Falls Church News-Press 9-22-2011

September 22 - 28, 2011

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Founded 1991 • Vo l . XXI N o . 30

Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads

Inside This Week Commission: Fairfax Should Takeover F.C. Water

The Fairfax County Consumer Protection Commission issued a 68-page report this week that concludes the county should effectively take control of the City of Falls Church’s water system.

See News Briefs, page 9

Gardner Trial Delayed Until January 2012 The trial of Michael Gardner, Falls Church City civic activist and husband of former mayor and current City Council member Robin Gardner, will be delayed at the prosecution’s request.

See

page

28

David Brooks: Obama Rejects Obamaism I’m a sap, a specific kind of sap. I’m an Obama Sap. See page 12

Statham, Owen, De Niro Star in ‘Killer Elite’ Two teams of ex-SAS men find themselves on opposite sides of an ingenious plot. The teams find themselves in a diabolical cat-and-mouse game where we’re hard-pressed to divide the characters into good and bad guys.

‘Cautious Optimism’ at F.C. City Hall as Final FY11 #s Show $4 Million Surplus F.C. Council Mulls Stashing Away More Cash as Fund Balance, Reserve Funds

by Nicholas F. Benton

Falls Church News-Press

City of Falls Church officials said they are “cautiously optimistic” at Monday night’s City Council work session, based on a final unaudited wrap up of Fiscal Year 2011, completed last June 30, which showed numbers $4.1 million more than projected.

The significantly better than expected results included $1.3 million more in revenues than expected, $2.1 million less in expenditures than expected and $1.3 million more than expected in appropriations to the fund bal-

ance (now not earmarked for grant or legal expenditures) for $4.1 million.

The improvements are rooted in unexpected up-ticks in real estate, personal property, business license and sales taxes, although F.C. Chief Financial Officer Richard LeCondre cautioned the Council that “the surplus does not necessarily translate into the economy turning around.”

City Manager Wyatt Shields recommended caution, that the Council hold all the surplus into the City’s fund balance, and not run out to spend it.

In fact, to the contrary, Shields

and LeCondre also unveiled two fiscally conservative proposals Monday calling for a revision to adopted City policy to increase the required range of the City’s fund balance – the amount that is always held in reserve – from the current range of 8 to 12 percent, to a new, higher range of 12 to 17 percent.

On top of that, Shields and LeCondre recommended the creation of a Capital Fund with a goal of accumulating $7 million.

Whereas taxpayer dollars would go into the capitalization of the fund, the money would theoretically never be removed, and only the yield on the fund – either from interest or other investments – would be spent from year to year.

Both the increase in the fund balance (as a percentage of annu-

al budget expenditures) and the capital fund idea drew fire from at least two members of the Council – Vice Mayor David Snyder and Council member Robin Gardner – who objected to the idea of taking taxpayer money and not putting it to use, but instead holding it in banks.

For example, capitalizing the proposed fund at a rate of $1.3 million a year would amount to four cents on the tax rate, now at $1.27 per $100 assessed valuation, and that money would never be directly applied to either a capital project or the operations of the City.

Others on the Council – led by Council members Ira Kaylin and Ron Peppe – argued the other side

Continued on Page 5

A n A e r i a l V i ew

See Ebert, page 24

Index Editorial..................6 Letters..............6, 30 Business News....16 News & Notes.10-11 Comment........12-15 Calendar.........20-21 Restaurant Spotlight ............................22

Roger Ebert.........24 Press Pass..........25 Classified Ads . ...26 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword...........29 Critter Corner.......30 Business Listing..31

COMPLIMENTS OF FALLS CHURCH’S AirPhotosLive.com comes this stunning photo of the demolition work preceding construction of the new Northgate mixed use project on N. Washington St. in Falls Church. (Photo: AirPhotosLIVE.com)

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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SEPTEMBER 22 – 28, 2011 | PAGE 3

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Connolly in Sharp-Tongued Rebuke Of Job-Obstructing Ideologues

by Nicholas F. Benton

Falls Church News-Press

Lashing out at those in Congress who put ideology ahead of pragmatic problem solving, U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly was animated and colorful in his remarks to a joint luncheon meeting of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce and the Merrifield Business Association Tuesday.

Connolly said that it amounts to “a criminal dereliction of duty” for any elected official to avoid job creating measures in the current economy.

There must not be, he added, those in Congress who say, “I choose not to believe,” in the face of empirical data, zeroing in on the Tea Party-backed legislators who have taken “no tax hike” pledges.

Their threats to disallow a rise in the national debt ceiling was “reckless and irresponsible” and “did damage to the U.S.,” contributing to the downgrading of the U.S. debt by Standard and Poors, who cited the Congressional impasse as a reason for their action.

“I come out of local government,” Connolly told the business leaders, noting his service as the Providence District supervisor and then Fairfax County-wide board chair prior to getting elected to Congress in 2008. “When you are in local government, you are forced to be pragmatic. It’s all about filling pot holes, providing for schools and lowering the crime rate.

“There is a lot of accountability at the local level, and you are forced to focus on results,” he said, contrasting that to the

detached ideological decisions of the right wing in the U.S. Congress, those who have signed “no tax” pledges that function like the Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.

He looked to the Nov. 18 date when the so-called “super committee” of 12 House and Senate representatives must find a way to close a $1.2 trillion gap between revenues and expenditures in the federal government.

If an agreement is not reached by that date, it will trigger an automatic sequestration of $1.2 trillion in budget cuts over 10 years, half from discretionary programs and half from defense.

However, there needs to be not only spending cuts, but revenue enhancements (added tax revenues) to avoid a “dire result,” Connolly said, and the Republicans expressed no intention to allow any new revenue.

He said that with a failure to invest in national infrastructure, for example, “China is going to clean our clock,” because in China, India and other economies, no expense is being spared from developing high speed “bullet” trains, subways and other modes of enhancing their economic growth.

By contrast, right now the U.S. is “net disinvesting in a crumbling national infrastructure.”

But, he said, “investment does not come free,” and the current situation, where taxes represent only 15 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), is “way too low.”

He noted that under President Clinton, the rate was 21 percent of GDP, the nation experienced four consecutive years of balanced budgets and was on a glide path for eliminating all of its debt for

the first time since the 1830s, and only the second time in the nation’s history.

He noted how, in 1952, Republican president Eisenhower signed the Interstate Highway System Act, with the support of Republican Sen. Prescott Bush, that built a U.S. national infrastructure to spur 50 years of a “competitive edge” for the U.S. Such as they would be “drummed out of the Republican Party today,” Connolly mused.

“Today, they don’t realize that not all spending is the same.”

At the point federal stimulus dollars under Obama went to the U.S. advanced lithium battery industry, the U.S. produced only two percent of the world’s share, but now it produces 40 percent, he pointed out.

Connolly predicted that some parts of the jobs program outlined by President Obama earlier this week would get passed in Congress, although the Republicans have pledged to hang it up on revenue.

Obama was “very effective” in his remarks, Connolly said. “He pushed the envelope but didn’t ask for the sun, moon and stars, while insisting that we have to do something about jobs, and we can’t wait another 14 months.”

Connolly reiterated his opposition to some elements of Obama’s plan, such as capping mortgage interest deductions and capping charitable giving, but favored its “broad thrust.”

He said that Democrats “hopefully will not allow themselves to be stampeded” on the issues of Social Security and Medicare. He said there are ways to introduce gradual reforms – such as increas-

U.S. REP. GERRY CONNOLLY (left) had some colorful words for his political opponents while speaking to the monthly luncheon of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce and Merrifield Business Association Tuesday. (photo: News-Press) ing the retirement age of those now in their 20s – that will keep the system solvent for the next 50 to 75 years without a problem.

He debunked the GOP charge that Obama’s plan to raise taxes on the wealthiest is tantamount to “class warfare.”

“The last thing in the world it is is ‘class warfare,’” he intoned. “Is Warren Buffet, the second wealthiest man in the U.S., engaging in class warfare when he says it is unfair that he pays taxes at a lower rate than his secretary?”

“It’s about paying a fair share,” he said, noting the median household income has dropped over the last decade in the middle class, where it has skyrocketed for the top five percent.

Connolly said that he opposed the idea of removing the Bush tax cut for those earning above $250,000 a year last December, in favor of a temporary extension.

But he said that the “Buffet Rule” notion of raising taxes for those

earning over $1 million a year “is not a bad cut off point.”

Finally, Connolly chided Sarah Palin for claiming that Northern Virginia is “cushioned from the real world” because of its ability to function on federal dollars.

“Alaska, where Sarah Palin was governor until she resigned, is the Number One state in the union in federal spending. If it wasn’t for federal money, Alaska would be nothing more than a refrigerator.

Federal money paid for airports, buildings, roads, everything there.

On its own, Alaska would not be a viable economic entity. Its population is half that of Fairfax County.”

But he cited Palin’s comment as typical of those who prefer ideology to facts.

“In reality, we are a knowledge, technology, federal employee and federal contractor-based economy, and I serve the wealthiest congressional district out of 435 in the U.S.,” he said.

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F.C. Optimistic Continued from Page 1

of the issue, favoring the capital fund idea because it would provide a predictable, reliable stream of resources to apply annually to the City’s Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) budget.

The Council will continue its debate on the issues at its regular business meeting this coming Monday night, as it was nowhere near being resolved at this week’s work session.

With regard to the final report from Fiscal Year 2011, LeCondre told the Council this week, “It’s very comforting to see that we’ve turned the corner, we still have a long way to go.”

He also said that regional jurisdictions are experiencing a similar phenomenon, although concerns for a national economic “double dip” recession were referenced by Shields, and the poorly performing months of July and August, in terms of the national economy, were not factors in the FY11 results, as Councilman Ira Kaylin pointed out.

The underspending of expenses in FY11 involved $1 million in grants not expended, $425,000

in uncompleted project costs and $286,000 in salary savings.

Also, real estate tax revenues were up $440,000, personal property tax revenues up $246,000, business license revenues up $312,000, sales taxes up $460,000 and meals taxes up $132,000.

Cumulative other taxes were up $381,000.

The $4.1 million is a significant portion of the City’s total,

LOCAL balanced FY2011 operating budget of $65 million. By concurring with Shields’ recommendation to hold onto the difference, the City has suddenly boosted its fund balance from being perilously below its policy threshold of 8 percent a year ago to being at the very top of its policy guideline at 12 percent.

But instead of viewing the 12 percent threshold as an upper limit

– beyond which the City would be needlessly hoarding, rather than putting to work, taxpayer cash – Shields and LeCondre are now calling for increasing the upper limit of the fund balance to 17 percent. Their plan would keep out of circulation taxpayer funds that could be used for salary increases, restoring manpower-depleted divisions of the city government or other purposes.

F.C.’s Charles ‘Chip’ Hailey Dies at 69

Charles Morgan ‘Chip’ Hailey III, 69, a lifelong resident of the City of Falls Church and son of a former mayor of the City, died suddenly at Virginia Hospital Center last Saturday, Sept. 17 at 1 a.m. apparently from a heart attack.

Hailey was a founder of the Falls Church Cable Television Access Corporation, and a constant presence at a myriad of City events, volunteering his audio and technical assistance for many City Recreation and Parks programs, school programs, and City employee programs.

He enjoyed the friendship of many in the City and was with friends when he died.

Hailey was born May 2, 1942 in Washington, D.C. to Charles Morgan Hailey, Jr., who served as mayor of Falls Church from 1959 to 1969, and Nancy H. Hailey.

SEPTEMber 22 - 28, 2011 | PAGE 5

Hailey was born with cerebral palsy and was one of the first poster children for Cerebral Palsy. As a poster boy he attended a special event as at the White House, where he sat on Margaret Truman’s lap. Since he had newly polished shoes, he left stains on Miss Truman’s lap, making his “mark on the Truman Administration,” as he would later joke.

The Hailey family moved to Falls Church and Chip attended Jefferson School on Cherry Street. Later he attended Madison School and George Mason High School.

Hailey loved classical music and was devoted to his family and his church and

LeCondre argued, however, that because of the small size of Falls Church, with its 11,400 residents and 2.2 square miles, economic volatility and uncertainty, including the disproportionate impact that a serious weather or other emergency might have on the City’s financial position, a higher fund balance level is required than would otherwise be the case.

the Falls Church television station for 30 years. A founding member in the early ‘80s, he served on the board of the Falls Church Cable Access Corporation (FCCAC) since its inception, and was its president for several terms, until his death.

The FCCAC and FCC-TV members will host a memorial to honor Hailey at its annual meeting. Details will be provided on the FCC-TV.net website.

Visitations will be held at Murphy Funeral Home, 1102 W. Broad Street, Falls Church on Friday, Sept. 23, from 6 to 8 p.m. A memorial service will be held on Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. at The First Baptist Church, 1328 16th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036. Internment will be at the Ashcamp Memorial Cemetery in Keysville, Virginia where Hailey will be buried at the family plot.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Chip Hailey Fund at the First Baptist Church, 1328 16th Street, NW. Washington, D.C. 20036.

EDITORIAL

PAGE 6 | SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2011

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Editorial

The Looming F.C. Election Referendum

It’s bubbling beneath the surface right now, but you can bet by the time the November 8 election arrives, there will be an awful lot of contention among many of our finest citizens, and plenty of fur flying all around our little City of Falls Church.

It will all have to do with the local referendum that will appear on that Nov. 8 ballot, one which asks voters whether they’d like Falls Church’s municipal elections to be held in May, or in November.

The arguments are heated on both sides, which will add to the potential confusion for a lot of average people. So, we are hoping that venerated Falls Church organizations like the Citizens for a Better City (CBC), the Village Preservation and Improvement Society (VPIS), the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce and, above all, the Falls Church chapter of the League of Women Voters, will become quite active in promoting more light than heat by holding civilized panels and providing balanced reports.

It’s already late in the game to get started on that, and its not as if these organizations are otherwise overburdened with election-related matters this fall.

In fact, aside from the referendum, the only two other items on the November ballot pertain to state legislative races. In one, venerated incumbent Del. Jim Scott faces nothing but the write-in box. In the other, Falls Church’s new State Sen. Dick Saslaw, whose 35th District boundaries were redrawn to encompass Falls Church last spring, has made sure that, as the Senate majority leader, his new district lines will in no way represent a challenge his continued incumbency.

So, the “ho hum” ballot choices in Falls Church this fall are worrisome to both sides on the issue of the referendum. More than is usual, the outcome will be decided by who comes to the polls, and the margin one way or the other could be very slight.

Basic arguments developed on both sides of the issue during the course of twisted events since two years ago, when the Falls Church City Council first voted to move local elections from May to November, and then, after an election in May 2010 replaced a number of Council members, the Council reversed itself, putting the local elections back to May – with the proviso that a public referendum be held to finally establish which way the fine citizens of Falls Church prefer it.

Those wanting to move the date from May to November desired to capture the wishes of a higher percentage of the population, since the history of voter turnouts in Falls Church since the City’s founding 60 years ago show consistently that many more people vote in November, than in May, elections.

Those urging keeping local elections in May said they wished to avoid the potential co-mingling of local races with partisan federal and state legislative races, and to confine the vote to those who bother to weigh in on local matters on May election dates.

Letters

Saddened by Passing of Good Friend, Chip Hailey

Editor, I can not express the sadness I feel at the passing of my good friend, Chip Hailey. I can, however, share why he will be greatly missed.

Chip was a proud member of the City’s community. The son of a former Falls Church City mayor, he lived most of his life in the city, attended the city’s schools and actively supported a variety of city

events and organizations. He loved to share bits of Falls Church City trivia, his favorite being the naming of “Hailey Square” at the intersection of Broad and Washington streets.

I met Chip over two decades ago while working at Falls Church Community Television. He was an accomplished audiophile dabbling in video. It is very likely, that in the time he spent attending video

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production classes at the FCC-TV studio, I learned more about audio from Chip than he learned about video from me. Chip became a champion of public access television in Falls Church, working to bring numerous Memorial Day parades, Recreation and Parks dance recitals, live election coverage, Santa videos and countless city/school/public access television programs to his community. If you have a copy of any of these programs in your house, you have Chip in your home.

He served as the president of FCCAC Board of Directors for over a decade and volunteered thousands of hours in the FCC-TV

studio and offices.

Chip was an “old school” southern gentleman, history buff, lively debater, active church member, rooted democrat and connoisseur of classical music. He never boasted, never took credit when it was due, shied at public recognition and always found a way to help anyone with any and every request.

I know that I am not alone when I share that I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to work with Chip and blessed to have him as an adopted member of my family.

Vicki Knickerbocker Leesburg

More Letters on Page 30

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COMMENT

G � � � � C � � � � � �� ��

SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2011 | PAGE 7

Much Work Still to Do in Quake-Ravaged Haiti B� S���� A. J���, M.D.

New Orleans, Indonesia, Haiti, Japan, Joplin. Earthquakes, typhoons, tsunamis, tornados, hurricanes, floods, snowstorms, wildfires, nuclear disasters, wars, elections.

The clamor for our attention is loud; the list is endless. Horror fatigue and the demands of our very busy lives combine. We seem to abandon those we previously sought to help. I am asking you not to forget them.

I’m a doctor. I’m privileged to volunteer in Chantal and Canon, Haiti. Shortly after the quake, by word of mouth one to another to the next, I was linked up with “We Care To Share, Chantal,” a 501c3 medical relief group. Chantal’s a small town, 300 miles southwest of Port Au Prince, an eight hour drive. Chantal’s population soared with quake refugees. Canon, an hour’s drive further into the mountains, is staggeringly poor even by Haitian standards.

The 2010 quake in Haiti was massive compared to the one that just struck Washington. It killed over 300,000 and destroyed Port Au Prince, the national capital. A fifth of Haiti’s population was displaced: two million people homeless, jobless, traumatized, and desperate. A high percentage of Americans texted $10 to help.

In the 18 months since, obvious recovery is visible in Port au Prince but the scope of the task remains staggering.

Imagine every person in D.C., Arlington and Fairfax County instantly homeless, and

all of downtown D.C. flattened like the World Trade Center. Virtually every Haitian was directly impacted.

We Care To Share’s current team includes six doctors, 11 nurses, and five dentists from eight U.S. States, six coun-

“Imagine every person in D.C., Arlington and Fairfax County instantly homeless, and all of downtown D.C. �lattened like the World Trade Center. Virtually every Haitian was directly impacted. ” tries, three continents. Roughly half return from one trip to the next, depending on available leave time. We’re all volunteers and pay our own airfare. We’re multicultural, multiracial, and belong to most of the world’s major religions. Logistics are coordinated through the Diocese of Palm Beach.

No proselytizing is ever involved.

Our fifth trip is in November. We’ll treat over 2,000 medical outpatients daily without

regard to race, religion, or ethnicity. All care and all medicines are free. It’s common to have 4,000 patients waiting before 5 a.m. who have often walked all night to be there or waited overnight in hopes of treatment.

There’s never enough medicine, never enough time. We know we won’t get to them all.

Generous organizations like Brother’s Brother Foundation in Pittsburgh and Crosslink International in Falls Church donate medicines. Some, like Blessings, and WHO/MAP, sell them at greatly reduced rates. We buy more from a Haitian pharmaceutical manufacturer, which supports his business in Port Au Prince, hire local translators, buy locally for our food, and go to the weekly market.

Pharmacists are needed for the November trip, more doctors, more dentists.

Patients have malaria, cutaneous anthrax, fungal rashes, diarrheal infections, severe malnutrition, parasitic illnesses, and, more recently, cholera, along with the usual spectrum of diseases seen in the U.S. The closest permanent medical care is in the county seat, Les Cayes, which boasts two hospitals and a Doctors Without Borders clinic. That trip requires two riverbed crossings – rivers which rapidly flood whenever it rains. In this tropical country, they’re frequently impassable.

For a sick child, an ill woman with pneumonia, or a man with a serious injury, going to Les Cayes means a five-hour walk from Chantal, one way. It’s 10 hours one way from

Canon. Most folks don’t have cars; bus fare is prohibitive for the average citizen. So sick people walk all day hoping they can cross the rivers to get care in Les Cayes. If they’re too sick to walk that far, they stay home and simply don’t get medical treatment.

Our relief clinic needs vitamins with iron, cans of protein powder, over the counter meds, anti-yeast and anti-fungals, toothbrushes, toothpaste. Crocs, lightweight children’s shoes. And, since children are children everywhere, small beanie babies, bubbles with bubble wands, small toys to give as “prizes” for pediatric patients – many of whom have never owned a toy.

Maybe your child’s school club, youth group, or your social group will consider a project. Collect bottles of pediatric vitamins or Tylenol, hold a car wash for the Chantal clinic. Items can be dropped off at the Fairfax County Democratic Committee office, 2815 Hartland Rd, Falls Church. Tax-deductible donations can be made through the Diocese of Palm Beach, Knights of Columbus 6988, Share program.

In addition to providing short-term relief from the triple whammy of the quake, Hurricane Tomas, and the cholera epidemic, we’re helping Chantal become medically self-sufficient.

People in need can’t afford for us to engage in momentary “feel-good, pat ourselves on the back” efforts before we focus our attention elsewhere. They need partners who’ll stick it out for long-term solutions.

Q������� �� ��� W��� Should the City hold more taxpayer cash in its fund balance and capital reserve fund?

• Yes • No

Last Week’s Question:

How concerned are you about allegations of police misconduct at the Eden Center?

• Don’t know

Log on to www.FCNP.com to cast your vote

FCNP On-Line polls are surveys, not scientific polls.

[WRITE FOR THE PRESS] The News-Press welcomes readers to send in submissions in the form of Letters to the Editor

& Guest Commentaries. Letters to the Editor should be no more than 350 words and writers are limited to one appearance every four weeks.

Guest Commentaries should be no more than 800 words and writers are limited to one appearance every four months. Because of space constraints, not all submissions will be published. All submissions to the News-Press should be original, unpublished content. We reserve the right to edit submissions for length, grammar and accuracy. All submissions should include writer’s name, address, phone and e-mail address if available.

Email: letters@fcnp.com | Mail: Letters to the Editor, Falls Church News-Press, 200 Little Falls St., #508, Falls Church 22046 | Fax: 703.340.0347

PAGE 8 | SEPTEMBER 22 - 28 , 2011

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

(GHQ &HQWHU 0RRQ )HVWLYDO Drawing inspiration from the moon and centuries of Vietnamese culture, children ages 3 – 17, brushes in hand, waited for the judges to give a shout-out to begin. Children enter the Eden Center art contest each year when the autumn harvest rolls around. And with the season they remember their favorite celestial body, the full moon (and their favorite shopping center, Eden Center)! One-hundred plus youngsters entered the competition, held annually as part of Eden Center’s Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, which attracted thousands of children and parents. Young artists each had their own ideas of how to capture the spirit of Vietnam’s singular holiday devoted to children, giving thanks for togetherness and abundance. How do they feel about their traditions? Here is what some of the children said: “I feel happy because I never want to forget my culture because it is the language I was born into” and “I think that creativity means using your imagination and doing what you see is important.”

Children also enjoyed glitter tattoo artists, face painters, caricature artists, balloon sculptors, fortune tellers, and magicians. The event concluded with the Miss Vietnam DC pageant and a Lantern Parade.

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Fa l l s C h u r c h

LOCAL

News Briefs Commission Wants Fairfax Takeover of F.C. Water The Fairfax County Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) issued a 68-page report Tuesday that concludes the county should effectively take control of the City of Falls Church’s water system. The CPC study, commissioned by the Fairfax County Board last spring, recommends that the county should “exercise its authority under Section 15.2-2111 of the Virginia Code and (1) fix rates and charges for water service so that no Fairfax County customer of the City’s water system will be charged rates and charges that exceed those of Fairfax Water, and (2) establish Fairfax Water as the exclusive water service provider for all new development and redevelopment in Fairfax County, unless Fairfax Water determines that it is unable to furnish water service to a given location.” The report, noting that the City’s water system currently serves over 90,000 customers in Fairfax County, challenged the need for Falls Church’s most recent water rate increase, finalized by the F.C. City Council last week to go into effect Oct. 1.

F.C.’s Webb Lashes Out at Fairfax Water Report The report released Tuesday by the Fairfax County Consumer Protection Commission, claiming that the Falls Church City Council’s vote last week to raise water rates was unjustified, has led to a swift reply from F.C. Council member Lawrence Webb, released by F.C.’s Public Information Office yesterday. Webb, who is also a member of the F.C. Public Utilities Commission, stated, “The commission’s report appears to be a political document, and that’s disappointing. We had hoped that Fairfax County would move away from this litigious, confrontational approach after its water refund cases were summarily dismissed in Fairfax County Circuit Court last month.” He asked, “Where is the commission’s research into water rates of other water systems in Fairfax County, all of which have raised water rates in recent years? Where is the commission’s research into Fairfax County’s own sewer rates, which have gone up 80 percent since 2005, a rate of growth 20 times higher than Falls Church’s water rates?” Webb added, “This report raises questions about the commission’s independence. A professional and objective consumer commission should not be involved in raw politics. The City of Falls Church water rates are below average for the region, and we will continue to operate a first class water system at a low cost for our customers.”

Ireland’s 4 Provinces Wins Taste of Falls Church Offering a dazzling array of prepared food options – from rack of lamb to jumbalaya to stuffed shrimp to meatball soup to shepherd’s pie to potato leek soup – the Ireland’s Four Provinces Restaurant was the runaway winner among 17 participants in the “Taste of Falls Church” component of Falls Church’s 36th annual Fall Festival last Saturday on the City Hall grounds. Mad Fox Brew Pub came in second in voting by the judges who were Henderson Middle School principal Seidah Ashshaheed, F.C. Mayor Nader Baroukh, Planning Commissioner Rob Meeks, School Board member Joan Wodiska and the NewsPress’ Leslie Poster (see photos on page 23 of this edition).

F.C. Updates Disposition of Eden Center Citations The City of Falls Church’s Public Information Office released last week a comprehensive status report regarding the 20 citations issued alleging illegal gambling at the Eden Center in Falls Church on Aug. 11. The report follows the exoneration of five of the 20 individuals cited in the Falls Church General District Court Sept. 14. The City provided the following on the overall status on the 20 gambling cases from the Eden Center that were investigated by the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force: On Aug. 17, one defendant pled guilty to illegal gambling. He was fined $100, plus court costs of $81.00. On Sept. 14, one defendant was found not guilty, and four other defendants had their cases dropped by the prosecutor. On Oct. 5, 10 defendants have trial dates. All are charged with illegal gambling. On Oct. 5, one defendant has a trial date for allowing gambling on his business premises. On Nov. 2, three defendants have trial dates for illegal gambling.

Arlington Ranks No. 2 Among U.S. Best Cities On Bloomberg’s Business Week’s list of America’s 50 best cities released this week, Arlington, Va., was ranked No. 2, behind only Raleigh, North Carolina, and the District of Columbia ranked No. 6. The top 50 cities were ranked based on a number of criteria, including college degrees, household incomes, crime rates, parks, bars, restaurants and museums. “Home to numerous headquarters of companies and government agencies, this Washington, D.C., suburb is a draw in its own right,” Bloomberg says of Arlington. Arlington is highly educated, with more than two-thirds of the population holding college degrees. It also has the lowest unemployment rate of any city on the list. Arlington also scored high for its median household income of nearly $94,000 and low foreclosure rates. D.C. won praise for its culture. “The nation’s capital doubles as a pretty cool city,” Bloomberg says. “There are great bars, endless restaurants for hobnobbing, and some of the best museums on the planet.” It says despite high crime and poverty rates, the District is in demand, with good schools and the lowest foreclosure rate on the list.

SEPTEMBER 22 – 28, 2011 | PAGE 9

PAGE 10 | September 22 – 28, 2011

LOCAL

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

News-Press

Community News & Notes Workshop to Cover Basics of Composting for Beginners

F.C. Recycling Event Collects 15 Tons of Electronics

Landscape Architect, Teacher To Speak on Planting Design

Composting for Beginners is scheduled for Saturday, Sept.

24, from 9 – 10:30 a.m. (rain or shine) at the Cherry Hill Park Picnic Shelter, 312 Park Ave., Falls Church. Participants will learn to make rich organic compost from yard trimmings and leaves. The program will include a composting demonstration, making compost tea, proper food waste composting and vermicomposting (composting with worms). Participants will take home a free portable yard waste compost bin. To reserve a spot, contact Master Gardener Sandy Tarpinian at starpinian@yahoo.com or 703536-7186.

A total of 30,632 pounds or 15.3 tons of electronics and computer equipment were collected at the City of Falls Church’s Fall Recycling Extravaganza on Sept. 10. Total weight of items collected and therefore kept out of the waste stream and the landfill were: 19,472 pounds of electronics; 136 TVs, estimated at 6,120 pounds; 144 computer monitors, estimated at 5,040 pounds; and 11,160 pounds of CRTs. Also, 4.6 tons of paper were shredded.

More than 550 vehicles brought items to the Recycling Extravaganza. The City’s next Recycling Extravaganza will be held in April.

Thomas Rainer, a registered landscape architect, writer and teacher, will be speaking to the Rock Spring Garden Club on Thursday, Oct. 20, at 11 a.m. on “Innovations in Planting Design” at Little Falls Presbyterian Church, 6025 Little Falls Road, Arlington.

Rainer will talk about how to confidently mix shrubs, perennials, and grasses in a new, more modern ecological style.

He has designed landscapes for the U.S. Capitol grounds, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and The New York Botanical Garden.

He teaches planting design for the George Washington University Landscape Design program.

Cub Scout Den 5 from Falls Church’s Pack 657 got a behind-the-scenes tour of the Falls Church Police Department, with Officer James Brooks showing them the dispatch office, situation room and – much to the delight of the 8-year-old boys – the inside of a holding cell. Brooks also ran the boys through a crime-solving exercise, showed them officers’ equipment, and talked about safety and crime prevention. (Courtesy: Stephanie Oppenheimer)

This event is free and open to the public. Those interested in taking part should RSVP by Oct. 14 to 703-533-2942. For more information, visit rockspringgardenclub.com.

St. James Nun Run, Alumni Reunion Scheduled Oct. 1 On Saturday Oct. 1, all alumni of St. James Catholic School, 830 W. Broad St., Falls Church, are invited to Reunion 2011.

The reunion will also include the PTO-sponsored Run for Your Favorite Nun, a one-mile fun run benefitting Camilla Hall, the IHM retirement community.

The run kicks off at 8 a.m.,

followed by a reception from 3 – 5 p.m. in Heller Hall and Mass at 5 p.m. in the church.

Visit saintjamesschool.org for more information.

Pet Blessing Set for Oct. 2 at Rock Spring Congregational On Sunday, Oct. 2, at 3 p.m., Rock Spring Congregational UCC Church, 5010 Little Falls Road, Arlington, is hosting its third Blessing of the Animals.

The event will be on the church lawn and, if raining, will be in the parish hall. All household pets are invited. Dogs must be on a leash and other pets must be in appropriate containers.

For more information call 703-538-4886.

Eden Center celebrated its Mid-Autumn Moon Festival last Saturday with games, demonstrations, activities for kids, and its Miss Vietnam D.C. Pageant. This year’s winner was Nhut Thanh Pho, an 18-year-old student at George Mason University studying information technology. She is pictured above with U.S. Navy JAG Officer Chris Phan. (Photo:

Gary Mester)

Send Us Your News & Notes!

The News-Press is always on the lookout for photos & items for Community News & Notes, School News & Notes and other sections of the paper. If you graduate, get married, get engaged, get an award, start a club, eat a club, tie your shoes, have a birthday, have a party, host an event or anything else you think is worth being mentioned in the News-Press, write it up and send it to us! If you have a photo, even better! Because of the amount of submissions we receive, we cannot guarantee all submissions will be published, but we’ll try our best!

Community News & Notes: newsandnotes@fcnp.com | School News & Notes: schoolnews@fcnp.com Mail: News & Notes, Falls Church News-Press, 200 Little Falls St. #508, Falls Church, VA 22046

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Master Gardeners of NoVa To Host Open House

Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia, in support of Virginia Cooperative Extension, invite the public to visit their demonstration gardens for fall gardening tips and informational brochures.

Those interested can visit the Sunny and Shade Demonstration Gardens (at Bon Air Park, located at the corner of Wilson Boulevard and North Lexington Street in Arlington) between 9 and 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1.

Then, on Oct. 2, from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m., guests can take a tour of the Organic Vegetable Demonstration Garden at

Potomac Overlook Regional Park (2845 Marcey Road, Arlington) and sample food made from vegetables grown in the garden.

Fifth Annual MPAartfest Returns Oct. 2 The fifth annual MPAartfest is set for Sunday, Oct. 2, from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Art-lovers and their families are invited to take part in a day of art, music and food at the fifth annual event in McLean Central Park.

MPAartfest turns McLean Central Park into a family friendly arts event featuring the sale of fine art and crafts of more than 40 juried artists and

LOCAL drawing thousands of art-lovers to the park.

MPAartfest is presented by McLean Project for the Arts as a way to connect art and community. MPAartfest is free, but a $5 donation is suggested to help support the event.

In the event of bad weather or soggy park conditions, MPAartfest will be held in the McLean Community Center.

Fairfax County Seeks Program Volunteers Fairfax County’s Volunteer Solutions needs volunteers to help older adults and adults with disabilities. Urgent needs include an assistant treasurer for Meals on Wheels; a Vietnamese speaker

Temple Rodef Shalom kicked off its 50th year in Falls Church with a special Shabbat service on Sept. 16 led by Founding Rabbi Laszlo Berkowits. Pictured above are the current clergy team of Rabbi Jeffrey Saxe, Senior Rabbi Amy Schwartzman, Cantor Tracey Scher and Senior Cantor Michael Shochet. More events are planned throughout the 50th year culminating in June 2012.

(Photo: Courtesy Beth Silver)

September 22 – 28, 2011 | PAGE 11

to help a Falls Church resident with grocery shopping; and an Arabic speaker to provide social visits to a Reston resident.

For more information on these volunteer opportunities, call 703-324-5406.

Locally Grown Foods to Be Featured in Arl. Restaurants Throughout the month of October, those dining at participating Arlington restaurants can enjoy a dinner made with locally grown ingredients as part of the Local Foods, Local Chefs program.

Each participating restaurant will feature menu items made

with locally grown ingredients.

Restaurants will also feature information about the farms from which they have procured the ingredients. Locally grown is defined as within a 125 mile radius of Arlington, the same criterion that is used for admitting farmers into the Arlington Farmers’ Market in Courthouse.

Participating restaurants include Busboys & Poets, Domasco Trattoria Moderna, Eventide Restaurant, Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza, Restaurant 3, Santa Fe Café, Silver Diner, Sweetgreen, Whole Foods Market and Willow Restaurant, with more to come.

VIRGINIA DELEGATE JIM SCOTT (right), whose 53rd District includes the City of Falls Church, was honored by the Affordable Housing Coalition of Arlington at its 35th anniversary gala last week, inducted into its Housing Hall of Fame, along with Arlington County Board chair Barbara Favola (left). Scott was honored for “championing affordable housing in the region for over 40 years.”

(Courtesy Photo)

PAGE 12 | September 22 – 28, 2011

NATIONAL

Obama Rejects Obamaism I’m a sap, a specific kind of sap. I’m an Obama Sap. When the president said the unemployed can’t wait 14 more months for help and we had to do something right away, I believed him. When administration officials called around saying that the possibility of a double-dip recession was horrifyingly real and that it would be irresponsible not to come up with a package that could pass right away, I believed them.

I liked Obama’s payroll tax cut ideas and urged Republicans to play along. But of course I’m a sap. When the president unveiled the second half of his stimulus it became clear that this package has nothing to do with helping people right away or averting a double dip. This is a campaign marker, not a jobs bill.

NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE It recycles ideas that couldn’t get passed even when Democrats controlled Congress. In his remarks Monday the president didn’t try to win Republicans to even some parts of his measures. He repeated the populist cries that fire up liberals but are designed to enrage moderates and conservatives.

He claimed we can afford future Medicare costs if we raise taxes on the rich. He repeated the old half-truth about millionaires not paying as much in taxes as their secretaries. (In reality, the top 10 percent of earners pay nearly 70 percent of all income taxes, according to the IRS. People in the richest 1 percent pay 31 percent of their income to the federal government while the average worker pays less than 14 percent, according to the Congressional Budget Office.)

This wasn’t a speech to get something done. This was the sort of speech that sounded better when Ted Kennedy was delivering it. The result is that we will get neither short-term stimulus nor long-term debt reduction anytime soon, and I’m a sap for thinking it was possible.

Yes, I’m a sap. I believed Obama when he said he wanted to move beyond the stale ideological debates that have paralyzed this country. I always believe that Obama is on the verge of breaking out of the conventional categories and embracing one of the many bipartisan reform packages that are floating around.

But remember, I’m a sap. The White House has clearly decided that in a town of intransigent Republicans and mean ideologues, it has to be mean and intransigent too. The president was stung by the liberal charge that he was outmaneuvered during the debt-ceiling fight. So the White House has moved away from the Reasonable Man approach or the centrist Clinton approach.

It has gone back, as an appreciative Ezra Klein of The Washington Post conceded, to politics as usual. The president is sounding like the Al Gore for President campaign, but without the earth tones. Tax increases for the rich! Protect entitlements! People versus the powerful! I was hoping the president would give a cynical nation something unconventional, but, as you know, I’m a sap.

Being a sap, I still believe that the president’s soul would like to do something about the country’s structural problems. I keep thinking he’s a few weeks away from proposing serious tax reform and entitlement reform. But each time he gets close, he rips the football away. He whispered about seriously reforming Medicare but then opted for changes that are worthy but small. He talks about fundamental tax reform, but I keep forgetting that he has promised never to raise taxes on people in the bottom 98 percent of the income scale.

That means when he talks about raising revenue, which he is right to do, he can’t really talk about anything substantive. He can’t tax gasoline. He can’t tax consumption. He can’t do a comprehensive tax reform. He has to restrict his tax policy changes to the top 2 percent, and to get any real revenue he’s got to hit them in every which way.

We’re not going to simplify the tax code, but by God Obama’s going to raise taxes on rich people who give to charity! We’ve got to do something to reduce the awful philanthropy surplus plaguing this country!

The president believes the press corps imposes a false equivalency on American politics. We assign equal blame to both parties for the dysfunctional politics when in reality the Republicans are more rigid and extreme. There’s a lot of truth to that, but at least Republicans respect Americans enough to tell us what they really think. The White House gives moderates little morsels of hope, and then rips them from our mouths. To be an Obama admirer is to toggle from being uplifted to feeling used.

The White House has decided to wage the campaign as fighting liberals. I guess I understand the choice, but I still believe in the governing style Obama talked about in 2008. I may be the last one. I’m a sap.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

David Brooks

Economic Bleeding Cure Doctors used to believe that by draining a patient’s blood they could purge the evil “humors” that were thought to cause disease. In reality, of course, all their bloodletting did was make the patient weaker, and more likely to succumb.

Fortunately, physicians no longer believe that bleeding the sick will make them healthy. Unfortunately, many of the makers of economic policy still do. And economic bloodletting isn’t just inflicting vast pain; it’s starting to undermine our long-run growth prospects.

Some background: For the past year and a half, policy discourse in both Europe and the United States has been dominated by calls for fiscal austerity. By NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE slashing spending and reducing deficits, we were told, nations could restore confidence and drive economic revival.

And the austerity has been real. In Europe, troubled nations like Greece and Ireland have imposed savage cuts, even as stronger nations have imposed milder austerity programs of their own. In the United States, the modest federal stimulus of 2009 has faded out, while state and local governments have slashed their budgets, so that overall we’ve had a de facto move toward austerity not so different from Europe’s.

Strange to say, however, confidence hasn’t surged.

Somehow, businesses and consumers seem much more concerned about the lack of customers and jobs, respectively, than they are reassured by the fiscal righteousness of their governments. And growth seems to be stalling, while unemployment remains disastrously high on both sides of the Atlantic.

But, say apologists for the bad results so far, shouldn’t we be focused on the long run rather than short-run pain? Actually, no: The economy needs real help now, not hypothetical payoffs a decade from now.

In any case, evidence is starting to emerge that the economy’s “short run” troubles – now in their fourth year, and being made worse by the focus on austerity – are taking a toll on its long-run prospects as well.

Consider, in particular, what is happening to America’s manufacturing base. In normal times manufacturing capacity rises 2 percent or 3 percent every year. But faced with a persistently weak economy, industry has been reducing, not increasing, its productive capacity. At this point, according to Federal Reserve estimates, manufacturing capacity is almost

Paul Krugman

5 percent lower than it was in December 2007.

What this means is that if and when a real recovery finally gets going, the economy will run into capacity constraints and production bottlenecks much sooner than it should. The weak economy, which is partly the result of budget-cutting, is hurting the future and the present.

Furthermore, the decline in manufacturing capacity is probably only the beginning of the bad news. Similar cuts in capacity will probably take place in the service sector – indeed, they may already be taking place. And with long-term unemployment at its highest level since the Great Depression, there is a real risk that many of the unemployed will come to be seen as unemployable.

Oh, and the brunt of those cuts in public spending is falling on education. Somehow, laying off hundreds of thousands of schoolteachers doesn’t seem like a good way to win the future.

In fact, when you combine the growing evidence that fiscal austerity is reducing our future prospects with the very low interest rates on U.S. government debt, it’s hard to avoid a startling conclusion: Budget austerity may well be counterproductive even from a purely fiscal point of view, because lower future growth means lower tax receipts.

What should be happening? The answer is that we need a major push to get the economy moving, not at some future date, but right now. For the time being we need more, not less, government spending, supported by aggressively expansionary policies from the Federal Reserve and its counterparts abroad. And it’s not just pointy-headed economists saying this; business leaders like Google’s Eric Schmidt are saying the same thing, and the bond market, by buying U.S. debt at such low interest rates, is in effect pleading for a more expansionary policy.

And to be fair, some policy players seem to get it.

President Barack Obama’s new jobs plan is a step in the right direction, while some board members of the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England – though not, sad to say, the European Central Bank – have been calling for much more growth-oriented policies.

What we really need, however, is to convince a substantial number of people with political power or influence that they’ve spent the past year and a half going in exactly the wrong direction, and that they need to make a U-turn.

It’s not going to be easy. But until that U-turn happens, the bleeding – which is making our economy weaker now, and undermining its future at the same time – will continue.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

NATIONAL

Electric Kool Aid Acid Test, Part 5

Are you surprised that a right-wing tool like Ann Coulter is a big fan of the Grateful Dead? You shouldn’t be.

The “paradigm shift” of American culture in the 1970s – the rise of mindless Coulter-like selfish individualism as passionate ideology now seen in the religious right and the Tea Party – was the consequence of a concerted covert operations effort by pro-fascist elements of the post-World War II intelligence community and their military-industrial-corporate masters.

The mass proliferation of LSD and other drugs to the youth of the nation during the 1950s and 1960s, known as the CIA’s “Project MK-Ultra,” was accompanied by an intelligence engineered and media-orchestrated elevation of the anarcho-hedonist beat culture of the East Village to the social limelight.

Rather than face down the youth-drivFalls Church news-press en surge of progressive values in that era, which sought to enfranchise the disenfranchised, these sinister operations were deployed to subvert them from within.

Drugs were a major but not the only component in this, especially LSD because of its proven ability to break down moral resolve and to leave individuals with an amorphous, ill-defined lack of constructive perseverance. It was cheap and easy to proliferate, much as heroin was in the nation’s ghettos in the 1960s.

In music, social protest, anti-war and social bonding (love song) lyrics popular before were replaced by psychedelic, angry and repetitive disco alternatives.

On the streets, wanton violence and chaos constituted another cornerstone of this project, with professional provocateurs riling up drugged and socially-marginalized elements to destabilize serious civil rights efforts.

These operations ranged from the urban riots of the mid-1960s to the antics of the so-called Yippies, the terrorist Weather Underground and militant groups like the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA).

In prisons, where more and more young people found themselves as a result of the chaos and drugs of the 1960s, vigorous covert operations organized racially-tinged hate groups.

In the hippie counterculture, the game plan was also to organize the alienation of the socially and economically marginalized, and the hippie mantra to repudiate the social bonds with parents and family created more and more of them.

The answer for the marginalized in this new paradigm was a combination of anarchistic rage, an extinction of the ego and a desire for “belonging” that abusive religious and other cults and communes exploited.

The rise of “small group therapy” and ego-stripping models, perfected at the Esalen Institute in California and elsewhere, swept up legions of the young, turning their attention away from concerns for social and economic justice and an end to war, to their internal feelings, especially the sense of inadequacy and weakness. The ego was blamed, and the result of effective “therapy” of this type was a mewling follower of leads provided by cult leaders and dominant, orchestrated fads and trends.

While some cults had eastern religions as their model, others formed the basis for the rise of the Christian right. These cults, like the Children of God, obsessed their followers (captives) with the preeminence of the conditions of their own souls, and not any wider social concerns.

Thus, the idea of “personal salvation” replaced social justice at the center of consciousness for such persons, and that eased their transition into the larger domain of fundamentalist churches. The churches, which had similar emphases on personal salvation, had nonetheless never before been political.

Not, that is, until the counterculture cults swarmed them, and with direction coming from their intelligence community puppet masters, they inspired an explosion of right-wing political reaction.

It was a masterful stroke for the forces of ill will: they created cultversus-cult wars in the 1970s, and found that the antipathy that could be fueled by setting their new religious right creation against gay liberationists was particularly useful.

So, the Anita Bryant-inspired social wars of the late 1970s swelled the ranks of the marginalized on both sides and, armed with a noxious if untidy mix of fundamentalism, Ayn Rand and Neitzchian might-makesright, Social Darwinist and radical individualist anarchist ideology, the right-wing Reagan revolution was launched in 1980.

Sorting out and solving today’s political morass requires exposing and deconstructing this unsavory history.  Nicholas Benton may be emailed at nfbenton@fcnp.com.

September 22 – 28, 2011 | PAGE 13

Nicholas F. Benton

The Man and The Plan It’s no more “Mr. Nice Guy” for President Barack Obama. He has found his ties to the waning Democrats and thrown down the gauntlet to the hardnosed Republican leaders.

Obama wants to tax the richest Americans to lift us out of our ever-growing deficit. The GOP has given a flat “no” to new taxes for the very rich.

The wealthy have not paid their fair share of taxes in years. Even Warren Buffet has publicly acknowledged it is not fair that his secretary pays a higher percentage of her income in taxes than he does.

Now is the time for the rich to face the music and pay their share.

Why not increase taxes for the megawealthy when we have 46 million people living below the poverty line in this country? Is there anyone out there making Falls church news-press over $500,000 a year who can honestly say they cannot afford to pay more taxes?

The President apparently has given up on compromise with the Republicans. He is finally taking a stand and taking a hard line. The gloves are off.

He could be tearing a page out of Harry Truman’s playbook. Truman stymied and shamed the “do nothing” Congress with his cross-country “whistle stop” campaign by train.

Reporters fast aboard the train had written off Truman’s bid for reelection against New York Governor Tom Dewey in 1948. Truman had lost ground politically, but reporters began to observe the growing crowds waiting at the train depots even at midnight to see Truman and his wife, Bess, waving from the back of the train as Truman taunted his Republican opponents.

On Election Day, some newspapers, such as the Chicago Tribune, declared Dewey the winner. They were wrong, and a sleepy Truman, with a big smile on his face, held up the front page of the Chicago Tribune for the press to see.

Obama has now staked out his position, and he should stand his ground. He has nothing to lose but the country, to the aristocrats who seek economic

Helen Thomas

recovery on the backs of the poor.

In a Rose Garden speech Monday, Obama said “I will not support any plan that puts all the burden for closing the deficit on the ordinary Americans ... and I will veto any bill that changes benefits for those who rely on Medicare, but does not raise revenues by asking the wealthiest or biggest corporations to pay their share.” The President added, “We are not going to have a one-sided deal that hurts the folks who are the most vulnerable.”

Obama seems to be getting a grip on the situation. Known for compromises and cave-ins that he must now regret, he apparently has decided his opponents are not ready to play ball for the sake of the country. Their only goal is to depose Obama.

Fair enough, but let’s hear the job growth plans of the Republican presidential candidates. Have you heard of any?

With the USA in such dire straights, where are the caring Americans? Do the Republicans still believe trickle down economics will work? Let’s not forget, besides Reaganomics, during that administration, ketchup became a vegetable for the hungry school children’s menu, and the unemployed were told to “vote with your feet.” Starvation was called “anecdotal” by top Reagan aides.

What’s wrong with yacht and jet plane owners, and the megamansion home owners, kicking in more money – or at least paying their fair share? Prior to the 2001 Bush tax cuts, these super-wealthy who currently only pay between 9 and 16 percent of their income in taxes, would have paid 30 percent in taxes – more in line with what out current middle class pays in taxes.

The poor, and what’s left of the middle class, should stand up against the super-rich Americans who do their business abroad, and move more and more American jobs overseas.

Enough is enough. Come on American voters.

Tell the Republicans you want fairness in taxation, and back Obama in pushing for the rich to pay more. We need more revenue for the treasury, and cutting spending is not going to get us out of this mess.  Helen Thomas may be emailed at hthomas@fcnp.com.

comme nt

PAGE 14 | september 22 - 28, 2011

A Penny for Your Thoughts

News of Greater Falls Church

By Supervisor Penny Gross

It’s been all art all the time at the Mason District Governmental Center this month. A fabulous new mural was installed in the Police Department side of the building earlier this month, and unveiled for the Commander’s Advisory Council on September 6. The colorful mural covers an entire wall, and is the first thing an officer sees when he/she walks into the station from the police parking area. Created by former Mason District Station police officer John Kiernan, the community-oriented painting includes renditions of Culmore, Skyline, Bailey’s Crossroads, and Plaza at Landmark. The Annandale Cannon, Columbia Pike, and bike patrol officers are highlighted, and the Mason District Governmental Center itself is depicted with a police cruiser parked nearby.

One small scene includes a traffic stop, and a nod to technology is a patrol officer entering data in a cruiser’s CAD system. All of the scenes are painted on a red, white, and blue backdrop.

The centerpiece of the painting is a scene of a police officer and a little girl, possibly a runaway, sitting on identical stools in a restaurant (Juke Box Diner in Annandale) while a restaurant manager looks on. The scene has a Norman Rockwell introspection – simple but telling whatever story you wish to imagine. It appears one has lifted a spyglass or monocular that captures just one moment in time.

The details of the counter tiles, the officer’s grey shirt, and the coffee pot are so lifelike that you can feel the coolness of the tiles, the crispness of the fabric, and even the aroma of the coffee. The mural captures the essence of community policing that is the hallmark of the Mason District Station.

The major cost of the project was underwritten

by Dr. James Dryden, a local dentist, and Plaza at Landmark Shopping Center. Captain Gun Lee, current commander of the Mason District Station, noted that the project was conceived when now-Major Ted Arnn was the station commander. Both men were present for the unveiling, and revealed to me the tiny personal touches included to commemorate their leadership in the project. Although the mural is not available for viewing by the general public – it is a tribute designed for the officers themselves – arrangements are being made for a photo display of the work in the center’s lobby.

At the same time the police mural was being mounted, Stephanie Bianco, co-president of the Springfield Art Guild, installed her solo show in my office as part of the Art in the Workplace program. The show presents an eclectic mix of mediums, including bright watercolors, misty ethereal natural scenes, and collages. One photograph features a realistic two-story computer lab. When I asked about it, Stephanie told me it actually is a photo of a doll house presentation.

You need to see for yourself! The office gallery at the Mason District Governmental Center is open from 8:30 a.m. until 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Don’t forget the 32nd Annual Mason District Park Festival this Saturday at the Park, 6621 Columbia Pike in Annandale. Hours are 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.; admission is free. The Festival features arts and crafts vendors, children’s rides, and live entertainment on the showmobile stage. I look forward to seeing you there.  Penny Gross is the Mason District Supervisor, in the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She may be emailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov.

Congressman Moran’s News Commentary

The End of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

By James P. Moran

Last year, Congress passed and the President signed a bill to repeal the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy. This week the Defense Department officially put an end to the practice. This is a long fought victory for the tens of thousands of military members, friends and families who have been affected by the ban on gays in the military, which originally began in 1948.

Enacted in 1993 as a reform of the existing ban, DADT continued a policy that in the last 18 years forced more than 14,000 gay and lesbian service men and women from military service, many in critical specialties during times of war. In the last six years alone, the military discharged over 800 mission-critical troops and at least 59 Arabic and nine Farsi linguists under DADT. Discharging crucial and highlytrained military specialists, such as linguists, doctors, nurses, mechanics, infantrymen, and intelligence analysts, solely because of their sexual orientation was a detriment to our nation’s military readiness.

In the past decade, public opinion dramatically shifted against the

policy. According to a CNN poll conducted in November of 2010, 72 percent of the public favored repeal of DADT. Just as importantly, a Zogby International poll of returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans found that 73 percent were personally comfortable around gays and lesbians, with one in four knowing that someone in their unit was gay. Among younger generations, the idea of gay and lesbian Americans serving in the military is a non-issue.

While popular opinion was clearly on the side of repeal, there remained many in Congress and within the military opposed to change. We began to see, however, a shift in attitudes among military brass. During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in February of 2010, Admiral Mike Mullen, who had been critical of repealing DADT in the past, announced his shift in opinion. He emphasized that forcing our men and women to lie about their sexuality in order to serve undermines their moral character. For him, the presence of DADT was an obstacle to preserving the “integrity” of the

military.

Former Defense Secretary Gates also signaled his support for repeal and announced a comprehensive review of the effect DADT was having on the services and the implications of its roll-back. The results predictably showed overwhelming support for repeal and that it would not undermine recruitment, retention, or unit cohesion.

The results of this study took away many of the lingering excuses of DADT supporters, securing passage of repeal legislation by relatively comfortable margins in both the House and Senate.

I was proud to stand last year with members of Congress to vote down this wasteful, harmful policy.

No longer will we subject the brave men and women who volunteer to serve our nation to a shameful vow of silence, asking people to lie about who they really are. ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was wrong, it was unAmerican, and now it is history. Our nation and military are stronger as a result. To all who serve our nation at home and abroad, we are so proud of each and every one of you.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

From the Front Row: Kaye Kory’s

Richmond Report The good news is that Virginia may be one step closer to improving the traffic flow on I-95. The Federal Highway Administration has granted Virginia preliminary authority to charge tolls on vehicles entering Virginia from North Carolina and presumably at other points along the route.

The bad news is that there is a formidable set of questions to be answered and steps that must be taken before preliminary approval can become permission and the process can move forward.

Let me mention a few: (1) complete an environmental review; (2) develop a plan for I-95 improvements that will expand capacity within the resource constraints of the new funding; (3) decide where toll booths will be located and why; (4) pledge that all toll revenues will be used to replace other federal dollars that would have been used for maintenance and upgrades for the portions of the road that are tolled.

This is a hefty list and each step presents problems and questions. We all agree that I-95 desperately needs capacity and maintenance improvements. But, what does it really mean to dedicate toll revenues exclusively to improvements around the tolling site? How much will these improvements cost? How much federal money will that free up for other transportation projects?

How open will the process be for deciding tolling locations? How will these decisions be made and who will make them? When in the process will the public have a chance to have meaningful input?

Many of my constituents and others across Northern Virginia have been disappointed with the environmental impact of the HOT lane construction around the Beltway. I am certain that environmental groups will speak for many in places that will be affected and demand more transparency, in terms of project detail at the beginning of the process, and accountability for the results.

We have heard estimates that $250 million may be collected in tolls over the first five years. Given the constraints, it is important to understand where this estimate comes from and what the assumptions are.

Frankly, the track record we have for cost and revenue esti-

mates from the current administration in Richmond is not very good. Remember the ABC stores? Just how much of the revenues collected will be offset by cost to develop and maintain the tolling system and, BTW, what is the process for deciding toll amounts and who’s responsible for the decision?

The General Assembly?

Another concern is the impact on traffic flow. Technology seems to have addressed localized toll congestion around booths, except if we’re thinking of new tolls along parts of I-95 subject to rush hour. Wait… as a frequent traveler on I-95 between here and Richmond, I can attest that rush hour traffic volumes happen along the entire route. Apart from localized bottlenecks, I think the potential for diversion of traffic onto non-toll routes, like I-81 or U.S. 1 should also be factored in to the costbenefit equation.

An even bigger question is looming in the background: the question of public-private partnerships. Already I hear talk of leveraging these toll revenues to encourage more private investment in highway infrastructure. I’m not sure how the constraints on the use of these new dollars would fit with this idea. But, since I continue to have concerns regarding the total economic, environmental and social impact of HOT lanes in Northern Virginia. I would not be willing to support expansion of the concept before we have some real world experience.

I am certain there are many more questions to ask and answers to evaluate, but my bottom line is that I-95 toll revenue could be a small part of the transportation plan Virginia needs. But, I don’t see this initiative relieving traffic gridlock or filling potholes in Northern Virginia anytime soon.

I will continue to work for comprehensive transportation solutions with balanced investments, incentives and dedicated revenue sources that we will need to fund the 21st century infrastructure to maintain our prosperity and quality of life.  Delegate Kory represents the 38th District in the Virginia House of Delegates. She may be emailed at DelKKory@house. virginia.gov

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

A nything

but

S t ra ig ht

Stand Up to Religious Right In August, fundamentalist preacher Dr. Michael Brown organized a regiment of red shirted Bible-thumpers to infiltrate Charlotte’s gay pride event. Hundreds of zealots confronted and harassed festival attendees with their arrogant slogan “God Has A Better Way.” The hatred and religious bigotry was appalling, but not surprising.

What truly bothers me, however, was the lack of mainstream Christians standing up and speaking out against such fanatical behavior. Virtually every time I write about the Religious Right I’m reminded by the faithful that “not all Christians are like that.”

Of course this is true and some of the most dedicated activists I have worked with are people of faith. Last week, in fact, I teamed up with Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church to host a week of educational seminars designed to counter an “ex-gay” conference in Houston.

Still, the number of mainstream Christians fighting the hate campaigns of the Religious Right is disappointing. With thousands of churches, millions of members and a vested interest in fighting back against religious extremism, they have consistently underachieved and failed to reach their potential.

What would it look like if mainstream churches fought back against the Religious Right?

Picture two hundred of Dr. Brown’s “Red Shirts” smugly descending on innocent families at Charlotte Pride. Out of nowhere, five hundred mainstream, mostly heterosexual Christians appear and surround the theocratic thugs with blue shirts that read: God’s Better Way – Love & Acceptance.”

These despicable bullies would likely have no idea how to react in such a situation where Christians were calling them “unchristian.”

Of course, this is just a pipe dream. I’ve organized or attended dozens of protests over the past decade. Time and again, I’m disillusioned by the lack of support from liberal and mainstream Christian organizations. It seems they are either afraid to offend their most conservative members or they are mired in passivity that allows extremists to define their faith.

This lack of coherent opposition has led to a dire situation where Religious Right backed presidential candidates are vying to eliminate or reduce social safety nets, persecute immigrants, undermine working people, shred the middle class, turn the poor into destitute beggars and roll back minority rights.

This reluctance to stand up and speak out has created a hazardous vacuum where only the shrill and unreasonable voices of fundamentalism are heard. Instead of the dialogue that many progressives of faith claim to desire, this perceived weakness creates a lopsided right wing monologue, which is having a deleterious effect on our nation and the world.

It is time to stand up, speak out, and give voice to our values. If not now, when? Are we going to wait until it is too late and we have lost our country?

Here are recent examples of the Religious Right flexing its political muscle: • Texas Gov. Rick Perry held a stadium prayer rally in Houston that preceded his announcing his candidacy for President of the United States. The event was hosted by the American Family Association, a Southern Poverty Law Center-certified hate group. Included among the speakers were many radical clerics from the theocratic New Apostolic Reformation. Also known as the Seven Mountains Movement, this group of extremists wants to turn America into a fundamentalist Christian nation. Their aim is to take over the following seven spheres of society that they refer to as mountains: Religion, Media, Government, Family, Education, Business, Arts & Entertainment.

• The American Family Association is organizing Pastor Policy briefings in presidential battlegrounds. In these events, candidates prostrate themselves at the feet of conservative pastors in Iowa and elsewhere, pledging to enact their agenda if elected.

• Former Christian Coalition director Ralph Reed is making a comeback with a new organization he founded, the Faith and Freedom Coalition. “Our goal is to build a file of 29 million conservative voters,” Reed told the New York Times. “We’ll e-mail them, we’ll call them, we’ll knock on their doors and, if necessary, we’ll drive them to the polls.”

It is critical that people realize that these zealots have a radically different vision of this country than most Americans. If their power keeps increasing, they will be able to drastically reshape this country. There would be a tremendous loss of freedom, liberty and justice, while bigotry, intolerance and religious conformity would become the law of the land.

If the Religious Right can organize and mobilize to stand up for its beliefs in such a robust manner, why can’t the Religious Left? We desperately need to answer this question before Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin defile America – and permanently define Christianity.

Wayne Besen

COMMENT

september 22 - 28, 2011 | PAGE 15

Our Man in Arlington

By Charlie Clark Football passion, continued…

A four-decade-old mystery was revived last Thursday when alumni of Washington-Lee High School teamed with the Arlington Historical Society for a fascinating evening of reminiscences by graduates from every decade since the 1930s.

Representing the class of 1971 was the highly reliable George Dodge, former president of the history society. He told the crowd of 100 that his most vivid high school memory is the November 1970 mud-caked championship football game between Yorktown and W-L. My jaw dropped as he delved into long-standing rumors that W-L coaches had watered down the field, supposedly to thwart Yorktown’s vaunted lickety-split running game.

Dodge may not have known the extent of it, but he was messing with a story that has haunted Yorktown graduates and ex-players (like myself) lo these 41 years.

Yes, W-L has a proud history of first-class teaching and alums who’ve excelled in movies, philharmonics and the National Football League.

Speakers recalled the 49 students lost in World War II, racial tensions in the

‘50s on prom night, hanging out at Mario’s Pizza and the school’s stellar international baccalaureate program.

But the drama came when Dodge reviewed how the 1970 Yorktown team was 9-0 and W-L’s 7-2. War Memorial Stadium was packed with a record 10,000 spectators. The night was misty – rain had poured for several days.

Which may well be why W-L won 12-0 (extra points aren’t easy in the mud).

That shocking outcome denied undefeated Yorktown a trip to the regionals, a feat repeated in 2010 when, after 28 years of victories by newcomer Yorktown (it opened in 1961), W-L (opened in 1925) again took district honors.

Fights broke out when the clock wound down, and the loss left many in North Arlington bitter at our team’s misery from what newspapers called “a quagmire of mud.” (Some of us have the framed photographs to prove it.)

Yorktown coach Jesse Meeks still spoke of the heartbreak decades later, saying the game should have been postponed.

Last week Dodge said he was amazed after all this time to encounter Yorktown grads who insist W-L cheated by pouring water on the already sopping

field. “Tonight I’m going to set the record straight,” he said, and declared that a W-L lineman assures him there was no foul play.

Once word was passed, a contrary view lit up the Yorktown alum e-mail network. “I know that field was watered down – we got hosed, literally,” said defensive back Sam Houghton. “I went to the junior varsity game at W-L that Thursday afternoon. The field was a little muddy but nothing like what we played in.”

Offensive tackle Andy Extract disagrees. “They didn’t need to water the field because it started raining the preceding Monday and it hardly let up until hours before kick-off Friday evening,” he recalled. He doubts W-L could organize enough hoses. “The field was a mud bath. I don’t know how the refs managed to keep track of the lines,” he added. “I was completely soaked and was carrying about 15 lbs. of mud by the end of the game. It was even in my ear and never completely washed out of the jersey.”

So my Yorktown mates shared one more round of might-havebeens.

But having just heard about all of W-L’s character-building accomplishments through time, I’ve decided we should drop the charges.  Charlie Clark may be e-mailed at cclarkjedd@aol.com.

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Business News & Notes Vantageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Burris Named Over 40 Body Builder of the Week Vantage Fitness Personal Trainer Bobby Burris was named Over 40 Body Builder of the Week by BodyBuilding.com, a website dedicated to body building information, motivation and supplementation. Vantage Fitness is located at 402 W. Broad Street. For information about personal training with the 42 year old Burris or other Vantage Fitness trainers, contact Barbara Gallagher Benson at 703-241-0565 or visit www.vantagefitness.com.

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Investment Property Seminar Next Tuesday Realtor Laura Nunley of Fall Properties and Darius Jenkins of McLean Mortgage Corp will present â&#x20AC;&#x153;Buying Investment Property & Managing Tenantsâ&#x20AC;? on Tues, Sept 27 from 7 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 8 p.m. as part of Fall Propertiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Talk Tuesdaysâ&#x20AC;? complimentary educational seminar series. Nunley and will address loan availability, evaluating after-tax costs to own, and avoiding vacancies. Call 703-536-7001 or visit www.fallproperties.com to reserve a seat. Fall Properties is located at 212 A N. West Street in Falls Church.

F.C. Businesses Provide Prizes for FCEF Race & Fun Run Family Medicine of Falls Church, Jasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Deli, Pacers and Road Runner Sports provided age and team prizes for the Falls Church Education Foundationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2011 5K race and 1 mile fun run which took place Sunday, September 18. Functional Fitness was recognized as the fastest team as well as the largest team. The event attracted more than 400 registrants with precedes benefiting the Foundation. Following the race, participants were treated to a post-race family block party with school mascots, face painting and a dunk tank. For more information about the Foundation or its race results visit www.fcedf. org.

F.C. Chamber Schedules Family Mini-Golf Night October 5 The Falls Church Chamber of Commerce has scheduled its Annual Mini-Golf Family Fun Night for Wednesday, October 5 at Upton Hill Regional Park. Tickets to the event, which includes a picnic style dinner, unlimited miniature golf, a moon-bounce and arts and crafts by Creative Cauldron, are $10 (children under 5 years of age are free.) The event is open to the general public. Those interested in more information or purchasing tickets may contact the Chamber office at 703-532-1050 or info@fallschurchchamber.org.

Businesses interested in sponsoring the event can contact Sally Cole at the above number or at sally@fallschurchchamber.org.

BizSmarts Expo Set for September 29 BizSmarts Expo is taking place Wednesday, September 29 from 7 a.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 3 p.m. at the Washington Hilton. The expo will include a keynote address from Harvey Mackay, the author of the New York Times best-seller Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive and Beware of the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt, Disney Institute workshops and a trade show with up to 70 local company exhibits. The event is sponsored

by Capitol One Bank and WTOP 103.5 FM. For more information visit BizSmartsExpo. com.

Advertising Week DC Runs Through Friday Advertising Week DC runs through Friday, September 23 at the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, D.C. The event provides a week of networking, professional development and educational opportunities for business leaders from advertising, marketing and media industries. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from 60 scheduled speakers including executives from Google, Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, USA Today, Rosetta Stone, Discovery Networks, PBS Interactive, Arnold and NBC News among others. For more information or to register online, go to AdvertisingWeekDC.com. ď ľ Business News & Notes is compiled by Sally Cole, Executive Director of Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce. She may be emailed at sally@ fallschurchchamber.org.

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SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2011 | PAGE 17

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The German Army Report

BY TOM WHIPPLE

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

In the last five or six years at least 20 major studies have been published by governmental and nongovernmental organizations that either deal with or touch upon the possibility of severe energy shortages developing in the near future.

Studies done by governmental entities, however, are rare for nearly all of the world’s governments still prefer to wait as long as possible before confronting the myriad of problems that will accompany declining oil production.

Exceptions to this phenomenon of denial, however, seem to be military organizations that have realistic planning baked into their DNA. All professional military services know that in the last century they have become so dependent on liquid fuels that their effectiveness would be severely degraded should shortages or extremely high oil prices develop.

Last year two military planning organizations went public with studies predicting that serious consequences from oil depletion will befall us shortly. In the U.S. the Joint Forces Command concluded, without saying how they arrived at their dates, that by 2012 surplus oil production capacity could entirely disappear and that by 2015 the global shortfall in oil production could be as much as 10 million b/d. Later in the year a draft of a German army study, which went into greater detail in analyzing the consequences of peaking world oil production, was leaked to the press.

The German study which was released recently is unique for the frankness with which it explores the dire consequences which may be in store for us.

The Bundeswehr Transformation Center, the organization that prepared the study, starts with the assertion that as there are so many forces in play, it is impossible to determine an exact date for peak oil, but that it will become obvious in hindsight.

The Germans also believe that it is already too late to complete a comprehensive global transition to a post fossil fuel economy. They introduce the notion of a peak oil induced economic “tipping point” that would trigger so much economic damage that it is impossible to evaluate the possible outcomes.

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For the near future the study foresees that a very large increase in oil prices would harm the energy-intensive agricultural systems that produce much of our food.

Not only could the costs of fertilizers and pesticides become prohibitive, but the massive amount of oil-dependent transportation needed to move agricultural products long distances could make food unaffordable for many.

The study goes on to postulate a “mobility crisis” that would arise from substantial increases in the costs of operating private cars and trucks. Although sudden shortages

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improvement in individual living conditions forms the basis for tolerant and open societies. Given the widespread unemployment and high mobility costs that are almost certain to accompany the transition to a post fossil fuel world, democratic forms of government are likely to face severe challenges. We all remember the Weimar Republic.

Also of note are recent studies within the OECD that show that voting for extremist and nationalist political parties tends to increase with economic setbacks.

For the immediate future, however, the German Army study foresees: 1. increasing oil prices that will reduce consumption and economic output (i.e. a recession or worse); 2. increasing transportation costs that will lead to lower trade volumes – less income for many and unaffordable food for some; and 3. pressure on government budgets as they must keep populations fed, deal with the social consequences of mass unemployment, and attempt to invest in sustainable sources of energy. Governmental revenues are bound to fall as unemployment increases along with resistance to further taxation.

In the medium term, most companies would come to realize that the global economy is going to be shrinking for a long time and act accordingly. In an indefinitely shrinking economy, savings would not be invested as profits could no longer be made or borrowing costs paid. In this environment, the banking system, stock exchanges and financial markets would have a hard time surviving.

Banks would be left with no reason to exist as they would not be able to pay interest on deposits or find credit-worthy companies or individuals. The final step would be the loss of confidence in currencies and with them the ability to carry on normal economic transactions outside of barter.

If all this sounds extreme to American ears, remember the Germans have been through far more than we have in the last century. What is interesting is the way they are telling it like they see it – no pulling of punches here.

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he German study explores the

dire

”

consequences

which may be in store for us. could be relieved by volunteer and regulatory measures, ultimately the mobility crisis would feed into and add to the worsening economic situation.

As oil is used either directly or indirectly in almost 90 percent of industrial production, major increases in the price of oil would change most price relationships. Domestic and foreign trade will have to adapt to these new relationships but doing so will likely lead to economic upheavals. As businesses transform to less oil-dependent forms of services and production, there would likely be an extended period of “transformation unemployment” that will become a major economic problem. A case could be made that our current “jobs” crisis is simply the leading edge of the “transformation unemployment” that could go on for decades.

The German study maintains that all countries on earth will sooner or later be faced with the problem of transitioning to a postfossil fuel age. As such a transition has never happened before, there are no guidelines for how it is to be accomplished. Of great significance is the willingness of nations to implement the economic policies necessary to effect the transformation to the post fossil fuel age. Forms of government will be sorely tested. The Germans who have much experience in these matters note that only continuous

 Tom Whipple is a retired government analyst and has been following the peak oil issue for several years.

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Sports

PAGE 18 | September 22 – 28, 2011

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

M usta n g S p o rts R o u n d u p Girls Varsity Volleyball

Despite boasting three consecutive wins against Pope John Paul, William Monroe and Central high schools after coming out of the Raider Rumble tournament, the volleyball team lost its Tuesday evening game to Strasburg High School, 1-3. After coming back from a loss in the first match to win in the second, many mistakes troubled the girls and they ended up losing the game.

“Our girls gave everything they had against the defending district champs and the next time we play them the results will be different,” Coach Erik Healey said. He added that the team is starting to gel, and learned from its fifth-place performance at the Raider Rumble how to work together.

The team will continue its three-game-a-week

pace with games against Madison County, Pope John Paul and Rappahannock County high schools in the coming week.

“The team is feeling confident despite the tough loss to Strasburg,” Healey said. “As long as our defense stays tough and our offense plays smart, we should be able to add to our win column this week.”

Varsity Cross COuntry The boys and girls varsity cross country teams ran in the Oatlands Invitational last Saturday. The girls team, defending VHSL state champions, came in fifth and the boys squad came in 30th.

More than 60 Mason runners competed in a field of more than 3,000.

F.C. Sports Doc Joins Medical Team at Pro Volleyball Tourney

by Kurt Thurber

Falls Church News-Press

When one thinks about a trip to Miami Beach, they likely think of a vacation destination filled with sun and surf and outings to glamorous Ocean Drive restaurants and shops. For Dr. Raymond Solano of Falls Church, his trip to Miami Beach was not quite a vacation, but there was plenty of sand and surf.

Solano worked as part of a sports medicine team for the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Tournament.

“The entire time I was down there I was responsible for taking care of 32 of the best volleyball players and athletes in the world,” said Solano, who has been a sports chiropractor in the Falls Church area since 2003. “I was in the medical tent with a physical therapist, a massage therapist, an orthopedist and a medical doctor.

My responsibilities were to address any muscular/skeletal injuries that these athletes had, assist any kind of prevention, increase blood flow with deep stretching, soft tissue work and chiropractic work. On top of that, I did some taping and minor wound care. I did whatever was in my means to make sure they could advance in the tournament.”

The double-elimination tournament took place over three days from Sept. 16 – 18. The Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball tour has four tournament events with stops in Manhattan Beach, California; Bradford Beach in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Lummus Park in Miami, Florida; and the upcoming National Championships in Hermosa Beach, California, this Sept. 23-25. The entire tournament has over $500,000 in prize money for participants.

The Miami event, with a purse

of $150,000, included past and hopeful Olympians and some of the best athletes Solano has treated. He had to be prepared for any type of injury.

“In a practice environment there is at least some control, but [it is different] when you are out there in the sporting arena and you are working with elite athletes in the best shape,” said Solano, a recipient of the 2010 Washingtonian Magazine Top Expert in Sports Medicine award.

“They are in incredible shape and very versatile. The jumping ability, the strength in their legs and endurance – these are all around solid athletes and I enjoy working with them. It is a difficult job because you really have to be prepared for anything to walk into the medical tent.”

Solano’s efforts, in concert with the tournament’s medical team, saw the team of John Hyden/Sean Scott take the men’s title. The combination of Lauren Fendrick/Brook Hanson won the women’s title.

These competitors were not the only ones learning how to work together in Miami Beach.

“I learned a lot from the other health professionals there,” explained Solano. “We not only learn how we can help each other with different treatments. We can take different methods and approaches that we can take home to the office on Monday morning.

We really get to find out what it is we do and to see it in action. It is impressive.”

This sports experience outside the office is one of many for Solano. He has worked with U.S. Figure Skating, the Ashburn Youth Football League, Marymount University women’s basketball

Dr. Solano works on Olympics hopeful Nick Lucena.

(Courtesy Photo)

team, women’s professional football in the D.C. Divas and high school athletics at George Mason High School, George Marshall High School and Gonzaga High School. While Solano works towards his dream “to provide chiropractic coverage during the Olympic Games,” he also provides care to Falls Church area residents.

“I recently completed a postgraduate training called the CCSP Certified Chiropractic Sports Position. It is one year, 100 hours of training in sports chiropractic and everything under the sun for sports. It opens the door to take part in different sporting events and activities,” said Solano. “With all that, I am busy with my practice in the City [of Falls Church].

We see a lot of the local population. We see a lot of runners, a lot of cyclists, and a lot of weekend warriors as well. It is a busy office.”

Solano’s practice is located on 313 Park Ave., Suite 100A. For more information, visit solanospince.com.

Several Mustang players scramble to make the tackle against a Warren County Wildcat rushing the ball. (Photo: Gary Mester)

Wildcats Maul Mustangs, 40-0

by Jason Rorrer

Falls Church News-Press

The George Mason High School varsity football team fell to 1-2 on the season after losing 40-0 to the Warren County Wildcats Friday.

It was a tightly contested game in the first half and the Mustangs were holding their own, but failed to capitalize on a couple of opportunities.

The Wildcats were leading 7-0 midway through the second quarter when senior running back Gage Steele plowed up the middle for a five yard touchdown run. After the extra point, it was a 14-0 Wildcats.

The Mustang offense did their best to answer on their next possession and put their best drive of the game together.

It started on their own 24 yard line with 5:59 left in the first half.

Sophomore quarterback Grant Hagler completed some big passes on the drive. Hagler connected for 11 yards to senior Dimitrios Venets to convert a third and 10. Then he connected with another Mustangs senior, Bryce Cooper, to pick up another first down into Wildcat territory.

The drive ended with Hagler getting sacked on fourth down

by Steele.

Then the Mustangs defense stepped up and forced a Wildcat fumble, which they also recovered. That gave the Mustang offense a first down on the Wildcats’ 33 yard line with about

a minute to go in the half, but they were unable to cash in on their opportunity. The first half ended with the Wildcats leading 14-0.

It appeared the Mustangs had gained some momentum with the way the first half ended, and with receiving the ball to start the second half, they looked to be in good shape.

In the span of seven nightmarish minutes to start the second half, the Mustangs saw their 14point deficit balloon to 40 points.

It all started with the opening kickoff of the second half when a Mustangs kick returner froze and failed to field the kick while he watched Wildcats senior Quail Robinson recover it.

The Wildcats had a first down on the Mustangs 28 yard line.

After two runs by Steele, the Wildcats extended their lead to 21-0 over the Mustangs.

The next two Mustang offensive possessions totaled just three plays and both ended with the Wildcats recovering fumbles deep in Mustang territory. The Wildcats missed a field goal on one and senior Gage Steele scored a touchdown on the other to make it 28-0.

The Wildcats would tack on two more touchdowns, but miss an extra point and two point conversion attempt to complete the scoring, all of which transpired in the first seven minutes of the third quarter.

The Mustangs will travel to play Central-Woodstock High Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Loca l

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

September 22 – 28, 2011 | PAGE 19

Fa l l s C h u r c h

School News & Notes

School Custodian at MEH Gives Citizenship Insights Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School seventh grade civic classes are learning about becoming United States citizens.

Last week, they welcomed a spe-

Lego League Fundraiser Set for Thursday The Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School First Lego League robotics club is having a fundraiser for the club this Thursday from 4 – 9 p.m. at Flippin’ Pizza. Flippin’ Pizza is hosting a Give Back night.

During the 4 – 9 p.m. period, the club will get 50 percent of proceeds from customers purchasing pizza when they bring in the fundraising flyer (which is posted on the MEHMS website at fccps.org/meh) or tell Flippin’ Pizza staff they are there for the MEHMS First Lego League robotics club. This only applies to purchases in the store, not to deliveries.

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Last Sunday marked the Falls Church Education Foundation’s sixth annual Run for the Schools 5K Race and 1 Mile Family Fun Run/Walk. Between corporate sponsorships and registration from this year’s about 400 runners, the event raised $21,000, about $4,000 more than last year. At top, the 250 runners competing in the 5K take off. At bottom, Alex Eversmeyer was the first-place finisher, repeating his win from last year. The first-place female finisher was Samia2.062" Akbar, who was also a member of this year’s winning team, Functional Fitness of Falls Church. (Photos: Gary Mester)

Environmental Club Debuts Reusable ‘Little City’ Bags The George Mason High School Environmental Club debuted its new Little City reusable shopping bags last week.

Bags may be purchased for $4 from the GMHS Environmental Club after school, or by contacting Ben Mothershead at ben.mothershead@gmail.com. Proceeds will go to environmental projects at the school.

trans2r1

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Eighteen exchange students from Chile arrived at George Mason High School on Sept. 9 for a two-week cultural exchange with Trewhela’s School in Santiago.

This program has been an annual event between the two schools since 2003.

During their stay, the Trewhela’s School students have visited not only George Mason High School, but also other Falls Church City Public Schools, and have benefited from the City’s close proximity to Washington, D.C., visiting many museums and even getting tours of the White House and Pentagon.

Come Friday, the students, who have been hosted on the exchange by families in Falls Church, will return to their school, but it won’t be long until they see their Mason friends again. As part of the exchange program, in March a group of 20 Mason students will go to Santiago, where they will learn more about life in the Chilean city and stay with the families of those they hosted this month.

In the past, these trips have included visits to the coastal cities of Chile and visits to the home of Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda.

cial guest, Syda Chansombat, one of the school custodians. She spoke about her life in Laos during the Vietnam War and why she had to leave her country and come to the United States with her family. She also explained to the class the process she went through to become a citizen of the United States.

Photo by Michael Mazzeo

Mason High School Hosts Chilean Exchange Students

NOTE TO PUB: DO NOT PRINT INFO BELOW, FOR I.D. ONLY. NO ALTERING OF AD COUNCIL PSAS. Drunk Driving Prevention - Newspaper (2 1/16 x 2) B&W DD201-N-06178-B “Bracelet” 65 screen Film at Horan Imaging 212-689-8585 Reference #: 126730

CALENDAR

PAGE 20 | September 22 – 28, 2011

Community Events Thursday, September 22 Children’s Story Time. Ages 2 – 5 years. Mary Riley Styles Public Library (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). Free. 10:30 a.m. 703248-5034.

F.C. Rotary Club Meeting. Dorothy Keenan, founding board member of the Positive Aging Coalition, will speak about positive aging.

Harvest Moon Restaurant (7260 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). $11 optional dinner. 6:30 p.m. clubrunner.ca/fallschurch.

Book Signing. Sandra Parshall will sign her new book, Under the Dog Star. One More Page (2200 N. Westmoreland St., Arlington).

Free. 7 p.m. 703-300-9746.

Saturday, September 24 F.C. Farmers’ Market. Vendors offer fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables, cheeses, meats, baked goods, plants, and wine.

City Hall Parking Lot (300 Park Ave., Falls Church). Free admission. 8 a.m. – noon. 703248-5077.

Public Utilities Open House. The City of Falls Church will host its annual Public Utilities Open House, including kid-friendly activities for the entire family

to enjoy like taking pictures on heavy-duty equipment. City Property Yard (7100 Gordon Road, Falls Church). Free. 8 a.m.

– 1 p.m. 703-248-5081.

Composting for Beginners.

Participants can learn to make rich organic compost from yard trimmings and leaves.

The program will include a composting demonstration, making compost tea, proper food waste composting and vermicomposting (composting with worms). Cherry Hill Park Picnic Shelter (312 Park Ave., Falls Church). 9 – 10:30 a.m. 703536-7186.

Sunday, September 25 McLean AAUW Open House. The McLean Branch of AAUW will hold an open house reception to include refreshments and a discussion of upcoming branch programs and special-interest groups. McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean). 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. 703356-6498.

Concert. “Family” will feature the music of the Witmans as they share their musical take on the joys and foibles of family through

&

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Send community event submissions to the News-Press by e-mail at calendar@fcnp. com; fax 703-532-3396; or by regular mail to 200 Little Falls St., #508, Falls Church, VA 22046. Please include any photos or artwork with submissions. Deadline is Monday at noon for each week’s edition.

a wide range of vocal and instrumental pieces. St. Peter’s Episcopal Church (4250 N. Glebe Road, Arlington) Free. 4 p.m.

703-536-6606.

Monday, September 26 Children’s Story Time. Ages 2 – 5 years. Mary Riley Styles Public Library (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). Free. 10:30 a.m. 703248-5034.

McLean and Great Falls Celebrate Virginia Meeting. McLean and Great Falls Celebrate Virginia will meet to plan an event for Saturday, Oct. 22, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean).

5:30 p.m. 703-356-8223.

Tuesday, September 27 Children’s Story Time. Ages 18 – 36 months. Mary Riley Styles Public Library (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). Free. 10:30 a.m. 703-248-5034.

Zero Tolerance School Policy Workshop. Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (100 N. Washington St., Suite 234, Falls Church) $35. Noon – 1 p.m. 703923-0010.

Concert. The World Children’s Choir and the Australian Girls Choir will join for the benefit concert “One Song!” Proceeds from this concert will benefit orphans in South Africa through the work of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. St. Peter’s Episcopal Church (4250 N. Glebe Road, Arlington) $10. 7 – 9 p.m. 703883-0920.

Book Talk. Retired Army lieutenant colonel, sculptor and author Robert Sanábria will discuss his latest work, “The Last Californio,” a tale of illegal immigration, murder, love and revenge. One More Page (2200 N. Westmoreland St., Arlington).

Free. 7 p.m. 703-300-9746.

Wednesday, September 28 Book Talk. Benjamin Markovits will discuss “Childish Loves,” his third volume in the Byron trilogy. One More Page (2200 N. Westmoreland St., Arlington).

Free. 7 p.m. 703-300-9746.

Family Game Night. The library will host a game night with board games and bingo. Mary Riley Styles Public Library (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). Free.

7 p.m. 703-248-5034.

Theater Fine Arts Thursday, September 22

“The Boy Detective Fails.” “The Boy Detective Fails,” based on Joe Meno’s acclaimed novel, tells the story of Billy Argo, “boy detective.”

In the twilight of a childhood full of wonder, a broken-hearted Billy faces a mystery he can’t comprehend – the shocking death of his young sister Caroline. Ten years later, a 30-year-old Billy returns to his quiet New Jersey town after an extended stay at St. Vitus’ Hospital for the mentally ill. Although determined to solve the mystery of Caroline’s death and right old wrongs, he instead discovers a world of strangeness, beauty and love. Through Oct. 16. Signature Theatre (4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington). 8 p.m. signature-theatre.org.

Friday, September 23

“Social Security.” Trendy Manhattan art gallery

owners Barbara and David Kahn have their lives upended when their eccentric mother Sophie comes to live with them. Barbara and David introduce Sophie to suave nonagenarian artist Maurice Koenig, who soon begins to brighten her life in ways she never expected.

Through Oct. 1. Alden Theatre (1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean). $14 – $16. 8 p.m. 703-790-9223.

“Don’t Dress for Dinner.” Things are never what they seem in “Don’t Dress for Dinner” as fidelity is thrown to the pigs and every lover belongs to someone else. Bernard’s weekend tryst is foiled when his wife decides to rendezvous with her lover under the same roof. Mistaken identity, feuding spouses and unwitting cooks make up this crowded table of cheating dinner guests. Through Oct. 2.

1st Stage Theatre (1524 Spring Hill Road, McLean). $15 – $25. 8 p.m. 703-854-1856.

“The Hollow.” In a devout 18th century village, a mysterious stranger spreading radically new ideas challenges the traditional order.

However, when rumors spread of a headless horseman murdering friends and neighbors, the townsfolk blame the outsider for this demonic curse. Through Oct. 16. Signature Theatre (4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington). 8 p.m. signature-theatre.org.

The Fourth Wall Cabaret. Creative Cauldron will close its The Fourth Wall Cabaret, a series of original musical theater performances featuring some of the area’s most seasoned professional artists with “Tumble Down Dreams: A Life in the Theater,” with veteran performer Terrence Currier and pianist Eli Staple. Through Sept. 24. ArtSpace Falls Church (410 S. Maple Ave., Falls Church). $20. 8 p.m. creativecauldron.org.

CALENDAR

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

live_music&nightlife Thursday, September 22 Dan and Chuck Acoustic Duo. Clare and Don’s Beach Shack (130 N. Washington St., Falls Church). 7 p.m. 703-532-9283.

Renaissance. Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria). $29.50.

7:30 p.m. 703-549-7500.

Miniature Tigers with The Blackberry Belles and Dan NY. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $13. 8 p.m. 703-255-1566.

Scott H. Biram with Jonny Grave and The Tombstones. Black Cat (1811 14th St., NW, Washington, D.C.). $12. 8 p.m. 202-667-7960.

Dave Chappell and His Band. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 9 p.m. 703-241-9504.

Junior Marvin with Trevor Young and Kenny Bongos. Iota Club and Café (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $15. 9 p.m. 703-522-8340.

Herb and Hanson. Dogwood Tavern (132 W. Broad St., Falls Church).

9:30 p.m. 703-237-8333.

Friday, September 23 Lena Seikaly. Clare and Don’s Beach Shack (130 N. Washington St., Falls Church). 7 p.m. 703-532-9283.

Hiroshima. Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria). $45. 7:30 p.m. 703-549-7500.

The John Jorgenson Quintet.

Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E,

Vienna). $22. 8 p.m. 703-255-1566.

Chopteeth Afrofunk Big Band with Texas Fred and The Zydeco Cowboy. Iota Club and Café (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $15. 9 p.m.

703-522-8340.

Cymbals Eat Guitars with Hooray for Earth and Beige. Black Cat (1811 14th St., NW, Washington, D.C.). $14. 9 p.m. 202-667-7960.

Tribute to the Women of Blues with Mary Shaver. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church).

9 p.m. 703-241-9504.

The Legwarmers. Through Sept.

24. The State Theatre (220 N. Washington St., Falls Church). $18.

9 p.m. 703-237-0300.

Dana Gould. Through Sept. 24.

Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington). $22. 9:55 p.m. 703-486-2345.

Jason Agger. Dogwood Tavern (132 W. Broad St., Falls Church). 10 p.m.

703-237-8333.

DJ Puerto Roc. Clare and Don’s Beach Shack (130 N. Washington St., Falls Church). 10 p.m. 703-5329283.

Saturday, September 24 Jedd Duvall. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 4:30 p.m. 703-241-9504.

Veronneau. Clare and Don’s Beach Shack (130 N. Washington St., Falls Church). 7 p.m. 703-532-9283.

Kyuss Lives! with The Sword. 9:30 (815 V St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $30. 7 p.m. 202-265-0930.

Melissa Ferrick with Ria Mae. Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria). $25. 7:30 p.m. 703549-7500.

The Radio Caroline Band. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 9 p.m. 703-241-9504.

Cobra Collective with Dustys and Cinnamon Band. Iota Club and Café (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $10. 9 p.m. 703-522-8340.

Sunday, September 25 Tom Russell. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $22. 7 p.m.

703-255-1566.

Mason Jennings with The Pines.

9:30 (815 V St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $20. 7 p.m. 202-265-0930.

Chaise Lounge. Iota Club and Café (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $15.

7:30 p.m. 703-522-8340.

Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers with Sons of Bill. The State Theatre (220 N. Washington St., Falls Church). $15. 8 p.m. 703-2370300.

Jimmy Stephanson. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church).

9 p.m. 703-241-9504.

Monday, September 26 Burlap to Cashmere with Shane Alexander. Jammin’ Java (227

September 22 – 28, 2011 | PAGE 21

Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $12. 8 p.m.

703-255-1566.

Tuesday, September 27 X. Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria). $29.50. 7:30 p.m. 703549-7500.

Hume with Dope Body and Protect-U. Black Cat (1811 14th St., NW, Washington, D.C.). $8. 8 p.m. 202-667-7960.

Priscilla Ahn with Milow. Iota Club and Café (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $15. 8 p.m. 703-5228340.

Arty B. and the Stingers with Big Joe Maher, John Previti and Marty Braumann. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church). 8:30 p.m. 703-2419504.

Wednesday, September 28 Matt Nathanson with Vanessa Carlton. 9:30 (815 V St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $25. 7 p.m. 202265-0930.

Staff Benda Bilili. Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria). $29.50. 7:30 p.m. 703-549-7500.

Séan McCann and The Committed.

Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $25. 7:30 p.m. 703-2551566.

The Felice Brothers with Virgin Forest. Black Cat (1811 14th St., NW, Washington, D.C.). $18. 8 p.m.

202-667-7960.

Planning Ahead...

I

t’s that time of year again when eating out and the area’s best restaurants not only leave your belly feeling good, but it makes your soul feel good too. Running through this Saturday is Share Our Strength’s Dine Out For No Kid Hungry, a fundraising program in which thousands of consumers nationwide join with participating restaurants in support of Share Our Strength’s work to end childhood hunger in America. More than 5,000 restaurants nationwide are participating, including 75 within 15 miles of Falls Church. Sadly, once again, not a single City of F.C. restaurant is participating, but some great areachoices include Coastal Flats, Palm Restaurant in Tysons, Carlyle in Shirlington, Legal Sea Foods in Crystal City and all D.C.-area Daily Grills.

If you’re watching your waistline (as if), you can still give to the cause by making a donation directly to Share Our Strength at strength.org.

What: Dine Out for No Kid Hungry When: Now through Saturday, September 24 Where: D.C.-area participating restaurants

See DineOutForNoKidHungry.org for participating restaurants & more info

Friday, October 7 – “Nevermore.” On the anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s death, Creative Cauldron will launch its 10th anniversary season with the critically acclaimed musical “Nevermore.” The musical uses Poe’s poetry and short stories as its base and his shifting obsession with the women in his life as its catalyst. Through Oct. 30. ArtSpace Falls Church (410 S. Maple Ave., Falls Church). 8 p.m. creativecauldron.org.

Saturday, October 8 – Farm Day. The City of Falls Church Recreation and Parks Division is sponsoring its 19th annual Farm Day, where guests can enjoy old-fashioned family fun including horse-drawn hayrides, pony rides, a petting farm, scarecrow making, pumpkin painting, blacksmithing, corn shelling and grinding, live music and more. Cherry Hill Farmhouse (312 Park Ave., Falls Church). Free admission. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. 703-248-5171.

Calendar Submissions Be sure to include time, location, cost of admission, contact person and any other pertinent information.

Event listings will be edited for content and space limitations. Please include any photos or artwork with submissions. Deadline is Monday at noon for the current week’s edition.

Email: calendar@fcnp.com Fax: 703-342-0347; Attn: FCNP Calendar Mail: 200 Little Falls St., #508, Falls Church, VA 22046

Loc al

PAGE 22 | September 22 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 28, 2011

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Restaurant Spotlight American Tap Room 3101 Wilson Blvd., Arlington 703-312-9080 americantaproom.com

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With a new American Tap Room now open in Clarendon, restaurant patrons can enjoy the 100-beer menu and grill fare made available at the restaurantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bethesda and Reston locations in Arlington.

The restaurant bills itself as a spot for â&#x20AC;&#x153;casual sophistication redefined,â&#x20AC;? which calls for a curious balancing act of high and low dining experience that the restaurant attempts to maintain in both its menu and ambiance.

The hefty tall-backed brown armchairs that surround dining tables in the large restaurant, when accompanied by the flicker of the fireplace in the center of the dining room, might make diners feel right at home (maybe even inclined to crack open a book, but alas, there is just a menu). But tap after tap of beer running parallel to the long bar and the exposed kitchen, only half obscured by frosted glass, snap customers back to a high-end pub reality.

The menu, made under the direction of Executive Chef Bobby Vickers, faces a similar duality of identity. Though grounded in standard bar-and-grill fare (think pizzas, burgers and meat-and-potato platters), various dishes take inspiration from Asian and Caribbean cuisine, and the offerings are bolstered by ample seafood options.

The $8-$12 appetizers, from the maki sushi flight to the chile-cilantro hummus, take diners on an international journey that one might not expect from the restaurantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name. While the IPA veggies, tossed in a beer-flavored batter and deep fried, introduce customers to the hoppy tastes that might make them take a second look at the beer list, the stand-out starter is the jerk chicken spring rolls. They are hardly spring rolls, in that spring rolls often pair bits of meat with tons of veggies in a crispy shell. This is a downright meat pocket, stuffed full of spicy chicken chunks and served alongside a delicious mango dipping sauce that brings great sweetness to the mix.

The six stone-hearth pizzas this restaurant serves up, ranging in price from $9-$15, combine high-end ingredients like jumbo lump crab meat and prosciutto ham in this classic casual-dining delicacy. The Peking Pizza, a blend of honey-ginger duck, stir-fried green beans and scallions, all coated in a sweet chili sauce, hits the right marks, all supported by a wonderfully crunchy crust.

The entrees are less adventurous, focusing on staples like steak and French fry platters and seafood platters, along with a lone pasta dish in a duck ragout. The steaks, like the $18 10 ounce rib eyes of organic beef from grass-fed cows, are served to order, seasoned only with a rub of garlic and a dab of the houseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cabernet shallot butter sauce, letting the flavor of the meat shine through. The fries, though hand cut, are underseasoned and go unrecognized amidst the heaping plates of meat they accompany.

The meal ends with a look at the classic dessert cart, or in this case a tray, with decadent treats like sundaes and crème brÝlÊes to end things on a sweet note.

Having opened in Clarendon just after Labor Day, the restaurant still faces the challenges of settling in, and it still remains to be seen if customers determine the fare is worth the price tag, but for its metro-adjacency, beer offerings and good pub food picks, it may become a preferred spot in the area.

Hours:

Monday â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Saturday: 11 a.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2 a.m.

Sunday: 10 a.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2 a.m.

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Leslie Poster

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Lo cal

F.C. Celebrates Fall, Takes ‘Taste’ From Local Eateries

September 22 – 28, 2011 | PAGE 23

Cherry Hill Park was transformed last Saturday into a spot for fall revelry and sampling the finest of Falls Church cuisine with the annual Fall Festival and Taste of Falls Church.

This year’s Taste winner was Ireland’s Four Provinces, which served a number of dishes including a much-praised rack of lamb and potato leek soup. Earning second-place honors was Mad Fox, for its prawns and root-beer-braised beef, both served over polenta. In addition to booths from the 17 participating food vendors this year, local crafters, businesses, and civic organizations also took part. (Photos: Gary Mester)

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

PAGE 24 | SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2011

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

GOSLING MESMERIZES.” Roger Ebert

“

‘Killer Elite’

– Peter Travers,

“THE COOLEST MOVIE AROUND.” – A.O. Scott,

by Roger Ebert

Universal Press Syndicate

RYAN GOSLING

THERE ARE NO CLEAN GETAWAYS LOCAL LISTINGS THEATERS AND SHOWTIMES NOW PLAYING IN THEATERS EVERYWHERE FOR CHECK

★★★★ UPLIFTING!

“

WASHINGTON SUBURBAN PRESS THURS. 9/22STAND 3.55”UP X 3” SO INSPIRING YOU’LL AND CHEER.” JEFF CRAIG, SIXTY SECOND PREVIEW

“Killer Elite” is inspired by a story that ingeniously finds a way to explain why two teams of ex-SAS men would want to kill each other. That doubles the possibilities for casting, and here Jason Statham and Clive Owen, who in fact have no reason to dislike each other, are engaged in a deadly game of international murder. Robert De Niro plays a hostage taken by a sheik of Oman, who uses him to settle a score neither team has any reason to care about, so basically what’s at stake is their professionalism.

Incredibly, this story is claimed to be based on fact. Author Ranulph Fiennes’ novel is allegedly based on experiences he really had, and indeed the author of just such a book makes an appearance in the plot. I suspect the factual basis may be at a few degrees of separation from the pure action plot, but you never know, and recent movies like PETER TRAVERS

“A WONDERFUL, ENTERTAINING AND UNFORGETTABLE MOVIE.” “A REMARKABLE TRUE STORY. ‘DOLPHIN TALE’

WILL LEAVE YOU FEELING GOOD.

JIM FERGUSON, ABC-TV

FILM OF THE YEAR.” CHLOE MELAS, HOLLYWOODLIFE.COM

“LIKE ‘THE BLIND SIDE,‘

THIS MOVIE IS CHARMING, FUN AND IMPORTANT.” MARK S. ALLEN, THE CW

“The Debt” suggest spy organizations can get involved in events that seem lifted from fiction.

The story: De Niro plays Hunter, the mentor of Danny (Jason Statham). Both were skilled professionals. Danny has had one of those epiphanies where a man of action decides the killing must stop, and has retreated into hiding and seclusion in a remote quarter of the Australian Outback. There he lives with the beautiful Anne (Yvonne Strahovski), who strictly speaking is not particularly essential to the plot. Danny’s past life follows him to the outback after Hunter is kidnapped by the oil sheik. The sheik wants revenge against the killers

“‘MONEYBALL’ IS ONE OF THE BEST AND MOST VISCERALLY

BRAD PITT NAILS EVERY NUANCE. JONAH HILL SCORES A KNOCKOUT!

‘MONEYBALL’ LEFT ME READY TO CHEER.” “‘MONEYBALL’ IS HILARIOUS. BRAD PITT SHOWS US ONCE AGAIN

KAREN DURBIN

“ THE BEST FAMILY

Danny .........................Jason Statham Spike .............................. Clive Owen Hunter....................... Robert De Niro Davies ..................... Dominic Purcell Meier .............................Aden Young Anne................... Yvonne Strahovski

EXCITING FILMS OF THE YEAR.

PETE HAMMOND, BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE

A MUST-SEE FOR EVERYONE.”

Martin ................... Ben Mendelsohn

 cast&credits

JUST HOW GOOD HE IS.” LOU LUMENICK THIS CROWD-PLEASER

BRUCE HANDY

“IS A TRIUMPH.” “ACHIEVEMENT ENTERTAINING . “‘

THIS FILM MARKS A SERIOUS AND

”

MONEYBALL’ CRUISES INTO THE HIGH GEAR OF THE SAVVIEST OLD HOLLYWOOD COMEDIES.

BRAD PITT IS

SENSATIONAL.”

RICHARD CORLISS

A FILM BY BENNETT MILLER

“MONEYBALL” COLUMBIA PICTURESEXECUTIVEPRESENTS A SCOTT RUDIN/MICHAEL DE LUCA/RACHAEL HOROVITZ PRODUCTION MYCHAEL DANNA PRODUCERS SCOTT RUDIN ANDREW KARSCH SIDNEY KIMMEL MARK BAKSHI BASEDBOOKON THEBY MICHAEL LEWIS PRODUCED STAN CHERVIN SCREENPLAYBY STEVEN ZAILLIAN AND AARON SORKIN DIRECTED

BY MICHAEL DE LUCA RACHAEL HOROVITZ BRAD PITT

BY BENNETT MILLER

MUSIC BY STORY BY

STARTS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 CHECK DIRECTORIES FOR LISTINGS

WASHINGTON SUBURBAN PRESS THURS 9.22 3.1 X 23.61 x 8 all.dpt-3-61x8-4c.0922.wsp

STARTS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23

CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THEATERS AND SHOWTIMES

Open Road presents a film directed

by Gary McKendry. Screenplay by Gary McKendry and Matt Sherring, based on a novel by Ranulph Fiennes.

Running time: 105 minutes.

MPAA rating: R (for strong violence, language and some sexuality/nudity).

of his sons, he knows Danny is the best in the world, and he correctly calculates that only the need to save his beloved teacher would lure him back into action.

The sons, it turns out, were murdered by four SAS men. Danny’s assignment is tricky: He is to kill them – but make it look like each death is accidental, so no one will suspect the sheik. Diabolically clever. On his team are Davies (Dominic Purcell) and Meier (Aden Young).

Meanwhile, Spike (Clive Owen) leads a shadowy group known as the Feather Men, whose mission is to protect ex-SAS men from retaliation.

Their task is to shield the four targets from Danny and his boys. Got that?

This is actually a pretty good thriller, based more on character and plot than on action for its own sake. The need to construct killings that look like accidents adds to the interest. I find myself asking, really, how likely is it that one, let alone all, of these events could be stage-managed so precisely?

Yet we learn that spy organizations are often behind “accidents.”

Jason Statham is once again a hard-boiled man carved from solid macho. Clive Owen, who by disposition and facial expression seems more like a good guy, is also sufficiently cold-blooded. Do you ever find yourself looking at a movie involving steel-eyed killers with Brillo stubble on their chins and wondering if they would possibly seem as menacing if they were clean-shaven?

De Niro is good here, in a role that perhaps offered some small inspiration. My impression is that he feels he’s paid his dues and his attention is now involved in his Tribeca activities. He still has his power when he chooses to use it.

The movie is a first feature by Gary McKendry, born in Northern Ireland, who previously directed many commercials and the 20-minute short “Everything in This Country Must,” which was nominated for an Academy Award in the live-action short category. This is an impressive debut. He has the instincts of a storyteller, and understands that action is better when it’s structured around character and plot and doesn’t rely on simple sensation.

A RTS& EN TE RTA IN MEN T

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

September 22 – 28, 2011 | PAGE 25

Sept.

23 y

Frida

The Legwarmers State Theatre 9 p.m.

220 N. Washington St., Falls Church

703-237-0300 • thestatetheatre.com

24 day

Satur

Cobra Collective Iota Club and Café 9 p.m.

2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington

703-522-8340 • iotaclubandcafe.com

28 day

es Wedn

Matt Nathanson with Vanessa Carlton 9:30 7 p.m.

815 V St. NW, Washington, D.C.

202-265-0930 • 930.com

by Leslie Poster

Falls Church News-Press

After nearly 20 years touring with the Canadian folk-rock outfit Great Big Sea and bringing Newfoundland traditional music and sea shanties with a harder edge to the masses, Séan McCann tested the proverbial waters of a solo career, recording tracks for what would become Lullabies for Bloodshot Eyes. The album, a deeply personal work inspired in part by the birth of his sons, enjoyed some critical success, and just short of a year later, McCann released its followup, Son of a Sailor, taking those Newfoundland sounds popularized by Great Big Sea and combining them with a country balladeer aesthetic, accompanied by Kelly Russell and Craig Young as The Committed.

McCann and The Committed will be stopping

by Jammin’ Java Sept. 28 as part of a 13-day East Coast tour to promote the new album. McCann spoke to the News-Press about the two albums, as well as what’s to come for his solo project and for Great Big Sea. LP: What did you take from writing and recording Lullabies for Bloodshot Eyes when you were working on Son of a Sailor?

SM: I learned that being in Great Big Sea, we have a lot of fans, and we’re very successful on both sides of the border. I was afraid to [release Lullabies for Bloodshot Eyes] because that record sounded so different. It was a different voice, a different theme, and a very intimate record.

That’s not what Great Big Sea is about. I was very reluctant, but my manager said I should put it out there. I was afraid it wouldn’t connect with audiences, but it did. They were very surprised by it. I think they were expecting more shanties or raucous anthems – but it did resonate with them, and the response was really good, so I was encouraged. I thought maybe I should make a record that I will want to tour and play, so I just kept writing.

LP: The songs on Son of a Sailor are delivered

Sean McCann (Photo: Dustin Rabin) in fictional narratives, as opposed to narratives about yourself, but do you and your personal experiences come through in these songs?

SM: A lot of those songs use characters with different names, and the “me” is removed, but some of those characters are real and some of them are part of me. They are where I could have been if I hadn’t done certain things to change my ways.

I tried to take the “me” out and to replace it with “us,” I guess, and to write songs that I thought would include my experience, but in which I thought the experience would be mutual. The best way to do that is to tell a story about a person, put a name on it, draw a face. If they see themselves, that’s one thing, and if they see another person in it, that’s another. Most of the songs have not a lesson that is taught, but stuff you can take from those stories and characters and relate to.

LP: What is your writing process like?

SM: Like any day off, I could go one of two ways – I can get in all kinds of trouble, or I could put myself to work. I literally tried to keep myself

Séan McCann and The Committed Jammin’ Java 7:30 p.m.

These singles whet the appetites of the FCNP editorial team this week: 

Nicholas Benton – Symphony No. 4 by Johannes Brahms

227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna

703-255-1566 • jamminjava.com

 

Jody Fellows – Band on the Run by Wings

Leslie Poster – Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO

busy. I have two little boys, one is about 6 and one is 3. Before they came along, I had all kinds of time, but never got half as much done. Now, every minute counts. Whenever I see an hour in a day, I’m prepared.

LP: What aspects of the music you make as a solo artist do you think will most surprise Great Big Sea fans?

SM: My role in Great Big Sea is that I’m the screamer guy. I’m singing the screaming rock and roll songs. Every three songs, my job was to blow my head off and do a shanty or whatever. It’s all very powerful singing. But these [solo album songs] are not the kinds of songs you would scream. These are stories from a storyteller. It’s a conversational mode. People ask about shanties on a solo record, but I’m like well, I have the best band on the planet for that. I still do that, I still write songs for Great Big Sea, and I wouldn’t want to take away from that.

LP: Beyond touring for this album, what’s on the horizon?

SM: Great Big Sea is working on a greatest hits record. I submitted 12 songs to those guys for that purpose, and I’m also working on a new Committed record, and I’m a dozen songs into that. We will be introducing some of those songs on the road, and I’m not sure what shape that record will be, but I’ll be using Craig and Kelly again. [The tour] will be trial by fire. We have 13 shows in 13 nights, and to date we’ve only done five shows, never two in a row. It will be a test, but I’m sure we’ll come out as a stronger band.

• For more information about Séan McCann, visit greatbigsean.com.

CLASSIFIEDS

PAGE 26 | SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2011 Adoption Fair

News-Press Classifieds

ADOPT

FELINE ADOPTION FAIR

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1-3PM. PMVCA BARCROFT CAT HOSPITAL 6375 Columbia Pike, Falls Church, VA Information 703-920-8665 x3 Feline Foundation www.ffgw.org

Announcements NEW CAREER OPPORTUNITY:

Dental Assistant! New program in this high demand field begins October 3 at American College of Commerce and Technology, 150 S. Washington St., Falls Church. Classes are Mon. and Wed. 12-2pm,, 11 weeks, followed by dental office practicum. Tuition reduction scholarships available. Call Maria at 703-942-6200.

Wanted CHILD CARE - FALL CHURCH HOME - Take care of 11 year old and 9

year old brother and sister at home, 3 days a week after school. Help with driving to and from after school activities from their home, homework and snack. Candidates must be at least 18 years old, very responsible, have reliable transportation and enjoy children. Hours 4:30 pm – around 6:30 pm. Hourly rate: negotiable. Call Darren: 571-265-2659.

For Rent BYRON LUXURY CONDO: 2 BR 2.5 BA w/DEN. Former model unit immaculately maintained by original owner. Walk to West Falls metro, shops and restaurants.

George Mason HS district. $2,900/ mo (no brokers please). Call 703532-1883.

HOUSE FOR RENT: McLean; 4 BDR,

3 BTH, 2-Car Garage, Screened Porch off Walkout Basement. Near McLean HS. $2600/mo. 703-606-5426

SFH TYSON’S CORNER 3 BDR, 1

BA, Freshly Painted, Convenient Location. $1800/month. 703-380-8966 (Debbie) or 703-893-1142.

Services

We are pleged to the letter and spirit of Virginia’s policy for achieving equal housing opportunity throughout the Commonwealth. We encourage and support advertising and marketing programs in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status or handicap. All real estate advertised herein is subject to Virginia’s fair illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status or handicap or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination.” This newspaper will not knowingly accept advertising for real estate that violates the fair housing law. Our readers are herby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. For more information or to file a housing complaint call the Virginia Fair Housing Office at (804) 367-8530. Toll free call (888) 551-3247. For the hearing impaired call (804) 367-9753.

$20 for up to 20 words

50¢ each additional word Add a box - $10

Deadline: 2 p.m.

Tuesdays (two days before publication)

Fill out our Classified Ad form online at www.fcnp. com Phone: 703-532-3267 • Fax: 703-342-0352 E-Mail: classads@fcnp.com Mail: 450 W. Broad St. #321, Falls Church, VA 22046 For public & legal notices, please e-mail legalads@ fcnp.com

The Falls Church News-Press accepts no financial responsibility for typographical errors in advertisements. Advertising which has minor discrepancies such as misspelling or small type transposition, but which do not affect the ability of the reader to respond to the ad will be considered substantially correct and full payment is required. The Falls Church NewsPress is not responsible if the original copy is not typewritten or legible and clear. The Falls Church News-Press is not responsible for copy changes made by telephone.

Email: fairhousing@dpor.virginia.gov.

Web site: www.fairhousing.vipnet.org

DOG SITTING in my home. Reasonable rates. Excellent references Call 703-577-1734 HOUSE CLEANING SERVICE Available 7 days a week. Week, biweekly, monthly or one time. Good references in Falls Church City. 10 years experience. For further information call me at 703-901-0596.

Senior discount, Ask: Susy.

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at Fair Prices with Great References & Excellent Work! Satisfaction Guaranteed.

Free Estimate. Call Kathy: 703-998-5338; 571-235-4295

703-532-3267

Public Notice

maustin@fcnp.com

ABC LICENSE: Lesly Restaurant, Inc, trading as Lesly Restaurant, Bar, and Grill, 306 Hillwood Avenue, Falls Church, VA, City of Falls Church, VA, 22046 is applying to the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for a Mixed Beverage On Premises license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages.Judith Hernandez, CEO.

FCNP.COM | FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

ACCOUNTING

SEPTEMBER 22 – 28, 2011 | PAGE 27

BUSINESS & SERVICE DIRECTORY HOME IMPROVEMENT

MASONRY

OTHER SERVICES

CRJ Concrete HENRY HASSAN, MSFM, EA

TAX ACCOUNTANT – IRS ENROLLED AGENT

YASMEEN HASSAN JONES, EA PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT

SMALL BUSINESS ACCOUNTING PAYROLL SERVICES INDIVIDUAL AND BUSINESS TAX PREPARATION BUSINESS CONSULTING 703-241-7771 www.hassansacctg.com 100 B East Broad Street Falls Church, VA 22046

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES Philip J. Walsh Attorney Here to Help You (703) 448-0073 Espanol (703) 798-3448 Tysons Corner • Accidents, Injuries, & Death Cases • Professional malpractice • Business Contracts • Commercial/Insurance disputes

Driveways - Patios - Sidewalks Licensed & Insured

571-221-2785 Handyman Service All repairs, plumbing, drywall, doors, windows, rotted wood, siding, gutters, lighting + more FREE estimates, insured Call Doug (703)556-4276

BRADWELL PAINTING SERVICE 703-866-6225

Interior/Exterior Painting Highest Quality Paints & Workmanship Drywall Repairs, Power Washing Deck Staining Free Estimates, Licensed Excellent References

1420 Spring Hill Road, Suite 210 McLean, VA 22102 E-mail: walsh.associates@gmail.com

Farhan P. Thura Attorney-at-Law (703) 338-5654 Licensed in VA & MD

Benton Potter & Murdock, PC www.bpmlawyers.com

Government contract law, health law, civil litigation, and all areas of business law.

In the City of Falls Church: 703-992-9255 In D.C.: 202-416-1660 400 S. Maple Avenue, Suite 210, Falls Church, VA 22046

www.columbiabaptist.org/cifa

www.novahandyman.com MILLENNIUM, USA PAINTING LLC Licensed & Insured Interior • Exterior

Power Washing • Carpentry Wall Paper Removal & Installation • Deck • Fences Drywall Finishing • Additions • Remodeling Demolitions • Tile Ceramic Housekeeping Services Begins at $40 Gutter Cleaning $100 House $50 Townhouse (Any size) Window Cleaning Interior & Exterior Begins at $20 Great References • Great Prices • Quality Service

40% Discount New Customers 50% Discount Military & Seniors 703-409-8563

Find us on Twitter & Facebook

REMODELING & ADDITION, CERAMIC, TILE, FINISHED CARPENTRY, CROWN MOLDING, CHAIRS, DECK RAILS, STAIR, WINDOWS, DOORS, CONCRETE, SIDEWALKS, DRIVEWAYS, BRICK INSTALLED & REPAIRED

Phone # Cell Number

703-848-8322 703-901-2431

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A. OWENS AND ASSOCIATES INC. Complete Handyman Services

Int. & Ext. Maintenance Benton Potter & Murdock, PC Carpentry & Moldings

C&J Custom Carpentry A DIVISION OF MASONRY SPECIALIST, LLC Family Owned & Operated Since the 1950’s IN A CLASS OF ITS OWN

Bathroom Remodeling & Painting www.bpmlawyers.comDrywall Finished Basements ALL TYPES OF HOME IMPROVEMENTS Insurance Claims Upgrades/Repairs/Restorations

Custom Masonry Brick and Flagstone

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Now enrolling for fall. Unique program combines group and individual instruction. Dedicated and experienced teachers. Comfortable studio with quality instruments.

www.custommasonry.info MOTTERN MASONRY DESIGN

Specializing in custom firplaces, patios, walkways, walls, driveways.

Small and large repairs.

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LAWN & GARDEN 703.919.4456 Free Estimates

Paver & Flagstone Patios, Walkways, Walls Plants / Trees / Stacked Fieldstone

WET BASMENT? WET YARD?

NO JOB TOO SMALL • Classhealth A Licensed, Member Water Foundations law.

Government contract law, law, civil BBB litigation, and allProofing areasExterior of business

SPECIALIZING IN DECKS ARBORS • GAZEBOS FENCING • KITCHENS BATHS • BASEMENTS

• Qualified, Professional Technicians

(703)443-2289

In the City of Falls Church: 703-992-9255

Remove Standing Water / French Drains Downspout Extensions / Dry River Beds •No sub-contractors, or day labors.

•The Owner is physically on your job site.

Free Estimates 703.919.4456 Lic/Ins

Also Offering Expert Installation Of: Flooring, Windows & Doors

CLEANING SERVICES www.ReynoldsLandscapingOnline.com 400 S. Maple Avenue, Suite 210, Falls Church, VA 22046

703/443-2308

Class A License • Fully Insured • All Work Guaranteed

In D.C.: 202-416-1660

PET SERVICES

Mike’s Carpet Cleaning

5 Rooms deep cleaned only $115 •Stretching•Mold Experts •Upholstery • 24 Hour Emergency Water Damage We Clean the White House!

www.bentonpotter.com

classads@fcnp.com We Take Care of Your Pet When You Can’t Be There.

Quality care at a fair price from a Falls Church Business.

LICENSED, BONDED, INSURED

Seven Brothers Landscaping Service

Spring Cleanup, mulching, mowing, edging, trimming.

Residential & Commercial Tree Service & Snow Removal

Call Mike 703-978-2270

703-241-4990

A - Cleaning Service

The Ninth Green

since 1985

Insured, Bonded and Licenced Independently owned Commercial & Residential

703-892-8648

www.a-cleaningserviceinc.com

929 West Broad Street Falls Church, VA 22046 703-229-3109 www.studiohorowitz.com

Lawn Service

Lawn Moving Gutter Cleaning Bush Trimming Liming Light Tree Works

703-534-4202

Make Life Worth Framing

artandframeoffallschurch.com

Elements of Wellness Massage, Energy work & Reiki classes 803 W. Broad St. #740 (571) 402-2659 www.fallschurchmassagetherapy.com

Make a Joyful Splash! with Eileen Levy

Create unique art masterpieces using acrylics, water-based oils, pencils and an innovative variety of tools and brushes.

Held at Creative Cauldron Monday, Tuesday Evenings 7-9 pm 410 S. Maple Avenue On-going enrollment Enroll on-line at www.creativecauldron.org Or call 571-239-5288

SERVING N. VIRGINA, LICENSED & FULLY INSURED

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Fall Clean Up Leaves, Yards & Gutters

Advertise Your Business in the News-Press today!

WWW.FCNP.COM

703-532-3267

LOCAL

PAGE 28 | SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2011

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

U.S. Postal Service to Close Falls Church’s Pimmit Branch As Congress is wrangling over how to shape the future of the struggling United States Postal Service, the USPS is moving ahead with major cutbacks. From proposing to stop mail delivery on Saturdays, to this summer’s announcement that it is considering closing 3,700 offices, the USPS is trying to cut

costs in a tough economic climate, with emails continuing to replace stamped-and-sealed means of communication.

For Falls Church, as of November, this means losing a branch in the Pimmit Hills area.

The Pimmit Branch, located at 7520 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church,

Gardner Sexual Assault Trial Delayed Until 2012 The trial of Michael Gardner, Falls Church City civic activist and husband of former mayor and current City Council member Robin Gardner, will be delayed at the prosecution’s request as of a court hearing this week, moving the date of his jury trial from Oct. 3 to Jan. 23, 2012.

Gardner is charged with committing two felony acts of aggravated sexual battery and one act of object sexual penetration. The alleged victims

are three 9- and 10-year-old girls who attended sleepovers at Gardner’s house in June.

According to court documents, Deputy Commonwealth Attorney for the Loudoun County District Court Nicole Wittmann requested the delay because she was notified by the Department of Forensic Science Northern Virginia Laboratory that they would need more time to finish their testing of evidence related to the case.

Lock in your Price rice For one year!

will close its doors Nov. 10. The nearest office to this location is the Falls Church City post office, known as the Falls Church Finance Station, located at 800 W. Broad St., about two miles away. Slightly farther away is the Merrifield Retail Unit, located at 8409 Lee Highway.

According to Laura Dvorak, a representative of the Northern Virginia district of the United States Post Office, the USPS considers many factors before determining a branch should be shut down or consolidated with another branch, including but not limited to the volume of work coming into the office and how close it is to other places where people can take care of their shipping needs.

She said that the Pimmit Branch has been in that review process since 2008. Dvorak also says that the Internet and retail outlets that offer postal services can also meet some of the needs of postal customers.

Elaine Mittleman, an attorney who works from her home in Pimmit Hills, says she was “dev-

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process, both Mittleman and Martz found that notice insufficient and plan to fight the USPS decision.

Mittleman plans to file an appeal with the Postal Regulatory Commission, and Martz has encouraged residents to send letters to representatives, sign petitions and make their opinions heard.

“We know the Post Office is losing money,” Martz said. “But this is still not a way to treat customers.”

According to Dvorak, two clerks staff the Pimmit Branch, and they will be relocated to other USPS positions in the Falls Church area. Clerks working at the branch declined comment to the News-Press.

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“I rely on that branch,” Mittleman said. “There is no good alternative for me.” She added that taking public transit to the Broad Street office can take an hour and sometimes two hours.

Matt Martz, president of the Pimmit Hills Citizens Association, which represents 1,600 households in the area, said some of its residents are elderly and don’t drive in the area, meaning they would have to take public transit to other post offices.

While Dvorak said that customers are consulted during the review

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ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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1. They’re designed for quick exits 9. “That’s gotta be ____” 15. How most wars are waged 16. Baseball player known as Mr. White Sox 17. Visit 18. “If I Can’t Have You” singer Elliman 19. U.S. senator who was a Republican and a Democrat 21. Layer 22. Org. headquartered in Detroit 23. USPS delivery 26. Conclude 27. Failed, but not by much 32. GPA booster 33. Peter Fonda character who says “The bees and I have an understanding” 34. Choir, e.g.

39. Suffix with symptom 40. Conservative pundit Alan 41. Movie actress who released the 2005 album “Crossword” 45. Prefix with pressure 48. Win at ____ cost 49. Put away the groceries?

50. Shock 51. National eyewear chain ... or solvers of 19-, 27-, 34- and 41-Across 56. Digitally recorded 59. The Detroit River feeds it

1. They're designed for quick exits

september 22 - 28, 2011 | PAGE 29

60. 1862 battlefield 61. Expanse 62. Cause of some storms 63. Adjective in a Bill Cosby series

35. Like some hair 36. Collector’s goal 37. Word after public or private 38. French sea 39. “Eureka!”

42. “Kinsey” star 43. Don Quixote companion Down Panza 1. Flattened at the poles 44. Some linemen: Abbr.

2. Old gold coin of Italy 45. Pied-____ 3. Hoodwinked 46. Radioactivity units 4. Emmy-winning forecaster 47. Vote out 5. Score after deuce 50. Lieu 6. Hr. fractions 51. Actress Taylor 7. Sit heavily 52. Doofus 8. Holiday song closer 53. ____ Nui (Easter Island) 9. “The Bonesetter’s Daughter” 54. Oslo’s river novelist 55. Actress Sherilyn 10. Journalism 101 concept 56. Suffix with verb 11. “Are you ____ out?”

57. Org. with Ducks and Penguins 12. Director Howard 13. Fig. sought by an identity thief 58. Clamor 14. Stubbed digit Last Thursday’s Solution 20. Prompt on stage S A L M A F A M K E A N U 23. Laze O F A A L F I E I N U R N 24. Hammock support M A C H O G E R T I L L Y 25. Hwy. Y E S P L A Y I N G W I T H 27. Sky safety org.

D N A E I R E A N E T R E A L L Y D O E S 28. Making a squeezing motion C A V N A N C I A T A with one hand means “milk” in it: O R A N G M E O N L E A H Abbr.

L A C E D S T R P L O 29. Drano ingredient I M P R O V E T H E G A M E S P O T E L L 30. Sri ____ D O H P A U L K R U G M A N 31. Centers of activity D E E T O S C A K N E E L 32. “____ homo” N E W M E E V E E R E C T 34. Powerful auto engine S I P S E C T S Y A S I R

CHUCKLE BROS Brian & Ron Boychuk

9. "That's gotta be ____"

Sudoku

15. How most wars are waged

Level: 1 2 3 4

By The Mepham Group

16. Baseball player known as Mr. White Sox 17. Visit 18. "If I Can't Have You" singer Elliman 19. U.S. senator who was a Republican and a Democrat 21. Layer 22. Org. headquartered in Detroit 1

23. USPS delivery 26. Conclude 27. Failed, but not by much 32. GPA booster 33. Peter Fonda character who says "The bees and I have an understanding" 34. Choir, e.g.

Solution to last Sunday’s puzzle

NICK KNACK

1

© 2011 N.F. Benton

9/18/11

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9.

For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit www.sudoku.org.uk.

© 2011 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. All rights reserved.

LOCAL

PAGE 30 | September 22 – 28, 2011

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Critter Corner

BACK IN THE DAY

laz y The dog. c k q u i fox sly p e d jum e r o v lazy the g . d o is Now time the all for o d g o to cows

20 s Yearo Ag

e c o mthe to of aid i r t h e re. pastu w N o the is e t i m all for o d g o to cows e c o mthe to

20 & 10 Years Ago in the News-Press

Falls Church News-Press Vol I, No. 26 • September 19, 1991

It is no the timw e for g o all o cows d to go to the aid of the pa stu ir re. *** **

Falls Church News-Press Vol XI, No. 28 • September 20, 2001

10 Year s Ago

Thr ow it up.

Pour it up It now is the time for all go od cows to go the to aid

Council-Appointed Study Group Recommends in Favor of Baseball

Citizen Outpouring of Grief & Generosity Follows Assist in Pentagon Rescue Effort

By a unanimous vote Tuesday, a six-man Baseball Study Group assembled by a vote of the Falls Church City Council last month confirmed the final contents of an extensive report to the Council that recommends a positive letter of intent be sent from the City to a group that wants to bring a minor league baseball team here.

In last week’s Back in the Day entry from Sept. 12, 1991, we incorrectly referred to Michael Laub as “Michael Lamb.”

The Falls Church City Council will give special recognition at its regular meeting this Monday night to the City’s Police, Fire and Sheriff’s Departments for their extraordinary, swift contribution to the rescue effort after the Pentagon was struck on Sept. 11. Just over 5 miles from the Pentagon, the City of Falls Church provided rescue and public safety units that were among the first to arrive on the scene after the crash last week.

Letters Continued from Page 6

Didn’t Expect to Be Ticketed On W&OD Trail Editor, Last Friday, while cycling on the W&OD bike trail, I got a ticket for going through a stop sign on the trail at a mid-block crossing. This came as a big surprise to me since I have never seen any bicyclist stop at any of those crossings over the past five years.

In fact, while the police officer was writing the ticket, 14 cyclists drove through the adjacent intersection.

While I do not dispute the infraction, it is not one that anyone had an expectation of enforcement. Motorists stop at street stop signs because they expect it to be enforced. Cyclists to not stop along the bike trail because they see everyone ignoring the signs.

If the police intend to enforce that regulation, they should erect signs along the trail indicating that the stops will be enforced. The purpose of regulations is to affect behavior. The only effect of giving me a ticket is to inform one person (me) of the regulation.

Sheldon L. Lynn Alexandria

Clarification on ‘Bailout’ Proviso In Voting Law Editor, I wanted to offer a point of clarification to a couple of items that have run in the News-Press in the past two weeks concerning the plan to reduce the number of precincts in Falls Church from five to three:

The pre-clearance and “bailout” provisions mentioned in those items in the issues of Sept. 9 and 16 are part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, not the Civil Rights Act (I presume the Civil Rights Act of 1964 here). The Civil Rights Act of 1964 addressed discrimination in public accommodations, but not voting; the Voting Rights Act set up the “preclearance” requirements under Section 5 of the VRA for Virginia and several other states where turnout was below 50 percent of the voting-age population in the 1964 presidential election.

Turnout was the device the federal government used to “capture” jurisdictions where discriminatory voting and electoral practices were likely used. This allowed the narrow geographic tailoring of the VRA, ensuring the law did not fall prey to constitutional challenges.

Further amendments to the VRA, in 1975 and 1982, respectively extended coverage to some language minorities (Section 203) in addition to racial minority groups covered under Section 5, and added the “bailout” provisions. Jurisdictions applying for a bailout can do so through the Department of Justice or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Approximately twenty jurisdictions in Virginia, including Fairfax City, have successfully “bailed out” under this provision by showing they no longer exercise voting practices that could be considered discriminatory.

Congress last reauthorized the Voting Rights Act in 2006, for a 25-year period running from 2007 through 2032.

James Benton Via the Internet

Much Flooding, Mishandling of The Big Rainfall Editor, I was stunned to open last

weeks’ edition only to discover there was no mention of the horrific flooding many of my neighbors and I experienced, except for a minor mention of “eight inches of heavy rain.”

I’ve lived here almost 18 years and could never have anticipated 4.5 feet of water blasting through my door and devastating half of my living space. Around the corner, driveways are lined with dumpsters. Cleanup crews, insurance adjusters and quick storage options are inundated with calls. Not only was there loss of personal property, both business and treasured memories, but also the trauma to families desperately trying to save their homes.

I’m appalled by the mishandling of this event by the city. The only “assistance” came from two people walking about reminding those to pull permits before rebuilding.

As we attempt to salvage, restore, and remain grateful, my city pride has vanished.

Tucker Berry, more commonly known as Tuck, is a mini golden doodle (a dood!) who lives in the City of Falls Church. His best animal friend is Harvey Twig – an orange tabby. He loves to give “the look,” which seems to say “I am so cute ... give me a treat!” He is very smart, and can do double roll-overs on demand (with the help of a treat). His primary job is to make sure his teenager gets up in the morning to get to George Mason High School on time!

Leah McKay Falls Church

Many Options For Vegan Burgers In F.C., Too Editor, In “The Little City Burger Tour,” Jody Fellows says “Vegans and vegetarians aside, everyone loves ‘em.” Vegans and vegetarians love burgers, too.

In the Falls Church area, you can buy excellent vegan burgers, fresh of the grill, from Burger 7, Elevation Burger, Loving Hut and JV’s. You can also easily make them yourself; there are 100 recipes for vegan burgers on www. vegweb.com alone.

Gary Loewenthal Falls Church

COMING SOON!

701 W. Broad St. (Rte 7) Falls Church VA • 703-237-6500 w w w. p o i n t o f v i e w e y e w e a r. c o m

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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ACCOUNTING

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Diener & Associates, CPA.. . . . . . . . . 241-8807 Eric C. Johnson, CPA, PC . . . . . . . . . 538-2394 Mark Sullivan, CPA. . . . . . . . . . . 571-214-4511 Hassans Accounting & Tax Services . 241-7771 Hahn & Associates, PC, CPAs. . . . . . 533-3777 n

Falls Church Antique Company . . . . . 241-7074 Antique Annex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241-9642 n

ATTORNEYS

Mark F. Werblood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534-9300 Walsh & Associates.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448-0073 Janine S. Benton, Esq. . . . . . . . . . . .992-9255 Law Office of Farhan Philip Thura. . . 338-5654 n

AUTOMOTIVE

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BANKING

Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co.. . . 519-1634 BB&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241-3505 TD Bank/www.TDBank.com. . . . . . . . 237-2051 Acacia Federal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506-8100 n

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EQUIPMENT RENTAL/SALE

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BUSINESS SERVICES

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Art & Frame of Falls Church . . . . . . . 534-4202

Nghiem Seitz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241-0605

INSURANCE

State Farm Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . 237-5105

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Stifel & Capra. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407-0770

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REAL ESTATE

Merelyn Kaye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .790-9090x218 www.helpfulmortgage.us . . . . . . . . . . 237-0222 Casey O’Neal - ReMax . . . . . . . . . . . 824-4196 Rosemary Hayes Jones. . . . . . . . . . .790-1990 Leslie Hutchison. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .675-2188 The Young Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .356-8800 Shaun Murphy, Realtor . . . . . . . . . . . 868-5999 www.TheJeffersonatBallston.com . . . 741-7562 Susan Fauber. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395-8741

MASONRY

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REMODELING

A. Owens and Associates . . . . . . . . . 443-2289 n

ROOFING

Shiner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560-7663 n

Dr Gordon Theisz, Family Medicine. . 533-7555

PHOTOGRAPHY

Gary Mester, Event, Portraits. . . . . . . 481-0128

LAWN & GARDEN

MEDICAL

PHARMACY

The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy. . . . 536-4042 n

MASSAGE

PET SERVICES

Feline Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 920-8665 Apex Pet Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532-2096

INFANT CARE

www.healthybyintention.com. . . . . . . . 534-1321 Sheraton Premiere Women’s Massage403-9328 Elements of Wellness. . . . . . . . . 571-402-2659 n

GIFTS

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Masonry Specialist LLC . . . . . . . . . . . 443-2308 Mottern Masonry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496-7491 Custom Masonry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 768-3900

Falls Church Florist, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . 533-1333

FRAMES

HOME IMPROVEMENT

PAINTING

Millennium, USA Painting . . . . . . . . . 409-8563 Bradwell Painting Service . . . . . . . . . 866-6225

Seven Brothers Landscaping. . . . . . . 241-4990 The Ninth Green. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538-5869 J Reynolds Landscaping LLC . . . . . . 919-4456

EYEWEAR FLORISTS

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Ram Home Improvement . . . . . . . . . . 641-5892 FC Heating & Air Service . . . . . . . . . . 534-0630 The Vinyl Touch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 793-3111

DENTISTS

Point of View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237-6500 n

C&J Custom Carpentry . . . . . . . . . . 443-2308

COUNSELING

HEALTH & FITNESS

Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536-0140 Sacred Well Yoga and Healing . . . . . 989-8316 n

Studio Horotwitz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229-3109 Foxes Music Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533-7393

HANDYMAN

Handyman Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556-4276

VA Outdoor Power Equipment . . . . . . 207-2000

BOOK BINDING

CARPENTRY

CONCRETE

Dr. William Dougherty . . . . . . . . . . . 532-3300 Dr. Nimisha V. Patel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533-1733

Jon Rizalvo, PAYCHEX . . . . 698-6910 x27045 n

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Magaly Schaeffer, LPC . . . . . . . . . . . 864-2926 Carol S. Miller, LCSW . . . . . . . . . . . . 395-4980 Josette Millman, APRN . . . . . . . . . . . 855-0396

BCR Binders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534-9181 n

CLEANING SERVICES

CRJ Concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571-221-2785

Beyer Volvo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237-5000 n

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Pressure Washing/Deck, Siding. . . . . 980-0225 Maid Brigade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 823-1922 Clean & Leaf Proof Rain Gutters . . . 996-3016 A-Cleaning Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 892-8648 Mike’s Carpet Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . 978-2270 Carpets, Ducts, Windows. . . . . . . . . . 823-1922

ANIME

ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES

CHIROPRACTOR

Dr. Solano, solanospine.com . . . . . . 536-4366 n

Anime Pavilion and Comics . . . . . . . . 534-1544 n

SEPTEMBER 22 – 28, 2011 | PAGE 31

TAILOR

Tailor Lee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534-8886

MUSIC

Academy of Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 938-8054 Columbia Institute of Fine Arts. . . . . . 534-2508

All numbers have a ‘703’ prefix unless otherwise indicated.

To see your business here, call us at 703-532-3267, fax 703-342-0352 or E-Mail us at ADS@FCNP.com

Make Your Pet a Star!

Just because you’re not famous doesn’t mean your pet can’t be!

Snap a pic of your critter and email it to: CRITTERCORNER@FCNP.COM OR mail it to Critter Corner c/o Falls Church News-Press 200 Little Falls Street #508

Critter

Falls Church, Va 22046

Corner

For the Best Updates on Falls Church, D.C. and Northern Virginia

@ FCNP

PAGE 32 | SEPTEMBER 22 - 28 , 2011

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Under Contract

Under Contract

417 Rollins Street Falls Church City, VA 22046

416 Poplar Drive Falls Church City, VA 22046

Lovely 3 BR/2 BA brick home on a quiet dead end street. Huge FR off eat-in kitchen overlooking delightful yard. Hardwood floors, 2 fireplaces, finished basement!

Walk to EVERYTHING! Offered at $568,000

Spectactular 5 BR/4.5 BA home set on a lovely wooded lot. Dramatic Architecture with over 5000 sq feet.

Must see this incredible home! Offered at $1,200,000

Under Contract

Under Contract

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0F(QHDUQH\ $VVRFLDWHV +RPH 2IILFH 0RELOH 6HH 3KRWRV DW ZZZ ND\HV FRP H PDLO PHUHO\Q#ND\HV FRP

816 Villa Ridge Road Falls Church City, VA 22046 Representing Buyers

An Entertainers Delight! Wonderful 4BD/3BA brick rambler in sought-after Broadmont neighborhood.

Offered at $785,000

4711 24th Road N Arlington, VA 22207 Representing Buyers

Representing buyers Fantastic 5BD/5.5BA contemporary home on quiet wooded street. Offered at $839,000

Thinking of Buying or Selling?....

Call Me Today!

Louise Molton

NVAR Top Producer Phone: 703 244-1992 Email: louise@agentlouise.com

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Turning Houses into Homes!â&#x20AC;?