.

Human Services Advisory Council, 7 p.m.

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

Environmental Services Council, 7:30 p.m.

Sunset Cinema in the Park Moviegoers are invited to bring blankets, bug spray, and picnics and watch movies under the stars this month at Cherry Hill Park (312 Park Ave.).

Popcorn, drinks and candy will be available for purchase.

The screenings begin at 8 p.m. and are free to the public. In the event of inclement weather, the screenings will be cancelled.

Sept. 19 Enchanted (PG, 2007) Sept. 26 Horton Hears a Who (G, 2008) 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).

Register for the City’s Online Newsletter at www.fallschurchva.gov

Register to Receive Emergency Alerts

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).

FOR THE WEEK of

33rd Annual Fall Festival & Taste Growing Green of Falls Church This Saturday The City of Falls Church Recreation & Parks Division presents the City’s 33rd Annual Fall Festival and Taste of Falls Church on Saturday, Sept.

13, 2008 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in Cherry Hill Park (312 Park Ave.).

Admission is free to the public. The event will be held rain or shine!

This year’s Fall Festival will once again highlight the area’s top restaurants with the Taste of Falls Church.

Sample cuisine from City kitchens for $3 per “taste” or 10 “tastes” for $25.

Participating Restaurants: Applebee’s; Argia’s; Cabot Creamery Cooperative; Chipotle Mexican Grill; Clare and Don’s Beach Shack; Dogwood Tavern; Entrée Vous; Hoangs Grill and Sushi Bar; Ireland’s Four Provinces; La Caraquena; Ledo Pizza; Mary’s Café & Catering; Natalia’s Elegant Creations Pastry Shop & Café; Not Your Average Joe’s; Robeks; Zpizza.

A children’s activity tent sponsored

by RCN will be open from 11 a.m.-

3 p.m. featuring free face painting and craft projects. General Motors will have new hybrids and a fuel cell electric SUV powered by hydrogen on display.

Stage Entertainment Lineup: 10 a.m.

10:15 a.m.

11 a.m.

11:15 a.m.

12:15 p.m.

12:30 p.m.

1:30 p.m.

1:45 p.m.

3 p.m.

Nicolo the Juggler Blue Sky Puppets Presents Bananas Nicolo the Juggler The Merchants of Cool Nicolo the Juggler New Day Rising Nicolo the Juggler Andrew Acosta and the New Old Time String Band Cheap Date

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). For more information about the festival, please call the Special Events Hotline at 703-248-5178.

Collect the Emergency Kit Top 10 Be prepared for disasters by assembling an emergency kit. Collect the emergency kit top 10 and place theseitemsinawaterproofbackpack,dufflebag,orsealedplasticcontainerforeasytransport.Keepa smaller kit in your car. Emergency supplies should be adequate to last at least three days per person.

1. One gallon of water per person

2. Non-perishable food (don’t forget the manual can opener and plastic utensils)

3. Hygiene items like soap, toilet paper, a toothbrush, moist towelettes, hand sanitizer, plastic garbage bags

4. Week’s worth of prescription medications (if needed)

5. One change of clothes and footwear per person and a blanket or sleeping bag

6. Battery-powered or hand-crank radio with extra batteries and NOAA alert radio

7. Flashlight with extra batteries

8. First aid basics like antiseptic, bandages, gloves, non-prescription medicine, and an extra pair of glasses

9. Small tool kit with a wrench and pliers to turn off utilities

10. Dust mask, plastic sheeting, and duct tape to create a barrier between yourself and any contamination in the air For more tips on emergency preparedness, visit www.fallschurchva.gov or call 703-248-5003 (TTY 711).

NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY Fiscal Year 2010 Community Development and Housing Program Grants The City of Falls Church expects to have available approximately $82,000 of federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and approximately $47,500 of HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program funds, as of July 1, 2010, to assist City residents with low- and moderate- incomes. These funds may be used for housing development, rental assistance, social services, economic development, and public services.

The City is soliciting proposals to be considered for funding. Proposals for funding must be submitted in the format provided by the City in order to be considered. Proposal packets are available by calling 703-248-5005 (TTY 711) or on the City’s website at www.fallschurchva.gov/ Content/Government/Departments/CommunityServices/HHS/HHS.aspx. All proposals must be postmarked and received by the Housing and Human Services Division by NOON on Friday, Sept. 19, 2008 (note: deadline time).

City staff and the Housing Commission will review submitted proposals. Final funding recommendations will be announced at a City Council public hearing in late November 2008.

City of Falls Church • Housing and Human Services Division 300 Park Ave., Room 100 W Falls Church, Virginia Phone 703-248-5005 (TTY 711)

Recycling Extravaganza Rescheduled for Sept. 20

The City of Falls Church Semi-Annual Recycling Extravaganza has been rescheduled to Saturday, Sept. 20, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.This is an opportunity for the community to bring electronics (including computers, printers, scanners,TVs and more), cell phones, clothing and textiles, bicycles,printer cartridges, eyeglasses,hearing aids, and medical supplies for recycling, reuse, or donation. For a complete list of acceptable items, visit www.fallschurchva.gov.

PNC Bank is sponsoring a paper shredding event in conjunction with the Recycling Extravaganza. Residents can shred up to three file boxes of personal documents, at no charge!

The Extravaganza is held at the Falls Church PropertyYard,across from the Recycling Center, locatedat217GordonRoad.TheeventiscosponsoredbytheCityofFallsChurchDepartment of Environmental Services and the Falls Church Environmental Services Council.

For more information, please call the Environmental Programs Specialist at 703-2485176 (TTY 711).

Calling Young Artists – Enter Your Masterpiece in the 8th Annual Student Art Contest Would you like to see your artwork in Falls Church City’s 2009 Calendar?

Then enter the Falls Church City Student Art Contest today! This year’s theme is Growing Up Green in Falls Church City.

• Submissions containing recycled food or beverage containers must be clean and dry.

Judges will select 13 entries to feature in the 2009 City Calendar. The Mayor will present awards to students whose work is selected at a City Council meeting this fall. A special reception will be held at the January 2 FIRSTfriday event at Art & Frame of Falls Church, where all entries will be on display throughout January.

• Must include the following information on the back of the entry: name, age, grade, school attending, parent/guardian, address, phone number, and location depicted in artwork.

Submission Requirements: • Illustrate the theme: Growing Up Green in Falls Church City. Is it by recycling, taking GEORGE or other forms of mass transit, or planting a tree? Growing Green ideas are available at www.fallschurchva.gov.

• Must be original to the 8th Annual Student Art Contest. Do not resubmit artwork from previous contests.

• Must not be edible (e.g. Cheerios, macaroni noodles, etc.).

Sign Up For Alert Falls Church Get real-time updates and instructions on what to do and where to go during an emergency in Falls Church City, by registering for Falls Church Alert.

You will receive alerts from the City via portable electronic devices and e-mail, only in the event of an emergency.

Sign up for this free service at alert. fallschurchva.gov. You can also visit alert.fallschurchva.gov to update your profile, and add or delete devices from the emergency distribution list.

• Must not require storage at a certain temperature or in a special setup.

Deadline for entries is Friday, Oct. 3, 2008.

Students must either attend a City of Falls Church school or reside in the City. No more than three entries allowed per person.

Mail or deliver entries to: Office of Communications Falls Church City Hall 300 Park Avenue, 303 East Falls Church, VA 22046 For more information, call 703-248-5003 (TTY 711) or e-mail publicinfo@fallschurchva.gov.

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

September 11 - 17, 2008

Page 53

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

september 11-17, 2008

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

Local Businesses Welcome New Teachers New Falls Church employees were welcomed to school with gift bags filled with treasures from the local business community. These Business in Education Partnership members generously donated special keepsakes to help welcome teachers to the community.

Thank you to: AIG/Valic, Acacia Federal Savings Bank, Aladdin’s Lamp Bookstore, Ana Visage Institute, American Cancer Society Relay for Life, Arbonne – Mary Ann Carlson, Art & Frame of Falls Church, Beery Rio Architects, Borders Books and Music, Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust, Cartridge Depot, Choralis, TD Commerce Bank, Curves ,Doodlehopper for Kids, Equinox Fitness, Essential Health Center, Falls Church Arts, Falls Church DMV Select Office, Falls Church Education Foundation, Falls Church Foot & Ankle, Falls Church Lions Club, Family Medicine in Falls Church, FIRSTFriday, Gwenn Hofmann, Long & Foster realtor, Homestretch, Impulsive, Jason’s Deli, Joie de beads, Kool Smiles

Are you or someone you know interested in learning English?

Falls Church City Public Schools is offering two English-for-Speakers-of-Other-Languages (ESOL) sessions in the coming months. The first begins Monday, Sept. 15th and runs through Dec. 10th, with a second session scheduled to begin in January.

Morning classes are held on Monday and Wednesday mornings at the Falls Church Community Center with evening classes taking place at George Mason High School.

FCC-TV Spotlight: Army Newswatch

To register, visit the Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Office at 803 W. Broad Street, Suite 320 in Falls Church. Hours are 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

For more information contact Mary Kay Howard, ESOL program specialist at 703-248-5616 or visit us online at www.fccps.org/esol.

Day 1, new Year - hugs and Lattes All Around

Tune in to Falls Church Community Television (FCC-TV) to watch Army Newswatch . From the offices in the Pentagon to the soldiers in the field, Army Newswatch showcases the mission of the U .S . Army . You can watch Army Newswatch on FCC-TV at the following times: • Every morning at 6:30 a .m .

• Sundays at 1:00 a .m . and 7:00 p .m .

SCHOOL CALENDAR DATES ARE SubjEcT To chAngE Testing 9/15-10/10 PALS (Grades 1-3) 9/15-10/31 DRA Testing (Grades 1-2) Q/SRI Testing (Grades 3-5) September 11 7:00 p.m. Back-to-School Night (GM) 12

13

BIE Partner of the Week Octavia Pearson Café Deluxe School Involvement: Donated lunch for a group of six new teachers and their mentors .

Why Octavia is a BIE partner: “At Café Deluxe every guest is a VIP .

We’ve participated in the mentor lunch program for three years, and every year we are delighted to welcome new teachers to their very important positions in the community .”

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

Foundation Footnotes Run for the Schools 5K Race & 1 Mile Family Fun Run/Walk coming up There’s still time to register for the 3rd annual “Run for the Schools” being held on Sunday, September 28th at 8:00 a.m. The certified 5K race and one mile family fun run/walk course will wind through the streets of Falls Church City. Immediately following the race, cash, equipment and other prizes will be awarded at the Awards Ceremony and Family Party at nearby Cherry Hill Park. Also featured at the Family Party are carnival activities for children of all ages and refreshments.

Registration is $25 per person or $50 for an entire family. To register, visit the Falls Church Education Foundation Web site at www.fcedf.org or call (703) 538-3381. “Run for the Schools” is an annual fundraiser for the Falls Church Education Foundation.

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.

8:00 a.m. PSAT Practice Exam (GM) 10:00 a.m. Junior Class Car Wash (GM)

15

7:00 p.m. Room Parent Orientation (TJ)

16

4:00 p.m. Mason @ Clarke Co. (Golf) 6:15 p.m. Gr8 Family Dinner (GM) 7:00 p.m. Gr8 Freshman Parent Night (GM)

17

7:00 p.m. Elementary PTA (MD)

18

4:00 p.m. Washington Lee @ Mason (Golf) 6:30 p.m. Back-to-School Night (MEH) 7:00 p.m. Senior Parent Night (GM)

19

7:30 p.m. Mason @ Park View High (Volleyball)

23

7:00 p.m. School Board Work Session (City Hall) 8:30 p.m. School Board Regular Meeting (City Hall)

(MD) Mount Daniel School (TJ) Thomas Jefferson Elementary (MEH) Mary Ellen Henderson Middle (GM) George Mason High

• Thursdays at 9:00 a .m . and 6:30 p .m .

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

School Picture Day (MEH) 7:30 p.m. Stonewall Jackson @ Mason (Football)

The cost is only $40 per participant to cover instructional materials.

New FCCPS teachers enjoy the keepsakes and supplies donated by local businesses as they begin their careers in Falls Church.

703-536-8638 703-536-7564 703-237-6993 703-536-3130 703-533-1248 703-248-5601*

* Indicates TTY 711 Accessibility

Adult ESOL Classes Begin Monday

Children’s Dentists, Mary Kay Cosmetics – Jenny Robles, Tori McKinney, Long & Foster realtor, Ellen McRae & Dave Hagigh, Re/Max Allegiance realtors, myneighborsnetwork.com, Northern Virginia Tutoring Service, Planet Fitness, PNC Bank, ServPro, Starbucks Broaddale, Sunrise Senior Living, Tesler & Werblood Attorneys, TireVan, United Way, Vantage Fitness, Wildfire Restaurant, WiGo Wireless.

703-534-4951 703-532-0321

Hugs all around at Mount Daniel School, as Principal Kathy Halayko greets arriving students on the first day of school last Tuesday.

For dozens of George Mason students, the first day of school means getting up extra early to share a latte with their friends before heading back to class.

new Teacher Luncheon

With each new school year, several FCCPS veteran teachers volunteer to serve as mentors for new employees to help them adjust to life as teachers in Falls Church. In support of that effort, several local restaurants generously hosted lunch for teams recently. Our thanks to Applebee’s, Café Deluxe, Clare & Don’s Beach Shack (seen right), Elevation Burger, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, Idylwood Grill, Jason’s Deli, and The Original Pancake House.

Back-to-School Night Schedules Mount Daniel School 9/25 7:00 p .m . Back-to-School Night Thomas Jefferson Elementary 9/15 7:00 p .m . Room Parent Orientation 9/30 7:00 p .m . Performing Arts Back-to-School Night 10/2 7:00 p .m . Back-to-School Night Mary Ellen Henderson Middle 9/18 6:30 p .m . Back-to-School Night George Mason High 9/11 7:00 p .m . Back-to-School Night 9/16 6:15 p .m . Gr8 Family Dinner 7:00 p .m . Gr8 Freshman Parent Night 9/18 7:00 p .m . Senior Parent Night 10/2 7:30 p .m . Sophomore/Junior Parent Night

Check the FCCPS Web site for more calendar information. www.fccps.org

Screenings for Preschool children A Child Find Day is held at Mount Daniel throughout the school year on the first Wednesday of each month from 1:30-3:30 pm.

Parents may have their children screened for suspected delays in speech/language, fine and/or gross motor skills, cognitive abilities and daily living skills. Those children identified as eligible may receive special education services through Falls Church City Public Schools.

Child Find is an opportunity for children with special needs to receive early intervention services. Parents who have concerns regarding the development of their preschool age child (two years old by September 30, 2007) may contact Ann Gordon, Child Find Coordinator, at 703-2485650 to discuss their concerns and schedule an appointment for the next Child Find Day.

Page 54

September 11 - 17, 2008

B A C K I N THE DAY ***

**

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703-237-0099

707 West Broad Street, Falls Church

Please join us for an Open House on Saturday, Sept. 13th from 1:00pm – 3:00pm.

Joining your friends on the Terrace...

...one of the many reasons to choose the vibrant Assisted Living lifestyle at Chesterbrook Residences!

Schedule a tour and join us for a complimentary lunch!

Chesterbrook Residences 2030 Westmoreland Street Falls Church VA 22043

(703) 531-0781

www.chesterbrookres.org Coordinated Services Management, Inc. Professional Management of Retirement Communities Since 1981.

September 11 - 17, 2008

Page 55

Just because you’re not famous doesn’t mean your pet can’t be!

Visit Us Online

Snap a pic of your critter and email it to: CRITTERCORNER@FCNP.COM OR mail it to Critter Corner c/o Falls Church News-Press 450 W. Broad Street #321 Falls Church, Va 22046

www.fcnp.com News•Photos•Online Polls•Sports and More

Page 56

September 11 - 17, 2008

Just Sold in Falls Church

Sold. Sunny, mint condition bigger-than-it-looks gem within 10 minute walk of WFC Metro! Hardwood floors, spacious Living Room with Fireplace, Dining Room, 22 foot updated Kitchen, with table space, has birch cabinetry and new stainless appliances. Five bedrooms, three new-from-the-studs-out bathrooms, great lower level Rec Room with built-in puppet theatre, outstanding daylight au-pair/in-law suite with atrium doors to exterior, full kitchenette, full bath, and huge Living Room/Bed Room combo ( easily made into 2 rooms). Loads of updates and storage galore throughout house. Oversized 2 car garage Nice brick patio. Beautifully landscaped 18,000 sf yard, comprised of three 40X150 foot lots. Room to expand! Priced at $868,450. Visit www.kayes.com for more.

Merelyn Kaye Selling Falls Church Since 1970

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