April 9 – 15, 2020
Fa lls Chur c h, V i r g i ni a • ww w. fc np. c om • Fr ee
Fou n d e d 1991 • V ol. X XX N o. 8
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
F.C. Faces Severe Drop In Revenue Pandemic Has Council Mulling Economic Shortfall by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
At its first meeting since the onset of mandatory stay-at-home and other strong measures to mitigate the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic, the Falls Church City Council met virtually, online, Monday night to deliberate on how to exercise its commitment to the safety and wellbeing of the Falls Church public, and how to move forward in this terrible and uncertain time. Although it is only a very preliminary assessment, the City’s chief financial officer Kiran Bawa presented to the Council two possible scenarios for the fiscal conditions facing the City, moderate and severe estimates, with one having the City losing $1.3 – $3.9 million in revenues below earlier projections in the last four months of the current fiscal year, and $5.5
MANY OF FALLS CHURCH’S places of worship have moved their services online since the outbreak of the coronavirus, connecting with their congregations through pre-recordings or livestreams. For Holy Week and Easter this Sunday, Dulin United Methodist Church is hosting its own services online where pastor Dave Kirkland preaches to pews affixed with pictures of his parishioners. (Photo: J. Michael Whalen)
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F.C. Places of Worship Go Virtual for Holy Week, Passover
by Matt Delaney
Falls Church News-Press
The presence of the novel coronavirus has required places of worship in and around the City of Falls Church to get creative with how they carry out this year’s
Holy Week and Passover. But material changes to this sacred time have local faith leaders seeing a renewed vigor made possible through the forced separation. “We have created worship opportunities where we can be together,” Dulin United Methodist
Church’s pastor Dave Kirkland said. “Maybe not physically, but spiritually, so we’re together spiritually when we worship together online.” Just as with everything over the past month, the virtualization of church gatherings has devel-
oped on the fly to keep congregations connected. That means a heavy dose of either pre-recorded or livestreamed services as well as Zoom classes for various small groups.
Inside This Week Northam Postpones Elections, Urges Face Coverings in Public
Local Providers Upended by Pandemic’s Daycare Dilemma
See story, page 4
See story, page 8
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced the delay of the state’s June primary elections and that he is asking the General Assembly to postpone the May general election. The governor is also urging all residents to wear face masks when leaving their homes.
New rules in the state of Virginia for in-home daycare put both parents and providers in a bind, but some Falls Church area in-home providers are striving to work within the guidelines and stay in business.
Press Pass with Rockin’ the Suburbs
Northern Virginia’s own “Rockin’ the Suburbs” podcast from Falls Church’s Patrick Foster and Ashburn resident Jim Lenahan will take their show to Jammin’ Java’s stage next Wednesday. See Press Pass, page 14
Index
Editorial........................................................ 6 Letters.................................................... 6,19 News Briefs................................................. 9 News & Notes.....................................10–11 Comment........................................7,12–13 Calendar....................................................14 Business News..........................................15 Classified Ads............................................16 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword..................17 Critter Corner.............................................18 Back in the Day.........................................18
