January 14 - 20, 2016
Fa lls Chur c h, V i r g i ni a • ww w. fc np. c om • Fr ee
Fou n d ed 1991 • Vol. XXV No. 47
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week Castillo Re-Elected Chair of School Board Justin Castillo was the only candidate nominated by his Falls Church School Board colleagues at the board’s organizational meeting Tuesday night, and was elected unanimously to another term as the board’s chair. John Lawrence was elected vice-chair. See News Briefs, page 8
2016 Summer Camp Guide Inside
4.3-Acre ‘Mason Row’ Wins Final Unanimous OK from F.C. Council
To Include Hotel, Movie Complex, 322 Residences
by Nicholas F. Benton
It may be the middle of the winter but it’s already time to start planning for summer. Inside this edition, the News-Press has all the information you need on summer camps in and around the area.
Falls Church News-Press
See pages 15-22
David Brooks: The Brutalism of Ted Cruz
Ted Cruz lays down an atmosphere of apocalyptic fear. America is heading off “the cliff to oblivion.” See page 12
Press Pass with Raul Malo
Raul Malo, a founding member and lead vocalist of The Mavericks, has been playing a few solo shows in between his group’s run of gigs and he’ll be playing one of those solo gigs at The Birchmere later this month. See page 28
Index
Editorial..................6 Letters....................6 News & Notes.10-11 Comment...12-14, 23 Sports..................24 Food & Dining......27
Business News....29 Calendar.........30-31 Classified Ads .....32 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword...........33 Critter Corner.......34
GEORGE MASON HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMAN Bryan Villegas, shown volunteering at Clock Tower Thirft Shop in Falls Church, is facing the threat of deportation to Honduras. Members of the community are rallying to help the 14-year-old Villegas in his fight to stay in the United States. (Photo: courtesy)
Community Rallies Behind F.C. Student Facing Deportation
by Drew Costley
Falls Church News-Press
Bryan Villegas, a 14-year-old freshman at George Mason High School, came to Falls Church in April 2014 from his native La Esperanza, Honduras, to flee the violence in the country and because his aging grandparents could no longer care for him. “I didn’t want to be in my country because no one could care for me,” Bryan said. “And my parents are here.” Upon his arrival he was reunited with his parents and his
9-year-old sister, Ashly. He said that he was “nervous and excited” to see his parents, whom he had not seen in eight years. “It was good to see my parents and go to school,” Bryan said. Going to school might seem like a standard to many residents of Falls Church, but he spent most of his time in Honduras working with cows and horses. Bryan said that his life in Falls Church is more “relaxed,” but he has not taken the opportunities he has discovered since coming to America for granted. He is in the middle of a wrestling
season on Mason’s varsity team, played on the school’s junior varsity soccer team last spring and spoke to the News-Press just before volunteering at the Clock Tower Thrift Shop in Falls Church. He also regularly serves as a caretaker for his sister. “It’s good because I didn’t get to see her all of the time when I was in Honduras,” he said. “So now [that I can] see her I have a good relationship with her and I play with her sometimes.” But all of that is in jeopardy.
Continued on Page 4
By a set of three unanimous 6-0 votes (Councilman Dave Snyder abstaining), the Falls Church City Council approved the long-debated 4.3-acre Mason Row mixed-use project that will bring a new hotel and movie theater complex to the City of Falls Church. Monday night’s vote came after over three hours of comments both in favor and against, and met the bar of a super-majority vote required because the Planning Commission had failed to recommend it last month. Also approved unanimously (6-0) were measures to establish an amusement tax for all tickets to the movie theaters and a revenuesharing agreement with the site developers – Spectrum and Mill Creek – to allay their cost of construction. The project will include a hotel, expected to be a Home Suites 2 by Hilton, that will have between 122 and 141 rooms (depending on how much conference space it will have, a matter still under consideration) and a multi-screen movie theater by a prominent national chain that features a dining component as its two main commercial anchors, and 322 rental units, as well as an internal private street and a public-use square, retail spaces that with the allure of the anchors, can be expected to draw a minimum of two fine dining restaurants covering 20,000 square feet, 9,400 square feet of service retail with restricted use options, ample parking that will include a provision for 50 spaces for Sunday morning use
Continued on Page 5