Falls Church News-Press 1-26-2012

January 26 - February 1, 2012

Falls Church, Vi r g i n i a • w w w . fc n p . c o m • Free

Founded 1991 • Vo l . XXI N o . 48

Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads

Inside This Week School Board Adds Shea; Kearney Voted Chair The Falls Church City School Board unanimously selected Cecily Shea to fill the vacant seat on the board. The board also elected Kearney as its chairman and elected Greg Rasnake as vice chair.

See News Briefs, page 9

Father’s DNA Implicated In Gardner Case In the case of the alleged molestation last summer of two girls by F.C. City resident Michael Gardner, a copy of the Certificate of Analysis from the Virginia Department of Forensic Science states that the father of one of the girls “cannot be eliminated as a major contributor to the foreign DNA mixture” found on the pajamas of one of the victims.

Kaine, at Eden Center, Pressed by Viet-Am Leaders on Aug. 11 Raid Y ea r

of the

D r ag o n

Former Gov. & Senate

Candidate Gets Earful On Gang Task Force

by Nicholas F. Benton

Falls Church News-Press

City Council meeting.

Webb said that he planned to attend the prospective candidate briefing being provided by the F.C. Citizens for a Better City (CBC) at the Community Center that was set for last night. Citizens considering running for either the City Council or School Board this May were invited to attend and

It was billed as an economic round table discussion with leading members of the Washington, D.C.-area Vietnamese-American Chamber of Commerce yesterday, but a formidable delegation of respected leaders of the Vietnamese-American community wound up giving former Virginia Governor and current U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine an earful about the controversial Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force raid at Falls Church’s Eden Shopping Center last summer.

The Aug. 11 raid involved over 60 law enforcement officers who descended on the predominantly Vietnamese-American businesses in the center with 13 search warrants, confiscating $1 million in cash and $250,000 in allegedly illegal gambling machines, and with 20 felony warrants for arrests.

Many of the charges were subsequently dropped.

Kaine told the group – about 20 seated at tables aligned in a U-shape with Kaine on the dance floor of the V3 Lounge in the Eden Center and another three dozen seated at tables and booths elsewhere – that he’d read about the raid, but not heard a direct report until the meeting.

After multiple references, he said, “I hear you loud and clear,” saying it was the first he’d learned about the raid’s effect, its aftermath, and questions about discriminatory treatment. He counseled the group that there is a difference between deliberate dis-

Continued on Page 4

Continued on Page 5

See News Briefs, page 9

David Brooks: Free-Market Socialism

I hope President Barack Obama read about Maddie Parlier as he was working on his State of the Union address.

See page 12

Liam Neeson Stars In ‘The Grey’

Stranded in the far north after a plane crash, a small group of oil company workers try to walk to safety and are tracked by a large group of ravenous wolves.

See Ebert, page 24

THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON was welcomed in during elaborate ceremonies at Falls Church’s predominantly Vietnamese-American Eden Shopping Center last weekend. The City of Falls Church officially proclaimed Jan. 23, 2012 “Tet Nguyen Dan” (more photos on page 8).

(Photo: Will Marlow)

Lawrence Webb Announces Bid For Re-Election to F.C. Council

by Nicholas F. Benton

Falls Church News-Press

Index

Editorial..................6 Letters....................6 Business News....16 News & Notes.10-11 Comment........12-15 Calendar.........20-21 Restaurant Spotlight ............................22

Roger Ebert.........24 Press Pass..........25 Classified Ads . ...26 Sports..................18 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword...........29 Critter Corner.......30 Business Listing..31

First-term Falls Church City Council member Lawrence Webb formally announced Monday that he will seeking re-election to a new term in the May 2012 Falls Church municipal election.

Webb becomes the first Council candidate to announce his plans to hold onto his seat this May.

A total of three seats will be in contention. In addition to Webb’s, those held by Former Mayor Robin Gardner and Mayor Nader Baroukh will also be contested.

Gardner has announced she will not seek re-election and Baroukh has not revealed his plans yet.

Webb made his declaration while being interviewed on the “Falls Church News-Press Live” telecast prior to Monday’s F.C.

PAGE 2 | JANUARY 26 - FEBRUARY 1, 2012

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PAGE 4 | JANUARY 26 - FEBRUARY 1, 2012

LOCAL

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Webb’s Re-Election News Kicks Off F.C. Campaigns Continued from Page 1 gain from the insight and experience of long-time CBC civic activists and former elected officials to assist in their prospective campaign efforts.

(As the News-Press went to press last night, around 25 citizens showed up at the Community Center for the event.)

The meeting substitutes for the fact that the CBC will, for the first time in 50 years, not be holding a February nominating convention this year. The CBC’s board of directors voted in November to eliminate the traditional practice, and so it is expected that no City Council or School Board candidate will campaign this spring with the formal backing of a civic group.

Going into last night’s event, CBC activist Phil Duncan said he had not received any communiques from citizens intending to show up with an aim of running for office.

But Falls Church civic activists were surprised and pleased to discover that when the F.C. School Board issued a hasty request last week for persons interested in an interim appointment to fill a vacancy on the School Board that eight citizens stepped forward, including a number not before heard from in terms of community volunteering and involvement.

Concerning the considerable interest in the School Board appointment, Board member Kieran Sharpe, who has indicated his plans to seek re-election in May, hailed what he called “a new spirit of activism in Falls Church” reflected in the large number of

applicants. “This is a precursor of good things to come.”

He noted at a School Board meeting last week the “tremendous diversity” represented in the list, calling it “a wonderful thing,” and urged some on the list to consider serving Falls Church in “general government activities.”

There are, he said, “some diversity gaps” in City government now. “We’re good at reaching the upper middle class activist parent, but not with the most vulnerable in our community. I hope over the longer term some who’ve stepped forward will stay with the spirit of service.”

In addition to the three City Council seats in contention. there will be four School Board seats up for May election, including one to fill for two years the uncompleted term of Patrick Riccards, who resigned in December to follow employment out of the area.

Two School Board incumbents have made it public that they will seek re-election, Sharpe and Joan Wodiska.

Webb was first elected to the F.C. City Council in May 2008, becoming the first openly gay African-American elected to public office in the history of Virginia.

On the Council, he initiated the process that resulted in the referendum last November when voters determined to move local elections from May to November, a switch that will commence in the 2013.

Already, as F.C. Assistant City Manager Cindy Mester reported to the City Council Monday night, the election date change has cleared one chamber of the State Legislature by a unanimous vote.

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Area Viet-American Chiefs Hear Kaine Talk Economy Continued from Page 1

crimination and poor communication and misunderstandings.

Asked by the News-Press afterward if there was anything more he could do on the matter, he said, “I have to think about that.

I encourage them to press the legal issues. But if there are gang problems, police have to go after them.”

“Still,” he said, citing his experience as governor when similar concerns arose in the Latino community, “Law enforcement has to do more work to make it clear its actions are not targeted at who you are, but about an activity in your midst.” He added that the reading of Miranda Rights “has to be delivered in language people will understand.”

He told the VietnameseAmerican group that better efforts are needed to reach out with multilingual information through the non-English media, which have been mushrooming in Virginia, including on government websites and public service announcements.

He noted that the number of households in the U.S. where more than one language is routinely spoken has tripled.

Kaine was warmly received by the group, convened by the regional chamber’s president, Binh Thanh Nguyen, and moderated by Due Hau Tran. Toa Do hailed the human rights leadership of Kaine, who’d spent 17 years as a civil rights lawyer in Richmond prior to first entering electoral politics to become mayor of Richmond.

Kaine repeatedly stressed that he’s “passionate” about issues

of civil rights, equality and fairness, including on behalf of small businesses. In 2009, he signed into law acknowledgment of the Vietnamese-American Human Rights Day. If elected to the U.S. Senate in November, Kaine said, he would focus on opening up the federal government procurement process to more small, women and minority-owned businesses. He would also seek to relax stiff banking regulations, aimed at preventing a repeat of the events leading to the economic meltdown in 2008, for community bank lending to small businesses.

“I don’t worry about immigration. I celebrate it,” he told the group, as a big part of his push to “make America the most talented place on earth.”

He said that Virginia’s experience growing from the nation’s 40th to seventh largest economy involved overcoming racial and gender prejudices in the past to educate the local population, then to welcome talented individuals from around the world to come to Virginia for education and employment, and then to encourage businesses to follow the talent to Virginia to relocate corporate operations to the state.

He said that as governor, he increased the state’s spending on small, women and minorityowned business contracts from 13 to 40 percent of the total.

Kaine said he plans to be back to visit individual businesses at the Eden Center, noting that, as governor, he’d been through the center “three or four times” in the past. Kaine will face a challenge in the November election from a Republican contender still to be determined.

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JANUARY 26 - FEBRUARY 1, 2012 | PAGE 5

BINH THANH NGUYEN (LEFT), president of the D.C.-area Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce is shown pressing Former Virginia Gov. and U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine (right) on the Aug. 11 raid at the Eden Center an a round table at the Eden Center today. (P����: N���P����)

EDITORIAL

PAGE 6 | JANUARY 26 - february 1, 2012



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

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Founded in 1991

Vol. XXI, No. 48 January 26 - February 1, 2012 • 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 •

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To Contact the News-Press phone: 703-532-3267 fax: 703-342-0347 email: fcnp@fcnp.com display advertising ads@fcnp.com classified ads classads@fcnp.com letters to the editor letters@fcnp.com subscriptions distribution & delivery delivery@fcnp.com 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. ©2012 Benton Communications Inc. The News-Press is printed on recycled paper.

Editorial

That January Check List

Three and a half weeks in now, most are settling into the New Year, beginning to get the hang of writing “2012” on their checks and lingering longer and longer on those summer vacation destination web sites.

As a public service, here’s our checklist to help you make sure you’re not overlooking something: • New Year’s Resolutions – Remember those? Are they still operative for you, or have you already surrendered to inertia? Maybe you are just a slow starter. There’s nothing to say you can’t start in May. • Eating better and exercising – Always a good idea, and don’t disrespect even your small victories. You don’t need an Armageddon scenario to make real progress. For example, the single best way to exercise is by taking brisk walks. It’s the big secret the exercise industry doesn’t want you to know, and the price is right. The other big secret is that any exercise is better than no exercise. We are told that unless we put in a certain amount of time each day, we’re not doing ourselves any good. Horse feathers! Every gallop up the stairs, every trot to the mailbox helps.

• The weather – Please, please don’t start petitioning the heavens for more snow! So far this year, we’re enjoying one of the mildest in a long time, and we’re happy to keep it that way. Anyone who runs a business knows how disruptive severe weather can be in a whole variety of ways.

Besides, mild weather means the City doesn’t have to spend money on clearing roads, etc., so we as taxpayers benefit.

• Local campaigns – This is the time frame when the May Falls Church City Council and School Board elections begin to take shape.

The buzz intensifies on who is going to run and who won’t. The big change this time is that there will be no CBC nominating convention in February. Is anyone else feeling a little set adrift as a result?

• National elections – All those debates and four contests in January are keeping things interesting in the GOP primary process even this early. Remember when the first primary was in New Hampshire in midFebruary? There’s so much attention being paid on the primaries that those trying to gain liftoff for other important races this year – such as for the U.S. Senate in Virginia – are having a hard time getting anyone’s attention.

• Local and state budgets. The news is not good.

• Assessments. Due in early February, they’ll tell us this year that home values are appreciating modestly. That means a bigger tax bill, but betters chances for further rebounding for anyone wanting to sell or refinance.

• Local sports. It’s shaping up as another banner year for our local high school winter sports teams. Last year, both the girls and boys basketball teams made the state’s final four. This year could see a repeat.

Letters

Issue May Be Not About Water, But Kool Aid

Editor, I am constantly amazed at how and why this newspaper’s editorial page has become an unabashed apologist for a City and its water utility that has knowingly pilfered millions of dollars (over $50 million) from its water customers located outside its City limits.

The City had engaged in this illegal practice for many years (and I believe the City attorneys and

councils knew that it was illegal because it did not take a rocket scientist to read the code and determine that it was), and it took a Circuit Court judge ruling (since upheld by the Virginia Supreme Court) to keep the City from continuing to engage in this practice.

I read your one-sided blindly City apologetic editorials and think that you the Editor have “drank the Falls Church Kool-Aid”.

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Why shouldn’t Fairfax County citizens and elected officials be outraged over this behavior? And after several requests by Fairfax for the City to cooperate in two Consumer Protection studies were blown off by the City (was this not an attempt to communicate?), why shouldn’t Fairfax County citizens and Board be collectively outraged?

As to the lame argument that this “power grab” hurts “competition”, let me ask this question, how much competition did we have before? Answer: None.

One other observation, after all the illegal pilfering by the City, why shouldn’t Fairfax County citizens and Board embrace a system

(Fairfax Water) with the lowest rates along the East Coast of US, and the highest water quality in the region?

Oh I guess the “Kool Aid” blinds the senses.

Dave Cambell Via the Internet

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Mail or drop off Letters to the Editor, c/o Falls Church News-Press, 200 Little Falls Street #508, Falls Church, VA 22046

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COMMENT

G u e s t C o m m e n ta ry

JANUARY 26 - FEBRUARY 1, 2012 | PAGE 7

Healthcare Industry is Dominant in Falls Church

By Gary Hughes

For many residents of Falls Church, the public school system is the source of the City’s identity. With on-time graduation rates north of 95% and average SAT scores in excess of 1,700 it is a census driver and a source of pride and identity.

For others it is the sense of community and neighborhood which is scarce elsewhere but plentiful here. Still others will point to the non-profit and arts communities with their concern for others, their ability foster a sense of community and enrich our lives, and their concern for the quality of our lives. From a business perspective it is all about small business, especially retail.

Very few would identify any other specific industry but the data tells us otherwise; healthcare is a dominant industry in Falls Church.

A 2009 Falls Church City Comprehensive Annual Financial Report lists the top ten businesses (determined by number of employees) and four of the top ten are in healthcare. Of course the school system is the largest employer, followed by the City.

Kaiser Permanente is next followed by Tax Analysts and Koons Ford. BG Healthcare Services and Giant are next followed by Care Options, Don Beyer Volvo and Home Instead Senior Care. Just missing the list with 65 employees is Sunrise of Falls Church. In addition to the healthcare organizations are a plethora of primary care

physicians, podiatrists, dentists, chiropractors, and therapists. The importance of this industry to the economic and employment base of Falls Church is why the City Council made the correct decision

“The healthcare organizations located in Falls Church are not run of the mill operations; they are leaders in their fields.” in providing an exception to allow Body Dynamics to relocate to the City.

The healthcare organizations located in Falls Church are not run of the mill operations; they are leaders in their fields. Care Options, for example, was founded more than 20 years ago by Ann O’Neil. She is widely recognized for her leadership in the field of geriatrics. She recognized a human need and responded by developing a successful business model. Her work, directly or indirectly, made it possible for companies such as Home Instead to exist.

In addition to attracting the entrepreneur, Kaiser and Sunrise of Falls Church

are part of larger organizations, yet found a home for part of their operations in Falls Church. In the case of Sunrise, a publicprivate partnership was negotiated. It provides of an income-based rent for citizens of the City or certain relatives of current residents. It has been a very successful program and is a good example of how local government and business can work together to meet the needs of both community and business. Additionally, Sunrise is a strong advocate and practitioner of person-centered care while many other organizations are just trying to define person-centered care.

It should be noted that a significant portion of the health care industry in Falls Church is focused on providing services and assistance to older adults. As America and Falls Church age, this is going to be a growth segment and will extend beyond health care.

At the other end of the spectrum are the sole practitioners like Dr. Raymond Solano.

He is nationally recognized for his knowledge and skills as a Chiropractic Doctor and treats world class athletes and weekend warriors as well as non athletes. Likewise, Body Dynamics has a highly trained and well educated staff, an impressive clientele that includes world class dancers and they will provide physical therapy to the rest of us.

Over the past 25 years the health care industry has slowly migrated to

Falls Church and now it represents an important part of the City’s financial and employment base. As we plan our future, we would do well to consider how to build upon this naturally occurring asset.

No one need go so far as providing financial incentives to locate here; however, we should be careful in crafting rules and regulations so as to not create barriers that will slow the growth of this industry, especially the sector addressing the needs of older adults.

The Greater Falls church Chamber of Commerce should consider establishing a Health Care Committee or subcommittee whose purpose would be to be to give a voice to this industry on common concerns and to advise policy makers on measures that will foster the growth of the industry locally.

It is not likely that residents of Falls church will ever point to the health care industry as a source of identity but our thought leaders, business leaders and those who develop public policy should recognize the importance of the industry and determine how its growth figures into the employment and financial growth of the City.  Gary Hughes is a licensed Assisted Living Facility Administrator and is on The Board of Directors of the Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce.

Question of the Week Should an investigation be launched into the Aug. 11 2011 police raid of the Eden Center?

• Yes • No

Last Week’s Question:

How will the current Richmond legislative session affect the City of Falls Church?

• Don’t know

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

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

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& 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

PAGE 8 |January 26 – February 1, 2012

Lo ca l

Lunar New Year Fête at Eden Center Greets Year of Dragon

The Eden Center hosted a Lunar New Year celebration, welcoming the year of the dragon with afternoon entertainment Sunday and Monday at its Seven Corners area location. The free events featured a lion and dragon dance, fortune tellers, magicians, face painters, jugglers and musicians.

With restaurants and shops in the center open during the events, guests were able to expand on their cultural experience by stepping inside. While cold weather hit on Sunday, the crowds still came out (as pictured above), and hundreds took part in the Tết celebration. Miss Vietnam DC, Nhut Thanh Pho (top right), who was so crowned last fall at the Eden Center, stopped by for a visit.

(Photos: Will Marlow)

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LOCAL

JANUARY 26 - FEBRUARY 1, 2012 | PAGE 9

Fa l l s C h u r c h

News Briefs Fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DNA Implicated in Gardner Case In the case of the alleged molestation last summer of two girls by Falls Church City resident Michael Gardner, the News-Press has obtained a copy of the Certificate of Analysis from the Virginia Department of Forensic Science issued last month stating that the father of one of the girls â&#x20AC;&#x153;cannot be eliminated as a major contributor to the foreign DNA mixture profile previously developed from the sperm fraction of a representative sample of the stained area on the interior crotch of the pajama pantsâ&#x20AC;? submitted by the Falls Church Police Department for analysis. An earlier report by the same agency eliminated Gardner as a contributor. The latest report was released to attorneys representing Gardner by the Commonwealth Attorneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office prosecuting the case this Tuesday.

Shea Appointed to F.C. School Board It took the Falls Church School Board less than 20 minutes at a special early morning meeting last Thursday to select out of a field of eight prospects Cecily Shea as its unanimous choice to temporarily fill a vacant seat on the seven-member board, pending a special election in May. Shea was cited as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;clear choiceâ&#x20AC;? for the short term as the School Board tackles its annual budget in the next month because, as Board member Joan Wodiska put it, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a budget watchdog for the better part of a decade and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always relied on her.â&#x20AC;? All five of the board members present commented on the unexpectedly large number of citizens who formally expressed interest in the appointment. Shea will fill the board seat vacated by the resignation of Patrick Riccards last month, who moved out of the City on business. In early May, a special election to fill the seat for the remaining two years of its term will occur along with the regularly-scheduled election of City Council and School Board members to full fouryear terms. The eight who applied for last weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appointment were Linda Becker, Justin Castillo, Shannon Ashpole Litton, Rena Marsh, Barbara Nooter, Karen Oliver, Keith Thackrey and Shea.

Kearney Voted F.C. School Board Chair The Falls Church City School Board elected Susan Kearney as its chairman and elected Greg Rasnake to serve as vice chairman last week. The change in leadership came following the resignation of former chairman Pat Riccards in December, and this weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s selection of Cecily Shea to fill the vacant seat until a special election is held in May. Kearney, who became a school board member in July 2006, has served as vice-chairman since the beginning of the year. She has served as school board liaison to the Professional Employees Advisory Committee, Career and Technical Education Sub Committee of the BIE Partnership Council. Rasnake, who is serving his first term on the school board, is an attorney with the U.S government.

1HZ <HDU 1HZ +RXVH OPEN SATURDAY 1/28 1-4pm

4br/3ba home on cul de sac.

Office/ den too! Hardwood floors, updated kitchen, Rec room w/ FP. 2 car garage. Haycock ES, Longfellow MS, McLean HS.

Moran Keeps F.C. in New Redistricting Map The long-awaiting Virginia State Senate-approved U.S. Congressional redistricting map was passed last Friday, 20-19, and now goes to Gov. Bob McDonnellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s desk. Viewed as a victory for Republicans, it strengthens the GOP hold statewide on eight of the 11 districts it currently controls. To achieve this result, a Northern Virginia Democratic official told the News-Press, the 8th District held by Rep. Jim Moran and the 11th District held by Rep. Gerry Connolly were re-drawn as more strongly Democratic, in the case of Connollyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s district to protect the 10th District held by Republican Frank Wolf from facing a strong Democratic challenge, especially were Wolf not to seek re-election. Rep. Moran will continue to represent the City of Falls Church for the next decade, as he has since 1992, as well as areas of Arlington, Alexandria and eastern Fairfax County.

Connolly gains Reston and Herndon in Fairfax County, ceding Republican-leaning areas in western Prince William County to Wolf. Wolf needed a boost from redistricting, it was pointed out, because President Obama carried his district by three percentage points in 2008.

Web Site to Show Area Plowing Efforts The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has a new web tool that shows the status of snow plowing in northern Virginia neighborhoods. Once it snows at least two inches, according to a VDOT statement issued yesterday, residents can find out the status of plowing in Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William county neighborhoods. The map can be accessed at http://novasnowplowing.virginia.gov/pages/MapStreet.aspx.

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PAGE 10 | January 26 – February 1, 2012

LOCAL

News-Press

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Community News & Notes F.C. Police Seeks Volunteers for Crime Solvers Board The City of Falls Church Police Department is hosting an information session for City residents, business owners, and interested individuals to volunteer for the Crime Solvers Board. The session will be held Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 7:30 p.m., in the Dogwood Room in City Hall (300 Park Ave., Falls Church).

Crime Solvers is a community-oriented program involving citizens, the business community, news media, and the Police Department working together in the fight against crime. The board would pay cash rewards to anonymous informants who provide information leading to the arrest and indictment of any person or persons who commit crimes, or to the capture of a wanted person. No tax dollars

are used for rewards as Crime Solvers depends on the community for the funds. The board will work independently from but in partnership with the Police Department.

For more information, call Officer James Brooks at 703248-5056 or email jbrooks@ fallschurchva.gov.

F.C. Arts All-Media Show ‘Impressions’ to Open Jan. 26 Falls Church Arts will open its newest show, “Impressions,” with a reception this Thursday.

The juried show allowed all artists to submit work in all media.

As with last year’s “Letters” show, no further direction was given beyond the title of the show.

The juror for this show is Steven Munoz, director of the Lee Arts Center, a program

of Arlington Cultural Affairs.

He has curated a number of exhibitions at the Lee Arts Center, curated “The Art of the Storyteller” at Shirlington Branch Library, and was juror for The Art League’s All Media Exhibit in 2010. Munoz holds a bachelor of fine arts degree with a concentration in printmaking.

The show will be open from Jan. 26 – Feb. 12. A reception is scheduled for Thursday from 7 – 10 p.m. The exhibit will be located at ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 S. Maple Ave., Falls Church.

For more information, visit fallschurcharts.org.

due to inclement weather last Saturday.

The festival is a free admission, one-day indoor event set from 9:30 a.m. – 5:15 p.m. at Luther Jackson Middle School, 3020 Gallows Road, Falls Church.

The event includes a dragon parade, Asian performances, dragon and lion dances, Asian cuisine, arts and crafts, and kids games, as well as workshops on Chinese handicrafts, language and cooking.

For more information, visit chinesenewyearfestival.org.

Chinese New Year Fête Rescheduled for Saturday

The Safe Community Coalition will sponsor “What’s Love Got To Do With It? Healthy Relationships and Dating,” a lecture set for 7 – 9 p.m. on Feb. 9 at McLean High School, 1633 Davidson Drive, McLean.

The fifth annual Chinese New Year Festival held by the Asian Community Service Center has been rescheduled for Feb. 4

2 LEADERS OF THE Vietnamese-American community of the greater D.C. area were on hand at the Falls Church City Council meeting to accept a proclamation declaring Jan. 23, 2012 as Tet Dan Nguyen, the Lunar New Year of the Dragon. Anh Do and Dr. Hai Ta are shown in the foreground here with F.C. City Manager Wyatt Shields and members of the F.C. City Council standing in the rear. (Photo: News-Press)

SCC Program to Address Healthy Teen Relationships

In recognition of Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, the group will host an interactive educational program for parents and high school students.

A live theatre presentation of “Remote Control” from the Deana’s Educational Theater will explore issues, attitudes and beliefs about dating relationships.

Guest speaker Lynne Russell of Dating Abuse Stops Here will speak about the murder of her 19-year-old daughter by her exboyfriend in 2009. The program will conclude with a community forum led by a clinical social worker specializing in adolescents and families and a trauma physician from INOVA guiding the audience in an exploration of healthy aspects of teen relationships and dating.

For more information, call 703-795-6943 or visit safecommunitycoalition.net.

More than $2,000 was raised to support the projects of Creative Cauldron Friday at a fundraiser concert featuring a performance by local roots band NoBetterOff. The performance, sponsored by Stacy Hennessey, an agent with Fall Properties, treated a packed house to favorite blues, folk, rock and country classics for $10 tickets. (Photo: Courtesy Shaun van Steyn)

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

Senior Softball Players Invited to Sign Up with NVSS

Northern Virginia Senior Softball invites seniors in the area to sign up to play slow-pitch softball Tuesday and Thursday mornings for the April 12 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Aug. 5 NVSS season, on the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 50+ and womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 40+ teams.

Placement on one of 26 teams in one of three skill-level conferences is by a skill assessment, not

a try-out. Everyone present bats and 11 play defense.

For more information, visit nvss.org or call 703-524-5576.

Volunteer Advocates Sought for Long-Term Care Program The Northern Virginia Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program seeks volunteers to help residents of nursing and assisted living facilities in Northern

LOCAL Virginia advocate for their rights, resolve conflicts and improve their quality of life.

The program asks volunteers to commit four hours a week for one year. Volunteers set their own schedules and receive training and support. Visits usually occur between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays. Those interested can apply now for the spring 2012 training.

For more information, call 703-324-5861 or 703-324-5422, or email lisa.callahan@fairfaxcounty.gov.

Jewelry Designers to Sell Wares at McLean Showcase Forty-two jewelry designers and artisans, offering a wide variety of hand-crafted jewelry,

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Passport to the Worldâ&#x20AC;? at Creative Cauldron continued last weekend with a cultural exploration of Bulgaria and the Balkans. On Sunday, Lilia Slavova and Hanna Bondarewska of Hopa Tropa brought puppets to a workshop to tell stories and lead interactive activities to teach children about Bulgaria.

(Photos: Courtesy Laura Connors Hull)

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January 26 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; February 1, 2012 | PAGE 11

will converge on the McLean Community Center on Feb. 4 for the centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fifth annual McLean Jewelry Showcase.

The show will be held from 11 a.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 5 p.m. Admission is $3 per person. The center is located at 1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean.

To download a $1 off admission coupon, visit mcleancenter. org/special-events/jewelry.asp.

For more information, call 703790-0123.

F.C. Student Makes Deanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s List at U. of Vermont Edward P. Marshall of Falls Church, a first-year student majoring in elementary education K-6 in the College of Education and Social Services at the

University of Vermont, has been named to the universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s list for the fall 2011 semester To be named to the deanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lists, students must have a gradepoint average of 3.0 or better and rank in the top 20 percent of their class in their respective college or school.

F.C. Student Named to Deanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s List at St. Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s College Hallie Colegrove of Falls Church was awarded deanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s list honors for the fall 2011 semester at St. Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s College of Maryland.

Deanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s list honors are awarded to full-time students at SMCM who earn a semester grade-point average of 3.50 or better on 12 or more graded credits.

The Original Pancake House provided a free breakfast, for the eighth consecutive year, for more than 600 people on Christmas morning. In addition to breakfast, guests received clothing such as scarves and coats and were serenaded by seven sisters who formed a choral group just for the occasion. Children also received gifts from Mrs. Claus, pictured above. OPH owners Jeff and Jane Bulman host this event every year largely thanks to contributions of outerwear and funds from individuals and local businesses that enable them to secure transportation to the restaurant from local shelters. The Original Pancake House is located at 7395 Lee Highway, Falls Church. For more information, call 703-698-6292. (Photo: Courtesy Original Pancake House)

PAGE 12 | January 26 – February 1, 2012

NATIONAL

Free-Market Socialism

I hope President Barack Obama read about Maddie Parlier as he was working on his State of the Union address. Parlier is the subject of Adam Davidson’s illuminating article in the current issue of The Atlantic.

Parlier’s father abandoned her when she was young and crashed his car while driving drunk, killing himself and a family of four. Maddie is smart and hard-working. She did reasonably well in high school but got pregnant her senior year. She and the father of her child split up, which put the kibosh on her college dreams because she couldn’t afford day care.

She temped for a while. Her work ethic got her noticed, and she got a job as an unskilled laborer at Standard Motor Products, which makes fuel injectors.

Parlier earns about $13 an hour. She’d like to become one of the better-paid workers in the plant, but, in today’s facNEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE tories, that requires an enormous leap in skills. It feels cruel, Davidson writes, to mention all the things Parlier would have to learn to move up. She doesn’t know the computer language that runs the machines. “She doesn’t know trigonometry or calculus, and she’s never studied the properties of cutting tools or metals.

She doesn’t know how to maintain a tolerance of 0.25 microns, or what tolerance means in this context, or what a micron is.”

A good attitude and hustle have taken Parlier as far as they can. It’s hard, given her situation, to acquire the skills she needs to realize the American dream. Davidson’s article is important because it shows the interplay between economic forces (globalization and technology) and social forces (single parenthood and the breakdown of community support). Globalization and technological change increase the demands on workers; social decay makes it harder for them to meet those demands.

Across America, millions of mothers can’t rise because they don’t have adequate support systems as they try to improve their skills. Tens of millions of children have poor life chances because they grow up in disorganized environments that make it hard to acquire the social, organizational and educational skills they will need to become productive workers.

Tens of millions of men have marred life chances because schools are bad at educating boys, because they are not enmeshed in the longterm relationships that instill good habits and because insecure men do stupid and self-destructive things.

Over the past 40 years, women’s wages have risen sharply but, as Michael Greenstone and Adam Looney of the Hamilton Project point out, median incomes of men have dropped 28 percent and male labor force participation rates are down 16 percent. Next time somebody talks to you about wage stagnation, have them break it down by sex. It’s not only globalization and technological change causing this stagnation. It’s the deterioration of the moral and social landscape, especially for men.

The idiocy of our current political debate is that neither side seems capable of talking about the interplay of economic and social forces. Most of the Republican candidates talk as if all that is needed is more capitalism. But lighter regulation and lower taxes won’t on their own help the Maddie Parliers of the world get the skills they need to compete.

The Democrats, meanwhile, have shifted their emphasis from lifting up the poor to pounding down the rich. Democratic candidates no longer emphasize early childhood education and community-building. Instead they embrace the pseudo-populist Occupy Wall Street hokum.

This materialistic ethos emphasizes reducing inequality instead of expanding opportunity. Its policy prescriptions begin (and sometimes end) with raising taxes on the rich. This makes you feel better if you detest all the greed-heads who went into finance. It does nothing to address those social factors, like family breakdown, that help explain why American skills have not kept up with technological change.

If Obama is really serious about restoring American economic dynamism, he needs an aggressive two-pronged approach: More economic freedom combined with more social structure; more competition combined with more support.

As a survey of nearly 10,000 Harvard Business School grads by Michael Porter and Jan Rivkin makes clear, to get companies to locate their plants in the U.S., Obama is going to have to simplify the tax code, cut corporate rates, streamline regulations, make immigration policy more flexible and balance the budget over the long term.

To ensure there’s skilled labor for those plants, Obama would have to champion different policies: successful training programs like Job Corps, better coordination between colleges and employers, better treatment for superstar teachers, more child care options and better early childhood education.

This agenda is libertarian in the capitalist sector and activist in the human capital sector. Don’t triangulate meekly toward the center; select bold policies from both ends. That’s what would help Maddie Parlier and millions like her.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

David Brooks

Is Our Economy Healing?

How goes the state of the union? Well, the state of the economy remains terrible. Three years after President Barack Obama’s inauguration and two and a half years since the official end of the recession, unemployment remains painfully high.

But there are reasons to think that we’re finally on the (slow) road to better times. And we wouldn’t be on that road if Obama had given in to Republican demands that he slash spending, or the Federal Reserve had given in to Republican demands that it tighten money.

Why am I letting a bit of optimism break through the clouds? Recent economic data have been a bit better, but we’ve already had several false dawns on NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE that front. More important, there’s evidence that the two great problems at the root of our slump – the housing bust and excessive private debt – are finally easing.

On housing: As everyone now knows, we had a monstrous housing bubble between 2000 and 2006.

Home prices soared, and there was clearly a lot of overbuilding. When the bubble burst, construction – which had been the economy’s main driver during the alleged “Bush boom” – plunged.

But the bubble began deflating almost six years ago; house prices are back to 2003 levels. And after a protracted slump in housing starts, America now looks seriously underprovided with houses, at least by historical standards.

So why aren’t people going out and buying?

Because the depressed state of the economy leaves many people who would normally be buying homes either unable to afford them or too worried about job prospects to take the risk.

But the economy is depressed, in large part, because of the housing bust, which immediately suggests the possibility of a virtuous circle: an improving economy leads to a surge in home purchases, which leads to more construction, which strengthens the economy further, and so on. And if you squint hard at recent data, it looks as if something like that may be starting: Home sales are up, unemployment claims are down, and builders’ confidence is rising.

Furthermore, the chances for a virtuous circle have been rising, because we’ve made significant progress on the debt front.

That’s not what you hear in public debate, of course,

Paul Krugman

where all the focus is on rising government debt. But anyone who has looked seriously at how we got into this slump knows that private debt, especially household debt, was the real culprit: it was the explosion of household debt during the Bush years that set the stage for the crisis. And the good news is that this private debt has declined in dollar terms, and declined substantially as a percentage of GDP, since the end of 2008.

There are, of course, still big risks – above all, the risk that trouble in Europe could derail our own incipient recovery. And thereby hangs a tale – a tale told by a recent report from the McKinsey Global Institute.

The report tracks progress on “deleveraging,” the process of bringing down excessive debt levels. It documents substantial progress in the United States, which it contrasts with failure to make progress in Europe. And while the report doesn’t say this explicitly, it’s pretty clear why Europe is doing worse than we are: it’s because European policymakers have been afraid of the wrong things.

In particular, the European Central Bank has been worrying about inflation – even raising interest rates during 2011, only to reverse course later in the year – rather than worrying about how to sustain economic recovery. And fiscal austerity, which is supposed to limit the increase in government debt, has depressed the economy, making it impossible to achieve urgently needed reductions in private debt. The end result is that for all their moralizing about the evils of borrowing, the Europeans aren’t making any progress against excessive debt – whereas we are.

Back to the U.S. situation: My guarded optimism should not be taken as a statement that all is well. We have already suffered enormous, unnecessary damage because of an inadequate response to the slump.

We have failed to provide significant mortgage relief, which could have moved us much more quickly to lower debt. And even if my hoped-for virtuous circle is getting under way, it will be years before we get to anything resembling full employment.

But things could have been worse; they would have been worse if we had followed the policies demanded

by Obama’s opponents. For as I said at the beginning, Republicans have been demanding that the Fed stop trying to bring down interest rates and that federal spending be slashed immediately – which amounts to demanding that we emulate Europe’s failure.

And if this year’s election brings the wrong ideology to power, America’s nascent recovery might well be snuffed out.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

NATIONAL

‘An America Built to Last’

What a stark contrast. All those mud-slinging kids mangling each other with venomous attacks on bank accounts and personal lives on the one hand. The President of the United States on the other.

President Obama’s State of the Union address this week was eloquent, elevated and full of national optimism. It was nothing like we’ve seen coming out of the Republican primary process – those endless one day up, one day down debates and the record four state primaries and caucuses completed before the end of January.

“An America Built to Last” was the official title given to the State of the Union, a hearty theme hardly reducible to sophomoric squabbling and dirty name calling.

Most of the last month has been filled with the Republican primary process, and Falls Church news-press while the candidates have lashed out at each other, all have had only the worst to say about Obama. It has been a month of relentless Obama-bashing.

So when our president took to the podium Tuesday night to spell out the nation’s achievements, it had an eye-opening effect. Wait a minute!

This is the guy they’ve been spewing all that venom at? That’s quite a list of accomplishments he’s spelling out, and he believes in a bright future for us.

The president signaled he is fully locked and loaded for a scathing offensive later this year against whomever his GOP opponent turns out to be.

He’s no longer feels obligated to stress how sincere he is about reaching out to compromise with his adversaries. No, he condemns their intransigence with the full weight of the American way, using the nation’s military successes as a model for exactly what his GOP adversaries refuse to do, to work together for the betterment of the country.

It was a brilliant stroke to begin with references to America’s recent military successes at making the United States safer and more respected around the world. For the first time in nine years, no Americans fighting in Iraq. For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is not a threat. Most of al Qaeda’s top leaders are defeated. The Taliban’s momentum broken.

How has America’s military done these things? The president said right off the bat that it’s because our soldiers are “not consumed with personal ambition. They don’t obsess over their differences. They focus on the mission at hand. They work together.”

“Imagine,” he intoned. “What we could accomplish if we followed their example.”

This “working together” theme defined the new American morality in Obama’s speech, applied to bi-partisan cooperation – something the GOP has resolutely refused to agree to – to insisting that everyone plays by the same rules to reverse growing income disparity, pay fair shares of taxes and turn away from sleights of hand to profit from that which weakens the nation’s middle class, whether by speculative shenanigans or by shipping jobs overseas.

While the field of his GOP rivals can’t think beyond postmodern myths about Ronald Reagan, Obama showed he’s “old school,” invoking the legacy of Abraham Lincoln and FDR’s New Deal. This is not a president who’s shying away from the benefits of what Republicans assail as “big government.”

In the best single paragraph of his speech, Obama said, “During the Great Depression, America built the Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge. After World War II, we connected our states with a system of highways. Democratic and Republican administrations invested in great projects that benefited everybody, from the workers who built them to the businesses that still use them today.”

He then proposed to “take the money we’re no longer spending at war, use half to pay down our debt, and use the rest to do some nationbuilding right here at home.”

Obama’s greatest strength was invoking the values of the nation that worked together to defeat the Depression and win World War II and the admiration of the world. He went back, before the selfish greed that came with the Reagan Revolution, to a better America.

That’s the vision he wants us to share for a better America to come.

January 26 – February 1, 2012 | PAGE 13

Nicholas F. Benton

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

Changing the State of Our Union President Barack Obama painted the state of the union as strong and safe in his third address to the nation, but glossed over solutions to some of the nation’s biggest problems.

The President, running for reelection, touched base on all major issues including the economy, energy, regulation, immigration and education. He exuded confidence and laid out many points he is expected to hit on the campaign trail.

Although Obama has failed in the past at every attempt to work with the Republicans in the Congress, he still attempted to reach out to the opposition.

Most Republicans and Democrats could agree with a good portion of what the President had to say Tuesday night.

Falls church news-press Obama emphasized a return to “American values” as restoring the American dream. He gave an urgent message to Americans: We need to get back to basics, and fight side by side – despite our differences – to rebuild a better American.

Obama also stressed the hardship of the middle class and promised to restore its place in our society. The middle class has suffered the most with the recent financial collapse, causing much of our middle class to slide into poverty and thus increasing the great divide between the haves and the have-nots.

In the State of the Union address, Obama said, “Let’s never forget: Millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a government and a financial system that do the same.

It’s time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: No bailouts, no handouts, and no copouts. An America built to last insists on responsibility from everybody.” Obama encouraged equal responsibility for all Americans throughout his speech.

Obama went on to say we need smart regulations – not missing the opportunity to point out that during his term he had passed fewer regulations than Bush.

He cracked a funny joke about regulation preventing “spilled milk,” illustrating legislation intended to

Helen Thomas

hold oil companies accountable, in turn punishing the dairy industry.

Obama encouraged politicians to put aside differences, acknowledging we all have different ideas regarding “taxes and debt; energy and healthcare,” and stating that Americans – regardless of party affiliation – are cynical about corruption and politicking in Washington.

Obama promised to make sure there were no conflicts of interest with the way Congress does business, and said, “The executive branch also needs to change. Too often, it’s inefficient, outdated, and remote. That’s why I’ve asked this Congress to grant me the authority to consolidate the federal bureaucracy so that our government is leaner, quicker, and more responsive to the needs of the American people.”

Obama quoted his favorite President, Republican Abe Lincoln, in saying “Government should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves, and no more.”

Although the President talked mostly about domestic issues, he reassured Americans that we have made a difference in the world – particularly the Middle East – and that “the renewal of American leadership can be felt across the globe. … America is back.”

Obama has been promising change for over three years now. While he did finally start pulling the troops out of Afghanistan, and his State of the Union address was hopeful of more change to come, he will need to step up and play ball if he wants to serve a second term.

The President suggested taking half of the money previously used to fund the war, and splitting this evenly between paying down the debt, and creating building projects to put Americans back to work.

For Obama to win reelection, he will need to spend more time fleshing out how he will make these proposed changes a reality – despite a Republican majority in the House, and a split Senate.  Helen Thomas may be emailed at hthomas@fcnp.com.

comme nt

PAGE 14 | january 26 - february 1, 2012

A Penny for Your Thoughts

News of Greater Falls Church

By Supervisor Penny Gross

The long-awaited Seven Corners Transit Center opens this week, with a ribbon-cutting planned for tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. The transit center replaces several temporary sites with a dedicated location for bus bays and customer shelters near Arlington Boulevard and Thorne Road (adjacent to Chipotle). Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova and Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins, who currently is chairman of the WMATA Board, will join me for the ceremony. Also scheduled to speak is Metro General Manager Richard Sarles and a representative from Saul Centers, owner of the Seven Corners Shopping Center.

Long-time residents will recall that buses once stopped on the “top” level of the shopping center (when it was an enclosed mall) near the site of the current Michaels arts and crafts store. That location was conveniently located between the old Garfinckel’s and Woodward and Lothrop department stores. Later, the bus stop moved to various locations including, for a short time, in the western end of the parking lot along Route 7, near the current Red Robin restaurant. For many years, the location has been in the windswept corner near Ross Dress for Less on the lower level, a dark, cold, location that was well-used, but quite limited in capacity and forbidding.

Seven Corners Shopping Center is an ideal location for the new Transit Center, which connects nicely with the pedestrian bridge across Route 50 that was installed in the spring of 2009. The shopping center is in the Bailey’s Crossroads/Seven Corners revitalization district, and was granted parking reductions because the planned transit center would bring foot traffic into the center by mass transit, rather than by individual private vehicles. The county project,

which was coordinated with WMATA, included dedication of right-of-way needed from the shopping center, was designed by Department of Public Works and Environmental Services staff. Funding was provided through a Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) grant from the federal government, and required a 20 percent local government match.

Total cost of the investment is $1.7 million.

The facility is state-of-the-art, including new bus shelters, information kiosks, improved landscaping, and reinforced bus bays (no more “wrinkled” blacktop), and will encourage transit ridership, and provide customers with a better commute. The development of this transit center in eastern Fairfax County will provide a major transfer point for Metrobus passengers in eastern Fairfax and western Arlington counties. Other improvements in the Seven Corners area include new pedestrian signals and safer crosswalks at the intersection of Route 7 and Patrick Henry Drive, funded by the Transportation Bond that was approved by the voters in 2007.

This week also marks the Lunar New Year for many Asian nations. Skies were overcast and misty, but enthusiasm high as Vietnamese-American residents celebrated the Year of the Dragon with a joint flag ceremony at the Eden Center, near Seven Corners, on Monday. A huge American flag was raised over the Eden Center, reminding everyone of the price paid for the freedoms we enjoy. The rain didn’t dampen the firecrackers, and the bright red and yellow Vietnamese colors  Penny Gross is the Mason District Supervisor, in the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She may be emailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov.

Congressman Moran’s News Commentary

On the ‘State of the Union’

By James P. Moran

On Tuesday, President Obama delivered the annual State of the Union address. He rightly called for Congress to take specific actions to strengthen our economy, national security and improve the well-being of all Americans in the long term.

In his remarks, the President outlined what the Administration is calling a “blueprint for an economy built to last” which includes two important themes – investment in our future and reducing income inequality.

In the past 22 months, the private sector has added 3.2 million jobs. Unfortunately, continued losses in public sector employment remain a drag on our unemployment level and 13.1 million individuals are still looking for work.

By investing in our nation’s failing infrastructure we can create jobs, and lots of them. The President’s American Jobs Act would create 1.9 million jobs. It has been introduced in the House and Congress should pass it this year.

President Obama also discussed the importance of becoming energy-independent, both for our economy and for our national security, noting that “nowhere is the promise of innovation greater than in American-made energy.” Though I do not support the Administration’s efforts to continue to rely on drilling for a finite supply of oil offshore, the President is correct in calling for “a strategy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs.”

Our economic recovery and long term growth rest on creating opportunities for middle class success. A child who was born into poverty shortly after WWII had a slightly better than 50-50 chance of reaching the middle class as an adult. But in recent decades the United States has seen exponential growth in income inequality. In the previous 30 years, the top one percent of income earners saw their after-tax income rise by 275 percent. If the trend of rising inequality over the last few decades con-

tinues, it’s estimated that a child born into poverty today will only have a one-in-three chance of making it to the middle class.

Contributing to the inequality are unfair tax breaks and lower tax rates for the wealthiest Americans and corporations.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, in 2005, individuals with incomes of $8.6 million and more paid a tax rate of 17.5 percent, nearly the same rate as middle class Americans making less than $100,000. Our budget cannot be balanced and strong investments cannot be made if the Federal Government does not make our tax system more equitable.

Tilting the playing field in favor of the wealthy is not who we are as a nation. As the President eloquently put it: “Let’s never forget: Millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a government and a financial system that does the same.”

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

From the Front Row: Kaye Kory’s

Richmond Report The Virginia General Assembly convened the 2012 Legislative Session on Wednesday, January 11. This year’s 60-day-long session is scheduled to conclude on Saturday, March 10.

I have three committee assignments this year, up from two in my first term. I will continue serving on the Science and Technology Committee and this year I have also been assigned to the Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee.

Finally, I have been selected as the Minority Whip for the Cities, Towns and Counties Committee.

Work as the Whip will involve circulating information about upcoming votes and acting as the party spokesman and negotiator in committee when required.

Under the Virginia Constitution, odd years are “short” 45-day sessions, whereas even years are “long” sessions during which the Governor proposes a new budget to be voted upon. The Governor’s proposed budget has some budget cuts which are of great concern to me, only a few of which have made the news. Among them is the dues payment to and proposed Virginia’s withdrawal from, the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, which I have written about before.

One of the ICRPB’s responsibilities is developing watersharing agreements among the four states which lie in the Basin and DC. This is critically important in times of “low flow,” i.e., a drought. Such conditions have not occurred since the ‘90s but with the recent extreme weather fronts, we will need a joint plan.

If Virginia leaves the ICPRB, any joint planning will occur without us. As a well-known lawyer said, “If you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re probably dinner.”

I have introduced a budget amendment restoring the annual membership fee and a bill to study the ramifications of

Virginia’s withdrawal from the Commission.

NO EMERGENCY APPROVAL OF AIRPORT BOARD EXPANSION HB 252, Expanding the Board of the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority (MWAA), changes the number of members from 13 to 17. Two of those new members will be from Virginia, thereby enhancing its representation on the Board. This comes at a time when MWAA is in the middle of obtaining proposals for Phase 2 of the Dulles Metrorail extension, a project the transportation community in Northern Virginia strongly supports. The legislators, however, balked at the bill’s emergency provision, which would put it into effect immediately. If the bill goes through the regular legislative process, it will be effective July 1, 2012. I was not persuaded of the emergency nature of the bill. A good case was not made that this legislation was an emergency, and there was no reason that HB 252 would not be passed in the normal course of General Assembly business.

The legislative shortcuts associated with an emergency bill include by-passing several deliberative steps, including committee hearings. For those reasons, the emergency bill was rejected by the House. I fully support MWAA’s goals and Virginia’s expanded role in the process, but am concerned that in rushing through the committee process without the testimony of the involved parties, insufficient time was spent considering the impact of our decision upon Virginia taxpayers.

A new bill has been submitted without the emergency clause and I look forward to supporting its passage.  Delegate Kory represents the 38th District in the Virginia House of Delegates. She may be emailed at DelKKory@house. virginia.gov

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A nything

but

S t ra ig ht

First Mistress?

I agree with Focus on the Family co-founder James Dobson when he objects to Callista Gingrich becoming the First Lady because “she was a mistress for eight years,” and share the view of right wing blowhard Jason Molotov Mitchell when he says that “Newt and Callista are the last role models we want our sons and daughters looking up to.”

Both Dobson and Mitchell are odious human beings who peddle hate and traffic in lies – but at least they appear to be true social conservatives. The unassailable fact is that if you support or plan to vote for Newt Gingrich you do not stand for traditional family values. Indeed, the free-loving morality of Gingrich and his wife mirrors the distorted stereotypes they often unfairly project onto hippies and liberals.

Will someone in the Republican Party please tell me how this scheming, cheating couple that made a mockery of family values is remotely conservative? They had a secretive, sleazy affair that they hid for years until they could no longer conceal it. The hanky-panky was occurring even as Gingrich boisterously and brazenly skewered President Bill Clinton over his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

Thanks to Gingrich’s effective dressing down of CNN’s John King and his general bludgeoning of the mainstream media, reporters have been somewhat cowed and a tad reluctant to say the obvious: Callista is a shameless home wrecker and Newt is a philandering hypocrite who talks like a preacher and lives like a porn star. Here are a few inconvenient facts: • Newt fell in love with his high school geometry teacher, Jackie, and married her.

• Jackie, Gingrich’s first wife, claims that while she was recovering from cancer surgery in 1980, Newt came to the hospital to discuss divorcing her so he could marry his mistress, Marianne.

• In 2011, Gingrich justified his affairs by claiming they were “partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country.”

• In 2012, his second wife, Marianne, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, claimed that when she found out about the affair with Callista, Newt gave her an ultimatum that she must share him in an “open marriage.” When she declined, he divorced her.

The truth is, Newt Gingrich treats women like used cars, trading them in for newer models when something goes wrong under the hood or the new car smell dissipates. He is a totally despicable person who has poor character, is ethically challenged, and displays essentially no integrity or personal responsibility – yet hoards of born-again Christians seem to love him.

“I came at it completely believing that evangelical women would not even consider him,” Penn Nance of Concerned Women for America told The New Yorker. “I’ve been surprised by their willingness to listen and forgive.”

It is time to drop all pretenses by pretending there is a pro-family movement in America. These two-faced scoundrels are not “pro-family.” They are simply anti-gay. The only time these holier-than-thou charlatans give a damn about family values is when they slam democrats like John Edwards or bash homosexuals. When Edwards cheated on his sick wife and lied about it he was ruined and reduced to a pariah. Gingrich engaged in the exact same behavior and instead of becoming a pariah he might become president.

To cover their putrid past, the couple is trying to hide behind religion with Callista claiming that “When Newt became a Catholic, it was one of the happiest moments of my life.” However, there are many of us who have been around long enough to remember Gingrich preaching and preening about his Christian values back when he was Speaker of the House. His sense of piety was so grandiose that he once declared himself the “definer of civilization.”

Which civilization, the orgies of ancient Greece?

Generally, I tend to not give a damn about the personal lives of politicians, as long as they do their jobs. But it is galling and appalling that Gingrich would wife swap and bed hop while denying me the right to marry. In a recent New Hampshire presidential debate Gingrich said he opposed marriage equality for LGBT couples and justified his discriminatory position by invoking the “sacrament” of marriage.

Even more disturbing, in The New Yorker we learn that Callista’s longtime friend, Karen Olson, is a lesbian. Newt’s sister, Candace, is also a lesbian. With normal people, learning that friends and family members are gay changes their hearts and inevitably leads them to support equal rights. However, Newt and Callista seem more than willing to throw their “loved ones” under the bus to help his political aspirations.

If social conservatives do not stand up and smack down Gingrich’s candidacy, it is fair to say that there is no such thing as the Religious Right -- just a bunch of self-righteous scolds who don’t know the difference between right and wrong.

Wayne Besen

COMMENT

January 26 - february 1, 2012 | PAGE 15

Our Man in Arlington

By Charlie Clark For too long I viewed Arlington as a pleasant if utilitarian suburgatory.

News update: We’re bidding fair to evolve into an urbane mecca for the arts.

But not easily. At an event dubbed “Arlington Arts Day” this month, I was pleased to impartially moderate a panel on how to cultivate a strong arts movement— which in today’s dry economy is a bit like nurturing hot-house flowers.

Sponsored by the Leadership Arlington (a sort of executive training service for community pillars), the confab at the Arlington Arts Center assembled a county arts official, a volunteer from the Arlington Arts Commission, a private developer with a stellar record in support for the arts, and a working artist with her own company.

Not many artists care for bureaucracy, of course. But crucial to penetrating the state of the arts in Arlington is knowing that the commission in August published a long-term strategy looking out to the year 2030. It’s also revealing that the county recently moved its Cultural Affairs division into its Economic Development department. And the much-disputed Artisphere has undergone big changes under a new business plan

that intertwines it with local arts interests public and private.

Far from being a subsidized playpen for high-brows, the arts, the panelists agreed, spread creativity that builds the economy and makes Arlington desirable living space. A good arts policy must be fair and known to all aspiring artists and grant applicants. The major challenge is marketing.

Artisphere, that dome-shaped experiment in Rosslyn that some budget hawks call a boondoggle, is undergoing a “mid-course correction,” in the phrase of Karen Vasquez, Arlington County’s new director of cultural affairs.

Originally, “the Artisphere strove to be free from the constraints of a singular vision, performance type or audience,” the revised business plan notes.” But that caused confusion over who is the intended audience.

So the one-time site of the Freedom Forum is now open five days a week rather than seven.

Its restaurant (which only last year was considered its missing ingredient) has been demoted to a bar. And there are new lines of communication on facility rental by hometown artists and performers.

“County support could go down, but never to zero,” said Vasquez, noting that few arts centers survive on ticket sales alone.

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

CRIME REPORT Week of January 17 - 23, 2011 Drinking In Public, 200 Grove Ave. (West End Park) On Jan. 17, a male, 23, of Falls Church; a male, 30, of Falls Church; and a male, 29, of Falls Church were arrested for Drinking In Public.

Larceny from Building, 300 block James St. On Jan. 17, officers responded to the area for a report of a stolen cash and clothes from the victim’s residence. After further investigation, a male, 47, of the City of Falls Church, was arrested for Petit Larceny.

Shoplifting, 134 W. Broad St. (CVS Pharmacy) On Jan. 17, officer responded to the location for a report of a black male, approximately 5’ 10” tall, 40-50 years of age, with short curly hair and a dark colored jacket, concealing an unknown amount of merchandise.

Larceny from Vehicle, 929 W. Broad St. #200 (Dancing Mind Yoga) On Jan. 18 between 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m., an unknown suspect smashed windows and stole an iPhone and a computer from two vehicles parked in the business’ parking lot.

Prostitution, 300 W. Broad St. #23 (Stratford Motor Lodge) On Jan. 18, a male, 38, of Annandale, was arrested for Solicitation of a Prostitute.

A female, 35, of Falls Church, was arrested for Prostitution and Keeping a Bawdy House.

Trespassing, 6795 Wilson Blvd. #16 (Pho Bien Restaurant) On Jan. 19, a male, 34, of Sterling, was arrested for Trespassing.

Graffiti, 1081 W. Broad St. (West End Shopping Center) On Jan. 19,

John Seal, the finance director for two public-private partnerships, sees Artisphere as a way to keep Rosslyn’s buildings occupied and the streets lively at night. He said Arlington’s arts spending is modest compared with other jurisdictions, and he rattled off numbers on profits for restaurants in the vicinity of arts outlets.

Kevin Shooshan, director of leasing and marketing for the Shooshan Company, said Arlington imposes tougher-thanaverage requirements on developers, but his company makes a priority of public art, even on construction sites, giving artists low-cost exposure.

Shooshan’s donation of five years’ free rent at Ballston’s Liberty Center to the Bowen McCauley Dance. Co. was appreciated by Lucy Bowen McCauley, the company’s artistic director and creative force. Quoth she: “There’s a reason it’s called show business, not show arts.”

The good news for Artisphere is that it recently pulled off a coup. Scheduled for late February is the North American premiere of an exhibit of photographs owned by famed Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. It’s the fruit of Arlington’s sister-city relationship with Kahlo’s town of Cocoayan, Mexico.

Call it cross-pollination.  Charlie Clark may be e-mailed at cclarkjedd@aol.com. graffiti was found spray painted on the side wall.

Graffiti, 1003 W. Broad St. (Rite Aid) On Jan. 19, graffiti was found spray painted on the dumpster.

Shoplifting, 1150 W. Broad St. (CVS Pharmacy) On Jan. 20, a male, 50, no fixed address, was arrested for Petit Larceny.

Assault and Battery, 200 block N. Maple Ave. On Jan. 21, a male, 23, of the City of Falls Church, was arrested for Assault and Battery and Possession of Marijuana.

Vandalism, 624 S. Washington St. (Crown Auto Group) On Jan. 22, the business reported four vehicles were keyed sometime overnight.

Larceny from Vehicle, 105 W. Broad St. (Ireland’s Four Provinces) On Jan. 22 at approximately 11 p.m., an unknown suspect(s) stole medication from a patron.

Larceny from Building, 116 E. Broad St. (Pragma Corp.) On Jan. 23, the business reported an unknown suspect(s) stole an iPhone and a digital cameral sometime between Jan. 13 and Jan. 17.

PAGE 16 | JANUARY 26 - FEBRUARY 1, 2012

LOCAL

Fa l l s C h u r c h

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Business News & Notes Cajun Crawfish & Seafood Restaurant Coming to the WestLee Chasin’ Tails, a new Cajun crawfish and seafood restaurant, is building out the space formerly occupied by Bear Rock Café at 2200 N. Westmoreland in Arlington’s WestLee Building. The restaurant will feature a Louisiana-style boil dumped right onto the table will discourage the use of utensils and be centered on fun, friends, family and food. The restaurant is now hiring and they plan on opening in two months according to a post on their Facebook page. Its hours will be from 3 to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 3 p.m. to midnight Fridays 11 a.m. to midnight Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays.

For more information visit www.chasintailscrawfish.com. To contact the management about employment opportunities call 703-538-2565.

Creative Cauldron’s ‘Passport to the World’ Featuring F.C. Restaurants Creative Cauldron is partnering with Falls Church restaurants to enhance its Passport to the World festival of performances taking place through March 4. Passport performance attendees can get their “passport” stamped at performances and participating restaurants.

Passport stamps then equate to coupons and gift certificates. Special passport deals are available currently with Pilin Thai and Pizzeria Orso. Visit www.creativecauldron.org for a schedule of performances and updates on special offers and participating restaurants.

Russo Appointed to F.C. Chamber Board Rocco Russo of Edward Jones Investments has been appointed to the Board of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce. Erik Pelton of Erik M. Pelton & Associates has also been re-appointed to continue service as the organization’s Vice Chairman of Legislation. The Falls Church Chamber of Commerce is an independent, nonprofit organization of businesses working to promote and support the business interests in the Falls Church area. Additional information about the Chamber and a complete listing of its Board of Directors and member businesses can be found at www.fallschurchchamber.org.

Homestretch Selected as Arlington Firm’s Primary Charitable Partner Excella Consulting, an Arlington-based IT consulting firm, has selected Falls Churchbased Homestretch as its primary charitable partner, replacing the nonprofit’s IT equipment and doing activities throughout the year such as refurbishing its properties, tutoring students, teaching English classes to parents and, just recently, organizing a family festival at the nonprofit’s headquarters where nearly 100 Excella employees volunteered as children played games, decorated cookies and learned about health and wellness. Excella, which has found the relationship to be mutually benefitical, is not the only business that has adopted Homestretch as its own. Homestretch empowers homeless families with children under age 18 in Northern Virginia to attain permanent housing and self-sufficiency by giving them the skills, knowledge and hope they need to become productive participants in the community. Additional companies such as Integrity Management Consulting, Project Performance and Case Design have a similar partnerships with the nonprofit. For more information visit www.homestretch-inc.org or www. excella.com.

Iveson Named Sr. VP of Business Development at Acentia Falls Church-based Acentia announced that veteran business development executive Tricia Iveson has joined the company as Senior Vice President, Business Development.

She will direct all business development and corporate marketing activities, including strategic marketing planning, major program pursuits, bids and proposals, customer retention, and corporate communications. Acentia is a provider of technology and management solutions. For more information visit www.acentia.com.

F.C.-Based Hitt Construction Opens New Colorado Office Hitt Construction is extending its reach and opening a new office in Golden, Colarado.

The Falls Church-based company founded in 1937, has named Kevin Ott to lead the new office. Ott, who is from Colorado, worked on projects including the Four Seasons Hotel Denver and the former Sun Microsystems The Golden office, Hitt’s sixth in the U.S., is located at 15000 W. Sixth Avenue, Suite 330, Golden, CO 80401. The phone number is 720-399-1370.  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.

NATIONAL

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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On Closing Our Refineries

BY TOM WHIPPLE

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

Here is one more thing for those of us who live in the northeastern U.S. to start worrying about – the refineries that make our gasoline, diesel, heating oil, etc. are dropping like flies.

In today’s economy, these refineries are simply losing so much money that their owners who are not major oil companies that make billions from oil production are having to put them up for sale or close them down.

In recent years we lost refineries in Westville, New Jersey, and Yorktown, Virginia. A large refinery in southeastern Pennsylvania was shut down in December as was one in New Jersey. A third large Philadelphia refinery is up for sale and will be closed in July if no buyer can be found.

Last week we learned that what once was one of the largest refineries in the world (500,000 barrels a day [b/d]), located in the U.S. Virgin Islands and which has been shipping about 200,000 b/d to the U.S.’s east coast, will close next month.

If you add up the rated capacities of refineries being closed you are looking at something approaching 1.5 million b/d, but as these refineries were not running at capacity or sending their entire product to the northeastern U.S., we are losing more on the order of 800,000 b/d of daily production. If this is not enough, several European refineries, another source for gasoline in the U.S., have recently closed down or are up for sale.

Leaving out the 200,000 b/d of oil products that has been coming from the Virgin Islands, the three big Philadelphia area refineries were producing about 40 percent of the gasoline and 60 percent of the diesel being consumed in the northeast. Making up for a loss of this size is likely to take some doing. The EIA is already warning of higher prices in the area and the possibility of spot shortages as the logistics of keeping the northeast supplied with liquid fuels are becoming far more complicated.

Some of the loss in refining capacity can be made up by increasing production at the

‘

T

remaining refineries in the northeast, increasing the amount of ethanol in gasoline, or trying to push more oil through the pipelines from the Gulf Coast refineries. These pipelines, however, are already moving about 2.5 million b/d which is close to max capacity.

The only real solution to getting large amounts of finished petroleum products to the northeast is by water from the Gulf Coast refineries, Europe, or beyond. The EIA says there is enough capacity to bring additional quantities of petroleum

ply around the world, and very little is imported into the U.S., mostly from dedicated refineries in Canada. Attracting adequate supplies of diesel and heating oil to East Coast markets in the future is likely to require a hefty price premium or there will be shortages.

While it is always possible that somebody will come along, buy the unprofitable refineries, and make a go of operating them, given the general state of the US economy with the steady reduction in the demand for oil products, this does not seem likely.

The impact from the shuttered refineries will be felt first through increases in gas prices along the East Coast, particularly north of Washington.

There are already hints that such a price increase is underway. For years my neighborhood gas station has always sold its regular for within a penny or two of the national average which for the last week has been around $3.38 per gallon. My neighborhood station, however, is currently posting $3.60 or nearly 22 cents above the range where it has traditionally sold. While this unusual spread could be a temporary aberration, it could also be a harbinger of things to come. In New York and Connecticut, relatively high gasoline tax northeastern states, regular gasoline is now selling for $3.68 with is only 3 cents below California, the traditional price leader in the lower 48.

When refinery closings come together with the traditional winter-spring increase in gasoline prices we could be looking at some never-before-seen gasoline prices in the $4-5 a gallon range before the year is out.

Five dollar gasoline means diesel could be well north of $5 when the effect of the global diesel shortage is considered. This will certainly not do much for economic recovery later this year and would certainly roil the political pot. Alternatively, the EU may encounter such serious problems later this year that gasoline prices will go down.

he EIA is already warning

of higher prices in the

”

area and the possibility of spot shortages.

products into the New York harbor, but the Philadelphia area presents a problem for the port facilities are set up to unload crude for refineries and would have to be reworked to take in oil products for distribution. As the facilities are up for sale, little can be done until the ownership of the undocking facilities is settled.

Another problem in all this is the Jones Act which requires that all products being moved from one U.S. port to another be transported in U.S. built, owned, manned, and flagged ships. As there are not many tankers meeting these criteria, finding adequate transport may be hard to do. Shipping oil products from abroad is not a problem, and about 500,000 b/d of gasoline, besides that coming from the Virgin Islands, is already coming into the ports on the U.S.’s east coast. While most is coming from Europe, some is coming from as far away as India, which is already sending us 40,000 b/d.

Replacing the lost supply of refined gasoline may not be too much of a problem, but the distillates – diesel and heating oil – may be another problem. As the EU has been switching to diesel from gasoline in recent years, the continent has had a surplus of gasoline that refiners have been happy to sell to the U.S., but diesel is in tight sup-

 Tom Whipple is a retired government analyst and has been following the peak oil issue for several years.

JANUARY 26 - FEBRUARY 1, 2012 | PAGE 17

PAGE 18 | JANUARY 26 - February 1, 2012

Sports

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Lady Mustangs Drop 1st District Game in 4 Years

by Drew Costley

Falls Church News-Press

The George Mason High School girls varsity basketball team lost its first district game in four years Tuesday by a single point.

The Lady Mustangs were edged out, 51-50, by a scrappy Central High School squad. The loss was also the first home loss for either Mason varsity basketball team since the boys team loss to The Avalon School on Dec. 9, 2010.

“We were bound to lose a district game,” Mason coach

McLean Hockey Blanks Forest Park/Brentsville The McLean High School ice hockey team improved its Northern Virginia Scholastic Hockey League record to 5-1 with a convincing 5-0 shutout win over a physical Forest Park/Brentsville combined team last Friday.

free throws after she was fouled by sophomore guard Julianna Rollo.

A few plays later, junior forward Stephanie Cheney fouled out when she was called with a charge as she tried to back down Central sophomore Sydney Plum in the low post. Cook scored two more points to put the Lady Falcons ahead 51-48.

Mason called their final timeout with 1.5 seconds left in the game to set-up up one last play, but when senior guard Krista Kelly’s in-bound pass was intercepted by Truban and the Lady Falcons’ upset was complete.

LaBryan Thomas said. “I’m glad it happened now rather than later. Just looking at how the playoffs should play out, we’ll probably end up playing Central again. So [a possible re-match] gives something to strive and get ready for.”

Missed opportunities by the ‘Stangs on offense left them ahead only 6-2 at the end of the first quarter. The game began to heat up in the second quarter, and the Lady Mustangs went into halftime leading 23-17.

In the third quarter, both teams unleashed an offensive barrage; the quarter endeing with a four-

point play from Lady Falcons’ sophomore Brenna Cook. As the buzzer sounded, Cook sank a three-pointer while getting fouled by freshman guard Ava Roth.

Still, the Mustangs clung to a four point lead headed into the final quarter.

“We didn’t come out focused and ready to play,” Thomas said. He added that while he wasn’t “making any excuses” for his team, the majority of the Mustangs were focused on their mid-terms.

George Mason fell behind 49-48 at the 3:19 mark in the fourth when Cook sank two

Senior Nick Baker led the way with two goals and two assist for a four-point effort.

Both senior Craig Pritchard and sophomore Grady Paine had a goal and an assist in the contest.

Finishing the scoring was junior Marjorie Tolsdorf, notching her first career NVSHL goal with a redirection off a shot from senior Julian Kell.

The team’s next game against Adams Division rival South Lakes is set for tomorrow, Friday, Jan 27, in Reston.

Hoops Win Secures Mason’s Spot Atop Bull Run District Standings

Calling All Parents & Coaches:

Submit game notes & photos of local high school sports for publication. sports@fcnp.com

by Drew Costley

Falls Church News-Press

George Mason High School’s varsity boys basketball team notched an important win last week with a 51-38 victory over Clarke County High School.

Before the game, Clarke trailed the Mustangs by a game in the Bull Run District standings and would have tied the Mustangs for the top spot with a win.

“We knew we had to win,” said senior forward Nate Ogle, who led the Mustangs in scoring with 16 points against the Eagles. “Clarke has always been good no matter what.”

After jolting out of the gate with a 20-2 first quarter, the Mustangs ended the first half ahead 29-13. Then, in the third quarter, the Eagles changed to a 1-2-2 defense and put more pressure on the Mustangs. They crept back within eight points of the Mustangs with a brief run, but a Mustang time-out and nine points in the third from Ogle helped George Mason regroup.

“We used a timeout to reemphasize having poise with the ball and making hard cuts

and ball fakes before we passed, and we were fine,” Coach Chris Capannola said. “We haven’t been pressed much all year, so it sort of took us by surprise a bit.”

Senior guard Noel Obusan scored 11 points and senior guard Eion Oosterbaan added eight points against the Eagles. The Mustang defensive effort against Clarke County’s leading scorer, Ethan Emmart, held him to five points.

“We try to defend [Emmart] before he catches the ball, which limits his open looks,” Capannola said. “It’s a formula that’s worked very well the last couple years.”

Last week, Mason defeated Madison County High School 65-52 at home. The game was a grudge match for the Mustangs, who lost 57-53 at Madison County last month.

“We played much better defense against Madison this time than at their place. We held Travis Warren to 11 points, and he averages over 20,” Capannola said.

“We also made 11 threes, and Nate Ogle dominated inside, which is our formula for success.”

Cheney and Goodwin both scored 14 points against Central.

Rollo added eight points.

Tuesday’s victory came after a 68-46 Mustang victory over Clarke County High School last Thursday.

The Lady Mustangs will travel to Strasburg High School tonight to take on the Rams, and then host two district opponents next week.

George Mason will play Rappahannock County High School next Tuesday and then play William Monroe High School Thursday, Feb. 2, in the Mustangs’ senior day game. All games tip-off at 7:45 p.m.

Against the Mountaineers, senior forward Philippe Griffiths led the Mustangs in scoring with 20 points and Ogle trailed right behind with 19 points. Senior guards Eion Oosterbaan and Obusan scored 11 and 10 points, respectively. Griffiths and Ogle combined to go 10-10 from the free-thrown line.

Capannola said Griffiths has “learned to shoot with a guy in his face, and that’s the sign of a pure shooter; he looks at the rim only, and doesn’t see the defenders.” He said, “not many big men can do what Nate does,” about Ogle, who has shown skill as an inside and outside shooter.

The Mustangs traveled to Central High School Wednesday for a rematch after their 30-point victory over the Falcons earlier this season, but game results were not available at press time.

Going into last night’s game, the Mustangs were on a seven-game win streak.

On Friday, George Mason will host Strasburg High School at 7:45 p.m. in another rematch of an early-season district victory.

Marshall High Hires New Head Football Coach George C. Marshall High School announced this week the hiring of a new head football coach, Greg Sullivan.

Sullivan is a 1979 graduate of Marshall, and brings his alma

mater more than 30 years of collegiate and high school coaching experience.

Sullivan spent three years as a head coach at T.C. Williams High School and, most recently,

served as an offensive coordinator at Mclean High School.

In addition to Sullivan’s coaching background, he is also an educator with over 20 years in the field of mathematics.

Lo cal

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Fa l l s C h u r c h

January 26 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; February 1, 2012 | PAGE 19

School News & Notes Mason High Performers Take Part in Music Invite George Mason High School musicians participated in the 25th annual Virginia Commonwealth University Invitational Festival of Winds, Brass and Percussion on Jan. 14. The festival gives students an opportunity to play in an ensemble of like instruments.

GMHS instrumental musical director Mary Jo West was the saxophone clinician and director for the saxophone group.

Musicians spent the day with an artist-clinician to address specific instrumental techniques.

The event culminated in an evening concert at the Singleton Performing Arts Center on the VCU campus.

Mason Gourmet Cooking Class Gets Kitchen Tour Janice Wolner and her George Mason High School gourmet

cooking class students visited the state-of-the-art Falls Church City Public Schools kitchens last Friday. Food Services Director Richard Kane gave them a kitchen tour, showing them various pieces of large restaurant equipment like the slicer and the walkin refrigerator.

They learned the difference between â&#x20AC;&#x153;washingâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;sanitizing,â&#x20AC;? and three intrepid students washed their hands and took a turn on the serving line, serving fellow students their lunch.

F.C. High Students Track Trout Growth in Class Project Students in the Foundations of Science class at Falls Church High School are not only studying life cycles, but are watching trout develop from egg to fry to adult trout.

In October, teacher Emily Dygve had students start their observations with eggs in a tank

they care for in the classroom, part of a program by Trout Unlimited.

The students are responsible for making scientific observations, supervising environmental conditions, charting growth progress and, later in the year, releasing the trout into the wild.

Silent Auction to Support Marshall All-Night Grad Event A silent auction set for Feb. 15 will support the George C. Marshall High School All-Night Graduation Celebration.

The event begins at 5:30 p.m. in the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lobby outside of the cafeteria. The bidding ends at 8 p.m. with prizes paid for by check or cash and distributed at 9 p.m. that evening. Bidders must be present to win or pre-arrange for pick-up.

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The Chrysler Foundation announced the recipients of its 2011-12 FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) and FLL (FIRST Lego League) grants. Team ProBot, Mary Ellen Henderson Middle Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s FIRST Lego League robotics team, has been awarded a grant of $1,250, which the team will use to offset costs associated with items such as registration fees, parts and materials, and team apparel. Pictured above, members of Team ProBot, (from left to right) Miles Lankford, Anna Grace Ulses and Jack Gradle take part in the FLL Regional Competition on Nov. 20 at George Mason University.

(Photo: Courtesy Kevin Frazier)

gift cards, artwork, getaways, items from local businesses, and more.

The All-Night Graduation Celebration offers fun and safe

entertainment for seniors on graduation night.

George C. Marshall High School is located at 7743 Leesbug Pike, Falls Church

CALENDAR

PAGE 20 | January 26 – February 1, 2012

Community Events Thursday, January 26 Children’s Story Time. Ages 2 – 5 years. Mary Riley Styles Public Library (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). Free. 10:30 a.m.

703-248-5034.

Children’s Story Time. Barnes and Noble (6260 Seven Corners Center, Falls Church). 11 a.m.

703-536-0774.

F.C. Rotary Club Meeting. Terri Wu, a volunteer speaker for the Asian Community Service Center, will present a talk titled “Shen Yun – The Most Dynamic and Engaging Way to Explore Classical Chinese Culture.”

Harvest Moon Restaurant (7260 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). $11 optional dinner. 6:30 p.m. clubrunner.ca/fallschurch.

Book Talk. William S. Connery will discuss Civil War Northern Virginia 1861. One More Page (2200 N. Westmoreland St., Arlington). 7 p.m. 703-300-9746.

Friday, January 27 Book Talk. Matthew Bowman will discuss The Mormon People.

One More Page (2200 N. Westmoreland St., Arlington). 7 p.m. 703-300-9746.

Children of Uganda in Concert. St.

Send community event submissions to the News-Press by e-mail at calendar@fcnp. com; fax 703-532-3396; or by regular mail to 200 Little Falls St., #508, Falls Church, VA 22046. Please include any photos or artwork with submissions. Deadline is Monday at noon for each week’s edition.

Patrick’s Episcopal Church (3241 Brush Drive, Falls Church). 7:30 p.m. 703-578-4385.

Korean Heritage Foundation Performance. Performing traditional Korean dance and music, local youth and adults will come together to educate the public about Korean culture.

ArtSpace Falls Church (410 S. Maple Ave., Falls Church). $15, $12 for students and seniors.

7:30 p.m. creativecauldron.org.

Saturday, January 28 F.C. Farmers’ Market. Vendors offer fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables, cheeses, meats, baked goods, plants, and wine.

City Hall Parking Lot (300 Park Ave., Falls Church). Free admission. 9 a.m. – noon. 703248-5077.

Music Workshop. Second and third graders can learn basic music concepts with interactive games and hands-on instrument play. Mary Riley Styles Public Library (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). Free. 1 p.m. 703248-5034.

Superhero Craft and Story Time.

Doodlehopper 4 Kids (228 W. Broad St., Falls Church). 2 p.m.

703-241-2262.

&

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Book Talk. Jael McHenry will discuss The Kitchen Daughter.

One More Page (2200 N. Westmoreland St., Arlington). 2 p.m. 703-300-9746.

Pets2Vets Benefit. Jr. Cline and Friends and The Oz Revue will play a fundraiser for Pets2Vets, a charity that adopts homeless animals to veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). $10. 3:30 p.m. – 1 a.m. jvsrestaurant.com.

Somapa Thai Dance Company Performance. Sompa Thai Dance Company will perform seven Thai dances. ArtSpace Falls Church (410 S. Maple Ave., Falls Church). $15, $12 for students and seniors. 7:30 p.m. creativecauldron.org.

Sunday, January 29 Vietnamese Lunar New Year (Tet) Community Celebration.

Audiences will be treated to five unique dances, musical selections on traditional 16-string instruments, and a fashion show demonstrating traditional Vietnamese costume and dress. ArtSpace Falls Church (410 S. Maple Ave., Falls Church). $15, $12 for

students and seniors. 2 p.m. creativecauldron.org.

Washington Saxophone Quartet Concert. St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church (3241 Brush Drive, Falls Church). Free. 4 p.m. 703-2007489.

Monday, January 30 Children’s Story Time. Ages 2 – 5 years. Mary Riley Styles Public Library (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). Free. 10:30 a.m.

703-248-5034.

Book Group. The Faith Outside the Box book group will discuss Brian McLaren’s A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions That Are Transforming the Faith.

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (3022 Woodlawn Ave., Falls Church). Free. 6:30 p.m. 703532-6617.

Book Talk. Meg Keene will discuss A Practical Wedding. One More Page (2200 N. Westmoreland St., Arlington). 7 p.m. 703-3009746.

Tuesday, January 31 Children’s Story Time. Ages 18 – 36 months. Mary Riley Styles Public Library (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). Free. 10:30 a.m. 703-248-5034.

Theater Fine Arts Thursday, January 26

Friday, January 27

“Hairspray.” When she wins a coveted spot on “The Corny Collins Show,” Baltimore’s most popular teen dance program, the high school loser with the big heart, big personality and big hair proves everyone wrong and becomes a local TV celebrity. It seems like Tracy will have it all – the eye of heartthrob Link Larkin, the Miss Teenage Hairspray crown, even a modeling gig with Mr. Pinky’s Hefty Hideaway.

But is segregated Baltimore ready to embrace her demand for racial integration? And will her larger-than-life mother ever leave the house?

Through Feb. 5. Signature Theatre (4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington). 8 p.m. signaturetheatre.org.

“Man of La Mancha.” Inspired by Don Quixote, the McLean Community Players will tell the story of the “mad” knight as a play within a play, performed by the novel’s author and his fellow prisoners as he awaits a hearing with the Spanish Inquisition. Through Feb 11.

McLean Community Center’s Alden Theatre (1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean). $18 – $20. 8 p.m. 703-790-9223.

“Elephant Room.” From the uninhibited minds of the absurdist performance duo Rainpan 43 and actor/magician Steve Cuiffo comes a new theatrical experience. Three semi-pro magicians — a divorced shaman, a mentalist with a penchant for warlock acts and a ladies’

man card master — join to piece their lives together. Through Feb. 26. Arena Stage (1101 6th St. SW, Washington, D.C.). $40. 8 p.m. arenastage.org.

Saturday, January 28

“America’s Historic Kilns” Lecture.

Independent scholar and functional potter Brenda Hornsby Heindl of Liberty, N.C., will present “America’s Historic Kilns: A Potter’s Perspective.” Heindl has been studying pre1850 American salt-glaze and alkaline-glaze stoneware kilns and kiln furniture since 2010.

Alexandria Archaeology Museum (105 N. Union St., Alexandria). Free. 10 a.m. 703-7464399.

CALENDAR

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

live_music&nightlife Thursday, January 26 Dan and Chuck’s Acoustic Duo. Clare and Don’s Beach Shack (130 N. Washington St., Falls Church). 7 p.m.

703-532-9283.

Cowboy Mouth and The Assembly Line. 9:30 (815 V St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $25. 7 p.m. 202-265-0930.

Griffin House with Matthew Perryman Jones. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $15. 7:30 p.m.

703-255-1566.

Maysa. The Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria). $45. 7:30 p.m. 703-549-7500.

The Road with Djesben. Iota Club and Café (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $12. 8:30 p.m. 703-522-8340.

Bob Hume and Rob Kilgore. Dogwood Tavern (132 W. Broad St., Falls Church).

9:30 p.m. 703-237-8333.

Friday, January 27 Elizaveta with Tiffany Thompson.

Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $14. 7 p.m. 703-255-1566.

Iris Dement with Pieta Brown. The Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria). $35. 7:30 p.m. 703-5497500.

Big Head Todd and the Monsters with The Dig. 9:30 (815 V St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $25. 8 p.m. 202265-0930.

Donna the Buffalo with Woody Pines. The State Theatre (220 N. Washington St., Falls Church). $20. 9

p.m. 703-237-0300.

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

D.J. Puerto Rok. Clare and Don’s Beach Shack (130 N. Washington St., Falls Church). 9 p.m. 703-532-9283.

Laura Gibson with Cotton Jones.

Iota Club and Café (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $12. 9 p.m. 703-522-8340.

Lightfoot with Loose Lips, Ugly Purple Sweater, and Paperhaus.

Black Cat (1811 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $10. 9 p.m. 202667-7960.

John Cook. The Cowboy Café (4792 Lee Highway, Arlington). 9:30 p.m.

703-243-8010.

The Bobby T Project. Dogwood Tavern (132 W. Broad St., Falls Church). 10 p.m. 703-237-8333.

Future. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $13. 10 p.m. 703-2551566.

Saturday, January 28 The Oz Revue. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 4 p.m.

703-241-9504.

3MTs. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $13. 6:30 p.m. 703-255-1566.

JR. Cline and His Band. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 7 p.m. 703-241-9504.

Charlie Ross’ One-Man Lord of the Rings. The Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria). $35. 7:30

January 26 – February 1, 2012 | PAGE 21

p.m. 703-549-7500.

JJ Grey and Mofro with MonkeyJunk. The State Theatre (220 N. Washington St., Falls Church). $20. 9 p.m. 703-237-0300.

Justin Jones with Long Arms and Mercedes Mill. Iota Club and Café (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $12.

9 p.m. 703-522-8340.

Jon Pheasant. The Cowboy Café (4792 Lee Highway, Arlington). 9:30 p.m. 703-243-8010.

The Highballers and The Resistance with The WeatherVanes. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $13. 10 p.m. 703-255-1566.

Thing3. Dogwood Tavern (132 W. Broad St., Falls Church). 10 p.m. 703237-8333.

Sunday, January 29 Joe Stanley Tribute. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 5 p.m. 703-241-9504.

Anvil with Division, Rome In A Day, and Defending Cain. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $15. 7 p.m. 703-255-1566.

Stephane Wrembel and His Django A Go-Go Festival. The Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria). $29.50.

7:30 p.m. 703-549-7500.

Dawn Landes with Michael Fracasso.

Iota Club and Café (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $12. 8 p.m. 703-522-8340.

Beach Week with Text Message and The Coastals. Black Cat (1811 14th

St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $8. 8 p.m.

202-667-7960.

Monday, January 30 Gabe Dixon and Lelia Broussard with Kayte Grace. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $12. 7:30 p.m.

703-255-1566.

Simone Sattler and the Spectrum with The Beanstalk Library. Iota Club and Café (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $12. 8 p.m. 703-5228340.

Tuesday, January 31 Marc Broussard with Sugar and the Hi-Lows. The Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria). $35.

7:30 p.m. 703-549-7500.

Sookie Jump Band. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church).

8 p.m. 703-241-9504.

Down With Webster and FreeSol with Zak Downtown. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $13. 8 p.m. 703-255-1566.

Scratch Track. Iota Club and Café (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $10. 8:30 p.m. 703-522-8340.

Wednesday, February 1 Panel of Experts and A Hero Poetic with The Duskwhales. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $13. 7 p.m. 703-255-1566.

Smith Westerns with Porcelain Raft and Bleached. Black Cat (1811 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $15. 8 p.m.

202-667-7960.

Planning Ahead...

T

here’s nothing much better than a “Dude Fest.” Next Thursday at the Arlington Cinema N Drafthouse, all things Dude will be on center stage for The Big Lebowski Movie & Music Night. Doors open at 7 p.m. and before the feature presentation, music from the Lebowski soundtrack will be blaring along with several other tunes that would make The Dude happy. Also on tap is a trivia and best costume contest – as an added bonus, anyone who dresses up as a character from the movie gets a free movie pass for their next visit to the Drafthouse. The evening caps off with the main event, a screening of the film at 9 p.m. So much fun, even a nihilist would appreciate it.

Well, maybe not.

What: Dude Fest: The Big Lebowski Movie & Music Night When: Thursday, February 2, 2012; 7: 30 p.m.

Where: Arlington Cinema N Drafthouse,

2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington See arlingtondrafthouse.com for tickets ($12) and more info

Thursday, February 2 – “Goodbye to the Clown.” Peggy is a 9-year-old who tries to cope with her father’s death by befriending an imaginary clown (who makes her act out in class). Her mother must help Peggy to realize that she must say goodbye to her clown and accept her father’s death. The piece is Falls Church High School Theatre’s entry into the Virginia High School League’s National District One-Act Festival. Through Feb. 3. Falls Church High School (7521 Jaguar Trail, Falls Church). $5. 7:30 p.m. fchsdrama.org.

Friday, February 3 – “Teen Romeo and Juliet.” Synetic Studio’s Teen Ensemble will stage its production of “Romeo and Juliet,” the classic Shakespeare tale of star-crossed lovers.

Through Feb. 4. Synetic Theater at Crystal City (1800 S. Bell, Arlington). $15. 8 p.m. synetictheater.org.

Calendar Submissions 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.

Email: calendar@fcnp.com Fax: 703-342-0347; Attn: FCNP Calendar Mail: 200 Little Falls St., #508, Falls Church, VA 22046

Loca l

PAGE 22 | January 26 – February 1, 2012

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Restaurant Spotlight Argia’s

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Argia’s 124 N. Washington St.

Falls Church

Argia’s blends fine dining and home-style eats in an eclectic and effective way, right in the City of Falls Church.

Upon entering the dining room where Argia’s serves its Italian fare, diners get the impression of those two worlds coming together immediately. On one side of the dining room, the wall is covered in a mural depicting Italian life from long ago, with rolling pastures and a bustling city square. On the other side, the wall is dotted with small portraits, faded and in black and white, depicting men and women in fine wear gathering for photos. One seems straight out of a high-end restaurant, the other seems pulled from a family living room. Inside, well-worn wood tables are dressed with cloth napkins and filled with decorated plates.

The menu, too, reflects those conflicting yet collaborating notions. One might be reminded of family gatherings around the kitchen table, as the restaurant offers “famiglia” portions to feed a crowd and no shortage of beloved family favorite dishes like spaghetti and meatballs. Still, the food is prepared and plated with an elegance that goes beyond that which the average home chef can muster.

Bread comes to the table – slices from a hearty, hefty herbed loaf – just as soon as diners find their seats. Appetizers include seafood options like mussels and calamari, and other dishes that showcase the meats, breads, cheeses and sauces popular in Italian cuisine. Ordering the Calamari Fritti, even as a single portion ($10.95), brings a bowl heaping with delicious golden cornmeal-crusted rings, served with a spicy tomato sauce and a saffron aioli that deliver powerful flavors to the fried squid pieces. The Arancine ($6.95), one of the restaurant’s many vegetarian options, plates several fried risotto balls, crispy on the outside and made stringy with cheese on the inside.

While generously portioned appetizers might lead diners to consider smaller entree options – perhaps from the restaurant’s small plate, sandwich, soup, salad or pizza offerings – pasta dishes and dinner platters are more ample fare.

Nearly all of the pastas Argia’s serves up are made in-house (save for the penne), and their offerings run the gamut from expected dishes like Spaghetti and Meatballs ($15.95) and Lasagna Con Carne ($15.95) to clever combinations of vegetables, pastas, and sauces. The house Gnocchi ($17.95) coats the tiny dumpling squares, chewy and flavorful, in a creamy and lightly tomato flavored Aurore sauce. Herb-topped and zucchini-tossed, the simple dish showcases the quality of the restaurant’s gnocchi.

Dishes without the house-made noodles can be just as appealing. The entree menu section features a handful of dishes where a meat or seafood element and not a noodle-and-sauce combination is the focus. Among them is the Pollo Piccata ($18.95), in which thin pieces of tender chicken served atop a mountain of mashed potatoes are coated in a thin lemon-butter sauce and topped with capers. The tanginess and buttery flavors of the sauce make for a complex and satisfying taste. The dish also comes with a bed of wonderfully garlic-seasoned sauteed spinach.

Though the dishes provide enough food to satisfy the healthiest of appetites, those wanting a bit of something sweet, or just a few bites more before ending the meal, can pick from desserts like the must-have tiramisu – a decadent treat of lady fingers stacked between thick layers of rich mascarpone cream.

While the standard fare delights, regular specials – from the all-you-can-eat spaghetti Sundays to the pizza-and-beer special Thursdays, and a daily $29.95 three-course menu served from 5 – 6 p.m. – are welcome perks that are sure to keep diners coming back to take advantage of their favorite deals.

Hours:

Sunday: 5 – 9 p.m.

Monday – Thursday: 11:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.

Friday – Saturday: 11:30 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.

— Leslie Poster

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

ARTS &E NTERTAINME NT

McLean Players Invite Audiences To Dream ‘The Impossible Dream’

JANUARY 26 - February 1, 2012 | PAGE 23

by Leslie Poster

Falls Church News-Press

This month and next, the McLean Community Players will be bringing the story of Don Quixote to the Alden Theatre stage with a production of “Man of La Mancha.”

The Tony Award-winning musical and long-running Broadway favorite is based on Miguel de Cervantes’ 17th-century tale of Alonso Quijano – a retiree, indoctrinated in the ways of chivalry and romance through his readings, who leaves behind his country life to become the armor-clad Don Quixote de la Mancha and live out knighterrant exploits.

The musical differs slightly from the centuries-old novel: The book’s author, Cervantes, is fictionalized, adding a play-withina-play dimension to the narrative.

Cervantes, awaiting trial by the Spanish Inquisition, attempts to win the favor of fellow prisoners by acting out one of his works, and thus becomes Alonso Quijano and with him transforms into Don Quixote.

The hit ballad spawned by the musical, “The Impossible Dream,” is delivered at key points throughout the plot, and its message is simple: Reach for those lofty ambitions, and let nothing stand in the way.

It’s in that message that Mike Baker Jr., who plays the three linked characters, feels a kinship with Don Quixote, and he hopes that audiences take the message to heart.

Baker groups the Don Quixote role in with those classic aged theatrical figures performed by veteran actors. Baker, who himself holds to the actor credo of never revealing his age, has played several roles since coming to the stage later in life, at the age of 34.

Baker was tasked in “Man of La Mancha” with imagining how to bring the three distinct characters to life.

“It’s really interesting,” Baker said. “You really have to, when you first look at the script, scratch your head and figure out what is going on.”

His inspiration for the characters came in part from the way they “come alive” in his imagination when reading the script, and in part from the different periods of his life when he felt like one character or another, but Baker

State of Insurance.

Mike Baker Jr. stars as Miguel de Cervantes and Don Quixote (and Alonso Quijano) in the McLean Community Players production of “Man of La Mancha.” (Photo: Traci J. Brooks Photography) says the roles were also molded by the production’s director, Don Petersen.

Petersen will be making his McLean Players directorial debut with “Man of La Mancha.” In directing the musical, Petersen oversees a 21-person cast and several crew members working backstage. With a music director, vocal director, technical director, dance choreographer and fight choreographer, Petersen has team members who help him bring the production together with insights from their areas of expertise.

While staging a play within a play could pose a challenge, Petersen said the Alden Theatre “works very nicely” for the task because of the way it is set up – the orchestra pit and the stage itself provide two separate platforms upon which Cervantes’ pre-Inquisition narrative and impromptu play can be performed.

Petersen says the production,

though multi-faceted, is “a fairly easy show to stage,” which led in part to the McLean Community Players decision to stage the musical. The popularity of the show and the emotional ties the show builds with the audience, he said, were also a factor.

“People who I’ve talked to who know the show, they have some sort of attachment to it for some reason,” Petersen said.

“They have very fond feelings toward it, maybe memories about a production that they’ve seen, so I think that most people just have a really good feeling about the show.”

“Man of La Mancha” will be staged Jan. 27 – Feb. 11 at the McLean Community Center’s Alden Theatre, 1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean. Performances are at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $18 – $20. For more information, call 703-790-9223 or visit mcleanplayers.org.

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PAGE 24 | JANUARY 26 - FEBRUARY 1, 2012

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

THIS VALENTINE’S DAY WEEKEND,

MAKE A DATE.

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‘The Grey’

BY ROGER EBERT

UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

Kids don’t get enough art these days. For Ten Simple Ways to get more art in kids’ lives, visit AmericansForTheArts.org.

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

“The Grey” is an unrelenting demonstration that wolves have no opinion. When they attack, it’s not personal. They’ve spent untold millennia learning how to survive, naked and without weapons, in fearsome places like the Arctic Circle in the dead of winter. They aren’t precisely unarmed; they have their teeth and claws, but how far would that get us, even if we had rifles?

In the movie, a group of oil company workers gets the opportunity to find the answer to that question. They’re workers at a pumping station in the far north, described in the opening narration

by Ottway (Liam Neeson) as a sort of prototype for hell, occupied by “men unfit for mankind.”

They have the kinds of jobs you might take if you were desperate for the good pay, or perhaps driven to seek a place far from society where it is assumed that when you are not working you are sleeping or drinking. The bar no doubt has cheap prices, and it’s crowded during an early scene that establishes Ottway and some other characters.

He is a marksman for the oil company. His job is to shoot wolves. When I learned of Sarah Palin hunting wolves from a helicopter, my sensibilities were tested, but after this film, I was pre-

 cast&credits John Ottway ............... Liam Neeson Diaz ................................ Frank Grillo Talget ................ . Dermot Mulroney Henrick...................... Dallas Roberts Flannery .................... Joe Anderson Burke ......................... Nonso Anozie Hernandez ......................... Ben Bray Lewenden .......... James Badge Dale Ottway’s Wife ........ Anne Openshaw

Open Road Films presents a film directed by Joe Carnahan. Screenplay

by Joe Carnahan and Ian Mackenzie Jeffers, based on the story “Ghost Walker” by Ian Mackenzie Jeffers.

Running time: 117 minutes.

MPAA rating: R (for violence/disturbing content including bloody images, and for pervasive language).

than the others and takes charge.

He says their only chance is to walk below the tree line. It seems to me that wolves would be perfectly happy to hunt you among the trees, but I think I’d listen to Ottway.

They set off in bitter cold, slogging through snow, eating a little food from the plane, starting fires at night, intensely aware that they have attracted a large following of wolves. They use torches and a ring of smaller outlying fires to keep the wolves at bay. In the darkness, the eyes of the animals reflect the firelight in unblinking, hungry stares.

There’s time for some conversation among the men, and this film, directed by Joe Carnahan and written by Carnahan and Ian Mackenzie Jeffers, treats them as individuals. They’re not simply a group of victims. We learn the most about Ottway, who was on the brink of suicide on the day before the flight. Now that his life has become precarious, he fiercely clings to it.

The film advances with pitiless logic. There are more wolves than men. The men have weapons, the wolves have patience, the weather is punishing. I sat regarding the screen with mounting dread. The movie had to have a happy ending, didn’t it? If not “happy,” then at least a relief in some sense?

Sit through the entire credits.

There’s one more shot still to come. Not that you wouldn’t be 219191A02 content without it.

pared to call in more helicopters.

I was also stunned with despair.

It so happened that there were two movies scheduled that day in the Lake Street Screening Room.

After “The Grey” was over, I watched the second film for 30 minutes and then got up and walked out of the theater. It was the first time I’ve ever walked out of a film because of the previous film. The way I was feeling in my gut, it just wouldn’t have been fair to the next film.

Ottway and a small planeload of other workers fly out on leave, on board a small airplane that crashes and strands them they know not where. Most are killed or die quickly. Seven are left alive. They hope they’ll be found by rescuers, but Alaska is a big place, and their plane is small and rapidly being covered with snow.

And then one of them walks a few steps away to take a pee and is struck by ravenous wolves.

Ottway is more experienced

NOTE TO PUB: DO NOT PRINT INFO BELOW, FOR ID ONLY. NO ALTERING OF AD COUN American Legacy Foundation - Second Hand Smoke Campaign Newspaper - “Needlepoint” (2 1/16 x 2) B&W - ALFSH1-N-06101-H 85 line screen digital files at Schawk: (212) 689-8585 Ref#:219191 Volunteer Ad Agency: Crispin Porter & Bogusky

ARTS& EN TERTA IN MENT

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

January 26 – February 1, 2012 | PAGE 25

Jan.

27 y

Frida

Elizaveta with Tiffany Thompson Jammin’ Java 7 p.m.

227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna

703-255-1566 • jamminjava.com

28 ay

d Satur

JJ Grey and Mofro with MonkeyJunk State Theatre 9 p.m.

220 N. Washington St., Falls Church

703-237-0300 • thestatetheatre.com

29 ay

Sund

Stephane Wrembel and His Django A Go-Go Festival The Birchmere 7:30 p.m.

3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria

703-549-7500 • birchmere.com

31 ay

d Tues

Scratch Track

Iota Club and Café 8:30 p.m.

2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington

703-522-8340 • iotaclubandcafe.com

by Leslie Poster

Falls Church News-Press

When fans fill the State Theatre Feb. 9 to hear Karl Denson perform, they won’t hear tracks from the singer and saxophone player’s latest genre-blending release, 2009’s Brother’s Keeper. They won’t hear songs popularized during his decades-long tenure with the funkjazz outfit The Greyboy Allstars.

They won’t hear the sax lines from his contributions to Lenny Kravitz’s debut album, 1989’s Let Love Rule.

Instead, they’ll be treated to a rendition of the The Rolling Stones’ classic Sticky Fingers album, infused with the funk and soul grooves that Denson and his band, Tiny Universe, have become known for.

Denson and his management team wanted to put on a show centered on performing a classic album, and decided on Sticky Fingers, a record rich with memorable hit singles like “Brown Sugar” and “Wild Horses.” Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe debuted the show with a West Coast tour last fall.

“We’re not a rock and roll band, per se; we’re more of a funk and soul and jazz band, so we touch on these things every once in a while, but to go this deep into the strictly rock and roll vein is a departure for us,” Denson said. “Some of our fans were like, ‘how are you going to pull that off?’ But they were pleasantly surprised.”

Denson said the band took a “reverent approach” to preparing to play the album front to back on stage, first learning the songs as

originally played by The Stones before adding elements to make the production uniquely their own, like a horn solo within the lesserknown track “Sister Morphine” which, in its original incarnation, is a brooding song electrified with guitar licks.

“I think we figured out how to make the whole thing feel like us for our fans,” Denson said.

Denson was familiar with the chart-topping cuts from the album, but never owned the 1971 release and hadn’t heard the whole thing before preparing for the show.

“Now I know the record,” Denson said. “I totally get the vibe of the record now, and it’s kind of dark.” He highlighted B-side tracks like “I Got the Blues” and “Sister Morphine” as stand-out examples.

Tiny Universe first got its start in the late 1990s as a side project for Karl Denson, who was then performing with The Greyboy Allstars and was looking for a more vocalsfocused project. The group features a revolving cast of acclaimed musicians, and for the East Coast leg of its Sticky Fingers tour will feature Denson on vocals, sax and flute; Tiny Universe founding member David Veith on keyboards; longtime Greyboy Allstars bassist Chris Stillwell; Chris Littlefield on trumpet; John Staten on drums; and Tiny Universe newcomer D.J. Williams on guitar. Also taking the stage with Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe will be blues-rock singer-songwriter Anders Osborne, who will be trading vocals with Denson and playing guitar.

The Anders Osborne Trio will

Karl Denson (Photo: Michael Weintrob) open for the band for all of its summer, and is considering record11 shows planned nearly back-to- ing the Sticky Fingers show with some special guests for an Internet back from Feb. 7 – 18.

Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe release, but in the meantime has a record set for release this Denson said the group is just enjoying taking its Sticky Fingers show on the road.

“We make a record every couple of years, and most of the time, we’re not touring to promote anything specifically – except the fact that we like to play music,” These singles whet the appetites of the FCNP editorial team this week: Denson said. “So this just gives us something else for our fans, which  Nicholas Benton – There Goes My Baby by The Drifters is really the purpose of it.”  Jody Fellows – Under My Thumb by The Rolling Stones • For more information about Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, visit  Leslie Poster – Mother of Pearl by Roxy Music karldenson.us.

PAGE 26 | JANUARY 26 - FEBRUARY 1, 2012 Homes for Rent

Public Notice

2-CAR GARAGE TOWN-HOME,

TO: RIGOBERTO VILLEGAS AND THE UNKNOWN BIOLOGICAL FATHER OF THE SUBJECT CHILD, NICOLAS GRAYSON CHAVEZ, RESPONDENTS

5BR/3.5BA, in Fall Church City. $3500/mo.

Call 703-489-3451

Apartments FURNISHED BASEMENT STUDIO APARTMENT Basement studio apart-

ment with private entrance. Full kitchen, just remodeled bathroom. Utilities included, Cable/internet, parking space, share washer & dryer. $825 mo. (703) 534-4627, ask for Ed or Nikki.

For Sale BEAUTY SALON in Falls Church. Great for Owner Operator. Established. Call 703-241-0979.

Help Wanted GERMAN GROCERY STORE Seeks Full Time Sales Person, Friendly & Owns a Smile. English Required. Must Work Schedules Posted. 5838 Columbia Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041. Come in for Application. References Required. Or Fax Resume to 703-379-6117

Education AMERICAN COLLEGE OF COMMERCE AND TECHNOLOGY Register Now! Want to Advance Your Career?

Associate, Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs. Ask for Scholarship information.

Classes start next week. Register now for March seminar in MICROSOFT EXCEL AND PROJECT. Designed for Admin personnel, Project Managers, Business/ Computer/Accounting Students. Based on practical exercises you can use now! Four Saturdays, 10 am to 1 pm, begins March, 10. $300. TOEFL Preparation Classes: Class Starts Monday, January 30th Every Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday from 9:30-12:30 noon For 5Wk. ESL Class: Saturday, January 28, 10am to 1pm. 150 S. Washington Street, Falls Church 703-9426200. Certified to operate by State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.

Services GUITAR & BASS LESSONS with Bruce Turner at Creative Cauldron (creativecauldron.org). Call 703-6081948 HOUSE CLEANING SERVICE Avail-

able 7 days a week. Week, biweekly, monthly or one time. Good references in Falls Church City. 10 years experience. For further information call me at 703-901-0596.

Senior discount, Ask: Susy.

PARENTING COURSE on Saturdays Connected Parents: Thriving Kids; Support: Education: Growth. David Flohr, Ph.D. 30 years experience. Info: 703-533-5824 Ex. 6

Pet Adoption Fair

The Feline Foundation of Greater Washington, Inc.

Cats available for adoption.

Foster homes needed.

Call or visit our website for details.

www.ffgw.org

703-920-8665

PO Box 3071, Merrifield, VA 22116

“YOU HAVE BEEN SUED. YOU MAY EMPLOY AN ATTORNEY. IF YOU OR YOUR ATTORNEY DO NOT FILE A WRITTEN ANSWER WITH THE DALLAS COUNTY DISTRICT CLERK’S OFFICE, 2600 LONE STAR DRIVE, DALLAS, TEXAS 75212, BY 10:00 AM ON THE MONDAY NEXT FOLLOWING THE EXPIRATION OF 20 DAYS AFTER YOU WERE SERVED THIS CITATION AND PETITION, A DEFAULT JUDGMENT MAY BE TAKEN AGAINST YOU. THE ORIGINAL PETITION OF JONATHAN SHANCE SANDERS AND JEAN ELIZABETH SANDERS, PETITIONERS, WAS FILED IN THE 304TH DISTRICT COURT OF DALLAS COUNTY, TEXAS ON THE 13TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2012, AGAINST GRACIELA NELLY CHAVEZ, RIGOBERTO VILLEGAS AND THE UNKNOWN BIOLOGICAL FATHER OF THE SUBJECT CHILD, NICOLAS GRAYSON CHAVEZ, RESPONDENTS, IN A SUIT NUMBERED 12-00040-W-304TH, AND ENTITLED IN THE INTEREST OF NICOLAS GRAYSON CHAVEZ, A CHILD. THIS SUIT REQUESTS THAT THE PARENTAL RIGHTS THE RESPONDENTS HAVE OR MAY HAVE IN AND TO THE SUBJECT CHILD BE TERMINATED AND/OR TERMINATED, FORECLOSED, AND DIVESTED. THE SUBJECT CHILD, NICOLAS GRAYSON CHAVEZ, WAS BORN ON DECEMBER 28, 2011 IN ROCKVILLE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND. “THE COURT HAS AUTHORITY IN THIS SUIT TO ENTER ANY JUDGMENT OR DECREE IN THE CHILD’S BEST INTEREST WHICH WILL BE BINDING UPON YOU, INCLUDING THE TERMINATION OF THE PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP, THE DETERMINATION OF PATERNITY AND THE APPOINTMENT OF A CONSERVATOR WITH THE AUTHORITY TO CONSENT TO THE CHILD’S ADOPTION.”

PUBLIC NOTICE In accordance with VA 15.2-1720, the public is hereby notified that the City of Falls Church Police Department has recovered the following bicycles: YEL SIL FUZION, SIL RAZORXTREME 4130 GT CRMO, YEL BLK IRON HORSERODEO, GRN BLK, SIL BLK PACIFIC CYCLE ROADMASTER, BLK GT MACH1PRO, BLK DK, BLK FUJI ABSOLUTE, BLU SPECIALIZED HARD ROCK, YEL BLK MAGNA EXCITOR, BLU BLK HUFFY MGX, SIL GRN TURBO MOTO-X, BLU SIL SPECIALIZED ROCKHOPPER, RED SCHWINN FRONTIER, RED ZASKAR GT 6061, BLU SIL MGX, RED SIL PACIFIC SUPRA, GRN NEXT FS20, RED BLK SCHWINN TRAVERSE, GRY FUJI SUNFIRE To claim any of these items, please provide proof of ownership to: City of Falls Church Police Department Property/Evidence Unit 300 Park Ave. Falls Church, VA 22046 703-248-5060 (please call for appointment)

fcnp.com

CLASSIFIEDS NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS

BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND CITY COUNCIL CITY OF FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA The ordinance referenced below was given first reading before the City Council on January 9, 2012. This item will be heard by the Planning Commission on February 6, 2012 at 7:45 p.m. and by City Council on February 13, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. or as soon thereafter as may be heard. Both meetings will be held in Council Chambers, 300 Park Avenue.

(TO11-23) ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTER 6 “BUILDINGS”, CHAPTER 14 “ENVIRONMENT”, CREATE CHAPTER 33 “PROPERTY MAINTENANCE” AND AMEND CHAPTER 48 “ZONING” TO PROVIDE FOR A PROPERTY MAINTENANCE CODE OF FALLS CHURCH WITH CIVIL PENALTIES. All public hearings will be held in the Council Chambers, 300 Park Avenue, Falls Church, Virginia. For copies of legislation, contact the City Clerk’s office at (703-248-5014) or cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov. The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703-248-5014 (TTY 711).

KATHLEEN CLARKEN BUSCHOW CITY CLERK

We are pleged to the letter and spirit of Virginia’s policy for achieving equal housing opportunity throughout the Commonwealth. We encourage and support advertising and marketing programs in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status or handicap. All real estate advertised herein is subject to Virginia’s fair housing law which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status or handicap or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination.” This newspaper will not knowingly accept advertising for real estate that violates the fair housing law. Our readers are herby 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.

Email: fairhousing@dpor.virginia.gov.

Website: www.fairhousing.vipnet.org

SALES

FCNP.COM | FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

J O B FA I R

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1 • 9 AM - 3 PM 110 Gordon Road, Falls Church, VA 22046 Home Paramount Pest Control founded in 1939 with 27 locations in five states and growing! We are seeking to hire for Administrative, Service, Sales & Management positions for the Northern Virginia area.

Our benefits include: medical, dental, vision, 401(k). Call Chris Ziemann at 443.752.3049 or email: cziemann@homeparamount.com

EOE/Drug Free

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

BUSINESS & SERVICE DIRECTORY

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

HOME IMPROVEMENT

ALL TYPES OF HOME IMPROVEMENTS Upgrades/Repairs/Restorations NO JOB TOO SMALL

• Accidents, Injuries, & Death Cases • Professional malpractice • Business Contracts • Commercial/Insurance disputes

www.bpmlawyers.com

Government contract law, health law, civil litigation, and all areas of business law.

In the City of Falls Church: 703-992-9255 In D.C.: 202-416-1660 400 S. Maple Avenue, Suite 210, Falls Church, VA 22046

CONNECTED PARENTS, THRIVING KIDS

C

8 Session Parenting Course ircle in the www.bentonpotter.com Dr. David Flohr, Ph.D., CGP SQUARE 30 Years Experience Child & Adolescent Group Programs PARENTING PROGRAM

Information or to register: (703) 533-5824 x6 109 Park Washington Court Falls Church, VA 22046

PET SERVICES

Gentle Touch Dog Grooming

(Falls Church, VA) Certified Groomer, by appt only. Pick-up/delivery to local residents.

Call 703-539-2456

OTHER SERVICES

A DIVISION OF MASONRY SPECIALIST, LLC Family Owned & Operated Since the 1950’s IN A CLASS OF ITS OWN

Here to Help You (703) 448-0073 Espanol (703) 798-3448 Tysons Corner

Benton Potter & Murdock, PC

ACCOUNTING

C&J Custom Carpentry

Philip J. Walsh Attorney

1420 Spring Hill Road, Suite 210 McLean, VA 22102 E-mail: walsh.associates@gmail.com

JANUARY 26 - FEBRUARY 1, 2012 | PAGE 27

SPECIALIZING IN DECKS ARBORS • GAZEBOS FENCING • KITCHENS BATHS • BASEMENTS

Benton Potter & Murdock,Also PCOffering Expert Installation Of: Flooring, Windows & Doors

www.bpmlawyers.com 703/443-2308

Class A License • Fully Insured • All Work Guaranteed

Our 19th Year

HENRY HASSAN, MSFM, EA

TAX ACCOUNTANT – IRS ENROLLED AGENT

YASMEEN HASSAN JONES, EA PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT

SMALL BUSINESS ACCOUNTING PAYROLL SERVICES INDIVIDUAL AND BUSINESS TAX PREPARATION BUSINESS CONSULTING 703-241-7771 www.hassansacctg.com 100 B East Broad Street Falls Church, VA 22046

YOUR HANDYMAN LLC and all areas MASONRY contract law, health law, civil litigation, of business law.

CRJGovernment Concrete Power Washing • Carpentry

Drywall • Painting Driveways - Patios - Sidewalks Plumbing • Electrical Licensed & Insured In the City of Falls Church: 703-992-9255 Any repairs your home needs

571-221-2785

703-534-4202

www.yourhandymanllc.com

Make Life Worth Framing

Contact Pete 571-243-6726 400 S. Maple Avenue, Suite 210, Falls Church, VA 22046 Handyman Service TREE HOUSE DESIGN & BUILD All repairs, plumbing, drywall, CUSTOM CARPENTRY In D.C.:rotted 202-416-1660 doors, windows, wood, siding, gutters, lighting + more FREE estimates, insured Call Doug (703)556-4276

www.novahandyman.com JOSEPH HOME IMPROVEMENT

Drywall • Paint Exterior / Interior, Bath & Kitchen Remodeling, Basements, Ceramic Tile, Deck, Fences. Patios, Electric, Plumbing, Clean Garage, All Kinds of Hauling. www.josephhomeimprovements.com Joselozada27@yahoo.com Joseph Cell 703-507-5005 Licensed Work Tel 703-507-8300

• Remodeling • Additions Build-outs • Kitchens • Bathrooms Located in Falls Church City Excellent references

703-401-4874

REMODELING & ADDITION, CERAMIC, TILE, FINISHED CARPENTRY, CROWN MOLDING, CHAIRS, DECK RAILS, STAIR, WINDOWS, DOORS, CONCRETE, SIDEWALKS, DRIVEWAYS, BRICK INSTALLED & REPAIRED

Phone # Cell Number

703-848-8322 703-901-2431

5 Rooms deep cleaned only $115 • 24 Hour Emergency Water Damage We Clean the White House!

Call Mike 703-978-2270 since 1985

Custom Masonry Brick and Flagstone

703-768-3900

www.custommasonry.info

LAWN & GARDEN Seven Brothers Landscaping Service

•Stretching•Mold Experts •Upholstery

A - Cleaning Service

Individual and Group Piano Lessons

All work guaranteed Free honest estimate....

CLEANING SERVICES Mike’s Carpet Cleaning

artandframeoffallschurch.com

fcnp.com

Insured, Bonded and Licenced Independently owned Commercial & Residential

703-892-8648

www.a-cleaningserviceinc.com

Place Your Restaurant Or Catering Ad Here

Spring Cleanup, mulching, mowing, edging, trimming.

Residential & Commercial Tree Service & Snow Removal

Now Enrolling. Dedicated and experienced teachers.

Comfortable studio with quality instruments.

929 West Broad Street Falls Church, VA 22046 703-229-3109 www.studiohorowitz.com

MASTER ENGRAVERS ENGRAVED GIFTS FOR ALL OCCASIONS

GIFTS - TROPHIES AWARDS - SIGNS 920 WEST BROAD ST. 703-538-4444 www.yourmasterengravers.com

Make a Joyful Splash! with Eileen Levy

703-241-4990

WWW.FCNP.COM

703-532-3267

Create unique art masterpieces using acrylics, water-based oils, pencils and an innovative variety of tools and brushes.

Held at Creative Cauldron Monday, Tuesday Evenings 7-9 pm 410 S. Maple Avenue On-going enrollment Enroll on-line at www.creativecauldron.org Or call 571-239-5288

Your Paper Without the Paper

www.fcnp.com

See the News-Press Online Just Like you

Call Marilyn 703-532-3267

See it in Print With our

E-Issue

PAGE 28 | jannuary 26 - february 1, 2012

SENIOR LIVING

S ENIOR L IVING

Senior News Line

Your Familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Health History

by Matlida Charles

King Features Syndicate

When it comes to leaving something for the next generations, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something even more valuable than albums with carefully identified photos â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and that is your familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health history.

The U.S. surgeon general has created the â&#x20AC;&#x153;My Family Health Portrait,â&#x20AC;? an online tool that helps organize the specifics of your familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health. The potential benefits to the next generations are big.

There are certain diseases that can run in the family, like diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The risk for high blood pressure can show up through the generations. By knowing what diseases are common in the family, the generations that follow will be able to guard against diseases that might have a hereditary basis. Their doctors will be able to assess which diagnostic and screening tests to run at vari-

ous times based on family history.

If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to create your own family health file, go online to https://familyhistory.hhs.gov/ to access the online tool. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll start with baseline questions like your age, gender, whether you were born a twin, and your height and weight. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll move into the section on diseases or conditions you have or have had in the past.

Then it gets a bit tricky when you have to list your relatives.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s set up like a family tree: You start with your mother and father, if possible, and what you know about their health. Ideally, you can gather information for a total of three generations.

At the end you can save the file and update it later as you gather more information, or print out what you have and share it with your family. *** Are you tired of winter? Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not alone. Too many of us have

cocooned as temperatures have dropped, often not leaving the house for days or more.

We need to get moving, one way or the other, and here are some ways we can: Look for exercise programs on TV, especially if you have cable. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sit and Be Fitâ&#x20AC;? is a show with exercises for seniors and others with physical limitations. All the exercises are done while seated.

Check the website (www.sitandbefit.org) to learn where the show airs on public television.

If you have On Demand, look at the Exercise TV section for other workout shows. Look for the walking in place programs or those geared to seniors.

Check into Tai Chi or QiGong classes geared to seniors. These are gentle, flowing movements that can be done even sitting in a chair if balance is an issue.

(Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll help with strengthening core muscles, which actu-

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM ally can help with balance problems.)

If transportation is a concern (or if you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like driving in winter) ask if the senior center has a van that can pick you up for classes. Parks and recreation also is a potential source of rides, as is social services. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re more likely to go to your class if someone is coming to pick you up!

If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in an area with snow and ice (but are otherwise sturdy on your feet), look for indoor places to walk. Schools sometimes open their halls after hours and indoor malls open early in the

morning.

If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re determined to walk outdoors for exercise, look into grips that attach to shoes. Search the Internet for â&#x20AC;&#x153;Stabilicersâ&#x20AC;? and ask if your local shoe store can order something similar. ď ľ Matilda Charles regrets that she cannot personally answer reader questions, but will incorporate them into her column whenever possible. Write to her in care of King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475, or send e-mail to columnreply@gmail.com.

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ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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ACROSS

By David Levinson Wilk 1

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© 2012 David Levinson Wilk

Across

1. Exclamation added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2001 4. Abbr. on an invitation 8. “The Muppet Show” drummer 14. ____ v. Wade 15. On the less windy side 16. “____ me God!” 17. Woodstock performer who could have been one of 37-/38-Across 19. Morgue ID 20. “GoodFellas” actress Mazar 21. Colorado birthplace of Jack Dempsey 22. “Never Say Never” singer who could have been one of 37-/38-Across 26. Apnea diagnoser, briefly 27. Batter’s fig.

28. Singer Gorme 32. HDTV brand 33. Abbey area 35. Midwestern landscape 36. Room with a draft 37. With 38-Across, apt name used

by James Brown’s band in the 1970s 38. See 37-Across 39. Cul-de-____ 40. Select 42. “Don’t ____ me, bro!”

43. ____-Magnon man 44. Silk-producing state of India 45. Hand holder?

46. 1921 play from which the word “robot” comes 47. “Cheeseburger in Paradise”

1. Exclamation added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2001

JANUARY 26 - FEBRUARY 1, 2012 | PAGE 29

singer who could have been one of 37-/38-Across 52. Ask for 55. Artist Mondrian 56. “The Joy Luck Club” author 57. 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee who could have been one of 37-/38-Across 61. Park place?

62. Skin soother 63. Oahu souvenir 64. Stationer’s item 65. “Grenade” singer Bruno 66. So far

DOWN

1. Nickname for #6 on the Sixers 2. Winning row on “Hollywood Squares” 3. Unfair advantages 4. Talmudic scholar 5. Bumped off 6. Civic center?

7. Candy in a dispenser 8. Take ____ at 9. Only you 10. “Comin’ through loud and clear” 11. Citi Field ballplayers 12. Woeful word 13. 100 International Golf Drive is the street address of its headquarters 18. Pocket 21. “Family Guy” daughter 22. Hopping desert rodent 23. Takes the lid off 24. First, second or third 25. “____ got it!”

CHUCKLE BROS BRIAN & RON BOYCHUK

4. Abbr. on an invitation

Sudoku

8. "The Muppet Show" drummer

Level: 1 2 3 4

29. How people have trysts 30. Needing variety 31. Companion 33. It started in 1945 34. Part of a sentence: Abbr.

35. “Nova” network 38. Doorframe part 41. They’re usually served sizzling at Mexican restaurants 42. Give it a go 45. Qty. 48. Many a West Virginia worker 49. Psyched about 50. Marching band instruments 51. Winter mo.

52. Wise 53. Barack Obama called him the “toughest, baddest guy” on HBO’s “The Wire” 54. “The Golden Compass” heroine 57. Pickle 58. Portuguese “she” 59. So-so grade 60. Tool ____ Last Thursday’s Solution B O B B S E Y

C R E A T E D

E C O C A R S

A S S M E O A N G E N C R A I A N G

S T F U O N R T S G F R E R W M S O A R M E E L

T O S S E D O U T E A T N O

U K E

R E D P I D A N E S K V T I T C E H K N O A S U R E R A T E S S

A R A C E

K A P O W

S U L T R I E S T

A P O E A T O N

E D U P S E R S P L E S N P A H T E A C Y A A H S C C S L A U T U P T O T R I C H I N K C O E E N D

By The Mepham Group

14. ____ v. Wade 15. On the less windy side 16. "____ me God!" 17. Woodstock performer who could have been one of 37-/38-Across 19. Morgue ID 20. "GoodFellas" actress Mazar 21. Colorado birthplace of Jack Dempsey

1

22. "Never Say Never" singer who could have been one of 37-/38-Across 26. Apnea diagnoser, briefly 27. Batter's fig.

28. Singer Gorme 32. HDTV brand

Solution to last Sunday’s puzzle

NICK KNACK

1

© 2012 N.F. Benton

1/22/12

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 www.sudoku.org.uk.

© 2012 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. All rights reserved.

LOCAL

PAGE 30 | JANUARY 26 – FEBRUARY 1, 2012

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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BACK IN THE DAY

laz y The dog. c k q u i fox sly p e d jum e r o v lazy the g . d o is Now time the all for o d g o to cows

20 s Yearo Ag

e c o mthe to of aid i r t h e re. pastu w N o the is e t i m all for o d g o to cows e c o mthe to

It is no the timw e for g o all o cows d to go to the aid of the pa stu ir re. *** **

20 � 10 Y���� A�� �� ��� N���-P���� Falls Church News-Press Vol I, No. 44 • January 23, 1992

Falls Church News-Press Vol XI, No. 46 • January 24, 2002

10 Year s Ago

Thr ow it up.

Pour it up It now is the time for all go od cows to go the to aid

Blues Legend John Jackson Recalled For His Special Gifts to Falls Church

Chamber Banquet’s Fire Drill: Guests Descend 17 Floors on Foot When Alarm Sounds at Tower Club

John Jackson performed the last concert of his life at Falls Church’s Watch Night last month. He passed away this Sunday, leaving a legacy of kindness, humility, and musical expression of a culture long passed. The man who became known as “The King of Piedmont Blues” was born into deep rural poverty and segregation. Yet, he performed for royalty and presidents of 60 countries, in Carnegie and Royal Albert Halls, and as the headliner of the largest blues festival in the world.

Ellen Salisbury, director of Falls Church’s Business-Industry-Education (BIE) Coalition, was named the “Pillar of the Community” by the Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce at its 25th annual dinner-dance last Saturday night at the Tower Club. The festivities were briefly interrupted when a fire alarm went off during Chamber President Robert Blanchard’s speech. It turned out to be a false alarm.

Town Hall Meeting Slated to Mull Watershed Management Plan

BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

Monday, Feb. 13, prior to a regular business meeting of the Falls Church City Council, a town hall meeting will be held to present the Watershed Management Plan developed after more than two years of study by a volunteer citizen task force.

That determination was made at last Monday’s F.C. Council meeting. A published version of the plan is also being circulated to key civic organizations for review and input, with plans for a final adoption by the City Council on Feb. 27.

The plan was devised by a 14-member Watershed Advisory Committee, working with City staff and the AMEC, Inc., consulting firm. Its goals were defined as (1) reducing flooding, (2) restoring and maintaining a healthy local aquatic ecosystem and (3) cost-effectively comply with state and federal water quality and storm water management regulations.

Two factors spurred the effort in the past year. First was the “100 Year Flood” rain event of Sept. 8, 2011, when massive incidents of

storm water overflows, co-mingling of fresh water and sewage, and back-ups into residential basements were reported.

Second was the calculation that the pending Virginia watershed improvement plan, in conjunction with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, for the Chesapeake Bay will slap the City with a whopping $24 million bill over the next 15 years.

The agencies structured a fine schedule for non-compliance that could cost even more, as much as $32,500 a day.

The City’s Watershed Management Plan, therefore, involves an array of 11 projects around the City and the creation of a dedicated funding stream for the program. A enterprise fund for storm water management would be, among other things, financed with “storm water utility fees” and “recognizes there is a direct correlation between the amount of impervious cover on a property and the burden a property places on the public storm water management system.”

The 11 projects are estimated to cost $3.2 million over the next five years to design and construct, and will qualify as City contri-

Make Your Pet a Star!

butions to the state and federal Chesapeake Bay mandates.

Other developments from this Monday’s City Council meeting: • A report from the Mary Riley Styles Library Board of Trustees noted the largest-ever number of children registered in the Summer Reading Program (1,129), over 20,000 children attended programs in the Children’s Department during the year, and for the fourth year in a row, the library was designated a Four-Star Library, a national award given to only three libraries in Virginia and 262 out of 7,513 in the U.S. • A 2011 Open Space Annual Report was presented, urging “prompt action by the Council to move forward on the rectangular, multi-use field project and on authorizing staff to pursue properties, easements or agreements to help meet outlined priorities.”

• City Manager Wyatt Shields agreed to meet with a citizen, Cynthia Kuhn, who showed up with a two-foot segment of sewer line clogged with tree roots that caused $13,000 of damage to her home that she claimed the City is liable for because of a 1992 error of planting a tree above the sewer line.

Critter

MADISON AND RILEY live in the Winter Hills neighborhood of Falls Church. Madison, a 1-and-a-half-year-old Coton de Tulear, and Riley, a two-year-old toy Australian Shepherd, like to go swimming, take walks and terrorize the squirrels of the neighborhood. Both like to wrestle and chase each other around the sofa.

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

Woman Dies In Home Accident Falls Church City resident Sharon Jones-Barnett died on Jan. 17 following an accident in her home.

A native of Wales, she was associated by many in the City with her pet, Chico.

A funeral will be held on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 6 p.m. in

the Advent Funeral Home in Falls Church. A pot-luck reception will follow immediately at the home of Kathy Buschow.

Anyone interested in assisting should call 703-533-8610. Ms. Jones-Barnett’s remains will be returned to Wales by family members.

Your Paper Without the Paper

www.fcnp.com

Corner

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 450 W. Broad Street #321 Falls Church, Va 22046

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Accounting

n

Diener & Associates, CPA. . . . . . . . . 241-8807 Eric C. Johnson, CPA, PC . . . . . . . . 538-2394 Mark Sullivan, CPA . . . . . . . . . . . 571-214-4511 Hassans Accounting & Tax Services . 241-7771 Hahn & Associates, PC, CPAs . . . . . 533-3777

ANTIQUES & cOLLECTIBLES

n

n n n

Falls Church Antique Company . . . . 241-7074 Antique Annex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241-9642

Attorneys

n

Mark F. Werblood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534-9300 Walsh & Associates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448-0073 Janine S. Benton, Esq. . . . . . . . . . . . .992-9255

Automotive

n

Beyer Volvo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237-5000 Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. . . 519-1634 BB&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241-3505 TD Bank/www.TDBank.com . . . . . . . 237-2051 Acacia Federal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506-8100

book Binding

n

BCR Binders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534-9181

BUSINESS SERVICES

n

n

FRames

n

medical

Childcare

n

Gifts

n

Music

Cleaning Services

n

handyman

n

health & FItness

n

Parenting

n

pEt Services

n

pharmacy

n

Photography

n

real estate

Dr. Solano, solanospine.com . . . . . . 536-4366 Rita’s Childcare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560-2904 Pressure Washing/Deck, Siding . . . . 980-0225 Maid Brigade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 823-1922 A-Cleaning Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 892-8648 Mike’s Carpet Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . 978-2270 Carpets, Ducts, Windows . . . . . . . . . 823-1922

Concrete

n

Counseling

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Carol S. Miller, LCSW . . . . . . . . . . . . 395-4980 Josette Millman, APRN . . . . . . . . . . . 855-0396

Countertops

customsolidsurfaceinterior.com . 540-429-3647

n

Dentists

n

Engravers - Signs

Dr. William Dougherty . . . . . . . . . . . . 532-3300 Master Engravers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538-4444

n

Equipment REntal/Sale

C&J Custom Carpentry . . . . . . . . . . 443-2308 Tree House Design & Build . . . . . . . 401-4874

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Eyewear

n

n

CRJ Concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571-221-2785

Jon Rizalvo, PAYCHEX . . . . . 698-6910 x27045

Carpentry

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chiropractor

n

banking

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JANUARY 26 - FEBRUARY 1, 2012 | PAGE 31

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FLorists

Falls Church Florist, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . 533-1333

Stifel & Capra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407-0770 Handyman Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556-4276 Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536-0140 Falls Church Jazzercize Fitness Ctr 622-2152 Sacred Well Yoga and Healing . . . . . 989-8316

home improvement

Your Handyman LLC . . . . . . . . . 571-243-6726 Joseph Home Improvement . . . . . . . 507-8300 FC Heating & Air Service . . . . . . . . . 534-0630 The Vinyl Touch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 793-3111

infant Care

Nghiem Seitz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241-0605

n

insurance

n

lawn & garden

n

masonry

n

massage

VA Outdoor Power Equipment . . . . . 207-2000 Point of View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237-6500

Art & Frame of Falls Church . . . . . . . 534-4202

State Farm Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . 237-5105 Seven Brothers Landscaping . . . . . . 241-4990 Custom Masonry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 768-3900 Mottern Masonry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496-7491 Masonry Specialist LLC . . . . . . . . . . 443-2308 www.healthybyintention.com. . . . . . . 534-1321 Sheraton Premiere Women’s Massage403-9328

Dr Gordon Theisz, Family Medicine . 533-7555 Academy of Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 938-8054 Columbia Institute of Fine Arts . . . . . 534-2508 Studio Horotwitz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229-3109 Foxes Music Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533-7393 David Flohr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533-5824 Gentle Touch Dog Grooming . . . . . . . 539-2456 Feline Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 920-8665 The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy . . . 536-4042 Gary Mester, Event, Portraits . . . . . . 481-0128 Merelyn Kaye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .790-9090x218 www.helpfulmortgage.us . . . . . . . . . . 237-0222 Casey O’Neal - ReMax . . . . . . . . . . . 824-4196 Rosemary Hayes Jones . . . . . . . . . . .790-1990 Leslie Hutchison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .675-2188 The Young Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .356-8800 Shaun Murphy, Realtor . . . . . . . . . . 868-5999 www.TheJeffersonatBallston.com . . . 741-7562 Susan Fauber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395-8741

n

roofing

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tailor

Shiner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560-7663 Tailor Lee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534-8886

All numbers have a ‘703’ prefix unless otherwise indicated.

To see your business here, call us at 703-532-3267, fax 703-342-0352 or E-Mail us at ads@fcnp.com

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PAGE 32 | JANUARY 26 - FEBRUARY 1, 2012

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

SOLD

SOLD

The Market is Moving!

6ROG )DOOV &KXUFK &LW\

The Spectrum Falls Church City, VA 22046

4711 24th Road N Arlington, VA 22207

Offered at $503,900

Offered at $839,000

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For Sale

Representing Buyers

10321 Eclipse Lane Great Falls, VA 22066

Representing Buyers

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Offered at $1,375,000

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