A ug u st 2 5 – 3 1 , 2 0 1 6
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. X X V I No. 27
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week U.S. Figure Skater Kwan Visits Eden Center Olympic, U.S. and world champion figure skater Michelle Kwan toured Falls Church’s Eden Center last week as part of her day-long area effort to drum up support for Asian American and Pacific Islander Virginians for Hillary Clinton. See News Briefs, page 9
DMV 2 Go in F.C. Next Friday
The Department of Motor Vehicles mobile customer service center, DMV 2 Go, will return to City Hall next Friday, Sept. 2, from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
F.C. School Board Moves Swiftly With Fellows, Madison Options Best of Falls Church 2016
Continued on Page 5
Continued on Page 4
We’ve clearly had a failure of leadership in this country. The political system is not working as it should. Big problems are not being addressed. See page 12
Press Pass with Skye & Ross
PACKED WITH SEVEN DIFFERENT kinds of meat and a handful of toppings, the Torta Bamba from Taco Bamba is one of the tastiest ways to pack on the pounds in Falls Church. The Pimmit Hill taqueria is just one of Falls Church’s “best,” highlighted inside this 2016 Best of Falls Church special edition of the News-Press. For a complete list of editor and reader Best of Falls Church picks, see pages 15-24. (Photo: Jody Fellows/News-Press)
Falls Church’s Tatianna (Joey) Back On RuPaul’s Drag All-Stars by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Index
Editorial..................6 Letters................6, 8 News & Notes.10-11 Comment...12-14, 25 Business News....26
Calendar.........30-31 Classified Ads .....32 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword...........33 Critter Corner.......34
Falls Church’s own Joey Santolini returns after six years to the popular “RuPaul’s Drag Race” national reality TV show on Logo and VH-1 tonight at 8 p.m. for the start of yet another season. Santolini, who performs as
Tatianna and who came in fourth place when she was on the show’s second season in 2010, returns this season for a gala “All Star” show launching a season. It features 10 of the best contestants from eight seasons of the show involving $1 million in award money. The News-Press had an exclusive interview with Tatianna fol-
Falls Church News-Press
lowing the 2010 show season, and a follow-up interview was conducted in the last week. Tatianna, a graduate of Falls Church High School, still lives in Falls Church. She has been the regular star performer on weekends at the Town Danceboutique in Washington,
David Brooks: Why American’s Leadership Fails
See page 28
by Nicholas F. Benton
With the fate of the Mt. Daniel Elementary expansion and renovation project remaining in limbo at least until a vote of the Fairfax County Planning Commission on Sept. 14, the Falls Church School Board agreed to move ahead with alternative plan options at its work session Tuesday night. The need for swift action was underscored at the meeting, with Superintendent Dr. Toni Jones having informed the board this month that a 4.6 percent growth in enrollment is possible, according to very preliminary data, when the City’s schools open after Labor Day. The primary focus of Tuesday’s discussion was the Fellows Living Trust Tract at 604 S. Oak St., across from the Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, and Dr. Jones presented three already-completed preliminary design options for a two or three story school structure on that 1.95 acre land that currently has one unoccupied house. But while moving ahead toward possible “condemnation” or the exercise of “eminent domain” on that land, agreeing to proceed to obtain a formal assessment of its fair market value, the board did not rule out exploring the possibility of the former Madison School site on N. Washington, as well. “There is a history of the dust up that neighbors to the Madison School site caused when that location was considered for a middle school,” Board Vice Chair John Lawrence said. But others on the board, includ-
See News Briefs, page 9
When Skye Edwards and Ross Godfrey, two-thirds of the UK trip-hop group Morcheeba, reunited to create a new group called Skye & Ross, it wasn’t just the duo that came together for their debut album. They brought their families into the mix.
Alternative Plans to Mt. Daniel Expansion Pursued Aggessively