August 28 — September 4, 2019
Fa lls 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 • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week
Mayor Cites Many Challenges in F.C’s Big Year of Growth Ahead Upbeat Mood in Annual ‘State of The City’ 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 “caring culture” in the City’s schools to “closing the gaps” to overcome the “structural inequality by race, class and gender” and to extend “equity and justice to all our kids.”
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 “State of the City” 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 school’s 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 Duncan’s work as the chair of the Economic Development Committee,
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Best of Falls Church 2019 Winners are Here!
For a decade we’ve asked you, the News-Press readers, for your Falls Church favorites and for a decade you’ve 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 – 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 didn’t 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 ‘State of the City’ 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 ‘Pop-Up’ 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 “pop-up” 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 system’s preschool year convocation this week, to go beyond the achievements of its K-12 system-wide International Baccalaureate curriculum, 100 percent high school