Ma rc h 2 4 - 30, 2016
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. X X V I N o. 5
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week Elliott Named F.C. Employee of the Year
Falls Church’s Employee Review Board has named Master Police Officer/Detective Jennifer “Missy” Elliott as the 2015 City of Falls Church Employee of the Year. See News Briefs, page 9
Easter Sunday Dining In Falls Church
Several Falls Church-area restaurants are serving holiday specials this Sunday, ranging from a la carte and prix-fixe menus to a full-on, all-you-can-eat buffet.
F.C. Council Remains Divided on City Hall Expansion, Renovation Some Ready Only For Public Safety & Court Fixes
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
29 will remain in the revised plan as is. Also, Public Works director Mike Collins reported that while some work is already underway on some downtown improvements, more visible improvements to the sidewalks and crossings in the 100 and 200 blocks of N. Washington Street will commence in the late spring or early summer. The improvements, payment for which has already been approved by the City Council, are designed to “create a better look and a safer environment,” Shields added.
It was way back in May 2005 that a judicial security inspector from the Virginia Eastern District Court Security Program, operating under the U.S. Marshal Service, conducted a physical security examination of the court services provided by the City of Falls Church at its City Hall, and that August a report was presented showing the City’s provisions for security at its court held in the Council chambers at City Hall was woefully lacking. This Monday night at a F.C. City Council work session, following a significant Council dust up and intention to stall again about plans to release $1.2 million to accompany the selection of an architect for a renovation of the building, an exasperated F.C. Police Chief Mary Gavin reminded members of the Council that there are no less than 10 entrances to the aged F.C. City Hall, and that normal court security practices limit entrances to two or maybe three. But plans to authorize the $1.2 million and retain the carefullyselected architectural firm of Studio 27 at this coming Monday’s Council meeting have apparently been put off once again. Council member David Snyder was the first to pipe up Monday to object to the action, saying that there is a lot more to the plans than police and court security, that there are a lot of “add ons” for the project whose eventual total cost will be $15.8 million, and that the public has not been adequately notified about these aspects and
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See page 22
David Brooks: The Shame Culture
The phrase almost completes itself: Midlife … crisis. It’s the stage in the middle of the journey when people feel youth vanishing, their prospects narrowing and death approaching. So they become undone. See page 14
Press Pass with Hiromi
Hiromi set out to create a musical novel or play with her new album Spark. Many times, when artists have these ambitious, they get too heady or even stall out before reaching completion. That’s not the case with Hiromi’s latest record.
PLANS TO AUTHORIZE MONEY to begin a multi-million dollar renovation project for Falls Church’s City Hall have apparently been once again delayed. (Photo: News-Press)
Nuances Arise at Town Hall On Shields’ Budget Proposal
See page 24
by Nicholas F. Benton
Editorial..................6 Letters................6, 8 News & Notes.10-11 Comment......... 14-17 Sports..................20 Food & Dining......22
Nuances and clarifications of City Manager Wyatt Shields’ proposed $87 million FY17 budget for the City of Falls Church arose at Saturday’s town hall meeting at the Community Center. The meeting was split between time for citizens to mill around speaking to heads of the various City and school departments and a public presentation by Shields and F.C. School Superintendent Dr. Toni Jones, along with a questionand-answer period. While citizen attendance was sparse (one count
Falls Church News-Press
Index
Business News....25 Calendar.........26-27 Classified Ads .....28 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword...........29 Critter Corner.......30
was 17) the interest was keen among those who showed up. In terms of new information, the City Planning Department’s Paul Stoddard declared that the draft plan to divert the W&OD trail through Crossman Park has been scuttled, and planted into an appendix of the plan’s report along with a number of other alternative options that could be reconsidered at a later date. However, the Crossman Park diversion, which drew a large outcry of opposition from neighbors to the park that included some environmental concerns, is now out of the plans and the crossing of the trail at Route