July 20 – 26, 2017
FA LLS CHUR C H, V I R G I NI A • WW W. FC NP. C OM • FR EE
FOU N D ED 1991 • VOL. XXVI I NO. 22
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I����� T��� W��� S����� N��� C����� U�������� �� V��� N���� A Fairfax County School Board work session Monday afternoon gave little clarity to how the school system will resolve the two-plus year debate on whether to change the name of Falls Church’s J.E.B. Stuart High School in a week’s time. SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 8
F���� C����� E��������’� N�� H������ G���� Uncovering a rafter brought about the formation of the tight-knit Archive Ministry at The Falls Church Episcopal now dedicated to telling the story of the Little City and its landmark church.
New Estimates Reduce Burden on F.C. Taxpayers of New High School P ������� OK C ������ P ���
SEE PAGE 12
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Please stop telling me that “Atomic Blonde,” on the heels of “Wonder Woman,” amounts to some hinge moment for movies, which are henceforth going to shower us with female action leads. SEE PAGE 16
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After a paperwork mix-up delayed availability at its opening earlier this month, Falls Church’s new distillery is now serving bourbon and vodka bottles and tastings, with gin coming soon. SEE FOOD NEWS, PAGE 17
AN AERIAL VIEW RENDERING of the new railroad cottage residential development proposal presented to the Falls Church Planning Commission Monday night. The plan, approved by the commision at its meeting, is proposed for Railroad Avenue in the City between the W&OD trail and Ellison Street. The proposal now goes to the City Council for �inal approval. See story, page 4. (R�������� �������� R������� C������� LLC)
City of Falls Church Ranked 2nd Wealthiest By U.S. Census Bureau BY JODY FELLOWS
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
INDEX Editorial.................6 Letters...................6 News & Notes10–11 Comment ....... 14–16 Food & Dining.....17 Calendar .......18–19
Classified Ads .....20 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ..........21 Critter Corner......22 Business News ...23
Falls Church is the second richest “county” in the country, trailing only Loudoun, according to new numbers from a 2015 U.S. Census Bureau report. The independent City of Falls Church, considered a county by the Bureau, has an estimated population of 14,014 as of July 1, 2016 and a median household income of $122,092, less than
$3,500 behind Loudoun County at the top. The two nearby counties have been trading places at one and two on the list over the past several years. In third place is Fairfax County with $112,844 and Arlington is eighth with a median income of $104,354. Along with Maryland’s Howard County at number four, five of the top 10 richest counties in the country are in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
Also reported by the Census Bureau, 78.8 percent of Falls Church adults have a bachelor’s degree or higher compared to 36.3 percent overall in Virginia, 37.9 percent in Maryland and 54.6 percent in the District. Other interesting City of Falls Church statistics reported include an average of 2.57 persons per household, a median value of owner-occupied houses of $718,900 and a 29.4-minute average travel time to work.
Adding Tax Revenues From Commercial
Component Does It
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
Despite a daunting $120 million price tag estimated for an allnew George Mason High School in the City of Falls Church, if 10 acres of the 34-acre Mason High and Henderson Middle School property is given over to dense economic development, the cost to taxpayers of the new campus could be far lower than previously projected. Inclusive of a $40 million land purchase and tax yields to the City from the development that will go on there, the cost of the school and other major capital projects — a new library and new City Hall — all combined will burden taxpayers with only six cents on their real estate for three years, and then down to four cents for the next 14 years and one cent by 2038, according to a new analysis by the City’s Finance Office presented to the F.C. City Council at its work session Monday night. If the Council votes Monday to go with scaled-back versions of the library and City Hall plans, the cost will be projected to be even less. In earlier fiscal projections, the City staff chose not to add the annual tax yield from the commercial development, a decision designed to reduce risk factors, that made the burden on taxpayers of a new high school appear overwhelming, even with the sale of the 10 acres, from nine cents in the first three years and dropping to seven cents for the next 13. So, last week, led by Mayor David Tarter, the City Council insisted that the projections include a likely annual tax yield,
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