October 19 — 25, 2017
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. XXVI I NO. 35
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I����� T��� W��� R���������� N��� ��� S����� HS D������ During a two hour long segment of Monday’s work session, Fairfax County School Board members volleyed their opinions around to determine which new name best serves the current J.E.B. Stuart community going forward. SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9
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Sze Shifts on Bond Referendum as F.C. Council Election Race Heats Up
5 Active Candidates Tout Pro-School & Economic Views
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
The City of Falls Church has experienced a surge of lawn equipment theft throughout 2017, jumping from one reported case last year to more than 20 this year. Though City police feel the problem can be better handled by residents rather than law enforcement itself. SEE PAGE 5
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Say this for Donald Trump: When it comes to sex, he’s less of a hypocrite than Harvey Weinstein. Until Weinstein’s downfall amid accusations of sexual assault and harassment, he posed as a backer of women’s rights. After the truth about his conduct was revealed, he was cast out of his professional community. SEE PAGE 14
M���� F������� L���� 2�� S������� G��� George Mason Mustang football lost their second game in a row in a blowout to rival Marshall High School last Friday. SEE SPORTS, PAGE 20
INDEX
Editorial.................6 Letters...................6 News & Notes10–11 Comment ........ 12-14 Calendar .......18–19
Sports .................20 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ..........21 Business News ...22 Critter Corner......22 Classified Ads .....23
ON A RELIEF MISSION to help out in Puerto Rico Tuesday, Falls Church developer Todd Hitt (right) traveled with former Puerto Rico governor Louis Fortuno (left) and met with his friend, D.C. restaurateur José Andrés (center), whose massive food relief effort is proving legendary. (P����: A��� S�����)
F.C. Developer Todd Hitt Assesses Recovery Effort in Puerto Rico
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
City of Falls Church-based developer Todd Hitt rode his private jet on a humanitarian mission to San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, delivering food and supplies to a Ronald McDonald House and a children’s hospital there and getting a sensuous appreciation for the overwhelming needs there in the wake of Hurricane Maria’s disastrous impact three weeks ago.
Hitt told the News-Press in an interview at his central F.C. office yesterday that he will be back with much more, though immediately on his mind is how to help get 25,000 pounds of donated Star Kist tuna from the Miami port over to the hurricane-ravaged island. With the shipping lanes clogged up, the only way to get the food there is by plane, and that will be expensive, he noted. The particular problem of relief efforts with Puerto Rico
have to do with it being an island. It has no overland access that make relief efforts in Houston, for example, so much easier. There is also no heavy presence of Fortune 500 companies there, which in the case of Houston, also ravaged by a hurricane this season, has helped so much to speed its recovery. Puerto Rico’s case “is a logistical nightmare,” Hitt said, “and incredibly costly.”
Continued on Page 8
Two forums pitting the five active Falls Church City Council candidates against each other were held in the last week, and if trending factors are important indicators as they have become so famously on social media sites, then a consensus continues to grow for support of the City’s school bond referendum on the Nov. 7 ballot. In particular, incumbent Councilman Dan Sze, seeking a third four-year term, who voted in late July against placing the $120 bond referendum on the ballot in the first place, manifested a major shift in his view on the subject between the Friday night debate in the Council chambers of City Hall, and this Tuesday’s noon debate a couple blocks away at the monthly luncheon of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce at Argia’s restaurant. All his opponents in the race to fill four seats on the Council have already been on record in favor of the referendum’s passage. But at last Friday’s debate hosted by the F.C. League of Women Voters and Village Preservation Society, Sze reiterated his stand to that point, saying the lack of certainty about a viable economic development offset makes it too risky to proceed. However, by Tuesday, his remarks had markedly shifted. He said in his opening remarks that he’s been in favor of “fair taxes, great schools and a good community, a city where all can live.” He said the City’s “industry” is “growing people” with the help of “great schools.” He said he expects the bond referendum to pass, and said he would get fully
Continued on Page 4