Falls Churh News-Press 8-23-2018

August 23 — 29, 2018

FA LLS CHUR C H, V I R G I NI A • WW W. FC NP. C OM • FR EE

FOU N D E D 1991 • VOL. XXVIII NO. 27

F���� C����� • T����� C����� • M��������� • M�L��� • N���� A�������� • B�����’� C���������

I����� T��� W��� L������� M���� R���� N���� F������� P������ The City of Falls Church’s longtime rival high school in the Bull Run District, Manassas Park High School, has cancelled its varsity football program this fall, it was reported last week.

SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9

2018 Best of Falls Church Special Coming Next Week!

Parking Pains Abound Around New Restaurant at Park Ave. & N. Maple

Huge Spike in Towing: Is It Poor Planning or Just Growing Pains?

BY JODY FELLOWS & MATT DELANEY

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

C����� C����������� G���� M���� F�����

treated to a tour bus tour of the City and a buffet lunch at the Mad Fox restaurant Monday hosted by the non-profit Falls Church Education Foundation, with its president Cecily Shaw present at the lunch, and the Apple Federal Credit Union’s Education Foundation, whose president Dr. Calanthia Tucker, was also present.

Tuesday’s gathering at the MEH cafetorium featured a presentation by middle school teacher Farrell Kelly, head of the Falls Church City Education

Parking in the City of Falls Church has become a frictional topic following the opening of Northside Social on the corner of Park and N. Maple Ave a little more than two months ago.

Confusion over where to park and encroachment on nearby lots has led to an unprecedented 13,000-percent surge in towing, plus safety concerns arising from new public street parking has dulled the shine on a popular new spot in the City.

Some in the community have called it the result of poor planning, while others think it’s just the natural disruption associated with the opening of a popular new business and it will all eventually work itself out.

When the wine and coffee bar from Arlington’s Liberty Tavern restaurant group debuted this past June, it did so with just one parking spot — an ADA-compliant space — rather than the 28 required by the City’s zoning code for a business of its size. This was possible due to a recommendation by the Historical Architecture Review Board and in turn signed off on by the Planning Commission, since the ownership group was renovating and restoring a historical property.

The multi-million dollar project more than tripled the size of the existing structure, transforming the squirrel-infested, abandoned and dilapidated Cloverdale House (built in 1797 and one of the oldest houses in the City) into a beautiful two-story cafe with a spacious front patio and two outdoor dining decks.

Continued on Page 5

Continued on Page 4

The final meeting of the summer for Falls Church’s West End Campus Coordinating Group will be held this Friday. It will be the final meeting before the submission of the responses of three finalist bidders on the West End Economic Development portion of the project will come due next Wednesday.

SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9

F.C. H��� �� H�� A�� B������ H������

In its latest installment of curious and interesting sites around the City, the News-Press explores how Falls Church was the backdrop for two of the most innovative moments in the history of aerial reconnaissance.

SEE PAGE 8

ALONG WITH THE ARRIVAL of Falls Church’s popular new restaurant Northside Social, a spike in towing and added parking confusion has crept into the Little City’s downtown.

(P����: J. M������ W�����)

44 New Hires Show Up for F.C. City’s School System Orientation

BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

INDEX Editorial............... 6 Letters................. 6 News & Notes 10–11 Comment ...... 14-15 Business News . 17 Calendar ..... 18–19

Classified Ads ... 20 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ........ 21 Crime Report ......22 Critter Corner....22

Forty-four new employees of the City of Falls Church’s public school system, including all its new teachers, showed up for orientation sessions at the start of this week prior to the official beginning of the new school year, a number that Superintendent Peter Noonan characterized as “average” for annual turnover in a K-12 system serving 2,750 students.

But the total number represents a net increase, and Noonan told an assembly of the new hires Tuesday morning that the continued growth

in the system is bringing it to the brink of a “critical mass” that can take an already excellent system “to the next level.”

Noonan’s introductory remarks to the new hires, made as they gathered in the cafetorium of the Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School yesterday morning, were a prelude to more formal remarks he is expected to deliver to the Convocation of all system employees next Tuesday morning in the auditorium of George Mason High School. That will come one week in advance of the official opening of school on Sept. 4.

The new staff members were

PAGE 2 | AUGUST 23 - 29, 2018

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

To order online, visit FCNP.com/frontpages1 or call 703-532-3267

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

AUGUST 23 - 29, 2018 | PAGE 3

JD Sold More Homes Last Year in Falls Church Than Any Other Agent!

Per MRIS

Rental in FC!

JD CALLANDER Top 1% of Realtors Nationwide

#1 Agent, COMPANYWIDE

703.606.7901

$996,250

$1,295,000

322 E. Broad Street, Falls Church City

1425 Highwood Drive, McLean

*INCREDIBLE* 4BR/2BA historic home in convenient Falls Church City! Walk in from the charming front porch & be greeted by this lovely home featuring original floorplan plus expansion including modern island kit! Relax on the rear patio & enjoy views of the beautifully landscaped backyard!

*BEAUTIFUL* 8BR/5BA Colonial home on quiet cul-desac in Chesterbrook Woods! Leave the city stress behind in your personal woodland retreat. Entertainers deck backs to parkland; granite kitopens to breakfast room & family room w/ fireplace; fully finished walk- out LL w/ spacious rec rm!

*OPEN* SUN 8/26 2-4pm!

$3,300/mo

2003 Friendship Lane

Lovely 5BR/3BA home in convenient FC neighborhood! Main & upper level hardwood floors; larrge BRs; kitchen w/ breakfast nook; MBR w/ en suite BA!

*OPEN* SUN 8/26 2-4pm!

JD@newNOVAhome.com www.newNOVAhome.com # 1 Listing Agent #1 Selling Agent #1 Total Volume #1 Total Transactions Weichert/Dolley Madison Office Weichert 1313 Dolley Madison Blvd McLean, VA 22101 703-760-8880

$1,797,500

6513 36th Street N., Arlington

*STUNNING* 5BR/4.5BA colonial home in sought after North Arlington!

Gourmet kit w/granite counters, SS appliances, brkfast bar island, & brkfast area!

Light & bright sun rm leads out to the rear patio & level, beautifully manicured & fenced yard; MBR w/ luxurious en suite BA, frpl, walk-in closet & private terrace!

700 Park Avenue, Falls Church City

*WONDERFUL* 5BR/4.5BA home in the heart of Falls Church City! This home features a charming front porch; open floor plan that includes family room with fireplace; main level hardwood floors; fully finished walk-out lower level; lovely MBR w/ en suite BA two car garage; beautifully landscaped yard with side patio!

Call Me Today for a Free Analysis of Your Home’s Value!

Open Sunday 2-4pm

1105 N Tuckahoe St, FC City

Fabulous 5 BD/4.5 BA Craftsman in the Broadmont neighborhood Steps to EFC Metro and Trail. Lovely custom details with light-filled rooms on 3 finished levels. Large deck & secluded yard. Offered at $1,265,000

Under Contract

506 N West St, FC City

Lovely 4 BD/2 BA Cape featuring 3 levels and detached 2 car garage, just steps to Metro. Deep beautiful lot and great location! FCC Schools! Offered at $815,000

Louise Molton

Falls Church City Resident Phone: 703 244-1992 louise@moltonrealestate.com

Zillow Review

Highly Likely to Recommend Louise helped me sell my home in Falls Church. I had to move on relatively short notice and Louise guided me through the selling process and took care of everything so I could focus on packing and moving without any added stress or distractions. Her knowledge and expertise gave me confidence that I has chosen the right agent, and I can honestly say every bit of advice she gave me ended up to be correct and beneficial. I was very happy with the entire process and the results and I would enthusiastically recommend Louise Molton to anyone looking to buy or sell a home in Falls Church.

~ H Darst

710 W Broad St Falls Church, VA 22046 703-596-5303 Each Office Independently Owned and Operated

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

ÂŽ

REALTOR

LO CA L

PAGE 4 | AUGUST 23 – 29, 2018

Northside Social Arrival Leads To Downtown Parking Woes Continued from Page 1

However, the near-instant popularity of the establishment combined with virtually no on-site parking has coincided with 131 vehicles being towed from the surrounding area since Northside Social opened on June 11. In the first almost five-and-half months of 2018 prior to its opening, just 16 cars were towed from that same area.

Last year, just one vehicle was towed from the area during the same time span of June 11 until Aug. 17. In fact, since Northside Social opened, more vehicles have been towed in the surrounding neighborhoods than were towed in the previous 10 years combined during that same two month span.

Residents, patrons and business owners alike have expressed their confusion and frustration to the News-Press about the lack of onsite parking for the City’s trendy new restaurant, especially when there is a routinely empty, nine-space parking lot connected to the Northside property.

That parking lot actually belongs to 105 Maple Associates, housing both Kerns Group Architects and Moore Architects in the building at next-door 105 N. Maple Ave. During Northside’s construction, Brian Frickie, a principal at Kerns and the managing member for 105 Maple Associates, had an informal agreement with Northside contractors for them to use their parking lot. But upon its opening, the restaurant’s owners have been hot and cold on striking a formal agreement to use the spots.

Still, the fact that a long-awaited eatery from a popular Arlington restaurant group was permitted to open with almost no parking in place to accommodate the influx of vehicles has left many frustrated with the City and its apparent lack of a plan.

However, Falls Church Director of Community Planning and Economic Development Services James Snyder told the News-Press that Northside Social and its unique circumstances are, in fact, part of a larger plan for the Little City. ““[The Cloverdale House] had become a maintenance and property management problem,” Snyder told the News-Press. “There were squirrels living in it, it was vacant and we had concerns people were squatting in it.”

An empty property contribut-

ing next to nothing to the tax base combined with the structure’s rundown state meant the City was willing to make some concessions in order to transform the site.

And because of its designation as a historic property, the Planning Commission had the authority to determine parking requirements based on the recommendation of the City’s Historical Commission which suggested off-street parking requirements be modified or waived. The Northside site plan was also consistent with the City’s small area plan for downtown Falls Church, which additionally suggests the relaxation of parking requirements for dining establishments.

“Harris Teeter was one of the big projects, this was one of the smaller, infill pieces,” Snyder said referring to the downtown plan.

“We’re trying to have complimentary large- and small-scale projects that create a very interesting downtown.”

Falls Church Planning Director Paul Stoddard agrees.

“The first problem of how do you turn an abandoned vacant building into a successful, vibrant restaurant — that problem has been solved,” Stoddard said.

“Now it seems like the problem that needs to be solved is how can we help people get there while making sure that everybody in the area has sufficient access to the business, whether it be by bike or by bus or by car.”

As for the spike in towing, Stoddard said the possibility of a surge wasn’t discussed prior to the opening of Northside and Snyder said that while it’s being monitored, it’s not the City’s responsibility.

“Each business is responsible for the towing off of their lot,” Snyder said. He also thinks the rise could be because nearby property owners may have recently told towing companies to be on the lookout for violators.

“Some of this is everybody getting used to the activity,” he said.

“Hopefully, it will calm down somewhat.”

And while he thinks the growing pains will eventually pass, Snyder said he also recognizes the need for additional parking downtown, as does Falls Church City Council member Letty Hardi, who worked with the planning department to create 25 new onstreet space along Park Ave. and N. Maple, adjacent to Northside.

The announcement of the

added parking came little more than a month after the eatery’s opening but City officials stress it wasn’t done for new restaurant. “[The new parking] is not a reaction to anything in general, we’ve discussed it for a long time,” said Hardi who is also in the process of creating a parking task force. “It’s a personal pet issue.”

“It’s not being done for Northside,” Snyder echoed about the new spaces. “It’s being done for the downtown, period.”

Some local property and business owners, however, are unhappy with the reactive nature of the process and think the City’s new restaurant is getting preferential treatment.

One property owner, who asked not to be named, feels taken advantage of when visitors use his private lot to frequent nearby businesses. He admitted he didn’t have a problem with the City’s plan for parking at Northside until he saw it in action.

He believes Northside’s opening doesn’t contribute to “an epidemic in towing, [but] an epidemic in people parking where they aren’t supposed to.”

Sally Cole, executive director of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce, also thinks the City should have taken more steps to address the parking issue prior to Northside opening.

“It’s the City’s responsibility.

The City did that. You can’t blame Northside for doing that,” Cole told the News-Press. “The City did it without a plan in place.”

Even so, Cole says while everyone wants more parking, she thinks there is currently plenty of it in the City.

Local developer Bob Young agrees and told the News-Press the City tasks developers to supply more than ample parking which raises the overall costs on projects.

But this particular development and its next-to-no parking requirement had plenty of warning signs says David Oliver.

Oliver, part of the ownership group of 207 Park Ave. and an immediate neighbor of Northside Social, wrote a letter to the Planning Commission with concerns about the proposed development in May of 2015.

“I noted the issue of parking was raised as a concern, however, there was not even the beginning of a serious conversation regarding how the applicant is going to resolve it,” Oliver wrote to the commission after his attendance at

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

A NEAR-EMPTY PARKING lot reserved for its neighbors at 105 N. Maple Ave. adds to the parking confusion at Falls Church’s popular new cafe, Northside Social. (Photo: J. Michael Whalen) a work session that month.

“It would appear that the amount of necessary parking has not been determined despite the fact that a site plan was said to have been submitted,” he continued. “This is a rather large hole in a development application.”

He warned of possible encroachment by Northside patrons in surrounding lots and in a remarkably prescient line said “I would hate to see parking in this area result in towing and become a mini Broaddale which would be upsetting to all parties including the greater public and, potentially, impacting the future success of the Cloverdale venture.”

Oliver’s Broaddale reference refers to the W. Broad St. shopping center which has become notorious for the towing of vehicles from its lot. Coincidentally, the center is home to another Liberty Tavern group restaurant, Liberty Barbecue, which opened late last year.

In a recent interview, Oliver told the News-Press he believes the City’s approach to Northside mirrors how Arlington has treated its own commercial entities. Citing his 20 years of experience with the Walter L. Phillips civil engineering firm working on projects in Arlington, Oliver pointed out differences in residential density, metro access and sidewalk size that make the Little City’s neighbor a “whole different animal.”

But Stoddard, the City’s principal planner in 2015, clarifies that while Falls Church is borrowing practices from a regional neighbor — and one he states is recognized as a leader in revitalization, economic development and community planning — it’s also applying those same standards in a Falls Church context. So, the City uses Arlington as a template for visibility and parking distance from the curb, for example, but City staff also makes sure to widen its spaces to be more appropriate for

Falls Church.

At the site plan vote in July 2015, there was discussion of the parking situation but Planning Commission chair Rob Meeks said he was “supremely confident on parking.” Despite the concerns in Oliver’s letter, the Planning Commission voted to unanimously pass the Northside site plan with its parking waiver.

Brian Normile, one of Northside’s owners, expressed openness to the idea of finding alternatives to the current parking plan at the July 2015 meeting.

“If we find that we’ll need to find more dedicated parking, I’m sure there are other owners that don’t utilize their parking in the evening that would be interested in a discussion about potentially renting some spaces if we find that that’s something that we really need,” Normile said at the meeting. “But...if you want to come to an establishment, it’s your responsibility to find a parking spot. And the reality is, as an individual property owner, you’ve got to manage your own lot.”

He added, “Our business operates morning, noon and night, it’s not intensive to one time of the day, and our guests are just going to have to find a space.”

Oliver approached Normile about arranging a shared parking agreement soon after Northside won approval, but during their interaction Oliver says the Northside owner didn’t express any interest in coming to an arrangement. Normile’s sentiment was echoed in an informal meeting with local landowners prior to the site’s approval in the summer of 2015. At the meeting, one neighboring property owner, who asked not to be named, asked Normile what the restaurant planned to do about parking. He said Normile responded bluntly, “I don’t need to worry about parking.”

Continued on Page 16

LO CA L

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

F.C. School System Holds New Teacher Orientation

Continued from Page 1

Association, a membership organization representing teachers and staff, and Hillary Trebels, the MEH representative for that group.

They were soliciting memberships, as currently, according to Kelly, a vast majority of teachers and staff in the Falls Church system belong.

By a show of hands Tuesday, of the 44 new hires, four live in the City, eight have been employed in some capacity before by the City system, and four will begin teaching for the very first time on Sept. 4 in what Noonan called, “the greatest profession on earth.” It was that group that elicited the biggest applause from the whole group.

“To see the world through the eyes of a teacher,” Noonan said, “gives us all great energy and enthusiasm for the future.”

Noonan recounted his own history, growing up in New Mexico, graduating from the university and beginning teaching there, and coming to Northern Virginia

where he took a middle school administrative job and was was rising through the Fairfax County school system.

He said he made a key decision that rather than sticking with a gigantic system with 200 schools and 185,000 students, he chose a smaller system which provided the opportunity for more engagement with people. So he took a job with the school system of the City of Fairfax, and when an opening came for Falls Church five years later, “It was a no-brainer for me to apply.”

In Falls Church, he said, “we have a great school staff, a great community, and great families.”

This fall, he noted, marks the beginning of only his second full year as superintendent, arriving at the end of the 2015-16 school year.

Noonan said his four core values are “collaboration, innovation, ethical leadership and equity and excellence.”

Looking for innovation, he said that he “doesn’t necessarily want to

BE Y ERK IA .COM

AUGUST 23 – 29, 2018 | PAGE 5

know where the head of the classroom is when I walk in a room.”

He said in terms of equity, “fair is not always equal” because “there should not be a one-size-fits-all approach,” and while Falls Church is affluent, “there are growing numbers of students with needs.”

In collaboration with a survey program run out of George Mason University, the City schools are learning more about the existence of poverty in the City, including conditions where up to four families live in the same apartment.

“I’m not sure that, now, they’re getting what they need,” he said.

He offered that “there are better ways to assess kids than with SOL testing,” citing the notion of “formative assessments,” and stressed the importance of a “caring community and climate” within the wider community, the schools and among the school staffs.

“I want a bully-free environment, where egos and entitlements are checked at the door, and there is flexible and inclusive risk taking.”

703 -237- 5000 • 1125 W E S T BROA D S T REE T FA L L S CHURCH, VA 220 4 6

2018 KIA FORTE S FWD 4D SEDAN

ONLY $1999 DOWN 36 MONTHS - 12,000 MI/YR + TAXES, TAGS, & DEALER PROCESSING FEES

2018 Kia Forte S (Model #: C3442). MSRP $20,420.00. $145.96 per month for 36 months, $1,999.00 down payment on approved credit. Total capital cost of $13,336.00. Must finance through KIA Motors Finance. Includes $650.00 acquisition fees and Freight. $2,144.96 due at signing. Does not include tax, tag, processing and $699 dealer doc fee. $0.00 security deposit required. Customer responsible for $0.20 per mile over 12000 miles per year. Expires 08/31/2018.

PAGE 6 | AUGUST 23 – 29, 2018



One of the Nation’s Foremost Weekly Newspapers, Serving N. Virginia

(Published Weekly by Benton Communications, Inc.)

FOUNDED IN 1991

Vol. XXVIII, No. 27 August 23 – 29, 2018 • City of Falls Church ‘Business of the Year’ 1991 & 2001 • • Certified by the Commonwealth of Virginia to Publish Official Legal Notices • • Member, Virginia Press Association •

N������� F. B����� O���� � E�����-I�-C���� �������������.���

J��� F������ M������� ������

�������������.���

M��� D������ N��� E�����

�������������.���

N��� G��� A���������� S������� A������������ ����������.���

H���� W������ C����������

�������������.���

C������ C����, T�� W������ C��������� T�� W���� C��� E����� J���� I����� C���������� M������

�������������.���

T� C������ ��� N���-P���� �����: 703-532-3267 ���: 703-342-0347 �����: ���������.��� ������� ����������� ��������.��� ���������� ��� �������������.��� ������� �� ��� ������ ������������.��� ������������� ������������ � �������� �������������.���

WWW.FCNP.COM The Falls Church News-Press is published weekly on Thursdays and is distributed free of charge throughout the City of Falls Church and the Greater Falls Church area. Offices are at 200 Little Falls St., #508, Falls Church, VA 22046. Reproduction of this publication in whole or part is prohibited except with the written permission of the publisher. ©2018 Benton Communications Inc. The News-Press is printed on recycled paper.

E D I TO R I A L

E��������

Trump an ‘Unindicted Co-Conspirator’

Your grandchildren will be taught the date, though hopefully their grades won’t be determined by such rote memorization. Maybe they’ll ask you what you were doing that day, and how much you remember about it. The date is August 21, 2018, the date that marked the first ever accusation in court under oath of a highly-credible source that a president of the United States is an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the commission of a felony.

The double-whammy of the guilty plea of President Trump’s longtime attorney and special confidant Michael Cohen and the conviction on eight felony counts of Trump’s presidential campaign manager Paul Manafort, that both came down Tuesday, paints in unmistakable relief the criminal nature of the entire Trump enterprise.

It is no longer a matter of speculation, but of the proceedings of the rule of law as the cornerstone of American democracy. This is not a so-called “fake media” assessment, or allegations made by political or legal adversaries, this has the backing of the entire U.S. legal system and everything associated with it. Tuesday was a very big day in U.S. history. You might want to save for posterity the front page of one or more of our great urban dailies (or clip and save this editorial!).

Yet this is still the veritable tip of the iceberg. It is the estimate of most experts on this subject that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is already in possession of far more conclusive evidence to back up Tuesday’s seminal developments and far more. What makes Cohen credible, for example, are the scores of documents and tapes that we can presume are in the hands of his prosecutors that will back up his confessions.

As the New York Times remarked in its editorial yesterday, “All the President’s Crooks,” appearing the day after the extraordinary events of Tuesday unfolded, “President Trump has been...praising men who are blatant grifters, cons and crooks; insisting that he’s personally done nothing wrong.”

While the editorial remained one step short of including the president, himself, among the roster of “grifters, cons and crooks,” that’s a mere formality at this point.

For anyone who has been following the record on Trump, examining the intelligence on his past as a mob-linked con man and pliable stooge blackmailed by the Russian mafia for decades in New York and the colluding preferred U.S. presidential choice of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Tuesday’s developments come as no surprise.

As Virginia’s U.S. Senator and Intelligence Committee vice chair Mark Warner said about this Tuesday, not only the developments regarding Cohen and Manafort were significant on that day, but also the news that testimony before the House Banking Committee suggested there are woefully insufficient safeguards in place to prevent further Russian hacking in U.S. elections, and the revelations of Microsoft that it had detected and derailed a major new Russian hacking effort targeting this fall’s U.S. midterm elections.

L������

New Children’s Library Will be Bright, Cheerful

Editor, This responds to two recent letters from readers expressing concerns over our plan to relocate children’s and teens’ activities to an expanded, refurbished lower level in the Mary Riley Styles Public Library, which is soon to be renovated. We appreciate their comments and will soon request additional feedback.

Our future children’s and teens’ floor, or lower level,

will be nothing like it is today.

Window light will brighten the space through windows along its south and east walls. And, because the floor will be devoted to young people, we’ll be able to use lower bookshelves, bright, colorful patterns and specially designed furniture to enliven the space and make it “theirs.”

The new children’s and teens’ space, which will be triple the size

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

P������� 1. Keep the news clean and fair.

2. Play no favorites, never mix business and editorial policy.

3. Do not let the news columns reflect editorial comment.

4. Publish the news that is public property without fear or favor of friend or foe.

5. Accept no charity and ask no favors.

6. Give “value received” for every dollar you take in.

7. Make the paper show profit if you can, but above all keep it clean, fearless and fair.

ADVERTISE IN THE

The News-Press is delivered to every household and many businesses in the City of Falls Church (22046), and to many homes and businesses (but not all) in the adjacent 22041, 22042, 22043, 22044 and 22205 zip codes. Its total circulation of 10,000 per issue is greater than any other newspaper in the distribution area, including dailies. For complete advertising information, call us or check out our web site.

Call 532-3267 x2274 or visit www.FCNP.com

All original and some syndicated content is accessible via the Falls Church News-Press online site, www.FCNP.com.

FCNP.com also includes photos, stories, ads and more not appearing in the print edition.

For information on online advertising, please contact Nick Gatz at 703-532-3267 or ngatz@fcnp.com.

ONLINE

of our existing space, will be lightfilled and cheerful.

In addition, the new space — given that it will be dedicated to children and teenagers — will give our librarians much better “situational awareness” than today. Our staff will be able to keep a watchful, friendly eye on any adults in the space who have no known connection to the children there. This is one of several public safety benefits pointed out

by Falls Church’s chief of police and fire marshal.

We will soon be able to provide you with preliminary drawings which will depict initial layouts and ideas for both levels of the library, and at that point we’d like

you to weigh in again and let us know what you think. The design of the building will continue to evolve as we receive subsequent feedback from the public and the architect creates more detailed drawings.

A slide presentation is available on our website, www.fallschurchva.gov/LibraryProject.

Meanwhile, drop by the library — we’ll share with you photos from other public libraries in which children’s activities occur on a lower level. They’re an exciting glance at what we plan to achieve.

Bradley E. Gernand Chairman, Mary Riley Styles Public Library Board of Trustees

CO MME NT

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

AUGUST 23 – 29, 2018 | PAGE 7

G � � � � C � � � � � �� �� Founders Row to Introduce Many Falls Church ‘Firsts’ B� L������� W���

Last week, City Council approved the Founders Row project final configuration; swapping out a previously-approved hotel for a multi-story active adult apartment building. To paraphrase one of the many citizens engaged in helping Council shape its conditions for the project: “change is coming to the West End.” How true. This change has been a very long time in coming. This project first became visible in Spring 2012. Then developer Spectrum explored the possibility of this project with the community by holding small meetings in neighbor’s backyards. It’s an understatement to say that much time has passed for this 4.3-acre parcel, the largest to be redeveloped in our City. If projections bear out, it will also be the largest generator of revenue per acre. The estimated range for the total net revenue is between $1,759,339 to $2,094,167. Those amounts will go to adding to our comfort zone for the economic development revenues our city will absolutely need to offset the cost of funding replacements for aged infrastructure, starting with school facilities at the top of the list. Successful high school graduates continue to be our primary industry.

Founders Row was first proposed as a monolithic scheme with blank facades, two single family houses on Park Ave. backing to an 85-feet wall and a drugstore at its most visible corner. With arguably the high-

est level of civic conversation on whether, how and what this project could and should be, our city now has an opportunity to embrace a redevelopment that exemplifies the best in urban design. The public process extending over half decade has lent impor-

“No project is ever perfect, but having survived the test of public opinion, this is a pretty good project.” tant knowledge along the way. We learned that actual data from fully occupied recent developments would give us the granular data needed for confidence in using revised pupil generation numbers. We learned that cultural facilities, including movie theaters, in our region, require some level of financial support and ours would be no different. We learned that hotels are a fickle industry and that the proposed age-restricted living component is not dissimilar to long-term stay high-level hotels having concierge features.

We have worked very hard as a city (as has the developer) to lower many areas of risk. It will realize a generation of higher net revenues at an earlier point in time as highlighted by over 50 percent of the com-

mercial space having been pre-leased, while including important features that characterize our collective virtues for commercial, residential and public spaces. We understand the commercial space remaining available is creating positive buzz in the marketplace; we anticipate other attractive restaurants. The relationship between certificate of occupancy for the rental spaces and the buildout of the commercial spaces remains intact. The active adult spaces have stringent provisions to keep them all-adult and represents a first for rental spaces in this city. The included concierge and program features promise a lively and interesting segment of our demographic. Like the recently approved Broad and Washington mixed-use project, the number of school-age children rely on actual data generated by completed developments. The metrics for recently-occupied apartments indicate a lower number (.085-.095 ratio or 46 pupils total in two projects) than was estimated during planning and approval phases.

That partly explains the improvement in fiscal impact analysis for net revenue. The new model applies a 50 percent increase in current projections or between 84-125 additional students. Founders Row with Broad and Washington net yields between $0.064 and $0.081 increase in revenue based on the current tax rate.

This is not a perfect project. No project is ever perfect, but having survived the test of public opinion, this is a pretty good project. Some items worth mentioning

include locking-in affordable dwelling units in perpetuity, a change from prior practice of 20-year expiration, and the possibility for robust attractive offerings to persuade some of the 40,000+ daily cars streaming through our city to actually stop and spend some money here.

This project will be characterized by several “firsts.” The W&OD trail is an homage to the railroad since it is laid on top of the railbed. That trail will now have its first deviation from a straight path to enhance the safety of the pedestrian box at the corner of West and Park, which helps solve a longstanding concern. This will be the first extensive use of metal, adding to the architectural palette. It will have the first spray garden water feature, the first interior street festival space, first multi-story active adult facility, first designed-in bike share (with maintenance also in perpetuity), first modern movie theater in the city, first outdoor mural, and environmentally sustainable features: including Silver and Gold certifications, abundant EV charging stations, and maximum rooftop area held free for future solar arrays.

Indeed change is coming and I look forward to seeing the new form of our city and seeing first movie to be shown at our Founders Row. Lawrence Webb is the chair of the Falls Church City School Board.

Q������� �� ��� W��� Who bears responsibility for the recent parking problems and spike in towing in downtown Falls Church?

• City of Falls Church

• Property owners

• Northside Social

• Vehicle owners

Last Week’s Question:

Should the Children’s Library stay on the first floor of Mary Riley Styles?

• Not sure

Log on to www.FCNP.com to cast your vote

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

[WRITE FOR THE PRESS] The News-Press welcomes readers to send in submissions in the form of Letters to the

Editor & Guest Commentaries. Letters to the Editor should be no more than 350 words and writers are limited to one appearance every four weeks. Guest Commentaries should be no more than 800 words and writers are limited to one appearance every four months. Because of space constraints, not all submissions will be published. All submissions to the News-Press should be original, unpublished content. We reserve the right to edit submissions for length, grammar and accuracy. All submissions should include writer’s name, address, phone and e-mail address if available.

Email: letters@fcnp.com | Mail: Letters to the Editor, Falls Church News-Press, 200 Little Falls St., #508, Falls Church 22046 | Fax: 703.340.0347

LO CA L

PAGE 8 | AUGUST 23 – 29, 2018

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

TUCKED AWAY on the corner of E. Broad St. and Roosevelt St. right by the City’s eastern border is the entrance to Fort Taylor Park. While interested park-goers might want to gain access to the park by the sidewalk in the rear along Roosevelt St. instead of scaling the dirt hill at the front, if they do brave the short ascent they’ll be greeted by forested pathway that shows where Thaddeus Lowe observed Confederate troops from the air. (P����: N���-P����)

AMERICA, LET’S DO LUNCH

TM

John Gaul, SINCE 1925. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t look his best. Now, he and 1 in 6 seniors face the threat of hunger and millions more live in isolation. So pop by, drop off a hot meal and say a warm hello. Volunteer for Meals on Wheels at AmericaLetsDoLunch.org

MAKE YOUR PET A STAR!

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

Snap a pic of your critter and email it to: CRITTERCORNER@FCNP.COM

OR mail it to

Critter Corner c/o Falls Church News-Press 200 Little Falls St. #508 Falls Church, Va 22046

Critter

Corner

Covert Park on Eastern Edge Of City Houses Historic Site

BY ADAM ROSENFELD

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

While the City of Falls Church may get passing mentions in many textbooks, it was the backdrop for two of the most innovative moments in the history of aerial reconnaissance.

“Falls Church made aeronautical history twice during the Civil War,” local historian and author Bradley Gernand said. “And both times it involved hot air balloons.”

During the early years of the war, the little town was being held by the Confederates, and the Union needed a way to understand the size of their encampment.

With the help of Professor Thaddeus Lowe, known as the father of aerial reconnaissance, they sent up a hot air balloon from Chain Bridge to scout the Confederate army.

While the first flight was reserved for reconnaissance, the second trip had a more ingenious purpose.

“The army had a cannon on the ground and was going to fire on Falls Church, but at this time they had never fired on a target they could not visibly see,” Gernand

said. “So, they devised a system of signal flags, and they sent Professor Lowe up in his balloon to tell them how close their fire was. He would position the flags to then signal in which direction they would need to fire the next time.”

Those first few flights not only created history but contained popular historical figures.

General George Custer, known for his famous “Last Stand” during the Battle of Little Bighorn later in the 19th century, was in one such trip.

“General Custer went up in the basket from Falls Church, but he got sick because it was constantly twisting, and he claimed he never wanted to go aloft again,” Gernand said.

The fighting eventually shifted to other areas of the country, but the ramifications of these events were felt throughout the rest of the war.

After the Confederates caught wind of the ingenuity of the Union army, they decided to craft their own balloons.

An unofficial national project began in which Confederate housewives took donations of

everyday cloth in order to stitch together a balloon from scratch.

Unfortunately, the usefulness of hot air balloons was often outweighed by their impracticality.

Not only did the person flying the contraption have little control over its movements, but it had to be inflated every time someone wanted to use it.

Professor Thaddeus Lowe, who coined the term aeronaut to describe himself, not only spurred a change in how hot air balloons were utilized, but also the way armies strategized.

Even though militaries no longer use balloons to scout enemies, the legacy of his innovations are evident today in the popularity of surveillance drones and satellites.

“These events made an impact in illustrating what could be done with aeronautical surveillance,” Gernand said. “The success of the experiment at Chain bridge made it a mainstay of every war.”

This is the third in a series of articles by the News-Press highlighting landmarks and curiosities around the Falls Church area.

Have an idea for a future article?

Send your suggestions to us at fcnp@fcnp.com.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

LO CA L

AUGUST 23 – 29, 2018 | PAGE 9

F� � � � C � � � � �

NEWS BRIEFS Manassas Park, 2 Others Cancel Football Seasons The City of Falls Church’s long-time rival high school in the Bull Run District, Manassas Park High School, has cancelled its varsity football program this fall, it was reported by the Culpeper Star-Exponent last week. The Manassas Park Cougars were not on Mason’s schedule this year, but have been stalwart rivals for decades. In a letter to the community, Manassas Park Principal Pamela Kelso said the reason was a low turnout, an average of 15 healthy players per practice, far below the Virginia High School League (VHSL) recommended 25 players. The school will field a junior varsity team, Kelso said. According to a report in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, two other high schools in the region have also cancelled their football seasons this fall. Charles City and Loudoun County’s Park View High School have also called off their football seasons. When only 18 students turned out for the Park View tryouts this month, the season was promptly cancelled. In the cases of all three schools, safety concerns associated with their small turnouts were cited. Overall, according to the Times-Dispatch report, high school football enrollment has dropped 4.5 percent nationwide from 2006 to 2016, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. Among the reasons are concern for the recently-gathered data on football’s impact on the brains of players, with reports of widespread cases of progressive and irreversible chronic traumatic encephalitis (CTE), arising from constant impacts below the level of blows which might cause what would be diagnosed as concussions.

Dominion Power Undergrounding on Park Ave. Sought According to a report by Falls Church Assistant City Manager Cindy Mester at Monday’s Planning Commission meeting, the City is pursuing an option for the undergrounding of all the Dominion Power utility poles on Park Avenue from S. Virginia to N. Washington Streets that would include the bothersome pole directly in front of the proposed entrance to the Mary Riley Styles Public Library. Mester said the “whole of Park Avenue” at its east end is being included in a request for funding under the “Great Streets” concept. It was also noted that Dominion was allotted $1 billion in Richmond during the recent legislative session for undergrounding efforts. If the library entrance is relocated to be at the corner of S. Virginia and Park, as the Library Board wishes, the pole there now would be only seven feet from the entrance and eight feet from the curb.

Voted #1 Again Family, Cosmetic, and Implant Dentistry Federal Employees: We work with your benefits

703.532.3300

www.DoughertyDDS.com 200 Little Falls Street, Suite 506, Falls Church, VA 22046 We are located across the street from city hall

Campus Coordinating Group Meets Friday The final meeting of the summer for Falls Church’s West End Campus Coordinating Group will be held this Friday at 7:30 a.m. at the F.C. School Board conference room. It will be the final meeting before the submission of the responses of three finalist bidders on the West End Economic Development portion of the project will come due next Wednesday, Aug. 19, with a final selection due in early October. Carly Aubrey, a senior planner for the City, will step up to become the project manager for the West End Development, Assistant City Manager Cindy Mester reported this week, as the contract for Lee Goldstein was not renewed.

Northam Calls for Redistricting Session Aug. 30 Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed a proclamation this week calling the members of the Virginia General Assembly into special session on Thursday, Aug. 30 for the purpose of redrawing districts of the Virginia House of Delegates. House Democratic leader David Toscano said, “I am gratified that Governor Northam is convening a special session to comply with the District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia ruling made in the end of June that the boundaries of Virginia’s 11 U.S. congressional districts are gerrymandered to violate the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. They illegally pack African Americans, effectively diluting their voting power, and to serve the best interest of Virginia voters. We have been operating with unconstitutional districts drawn by Republicans since 2011, and we must rectify the situation immediately.”

Virginia Native American Life Festival Set Sept. 8 The culture of Virginia’s first residents will be explored when the Virginia Native American Festival returns to Riverbend Park in Fairfax County’s Great Falls on Saturday, Sept. 8. The festival features eight Native American tribes from Virginia, including the Rappahannock dancers and drummers. Performances, hands-on activities, live demonstrations, Native American storytelling, bow and arrow instructions, spear throwing, stone tool making and dugout canoe building are among the activities of the day, and the public can also visit a marketplace for Native American crafts , pottery and jewelry. Festival time is 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Is your businee prepared for the new tax changes?

There’s still time to prepare. Let our team help you make the most of the new tax law for your business.

LO CA L

PAGE 10 | AUGUST 23 – 29, 2018

News-Press

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Community News & Notes F.C. Arts ‘Students and Instructors Show’ Opens A month-long exhibit spotlighting the disciples and teachers of Falls Church Arts (FCA), titled the “Falls Church Arts Students and Instructors Show” opens Saturday, Aug. 25, featuring a variety of colorful works.

On opening night Aug. 25 the public is invited to meet the artists at the FCA Gallery (700-B West Broad St., Falls Church) from 7:30 – 10 p.m. The show runs through Sept. 23 and gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from

11 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Sunday from 1 – 4 p.m.

Featured artist-instructors include Seth Haverkamp, Bernard Dellario, Rajendra KC, Brian Joseph Legan, Richard Levine, Christine Girardi and Alexia Scott.

The show will include portraits, still life, sculptures, oils, watercolors, acrylics, pastels, gouache and mixed media.

“The Falls Church Arts Students and Instructors Show” is the first of its kind for the nonprofit arts organization, whose mission is to educate and promote the arts in the metro area espe-

CECILIA D. CLOSS was awarded the Friends of McLean Community Center’s (FMCC) 2018 Friend in Deed Award at the organization’s annual meeting. Closs is the 27th person to receive this award “with gratitude for outstanding leadership and support of the McLean Community Center.” FMCC President W. Glenn Yarborough, Jr. presented the award to Closs on Monday, June 4, at the McLean Community Center administrative office. (Photo: Courtesy McLean Community Center)

cially Falls Church.

Community Emergency Team Training in Sept. & Oct. The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area. CERT trains county residents in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. CERT members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.

The CERT training classes below follows the FEMA curriculum, tailored to local disasters and hazards; Educate people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations. Emphasis on hands-on skill development and Fairfax County protocols and procedures. Instructor will provide syllabus with class schedule at first session. This training does not require any special physical strength or agility.

CERT 142 will be held at the McLean Volunteer Fire Department FS-01, on the following Thursday’s – Sept. 6, 13, 20 and 27 and Oct. 4, 11, 18, Final Oct 24 at the Fire Rescue Association with Academy Class 141. For more information and to register for the next class at

the Fire and Rescue Academy, visit volunteer.fairfaxcounty.gov, click on the red tab on the right side of the screen labeled “Search Opportunities” and enter “CERT 142” to find the registration page.

Bailey’s X-roads Fire & Rescue Honor Fallen Member Members of Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Truck 410, Bailey’s Crossroads, B-Shift present a handmade “Red-Line” flag to the Members of Eastside Fire and Rescue in memory of Sergeant Major (SGM) Chris Nelms who was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery on July 31, 2018.

SGM Nelms was a member of Eastside Fire and Rescue who left the agency after the attacks on 9-11 and was assigned to the U.S. Army’s Delta Force. The members of Fairfax County Fire and Rescue were privileged to

TRANSPLANT-TURNED-LOCAL Kyle Endriss is a professional motocross racer who competed in the national qualifying race at Budds Creek in Mechanicsville, Maryland this past weekend. He’s continuing to pursue his dream of racing against the sport’s top 40 fastest riders in the near future. (Photo: Courtesy Kyle Endriss)

Send Us Your News & Notes!

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

Community News & Notes: newsandnotes@fcnp.com | School News & Notes: schoolnews@fcnp.com Mail: News & Notes, Falls Church News-Press, 200 Little Falls St. #508, Falls Church, VA 22046

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

LO CA L

A LITTLE LATE, but some necessary representation from August’s FIRSTfriday event at Art and Frame of Falls Church. (From left to right) New City of Falls Church business owner Esi House of Health Essence Clinical Massage, son Andrew, husband Chris, featured FIRSTfriday artist Valerie Makepeace and Mayor David Tarter stopped for a quick pic in front of the exhibit Delta Roots, which will be showing until Aug.31 (P����: C������� T�� G������) represent the fire service with the Eastside Firefighters, and many in the U.S. Special Forces community, at the internment.

Choralis Performs Mendelssohn’s ‘Elijah’ Area choristers are invited to join members of Choralis on Tuesday, Aug. 28 for a singthrough Mendelssohn’s “Elijah,” led by Artistic Director Gretchen Kuhrmann and featuring Kerry Wilkerson as Elijah, as well as Danielle Talmantes, Soprano; Kristen Dubenion-Smith, MezzoSoprano; Dennys Moura, Tenor and Keyboard Artist Todd Fickley.

Choralis’ Summer Sing begins at 7 p.m. at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (3022 Woodlawn Ave., Falls Church). Admission is $15 and score rental is available for $5.

F.C. Democrats Hold Labor Day Ice Cream Social The Falls Church Democratic Committee is hosting its Labor Day Ice Cream Social on Monday, Sept. 3 from 2 p.m. – 4:30 pm in the Cherry Hill Park picnic shelter (312 Park Ave., Falls Church). For more information, contact F.C.’s Democratic Committee at fallschurchdems@gmail.com.

McLean Governing Board Hosts 2 Budget Meetings The McLean Community Center (MCC) Governing Board invites residents of Small District 1A-Dranesville to attend two meetings and to submit comments on the Center’s fiscal year 2020 budget. The first meeting, the Finance Committee Meeting of the Whole, will be held at

AUGUST 23 – 29, 2018 | PAGE 11

TALENTED STUDENTS WHO WORK WITH the Middleburg, Virginia, based “A Place to Be” non-pro�it were featured at Aug. 11 cabaret at the Creative Cauldron in F.C. The mission of the group is “to help people face, navigate and overcome life’s challenges using the therapeutic arts.” It is composed of “leaders in the �ield of performance based music therapy.” with “inclusionary programming whereby all participants are seen as equal and valuable in their unique gifts and challenges.” (Photo: News-Press)

7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 11.

A Public Hearing on the FY 2020 Budget will follow at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 26. Both meetings will be held at the Center’s temporary administrative offices (6631 Old Dominion Dr., McLean). All meetings of the Governing Board are free and open to the public.

The FY 2020 budget year begins July 1, 2019 and ends June 30, 2020. At the Finance Committee Meeting of the Whole (Sept.

11), chaired by MCC Governing Board Treasurer Elizabeth John, the full board will work on the FY 2020 budget. The departmental and consolidated budget proposals will include a review of FY 2018 year-end actuals, the current year’s budget (FY 2019) and new proposals for FY 2020. The preliminary consolidated budget will be posted on the Center’s website,

mcleancenter.org, and available at the Center’s reception desks a week prior to the public hearing.

The FY 2020 Budget Public Hearing (Sept. 26) will give residents a second opportunity to review and comment on the budget proposal. District residents who wish to speak at the public hearing are asked to call 703790-0123, TTY: 711, to have their names placed on a speakers list.

In addition, written comments may be sent to the Governing Board by mail (address to: McLean Community Center, 6631 Old Dominion Dr., McLean VA 22101), fax (703-653-9435) or email Executive Director George Sachs at george.sachs@fairfaxcounty.gov.

Residents may continue to submit written comments after the public hearing through Monday, Oct. 22. The Board will approve

the FY2020 budget when it meets at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 24. The final budget will be approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in spring 2019. For more information, call the Center at 703-790-0123, TTY: 711, or visit the Center’s website https://bit.ly/2OU1OIF.

Summer Cabaret at The Cauldron Continues Creative Cauldron’s (410 S. Maple Ave., Falls Church) summer cabaret series continues with Helen Hayes nominated actress Ines Nassara in “Electric Lady” on Aug. 25 at 8 p.m. and rising star Catherine Purcell in “A Mixtape for Heroines” Aug. 26 at 8:00 p.m. Adult tickets $22, Seniors/ Military $20, Students $18. Tables for 2/4 $55/$110. For more information, visit creativecauldron.org.

PAGE 12 | AUGUST 23 - 29, 2018

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC OF THE PETITION OF VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY FOR APPROVAL AND CERTIFICATION OF TWO UTILITY SCALE SOLAR PROJECTS IN VIRGINIA AND FOR APPROVAL OF A RATE ADJUSTMENT CLAUSE CASE NO. PUR-2018-00101 On July 24, 2018, Virginia Electric and Power Company (“Dominion” or “Company”) filed with the State Corporation Commission (“Commission”) a petition (“Petition”) for approval and certificates of public convenience and necessity (“CPCNs”) to construct and operate two utility scale solar photovoltaic generating facilities: (i) the Colonial Trail West Solar Facility (“CTW Solar”), an approximately 142 megawatt (“MW”) (nominal alternating current) facility located in Surry County; and (ii) the Spring Grove 1 Solar Facility (“SG1 Solar”), an approximately 98 MW AC facility located in Surry County (collectively, “US-3 Solar Projects” or “Projects”). The Company requests approval of and a CPCN for each of the US-3 Solar Projects pursuant to §§ 56-46.1 and 56-580 D of the Code of Virginia (“Code”) and the Filing Requirements in Support of Applications for Authority to Construct and Operate an Electric Generating Facility. Through its Petition, the Company also requests approval of a rate adjustment clause, designated Rider US-3, pursuant to Code § 56-585.1 A 6 (“Subsection A 6”) and the Rules Governing Utility Rate Applications and Annual Informational Filings. Dominion filed a Motion for Entry of a Protective Order and Additional Protective Treatment, as well as a proposed Protective Order with its Petition.

Dominion maintains that the US-3 Solar Projects are needed, economic, and will provide ongoing capacity, energy, and environmental benefits for its customers and the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Company states that the newly enacted Grid Transformation and Security Act, among other things, promotes the construction of new utility-owned and -operated solar or wind generation facilities and amends Subsection A 6 to provide that 5,000 MW of solar is in the public interest.

According to Dominion, beginning construction before December 31, 2019, will allow the Company to maximize the federal investment tax credits available for solar facilities, which will result in an approximately $56 million reduction to overall customer costs.

Dominion indicates that it is proposing the US-3 Solar Projects in connection with its experimental, voluntary companion tariff, designated Schedule RF, which the Commission recently approved in Case No. PUR-201700137. The Company states that Scout Development LLC, a subsidiary of Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”) has committed to purchasing the environmental attributes, including renewable energy credits (“RECs”), associated with the proposed Projects at a fixed price under Schedule RF. Dominion maintains that it intends to sell the RECs produced by the US-3 Solar Projects to

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Facebook, and to credit the associated revenue to all jurisdictional customers through Rider US-3.

Dominion represents that in conjunction with its efforts to expand its portfolio of renewable and carbon free resources, the Company issued a request for proposals (“2017 RFP”) designed to identify potential acquisition projects to review and potential power purchase agreements to purchase, and provide a thirdparty market alternatives test. The Company asserts that its 2017 RFP meets the Subsection A 6 requirement to consider and weigh alternative options, including third party market alternatives, in selecting proposed generating facilities.

As proposed, the Projects would include groundmounted, single-axis tracking solar panel arrays with an expected operating life of 35 years. If approved, Dominion expects CTW Solar to be in service by December 2019, and SG1 Solar to be in service by October 2020. The Company states that the Projects will provide direct and indirect economic benefits to the Commonwealth of Virginia of approximately $115.9 million, which will support 721 jobs on a cumulative basis from 2018 to 2021.

The Company proposes an initial rate year for Rider US-3 of March 1, 2019, to February 29, 2020 (“Rate Year”), and represents that the three key components of the revenue requirement for the US-3 Solar Projects are the Projected Cost Recovery Factor, the allowance for funds used during construction (“AFUDC”) Cost Recovery Factor, and the Actual Cost True-Up Factor.

Dominion states that the Projected Cost Recovery Factor consists of the projected financing costs on invested capital for the Rate Year, plus income taxes on the equity component of the return and projected operating costs of the plant(s) during the post-commercial operations date portion of the Rate Year, as applicable. The Company indicates that the AFUDC Cost Recovery Factor consists of the recovery of AFUDC projected to be accrued on the Company’s books for the US-3 Solar Projects.

Dominion states that it did not include a true-up amount in this proceeding. However, if initiated in 2020 as expected, Dominion represents that the Actual Cost True-Up Factor will either credit to, or recover from, jurisdictional customers the difference between actual revenues recovered through Rider US-3 for calendar year 2019 compared to actual costs. The Company indicates that the total revenue requirement requested for the Rate Year for Rider US-3 is $10,365,000.

If the proposed Rider US-3 is approved, the impact on customer bills would depend on the customer’s rate schedule and usage. The Company asserts that implementation of the proposed Rider US-3 on March 1, 2019, will increase the monthly bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month by approximately $0.21.

Interested persons are encouraged to review the Petition and supporting documents for the details of 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 Petition and supporting documents and thus may adopt rates that differ from those appearing in the Company’s Petition and supporting documents.

The Commission entered an Order for Notice and Hearing that, among other things, scheduled a public hearing on December 18, 2018, at 10 a.m., in the Commission’s second floor courtroom located in the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, to receive testimony from members of the public and evidence related to the CPCN portion of Dominion’s Petition from the Company, any respondents, and the Commission’s Staff. Any person desiring to testify as a public witness at this hearing on the CPCN portion of Dominion’s Petition should appear fifteen (15) minutes prior to the starting time of the hearing and contact the Commission’s Bailiff.

The Commission also scheduled a public hearing on March 6, 2019, at 10 a.m., in the Commission’s second floor courtroom located in the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, to receive testimony from members of the public and evidence related to the RAC portion of Dominion’s Petition from the Company, any respondents, and the Commission’s Staff. Any person desiring to testify as a public witness at this hearing on the RAC portion of Dominion’s Petition should appear fifteen (15) minutes prior to the starting time of the hearing and contact the Commission’s Bailiff.

The public version of the Company’s Petition, as well as the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing, are available for public inspection during regular business hours at each of the Company’s business offices in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Copies also may be obtained by submitting a written request to counsel for the Company, Lisa S. Booth, Esquire, Dominion Energy Services, Inc., 120 Tredegar Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219. If acceptable to the requesting party, the Company may provide the documents by electronic means.

Copies of the public version of the Petition and other documents filed in this case also are available for interested persons to review in the Commission’s Document Control Center, located on the first floor of the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, between the hours of 8:15 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Interested persons also may download unofficial copies from the Commission’s website: http://www.scc.virginia.gov/case.

On or before December 11, 2018, any interested person wishing to comment on the CPCN portion of Dominion’s Petition shall file written comments on the Petition with Joel H. Peck, Clerk, State Corporation Commission, c/o Document Control Center, P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, Virginia 23218-2118. Any interested person desiring to file such comments electronically may do so on or before December 11, 2018, by

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

AUGUST 23 – 29, 2018 | PAGE 13

following the instructions on the Commission’s website: http://www.scc.virginia.gov/case. Compact discs or any other form of electronic storage medium may not be filed with the comments. All such comments shall refer to Case No. PUR-2018-00101.

S N

H WARK RD

SO U T

EA VE RD AM

R

AYLAN GR CO LO N

IAL

LW

GOODSON PATH

HO

TR

D DR

LLYB USH

LN

RD

N

RD NT P OI

SCALE: 1:50,000 2

1

0

2

Miles

Colonial Trail West

SO U T

R

AYLAN GR

LN

CO LO N

TR

LW

GOODSON PATH

HO

IAL

D DR RD

S N

EA VE RD AM

LLYB USH

SS WAM P

N

P

D TR OI N

H WARK RD

SU N MEA KE DO N W RD

SPRING GROVE RD

B

A SW

CY PR ES

IS INT RD NN PO WA NS KI DR WA N S

D

On or before January 30, 2019, each respondent may file with the Clerk of the Commission, and serve on the Commission’s Staff, the Company, and all other respondents, any testimony and exhibits by which the respondent expects to establish its case on the RAC portion of Dominion’s Petition, and each witness’s testimony shall include a summary not to exceed one page. If not filed electronically, an original and fifteen (15) copies of such testimony and exhibits shall be submitted to the Clerk of the Commission at the address

SU N MEA KE DO N W RD

SPRING GROVE RD

SS WAM P

On or before October 2, 2018, any person or entity wishing to participate as a respondent in this proceeding may do so by filing a notice of participation. If not filed electronically, an original and fifteen (15) copies of the notice of participation shall be submitted to the Clerk of the Commission at the address above. A copy of the notice of participation as a respondent also must be sent to counsel for the Company at the address set forth above. Pursuant to Rule 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 Rule 5 VAC 5-20-30, Counsel, of the Rules of Practice. All filings shall refer to Case No. PUR-2018-00101.

On or before November 6, 2018, each respondent may file with the Clerk of the Commission, and serve on the Commission’s Staff, the Company, and all other respondents, any testimony and exhibits by which the respondent expects to establish its case on the CPCN portion of Dominion’s Petition, and each witness’s testimony shall include a summary not to exceed one page. If not filed electronically, an original and fifteen (15) copies of such testimony and exhibits shall be submitted to the Clerk of the Commission at the address above. In all filings, respondents shall comply with the Commission’s Rules of Practice, including 5 VAC 5-20140, Filing and service, and 5 VAC 5-20-240, Prepared testimony and exhibits. All filings shall refer to Case No. PUR-2018-00101.

B

A SW

CY PR ES

IS INT RD NN PO WA NS KI DR WA N S

D

On or before February 27, 2019, any interested person wishing to comment on the RAC portion of Dominion’s Petition shall file written comments on the Petition with the Clerk of the Commission at the address above.

Any interested person desiring to file such comments electronically may do so on or before February 27, 2019, by following the instructions on the Commission’s website: http://www.scc.virginia.gov/case. Compact discs or any other form of electronic storage medium may not be filed with the comments. All such comments shall refer to Case No. PUR-2018-00101.

Spring Grove 1

SCALE: 1:50,000 2

1

above. In all filings, respondents shall comply with the Commission’s Rules of Practice, including 5 VAC 5-20140, Filing and service, and 5 VAC 5-20-240, Prepared testimony and exhibits. All filings shall refer to Case No. PUR-2018-00101.

All documents filed with the Office of the Clerk of the Commission in this docket may use both sides of the paper. In all other respects, all filings shall comply fully with the requirements of 5 VAC 5-20-150, Copies and format, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice.

0

2

Miles

The Commission’s Rules of Practice may be viewed at http://www.scc.virginia.gov/case. A printed copy of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and an official copy of the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing in this proceeding may be obtained from the Clerk of the Commission at the address above.

VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY

CO MME NT

PAGE 14 | AUGUST 23 – 29, 2018

A Penny for Your Thoughts

News of Greater Falls Church

By Supervisor Penny Gross

Dozens of county supervisors gathered in Fredericksburg last week for the 2018 County Officials’ Summit, hosted by the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo). With the November election approaching, VACo invited incumbent Senator Tim Kaine and his opponent, Prince William County Board Chairman Corey Stewart, to speak to the group. Their appearances were not a debate; Senator Kaine spoke at the beginning of the morning session; Chairman Stewart spoke at the end of the session, with an analysis of the upcoming federal election by former political science professor, Dr. Bob Holsworth, between speakers.

Senator Kaine began his remarks by focusing on the Pledge of Allegiance, especially the last two words “for all.” He noted that it could have been easy for the author, Rev. Francis Bellamy, to end the pledge “with liberty and justice,” but adding “for all” gave the pledge special significance for every person. “If the pledge isn’t working for all, then it’s not working,” Senator Kaine said. As he spoke, some attendees seemed to be repeating the pledge silently, to reinforce the tenets of words many of us say almost daily.

In his presentation, done without notes, Senator Kaine said his goal is a “Virginia that works for all,” and that includes broadband infrastructure investments. Just as bringing electricity was vital to rural areas in the l930s and 40s, so, too, is expanding broadband today. Closing the digital divide ensures that all Virginia communities can compete in the 21st century economy. Senator Kaine pointed out that the online marketplace needs transportation for delivery; all those goods ordered online probably will come to your home or office by truck – using road and rail infrastructure! A sales tax on online

purchases could help pay for that infrastructure, he added.

Career and technical education is another timely issue. Many current jobs do not require a four-year college degree, and Senator Kaine said that respect for skills in the trades needs to be raised. He recommended that middle school is not too early to begin introducing career and technical education to students who are beginning to think about their future opportunities. He said that he learned welding and ironworking in his father’s Midwestern business, and taught the same skills to youth in Honduras when he was a college student.

An awkward moment preceded Corey Stewart’s speech, as he was distracted by other conversations, and apparently didn’t hear his introduction. So the emcee repeated it! Mr. Stewart also supports universal broadband, but said he was not ready to answer the online taxation question. He also said he doesn’t believe in gun-free school zones, supporting the idea of armed guards, such as school resource officers and retired police officers. He also expressed concern about drugs coming across the U.S.-Mexico border, and said a wall would help combat that, the only time he mentioned programs touted by the Trump Administration.

There were no fireworks at Thursday’s presentations, but the analysis, leadership, and expertise of Senator Tim Kaine, honed as city council member, mayor, governor, senator, (and vice presidential candidate), made him a clear favorite, among the bipartisan crowd, to merit re-election on Nov. 6.  Penny Gross is the Mason District Supervisor, in the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She may be emailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

From the Front Row: Kaye Kory’s

Richmond Report I have joined Virginia Interfaith Power and Light in their letter-writing campaign urging our Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the State Air Pollution Control Board to deny issuing the air pollution permit for the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) Buckingham County/Union Hill compressor station.

The proposed 54,000+ horsepower ACP compressor station would be one of the largest that Dominion has ever built, and certainly the largest in Virginia.

It would expose residents to leaking pollutants such as formaldehyde benzene, arsenic, uranium, methane gas and ‘additional toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs)’. This threatening increase in health risk is a serious danger to the elderly and the children living nearby, as well as to communities downwind (not unlike the risk we experience from the particulate matter blowing into Virginia from California wildfires). Clean, healthy air should be a fundamental human right, especially for those most vulnerable to the effects of inhaling pollutants. All Virginians deserve to have their health and safety protected from the pollution that the construction and operation of such a massive compressor station would bring into

their lives.

I urge the Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board and DEQ to deny the air pollution permit for this fracked-gas compressor station until a complete and thorough risk assessment is made by DEQ in concert with other state agencies and with stakeholder groups prior to the permit issuance decision.

I ask that the Virginia State Air Pollution Board and DEQ recognize the environmental injustice that will be inflicted upon Union Hill, an historically AfricanAmerican community founded by freedmen over one hundred and fifty years ago. Locating the proposed compressor in Union Hill disproportionately burdens those long-time residents with levels of dangerous air pollution likely to cause health risks that are simply too high.

We need public hearings to answer all the questions posed by those who would be living beside the compressor and to allow the public, DEQ and the Air Pollution Control Board to hear testimony from expert stakeholder groups.  Delegate Kory represents the 38th District in the Virginia House of Delegates. She may be emailed at DelKKory@house. virginia.gov.

T:7”

YOU THINK SOMETHING MAY BE WRONG. THE ANSWER IS NOT STARING YOU IN THE FACE. Avoiding eye contact is one early sign of autism.

Learn the others today at autismspeaks.org/signs.

Early diagnosis can make a lifetime of difference.

before anything else, we’re all human rethink your bias at lovehasnolabels.com

© 2013 Autism Speaks Inc. “Autism Speaks” and “It’s time to listen” & design are trademarks owned by Autism Speaks Inc. All rights reserved. The child depicted has been diagnosed with an a

This advertisement was prepared by BBDO New York

CLIENT: PRODUCT: JOB#: SPACE: BLEED: TRIM: SAFETY: GUTTER: PUBS: ISSUE: TRAFFIC: ART BUYER: ACCOUNT: RETOUCH: PRODUCTION: ART DIRECTOR: COPYWRITER:

BBDO Internal Eye Contact P35136_C Half Page: 4/C None 7” x 4.875” None None None None Donna McDonald None None Steve Lakeman Len Rappaport None None

Filename: P35136_C_BBD_GEN_V4.i Proof #: 4

Path: Studio:Volumes:Studio:MECHANIC...chanicals:P35136_C_BBD_GEN_V4.indd Operators: Santoro, Jonathan / Susalis, Tracie

Fonts Minion Pro (Regular), Gotham (Medium, Book), Archer (Semibold), Helvetica Neue (47 Light Condensed) Graphic Name Color Space Eff. Res. halfpage1.psd (CMYK; 300 ppi), AS_12_FLogo_STK_cmyk_www.EPS, adcouncillogo_WHITE.psd (CMYK; 581 ppi)

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

CO MME NT

AUGUST 23 – 29, 2018 | PAGE 15

A New Sputnik Mobilization

Legally, based on the conviction of Paul Manafort and guilty plea of Michael Cohen, the President and his whole clown-show is now toast. On Tuesday, August 21, 2018, a historic day, the best execution of the rule of law found that the current President of the United States is, in fact, the creepy, Mob-style crook that so many of us remain convinced he’s been all along.

For Republicans, especially those looney-tunes who rode into Washington on the garbage truck of the Tea Party the last eight years, Tuesday marked Day One of the modern cultural metaphor known as The Games of Thrones’ “Red Wedding,” shorthand for an episode-ending royal bloodbath (it will be followed by a Great Blue Tsunami in November).

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS Still, neither Trump, his Republican sycophants nor their poison permeating the fabric of American society are going away so soon.

Beyond the Blue Tsunami, Americans must rally to cleanse and inoculate our society from what has brought us to this point.

Last weekend, Rudy Giuliani added his own public statement, on “Meet the Press,” that “truth is not truth,” to the growing evidence that the whole Trump swamp is operating as a bizarre personality cult that eschews facts and reality in favor of the whims and assertions of a demented leader.

The Russians didn’t just throw the 2016 U.S. Presidential election in favor of their preferred candidate, Trump, with hateful and deceitful false-flag social media propaganda. Their overall M.O. of fomenting divisiveness, on the one hand, and corrupting core democratic institutions in the U.S., such as a respect for the truth itself, has created a situation that if America is to recover, will require an enormous rally of American people and institutions over many years to come.

We are faced now with the same crisis that confronted America with news of the Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1958, when our Soviet Cold War adversaries beat us into space. Just as the enemies of democracy got a leg up on us then, so have they now once again with Trump.

It’s time to do again what we did then, when President Eisenhower spearheaded a U.S. national mobilization recruiting tens of thousands of young Americans to enter the fields of physics and space sciences to meet the menacing new Soviet “space race” challenge.

Now, we require a national U.S. mobilization, not to mimic the cynical, nihilistic Russian approaches to fomenting division and hate, but to reestablish the shared core values of our culture that are rooted in civics, reason, the study of our national governmental institutions and their origins and great ideas, of the Enlightenment, of the Constitution, of the Federalist Papers and the evolution of our civil, democratic government.

As with the Sputnik mobilization, it needs to start in every American high school and college campus. It’s that which the spectacular Broadway musical, “Hamilton,” speaks to. We will need the young to lead us. This is how best to defeat the lingering, unchallenged lies and revisionist nonsense of Postmodern critics of democracy.

Most, not all, of what passes as “Postmodernism” in the last 60 years is the philosophical poison that fascists spilled into our intellectual waterways, and it is rooted in notions that universal values like reason, love, respect, courtesy and civility are only tools of manipulation and control, that there is no such thing as love, for example, only power and pleasure. The French philosopher Michel Foucault, among others, spewed this all over the American cultural scene during the 1970s. It was that fallacious but nonetheless marginally-enticing antiestablishment nihilism that fueled the selfish self-interest counterrevolution of that era, doused with tons of hedonism, setting the stage for the proliferation of cults and radically-relativist thinking that spawned today’s Cult of Trump.

In one of the best books on the American Revolutionary era, “Democratic Enlightenment” by Princeton University’s Jonathan Israel (2012), argues at the very outset of the fascinating 1,066-page work that study of the Enlightenment “remains an ongoing, live and vital issue...except for those willing to yield to Postmodernism and concede the death of reason and moral universalism.”

Israel starts by combatting error. So should we.  Nicholas Benton may be emailed at nfbenton@fcnp.com.

Nicholas F. Benton

Our Man in Arlington

By Charlie Clark

“Summer’s almost gone,” sang the late Jim Morrison of the Doors (a former Arlington resident).

To stretch our time in the warm outdoors, my wife and I recently took a Sunday morning stroll by the South Four Mile Run Drive Community Garden.

It should come as no surprise that what some call “the People’s Republic of Arlington” boasts as many as seven of these shared gardening sites with as many as 300 plots that locals can rent.

Many aspiring green thumbs are not as fortunate in the landownership sweepstakes as two of my industrious neighbors. They have cultivated, next door to one another, unusual front-yard gardens exploding with exotic and self-sowing hibiscus, verbena and autumn clematis (formed into an archway). The two yards are magnets for hummingbirds, monarchs and other pollinators, one neighbor told me.

But for the lack-landed, the gardening bug remains strong — there is a waiting list of Arlingtonians willing to pay annual fees from $25-$60 to tend a community plot. (Prices differ depending on whether you rent a full or partial plot, with or without water access, according to the county Environmental Services Department.) It enforces guidelines for the sites run according to bylaws from civic associations, which assemble plot gardeners

every spring for a planning meeting.

Educational help comes from the Virginia Cooperative Extension.

The Four Mile Run garden across from the Barcroft Park sports complex (slogan: “Come Grow With Us”) is a fine example of our county’s co-location of public goods.

Laid out in green splendor below the trestle-mounted power lines of Dominion Energy are several dozen members-only pens defined by numbered chain-link fences with padlocked gates and water spigots. On corners are receptacles for mulch deliveries along with stacks of biodegradable leaf bags ready for pickup.

Passersby (on foot, on bikes, in cars) are treated to a volunteercreated array of morning glories, zinnia and black-eyed Susans, along with shiny squash, tomatoes and peppers. Gentle bumble bees roam the specimens that are protected from rabbits and birds (one hopes) by decoy owls and a pink flamingo.

The effect is not that of a professionally manicured aristocratic English garden. More like a blossom-in-the-city utilitarian labor of love, in which spectacular natural colors intermingle with stepladders, plastic buckets and the occasional lawn chair.

On this sunny muggy morning, we met self-taught gardener Jim Lee, a retired electrical engineer who lives in nearby Shirlington.

While weeding away, he was pleased to show off “all kinds of rosemary and wild mint” growing

in his quarter-plot. Lee is planting kale, bell peppers, summer squash, okra, parsley and eggplant in a routine that brings him to the garden five days a week — weather permitting. “You can do what you want” with your leased plot, Lee said. “But you have to keep it up.”

The neighboring plot, he said, is tended by a big-time farmer originally from India who tackles fancier produce such as malabar — spinach on a vine. “I’m an amateur compared to some.”

“We eat it or give it away,” added Lee, whose wife was originally an active partner but has pared back. Hobby gardening does require cash — “it’s cheaper to buy food at the grocery store,” he admitted.

Rabbits get their share of Lee’s tomatoes, he lamented, but that’s part of community gardening’s fun. “If you do it right, it’s a lot of work.” *** “Save Our Trees” banners remain on N. Ohio St., site of the disputed champion Dawnwood Oak tree.

On. Aug. 15, the county board wrote that it could do nothing to prevent Richmond Custom Homes from cutting the tall tree down to make room for a pair of luxury homes.

Disappointed activists with the Arlington Tree Action Group blasted officials’ reluctance to use Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance in this resource protected area to save the redwood.

Some protested on Tuesday as branches fell.

PAGE 16 | AUGUST 23 – 29, 2018

LO CA L

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Towing Skyrockets in Downtown Falls Church Continued from Page 4

The ownership group behind Northside, however, did start a dialogue with their neighbors located at 105 N. Maple. Ave, owners of the parking lot adjacent to the restaurant. According to Frickie, Northside’s owners expressed interest in a parking lease agreement in concept during the fall of 2015, a few months after the site plan was approved.

However, by spring 2016 the owners backed out of the agreement. In early April of this year, Frickie was again approached about parking by Northside, but by the end of that same month interest had dissolved. Since its June opening, signs have been posted on the doors at Northside warning customers of the parking situation and the potential for towing. The note also says the restaurant is “working to reserve spaces specifically for Northside guests.”

When contacted by the NewsPress about the parking situation at Northside Social, Mark Fedorchak, one of the restaurant group’s owners, responded in an email “We’d rather not comment on this particular topic at this time.”

At least one potential Northside customer told the News-Press the restaurant’s confusing parking lot and lack of parking means she won’t be eating there.

“I’m not going to Northside,” longtime Falls Church resident Linda Hart wrote in a letter to the News-Press. “It put a bad taste in my mouth.”

Her poor experience stems from an incident soon after the restaurant opened when her boyfriend was nearly towed from a Kerns parking space while he ran in to Northside to grab a menu.

“He was in there 30 seconds and when he was getting back in his car, a tow truck showed up,” she said.

Despite not hooking up his vehicle, Hart says the driver from Pete’s Towing and Storage still charged her boyfriend a $25 “near-tow” fee.

Hart said that while an owner from Northside came out to apologize, there was no cone blocking the space and the spot’s markings — the address for Kerns — were unclear.

“We would have obeyed the rules if we had known them,” she told the News-Press. “Who’s going to stop and look at what the address is?”

“We threw the menu in the garbage can,” Hart continued. “We

just won’t eat there.”

And while towing has most likely hit Northside customers the hardest, the rapid — and what some have called predatory — response from Pete’s Towing is also affecting patrons from nearby businesses as well as other business owners.

Arlington’s Susan Carr, who drives into the City for regular sessions at Curves, was towed when she inadvertently parked in a space she says was not clearly marked.

“I didn’t realize I was trespassing on some other property. I thought I was just being kind,” she told the News-Press about pulling through a space to allow someone else to park behind her on a busy Saturday in Falls Church.

Her reward for a good deed? A $150 towing charge from Pete’s.

Unbeknownst to her, when she pulled forward into the connected space, she went from a Curvesdesignated space to one belonging to the adjacent property at 207 Park Ave. “I would love for there to be clear delineation between the two parking areas,” she said.

The combination of a bustling new business, confusing parking signs and an aggressive tow truck company has also resulted in one Park Ave. business owner getting towed from in front of that person’s store.

“I’ve never been in an environment when I’ve had to be concerned that I might be towed when I’m at work or when I’m at lunch,” the owner, who asked to remain anonymous, told the News-Press.

The prolific towing numbers from Pete’s is due in part to the company’s use of “spotters.” The News-Press has received multiple reports that Pete’s Towing uses people to monitor lots and then alert tow truck drivers to parking violators. Ironically, these same spotters have been seen observing the lots while occupying the City’s public parking spaces, taking up valuable parking real estate during peak parking times.

Since lawmakers in Richmond did away with the “second signature” requiring property owners to sign off on each towed vehicle last year, all towing companies need is an initial agreement from a property owner or business and then the OK to tow anyone it deems is in violation of the parking regulations. The City’s current towing fee is $135 with an additional $25 charge if the tow is at night or on weekends.

The News-Press made multiple

attempts to contact Pete’s Towing for comment but did not receive a response.

A majority of Falls Church’s towing regulations, in addition to its towing fees, are set by the Commonwealth of Virginia, and thus there is little the City can do to rein in the predatory, but still lawful, towing practices. But City officials told the News-Press they are doing whatever they can to improve the downtown parking situation.

In addition to the new parking along Park Ave. and N. Maple, Council member Hardi said she would like to see parking go all the way down Little Falls St. “as long as there’s enough room.”

Though, while the additional on-street parking has helped alleviate the demand around Northside Social, several people have expressed safety concerns arising from the resulting narrower roadways.

In a letter to the editor, Peter Markham told the News-Press he almost struck a woman getting out of her car in one of the new Park Ave. spaces. In another letter, Dick Doyle called the situation “a pending disaster” concluding that it is “inevitable someone will be injured from the absurd crowding caused by a parking lane on an already narrow and busy road.”

Hart, whose boyfriend was almost towed from Northside, lives on N. Maple and said she had to swerve to other side of the street while she was driving down the street when someone opened a car door.

“Mark my words,” she told the News-Press, “there’s going to be an accident there.”

But both Hardi and Snyder say the additional parking should help with traffic calming.

“I think a lot of people use Park as a cut through and there were some people going pretty fast,” Snyder said. “Slowing down in an urban place like Falls Church is important. You have to be more vigilant and more careful.”

Snyder said that lane striping and the delineation of the parking lanes (both delayed because of the recent wet weather) will help improve the situation. He also told the News-Press there has been talk of expanding the curb out at Park and N. Maple to add pedestrian visibility and protection for the new spaces on the southside of the intersection.

In addition to creating new street parking, City officials agree more needs to be done to address the situation.

Shared parking is seen by the City as the ideal solution to accommodate Falls Church’s downtown parking demand as well their vision about what Falls Church will look like in the future. That vision includes transforming the downtown area into a walkable, bikeable — and yes, drivable — locale for residents and visitors.

Per Stoddard, the City is trending away from motor-dominant modes of transportation.

Citing Falls Church census data, Stoddard notes that 70 percent of owner-occupied single family homes own two or more cars. On the flip side, 70 percent of renteroccupied households have one or fewer cars, with 14 percent of those households owning no car at all.

“That’s where the City’s transportation policy has been going,” Stoddard added, mentioning how the City began this policy shift in 2014. “That’s what the City has been investing in — multiple modes of transportation. You’re starting to see that come about through the different kinds of infrastructure, grants and projects that are being implemented in the City.”

Falls Church has sought to make it easier for property owners to enter into shared parking agreements. After a 2016 shared parking analysis by the City recommended changes, it amended its zoning code governing shared parking agreements, allowing for looser restrictions on the amount of off-street between two different structures.

Convincing landlords to agree to share parking, on the other hand, is more difficult than it appears. For one, getting a written contract that accounts for everything from maintenance to security to liability coverage is a challenge in of itself. Adding in the potential for towing companies to tow according to site maps instead of private agreements, according to Bob Young, provides an extra layer of burden when making the arrangements.

Stoddard also brought up that City staff is looking into ways to extend its liability coverage for businesses who enter shared parking agreements. That way, they’re more likely to enter the agreements for the public good.

One example of a positive shared parking agreement is between Jeff Jeffrey, owner of Cue Recording on Park Ave, and Sam Miglani, owner of Apna Bazaar Jewelry. The two owners’ agreement is in principle only though,

but it works for Jeffrey.

“His building is attached to my building,” Jeffrey said. “We know, respect and trust each other to handle repairs and maintenance appropriately and have aligned goals. I’m happy to work out a parking arrangement with Sam.” Snyder and Hardi told the News-Press the City is actively exploring ways of better letting people know where existing parking is located. For instance, most people know of the City’s agreement with Kaiser Permanente for Friday night and weekend parking in its garage but few are aware of the 130 available spaces on evenings and weekends at the George Mason Square garage.

Hardi said she’d like to see light-up signage on both garages alerting drivers, especially those who live outside the City, to the available parking there.

Both she and Snyder, along with the Economic Development Authority, have also discussed painting the City’s public spots a different color so people know they’re public spaces. Hardi thinks bright green, similar to the bike racks, might work.

And while some property owners, like Young and Jeffrey, support the idea of building a garage to help with parking, City officials aren’t fond of that idea.

In 2015, the City was considering building a $3.4 million 109-space public parking deck near the library but the conclusion of its 2016 shared parking analysis instead recommended shared parking agreements with surrounding businesses as a much cheaper alternative.

“Parking garages are great but they’re very expensive,” Snyder said. “We’re trying to rebuild City Hall, the library, the schools.

Building a public parking garage would be a big undertaking and we think we could do better managing parking and better using the parking which is available.”

Despite the towing and the ongoing confusion about parking arising after the addition of Northside Social, Snyder thinks all the added activity downtown is, overall, a positive development for the Little City.

“The good news is we have an active, vital business area with restaurants who are doing good business,” Snyder said. “And we have a lot of people coming here and that helps with the tax base.”

“There are these growing pains you have,” he said, “but I’m excited about the things being done in the City.”

LO CA L

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Fa l l s C h u r c h

AUGUST 23 – 29, 2018 | PAGE 17

e

Business News & Notes F.C. Ballet School Hosting Open House, Demo on Saturday Falls Church School of Ballet is hosting an open house and demonstration on Saturday, Aug. 25 from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about the ballet school, meet teachers and students, and enjoy refreshments, crafts demonstrations, and a ballet “petting zoo” where young dancers can explore ballet items such as pointe shoes, tutus, and tiaras. The event is open to the public, dancers and non-dancers alike. The Falls Church School of Ballet is located at 109 Park Avenue on the second floor. For more information, visit www.fcballet.org.

Free Tai Chi at Sun & Moon Taiji One Next Thursday Sun & Moon Taiji One will host a tai chi open house with a free trial tai chi class on Thursday, Aug. 30 from 8:05 – 9:05 p.m. The event is open to those interested in experiencing and learning about the benefits of Tai Chi. The open house will take place at the Falls Church location in Jhoon Rhee Tae Kwon Do at the Falls Plaza Shopping Center, 1136 West Broad Street, Falls Church. To make a reservation, which is required, call 301-512-5071 or e-mail SunAndMoonTaijiOne@gmail.com.

Sa o fr

m

a

n vi

g

te

a

ia nt

e ph lif astro ES!

lc

at

M

IN

UT

I live

alone

EV

po

Y ER

10

but I’m never alone.

I have Life Alert. ®

One press of a button sends help fast, 24/7, even when you can’t reach a phone.

Fairfax County EDA Hosting Social Media Week

AS SEEN ON

The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority and SMW Fairfax are hosting Social Media Week on Friday, Sept. 14. The one day event, themed “Closer” will focus on the intensifying conflict between individualism and community and the changes in human connectivity through engaging, entertaining, educational and diverse content and experiences. Representatives from Capital One, National Geographic, Booz Allen Hamilton, Yext, Hilton, Axios, Microsoft, Zoomph, LSMP.video, and other top brands will address how companies and brands inspire innovation, the art of dealing with and defusing negativity online, and whether digital media fuels or burns startups. For more information, visit www.SMWFairfax.com.

TV

For a FREE brochure call:

1-855-616-3898

Monkeyboy Consumables Starts Relocation Kickstarter Campaign Monkeyboy Consumables has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help it secure space in the City of Falls Church. Currently selling its savory, healthy vegan sauce and sodas at the Falls Church Farmers Market and at 112 N. West Street, the site of the recently approved Founders Row development project, the campaign will provide funding to help with build-out costs to relocate. For more information or a link to the Kickstarter campaign, go to monkeyboyconsumables.com.

16 Restaurants Signed up for Taste of Falls Church

AUTO INSURANCE DESIGNED FOR AARP MEMBERS

$370

*

Sixteen local restaurants have signed on to participate in Taste of Falls Church scheduled on conjunction with the Falls Church Fall Festival on Saturday, Sept. 15. Attendees will be able to taste items from Café Kindred, Clare & Don’s Beach Shack, Dogwood Tavern, El Patron Bar & Grill, Famille at The Kensington Falls Church, Fava Pot, Hot & Juicy, Liberty Barbecue, Mad Fox Brewing Company, Original Pancake House, Peete’s Coffee, Plaka Grill, Sfizi, Sweet Rice, Taco Bamba and Trio Grill. The event will also include a Beer Garden, live entertainment sponsored by Rock Star Realty, and children’s activities. For information about the Falls Church Festival, visit www.fallschurchva.gov/638/Falls-Church-Festival.  Business News & Notes is compiled by Sally Cole, Executive Director of Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce. She may be emailed at sally@fallschurchchamber.org.

AVERAGE SAVINGS WHEN YOU SWITCH

IF YOUR CURRENT INSURANCE IS:

GEICO

$380

ALLSTATE

$477

STATE FARM

$383

Experienced Drivers 50+: You could save hundreds* on Auto Insurance when you switch to the AARP® Auto Insurance Program from The Hartford.

• Rates that reward you for your safe driving • Exclusive package of benefits • 24/7 Claim Hotline and exceptional claims service CALL THE HARTFORD TO REQUEST A FREE QUOTE AND SEE HOW MUCH YOU COULD SAVE:

(A) Go ask your mother.

(B) Because I said so.

(C) We’ll see.

YOU COULD SAVE:

1-855-781-6495

Not a member? If you’re 50 or over, request a FREE quote and more information today!

There are no perfect answers in parenting.

AdoptUSKids.org

* Savings amounts are averages based on information from The Hartford’s AARP Auto Insurance Program customers who became new policyholders between 1/1/16 and 12/31/16 and provided data regarding their savings and prior carrier. Your savings may vary.

AARP and its affiliates are not insurers. Paid endorsement. The Hartford pays royalty fees to AARP for the use of its intellectual property. These fees are used for the general purposes of AARP. AARP membership is required for Program eligibility in most states. The AARP Automobile Insurance Program from The Hartford is underwritten by Hartford Fire Insurance Company and its affiliates, One Hartford Plaza, Hartford, CT 06155. Auto program is currently unavailable in Massachusetts, Canada and U.S. Territories or possessions. Specific features, credits and discounts may vary and may not be available in all states in accordance with state filings and applicable law. Applicants are individually underwritten and some may not qualify.

1/18 CW

CA L E NDA R

PAGE 18 | AUGUST 23 – 29, 2018

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

FALLS CHURCHCALENDAR COMMUNITYEVENTS THURSDAY, AUGUST 23 Discount Travel Online. Groupon, Travelocity, Kayak, Hotwire, Orbitz — options for saving money on travel — are sometimes overwhelming. That’s why interested residents can join Shettima Abdulmalik, Community Center Assistant Manager and avid traveler, to learn some ways future travelers can save money while while on the road. Arlington Mill Community & Senior Center (909 S Dinwiddie St., Arlington). 1 – 2 p.m. 703-228-7369.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24 Moon Hike. Interested residents are invited to explore the fields and forest at night to take a look at the moon. Families ages 5 and up. Register children and adults; children must be accompanied by a registered adult. $5 fee due upon registration. Fort C.

F. Smith Park (2411 24th St. N., Arlington). 7 – 8 p.m. 703-2283403.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25 Farmers Market. The awardwinning, year-round market is filled with fresh, local produce, meat, dairy, flowers & plants, honey, music and much more.

City Hill Parking Lot. (300 Park Ave. Falls Church, VA) 8 a.m. – noon. 703-248-5027.

Community Workshop: Environmental Vision for Falls Church. Interested residents can learn to make rich organic compost from yard trimmings and leaves. The free program will include a composting demonstration, making compost tea, proper food waste composting and vermicomposting (composting with worms). Participants will receive a free portable yard waste compost bin. To register, e-mail Sandy Tarpinian (shoptarp@gmail.com).

Cherry Hill Park (312 Park Ave.,

Falls Church). 2 – 4 p.m. 703-2485034.

MONDAY, AUGUST 27 Preschool Storytime. Stories and fun for ages 0-5. Drop-in. All storytimes are followed by playtime with the Early Literacy Center toys.

Mary Riley Styles Library (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). 10:30 – 11 a.m. 703-248-5034.

Playtime with Early Literacy Center Toys. Explore educational and manipulative items (aka toys) to teach early literacy through play. Ages birth to 5 years. No registration required. Mary Riley Styles Library (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). 11 a.m. – noon. 703-248-5034.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28 Head in the Clouds. Interested residents can search for shapes in the clouds and learn what clouds tell us about the weather in activities, crafts and a walk

through the park. Ages: 3 – 5 years. Long Branch Nature Center at Glencarlyn Park (625 S Carlin Springs Rd). $5 per child due at registration. 4 – 5 p.m. 703-2286535.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29 Decorative Pennant Banners.

Interested residents can bring scrap fabric and make colorful banners to complement the upcoming county-wide picnic.

Walter Reed Community & Senior Center and Park (2909 16th St. S., Arlington). Ages 55+. 10 – 11 a.m.

703-228-0955.

Jeopardy! Interested residents are invited to keep their brain active while having fun by playing Jeopardy! at Aurora Hills. The community center will provide the answers, and residents and their teammates will come up with the questions, just like on the show.

Aurora Hills Community & Senior Center (735 18th St. S., Arlington).

1 – 2:15 p.m. 703-228-5722.

THEATER&ARTS

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24 “Passion.” Set in 1860s Italy, this gorgeous musical ignites a fiery love triangle when a handsome army captain is transferred to a remote military outpost and into the blinding infatuation of Fosca, the ailing cousin of his superior. Fosca’s fervent longing draws him in as it threatens to upend his career in an exhilarating tangle of obsession, desire, madness, and above all, passion.

Starring Natascia Diaz (“West Side Story”), Stephen Sondheim’s lush and romantic Tony Awardwinning Best Musical will thrill audiences in a radiant new staging by Associate Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner (“West Side Story,” “Sunday in the Park with George,” “Crazy for You”).

Signature Theatre (420 Campbell Ave., Arlington) $40 – $45. 8 p.m. sigtheatre.com.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25 “The Ice Child.” You can’t trust the fairy-folk. They stole a baby and left the Ice Child in its place.

The Ice Child is not like other children. He’s lost in a world that

BOOK YOUR 2018 VACATION NOW – CALL FOR LIMITED TIME SAVINGS

Rose Parade & Los Angeles Tour

Save

500

$

per couple

5 days from $1,049* $799*

Departs December, 2018

Hawaiian Islands Cruise & Tour

2 FOR 1

SAVINGS

12 days from $3,998* $1,999*

Departs year-round

Immerse yourself in the pomp and circumstance of the 130 Rose Parade with a YMT exclusive float viewing event and private dinner with the Tournament of Roses Committee, and comfortable grandstand seating to watch the parade up close. You’ll enjoy 5 wonderful days in glamorous Los Angeles, seeing highlights of the sprawling City of Angels from Hollywood to Beverly Hills to the vibrantly revitalized Downtown. th

Discover Hawaii on this island-hopping cruise tour. Spend 7 nights aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s renovated Pride of America and enjoy freestyle cruising at its finest.

Experience Lahaina, the historic whaling village with a near-daily “ 5 o’clock rainbow”, Kona’s coffee-rich “Gold Coast,” and Kauai’s spectacular landscape. Your land tour includes a Pearl Harbor and Honolulu Tour, and time to relax on world-famous Waikiki Beach.

FREE SPECIALTY DINING PACKAGE

YMT Vacations – the escorted tour experts since 1967! All tours include hotels, sightseeing and baggage handling.

Promo code N7017

TM

1-844-830-1196

*Prices are per person based on double occupancy plus up to 299 taxes & fees. Cruise pricing based on lowest cabin category after 2for1 savings; upgrades available. Single supplement and seasonal surcharges may apply. Add-on airfare available. Free Specialty Dining Package requires purchase of Ocean View Cabin or Balcony Cabin. For full Set Sail terms and conditions ask your Travel Consultant. Offers apply to new bookings only, made by 9/30/18. Other terms and conditions may apply. Ask your Travel Consultant for details. $

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

doesn’t understand and doesn’t welcome him. The Ice Child can’t be hugged, can’t be cuddled. He’ll melt. How do you love a child that can’t be touched? And what is love anyway – when you come right down to it? This is a tale of growing up different. It’s a fairy story – a story told by the fairies about people. And it’s a love story – a story about love. Keegan Theatre (1742 Church St., NW Washington D.C.) $15. 11 a.m. keegantheatre.com.

“The Bridges of Madison County.” A sweeping romance about the roads we travel, the doors we open and the bridges we dare to cross, this 2014 Tony Award-winner for Best Score and Orchestrations captures the lyrical expanse of America’s heartland and the yearning entangled in the eternal question “What if…?”

Keegan Theatre (1742 Church St., NW) $50 – $60. 7:30. keegantheatre.com.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 26 “Hamilton.” The American Musical is a sung- and rapped-through musical about the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, with music, lyrics, and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda, inspired by the 2004 biography “Alexander Hamilton” by historian Ron Chernow. The National Tour of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway sensation finally comes to D.C. Kennedy Center (2700 F St. NW, Washington, DC) $99 – $625.

7:30 p.m. kennedy-center.org.

LIVEMUSIC

CA L E NDA R

AUGUST 23 – 29, 2018 | PAGE 19

1566.

Thrillbilly’s. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church).

8:30 p.m. 703-241-9504.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24 Shartel & Hume. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 6 p.m. 703-241-9504.

Son Flavor. Clare and Don’s Beach Shack. (130 North Washington St., Falls Church). 6:30 p.m. 703532-9283.

Jay Powell. Falls Church Distillers (442 S. Washington St. A, Falls Church). 7 p.m. 703-858-9186.

The Chad Dukes Rodkast presents: “CollaborHAYtion.” A Theatrical Production. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $22. 8 p.m. 703-255-1566.

Peter Bradley Adams. Union Stage (740 Water St. SW, Washington, D.C.). 8 p.m. 877987-6487 Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Rd. Vienna). $30 – $75. 8 p.m.

703-255-1900.

Dialtones. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 9 p.m. 703-241-9504.

Drive in Riot. Dogwood Tavern (132 W. Broad St., Falls Church).

10 p.m. 703-237-8333.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25

THURSDAY, AUGUST 23

Nicole Belanus Trio. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $15 – $20. 1 p.m. 703-255-1566.

Brooke Yoder. Clare and Don’s Beach Shack. (130 North Washington St., Falls Church). 6 p.m. 703-532-9283.

Kenny Haddaway Show. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 4 p.m. 703-2419504.

Pete Baker. Dogwood Tavern (132 W. Broad St., Falls Church). 6:30 p.m. 703-237-8333.

Sausagefest 3. Dogwood Tavern (132 W. Broad St., Falls Church). 4 p.m. 703-237-8333.

Dawes with Shovels & Rope and Joseph. Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Rd. Vienna). $30 – $55. 7:30 p.m. 703255-1900.

Rosebud. Clare and Don’s Beach Shack. (130 North Washington St., Falls Church). 6 p.m. 703-5329283.

Lera Lynn + Kentucky Avenue.

Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $20. 8 p.m. 703-255-

Kidz Bop Live 2018. Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Rd. Vienna). $30 – $70.

6 p.m. 703-255-1900.

PETER BRADLEY ADAMS will be at Union Stage in Washington, D.C. on Friday. (Photo: Heidi Ross)

Young Relics. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 9:15 p.m. 703-241-9504.

The Legwarmers – D.C.’s Biggest 80s Retro Dance Party. The State Theatre (220 N Washington St., Falls Church). $18. 9:30 p.m. 703237-0300.

Angie Henle. Dogwood Tavern (132 W. Broad St., Falls Church).

10 p.m. 703-237-8333.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 26 City Farm Bluegrass. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 1 p.m. 703-2419504.

Ruthie and The Wranglers. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 4 p.m. 703-2419504.

Ramon & Kamaka. Clare and Don’s Beach Shack. (130 North Washington St., Falls Church).

5:30 p.m. 703-532-9283.

FLOODSTOCK featuring The VI-Kings + The Rockits. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $15 – $20. 7 p.m. 703-255-1566.

Northwoods, Bile Sister, Persons. Galaxy Hut (2711 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $5. 9 p.m. (703) 525-8646.

Memphis Gold All-Stars. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 8:30 p.m. 703-2419504.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28

Bollywood Boulevard — A Journey through Hindi Cinema.

Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Rd. Vienna). $25 – $55. 8 p.m. 703-255-1900.

Yngwie Malmsteen with Sunlord. The State Theatre (220 N Washington St., Falls Church). $30. 8 p.m. 703-237-0300.

Joy on Fire, Heterodyne.

Galaxy Hut (2711 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $5. 9 p.m.

MONDAY, AUGUST 27 Wolf Blues Jam. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 8:30 p.m. 703-2419504.

The Way Up Tour: Sebastian Olzanski & Wes Stromberg with Special Guest Skyward Story.

Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $15 – $79. 7:30 p.m.

703-255-1566.

Majestic: Weekly LGBTQ night.

Diva Lounge (6763 Wilson Blvd., Falls Church). 10 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29 Jack Hess featuring 1990BISHOP + Austin Skinner. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $10 – $20. 7:30 p.m. 703-255-1566.

Open Mic with Bob Hume and Martha Capone. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Arlington). 8 p.m. 703522-8340.

Calendar Submissions Email: calendar@fcnp.com | Mail: Falls Church News-Press, Attn: Calendar, 200 Little Falls St., #508, Falls Church, VA 22046 Be sure to include time, location, cost of admission, contact person and any other pertinent information. Event listings will be edited for content and space limitations. Please include any photos or artwork with submissions. Deadline is Monday at noon for the current week’s edition.

PAGE 20 | AUGUST 23 – 29, 2018

CLEANING SERVICES

House Cleaning Service Available 7 days a week Weekly - By Weekly - Monthly or by Time Move Out - Move In • 14 years Experience Good References • Senior Discount For Further Information: Call Susy • Cell (703) 901-0596

HOME IMPROVEMENT Handyman Service

SPIRITUAL

All repairs, plumbing, drywall, doors, windows, rotted wood, siding, gutters, lighting + more FREE estimates, insured Call Doug (703)556-4276

www.novahandyman.com

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life www.celebrationcenter.org 2840 Graham Road, Falls Church, VA 22042

LAWN SERVICES CHARLES JENKINS TREE SERVICE & MULCHING Mulch by the Load – 7 Yards Delivered and Dumped $320.00

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

OTHER SERVICES

The Law Firm Of Janine S. Benton

R

Couselors & Attorneys At Law

Janine S. Benton, Esq jb@jbentonlaw.com We Assist: government contractors small & large businesses

fcnp.com

Tel: 703.217.2632

classads@fcnp.com

Fax: 703.832.3236

703-512-9166

400 Maple Ave., So., Suite 210, Falls Church, Virginia 22046

Licensed and Insured

C L AS S I F I E DS For Rent

Gay Studies Best Seller

ROOM FOR RENT

Nicholas Benton

Available immediately. All utilities included.$800 a month. One months security deposit and first months rent is required to move in. Shared basement with two other professional non smoker male adults.

Shared laundry room, kitchen, and full bathroom within the basement. Quiet neighborhood, near metro and shopping centers. If interested please call Besra 703-869-1820 or email besray@hotmail.com

fcnp.com

Larry Kramer wrote: "A vital moral book about who we are and who we should be. I admire it and its author enormously."

Help Wanted EXPERIENCED WEEKEND CAREGIVER IN NORTH ARLINGTON Interviewing for an experienced, English speaking, private duty caregiver for a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 7am-7pm shift initially, with the potential for extra days possible. Experience with stroke patients a plus. Outgoing, fun, a great personality, detail oriented, reliability, and dependability a must. Competitive pay; commensurate with experience. Background check, drug test, and current references required.

Order it from Amazon

classads@fcnp.com

If interested please inquire at caregiver621@gmail.com.

Yard Sale HUGE YARD SALE Downsizing Everything must go! August 25th, 8 am until everything is gone. 7411 Tower Street, Falls Church

We are pledged to the letter andspirit 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. For the hearing impaired call (804) 367-9753.

Extraordinary Hearts Reclaiming Gay Sensibility's Central Role in the Progress of Civilization

how well do you know these

Learn more about your breast health at

KnowYourGirls.org

girls?

A RTS&E NTE RTA I NME NT

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Crossword

ACROSS

By David Levinson Wilk 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

15

14 17

18

23

24

12

13

19 21

25

26

29

27

28

30 32

31 35 39

11

16

20 22

10

40

41

47

36

33

34

37

38

42

43 49

48

51

52 54

44

45

46

50

53

55

56

57

58

59

63

64

65

66

67

68

© 2018 David Levinson Wilk

Across

60

61

62

1. Weed 6. Allen's replacement on "The Tonight Show" 10. ____ Nostra 14. "What ____ in the neck!"

15. Slimming surgery, informally 16. Dye that makes blue jeans blue 17. Gibberish 19. What "I" or "me" refers to 20. City on the Seward Peninsula 21. Life ____ know it 22. Frozen aisle icon 29. "Ooky" TV family name 30. 1961 Michelangelo Antonioni drama 31. Polite rural reply 32. Floor 34. Pan Am rival 35. "Here's where you wow them before the curtain falls!" (or what's seen in 17-, 22-, 51- and 57-Across) 39. Mahershala ____, Oscar winner for "Moonlight" 42. Like many taste tests 43. Anthony Hopkins' "Thor" role 47. Creature that carried Zeus' thunderbolts 49. Undesirable condition 51. Clive Cussler bestseller made into a 1980 film 54. Kristoff's reindeer in "Frozen" 55. Apt rhyme for "casino" 56. Many a Generation Z member, now 57. Generally 63. "Look ____" (Vince Gill hit) 64. Minus 65. Led Zeppelin's "Whole ____

STRANGE BREW

1. Weed

Love" 66. Pretty cool, in slang 67. Ancestry.com diagram 68. Cold shower?

DOWN

1. Pinup's leg 2. "The Problem with ____" (2017 documentary about a Simpsons character) 3. Subject of a 10-part 2017 Ken Burns documentary on PBS, for short 4. Schooner part 5. Assumed name 6. Liquid-____ 7. 'Til Tuesday singer Mann 8. Police alert, for short 9. Aussie animal 10. Othello's supposed rival for Desdemona's affection 11. Amount of power equal to a volt-ampere 12. Wrong start?

13. Sitcom character who was 229 years old 18. Does laps, maybe 21. Dancer de Mille 22. Johnny's replacement on "The Tonight Show" 23. Words of tribute 24. The Mormons, for short 25. Shish kebab meat 26. Antelope with twisty horns 27. The Soup ___ ("Seinfeld" character) 28. Drink that's often iced 32. Like ____ out of water 33. 60 secs.

JOHN DEERING

Sudoku

AUGUST 23 – 29, 2018 | PAGE 21 36. "Hedda Gabler" playwright 37. Overabundance 38. "Buenos días!"

39. Earth Day's mo.

40. Provide for tenancy 41. "Uncle!"

44. "SNL" castmate of Gilda and Chevy 45. Dictator ____ Amin 46. It's served by JFK and LGA 48. In ____ (so to speak) 49. Have an objection 50. Snorkeling sites 52. Undo 53. Nerve-racking 56. Wee bit 57. Sandwich that's often stuck with toothpicks 58. "So's ____ old man!"

59. Co. acquired by Verizon in 2015 60. Numbered hwy.

61. Verizon forerunner 62. "Mangia!"

Last Thursday’s Solution T A T A A L A N J I N G L A B R O K E M A M A W E N T B H A G E M I N R A R E P I S M M Y A A A N G E L C O O L E W O K

A T E I N

C H A R G I A N N G I I A S M O I N S T S O

C R A E E U L L T H O O P L A S S I N G O G A L E F N I N T D A S I N G S E A D I S G E N T N G S

C H I P L E N A E W A Y E W R D E E A T O N S O F T T E N D O A R I D L A N E U I S E Z A H N I N H D

By The Mepham Group

Level 1 2 3 4

6. Allen's replacement on "The Tonight Show" 10. ____ Nostra 14. "What ____ in the neck!"

15. Slimming surgery, informally 16. Dye that makes blue jeans blue 17. Gibberish 19. What "I" or "me" refers to

1

20. City on the Seward Peninsula 21. Life ____ know it 22. Frozen aisle icon 29. "Ooky" TV family name 30. 1961 Michelangelo Antonioni drama 31. Polite rural reply Solution to last Sunday’s puzzle

NICK KNACK

© 2018 N.F. Benton

1

8/26/18

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9.

For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit sudoku.org.uk. © 2018 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. All rights reserved.

LO CA L

PAGE 22 | AUGUST 23 – 29, 2018

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

BACK IN THE DAY

dog. lazy ick qu The fox sly p e d j u m the over dog. lazy is the Now for all time cows good co me to aid to the the ir of t u r e . pas

20 s Yearo Ag

is the Now for all time cows good co me to aid to the the ir of t u r e . p a s is the Now for all time cows good me to co to aid of the their.

Critter Corner It is now the time fo r all good to go cows to aid of the p a s their ture . * * * Throw * * Pour it up. it up

20 & 10 Years Ago in the News-Press

Falls Church News-Press Vol. VIII, No. 25 • September 3, 1998

Falls Church News-Press Vol. XVIII, No. 26 • August 28, 2008

A combination of circumstances including international unrest contributing to what projects to be one of the largest increases in enrollment in years for the Falls Church City Schools which open officially Tuesday morning.

As of September 1, 1,528 students, K-12, have officially registered, compared to 1,422 last year. That’s a 7.5 percent increase. The largest increase will occurr at George Mason High School, which will see a 12 percent increase this year.

Following the Falls Church City Council approval earlier this month of a 174-unit affordable housing project, the fate of the existing affordable housing units in the Winter Hill section of the City remains undetermined.

The original plan, as presented to the Council by Carol Jackson, executive director of the Falls Church Housing Corporation (FCHC), was to relocate the seniors living in the Winter Hill to the new City Center South Apartments building.

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

CRIME REPORT Larceny from Building, 455 S Maple Ave (Lincoln at Tinner Hill), Aug 13, between 2 and 3 PM, unknown suspect took multiple computer items from the residents’ business room. Suspect described as a black male with short black dreads, under six feet tall, carrying a large orange cooler.

Drug/Narcotic Violation, 200 Grove Ave (West End Park), Aug 13, 10:49 PM, a female, 18, of the City of Falls Church, was issued a summons for Possession of Marijuana.

Assault, 100 blk W Westmoreland Rd, Aug 15, 8:05 PM, a male, 46, of the City of Falls Church, was arrested for Assault.

Narcotics Violation, 300 blk W Broad St, Aug 17, 3:25 AM, a male, 26, of Alexandria, VA, was arrested

It is now the time fo r all good to go cows to aid of the p a s their ture . * * * Throw * * Pour it up. it up

Future of Winter Hill Mulled After Housing Project OK’d

Enrollment Tops 1,500 As Classes Begin Tuesday

Week of August 13 – 19, 2018

10 Year s Ago

for Possession of Marijuana and Obstruction of Justice.

Drunk in Public, 100 blk Hillwood Ave, Aug 17, 5:10 PM, a male, 50, of Falls Church, VA, was arrested for Drunk in Public.

Motor Vehicle Theft, 1051 E Broad St (Koon’s Ford), between 6:30 PM, Aug 17 and 9:25 AM, Aug 18, a 2018 Ford Explorer Ltd was broken into and stolen. The vehicle was recovered in Beltsville, MD, Aug 18 at 8:28 PM, by Prince Georges County Police.

Hit and Run, 306 Hillwood Ave, (Lesly Restaurant Bar & Grill), Aug 18, 9:56 PM, a late model red Toyota Tacoma struck the rear of a silver Honda Accord and left the scene. Suspect described as a white male in his late 20`s, approximately 5`5” tall and wearing a black shirt. Fairfax Police located the truck near Culmore. Investigation

continues Tampering with Auto, 1051 E Broad St (Koon’s Ford), Aug 18, 10:57 PM, an officer on patrol encountered a subject on the dealership lot after closing. A male, 44, of no fixed address, was arrested for Tampering with Auto (2 counts) and Trespass.

CRITTER CORNER ALERT! The John Orr’s cat, Boots, has been missing for nearly four weeks. His owner suspects that Boots may have been taken by a stranger. Anyone with information about Boots’ whereabouts should contact John Orr at jorr1@ masonlive.gmu.edu.

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

Driving Under the Influence, 500 blk S Washington St, Aug 19, 2:42 AM, a male, 26, of Falls Church, VA, was arrested for Driving Under the Influence.

OTHER ARRESTS Aug 14, 11:10 AM, a male, 21, of Falls Church, VA, was arrested by the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Dept on two warrants from the City of Falls Church for Identity Theft and Abusive Language, stemming from an event Aug 2 at 450 N Washington St (Hertz Rental Car).

Aug 19, 5:50 PM, a male, 24, of Woodbridge, VA, was arrested by Virginia State Police on an outstanding Capias from Falls Church General District Court. Underlying charge was Concealed Weapon Violation (Knife).

Jimmie & Mindy Married February 14, 2016

There’s a time to check whether your kid’s in the right car seat.

This isn’t it.

Car crashes are a leading killer of children 1 to 13. Is your child in the right car seat? Don’t think you know. Know you know.

safercar.gov/TheRightSeat

Jimmie was fired from her job as a teacher because of who she loves.

In 31 states in this country, it’s legal to discriminate against LGBT Americans. That means you can be fired from your job, evicted from your home, or even denied medical services because of who you are or who you love.

Everyone has the right to marry. Not everyone has basic rights.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

AUGUST 23 - 29, 2018 | PAGE 23

Your Family Deserves The

BEST

Technology...

Value...

TV!...

America’s Top 120

190 Channels

Plus More!

CALL TODAY - SAVE 20%

Savings with 2 year price guarantee with AT120 starting at $59.99 compared to everyday price. All offers require credit qualification, 2 year commitment with early termination fee and eAutoPay. Prices include Hopper Duo for qualifying customers. Hopper, Hopper w/ Sling or Hopper 3 $5/mo. more. Upfront fees may apply based on credit qualification. Fees apply for additional TVs: Hopper $15/mo., Joey $5/mo., Super Joey $10/mo.

Add High Speed Internet

14.95 1

• FREE Standard Installation

$

in up to 6 rooms

/mo.

Subject to availability. Restrictions apply.

Internet not provided by DISH and will be billed separately.

Where available.

• Smart HD-DVR Included!

• FREE Voice Controlled Remote

Upgrade to the Hopper® 3 Smart HD DVR

Requires internet-connected Hopper

• Watch and record 16 shows at once • Get built-in Netflix and YouTube • Watch TV on your mobile devices Hopper upgrade fee $5./mo.

CALL TODAY - SAVE 20%

1-844-648-8812 Se Habla Español

Call 7 days a week 8am - 11pm EST

Offer for new and qualifying former customers only. Important Terms and Conditions: Qualification: Advertised price requires credit qualification and eAutoPay. Upfront activation and/or receiver upgrade fees may apply based on credit qualification. Offer ends 11/14/18.

2-Year Commitment: Early termination fee of $20/mo. remaining applies if you cancel early. Included in 2-year price guarantee at $59.99 advertised price: America's Top 120 programming package, local channels, HD service fees, and Hopper Duo for 1 TV. Included in 2-year price guarantee for additional cost: Programming package upgrades ($69.99 for AT120+, $79.99 for AT200, $89.99 for AT250), monthly fees for upgraded or additional receivers ($5-$7 per additional TV, receivers with additional functionality may be $10-$15). NOT included in 2-year price guarantee or advertised price (and subject to change): Taxes & surcharges, add-on programming (including premium channels), DISH Protect, and transactional fees. Other: All packages, programming, features, and functionality and all prices and fees not included in price lock are subject to change without notice. After 6 mos., if selected you will be billed $8.99/mo. for DISH Protect Silver unless you call to cancel. After 2 years, then-current everyday prices for all services apply. For business customers, additional monthly fees may apply. Free standard professional installation only. HBO®, Cinemax® and related channels and service marks are the property of Home Box Office, Inc. SHOWTIME is a registered trademark of Showtime Networks Inc., a CBS Company. STARZ and related channels and service marks are property of Starz Entertainment, LLC. All new customers are subject to a one-time, nonrefundable processing fee.

PAGE 24 | AUGUST 23 - 29, 2018

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

DONBEYERVOLVO.COM

703-237-5000 • 1231 WEST BROAD STREET FALLS CHURCH, VA 22046

SUMMER OF SAVINGS E XC L U S I V E L E A S E O F F E R S

2018 XC90 T5 MOMENTUM

$535

PER MONTH

$4599 DOWN 36 MONTH LEASE 10,000 MILES/YEAR +TAXES, TAGS, & DEALER PROCESSING FEE 2018 Volvo XC90 Momentum (Model #: XC90T5AWD). MSRP $55,590.00. $534.43 per month for 39 months, $4,599.00 down payment on approved credit. Total capital cost of $46,251.00. Must finance through Volvo Financial Services. Includes Freight. $5,133.43 due at signing. Does not include tax, tag, processing and $699 dealer doc fee. $0.00 security deposit required. Acquisition Fee $995 Customer responsible for $0.20 per mile over 10000 miles per year. Stock #:7475D Offer Expires August 31, 2018.

R C ST R R ealty™ Group

Lots For Sale in Falls Church City

ROCK STAR Realty ... ROCK STAR Service

TM

Call ROCK STAR Realty when buying or selling your home ~ 703-867-8674

FOR SALE

FOR SALE

Open Sun 2-4

2 lots totaling nearly 18000 square feet in Falls Church City! In neighborhood of Million dollar plus homes!

Call Merelyn for details and price! 703-362-1112

Open Sun 2-4

3326 Military Dr., Falls Church

106 E Del Ray Ave, Alexandria

Spacious Layout

2,200 sq ft

Minutes to Metro

1,825 sq ft

3 bedrooms

2.5 bathrooms

3 bedrooms

2 bathrooms

UNDER CONTRACT

SOLD IN FCC

125 W Greenway Blvd, Falls Church City FCC Schools

1,539 sq ft

4 bedrooms

2 bathrooms

106 N Cherry St., Falls Church City New Construction

Open Floor Plan

5 bedrooms

3 bathrooms

703-867-8674

Proud Supporter of ®

REALTOR

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

2101 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22201

Lifetime Top Producer

Housing Commission, Vice Chair

Tori@ToriRocksRealEstate.com ToriRocksRealEstate.com 2012–2017

© 2018 Tori McKinney, LLC