August 28 â September 4, 2019
Fa lls â Chur c h, V i r g i ni a ⢠ww w. fc np. c om ⢠Fr ee
Fou n d e d 1991 ⢠V ol. XXIX No. 28
Falls Church ⢠Tysons Corner ⢠Merrifield ⢠McLean ⢠North Arlington ⢠Baileyâs Crossroads
Inside This Week
Mayor Cites Many Challenges in F.Câs Big Year of Growth Ahead Upbeat Mood in Annual âState of The Cityâ Interview
by Matt Delaney
Falls Church News-Press
graduation rate and outstanding SOL test results (90 percent and above in all categories). There remains, he said, a great concern for extending the cultivation of a âcaring cultureâ in the Cityâs schools to âclosing the gapsâ to overcome the âstructural inequality by race, class and genderâ and to extend âequity and justice to all our kids.â
In a year of immense change for the City of Falls Church, Mayor David Tarter and the City Council have been the commanding force through it all. In his annual âState of the Cityâ interview with the NewsPress last week, Mayor Tarter cited the progress of the last year, as the ground has been broken on its 4.3-acre mixed-use Founders Row development at the corner of Broad and West St. and for the new state-of-the-art high school. The new schoolâs eventual completion clears the way for the 10-acre Little City Commons development, which received its name and final approval in the spring after going through a series of town hall meetings over the past year. These events were largely set in motion at the ballot box in fall 2017 where voters approved of a $120 million bond to construct the new school as well as renovations to City Hall (now completed) and, still to come, Mary Riley Styles Library. In his interview, Tarter credited the collaborative and complementary nature of his fellow council members for bringing their vision of Falls Church to life. Dan Sze has been keen on identifying alternative sources of energy, David Snyder has represented the region on transportation issues, Ross Litkenhous has participated in the Live Local effort, Phil Duncanâs work as the chair of the Economic Development Committee,
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Best of Falls Church 2019 Winners are Here!
For a decade weâve asked you, the News-Press readers, for your Falls Church favorites and for a decade youâve answered. Find out who you chose as the best places to eat, drink, shop and more in and around The Little City in the 10th annual Best of Falls Church! See pages 14 â 22
Route 7-Haycock Improvements Begin
A $15.7 million project to improve the intersection of Route 7 (Broad Street) and Haycock Road/Shreve Road was kicked off with a groundbreaking ceremony Monday. See News Briefs, page 9
Trees Turn Into Art At Cherry Hill Park
It was another sticky summer day last week, but that didnât keep artist Andrew Mallon from sculpting animals out of dead wood at the Cherry Hill playground. See page 8
Index
Editorial................6 Letters..................6 News & Notes.10, 11 Comment.... 12,13 Business News.25 Calendar..... 30,31
Classified Ads... 32 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword........ 33 Crime Report.... 34 Critter Corner.... 34
IN THE ANNUAL âState of the Cityâ interview with the News-Press, Falls Church Mayor David Tarter cited the under-construction Founders Row project (above) and the West End development as examples of the progress the Little City has experienced in the last year. (Photo: Gary Mester)
City of F.C. Schools Start Tuesday, 46 Registered at âPop-Upâ Sites
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
In a first-time approach, the Falls Church City Public Schools undertook a proactive approach to sign up students for the coming school year. Teams went out with âpop-upâ sites last weekend at Berman Park, across from The Fields, a subsidized apartment complex for lower-income citizens, and the F.C. Community Center, where a lot of youth free
play goes on, to help insure that the fewest possible number of children miss the opportunity to attend school this fall. Fortysix students were registered as a result. The initiative was taken, F.C. Schools Superintendent Peter Noonan said at the systemâs preschool year convocation this week, to go beyond the achievements of its K-12 system-wide International Baccalaureate curriculum, 100 percent high school