December 22 - 28, 2022
Falls Church, Virginia • w w w . fc n p . c o m • Free
Founded 1991 • V o l . X X X II N o . 45
The City of Falls Church’s Independent, Locally-Owned Newspaper of Record, Serving N. Virginia
$ Coming To F.C. In Omnibus Federal Bill
LIGHTING UP THE HOLIDAYS
Beyer Secures Funds for 2 Key Local Programs by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
According to News-Press sources, the U.S. Congressional 2022 Omnibus spending bill expected to be passed and signed this Friday includes substantial funding for two programs in the City of Falls Church championed by U.S. Rep. Don Beyer. Beyer’s office confirmed this with Falls Church Deputy City Manager Cindy Mester this week, Mester has said. The two programs included in the bill are one for $600,000 for “green vehicle fleet upgrades and replacements” and another for $1,500,000 for a multimodal transportation infrastructure improvements. In a city the size of Falls Church, these are no mean amounts. On an entirely separate track, the offices of Virginia’s two U.S. senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, yesterday announced $842,140 in federal funding to help homeless veterans in Virginia access affordable housing with the bulk of the funding going to the Fairfax County Redevelopment and
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LOCAL FALLS CHURCH RESIDENT displays their annual holiday decorations. Mark this one as a must see while you are out enjoying the F.C. lights. Head East down East Broad Street and you can’t miss it. ( Photo: Falls Church News-Press)
F.C.’s Watch Night is a Go for New Year’s Eve! by Brian Reach
Falls Church News-Press
The last time the big star dropped at the intersection of W Broad and Maple, ushering in the New Year at the City of Falls Church Watch Night event that had become a 22-year tradition, everybody cheered as
January 1, 2020 arrived… not knowing a global pandemic, just over the horizon, would prevent the event’s return in 2020 and 2021. After nearly three years that inarguably (and to say the least) did not go as expected, the Watch Party’s return is a welcome one for a city that has missed it dearly. “That is
what traditions are for,” says Keith Thurston, President of The CATCH Foundation and its Watch Night Falls Church program, “to provide a sense of ongoing stability, while New Year’s provides that sense of renewal and optimism.” First held December 31, 1998, the year the Little City cel-
ebrated the 300th Anniversary of its founding, the Watch Party now returns for its 23rd year with exciting activities, entertainment, dancing, and (of course) the Big Star – to ring in 2023 Falls Church style while celebrating the return of this
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Inside This Week Last-Minute Holiday Events
Looking for fun ways to wrap up the holiday season? This guide will help those in the DMV area find the perfect, festive events and shows to take their family, friends or neighbors to just in time to finish out the holidays. See Pages 2 & 4
Theater Reviews: Wicked & Into the Woods
FCNP’s Mark Dreisonstok and Kylee Toland review the classic stories and music of ‘Wicked’ and ‘Into the Woods,’ being performed at the Kennedy Center and Signature Theatre. See Page 10
Index
Comment.................................... 5,11,16 Editorial.................................................6 Crime Report.......................................11 News & Notes................................12,13 Calendar.............................................14 News Briefs.........................................16 Classifieds..........................................17 Critter Corner......................................18 Sports.................................................19 Business News...................................19