November 29 – December 5, 2018
Fa lls Chur c h, V i r g i ni a • ww w. fc np. c om • Fr ee
Fou n d e d 1991 • Vol. XXVIII No. 41
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week Plan Updated for Downtown F.C. Park
The plan to renovate a location on W. Broad St. into a downtown park that was deemed overbudget has been updated and officials say it can now be done with $100,000 already allocated for the project. See News Briefs, page 9
Dec. 8 Declared ‘Hugh Brown Day’
In honor of the late lifelong City of Falls Church resident and business owner Hugh Brown, F.C. Mayor David Tarter issued a proclamation Monday declaring Saturday, Dec. 8, as “High Brown Day” in the City.
$3.2 Million in State Funds OK'd to Turn W&OD Trail Into Bike, Pedestrian Lanes
Little City of Lights
1.2-Mile Stretch in F.C. to Be Revamped To Ease Flow, Safety
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
next round of state legislative elections in 2019 could, if they follow the pattern of 2017 and flip still more legislative seats from Republican to Democratic (15 in the House of Delegates were flipped in 2017), then area jurisdictions, including the City of Falls Church, may be far more able to seek legislative relief that
A major 1.2-mile stretch of the W&OD Trail bike path that traverses the City of Falls Church from one end to the other of its 2.3 square miles will soon be enhanced with the benefit of $3.2 million from the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority and turned into a dual path — one for bikes and the other for pedestrians. The area of the transformation will run from the bike bridge over West Broad to the east side of Little Falls Street. Funding for the project comes from the wider resources of the NVRPA, and not directly from Falls Church citizens, who will nonetheless be major beneficiaries. The Falls Church City Council voted unanimously Monday to authorize City Manager Wyatt Shields to enter into the agreement with the NVRPA for its execution. The W&OD Trail has been identified in City planning documents are “one of the great parks within the City,” a “grand 16-acre park.” The award funds the design and construction of separate, parallel bicycle and pedestrian trails on the W&OD Trail that will increase the safety and usability of the park. The current 10-foot wide shareduse trail will be replaced by an 11-foot wide bicycle trail and an eight-foot wide pedestrian trail with a two-foot wide median in between. It will run for 1.2 miles from the bike bridge over W. Broad Street to east of Little Falls St. In addition, substandard curb ramps at the six
Continued on Page 5
Continued on Page 4
See News Briefs, page 9
New Italian Restaurant Set for Argia's Space
Gabriel Thompson, a renowned chef who has served as executive chef at RPM Italian in Washington, D.C., has leased Argia’s former space in Falls Church. See Business News & Notes, page 16
Mustang Winter Sports Preview
As winter coats are pulled out of the back of the hall closet, George Mason High School sport fans congregate inside their seasonal chapel to watch a new slate of Mustang teams compete for glory. See Sports, page 18
THE HOLIDAYS ARE HERE in The Little City, marked by the annual lighting ceremony Monday night of the festive lights on W. Broad St. This year's display features colorful lights, a change from the white display of years past. Officials told the News-Press the lights will be switched to an all-white display for the City's Watch Night New Year's Eve celebration. (Photo: George Price/imagesforGood.org)
Virginia's Dillon Rule Continues to Frustrate Falls Church on Gun Laws by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Index
Editorial................ 6 Letters..............6, 8 News & Notes.12–13 Comment...... 14–15 Business News.. 16 Sports................ 18
Calendar...... 26–27 Classified Ads.... 28 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword......... 29 Crime Report..... 30 Critter Corner..... 30
The Falls Church City Council expressed considerable frustration at its meeting Monday night over the long-standing constraints it faces on limiting gun use in the City because of the so-called Dillon Rule. The 1868 rule, which prevails in Virginia, prohibits local jurisdictions in the state
from adopting laws that are not specifically permitted by the state. The Dillon Rule has in recent years been a thorn in the side of Northern Virginia jurisdictions whose leaders seek more progressive solutions than the state government in Richmond, still top heavy in representation by more rural and conservative parts of the state, has allowed. But this is changing, and the