Falls Church News-Press 9-3-2020 by Falls Church News-Press

September 3 – 9, 2020

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Crea�ve Cauldron Speaks Up For Downtown Project Theater Group’s New Venue Tied To Its Completion BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

As the Falls Church City Council prepares to reconsider modified plans for the Whole Foods development project at the City’s central intersection of Broad and Washington Streets, a major beneficiary of the project has begun vocalizing its support for its completion in the past week. The Creative Cauldron, a homegrown theater with some of the more successful performance and educational programs in the Little City’s history, has been promised 5,000 square feet for an expanded venue as a part of the Broad and Washington project. It may even rival the 50,000 square foot megaWhole Foods store as a principal benefit to the community and wider public draw of the 2.46 acre new development. Buoyed by the news that the female lead in its 2019 homegrown and world premiere production of “On Air” won a D.C. region-wide Helen Hayes award Monday (see story, elsewhere this edition), volunteer board members of the Creative Cauldron non-profit have mobilized a letter writing campaign urging the City Council’s approval of the overall project. That includes a long list of some of the most prominent members of the community, such as

former Vice Mayor Marty Meserve. If the Council agrees to move ahead with the project during its virtual work session Tuesday night, it will set up a preliminary decision to be made at its next business meeting on Sept. 14, tentatively followed by a town hall presentation on Oct.7 and a final council vote later next month. The major mixed use proposal was given unanimous approval earlier by the Council in April 2018, but got sidetracked when a major partner in the project, Todd Hitt, was arrested, found guilty and sentenced to a stiff prison term for running a ponzi-like scheme in the region. The Insight Group, major developers in the region, retained ownership of the 2.46 acres but had to resubmit a new plan without the Hitt component, which was mostly for Class A office space that Hitt’s company itself would occupy. Its new submission last November did not sit well with the Council for its lack of office space but now, if anything, one big impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been to crush demand for office space throughout the region. To make the project work financially, Insight increased the number of residential rental units to 350 with 613 total parking spaces. The plan involves the acquisition of the

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THE NIGHT BEFORE the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington was commemoreated in Washington, D.C., Jefferson Village Civic Association held its own Candlelight March in its neighborhood in greater Falls Church. Over 150 people attended to show support for the dream Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. professed at the original march in 1963, that “People will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. “ (P��: S�� S��)

Private Schools Rewarded For Reopening Classes BY MATT DELANEY

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

Local private schools are venturing where public schools have yet to go by welcoming students back into the classroom either full or part-time this week. Some of the advantages private educa-

tion already has baked into their schools double as Covid-19prevention tactics, and that seems to be appreciated by parents who are looking to either enroll, transfer or keep their kids in class. “People are ready for their children to come back to school,” Dr. Edwin Gordon, the head of

Congressional School, said. “They know the value of an education that a school like ours can provide to young children as well as the social and emotional nourishment. Children need to be with their peers, and for many of our fami-

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The Falls Church School Board Tuesday night voted unanimously to let the Herndonbased K-12 Insight conduct surveys regarding changing the names of George Mason High and Thomas Jefferson Elementary on grounds that Founding Fathers were slave owners.

Insight Property Group completed its conversion of Falls Green into a 576-unit multifamily market rate apartment cmplex. The property was previously known as Oakwood Apartments and was used primarily for short-term government and corporate housing.

INDEX

Editorial............................................... 6 Letters........................................... 6,19 News & Notes............................. 10,11 Comment ................................ 7,12,13 Crime Report .................................... 12 Calendar ........................................... 14 Business News ................................. 15 Classified Ads ................................... 16 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ......... 17 Critter Corner.................................... 18

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Small Private Schools Opt For In-Person, With High School Taking Hybrid Route

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lies, students have been a little isolated.” Both Saint James Catholic School and Congressional opened up classes for all grades this week, bringing students back in phases to get them acquainted with the new protocols. They’re helped by the fact that their overall enrollment is more or less 400 students while serving elementary and middle schoolers. For comparison, Mount Daniel Elementary in Falls Church City Public Schools has an enrollment of 357 students, despite only holding classes for kindergarten and first graders. At Congressional, Gordon said the phased re-entry means students in its middle, lower and primary levels along with early childhood learners will go back to school in daily shifts until Sept. 14, when upwards of 380 students in all grades will attend

at the same time. Sister Mary Sue Carwile, the principal of Saint James, said that her school is following suit by bringing students back in waves. So fourth and seventh graders will come back on one day, kindergarten, fifth and sixth graders the next and second and third graders the other, before all 417 students will come to school together. While Congressional lowered its class size slightly for younger grades, it maxed out its older classes with 18 students. The two schools are generally able to keep classes at their normal capacity while maintaining state guidelines on social distancing. Those smaller sizes grant them leeway that nearby Bishop O’Connell High School doesn’t have. Director of Communications Mary Jane Spurlock said that the roughly 1,200 student population has pushed the school to use a hybrid

model. Two cohort groups — divided alphabetically by last name — will alternate in-class days Tuesday through Friday, with classes being all-virtual on Monday. The days that students don’t physically come to school, they’re assigned projects to work on. Spurlock estimated that the normal class size of 18 at O’Connell has dropped down closer to 10 to keep up distancing requirements. “After hours of planning and putting those plans in place, we feel confident we have taken every reasonable precaution to safely welcome students back and are looking forward to this new year together,” Carwile told the News-Press over email. Though, as expected, the learning environment looks a bit different this year for students and teachers alike. Carwile said children and teachers are required to wear

PLEXIGLASS SHIELDS are now part of all desks at Saint James Catholic School. (Photo: Courtesy Saint James Catholic School) two-ply face masks, with hand sanitizer outside every classroom and touchless water filling stations are throughout the halls. Exhaust fans are also in the windows in each classroom for added ventilation, and Saint James is using merv 13 filtra-

tion in the HVAC. Students will be eating lunch in the cafeteria, gym and parish hall to keep up distancing and each location is fully sanitized between groups, including handrails and door-

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2020 | PAGE 5

F.C Council Decides Next Steps for Whole Foods Development Tuesday

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City-owned space adjacent to the Insight property that is currently relied upon for customer parking among three adjacent businesses — Thompson Italian, Clare and Don’s Beach Shack and the State Theatre. This has also been a major point of contention raised by concerned Council members this spring. In a report to the Council’s Economic Development Committee’s virtual meeting last Friday, Scott Adams of Insight said that discussions with Clare and Don’s and the State Theatre have progressed substantially in terms of reaching an agreement on the interim period when the project will be under construction and have the greatest impact on the parking. He said he hoped to have some news to report on that front by next Tuesday, although he said he’s been unable to meet with Thompson’s Italian people. Falls Church’s James Snyder, chief of the City’s Department of Development Services, reported he’d done physical surveys of a number of the major Whole Foods

stores in the region at the meeting. From his observations of new stores in Tysons Corner and Alexandria, he found them to be “very active” in terms of community outreach, with bar service on a mezzanine and density far greater than the current Harris-Teeter in the City. Factors impacting the fiscal benefit to the City of the project included the projection that the new project’s residential component will draw roughly the same number of students in the City schools as the earlier plan (41 to 51 in the earlier plan, 42 to 63 in the latest one). Becky Witsman of the City’s Development office noted that the new 301 West Broad residences above the Harris-Teeter were projected to bring 35 new students; there are 17 as of now. Another major amenity included in the proposal is for an open public park space directly in front of the Whole Foods between its front door and the street intersection that would be akin to Mr. Brown’s Park the City has recently upgraded a block away. This outdoor space will be

“very valuable to the City,” Adams said, replacing the earlier plan’s public space provision that was elevated off the street in a mezzanine area. Another park-like space off Lawton Street has been reconfigured to “also better service the broader community,” he said. While there is no office space contemplated in the new plan, there will also be retail space for a restaurant and some smaller stores. As for the Creative Cauldron space, it is for a 5,000 square foot black box theatre configuration at affordable 20-year lease terms. For the Cauldron, “it is nothing short of a dream come true,” a letter from Laura Hull, founder of the Creative Cauldron and its producing director, read to the Council this week. Founded in 2003, the theatre has produced 29 Helen Hayes Award recommendations, 24 nominations and three awards. With the proposed new space, Hull wrote, the surrounding area, “with the nearby restaurants and the State Theatre, will be poised to become a dedicated Arts and Entertainment District that will draw visitors from around the region.”

“We feel solidarity with the small businesses in Falls Church and understand how vulnerable they are, and want to commit to helping be part of the solution during the transition,” Hull wrote. “When we hopefully return to normalcy after the pandemic, we will have a loyal patron base that drives

to Falls Church from all around the metropolitan region. We can encourage our patrons and even incentivize them to patronize these restaurants during the construction period. And once the project is completed, we know that Creative Cauldron patrons will become frequent patrons of these restaurants.”

Status Update on Wednesday, September 2 City of Falls Church Date Wed, September 2 Mon, August 31 Wed, August 26 Mon, August 24 Wed, August 19 Mon, August 17 Wed, August 12 Mon, August 10

Cases Hospitalizations 66 11 66 11 66 11 64 10 63 9 63 9 61 9 61 9

Deaths 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 6

# Cases per 100,000 People 446.8 446.8 446.8 433.3 426.5 426.5 412.9 412.9

*NOTE: These numbers went down as the Virginia Department of Health found that the individuals lived in the Fairfax County part of Falls Church, not the City of Falls Church.

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We Are Made For This

Coming onto the Labor Day weekend this year feels quite different. There’s the way the Covid-19 pandemic reaction has altered everyone’s sense of time. It seems to be relatively universal that people stuck in their homes and without regular routines of interacting with the outside world in time-worn ways can often have a hard time figuring out what day of the week it is. There are other confusions of that sort that can make us wonder what the components of ordinary cognition really are. But then for Falls Church residents, there is the added disruption caused by the change in the beginning of the school year. This is no comment on whether it is a good idea or not, just that it’s happened. For a lot of us, Labor Day has traditionally represented an emotional transition point, the last day, if not officially, then spiritually, of summer. Gone are the days when TV sets showed weary guests on the annual Labor Day Jerry Lewis telethon stumbling to the finish line while a certain sense of existential loss was identified with the slowly setting sun. Labor Day was the End Of Summer. But on the other hand, the next morning’s readying for the first day of school marked the Rising Of A New Year. How will it be this coming weekend? It can’t be known for sure until experienced, but we anticipate that it will carry with it a deep sense of gravitas, of a darkened world facing a turning point. With the current disposition in the White House and outside its gates legions assembled to take it on, it is like the entire universe is looking on to see what this fall will bring with the U.S. presidential election in November and what may follow on as a protracted, potentially very ugly battle over the results in the period immediately following. This weekend may be the right time to take a deep breath and gird for battle. Maybe Henry the Fifth’s battle-eve speech as rendered by Shakespeare needs to resonate from the chambers between our ears, “And gentlemen in England now-a-bed shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here, and hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks that fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.” Yes, citizens, we are made for this! The Rout of Trump will be the stuff of great lore and every aspect of the process, every new registered voter, every word of encouragement, every new yard sign, every cheer on a midnight couch at the sight of a new Lincoln Project ad, every click on the computer sending another modest contribution, every VOTE, will add to the mass procession swelling to the sounds of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, determined like our forefathers who marched to the same hymn crushing the unspeakably criminal insurgency against our cherished democracy. May future generations envy that they were not here for this, too.

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Clearing The Brush Along W&OD Trail Is Necessary

Editor, Jen Smith’s recent letter ‘W&OD Trail Renovations Denude Path’s Natural Feel’ got it all wrong. She obviously doesn’t see or experience first-hand the vast sections of vegetation overgrowth along the W&OD in Falls Church, or the weeds poking through the bench and branches overhanging that bench on the south side of the W&OD at Great Falls Street. There’s no shortage of greenery in

this area or any other. The only shaded section of the W&OD is its westernmost section between Leesburg & Purcellville, where there are several miles of double canopy trees. Falls Church’s section will retain its sun exposure with the dual trails. Creating the dual trails in Falls Church benefits everyone, cyclists and pedestrians alike, allowing separation of faster and slower trail users to enhance their safety by decreas-

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ing their likelihood of collisions and conflicts. The City of Virginia Beach’s dual boardwalk and paved trail proved this safety enhancement many years ago. Smith need not worry about deer; Fairfax County has a culling program because their population swells every year beyond what natural resources can sustain them. She seems to have a notion of ‘normal’ bike riding that fails to accommodate many trail users. Look no further than the vast economic gains reaped by Abingdon and Damascus, VA for the benefits of trails of other Virginia jurisdictions. Anonymous Fairfax

Dr. Ellis’ Departure From Point of View Is Heartbreaking Editor, My family and I are very distressed to learn of the departure of Dr. Peter Ellis from Point of View Eyewear in Falls Church. For two decades, Dr. Ellis was the optometrist we fully relied on and trusted for all our family’s eye care. Not only did we have complete trust in his excellent professional care, but we

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SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2020 | PAGE 7

F.C. Service Council Uplifts Community For Over 50 Years B� B�� H�� J�� J��

Falls Church is recognized across the region and even nationally as a compassionate, empathetic, welcoming community. Recent examples abound: t-shirt sales raised thousands of dollars to support local small businesses, grocery store gift-card drives have helped teachers, children, and families — our neighbors in various school districts, donated school supplies have been provided en masse to children in need, and neighborhood food drives have restocked the shelves of several local food pantries. Caring about, helping, and supporting those in need is ingrained in our heritage. We owe much of this legacy to the ecumenical work of the Falls Church Community Service Council (“FCS”). Today, FCS needs our help too. FCS began as a vision of Orville Splitt, a layman at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and his Pastor, Bill Nies, who were aware of the needs of the poor and disadvantaged in the Falls Church area. They believed that churches, working together, could provide services that otherwise would not be available. In June of 1969, eleven churches responded to create this Council, which first offered emergency transportation and housing assistance. A few years later, FCS added Meals on Wheels, the emergency food assistance food pantry at Knox Presbyterian Church, and clothing and furniture ministries to meet additional needs.

After more than 51 years of service to the community, the FCS has additionally spawned and hosted a myriad of programs and services with unique individual missions that have strengthened our community in diverse, measurable ways. For example, many are familiar with the exceptional work

“Even in our privileged corner of Northern Virginia, great needs persist, and this is especially true because of recent Covid19induced economic challenges that have impacted our most vulnerable neighbors.” of the Seven Corners Children’s Center, Homestretch, and the Falls Church Winter Homeless Shelter; all of these organizations originated as programs under the corporate direction of FCS before eventually graduating to become separate entities. They each individually merit our support for the good

they do in Falls Church region. The FCS regularly receives some financial assistance from Fairfax County and Falls Church City, as well as ecumenical support and volunteers from a group of faith communities that has grown since 1969. Recent significant support has come from the Falls Church Anglican, Falls Church Presbyterian, Temple Rodef Shalom, Holy Trinity Lutheran, Falls Church Episcopal, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. These churches and many other member churches give of means and time to affirm special love and concern for the eternal welfare of all, regardless of religious belief, race, gender, orientation, or nationality, knowing that we are all truly brothers and sisters because each person is a child of God. Even in our privileged corner of Northern Virginia, great needs persist, and this is especially true because of recent Covid19induced economic challenges that have impacted our most vulnerable neighbors. Whereas in previous months, the FCS emergency food assistance supply could be stretched out over several weeks, the pantry has nearly been cleaned out on a regular basis during these pandemic conditions. We all have a duty to assist others as we are able — in good and bad times. The scriptures tell us that “now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality” (2 Cor. 8:14); this is true now more than ever.

This process of sharing with one other promotes greater equality and brings us closer to a spirit of reconciliation that is so needed. As we embrace the responsibility to care for others around us, supporting FCS provides an opportunity to do this, lifting our Falls Church friends and neighbors facing needs. Donations to coalition churches or directly to FCS are always welcomed, as are direct food donations as described on the FCS website (www.fcswecare.org). Further, in September we mark the 9th annual regional “Day to Serve” (www.daytoserve.org), an effort sponsored by governors from Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and the mayor of Washington DC. In past years, food drives in association with Day to Serve have restocked FCS food pantry shelves; other projects have helped clean local parks and take care of yard work for elderly shut-ins. All are encouraged to log in to www.JustServe.org and find local projects that will contribute to our greater Falls Church community in September. As we donate, serve, and lift our neighbors in need, we will strengthen this community, and more fully recognize that “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God.” Reverend William Hale is the Executive Director of the FCS and Pastor of the Knox Presbyterian Church; Bishop Jeff Jardine leads the Falls Church Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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NEWS BRIEFS F.C. School Board OKs Contract to Study Names Changing The Falls Church School Board Tuesday night voted unanimously for chair Greg Anderson to execute a contract with the Herndon-based K-12 Insight to conduct surveys on the subject of changing the names of George Mason High and Thomas Jefferson Elementary on grounds that Founding Fathers Mason and Jefferson were slave owners. The motion was made and seconded by School Board members Susan Dimock and Lawrence Webb, respectively. K-12 Insight is described as an organization that “works with more than 30,000 school administrators to strengthen the relationships that power education with custom solutions combining technology, research and expert training to help school leaders build trust and drive positive change in their local communities.”

Creative Cauldron Performer Wins Regional Hayes Award D.C. area native Nora Palka won the Helen Hayes Award for “Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical” during the virtual awards announcement ceremonies Monday night, beating a broad Washington, D.C. Metro area-wide field for her role as Flora Conrad in the May 2019 production of “On Air” at Falls Church’s Creative Cauldron theater. The production was an original creation of the Cauldron’s esteemed team of Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith, part of the venue’s “Bold New Works for Intimate Stages series.”

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2 Candidate Forums Set for Special F.C. Council Election The Falls Church Chamber of Commerce and the Falls Church League of Women Voters have each announced forums to hear from the three candidates running to fill the F.C. City Council seat vacated by the July passing of Daniel X. Sze. Both events will be held virtually online. The Chamber event will be at noon on Tuesday, Sept. 15 on Zoom. The League of Women Voters’ virtual event will be on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m. Both events will feature all three candidates running for the Nov. 3 special election: Debbie Hiscott, Joshua Shokoor and Simone Pass Tucker. The Chamber event will be moderated by board member Andrew Painter.

Most F.C. City Offices Closed Monday The City of Falls Church has issued a message about Labor Day Monday saying, “We wish residents a safe and healthy Labor Day. Remember that you are always Safer at Home, but if you must go out, wear a mask and stay socially distant from people not in your household.” The following City of Falls Church offices services will be closed on Monday, September 7 in observance of Labor Day: City Hall and all government offices (including the Commissioner of the Revenue, Treasurer’s Office, and Elections Office), Curbside Pick-Up from the Mary Riley Styles Public Library will not be available Sunday or Monday, September 6 and 7, The Library and Community Center are already closed to the public due to Covid-19, The City Council will have a Work Session on Tuesday, September 8 at 7:30 p.m. This meeting will be virtual.

Northam OKs Driver License Deadline Extension Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is giving Virginians additional time to renew their driver’s licenses, learner’s permits and identification cards issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles. “I know lots of people are in line for appointments, so I am extending for an additional 60 days the validity of license and identification credentials,” Northam said in a Tuesday news conference. In an executive order that took effect Friday, Northam extended the validity of the credentials that expired in August or were set to expire September and October for an additional 60 days beyond the expiration date on the credential. The extension does not apply to vehicle registrations. Customers whose licenses, permits or identification cards expired in August are eligible for the extension without a penalty because of the coronavirus. Driver’s licenses, learner’s permits and identification cards that expire in November have been extended through November 30. “It’s still best to renew your driver’s license or your vehicle registration online,” Northam said.

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SEPTEMBER 3 - 9, 2020 | PAGE 9

PROJECTED

OPENING 2023

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Community News & Notes FIRSTfriday To Feature Artwork From Cynthia Miller FIRSTfriday of Falls Church is set for Sept. 4 from 6 – 8 p.m. at Art and Frame Falls Church (205 W. Jefferson St., Falls Church). The featured artist will be “Act5: A Collection of Works” by Cynthia K. Miller with Musical Performance by Akihira Maher. The event will have Covid-19 responsible guidelines, including: Masks are required to enter Art and Frame of Falls Church. The entrance and exit are separate so attendees are asked to enter the appropriate door and follow the traffic patterns. The floor will be marked for social distancing. There will be hand sanitizers available and frequent cleaning of

surfaces. Beverages and snacks must be consumed outside while still maintaining social distance.

Arc of N. Virginia Opens Virtual Team Distance Walk The Arc of Northern Virginia’s Virtual Team Challenge includes a Team Distance Walk. Instead of calculating winners by time, the Team Walk will award prizes to the teams that walk the combined greatest distances. (“Walking” includes distances covered by those who use mobility assistance devices). The “teams” can be any group that comes together for the cause. A participants team could be: Employees and/or coworkers;

teammates on on a little league or school sport; members of a civic organization; a book club; family and friends; a scout troop; a Sunday school and a bowling league. Any group of people who care about individuals with disabilities and the families that care for them are eligible to register as a team. The fact that the team challenge is a virtual event this year means that participants can do their walk anywhere. Anyone can register as part of a team or an individual, wherever they live. And they can recruit friends, family members, care givers, work colleagues, teammates, and club members wherever they live. The distance traveled is combined with others on a participants

LONNIE MARQUETTI at the City of Falls Church Department of Public Works asked Girl Scout Troop 676 to spruce up the barrels at the Recycling Center. Scouts Carolyn Sherard (left) and Ciara Theisz undertook the project. They hope citizens enjoy their creative work. (Photos: Courtesy Melissa Teates)

Send Us Your News & Notes!

The News-Press is always on the lookout for photos & items for Community News & Notes, School News & Notes and other sections of the paper. If you graduate, get married, get engaged, get an award, start a club, eat a club, tie your shoes, have a birthday, have a party, host an event or anything else you think is worth being mentioned in the News-Press, write it up and send it to us! If you have a photo, even better! Because of the amount of submissions we receive, we cannot guarantee all submissions will be published, but we’ll try our best!

Community News & Notes: newsandnotes@fcnp.com | School News & Notes: schoolnews@fcnp.com Mail: News & Notes, Falls Church News-Press, 105 N. Virginia Ave #310, Falls Church, VA 22046

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team, resulting in their total team distance. Walking teams can have up to 10 members. Each participant chooses one day during the event window that they will do their walk. On this day, the participant records their distance for that one walk. Individual walkers will report their distances, and are compiled to determine the final team results. This is meant to be a fun walk, one that is pet, family, wheelchair and even stroller friendly. A virtual walk allows the event to continue while still following physical distancing guidelines. But physical distancing doesn’t mean isolating. There’s a virtual community in this with all participants. People can share how they’re training, why they’re walking for people with disabilities, and then post their finishing photos online using the hashtag #WalkForInclusion. The walk must be completed any time between Sept. 4 starting at noon until the following Saturday, Sept. 12. Participants/ teams should post their distance to the online race page. The race awards program will be live online on Sunday, Sept. 13. For more information or to register, visit thearcofnova.org/2020team-challenge-5k-race-goes-virtual.

Welcoming Falls Church Set For Start on Sept. 12 Welcoming Falls Church is a local organization that celebrates hospitality toward immigrants and refugees and how it creates opportunity for everyone. “Welcoming Week” this fall is September 12 – 20, with opportunities for kids (and adults) to learn, listen and serve together in the process of overcoming divisions, taking action locally and building a community of neighbors. For more information, visit their website at welcomingfallsch-

urch.org/welcoming-week for a schedule of events, or email welcomingfallschurch@gmail.com with the message “Newsletter” to receive detailed information.

Mason Grad Lands Internship With NASA Felipe Borja, a 2015 George Mason High School graduate, was recently offered a graduate internship at the NASA Ames Research Center based in Mountain View, California, to work a Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) during the summer. After this experience, Borja is going back to finish with MS in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Robotics and Autonomous Systems at Virginia Tech.

Garden Class On Thinning, Dividing & Splitting Plants Anyone who’s had a garden for more than five years knows that there’s a chance their plants need thinning, dividing or splitting. Propagation techniques will not only give gardeners more plants to sell, plant or give away, these practices are great for rejuvenating their plants and their soil at the same time. Kirsten Conrad, the Agricultural Natural Resource Extension Agent for Arlington County and City of Alexandria, will discuss some easy plant propagation techniques like division, layering and cuttings for use with both houseplants and common outdoor garden plantings on Friday, Sept. 4 from 10 – 11:30 a.m.. Free. RSVP at mgnv.org/ events to receive a link to participate.

McLean Board Holds Finance Meeting The McLean Community Center (MCC) Governing Board will use the video conferencing

ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL SALES event is in the books for Falls Church’s Elissa Ruffino (front row, left) and her book “Dream Big Dream Small.” To date, 150 copies of the children’s book have been sold. It’s best suited for kids age 3 – 10. “Now more than ever is the time for everyone to dream BIG. Our dreams are treasures in our hearts that we must keep alive especially during this pandemic,” Ruffino said. (P��: C�� E�� R��) platform Zoom.us to hold two budget meetings in September. MCC is seeking input and suggestions on the Center’s fiscal year 2022 budget from Dranesville Small District 1-A residents. The first meeting, the Finance Committee Meeting of the Whole, will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8. All meetings of the Governing Board are open to the public; participation in this meeting by the public, MCC Board members and staff, will be virtual only. The FY 2022 budget year begins July 1, 2021 and ends June

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30, 2022. Finance Committee Chair Barbara Zamora-Appel will chair the Finance Committee Meeting of the Whole on Sept. 8, when the full board will work on the FY 2022 budget. The departmental and consolidated budget proposals will include a review of FY 2020 yearend actuals, the current year’s budget (FY 2021) and new proposals for FY 2022. The preliminary consolidated budget will be posted on the Center’s website, www.mcleancenter.org, and available at the

Center’s reception desk a week prior to the public hearing. Residents may continue to submit written comments after the public hearing through Monday, Oct. 26. The Board will approve the FY2022 budget when it meets at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 28. The final budget will be approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in spring 2021. For more information, call the Center at 703-790-0123, TTY: 711, or visit the Center’s website, www. mcleancenter.org.

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A Penny for Your Thoughts

News of Greater Falls Church By Supervisor Penny Gross

“Be afraid. Be very afraid.” That seemed to be the message delivered by the Republican National Convention last week. I never believed the predictions that it would be an uplifting and positive convention, but the actual delivery was worse than expected. Perhaps the only bright spots (literally) were the multiplicity of U.S. flags used as set pieces at the Mellon Auditorium, Ft. McHenry, and the White House, all federal facilities that are supposed to be off-limits for partisan political events. The role of government is to provide safety, security, and solutions to issues, not to terrify citizens with threats and scare tactics. While there are times when the government should warn its citizens — a hazardous weather event, a pandemic, a human-caused disaster — those warnings usually are accompanied by matter-of-fact steps to surmount the emergency. Take shelter, get to high ground, wash your hands, wear a mask. Not so last week. The dystopian view of American democracy that has been at the heart of Mr. Trump’s administration since his inaugural address on January 20, 2017 was ramped up by nearly every speaker, from Kimberly Guilfoyle (when was the last time a presidential son’s girlfriend was a featured convention speaker?) to Richard Grenfell (this man was an ambassador?). When Mr. Trump finally took the lectern, there was little left to be said, but he delivered a 70-minute harangue anyway. By the end, I was reminded of Joseph Welch’s admonition to Senator Joseph McCarthy during the ArmyMcCarthy hearings in 1954, “have you no sense of decency, sir?” The answer is pretty clear. Decency is not in the limited Trump vocabulary. Neither is respect, empathy, understanding, diplomacy, grace, or dozens of other terms that have described or defined previous occupants of the Oval Office. Mr. Trump does have

commitment — to his brand and his bottom line — but not to the nation. The Divider-in-Chief is an embarrassment to this country, and the damage to institutions and the national psyche he has inflicted will take years to repair. The “Build Back Better” slogan originally referred to repairing physical damage caused by weather disasters; today’s interpretation goes deeper. Building Back Better provides the opportunity to resolve the longstanding issues of inequity and social injustice, of poverty and upward mobility, of the widening gulf between the haves and havenots. It will take hard work, respect for differences, and an understanding that it is not about “us versus them,” but about all working together to make our unique democracy function for everyone. The simple words of the Preamble to the Constitution outlined it pretty well in 1787: “establish Justice, insure domestic tranquility…secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” More than 200 years later, let’s not forget that we are that posterity. And we should not be afraid. Joe Alexander was the Lee District Supervisor for 32 years, one of the longest serving members on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. He was elected at the tender age of 32, and developed an enviable mastery of transportation issues during his eight terms on the Board. Joe was an early advocate for the MetroRail system; the Joe Alexander Franconia-Springfield Transit Center was named to honor his many contributions. Joe passed away last week at the grand old age of 90, and is survived by his wife, daughters, and tens-of-thousands of grateful constituents.  Penny Gross is the Mason District Supervisor, in the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She may be emailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov.

C i t y o f Fa l l s C h u r c h

CRIME REPORT Week of August 24 – 30, 2020 Driving Under the Influence, 700 blk E Broad St. August 25, 2:30 AM, a male, 23, of Arlington, VA, was arrested for driving under the influence. Larceny-Shoplifting, 1100 blk W Broad St, August 26, unknown suspect(s) stole several items of merchandise from a business. Trespassing, 800 blk S Washington St. August 28, 9:20 PM, a male, 24, of Falls Church, VA, was issued a summons for trespassing. Drunkenness (DIP), 100 blk W Broad St. August 29, 1:27 AM, a male, 53, of Manassas Park, VA, was arrested for appearing drunk

individual was observed breaking a rear window of a parked car.

in public. Simple Assault, 6700 blk Wilson Blvd. August 29, police received a report of a suspect who allegedly struck an individual multiple times with his hands. The suspect is known to the victim. The investigation is on-going. Driving Under the Influence, August 30, 4:53 AM, a male, 26, of Falls Church, VA, was arrested for driving under the influence. Bicycle Larceny, 600 blk S Spring St. Between August 23 and August 30, unknown suspect(s) removed a bicycle from the front yard of a residence. Destruction of Property, 300 blk W Broad St. August 30, 2:52 PM, an

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Senator Dick Saslaw’s

Richmond Report Labor Day traditionally marks the start of the school year, a change of seasons, anticipation of more traffic on the roads as vacations end, and the gearing up for the dreaded “flu season.” Although Virginia has been thoughtfully managing the pandemic, Coronavirus is still among us. To date, Virginia has conducted well over 1.5 million tests with 116,000+ positive results and 2,537 Virginians succumbing to Covid-19. This virus has affected our nation and Commonwealth in countless ways, often with a domino effect. The General Assembly has been in session since Aug. 18 to address some of the crushing effects the virus has had on our economy, education system, essential workers, and front-line healthcare providers. Housing security, voter protection, and criminal justice reform have also been top of mind. We began the session on a sobering note with an overview of Virginia’s resources. Shockwaves hit when it was announced the forecast for the biennium would be lowered by $2.7 billion. The trickle-down effect would be felt in local revenue and the state’s existing budget Layoffs and consumers buckling down have contributed to less revenue from sales, payroll, and income taxes — sources of most operating funds for Virginia’s government. The CARES Act provided us with over $3 billion dollars to help offset specific Covid-19 spending. Despite these setbacks, the threshold for accessing Virginia’s rainy day fund has not been met. Over 1 million unemployment claims have been filed with the Virginia Employment Commission. More than 90 percent of the cases were dispatched quickly and brought much-needed assistance for those whose jobs disappeared because of the pandemic. Despite its initial problems (and there were many) the VEC has been recognized as #3 in the country for the delivery of timely unemployment benefits. The consequences of unemployment have also contributed to housing instability. Governor Northam has proposed additional rent relief in the amount of $88 million and set up access through the Dept of Housing. The issue of extending the court moratorium on eviction proceedings has been

hotly debated in the Senate. Owners and renters are all scrambling to make mortgage payments or rent payments. When considering a moratorium, there are many complex considerations including non-Covid-19 related reasons for eviction proceedings. Ending the last academic year in virtual mode, we will again see the school year begin online in most school districts. Learning gaps may necessitate getting students caught up. CARES money has been directly distributed to localities with the intent of students having continuity of services. That can include computers/notebooks for virtual learning, mobile modified hot spots, possible sanitizing of school buildings, and even continued meal distribution. The pandemic, when combined with a failure in leadership from across the Potomac has created a controversy that has led the Governor to address ballot security. Banking on fear of the disease and a lack of confidence in USPS’s ability to timely deliver ballots by mail, SB 5120 has been introduced to combat the sleight of hand used to confuse and deny voters their most fundamental right. SB 5120, a measure to address voting in a pandemic, has been among the most contentious measures before the Legislature. The bill encourages voters to cast a ballot in the safest and most comfortable way possible in the upcoming presidential election. Let me be clear, this bill and the funds necessary to implement it are essential to providing citizens options for casting a ballot. Equally clear, inperson polling places will be operational on November 3. Leading up to the elections, individuals will be able to cast their absentee vote in person in select locations starting September 18. This pandemic has given pause to the elderly, those with chronic health conditions, and individuals who want a safe alternative to inperson voting. Virginia no longer requires an excuse to vote absentee. This bill provides an individual with the opportunity to correct any error or omission on an absentee ballot up to October 31, it provides for utilizing strategically-placed drop boxes to receive ballots, and it also eliminates the required witness signature during this medical emergency.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Russians on the Left, Russians on the Right

Yes, America, the Russians have been actively interfering in this year’s presidential election in support of Trump’s re-election. It is not a question of “will they” but instead, “have they” and the answer to that is a resounding “yes.” Moreover, they’ve been quite successful so far. That is, we should not be looking to election day to watch out for this Russian interference. As was the case in 2016, the Russian intervention took the form of a lot of mischief leading up to the election in the area of messing with the voting electorate itself. Countless Russian “bots” flooded the U.S. social media with psychologically-astute forms of mental manipulation. The social media campaigns may have appeared crude and ham-handed, FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS but there was a huge amount of highly professional, historically-tested “mind bending” methods in play to craft them. This great adversary of democracy has drawn on a wealth of tested knowledge and techniques developed by the defenders of autocratic force against democratic impulses since the time of the American revolution. The smartest of those leading such efforts have recognized that sheer brute force can go only so far in repressing popular uprisings. Instead, sophisticated techniques to execute the simple concept but difficult to effect “divide and conquer” interventions into a mass population are also required. Volumes can be said and documented about how this has been carried out over the last couple centuries. In the shortest of shorthands, when a clash between a ruling class and its subjects breaks out, and a third interest, an element of generally nihilistic and violent anarchists, dives into the fray, they do so as tools of the ruling group. Anarchists, whose flag is not red but black, have messed up more than a few legitimate uprisings of oppressed populations since the American revolution, starting with the failed French revolution of the 1790s. Masquerading as supporters of the oppressed, they infiltrate and then poison the effort at reform with a panoply of excesses usually involving wanton violence. That’s what’s happening in America right now, people, thanks to the heirs of the centuries’ long ruling class campaign to crush the gains made over that time owing mostly to the successful American revolution. In this case, a newly-revived Russian oligarchic elite has deployed their government to advance their cause in an alliance with like-minded elites in the U.S. to cripple American democracy. It has found a malleable puppet in Trump who has gone overboard to take a wrecking ball to American democratic institutions, and they are helping him continue. Anarchists stealing peaceful demonstrations from legitimately grieving protesters and turning them violent on one side are met by anarchist white racists on the other side, and chaos ensues leading a beleaguered population to abandon their legitimate causes, and a police state clampdown and suspension of democratic protections then occurs. Almost no one today is properly reporting on what’s happening. Even the best of the media think it’s OK to use the shorthand terminology of “left” and “right” to explain the chaos that is happening, but that rendering is false. Those authentically protesting racist police actions do not consider themselves “the left.” They are just American citizens demanding justice. It is only when radical anarchists jump in that the use of “left-right” language is made legitimate, and a fake but deadly battle is then waged based on that. So, yes, America, the Russians are deeply involved in our 2020 presidential election, right now. They are actively using their spheres of influence on the fringes of our society on both sides of the civil war they are seeking to foment. That is aimed at creating a level of chaos and conflict far in excess of what would otherwise happen, and this is what they intend that their tool, Trump, will capitalize on to spread fear and foment anger across the land. This all happens as a fully-compromised Washington, gripped in blackmail that the revelations of Jerry Falwell Jr.’s kinky excesses are deemed to remind all what may come to them next. So, there is paralysis on the wholesale collapse of the economy and on an effective response to the covid-19 pandemic. Yes, Russian intervention. Massive.

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Nicholas F. Benton

 Nicholas Benton may be emailed at nfbenton@fcnp.com.

Our Man in Arlington By Charlie Clark

Nothing official yet, but word is that an entrepreneurial builder is bidding to purchase the coveted historic Rouse property at Wilson Blvd. and N. McKinley St. The mid-19th century FebreyLothrop house, which sits on 9.5 acres, is still occupied by Michele Rouse, widow of homebuilder and equestrian Randy Rouse. This spring, news broke that the party best able to afford buying it from the Rouse trust was a private builder with plans for dozens of new homes. I was startled by the assumption that the Febrey-Lothrop home would be demolished. Enter Tom Dickinson, passionate preservationist and former president of the Arlington Historical Society. He had the foresight last April to file an application to designate the home a Local Historic District. Arlington’s Historic Preservation staff has deemed his application complete and sent it for review this fall by the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board, I’m told by county communications specialist Elise Cleva. That might not block a teardown by a by-right owner, but it could complicate the sale. The solution Dickinson favors is for Arlington to adopt a Resident Curator Program, authorized under a 2011 state law, in which a long-term tenant occupies a publicly owned property for free, in exchange for maintenance

and repairs. “It’s a win-win-win proposition,” says Dickinson, who has pushed for a curator program during debates over the fate of such historic properties as the Reeves Farmhouse, the Birch Cabin, and the recently demolished home of astronaut John Glenn. The advantages include “preserving historic properties and providing residential housing at no cost to the occupant/tenant.” Curator programs have been successful in Maryland, Massachusetts and, most locally, Fairfax County. I spoke to one of the main instigators, Ted McCord, associate professor of history at George Mason University. For 24 years, McCord has occupied Mt. Gilead, a “middling” 18th-century former tavern in Fairfax’s Historic Centerville Park. (By coincidence, he knows the Rouse property because his father in the late 1950s was physician to Randy Rouse and his then-wife, actress Audrey Meadows.) The reason the legislation sailed through is that the bill required no money, McCord says. Rather than a “one size fits all,” the law allows jurisdictions to “assess each property on its own merit.” Best properties are those that go back centuries, that are a rare example of architecture, or were once occupied by “someone important.” The downside is the bureaucracy that “can be a pain,” McCord said, noting restrictions on his using his old home’s fireplaces and the parks authority’s occasional desire to tear

down homes to make room for tennis courts or golf courses. The best resident curators are those with “deep pockets” (they won’t gain equity in the property), who “like to restore old properties” either themselves or by contracting. And “it’s really taking it out of the public domain” if the residents don’t allow public visits. “But if you get a builder with a little imagination to preserve an old house,” McCord says, “it can add to the identity of a neighborhood.” Arlington is not currently entertaining the admittedly admirable idea, said spokeswoman Cleva. A curator program would “require significant planning, plus investments of staff resources and public funds,” she said. “The county would need to evaluate considerations such as initial funding, potential inventory of eligible properties, zoning amendments, tenant coordination and need for additional staff.” *** The locked-down staff of the Arlington Public Library still managed during the pandemic to fulfill “holds” on books requested by 130,000 Arlington readers. More than 175,000 print books and other materials have been checked out since June 15. Impressive. Some of our literate patrons are miffed, no doubt, about the five-day deadline for picking up requested books at Central Library before they are returned to shelves. But under the current circumstances, that irritant, as they say, is a first-world problem.

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FALLS CHURCHCALENDAR In response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic affecting the globe and policies enacted to avoid social gatherings, the News-Press will publish a list of virtual events weekly in lieu of its regular listings. If you have a virtual event you’d like to see listed, please email calendar@fcnp.com. Deadline is 5 p.m. Monday weekly.

LOCALEVENTS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 Falls Church Farmers Market To Go. The Falls Church Farmers Market has converted to a preorder, to-go event. All orders must be placed in advance of Saturday’s market which will be open from 8 a.m. – noon for pre-order pick-up only in front of City Hall (300 Park Ave.). A list of participating vendors and information on pre-ordering can be

found at fallschurchva.gov/547/ Farmers-Market-To-Go. Tiny Tot. Tiny Tot programs provide opportunities to interact one-on-one with young children while discovering the wonders of nature. Each program will engage children with hands-on learning and may include a variety of activities like songs, crafts, finger plays and mini-hikes. Adults must remain during the entire program. Ages 1 – 3. $5 fee due upon registration. To register, contact rtolman@arlingtonva.us. Long Branch Nature Center at Glencarlyn Park (625 Carlin Springs Rd., Arlington). 10 – 10:30 a.m. 703-228-6535.

VIRTUALEVENTS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 New Yorker Discussion Group. If any residents enjoy The New Yorker but wish they had someone to chat about it with, they

are encouraged to drop into the monthly New Yorker Discussion Group to share their thoughts on what they’ve read in a variety of articles. Article to be determined. This discussion will be held online. Visit fallschurchva. gov/LibraryAtHome for details. 2 – 3 p.m.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 City Council Work Session (online). City Council work sessions are open to the public and are conducted to allow Council Members to discuss upcoming legislation and policy issues; the public is not generally invited to speak. All participating members of the City Council will be present at this meeting through electronic means. All members of the public may view this electronic meeting via www.fallschurchva.gov/CouncilMeetings. The meeting may also be viewed on FCCTV (Cox 11, RCN 2, Verizon 35). Video will be available after

the meeting both online and on FCCTV. 7:30 – 11 p.m.

THEATER&ARTS

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 “Sleight of Hand.” A light-hearted comedy, “Sleight of Hand,” follows 95-year-old Harvey as he looks to add some excitement to his life by robbing a bank. His wife, Esther, and best friends, Arthur and Mildred, all think he is crazy, but Harvey forges ahead on his adventure. While in the bank, he must confront the flaws in his plan, along with the Bank President and Bank Security, until his beloved Esther rushes in. For more information, visit providenceplayers.org.

LIVEMUSIC

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 Virtual Concert: Project Locrea. $25. Get tickets at https://creative-

Online Classes. Outdoor Concerts. Now on sale for ages 4 - 104, with NEW workshops for teens creativecauldron.org | 703. 436.9948

cauldron.org/virtual-concerts-andcabarets.html

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 Jehovah’s Favorite Choir with 2 Smooth Dudes Food Truck. Falls Church Distillers (442 S. Washington Street, Ste A Falls Church). 6 p.m. 703-858-9186. Wesley Diener “No One is Alone” — mask and social distancing required. Cherry Hill Park (312 Park Ave., Falls Church). 8 p.m. creativecauldron.org.

SATURDAY, SETPEMBER 5 Super Funk 5 with Arielle Oyster Company Rawbar. Falls Church Distillers (442 S. Washington Street, Ste A Falls Church). 7 p.m. 703-858-9186. Seán Heely — mask and social distancing required. Cherry Hill Park (312 Park Ave., Falls Church) 8 p.m.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 Cosmic Carl’s Drum Circle — all invited to participate. Falls Church Distillers (442 S. Washington Street, Ste A Falls Church). 7 p.m. 703-858-9186.

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B�� N�� N�� Settle Down Easy Brewing and Dogtopia to Host Pets for Vets Settle Down Easy Brewing, the nano brewing operation in the Merrifield area, and Dogtopia Falls Church, the doggy day care facility expected to open soon in Falls Church, have partnered to host Pets for Vets to raise funds to place a service dog with a local armed services veteran. On Thursdays through September, Yappy Hour will take place from 4–6 p.m. on the patio with $1 off pints, and for every order of their Seirios Wit (named after the Dog Constellation,) $1 will be donated. Additionally, from 6 to 8 p.m., Bingo will be offered. Participants will receive one free card and may purchase additional cards for $1, which will benefit Pets for Vets. Donations can also be made by texting DOGTOPIA337 to 71777. Settle Down Easy is located at 2822 Fallfax Drive. For more information, visit www.settledowneasybrewing.com, www.dogtopia.com/falls-church, and www.petsforvets.com.

Falls Church Distillers is Hosting a Distilling Workshop Falls Church Distillers is hosting a Distilling Workshop on Wednesday, September 9 and Thursday, September 10 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. The two-day introductory course covers commercial distilling logistics such as building codes and regulations, through sales and distribution, and includes a hands-on workshop that covers commercial production from top to bottom. Falls Church Distillers is located at 442 S. Washington Street Suite A in Falls Church. For more information including workshop costs and other events, visit www.fcdistillers.com/events.

Sixteenth Annual Falls Church Education Run Will be Held Virtually The sixteenth annual Falls Church Education Foundation Run for the Schools will be held virtually the weekend of Sept. 12 and 13. Registered participants will receive a swag bag along with a FCEF Run for the Schools t-shirt that will be available for pick up at The State Theatre on Friday, Sept. 11 from 5–8 p.m. Sponsors include Apple Federal Credit Union, CBC, Debbie Hiscott for City Council, Family Medicine in Falls Church, Fit 4 Mom, Gilbane, Markon Solutions, New Editions Consulting, ROCK STAR Realty Group, Synaptitude Consulting, Viget, and The Young Group. Long time city leader, Betty Blystone, will be recognized at this annual community event. Registration is open until midnight on Saturday, Sept. 12. For more information or to register visit www.fcedf.org/runfortheschools.

Point of View Eyewear Has Been Sold Point of View Eyewear has been sold to Visual Health Doctors of Optometry. While retiring owner William Mueller will stay with the business through September, Doctor of Optometry Peter Ellis has left and plans to relocate following the Covid19 crisis. Mueller purchased the business from his employers, original owners James Elkin and Cindy Elkin, who passed away in 2005 and 2015 respectively. Point of View Eyewear is located at 701 West Broad Street in Falls Church. For more information, visit www.pointofvieweyewear.com.  Business News & Notes is compiled by Sally Cole, Executive Director of Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce. She may be emailed at sally@fallschurchchamber.org.

SEPTEMBER 3 - 9, 2020 | PAGE 15

2020 Fall

Guide

- Next Week September 10th issue Many of our readers are looking for ways to enhance their homes especially after recently spending so much time in them! Does your company offer products and services that they should know about? Tell them by placing an ad in the Home Improvement Guide at discounted rates! Deadline is September 7th at 5pm.

Contact Melissa: at mmorse@fcnp.com or 703-532-3267

BECOME A MEMBER OF THE NEWS-PRESS & HELP US KEEP COMMUNITY JOURNALISM ALIVE & WELL IN THE LITTLE CITY. Since 1991, the News-Press has been on a mission to provide independent and honest journalism to the Falls Church community. We recognize and appreciate the support the City, its businesses and residents have shown us for the past 29 years. Now, we need your help to continue with our mission. If you ﬁnd value in our work and believe the News-Press contributes to the betterment of the Falls Church community, please consider becoming a member today and help us keep you informed on all the happenings — big and small — in The Little City. Never before has the ﬁght to ensure a free press been more important.

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PAGE 16 | SEPTEMBER 3 - 9, 2020 AUCTIONS ATTN. AUCTIONEERS: Advertise your upcoming auctions statewide and in other states. Affordable Print and Digital Solutions reaching your target audiences. Call this paper or Landon Clark at Virginia Press Services 804-521-7576, landonc@vpa.net

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(TR19-45) RESOLUTION TO ADOPT THE WEST END SMALL AREA PLAN AS A GUIDING DOCUMENT IN DECISION MAKING FOR PLANNING, ZONING, AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, CITY REGULATIONS, AND POLICIES Council members will attend the meeting through electronic means and members of the public may view the meeting at www. fallschurchva.gov/CouncilMeetings and on FCCTV (Cox 11, RCN 2, Verizon 35). Public hearings will be held electronically at www.fallschurchva.gov/CouncilMeetings. Public hearing comments will be accepted only during the meeting and only electronically at cityclerk@fallschurchva. gov. Public Hearing process: During the meeting, the public will be asked to e-mail comments when the public hearing item is introduced and an announcement be made when the time for comment on the item has ended. E-mails received during the announced public hearing time will be presented to City Council before final discussion. Public comments for City Council on any matter may be sent to cityclerk@ fallschurchva.gov at any time. Video will be available after the meeting both online and on FCCTV. For copies of legislation, contact the City Clerk’s office at (703-248-5014) or cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov. The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703-248-5014 (TTY 711). CELESTE HEATH, CITY CLERK Volunteers who live in the City of Falls Church are needed to serve on the boards and commissions listed below. Contact the City Clerk’s Office (703-248-5014, cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov, or www. fallschurchva.gov/BC) for an application form or more information. Positions advertised for more than one month may be filled during each subsequent month.

Economic Development Authority Historic Architectural Review Board Housing Commission Library Board of Trustees Planning Commission Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Regional Boards/Commissions Fairfax Area Disability Services Board Long Term Care Coordinating Council

PUBLIC NOTICE Variance application V1616-20 by Jeff and Katie Skalka, applicant and owner, for a variance to Section 48-238, to allow 27.4% lot coverage instead of 25% maximum permitted by code, and 37.2% impervious lot coverage instead of 35% maximum permitted by code, for the purpose of constructing a covered screen porch at the rear of premises known as 205 Patterson Street, RPC #52-113-008 of the Falls Church Real Property Records, zoned R-1A, Low Density Residential. Public hearing on the above matters is scheduled for September 17, 2020, 7:30 PM, or as soon thereafter as the item may be heard. All participating members of Board of Zoning Appeals will be present at this meeting through electronic means. All members of the public may view the meeting virtually via this Skype link: https://meet.lync.com/fallschurchfallschurchva/arouzi/HPHQPZQZ Public comment and questions may be submitted to zoning@fallschurchva.gov until 7:00 pm on September 17, 2020. Meeting agenda and application materials will be available the week prior to the scheduled hearing on the BZA webpage: http://www.fallschurchva.gov/BZA Information on the above application is also available for review upon request to staff at zoning@fallschurchva.gov.

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PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CITY COUNCIL CITY OF FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA The ordinance referenced below was given first reading on August 10, 2020. Public hearing, second reading, and final Council action is scheduled for Monday, September 14, 2020 at 7:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard. (TO20-20) ORDINANCE TO AMEND ORDINANCES 2009 AND 2012 REGARDING THE BUDGET OF EXPENDITURES AND REVENUES, APPROPRIATING FUNDS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021 FOR THE GENERAL FUND, SCHOOL OPERATING FUND, AND THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM FUNDS A public hearing and final Council action on the following resolution is scheduled for Monday, September 14, 2020 at 7:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matters may be heard.

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Crossword

ACROSS

By David Levinson Wilk 1

24 27 32

29 35

45 50

1. Org. for students in uniform 5. With 62-Across, a difficult engagement ... or a description of each set of circled letters 11. “u r 2 funny!” 14. Fitch of Abercrombie & Fitch 15. Tiny 16. Two-time Super Bowl MVP Manning 17. Hula ____ 18. Beezus’ sister, in children’s literature 19. Actress Gadot 20. Walter White on “Breaking Bad,” for one 22. Tennis star Nadal, to fans 23. Inhuman 24. Inhumane 27. Amtrak schedule abbr. 28. Renter’s rental 31. It’s just over a foot 34. Count who composed “One O’Clock Jump” 35. Josh ____, the voice of 12-Down 36. “Stop stalling!” 37. Evan and Birch of Indiana politics 38. Actress Campbell of “Scream” 39. “... good witch, ____ bad witch?” 40. Adorable one 41. “A Doll’s House” playwright Henrik 42. Like some bottles 44. Fed. electricity provider since 1933 45. Coffeehouse entertainers 46. Boardwalk scavenger 50. Business sch. major 52. Open (to)

STRANGE BREW

53. “Green Book” Oscar winner 54. Haul (around) 57. Utah town near Arches and Canyonlands National Parks 58. Sleep state 59. “Lawrence of Arabia” star 60. Red resident of “Sesame Street” 61. English breakfast ____ 62. See 5-Across 63. Pal of Kyle and Kenny on “South Park”

SEPTEMBER 3 - 9, 2020 | PAGE 17

Down 1. Fix up, as a building 2. O3 3. Brisk paces 4. What T-Mobile has that Sprint lacks 5. Erect 6. June birthstone 7. Blood: Prefix 8. ____ Jima 9. “Dancing With the Stars” judge Goodman 10. Salonga who voiced two Disney princesses 11. They’re set for drinking and smoking 12. “Frozen” snowman 13. ____ Wallace, co-founder of Reader’s Digest 21. Add to the staff 22. Food writer Drummond 24. Like easy, well-paying jobs 25. Hank Aaron’s 2,297 26. Suffix with glob- or gran28. Ending for sooth or nay 29. Rescue

JOHN DEERING

Sudoku

30. Where Adam met Eve 31. “A line is ____ that went for a walk” (quote by 51-Down) 32. Scand. country 33. Korean-made sedan since 2001 34. Kathy of “Misery” 37. Rifle part 38. Magic moments? 40. French “Inc.” 41. Tolstoy’s “The Death of ____ Ilyich” 43. Captain’s record 44. Home on the range 46. Whiff 47. Many a bike lock, essentially 48. Animal wearing red pajamas in a children’s book 49. Simon of Duran Duran 50. 7-Eleven, e.g. 51. Surrealist Paul 52. Boatloads 54. [Poor me!] 55. Windy City rail org. 56. Like the summer sun Last Thursday’s Solution A G A S D A C H S L O A W I L L A M E B R I N S I D E

Z A D I E

R E F E R S

I N T A K E

P X A A N N D E A A N D E U E A R M S E A D E A L O E R T H I M I C A T O N S

A K I N

X I N G

C O P T O

L I I S I T

O N C E

E T A L

N G O A U G G H T

S A S E L E D E E C H K I G T H H T O O S P E S

C A M E R A

G O O N I N

I L O S E

E R S D D O U S T S H E D E R M S E X

By The Mepham Group

Level 1 2 3 4

Solution to last Sunday’s puzzle

NICK KNACK

8/30/20

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit sudoku.org.uk. © 2020 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. All rights reserved.

LO CA L

PAGE 18 | SEPTEMBER 3 - 9, 2020

BACK IN THE DAY

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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25 � 10 Y�� A�� N��-P�� Falls Church News-Press Vol. V, No. 24 • August 31, 1995

Falls Church News-Press Vol. XX, No. 26 • September 2, 2010

City Schools Scurry to Cope With Steep Hike in Enrollment

‘Back to School’ Begins in F.C. With Pep Talk to Staff at GMHS Stadium

With schools set to open next Tuesday, Falls Church school officials are scurrying to figure out ways to accommodate a record rise in enrollment that has taken place during the summer, much of it in just the past few days. According to figures obtained by the News-Press yesterday, the City’s school system will see an 8.6 percent increase in its population with 116 more students than last year.

Classes begin next Tuesday, but school began this last Monday in the City of Falls Church, marked by the annual “Back to School” ritual assembly of all the teachers and staff from the City’s four schools and its school administrative offices, a couple hundred in all. In a welcome departure from tradition, the event was held for the first time this year as a barbecue following a brief assembly in the grandstands of the football field.

Private Schools Continued from Page 4

knobs. Congressional employs much of the same, but what the school has done differently is set up tents around its campus that are designated for each age group. The tents can be used by teachers to hold classes outdoors, students can sit under them for lunch or they can work on schoolwork by the tents, since Congressional went through the effort of enhancing its WiFi reach across the campus. Getting teachers on board hasn’t been the obstacle that public schools have faced either. Dr. Joseph Vorbach, the superintendent of Catholic Schools in the Arlington Diocese, told the NewsPress that teachers were helping lead the reopening process along with principals throughout its schools. And Gordon said that while some teachers were very concerned at the beginning, Congressional was able to accommodate them to the point that no teachers decided not to return for the school year. But, most importantly, the schools appear to have won the support of parents. “Mixed feelings, obviously, with not knowing everything about how [the virus] is transmitted,” said Chris Capannola, a teacher at George Mason High School whose son is a fifth grader at Saint James. “But Saint James, to their credit, have been very open with the communication and have told us exactly what they’re doing with the cleaning proce-

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LARGE TENTS spread around campus give Congressional School students access to fresh air while they’re in class, at lunch or just doing work. (P��: C�� C�� S��) dures, mask wearing, distancing and all that. They have us believing that, if it’s going to be done, they’re doing it the right way.” In particular, Capannola is a fan of the extra recess session Saint James is adding to give students more time in the fresh air. Gordon said the success of Congressional’s on-the-fly transition to online schooling in the spring segued into an increase in enrollment by about 30 students in the fall — with demand still high. Spurlock mentioned that seven out of eight parents surveyed by O’Connell said they wanted kids to return to class in some form. She added that the school has seen a high amount of transfer students for the year. Vorbach, the

Catholic schools superintendent, said they had to cap enrollment because demand was so high for accepting new students. A conventional return hasn’t been for everyone though. Spurlock said that about 150 students opted out of O’Connell’s hybrid model and will use Zoom to take part in classes for as long as they see fit. Gordon mentioned that about 15 percent of Congressional students will be attending class virtually for their own reasons. Saint Isidore of Seville is the new, all-online school being offered by the diocese, according to Vorbach, which has its own principal and staff dedicated to teaching students virtually throughout the year.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2020 | PAGE 19

News-Press

TO LETTERS THE EDITOR Continued from Page 6

CRAFTING HAS MADE A COMEBACK with most public activities affected by Covid-19 shutdowns, and Michaels Craft Store at Seven Corners has benefitted from this resurgent interest. (Photo: News-Press)

Tech-less Hobbies Pick Up During Lockdowns by Orrin Konheim

Falls Church News-Press

Social distancing brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic might have exacerbated the co-dependence on technology for some, but throughout Falls Church and Seven Corners, a quiet rebellion of people breaking away from the screens can be seen at the checkout counters. “I’m so excited to be able to do something that isn’t wallowing in my room and being bored,” said 21-year-old Abby Kiros who is buying paints for her first home improvement project at the Home Depot in Seven Corners. Kiros is painting a mirror that she was taking back to take to James Madison University for her fall semester. The amount of hobby-focused customers at Home Depot, Michaels Craft Store and Barnes & Noble has shown that many people are surviving the quarantine from a carefree public life by reframing their attitudes. “I think you have a chance to look at a lot of things you never see and you get a chance to change how you see them,” said retiree Fern Bertwistle. Bertwistle has been hit both by social seclusion and a foot surgery that left her unable to pursue her regular hobbies like gardening and bicycling. So instead, she’s here to paint her wall. Over at the craft store Michaels, Mindy Tran is shopping for new wools for her mother. Tran’s mother has had a lot more time to knit since the lockdowns were imposed. Tran is shopping with her boyfriend. When asked about their hobbies, Tran’s boyfriend said he was playing more computer games while Mindy Tran has been on her tablet more.

Still there might be some hope: “She definitely wants me to get into sewing and knitting with her,” Tran’s boyfriend, who asked not to be identified for the story, said. “It just seems really difficult and I’m going to college soon.” According to nutritionist Nora Shank, she’s been seeing a lot of home cleaning and gardening in her Sleepy Hollow neighborhood. “On my street, you can see piles of trash which means lots of spring cleaning is going on,” she said. There are also those who don’t suffer the cabin fever as well for jobs that take them out of the house. Real-estate agent Tori McKinney, for example, leaves her house two to three days a week. Her favorite activities during the lockdowns has been watching Facebook live concerts from musicians’ home studios. She also likes sitting out back on her veranda and reading the Sunday paper. One of the more persistent concerns about the stillness of this moment is how it affects kids. “The danger is kids need to be with other kids in person, they need to be socializing with other people and their passions. Most of what they enjoy involves other people. Technology can’t replace that,” said psychologist Doug Fagan, who serves as the director of the Reservoir Psychology Group at The Lab School of Washington. He was shopping for books at Barnes and Noble with his 14-year-old son Jeremy. Jeremy’s time away from the grid has been spent pursuing music. In addition to being in the school marching band, he plays saxophone and keyboards in his own band, Fifth Avenue Blue. “They’re playing at home and electronically sharing their stuff on SoundCloud. They’d prefer to be in the same room, but this is better than

not doing nothing,” he said. Part of the upside for certain commercial outlets is that they can provide a new experience that people crave. 13-year-old Nora Kenzi is at Barnes & Noble because she said “the physical copy is much more satisfying.” Similarly, marketing professional Allie de la Croix has taken to buying plants at the Home Depot because, “buying plants is something to do physically outside.” There have also been changes in what’s being bought. At Victory Comics in Falls Church City, general manager Gareth Hoskins said that they’ve been selling more of the long term games that might take an hour to play as opposed to 15 or 30 minutes. He also has seen increased sales in miniature war games, which require building and painting. “There’s a bigger focus on family groups, so kids are starting to spend more time with their family,” said Doodlehopper 4 Kids manager Caroline Roane. “We try to offer more games and stuff with couples or groups, and hopefully their friends when things are going to start getting back to as normal as we can.” The Falls Church toy shop said it’s seen a lot of support since opening its doors at the end of May, though Roane admits it was a little slow at first because people were cautious about re-entering stores during the Covid-19 era. Part of the appeal has been to enhance the unique effect of the in-store experience. “As a small business, we try to make it kind of an experience as opposed to a big box store. You can see, and touch, and interact with a staff that’s very knowledgeable,” said Roane.

appreciated the kindly attention paid to each of us. This is a very unfortunate loss, compounded by being managed in an uncomfortable manner. We fervently hope Dr. Ellis finds a location to continue practicing in Falls Church. Cecilia Op de Beke Via the Internet

Parents Should Be Frustrated With GMU’s ‘Student Fee’ Editor, I’m curious how many area parents are frustrated with George Mason University’s stance on fees this fall. Despite having switched predominantly to on-line instruction, GMU insists on levying a per-credit “mandatory student fee” (which, if a student bears a full-time load, can be four figures). I challenged the rationale for that fee, arguing that if stu-

dents’ on-campus footprint is limited, why are people paying this fee? The Provost’s canned response was that it supports campus infrastructure (which many students are not using) and, in a gesture of virtue signaling, noted that GMU graciously did not raise the fee this year (even though the same fee for reduced services is an increase). If mandatory student fees are truly part of instructional and infrastructure costs, they should be folded into the per credit tuition rate and thus offer an honest picture of true attendance costs. Smuggling another fee, whose purpose seems fungible, simply raises the growing question — exacerbated by Covid — of what parents and students are really paying for in higher education costs that have consistently outpaced inflation and COLAs for decades. It used to be the “campus experience” (which is now gone). So what is it now — other than a money grab? John M. Grondelski Falls Church

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PAGE 20 | SEPTEMBER 3 - 9, 2020

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