March 19 - 25, 2015
Falls Church, Virginia • w w w . fc n p . c o m • Free
Founded 1991 • Vol. XXV No. 4
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads the
presents the 3rd Annual
Little City. Big Eats. Inside This Week
MARCH 23 - 29, 2015 Food & Dining Issue Featuring F.C. Restaurant Week Inside
Falls Church Restaurant Week starts Monday and the News-Press has all the details on the weeklong celebration including food specials, maps and features on The Little City’s dining scene.
Sparse Turnouts So Far as Public Urged to Comment on F.C. Budget W oman P ower
Proposed 4-Cent Tax Rate Hike Hasn’t Rallied Pitch Forks by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Park Avenue, running parallel with W. Broad Street one block north, is wide and currently serene and tree-lined with a mix of residential and low-key commercial. When the City decided to revive its annual Memorial Day Parade and Festival in the early 1980s, after years of a hiatus, Park Avenue was the obvious choice
The first weekend welcoming public input and comment on the proposed coming Fiscal Year 2016 budget for the City of Falls Church and its schools saw a paltry turnout of the public despite special efforts by the City’s staff to be prepared for extensive questioning and discussions. Only a dozen citizens showed up for a town hall meeting last Saturday morning, and the turnout was not much better for an open house on Monday night. Both events were at the Community Center and no one could claim to be held back by bad weather. The anemic turnout Monday was especially disappointing to City officials, given the time and effort that went into preparing. An array of tables was set up and manned by leading members of the City staff, including the police and sheriff departments, who were poised to engage in extensive discussions with their tax paying public. Still, the News-Press has learned that the City Council, which will adopt a new budget and tax rate late next month, is being influenced by the handful of people who did bother to show up last weekend. Despite the low town hall turnout, where a handful of citizens complained that Falls Church is providing fewer services at higher costs than its much larger Fairfax and Arlington county neighbors, the mayor, vice mayor and two other members of the Council were all ears. At the end, Vice Mayor David Snyder hailed the
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See pages 15-25
Meeks Voted New Planning Chair
Longtime Falls Church Planning Commission member Rob Meeks was elected the new chair of the commission and Russ Wodiska was elected vice-chair. See News Briefs, page 9
David Brooks: Skills in Flux
Several years ago, Doug Lemov began studying videos of excellent teachers. He focused not on their big strategies but on their microgestures. See page 12
Press Pass with The Metal Show
Eddie Trunk, host and originator of VH1 Classic’s “That Metal Show,” doesn’t give a damn what you think about his musical tastes. See page 33
MARCH IS ‘WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH,’ and when it comes to Falls Church government, these three women play mighty roles. Seated side-by-side at Monday’s City Council work session were (left to right) Assistant City Manager Cindy Mester and Council members Karen Oliver and Marybeth Connelly. (Photo: News-Press)
Park Avenue Designated for ‘Great Street’ Development
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Index
Editorial..................6 Letters..............6, 34 News & Notes.10-11 Comment..12-14, 27 Food & Dining .15-25 Calendar.........28-29
Sports .................32 Press Pass..........33 Classified Ads .....36 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword...........37 Critter Corner.......38
The Falls Church Planning Commission was treated to the rolling out this Monday night of a comprehensive plan developed by the City’s Planning Department with help from the region’s Virginia Tech urban planning program to make Park Avenue the City of Falls Church’s showcase
“Great Street.” The plan, presented to the commission under the title of “A Civic Great Street of the Little City,” based on a national trend toward such undertakings, was seemingly sudden in its emergence. But a closer look at its elements reveals that an awful lot of what’s already in the planning stages in Falls Church happens to impinge right onto Park Avenue.