February 2 - 8, 2023
Falls Church, Virginia • w w w . fc n p . c o m • Free
Founded 1991 • V o l . X X X II N o . 51
The City of Falls Church’s Independent, Locally-Owned Newspaper of Record, Serving N. Virginia
Racist F.C. Past Unveiled In Land Covenants
THAR SHE BLOWS!
Arlington Academics Dig Out Explicit Materials by Charlie Clark
The Little City recorded a history that is part prominent and part ignored. An eye-opening example of an omission is the recent uncovering of details on the racially exclusionary real estate covenants common in new subdivisions a century ago. Language in sales agreements that denied access to disfavored groups turns up in documents from some 1,000 properties in downtown Falls Church, in the Greenway Downs and Woodland neighborhoods. The News-Press set out to examine property deeds (stored in databases not in the city or nearby Arlington but at the Fairfax County Courthouse). But the work was already underway by a group of academics coordinated by Marymount University sociology professor Janine DeWitt, housing attorney Kristin Neun and University of Mary Washington professor of history and American studies Krystyn Moon. Timed locally to coincide with the debate over Arlington’s disputatious
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THE RITE AID store on the south side of West Broad St. began officially coming down in unceremonious fashion Wednesday to make room for the 250 residential units and mixed-use “Founders Row 2.” The Rite Aid and its long-time neighbor, the carpet store, were due to ‘bite-the-dust’ to make room for Mill Creek’s newest project. The site sits across the intersection from sister project Founders Row. (Photo: Sue Johnson)
F.C. School Board Votes 6 -1 for Jerrod Anderson to Fill Slot
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Out of a field of three applicants to replace departing member Phil Reitinger at a special meeting this Tuesday, the Falls Church School Board voted, 5-1, member David Ortiz dissenting,
to elect Jerrod Anderson to fill the vacancy until the next regular election in November. There was a motion to appoint Anderson, which all but Ortiz voted “yes,” then the vote was taken, the whole matter over in less than a minute. Ortiz was not asked to say who he would
nominate had he been given the chance. It is assumed the move was taken to minimize the appearance of any discord on the board, and it was not reported in the system’s Morning Announcements that get emailed to hundreds of City parents daily. Later, a statement over the
signature of School Board chair Laura Downs, embargoed for release Thursday morning, was sent out which read as follows: “The FCCPS School Board voted to appoint Jerrod Anderson to fill the position vacated by
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Inside This Week Art Review: ‘Ruminations’ At Salve Regina Gallery FCNP’s Mark Dreisonstok reviews ‘Ruminations,’ an interesting new art exhibition at the Salve Regina Gallery on the campus of the Catholic University of America. See Page 10
F.C. Resident Helps With Park
The News-Press’s Kylee Toland talks to Jamie Craig, one of the visionaries of Blackwater Park, a new Franklin City park near Hampton Roads and how Falls Church inspired its creation. See Page 11
Index
News Briefs..........................................2 Comment................................................5,9 Editorial......................................................6 School News.............................................8 Crime Report.............................................9 Calendar.............................................12,13 News & Notes.........................................14 Classifieds.........................................16, 17 Business News.......................................19