May 31 – June 6, 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. 15
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City of Falls Church resident Kevin Ruby drowned Sunday while competing in a swim race at Lake Audobon in Reston, officials report. SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9
W���� A�������� E������� S����� F������� Falls Church police are on the hunt for a man, they say, who groped a woman after following her into The Kensington senior living residence in Falls Church last Sunday night.
As F.C.’s Biggest Borrowing Ever Gets Underway, It Scores a Low 3.09% Rate First of 3 Annual P����� C���� Bond Sales is a Good Deal for City
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
a phone interview yesterday that plans are moving ahead, following the successful sale of $8.3 million in municipal bonds at a very favorable interest rate on the bond market last week (see story, right), with the immediate objective being the hiring of a “construction manager at risk” (CMR) for the project by August, subject to the approval of the library board and Falls Church City Council.
The biggest municipal bond sale, by far, in the history of the City of Falls Church to fund a new high school and improvements at City Hall and the library got underway last week, and the results in terms of their cost did not disappoint. All eyes — at least those of City Manager Wyatt Shields, Chief Financial Officer Kiran Bawa and consultants from the Davenport Company — in the less-than-luxury executive suites at Falls Church’s temporary City Hall digs on N. Washington Street were focused on a website where the news came through of the top bidder on $23.45 million in City of Falls Church municipal bonds that went up for sale late last week. The sale will be followed by one for $73 million next year, and $53 million the year after that for a total of $149.45 million. Given the City’s new “tripletriple A” rating from all three Wall Street bond rating agencies announced earlier this month, the high expectations for a good deal at the City’s first of three bond sales came out quite well. Indeed, a robust number of 10 bids were received, and the Falls Church team chose to go with Citi, the low bidder at a 3.09 percent “true” interest rate. The closing on the deal will come soon and hence the City’s ambitious capital improvement efforts will proceed apace, even if some initial estimates are that costs for the Mary Riley Styles library renovation will come in higher than expected (see story, left).
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SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9
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The older establishment won World War II and built the American Century. We, on the other hand, led to Donald Trump. The chief accomplishment of the current educated elite is that it has produced a bipartisan revolt against itself. SEE PAGE 19
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As they enter the heart of the postseason, George Mason High School’s girls soccer team appears stronger with each game, moving past East Rockingham in the Regional opener and Clarke County in the Bull Run championship. SEE SPORTS, PAGE 22
DELIGHTED YOUNGSTERS cheer the parade entrants at Falls Church’s annual Memorial Day Parade and Festival on Monday. Cool temperatures and no rain made it a delightful atmosphere for the annual event that drew over 12,000, according to City of F.C. estimates. See photos, pages 12-13. (P����: G��� M�����)
Library Board Hears News of Higher Than Expected Renovation Estimates
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
INDEX Editorial.................6 Letters...................6 News & Notes10–11 Comment ........ 19-21 Sports .................22 Business News ...25
Calendar ......26–27 Classified Ads .....28 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ..........29 Critter Corner......30
Despite reportedly daunting news that came to the Mary Riley Styles Public Library board of trustees last week, library director Jenny Carroll issued a bright statement yesterday that “we are moving forward and excited for a better and brighter” renovated facility. What concerned the library board last week, board member Brad Gernand told the News-
Press, was “new construction cost estimates suggesting we will be over $2 million short of accomplishing our objective.” Gernand reported, “Twelve months ago a cost estimate suggested we would be $400,000 shy, and we were thinking toward ways of downsizing our modest ambitions, likely through changes to the proposed interior. During the past year, however, local costs for labor and materials have skyrocketed.” Carroll told the News-Press in