November 5 - 11, 2015
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. XXV No. 37
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week 2 Responses to Upper West End RFP Received
The City of Falls Church and City School Board received two responses to its Request for Proposals for the replacement of George Mason High School; expansion of Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School; and redevelopment and commercialization of a portion of the school campus. See News Briefs, page 9
Led Zeppelin Doc Screening Sunday
Mayor Tarter, Duncan, Hardi Win F.C. Council Seats in Big Election School Board Seats Won by Castillo, Gill & Reitinger
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
than an up-or-down vote by the Planning Commission. The difference, Jones explained, would be that with a “special exception” process, there would be more of a give-andtake negotiation with the county over the nine acre site, rather than a more rigid accept-or-deny approach. “The School Board will need time to consider all the aspects of
At 7 p.m. Tuesday, as the polls closed on one of the most contentious elections in the history of the City of Falls Church, the historic bell of the Falls Church Episcopal in the City’s center pealed with a ring of destiny. Exactly two hours later, when the results of the election were finally confirmed, the bell rang out again as if in solemn approval as those candidates who stood for moving the City forward, and not grinding it to a standstill, won all three seats on the City Council and all three seats on the School Board. With 41.9 percent of registered voters casting ballots, incumbents Mayor David Tarter and Phil Duncan, and energetic newcomer Letty Hardi won the three Council seats, defeating two former Council members, Johannah Barry and Sam Mabry, both of whom had called for a moratorium on development in the City. In the School Board race, incumbent chair Justin Castillo won along with newcomers Erin Gill and Philip Reitinger, while a candidate involved in taking legal action against the School Board, Becky Smerdon, came in sixth place, among eight candidates total. Tarter was the top vote getter in the Council race with 1,636 votes, followed by Hardi with 1,486 votes. In the School Board race, Gill, like Hardi a young parent with three children in the school system, was the top vote getter with 1,318 votes among the eight total candidates on the ballot.
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Falls Church’s own Howard Herman, John Hundley and Jack Maier play real-life roles in the documentary “Led Zeppelin Played Here,” screening at Creative Cauldron this Sunday. See page 4
David Brooks: The Evolution of Simplicity
In this country we’re raised to go for the gusto, to try new things and savor the smorgasbord of life’s possibilities. See page 14
Press Pass with Terri Lyne Carrington
The last time Terri Lyne Carrington performed at the Howard Theatre, it was the venue’s second annual gala and benefit concert, during which singers Chaka Khan, Dionne Warwick and Valerie Simpson were honored. That was 2013. See page 24
OUTSIDE THE POLLING place in the Falls Church Community Center on election day Tuesday, two of the winning candidates for City Council – Mayor David Tarter and Letty Hardi – are shown campaigning amid a busy scene of other volunteers and prospective voters. (Photo: News-Press)
School Board May Consider Different Path for Mt. Daniel by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Index
Editorial..................6 Letters................6, 8 News & Notes.12-13 Comment......... 14-17 Calendar.........20-21 Business News....22
Food & Dining......23 Sports..................27 Classified Ads .....28 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword...........29 Critter Corner.......30
A scheduled appearance before the Fairfax Planning Commission last night by a representative of the Falls Church School System on plans for the renovation and expansion of its county-based Mt. Daniel Elementary was set to be postponed once again, the NewsPress has learned. Rescheduled from mid-September to last night, the renova-
tion plans may go an entirely different bureaucratic route through the county’s approval process, F.C. School Superintendent Dr. Toni Jones told the News-Press yesterday. Coming out of a lengthy meeting with Fairfax’s Dranesville District Planning Commissioner John Ulfelder last week, Dr. Jones said it was suggested by county officials that the approval process might be more susceptible of a “special exception” process rather