July 29 – August 4, 2021
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FOU N D E D 1991 • VOL. XXXI NO. 24
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New Public Health Mandates May Reach F.C. as a Result of Delta Variant Recent Rise in Covid-19 Infections Has Spurred Fairfax County to Consider Vaccine Mandate BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
Fairfax County could require all of its 12,500 employees to get vaccinated against Covid-19 when they return to offices this fall. During
their meeting Tuesday, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion by Chairman Jeff McKay directing County Executive Bryan Hill to evaluate whether to implement a vaccine mandate for all the county’s
State Reps Head to Richmond To Discuss Federal $ Allocation BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
The City of Falls Church’s delegation to the Richmond General Assembly that convenes in a special session next week — composed of the redoubtable duo of Sen. Richard Saslaw and State Del. Marcus Simon — will be carrying with them forceful documents from F.C. City officials that spell out priorities for what the City needs and how it intends to allocate the special Covid-19 pandemic relief funding it’s due. The session, which Simon told the News-Press he hopes will last only a few days, is focused on that issue, as the state has been deployed by the federal government to parcel out its relief funds according to a formula. Taken together from the Covid relief package, the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) “Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund,” signed
into law by the U.S. Congress, the City of F.C. is slated to get about $18 million, half of which hit its bank account earlier this summer, and half of which will come a year after that. Following a meeting of the City Council’s Legislative Committee Tuesday, Deputy City Manager Cindy Mester is finalizing a document to submit to Saslaw and Simon to take to Richmond on Monday. Overarching eligible uses for the funds (as delineated by the federal government) include responses to public health emergencies and negative economic impacts, premium pay for eligible workers, provision of government services to the extent of revenue reduction and investment in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure. Prioritizing on the first and fourth of those eligible uses, the City staff focused on two
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government employees, who range from library staff and police to solid waste workers. The recent significant uptick in the number of Covid-19 infections here and elsewhere in the U.S. is due almost entirely to its spread among
unvaccinated persons and the rapid rise of a new variant of the bug, the Delta variant, which is reportedly more virulent, both as contagious and disabling. This week alone, the region’s seven day average for new daily
infections climbed to 1,028, five times the average in late June. In Fairfax County, the number was up to 67 on Tuesday, compared to three just one month earlier.
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SOME LOCAL BUSINESSES never removed their notices from May that suggested unvaccinated or partially-vaccinated customers should wear masks in the store, such as FedEx in the Broaddale Shopping Center. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its masking guidance for vaccinated and unvaccinated people in light of the Delta variant’s spread. (P����: A��� R������)
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SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9
Now 30 years of still-continuing consecutive weekly publications of the mighty Falls Church NewsPress, our circulation has never failed to include delivery to every household in the City of Falls Church.. Join us as we reflect on our history and the evolution of Falls Church. SEE STORY, PAGE 11
George Mason was one of the founding fathers of both the nation and also of Virginia. Those honors are why he became the namesake of a high school in Falls Church, until it was decided Mason’s name will be dropped in favor of “Meridian” effective July 1.
Tonight’s Falls Church News-Press 30th Anniversary celebration will be at the Ireland’s Four Provinces restaurant, 105 West Broad St., in F.C., and will run from 6 – 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 at the door of the event.
SEE STORY, PAGE 3
INDEX
Editorial............................................... 6 Letters................................................. 6 Comment ...................................7,8,15 Crime Report ...................................... 8 News & Notes................................... 10 Calendar .....................................16-17 Business News ................................. 19 Classified Ads ................................... 20 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ......... 21 Critter Corner.................................... 22
