July 12 — 18, 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. 21
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With a slew of new categories, the 2018 Best of Falls Church contest is back. Nominations are now being accepted for the best places to eat, drink, shop and more in and around The Little City. Cast your ballot today. SEE PAGE 9
F.C. Chamber Reiterates Support for Founder’s Row With New Changes Unanimous Vote A L����� C��� 4�� Again Cites Better Revenue Impacts
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
ing for fellow Democrats in the upcoming critical midterm elections, and based on her formula for her unexpected success last year, has a lot to say about her party’s pathway to its hoped-for takeover of the U.S. Congress this fall. It is less a matter of ideology than hard work, she said in an interview with the News-Press,
The Falls Church Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors reiterated its unanimous support for Mill Creek’s 4.3 acre Founder’s Row project with a vote at its monthly meeting this Tuesday morning. The board gave an earlier show of unanimous support in November 2015, before Mill Creek modified its plan this spring requiring another approval by the F.C. City Council. While the City Council OK’d forwarding the changes to the City’s boards and commissions in May, two non-City advisory groups, the Chamber of Commerce and the Village Preservation and Improvement Society (VPIS) were due to weigh in this week before a public hearing before the City’s Planning Commission this coming Monday, July 16. Other City advisory bodies, such as the Recreation and Parks Advisory Board and the Architectural Advisory Board, also were due to meet this week, and while the architectural group was slated to meet last night (after the News-Press’s press time), the recreation group voted unanimously to endorse the project with its changes. The changes involve substituting for a hotel a 72-unit activeadult, age qualified (55 years and up) apartment building, a “spray fountain” public water feature and a modified estimate of projected tax revenues to the City from the project, which is up significantly over the earlier City Economic Development Office estimate.
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The results of the Housing and Human Services Department survey will be incorporated into the City of Falls Church’s Comprehensive Plan and the new Affordable Living Policy. SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 8
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Brett Kavanaugh is the product of a community. He is the product of a conservative legal infrastructure that develops ideas, recruits talent, links rising stars, nurtures genius, molds and launches judicial nominees. SEE PAGE 14
F.C.-M�L��� C�������’� C����� T���� 50
Fifty years ago, a group of passionate individuals dedicated their lives to changing the landscape of early childhood education. SEE PAGE 17
INDEX
Editorial.................6 Letters...................6 News & Notes10–11 Comment ........ 12-14 Business News ...15
Calendar .......18–19 Classified Ads .....20 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ..........21 Critter Corner......22
HIGH ABOVE THE FOOTBALL FIELD at George Mason High School, the City of Falls Church’s annual Independence Day fireworks show went off without a hitch last Thursday, while closer to the ground there were food trucks, live music, ice cream, popcorn and more. (P����: C��� �� F���� C�����)
Northern Virginia’s Danica Roem Leading Democrats by Example BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
By now, anyone with any knowledge of politics knows about Danica Roem. She is the first transgender person elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in history, and that accomplishment still less than a year ago turned her into a national celebrity virtually overnight. The 30-something hails from Manassas in a district not far
from Falls Church that includes a high school in the same Bull Run District as Falls Church’s George Mason High. She herself attended nearby Paul VI and made the cover of Time magazine this past year. Having been elected in a huge upset and completing her first year as a delegate in Richmond, navigating between a spate of national TV and speaking appearances that continue, she’s now campaign-