June 8 – 14, 2017
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 I No. 16
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week School Board Mulls Hunter Kimble Case
The Falls Church School Board met for two and a half hours in a closed session Tuesday to deliberate on the case of veteran 23-year school system employee, Assistant Superintendent Hunter Kimble, who has been on administrative leave since May 2. See News Briefs, page 8
GMHS Alum on Ballot In Richmond Tuesday A wave of Democratic party hopefuls have sprouted up across all levels of government, including Richmond’s Virginia 70th district primary candidate and 1996 George Mason High School graduate Alex Mejias.
Public Event Saturday to Lay Out High School Development Options 10 in a Row
But Economic Offset Plan for Pricey Ask Not Yet Available
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
cel, has been repositioned away from Lawton Street to its rear and will include a $3.5 million contribution for the establishment of a permanent home for the regionally acclaimed Creative Cauldron arts and education non-profit. The plan would also proposed to provide Falls Church with its
As deadlines are looming large now for placing a school bond referendum on this November’s ballot, the Falls Church City Council and School Board will host a public forum about where plans currently stand for the future of George Mason High School this coming Saturday morning at 9 a.m. in the cafetorium of the Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School that shares the site with the high school. A “first reading” of language for a November referendum should be advanced by the Council on June 26, City Manager Wyatt Shields suggested, with the need for its final form by July 24 to meet the timeline to get on the November ballot. The clock is ticking. The presentation of three preferred school development options – two for an all new school and one for a renovation of the existing school with new wings – will be featured this Saturday. It is a presentation the consultant team of Perkins Eastman has already made twice, once to the School Board, which winnowed down a larger set of options to the three, and at the joint meeting of the School Board and Council last Monday night. Still, Saturday’s forum will not include information on what a different consulting team is devising for optimizing the economic yield from the property, up to 10 acres that can be used for dense economic development to offset the cost of the new school. That information, now being put together by the consulting team of Alvarez and Marcal, will be vital for establishing what the monetary ask will
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See page 11
Frank Bruni: Donald Trump is Never to Blame
Poor Donald Trump, so late to the lesson that so many plutocrats before him learned: You can’t find good help. See page 16
Press Pass: Mud Morganfield
In preparation for the Tinner Hill Blues Festival set to take place in Falls Church this weekend, Larry “Mud” Morganfield, son of blues legend Muddy Waters, shared some of his time with the NewsPress to enlighten us about the way of the blues. See page 25
GEORGE MASON HIGH SCHOOL’S GIRLS soccer team captured its 10th consecutive regional title last Friday, topping Stuarts Draft, 4-2. The Mustangs will now travel to Radford where they’ll look to bring home their 10th straight Virginia state championship this weekend. (Photo: Carol Sly)
4th Version Lowers, Recedes Broad-Washington Proposal by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Index
Editorial..................6 Letters..............6, 10 News & Notes.12–13 Comment........ 14–17 Calendar........20–21
Food & Dining......23 Classified Ads......28 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword...........29 Critter Corner.......30
There is not a Whole Foods Market in this plan, but there are a lot of amenities to make it pedestrian- and arts-friendly for downtown Falls Church. On Monday night, the Falls Church-based Insight Property Group presented its latest plan
to the Falls Church City Council for their proposed massive, 2.68 acre redevelopment of the property encompassing the Robertson Building and Applebee’s at the northeast corner of N. Washington and E. Broad. The new plan, which requires Council approval for two special exceptions for height and residential in a commercially zoned par-