November 23 – 29, 2017
FA LLS CHUR C H, V I R G I NI A • WW W. FC NP. C OM • FR EE
FOU N D ED 1991 • VOL. XXVI I NO. 40
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I����� T��� W��� F������ P����� �� L����� B��� C����� P������ The Fairfax Police Department will be launching a pilot body worn camera program in its Mount Vernon and Mason districts this spring, after unanimous approval from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors this week. SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9
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As many as seven suspects are believed to have played a role in a grand larceny case that took place at Bach Tuyet Jewelers in Falls Church’s Eden Center earlier this month. An estimated $150,000 in the form of jewelry and cash was taken from the store.
F.C. Leaders Say ‘Project Executive’ Key to Campus Development Effort S�������
Agreed That FullTimer Needed for Complex Effort
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
its immediate neighbors and than other burgeoning suburban areas in the Washington, D.C. Metro area like Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Tacoma Park. Significant revenue-generating dining, entertainment, retail and service businesses need a “critical mass” of population to thrive, he said, and that has not yet been
Members of three leading City of Falls Church groups assembled Monday night at a work session to begin moving ahead on the George Mason High School campus development project in the wake of a rousing approval by voters of a $120 million school bond earlier this month. The first tier of decisions before the City Council, the School Board and the Planning Commission involved a response to City Manager Wyatt Shields’ proposal to establish a Campus Coordinating Committee that would be composed of two members of the Council, two of the School Board, one of the Planning Commission, a member of the Economic Development Authority, the City Manager and the School Superintendent. However, almost everyone who chimed in on the discussion Monday night said they felt having a single person, a “project executive” in the words of Council members Dan Sze and Letty Hardi, with a single-minded focus on all aspects of the project, is required. Although he did not propose it this Monday, the idea of such a role was obviously not new to Shields, because he told the News-Press after the meeting that his search for a new Economic Development Office chief at City Hall, which has been underway for months, may have to take the “project executive” role into account. “This project has got hundreds of issues coming up, not the least involving taking advantage of
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SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9
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It is impossible to say too often or loudly how important a moment this is, when many women feel brave and empowered enough to speak up about being sexually assaulted or harassed by powerful men. It feels like a watershed, like something is fundamentally shifting. SEE PAGE 14
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With another fall sports season now in the books, George Mason High School teams and fans move on to the upcoming winter season that begins following the Thanksgiving holiday this weekend. SEE SPORTS, PAGE 17
INDEX Editorial.................6 Letters...................6 News & Notes10–11 Comment ....... 12–14 Sports .................17 Calendar .......18–19
Classified Ads .....20 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ..........21 Critter Corner......22 Business News ...23
THE GEORGE MASON HIGH SCHOOL theater department’s production of “Spamalot,” a spoof based on the Monty Python works, knocked it out of the park in its �inal of three performances before a sold out audience at the GMHS auditorium Saturday night. Seasoned observers say it was one of the two best musical productions in 30 years delivered by the high school performers. See review, page 22. (P����: N���-P����)
Falls Church Veteran EDA Guru: Density Is Vital to City’s Future BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
The City of Falls Church has only begun to scratch the surface of its economic development potential, Ed Saltzburg, the City’s longstanding Economic Development Authority leader said here Sunday, but future growth will depend on some more significant population growth.
Saltzburg spoke to a meeting of over 30 people of the Village Preservation and Improvement Society meeting at the American Legion Hall Countering some popular misconceptions, Saltzburg said the City is far from overpopulated now, despite the increase from 9,500 to 14,300 in just over two decades. He said the City is considerably less dense, population-wise, than