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8-14-2025

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August 14 - 20, 2025

Falls Church, Virginia • w w w . fc n p . c o m • Free

Founded 1991 • Vol. XXXV N o . 27

The City of Falls Church’s Independent, Locally-Owned Newspaper of Record, Serving N. Virginia

School is BERMAN PARK UPGRADES Underway Monday in Little City New Superintendent Dade Leads 2-Day Convocation

by Nicholas F. Benton

Falls Church News-Press

The new school year is now upon us! Unlike even the more recent past when the year always began right after Labor Day, now it is commencing on Monday, August 18. That earlier start date pushed up the annual event of the week prior when the convocation of the Falls Church City Public Schools (FCCPS) brings all teachers and staff to gather, and that happened this Monday and Tuesday, led by the system’s new superintendent. Dr. Terry J. Dade. Dade delivered keynote remarks on Monday, and they centered on two main points: “Be curious, not judgmental, and love what you do, and love kids.” He spoke of his background, being born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Northern Virginia, his dad being the current girls basketball coach at Robinson Secondary High.

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THE CREATIVE NEW PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT at Berman Park in Falls Church was unveiled at a well-attended ceremony Monday featuring the F.C. City Council and Parks and Recreation Department Head Danny Schlitt. (Photo: Gary Mester)

Yes, F.C. Council OK’ing Garbage Pick Up Change

by Nicholas F. Benton

Falls Church News-Press

The Falls Church City Council gave a unanimous “first reading” approval late Monday to a new plan to charge residents separately for their trash pick-up, rather than the long-standing policy of having it included in their residential real estate tax bills. The new plan involves

a two-tier billing process, more for those using 65 gallon trash containers and for those using 35 gallon containers. A final OK on the plan is expected at the Sept. 8 Council meeting, in time for the first round of bills to be listed on the fall real estate tax bill that comes out in November. In conjunction with that change will come a 1.5 cent reduction in real

estate tax bills for everybody, from $1.20 to $1.185 per $100 of assessed valuation. The change has been a long time coming for residents of multi-family projects that do not receive the weekly trash pickup service but have been paying for it as an included part of their real estate tax bill. There are 3,107 residential addresses in the City that receive the weekly service, constituting 82 percent of the

total properties. Over many years, residents of the Park Towers condo building on N. Maple Ave. have been periodically coming to Council meetings to complain about being charged through their real estate taxes for a service they did not receive. But this marks the first time they were heard and the

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