March 6 - 12, 2025
Falls Church, Virginia • w w w . fc n p . c o m • Free
Founded 1991 • Vol. XXXV No. 4
The City of Falls Church’s Independent, Locally-Owned Newspaper of Record, Serving N. Virginia
Warner Rails, 15,000 POINTS OF LIGHT Beyer Heads Boycott of Trump Talk Resource Event Set Saturday in Arlington by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Tuesday night’s speech to a joint session of Congress by President Donald Trump was characterized as “the worst State of the Union speech I’ve ever heard” by Virginia U.S. Senator Mark Warner, recording a statement from his car that was posted on social media in the hour after the address. He cited “no empathy” for the many federal workers who’ve lost their jobs. U.S. Reps. Donald Beyer and Gerald Connally of Northern Virginia were among a handful of federal lawmakers who boycotted the speech altogether, while others attended, spoke out, and walked out. As Beyer put it in a town hall conference call Monday, “The State of the Union message is a hallowed tradition, but this president has shown a contempt for Congress, treating it like it doesn’t exist while thousands of lives are being destroyed.” At that town hall, Beyer announced a resource fair that he is sponsoring along with all the jurisdictions of Northern Virginia, including the City of Falls Church, that will be held from noon to 5 p.m. this Saturday, March 8, at Wakefield High School, 1325 S. Dinwiddie St.
Continued on Page 3
Camp & Education Guide Pages 9 -13
THE CAPITAL ONE ARENA was sold out to over 15,000 Sunday at a Legacy On Ice special benefit for families of the 67 victims killed in the January 29 plane crash that included 30 young figure skaters, their family members and coaches. This is the moment when everyone was asked to turn on their cell phone flashlights in a moment of silence as the event got underway. (News-Press photo)
Malinin Keys Sold Out Benefit for Plane Crash Victims
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Defending World Figure Skating champion Ilya Malinin of Northern Virginia fondly recalled his interactions with some of the young figure skaters who died in the tragic January 29 plane crash following his passionate performance in front of a sellout crowd at the Capital One Arena in D.C. Sunday. Responding to a question from the News-Press in a brief appearance before the media after the huge tribute before 15,000 to the 67 victims of the crash, Malinin, himself only
20, said his memories of those young skaters who perished that practiced with him at the Reston Ice Forum in Northern Virginia were fond ones. He recalled that they looked up to him as they watched him practice as a repeat national and world champion. The skaters were returning with family members and coaches from a National Development Camp in Wichita, Kansas, following the annual national championships that were being held there. Malinin won his third U.S. championship there earlier in the week.
Malinin, who graduated in 2023 from Marshall High School just up Rt. 7 from the City of Falls Church, provided the final exhibition skate before all participants came out for a grand finale. He performed to the song, “Hope,” by NF. Malinin was among more two dozen other participating skaters, nationally recognized champions from past and present, who performed or spoke at the benefit, with proceeds going to help the families of the survivors and first responders to the incident. He did a particularly emotive performance that included a back flip.
One of the 11 young skating victims on the plane, who with family members and coaches constituted 30 among the 67 total who were killed, was Franco Aparicio of nearby Dunn Loring. He was remembered Sunday by a performance by his 13-year-old sister Isabella. Their father, Luciano, also died in the crash. Proceeds from the event will support the families and loved ones of the 67 lives lost in the tragic aviation incident at Reagan National Airport on January 29, and the first respond-
Continued on Page 4