October 3 — 9, 2019
Fa lls Chur c h, V i r g i ni a • ww w. fc np. c om • Fr ee
Fou n d e d 1991 • V ol. XXIX No. 33
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week New Turf Fields in F.C. Raise Concerns
City officials hope new artifical turf fields at Larry Graves Park will be more durable to the climate as well as to its users, but the recent installation hasn’t been well received by all. See Story, page 5
Candidates for School Board Face Off Tonight
F.C’s Economic Development Authority Calls for Affordable Housing Task Force Urgent Need is Subject of Letter To F.C. Council
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Candidates vying for the City of Falls Church School Board in next month’s election will face off in a forum tonight at Legion Hall. See News Briefs, page 9
F.C. Episcopal’s Rev. Ohmer Plans to Leave
Rev. John Ohmer, who has served as the rector of the historic Falls Church Episcopal Church since 2012, issued a letter to his congregation last week saying he will be leaving his post for a new assignment in Asheville, North Carolina, in November. See News Briefs, page 9
Mason Trounces Sidwell at Homecoming In front of a large, boisterous Homecoming crowd, George Mason High School’s football team defeated Sidwell Friends School 35-7 to capture its first home win of the season and improve to a 3-2 record. See sports, page 17
FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT of Falls Church’s New Editions Consulting, Inc., Sheila Newman, has spent over three decades working to give people with disabilities a boost in the labor force by letting them demonstrate their skills as a member of her company. (Photo: News-Press)
Local Organization ‘New Editions’ Wins National Disability Honor
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Index
Editorial................6 Letters.......... 6, 22 News & Notes.10, 11 Comment...12, 13 School News.... 16 Calendar..... 18,19
Classified Ads... 20 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword........ 21 Crime Report.... 22 Critter Corner.... 22 Business News.23
“Diversity” is commonly attributed to those from different racial, sexual and religious backgrounds, but New Editions Consulting, Inc. has broadened the buzzword’s meaning to include employing people with disabilities so much that the Falls Church-based government con-
tractor was recognized for its commitment. The National Organization on Disability (NOD) recently announced that New Editions is among 59 organizations nationwide to be named a 2019 NOD Leading Disability Employer, according to a press statement from New Editions released this week. Founder and president Sheila
Newman, whose spent 35 years both advocating and working to enrich the lives of people with disabilities, believes that extended time assisting this population helps remove some of the stigmatized judgment companies less familiar with that workforce may have. That discriminatory view contributes to the gap in
Continued on Page 4
Falls Church’s Economic Development Authority, the influential, semi-autonomous body tasked with advancing the cause of economic development in the Little City, voted unanimously at its monthly meeting Tuesday night to participate in the City’s dialogue over plans to improve its affordable housing stock. It voted to submit a letter to the F.C. City Council urging the formation of an ad hoc committee on affordable housing. “There is urgency to this issue as the current trends are moving in the wrong direction,” a draft letter from the EDA board approved Tuesday states. “In order to develop a comprehensive approach, the EDA is recommending the establishment, by the City Council, of an Ad Hoc Committee featuring all the City’s interested public and private parties, civic organizations, faith-based groups, and more that would come together to tackle this issue and outline a variety of possible solutions,” it added. A sentence was added to the letter at the meeting stating the EDA’s view that affordable housing solutions are not undertaken at the expense of on-going market-based economic development issues. But it recognizes that “housing and economic development issues are intertwined in many ways, including but not limited to the benefits of a diverse population, including diverse economic backgrounds, the impact on hiring and retaining employees, and the
Continued on Page 8