October 15 – 21, 2015
Fa lls Chur c h, V i r g i ni a • ww w. fc np. c om • Fr ee
Fou n d ed 1991 • Vol. XXV No. 34
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week Council Gives 1st OK to $1.2M in New Spending
The Falls Church City Council has given “first reading” preliminary approval to $1,271,679 in new general fund expenditures that became available following the conclusion of Fiscal Year 2015 to include two new City positions, a new school bus and an array of smaller items. See News Briefs, page 8
3 Voted to ‘Advisory Evaluation Team’
Shields Adamant: Model Shows Big Net Benefit From Mixed Use in F.C. W ish Y ou W ere H ere
Bone of Contention Divides Campaigns For City Council
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
mixer in the lobby of the auditorium that begins at 7 p.m. Then, next Tuesday, Oct. 20, the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce, at its regular monthly luncheon at the Italian Cafe, will present a forum involving the five candidates for the City Council. The School Board and Council
As the benefits and liabilities of large-scale mixed use development projects have become major points of contention in the Falls Church City Council race this fall, top officials at City Hall remain adamant contending that there have been marked positive effects on the fiscal health of the City. In an exclusive interview with the News-Press, City Manager Wyatt Shields and Economic Development office chief Rick Goff explained that even with updates to the City’s fiscal analysis of the seven major mixed-use projects built since 2002, the net effect has been millions to the good and, as a result, major savings on the individual real estate tax rate for homeowners. In the current campaign, the five candidates vying for three seats on the Council have been sharply divergent on the issue. Incumbent Councilman Phil Duncan and first-time candidate Letty Hardi have stood staunchly in favor of continued, well-vetted mixed-use developments, while challengers Sam Mabry and Johannah Barry, both of whom have previously served on the Council, have called for a moratorium on such developments, claiming they are costing taxpayers money. The arguments of Mabry and Barry are that the projects are introducing more new children to the school system and the cost of educating them is a net burden on taxpayers. But according to City Hall, the majority of new students in the school system come from single
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Three members of City staff were voted unanimously by the Falls Church City Council onto an advisory team tasked with conducting an initial review of the responses to the Request for Conceptual Proposals for the development of the 34 acres known as the Upper West End property. See News Briefs, page 8
David Brooks: The Republican’s Incompetence Caucus
The House Republican caucus is close to ungovernable these days. How did this situation come about? See page 14
Press Pass with The Wailin’ Jennys
The Wailin’ Jennys latest tour run, which includes a stop at The Birchmere on Tuesday, Oct. 20, is a nine-day tour with performances on the West and East coasts. See page 24
FAMOUS MUSICIANS graced the streets of the City of Falls Church last weekend for a recording session at the City’s Cue Recording Studio. Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame (left) and Sheryl Crow (center) were present to record a rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” with three disabled veteran musicians. It was for MusiCorps, a Walter Reed Hospital-based non-profit to help wounded veterans heal through music. Their upcoming show, “MusicHeals” will be at Constitution Hall Friday, Oct. 16 with Waters, Crow and the same veterans that recorded with them at Cue. On the right is Jeff Jeffrey, owner of Cue. (Photo: Jeff Jeffrey)
School Board Candidates in Spotlight at GMHS Tonight by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Index
Editorial..................6 Letters................6, 9 Business News.... 11 News & Notes.12-13 Comment........14-17 Sports..................23
Food & Dining......25 Calendar.........26-27 Classified Ads .....28 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword...........29 Critter Corner.......30
With the School Board and City Council election looming on Nov. 3, citizens of the City of Falls Church will have more opportunities to see the 13 total candidates vying for six positions facing off against each other in public. Tonight, Thursday, Oct. 15,
all eight School Board candidates will be on the stage at the George Mason High School auditorium to vie for citizen votes in a forum hosted jointly by the Mason High PTSA, the local chapter of the League of Women Voters, and the Village Preservation and Improvement Society. The forum at 7:30 p.m. will be preceded by a “meet and greet”