June 21 – 27, 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. 18
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I����� T��� W��� A�������� A������� B����� N�� B��� �� F.C. Audacious Aleworks, the 12-tap microbrewery from Brian Reinoehl and Mike Frizzell, brings Falls Church beer lovers yet another destination to wet their whistle. SEE PAGE 15
F.C. G��� $15.7M F�� N�� R��� P���
The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority awarded $15.7 million in grant funding for the West Falls Church Transportation Project, including four new traffic signals and crosswalks, widening existing sidewalks, relocating and undergrounding utilities and installing lighting and trees along Haycock Road and Route 7.
With $ from I-66 Tolls, 3T Bus Service Will Be Restored in Downtown F.C. Route Was Cut 2 U���� C����������� Years Ago, But Big Push Got It Back
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
form of an op-ed in yesterday’s USA Today and Beyer’s statement came following a dramatic visit he made Tuesday with a Maryland colleague to an immigration detention facility in Maryland’s Anne Arundel County where the family separation policy is in effect. While President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday reversing his stand on the policy,
A meeting and vote much anticipated by City of Falls Church officials held in Richmond yesterday of Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board delivered the hoped-for result. A major Metro bus line through the heart of the City, the 3T, was voted to be restored using funds from the new tolls on I-66, and will be back in service by January 2019. The Washington Metro Area Transportation Authority (WMATA) had cut off the service in the summer of 2016 in a cost-saving gesture, despite major objections from City residents who relied on it for their commutes to work. Citizens showed up to protest the cancellation at City Council meetings, and were told that City officials would file official objections with WMATA and the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission. Yesterday’s vote in Richmond approved a total of $12 million for 15 projects around the region to benefit commuters. According to the NVTC, the projects “will move another 2,000 people through the I-66 corridor during rush hour and save 120,000 hours of travel delay each year.” Falls Church City Councilman David Snyder, the City’s representative to the NVTC and other regional transit-related groups, hailed the result, telling the NewsPress today, “It was a strong effort by Falls Church City staff in response to a City Council priority. This is a great example of regional cooperation to use I-66 money for appropriate purposes.”
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SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9
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Why don’t we call the terrified children whose incarceration is riveting the country what they are at this point? Not migrants. Not detainees. They’re hostages. SEE PAGE 14
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The Falls Church music scene continues to expand with Little City resident and pianist James Fernando dropping his debut album late last month. SEE PAGE 20
THE FALLS CHURCH CITY HALL renovation is well underway, and here’s a glimpse of the progress viewed from its backside. The project is on schedule to be completed by December, so the long suffering City staff working out of 400 N. Washington can see an end in sight. (P����: G��� M�����)
Northam Leads Governors in Action Vs. Family Separations
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
INDEX
Editorial.................6 Letters.............6, 22 Business News .....8 News & Notes10–11 Comment ........ 12-14
Calendar .......18–19 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ..........21 Critter Corner......22 Classified Ads .....23
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam took a lead nationally Tuesday in ordering the recall of four Virginia National Guard soldiers and one helicopter from the U.S. southwestern border in response to the Trump administration’s enforcement of a “zero tolerance” policy that separates immigrant children from their families.
Maryland’s Republican governor Larry Hogan followed suit, along with at least one more Republican governor and a handful of other Democrats besides Northam. Strong statements denouncing the policy have come from both Virginia U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, and from U.S. Rep. Donald S. Beyer, Jr., who represents the 8th District of Virginia that includes the City of Falls Church. Kaine’s came in the