April 20 – 26, 2017
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 I N o. 9
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week School Board Retains Firm for GM Study
The Falls Church School Board moved to allocate $56,580 to retain the architectural consulting firm of Perkins Eastman to do a swift feasibility study of what a new George Mason High School may need and look like if voters approve a referendum in November. See News Briefs, page 9
Local Artist Starts Yoga Class for Kids
On Eve of Budget Adoption, F.C. Council Wavers on Reserve Fund On the Hunt
No Consensus on $1.2 Million Set Aside for Campus
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Few people can claim the varied skills and experiences of Falls Church resident Bill Abel. He is a yoga teacher, student, he builds theater sets and makes picture frames, he’s a school crossing guard and he’s a self-taught artist who runs an online gallery. See page 8
David Brooks: How to Leave a Mark
Some organizations are thick, and some are thin. Some leave a mark on you, and some you pass through with scarcely a memory. See page 14
Mason Baseball Falls to Dragons Tuesday
After a successful Spring Break tournament at Washington-Lee High School, the George Mason High School baseball team was trounced by William Monroe Tuesday, 12-1. See Sports, page 16
Index Editorial..................6 Letters....................6 News & Notes.10–11 Comment........ 12–14 Calendar........18–19 Food & Dining......15
Classified Ads......20 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ..........21 Critter Corner.......22 Business News....23
HUNDREDS OF KIDS filled up their Easter baskets last Saturday during the City of Falls Church’s egg hunt at Cherry Hill Park. Along with the hunt, not one, but two Easter bunnies were on the scene plus there was easter egg dyeing at Cherry Hill Farmhouse. (Photo: Gary Mester)
22-Year Veteran of Virginia House, Del. Jim Scott Dies
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Former Virginia State Del. James Martin Scott died suddenly last weekend at the Aarondale Retirement and Assisted Living Community in Springfield, Va, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease, according to a report from his successor, Del. Marcus Simon. Scott was 78. Memorial service details remained undetermined at the time of publication, although the date is believed to be Sunday, May 7. Scott served the 53rd District of Virginia that includes the City
of Falls Church, for 22 years from 1991 to 2013. He won his first election to that post by a single vote, earning him the nickname, “Landslide Jim.” A staunch progressive, he crafted his liberal perspective as an activist at the University of North Carolina during the Civil Rights struggles. Graduating from UNC in 1960 and with a masters from George Mason University three years later, he was a high school teacher and housing advocate before first running for public office in 1972. He served 12 years on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors from
1972-1984, and then worked at the Inova Health Systems before running for delegate in 1991. Upon his retirement in January 2014, Scott’s last public appearance was at his annual Labor Day barbecue at his home in Vienna in 2016. Scott is survived by his wife Nancy and two children, Casey and Mary Alice. Tributes to Del. Scott have been pouring in. Del. Simon opened his remarks at the legislative report luncheon of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce
Continued on Page 4
With just a week to go before the scheduled final adoption of the City of Falls Church budget for Fiscal Year 2018, the F.C. City Council Monday could not reach a consensus on the touchy issue of asking taxpayers to fund a $1.2 million addition to the City’s reserves. The funds, over and above the cost of an $88 million annual operating budget for the City and its schools, would add three cents to the real estate tax rate. Monday night’s meeting ended with City Manager Wyatt Shields tasked with presenting a number of options, from no reserve up to the $1.2 million plan, for the Council to decide among at its final budgetadopting session next Monday. The Council did agree on Shields’ plan to shave a penny off the operating budget, a penny (equal to $400,000) that the School Board asked for above Council (zero-growth) so-called “guidance” because of enrollment growth pressures of the past year. Falls Church City Schools are officially the fastest-growing, in terms of student enrollment, in Virginia. With $125,000 in unexpected savings off the City’s obligation to WMATA, Shields’ plan is to remove the penny by cutting $137,000 from the schools and the same from the City operating budget. The Solomonic solution would leave the schools even more strapped and, as Shields projected, leaving City operations without a human resource officer, a task that Assistant City Manager Cindy Mester would fill at the expense of other roles such as director of the City’s state legislative agenda, of the cable access channel, and other vital functions.