OCTOBER 22 - 28, 2026 Founded 1991 • Vol. XXXVI N o . 37
Arlington Moves to Protect Its Vote
Northern Virginia’s Newspaper
Falls Church, Virginia • w w w . fc n p . c o m • Free
‘Democracy Thrives In Sunshine’
BOO WITH A VIEW
Lawsuit to Keep ICE Away from Polls Filed
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
With election day now less than two weeks away, the Arlington County Board announced yesterday that it has sued the Trump administration to block armed federal agents from appearing at polling places, arguing that immigration and law enforcement operations at voting sites would violate federal law and could intimidate voters ahead of the November 3 election. The Arlington County Board filed the lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, seeking an order prohibiting armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement and FBI agents from conducting enforcement operations at polling places, early voting sites and ballot drop boxes. The lawsuit names the U.S. departments of Homeland Security and Justice, ICE, the FBI and several senior federal officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel.
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Table Of Contents News Briefs Editoral Sports Calendar Classads Critter Corner
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TROOP 50201 painted ghosts, witches and colorful creatures on RH Bistro’s windows at Founders Row, 912 W. Broad St. (Route 7), in Falls Church as part of the annual Halloween window-painting festivities. Look for windows throughout the Little City decorated in the Halloween spirit. (Photo: News-Press)
Red-Light Cameras: $50 Fines Start Nov. 20 by Nick Gatz
Falls Church News-Press
The cameras moved to the middle of town. As of yesterday, Wednesday, Oct. 21, the City of Falls Church has red-light enforcement cameras watching Washington Street (Route 29) at Broad Street (Route 7), the city’s central crossroads, along with East Broad Street at South Roosevelt Street. Run the red at either one and the camera sees it. For the next four weeks you get
a warning. After that, you get a bill. Warnings are through Nov. 19, then $50 fines begin. The relocated cameras came down from West Broad Street at Cherry Street, and West Broad Street at Annandale Road, the two intersections that have carried the city’s red-light program for nearly 16 years. City officials say all that time under the lens changed how people drive there. Now the enforcement follows the traffic, which keeps piling into Falls
Church from regional growth along the I-66 corridor and pours through the city’s two main arteries every day. “Running a red light is one of the most dangerous choices a driver can make because occupants have little protection in side impact (T-bone) crashes,” Police Chief Shahram Fard said in announcing the change. “Red-light cameras give us a consistent, around-the-clock way to discourage it. Moving them to riskier intersections supports the
City’s Vision Zero goal and reflects what our residents and City Council have asked for: safer streets for everyone.” The warning period began yesterday and runs through Thursday, Nov. 19. Any driver photographed entering either intersection after the light turns red during that window will get a warning notice in the mail. On Friday, Nov. 20, the warnings stop and confirmed violations carry
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PAGE 2 | OCTOBER 22 - 28, 2026
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Falls Church News Briefs
Fairfax to Review Flock License Reader Program
hotel, and celebrate with local business leaders, community members, and Falls Church Chamber of Commerce partners. Learn more at: fallschurchchamber.org.
A Fairfax County committee will review the county’s license plate reader program on Tuesday amid ongoing community concerns over privacy, data security, and information sharing. The Fairfax County Police Department has used automated license plate readers for years, incorporating Flock technology in 2022, and credits the systems with helping solve crimes. The department currently operates 84 Flock cameras and 714 Axon vehicle-mounted systems, alongside more than 120 privately owned cameras. Police highlight significant successes with the technology, including the arrest of armed robbery suspects, the recovery of stolen goods from organized retail theft, and the retrieval of 573 stolen vehicles and 67 guns. The systems have also helped locate 60 missing people and contributed to 161 narcotics cases.
Falls Church Hosts Public Works Hiring Fair on October 29 The City of Falls Church Department of Public Works (DPW) is hosting a job fair on Thursday, Oct. 29, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Property Yard, 217 Gordon Rd. Prospective job applicants will have the chance to meet DPW employees and hiring managers, learn about career opportunities, and see the equipment used in these jobs. Assistance will also be available to apply for jobs. Check their website for more information and a schedule that’s to be posted soon: fallschurchva.gov/m/ calendar/event/detail/14826.
Leaf Collection Season is Here (So Is #LeaveTheLeaves) From late October through early January, crews will pick up leaves throughout the Little City. Leaves are later composted into leaf mulch. Residents are asked to rake leaves to the curb and not to place them in the street, and to avoid piling leaves near storm drains and water meter covers. A reminder that this collection is only for leaves; no stones, litter, branches, yard waste, or other debris (they can damage the machines). If you’re looking for an environmentally friendly option that doesn’t involve a leaf blower, #LeaveTheLeaves encourages you to let leaves decompose naturally in garden beds and wooded areas. You can set your mower to mulch mode if you want to avoid raking. Whichever option you choose, please don’t park your car on a leaf pile, this can be a fire hazard. Learn more about the collection service and #LeaveTheLeaves at: fallschurchva.gov/leafcollection.
FC Chamber of Commerce Networking Mixer October 27 This month’s networking mixer will be held at Murphys Funeral Home on Tuesday, Oct. 27, from 5:30 – 7 p.m. at 1102 W. Broad Street. Costumes are highly encouraged, guests and prospective members are welcome. We’re refraining from deploying a host of clever Halloween puns included in the official announcement for this event but you can read them for yourself (it’s worth it!) at: fallschurchchamber.org. Each networking evening is hosted by a different Chamber member on the fourth Tuesday of each month.
FC City Council Offers New Evening Office Hours Beginning October 28 The Falls Church City Council is now offering evening office hours on the last Wednesday of the month. This month’s Office Hours will be held on Oct. 28th from 6:30-8 p.m. with Vice Mayor Laura Downs and City Council Member Marybeth Connelly at GrillMarX, 510 S Washington Street. Ms. Downs and Ms. Connelly will be present to answer questions and listen to feedback from community members. As this will not be a private setting, members of the community are also welcome to contact the City Council individually. Contact information can be located on the Council’s web page at: fallschurchva.gov/384/City-Council
Grand Reopening of the Hilton Garden Inn on October 28 The Grand Reopening Celebration of the Hilton Garden Inn Falls Church will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 4 – 7 p.m. at 706 West Broad Street. The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony is scheduled for 5 p.m. with attendance by City Council and elected officials expected. Learn more about the amenities and services of the
Dr. Siddharth Ashvin Shah led a discussion on how stress impacts focus, relationships, and judgment, alongside protecting personal well-being amid rapid AI and workplace shifts at the monthly luncheon of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce this Tuesday at The Italian Café. (Photo: FCNP)
MAKE SURE CUTIE PIE IS IN THE RIGHT SEAT. NHTSA.gov/TheRightSeat
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
OCTOBER 22 - 28, 2026 | PAGE 3
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LOCAL
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Arlington Sues to Block Armed Federal Agents at Polls
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“As we approach the upcoming elections, no American citizen should feel intimidated, harassed, or unsafe exercising their constitutional right to vote. However, we continue to see citizens being harmed by federal immigration enforcement agents – ranging from Americans being unlawfully detained to the extrajudicial killings of two Minnesotans,” stated Virginia Del. Alfonso Lopez in a statement. “This is why I introduced HB 1442 during the legislative session, which would have restricted federal immigration enforcement actions within 40 feet of polling places, electoral board meetings, and recount locations. Ultimately, that bill, and the underlying policy, was not signed into law, but the problem it addressed has only intensified. I am thankful that the Arlington County Board is taking legal action to ensure safe and protected elections, and the right of Virginians to freely cast their ballot.”
County officials claim the administration has adopted policies allowing armed federal agents to enter polling places for immigration enforcement and election-related investigations, despite a federal law dating to 1865 that generally prohibits federal officials from bringing armed personnel to election sites. “Threatening to send armed agents to polling stations is unlawful and contravenes the bedrock values of free and fair elections we hold dear in this country,” Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said in a statement. “These statements are a clear attempt to stoke fear and undermine confidence in our elections.” The lawsuit cites 18 U.S.C. Section 592, which restricts federal officials from deploying armed personnel to locations where elections are held, except when necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States. Arlington argues that federal immigration enforcement and routine election investigations do not
qualify for that exception. The 42-page complaint details steps Arlington officials say they have taken to prepare for the possibility of armed federal agents appearing at polling places. According to the lawsuit, county officials conducted a four-hour emergency preparedness exercise on September 16 involving police, prosecutors, election officials and attorneys. The exercise addressed how local authorities should respond if armed federal agents appeared at polling places, including whether Arlington police could make arrests, how officials would communicate and whether voting locations might need to be moved. The county also held a voter safety town hall on September 22 after residents raised concerns about encountering federal agents while voting. The lawsuit says the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Arlington plans to deploy six attorneys to monitor polling places and
respond to election-related emergencies, compared with the two or three attorneys typically assigned in previous elections. The county’s election office has also expanded training, public communications and contingency planning. Arlington police have revised their Election Day procedures and plan to increase staffing partly because of concerns about potential confrontations involving federal officers. County officials argue those preparations have diverted taxpayer money and staff time from other government responsibilities. The lawsuit points to statements by Mullin and Patel as evidence that federal agencies believe they have authority to conduct operations at polling places. In September, Mullin said ICE agents could go to polling locations in response to threats or to serve warrants on individuals they were pursuing. White House border czar Tom Homan later said there were no
plans for immigration-enforcement sweeps at polling places, though he maintained that ICE could pursue public-safety and national-security threats. Patel, meanwhile, told a Senate committee that the FBI maintains election crimes coordinators in its field offices and would continue investigating election interference. Arlington argues that the agencies’ asserted authority conflicts with federal law and infringes on state and local governments’ responsibility to administer elections. The complaint also cites reported ICE enforcement activity at polling locations in Texas, California and New York earlier this year. The federal government’s statements do not establish that armed agents have been ordered to Arlington polling places, and the complaint does not identify a specific deployment planned for the county. The County Board is asking a
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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Red-Light Cameras Relocated
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a $50 civil fine. The cameras run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. No officer has to be standing on the corner. No patrol car has to be sitting in a lot. The system watches through the evening rush, when red-light running is most common, and through the middle of the night, when no officer is around to see it. A machine does not write the ticket, though. The City’s private vendor first screens the photos and video the cameras capture. A sworn Falls Church police officer then reviews that evidence and decides whether a violation actually happened. Only violations confirmed by that officer turn into citations, which are mailed to the vehicle’s registered owner, lessee or renter. Virginia sets the rules here, and it keeps the penalty tight. State law caps any red-light camera penalty at $50 and bars localities from tacking on court costs. A camera ticket also stays off your driving record and cannot be used against you on insurance, which makes it a very different animal from a ticket written by an officer. Get pulled over and convicted of running a red light in Virginia and the fine can climb as high as $350, with demerit points attached. The authority comes from Virginia Code § 15.2-968.1, which the General Assembly approved in 2007 to let localities statewide use red-light cameras after an earlier pilot program expired in 2005. The City said the two new intersections were chosen using criteria under that law, including crash history, how often drivers run the light and how many pedestrians and cyclists use the crossing. Red-light running kills people. In 2024, 1,119 people died nationwide in crashes involving red-light running, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and more than 141,000 were injured. Half of those killed were not the drivers who ran the light. They were pedestrians, bicyclists and people in other vehicles who were simply in the way. Drivers know it’s dangerous and do it anyway. In a 2024 AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety survey, 80% of drivers said blowing through a light that just turned red is very or extremely dangerous. Twenty-seven percent admitted doing it in the past 30 days. That gap between what drivers know and what they do is the whole argument for cameras. The best-known research comes from IIHS. Studying large U.S. cities, IIHS found fatal red-light-running crash rates ran 21% lower after cameras were switched on than expected without them, and fatal crashes of all types at signalized intersections ran 14%
OCTOBER 22 - 28, 2026 | PAGE 5
LOCAL
lower. The flip side hits just as hard. In 14 cities that shut their camera programs down between 2010 and 2014, fatal red-light-running crash rates came in 30% higher than they would have been had the cameras stayed on. In Houston, which pulled its cameras in 2011, right-angle red-light-running crashes jumped 23% at the intersections that used to have them. Falls Church is far from alone. As of September 2026, IIHS counts 357 communities nationwide running red-light camera programs, Falls Church among them. This is not the city’s first round with cameras, and the history cuts both ways. Falls Church was one of several Virginia localities that ran red-light cameras under a state pilot program that expired in 2005. A 2007 Virginia Transportation Research Council study of that era found the cameras reduced red-light-running crashes but increased rear-end crashes, with results varying widely from one jurisdiction and intersection to the next. IIHS acknowledges the same tradeoff, noting that some studies show cameras cut side-impact and overall injury crashes while increasing rear-end collisions. The current program came online in December 2010, when cameras went live at Broad and Cherry and at West Broad and Annandale, with a 30-day warning period before $50 fines began in January 2011. Drivers did not slow down right away. Police issued more than 500 warnings before the fines kicked in, and the cameras then caught 309 violators in their first five weeks of fines, roughly eight drivers a day. Then-Vice Mayor Dave Snyder told WTOP the city would put cameras at far more intersections if the approval process weren’t so slow, calling red-light and stop-sign running an epidemic in Northern Virginia. None of that is an argument against the cameras. The research is clear that they save lives, and the City is right to aim them where the traffic and the danger are heaviest. But a program that asks residents to trust a camera, a vendor and a $50 bill in the mail should show its work. The City’s announcement did not include crash totals or violation counts for Washington and Broad or East Broad and Roosevelt, the two intersections now under the cameras. It did not include annual citation figures or collision data for Cherry Street and Annandale Road, either, even as it credited the cameras with changing driver behavior there. That distinction matters, and the safety groups that champion these cameras say so themselves. A 2021 automated enforce-
PUBLIC NOTICE PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT – QUESTION 1 To Be Voted On at the November 3, 2026, Election
PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT – QUESTION 1 PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT – QUESTION 1 BALLOT QUESTION Be Voted Onamended at the toNovember 2026, toElection To BeToVoted On at the November 2026,the3,Election Should the Constitution of Virginia be (i) 3, protect freedom make personal decisions about prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion, miscarriage BALLOT management, and fertility care; (ii)QUESTION protect doctors, nurses, and patients from being punished for these decisions; and (iii) allow for restrictions on access to abortion during the third trimester of Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) protect the freedom pregnancy except when the patient's health is at risk or the pregnancy survive? to make personal decisions about prenatal care,cannot childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion, miscarriage management, and fertility care; (ii) protect doctors, nurses, and patients from being punished for these decisions; and (iii) allow for restrictions on access to abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy except when the patient’s health EXPLANATION FOR VOTERS is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive? QUESTION 1
BALLOT QUESTION BALLOT QUESTION
Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) the protect the freedom to ma Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) protect freedom to make person decisions prenatal childbirth, postpartum care,control, birth control, decisions aboutabout prenatal care, care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth abortion, abortion, miscarria management, andLawfertility care; (ii) protect doctors, nurses, and from patients from being fp management, and fertility care; (ii) protect doctors,FOR nurses, and patients being punished EXPLANATION VOTERS Present Currently,and the (iii) Virginia Constitution does not explicitly providetotoabortion its citizensduring a right to QUESTION 1on access decisions; for restrictions the third Present Lawfreedom thesethese decisions; and (iii) allow allow for onprotect access abortion thehealth thirdcaretrimester reproductive nor restrictions does it explicitly or to prohibit certainduring kinds of Currently, the Virginia does not is explicitly its citizens a right to survive? or decisions. pregnancyprocedures except when thenorConstitution patient's health at riskprovide or certain thetopregnancy cannot reproductive does it explicitly protect kinds of health care pregnancy except when thefreedom patient's health is at risk orortheprohibit pregnancy cannot survive? proceduresAmendment or decisions. Proposed The proposed amendment would add to the Virginia Constitution's Bill of Rights the Proposed Amendment fundamental right to make and carry out decisions about a person’s own reproductive care with The proposed amendment would add to the Virginia Constitution's Bill of Rights the only certain, specific exceptions. The proposed amendment specifically allows the state fundamental right to make and carry out decisions about a person’s own reproductive government to pass laws to regulate abortion care in the third trimester of pregnancy, but care with only certain, specific exceptions. The proposed amendment specifically allows requires such law totoallow abortion care when it is care medically to protect of the life the stateany government pass for laws to regulate abortion in theneeded third trimester and health of the pregnant person or because the fetus is not viable. pregnancy, but requires any such law to allow for abortion care when it is medically
EXPLANATION FOR VOTERS
EXPLANATION FOR VOTERS QUESTION 1 needed to protect the life and health of the pregnant1 person or because the Count: fetus is116 not/ 500 QUESTION Word viable.
Present Law TEXT OF AMENDMENT Present LawFULLthe Currently, Virginia Constitution does not explicitly provide to its citizens [Proposed new language is underlined. Deleted old language is stricken.] Currently, the Virginia Constitution not explicitly to its certain citizenskinds a rightof toh reproductive freedom nor does does it explicitly protectprovide or prohibit ARTICLE I reproductive freedom nor does it explicitly protect or prohibit certain kinds of health care procedures or decisions.
procedures or decisions.
BILL OF RIGHTS
Section 11-A. Fundamental right to reproductive freedom.
Proposed Amendment That every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including the ability to make and carry out decisions relating to one's own prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, Proposed Amendment The proposed would management, add to and thefertility Virginia Constitution's Bill of R contraception,amendment abortion care, miscarriage care. An individual's right to reproductive freedom shall not be, directly or indirectly, denied, burdened, right to make and bycarry about a person’sBill own The fundamental proposed amendment would tooutthedecisions Virginia ofreproductiv Rights the or infringed upon unless justified add a compelling state interest Constitution's achieved by the least restrictive means. only certain, exceptions. The may proposed amendment specifically allows fundamental right tospecific makethe and out decisions about person’s reproductive Notwithstanding above,carry the Commonwealth regulateathe provision own of abortion care in the care with third trimester, provided that in no circumstance shall the Commonwealth prohibit an abortion (i) to pass laws to regulate abortion care in the third trimester of preg onlygovernment certain,thatspecific exceptions. The proposed amendment specifically allows the state in the professional judgment of a physician is medically indicated to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual or (ii) when in the professional judgment of a physician requiresthetoany such lawtotoregulate allow forabortion abortion it istrimester medicallyof needed to prot fetus is not viable. government pass laws carecare in when the third pregnancy, bu The Commonwealth shall not discriminate in the protection or enforcement of this fundamental and health the topregnant or because is not viable. requires anyright. suchoflaw allow forperson abortion care whentheit fetus is medically needed to protect the life The Commonwealth shall not penalize, prosecute, or otherwise take adverse action against an
based on person such individual's own exercise of thisisfundamental right or such individual's and health ofindividual the pregnant or because the fetus not viable. Word Count own actual, potential, perceived, or alleged pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion. The Commonwealth shall not penalize, prosecute, or otherwise take adverse action against any individual for aiding or assisting another individual in exercising such other individual's right to reproductive freedom with such other individual's voluntary consent.
Word Count: 116 / 500
For the purposes of this section, a state interest is compelling only if it is for the limited purpose of maintaining or improving the health of an individual seeking care, consistent with accepted clinical standards of care and evidence-based medicine and does not infringe on that individual's autonomous decision making.
FULL TEXT OF AMENDMENT
This section shall be self-executing. Any provision of this section held invalid shall be severable
the remaining portions of the section. Deleted old language is stricken.] [Proposed new language is underlined. FULL TEXTfrom OF AMENDMENT Continued on Page 13
[Proposed new language is underlined. Deleted old language isI stricken.] ARTICLE
PAGE 6 | OCTOBER 22 - 28, 2026
Editorial
Since 1991, an award-winning LGBT-owned general interest community newspaper. Vol. XXXVI, No. 37 OCTOBER 22 - 28, 2026 • City of Falls Church ‘Business of the Year’ 1991 & 2001 • • Member, Virginia Press Association •
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classified & Legal ads classads@fcnp.com letters to the editor letters@fcnp.com News & Notes newsandnotes@fcnp.com Obituaries obits@fcnp.com subscriptions distribution & delivery delivery@fcnp.com www.fcnp.com The News-Press is certified by the Commonwealth of Virginia to publish official legal notices including probate, abc notices, small and foreign estates. We will provide the appropriate paperwork. A comprehensive book on the 36 year history of the News-Press, “The Life and Times of the Falls Church NewsPress”: by Charlie Clark (History Press, 2023), can be purchased at local bookstores or online. 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 to over 140 locations. Offices are at 105 N. Virginia Ave., #310, Falls Church, VA 22046. Reproduction of this publication in whole or part is prohibited except with the written permission of the publisher. ©2025 Benton Communications Inc. The News-Press is printed on recycled paper. A searchable archive of all issues of the Falls Church News-Press since 1991 can be found at bit.ly/44kt6Sc.
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The Midterms, Be Prepared
Here come the dreaded midterms. We worry that for all the efforts to date to insure a fair and honest election in the U.S., there is a dark and troubling reality that our president and his machine will not stop short of either cancelling the election altogether or messing with the outcome in a way that will make January 6, 2021 seem like child’s play. From everything we’ve seen, the Trump movement is determined to perform a coup, a real, right wing anti-democracy intrusion designed to cancel out the votes of the midterms that are right on top of us now. Will the president cancel the election, altogether? Will he declare the result null and void and send in the military to enforce that? What will we do if that happens? Who is ready to stand up to the consequences of that? It could be that this is the inflection point of our history that we have not had to face since the American Revolution or the Civil War that cost 600,000 American lives. Or, maybe if this moment of decision is postponed for whatever reason, how many of us will seriously consider how close we are right now, nonetheless? The sleepwalk through history that most of this generation have experienced cannot last forever. Few were the voices that could be heard after the 2020 election that argued, when push came to shove, that Trump would not relinquish power without a major fight. How are we to suggest it will be different now? The MAGA ranks may be a shadow of their former selves, but we face a reality that may require the prospect of an open resistance to the ordering of armed troops. What will be the outcome should it come to that? We have done a lot to counter this prospect in the last two years. But it may not be enough, after all. We pray for peace. But it may not be in the cards depending on a number of factors, or if it is, it would be peace at a frightening price. What say you, America? Are we ready to hand over our democracy to a tyrant? Are we prepared to resist? What will happen if we face directly conflicting orders? One group says one thing, and another a different thing, each backed by the force of arms? By what criteria will you decide whom to obey? Dear reader, these are not idle thoughts. They may become far more than that. Please take this seriously and think through what your response will be. This is far more than simply deciding whom to vote for. Looking to ensure provisions exist for some form of a siege is not beyond the pale. You and your family may require the means to persist in a time of shortages. Do what you may need to step up for that. Be prepared.
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OCTOBER 22 - 28, 2026 | PAGE 7
Stylish Patina’s Small Biz Fall Market Is a Huge Success
BY AMY BOWKER
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
It felt more like early winter than autumn on Saturday, October 17, when Stylish Patina launched its inaugural Small Biz Fall Market but the mild chill in the air didn’t dampen anyone’s enthusiasm for the eclectic gathering of artisans. More than 25 vendors took part in the outdoor event, blanketing the front lawn and back lot of the fashionable retail boutique run by real estate agent Kelly Thompson in its new address at 301 Park Avenue. The sheer range of offerings was impressive, from jewelry to candles to antiques to sweets and even modern art. It was a unique opportunity to browse so many local businesses all in one place on one day. “There isn’t anything quite like this in Falls Church or Arlington,” Kelly said of the market, “and with our space just down the street from the Saturday farmers market, it made so much sense … It gives small businesses real exposure to our neighbors, and it gives our neighbors an easy, fun way to shop local.” Stylish Patina is located just steps from City Hall and this event was coordinated to overlap with the Farmers Market held there every Saturday from 8 a.m. – noon, as well as Little City Sips, which ran that evening from 5 – 10 p.m. That might have meant a long day for the vendors who signed up for the full duration of the market, 9 a.m. through 8 p.m., but the energy was still high when I stopped by in the early afternoon. One of the first booths to catch my eye on the front lawn was the innovative Merboh Art Lab, featuring the unique designs of artist Mye Coates. The name Merboh is inspired by a mercantile bohemian aesthetic and her M7 series was on display with a poster and matchboxes that carried the seven geometric designs inspired by the Hermetic Principles. The poster itself stopped me in my tracks. I learned more about the series when I spoke with the artist and her sister, Nikki Coates, who handles Operations Strategy, and I encourage anyone interested to visit their website at merboh.com. Stylish Patina was, of course, also open for the event, offering unique home décor, clothing, jewelry, and antique furniture across an expanded new space that covers an impressive two floors. Kelly got her start as a dealer by renting space in established stores and appearing in markets, like Lucketts. “I started Stylish Patina in 2010 with vintage furniture and home décor, and I’m just as passionate about
it today,” she said. “I love that vintage is sustainable, but it’s also that curated, collected look. It lets people create a home that actually feels like them, not something straight out of a catalog.” That vintage aesthetic was on display across a majority of booths including Fair Finds, run by Laura and Patrick Woody, where I found an impressive range of antique treasures at reasonable prices. If you want to check out this business, look no further than the Antique Annex on Broad Street where they maintain a regular booth. Also participating in Saturday’s market, the Perla Luz Boutique, run by artist Sofia Rogel-Zuniga (with an assist by mom Pamela Weitz), had an irresistible table with handmade knitted purses in the shapes of animal faces, including a cat and teddy bear. Marbury Green offered a gorgeous array of potted plants, and Slightly Verdant had beautiful wreaths on display. Cherry Hill Tech was selling a unique Daily Calendar Puzzle by HOAK Puzzles with pegs that can be moved to generate a new puzzle every day (available on Etsy). There was lots of comfort food for sale, including Kristina’s Swede Treats, who specializes in Swedish cookies and pastries, and Sweets Comfort offering customized cookies and treats, plus the freshly baked goods and fresh florals of Bakes and Blossoms run by Kimberley Haver. Not edible but visually delicious were the exquisite coffee cups turned into candles by Elizabeth Alves at The Littlest Things Art booth (available at TheLittlestThings.art). The cleverly named Presumed Innoscent displayed their “criminally good candles, soaps & room sprays.” Run by “Lead Detective, Founder & Chandler” Nathan Scott, you can inspect them online at PresumedInnoscents. com. Drift Away With J was selling nature-inspired art and handmade décor by Sarah and John Magner, which you can also purchase on Etsy. Shoulder Cat Studio was on hand for the day, and they host pottery classes and workshops, which you can find on shouldercatstudio.com. Christine Hughes and her Five Farms Market offered handcrafted candles, room sprays, balms, skin cream and perfumes, also available through fivefarmsmarket.com. The mobile bookstore, The Wandering Shelf (wanderingshelf.com), set up shop in the back parking lot, next to KJ’s Chatterbox German-American fusion food truck, while a band assembled in a makeshift stage area nearby. Quite the lineup and I haven’t even named
all the vendors yet. When asked if she plans to run the fall market again, Kelly responded, “Absolutely! The energy this weekend was amazing, and the feedback has been incredible. I’ve gotten so many texts and calls from people telling me how much they loved it and asking us to keep it going. We’re still working out the details, but we’re looking at dates in November and December and will take it from there.” Celebrating small businesses in Falls Church is important to Kelly. “I was born and raised here, and I really want Falls Church to keep that small-town feel. New businesses coming in are great for the economy, but I don’t want us to lose our roots.” She added, “Not everyone can afford a brick-and-mortar store these days. It’s extremely expensive. Markets like this help bridge that gap, and I love being a connector who can make that happen.” Other vendors participating in this inaugural (but hopefully recurring market) include Raysin’ hell (handmade upcycled pieces and vintage treasures by Audy Ray), Prax & Dai Men (jewelry, nature art, pottery and more at praxanddaimen.com), Wilko Interiors
Thrift, The Living Room Runway (featuring Personal Stylist Janene Corrado), Ten Moons Midwifery (ten-moons.com), 13 Sourdough (13sourdough.com), Blumdari Bluesky, Nomini Boards (nominiboards.com), CLOS Vigne (antiques, closvigne.com), Design Collab Studios, Campus Game Day Boutique (apparel), Amanda’s Churn (ice cream, amandaschurn.com), and the Vintage Shell (vintage finds). I’m already looking forward to the next Small Biz Market!
PLANTS IN VINTAGE vessels by Marbury Green. (Photo: Amy Bowker)
MERBOH ART LAB artist Mye Coates and sister Nikki Coates. (Photo: Amy Bowker)
6795 Wilson Blvd., Falls Church, VA 22044
www.edencenter.com
PAGE 8 | OCTOBER 22 - 28, 2026
The CTE Conundrum Persists in Society Nicholas F. Benton FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
Two weeks ago, a Meridian High School football player suffered an injury during a game, with emergency medical personnel taking more than 25 minutes to arrive, according to the team’s head coach. It was reportedly the second such delay in two weeks. While the injury was not necessarily related to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), it served as a stark reminder of the immediate physical dangers associated with the sport and raised serious questions about emergency medical preparedness at high school athletic events. Someday in the distant future, perhaps, the present-day unrelenting obsession of American society with the potentially deadly consequences of football will be recognized for the utter and immoral stupidity that it represents. We all love football, but the mounting scientific evidence linking repeated head impacts to the degenerative brain disease CTE should give us serious pause. Yet very few among us seem willing to respond like rational human beings, and so the sport, and its potential for premature suffering and death, go on. A study published Aug. 25, 2026, in the prestigious medical journal The BMJ, conducted by researchers affiliated with Boston University and other institutions, found a minimum CTE prevalence of 24.5 percent among former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021. Of 878 deceased players, researchers examined 235 donated brains and confirmed CTE in 215. While these findings do not establish how common the disease is among all football players, particularly at the high school level, they provide troubling evidence of the neurological consequences associated with the sport. Someday, efforts like those at Boston University may give us a reliable way to diagnose the illness in living persons. Currently, we cannot definitively confirm CTE in the living. Someone has to die before we can know for sure. Even in an enlightened com-
munity like Virginia’s City of Falls Church, with its strong emphasis on education and intellectual achievement, the dangers associated with football receive far too little public scrutiny. The sport remains a fixture at Meridian High School, despite mounting scientific evidence linking repeated head impacts to CTE. The former superintendent and current principal have both acknowledged to this writer, in faceto-face conversations, that they have no clear answers to the concerns surrounding football and the long-term neurological risks to student-athletes. Yet the sport continues largely unchanged. Simply developing safer helmets is not enough. While improved equipment can help reduce certain injuries, it cannot eliminate the repeated head impacts associated with CTE. For decades, CTE has been a ghostly diagnosis, a degenerative brain disease whose presence can only be suspected in life and definitively proven after death. Associated with repetitive head impacts, CTE has cast a long shadow over contact sports, military service and victims of repeated physical abuse. However, the scientific landscape is shifting. Researchers are investigating advanced PET scans and blood-based biomarkers that could eventually allow CTE to be diagnosed in living patients. Such a breakthrough could open new possibilities for treatment, prevention and a better understanding of the disease, while introducing profound psychological, financial and ethical questions that society may be ill-prepared to handle. A reliable diagnosis could force athletes, parents, schools and professional sports organizations to confront the neurological risks of continued participation. It could also raise serious questions about insurance, liability and the future of contact sports. Yet diagnosis would not mean a cure. No treatment has been proven to stop or reverse CTE, and the psychological consequences of learning one has an incurable neurological disease could be devastating. Ultimately, the prospect of diagnosing CTE in the living offers genuine scientific hope. It promises greater clarity for families who have suffered through years of uncertainty. But science must move forward with caution, and society must finally confront the human cost of the games it continues to celebrate.
COMMENT
A Penny for Your Thoughts
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
By Penny Gross Former Fairfax County Supervisor
Election Day is upon us now, as early voting and absentee voting have been going on for weeks. I’ve always enjoyed voting at my local precinct on Election Day, reacquainting with neighbors, chatting as we wait in line, and quietly casting my ballot in dozens of Virginia’s local, state, and federal contests. However, I’m voting early this year, in person at a satellite polling place, to ensure that there is time to resolve or rectify any issues that may arise as the Trump Administration’s Departments of Justice and Homeland Security threaten the safety and security of registered voters exercising their sacred civic responsibility. I don’t like feeling this way. No one should, but I am reminded of an incident decades ago when my uncle, a white Irish Catholic Army Colonel from New York, went to vote at his polling place in Fairfax County’s Belle Haven area. He was refused a ballot until he could prove that he had paid Virginia’s poll tax. He had to return home and find the receipt, then rush back to the polling place before it closed at 7 p.m. and prove that he was entitled to vote. This was in 1965, after the 24th Amendment abolished a poll tax requirement for federal elections
but did not address state and local elections. The Commonwealth of Virginia did not abolish its poll tax for state elections until 1966, after the United States Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional. Annie Harper, a Fairfax County resident, was one of several Virginia voters who sued the Virginia State Board of Elections to rescind the poll tax. More than a half-century later, in 2022, a state historic marker commemorating the case was installed on Fordson Road near where Ms. Harper had lived, and just 10 minutes from where my uncle had been sent home decades earlier. Voter disenfranchisement, threats to raid and remove ballot boxes and voting equipment, insistence that mail-in ballots are fraudulent, demands that sensitive personal voter information be shared with the White House and federal agencies, and hints that the military and National Guard might be mobilized to impede voting – all are charges coming from Trump and his administration to create distrust in what has been a secure and safe electoral system throughout our nation’s modern history. Candidates understood the risk that there were winners and losers, and that both would and could be gracious whether they
won or lost. Conceding an electoral defeat can be difficult but reflects moral character. Likewise, winners can celebrate but do not gloat as they accept the responsibility and trust of the electorate with grace and humility. That’s the way it should work and did for the most part – until Trump came to power. The past ten years have been chaotic -- politically, economically, socially – as many of Trump’s rude and crude attempts to divide and demean America have been successful. Election Day provides the opportunity to reverse that dangerous course, to restore the checks and balances for governance outlined in the U.S. Constitution, to engender respect for all people in the United States and reverse the race to the bottom that is Trump’s signature and legacy. In Fairfax County, additional satellite locations for early voting will be open from October 22 to 31, weekdays from 1 to 7 p.m., Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, October 25, from noon to 5 p.m. Log on to fairfaxcounty.gov/elections for more information. The Fairfax County ballot includes U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, three state constitutional amendments, and two county bond issues. Falls Church City voters do not vote on county bond questions. Study the issues, plan to vote early or on Election Day, and celebrate the opportunity still to exercise your civic duty.
City of Falls Church Crime Report
Week of October 12 - October 18, 2026 Fraud – False Pretenses, Park Ave, Oct 12, 10:47 a.m., victim reported sending money to an unknown suspect due to an email scam. Shoplifting, Wilson Blvd, Oct 14, 3:50 p.m., an unknown suspect stole merchandise.
Residential Burglary, Meridian St, Oct 15, between 3:30 p.m. and 8:45 p.m., an unknown suspect broke a door to gain entry to the home and stole cash. Hit and Run, E Annandale Rd, Oct 17, 1:23 a.m., officers responded to a report of hit and run. A male, 26, of Springfield, was arrested for obstruction of justice and hit and run. A male, 46, of Alexandria, was
arrested for felony destruction of property, obstruction of justice and hit and run. Theft of Motor Vehicle, W Broad St, Oct 17, 7:09 a.m., victim reported an identified suspect stole a U-Haul Cargo van. Larceny from Vehicle, Wilson Blvd, Oct 17, between 10:00 a.m. and 10:15 a.m., an unknown suspect stole cash from the victim’s secured vehicle.
Critter Corner SEND US YOUR PICTURES! See your Pets in the News-Press
CritterCorner@fcnp.com
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Local Art
An FCA Exhibition That ‘Flows’
by Mark Dreisonstok
“For birth but wakes the universal mind Whose mighty streams might else in silence flow ...” So writes the poet Percy Bysshe Shelly. Similarly, the new Falls Church Arts exhibition “Flow” gives birth to a universality of thought, but one consisting of many separate streams. Here brooks and rivers flow, animals flow as they race across landscapes, and circles and lines flow in the most abstract of ways. So much in the exhibition flows in pairs, as in Yi Kang’s pleasant watercolor of two white “Summer Geese,” one with a beak upwards towards the sky and the other with a beak in the ground as they rusticate by a flowing summer stream. Paired also are two koi in a lotus pond in Hana Yang’s Hanji ink artwork entitled “Where Blue Koi Dance with the Lotus.” Here two blue patterned koi fish swim together towards a water lily. Artist Yang notes that the Lotus represents “embodying perseverance, transformation, and awakening.” As the viewer observes from bottom to top, darker tones move to lighter colors towards the top, just as the lotus flower experiences its birth in the muck and darkness and blooms towards the light of the heavens. Now we come to a pair of horses. Jingjing Chen’s watercolor “Neck in Neck” captures horse-racing’s deft combination of skill, practice, balance, timing, and nerve. As the artist explains, the use of color that goes beyond the lines, the forcefulness and thundering sound, is necessary to express the notion of the speed of horse-racing. The use of two yellow umbrellas (also a pair) lends an interesting touch of synergy and completeness to the
horse-racing scene. The exhibition also “flows” across cultures, for example, to a work inspired by the art of the Mithila people in Bihar, India. In Elisabeth Rhyne’s mixed media artwork using hand-carved stamps, “Sea Snake Meets Land Snake,” two snakes of opposite realms meet—perhaps the exhibition could have been called “Pairs!” Depicted are a red snake over a green background at the bottom and a darker red snake within a blue water background. At first, they may seem different but are in the end similar—in fact, each almost a copy of the other, bringing to mind the yin-yang concept of classical China. For her “Flow” submission, artist Gretchen Damore found beauty in the simple things around her. The acrylic “Crotons,” a close-up on a large canvas best appreciated when farther away, features a popular plant often seen in large pots which decorate office buildings. These plants exhibit vibrant, almost otherworldly colors. This variegated variety of Codiaeum sports darker green leaves towards the base of the plant. As one travels upwards, increasingly brilliant colors emerge as one reaches the top of the plant. The artist’s use of a nearly top-down perspective captures the plant’s arresting appearance fabulously. Other salient examples of the theme of flow in the exhibition include the flowing waters in Erin Endean’s Italy-inspired “Venice Reflections;” clouds flowing across the sky in Noreen Brunini’s watercolor “Strom Coming;” and a “flowing soul” in Syn Evidente’s gouache and ink on birch panel. Make a point to visit this exhibition in Falls Church between now and November 29 to discover your own “flow.”
PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT – QUESTION 2 OCTOBER 22Election - 28, 2026 | PAGE 9 To Be Voted On at the November 3, 2026,
BALLOT QUESTION
PUBLIC NOTICE
Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION affirm that two adults may marry regardless ofAMENDMENT sex, gender, or race;– and (iii) require all2 legally valid marriages treated equally underNovember the law? 3, 2026, Election To toBebeVoted On at the
BALLOT QUESTION
BALLOT QUESTION
EXPLANATION FORbeVOTERS Should the Constitution of Virginia amended to (i) remove the ban on same-sex marriage;QUESTION (ii) affirm that2 two adults may marry regardless Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) remove the ban on same-sex marriage; ( of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be affirm that twoPresent adultsLaw may marry regardless of law? sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all lega treated equally under the civil unions, and under other legal valid marriagesMarriages, to be treated equally therelationships law? with the same rights, benefits, and effects of marriage between persons of the same sex or gender are prohibited under Virginia’s EXPLANATION FOR VOTERS Constitution. This prohibition is noQUESTION longer enforceable 2 as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015, but the prohibition on marriages Present Law between persons of the same sex or gender remains in the state’s Constitution. If the Supreme Marriages, unions,EXPLANATION and legaldecision, relationships the samewould rights, be benefits, and again. FOR VOTERS Court werecivil to overturn its other previous thatwith prohibition enforceable
effects of marriage between persons of the same sex or gender are prohibited under Virginia’s QUESTION Constitution. This prohibition is no longer enforceable as2 a result of the United States ProposedCourt Amendment Supreme decision in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015, but the prohibition on marriages between personsamendment of the same removes sex or gender remains in the Constitution. the Supreme The proposed the prohibition onstate’s marriages betweenIfpersons of the same Court were to overturn its previous decision, that prohibition would be enforceable again. Present Lawsex or gender from the Virginia Constitution's Bill of Rights. It is replaced with the Proposed Amendment fundamental marry,legal requiring the state to recognize treat rights, equally under the law Marriages, civil unions,right andtoother relationships with theandsame benefits, and The amendment removes prohibition marriages of between persons of the sameof either any proposed lawful marriage between twotheadult persons,onregardless the sex, gender, or race effects of marriage between of the sameBillsex or gender are prohibited under Virginia’s sex or gender from thepersons Virginia Constitution’s Rights. is replaced with the license person. The proposed amendment prohibits theofstate fromIt denying a marriage to two right to marry, requiring theenforceable state to recognizeasand treat equally under the law States Constitution.fundamental This prohibition is no longer a result of the United adultlawful persons because of their race. of the sex, gender, or race of any marriage between twosex, adultgender, persons,orregardless eitherdecision person. Theinproposed amendment prohibits in the2015, state from a marriage license Supreme Court Obergefell v. Hodges butdenying the prohibition on marriages to two adult persons because of their sex, gender, or race. between persons of the same sex or gender remains in the state’s Constitution. the/ Supreme Word Count:If167 500
Court were to overturn its previous decision, that prohibition would be enforceable again. FULL TEXT OF AMENDMENT
Proposed Amendment [Proposed new language is underlined. Deleted old language is stricken.] The proposed amendment removes the prohibition on marriages between persons of the same I sex or gender from the Virginia Constitution'sARTICLE Bill of Rights. It is replaced with the fundamental right to marry, requiring the state BILLtoOFrecognize RIGHTS and treat equally under the law any lawful marriage between two adult persons, regardless of the sex, gender, or race of eithe Section 15-A. Marriage. person. The proposed amendment prohibits the state from denying a marriage license to two Thatbecause only a union between one man and oneorwoman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by adult persons of their sex, gender, race. this Commonwealth and its political subdivisions marriage is one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness.
HANA YANG’S “Where Blue Koi Dance with the Lotus.” (Photo: FCArts)
This Commonwealth and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for Word Count: 167 / 500 relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance, or effects of marriage deny the issuance of a marriage license to two adult persons seeking a lawful marriage on the basis of the sex, gender, or race of such persons. Nor shall this Commonwealth or its political subdivisions create or recognize another union, partnership, or other status to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities, or effects of marriage FULL TEXTlegal OF AMENDMENT This Commonwealth and its political subdivisions shall recognize any lawful marriage between two adult persons and treat such marriages equally under the law, regardless of the sex, gender, or [Proposed new is underlined. Deleted old language is stricken.] racelanguage of such persons.
ARTICLE I
PAGE 10 | OCTOBER 22 - 28, 2026
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Sports
Meridian Mustangs Sports: This Week’s Recap, 10/13 - 10/19
by Dinos Simcox
Playoffs are nearing for fall sports, and as the postseason draws closer, games become more and more important. Meridian’s teams have put together a strong week, combining for four wins and two losses. Football won their homecoming bout against rival Brentsville District HS in dramatic fashion. After a rain soaked first half saw them take a dominant 21-6 lead into halftime, both
teams held each other to very low offensive outputs after the break. Brentsville broke through early in the fourth quarter, but the Mustangs held on to their lead to take a 21-14 victory. This is the first time since 2017 the Mustangs have beaten Brentsville. It improves the Mustangs’ record to 5-3 and breaks their one-win oneloss pattern they have struggled to break out of all season. Their next game is against Warren County, and because of
the Mustangs victory, the two teams sport very similar records, meaning this contest could have massive playoff implications. Field hockey has truly set a new standard for Meridian sports as a whole, continuing to win games against excellent opponents. Their record now stands at a perfect 16-0 after winning their lone game this week against Fauquier HS. The Mustangs are now set up for a very strong postseason run with the #1 seed all but secured.
Girls volleyball split their games this week, sweeping Manassas Park HS 3-0 and losing to Liberty HS 1-3, a surprising loss considering the Mustangs swept Liberty earlier this season. Despite the 1-1 record this week, their season-long record is now 14-5-1, and with just three games to go in the regular season, the Mustangs should have their playoff spot locked up. Boys volleyball once again split their games this week, sweeping Yorktown HS 3-0,
then subsequently got swept by Langley HS 0-3. This puts their record at 7-9 with one game remaining in the regular season, meaning a winning record is no longer possible. It’s been a very odd and inconsistent campaign for the Mustangs. After starting 1-5, they rattled off three straight wins, but then proceeded to fall into an alternating winloss pattern that has lasted nearly the entire month of October, bringing them to the record they have today.
PUBLIC NOTICE
PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT – QUESTION 3 To Be Voted On at the November 3, 2026, Election BALLOT QUESTION BALLOT QUESTION
Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended (i) to provide for the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth, (ii) to revise the qualifications of voters so that a person convicted of a felony is not entitled to vote during his period of incarceration but is automatically invested with the right to vote upon release from incarceration, and (iii) to update the existing prohibition on voting by persons found to be mentally incompetent to instead apply to persons who have been found to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting?
FULL TEXT OF AMENDMENT [Proposed new language is underlined. Deleted old language is stricken.] ARTICLE II.
Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended (i) to provide forFRANCHISE the fundamental AND OFFICERS. right to vote in Qualifications of voters. the Commonwealth, (ii) to revise the qualificationsSection of 1.voters so that a person convicted of a felony (a) In elections by the people, the qualifications of voters shall be as follows: Each voter shall be is not entitled to vote during his period of incarceration but is automatically invested with the right a citizen of the United States, shall be eighteen years of age, shall fulfill the residence requirements in this section subsection (b), and shall be registered to vote pursuant to this article. Every to vote upon release from incarceration, and (iii) set toforthupdate the existing prohibition on voting by person who meets these qualifications shall have the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth, right shall notwho be abridged by law, except that:found to lack persons found to be mentally incompetent to instead apply and tosuch persons have been EXPLANATION FOR VOTERS (1) No person who has been convicted of a felony shall be qualified entitled to vote unless his civil QUESTION 3 the act of voting? the capacity to understand rights have been restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. during any period of
Present Law
Virginia’s Constitution currently provides that a person who is convicted of any felony loses the right to vote for the rest of their life unless the Governor of Virginia takes administrative action to restore that specific person’s right to vote. This is the only means of getting back the right to vote after a felony conviction.
incarceration for such felony conviction, but every such person, upon release from incarceration for that felony conviction and without further action required of him, shall be invested with all political rights, including the right to vote; and
EXPLANATION FOR VOTERS As prescribed by law, no (2) No person who has been adjudicated to be mentally incompetent by QUESTION 3 a court of competent jurisdiction to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting shall be The current constitutional provision also imposes a broad restriction, while using outdated terminology, on voting by persons found to be incapacitated. A person who is determined by a court to be incapacitated, regardless of the kind of incapacity, loses the right to vote, and only a court can restore the person’s right to vote later.
qualified entitled to vote during such period of incapacity until his competency capacity has been reestablished as prescribed by law.
Present Law (b) The residence requirements shall be that each voter shall be a resident of the Commonwealth and of the precinct whereis he votes. Residence, for all qualification to vote, requires The proposed amendment enshrines in the Constitution the fundamental rightprovides of all qualified that a person Virginia's Constitution currently who convicted ofpurposes anyoffelony loses both domicile and a place of abode. The General Assembly may provide for persons who are persons in the Commonwealth to vote. Two exceptions to this right are for persons who are serving employed overseas, and their and dependents residingadministrative with them, and who are qualified theof incarceration right tofor vote for the restwhoofaretheir unless the Governor ofspouses Virginia takes a sentence a felony conviction and persons determinedlife by a court to not understand the act of voting. Such right cannot otherwise be restricted by laws. to vote except for relinquishing their place of abode in the Commonwealth while overseas, to vote action to restore that specific person’s right to vote. This is subject the toonly ofdefined getting the in the Commonwealth conditionsmeans and time limits by law. Theback General Assembly Under the proposed amendment, a person who is convicted of a felony loses the right to vote duringright their periodto of incarceration. Once released from incarceration, the person gets back the may provide for persons who are qualified to vote except for having moved their residence from vote after a felony conviction. right to vote without needing to apply for restoration by the Governor. one precinct to another within the Commonwealth to continue to vote in a former precinct subject Proposed Amendment
The proposed amendment also requires a specific finding by a court that a person does not understand the act of voting in order for that person’s right to vote to be taken away.
to conditions and time limits defined by law. The General Assembly may also provide, in elections for President and Vice President of the United States, alternatives to registration for new residents of the Commonwealth.
The current constitutional provision also imposes a broad restriction, while using outdated terminology, on voting by persons found to be incapacitated. A person who is determined by (c) Any person who will be qualified with respect to age to vote at the next general election shall permitted to register in advance and also tothe vote inright any intervening primary orand special election. a court to be incapacitated, regardless of the kindbe of incapacity, loses to vote, Word Count: 279 / 500 only a court can restore the person’s right to vote later.
With the right to vote, a person also has the right to be a juror, the right to be elected to an office, and the right to be a notary public.
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
OCTOBER 22 - 28, 2026 | PAGE 11
CALENDAR
This Week Around Falls Church
Thursday, October 22
Used Book Sale
Mary Riley Styles Library
Falls Church Fiber Artists Mary Riley Styles Library
10 a.m.–noon
Knitters and crocheters ages 18 and older meet. Free. 210 N. Virginia Ave.
Stretching the Canvas American Indian Museum
1–2 p.m.
Curator Anya Montiel and artist Melissa Melero-Moose discuss works from “Stretching the Canvas: Ten Decades of Native Painting.” Free. Fourth Street and Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. americanindian.si.edu.
Folger Salon Folger Shakespeare Library
4:30 p.m.
Folger Institute fellows discuss Andean carved gourds, illustrated theater books and shared cultural knowledge. Free; limited seating. 201 East Capitol St. SE, Washington, D.C.
Friday, October 23 Using Deer-Resistant Native Plants in Your Garden Master Gardeners of NoVA (online)
10–11:30 a.m.
Kathie Clements discusses native plants less appealing to deer. Free; register for the online link at mgnv.org/rsvp-for-public-education-classes/.
Used Book Sale Preview Mary Riley Styles Library
1–5 p.m.
Preview the library benefit sale of books, DVDs and audiobooks. Five-item purchase limit Friday only. 210 N. Virginia Ave. mrspl.org.
Saturday, October 24 Falls Church Farmers Market City Hall Parking Lot
8 a.m.–noon
Year-round farmers market. 300 Park Ave.
Countdown to the Holidays
10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Quarterly sale of books, DVDs and audiobooks benefiting the library. 210 N. Virginia Ave. mrspl.org.
Look, Learn, Create: Water’s Edge Tour American Indian Museum
1:15–2 p.m.
Free family tour of “Water’s Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe.” Visitors under 19 must be accompanied by an adult. First come, first served. Fourth Street and Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. americanindian.si.edu.
Halloween Carnival Cherry Hill Park
1–3 p.m. and 3:30–5:30 p.m.
Games, treats, music and costume contest for children 11 and younger with an adult. Free; no registration. Moves to Community Center in bad weather. fallschurchva.gov/HalloweenCarnival.
Pumpkin Craft Party Barnes & Noble, Mosaic
4:30 p.m.
Pumpkin crafts, activities and storytime for ages 3 and older with a parent or guardian. Free; no registration. 2921 District Ave., Suite 180, Fairfax.
Falls Church Ghost Tour Cherry Hill Farmhouse
6 p.m.
Spooky 1.5-mile, 90-minute walking tour. Ages 14 and older recommended; bring flashlight. No pets. Donation of three or more canned goods requested. fallschurchghosts.eventbrite.com.
Sunday, October 25 Used Book Sale Mary Riley Styles Library
10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Quarterly sale of books, DVDs and audiobooks benefiting the library. 210 N. Virginia Ave. mrspl.org.
Arabian Nights Fair Lake Anne Plaza
11 a.m.–7 p.m.
Family fair with 70-plus vendors, music, fashion show and food. Free admission and parking. 1609 Washington Plaza N., Reston.
Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey
Bloody Mary Bash to Benefit Homestretch
House
Thompson Italian
Free fall celebration with tours, exhibits, fairy houses, scavenger hunt, food, games and needlepoint workshops. All ages. 9000 Richmond Highway, Alexandria.
Seven area restaurants compete for Best Bloody Mary. General admission $55; VIP $75 (11 a.m. entry); children 12 and younger free. 124 N. Washington St. thompsonitalian.com.
10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Noon–3 p.m.
Armchair Tour of Oakwood Cemetery Mary Riley Styles Library
2–3:30 p.m.
Trustee Carol Ann Siciliano presents cemetery history and notable residents. Registration required. Grades 9–12 and adults. 120 N. Virginia Ave. mrspl.org.
Halloween Kids Bike Parade Founders Row
3 p.m.
Costume parade for cyclists, scooter riders and walkers. One- and two-mile routes depart at 3:15 p.m.; games and treats follow. Free. FallsChurchForward. org.
Golden Jubilee Concert Christ Episcopal Church
3 p.m.
Rockville Brass Band performs traditional and contemporary brass band works. Free. 109 S. Washington St., Rockville. rockvillebrassband.org.
Monday, October 26
Wednesday, October 28
Upcoming Events — Sunday, November 15
Mindfulness Meditation
5K Turkey Trot Run/ Walk Benefit
Mary Riley Styles Library
10:30–11:30 a.m.
Free meditation workshop for adults; no experience needed. 120 N. Virginia Ave.
Early Release Crafternoon: Cotton Ball Ghosts Mary Riley Styles Library
3:30–4:15 p.m.
Music and a craft for grades K–5. Free; registration required. 120 N. Virginia Ave. mrspl.org.
Apple’s Latest Software Upgrade: iOS 27 Mary Riley Styles Library
6–7:30 p.m.
Amy Burk of TechWiseCoaching leads a demonstration. Bring an iPhone. Free; adults. 120 N. Virginia Ave. mrspl.org.
Tysons Central Park
8 a.m.
Tysons Rotary hosts a 1-mile fun run ($30) and 5K ($45) benefiting local charities. Fees rise after Nov. 14; register by Nov. 1 for a guaranteed T-shirt. 1775 Tysons Blvd., Tysons. tysonsturkeytrot. com.
Got Events?
Got Events? Free events post for free in our Calendar section, but did you know you can purchase a listing for a paid event? For just $20 per listing, you can promote your event to the entire Falls Church community. Contact: calendar@fcnp. com.
Used Book Sale Mary Riley Styles Library
10 a.m.–8 p.m.
Final day of the quarterly library benefit sale. 210 N. Virginia Ave. mrspl.org.
Elections and Voting in America Mary Riley Styles Library
6:30–7:30 p.m.
George Mason University political scientist Jennifer Nicoll Victor discusses elections and democracy. Free; adults. 120 N. Virginia Ave. mrspl.org.
City Council Action Meeting City Hall
7:30–11 p.m.
Public comment accepted. Council Chambers/Courtroom, 300 Park Ave. Meeting details and viewing: fallschurchva.gov/CouncilMeetings.
Tuesday, October 27
Alma Katsu in Conversation With K.T. Nguyen Mary Riley Styles Library
6:30–7:30 p.m.
Katsu discusses “Incarnate” with mystery writer K.T. Nguyen. Book sale and signing follow. Free; adults. 120 N. Virginia Ave. mrspl.org.
Great Books Discussion Series Mary Riley Styles Library
7–8:45 p.m.
Discussion of Thucydides’ “The Melian Dialogue.” Free; adults. 120 N. Virginia Ave. mrspl.org.
Visit: fcnp.com
PAGE 12 | OCTOBER 22 - 28, 2026
C L AS S I F I E DS
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
PUBLIC NOTICE
SERVICES
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The following was heard at the September 28, 2026, City Council meeting and a public hearing and possible City Council action is scheduled for Monday, November 9, 2026 at 7:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard. (TR26-30) Resolution to Amend the Voluntary Concessions, Community Benefits, Terms And Conditions (VCs) Associated with the Broad and Washington Mixed-use Development Project Special Exception Entitlement (SEE), Approved by Resolution 2021-03, dated January 25, 2021, to Reduce the Minimum Amount of Required Ground Floor Space for Retail Sales and Restaurant Uses from 6,500 sf to 3,700 sf and to Delete “Studios, including yoga” from the “Prohibited Uses” List on the Site Located at 111 E. Broad Street (Real Property Code 53-104-037) on Application by 127 Broad Street LLC (Owner) All public hearings will be held in the Council Chambers, 300 Park Avenue, Falls Church, Virginia. All persons desiring to present their views on the items will be heard. Comments may also be sent to cityclerk@fallschurchva. gov. Remote participation information at www. fallschurchva.gov/publiccomment. For copies of legislation and other information, contact the City Clerk’s office at 703-248-5014 or cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov or visit www. fallschurchva.gov/councilmeetings. 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) or e-mail cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov. CELESTE HEATH, CITY CLERK On November 19, 2026 at 7 pm, the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks) Board will consider a new regulation pursuant to Section 15.2-5704(18) of the Virginia Code governing the use of Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park (W&OD Park), which contains the 45-mile W&OD Trail and is owned by NOVA Parks and located in: Arlington County, Fairfax County, Loudon County, City of Falls Church, Town of Vienna, Town of Herndon, Town of Leesburg, and Town of Purcellville. The regulation addresses hours of operation, assembly of more than 25 people, pets, obeying posted signs, reckless behavior and prohibits certain devices from being used in W&OD Park. A copy of the full text of the regulation can be found in the Office of the Town or County Clerk of all the jurisdictions where the trail is located.
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We are pledged 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 hereby 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.
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Warner Warns of Election Interference Ahead of Nov. 3
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federal judge to declare the challenged policies unlawful and prohibit armed federal personnel from being deployed to Arlington voting locations, including curbside voting areas and ballot drop boxes, except under circumstances permitted by federal law. The lawsuit raises four legal claims, including alleged violations of the Administrative Procedure Act and the 10th Amendment, which addresses powers reserved to states. Arlington is represented by its County Attorney’s Office, Democracy Forward and Public
Rights Project. The lawsuit was filed as early voting continues in Arlington ahead of the November 3 general election. The county operates 54 neighborhood voting precincts on Election Day. The full 42-page federal complaint is available through Arlington County’s website. Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported Tuesday that a group of current and former U.S. national security officials has been privately advising state governments and members of Congress on how to prepare for possible federal interference in November’s
midterm elections. The report, by Noah Robertson, cited individuals involved in the effort and said the group had consulted with officials in 10 states. The group includes about 10 current and former officials with experience in the Defense Department, some of whom have previously focused on countering authoritarianism abroad. Their efforts are motivated not by political bias, they say, but a growing sense of alarm that President Donald Trump will harm American democracy by undermining the integrity of the vote to keep the Republican Party
in power. Over the past several months, the group has consulted with officials from 10 states, including governors, election officials and members of the House and Senate from both political parties who share a fear of federal intervention, two people involved in the effort said. The effort, which has not been previously reported, focuses on states and jurisdictions where tightly contested races will determine control of Congress for the remainder of Trump’s presidency. Members of the group remain in contact with congressional staff,
and at least one state has continued to meet with them as it works to address potential vulnerabilities. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, in a conference call with area media yesterday, shared his concern for what could be Trump’s efforts to interfere in the election. He noted that while he is confident Virginia elections will be safe, still, based on the past behavior of Trump, perhaps in conjunction with foreign interests hostile to the U.S., forms of misinformation and deceit may still be used to try to influence the electoral outcome.
Red-Light Cameras Move to City’s Busiest Intersections
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ment checklist from IIHS, AAA, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Governors Highway Safety Association and the National Safety Council tells communities to plan for regular evaluation of their camera programs using crash and violation
data. IIHS says programs earn public support when they are built to change driver behavior, not to raise revenue. Falls Church can make that case better than anyone. If the cameras worked at Cherry and Annandale, the numbers will show it. If Washington and Broad is now the most dangerous intersection in the city, the numbers
will show that too. Putting them on the table before the first $50 tickets go out on Nov. 20 would only strengthen the program. The News-Press has requested those figures from the City and will report them when they are provided. The move is one piece of Falls Church’s Vision Zero effort, the
George Mason Basketball Men Picked Fourth in A-10 by Nick Gatz
Falls Church News-Press
George Mason enters the 2026-27 men’s basketball season with higher expectations, a familiar face returning to Fairfax and a backcourt that could make the Patriots a serious Atlantic 10 contender. The Patriots were picked fourth in the conference’s preseason poll released Monday, two spots higher than a year ago. Graduate guard Brayden O’Connor earned preseason All-Conference thirdteam honors, while returning guard Baraka Okojie landed on the second team after averaging 19.7 points and 5.3 assists last season at Mercer. Head coach Tony Skinn, entering his fourth season, has guided Mason to three consecutive 20-win campaigns, including a school-record-tying 27 victories and a share of the A-10 regular-season championship in 2024-25. The Patriots now hope
City’s goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries. That effort puts the focus on pedestrians and cyclists, who have nothing between them and a two-ton vehicle when something goes wrong. The red-light cameras are also one part of the Police Department’s broader photo enforcement effort, which includes school zone speed
Military Families’ Data for Sale as Warner Warns of AI
by Nick Gatz
to turn those regular-season accomplishments into their first NCAA Tournament appearance under Skinn. But the Patriots face questions heading into November. An 84-67 exhibition loss at Villanova exposed turnover problems and rebounding weaknesses, with Okojie sidelined. Finding chemistry between the two experienced guards could prove critical in a conference where every victory matters. Meanwhile, an expanded NCAA Tournament could provide Mason another path to March after narrowly missing the field two seasons ago. “The goal’s still win,” O’Connor said. “There’s nothing different. The goal is March.” Read the full story online at FCNP. com, including Skinn’s thoughts on the transfer portal, Okojie’s homecoming and an unusual Alanis Morissette karaoke bet.
cameras and school bus cameras. For drivers, the message is simple. Cherry Street and Annandale Road are off the list. Washington and Broad and East Broad and Roosevelt are on it. You have until Nov. 19 to get used to it, and starting Nov. 20, the warning turns into a $50 fine. The light turns red. The camera is watching. Stop.
Falls Church News-Press
Twelve cents. That’s how little it can cost to buy personal information about an American servicemember, including details that could expose military families to scammers, foreign intelligence agencies and sophisticated artificial intelligence. In Virginia, home to the Pentagon, Marine Corps Base Quantico and hundreds of thousands of veterans, the implications hit close to home. Military families in Falls Church could have personal information circulating through commercial databases without knowing it. A 2023 Duke University investigation found that data brokers offered sensitive information about military personnel and their families for as little as 12 cents per record. Home addresses, financial information, religious affiliations and proximity to military installations were among the details available. Researchers purchased records covering up to 45,000 servicemembers.
Asked Wednesday by the News-Press about the exposure of military families, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner warned that the consequences extend far beyond unwanted advertising. “It poses a grave risk to our country,” Warner said, pointing to brokers selling Americans’ personal information, potentially including sales to foreign buyers. AI creates new opportunities for cybercriminals to exploit stolen information, impersonate individuals and target vulnerable households. Warner also raised concerns about cybersecurity vulnerabilities, weakened federal oversight and technology companies failing to honor their safety commitments. Warner says existing protections are insufficient, and Congress has yet to enact comprehensive federal privacy legislation. Read the full investigation at FCNP.com, including what data brokers sell, the national security risks, emerging AI threats and why Warner believes Washington must act.
SIX-YEAR-OLD Ziggy is a tuxedo cat who believes every occasion calls for formalwear, especially greeting guests! This playful social butterfly loves making new friends, but don’t waste your money on fancy toys. Give him a cardboard box or a basket, and he’s living the high life! The dress code is optional, but attention is mandatory!
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Five dollars. That’s what was sitting in the Falls Church News-Press bank account during one of its leanest early stretches, when Nicholas F. Benton had to ask his staff to keep working with no promise of a paycheck. They said yes, and he paid back every dime. Thirtyfive years and more than 1,800 consecutive weekly editions later, the paper is still hitting the streets, and Benton has put the story of how it survived into a new book. “The Mighty News-Press: How a Small, Persistent Weekly Newspaper Contributed to the Transformation of an Entire Region Over 36 Years,” a 72-page volume from BCI Books, is part memoir, part newspaper history and part battle cry for local journalism at a time when community papers are disappearing across the country. Benton will discuss it at the Mary Riley Styles Public Library on Sunday, November 1, at 2 p.m. The newspaper’s run has been a weekly miracle thanks to a devoted (but lean) staff, freelance contributors, and managing editor Nick Gatz. It’s like the little engine that could, with Benton climbing the same hill every week, telling himself “I think I can” while wondering if he would make it over that hill one more time. The ink got in early. At six, Benton was producing his own neighborhood paper, The Benton Star, on a hectograph his mother helped him get, writing every story and selling copies door to door. “Either I was born with printer’s ink in my veins, or I have simply never grown up — I have never been entirely sure which,” he writes. Before Falls Church, Benton edited school papers and threw himself into the gay liberation movement of the late 1960s and early ‘70s, co-founding the Effeminist newspaper in San Francisco and writing the first editorial for Gay Sunshine. That fight shaped the philosophy he brought to the Little City: journalism isn’t just about what happened, it’s about why it matters and whose voices are about to get drowned out. In 1991, Falls Church had no consistent coverage of its government, schools or development fights. “At first, it filled a gap, nothing more — there was no consistent local coverage of the decisions shaping the city, and someone needed to provide it,” Benton writes. The paper then clawed through recessions, the internet’s upheaval and the slow collapse of the print advertising model. As the book puts it, the first issue proves a paper can exist, but every issue after that
is a promise renewed to the community. Some of the book’s strongest passages track Northern Virginia’s transformation from bedroom suburbs into one of the most powerful regions in the country, built from decades of decisions that looked small at the time. The NewsPress didn’t cause that change, Benton acknowledges, but by documenting it week after week, it helped residents see what was happening in their own backyard. He also revisits the long, bitter split at The Falls Church Episcopal over LGBTQ inclusion, where the paper paid close attention to the minority who stayed loyal to the Episcopal Church, because voices shouldn’t vanish just for being outnumbered. The book’s core argument hits hard. A newspaper’s power isn’t measured by how many people read one story, but by whether it sticks around long enough to follow that story to the end. A national outlet can pull millions of clicks, but who’s sitting in the next City Council meeting? Who remembers what an official promised six months ago? When a local paper dies, a town loses its running public record, and nobody else is coming to keep it. Benton shares the credit in a Hall of Fame appendix honoring longtime managing editor Jody Fellows, current managing editor Nick Gatz, former Fairfax County Supervisor and columnist Penny Gross, Arlington writer Charlie Clark, advertising director Blackwell Hawthorne and early advertiser Merelyn Kaye, whose first ad buy helped launch the paper. “The Mighty News-Press” is a slim volume written by a giant in his profession and a must-read for anyone who cares about local news. It’s a reminder that journalism survives on people willing to sit through one more meeting, tear apart one more budget and hit one more deadline when the money is anything but certain. It also raises a question that reaches far beyond the Little City: What happens to a community when nobody’s left to tell its story? After 35 years and 1,800-plus editions, the News-Press has its answer. Keep showing up. Nicholas F. Benton will discuss “The Mighty News-Press: How a Small, Persistent Weekly Newspaper Contributed to the Transformation of an Entire Region Over 36 Years “ on Sunday, November 1, from 2-3 p.m. at the Mary Riley Styles Public Library in Falls Church. A book signing will follow the discussion and copies of the book will be available to purchase at the event. Registration is required. Visit: mrspl.org.
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Our Man In Arlington
‘Walk With Me’ Benefits Local Child Development Center
What’s the best way to have your voice heard by the County Board? There are a number of Board-created opportunities – Public Comment Periods, Open Door Mondays, Surveys, and Town Halls come to mind. Of course, there is always the time-honored concept of “buttonholing” one of the Board members when you see them out and about in the public square. And the follow-up question seems to be, are any of these methods effective in any way? That last question is a rhetorical one, as it is difficult to really determine what type of feedback might really sway the actions of any one County Board member (much less all five). And in an era where 3 to 2 votes by the County Board are exceedingly rare, one might say that an advocate for any controversial position often faces the daunting task of convincing multiple members of the wisdom of your suggestions. So I guess my third question for you is this – is it worthwhile to show up at Public Comment or to fill out a survey? I bring all this up in anticipation of the upcoming Town Hall on Monday, Oct. 26, being held by the County Board. Earlier this year the Board hosted this Town Hall at the Central Library, and obviously the Board felt this was a success, such that this second event is now planned (this time located at the Bozman Government Center). Similar to Public Comment prior to regular Board meetings, “showing up” includes a virtual component – you can watch it, and even participate with your own comments online. Of course, there is always a limit on the number of speakers, so by the time you read this, the window of opportunity may have closed on you. But I would suggest that, if you have the patience, listening to all the comments can be interesting, in a number of ways (surfacing important issues, and sometimes just as a window into the passion that some folks have for certain issues). It is a
Easterseals holds the annual ‘Walk With Me’ event on Saturday, October 24, 8:30 a.m. to noon at National Harbor Waterfront Plaza, 165 Waterfront Street, National Harbor, MD. The Easterseals Child Development Center in Falls Church, named for Jo Ann and Carl McNair, is one of the centers that will benefit from this event. This fully accessible event welcomes wheelchairs, strollers, and dogs (leashed) for a 1- or 3-mile route at National Harbor to benefit Easterseals where every step supports Child Development Centers, as well as children and adults with disabilities, seniors, veterans and military families, and caregivers in our region. Enjoy health and wellness activities, entertainment and refreshments. Register at walk.eseal.org – virtual walkers included.
Swing with a Purpose Fundraiser Register now to join Hispanics Against Child Abuse and Neglect (HACAN) on Sunday, October 25, 10 a.m. -1 p.m. at Topgolf Loudoun in Ashburn. Join as individual players or create a team to enjoy Topgolf and support HACAN’s programs for children, youth and families throughout Northern Virginia. Registration and additional information are available at: hacanva.org.
Financing Your Small Business Tuesday, October 27, 10 a.m. to noon, join Mason SBDC Director and financial expert Timm Johnson for this webinar that will provide you with a clear understanding of the following: financing basics, types of financing, funding sources and financing programs, preparing for financing, strategies for your bank presentation, and more. The link to the session will be shared upon your registration here: clients.virginiasbdc.org/workshop.aspx?ekey=110460050
Retension Pharmaceuticals Plans IPO Retension Pharmaceuticals, a Falls Church-based biotech founded in 2023, is planning a $40 million IPO to fund development of its once-daily oral medication for hypertension (high blood pressure). Founded by Eric Keller and Chief Scientific Officer Paul Sweetnam, the company is seeking to become the next publicly traded company in the Greater Washington region. Retension is one of two biotech companies spun off from McLean-based Redux Pharmaceuticals LLC.
Providence Players’ “Cactus Flower” Closes Oct. 24 The Providence Players of Fairfax, an award-winning, community theater company, brings Cactus Flower to vibrant life with wit, romance, and irresistible fun from October 9 through 24. A charming tangle of love, lies, and unexpected truths, this classic screwball comedy reminds us that love has a way of blooming when we least expect it. Tickets are available at the door of the James Lee Community Center Theater and online at: providenceplayers.org/buy-tickets-individual/#/productions-view. Supported by ArtsFairfax,a promotional rate may still be available through artoberVA: artsfairfax.org/artoberva/. Business News & Notes is compiled by Elise Neil Bengtson, Executive Director of the Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce. She may be emailed at elise@fallschurchchamber.org.
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messy process, it takes up a lot of time, and the process raises other questions – are the comments reflective of general public sentiment, or does one issue “over-dominate” (I put that phrase in quotes because it is a word I think I have made up). So let me stop with all these pesky questions, and shift to a shout-out – praising the importance of journalism in being a helpful part of this whole issue of surfacing public opinion through public comment. That is, it helps to have reporters who can summarize and synthesize for all of us the details of a public comment event. To this end, I want to give a special note of recognition for the work of Scott McCaffrey, who currently reports on Arlington civic issues for LocalNewsNow, a digital media company. Scott has four decades of reporting, editing, and newsroom experience in the local area, including 26 years as editor of the Sun Gazette newspaper chain. If you attend public events in Arlington, you likely have seen Scott, often with his trusty camera (as he also doubles as a reliable photographer of events). His profession is a difficult one – with a Town Hall, for example, a reporter has to decide which comments to write about. The task of a reporter is a tricky business – one has to be objective, and yet selective. In some ways, there is a connection to the role of a historian. When I give a talk on history, I often open with the admonition of “History is not what happened. It is the story someone tells us about what happened” (my paraphrase of a quote by historian Sally Roesch Wagner). With this segue to history, let me also note that Scott McCaffrey also fills the role of a historian, with numerous pieces that explore aspects of Arlington’s history. To that end, I might end this column with a public suggestion/challenge for Scott to find the answer to this question: when did the County Board first institute the concept of “public comment” at Board meetings (and what might have precipitated the reason for it)? Stay tuned for some follow-up.
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