Falls Church News-Press 9-7-2023

September 7 - 13, 2023

Labor Day Kicks Off Fall Election Campaigns

In F.C., 3 Council, 3 School Board

by Nicholas F. Benton Falls Church News-Press

Labor Day this week marked the unofficial kick-off for this fall’s election, and early voting begins on Sept. 22. While this is considered an “off off” election year (with no presidential or statewide races on the ballot), it is a big one for the City of Falls Church with three of the seven seats on the City Council and also on the School Board being contested.

The fall campaigns got off with a bang with four events in Falls Church last weekend. The first was a Sunday morning event marking the official announcement of F.C. Vice Mayor Letty Hardi’s campaign for a third term, attended by a host of her political allies before it got too hot around the covered pavilion at Madison Park.

LABOR DAY POLITICS IN F.C.

Pages 9-21

Police Chief Mary Gavin Announces Retirement

City of Falls Church Police Chief Mary Gavin announced she will retire on January 6, 2024, after 16 years of service to the City of Falls Church.

“This is a bittersweet announcement for me to make,” said Chief Gavin. “I have been abundantly blessed to serve as a police officer for the City of Falls Church, alongside a dedicated team of public servants. It’s been an incredible chapter in my life. But, I will leave with a sense of pride knowing the City of Falls Church Police Department will continue to hold the highest measure of respect and restraint for the authority bestowed upon them by the community we swear to

serve and protect.”

Chief Gavin was sworn in as a Major in December 2007, serving as the Deputy Chief of Police before her appointment as Chief of Police in 2012. During her tenure, the City of Falls Church Police Department was an early adopter and advocate of the community policing principles defined by President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing initiative in 2015. Under her leadership, the department was the first local public safety agency to partner with the Center for Youth and Family Advocacy (CYFA) to further restorative justice practices and resources within the department and community.

Finally, with the input and collaboration of an engaged community, her Public Safety team has enthusiastically responded to calls for enhanced transparency about the City of Falls Church’s use of force tactics and policies as defined by the City’s Use of Force Review Committee, and have accomplished the majority of recommendations outlined in their report – including Body Worn Camera adoption, General Order manual revisions, and ensuring all officers are trained in Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) principles and practices.

“The City of Falls Church has been so fortunate to have Mary Gavin as its Chief of Police

over the past 11 years,” said City Manager Wyatt Shields. “Mary believes deeply in the public service mission and by steadfastly acting on these values, she earned the support of our police officers and the trust of the community. Being Chief of Police is a very difficult job, and particularly so right now. She is, in my view, the best in the country. When she retires in January, she will be leaving a strong department with excellent men and women who will carry on the values she helped instill here. That is a legacy that will serve the public well.”

In addition to her duties as

A HEAT WAVE did not deter turnouts at four major political events in the City of Falls Church this weekend, starting with a campaign for reelection announcement by Falls Church vice mayor Letty Hardi Sunday morning in Madison Park, shown here. (Photo: Brian Reach)

September is Hunger Action Month

Join AARP Virginia in supporting local food banks this September to help feed hungry families during Hunger Action Month. Take action and do your part to help fight food insecurity across the Commonwealth by volunteering, giving, or donating food.

Dial 2-1-1 or visit 211Virginia.org to find a food bank near you.

facebook.com/aarpvirginia @aarpva | aarp.org/va

Final Vote on T-Zone Changes Expected This Monday

by Nicholas F. Benton Falls Church News-Press

The Falls Church City Council is slated to hold its first public business meeting of the fall next Monday night, Sept. 11, and its promises to be a barn burner, so to speak. At the top of the agenda is a second and final reading of an ordinance to revise the transitional zones ordinance that has been the source of considerable controversy over almost two years of consideration.

The revisions are designed to allow for the addition of some modest new housing in the socalled “T-zones” to address the City’s need for a diversity of housing options. A preliminary OK for the changes were approved by the Council by a 5-2 vote last month (Connolly, Liam, Hardi, Duncan and Shantz-Hiscott voting in favor) and the Planning Commission was slated to vote on the matter at its meeting last night (check the FCNP website for results).

Most of the opposition has come over the two years and 26 public meetings on the subject from neighbors to the properties that could be modified by passage of the ordinance to allow for some modest additional housing projects, such as at maximum some “two over two” four-plexes. Development experts predict that if passed the ordinance would result in a small handful of new projects, but that they would offer

the City an option significantly below the price of what single family homes in the City are now bringing (the average now reported to be $982,000).

Still, joining lately in the mobilization to oppose the change are members of the St. James Church, who’ve inundated the Council with emails objecting to it on a variety of grounds that, some Council members said at a work session this Tuesday, failed to grasp some of the key issues and some modifications to the ordinance made in recent months.

Housing allowed for in the t-zones by the ordinance if it passes Monday would be a minimum of 700 square feet and a maximum of 1,800, with a maximum of 51 per acre and 10 percent mandated as “affordable.”

“It is time we stopped calling the developers of housing the bad guys in this,” Council member Marybeth Connelly said at this Tuesday’s work session. “They are not. They are partners with whatever the City decides to do,” she said.

In another major development considered at the work session this week that will be acted upon by the Council Monday is for a preliminary reading for an ordinance that would authorize the use of photo monitoring devises to enforce speed limits in active school zones in the City, with a $100 fine amount for violations.

In 2020, the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation

allowing localities to use speed cameras in school and work zones, being areas within 600 feet of school access points.

Following a speed study, according to Captain Steve Rau of the F.C. Police Department, the department plans to deploy two fixed point speed cameras to cover the school zone located on the 800 block between Oak and Spring Streets of West Broad Street, near the St. James School.

Rau reported that “similar to the roll out of the City’s existing photo-monitoring systems (the school bus “Stop Arm” and traffic signal “Red Light” cameras), the police department will work with the City’s Office of Communications on a public information campaign prior to enforcing the speed camera violations. The maximum fine would apply for vehicles going 11 miles per hour over the limit and citations would be for violations that occur during student arrival and dismissal hours on a school day.

In addition to costs estimated at $8,000 per month, the program also includes budgeting for an additional .75 full-time equivalent sworn officer.

City Manager Wyatt Shields also told the Council this week that new 20 mile per hour speed limits in residential areas of the City will begin to be enforced this fall. Also, three “hawk” signals will arrive later this month that enable pedestrians to activate red lights at intersections along Broad Street.

Four Political Events Highlight Labor Day in City of Falls Church

Continued from Page

Later that Sunday, a kickoff event for the revitalization of the LGBTQ+ Falls Church organization was held in the outdoor area out back of the Clare and Don’s Beach Shack that, like Hardi’s event earlier, drew a much larger crowd than was expected, and to which Hardi, herself, came and spent considerable time.

On Monday, Labor Day, two traditional events were reprised, the

first being a come-one, come-all ice cream social hosted by the Falls Church City Democratic Committee where Rep. Don Beyer headed the list of celebrities, including all four candidates for the three seats on the Falls Church City Council, and then there was a heavily-attended campaign rally for Democratic the Falls Church City Council, and then there was a heavily-attended campaign rally for Democratic state delegate Marcus Simon on the recently acquired abundant backyard grounds of the chair of the City’s Democratic Committee, Cindy Cunningham, on S. Spring Street.

That event like the others was about the local race (Simon is considered a shoe-in for re-election) but the focus was on the bigger issue for Democrats of regaining control of the House of Delegates in Richmond overall (they are currently in a slight minority) and preventing an electoral sweep for the GOP, should that party turn its tiny majority into control of the Senate, giving it the majority in the House of Delegates the

Senate and the statehouse, where Gov. Glenn Youngkin resides as a potential Republican presidential candidate.

Late yesterday, the governor hailed the passage of a state budget in a special session.

In her reelection kickoff Sunday morning, Hardi was introduced by former Council Member Ross Litkenhous, who referred to her as “a walking, breathing Falls Church Wikipedia” who “studies, listens, studies some more, debates, deliberates and then decides.” Hers is a “commendable, measured approach to make sure no stone is left unturned during any debate.”

Hardi’s own remarks were also upbeat. She said the decision to seek a third term was not an easy one. “This election will be a decision if we’ll take on the collective responsibility to live our values and truly leave the city better for future generations.”

In terms of the meaning of “better,” she said, she offered “two metrics:” eight years ago there was one independent coffee shop, how there are five, and, eight

years ago, there was one mural in town, and now there are 10 with more on the way.

“Small business coffee shops and murals are a proxy for the public and private investment we’ve cultivated in the city in the past eight years,” she said. “We’ve worked hard to expand and build new schools, parks, sidewalks, a library, a city hall, stormwater, sewer bridges, and other infrastructure that has raised the quality of life for everyone here, and we’ve made the most significant strides in affordable housing ever, adding 50 percent more affordable units than we currently have, and with no expiration dates…Instead of raising taxes, we’ve actually lowered our taxes ahead of schedule and have more than healthy reserves.”

Present at Hardi’s event were two fellow members of the Falls Church Forward group who are running with her for the Council, first time candidates Justine Underhill and Tim Stevens, current chair of the Planning Commission.

The fourth candidate on the

ballot for City Council this November, Erin Flynn, was present at the F.C. Dems’ ice cream social Monday at Cherry Hill Park.

There, Rep. Beyer acknowledged the Labor Day holiday by saying it is an ideal that people should be fulfilled by their work. He hailed President Biden as “the best labor president in U.S. history” with his gains for working families in terms of jobs, reducing inflation and apparently avoiding a recession, stimulating a “nascent trend for a revived labor movement.”

Applauding Beyer at the event were State Sen. Dick Saslaw, who will represent the City through December pending his retirement, and Senatorelect Saddam Salim, who will replace him in January after an upset victory in the primary in June.

The Democratic nominee for Commonwealth Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, who also won a hard fought primary in June in seeking a second term, was also present.

City of F.C. to Look For New Chief of Police This Fall

Continued from Page 1

Chief of Police, Chief Gavin has played an active leadership role in several regional, national, and international law enforcement groups and associations, including: seven years as a member of Board of Directors for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP); nine years as Chairperson for both the Executive Board for the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy (NVCJTA) and Northern Virginia Regional Chief’s and Sheriff’s Association; and, nine years on the Board of the Arlington/Falls Church Alcohol Safety Action Program (ASAP) and active member of the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) for Northern Virginia.

Prior to joining the City of Falls Church Police Department in 2007, Chief Gavin served the Arlington County Police Department for 22 years where she worked as a patrol officer, School Resource Officer, and Commander of Patrol Districts and the Vice/Narcotics Division. She earned her Master’s in Homeland Security from Eastern Kentucky University and has participated in several advanced law enforcement educational programs, including the Professional Executive Leadership

School with the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police and Washington Council of Governments’ (COG) Institute for Regional Excellence. Chief Gavin also serves as an Adjunct Professor at American University, where she teaches a graduate level seminar on law enforcement.

The City of Falls Church will launch a recruitment process for a new Chief of Police this autumn.

Chief Mary Gavin.

Progressives Founded Falls Church City

A couple weeks ago, in our August 24-30, 2023 edition, the editorial in this space, entitled “Happy 75th Birthday, City of Falls Church” concluded with a paragraph that, as we have subsequently learned, pleasantly surprised a lot of people. It read as follows:

“It turns out that the City’s founding owed primarily to the efforts of progressives from the FDR New Deal era to carve out the basis for an independent city and school system to protect it from segregationist influences around it, and not the other way around. If there was a time when Falls Church, then as a town, was guilty of lopping off Black neighborhoods, which it was, that was in the 1870s and not 1948.”

This reality, as presented by Council member Marybeth Connelly in her presentation at the City Schools’ convocation last month (that she promises to repeat often in the coming 75th anniversary year) is proving important to stress, as there has been a lot of confusion and misinformation floating around that wrongly attributes the founding of Falls Church as an “independent city” in 1948 to efforts at advancing segregation. Not true. Not true at all.

In fact, Falls Church’s elevation to “independent city” status 75 years ago, in the years after the death of FDR and the end of World War II, was executed by persons, many of whom served in the 12 years of the FDR administration and among its congressional allies, deeply dedicated to racial justice and social and economic equality.

These are the people we look forward to learning about more during the coming year-long celebration of Falls Church’s 75 years through a series of profiles and articles we hope will be published in the News-Press

Among them are seminal figures like one of the City’s earliest mayors, Herman L. Fink, Hal Silverstein, Roger Wollenberg and Lou Olom, who were also instrumental in the creation and development of the Temple Beth Shalom, located just outside the City limits.

The founders of the new independent city exhibited a bit of a siege and stealth mentality. They were surrounded by often radically prosegregationist elements, as exemplified by their naming of street signs and schools in the 1950s after Confederate generals and leaders, like Lee, Jeb Stuart and Jefferson Davis, that it has taken more than 100 years since the Civil War was decided, to subsequently change. In fact, it was as late as the 1950s that a lot of the most angry attempts at honoring the legacy of Confederates took place in this area, in the years following the founding of the City of Falls Church. Falls Church mostly avoided any such naming here. By contrast, one of the City’s main arteries was named Lincoln Avenue.

In the early years as an independent city, Falls Church student athletes, their parents and fans were frequently subjected to acts of vandalism and violence when they showed up for games in other locales.

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Recent Editorial on Tackle Football

Editor,

Regarding your recent editorial on the effects of tackle football on young brains, thank you for this labor for truth and reformation of the current system. Our children and youth deserve it. It’s

complex and parents, coaches, and players alike have many feelings but to have a third party like your news organization and you call for this is so refreshing. It’s an issue of community care and accountability. Rev. Amanda Hendler-Voss

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It Now Looks Like Trump Will Do Hard Prison Time

operative.

The robust and apropos sentence of 22 years behind bars imposed this week on Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio has changed the calculus for just punishments on all the insurrectionists who staged the failed coup on January 6, 2021.

It now appears far more likely that former President Trump will actually do prison time.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly’s sentence, the last and longest in a series of sentences for convicted insurrection instigators, begs the question of the penalty that will be imposed on Trump as the principal mastermind behind the coup.

As he is carted off to the pokey, now far more likely than before, it will become clearer and clearer the extent of the danger Trump has posed to our nation.

Evidence that was obfuscated by Trump allies from the beginning of his rise to power will now return to be the proper focus of a massive national scandal, the likes of which we’ve never seen before.

The only comparable moment in our nation’s history was the secession of the southern states following the election of President Lincoln in 1860 and the resulting declaration of a civil war over the issue of slavery. What a terrible tragedy that war was, but tragically necessary for the perpetuation of democracy. It was no cause for glorification in any way, although many latter day fans in this time see its glorification as a way to preserve or justify a horribly racist past.

A direct line between the pro-southern racists of the Civil War and the present backing of Trump can be easily drawn. The added features of note are the global rise of democracies on the one side, and political tyrannies on the other that lay behind two world wars in the last century and the emergence of superpowers in our lifetimes that challenge the very existence of life on this planet to a degree never before

Humanity is now driving the destiny of this planet to an extent like never before. The consequences of bad decisions can too easily now plunge the planet as a whole into a spiral killing off all life here as we now know it. The increasing toxicity of the oceans is at the forefront of this threat. If the planet’s major coral reefs are poisoned, a level of threat to life overall will be very difficult to stem.

Humanity is playing a very dangerous game of brinksmanship with its very survival right now. Trump’s treachery reaches far deeper into this situation than we have realized, and it is sad to note that Russia, China, North Korea and other tyrannies on the globe are contributing essential elements to this demise.

If we as a human species on this planet are to survive at all, it will be by only the most arduous and self-aware effort.

Our best leaders must embrace this reality. In defending democracy, as we must, it is not as a thing in itself. It is a vital element of a global survival effort, as it takes a vibrant democracy, the actualization and motivation of billions, to redress the crises that have emerged. No one man or small group can achieve it at all, because it will require the willful commitment of the majority of humanity to prevail.

As far as Trump and his insurrection are concerned, it is the treachery of his alliance with Putin that is the most dangerous element. All the work that went into the Mueller Report that was most egregiously blacked out by Attorney General Barr at the time pointed to an unprecedented level of Moscow’s involvement in bringing Trump into office and using him as a conscious tool in advancing Moscow’s interests.

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was precipitated by his inability to pull off a second term for Trump. Had Trump been given a second term, it would not only have been the death knell for democracy in the U.S., it would have resulted in a Russian military offensive across all of Western Europe that would have made Hitler’s efforts seem pale by comparison.

We must not hold back from imposing the most severe punishment on Trump and all his cronies.

Our Man in Arlington

By Charlie Clark

Are too many white-tailed deer munching through our county’s gardens?

Last week I visited the Animal Welfare League of Arlington to graze around the question. It’s a goodvibes facility (slogan: “All in for Animals”), teeming with a crew of emblem-shirted professionals and volunteers fielding phone inquiries and visits from civilians concerned with lost or found critters.

In the lobby is a “pet pantry” of free food, toys and low-cost spayneuter vouchers for financially stretched pet owners. There’s an adoption desk for consultations, a “wildlife room” and an education center. I toured the dog and cat kennels, with cages sponsored by local interests such as Northside Veterinary Clinic, Fed Lock, and the Horus Group. Each clean enclosure is labeled with the animal’s putative name, arrival date and any special conditions. It’s not easy to look those lonely creatures in the eye and walk away unaffected.

The issue of deer overpopulation arose in spring 2021 at the county offices on the same Shirlington block as the welfare league. Natural Resources Manager Alonso Abugattas and his team grew concerned with threats to the environment from deer “eating away” vegetation and the habitat of birds and insects, which threatens public health. So they commissioned a survey of deer numbers, augmented in 2022 with a study of deer impact on green spaces conducted by the

White Buffalo firm.

“Consultants estimated Arlington has a herd of whitetail deer numbering 290 and, in some areas, the concentration exceeded ‘healthy’ levels,’” says the Park Operations website.

This July, public input was solicited online and at a forum on steps park managers should take, ranging from hunting to sterilizing deer to fencing off parks. Those favoring culling would choose between professional sharpshooting (the county’s preference), surgical sterilization of female deer, public archery hunting and fenced parks.

The Animal Welfare League disagrees with the county’s science, as expressed in a statement by president Samuel Wolbert and chief animal control officer Jennifer Toussaint. They say deer rank low on concerns raised by Arlingtonians.

Chelsea Jones, their senior communications specialist, told me, “We don’t necessarily agree there actually is a deer problem in Arlington. Culling is a secondary issue.” The White Buffalo survey said there are 13 deer per square mile, but 15 is the point where deer become a problem, she says, acknowledging some “nuances” such as variations by neighborhood density. “Arlington skipped the ‘do we have deer problem?’ step and went straight to ‘how to manage the problem.’ We would prefer no culling,” Jones said, “but there are other ways, such as sterilization and fencing.”

The league understands that

deer eating your gardens can be annoying. But at the risk of being typecast as “animal lovers,” she reminds us that “we are living in the deers’ habitat. We have to find a way to co-exist.”

***

Our public school planners continue struggling to rebalance attendance zones to fill empty places at North Arlington campuses. A proposal to change the boundaries of Dorothy Hamm Middle School would convert many current walkers to Hamm into bus riders enrolled at Williamsburg Middle School.

“This proposal is being rushed through an approval process in the summer/early fall without the benefit of proper input from those who will be most impacted by the change,” reads a parent protest letter. “Hamm’s walker rate would decline to 40 percent under this proposal from its current 55 percent. Public and private-sector health experts have consistently found that walking to school is far more beneficial to students than being bused.”

***

An important follow-up on Marymount University’s controversial elimination last February of several liberal arts majors. The idea was to make space for popular fields such as physical therapy, health services, computer science and cybersecurity.

Last week the north Arlington Catholic institution announced it had set record numbers for inquiries received (12,752), campus visits from prospective students (1,146) and submitted applications (3,610). The expected result is the highest number of first-year students in seven years, with a 20 percent rise over last year, and a 5 percent boost in grad students.

Nicholas F. Benton

Falling Into Local Arts: Shows, Festivals, Galleries and Events This Season

Looking for fun things to do this fall season? The City of Falls Church and neighboring areas offer an abundance of fun shows, festivals, art galleries and events for people of all ages!

Shows/Concerts

• “Sweat” at Keegan Theatre: Filled with humor and heart, “Sweat” tells the story of a group of friends who have spent their lives sharing drinks, secrets and laughs while working together on the factory floor. But when layoffs and picket lines begin to chip away their trust, they find themselves pitted against each other. Performed until September 16. More information at keegantheatre.com/

portfolio/sweat/.

• “Monarch: A Mexican American Musical” at Creative Cauldron: With a book and lyrics written by local writers, “Monarch” follows the journey of dreamers and undocumented immigrants who live and work in this country, but still must remain in the shadows. Running from October 5 – 29. More information at creativecauldron.org/monarch. html.

• “The Adventures of Pinocchio” at Creative Cauldron: This inventive adaptation of the classic tale begins with Pinocchio as a real boy having a nightmare. Running from November 3 – 19. More information at creativecauldron.org/pinnochio.html.

• “Deathtrap” by the Providence Players of Fairfax: In this mystery thriller, Sidney Bruhl, a successful writer of Broadway hits, is struggling with a “dry” spell which has resulted in a series of box office flops. A possible break in his fortunes occurs when he receives a script from a student. Running from October 13 — 28. More information at providenceplayers.org/about-us/production-history/2023-2024-season/.

• “The Tell-Tale Heart” at Synetic Theater: Step into the eerie world of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” where madness takes hold and the boundaries of sanity blur. Running from September 29 — November 5. More infor-

mation at synetictheater.org/ events/the-tell-tale-heart/.

• “Young Frankenstein” at the Little Theatre of Alexandria: A monster of a hit musical based on Mel Brooks’ comedic film, this wicked re-imagining of the legend of Frankenstein is the story of a grandson traveling to Transylvania to complete his grandfather’s experiment. Running from October 21 — November 11. More information at thelittletheatre. com/performances/.

• “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” at the Kennedy Center: Welcome to “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” and enter a world of splendor and romance, of eye-popping excess, of glitz, grandeur, and glory. Running until

September 24. More information at kennedy-center.org/ whats-on/explore-by-genre/ theater/2022-2023/moulinrouge/.

• “The Pirates of Penzance” at the Alden Theatre: Set sail with this classic comedy that boasts one of the most famous patter songs in musical theater history. A band of tenderhearted pirates celebrates the coming of age of Frederic, who was mistakenly apprenticed to the pirates until his 21st birthday. Performing on October 13. More information at mcleancenter.org/events/newyork-gilbert-and-sullivanplayers-the-pirates-of-penzan ce/?occurrence=2023-10-13.

Continued on Page 12

FALL ARTS FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

‘STORIES FROM HOME’ at the Hispanic Gala Theatre. (Photo: Dubraska Vale )

‘SELFIES’ by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington. (Courtesty Photo)

“J.A.M. THE 13TH!” by J.A.M. the Revue at The Fredgren Studio Theatre at Ballet Nova. (Photo: Cornerstone Captures)

ART AND FRAME FALLS CHURCH Art Gallery Opening. (Photo: Stuart Hindle)

“SWEAT” at Keegan Theatre. (Photo: Cameron Whitman)

POTUS

OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE

BY SELINA FILLINGER

OCTOBER 13 — NOVEMBER 12

SWEPT AWAY

NOVEMBER 25 — DECEMBER 30

DIRECTED BY MARGOT BORDELON

BOOK BY JOHN LOGAN MUSIC AND LYRICS BY THE AVETT BROTHERS DIRECTED BY MICHAEL MAYER

CHOREOGRAPHED BY DAVID NEUMANN BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT WITH MATTHEW MASTEN, SEAN HUDOCK, AND MADISON WELLS LIVE

Photo of Adrian Blake Enscoe, John Gallagher, Jr., Stark Sands, and Wayne Duvall for Swept Away by Crackerfarm.

Fall is in the Air in the City! Check Out Fun, Upcoming Events!

• “Mrs Doubtfire” at The National Theatre: Everyone’s favorite Scottish nanny is headed to Washington, D.C. in an internationally acclaimed new hit musical critics call “wonderful, heart-warming, and laugh-out-loud funny.”

Running from October 10 — 15. More information at broadwayatthenational.com/ show/mrs-doubtfire/.

• “The Wiz” at The National Theatre: This groundbreaking twist on “The Wizard

of Oz” performs a dynamite infusion of ballet, jazz, and modern pop, bringing a whole new groove to easing down the road. Running from October 24 — 29. More information at broadwayatthenational.com/ show/the-wiz/.

• “King of the Yees” at Signature Theatre: A vibrant, semi-autobiographical comedy about community, culture and the connection between fathers and daughters. Running until October 22. More information at sigtheatre.org/ events/202324/king-of-the-

yees/.

• “Ragtime” at Signature Theatre: The stories of three American families intertwine against the backdrop of a towering slate of historical figures. Running from October 24 — January 7. More information at sigtheatre.org/ events/202324/ragtime/.

• “Romeo and Juliet” at NOVA Nightsky Theater: Shakespeare’s classic tragedy of “two star-crossed lovers,” entrenched in a deadly family feud. Running from September 14 — 30. More informa -

tion at novanightskytheater. com/2023season.

• “Bano de luna (Bathing in Moonlight)” at Gala Hispanic Theatre: Enter a world where love’s forbidden allure leads to a relationship between Father Monroe, a devout Catholic priest, and a beguiling Havana pianist from his parish. Running until October 1. More information at galatheatre.org/ post/bathing-in-moonlight.

• “Picasso” at Gala Hispanic Theatre: From the lush stroke of his paintbrush to the beat of his

heart, the artful canvas of Picasso’s life unfolds through memories of cherished family and friends, his passion for bullfights, the circus, and the stage. Running from October 14 — 21. More information at galatheatre.org/post/picasso.

• “Leyendas de mi tierra (Stories from Home)” at Gala Hispanic Theatre: Montoya’s choreography breathes life into untold Latino stories of the American Southwest. Running from October 28 — 29. More information at galatheatre.org/ post/leyendas-de-mi-tierra.

Continued on Page 14

19TH ANNUAL APPLE FESTIVAL at Loudon Heritage Farms. (Photo: Denise Mo) TRUCK & TOSS at Grace Christian Academy. (Photo: Julie Crain)

MOSAIC FALL FESTIVAL at the Mosaic District in Fairfax. (Photo: Edens) “ASO AT 80-OH!” by the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra. (Photo: Melinda Kernc)

FALL GARDEN TOUR at Green Springs in Alexandria. (Photo: Cindy Fortuno) “THE TELL-TALE HEART” at Synetic Theater (Photo: DJ Corey Photography)

John Ballou David Barr

Dave Curtis Julia Bezgacheva

Barbara Greene Meaghan DeCelle

Mara Flynn Stuart Hindle

Zoe Hathaway Jenny Kanzler

Cynthia Miller

Andrea Uravitch

Maureen Minard

Amanda Wood

Saaraliisa Ylitalo

Other Small Businesses and Artists:

BrainStorm Speech Therapy

BiBi Flooring Good Point Embroidery

Kian Furniture Zara González Hoang

Kelsea Hubel Viondette Lopez

Elisa Torres

Molly McCracken

Casey Wait Shaun Van Steyn

Featuring:

Julia Bezgacheva

Dave Curtis

Mara Flynn

Stuart Hindle

Molly McCracken

Andrea Uravitch

Other Small Businesses and Artists:

BiBi Flooring BrainStorm Speech Therapy

David Barr

John Ballou

Kian Furniture Meaghan DeCelle

Barbara Greene Good Point Embroidery

Zoe Hathaway Zara González Hoang

Kelsea Hubel Viondette Lopez

Jenny Kanzler

Cynthia Miller

Casey Wait

Maureen Minard

Elisa Torres

Shaun Van Steyn

Amanda Wood Saaraliisa Ylitalo

FALL ARTS FALLS CHURCH

Fun Autumn Shows, Festivals and Events in the DMV Area

• “J.A.M. the 13th!” by J.A.M the Revue: On October 13 — 15, J.A.M. the Revue will present its brand new Halloweenthemed Revue, “J.A.M. the 13th!,” at The Fredgren Studio Theatre at Ballet Nova. “J.A.M” is a crowdthrilling musical spectacular featuring songs from some of music’s greatest legends while paying trib ute to Halloween films and icons.

andria Symphony Orchestra: ASO’s season opens on September 30 — October 1 with “ASO at 80oh!” with the commissioned piece

“Toast” that is inspired by the 80th anniversary of the orchestra.

• “Selfies” by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington: GMCW’s popular cabaret returns with an all-new edition. Soloists from GMCW will tell hilarious and heartwarming stories about photos of themselves projected onstage

and political posturing, in an endearing homage to the women who keep things running behind the scenes. Showing from October 13 — November 12. More information at arenastage.org/ tickets/2023-24-season/potus/.

• Mason Symphony Orchestra Concert by George Mason Performing Arts: The Mason Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Soo Han, is composed of outstanding string, wind, and percussion players from throughout the School of Music. Held on Oc-

Events/Festivals

• Falls Church Festival: The 47th annual Falls Church Festival returns to The Little City. This family-fun event features The Taste of Falls Church, a beer garden, live music, children’s entertainment, and booths from local crafters, businesses, and civic organizations. Held on September 23.

• Farm Day: The annual Farm Day event returns this year to Cherry Hill Park. Enjoy a day of old fashioned fun and

rides, pumpkin painting, scarecrow making (bring your own long pants and a sleeved shirt), live music, tours of the Cherry Hill Farmhouse and barn, blacksmith demonstrations, and more. Held on October 8.

• Fairfax Fiesta: Fairfax County’s inaugural Hispanic Heritage Celebration, the Fairfax Fiesta, is taking place on September 23. Immerse in an unforgettable celebration that highlights Hispanic culture and embraces the diversity of the community.

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ALEXANDRIA ART FESTIVAL in Alexandria (Photo: Howard Alan Events)

“BETWEEN THE LINES” at ARTfactory in Manassas (Photo: Rene Dickerson)

SAINT ANN FALL FESTIVAL in Arlington

(Photo: Oriana MacGregor)

FALL HERITAGE FESTIVAL in Arlington (Photo: Rachael Tolman)

Pancakes and Booze: Not Your Typical Local Art Show

by

If you’re looking for a deliciously irreverent way to celebrate disruptive newcomers to the art scene, look no further than The Pancakes & Booze Art Show, which comes to D.C. on November 16. The event, held at Hook Hall (3400 Georgia Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.), runs from 7:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. and features over 100 all-media exhibits from a diverse group of fresh and innovative artists.

“If a fine art exhibit is like an upscale nightclub, we’re the dive bar,” says Pancakes & Booze founder and creator Tom Kirlin, who says the show is a unique offering you can’t find anywhere else.

“It’s the least pretentious thing you can go to,” Kirlin continued.

Pancakes & Booze exploded onto the Los Angeles art scene in May 2009, quickly expanding into other cities, including D.C. for over a decade of now-quarterly return visits to Our Nation’s Capital, which Kirlin says is one of their biggest markets.

Within five years. a “crushed and

exhausted” Kirlin hired his first fulltime staff — and then his second — and then his third. Kirlin’s team of just under ten people, including six ground-level team members, now run 60 of the wildly popular events annually across 40+ cities in North America and Europe.

In total, Kirlin and his team have held over 500 iterations (and counting) of the pop-up over its nearly 14 years in existence.

The Pancakes & Booze website pulls no punches when describing its revolutionary nature. “This ain’t no snoozefest, highfalutin art show for the elite.” the site proclaims, calling for interested artists to “unleash their raw talent in an anything goes, free-for-all environment.” Artists and vendors participating in the event are limited only by space restrictions and legal requirements.

Pancakes & Booze features table vendors and artists showcasing all types of canvas paintings, prints, sculptures, crafts, jewelry, clothing, baked goods, and beyond. Artists are also able to perform live — including full-body painting, canvas painting, caricatures, and more.

“We encourage it.” Kirlin says

&

Art Show serves delicious cocktails and sweet, syrupy pancakes, while also featuring various artists and their work.

of the unique nature of each exhibit. “That’s the thing that’s unique about this event. If you are a wellestablished artist, this is not the show for you.

A platform for young and upand-coming artists to exhibit and be part of a community of artists — that’s the mission.”

The creative energy at Pan-

cakes & Booze may give you as much of a buzz as the sugar and drinks. “You get all walks, all skill levels, hard to find [art]... this great amount of diversity and different styles in one room.” says Kirlin. “It creates an awesome vibe.” The show draws a young, hip, diverse crowd of art-loving individuals wherever it goes, and

D.C. is no exception. Tickets to the 21+ event start at $10 and include free unlimited pancakes (with all the fixin’s) and access to the gallery, which features a live D.J. and cash bar until midnight. Artist/exhibitor registration is now open, as are admission ticket sales — both available at bit.ly/FCNP0923pb.

Brian Reach Falls Church News-Press

PANCAKES

BOOZE

(Courtesy Photo of the Pancakes & Booze Art Show)

FALL ARTS

Fall is Here, With Some Cheer!

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• Taste of Old Town North: Head to Montgomery Park for a celebration of greater Old Town North featuring local businesses and live music. Held on September 23.

• Fall Garden Tour : Enjoy a guided tour of Green Spring’s beautiful demonstration gardens with an Extension Master Gardener docent. Held on September 16.

• Farmers Market Fall Festival : Celebrate the fall harvest at the Fairfax County Park Authority Markets with fun and free activities such as pumpkin painting, live music and more. Held on October 11 — 15.

• Mosaic Fall Festival : Join Mosaic for a weekend of fun-filled activities for the whole family. Mosaic District will transform into a vibrant outdoor festival with over 90 handmade and vintage vendors, special performances, and an array of activities for the entire family. Held on September 23 — 24.

• Saint Ann Fall Festival: The public is invited to the Saint Ann Fall Festival on September 30. This free admission

multicultural family festival is open to the community and will feature rides, food, music, a beer garden, silent auction, raffles and much more.

• 19th Annual Apple Festival : Enjoy cider pressing, apple games, food trucks and cider, wine and a beer garden at Apple Festival at Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum on September 30.

• 17th Annual MPAartfest : McLean Central Park will come to life once again on October 1 when MPAartfest returns with a full day of art, music, food, and fun. MPAartfest transforms McLean Central Park into a lively landscape of mini art galleries showcasing and offering for sale the work of acclaimed artists from the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond.

• Rosslyn Jazz Fest: On Saturday, September 9, the Rosslyn BID and Arlington Arts are bringing an exciting lineup to the community’s most popular free outdoor music festival: Galactic, featuring Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph, with additional performances from Pedrito Martínez Group, Oh He Dead, and DuPont Brass.

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17TH ANNUAL MPAARTFEST in McLean (Photo: Bethany Nguyen)

ROSSLYN JAZZ FEST in Arlington (Photo: Josh Brick Photography)

Fall In Love With These Fun, Local Events

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• Saint Katherine’s Greek Fall Festival: Authentic Greek dancing, pastries, homemade Greek food and live Greek music will be held on October 6 — 8.

• Lagerfest: Come join Solace Outpost in Falls Church for a fun filled day of lagers, plus a couple of well crafted ciders. Solace Outpost in Falls Church for a fun filled day of lagers, plus a couple of well crafted ciders. Held on September 16.

• Oktoberfest 2023: This year, Settle Down Easy Brewing will order more than 200 sovereign steins to reuse over the 3 week celebration. Held from September 16 — 30.

• 2023 Falls Church Arts Plein Air Festival: On September 30, Falls Church Arts Gallery will hold their annual Plein Air Festival and Quick Draw event, which allows artists to paint outside and win prizes.

• Fall Heritage Festival: Join Arlington for a family-friendly day of fun. Step back into history and try a hand at some old-time games and crafts, make a corn husk doll, churn butter, dip candles and work the cider press. Held on October 14.

• 21st Annual Alexandria Art Festival: The annual art festival features a variety of works exemplifying the gifted artists in regions from all over the country. Held on September 30 — October 1.

• Truck & Toss: Grace Christian Academy will be hosting their 7th annual “Truck & Toss” — a food truck, corn hole, and craft brew tasting festival on Saturday, September 9th.

• The Pancakes and Booze Art Show: Join the biggest pop-up art extravaganza to shake North America in the past decade. The Pancakes and Booze Art Show in Washington D.C. on November 16 is serving up piping hot, free pancakes and unleashing the freshest talent this nation has to offer.

• Pimmit Hills Day: Come celebrate this community at their annual Pimmit Hills Day for all residents, alumni of the Hills, friends, neighbors, as well as local businesses and organizations! Pimmit Hills Day will take place on Saturday, September 9 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Olney Park. Last year had 30 vendors and sponsors, and an estimated 300-400 attendees.

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FALL FARMERS MARKET FESTIVAL in Fairfax (Photo: Cindy Fortuno)

Bluegrass Fans Can Thank Musician-Fundraiser Barrett

by Charlie Clark

The now-worldwide reach of Washington-area bluegrass music, dear listeners, was made possible by one generous radio station, new digital technology and, in no small part, longtime Falls Church musician Randy Barrett.

The fiddler and banjo player (day job before retirement: journalist), who has released three CDs of original compositions, is today president of the D.C.-based foundation that keeps Bluegrass Country Radio streaming to an astonishing array of fans.

Since its launch in 2017 “on a wing and prayer,” Barrett says, the station that was spun off from WAMUFM has charmed listeners nationwide and in Latin America, Europe and Japan. Its 24/7 offerings expanded from classic bluegrass to current-day artists to “Americana,” or “strong old-time content” with American roots music that, uplifting to Barrett, appears fresh to young people.

The intro was cued up in 2016, when nonprofit public station WAMU, based at American University and a headquarters for bluegrass since 1967, began its shift to the talk radio that in today’s market delivers greater revenue. “They were looking for a new home for bluegrass, an

organization to hand over their intellectual property,” Barrett recalls. “To their credit, they didn’t want to just shut it down.”

That property consisted of 70,000 digitized songs (now up to 100,000), deep archives and unique historical recordings of interviews with luminaries from that soft, percussion-less, harmony-showcasing genre that goes back to the 1930s with such founding acts as Kentucky’s Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys.

Nine local music-lovers, who now make up the foundation board, began raising the donations needed to “upgrade the technology and hire a program director” for the new niche station, now with a “tiny” $150,000 annual budget. “It was clear it needed to be primarily volunteer-run, and we weren’t sure it would work,” Barrett admits. “To their credit, enough deejays stepped up,” and the operation of hosts and engineers is now 90 percent volunteer. The sole paid employee is program director and afternoon on-air host Chris Teskey, of Frederick, Md. The rest employ modern software bandwidth to work remotely, save for a small office in the WAMU building.

“The timing was in our favor,” Barrett adds. Online “streaming was

just beginning to get understood by the world, and if we had tried it a decade earlier, it wouldn’t have worked.”

Bluegrass Country registered its 88.5 HD2 frequency on the highdefinition band. “HD was world’s worst-marketed technology,” Barrett says, agreeing that, though it is now available on most recent cars, “it’s not easy to set. But once you’ve got it, it’s excellent quality.” About a third of Bluegrass Country listeners are on HD, the rest on the app or the website streaming. “Luckily we caught a wave.”

Today’s schedule slots feature WAMU veteran Dick Spottswood (“he’s forgotten more about bluegrass than you or I ever knew,” Barrett says), along with rebroadcasts of the old shows by Eddie Stubbs, Gary Henderson and Lee Michael Demsey. Modern theme shows include its popular Stained Glass Bluegrass, Brad Kolodner’s Old Time Jam and The Celtic Cut with Winifred Horan. Add in syndicated offerings such as Banks of the Ohio, Riders in the Sky, American Routes, Bluegrass on the Bay, Mike Kear’s Music from Foggy Hollow (from Australia), the Thistle and Shamrock, and The Trail Ride. The Bluegrasscountry.org web-

site provides an updated schedule of Bluegrass festivals in the U.S. and Canada, plus an overseas addendum.

A friendly competitor is Bluegrass Junction on Sirius XM Radio, which has advantages in satellite reach, Barrett acknowledges. But that station relies sometimes on computerized programming. “We have more depth and a bench of human deejays we have a strong belief in, though we see any bluegrass radio as good.”

Barrett, whose 2019 album

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

RENÉE ELIS E GOLDSBER RY I N CONCE R T

Saturday, Sept. 30 at 8:30 p.m. The award-winning star from the original cast of Broadway's Hamilton

MAL PA SO D ANC E COM PAN Y

“Shake, Rattle and Roar” survived the pandemic to win airplay, still performs live with the group Big Howdy, having won three Washington Area Music Awards. After 25 years in Falls Church, he and his wife downsized last month and moved to Alexandria. He and the team are “gratified at the support we get from young listeners, many of whom are still discovering the niche,” he says. He has fun surviving and proving the initial skeptics wrong, helping Bluegrass Country “pass the baton.”

Friday, Oct 20 at 8 p.m. Expressive contemporary dance from Cuba

Saturday, Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8 at 2 p.m. Part of Wagner ’s legendary “Ring” cycle

RANDY BARRETT (Courtesy Photo)

A ‘Luminous’ Art Exhibition at Falls Church Arts

BY MARK DREISONSTOK

Falls Church Arts Gallery is offering the all-media exhibition “Luminous” with varied works revolving around the theme of light and emanations.

The digital drawing on canvas “Looking Glass” by Heather Widener, for instance, depicts a rounded mirror with the reflection of a dining room table with red curtains beside it. A slightly distorted perspective is offered and lovers of Flemish art may be reminded of Jan van Eyck’s famous “Arnolfini Portrait” which features a rounded mirror reflecting the room with windows, curtains, and even a chandelier. The approach of “Looking Glass” is a bit in the “macabre” style of Edward Gorey, whose animation is seen at the opening of PBS’ “Mystery!” In this spirit, and with the light theme in mind, we could not help but recall Edgar Allan Poe’s vision of “a waking dream of life and light” from his poem “A Dream.”

Moving through the gallery to Elin Whitney Smith’s “St. Adea, Patron of Unwed Mothers” (digital drawing and text, metallic paint, gold leaf): At first glance, this artwork appears to be an iconography painting depicting a saint dressed in a royal blue robe, surrounded by illuminated gold leaf background with her hands stretched outwards. This is no ordinary saint,

for “St. Adea, Patron of Unwed Mothers,” is “not canonized by any church. Her life and her sacrifice for Augustine of Hippo should glow through the ages.” The traditional and the modern mix in this work bringing forward the illuminated tradition into the modern era.

More modern art movement references were found in Erick Buendla’s “Underground,” an oil portrait which the artist says was “inspired by Neo-Expressionist works” and has a reference to Vincent Van Gogh’s Expressionist “Starry Night.” Andy Warhol-style pop art was also remembered in Michael Sheedy’s pastelcolored “Dolly Aglow.” Here fans of Dolly Parton will be pleased as the country singer is presented in her iconic blonde hair, wearing a jeans jacket with a pink butterfly wallpaper background. Instead of the lithograph medium of Warhol, however, the artist has employed acrylic.

Matt Makara’s “Beach Blur #3” artwork depicts a seascape divided into three horizontal sections. The bottom suggests sand, and then we view the blurry seawater. The top part of the painting is a peach sunset with its last glimpses of light illuminating earth and water. The work appears to be abstract at first glance, not unlike Mark Rothko’s artworks of beaches, although

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Madeline’s Christmas

DREAMERS AND DOERS

2023-24

Season begins Oct. 5 Falls Church, Virginia

“Dreamers and Doers” captures the spirit of our 202324 season at Pearson Square. Filled with compelling stories of hard working immigrants in “Monarch: A Mexican American Musical” to a wooden puppet dreaming of becoming a real boy in “The Adventures of Pinocchio” and our favorite little precious parisian returns in “Madeline’s Christmas” making sure that this season will be a special one.

GUGGLE FUDDLE BOIL AND BOTTLE BY Melanie Kehoss (C������� F���� C����� ����)

Support Local Artists, Musicians and More This Autumn

• Celebrate Virginia: Tysons Corner Center invites the public to a special Celebrate Virginia day on September 16 on The Plaza. Have some fun outdoors celebrating the talent of Virginia while enjoying live music and entertainment, shop local artisans’ wares, indulge in Virginia Beer Tasting, VIP Wine Tasting, mural painting, giveaways, and more.

• Halloween Window Painting Festival: Falls Church

Arts’ Halloween Window Painting Festival returns for its 15th year. Young painters

in the community will join forces with local businesses to paint Halloween-themed designs on storefront windows. Painting dates are October 7, 8, 9, and 14.

Art Exhibits

• “Altar” Exhibit by the Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences: Smriti Keshari intends to provide a visual and emotional understanding of the age of artificial intelligence (AI) in this installation. According to the artist, the artwork “juxtaposes our collective desire for forward progress against our fear

of AI’s capability to shape a society beyond our control. Exhibit open until November 22.

• Contemporary Art by Native Americans at the National Gallery of Art: This exhibition brings together works by an intergenerational group of nearly 50 living Native artists practicing across the United States. Exhibit is from September 22 — January 15

• Photogravures from the Collection, 1840 — 1940 at the National Gallery of Art: Discover an intriguing chapter in the history of photography. “Etched by Light: Photogravures from

the Collection, 1840–1940” tells the story of the first 100 years of this process. Exhibit is from October 15 — February 4.

• “David Amoroso: Belleza Brutal” at the Hylton Performing Arts Center: Drawing from street mythology, “Bellezza Brutal” features artist David Amoroso’s Pop Art inflected paintings of fiercely masculine models enmeshed in vibrant floral motifs and patterning. Exhibit open until November 5.

• “Between the Lines” Solo Exhibit at ARTfactory: The ARTfactory is excited to share their newest art exhibit “Between

the Lines” by Manassas resident René Dickerson on display September 8 – October 21. The influence of Cubism can be seen in many of Rene’s works, as he draws his inspiration from the Old Masters, modern-day artists, and everyday life.

• “The Eileen Levy & Andrzej Żmudzki Art Gallery” at Art and Frame of Falls Church: Art and Frame of Falls Church is holding an Open House on September 17 at its new, expanded location. Come see the shop in this 2-story building, check out the exhibit in “The Eileen Levy & Andrzej Żmudzki Art Gallery,” and tour studiosat307, the 40+ artist studios and small business offices.

PANCAKES & BOOZE Art Show. (Courtesy Photo of the Pancakes & Booze Art Show)

Falls Church Arts Exhibit Open Until October

this is a photograph. To achieve his effect, the photographer Makara has employed “long exposure and intentional camera movement.”

Cutting shapes into silhouettes in a “light box” of mixed media is the ideal device to convey luminescence in a fitting theme for the Falls Church Art Gallery’s show. Our current month of September is, oddly enough, the month of Bavaria’s world-famous Oktoberfest, and so perhaps it is appropriate that artist Melanie Kehoss presents the role of female brewers in history in her “light box” called “Guggle Fuddle Boil and Bottle.”

Framed by a barley motif while employing ancient Egyptian stylistics, four different horizontal levels reflect top to bottom different stages of the brewing process: the ancient world, the medieval era, the late nineteenth-century, and modern times. We were curious about what look like Halloween witches in the medieval panel, and we were fortunate enough to meet the artist

1st

who explained this unique feature of her Juror’s Choice Award-winning work.

Melanie told us: “Until the Middle Ages, most beer was made by women as part of their domestic duties. These ‘alewives’ wore pointed hats so that they would be recognized by travelers on the streets, and they displayed broomsticks outside their homes as an additional indicator of their trade. They kept cats, in order to keep rodents from eating their grain, and they were often stirring cauldrons of boiling brew. These trappings, of course, are also those of the modern image of a witch.”

Apparently, men who opened taverns as lucrative business ventures needed to eliminate the competition, so—according to Melanie—they “accused alewives of trickery, casting spells, and colluding with the devil. The symbols of alewifery remained connected to witchcraft, while the connection to brewing was largely forgotten.”

Art and Frame of Falls Church

Home

over 21 years!

Falls Church, VA

At CreativeCauldron, kids connect with others, explore theater, and actually have FUN! Whether they are ready for the big stage or just need a dose of creative play, there's something for everyone at the Cauldron. ENROLLING NOW!

Learning Theater Studio (Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8)

Musical Theater Ensemble (Middle/High School)

Adult Acting & Art classes (Online)

“Luminous” is clearly an intriguing show with many stories such as this, and we encourage readers to visit this exhibition which lasts through October 1. creativecauldron.org/workshops

Bird (Artist: AmandaWoodward).

Horse (Artist: JennyKanzler).

Sunset (Artist: DavidCurtis)

Lizard (Artist: AndreaUravitch)

A Penny for Your Thoughts News of Greater Falls Church

By Supervisor Penny Gross

When I was first elected in 1995, digital communication was in its infancy, and most inquiries and requests for county services came by telephone, letter, or fax machine. For those too young to remember, a fax machine, or facsimile transmission, uses telephone lines to transmit documents to a special printer; early faxes were printed on thermal paper; later ones used regular paper. Fax machines still are used in some medical and law enforcement offices, but mostly have been superseded by advanced digital infrastructure. Today, my office rarely receives a postal mail letter, but we get dozens of email inquiries on a typical day, and new digital technology provides voicemails in both audio and digitized formats. The digitized format highlights some challenges of artificial intelligence though. Names often are garbled, and the messages can be difficult to decipher!

The Center for Digital Government (CDG), a national research and advisory institute developed two decades ago, identifies best technology practices among the more than 3000 counties in the United States via an annual Digital Counties Survey. Winners were announced at the annual National Association of Counties (NACo) conference, held this year in Travis County, Texas. The survey measures initiatives that

streamline delivery of government services; provide data analytics that help decision-making based on performance and outcomes; enhance cybersecurity; and apply innovative and emerging technologies to county priorities. In announcing the winning counties, CDG staff noted that “This year’s survey results highlight how counties continue to use digital tools” and especially highlighted “ensuring the ability to be resilient in the face of unexpected crisis.”

Counties are categorized by population for the survey, so that a large county like Fairfax competes against other counties with large populations rather than against all counties. There are five categories – from fewer than 150,000 residents to more than a million residents. Commonwealth of Virginia counties did very well in the survey, garnering 12 of the 50 awards, including three first place citations. Smaller Virginia counties – those under 150,000 population –gobbled up seven awards – York (3rd place), James City (4th), Franklin (5th), Goochland (7th), Orange (8th), Bedford (9th), and Albemarle (10th). Albemarle County also received special recognition for its participation in all 20 years of the survey, and earning top 10 status every year.

Arlington County placed first in the 150,000 to 249,000 population category, and Stafford County placed

9th. The next level up, 250,000 to 499,999 population, saw Prince William County place first, with Chesterfield County in 4th place. There are no Virginia counties with populations of 500,000 to 999,999, but our neighbor across the river, Prince George’s County, Maryland, placed first in that category. In the last category, one million or more population, Fairfax County took first place, a feat that has been accomplished several times in the past decade. The CDG announcement noted that “To support the County’s priorities, DIT developed the countywide ‘Data Analytics Framework’ so that consistent, repeatable data analytics allow data-driven decisions for business processes and service delivery –and help to ensure they are made in a more equitable, agile, and responsive manner.” This is the fourth time Fairfax County has earned the first-place ranking for counties of its size. A first-class digital infrastructure provides access to many local governmental information and services 24-hours-a-day. Now, that’s bragging rights!

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

City of Falls Church

a parking garage. Bike described as a black Berlin Rad commuter bike.

Senator Dick Saslaw’s Richmond

Nearly six months after the end of the most recent legislative session, we have finally come to an agreement on the budget. After many weeks of negotiation and conversation, my fellow budget conferees and I found a compromise that worked for both sides. As a reminder, Virginia operates on a two-year budget cycle. We are currently under the 2022-2024 biennial budget, so there has not been a risk of a state government shutdown. This budget is an opportunity to allocate the surplus funds we have from the last fiscal year. Certainly, neither side wanted to leave any money on the table, but finding a compromise was difficult given the stark differences in how each side wanted to spend the surplus.

Republicans have been pushing for significant cuts to the personal income and corporate tax rate. Governor Youngkin has made it a priority to lower taxes across the board, as he compares our rates to states like Texas, Tennessee, and Florida. Businesses are eager to call Virginia home, they don’t need a tax break at the expense of everyone else.

Report

increase affordability and address support staff and operational needs. Third, we dedicated more attention to mental health services by allocating $187 million toward expanding crisis receiving centers, increasing compensation for our Community Service Boards, and expanding permanent housing for those with severe mental illnesses.

While the Conference Committee has agreed to this proposal, both Chambers have to vote on the budget before it can be sent to the Governor’s desk for final approval.

Governor Youngkin has called the General Assembly back for a Special Session on September 6th to pass the budget agreement. As of press time, the Session will have taken place. I hope the meeting will go smoothly, with an agreement being passed and sent to Governor Youngkin. This Special Session will be bittersweet, as it is likely the final time nearly half of the current Senate will enter the Chamber and carry out the business of the people, myself included.

Attempted Carjacking, S Washington St, Aug 28, a resident exiting his vehicle was confronted by an unknown suspect who demanded his car. Victim pushed the suspect away at which point the suspect exited the garage and headed northbound on S Maple Ave. Suspect described as a male with brown short hair wearing a black flannel shirt. On Aug 30 at 4:43 PM, a male, 25, was arrested for the attempted carjacking.

Larceny from Building, Chanel Ter, August 29, unknown suspect took unattended items of value. Suspect described as a male, 6 ft., red shirt, black shorts, bald.

Trespass, Wilson Blvd, Aug 29, a male was issued a summons for trespass.

Larceny from Building, S Maple Ave, Aug 23 and Aug 30, unknown suspect(s) removed a secured bicycle from

Shoplifting, W Broad St, Aug 27, 2:32 PM and Aug 31, unknown suspect entered an establishment and took items of value without paying. Suspect described as a male wearing a black t-shirt, a black do-rag, black pants, a black hand brace and grey shoes with a white line on the side. Items totaled over $1,400.

Trespass, Wilson Blvd, Sept 1, a male was issued a summons for trespass.

Drunk in Public, S Washington St, Sept 3, a male was arrested for drunk in public.

Attempted Robbery, Wilson Blvd, Sept 3, unknown suspect, described as a male, wearing a red hat, white frame sunglasses, black shirt, black pants, white sneakers was in the process of shoplifting when confronted. He then assaulted the employee. Investigation continues.

Drunk in Public, Hillwood Ave/Meadow Ln, Sept 3, a male, 31, was arrested for being drunk in public.

Senate Democrats have been opposed to these tax cuts given their size and impact on future state revenues. This became even more concerning this summer when we learned that Virginia spends significantly less money on our schools. The non-partisan JLARC report recommended $3.5 billion in new spending to bring Virginia schools back up to speed. There are countless ways this surplus could be used to bolster our social services. I am proud to say we found a budget deal that balances responsible tax relief and prioritizes much-needed funding for K-12, higher education, and behavioral health services. Here are the biggest takeaways from the agreement.

First, we agreed to a one-time tax rebate of $200 for single and $400 for joint filers, similar to the rebates given last year. This way, Virginians get some tax relief, but it won’t impact our revenues for the next budget cycle. Second, we made strong investments in public education. We are adding more than $650 million in direct aid to K-12 schools. We also agreed to establish a subcommittee to review elementary and secondary education funding in response to the report released earlier this summer. Additionally, we have allocated nearly $200 million to higher education institutions to

As we approach the November elections, we need to keep in mind that our divided government is the only reason we have a compromise budget. If Republicans had it their way, this budget would have included significantly less money for investments in K-12 and higher education, and other social services. That money would have been spent giving a tax break to wealthy individuals and corporations that would have negative implications on our revenue for years to come. If we allow Republicans to take control of the Senate there will be nothing stopping them from implementing their out of touch right-wing agenda across the board. Everything from public education to women’s reproductive rights will be at risk. I cannot stress the importance of this election enough. Whoever wins in November will set the course of Virginia for the foreseeable future.

I highly encourage everyone to register to vote or update your voter registration. Early in-person voting begins on September 22nd at your local registrar’s office. You can also request a no-excuse absentee ballot until October 27th. It is essential that we uphold our majority in the Senate and flip the House of Delegates so we can keep Republicans from turning back the clock on women in Virginia.

The Falls Church Episcopal Church a ‘Living Legacy’ in the Little City

Anyone who thought history was only about the past will be surprised to learn that a Falls Church building which is hundreds of years old still has its history and legacy evolving.

Just four years ago, The Falls Church Episcopal, founded in 1732, was the recipient of remnants which a clergyman had removed from the church during the Civil War, 1861-1865.

After years owning the keepsakes, the family which became owners of the remnants decided to return them to The Falls Church Episcopal with a copy of a letter from a Union chaplain, the Rev. William DeWitt Clinton Rodrock, who described what he had done.

At the church’s regular monthly history tour last Sunday, Joe Ewbank, the church historian/archivist, and Robin Rosbolt, both members of the church’s history ministry, described this recent addition to church history for visitors and members of The Falls Church.

The letter from Rev. Rodrock told how he bribed a US army guard at the church with dinner to allow the clergyman entrance into

the church, with the promise that the reverend would respect all the church’s contents.

Ewbank said at the time the U.S. did not have a policy to desecrate Confederate buildings, but most buildings in Falls Church were abandoned then, and soldiers would take pieces of them as souvenirs, much like some people try to do today at historic places.

Upon entering the church building (now called the Historic Church), Rev. Rodrock took scissors and cut off a piece of carpet and a piece of the cushion in the pulpit and sent them to his wife. In his letter, he mentioned another piece, supposedly associated with George Washington, which the church did not receive, and a small branch from a tree Washington allegedly planted at the church.

Anything at the church which is associated with George Washington (1732-1799), the first U.S. president, carries special significance, Ewbank and Rosbolt said, and smiled at each other. Washington was president from 1789-1797.

Washington was a member of The Falls Church vestry, the church’s governing board, from 1762 to 1765, until the Virginia

legislature in Williamsburg created a new parish which included The Falls Church but not Mount Vernon, Washington’s home.

Later, Washington gave one pound, the British currency, for “decorations” for a new church building to replace the dilapidated original structure built in 1734.

At that time under English control, taxpayers built churches.

The amount Washington gave was “a fair amount” for the church’s total building cost of 699 pounds, Ewbank noted. The new building completed in 1769 with enslaved labor, still stands and is used today, one of the oldest Episcopal church structures in the U.S.

“By his spiritual presence in the history of this place,” Ewbank said, Washington is important, but the stories surrounding his association with the church exceed reality. Like the tree the reverend says in his letter which Washington planted.

Ewbank credited several individuals for their support and efforts to keep the church going since its founding, including George Somerville, Henry Fairfax, those who worked to end slavery, and the 19 people who refused during this century to allow the church to be taken

over by oppositionists in a battle over doctrinal and property rights.

For those who want a literal “hands on” experience with historic pieces at the Falls Church, Ewbank says the church brings out a chalice every Easter and Christmas Eve with a similar background to the remnants’.

At the next monthly history tours at The Falls Church Episcopal on October 1, 2023, Ewbank may outline that chapter in the church’s history book after the 9:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. services. The Falls Church, 115 East Fairfax St., Falls Church, 22046, 703–241–0003, thefallschurch.org.

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, Joe Ewbank, Peggy McCan and Bob McCan at The Falls Church Episcopal Church. (Photo: Patricia Leslie)

Falls Church School News & Notes

Support MHS Football, Buy a Restaurant Card

The Meridian football team is selling restaurant discount cards that work in and around Falls Church City, including the Mosaic District. This year, there are also laser tag games included at UltraZone. The cards are $25 and work until August 1, 2024. They are fundraising for some new practice and safety equipment.

Run for the Schools Registration Now Open

Join 800+ community members on Sunday, September 24 to run/walk through the heart of Falls Church City. Age group prizes and family events will be offered — fun for all ages and abilities.

Online registration is open through Wed., September 20 and one can register in person on Friday, September 22 at Meridian High School, on Saturday, September 23 at the Falls Church Festival or the morning of the race for all you super-procrastinators.

Funds raised from this event will go towards SuperGrants, Teacher Training Grants, ESOL and Special Education programs.

OSE Boys Run Club Registration is Open

Let Me Run is a nonprofit wellness program that inspires boys to be themselves, be active, and belong. With a comprehensive curriculum that applies the power of running, the program encourages boys to develop their psychological, emotional and social health, in addition to their physical health.

Registration at Oak Street Elementary is now open for grades 3, 4, and 5. Fall season starts on September 20, meets Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:15 a.m. for an hour and fifteen minutes, and ends with a 5K race on November 5. Visit LetMeRun. org to learn more and register.

Six FCPS High Schools Among Best in the State

In U.S. News & World Report ’s annual state and nationwide assessments of public high schools, six Fairfax County public high schools ranked in Virginia’s top ten.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) remains

the top magnet school in the country and moved up two spots to become the fourthranked STEM school in the country. TJHSST also ranked as the top high school in the Washington, D.C., area.

Global Partnerships: Mustangs in South Korea

This summer, the Ministry of Education from South Korea invited Ms. Mary Jo West and two students who had taken part in prior global collaboration projects to participate in an international symposium on sustainability with over 40 students from South Korea and 16 students from eight other countries. Aidan Harper and Carlos Ortiz attended, representing the United States, and Ms. Carey Pollack, funded through the FCEF. Carlos presented an overview of this musical project at the symposium with fellow collaborators from SGHS.

Oak Street Principal Coffee Tomorrow

Connect with other parents and meet Principal Karim

Daugherty, Assistant Principal Carrie Checca, and PYP Coordinator Lauren Carpel on Friday, September 8 at 9:30 a.m. in the Oak Street Family Resource Center.

Four MHS Students Recognized by CB

Four Meridian students earned national recognition by the College Board National Recognition Program Award. Awardees (as of August 17) at Meridian High School are: Alessio Azimipour: NHRA, National Hispanic Recognition Award; Bethany Michael: NAARA, National African American Recognition Award; Jack Freas: NHRA, National

Hispanic Recognition Award; Mateo Ratheau: NHRA, National Hispanic Recognition Award.

Leading ‘the Charge’ in E-School Bus Transition

Earlier this year, Falls Church City Public Schools began the transition of its school buses from diesel to electric. CBS News is out this week with a story about that move to combat climate change and reduce noise pollution. Last month, reporter Skyler Henry accompanied FCCPS driver Charles Washington aboard EV21 on one of his routes to see for himself and share with the nation.

Field Hockey Stays Hot, Football Earns Needed Win at Meridian

by Ryan McCafferty

The calendar has turned to September, and week two is in the books for the Meridian Mustangs and their fall athletic squads. This week the football team was able to bounce back from its 44-0 shellacking at the hands of McLean by beating Dominion 14-0 on a much more pleasant Thursday evening, moving to 1-1 on the year. They’ll have this week off before playing their next several games away from home.

Field hockey continued its winning ways by beating Thomas Jefferson 6-0 in its only matchup of the week on Tuesday night, moving to a perfect 4-0 for the season and continuing its streak of not giving up a single goal thus far.

Meanwhile, both the boys’ and girls’ cross country squads kicked off their seasons with wins over Kettle Run this past week, the boys led by Tucker Albaugh’s third place overall finish and the girls led by Lydia Sturgill’s runner-up individual effort. The boys placed eight runners in the overall top 15 while the girls had seven, and both teams will be back in action this coming Saturday when they compete in the Great Meadows Invitational.

Volleyball, unfortunately, continues a disappointing start to the year as the girls lost both matchups this week, falling 3-1 at Osbourn Park on Monday and then losing 3-0 to Warren County on Tuesday. They’ve yet to win a game, but thankfully, there is still plenty

of season left to turn it around.

Golf was set to compete against Fauquier and John Handley at Fauquier Springs

last Thursday, but that match was sadly canceled. Their next action will now come on September 12th at Shenandoah Val -

ley, against Skyline. Finally, competitive cheer, as stated last week, will not be in action until September 27th.

TWO MERIDIAN students (center) took part in an international symposium in South Korea. (Photo: Carey Pollack, Mary Jo West)

BOYS’ AND GIRLS’ cross country squads kicked off their seasons with wins over Kettle Run, with the boys led by Tucker Albaugh’s third place overall finish and the girls led by Lydia Sturgill’s runner-up individual effort. (Photo: Mustang Athletics)

Community News & Notes

First Annual 9/11 Memorial Ruck March/Walk Coming Soon

The first annual VFW Post 9274 9/11 Memorial Ruck March/Walk will be held on Sunday, September 10 at the Meridian High School Football Field Track at 9:00 a.m. It is a 5K Ruck March/Walk to honor the victims of 9/11, first responders and military (no ruck necessary). A cookout will be held afterwards at VFW 9274 (7118 Shreve Road, Falls Church).

Falls Church Presbyterian Celebrates 150 Years

Falls Church Presbyterian Church (FCPC), located at 225 East Broad Street, is celebrating its 150th Anniversary on September 10, 2023. FCPC has a rich, local history, starting as a branch of Lewinsville Presbyterian Church in McLean in 1873, building the first stone structure in the City of Falls Church in 1884 (quarried from what is now Sislers Stone), with expansions to the building in the 1950s, 1960s, and 2005, to create more space for worship, fellowship, and service activities. FCPC welcomes the community to join the celebration Sunday,

September 10, at 10:00 a.m. for worship followed by a reception in Fellowship Hall.

Local Festival Features Crafts and Cornhole

Grace Christian Academy will be hosting their 7th annual “Truck & Toss” — a food truck, corn hole, and craft brew tasting festival on Saturday, September 9th, 4:00 — 8:00 p.m. (3:00 p.m. for VIP admission). All proceeds benefit Grace Christian Academy (GCA). Admission to Truck and Toss includes unlimited generous tastings from the best food trucks in the DMV.

The festival will be held on the grounds of Grace Christian Academy/Grace Lutheran Church at 3233 Annandale Rd, Falls Church. For details and to purchase tickets, visit truckandtoss.com or email truckandtoss@gmail.com.

Art Donation at Taste of Islam Creates Community Building

On September 3, a community-building event took place at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia. David Merrell, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter-Day Saints, made a gesture of unity and understanding by donating a substantial piece of Islamic art he created entirely from LEGO brand bricks.

The donation of this meaningful LEGO artwork occurred during the annual “Taste of Islam” event at the Islamic Center. This event serves as an outreach effort to the community, inviting people of all backgrounds to come together and learn about the Islamic faith, culture, and traditions.

Compromising square Kufic Arabic script spelling the name “Mohamed” nine times, David’s artwork beautifully combined artistic expression with a profound message.

2023 NoVa Senior Olympics Opens in October

Opening ceremonies for the 2023 Northern Virginia Senior Olympics will take place Saturday, Sept. 9, 9:30 a.m. at the Thomas Jefferson Community Center in Arlington.

The Alexandria City High School Army JROTC Color Guard will lead the opening, followed by The National Anthem sung by the Arlingtones Barbershop Chorus. The Torch

Bearers, Carlos Rodriquez and Margaret DeWilde from Dumfries will declare the official opening with “Let the Games Begin.”

Arlington County Board Chairman Christian Dorsey will welcome the assembled participants and observers from all eight of the participating jurisdictions. Nine track events and an ERG rowing event will follow the opening. Events will continue through Sunday, Sept. 24 at more than 20 venues throughout Northern Virginia. All events are open to the public.

The daily schedule of events is on the website at nvso.us where results will be published throughout the competitions.

Art and Frame of Falls Church

Open House at New Location

Art and Frame of Falls Church is holding an Open House on Sunday, September 17 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 307 East Annandale Road – its new, expanded location. Come see the shop in this two-story building, check out the exhibit in “The Eileen Levy & Andrzej Żmudzki Art Gallery,” and tour studiosat307, the 40+ artist stu -

dios and small business offices. Plenty of onsite parking! More information can be found at artandframeoffallschurch.com.

1st Annual Celebrate Virginia to Take Place Soon

Tysons Corner Center invites the public to a special Celebrate Virginia day on Saturday, September 16 on The Plaza from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., rain or shine. Bring the family and have some fun outdoors celebrating the talent of Virginia as you enjoy live music & entertainment, shop local artisans’ wares, indulge in Virginia Beer Tasting, VIP Wine Tasting, mural painting, giveaways, and more.

Shop the Made in Fairfax local artisan market, enjoy live music from three Virginia based musicians, sample beer from five state breweries, and take part in painting a community mural with Loudon-based artist Kevin Bednarz. Participants will also get a chance to Spin the Tysons Wheel for limited edition “Virginia is for Shopping Lovers” custom merchandise including t-shirts, picnic blankets, beanie hats and more! The event is open to the public and free to attend.

LGBTQ+ FALLS CHURCH held its first gathering of the new season Sunday at Clare & Don’s Beach Shack. A robust crowd enjoyed the event, including (from left to right) Brian Reach, executive director of the organization, FCNP Owner Nicholas Benton, the organization’s founder and a gay pioneer dating to 1970, and the Rev. Burl Salmon, rector of the Falls Church Episcopal. (News-Press Photo)

DAVID MERRELL (right), a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, made a gesture of unity and understanding by donating a substantial piece of Islamic art he crafted entirely from LEGO brand bricks. (Photo: Jeff Jardine)

THIS WEEK AROUND F.C.

THURSDAY

SEPTEMBER 7

Economic Development Authority Meeting

Economic Development Authority meets. City Hall (300 Park Ave., Dogwood A-B, Falls Church), 7:00 p.m. — 10:00 p.m.

Baño de Luna:

Love's forbidden allure leads to a relationship between Father Monroe, a devout Catholic priest, and a beguiling Havana pianist from his parish. Presented in Spanish with English subtitles. Through October 1. Tickets at bit.ly/FCNP0923ga. Gala Theatre (3333 14th St. NW, Washington, DC), 8:00 p.m.

FRIDAY

SEPTEMBER 8

Between the Lines

Exhibit by Manassas resident René Dickerson, featuring a collection of original acrylic paintings on canvas. Through October 21. The ARTfactory (9419 Battle St., Manassas, VA), 10:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m.

Used Book/Media Sale

All-media sale of used books, puzzles, DVDs, CDs, games, and

childrens' items, September 7-10. Proceeds benefit the Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library and related activities. Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library (7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church), 10:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m.

Sweat

Sweat tells the story of a group of friends who have spent their lives sharing drinks, secrets, and laughs while working together on the factory floor. When layoffs and picket lines begin to chip away at their trust, the friends find themselves pitted against each other in a heartwrenching fight to stay afloat.

Through September 16. Keegan Theatre (1742 Church St. NW, Washington, DC), 3:00 p.m.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 9

F.C. Farmers Market

Shop the award-winning market every Saturday, year-round! City Hall arking Lot (300 Park Ave., Falls Church), 8:00 a.m. — 12:00 p.m.

Rosslyn Jazz Fest

An afternoon of music, food trucks, yard games, community table experiences, and more. Free event. Gateway Park (1300 Langston Blvd., Falls Church), 1:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m.

Author Talk: Andrew Joseph White

An MRSPL Author Talk with NYT bestselling author Andrew Joseph White for an author talk after the launch of his sophomore novel, The SpiritBaresitsTeeth, which features an autistic, trans main character in a Victorian setting, and does not shy away from exposing the violence of the patriarchy and the harm inflicted on trans youth who are forced into conformity. Mary Riley Styles Public Library (120 N. Virginia Ave., Lower Level Conf. Rm., Falls Church), 2:00 p.m. — 4:00 p.m.

Truck & Toss

Food trucks, corn hole, and craft brew tasting. Grace Christian Academy (3233 Annandale Rd., Falls Church), 4:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m.

The Bridges of Madison County

A sweeping musical romance of desire and sacrifice based on the bestselling novel. After marrying an American soldier to escape Italy at the end of World War II, Francesca builds herself a home in Iowa, raising two children and settling into a steady but unremarkable routine. Then one day, she meets Robert, a charismatic photographer, who awakens her passion and changes her life forever. Through September 17. Tickets at sigtheatre.org. Signature Theatre (3200 Campbell Ave., Arlington, VA), 7:30 p.m.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 10

9/11 Memorial Ruck

March/Walk

5k ruck march/walk to honor the victims of 9/11, first responders and military (no ruck necessary). Free rain or shine event on the Meridian H.S. track, followed by a cookout at VFW Post 9274 (7118 Shreve Rd., Falls Church). Meridian High School (121 Mustang Alley, Falls Church), 9:00 a.m.

DC State Fair 2023

A free showcase of the District’s agricultural, culinary and creative talents and a daylong celebration of all things homegrown. Franklin Park (1332 I St. NW, Washington, DC), 10:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m.

Author Talk: Angie Kim

w/ Jamise Harper

An MRSPL Author Talk with Angie Kim after the release of her new novel, Happiness Falls. Moderated by Jamise Harper, creator of the Diverse Spines® online book community and co-author of Bibliophile: DiverseSpines. Mary Riley Styles Public Library (120 N. Virginia Ave., Lower Level Conf. Rm., Falls Church), 1:00 p.m. — 3:00 p.m.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 11

City Council Meeting

The public is welcome to sign up to speak during the public comment period at fallschurchva.gov/ publiccomment. Watch live or on-demand at fallschurchva.gov/ CouncilMeetings and on FCCTV (Cox 11, RCN 2, Verizon 35). City Hall (300 Park Ave., Council Chambers/Court Room, Falls Church), 7:30 p.m. — 11:00 p.m.

Evening Art

Critique Group

Bring a piece of art you’d like feedback on — something new or old, in progress, or complete — and a community of artists will share their thoughts. Open to all, so invite your artist friends, and feel free to join even without a piece to share. Email info@fallschurcharts.org with any questions. Falls Church Arts (700-B W. Broad St., Falls Church), 7:30 p.m. — 9:00 p.m.

TUESDAY

SEPTEMBER 12

Housing Comm. Mtg. Housing Commission meets. City Hall (300 Park Ave., Dogwood A-B, Falls Church), 6:30 p.m. — 8:30 p.m.

FCCPS School Board Meeting

The public is invited to attend in-person or virtually at bit.ly/ FCNP0923sb. City Hall (300 Park Ave., Council Chambers/ Court Room, Falls Church), 7:00 p.m. — 10:00 p.m.

Aurora House Meeting

Aurora House Citizens Advisory Committee meets. City Hall (300 Park Ave., Laurel Room, Falls Church), 7:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 13

SWMPAC Meeting

Solid Waste Management Plan Advisory Committee meets. City Hall (300 Park Ave., Oak Room, Falls Church), 11:30 a.m. — 1:00 p.m.

Transportation Commitee Meeting

Citizens Advisory Committee

On Transportation meets. City Hall (300 Park Ave., Dogwood A-B, Falls Church), 7:00 p.m.

Recreation and Parks Adv. Board Meeting

Recreation and Parks Advisory Board meets. Falls Church Community Center (223 Little Falls St., Kenneth R. Burnett Bldg., Falls Church), 7:00 p.m. — 10:00 p.m.

Architectural Advisory Board Meeting

Architectural Advisory Board meets. City Hall (300 Park Ave., Council Chambers, Falls Church), 7:30 p.m. — 10:30 p.m.

Appointments Committee Meeting

City Council Appointments Committee meets. City Hall (300 Park Ave., Oak Room, Falls Church), 8:00 p.m. — 9:00 p.m.

MARK EVANS (Robert Kincaid) and Erin Davie (Francesca Johnson) star in The Bridges of Madison County, on stage at Signature Theatre through September 17. (Photo: by Daniel Rader)

Falls Church

Business News & Notes

Avalon/VIGEO

Avalon Physical Therapy, winner of the Best in Falls Church, Physical Therapists, has announced a rebranding and is now known as VIGEO Physical Therapy. The name is Latin for ‘strong’. The location and contact information remains the same.

Fulcrum

Fulcrum celebrates its 10th Anniversary by introducing a new name and tagline, “Fulcrum Residential –Your Home Team for Real Estate Results.” The team is growing and the company is expanding to new markets in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. The mission remains the same: guiding clients to financial success.

Workshop on Starting a New Business

Tuesday, September 12, 7:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) presents Entrepreneurship 101: Starting a New Business. A panel of small business experts lead an interactive in-person workshop on how to start your own business. The fundamentals will be covered with steps to registering a business, permitting requirements, business feasibility and business plan basics, business certifications, financing options and government resources. The workshop is free, but registration is required. Contact BusinessDiversity@fceda.org for more information.

Northern Virginia Mental Health Foundation 30th Anniversary

The Northern Virginia Mental Health Foundation celebrates its 30th Anniversary Saturday, September 9 with a special reception with speakers Delegate Marcus Simon and Daryl Washington, executive director of Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board. The event runs 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. at PRS (10455 White Granite Drive Suite 400, Oakton).

Scramble Expansion

Scramble plans to open a site in Shirlington in 2024. The approval time was cut largely by replacing an existing gym. The Scramble gym will focus on physical activity for early toddlers, pre-K, elementary and youth up to 18 years old. For older youth and adults, a parkour obstacle course will challenge balance, strength, coordination, and physical endurance. For children five to seven years old, there will be a separate obstacle course within a safety frame. There will also be a huge parkour area to allow individual skills to be tested or a course designed to challenge friends. Toddlers up to four years old will have their own parkour area to encourage them to try out their physical skills. Finally, for infants and pre-toddlers, there will be a more familiar sensory play area. Scramble currently operates sites in Falls Church and Alexandria.

New Hours for Preservation Biscuit

September is National Biscuit Month and Preservation Biscuit announced it is now open on Tuesdays. It’s now open seven days a week. Preservation Biscuit celebrates the month featuring the creations of the Biscuit Battle finalists on the menu as they compete for the winning “chef.”

Intellectual Property Fundamentals

The Virginia Small Business Development Center (SBDC) presents this free webinar in collaboration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Learn about patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. Go a step further and learn how to protect your IP. Harry Kim, a Special Program Examiner in the International Patent Legal Administration (IPLA) of the USPTO is the speaker. The session is Tuesday, September 12, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. and the Zoom link will be shared upon registration, available at clients.virginiasbdc.org/workshop.aspx?ekey=900430036.

 Business News & Notes is compiled by Elise Neil Bengtson, Executive Director of the Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce. She may be emailed at elise@fallschurchchamber.org.

The LGBTQ+ Reach

by Brian Reach Falls Church News-Press

Bowlero Packs The House With LGBTQ+ Bowling League

On Tuesday evening The Little City was the biggest LGBTQ+ destination in the region as nearly 150 arrived at Bowlero Falls Church (formerly Bowl America) for the first week of the Capital Area Match Point (CAMP) fall mixed handicap league.

The league, which falls under the umbrella of the Capital Area Rainbowlers Association (CARA), runs weekly through mid-April, and this week filled the entire venue with 44 of 48 lanes occupied with teams.

I joined the league and, despite my somewhat famous distaste for sports, cannot wait for next week! The venue is clean, the staff are attentive (and inclusive!), and the overall vibe was friendly and exciting. To top things off, after the 2021 Bowlero acquisition, the Falls Church location was upgraded during 2022 with new equipment, an arcade, a full bar, and a delicious food menu.

There is still space for additional bowlers, so organizers are encouraging anybody interested to email organizers at campbowling@ gmail.com, or contact them on facebook at fb.me/campbowling. The league is 30 weeks long, so there’s still a lot of fun to be had!

If you’re worrying about joining alone, whether allies are accepted, or if you’re too bad at bowling to join — don’t! Organizers will gladly pair you with a team, supporters of the LGBTQ+ community are welcome to participate, and as a mixed handicap league you’re only competing with your own average. The league is diverse across gender, race/ ethnicity, sexuality, and age.

The league meets Tuesdays at 7:20 p.m. at Bowlero (140 S. Maple Ave., Falls Church).

A New LGBTQ+ Events Hub?

At the dual LGBTQ+ events at Clare and Don’s last Sunday, you wouldn’t have guessed it was Labor Day Weekend — when the D.C. area’s LGBTQ+ venues famously empty out in favor of final summer getaways

— and the post-pandemic re-emergence of NOVA Pride — for a no-agenda happy hour.

You may have noticed the Drag Bingo, hosted by Evita Peroxide, the third Sunday every month at Clare and Don’s. The LGBTQ+ theme has quickly expanded into other Sundays, with several queer-inclusive events scheduled in their indoor event space or outside patio.

LGBTQ+ Falls Church is an organization founded by Nicholas Benton, a gay pioneer who co-founded the Gay Liberation Front in the San Francisco area in 1970 (and my dear friend and fellow LGBT+ Democrats of Virginia board member for more than a decade now).

In case you didn’t notice, he’s also the founder, owner and editor-in-chief of the News Press — so with my new role as executive director of LGBTQ+ Falls church, he’s my boss twice-over!

Expect to see a notable uptick in queerinclusive events brightening up the Little City’s scene in the months and years ahead as LGBTQ+ Falls Church and partner organizations launch a series of events that are radically inclusive, wholly accessible, and universally collaborative. These events don’t have a particular agenda other than a common and unifying spirit of diversity and acceptance — I’ve found over the years that, if you bring people together effectively and keep an open mind, the rest comes into focus on its own as folks within the community come and share their interests, needs, talents, and priorities.

Mark Your Calendars

This Saturday Clare and Don’s will host a special Drag Bingo + GOTV (get out the vote) event with special guests including Del. Marcus Simon (D-Falls Church), FCPS School Board member Karl Frisch, Fairfax County Supervisor Dalia Palchik (D-Providence), the Democratic candidate to represent Falls Church in the State Senate Saddam Salim, and Democratic Fairfax County Clerk candidate Chris Falcon to talk about what’s at stake this November — and

Virginia’s entire legislature (House and Senate) is up for election this November 7, as are three city council and three school board

RAINBOWLERS pack the house for CAMP’s LGBTQ+ inclusive fall mixed handicap league, Tuesday at Bowlero Falls Church. (Photo: Brian Reach)

PUBLIC NOTICE PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CITY COUNCIL CITY OF FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

The following was given first reading at the August 7, 2023 City Council meeting. A public hearing, second reading, and final City Council action is scheduled for Monday, September 11, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. and Tuesday, September 26, 2023 at 7:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard.

(TO23-11) ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTER 48 “ZONING” TO INCLUDE AN AVERAGE UNIT SIZE AND DENSITY RESTRICTIONS IN THE T-1 TRANSITION ZONE; ELIMINATE SINGLE FAMILY AND TWO FAMILY RESIDENTIAL USE THEREIN; ALLOW FOR A TOWNHOUSE, APARTMENT AND CONDO OPTION AND ALLOW FOR EXPANDED LOT COVERAGE

All public hearings will be held in the Council Chambers, 300 Park Avenue, Falls Church, Virginia. Remote participation information at www.fallschurchva.gov/publiccomment. Comments may also be sent to cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov. For copies of legislation, contact the City Clerk’s office at (703-248-5014) or cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov or visit www. fallschurchva.gov/councilmeetings. 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

PUBLIC NOTICE

The Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) of the City of Falls Church, Virginia will hold a public hearing on September 14, 2023, 2023 at 7:30 PM in the Council Chambers, located at 300 Park Avenue, for consideration of the following items:

Variance application 1643-23 by Oak Park, LLC, applicant and owner, for a variance to Section 48-1101 to allow maximum lot coverage of 55% instead of the 40% to construct a two-storyd aycare facility, at 711 Park Avenue, RPC #51-131-017 of the Falls Church Real Property Records, zoned T-1, Transitional District.

Public comments and questions may be submitted to zoning@fallschurchva.gov until 4:30 pm on September 13, 2023. Agenda and application materials will be available the week prior to the scheduled hearing at: http://www. fallschurchva.gov/BZA

Information on the above application is also available for review upon request to staff at zoning@fallschurchva.gov.

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.

Architectural Advisory Board

Aurora House Citizens’ Advisory Committee

Board of Equalization

Citizens’ Advisory Committee on Transportation

City Employee Review Board

Economic Development Authority

Historical Commission Planning Commission

Recreation and Parks Advisory Board

Regional Boards/Commissions

Continuum of Care Board

Fairfax Area Commission on Aging

Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services

Board

Long Term Care Coordinating Council

Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention

Commission

Northern Virginia Regional Parks Authority Virginia Career Works Northern Region

Ad Hoc Committee

Sold Waste Management Plan Advisory Committee: This Committee will advise the City Council in the development of the City’s 20-year Solid Waste

Baker Furniture custom black leather sofa, L96”, BRAND NEW. Available immediately. $3,500 plus delivery YARD

Jefferson Village/Greenway Downs Community Yard Sale—at homes throughout the neighborhood! Falls Church/Fairfax off Rt 50 between Graham and Annandale Roads.

Saturday 9/9/23, 9am-1pm (rain date 9/10) FOR

House for Rent: Falls Church City

Lovely 4 bedroom/3 full bath house is available for rent soon. Bright, spacious living/dining room with open floor plan. Completely renovated chef’s kitchen, renovated bathrooms, large finished basement; upgraded laundry room, tree lined fenced backyard great for pets. Detached garage. Lawn service is included. Close walk to Founders Row, W&OD, schools, West FC Metro. etc. Contact: fallschurchrental23@gmail.com for more info, photos etc.

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

HOME IMPROVEMENT

Now Offering Financing! Ronnie Jenkins

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We are pledged to the letter and spirit of Virginia’s policy for achieving equal housing opportunity throughout the Commonwealth. We encourage and support advertising and marketing programs in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status or handicap. All real estate advertised herein is subject to Virginia’s fair housing law which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status or handicap or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination.” This newspaper will not knowingly accept advertising for real estate that violates the fair housing law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. For more information or to file a housing complaint call the Virginia Fair Housing Office at (804) 367-8530. Toll free call (888) 551-3247.

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC OF

THE APPLICATION OF VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY FOR REVISION OF RATE ADJUSTMENT CLAUSE: RIDER US-3, COLONIAL TRAIL WEST AND SPRING GROVE 1 SOLAR FACILITIES, FOR THE RATE YEAR COMMENCING JUNE 1, 2024 CASE NO. PUR-2023-00137

•Virginia Electric and Power Company (“Dominion”) has applied for approval to revise its rate adjustment clause, Rider US-3.

•In this case, Dominion has asked the State Corporation Commission (“Commission”) to approve Rider US-3 for the rate year beginning June 1, 2024, and ending May 31, 2025 (“2024 Rate Year”)

•For the 2024 Rate Year, Dominion requests a revenue requirement of $36,683,424, which would decrease the bill of a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month by $0.06.

•A Hearing Examiner appointed by the Commission will hold a telephonic hearing in this case on February 7, 2024, at 10 a.m., for the receipt of public witness testimony.

•An evidentiary hearing will also be held on February 7, 2024, at 10 a.m., or at the conclusion of the public witness portion of the hearing, whichever is later, in the Commission’s second floor courtroom located in the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, to receive the testimony and evidence of the Company, any respondents, and the Staff.

•Further information about this case is available on the SCC website at: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information

On August 1, 2023, Virginia Electric and Power Company (“Dominion” or “Company”) filed with the State Corporation Commission (“Commission”) an application (“Application”) for approval of its annual update filing with respect to Rider US-3 for the Colonial Trail West Solar Facility (“Colonial Trail West”), an approximately 142 megawatt (“MW”) solar generating facility located in Surry County, Virginia, and the Spring Grove 1 Solar Facility (“Spring Grove 1”), an approximately 98 MW solar facility located in Surry County, Virginia (collectively, “US-3 Solar Facilities” or “Facilities”).

On January 24, 2019, the Commission approved Dominion’s construction and operation of the US-3 Solar Facilities. On April 15, 2019, Dominion also received approval of a rate adjustment clause, designated Rider US-3, for the Company to recover costs associated with the construction of the Facilities. The Commission’s approval was subject to certain conditions and requirements, including a performance guarantee for the Facilities, which were accepted by the Company. The Colonial Trail West began commercial operations on December 26, 2019, and the Spring Grove 1 was placed into service on November 30, 2020.

The Company states that the collective capacity factor of the US-3 Solar Facilities for calendar year 2022 was 21.8%, which represents a weighted average and does not include any force majeure events as defined by the Commission for purposes of the performance guarantee. Dominion further notes that the 21.8% collective capacity factor for calendar year 2022 is below the 25% target capacity factor under the performance guarantee for the Facilities. Employing the same methodology used in Case No. PUR-2022-00120 to calculate the applicable performance guarantee credits, the Company states that the total lost renewable energy certificate revenues for calendar year 2022 for the Facilities are $391,959 and the total replacement power costs are $5,451,359, both of which represent the system-level amounts. The Company indicated that it adjusted for the financial impacts of curtailments within these calculations.

In this proceeding, Dominion has asked the Commission to approve Rider US-3 for the rate year beginning June 1, 2024 and ending May 31, 2025 (“2024 Rate Year”). The two components of the proposed total revenue requirement for the 2024 Rate Year are the Projected Cost Recovery Factor and the Actual Cost True-Up Factor. The Company is requesting a Projected Cost Recovery Factor revenue requirement of approximately $34,177,440 and an Actual Cost True-Up Factor revenue requirement of $2,505,984. Thus, the Company is requesting a total revenue requirement of $36,683,424 for the 2024 Rate Year. According to the Application, the revenue requirement presented here incorporates the credit for lost REC revenues discussed above.

If the proposed Rider US-3 for the 2024 Rate Year is approved, the impact on customer bills would depend on the customer’s rate schedule and usage. According to Dominion, implementation of its proposed Rider US-3 on June 1, 2024, would decrease the bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month by approximately $0.06. The Company indicates that it has calculated the proposed Rider US-3 rates in accordance with the same methodology as used for rates previously approved by the Commission. Interested persons are encouraged to review Dominion’s Application and supporting documents in full for details about these and other proposals.

TAKE NOTICE that the Commission may apportion revenues among customer classes and/or design rates in a manner differing from that shown in the Application and supporting documents and thus may adopt rates that differ from those appearing in the Company’s Application and supporting documents.

The Commission entered an Order for Notice and Hearing in this proceeding that, among other things, scheduled a public hearing on Dominion’s Application. On February 7, 2024, at 10 a.m., the Hearing Examiner assigned will hold the telephonic portion of the hearing for the purpose of receiving the testimony of public witnesses. On or before January 31, 2024, any person desiring to offer testimony as a public witness shall provide to the Commission (a) your name, and (b) the telephone number that you wish the Commission to call during the hearing to receive your testimony. This information may be provided to the Commission in three ways: (i) by filling out a form on the Commission’s website at scc.Virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting; (ii) by completing and emailing the PDF version of this form to SCCInfo@scc.virginia.gov; or (iii) by calling (804) 371-9141. This public witness hearing will be webcast at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting

Beginning at 10 a.m. on February 7, 2024, the Hearing Examiner will telephone sequentially each person who has signed up to testify as provided above.

On February 7, 2024, at 10 a.m., or at the conclusion of the public witness portion of the hearing, whichever is later, in the Commission’s second floor courtroom located in the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, the Hearing Examiner will convene a hearing to receive testimony and evidence related to the Application from the Company, any respondents, and the Commission Staff.

To promote administrative efficiency and timely service of filings upon participants, the Commission has directed the electronic filing of testimony and pleadings, unless they contain confidential information, and has required electronic service on parties to this proceeding.

An electronic copy of the public version of the Company’s Application may be obtained by submitting a written request to counsel for the Company: Elaine S. Ryan, Esquire, McGuireWoods LLP, Gateway Plaza, 800 East Canal Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, or eryan@mcguirewoods.com. Interested persons also may download unofficial copies from the Commission’s website: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information

On or before January 31, 2024, any interested person may submit comments on the Application electronically by following the instructions on the Commission’s website: scc. virginia.gov/casecomments/Submit-Public-Comments. Those unable, as a practical matter, to submit comments electronically may file such comments by U.S. mail to the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission, c/o Document Control Center, P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, Virginia 23218-2118. All comments shall refer to Case No. PUR-2023-00137. On or before November 17, 2023, any person or entity wishing to participate as a respondent in this proceeding may do so by filing a notice of participation with the Clerk of the Commission at: scc.virginia.gov/clk/efiling. Those unable, as a practical matter, to file a notice of participation electronically may file such notice by U.S. mail to the Clerk of the Commission at the address listed above. Such notice of participation shall include the email addresses of such parties or their counsel, if available. A copy of the notice of participation as a respondent also must be sent to counsel for the Company. Pursuant to 5 VAC 5-20-80 B, Participation as a respondent, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (“Rules of Practice”), any notice of participation shall set forth: (i) a precise statement of the interest of the respondent; (ii) a statement of the specific action sought to the extent then known; and (iii) the factual and legal basis for the action. Any organization, corporation or government body participating as a respondent must be represented by counsel as required by 5 VAC 5-20-30, Counsel, of the Rules of Practice. All filings shall refer to Case No. PUR-2023-00137.

On or before December 15, 2023, each respondent may file with the Clerk of the Commission, at scc.virginia.gov/clk/efiling, any testimony and exhibits by which the respondent expects to establish its case. Any respondent unable, as a practical matter, to file testimony and exhibits electronically may file such by U.S. mail to the Clerk of the Commission at the address listed above. Each witness’s testimony shall include a summary not to exceed one page. All testimony and exhibits shall be served on the Staff, the Company, and all other respondents simultaneous with its filing. In all filings, the respondent shall comply with the Rules of Practice, including 5 VAC 5-20-140, Filing and service, and 5 VAC 5-20-240, Prepared testimony and exhibits. All filings shall refer to Case No. PUR-2023-00137.

Any documents filed in paper form with the Office of the Clerk of the Commission in this docket may use both sides of the paper. In all other respects, except as modified by the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing, all filings shall comply fully with the requirements of 5 VAC 5-20-150, Copies and format, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice. The Commission’s Rules of Practice and other documents filed in this case may be viewed on the Commission’s website at: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information

VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY d/b/a DOMINION ENERGY VIRGINIA

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A year ago, Eleanor moved from Falls Church, Virginia to Bradenton, Florida with her son Ted and his wife Ann. Eleanor loved her home in Bradenton and often commented that she felt like she was in heaven.

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venturesome and would never turn down an offer to do something fun. Eleanor even convinced her son, Ted, to purchase tickets to take her to see Engelbert Humperdinck, whom she said was still “hot.”

On Saturday, July 15, Eleanor Albina Perih passed away at the glorious age of 96. Eleanor was preceded in death by Stephen Perih, her best friend and beloved husband of 52 years. Eleanor leaves behind two sons, Stephen and Ted Perih, five grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.

Family always came first with Eleanor, and she loved nothing better than spending time with her family. She was especially happy to have had time with her great grandchildren, whom she adored, and they adored her. Eleanor was creative and highly skilled as evidenced by the beautiful quilts and holiday decorations she made throughout the years. Her joy and appreciation for life was infectious. Eleanor loved spending time at the Sully and Lincolnia Senior Centers in Virginia where she regaled other seniors and staff with her storytelling, singing and card playing. She was ad-

She was also a voracious reader and couldn’t get enough of the Hallmark romance movies. Eleanor lived life so fully and left her loved ones and friends with so many joyful memories.

A Celebration of Eleanor’s Life will be held at Cherry Hill Farmhouse, 312 Park Ave, Falls Church, Virginia on Tuesday, September 19 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Funeral services will be held at St. James Church, 905 Park Ave, Falls Church, Virginia on September 20 at 10:00 a.m. followed by interment of her ashes at Fairfax Memorial Park, 9900 Braddock Road, Fairfax, Virginia.

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Bonnie Ann (Ryan) Malisko was a caring wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, sister-inlaw, and friend. She left this world on September 4, 2023 at age 85 just two weeks shy of her 86th birthday.

She was born to Fred and Ruth Ryan on September 18, 1937 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Ferndale high school she married her husband, Frank Malisko on July 27, 1963. They recently celebrated their 60 year wedding anniversary!

After their wedding they moved to Virginia. They lived in the same house in Falls Church, Virginia since 1967. She is survived by her loving

husband Frank Malisko, children Pamela Champney (Steve, husband) and Ryan Malisko (Teresa, wife), and grandchildren Rachel Drury (Ryan, husband), Rebecca Champney, Adam Champney, Thomas Malisko, Kevin Malisko, Emily Malisko, and Allison Malisko and many other friends and family.

Bonnie worked in the Falls Church School System for almost 40 years in many different positions. Bonnie loved spending time with her seven grandchildren and especially attending their various sporting events over the years. A graveside funeral service is scheduled for 10:00 am on

FROM TAZZY: Hello Falls Church fellow pups. I miss you all but am loving the mountain air in Breckenridge, Colorado. I love spending my days hiking and then napping with my human people.

Just because you’re not famous doesn’t mean your pet can’t be! Send in your Critter Corner submissions to crittercorner@fcnp.com.

Where To Find The News-Press

NEWS BRIEFS

F.C. School Board Chair Seeks Football Safety Info

Laura Downs, chair of the Falls Church City Public Schools board, announced to the NewsPress last Friday the following: “I’ve asked Dr. Noonan to work with his staff to provide the School Board with information and research related to football safety and more specifically, an overview and history of Meridian’s football program and the safety protocols currently in place.”

The announcement came after the News-Press editorialized its August 17 edition calling for a School Board task force to be formed to look into new evidence from Boston University’s CTE Center of the impact on the brains of students from repeated blows to the head caused by playing tackle football.

It quoted News-Press founder-owner Nicholas F. Benton saying, “Given the great value placed on knowledge and learning in the Falls Church School System, it seems acutely ironic that such a potentially neurologically-damaging practice as tackle football continues to be so popular at the system’s Meridian High School.”

Benton’s call in the editorial took the form of a written petition to the School Board and was acknowledged by Board members Tate Gould, the vice chair, and Jerrod Anderson, prior to Downs’ announcement last week.

A subsequent study showing the prevalence of CTE in persons under age 30 who played tackle football was also reported in last week’s NewsPress

F.C. Police Seek Info on 2 Men Accused of Assault

City of Falls Church Police are looking for two men in connection with an assault around 1 a.m. the morning of Tuesday, September 5, 2023, at a business in the 200 block of S. Washington Street.

One man was described as Hispanic, about 20 to 30 years old, wearing a blue or green polo shirt and blue jeans. Another man was described as Hispanic, also about 20 to 30 years old, wearing a blue and red jersey with the lettering ‘TIGO’ on the front.

Anyone with information should contact Det. Gandionko, 703-248-5284 (TTY 711) or cgandionko@fallschurchva.gov.

Meta to End Support for Community Journalism Project

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, will wind down payments for publishers through its Facebook News tab in the U.K,, France and Germany and stop funding the Community News Project when the current contracts end, according to Editor and Publisher magazine.

The Community News Project, which first launched in 2019, currently places more than 100 reporters in under-served communities around the country.

Existing community news reporters will continue in their current roles until the contracts end, said the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ), which disburses Meta’s grant funding for the scheme.

Meta said it will begin to close its Facebook News tab – a dedicated tab for news content –from early December as part of “an ongoing effort to better align our investments to our products and services people value the most.”

Creative Cauldron Announces Renewed Arts Fairfax Grant

Creative Cauldron is the recipient of a FY 2024 Operating Support Grant in the amount of $39,742 from Arts Fairfax, which supports local arts organizations providing outstanding arts experiences for the Fairfax community between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. A second grant in the amount of $33,684 was received from the Virginia Commission for the Arts.

These operating grants will help to expand Creative Cauldron’s award winning programming which includes the Bold New Works/Voices initiative and “Artes Para Todos” which provides arts workshops, camps, classes, and performances to young people from Spanish-speaking households who attend Fairfax County Title One Schools.

McKay: Fairfax Co. Safest For Its Size in U.S.

Fairfax County is once again the safest jurisdiction of its size. Among the 70 large jurisdictions ranked by the Major Cities Chiefs Association, Fairfax County has the lowest rate of violent crimes (homicides, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults) for the second quarter of 2023, according to county board chair Jeff McKay.

In a statement this week, he said, “I want to reiterate how important this distinction is. We read in the news every day about how crime is up across the country. But it is important to take a moment and look at the overall fact presented in this report, supported by data: Fairfax County is still the safest place of its size to live in America. Keep that in mind the next time you see something concerning national trends. The MCCA relies on data, not anecdotes, which means this distinction is something you can trust.”

He added, “It is also a distinction important to understand beyond the context of national trends. A safe community – one where violent crime is low and one with excellent public safety agencies – is one where people can thrive and businesses can grow. It is the bedrock of a successful and vibrant community. It is something we can all be immensely proud of, because it is something we all have a hand in, especially our world class law enforcement officers who play an instrumental role in keeping our community safe. We are all responsible for creating such a safe and welcoming community, and I couldn’t be prouder of how successful we have been.”