Falls Church News-Press 7-15-2021

July 15 – 21, 2021

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. XXXI NO. 22

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Fairfax Vote Allows For Development At Metro Site

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Main Road in West End Project Now Likely

BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

In what could turn into the most consequential move ever for the 2.2-square mile City of Falls Church and its immediate environs, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Tuesday night gave a unanimous approval to a change in the county’s comprehensive plan that will permit substantial new development at the West Falls Church Metro station.

The much-anticipated vote opens the door for WMATA to collaborate with Virginia Tech and the City of Falls Church for a seamless development of over 40 acres at the site which could result in one of the biggest regional developments in Northern Virginia.

Being adjacent the currently underutilized West Falls Church Metro rail station, the grand plan, in the planning stages for a half-dozen years has been met with favor by “smart growth” and environmental advocates for advancing a huge tran-

Continued on Page 5

THAT BIBLICAL SAYING might have been on the mind of new Falls Church Episcopal rector, Father Burl Salmon, as he experienced both ends of the dunk tank during the church’s mid-summer party last weekend. The party was a chance for parishioners to meet Salmon (after he dried off, of course). (P�����: C������� M�� G������� — @M��GP����)

Congressman Beyer Talks Nuclear Fusion Energy at Town Hall

BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

“You heard it here first,” quipped U.S. Rep. Donald S. Beyer Jr., who represents the 8th District of Virginia that includes the City of Falls Church. In a telephone town

hall with constituents Monday that covered an amazingly wide range of topics over the course of just an hour, Beyer’s breaking news exclamation was in the context of calling attention to the potential of nuclear fusion energy, something he began talking about in a press statement

this spring.

He brought it up in response to the subject of the challenges presented by global climate change, and he took some time to explain to the hundreds of constituents that were on the call. “Fusion is becoming feasible,” he said, noting the

process of generating energy is the same as that which fuels our sun, that is, of gravity, or some powerful pressure, squeezing elements of hydrogen together.

He said that there are 23 com-

Continued on Page 4

I����� T��� W��� H��� H��� P����� � A F�����’� ������� �� R��� E����� G���� The Summer Real Estate Guide tackles the remedies for soaring home prices, and also covers how a family’s decision to rebuild their own after a fire burned it down in February 2020.

SEE REAL ESTATE, PAGE 11

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SEE STORY, PAGE 3

SEE STORY, PAGE 23

Outdoors enthusiasts in the Washington, D.C. metro area often head west toward Shenandoah National Park whenever they need a quick escape from the city. Falls Church design and build firm GreenSpur, Inc. is looking to help them find the right spot.

Like the taste of country biscuits lathered with huge dollops of butter, Patsy Cline’s voice and songs are a taste of a sumptuous concert in Cherry Hill Park, the scene of Creative Cauldron’s newest show which runs through this weekend (pending rain).

INDEX

Editorial............................................... 6 Letters................................................. 6 Comment ...................................7,9,10 Crime Report .................................... 10 Calendar .....................................16-17 News & Notes................................... 19 Classified Ads ................................... 20 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ......... 21 Critter Corner.................................... 22 Business News ................................. 23

PAGE 2 | JULY 15 – 21, 2021

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC OF AN APPLICATION BY VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY D/B/A DOMINION ENERGY VIRGINIA FOR APPROVAL OF A RATE ADJUSTMENT CLAUSE: RIDER B, BIOMASS CONVERSIONS OF THE ALTAVISTA, HOPEWELL, AND SOUTHAMPTON POWER STATIONS FOR THE RATE YEAR COMMENCING APRIL 1, 2022 •Virginia Electric and Power Company d/b/a Dominion Energy Virginia (“Dominion”) has applied for approval to revise its rate adjustment clause, Rider B. •In this proceeding, Dominion has asked the State Corporation Commission (“Commission”) to approve Rider B for the rate year beginning April 1, 2022, and ending March 31, 2023 (“2022 Rate Year”).

•For the 2022 Rate Year, Dominion requests a revenue requirement of $15.5 million, which would decrease the bill of a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month by $0.15.

•A Hearing Examiner appointed by the Commission will hold a telephonic hearing in this case on November 17, 2021, at 10 a.m., for the receipt of public witness testimony.

•An evidentiary hearing will be held on November 18, 2021, at 10 a.m., either in the Commission’s second floor courtroom located in the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, or by electronic means. Further details on this hearing will be provided by subsequent Commission Order or Hearing Examiner’s Ruling.

•Further information about this case is available on the SCC website at: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information.

On June 8, 2021, Virginia Electric and Power Company (“Dominion” or “Company”) filed with the State Corporation Commission (“Commission”) an annual update of the Company’s rate adjustment clause, Rider B (“Application”) pursuant to § 56-585.1 A 6 of the Code of Virginia (“Code”). Through its Application, the Company seeks to recover costs associated with the major unit conversions of the Altavista, Hopewell, and Southampton Power Stations from coal-burning generation facilities into renewable biomass generation facilities (collectively, the “Biomass Conversion Projects” or “Conversions”).

In Case No. PUE-2011-00073, the Commission approved the proposed Conversions as major unit modifications under Code § 56-585.1 A 6 and reissued amended certificates of public convenience and necessity for the Altavista, Hopewell, and Southampton Power Stations (the “CPCN Order”). The CPCN Order also authorizes Dominion to recover costs associated with the construction of the Biomass Conversion Projects. All three Biomass Conversion Projects became operational in 2013.

In this proceeding, Dominion has asked the Commission to approve Rider B for the rate year beginning April 1, 2022, and ending March 31, 2023 (“2022 Rate Year”). The two components of the proposed total revenue requirement for the 2022 Rate Year are the Projected Cost Recovery Factor and the Actual Cost True-Up Factor. The Company is requesting a combined Projected Cost Recovery Factor revenue requirement of $18,965,000 and a combined Actual Cost True Up Factor revenue requirement of ($3,466,000). Thus, the Company is requesting a total revenue requirement of $15,500,000 for service rendered during the 2022 Rate Year.

For purposes of calculating the revenue requirement in this case, Dominion utilized a rate of return on common equity of 9.2%, approved by the Commission in Case No. PUR2019-00050.

If the proposed Rider B for the 2022 Rate Year is approved, the impact on customer bills would depend on the customer’s rate schedule and usage. According to Dominion, implementation of its proposed Rider B on April 1, 2022, would decrease the bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month by approximately $0.15.

The Company indicates it has calculated the proposed Rider B rates in accordance with the same methodology as used for rates approved by the Commission in the most recent Rider B proceeding, Case No. PUR-2020-00099.

This Application is one of six filings Dominion made on or about June 8, 2021, for recovery of funds related to capital projects. If the revenue requirements in these filings are approved as proposed, the cumulative impact would be a monthly increase of approximately $0.41 for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month.

Interested persons are encouraged to review Dominion’s Application and supporting documents in full for details about these and other proposals.

TAKE NOTICE that the Commission may apportion revenues among customer classes and/or design rates in a manner differing from that shown in the Application and supporting documents and thus may adopt rates that differ from those appearing in the Company’s Application and supporting documents.

The Commission entered an Order for Notice and Hearing that, among other things, scheduled public hearings on Dominion’s Application. On November 17, 2021, at 10 a.m., a Hearing Examiner appointed by the Commission will hold a telephonic hearing for the purpose of receiving the testimony of public witnesses, with no public witness present in the Commission’s courtroom. On or before November 12, 2021, any person desiring to offer testimony as a public witness shall provide to the Commission (a) your name, and (b) the telephone number that you wish the Commission to call during the hearing to receive your testimony. This information may be provided to the Commission in three ways: (i) by filling out a form on the Commission’s website at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting; (ii) by completing and emailing the PDF version of this form to SCCInfo@scc.virginia.gov; or (iii) by calling (804) 371-9141. This public witness hearing will be webcast at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting.

On November 18, 2021, at 10 a.m., either in the Commission’s second floor courtroom located in the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, or by electronic means, a Hearing Examiner appointed by the Commission will convene a hearing to receive testimony and evidence offered by the Company, any respondents, and the Commission’s Staff on the Company’s Application. Further details on this hearing will be provided by subsequent Commission Order or Hearing Examiner’s Ruling.

The Commission has taken judicial notice of the ongoing public health emergency related to the spread of the coronavirus, or COVID-19, and the declarations of emergency issued at both the state and federal levels. In accordance therewith, all pleadings, briefs, or other documents required to be served in this matter should be submitted electronically to the extent authorized by 5 VAC 5-20-150, Copies and format, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (“Rules of Practice”). Confidential and Extraordinarily Sensitive Information shall not be submitted electronically and should comply with 5 VAC 5-20-170, Confidential information, of the Rules of Practice. Any person seeking to hand deliver and physically file or submit any pleading or other document shall contact the Clerk’s Office Document Control Center at (804) 371-9838 to arrange the delivery.

Pursuant to 5 VAC 5-20-140, Filing and service, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice, the Commission has directed that service on parties and the Commission’s Staff in this matter shall be accomplished by electronic means. Please refer to the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing for further instructions concerning Confidential or Extraordinarily Sensitive Information.

An electronic copy of the public version of the Company’s Application may be obtained by submitting a written request to counsel for the Company, Lisa R. Crabtree, Esquire, McGuireWoods LLP, Gateway Plaza, 800 East Canal Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, or lcrabtree@mcguirewoods.com.

On or before November 17, 2021, any interested person may file comments on the Application by following the instructions on the Commission’s website: scc.virginia.gov/casecomments/Submit-Public-Comments or by filing such comments with the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission c/o Document Control Center, P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, Virginia 23218-2118. All comments shall refer to Case No. PUR-2021-00111.

On or before September 10, 2021, any person or entity wishing to participate as a respondent in this proceeding may do so by filing a notice of participation with the Clerk of the Commission at the address above or at scc.virginia.gov/clk/efiling. Such notice of participation shall include the email addresses of such parties or their counsel. The respondent simultaneously shall serve a copy of the notice of participation on counsel to the Company. Pursuant to 5 VAC 5 20-80 B, Participation as a respondent, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice, any notice of participation shall set forth: (i) a precise statement of the interest of the respondent; (ii) a statement of the specific action sought to the extent then known; and (iii) the factual and legal basis for the action. Any organization, corporation, or government body participating as a respondent must be represented by counsel as required by 5 VAC 5-20-30, Counsel, of the Rules of Practice. All filings shall refer to Case No. PUR-2021-00111.

On or before October 6, 2021, each respondent may file with the Clerk of the Commission, at the address above or at scc.virginia.gov/clk/efiling, and serve on the Commission’s Staff, the Company, and all other respondents, any testimony and exhibits by which the respondent expects to establish its case, and each witness’s testimony shall include a summary not to exceed one page. In all filings, respondents shall comply with the Commission’s Rules of Practice, including 5 VAC 5-20-140, Filing and service, and 5 VAC 5-20-240, Prepared testimony and exhibits. All filings shall refer to Case No. PUR 2021-00111.

Any documents filed in paper form with the Office of the Clerk of the Commission in this docket may use both sides of the paper. In all other respects, except as modified by the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing, all filings shall comply fully with the requirements of 5 VAC 5-20-150, Copies and format, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice.

The public version of the Company’s Application and other documents filed in this case, the Commission’s Rules of Practice, and the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing may be viewed at: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information.

VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY D/B/A DOMINION ENERGY VIRGINIA

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

JULY 15 – 21, 2021 | PAGE 3

Rural, Private Club is Dream Project for F.C. Architecture Firm

BY BRIAN INDRE

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

Outdoors enthusiasts in the DMV area often head west toward Shenandoah National Park for a quick escape from the city.

Although now that wineries and breweries have become ubiquitous in Northern Virginia, people are also flocking to the countryside to enjoy a beverage and good food with picturesque views. Falls Church design and build firm GreenSpur, Inc. is looking to help them find the right spot.

The firm, which is located on Broad Street, built and designed a getaway on a 50-acre site that sits along the Appalachian Trail in Marshall, Virginia as part of its Lost Whiskey Club. It features a modern farmhouse and amenities to take in the surrounding landscape and showcase their whiskey.

The project took place during the pandemic and was completed last spring.

Mark Turner, the owner and founder of Greenspur, said that he and his team of architects and builders are especially inspired by place and experience.

“We’re always designing and thinking about where you have your dinner, your drinks, your coffee, so we wanted to commoditize the experience of gathering,” said Turner. “We are also bourbon fans, so to us it seemed congruent to use bourbon as the glue that connects people and conversations with outdoor space and great experience.”

He mentioned that the Greenspur team really loves a project that they can do all by themselves because it gives them all the control and room for creativity.

That’s why they chose to build the project up on a mountain to give it an exclusive feel — Turner added that they only do private events and gatherings, with specific requests.

“It is not a walk in off the street club, it’s meant to be a private boutique exclusive experience and by invite only,” he said.

This isn’t an insignificant mountain out in the western part of Virginia either. Lost Whiskey Club looks out on Lost Mountain (where their name originates), which was once purchased by George Washington and was where

Continued on Page 18

A CENTRAL STRUCTURE can be rented out for guests, just be aware that it’s well off the beaten path in Marshall, Virginia. (P����: C������� M��� T�����/G����S���, I��.)

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PAGE 4 | JULY 15 – 21, 2021

Need for New Types of Energy is Key To Address ‘Urgent’ Climate Change

Continued from Page 1

panies in the U.S. that are now working on it, and said he’s creating a bipartisan caucus in Congress to focus on its development.

It will, once the technology is perfected to consistently generate the energy that can fire out of a nuclear fusion reaction, “replace all fossil fuels.”

He even explained how, if something went wrong, the result would only be to have the reaction cease for lack of pressure. Its raw fuel, he said, is sea water.

In fact, the promise of fusion has been around for decades, but seldom held to be practical, at least not for the time being.

But the times are changing, and to have a prominent U.S. lawmaker talking about it now may quietly constitute one of the biggest promises for humanity of our generation.

Still, electric vehicles remain an urgent mandate, with a major switch over from internal combustion engines to electric cars

needed by 2030 or 2035.

“Climate change is very real and urgent,” Beyer said, which has something to do with not holding back on speaking out about the potential of fusion.

“Life has changed” as a result of the pandemic, “and it will be different,” Beyer predicted. Now, he said, a “sensible immigration policy is the only way to keep America strong.”

The labor force that the nation needs to fully recover and prosper will require it, he said.

As for the final U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan, he said the process will be “painful,” and “there is no easy way out.”

Afghanistan, he reminded those on the call, “has been known as a ‘graveyard of empires’ since Alexander the Great, and despite all the aid from the U.S. in the course of a 20-year engagement there, “the Afghanis remain incapable of fielding an effective fighting force.” It is going to be difficult relocating tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers and their

allies to the U.S. He said that, domestically, there needs to be a huge push to win passage of H.R. 1, the socalled “For the People” election reform act that would have the effect of overriding scores of voter suppression bills being passed in Republican controlled state legislatures across the U.S. The 2010 “Citizens United” decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that equated corporations with people was “one of the worst decisions ever, and H.R. 1 is the best shot at reversing that.”

He hailed the child tax credit, which will begin next month to put money into the hands of struggling households, $300 for every child under six and $250 for every child aged six to 17.

However, it will expire at the end of this year, unless it can be extended for five years, or better, permanently.

Rental mortgage assistance is most effective coming from the state, and his office should be contacted for help with it (703-

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

U.S. CONGRESSMAN Don Beyer (C������� P����) 658-5404).

Meanwhile, the IRS is backed up by 32 million returns now, and the Small Business Administration is also way backed up in getting out emergency loans.

On the plus side, he said a cryptocurrency regulation bill is being introduced that may help people from getting sucked into

some serious scams.

While as many as a billion people on the planet have now received at least one vaccination shot against Covid-19, “That means that 6.9 billion have not, and there is a clear concern for mutations of the virus in that context which could render the current vaccines ineffective.”

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LO CA L

JULY 15 – 21, 2021 | PAGE 5

Connectivity of West End to Create Greater Foot, Bike Traffic to Metro

Continued from Page 1

sit-oriented option that will also lead to more Metro rail, bike and pedestrian uses in the area.

Under plans underway for the last five years, the project will be linked to the 10-acre megadevelopment project now beginning to get underway at the site of the former George Mason High School in Falls Church.

That school has now been demolished to make way for the megadevelopment, even as the brand new, state of the art Meridian High School has risen right next door and will welcome a full return of students next month.

The Fairfax Board vote Tuesday impacted two of the three parcels that will be developed in tandem at the site, the first being the 24-acre WMATA parcel that includes the rail station, the 7.5-acre Virginia Tech site that is currently being leased to the university by the City of Falls Church and that the university is committed to buying under the terms of the lease in the near future, and the 9.8-acre City of Falls Church land upon which the recently-demolished high school exists.

THE FAIRFAX BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ approval Tuesday night means there will be a main strip that links the entire West End project to the West Falls Church Metro Station, making it accessible by bike and pedestrians as well as cars. (Photo: News-Press) The three adjacent parcels combined total 41.3 acres that will be tied together by a boulevard running through their middle from Route 7 at Chestnut Street to the Metro rail sta-

tion. The linking road, now known as a “commons,” was originally crafted by the Falls Church Gateway Partners team of EYA, Hoffman and Regency to be the central unifying

feature of the Falls Church 10-acre development.

But from the beginning, it was envisioned being extended through the Virginia Tech and WMATA prop-

erties for a seamless run to the rail station. Tuesday’s vote now indicates that will become a reality.

Meanwhile, the Falls Church City Council was divided in its vote Monday night over granting modifications to the plans for its 10 acres.

The changes have to be with the exit from the project of a partner for development of its senior living component.

Upon a deal with a new partner, Trammel Crow, the feasibility of the project will now require the addition of a new floor on the senior living building and some as-yet to be determined voluntary concessions, such as it pertains to affordable housing.

The still tentative nature of that plan, which calls for adding one floor from 14 to 15 stories and an increase in total square footage from 225,000 to 260,000, caused three members of the F.C. Council to vote against a preliminary approval, leaving it to “yes” votes by Mayor David Tarter, Vice Mayor Marybeth Connelly, David Snyder and Debbie Hiscott to move ahead, while Phil Duncan, Letty Hardi and Ross Litkenhous voted “no,” for a split 4-3 vote approval.

Continued on Page 22

PAGE 6 | JULY 15 – 21, 2021 

One of the Nation’s Foremost Weekly Newspapers

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FOUNDED IN 1991

Vol. XXXI, No. 22 July 15 – 21, 2021 • City of Falls Church ‘Business of the Year’ 1991 & 2001 • • Certified by the Commonwealth of Virginia to Publish Official Legal Notices • • Member, Virginia Press Association •

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WWW.FCNP.COM The Falls Church News-Press is published weekly on Thursdays and is distributed free of charge throughout the City of Falls Church and the Greater Falls Church area. Offices are at 105 N. Virginia Ave.., #310, Falls Church, VA 22046. Reproduction of this publication in whole or part is prohibited except with the written permission of the publisher. ©2021 Benton Communications Inc. The News-Press is printed on recycled paper.

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E D I TO R I A L

We Recall Al Eisele

We pause to recognize the passing at an assisted living facility in Falls Church on June 29 of the highly accomplished journalist, newspaper founder and former vice presidential press secretary Albert Eisele, at age 85. Eisele was a long-time City of Falls Church resident. As one who was clearly born “with printer’s ink his veins,” he often stepped aside from his role as an engaged D.C. insider to bless this Little City and the News-Press with frequent commentaries and letters to the editor over many years, especially since the passing of his wife of 53 years and fellow scribe, the former Moira Conway, in 2016.

In an extensive obituary by Emily Langer published in the July 10 Washington Post, which focused on Eisele as a major player in the D.C. political scene, Eisele was quoted about the role of journalism, saying upon his retirement from The Hill newspaper that he founded, “Journalism is still about people, more than it is about process and policy. In Washington, it is about the interaction about how people vie for power, seek power, misuse power, accumulate power and sometimes lose power and the reluctant letting go of power.”

Eisele was born and raised in rural southwest Minnesota, and there was something about that printer’s ink coursing in his veins that led away from the farm to a different career, as he recounted in his loving memoir about his parents, entitled, “Northern Lights, Southern Nights, A Memoir of Writing Parents.” He worked for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and came to Washington working for the Ridder newspaper chain in 1965. He later served as the press secretary for Vice President Walter Mondale in the late 1970s. In the 1990s he helped start The Hill newspaper which remains a “must read” for everyone on Capitol Hill.

While a fixture at “watering holes” in D.C., Eisele frequently attended events hosted by the News-Press in Falls Church, including at a celebration of the paper’s 1,000th edition a decade ago and at many holiday parties and summer mixers. He also contributed his considerable writing skills, with commentaries about the passing of Mondale’s wife, Joan, and another storied nationally prominent journalist who was a City resident, the late Herb Kaplow, among others.

The family cat, Sasha, was featured as a Critter Corner star and in a letter to the editor published in the News-Press, he chastised his “friend,” our editor, for a commentary in 2016 he felt was a bit too harsh about his Catholic Church. Our editor has said that in 30 years publishing his own newspaper, it was the only time he’d been willing to openly concur with such a criticism.

“One of the things I am proudest of is the fact that we sent so many talented young reporters on to bigger and better things,” Eisele said upon his retirement from The Hill. He is survived by daughters Kitty and Anne.

P������� 1. Keep the news clean and fair.

2. Play no favorites, never mix business and editorial policy.

3. Do not let the news columns reflect editorial comment.

4. Publish the news that is public property without fear or favor of friend or foe.

5. Accept no charity and ask no favors.

6. Give “value received” for every dollar you take in.

7. Make the paper show profit if you can, but above all keep it clean, fearless and fair.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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I’m Campaigning To Strengthen F.C. Schools, Not Wage Culture Wars Editor, Your article about my Wall Street Journal piece takes liberties with my positions, playing fast and loose with events unrelated to my campaign. I strongly support our public schools, teachers, and staff.

Falls Church earned its sterling reputation decades ago; my family wouldn’t have moved here if we thought otherwise.

Nobody’s trying to incite a culture war, either — at least I’m not. There are people who disagree in good faith about naming schools for Thomas Jefferson and George Mason. My concern is that the board chose to push an unpopular and divisive agenda when it should’ve been building public support for safely reopening schools. It should’ve been more accessible, too, especially for families with young kids for whom online learning was such a bad experience.

My criticisms clearly struck a nerve, but there’s a reason no incumbents are running in this fall’s election, just as hundreds of yellow yard signs didn’t burst

from the ground on their own this spring.

Support for our great schools is wide and deep, but it would be folly to deny the erosion in public trust. I was sincere in writing that local engagement is the key to a healthy society. That message resonates universally, which is why a national outlet carried it and why, despite your assertion to the contrary, the response to it has been overwhelmingly positive.

Falls Church students, parents, teachers, and residents deserve a school board that’s accountable, transparent, and responsive. We all also need more diversity of thought; I still find it remarkable that the board unanimously sided with the 26 percent who wanted school renaming after going through the (expensive) motions of a community survey.

As a board member, I will explain our business regularly, both online and in person. I will meet with parents to hear their concerns and convey them to the board and FCCPS administration.

Your voice will be heard.

Moreover, I will forgo ideological agendas and instead bring common sense and independent thinking. Most school board business is mundane, but all of it is important and has a real impact. We can and will do better going forward.

Ilya Shapiro Falls Church

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JULY 15 – 21, 2021 | PAGE 7

Redistricting Commission Is a Chance For Bipartisan Collaboration B� S��� F���������

After more than a decade of work by citizen activists, passage by two sessions of the General Assembly and support from more than 60 percent of the voters last November, Virginia finally has a bipartisan, citizen-led Redistricting Commission, getting ready to redraw the legislative and congressional districts this year.

The road to the commission was not easy. And its 16 members (eight citizens, eight legislators) also faced some unexpected challenges — including delayed Census data — as they began their work.

But now it’s time for the rest of us to start paying closer attention. This week, the commission began holding public hearings, both virtually and in-person. While citizens may submit comments in writing or appear at any hearing, the commission’s in-person hearing for Virginia’s “Northern” region is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Tuesday July 27 at George Mason University. More hearings will be held in September to receive comments on the commission’s proposed maps.

In the commission’s first six months, we have already seen a big improvement over the way redistricting was done in the past.

The first difference is that citizens are actually “in the room,” whether that room is on Zoom or in a Capitol hearing room, now that the pandemic meeting restrictions have been lifted. More than 1,200 Virginians answered the call and applied to serve on the commission. Five retired

Virginia Circuit Court judges selected eight of them from the 62 persons nominated by the General Assembly’s four party leaders.

Second, all commission deliberations have been open. Members — as well as the Division of Legislative Services staff — have been careful about respecting the amendment’s transparency requirements,

“In the commission’s �irst six months, we have already seen a big improvement over the way redistricting was done in the past. “ as well as the Freedom of Information Act. Even when the commission could not meet in person for its first six months, the meetings were all publicized in advance and opened to the public for viewing and to comment. All sessions have also been recorded and made available for later viewing. Summaries have been posted online, as well as all the public comments that the commission has received.

Third, the commission has demonstrated a refreshing commitment to bipartisanship.

Early on, members decided to name cochairs, one citizen from each party, for both

the commission and its subcommittees.

The co-chairs have rotated the leadership of meetings and worked with the DLS staff to shape their agendas. The next test may come July 19; with the resignation of one of the Republican citizen-members, the commission must pick a replacement from a Republican list with the support of at least one Democratic member.

During their deliberations, several citizen members have spoken eloquently about their desire to be part of this “new day” of redistricting in our state. As the commission begins to reach out intentionally to the public, it’s important for its members, both citizens and legislators, to hear several messages loud and clear. These relate to important aspects of the commission’s work that have not yet been resolved: Map-drawing is complicated, and the commission needs to clearly articulate its priorities among the criteria now specified by the Virginia Constitution and other laws.

Those criteria include preserving the voting rights of minorities, drawing districts that are compact and contiguous, and that try to respect jurisdictional boundaries.

In drawing lines, the commission must also resist the impulse to consider where incumbent legislators live. There will inevitably be “winners” and “losers” when maps are proposed. But the commission’s lodestar must be that the interests of citizens must come first — before the needs of legislators to preserve their power.

Citizens must speak up to help the

commission identify their “communities of interest,” a new state statutory requirement.

Northern Virginia is filled with diverse neighborhoods whose voice should not be diluted by ignoring their more informal boundaries and chopping them up. New software tools can help citizens highlight these boundaries for the commission, but even speaking up or writing a letter can make a difference.

Considering the partisan gerrymandering that both parties have done in recent years, it may be best for the commission to “start from scratch” when it draws its maps. It may also be best served by hiring a professional to do the drawing, under the commission’s watchful eye. Members will have only 45 days in which to draw the legislative maps after they receive the final Census data. Enlisting this kind of help will ensure that the legislator-members who are experienced map drawers don’t control the process in an inappropriate way.

Up-to-date details on contacting the commission are available on its website.

Speak up now — or wait another decade!

Sara Fitzgerald has worked on redistricting reform for more than a decade with the League of Women Voters of Virginia and OneVirginia2021. She helps follow the commission’s proceedings for the League at https://lwv-va.org/category/redistrictingalerts/redistrictingblog.

The views expressed are her own.

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NEWS BRIEFS Area Real Estate Deals Reported at 16 Year High “We have to go back 16 years – to 2005 – to find a month with a higher number of closed transactions than we had in June,” said Derrick Swaak, 2021 president of the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors (NVAR) in a statement this week.

Realtors in the NVAR region closed 2,991 sales in June, up 48 percent over the number of closed transactions in June of 2020 and 12 percent above the number of home sales this past May. “Vigorous competition for listings among buyers also resulted in a spike in sales prices,” Swaak said.

The average sold price in the NVAR region was $741,574, up 14.6 percent over last year, bringing the total sold dollar volume in June to almost $2.2 billion, up 65.7 percent over last year’s dollar volume for the same month.

There were 3,610 new listings in June, 37.4 percent above the 2,628 new listings last year and 4.6 percent higher than the 3,452 new listings in May. “While more homes came on the market in June, new listing inventory was gobbled up quickly, as demand continued to overwhelm supply,” said Swaak.

“Homes continued to remain on the market for a very short period of time – just 13 days,” Swaak said.

Fairfax Supervisors Hail News-Press’ 30 Years Tuesday, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors honored the Falls Church News-Press and its founder and publisher Nicholas Benton on the occasion of their 30th anniversary of publication this year with a resolution voted unanimously for that stated the following: “Whereas, since the very beginnings of our nation, newspapers have played an essential role in informing, educating and

uniting communities, and whereas Nicholas Benton published the first edition of the Falls Church NewsPress in 1991 and has published approximately 1,500 consecutive weekly editions since, and whereas Nicholas Benton continues to lead the charge, serving as editorin-chief of the Falls Church NewsPress for the past three decades and whereas the Falls Church News-Press is a vital source of information for Falls Church and Fairfax County residents, and whereas despite the challenges faced by many local newspapers, the service these publications provide and the role they play in the community is more important now than ever, now therefore be it resolved that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, on behalf of all Fairfax County residents, does hereby recognize Nicholas Benton and the Falls Church News-Press for their efforts to serve and inform our community.”

The resolution was signed

by Jeffrey C. McKay, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, and Penelope A. Gross, Supervisor of the Mason District.

Supervisor Gross, who is a long-time weekly contributor to the paper with her informative “Penny for Your Thoughts” column, and other board members made salutary remarks praising the paper’s contributions, including, in addition to Gross, those representing districts immediately adjacent Falls Church, including John Foust of the Dranesville District and Dalia Palchik of the Providence District.

Benton remarked on the recent years’ improved relations and cooperation between Fairfax County and the City of Falls Church.

F.C. Residents Mailed Car Verification Forms Falls Church’s Revenue Commissioner Tom Clinton announced this week that the 2021 Vehicle Verification Forms

were mailed to City of Falls Church residents last week.

The Vehicle Verification Form is what the City has file for residents and businesses regarding street address, number of vehicles to be billed, liability start and end dates, what type of vehicle.

Any changes should be sent in as soon as possible. along with any supporting documentation needed, before the Personal Property tax bills go out in August that will be due by October 5.

3 Fairfax County Stars Headed to Olympics Three residents of Fairfax County will be competing in the Olympic Games in Tokyo later this month.

Andrew Seliskar will be swimming for Team USA and is a 2015 Thomas Jefferson High School graduate. Chioma Onyekwere will be throwing discus for Team Nigeria. She is a 2012 Robinson Secondary School graduate.

Trevor Stewart will be running track for Team USA and is a 2016 South County High School graduate.

New F.C. Restaurant Set For September Opening A new restaurant is set for opening in Falls Church in September, it was announced this week. Harvey’s, the creation of chef-owner Thomas Harvey, will open at 513 W. Broad at the former site of the subsequently relocated Plaka Grille.

The 2,600 square foot restaurant, Harvey’s first, will serve “true American cuisine with daily breakfast, lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. Prepackaged meals and wines and beers to “grab and go” will also be available.

Most recently, Harvey has been the executive chef for the Tuskie’s Restaurant Group of Virginia.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

On Trumpian Death Cults

“Those whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.”

The root, they say, of this Longfellow quote goes back to Sophocles in Ancient Greece: “Evil appears as good in the minds of those whom god leads to destruction.”

Watching coverage of the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Committee) meeting in Dallas this week caused variants of this quote to rise up in the consciousness. There were many fanatics standing up and cheering news that Covid-19 vaccination rates are fallFALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS ing short.

It can get tiresome dwelling on such lunacy. It is a carry forward from what the nation, and the world, had to endure for four years with Trump in the White House.

Just how lunatic this Trump is, as we are being reminded in Michael Wolf’s new book, “Landslide,” may be titillating for those among us who enjoy feeling outraged at all this. But its usefulness is questionable. We spent four years saying many of the same things, feeling outrage and abuse.

I once had a friend who was caught up in patterns of cruel codependency with a partner, and she would go to great lengths to describe the latest spate of offenses and crimes of the partner. It would all come to the point where the only question became, repeatedly, “Well, what are you going to do about it?”

Sadly, that was the point where things drifted off to a mumbling silence or a change of subject.

When it comes to politics, of course, it doesn’t have to end there, and, yes, democracy was saved by an incredible mobilization of the American electorate to blow away all records of voter turnout to defeat Trump last year.

That was an amazing outcome, generally underappreciated.

Once madness gains a foothold in a person, I surmise, it fights furiously to defend itself. Thus, the voter turnout for Trump was also a record, so many people who were impassioned in their dedication to their madness.

What we are witnessing now is an incredible excess, unlike anything most of us have ever encountered. How do you explain the depths to which seemingly rational people are presenting ludicrous arguments and actions?

This includes attorneys going into courts with the most bizarre legal arguments — that get routinely thrown out.

My purpose is not to detail more outrages of this type, but only to spur a serious conversation about remedies. Given what our situation is, what do we do?

Are people doing all this madness just to raise money, seek personal fame or win elections? Are they genuinely deluded? It is seemingly impossible to try to reason with such people.

As one who wrestled with a mind-controlling cult for a time in the 1970s, I ask myself what would have worked to break me out. Even when quietly doubting it all, but unwilling to make that known, I have often pondered what kind of arguments would have worked (obviously, something did).

Recall the accounts of efforts to forcibly liberate persons from cults in that era. There quickly became many legal and other maneuvers developed to prevent “deprogrammers” from carrying out their methods that frequently amounted to kidnapping, which many victims of brainwashing cults furiously resisted.

They were also too much like the ongoing efforts to “de-gay” young people with heavy handed physical and psychological means that many angry and misguided parents continue to pay for.

That approach is not only unproductive, it is also now illegal in many states, as it should be. It simply does not work to resort to impositions of one will over another.

So, then what? This is a seriously troubling proposition.

The answer lies in a better appreciation for what happened in 2020. It was not by changing the minds of any true believers that the amazing electoral victory over Trump was achieved. It was by activating and empowering those who were inclined to do the right thing to begin with.

Forget the Trumpists. Focus on the good people who want what’s right, even if they don’t fully understand what that is.

Put the messaging where it touches the deeper levels of people’s compassionate and emphatic impulses and inform them from that standpoint with what is needed.

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JULY 15 – 21, 2021 | PAGE 9

Nicholas F. Benton

 Nicholas Benton may be emailed at nfbenton@fcnp.com.

Our Man in Arlington

By Charlie Clark

It’s one thing to rename a public entity, another to change people’s habits. Ask the locals who continue to use defunct names like National Airport and Arlington Hospital.

On July 17, the county board is slated to approve changing the near-century-old name of Lee Highway to honor 19th century African-American abolitionist and Congressman John M. Langston.

Robert E. Lee “no longer represents Arlington’s values,” a staff report declared.

When the change takes effect in six-nine months, signs reading “Langston Blvd.” (shortened to save money) will be mounted at 74 intersections and at eight Virginia Transportation Department overhead signs on I-66.

The county’s cost is $300,000, said staff, who stress that the Postal Service will handle address transitions. The future of the Cherrydale stretch known as “Old Lee Highway” will be decided in September; there is disagreement over proposals to simply extend nearby Route 309 Old Dominion Drive (named for the W&OD railway tract).

The long-expected alteration comes in a cultural context of multiple renamings of schools (Cardinal, Innovation) and as the Washington Football Team prepares for its second season without a nickname.

Among average denizens of Lee Highway, I sense mixed reactions.

Early in the name-selection pro-

cess, an ARLNow insta-poll in June 2020 showed 58 percent in favor of a new name, 42 percent against (3,500 responses). The nonprofit Lee Highway Alliance, which convened the 25-member working group that reviewed suggestions, stresses its survey that drew 3,400 responses, 500 messages, 186 suggestions.

It held community meetings and did a mailout to 16,000 affected parties.

“Everyone I talk with is very positive about the name change and feels it is past due,” I was told by alliance board member Sandra Chesrown. Arlington’s Director of Constituent Services Ben Aiken said, “I haven’t heard anyone outright say they were going to protest. With that said, we’re not forcing anyone to update business cards or other marketing material — that decision would ultimately be left to the business.” Street numbers will not change.

New monikers are coming to the county’s Plan Lee Highway program, the alliance and the Lee Community Center (staff there said they don’t yet know which name).

I called around and learned that the Balmoral Condo will order a new sign and alert its residents. Lee Highway Exxon is in wait-and-see mode. Paul Garst, whose home displays a custom metal plaque listing Lee Highway, said he, coming from Chicago, found it “odd” when he moved here in 1995 to a street named for a Confederate. “It will be a pain to change records and registrations,” Garst said, but he plans to order a new plaque for

about $100.

Stronger resistance comes from George Cranwell, a realtor with offices on Old Lee Highway.

“Why should owners of property be forced to go through the expense because of this countyspearheaded effort?” He said thousands of businesses, many run by immigrants “the county is supposed to protect,” will find it a financial burden. And “people not familiar with the corridor, or who have old maps, won’t be able to find Lee Highway.”

Similarly, Alexis Schembri, a title company owner who has had multiple addresses on Lee Highway, will not cooperate.

“When and where will it end?” she asked, bemoaning the “overwhelming undertaking” of altering the mail. “The name ‘Lee’ never bothered anyone in the past,” she said. “Whether Lee was a good guy is irrelevant. It’s history.” *** The Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network (A-SPAN) announced a modernized name to reflect a mission broader than combatting homelessness — PathForward.

From its beginnings in 1992 as a small team doing outreach with bagged meals to street people, the nonprofit, with its own board of directors, has grown to a staff of 36 full-timers, 32 part-timers and 22 seasonal staff working out of the modernized shelter at Courthouse.

To protect, stabilize and transition 1,000 members of a persistently vulnerable population, PathForward chose an umbrella name that — while perhaps vague — better reflects its professionalism and inspirational mission.

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PAGE 10 | JULY 15 – 21, 2021

A Penny for Your Thoughts

News of Greater Falls Church

By Supervisor Penny Gross

With pandemic restrictions eased in many areas, in-person attendance has increased rapidly at many venues. The free summer concerts at Mason District Park, which resumed last week, are drawing larger-than-average crowds, and sit-down restaurants are seating more customers, for inside and outside dining. The hotel industry continues to struggle, as it will take more time for regular business and vacation travel to rebound.

One bright spot for the region, however, was the decision of the National Association of Counties (NACo), which is headquartered in Washington, D.C., to hold a hybrid annual conference at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in neighboring Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Last year’s annual conference was held virtually, with lots of technological glitches, as most local elected officials had not developed a comfort level with virtual meetings.

Last weekend’s conference at the Gaylord, which was planned from start to finish in only about three months instead of the normal three years, drew several hundred local officials in person, with another thousand or so who could attend some of the meetings virtually.

Vice President Kamala Harris, and cabinet members Pete Buttigieg and Marcia Fudge were notable speakers, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi provided an energetic legislative review on Monday to wrap up the last day of the conference.

Holding the conference so close to the Nation’s Capital was a boon for scheduling administration and cabinet speakers — the Gaylord is an easy drive from downtown D.C., and even easier, perhaps, from Fairfax County. No flights, no overnight accommodations needed!

NACo advocates on behalf of more than 3,000 counties across the country, whether very small and rural, or urbanizing with large diverse populations, like Fairfax County.

I represent the county on NACo’s Environment, Energy and Land Use (EELU) Steering Committee,

which met on Friday to deliberate 21 resolutions proposed by committee members.

Coastal commissioners had resolutions to protect coral reefs, address algal blooms, and flood control. Some inland officials were concerned about maintaining their local economies via drilling and fracking. For the past several years, the issue of per-and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water has been debated; this year’s resolution passed unanimously. One of the more interesting debates focused on beach renourishment — taking sand from one location and putting in another.

All sand is not alike — color, texture, and content are huge influencers in what sand to use for replenishment.

“Our” sand versus “their” sand debates are not uncommon in shore communities, and using foreign sand (e.g., the Bahamas) to augment domestic sand (e.g., Florida) for beach replenishment is illegal.

Unlike PFAS and flood control, coral reefs and beach sand may not be the stuff of debate for Fairfax County, but the EELU discussions demonstrate that so many governance issues are very local, and need local solutions, augmented with state and federal resources. The more we look for our differences, the more we find commonalities, and that’s an example for us all, in our personal, professional, and political arenas.

Congratulations to Nick Benton for 30 years of publishing the Falls Church News-Press!

I was delighted to join the entire Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to present Nick with a formal resolution commemorating this significant anniversary of press coverage in Northern Virginia.  Penny Gross is the Mason District Supervisor, in the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She may be emailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov.

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CRIME REPORT Week of July 5 – 11, 2021 Larceny from Building, Lawton St, victim reported an unsecured EZ Roller was taken from a carport on July 3 at 4:09 PM. Suspect described as a male, wearing a white North Face cap and blue jeans Motor Vehicle Theft, Seaton Ln, between 11:30 PM, July 6 and 7:25 AM, July 7, unknown suspect(s) stole a moped which was recovered a short distance away.

Larceny from Motor Vehicle, S Spring St, between 9 PM, July 6 and 9:30 AM, July 7, unknown suspect(s) took items of value from an unsecured vehicle.

Larceny from Motor Vehicle, Robinson Pl, between 8:30 PM, July 6 and 7:30 AM, July 7, unknown suspect(s) took items of value from an unsecured vehicle.

Larceny, Laura Dr, July 7, 4:47 AM, unknown suspect took a child’s black scooter from a driveway. Suspect described as a male wearing all black clothing.

Motor Vehicle Theft, Poplar Dr, between 9 PM, July 6 and 7:34 PM, July 7, unknown suspect(s) stole a motorcycle which was recovered a short distance away.

Larceny from Building, W Rosemary Ln, July 10, between 10 AM and 2 PM, unknown suspect(s) stole a red racing bicycle from an unsecured garage area.

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Delegate Marcus Simon’s

Richmond Report As the Virginia General Assembly prepares to return for a Special Session on August 2nd to appropriate American Rescue Plan funds made available to the Commonwealth, we learned that Virginia will also enter the new fiscal year with a substantial surplus in state revenue.

Some of that excess revenue is required to be put set aside in our rainy day and other reserve funds under the Virginia Constitution, and some of it will be available to spend on non-recurring items in the upcoming year.

The Virginia economy is recovering well from the pandemic as vaccination rates continue to climb. Nevertheless, the recovery is uneven, and we will need these one-time funds to ensure our state social safety net is there for our neighbors who won’t be able to bounce back as quickly or suffered more significant hardships during the pandemic.

Given the generally rosy budget outlook, we probably shouldn’t have been surprised that Virginia maintained its rating as the number one state to do business according to CNBC’s long running state business rankings.

Virginia is the first state to win the title “Top State for Business” twice in a row (CNBC didn’t issue rankings in 2020 because of the pandemic).

Virginia has ranked #1 five times since the rankings began in 2007– more than any other state.

Now, I haven’t always been one to tout Virginia’s ranking for business friendliness as the most important metric for determining the relative success of state government. To the extent these rankings have, historically, rewarded states with low wages, lots of corporate giveaways, anti-worker policies, weak environmental policies, and limited legal options for consumers, you almost want to be suspicious of states that rank too high.

Since the last set of rankings came out, though, Virginia passed the Clean Economy Act, raised the minimum wage, kicked cartitle and payday lenders out of the Commonwealth, gave unions more rights to bargain collectively, passed the Virginia Values Act which includes employee protections from all sorts of discrimination, and made it easier for workers to sue their employ-

ers for things like worker misclassification.

So how are we still #1? Let’s dig in a little behind the numbers.

CNBC’s rankings included 85 distinct metrics across 10 competitiveness categories. Some of them are what you’d probably expect: cost of doing business, infrastructure, workforce, access to capital, cost of living, etc.

This year, though, they added some new criteria to reflect what businesses in 2021 care about.

Earlier this week many of us tuned in to watch Major League Baseball’s Home Run Derby and All Star game live from…Denver, Colorado. Seem like a nonsequitur?

All Star Week was originally scheduled for Atlanta, Georgia this year. The MLB pulled out of Georgia earlier this year when players and other stakeholders protested over Georgia’s passing restrictive voting laws.

In announcing their rankings, CNBC made a point of highlighting Virginia’s education system, which helps us to attract and retain an exceptionally talented workforce, and commitment to equity and inclusion. Clearly that was our number one attribute.

They also noted that companies, like Major League Baseball teams, are increasingly vocal in their demands for inclusiveness in the states where they do business, leading to an increase in the importance of this in CNBC’s 2021 competitiveness study, as well as adding metrics on diversity, sustainability, and connectivity.

So, we were able to stay ahead of other states even in a pandemic not only because of our competitive business climate, but also because of progressive legislation that we’ve enacted over the past few years. We’re the first southern state to enact a Voting Rights Act to expand voting rights and access to the polls as well as the Virginia Values Act that ensures comprehensive anti-discrimination laws protect the LGBTQ+ community.

And we didn’t stop there.

We invested in public education and workforce development so that Virginia businesses can recruit workers in Virginia. Since Governor Northam took office, nearly 90,000 new jobs have been created and we’ve invested over $45 billion.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

R EA L E STATE

SUMMER 2021 | PAGE 11

R��� E����� S����� 2021

Greater Interest Rates & Inventory Only Cure for Surging Home Prices

BY MATT DELANEY

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

Characterizing the national rise in housing prices as a “boom” is starting to feel like an understatement as many parts of the country have witnessed nuclear explosions in listing price.

Interestingly enough, this rise doesn’t seem to be anything precarious akin to the bubble burst that caused the Great Recession nearly 13 years ago. In fact, these values are on much firmer ground, meaning you should expect the lofty price tags to stay until government policies and inventory woes can adjust.

“When we think about housing

inflation, we are actually thinking about the part of the house price that is related to the costs associated with living in a home, such as a place to sleep, eat and entertain.

But the other part of the home is the investment part.” said Michael Neal, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center.

He continued, “What we have found in our work is that the change in the living costs has actually slowed, while we’ve seen a marked acceleration in the investment portion of home prices.”

What Neal is saying is that the rise in home prices will, more or less, persist. That spells trouble for broad-

er concerns about inflation. Politico reported this past weekend that high housing costs could push inflation two percentage points higher and slow the post-pandemic economic recovery.

Looking at the past year’s data for the Northern Virginia market shows how solid home prices have been.

The number of home sales in the region certainly hit rough patches in 2020, according to MLS data from the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors. Both April and May of last year saw 20 percent dips in the area, and in Falls Church, home sales were down both 21 percent (19 total sales in April) and 50 percent (16 total in May) compared to 2019.

STARTER HOMES are being gobbled up quickly by high bidders whenever they do hit the market. It’s made it hard for renters to transition into purchasing their first home. (P����: N���-P����) Yet home prices remained fairly stable. In April of last year, the average price of a home sale in Falls Church was just over $1 million; this April, that number was just under $1 million. And in May of 2020, the average price of a home sale was

around $850,000; a year later, that number would shoot up to $965,000.

The trajectory has continued to point up. For the month of June, usually the first month the market starts

Continued on Page 12

INSIDE: Family Rebuilds Home After S. Oak Street Fire in 2020 ���� 13 | F.C. Real Estate Market #s (insert) ����� 15

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R EA L E STATE

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

HOME BUILDERS are seen as one of the major players who can bring down home prices, but they’re challenged by hinky supply lines. (Photo: News-Press)

High Home Prices Continued from Page 11

to ebb a bit, Falls Church saw increases in both average home sale price and the number of homes sold year-over-year.

A large part of that is due to the policies put in place by the federal government (namely, cutting interest rates to historic lows) to encourage spending. Mortgage lenders responded by making their borrowing requirements more stringent, where they favored those with unblemished credit histories and people who could afford large down payments.

Stricter standards from lenders meant only the most financially secure could get in on the boom — those who were either already homeowners and had the latitude to refinance their mortgages, or those whose employment wasn’t affected by the pandemic, as Neal put it. Essentially, it’s been a competition between the “haves,” and not a race involving people who were at risk of defaulting on their mortgages a la the ingredients of 2008’s housing crisis.

Basic economics says if supply outstrips demand, then prices will naturally fall to try to meet people where they are. As you may have guessed, that means the onus for making homes more affordable has fallen on the builders who produce them.

That’s not as easy as you might think.

Jennifer Landers, the president of custom home builder New Dimensions, Inc. that focuses primarily on the Arlington-Falls Church-McLean area, has been experiencing difficulties with her own suppliers.

For example, one overseas supplier is crucial for New Dimensions to assemble windows back here in the U.S., but their in-house problems cause delays that in turn stall Landers’ company from putting together a new home.

Another example is the national resin shortage. The material, which can be used to preserve the wood sidings on homes, has been harder to come by, and it’s causing backups in Landers’ work as well.

New Dimensions is slightly different from other builders in that they typically construct a

home with a client in mind, rather than build a home and put it on the open market. But their problems with suppliers, and the rising costs of acquiring their goods, is a pain felt across the country.

“I’ve been on nationwide calls with other builders, and the problems are widespread,” Landers said. “The material pricing is widespread, but also the availability of materials is something everyone is struggling with.”

In her own conversations with suppliers, it’s a combination of both their struggles in acquiring capital (some overseas connections are having issues getting ahold of shipping containers), and for domestic manufacturers, it’s getting the necessary labor to come and work for them.

The result of all this, according to Neal from the Urban Institute, is fewer starter homes are being constructed. Renters who were looking to transition into one, Neal added, are getting boxed out by more well-to-do applicants.

The market will ultimately do what the market does, though there are a few things federal, state and local governments can do to make housing more accessible. Landers mentioned how the National Association of Home Builders has lobbied the Biden administration to loosen restrictions on getting lumber from Canada, which would transfer lower costs to consumers in the process.

Neal, meanwhile, said the City of Falls Church could partner with the state to receive funding for construction subsidies and look into relaxing its zoning laws to allow for higher density (think duplexes). Another possibility is creating some kind of down payment assistance for those who’ve historically been locked out of the housing market — such as racial minorities.

Then again, Neal also believes a lot of this could be remedied by the Federal Reserve’s mortgage policy.

“The wild card will be the trajectory of interest rates more generally,” Neal said.

“We’ve started to see mortgage rates soften a bit in recent weeks. As the Fed gears up for normalization, you know, over the next two to three years...higher house prices and higher mortgage rates could worsen affordability and cause the market to cool.”

R EA L E STATE

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

SUMMER 2021 | PAGE 13

One Year Later, Family Rebuilds After South Oak Street Fire

BY PATRICIA LESLIE

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

From the ashes of their house and belongings destroyed by fire, a Falls Church family is working to restore their home and begin living anew on property they’ve owned for 15 years on South Oak Street.

Sajeel Ahmed’s positive attitude, perseverance and smile are the strengths that embolden his family to keep on moving towards their goal to move into their new home this year — as well as a steely patience he cites as the key throughout this whole ordeal.

“You must have patience dealing with a contractor,” Ahmed says.

“They take their time. It gets stressful but patience is the main thing.

It’s going to happen, but it might not happen on the timeline I want it to happen. Not everything goes the same way every day.”

Since that terrible day in February 2020, it’s been slow going on the new house, but it’s going.

As the News-Press reported back then, fire officials believed it was a space heater plugged into an electrical strip that caused the fire.

The family is thankful no one

CONSTRUCTION is well underway at the Ahmed family’s new home, though it will be slightly bigger than it was before with an additional 500 square feet. (P����: P������� L�����) was seriously injured. His motherin-law was home at the time of the fire and, fortunately, she did not

wait to see if she could put it out, Ahmed recounted the day. Being a lady in her 80s, “she had the pres-

ence of mind to get out.”

When speaking to the City’s Board of Zoning Appeals in April of

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this year, Ahmed said that a neighbor passing in a car saw the fire and reported it. “The only thing we had left was what we were wearing that day,” Ahmed told the Board.

“It was an old house, like the ones you see in Falls Church City and Arlington,” Ahmed explained to the News-Press.

For a split second, right after the fire, the family did consider giving up their lot and moving on. “But we have good neighbors who help us whenever needed,” and “we just decided we wanted to continue to live here.

“Falls Church is an attractive place. We’ve lived here for about 20 years. Our three kids went to school here; they grew up here. We’re used to the area which made the decision easier to stay,” Ahmed said.

While maybe a bit uncertain of what to do next at the time, Ahmed and his family were rewarded by that patience with a thriving housing market now 17 months later. When the house was scorched last year, the median price of a home in Falls Church was just shy of $700,000. It now sits at around $950,000.

Continued on Page 15

PAGE 14 | SUMMER 2021

R EA L E STATE A Falls Church News-Press Advertorial

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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After moving to Falls Church in 1998, she immersed heralong with Mostafa (Mosi) Shah. Treena’s mother, Katreen Korte, started the firm back in 1965. Now self in community advocacy as a Housing Commissioner and a 30-year veteran in the industry, Rinaldi said she ongoing public school volunteer and sponsor. Since 2010, Tori has directed her philanthropic efforts to the Tinner Hill Heritage learned a lot about the business from her mom.

They are a small but full-service company that sells Foundation, whose mission is preserving, presenting, and celeboth residential and commercial properties in Northern Virginia. brating the African American Legacy. As the Executive Producer “We’ve developed many faithful clients over the years, but we of the Tinner Hill Music Festival, she dedicates her time and adoration for music to the Foundation’s premier charity event always look forward to new friends”, says Rinaldi.

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R EA L E STATE

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

SUMMER 2021 | PAGE 15

‘Patience’ Preached by Family When Navigating Through Whole Ordeal Continued from Page 13

His work as an information technology engineer and senior executive for the federal government, and his experience in contracting and management have helped him, his attorney, engineer, contractor, builder and architect make their way through the myriad requirements necessary to rebuild.

Ahmed has found challenges at every step, from the city, to the insurance company, to the contractor which would try anyone’s patience, but he says calmly, “it works out in the end.”

After a building permit was issued, after some bricks fell down during construction, after a stop work order arrived, Ahmed had to take his case to the Board of Zoning Appeals to plead for approval to build the new house on the old house’s foundations.

New setback lines from the original construction to the new caused at least a two-month delay in the process.

At the meeting BOZA mem-

ber John Misleh noted the neighbor next door had not endorsed Ahmed’s proposal like several other neighbors who had written the city in support of it.

Misleh wondered if that neighbor would support Ahmed’s project.

Without question, Ahmed replied, for the neighbor was none other than the Ahmed family living temporarily next door while they wait on their new house.

After hearing the story, 100 percent of the Board members gave Ahmed the go-ahead to rebuild.

To face an adversity like theirs, Ahmed recommends “patience, dealing with insurance, the city, the permits and zoning.

“Everyone is doing their job, everyone is doing what they need to do. It just takes time. It’s a process,” Ahmed said, and working for the federal government, he knows a thing or two about the process.

The family has not bought furniture for the new house, but they’ve got some time to shop. The new house is 4,000 square feet, compared to the old house of about

3,500 square feet.

“It was tragic and accidental.

The whole house was damaged [by fire, smoke, and water].” Insurance is paying for some of the damage, and Ahmed is paying the rest.

Almost every day he checks and talks with the contractor. “I want to make sure I know what they’re doing. Experience helps but contractors are contractors. They have so many jobs. Unless you keep screaming at them, they are not going to be there. They are doing something else,” as they were when we talked on Saturday at the reconstruction site.

Indeed, the weedy vines climbing the new walls of the home gave the impression the contractor had been doing something else for weeks.

Ahmed said “the contractors work at their own pace.”

He advises homeowners to check their insurance policies to make sure they have adequate coverage. “My insurance company has been good to me, and I would not change,” he said.

THE BULK OF THE DAMAGE the Ahmeds’ home suffered on that day in early February of last year. At the time, Falls Church City fire officials believed the fire was caused by a space heater plugged into a power strip. The fire consumed all of their belongings. (Photo: News-press)

Falls Church Area Housing Market — 3rd Quarter 2021 Report Zip Code Area Median Price Number of Homes Sold

Average Days on Market

22046

City of Falls Church

$978,863

36

6

22041

Bailey’s Crossroads

$344,000

50

7

22042

Sleepy Hollow

$700,000

61

7

22043

Pimmit Hills

$826,000

35

5

22044

Lake Barcroft

$657,500

22

11

CA L E NDA R

PAGE 16 | JULY 15 – 21, 2021

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

FALLS CHURCHCALENDAR LOCALEVENTS THURSDAY, JULY 15 Concerts in the Park: Andrew Acosta. Currently in its 28th year following a pause due to the pandemic, Concerts in the Park showcases a variety of musical acts every Thursday night, now through July 29. Andrew Acosta will be bringing his guitar back to the Park stage, ready to play a blend of Americana music like blues, bluegrass and ragtime. This event series is hosted by the Village Preservation and Improvement Society and the Recreation and Parks Department. Guests are encouraged to bring a blanket or folding chair as well as something to eat and drink. Advanced registration no longer required. Cherry Hill Park (312 Park Ave., Falls Church). For more information, visit fallschurchva.gov/concerts or call 703-248-5077. 7 p.m.

E

Walk-In Tech Clinic. A tech tutor will be available every Thursday morning to help adults with their tech issues. The Tech Clinic is located in the Group Study Room of the Thomas Jefferson Library (7415 Arlington Blvd, Falls Church). 10 – 11 a.m.

SATURDAY, JULY 17 Falls Church Farmers Market.

The Falls Church Farmers Market runs every Saturday, where attendees will find fresh, local produce, meat, dairy, flowers & plants, honey, music and more.

City Hall (300 Park Ave., Falls Church) 8 a.m. – noon. For more information, visit fallschurchva. gov/547/Farmers-Market-To-Go.

MONDAY, JULY 19 Tie Dye Shirts Outside. Back by popular demand, the TysonsPimmit Regional Library is inviting interested participants to an outdoor tie dye event where vis-

itors will be able to create their own adult XXL t-shirt and take it home with a bag and washing instructions. Due to limited supply, only one registration per person will be available as well as only one shirt per registration. Materials will be provided.

Wear older clothes in case of splashes or drips, as the dye stains fabric. In case of inclement weather, the event will be moved indoors into the meeting room. Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library (7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church). 2 – 4 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 21 Storytime Fun for Preschoolers.

Interested participants are welcome to join Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library staff for a morning of storytelling and fun.

Space limited to 15 children with one caregiver each. No registration required; customers will be welcomed in on a first come, first served basis. Guests should

check in at the information desk.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own towel or folding chair, as well as a water bottle. Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library (7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church). 10:30 – 11 a.m.

English Conversation Group.

Those interested in practicing their English in an informal setting are invited to attend the English Conversation Group at the Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library. Geared towards adults.

Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library (7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church). 1 – 2:30 p.m.

VIRTUALEVENTS FRIDAY, JULY 16 Challenges of the Summer Garden (online). Those interested are invited to join Extension Master Gardener Beth Buffington for tips on what one can do this

summer season to maintain a healthy garden. Planning for your garden’s future success and wellbeing will also be discussed. RSVP at mgnv.org/events to receive a link to participate. 10 – 11:30 a.m.

SATURDAY, JULY 17 123 Andres! (online). Join Andrés and Christina, the Latin Grammywinning music duo 123 Andrés, for a morning of family-friendly music, both in Spanish and in English.

Geared towards audiences of all ages. This program will air live on the Mary Riley Styles Public Library Facebook page at 11 a.m. and a recording of the performance will be available afterwards until July 24. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/mrspl or call 703-248-5034.

MONDAY, JULY 19 ESOL Conversation Group (online). Interested participants can practice their English with a weekly ESOL conversation group. This program meets online via Zoom. To request a Zoom invite, email Marshall Webster at mwebster@fallschurchva.gov. 7 – 8:30 p.m.

The past year has been full of new and unexpected challenges. As you shift your focus back to taking better care of yourself, BDI is ready to help.

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Follow Us Online

twitter.com/fcnp

facebook.com/fallschurchcity

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

City Council Work Session (online). City Council work sessions are held the first and third Monday of the month, with the exception of August and December when only one meeting is held. These meetings are open to the public and are conducted to allow Council Members to discuss upcoming legislation and policy issues; the public is not generally invited to speak. All participating members of the City Council will be present at this meeting through electronic means.

All members of the public may view this electronic meeting via www.fallschurchva.gov/ CouncilMeetings. The meeting may also be viewed on FCCTV (Cox 11, RCN 2, Verizon 35).

Video will be available after the meeting both online and on FCCTV. The virtual meeting will be held pursuant to and in compliance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, Section 2.2-3708.2 and state and local legislation adopted to allow for continued government operation during the COVID-19 declared emergency.

7:30 – 11 p.m.

THEATER&ARTS FRIDAY, JULY 16 "Our Womance."

Abby Middleton returns following her hilarious and heartfelt cabaret “I Didn’t Cut My Bangs in Quarantine” with her dear friend and New York City-based performer Rebecca Soelberg for an eclectic, inspired rumination on the nature of female friendship and how it carried on the pandemic. The pair, joined by Greg Knauf on the keys, will communicate almost exclusively in run-on sentences and Brené Brown & Glennon Doyle quotes, embarking on a journey through the ambiguity of life, the magic of music and the possibilities of this new chapter in their lives. Their musical selections span Sondheim, Schwartz, Gershwin and other artists. Visit creativecauldron. org for ticket prices and more information. Cherry Hill Park

CA L E NDA R

JULY 15 – 21, 2021 | PAGE 17

(312 Park Ave, Falls Church).

Friday, July 16. 7:30 p.m.

"After Midnight." This song and dance extravaganza is set to the swinging sounds of Duke Ellington, Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields and more, framed by the classic works of American poet Langston Hughes. Starring Hamilton’s Christopher Jackson and Signature favorite Nova Y. Payton with direction and choreography by Jared Grimes), After Midnight features 28 of the big band era’s most memorable songs, including “Stormy Weather,” “I’ve Got the World on a String” and “It Don’t Mean a Thing,” taking the audience on a glamorous, vibrant tour of Harlem after midnight.

Streaming on demand until Aug. 4 at sigtheatre.org.

LIVEMUSIC THURSDAY, JULY 15 Jim Sheats: One Man Band.

Clare & Don’s Beach Shack (130 N. Washington St., Falls Church). 5 p.m. 703-532-9283.

Steal Your Peach: The Dead & Allman Bros. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $15 – $25. 8 p.m. 703-255-1566.

Kick: The INXS Experience.

The State Theatre (220 N Washington St., Falls Church). $20. 8:30 p.m. 703-237-0300.

FRIDAY, JULY 16 Shartel & Hume Duo. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 4 p.m. 703241-9504.

The Claire Show. Clare & Don’s Beach Shack (130 N. Washington St., Falls Church). 5 p.m. 703532-9283.

Bro Bro and the Komodo.

Falls Church Distillers (442 S. Washington St., Ste A Falls Church). 6 p.m. 703-858-9186.

19th Street Band: Free Indoor Show. The State Theatre (220 N Washington St., Falls Church). 7

RAMBLIN' JACK ELLIOTT will be performing his unique brand of genuine American folk music this coming Tuesday at Jammin' Java. (Photo: ramblinjackelliott.com) p.m. 703-237-0300.

Cargo and the Ashcats Live.

Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $16 – $25. 8 p.m.

703-255-1566.

SATURDAY, JULY 17 Honky Tonk Cassanovas. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 4 p.m. 703241-9504.

Half Pint Harry Live. Clare & Don’s Beach Shack (130 N. Washington St., Falls Church). 5 p.m. 703-532-9283.

Yutzi. Falls Church Distillers (442 S. Washington Street, Ste A Falls Church). 6 p.m. 703-8589186.

Born Cross Eyed: A Tribute to the Grateful Dead. The State Theatre (220 N Washington St., Falls Church). 7 p.m. 703-2370300.

The

Fabulous

Dialtones.

Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). 7 p.m. 703-255-1566.

Skinny Wallace Band. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 8:30 p.m.

703-241-9504.

SUNDAY, JULY 18 Open Mic Night featuring Michelle Swan. Falls Church Distillers (442 S. Washington Street, Ste A Falls Church). 1 p.m. 703-858-9186.

Brook Yoder Live and in Concert. Clare & Don’s Beach Shack (130 N. Washington St., Falls Church). 5 p.m. 703-5329283.

Pile O’ Rocks Live. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 5 p.m. 703241-9504.

Josh Allen Band Live. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 5:30 p.m.

703-241-9504.

Darrell Scott Live. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $25. 7 p.m. 703-255-1566.

MONDAY, JULY 19 Tom Saputo & Friends. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 7:30 p.m.

703-241-9504.

TUESDAY, JULY 20 Open Mic Night with Josh & Andy. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church).

7:30 p.m. 703-241-9504.

Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $30. 7:30 p.m. 703-255-1566.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 21 Cup O’ Jokes. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). 7:30 p.m. 703-255-1566.

Bob & Martha & Band. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 8 p.m. 703-241-9504.

Calendar Submissions Email: calendar@fcnp.com | Mail: Falls Church News-Press, Attn: Calendar, 105 N. Virginia Ave., #310, Falls Church, VA 22046

Be sure to include time, location, cost of admission, contact person and any other pertinent information. Event listings will be edited for content and space limitations. Please include any photos or artwork with submissions. Deadline is Monday at noon for the current week’s edition.

LO CA L

PAGE 18 | JULY 15 – 21, 2021

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

GreenSpur Designed Club & Whiskey To Foster Unique Experiences at Scenic Site Continued from Page 3

he planned to retire before he became president.

Turner continued on saying that people often make the mistake thinking that whiskey came first from Kentucky, but the first whiskey actually came out of Virginia.

That makes Lost Whiskey special and gives historical context to whiskey making in America.

Before he died, according to Turner, Washington was the largest whiskey maker in America. Making the club’s name and its signature beverage all the more appropriate.

The Lost Whiskey Club (the whiskey) was established in 2016.

The distillery and bottling plant is located in Merrifield, and only open from 5 – 6 p.m. on Thursdays, where people are welcome to buy bottles and experience the bottling process, and become part of the club locally. “‘Club’ is a loose term,’’ said Turner. “It’s more of a philosophy, so that if you purchase a bottle or experience the Lost Whiskey Club

in any form or fashion, you are quasi part of the club.”

All of the whiskey the “club” makes comes in a 375 ml bottle, and every bottle is single barreled and can be identified by a unique leather strap with a story number on it, Turner explained.

He said the intent of adding those details is so that drinkers will remember when, where and who they enjoyed it with, and maybe have a good story tied to that experience.

Having an experience is essential to the bucolic hideaway. Turner said that even before the pandemic, he felt that there was a real heartstring on having an experience and great conversation.

“People are overwhelmed with data, too much media, and flat screen devices, which is why craft beer, craft food and experiences are so rich right now,” said Turner. “But when Covid hit, it put a 10x factor on that experience, and I think people now, more than ever, are craving good conversation, intimate settings, good food and good quality

fireplaces.”

The site is meant as a retreat from the constant distractions that consume us in our everyday life. It is encouraged for guests to put away their phones and enjoy conversation and the outdoors.

Along with the farmhouse, there is a mobile whisky bar, and small cabins nestled into the landscape, each with its own unique design.

Turner said that the project was really an exploration of their own ideas of architecture.

Turner said that the project was challenging to get all the equipment and supplies up the winding dirt road to the site that is surrounded by state parks on all four sides.

“It is a rural setting and a hard place to build with a lot of logistical obstacles along the way,” said Turner. “But it is really a special spot, and one of the projects that GreenSpur is most proud of.”

Any questions or inquries about visiting the site or booking a stay in the rental cabins can be arranged by reaching out to Lost Whiskey Club by email at info@lostwhiskey.com

THE WHISKEY that’s made to go with the club situated on Lost Mountain, though there’s no obligation to only consume it there.

(Photo: Courtesy )

WHO’S THE BEST?

The News-Press BEST OF FALLS CHURCH reader vote is back and it’s time to cast your ballot for your Falls Church-area favorites! Our 11th annual contest features a host of all new categories — now 36 in all — for readers to vote on the best eating, drinking, shopping and more in and around the Little City .

Winners will be featured in a special BEST OF FALLS CHURCH edition of the News-Press on August 26!

Vote for Your Falls Church Favorites: FOOD & DRINK Burger • Pizza • Sandwich • Chicken • Seafood • American • International • Breakfast • Brunch • Coffee Shop Bakery • Frozen Treats • Outside Dining • Delivery Food • Farmers Market Vendor • New Restaurant

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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JULY 15 – 21, 2021 | PAGE 19

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C�������� N��� � N���� F.C. Women Voters Hold Voting Rights Forum The League of Women Voters of Falls Church invites the public to a virtual meeting featuring guest speaker Elizabeth Johnson, who will discuss federal efforts to improve and expand voting access for people with disabilities. Elizabeth Johnson, a Senior Trial Attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, is an expert on voting rights issues and has spearheaded numerous initiatives to improve voting access for people with disabilities.

This event will take place on Sunday, July 18 at 4 p.m. via Zoom. The Zoom link is posted on the website of the Falls Church League of Women Voters at my.lwv.org/virginia/fallschurch.

For more information, email Barbara Lipsky at blipsky@cox. net.

Fairfax Co. Schools Seeks Mentors for 2021-22 Anyone who is interested in making a difference in the lives of children who reside in Fairfax County are asked to consider partnering with Fairfax County Public Schools’ MentorWorks program.

MentorWorks places caringadult mentors into schools where they are matched with students who need guidance, support, and encouragement.

Some FCPS schools have

30-plus students who are waiting for a caring adult to step into their lives. Mentors typically spend about 30 minutes a week with kids; for elementary kids, it’s during lunch time, and for middle and high schoolers, it’s either during homeroom or after school.

For more information on how either you or your organization can be part of this mentoring effort, they are asked to contact Martha Macdonald at mmacdonald@fcps. edu.

Those interested can also visit FCPS’ mentor website at fcps.edu/ get-involved/be-mentor.

Tips to Revive Gardens From Summer Heat Scenic spring gardens are likely worn down by summer heat that has left plants drooping as well as invited insect attacks and aggressive weeds.

Interested attendees can join Extension Master Gardener Beth Buffington on Friday, July 16 from 10 – 11:30 a.m. online for tips on what you can do right now and what you can plan to do to make sure your summer garden thrives in the future.

This event is free. RSVP at mgnv.org/events to receive a link to participate.

F.C. High Students Land in Nationwide Competition Falls Church High School students Abigail McCall and Maureen Keating are two of the 33 nationwide winners in a

ANNOUNCING HIS endorsement of City of Falls Church School Board candidate Lori K. Silverman (right) this week was State Del. Marcus Simon. There are eight candidates on the ballot for the November election. (P����: N���-P����) “Shark Tank”-style pitch competition. The two students were one of two winning groups in the Washington, D.C. metro area for its invention, iKick, which tracks game statistics and captures game footage in the soccer industry through a tracking device inside soccer balls.

In October, they will participate in the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship’s (NFTE) Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge with the middle- and high-school student winners from regions around the country.

Winners such as McCall and Keating have already earned

cash prizes ranging from $300 – $1,500. During the national competition, regional winners will compete against each other and also go head to head with top young entrepreneurs from NFTE’s global programs, all vying for a share of a prize pool worth $18,000.

For More Information About Careers, Education, Medical Benefits and More Call/Text: Staff Sergeant James TureKruse

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PAGE 20 | JULY 15 - 21, 2021 PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CITY COUNCIL CITY OF FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA The ordinance referenced below was given first reading on July 12, 2021. Public hearing, second reading, and final City Council action is scheduled for Monday, August 9, 2021 at 7:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard.

(TO21-10) ORDINANCE TO CREATE AND ESTABLISH THE WEST FALLS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY This ordinance would create and establish a Community Development Authority for the West Falls District of approx. 9.78 acres for the purpose of issuing bonds to pay for public infrastructure in the district and administering a special assessment on property in the district to pay the debt service for those bonds, plus eligible administrative expenses associated with the district.

Public hearings will be held electronically.

To speak on a public hearing item, complete a speaker form at www.fallschurchva.gov/ PublicComment before noon on the day of the Council meeting. Following submission of the form, you will receive emailed instructions to join the virtual Council meeting.

Written public hearing comments may be sent until noon on the day of the meeting to cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov. Council members will attend the meeting through electronic means and members of the public may view the meeting at www.fallschurchva. gov/CouncilMeetings and on FCCTV (Cox 11, RCN 2, Verizon 35). Video will be available after the meeting both online and on FCCTV. For copies of legislation, contact the City Clerk’s office at 703-248-5014 or cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov. The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703-248-5014 (TTY 711).

CELESTE HEATH, CITY CLERK

CITY OF FALLS CHURCH In anticipation of the creation of a West Falls Community Development Authority and establishment of the West Falls District, the Falls Church City Council invites interested City residents to apply for the resident position on the 5-member Authority. Candidates with knowledge of finance or commercial real estate preferred. Visit www.fallschurchva.gov/BCapply for a link to the application and more information about the CDA, including the background and anticipated schedule for establishing the Authority. Application deadline has been extended to July 31, 2021.

Celeste Heath, City Clerk cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov 703-248-5014 DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY Proposed Flood Hazard Determinations for the Independent City of Falls Church, Virginia The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency has issued a preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), and where applicable, Flood Insurance Study (FIS) report, reflecting proposed flood hazard determinations within the Independent City of Falls Church, Virginia. These flood hazard determinations may include

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

CLASSI F I E DS the addition or modification of Base Flood Elevations, base flood depths, Special Flood Hazard Area boundaries or zone designations, or the regulatory floodway.

Technical information or comments are solicited on the proposed flood hazard determinations shown on the preliminary FIRM and/or FIS report for the Independent City of Falls Church, Virginia. These flood hazard determinations are the basis for the floodplain management measures that your community is required to either adopt or show evidence of being already in effect in order to qualify or remain qualified for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program. However, before these determinations are effective for floodplain management purposes, you will be provided an opportunity to appeal the proposed information. For information on the statutory 90-day period provided for appeals, as well as a complete listing of the communities affected and the locations where copies of the FIRM are available for review, please visit FEMA’s website at https://www.floodmaps. fema.gov/fhm/BFE_Status/bfe_main.asp, or call the FEMA Mapping and Insurance eXchange (FMIX) toll free at 1-877-FEMA MAP (1-877-336-2627).

ABC NOTICE Bep Viet LLC, Trading as: Bep Viet, 3000 Annandale Rd, #102 Falls Church, VA 22042. The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) for a Wine & Beer On Premises; Mixed Beverage On Premises. Michael Phan owner , Authorized Signatory Bep Viet LLC., the Operating Member of Bep Viet. NOTE: Objections to the issuance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Objections should be registered at www.abc.virginia.gov or 800-552-3200.

Mi Cay Tung Corp. , Trading as: PHO 95 Mi Cay Tung, 6795 Wilson Blvd, suite 18,20,22,41 Falls Church, VA 22044 .The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) for a Wine & Beer On Premises; Mixed Beverage On Premises. Steven Phan, Chief Legal Officer, Authorized Signatory PHO95 Mi Cay Tung Restaurants, Inc., the Operating Member of MI CAY TUNG Corp. NOTE: Objections to the issuance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices.

Objections should be registered at www. abc.virginia.gov or 800-552-3200.

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ACROSS 1. Picniccrashing insect 4. By means of 7. Fire 12. Life story, for short 13. “____ Got Sixpence” 14. Reduce 15. Machines 17. Edmonton player 18. University official 19. Branding ____ 21. Ducked 24. Paving liquid

27. Dozing 30. Operatic highlight 31. West Pointers 32. Curving 34. Spirited 35. Peachlike fruits 37. Vampire, at times 38. Overpass 39. Rounded roof 40. Acapulco money 44. Boom box 47. Ahab of “Moby Dick,” e.g.

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52. Sob 53. Father 54. Darn 55. Curse DOWN 1. In the sack 2. Cat-o’-____tails 3. Dress for Caesar 4. Safety ____ 5. “All About ____” 6. Quit 7. Vital fluid 8. Meat cut 9. Hole-making tool 10. Final letter

ANSWER TO PUZZLE NO. 89

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS USE AMERICAN SPELLING

36. Lock opener 37. Soft drink 38. Ump’s relative 39. “Chicago” star 40. Hideous 41. Louisiana marsh 43. Mock 45. Troublesome tyke 47. Villain 51. October stone 54. On the cutting ____ 57. Adam’s wife 58. Official helper 59. Food fish 60. Male or female

A RTS&E NTE RTA I NME NT

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM PUZZLE NO. 91

ACROSS 1. Mom’s fellow 4. Strait-laced 8. Quote 12. Wintry 13. Talk wildly 14. Opera tune 15. “Look ____ ye leap” 16. Forewarning 17. Lincoln coin 18. Conditions 20. Morse code symbol 22. Long fish 24. Records 28. Creeps 31. Copied 34. Assembled 35. Avails

26. Attack!

27. “____ Alibi” 29. Charged particle 30. Duo number 31. Certain evergreen 33. Toothpaste option 36. Waning 37. Metalworkers

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61. Bassoon, e.g.

62. James Brown’s music 63. Gallery offering

DOWN 1. Say no to seconds 2. Land measurement 3. One who colors 4. Not poetry 5. Barnyard animal 6. “____ Got Sixpence” 7. Heal

ANSWER TO PUZZLE NO. 90

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS USE AMERICAN SPELLING

JULY 15 - 21, 2021 | PAGE 21

PUZZLE NO. 92

20. Shipment 21. Not early 22. Above 23. Curved roof 26. Strait-laced 27. Shack 28. Bugle call 29. Write text 30. Derby 32. Posed 36. Slurp 37. Lives

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ACROSS 1. Choir singer 5. Yak 8. Detail 12. Hired thug 13. She-sheep 14. Bright star 15. Revered 17. Competed 18. Hearty soups 19. Different 20. Headache cure 25. Pale 28. Self 32. Craps cube 33. Storm winds 34. Have bills 35. Shielded

37. Blizzard stuff 38. Flower 40. Messy type 43. Trench 47. Cab 48. Device for wingtips 51. Baker’s box 52. Buddy 53. Sledder’s delight 54. Sharp pain 55. Tack on 56. Auctioneer’s word

DOWN 1. Eons 2. Did not win 3. Haul

4. Like some streets: hyph.

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22. Lazes around 23. Woodwind instruments 24. Outs’ opposites 25. Commercials

41. Burnt wood 42. Downy 43. Three voices 44. Count 45. Seltzer 46. Holler 48. Bakery purchase 49. Piercing tool 50. Island garland 51. Guided

JOHN DEERING

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ANSWER TO PUZZLE NO. 91

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS USE AMERICAN SPELLING

ACROSS 1. Bungle 4. Steak, e.g.

8. Regard 12. Farewell, for short 13. Beg 14. Conform to 15. Drink 17. Shoe part 18. Smaller amount 19. Road sign 20. Pack animal 23. Appropriate 24. Cookie grain 25. Cover, as a couch 31. Potent particle

33. Molasses spirit 34. Voila!

35. Put in the bank 38. Flick 39. Fade 40. Trash 42. Soak, as tea 45. Does, e.g.

47. Verbal 48. Billiard parlor: 2 wds.

52. Discharge 53. Fan’s hero 54. Little 55. Related 56. Munches 57. Cap

DOWN 1. Subside 2. Bread type 3. Gun a motor 4. Dresser 5. Notable periods 6. Caviar 7. Admission price 8. Most curious 9. Clarinet’s cousin 10. Reveal 11. Saw 16. Shade provider 19. Actor Brynner

ANSWER TO PUZZLE NO. 92

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS USE AMERICAN SPELLING

SPORTS QUIZ

By Ryan A. Berenz 1. Who was guest host of “Jeopardy!” when contestant Scott Shewfelt gave “Who wanted to kick that field goal?” as his Final Jeopardy answer?

2. Name the Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball player whose glass-shattering slam dunk in the NCAA Tournament appeared on the March 25, 1996, issue of Sports Illustrated.

3. What St. Louis Blues defenseman suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed on the bench during a February 2020 game vs. the Anaheim Ducks?

4. What NASCAR driver finished sixth in the 2014 Indianapolis 500 and won Indy 500 Rookie of the Year honors?

5. What Oscar-winning film from 1981 depicted the true story of British sprinters Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams, who both won gold medals at the 1924 Paris Summer Olympics?

6. At what stadium did the New York Giants’ Willie Mays make his famous over-the-shoulder catch of a fly ball hit by the Cleveland Indians’ Vic Wertz in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series?

7. What two brothers combined for 93 goals during the 1999-2000 NHL regular season?

Last Week’s Answers 1. DeSagana Diop • 2. Julius Boros (1968 PGA Championship at age 48).

3. Johnny Rutherford • 4. Denny McClain 5. Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid • 6. Camogie • 7. Drake (c) 2021 King Features Syndicate, Inc.

Last Weeks answers!

PAGE 22 | JULY 15 – 21, 2021

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BACK IN THE DAY

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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25 � 10 Y���� A�� �� ��� N���-P���� Falls Church News-Press Vol. VI, No. 17 • July 11, 1996

Falls Church News-Press Vol. XXI, No. 22 • July 14,, 2011

Fairfax Co. Police, in Hot Pursuit at 100 MPH, Crash in Downtown Falls Church

Fairfax Pols Turn Up Heat, Pressure F.C. To Cough Up Its Water System

The News-Press has learned that the two Fairfax County police cruisers who came down West Broad Street Sunday afternoon chasing a fleeing stolen vehicle were going almost 100 miles per hour, before one of the cruisers collided with a passenger car and careened into the Robertson Building.

With political pressure growing in Fairfax County to compel the City of Falls Church to sell or otherwise divest itself of its extensive water system, the Falls Church City Council called a “time out” Monday to delay implementation of a rate hike on the system’s current users.

Metro Site Continued from Page 5

Duncan wrote to the News-Press, “We still have a little ways to go in our negotiations with the Falls Church Gateway Partners, to make sure the final deal for the West Falls project is fair to both the City and our development partners.” He added, “I know our Council is committed to finding an equitable compromise.”

Concerning the county board vote Tuesday, Duncan, who was writing from Knoxville, Tennessee, where he was on another frequent trip to look in on his 95-old-year father, crowed, “That is so terrific!”

He added, “It sounds like we’ve reached a happy milestone in relations between our City of Falls Church and our friends in Fairfax County.”

Speaking at Tuesday’s county board meeting on behalf of the F.C. Gateway Partners, Andrew Painter spelled out five ways in which the proposed combined project will benefit the area, saying it will capitalize on the original 1986 plan when the West Falls Church Metro station first opened.

He said the new plan will provide interconnectivity between the Metro station area and its surrounding areas, that scaled back building heights will protect surrounding neighborhoods, as will buffering, provision for affordable housing by the Metro station will become available and a network of pedestrian and bike lane infrastructures will make the whole area accessible to nonvehicular transit.

David Baker, the director of government and community affairs for Virginia Tech, said that it is a strong desire of the school to buy the land on which it now sits with the waning years of a lease from Falls Church.

“We want an urban, walkable community,” he said. “It is what

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HIDING AWAY FROM her in-house paw-paparazzi is Audrey, the Ortega family’s cat. While Audrey might be a little camera shy, we all know cats love attention...on their own terms.

Just because you’re not famous doesn’t mean your pet can’t be! Send in your Critter Corner submissions to crittercorner@fcnp.com.

ORIGINALLY FROM OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI, Gillian has recently called Falls Church her home for the last year.

While not studying away at Georgetown University, with the hopes to one day work on International Climate Policy she has been known to dabble in the arts. (P����: J. M������ W�����/JM������W�����.���)

graduate students prefer.” He cited the grant, secured by State Sen. Dick Saslaw, for a “smart roads test bed” to be embedded at the site that will provide a network of sensors enabling adaptations to changing conditions.

Douglas Stewart of the area’s Sierra Club chapter spoke in support of the plan, as did Christin DeShauer of the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association and Bernard Suchicital speaking for the Beyer Family, the largest landowner

in the area.

The prospect of the Beyer Family folding its holdings into the 40-acre plan could make its scope significantly bigger and wider.

Nia Rubin spoke in favor of the project on behalf of WMATA, and Rochelle Barimany weighed in for the Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce.

With the approval Tuesday, the county board then moved to the formation of a Falls Church Active Transit Plan to explore the next steps.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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B������� N��� � N���� F.C. Chamber Hosting Networking Luncheon The Falls Church Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Networking Luncheon featuring Tips for a Healthy Work Day on Tuesday, July 20 from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Moderated by Body Dynamics’ Exercise Scientist and Business Outreach Coordinator, and Chamber Chair, Barbara Benson, the event will include tips and tools from health and fitness professionals on healthy office habits such as stretching, breathing, and staying hydrated. The event will take place at the Italian Café, 7161 Lee Highway in Falls Church.

Registration is required as is a meal selection. Visit the calendar at www.FallsChurchChamber.org to register.

Advantage Trainers Continuing To Add Hours Advantage Trainers is continuing to add hours in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The boutique gym and personal training studio is now open Monday – Friday from 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. as well as weekends from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Rigorous cleaning and disinfecting protocols remain in place and virtual workouts are still available, as is their learn to 5K program, designed to support community members planning to run the Falls Church Education Foundation’s Run for the Schools, scheduled for Sept. 12. For more information, visit www. advantagetrainers.com.

F.C. Dragons to Compete Against Top 16 Youth Fortnite Teams The Falls Church Dragons, one of eight local XP League teams operated by Code Ninjas Falls Church and Code Ninjas Alexandria, will compete against the top 16 youth Fortnite teams in the US and Canada for the XP League North American Finals Championship in Raleigh, North Carolina, Aug. 6 – 8. The Falls Church Dragons competed in a regional tournament with 24 other teams to qualify for the XP League National Finals, a first-of-its-kind event for youth ages 8-15. The tournament will be broadcast live on Twitch, Facebook, YouTube and other streaming media. Esports is a form of competition using video games where players participate in organized, multiplayer video games individually or as teams. Currently, there are about 125 varsity collegiate esports teams, according to ESPN.com. Recently, the Northern Virginia Community College Nighthawks esports team captured the PlayVS Championship, winning more than $12,000 in scholarships, prizes and cash. For more information, visit www.codeninjas.com.

Mosaic District Adding Bloomingdale’s New Concept Store The Mosaic District will be the first location of Bloomingdale’s new concept store, Bloomie’s, a scaled down version of the retail with a curated selection of top brands, a tech-enabled stylist service, and Colada Shop, a DC-based Cuban cafe with a menu of Cuban food, cocktails and coffee and seating inside or on an outdoor patio. The 22,000 square-foot store will feature women’s and men’s fashion and beauty brands. Stylists will be on site to provide personalized guidance and help customers access special finds outside Bloomie’s. Personalization, customization, and alteration services will also be available as will a return dropbox and in-store and curbside pickup. For more information about the Mosaic Bloomie’s expected to open Aug. 26, visit www.Bloomies.com.

Blueprint Virginia 2030’s Meeting Will Take Place July 21 Blueprint Virginia 2030’s Region 7 Meeting for Northern Virginia will take place Wednesday, July 21 from noon – 1:20 p.m. The regional meetings will serve to foster greater collaboration by involving leaders in business, economic development, workforce, education, housing, and other community representatives to provide input for Virginia’s next statewide strategic plan. Barry Duval, president and CEO of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, and representatives from GO Virginia and VEDA will provide an exclusive economic update from state and regional perspectives. The event is hosted by the VA Chamber Foundation with support from a number of local organizations, including the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce. For more information, visit www.vachamber.com.

CNBC Ranked Virginia Top State For Business 2021 CNBC has ranked Virginia as the top state for business 2021. CNBC scored all 50 states on 85 metrics in 10 categories and weighted those categories based on how frequently states use them as selling points in economic development marketing materials. Thus, the study ranks states based on the issues the states themselves find important enough to promote. Virginia ranked 26 in the cost of doing business, 24 in the infrastructure category, 22 in life, health and inclusion, 3 in workforce, 13 in economy, 11 in business friendliness, 9 in access to capital, and 1 overall. North Carolina, Utah, Texas, and Tennessee round out the top 5. Virginia ranked 1 in 2019 when the study was last conducted, and has done so five times since the study began in 2007, more than any other state. For more information, visit www.cnbc.com.  Business News & Notes is compiled by Sally Cole, Executive Director of Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce. She may be emailed at sally@fallschurchchamber.org.

JULY 15 – 21 , 2021 | PAGE 23

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PAGE 24 | JULY 15 – 21, 2021

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