June 28 - July 4, 2012
Falls Church, Vi r g i n i a • w w w . fc n p . c o m • Free
Founded 1991 • Vo l . XXII N o . 18
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week Hilton Groundbreaking Imminent, City Says The long-awaited Hilton Garden Inn development in downtown Falls Church took a big step forward, according to the latest report from the City’s Economic Development Office. See News Briefs, page 9
100 Attend S. Washington Meeting Saturday
Hillwood Ave. Standoff Ends After 29 Hours With Arrest & No Injuries Regional Police
Units Hailed for Safe Outcome
by Nicholas F. Benton
According to Falls Church City Manager Wyatt Shields, over 100 citizens attended a meeting last Saturday morning to kick off the process to define the second of a series of “small area plans” for the redevelopment of the City of Falls Church in its commerciallyzoned corridors.
Falls Church News-Press
Council meeting will begin at 8 p.m. The convening of the new Council will be done by the City Clerk, Kathleen Clarken Buschow, in Council chambers Monday, July 2, at 8 p.m. Her duties then will be to swear in the new Council members – Duncan and Tarter, elected last month (and incumbent Mayor Baroukh, who was re-elected to a second term) – then call the roll, to open the meeting to nominations for mayor and conduct that vote.
Late yesterday afternoon, City of Falls Church officials issued a statement formally identifying the subject of the 29-hour standoff on Hillwood Avenue with regional police units as James Vincent Rackowski, 57, whose family resides at the address. They reported that Rackowski had doused himself with gasoline, brandished a gun to police and threatened to burn down the house. Early in the standoff, he fired three gunshots with no injuries. Felled by a TASER gun when he came down the stairs Tuesday night, he was apprehended and will be charged with discharging a firearm within a building. The incident, which began at 4 p.m. Monday and was resolved with Rackowski’s arrest at 9 p.m. Tuesday, caused a major disruption in areas surrounding the usually docile, upscale Hillwood Avenue neighborhood. The treelined Hillwood was cordoned off for almost its entire length, as were side feeder streets, and Fairfax and Alexendria SWAT and other units joined Falls Church police to fill the street with large mobile vehicles. Residents inside the police perimeter were told to remain in their homes, and movement to and from the homes was curtailed. Rush hour traffic customarily moving through the neighborhood, located near the Seven Corners intersection of Routes 50, 29 and 7, was severely stifled both Monday and Tuesday. Hillwood Avenue is commonly used by motorists as a connector between Routes 50 and
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See News Briefs, page 9
David Brooks: Power of the Particular
They say you’ve never really seen a Bruce Springsteen concert until you’ve seen one in Europe, so some friends and I threw financial sanity to the winds and went to follow him around Spain and France. See page 12
Whalberg Stars in ‘Ted’ The funniest movie character so far this year is a stuffed teddy bear. And the best comedy screenplay so far is “Ted,” the saga of the bear’s friendship with a 35-yearold man-child. See Ebert, page 23
FALLS CHURCH POLICE Officer Dmitri Issaev stands watch at the police line cordoning off Hillwood Avenue in F.C. while public safety units from Falls Church, Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria piled into the area to deal with a standoff that began as Monday afternoon’s rush hour began. (Photo: News-Press)
Swearing in Monday Will Lead to New Council Vote for F.C. Mayor by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Index
Editorial..................6 Letters................6, 8 News & Notes.10-11 Comment........12-15 Calendar.........20-21 Restaurant Spotlight ............................22
Press Pass..........25 Classified Ads . ...26 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword...........29 Critter Corner.......30 Business Listing..31
How much Monday’s transitions on the Falls Church City Council will or won’t change things in the Little City has been a matter of considerable speculation in recent weeks, and devoted City Hall watchers will be parsing all the votes and public remarks that the new Council will provide this coming Monday night. That’s when the new Council will be officially sworn in for what will be the shortest terms in City
history. With Council elections moving from May to November as of 2013, the new Council members’ terms will be shortened from two years to 18 months, while existing Council members will find their full four-year terms ending six months short, as well. Following a public reception for new Council members Phil Duncan and Dave Tarter (and including the re-elected incumbent Mayor Nader Baroukh) held at the Art Center of the Community Center adjacent City Hall beginning at 6:45 p.m., the special