News Briefs

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SAMANTHA HAS LIVED IN ‘The Little City’ for the last 17 years. Originally from India, Samantha works as a software developer for the Department of Energy. I was lucky enough to catch her on her way out of one of the shops on West Broad St. (P����: J. M������ W�����)

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F.C. Schools’ Daily Announcements Hailed by National Group

The popular e-mailed “Morning Announcements” spearheaded in recent years under the leadership of John Wesley Brett garnered national attention this year, and at Tuesday’s F.C. School Board meeting a certificate was presented from the Chicago-based National Schools Public Relations Association.

Brett along with assistant Chrissy Henderson and schools’ outreach chief Marybeth Connelly were singled out for commendation at the meeting.

F.C. Planners Give OK to Founders Row 2 Project

The Falls Church Planning Commission has given site plan approval of the Founder’s Row II project. The City staff will review the site plan including building layout and vehicle entrances for any remaining details. Once completed, the developer may apply for a demolition permit and building permit. Construction is expected to begin later this year.

Overnight I-66 West Lane Closures Set This Week

Overnight lane closures and stoppages are planned on I-66 West approaching Gallows Road Wednesday, September 14, through Saturday, September 17, for continued installation of bridge beams for the new Gallows Road South Bridge over I-66. This work is part of the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Project.

Additionally, Gallows Road over I-66 will be reduced to a single travel lane in each direction during the overnight hours on September 14. Two-way traffic will run on Gallows Road North.

Arlington Library Celebrates ‘Banned Books Week’

Established in 1982 by Judith King of the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom,

Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to read and open access to ideas and information.

This month, the Arlington Library is participating in the celebration through highlighted “Diverse Voices” book lists, programs and equitable services, urging patrons to “celebrate the freedom to read.”

Fairfax County Renames Lee Highway (Route 29)

Following the recent move by Arlington County to change the name of the former Lee Highway (Route 29) to Langston Highway, Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors Tuesday voted 9-1 (Pat Herrity dissenting) to remove the name of Lee Highway and to replace it with, simply, Route 29. Further west, the same was done for the then-Lee Jackson Highway, changed now simply to Route 50.

Route 29 running through the center of Falls Church is already known as North and South Washington Streets.

F.C. Council Votes to End Covid ‘Emergency’

The Falls Church City Council voted unanimously this Tuesday to end the Declaration of Emergency” as of Oct. 1 that arose from the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020.

Flexible conditions that City businesses adopted under terms of the declaration can remain in effect the next six months according to Tuesday’s vote.

In the meantime, said Vice Mayor Letty Hardi “we’ve found way better uses” for certain situations, such as using parking spaces for outdoor dining. Councilman Phil Duncan said the period turned out to be “exceedingly productive” for the City.

F.C. Transportation Ctte Head Calls for Hedging

David Gustafson, head of the Falls Church Citizens Advisory Council on Transportation, has issued a note urging F.C. citizens to prune and trim plants that obstruct sidewalks and street signs or impair lines of sight for pedestrians, people on bikes and drivers at intersections.

PAGE 4 | SEPTEMBER 15 - 21, 2022

LOCAL

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

F.C. Council OK’s Terms of Deal for 20 Affordable Housing Units

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taken over by legal minutia, the basic outlines of the agreement involve a big step by the City, working through its quasi-independent Economic Development Authority (EDA), to acquire the properties for purposes of achieving affordable housing goals.

Under the terms, Wesley will both own and operate the units. On its website, the Alexandria-based outfit is described as “a fully-certified federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and HUD Virginia affordable housing management provider.” Its stated goal is to “help those with limited financial resources gain access to safe, affordable homes within supportive, inclusive communities.” Its management unit is described as “mission-driven, experienced property managers relentlessly dedicated to creating opportunities for our residents to build better lives.”

For this deal, the City’s EDA has acquired and owns five properties in the Virginia Village subdivision, each improved with four one-bedroom apartment homes. It is stipulated that Wesley will make the units available to households earning no more than 60 percent of the Area Median Income (the AMI for a household of four in this region is currently $127,866 and 60 percent of that is about $75,000).

Nobody earning above that can amount can qualify for that housing, and anyone who may be earning above that currently living there will be offered incentives for relocating, through according to Dana Jones, head of the City’s director of its Department of Human Services, it is not believed that anyone currently in those units earns more than that. The longer term plan is for the City/EDA to acquire more of the four-plexes in the subdivision, and ultimately all of them to potentially enable the conversion of the overall site to a more modern affordable housing option, though that is not specified as yet and a Working Group established by the City Council will make recommendations subject to the approval by the Council. Such a plan is deemed as needed since the quadruplexes in the Virginia Village are all now over 80 years old. It is suggested that the redevelopment of those properties will be proposed in an estimated seven to 10 years.

The last time the City was even close to where it is now on affordable housing was when an arduous plan was knit together over three years using a combination of federal, state and local funds to advance a new free-standing project near the Virginia Village site on S. Washington that was to be named The Wilden, in honor of Bob Wilden, a long-time affordable housing advocate here. But when a vote was needed in the summer of 2010 to move ahead, the City Council then rejected a sorely needed amendment by a single vote, 4-3. and the whole project collapsed, effectively ending the pursuit of affordable housing gains in the City for more than a decade.

That $17 million project would have utilized $4 million in federal funds brought by then U.S. Rep. Jim Moran and $4 million from the Virginia Housing Development Corporation,

A key player in that unsuccessful effort, F.C.-based developer Bob Young, is a key player back again, now as president of the EDA.

A major funding source for the current project is a $3.75 million Amazon REACH grant targeted for Virginia affordable housing. In addition, the F.C. City Council is now considering an ordinance that would grant real property tax exempt status to the five just-transferred properties.

Moreover, the agreement OK’d this Monday allows Wesley to acquire additional quadplexes in the Virginia Village using funds from something called the Acquisition Strike Fund utilizing a combination of Amazon REACH grant funds, the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the City’s Affordable Housing Fund.

In summary, the MOU agreed to by the Council Monday provides that Wesley Housing will: • Own and operate the existing Virginia Village quadplexes for housing affordable to low and moderate-income persons earning no more than 60 percent AMI (existing residents may have income up to 150% AMI). • Assume all liabilities and risks associated with the operation, management, and ownership of all properties. • Provide tenant support services to residents consistent with services provided to other Wesley Housing residents. • Continue to lease one of the quadplexes to the non-profit organization. • Secure a loan from Virginia Housing for the existing EDA owned buildings with proceeds being paid to the City. Loan proceeds will be used to repay the EDA in the amount of $925 thousand and City capital reserves in the amount of $1.935 million which were used to acquire three of the five quad lexes in the past 18 months. • Obtain and maintain appropriate general liability and property insurance covering the five properties and any additionally acquired parcels. • Acquire additional Virginia Village quadplexes, through the use of the Acquisition Strike Fund, as they become available for the purpose of preserving and maintaining the properties as homes affordable to low- and moderate-income persons and earn a development fee of 5 percent of the purchase price plus all closing costs. • Apply for Virginia Housing financing for newly acquired quadplexes in order to repay the Acquisition Strike fund, creating a revolving fund. • Begin rehabilitative work and work related to rehabilitation at 310 S. Maple Avenue that may occur prior to conveyance, subject to the terms of a license agreement approved by the EDA on September 6, 2022, and through the use of City ARPA funding.

www.FallsChurchChamber.org/events/calendar/

Falls Church Festival Networking Luncheon Family Fun Night—October 4

Visit us at Booth 139. Learn how to become a member and get involved in supporting the business community. Check out the goodies and give-aways from our many wonderful members!

Saturday September 17 10:00 am—4:00 pm

Join us as Paul Stoddard, City of Falls Church Planning, shares information on city demographics, budgeting, developments, and much more. Questions are welcome.

Tuesday, September 20—11:30 to 1:15

Registration is required — use the QR code or visit our website. $30 members | $35 non-members This is one of the best community events of the year! Join us for a picnic dinner, mini golf, face painting, a moon bounce, and much more! Buy a ticket and become a sponsor today!

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM Commentary

Ukraine Deflates MAGA Macho Myths

Paul Krugman

NEW YORK TIMES

On Aug. 29 Tucker Carlson of Fox News attacked President Joe Biden’s policy on Ukraine, asserting among other things: “By any actual reality-based measure, Vladimir Putin is not losing the war in Ukraine. He is winning the war in Ukraine.” Carlson went on, by the way, to assert that Biden is supporting Ukraine only because he wants to destroy the West.

Carlson’s timing was impeccable. Just a few days later, a large section of the Russian front near Kharkiv was overrun by a Ukrainian attack. It’s important to note that Putin’s forces weren’t just pushed back; they appear to have been routed. As the independent Institute for the Study of War reported, the Russians were driven into a “panicked and disorderly retreat,” leaving behind “large amounts of equipment and supplies that Ukrainian forces can use.”

The Russian collapse seemed to validate analyses by defense experts who have been saying for months that Western weapons have been shifting the military balance in Ukraine’s favor, that Putin’s army is desperately short on quality manpower, and that it has been degraded by attrition and missile attacks on its rear areas. These analyses suggested that Russian forces might eventually reach a breaking point, although few expected that point to come so soon and so dramatically.

To be fair to Carlson and other right-wing cheerleaders for Putin, they aren’t the only people clinging to delusions of Russian success. There’s a whole school of self-styled “realists” who considered Ukrainian resistance to Russia futile and who, despite the failure of Putin’s initial assault, have spent the past six months calling on Ukraine to make big concessions to supposedly superior Russian power.

But there’s something special about the MAGA embrace of the mystique of Russian might: a worldview that equates toughguy swagger with effectiveness. This worldview has warped the right’s perception not just of the Russian army but also of how to deal with many other issues. And it’s worth asking where it comes from.

Many Republicans have admired Putin for a long time — even before Donald Trump took over the GOP. Back in 2014, for example, Rudy Giuliani said of Putin, “That’s what you call a leader.” And Trump continued to praise Putin even after he invaded Ukraine.

So it’s not hard to see where the MAGA right’s admiration for Putinism comes from. After all, Putin’s Russia is autocratic, brutal and homophobic, with a personality cult built around its ruler. What’s not to like?

Yet admiring a regime’s values needn’t mean having faith in its military prowess. As a center-left advocate of a strong social safety net — or, as Republicans would say, a Marxist (which, of course, I’m not) — I think highly of Nordic welfare states like Denmark. But I have no opinion whatsoever about the effectiveness of Denmark’s army (yes, it has one).

On the right, however, approval of authoritarian regimes is all bound up with assertions about their military prowess. For example, last year Ted Cruz tweeted about a video comparing scenes of a tough-looking Russian soldier with a shaved head with a U.S. Army recruiting video featuring a female corporal raised by two mothers. “Perhaps a woke, emasculated military is not the best idea,” opined Cruz.

Actually, the U.S. military is sort of woke, in the sense that it is highly diverse and inclusive, encourages independent thinking and initiative on the part of junior officers and is, at the higher levels, quite intellectual.

The Russian army, on the other hand, definitely isn’t woke. Conscripts face brutal hazing. According to Mark Hertling, a former commander of U.S. forces in Europe, it’s riddled with “mafialike” corruption, and its

The Children’s School, the impressive child care facility that benefits Arlington teachers, has settled into spanking new digs on Langston Blvd. at the former site of the Alpine Restaurant.

Director Naseera Maqsood told me her team and parents “love the new building,” which she and other participants helped design. Fronted by a bus loop—a partnership with Arlington Public Schools provides transport for some children—underground parking, plus overflow parking across the street is available for the building users (like the Alpine had). There are still a few open slots (for the public too), for children aged infant to 4-years-old, Maqsood said.

Launched by school employees in Westover in 1987, the Children’s School was first in the nation owned and operated by a large school system. It built on ground-breaking Arlington child care projects that reflected the 1940s-‘60s baby boom and women flocking to the work force.

It was during World War II— when women were called into government and industry—that Arlington’s first day care opened at Rock Spring Congregational Church. As described by church historian Sara Fitzgerald, parishioners Virginia Stitzenberger, Elizabeth Campbell (future WETA founder) and Lois Smith talked in the “meat line” at the grocery while cashing ration coupons. “They shared their own sense of isolation and their need for a place where their pre-school-age children could make friends and attend school.” In 1944, the church opened the first cooperative preschool. (Future county board chairman Jim Hunter was a pupil.)

With county population growing, the Resurrection Lutheran Church followed suit, opening a center in October 1945 to 52 children of congregation members serving in the Armed Forces, reports the Arlington Historical Society. Then came a private facility organized in Overlee Knolls by Hazel Mahler as Overlee Preschool. (It included kindergarten until Arlington schools began offering it in 1960.)

Clippings at the library’s Center for Local History show that in June 1966, following creation of the federal Head Start program, a half-day preschool for disadvantaged families opened at Cherrydale, Drew, and Hoffman-Boston elementary schools, offering bus service and free breakfast and lunch.

With concerns growing over children lacking supervision after school, the Arlington Health and Welfare Council (with future community leaders Ellen Bozman and Evelyn Syphax) in 1969 published a report “The Choice is Ours: A Report on the Latchkey Child.”

In September 1971, a Montessori preschool opened in the Drew zone. By 1975, 18 Arlington schools were offering Extended Day program mornings and afternoons, following beginnings at Abingdon, Fairlington and Barrett schools.

In response to threats of abuse and poor quality, the county board in December 1975 passed an ordinance specifying allowable childadult ratios and educational standards for licensure, including a $300 fine and 30 days in jail for violators.

By 1988, the county’s Human Services Department was evaluating the direction of licensed early childhood programs at churches, community centers and private nonprofits. That year, the state Senate released a report evaluating the “Educational Effectiveness and Cost of the Extended Day Program” in Arlington and Falls Church.

Today, my personal contact with our pre-school community involves occasional drop-off and pick-up of my grandchildren, at Westover Baptist Preschool. Like many, Westover has waiting lists—but director Amy Kaetzel says there are still openings for three and fouryear-olds.

They all give kids a head start while freeing parents to take care of business.

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Metro is showing progress since Covid’s peak in recruiting bicyclists to those $5.9 million anti-theft Bike and Ride cages with racks for 304 cycles.

The one at the East Falls Church station, after sitting nearly empty for two years, now averages a dozen bikes daily, according to my eyeballing.

Metro spokesman Ian Jannetta supplied numbers showing the uptick. Usage at East Falls Church rose from 211 in 2020, to 864 in 2021, to 1,443 in 2022 (with a quarter to go). Combined with the cages at Vienna and College Park (the most heavily used), the project has attracted 6,626 bicyclists to ride trains with peace of mind.

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