July 16 – 22, 2020
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 • V OL. X XX NO. 22
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F.C. School Parents Are Pro-Hybrid Schedule
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Teacher Survey Exhibits Concern, Worry BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
With 2,524 survey responses from parents of students in the system received by the Falls Church City Public Schools as of Tuesday, an overwhelming 2,247 said they favor the current board proposal for a hybrid teaching model, Superintendent Dr. Peter Noonan reported at Tuesday’s School Board meeting. The hybrid model as currently developed for the system involves two days of face-to-face teaching and two days of online instruction per week. The need “to connect with peers” was given as the single most important reason for favoring the hybrid approach, according to the survey results. In this context, Noonan announced that a preliminary plan to bring back all students of the City’s two elementary schools —
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A BLACK LIVES MATTER MEMORIAL set up by middle schoolers from Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School was held at the tennis courts by the Community Center in the City of Falls Church on Friday, where both young and old paid tribute to the lives lost from police violence over the years. (P����: J. M������ W�����)
Li�le City ‘Mouse That Roars’ Wins N. Virginia Transporta�on Grant BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
Over 1,000 letters, petitions and comments from citizens played a major role in the decision by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority board last week to award the City of Falls Church with $15.2
million for two projects aimed at reducing congestion and benefiting the wider region, it was announced this week. The two projects were among four to win grants among 41 applicants from the wider region, and were secured despite the small size of the City due to the “mouse that
roars” size of its civic activism. The two fully-funded projects in the City of Falls Church are: West Falls Church Access to Transit and Multimodal Connectivity: For $6,900,000, it involves the installation of a new 10-foot wide multi-use path and sixfoot wide planting strip along Shreve
Road between the W&OD Trail and Route 7 with acorn-style lights, a crosswalk near the intersection of Shreve Road and Gordon Road, and benches near the entrance to the W&OD trail. Downtown Falls Church
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SEE REAL ESTATE, PAGES 13 – 20
SEE STORY, PAGE 27
This Summer’s real estate edition has arrived and covers how well the City of Falls Church’s commitment to office space in the West End project will hold up as current interest dwindles due to Covid-19.
Covid-19’s spread throughout the country influenced the City to scale back or outright cancel certain camps during its typically popping summer season, making “fun” one of the lesser known, but more persistent casualties of the pandemic.
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Northern Virginia’s own “Rockin’ the Suburbs” podcast from Falls Church’s Patrick Foster and Ashburn resident Jim Lenahan will take their show to Jammin’ Java’s stage next Wednesday. SEE PRESS PASS, PAGE 14
INDEX
Editorial............................................... 6 Letters.......................................... 6, 22 News & Notes............................10–11 Comment ................................ 7,12,21 Crime Report .................................... 12 Business News ................................. 23 Calendar ........................................... 26 Classified Ads ................................... 28 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ......... 29 Critter Corner.................................... 30