May 21 – 27, 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 NO. 14
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84 F.C. Small Businesses Win $2,000 EDA Micro Grants Ordered Closed Due to Covid-19 Pandemic, Local Establishments Awarded Vital Help
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
No less than 84 qualified small businesses in the City of Falls Church will receive $2,000 checks from the City’s Economic Development Authority shortly, it
was announced yesterday. The swiftly-organized EDA Small Business Micro Grant program, originally set up just two weeks ago to provide up to 50 local businesses with the special aid in the face of the Covid19 pandemic, wound up being
F.C. City Gets Modest Federal Help For Rent Relief Programs BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
Some modest resources have been added to the arsenal of the City of Falls Church’s efforts to assist residents suffering from the economic effects of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, the F.C. City Council learned at its online work session Monday night. Dana Lewis of the City’s Housing and Human Development department reported that $39,095 in federal CARES Act funding has come to the City to buoy its emergency rent assistance program where, so far, 14 requests for help have been received. Lewis noted the requests came without any announcements about the availability of the program, and expects that with notoriety there will be more.
The program is set up to provide $700 a month of rent assistance for up to three months. “We expect our existing funds to run out quickly,” Lewis said, even with the added CARES Act money augmenting the only $6,000 the City usually has set aside for the purpose. She said the program is being expanded to include anyone earning up to 80 percent of the region’s average median income (AMI), and that most of those who’ve stepped forward to date are laid off restaurant workers. Lewis said she expects that soon, when the current funds run out, there will be a waiting list in hopes the City can come up with more funds to help, even as the City faces the pressure to make unprecedented cuts in its operating budgets for the current year requiring an
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extended to cover the larger number when applications as of last Friday night ballooned to 84. All the businesses met the simple guidelines, having revenues of between $50,000 and $500,000 annually. “I am proud of the swift action
of the EDA members and the many staff at City Hall who made this grant program possible,” local developer Bob Young, who is the EDA chair, told the News-Press. “All worked overtime and quickly to make this program happen swiftly and efficiently,” he
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added, explaining that “as authorized by the EDA members when the program was approved, a committee was formed to extend the program to a maximum of $250,000. The committee decided
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THE FELLOWS PROPERTY sitting across from Thomas Jefferson Elementary School on South Oak Street was torn down this past week. It’s a major step in a process that was started back in 2005 by the City of Falls Church, which plans to use the nearly two acres the site provides for use of either a new park or an extension of the elementary school. (P����: G��� M�����)
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SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9
SEE STORY, PAGE 8
The Virginia Department of Health has expanded the efforts of the local health districts to increase the capacity of Covid-19 testing. This week, there will be over 25 drive-thru and walk-up events coordinated by the Department of Health with a capacity of 14,000 tests.
Unfortunately, the 39th celebration of the City of Falls Church’s annual Memorial Day Parade — it’s largest event on the calendar — will have to wait until 2021 as this year’s parade has been canceled due to the continued spread of the novel coronavirus.
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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, 15 News & Notes............................10–11 Comment ............................... 7,12–13 Calendar ........................................... 14 Business News ................................. 15 Crime Report .................................... 18 Classified Ads ................................... 16 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ......... 17 Critter Corner.................................... 18
