May 17 – 23, 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. 13
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A series of nude pictures shared between Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School and George Mason High School students has set off a continuing investigation into the origin and intent of these images’ distribution by the City of Falls Church police department. SEE PAGE 8
6 Proposals for West End Site Strong On ‘Special Place’ & Mix of Features Bids Now Posted On F.C.’s Website
For a Public Look
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
and a number of other capital projects, and will assure the City will be charged the lowest interest rate for those bonds. It will not be known for sure how much the City will save until after the closing of the upcoming sale June 6, Bawa told the City Council Monday. Shields, Tarter and Bawa were all on hand to break the good news to the Council. Next year, the City intends to issue additional debt for the construction of a new George Mason High School, and for the renovation and expansion of the Mary
The six teams that submitted formal bids to the City of Falls Church in response to its initial “request for conceptual proposals” for the development of 10 acres of the West End high school and middle school site turned in over 400 pages of visions, concepts, projections and prospective financing approaches, which the general public got to see for the first time Tuesday. The City posted all of the bids, except for any proprietary financial or related components, to its website Tuesday, two weeks after the deadline for submissions and just days after the City’s new evaluation committee was given a first crack at them in an intense meeting where it was tasked with doing some heavy lifting to judge and rank the proposals and come up with a recommendation for downsizing the six to half that number, or less, by the end of this month. While it was not expected this first round of bids would include too much detail on development specifics, there were references to making it a “special place,” with town squares, hotels, swimming pools and a lot of retail and housing, including restaurants, Class A office and education-related developments, senior and workforce (i.e. affordable) housing, and some spoke specifically about working to engage neighbors to the site in collaborative endeavors, specifically the adjacent University of Virginia/Virginia Tech graduate center site. According to a City statement that accompanied the unveiling of all the bids Tuesday, “An evalu-
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Last fall’s George Mason High School production of “Monty Python’s Spamalot” has received a record number of 10 award nominations by the National Capital Area Critic awards, the Cappies. SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9
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It’s entirely possible that before we see a woman as the American president, we’ll see a woman as the head coach of a team in one of the four men’s major professional sports. SEE PAGE 14
M���� 10-0, U������� A������ �� D������� The Mason High boys soccer team is ready for the playoffs, finishing the regular season undefeated without allowing a goal scored against them in Bull Run District play. 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
SWORN IN AT MONDAY’S Falls Church City Council meeting were high school students who’ve volunteered and were vetted to serve on City boards and commissions in the coming �iscal year. The initiative of the Citizens for a Better City has drawn more and more student volunteers each year since its inception four years ago. (P����: N���-P����)
City of F.C. Scores a Triple Crown With 3 Top Wall Street Ratings
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
Monday, the City of Falls Church learned it’s received a AAA bond rating from Moody’s Investors Service and reaffirmed AAA bond ratings from Fitch Credit Ratings and S&P’s Global Ratings. According to F.C. City Manager Wyatt Shields, these are the highest ratings available and signify, he said, “that all three agencies consider the City to have exceptional credit-worthiness and can meet its financial obligations as it prepares to issue significant new debt, $147 million through
Fiscal Year 2020.” Shields, F.C. Mayor David Tarter and Chief Financial Officer Kiran Bawa traveled to Wall Street to make the City’s case to the three ratings agencies on April 30, in advance of the City’s intent to market a first wave of capital improvement-related bonds totaling $24.2 million on May 25, with a closing on June 6. They, and the good order of the City’s fiscal house, obviously made a very good impression. So, the bond ratings will apply to that sale to fund the City Hall Public Safety Project, design for the High School Campus Project,