Jun e 2 - 8 , 2 0 1 6
Fa lls Chur c h, V i r g i ni a • ww w. fc np. c om • Fr ee
Fou n d ed 1991 • Vol. X X V I No. 15
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week
Thousands Attend F.C. Memorial Day Festival It was another memorable Falls Church Memorial Day as thousands attended the City’s annual parade and festival this past Monday.
Tolls Coming on I-66 Will Go to Ease Area Congestion, F.C. Chamber Told City of F.C. Will Get Funds to Help With Bike Sharing
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
See photos, pages 18-19
Fresh Market Out at Tinner Hill Project?
A City of Falls Church spokesperson confirmed the existence of “unconfirmed reports” of a change in the long-standing plans for Fresh Market to open a store in the mixed-use project now under construction on S. Maple St. See News Briefs, page 9
David Brooks: Big & Little Loves
The distinction between the beautiful and the sublime is the distinction between the intimate and the transcendent. This sort of distinction doesn’t just happen in aesthetics but in life in general. See page 12
Press Pass with The Record Company
The Record Company have been touring nearly nonstop since releasing their debut album Give It Back to You in February. See page 22
Index
Editorial..................6 Letters..............6, 30 News & Notes.12-13 Comment......... 14-17 Calendar.........20-21 Food & Dining......23
Sports..................24 Business News....26 Classified Ads .....28 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword...........29 Critter Corner.......30
MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY surrounding J.E.B. Stuart High School talk about the pros and cons of changing the name of the school in one of the breakout sessions during the Fairfax County School Board’s community meeting about the issue. (Photo: Drew Costley/News-Press)
Opposition to J.E.B. Stuart Name Change Gains Steam
by Drew Costley
Falls Church News-Press
Opposition to the effort to change the name of J.E.B. Stuart High School is growing and organizing, as was evident at a recent community meeting held about the issue at the high school on Monday, May 23. The community meeting, paired with a survey from the Fairfax County School Board to gauge public opinion on the possibility of changing the school’s name, is the beginning of the school board’s public engagement process about the name change.
At the meeting, which was hosted by school board vice chair and Mason District representative Sandy Evans in tandem with the Fairfax County Public Schools, community members gathered around large sheets of paper to discuss the pros and cons of a name change as a designated recorder wrote down the group’s thoughts. Some of the group discussions were heated because they featured members of the community on opposite sides of the issue, while others were more calm because the majority of the group agreed on the issue one way or the other.
There were few exchanges observed during the breakout session part of the meeting that were both contentious and calm, setting the stage for what could be a messy battle in the community and at the school, which was named after a general in the Confederate Army during America’s Civil War. The push for the name change began in 2015 when five students at the school – Anna Rowan, Lidia Amanuel, Cassie Marcotty, Abby Conde and Marley Finley – started organizing and lobbying for
Continued on Page 10
The City of Falls Church will benefit from revenues generated by the planned introduction of tolls on Interstate 66 next year in the form of $854,000 for the installation and operation of bike sharing, a planner for the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission told the monthly luncheon of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce last week. Dan Goldfarb, a veteran 24-year planner and program manager with the NVTC, assured the audience of local business owners and leaders that the toll program, which will be introduced during peak hours in each direction on I-66 about a year from now, will benefit a wide range of regional projects in addition to the one slated for Falls Church, with the longterm overall effect of “benefiting the toll payer” by moving more people and reducing congestion. Among the major goals of the programs that will receive toll revenues will be “diversion mitigation,” he said, which is a big issue for communities like Falls Church who fear that the tolls will drive people to look for alternatives, such as cut-throughs through the residential neighborhoods of Falls Church. The toll program will be an advantage for those seeking to use I-66 during peak hours when now they are faced with “High Occupancy Vehicle” (HOV-2) restrictions. Anyone will be eligible to ride on the interstate who can pay the toll, even as a solo driver, he said. On the other hand, for the non-toll use of the road, the minimum of two passengers will be upped to three by 2020.
Continued on Page 5