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Falls Church NEWS BRIEFS

F.C. Councilman Sze Fighting Cancer, Mayor Reports

Long-serving Falls Church City Council member Dan Sze is fighting esophageal cancer, F.C. Mayor David Tarter reported at the outset of Monday night’s Falls Church City Council work session. Sze was absent from the meeting and left last week’s Council business meeting about halfway through. Sze first served on the F.C. City Council from 2006-2010 and did not run for re-election. But he ran again and won in November 2013 and also in 2017. He was vice-chair of the F.C. Economic Development Authority (2002-2006) and was appointed to the Board of Zoning Appeals in 2013. While on the City Council he chaired the Appointments Committee, served as liaison to the Planning Commission, founded the Economic Development Committee and served on the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Climate, Energy and Environmental Policy Committee. A resident of Falls Church since 1988, he concluded three decades of federal service in 2012 dedicated to environmental stewardship while advocating for appropriate, intelligent development. He was with the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy as deputy director of state energy programs, providing interagency liaison and senior advisor functions. Prior to that, he was Director of the Office of Infrastructure and Business Management Systems and from 2000-2005 was the national program manager of Rebuild America, a DOE-sponsored network of state, community and business partnerships focused on energy efficiency and energy technology projects in buildings and infrastructure. During his management, partnerships were involved in two billion square feet of projects and over $3 billion in energy efficiency investments. At the DOE since 1991, Sze has also been involved with oversight and management policy, project management leadership and defense program analysis. He worked for the Department of Defense in procurement, construction man- agement and supervisory engineering positions with the Navy, including a program man- ager of the Trident Submarine Base at Kings Bay, Georgia. He held a commission as a State Department Foreign Service Officer, playing a key role in the reopening of the U.S. mission in Havana. Sze attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and holds a Bachelors of Architecture from Howard University and a Masters in Science in Urban Design from Columbia University. He was first registered as an architect in 1982.

Jury Queries to Be Mailed in F.C.

The Arlington Circuit Court, which includes the City of Falls Church, will soon begin its annual juror qualification process. Juror questionnaires will be mailed in early August to randomly selected residents of Arlington County and Falls Church City. These questionnaires are used to qualify residents for jury duty which begins Jan. 1, 2021, and ends Dec. 31, 2021. In accordance with state law, questionnaires are distributed annually to a random selection of residents of Arlington County and the City of Falls Church. Recipients are selected from registered voter rolls provided by the State Board of Elections. Jury Commissioners appointed by the court review the questionnaires to deter- mine eligibility for service according to criteria established by the General Assembly. Residents are required to complete and return the questionnaire within 10 days of receipt. They are asked to complete the form online to save resources. If someone is qualified by the court to serve, they could receive a summons in the mail next year with detailed reporting instructions. Failure to respond to the questionnaire or providing incomplete information may result in a resident being summoned to court to complete the form in person.

Beyer Calls for Resignation of DHS Chief

U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, who represents the 8th District of Virginia that includes the City of Falls Church, issued the following statement Monday following a weekend of civil rights abuses by unidentified federal officers in Portland, Oregon, operating at the direction of Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, and amid reports that similar DHS deployments are expected to begin in Chicago: “Acting Secretary Wolf is overseeing authoritarian abuses that betray our bedrock principles and would horrify our nation’s Founders. These unidentified officers in Portland are unwanted by state and local officials, who have asked them to leave. Their actions plainly violate both the basic purpose of these agencies and the Department of Homeland Security, and the statutory authority which has been used as a pretext for their presence,” Beyer said in the state- ment. Ordering the occupation of U.S. cities, seeking the escalation of violence, and intentionally risking American lives over peaceful protests and graffiti is unfathomable and unacceptable. Secretary Wolf must resign immediately or be fired.” JULY 23 – 29, 2020 | PAGE 9

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& Notes

F.C. Women Voters Holds Talk on Election Changes

The League of Women Voters of Falls Church invites the public to a virtual meeting to learn about recent legislative changes to the voting and registration process in Virginia and plans for holding an election during the coronavirus pandemic.

Guest speakers will include Renee Andrews, who is a member of the Falls Church City Electoral Board, and David Bjerke, who is the Director of Elections and General Registrar of Voters for the City of Falls Church. This event will take place on Sunday, July 26 at 3:30 p.m., via Zoom. For more information and to obtain the Zoom link for the meeting, email Barbara Lipsky at blipsky@ cox.net.

Nonprofit Seeks Donations For Justice High Pyramid

Fairfax-based nonprofit Britepaths is seeking donations from the community to assist students in need who attend schools in the Fairfax County area as part of its annual Collect for Kids Back to School Program.

Britepaths’ goal is to provide supplies for at least 2,500 Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) students who attend schools in the Justice High School pyramid, including Bailey’s Elementary School, Beech Tree Elementary School, Belvedere Elementary School, Parklawn Elementary School, Sleepy Hollow Elementary School and Glasgow Middle School. Britepaths will provide pre-packaged supply kits to its partner schools for distribution to students with demonstrated need. The supply kits will be helpful to students whether they attend school on-site or virtually.

Community members are asked to donate funds via Britepaths’ secure on-line donation page at: britepaths.org, or mail a check to 3959 Pender Drive, Suite 200, Fairfax, VA 22030. Write “BTS” in the memo line. For more information, phone 703.273.8829 or email sryan@britepaths.org.

Britepaths is collaborating with Fairfax County’s Collect for Kids partnership to serve as many FCPS students in need as pos

LITTLE CITY RESIDENT Elissa Ruffino (right picture, in pink face mask) had a launch party for her children’s book, “Dream Big Dream Small,” on Monday at the Falls Church home of Caroline K. Duffett, a 2020 Christopher Newport University graduate who hosted and emceed the event. “I decided to write this book to honor Frank J. Guarini, former United States Congressman (New Jersey), who inspires me to dream big. ‘Dream Big Dream Small’ highlights the importance of hopes and dreams no matter how big or small through an endearing story about a young girl living in New York, Ruffino said. The book was kid approved (left photo). (Photos: Courtesy Elissa Ruffino)

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