May 14 - 20, 2015
Falls Church, Virginia • w w w . fc n p . c o m • Free
Founded 1991 • Vol. XXV N o . 12
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week U.S. News & World Ranks GMHS 5th in State U.S. News and World Report has ranked Falls Church’s George Mason High School the fifth best in Virginia in its school rankings edition. Mason is also ranked by the magazine 140th out of 29,070 high schools nationally. See News Briefs, page 8
New Ice Cream Shop Opens on West Broad
Lil City Creamery, a new ice cream shop, is now open in the space of a former check-cashing store on West Broad Street in the City of Falls Church.
F.C. Council, School Board Reject Clark’s Unsolicited Development Bid Nix Lucrative Offer M i C asa, S u C asa In Favor of Opening Up Process to All by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Press yesterday that the report is unconfirmed and expressed concern that such an unconfirmed report is having a negative impact among potential parties involved. In this respect, City Manager Wyatt Shields stressed to the News-Press that there was no representative from HITT at
Following their third lengthy closed session to mull the vast, unsolicited proposal from Clark Construction, also known as Edgemoor Infrastructure and Realty, to develop the 39 acres inclusive of George Mason High School, the F.C. City Council and School Board emerged back into open session at 9:50 p.m. this last Monday night. The two City bodies took a series of swift and unanimous votes to reject the Clark plan in favor of restoring their original plan to call for “requests for proposals” and thereby entertaining anyone who might wish to step forward to bid on the development of the land. The City Council first convened to pass its motions without debate, and then adjourned while the School Board took the dais and did the same. The first phrase of the first motion for both the City Council and the School Board referred to “the difficulty of revising unsolicited proposals to meet both the Falls Church City Public Schools needs for a high school as well as a middle school expansion under the existing Private Public Education Act guidelines and associated processes.” The motion was passed to reject the “unsolicited PPEA proposal delivered by Edgemoor Infrastructure and Realty on March 11, 2015.” The second motion that passed both bodies unanimously called for the City Council and School Board to adopt the process reflect-
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See Food News, page 19
David Brooks: Center-Right Moment
The most surprising event of this political era is what hasn’t happened. The world has not turned left. Given the financial crisis, widening inequality, the unpopularity of the right’s stances on social issues and immigration, you would have thought that progressive parties would be cruising from win to win. See page 12
Press Pass with Rocknoceros
The Northern Virginia-based children’s music pop trio Rocknoceros has been entertaining crowds around the nation for the past decade – but they rarely play later than 8 p.m. See page 21
THE GRAND OPENING OF new digs in the City of Falls Church was celebrated yesterday morning by CASA de Virginia on S. Virginia Avenue. Lindolfo Carballo, director of Casa de Virginia, is shown speaking at an extraordinary event that required all comments to be translated into three languages – English, Spanish and Vietnamese. F.C. Mayor David Tarter and City Manager Wyatt Shields welcomed the group, which will provide citizenship qualification counselling, courses in English and legal aid for all immigrants. A first project will be to work with the Falls Church Housing Commission to limit rent hikes in some of the City’s few remaining affordable housing facilities. (Photo: News-Press)
Report: 7 & 29 Crossroads Plan To Include Flagship Whole Foods by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Index
Editorial..................6 Letters....................6 News & Notes.10-11 Comment........12-15 Calendar.........16-17 Food & Dining .18-19
Sports .................23 Classified Ads .....24 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword...........25 Critter Corner.......26
HITT Properties, which recently acquired 2.5 acres on the northeast corner of Falls Church’s main crossroads, Broad and Washington streets, unveiled plans behind closed doors to the Falls Church City Council last week that reportedly would include a huge 75,000
square foot “flagship” Whole Foods Market. The world–class-sized store would anchor the company’s regional presence and transform Falls Church’s role as a destination location adjacent the Metro and interstate, developers say, according to News-Press sources. But City of Falls Church officials emphasized to the News-