A pr il 1 4 - 2 0 , 2 0 1 6
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. 8
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week Council Looking to Shave Tax Rate Hike
The discussion at the Falls Church City Council meeting Monday centered on whether or not the real estate tax rate could be held to zero growth, or whether the recommended two-cent increase would be approved. See page 5
City of F.C. Among Area’s Healthiest
Amid Complaints of Creativity Lack, Council Defers Campus Site Plan
Important Decisions & Too Little Time to Mull Vex Members
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
The City of Falls Church and Fairfax County were among the highest ranked municipalities in Virginia in overall health, according to a new study released this year. See page 17
David Brooks: How to Fix Politics
It’s increasingly clear that the roots of political dysfunction lie deep in society. If there’s truly going to be improvement, there has to be improvement in the social context politics is embedded in. See page 12
Press Pass with Caspian
Usually mostly an instrumental rock group that uses vocals for melody to blend with the instrumentals, Caspian’s latest album, Dust and Disquiet, departs from that tendency. See page 25
Index
Editorial..................6 Letters....................6 News & Notes.10-11 Comment......... 12-15 Sports..................20 Business News....22
Food & Dining......23 Calendar.........26-27 Classified Ads .....28 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword...........29 Critter Corner.......30
NOVA FIREARMS, the gun store that opened across the street from St. James School earlier this year, has closed after just two months. (Photo: News-Press)
Gun Store Across From St. James School Closes Doors Suddenly Nova Firearms, the gun store that opened amid controversy in February on W. Broad St. in Falls Church, across the street from the St. James School, suddenly closed its doors last weekend. A sign posted on the door of the location Monday said, “Regretfully due to recent neighborhood events and our desire to act in the best interests of the community in partnership with Falls Church Police, we have
decided to close up this store in order to look for a more ideal location.” The note added that the company’s other retail location in McLean remains open. Susan Finarelli, head of the City’s communications office, told the News-Press when it asked for a comment from Falls Church Police Chief Mary Gavin, the following, “The chief said she’s had no contact with the business. Any contact the police have had has been in
the vein of regular neighborhood check-ins. It looks like Nova Firearms made a business decision on their own – not sure why they mentioned the police department on their sign.” This is the second time Nova Firearms has shuttered in the City of Falls Church. It relocated its first City location, above Bedo’s Leatherworks at 412 W. Broad Street, to McLean in 2013. – News-Press Staff Reports
As deliberations on the item did not even begin until well after 10 p.m. Monday night and quickly went to some critical issues and unanswered questions, the Falls Church City Council voted 6-1 to defer approving an action to move a second more detailed “request for proposal” to the two prospective developers of the City-owned 36 acres of land adjacent the West Falls Church Metro station. Since most of the deliberations on the subject have been held behind closed doors, due to alleged confidentiality considerations, the public and even the Council has had almost no details on the plans as they’ve been developed to move forward. Council members complained Monday that they’d had “less than one business day” to assess this latest proposal, for example. Meanwhile, the joint, mostlyconfidential deliberations between the City Council and School Board have produced a predictable, barebones concept for a $112 million high school construction/middle school expansion project, with no amenities such as a swimming pool, and development on 10 acres allowed for commercial use of a mix of a minimum of 40 percent commercial and 60 percent residential use, and that’s it. The Phase II “request for proposal,” or RFP, once approved by both the F.C. City Council and School Board, will go to the two entities who responded last fall to the Phase I RFP, Edgemore Infrastructure of Bethesda, whose leading contractor is Clark
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