May 10 – 16, 2018
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 • VOL. XXVIII NO. 12
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I����� T��� W��� F.C. S������ F������� A���� B����� The Falls Church School Board unanimously adopted its $51 million budget for the coming Fiscal Year 2019 Tuesday night, a less than one percent increase overall compared to the current budget year. SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9
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F.C. Leaders Thrilled by High Quality Of 6 Proposals for West F.C. Project Swift Moves Coming To ‘Down Select’ to Final 3 Contenders
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
New rankings from U.S. News & World Report place George Mason High School as the second best in the Commonwealth of Virginia, behind only the magnet Thomas Jefferson High School. SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9
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Rather than trying to eliminate Obamacare in one fell swoop, Republicans are trying to undermine it with multiple acts of sabotage. SEE PAGE 14
M���� B��� T�� R���, I������ �� 10-0-1 After two months of the season, George Mason High School’s boys soccer team is undefeated and goalkeeper Ethan Morse has yet to surrender a goal in Bull Run District competition. SEE SPORTS, PAGE 16
INDEX Editorial.................6 Letters...................6 News & Notes10–11 Comment ........ 12-14 Business News ...15
Calendar .......18–19 Classified Ads .....20 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ..........21 Critter Corner......22
FALLS CHURCH’S U.S. Representative Donald S. Beyer Jr., (second from left) chatted with Falls Church City Democratic Committee chair Peg Willingham (left), former U.S. Rep. Jim Moran and event hosts David and Kathy Padilla (right) in Falls Church Sunday. (P����: N���-P����)
Beyer Playing Major Role in Dems’ Election Year Push
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
A lesser-known fact about Falls Church’s U.S. congressman, Donald S. Beyer Jr., is his national role in this critical midterm election year as the financial director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Beyer, who represents the 8th District of Virginia that includes the City of Falls Church, is spending a considerable amount of time criss-crossing the nation to meet with and evaluate the
potentials of Democratic congressional candidates in a year when the chances of Democrats reclaiming the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, and possibly also the U.S. Senate, are running high. Beyer’s predecessor in Congress, former U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, brought this aspect of Beyer’s service to light in a Falls Church event Sunday, where a high level of enthusiasm by a large turnout in a private home matched the rousing enthusiasm that Democrats generated in nearby larger county-
wide events in Fairfax’s Tysons Corner and Arlington’s Ballston districts in the last two weeks. On the Republican side, the news has centered on the GOP’s endangered congressman Barbara Comstock’s strong expression of support this week for President Trump’s decision to ditch the Iran Nuclear accord — in sharp contrast to Beyer and his Virginia Democratic colleagues Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and Rep. Gerry Connolly — and the GOP’s 11th
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If City of Falls Church leaders danced a jig, either individually or collectively, in the last week, it was done out of sight of the press. But they’ve not withheld expressions of extreme delight at the roster of six official bid submissions made last week by top-tier development firms seeking a shot at building out the 10 acres of City-owned land designated for dense economic development at the City’s west end. Local developer and Economic Development Authority board member Robert Young told the News-Press, “Six is a very good response, and they are all high quality, very credible and highly qualified. This is very, very encouraging.” Having done an initial review of the bid contents, consultant Jennifer Boss told the F.C. City Council at its work session Monday that they should celebrate. “These are great respondents of the highest quality and there are some great ideas there,” she said. Following an initial discussion of the proposals, the Council also mulled a change to the zoning at the site that would permit up to 15 stories, although some balked at any height limits at all. On the bids, the City has not hesitated to move quickly on taking the process to the next level. A high-powered evaluation committee has been assembled by City Manager Wyatt Shields to move with dispatch to review and evaluate the bids, looking to “down select” from six to three by the end
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