March 7 - 13, 2013
FALLS CHURCH, VI R G I N I A • W W W. F C N P . C O M • FREE
FOUNDED 1991 • VO L . XXIII NO. 2
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I����� T��� W��� A��������� A� L���� I� A������, T���� A������ Falls Church Police are looking for two suspects involved in a strong-armed robbery attempt in the parking lot of Don Beyer Volvo last week. SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9
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The George Mason High School girls basketball team crushed Northumberland High, 68-35, in the state quaterfinals to advance to the Final Four of the state tournament this weekend at VCU.
F.C. School Board Votes to Request 12.9% Increase in Funding from City
Spotlight Now Shifts to City Manager for His
Budget Plan Monday
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
Under 2001 redistricting, Hull ceased to represent Falls Church as Scott’s 53rd District was reshaped to include the City. Upon his decision not to run again, Scott had the right to choose the means for finding a replacement, and he chose a full primary, which will be held June 11, coincidentally on his birthday. But while opting for a wideopen primary, Scott has also made it clear from the get-go who he
The Falls Church School Board voted Tuesday night to formally request a transfer of funds from the City of Falls Church that represents a 12.9 percent one-year increase, driven by a phenomenal growth in enrollment. The request is not as high as the 14.1 percent recommended last month by Superintendent Dr. Toni Jones, as some components Dr. Jones identified as “important” and “unfunded needs” were not included. The adopted School Board budget is for $40,937,800, including a transfer from the City request of $33,682,700. The vote was 5-2, with Greg Rasnake and Craig Cheney voting no. By law, in crafting his recommended budget to the City Council next week, City Manager Wyatt Shields must incorporate the full School Board request. Given guidance by the Council Monday night to keep his recommended budget to a projected 3.82 percent overall revenue growth rate, Shields faces an extraordinary challenge preparing his recommendations that he will present next Monday night. School Board chair Susan Kearney said that there is a lot of discontent with this budget due to the fact that few if any on the board think that the City Council will ultimately support its request. “It is almost insane in a city like this” that such is the case, she said. But she said the request need not lead to a big tax rate increase, suggesting that current surpluses
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SEE SPORTS, PAGE 22
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In certain sorts of competitions, the most brutal player gets to set the rules. Everybody else feels pressure to imitate, whether they want to or not. SEE PAGE 12
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Set in the immediate aftermath of the war, “Emperor” is a solid and important look at a sometimesforgotten chapter in the World War II saga. SEE RICHARD ROEPER, PAGE 20
THE FALLS CHURCH SCHOOL BOARD engaged in intense deliberations Tuesday night prior to voting on its budget for the coming �iscal year that will now go to the City Council, where the budget needs to be approved for the requested enrollment-driven funding level or reduced to something less. (N���-P���� P����)
State Del. Jim Scott, Human Rights Champion, Won’t Seek 12th Term BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
INDEX
Editorial.................6 Letters.............6, 15 News & Notes 10-11 Comment .......12-15 Business News ..15 Calendar ........16-17 Food & Dining.....18
Sports ...........22-23 Richard Roeper ..20 Classified Ads ....24 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ..........25 Critter Corner......26
Virginia State Delegate Jim Scott’s long and storied career representing Northern Virginia, including the City of Falls Church, as a champion of human rights and affordable housing will end this year as he announced last Sunday he will not seek election to a 12th term this November. The news moved swiftly through regional political circles of both Democrats and Republicans,
and by Monday afternoon there was plenty of buzz about who might throw their hat into the ring to fill the seat. For the City of Falls Church, it marks the first state legislative open seat to surface in over 20 years. It was in November 1992 that Rep. Leslie Byrne became the first woman from Virginia ever elected to Congress, opening her 38th District state assembly seat. It was filled by Del. Bob Hull at a “firehouse primary” with a very low turnout.