October 18 – 24, 2018
FA LLS CHUR C H, V I R G I NI A • WW W. FC NP. C OM • FR EE
FOU N D E D 1991 • VOL. XXVIII NO. 35
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The Fall 2018 edition of the News-Press’s Real Estate special is here with features on home rentals, the so-called Uber of lawn care, McLean’s Holiday Home Tour and more. SEE PAGES 21 – 28
Beyer’s Women’s Forum Underscores Decisive Issue in November’s Election N�� A�������� Role of Women May Be Biggest Player
In Coming Midterms
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON AND DYLAN HOMOYA
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
cient, safer, and theatrically vivid. (Noonan’s presenting remarks are included in a guest commentary he prepared that is published in this edition of the News-Press.) Moreover, the audience capacity of the auditorium will be increased from its current capacity of 499 to 650, with the potential for another 100 mezzanine seats, and a small black box theater will also be added, along with classrooms for musical innovations.
The front-page headline in yesterday’s New York Times read, “‘Horseface,’ ’Lowlife,’ ‘Fat, Ugly’: How President Demeans Women.” By referring to porn actress Stormy Daniels as “Horseface” in a tweet on Tuesday, the article began, President Trump “was adding her to a long list of women he has attacked by demeaning their looks, mocking their bodily functions or comparing them to animals.” That’s not to mention his confessions of groping and sexually assaulting women in the famous “Access Hollywood” tape. More than any other factor, some recognize, the woman factor could be the single most decisive component in the upcoming Nov. 6 midterm elections, when every U.S. House of Representatives seat and a third of the U.S. Senate seats, among others, will be on ballots across the nation. Keenly aware of this, U.S. Rep. Donald S. Beyer Jr., whose 8th District of Virginia includes the City of Falls Church, hosted a rousing “Breaking Through, Women Work for Change” conference in Arlington last weekend, his fourth annual event. Beyer was joined by keynote speakers State Del. Danica Roem and 12-yearold Naomi Wadler, the organizer of youth protests following the Parkland, Florida, mass shooting earlier this year. The only two races on the ballot in the City of Falls Church in next month’s election, both considered lopsided in favor of the
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E�������� F��������� I����� 22 G����� The non-profit Falls Church Education Foundation announced this week that 22 grants totalling $59,346 were issued to programs of the Falls Church City Public School system. SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9
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George Mason High School’s volleyball team has proven a worthy aspirant for the conference crown as it downed Strasburg, Central and Clarke County in the past week. SEE SPORTS, PAGE 29
M���� G���’� 1�� F������ F��� P�������� After a series of short films George Mason High School class of ‘83 grad Anne Welles’ first feature film, “An Accidental Zombie (Named Ted),” opened this past Tuesday. SEE PAGE 15
20 CANDIDATES FROM 16 countries came to Falls Church’s Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School Monday morning to take the oath of citizenship of the United States, concluding their naturalization process. The seventh grade at the school �iled into the cafetorium to witness the oath and pledge of allegiance for the newly minted Americans. The students have been studying citizenship in their civics classes and seeing it �irst hand was memorable for them. The school’s chorus sang the National Anthem to begin the ceremony. (P����: C���� S��)
Falls Church School Board Gets Full Expert Review of ‘Fly’ Issue
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
INDEX
Editorial............... 6 Letters...........6, 16 News & Notes 10–11 Comment ..... 12–13 Sports ............... 29 Calendar ..... 30–31
Classified Ads ... 32 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ........ 33 Crime Report ......34 Critter Corner....34 Business News . 35
The Falls Church School Board was provided an extensive, expert presentation on technical aspects of the auditorium planned for the new George Mason High School at its work session Tuesday night in the wake of growing citizen concerns for whether or not it will be as versatile and capable as the school’s existing auditorium. Namely, the existing auditorium has a full “fly loft” system
for lifting and moving sets and props, and the new auditorium is not scheduled to have the same capability. But the new auditorium, as presented by Superintendent Peter Noonan and the team of expert consultants he brought to the meeting Tuesday, is scheduled to include newer technologies, including ones increasingly being utilized even on Broadway, including use of three-dimensional, projection and LED lighting technologies, that are more effi-