Falls Church News-Press 9-22-2022

September 22 - 28, 2022

Fa lls Chur c h, V i r g i ni a • ww w. fc np. c om • Fr ee

Fou n d e d 1991 • Vol. X X XII No. 32

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

F.C. Mayor Shocked by Condition Of Bridge

F.C.’S SCHOOL BOARD & FRIENDS

F.C.’s Core Infrastructure Neglect Worries Council

by Nicholas F. Benton

Falls Church News-Press

News of some dangerous crumbling infrastructure in the City of Falls Church that caught the mayor by surprise, embodied in a revealing photograph of the underside of the street bridge on S. Oak Street, stunned members of the Falls Church City Council at their work session, held virtually, Monday night.

It came following a comment by the City’s chief engineer Zac Bradley that the bridge “can’t handle school buses anymore” and that there are no plans to address the issue except by a contractor maybe in December.

The photograph taken of the underside of the bridge showed startling decay, and Mayor David Tarter exclaimed that he wanted to know why the Council was “not informed of this problem before tonight.”

He said, “As the mayor, this is the first I am hearing of this,” suggesting that “we’ve been

Continued on Page 3

MEMBERS OF THE FALLS CHURCH School Board posed with the mascots for the City’s five public schools at the Falls Church Educational Foundation’s annual Run for the Schools last Sunday. Can you tell who’s who? School Board members are (left to right) Tate Gould, David Ortiz, Laura Downs, Lori Silverman, Kathleen Tysse, Phil Reitinger and Susan Dimock. Mascots are (left to right) Mustang Sally, Tito the Husky, TJ Tiger, Gertie the Giraffe and Danny the Hippo. It’s up to the reader to identify which mascot goes with which school! (Courtesy: Carol Sly)

Voting Begins Friday for Critical Midterm Election

by Nicholas F. Benton

Falls Church News-Press

In what’s considered a highly consequential election for the future of the nation, early voting begins this Friday, Sept.

23, leading up to the Nov. 8

general election day, for the congressional midterms. In the greater Falls Church area, candidates for the 8th, 10th and 11th Congressional Districts will be on the Nov. 8 general election ballot.

For citizens of Falls Church,

only the 8th District congressional race will appear on the ballot with Incumbent Democrat Don Beyer seeking a fifth two-year term challenged by Republican Karina Lipsman and independent Teddy Fikre.

First elected in 2014, Beyer,

now chair of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, is seeking a fifth term. Neither Lipsman nor Fikre have served in public office before. Beyer has been endorsed by the Falls

Continued on Page 4

Inside This Week Fall Home Design & Improvement Issue

Our Fall Home Design and Improvement Issue is back! Articles in this edition include the process of rebuilding/remodeling one’s home, as well as reducing the size of one’s lawn.

See Pages 9-14

Home: Design & Improvement

Falls Church Fall Festival Winners

See this years winners for Best Overall Menu, the Best Overall Taste and the People’s Choice Award. The Fall Festival was a smashing success that saw big crowds throughout the day.

See Page 21

Index

News Briefs.........................................2 Comment.................................5,7,15,21 Editorial.................................................6 Sports...................................................8 Crime Report.......................................15 Business News...................................15 News & Notes................................16,17 Calendar........................................18,19 Classifieds..........................................20 Critter Corner......................................22

PAGE 2 | SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2022

The Smile You Want The Attention You Deserve

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NEWS BRIEFS

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F.C. Police Investigating Victory Comics Burglary City of Falls Church Police are investigating the burglary of Victory Comics (586 S. Washington St.).

According to the police report, Victory Comics closed at 10 p.m. Monday, September 19, and at about 6:45 a.m. on Tuesday, September 20, patrol units responded to a call from the building.

Upon arrival, they discovered a shattered front door. The owner was notified, arrived on the scene, and estimated at least $40,000 worth of comic books were stolen.

nificant financial support. After months of dialogue with the City of Falls Church, Welcoming Falls Church won the City’s support with an allocation of $50,000 of ARPA funds for the initiative. The money seeded the Falls Church Welcoming Refugees Fund, which will pay part of the rent for five refugee families for 18 months.

Welcoming Falls Church has not yet initiated a private fundraising effort, but reportedly it has already received an unsolicited gift to add resources to the effort.

Two donors, who wish to be known only as “Emily & John, neighbors in Falls Church” have given $25,000 to the local organization.

F.C. Schools’ Joint Statement VDOT Community Meeting on West F.C. Transport Study is Oct. 3 Issued on Transgender Rights Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) will hold two community meetings – one in person and one virtual – to present updates on the West Falls Church (WFC) Active Transportation Study.

The study focuses on improving active transportation within two miles of the West Falls Church Metrorail Station.

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Welcoming Falls Church has announced this week it is responding to global refugee crises locally with “an innovative, publicprivate initiative to support refugee resettlement in one of the country’s most attractive small cities.”

Falls Church activists are mobilizing in support of this initiative, with 36 Falls Church residents stepping forward so far to volunteer to be part of long-term “Support Teams” for refugee families.

Support Teams, numbering four to six depending on the size of the family, will meet families at the airport, furnish their apartments, support their connections to schools and across the community, and stay with families for the duration of the 18-month program.

Two members of the city’s first Support Team, Allison Brown and Samira Davis, said, “I’m so glad to be part of this initiative to share Falls Church with families in need of a safe, inclusive community to live in,” and “I am happy to support people who lost their livelihood as they build a new future for their families. Additionally, welcoming refugees is an opportunity to add cultural diversity to our community.”

Additional volunteers are specializing in ESOL teaching (through Welcoming FC’s Adult & Family Literacy Center) and on job mentoring. Several Girl Scout Troops are getting involved, preparing “welcome cards” for newly-arrived refugees.

The initiative is also attracting sig-

Laura Downs, Falls Church City Public Schools Board Chair, and Peter Noonan, Superintendent, issued the following joint statement on Tuesday: “Late Friday night, the Washington Post published an article referring to the new ‘Model Policies’ that have been developed by the Virginia Department of Education (Virginia policy latest attempt to restrict rights of transgender students). The article indicates that Virginia Governor Youngkin seeks to roll back current privacy protections and practices for transgender students.

“The FCCPS School Board wants to assure our community that we value and support every student in our charge. We have codified our stance with respect to nondiscrimination and anti-harassment in numerous School Board policies, including Policy AB - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Policy AC Nondiscrimination, and will continue to ensure that all students are treated with dignity and respect in our schools.

“We are committed to following the Virginia Human Rights Act and the settled law of Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, 972 F.3d 586 (4th. Cir. 2020), which requires respect for the gender identity of transgender students just like any other student in FCCPS. “We have received the ‘Model Policies’ from the Virginia Department of Education, and our team is doing its analysis. As a Board and school division, we will watch this very closely during the public comment period set to open on September 26th.

“If a citizen wishes to add a comment during the comment period, here is the link: https://townhall.virginia.gov/ .

“We believe all students deserve a community that promotes inclusion and celebrates authenticity and assure you that FCCPS will maintain consistency with settled law and our adopted nondiscrimination and anti-harassment policies.”

FCNP.COM | FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

LO CA L

SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2022 | PAGE 3

Core Infrastructure Needs Vex Council Members at Work Session

Continued from Page 1

skipping base repairs while doing superficial things to make things look pretty on top.”

Bradley said the Sherrow Street bridge is also sorely in need of repair and that a number of the flex poles holding traffic lights over streets, including on Broad Street, are corroded, resulting in one falling to the ground at the Annandale Road/ Hillwood intersection last year.

The City has been underinvesting in core infrastructure for years, he said, leaving things like bridges, signal lights and street paving at increasing risk for aging out and failing.

Street signal lights need new wiring with the cost of maintenance at each intersection in the City growing from $1,500 to $10,000 per year, he said (no explanation for that huge increase was provided). Things like the cost of asphalt have skyrocketed in the recent period, up 75 percent.

The work session was held in tandem with members of the City’s volunteer Citizens Advisory Committee on Transportation (CACT). Despite the underlying problems of crumbling core infrastructure, the bulk of the meeting focused on seeking to

lower the vehicle speed limit from 25 to 20 miles per hour in residential areas, and “quick fix” smaller projects that can be undertaken by administrative action.

The current street paving plan, for example, with a price tag of $500,000 a year, is a patchwork proposition at best, with newly repaved streets with “mill and bill patching” lasting only five years.

“Rapid actions” such as to address the pedestrian safety issues at E. Fairfax and E. Broad, need more resources, said the CACT’s Dave Gustafson. There are too many places in the city that are “scary” for joggers, bikers and pedestrians now, he said.

Bradley suggested that to begin to catch up with the current needs will require five new full time employees in his Public Works shop.

Construction plans on the Greenway Downs area improvements, involving federal dollars and VDOT, including for safer crosswalks to get from one side of Route 29 to the other in that area, will be subject to a public meeting in late October and it is not expected that actual work there will begin until the Summer of 2024.

Thanks for Voting Us People's Choice Winner of the Taste of FC

Some problems are susceptible to quicker solutions than others, it was suggested, such as solving the traffic issue on Gresham Place with a simple “Dead End” sign, and on Westmoreland at S. Washington with a couple ballards to prevent parking too close to the curb. “I’d rather ballards get hit by cars than a young child,” Gustafson quipped.

However, mere signage will not be sufficient to reduce speeding, especially on favorite cut-through routes, in the City’s residential areas.

Signs warning of a $250 fine tend to be more effective, but Arthur Agin said also critical is signage at the entrances to the City rather than simply on residential streets.

The CACT’s Jessica Hegenbart said that signage around schools should be a priority.

F.C. Police Chief Mary Gavin said a new speeding study just completed for the City showed that Haycock Road was a major problem and Council member Caroline Lian noted that traffic on Columbia Street has been clocked at upwards of 70 miles per hour. Councilman Phil Duncan said that S. Washington is the “most dangerous” part of town.

Chief Gavin said that while data

shows traffic levels still down since the pandemic, “Drivers coming out of Covid are more aggressive, reckless and prone to speeding.”

“We have to make it clear that if you’re going to speed, we don’t

want you here,” said Councilman David Snyder.

While there was little consensus on a plan of action, Council member Marybeth Connelly noted that “many great minds are thinking on this.”

SPEAKING AT THE monthly luncheon of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce this week was Paul Stoddard, shown here with the Chamber’s CEO Elise Bentgson. Stoddard provided a comprehensive update on what’s happening on the economic development front in the Little City and his report will be covered in next week’s issue. (News-Press Photo)

PAGE 4 | SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2022

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Early Voting Begins This Friday Continued from Page 1

16th Annual

MPAartfest connecting art and community

Sunday October 2nd

10am - 4pm McLean Central Park

SAVE THE DATE For more information visit mpaart.org

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Church News-Press.

In the 10th District, Democratic incumbent Jennifer Wexton is running for a second term against Republican Hung Cao. In the 11th District just west of Falls Church, Incumbent Democrat Gerry Connelly is seeking election to an 8th term.

He is opposed by Republican Jim Myles.

Considered the most contentious Congressional races in Virginia this fall are in the 10th (Wexton versus Cao), in the 7th (Incumbent Democrat Abigail Spanberger versus Republican Yesli Vega) south of here, and the Tidewater area’s 2nd District (Incumbent Elaine Luria versus Jennifer Kiggins) that may prove decisive for overall control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Voters are advised that as a result of redistricting, which is a legally required process to adjust election districts every 10 years, congressional district boundaries have changed. Before going to vote, citizens are advised to double check district boundaries by looking up voter information on the Virginia Department of Elections online portal.

Also, they should double check the hours that early voting sites are open because they may vary by location.

In the case of the City of Falls Church, in person voting begins this Friday in the Office of the Registrar at City Hall at 8 a.m.. and runs Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Nov. 4, the Friday before the Tuesday, Nov. 8 election day when three voting locations will be open in the Little City.

The registrar’s office will be open for early voting on Saturday, Nov. 5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, and the weekend before, Oct. 29-30, from 9 to 5 on Saturday and 12 to 3 on Sunday. The lone date when that option will be available after 5 p.m. will be Wednesday, Nov. 2, when the office will remain open until 7 p.m.

Under new state rules, citizens do not have to offer any explanation for why they are choosing to vote early.

Falls Church Registrar David Bjerke, who has written a detailed article on all the options that will appear in next week’s News-Press, told the News-Press yesterday that next Monday mail-in ballots will be sent to fully eight percent of City registered voters who have requested them.

In addition to voting, registering to vote will also go on up to Oct. 17, with anyone who turns 18 by election day Nov. 8 being eligible to vote in this election. On Oct. 18, same day

registration will commence with citizens able to register and vote at the same time, though their votes will be “provisional” until counted after Nov. 8 once confirmation of their registration is made.

Meanwhile, concerted efforts by activists are being made to recruit citizens to help get out the vote in the critical 10th, 7th and 2nd congressional districts.

Exemplary has been the effort of members at the Washington, D.C. based First Congregational Church, who are engaged in a personalized postcard mailing effort targeting voters in Prince William County, Virginia. Each church volunteer is given a printout of about 20 voter names and addresses and is urged to hand address, personalize and send postcards designed by the Reclaim Our Vote organization that includes a colorful graphic saying “Vote Your Power.”

The postcards include a message that says “Every vote counts in the November 8 election. Key issues in Virginia are voting rights, health care, maternal wellness, gun violence, jobs and housing. Bring ID and tell five friends!” A sticker to be affixed to the post card provides the phone number and email address of the Prince William registrar, and a number to call or email address for free rides to the polls on election day.

Save the date: Upcoming Issues!

September 29

Senior Living & Retirement

STROLLING DOWN WEST BROAD ST. I came across Stephanie chilling out in front of The Little City Creamery. A resident of the city since 1998, she has recently returned from an 8-month mission with The Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal in Atlantic City. Originally from El Salvador, Stephanie plans on returning to teaching. When asked for any parting words, she replied, “Whatever you bring to the light becomes light.” (P����: J. M������ W�����)

October 13 Real Estate & Home Design

Contact Sue Johnson for Advertising: sjohnson@fcnp.com • 703-587-1282

CO MME NT

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Commentary

SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2022 | PAGE 5

Youngkin Is Playing A Dangerous Game Jamelle Bouie NEW YORK TIMES

It’s obvious. Glenn Youngkin, the Republican governor of Virginia, wants to be president.

Within months of taking office, Youngkin had already established two political organizations, Spirit of Virginia and America’s Spirit, meant to raise his profile in national Republican politics with donations and assistance to candidates both in his home state and across the country.

In July, he met privately with major conservative donors in New York City, underlining the sense that his ambitions run larger than his term in Richmond.

Youngkin, a former private equity executive, is on a tour of the country, speaking and raising money for Republican candidates in key presidential swing states. And as he crisscrosses the United States in support of the Republican Party, Youngkin is neither avoiding Donald Trump nor scorning his acolytes; he’s embracing them.

In Nevada last week, Youngkin stumped for Joe Lombardo, the Trump-backed Republican nominee for governor who acknowledges that President Joe Biden won the election but says he is worried about the “sanctity of the voting system.”

In Michigan, Youngkin stumped for Tudor Dixon, the Trump-backed Republican nominee for governor who has repeatedly challenged the integrity of the 2020 presidential election. And later this month, in Arizona, Youngkin will stump for Kari Lake, the Trump-backed Republican nominee for governor who accused Democrats of fraud in the state and says that, unlike Gov. Doug Ducey, she “would not have certified” the 2020 election results.

Whether Youngkin agrees with any of this himself is an open question. In the 2021 Virginia Republican primary, he flirted with election denialism but never fully committed.

What matters, for our purposes, is that Youngkin believes he needs to cater to and actually support election questioners and deniers to have a shot at leading the Republican Party.

You can sense, in conversations about the present and future of the Republican Party, a hope that there is some way to force the party off

its current, anti-democratic path.

You could see it in the outrage over Democratic Party “meddling” in Republican primaries. As conservative columnist Henry Olsen wrote for The Washington Post in July, “True friends of democracy would seek to build new alliances that cross old partisan boundaries.”

What Youngkin — a more polished and ostensibly moderate Republican politician — aptly demonstrates is that this is false. The issue is that Republican voters want MAGA candidates, and ambitious Republicans see no path to power that doesn’t treat election deniers and their supporters as partners in arms.

There is an analogy to make here to the midcentury Democratic Party, which was torn between a liberal, Northern, pro-civil rights faction and a reactionary, Southern, segregationist faction. The analogy is useful, not because the outcome of the struggle is instructive in this case, but because the reason the liberal faction prevailed helps illustrate why antiMAGA Republicans are fighting a losing battle.

In 1948, the mayor of Minneapolis — 37-year-old Hubert Humphrey — called on the hundreds of delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia to add a strong civil rights plank to the party’s national platform. “To those who say we are rushing this issue of civil rights,” Humphrey said, “I say to them we are 172 years late.”

“The time has arrived for the Democratic Party to get out of the shadow of states’ rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights,” Humphrey added.

As historian Michael Kazin notes in “What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party,” both “the speech and the ebullient, and quite spontaneous, floor demonstration that followed helped convince a majority of delegates — and President Truman, reluctantly — to include the civil rights pledge in the platform.”

But there were dissenters. A small number of Southern delegates left the convention in protest. Calling themselves the States’ Rights Democratic Party, they organized a challenge to Harry S. Truman with Gov. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina at the top of their ticket.

These “Dixiecrats” were anti-civil rights and, for good measure, anti-

Continued on Page 21

Our Man in Arlington

By Charlie Clark

One of the county’s historically standout youth athletes, now a prosperous business leader and highimpact philanthropist, made a new mark here.

Multi-family housing magnate Ron Terwilliger, together with his attorney brother Bruce, in 2019 gave $1.5 million to the nonprofit partnership that built the modern, soon-to-open veterans-preference housing complex (named for their parents) at the Virginia Square site of American Legion Post 139.

In chatting with 81-year-old Ron Terwilliger, now in Florida, I was pleased to time-travel to his experience in the sports scene early in post-World War II Arlington.

His road to wealth began humbly.

The Terwilliger parents (his father sold petroleum products), were living in the Buckingham apartments in the early 1940s when they bought a home at 4815 S. First St. in Arlington Forest. Costing $5,000, the three-story brick colonial (still standing) offered 1,200 square feet, one bathroom and an unfinished basement, the housing professional recalls.

“My mother used to wash clothes in the basement and hang them on a clothesline—very basic living,” he said. “Everyone in the neighborhood was a street kid” riding bikes, and he remains in touch with many. As a “public school product,” he attended Barrett Elementary, Thomas Jefferson Junior High and Wakefield High School. His heart lay in youth basketball and baseball,

in which he starred for the dominant Optimist Club teams coached by his future father-in-law Jim Bowman. “In the 1950s we had it pretty good—I don’t think we suffered.”

At Wakefield, Terwilliger was an All-Metropolitan shortstop and pitcher in baseball and starred in basketball for the 1958 team that finished third in the state, he being Virginia’s fourth leading scorer. He retains vivid memories of hitting a home run and triple off of menacing Washington-Lee High School pitcher Chuck Davis, which made his father proud. Terwilliger was named Arlington athlete of the year 1958, and in 2009 was inducted in the Wakefield Hall of Fame.

Because his parents’ finances were modest, he depended on an athletic scholarship at George Washington University. But a back injury meant he lost the room-andboard. So he ended up at the U.S. Naval Academy. There he also starred in baseball and basketball.

“I could have played pro baseball, but my dad wanted me to stay in college,” Terwilliger says.

He delivered a not-too-shabby sports career in Annapolis, starring at baseball and basketball with friend and football star Roger Staubach. (Chuck Davis was there too as an ace pitcher.) Graduating in 1963, Terwilliger served five years active duty in submarine supply. In 2021, both Terwilliger brothers were honored by the Naval Academy for donating money for the football field and scoreboard named for them, plus a student athletic center.

He is the academy’s largest donor,

its website confirms, and serves on its foundation board.

Ron’s later career brought him an M.B.A. at Harvard Business School.

That opened the way to his decadeslong success as a nationally ranked builder of 300,000 apartments in 35 states, largely for the Trammell Crow company. Since retiring in 2008 as a multi-millionaire, he has devoted himself to spending down, giving to such organizations as Habitat for Humanity.

And the veterans housing project in Arlington. ** The redesign plan for Crystal City aims to create more “biophilic” walks to encourage connectivity with nature through sustainable green space. Environmental consultant Peter Harnik wants to go farther.

Despite many awards for its parks, Arlington has no large focal park the way Washington has Rock Creek Park or the National Mall, observes the author of “From Rails to Trails.” But “we have a considerable parkland located along nearly the entire length of Four Mile Run, from Falls Church to the Potomac River. Unfortunately, since it consists of 18 separately named parks with no consistent nomenclature, signage, way-finding or unifying image, no one realizes it.”

If all 18 were unified under a single name, say “Four Mile Run Park,” we “would instantly have a 365-acre park, which would really put this ecological feature on the map.”

Arlingtonians could then take one long walk on the wild side.

PAGE 6 | SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2022

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Editorial

E D I TO R I A L

This Critical Midterm Election

Tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 23) early voting begins for the all-important U.S. midterm elections. Almost two years in from the January 6, 2021 coup attempt on our nation’s capital, we as a nation are continuing to stand at the precipice of one of the greatest failures in human history, the loss of this nation’s great experiment in democracy. Serial criminal Donald Trump remains at large, even as slow-moving instruments of justice are cautiously closing in on indictments.

But Trump has American’s wrapped around his little finger now, with so few seeming willing to truly take him on. He scoffs at every new attempt to soil his reputation, as if being a criminal of the state is any kind of problem for him. Short of his being arrested and held without bond, all the many investigations add up to just so much publicity for him. He eats it up and his fascist movement, now resorting to Nazi-like behavior at his rallies, only feeds on it, too. That’s what’s missing in our understanding of this problem: this is a criminal operation, and millions of Americans have signed onto it. Are they evil? Maybe, maybe not. But that is an irrelevant question. They need to be stopped, period.

In the scintillating dialogue on this subject between historian Jon Meacham and funny man commentator Bill Maher last weekend on HBO, the two engaged on the subject in a lengthy repartee, one of the more poignant exchanges we’ve seen on TV in a while. Maher revisited his oft-asserted prediction in 2020 that Trump was not going to relinquish the White House after the 2020 election, no matter who won. It’s true now that the very same problems that prevented most pundits from seeing that one coming remain.

No matter how it goes this November, over 100 dyed in the wool Trumpians are going to win elections at all levels in a couple of months, and that is going to foment a period of exacerbated chaos and violence in the U.S. like nothing we’ve seen before. That is, unless a lot of people get very, very motivated to stop it.

For one thing, in Virginia there are three critical races for control of the U.S. House of Representatives right on our block. Democratic incumbents Abigail Spanberger, Jennifer Wexton and Elaine Luria absolutely must be re-elected in less than two months from now, or the House goes over to the Republicans, who are now nothing more than auxiliary elements of the Trump fascist movement.

Dear voters and lovers of democracy, we need to deploy ourselves like now there is no tomorrow. Please volunteer to make phone calls, to walk door to door, to hand out literature, and donate money. Let your fellow citizens see that you really care. In the end, that will matter more than your ability to articulate a policy position or not. If enough of us care we can win. If not, we simply won’t.

Platform 1. Keep the news clean and fair.

2. Play no favorites, never mix business and editorial policy.

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4. Publish the news that is public property without fear or favor of friend or foe.

5. Accept no charity and ask no favors.

6. Give “value received” for every dollar you take in.

7. Make the paper show profit if you can, but above all keep it clean, fearless and fair.

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Letters

Why Did Trump Take Those Documents?

Editor, The FBI search of Trump’s MarA-Lago home was conducted based on a legal search warrant. The search retrieved boxes of documents which should have been handed over to the National Archives, including over 300 classified documents, some classified top secret. Documents included national security information involving intelligence gathering, clandestine operations in foreign countries, and nuclear capabilities and defenses of foreign countries.

Could any foreign intelligence agents have accessed these documents?

Trump says he declassified the documents. Is there something in writing referencing his declassification process? When I was in the Navy in the ‘50s and ‘60s I held a top secret cryptographic clearance. Classified documents had to go through a formal procedure to be declassified or reclassified (up or down). The agency originating the classification had to initiate the declassification or reclassification and agencies and departments utilizing the documents had to provide input to the formal procedure.

Why did Trump take these documents? Was he planning on utilizing them to approach Putin and negotiate real estate deals in Russia? or maybe in China? or in North Korea?

After all, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un are Trump’s Communist tyrant friends.

Trump absconded with highly classified documents that could be used against the U.S. He is untrustworthy, un-American, and a threat to our national security.

Donald Moskowitz Londonberry, NH

Sidewalks, Intersections and Seatbelts Editor, I heartily second Mr. Raymond’s letter last week for enforcement of the City’s laws on obstructing sidewalks. Let’s do the easy stuff to make our sidewalks safer: use clippers and make sure fences aren’t overhanging sidewalks (e.g., one on Pennsylvania, between Park and

Broad).

I also second Mr. Savov’s ask last week – let’s pretend those markings on Park Ave are real: Do you drive more carefully? Would you feel safer walking here? Would you feel comfortable riding a bike? I encourage everyone interested in the safety and design of our streets to come to Citizens Advisory Committee on Transportation meetings (2nd Wednesday of the month) and contact City Staff responsible for the project (Mr. Astorga for Park Ave) to learn more and share your experiences.

I too have concerns about the changes planned for Park Ave’s reconstruction in 2028: they are inadequate to ensure everyday people using bicycles or scooters feel safe.

I do not share Mr. Savov’s concern for the drive-ability of the Park and Maple corner. It was designed by professional engineers using nationwide standards for road design (sadly, many of them are not up to date on bicycle safety standards). I drove the Park and Maple corner as if the proposed curb was there and did not need any drastic maneuvers.

I did need to use two hands on the wheel, be careful that I didn’t hit the imaginary curb or cross into the other lane and keep my speed under 10 mph. For the 90 percent of us who consider ourselves “above average” drivers, let’s let our road design encourage us to drive as if the lives of our neighbors depend on our actions. For the habitually reckless drivers – let’s up the odds that they learn their lesson on an extrawide curb or roadside tree, not on the limbs of a family out for a walk.

I encourage my neighbors to educate themselves before making untrue or exaggerated claims on issues of public safety and accessibility. Is history repeating itself?

In the 1980s, papers featured letters about seat belts being dangerous and un-American – claiming it was safer to be thrown through the windshield in a crash than restrained in the car. These falsehoods delayed the adoption of a measure that cuts the risk of death in a crash by 45 percent and saves 15,000 lives a year for only minor cost and inconvenience. Smaller intersections, narrower travel lanes, lower speed limits, etc. are proven to cut injuries and fatalities by a similar amount in dense areas, also for only minor cost and inconvenience when we rely on “quick build” solutions and design them into large beautification or development projects.

Andrew Olesen Citizens Advisory Comittee of Transportation

CO MME NT

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Editor’s Essay

SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2022 | PAGE 7

Trump is a Foreign Spy: Will America Wake Up to This?

Nicholas F. Benton FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

As the noose tightens around the puffy, orange neck of Donald Trump, with no less than four ongoing investigations into his treasonous and otherwise criminal and sadistic sociopathic actions, the question that needs to be brought front and center is this: Exactly in whose service has he been acting all these years?

It is his theft of the classified documents that begs this question more than any other.

Did he steal and squirrel them away at Mar-a-Lago just for the heck of it? Did he do it because he thought he could make bank selling them off to the highest

bidder?

Or, did he do it as a conscious effort to empower sworn enemies of the United States of America in their efforts to weaken and defeat us?

No other explanation except the last one makes any real sense.

So, this means only one thing: For the first time we know of since the Civil War, this nation has caught red handed a spy who means major harm.

Forget that, sadly, he was once president. He’s not any longer, and he is subject to all the same laws that apply to the rest of us, including with all the attendant penalties for treason.

How does the value of his life stack up against those of however many true and courageous patriots and others dedicated to perpetuating democracy who may have lost their lives by now as a result of being exposed through his treachery?

It is highly likely he has already put some of our nation’s most

important secrets into the hands of enemies to do us great harm.

This simply cannot be allowed to stand at any level.

The midterm elections are on top of us now, and there should be no way that Trump’s influence be valued by anyone who is not an avowed supporter of Putin.

That is explicitly why I titled my set of essays published after the January 6, 2021 coup attempt to focus on Putin’s seminal role. Did these rioters mean to be attacking the Capitol to advance Putin’s agenda? Very few I would imagine, although that is an open question at this point.

How about those who continue to peddle the “Big Lie” about the 2020 presidential election being illegitimate? The same thing.

So, the longer the TrumpPutin connection is withheld from major public view, the worse it is for the ability of this nation to recover and heal.

Thom Hartmann, writing in the Raw Story this month, asks in his headline, “When Trump Is Finally Revealed as an Agent of Foreign Governments, Will America Wake Up?” He wrote, “It’s time to tell the truth about Trump; he’s been an agent of organized crime and foreign governments for decades, and he’s continuing to work for Putin, Xi, Erdogan and Putin ally Mohammed bin Salman – undermining America’s faith in democracy – to this day.”

While Hartmann credits Craig Unger and his book, “American Kompromat,” for revealing Trump’s ties to Moscow since 1987, I will repeat once again that I reported the same thing from a different standpoint, citing that Moscow had decided Trump would be groomed as its preferred U.S. presidential candidate since that time.

Hartmann cites how Trump’s first wife Ivana functioned effectively as a spy since they first met in the 1970s, exactly

as I see it along the lines of the kind of “red sparrow” documented in the 2018 movie by that same name. His successive wives have been tasked in a similar manner.

Hartman wrote, “Taking us down, particularly through internal division that would “prove” the weakness of democracies, is the ultimate goal of these nations and their president-forlife leaders. It’s becoming harder and harder for Trump and his acolytes to claim that they harbor any loyalty to or love for America or democracy.

“Their hatred of our system of government isn’t just evident rhetorically; they turn out on the streets with AR-15s strapped across their backs and ‘Free helicopter rides for liberals’ displayed on their teeshirts. When Trump is finally revealed as not just a con man and hustler but an agent of foreign dictators, a spy, and a traitor, will America finally wake up?”

www.FallsChurchChamber.org/events/calendar/ Networking Mixer

Family Fun Night — October 4

Networking Breakfast

Bring your friends and colleagues and enjoy

Have you been to Harvey’s yet? Now is your chance!

refreshments with some networking at Local Thrift.

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Learn about their mission and how to get involved.

breakfast while connecting with other chamber members and enjoying a delicious meal.

Tuesday September 27 5:30 — 7:00 pm Local Thrift | 1049 W. Broad Street Partner Sponsors

This is one of the best community events of the year! Join us for a picnic dinner, mini golf, face painting, a moon bounce, and much more!

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No fee other than the cost of your meal.

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PAGE 8 | SEPTEMBER 22 -28, 2022

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Falls Church Area High School Sports Weekly Roundup

by Ryan McCafferty and Nick Porr

on Thursday against Brenstville and Skyline.

Marshall High School:

Meridian High School Mustang Football suffered another defeat to a 3-1 Langley squad dropping their overall record to 0-4 on the season. This Friday at 7 p.m. the Mustangs will look to get their first victory as they travel to Front Royal to take on Skyline Hawks Varsity Boys Football.

As the only Class 3 team at a local all-Class 6 tournament this Saturday, the Meridian varsity volleyball team took first place in the silver bracket.

You can support the team at their home game this Thursday against Warren County!

Meridian Varsity Field Hockey added to the win column with victories over Hayfield and TJ. The 4-0 win brings the Mustangs’ record to 6 and 1 midway through their season.

The Mustangs Crosscountry had a great start to their season, opening up with team victories at Skyline Quad and fast results at Lake Braddock relays! At the Skyline Quad Meet, the Girl’s team was led by Grace Crum’s first XC individual victory.

Henry Hladky’s 3rd place finish led the Boy’s team.

The Meridian golf team turned in an awesome team score of 305 in the Skyline Invitational held at Shenandoah Valley on Tuesday.

Ethan Bartlett came in 6th place, shooting 72. Dean Zike was close behind, shooting a career-best 74.

Noah Peng played great with a score of 78, and Ben Meade shot 81. The Meridian Golf Team came in 4th place overall out of 19 teams. They look to continue their great play

Marshall football (1-3) dropped their second straight, losing on the road in another nail-biter 38-35 against Hayfield (2-2). A pair of receiving touchdowns from wide receivers Owen Buhrman and Jake Peksens each was not enough to push Marshall to a victory in what became a high octane affair. Marshall will look to begin a march back to .500 when they host Chantilly (2-1) Friday night.

Marshall volleyball (10-2) has continued their red hot start to the season, picking up two wins against Oakton and Washington-Liberty this past week. Over the weekend they kept rolling, winning four straight games at the Endless Summer Volleyball Tournament against Catholic, Ocean Lakes, Hickory, and Stone Bridge in best out of three matches. Their run ended in the finals when they fell to Hidden Valley.

They will return to action Tuesday night against Wakefield (6-1) and Thursday against Yorktown (1-4).

A dominant 4-0 win over Wakefield on Tuesday put Field Hockey (4-2) back in the win column. The Statesmen have two more games this week: Monday night against Wakefield and Wednesday against Washington-Liberty.

Multiple Cross Country runners competed in the Adidas XC Challenge in Cary North Carolina this weekend. Senior Haley Spoden medaled with an 18:54 time finishing 23rd. This Saturday cross country will return to Virginia to compete

in a meet at Oatlands.

Golf has a massive week ahead of them as they will compete in the district tournament Tuesdayand Wednesday at Herndon Centennial Golf Course.

Falls Church High School: The Jaguars Football team (1-3) suffered their third straight loss last Friday, losing to Woodson (2-1) 31-13. They have another tall task facing them this week in the undefeated Fairfax Lions (3-0).

Volleyball (3-3) split their two games last week, defeating Annandale 3-1 and losing to Thomas Jefferson Science and Tech 3-0. They will have a congested schedule this week, with three away games awaiting them: Pope John Paul the Great on Monday, Justice on Tuesday, and John R. Lewis on Thursday.

Field Hockey (0-7) took their two losses this past week, both 0-6 to Justice and Mt. Vernon.

The Jaguars have now lost all but one game by a margin of five goals or more. A second consecutive two game week awaits them with games Monday vs. Pope John Paul the Great and Wednesday vs.

Thomas Edison.

Cross Country was led by younger names this week, with both boys and girls teams finishing third in a meet at Lee District Park behind great performances from freshmen. The Jaguars were led by freshman Gus Neuburg and Will Miracle who finished 10th and 11th for the boys. Makenna Murphy also impressed, finishing

Fa l l s C h u r c h

School News & Notes School Supporters Run All Over Town

Board Approves Reading of Calendar Policy

On Sunday, the annual FCEF Run for the Schools was hugely successful in its in-person and virtual format, with the school mascots cheering them on. Over 900 registered runners took to the streets to support the Falls Church Education Foundation.

The funds will go toward more equity of student access, significant teacher grants, and support all year long.

The Falls Church School Board approved the First Reading of a new policy that codifies the development of future school calendars. The proposed approach moves the division to a more secular calendar by recognizing Fall/Thanksgiving, Winter, and Spring Breaks and requires all other no-student holidays to be federal holidays or those required by state law. The first day of school would be two

weeks before Labor Day and the last day of school no later than June 10th.

The Board will continue to receive written feedback on the proposed policy via email at schoolboard@fccps.org and during Public Comments. The policy is scheduled for a final vote during the October 11th Regular Meeting.

FCEF Supports the PTAs at PTA Meeting At the joint PTA meeting last night, Debbie Hiscott of the Falls

THE MERIDIAN GOLF TEAM turned in an awesome team score of 305 in the Skyline Invitational held at Shenandoah Valley on Tuesday, September 13th. (Photo: Keith Bartlett)

The Wolves Varsity Football Team (0-4) remains winless after a blowout loss 35-0 at home against Alexandria City (3-0). They will have homefield advantage again this week when the South County Stallions (2-1) come to visit Friday night.

During the week, Volleyball (8-3) went 2-0 beating Edison and Annandale each 3-1. The weekend though is really when the Wolves got busy, hosting the Crossroads Classic Invitational over the weekend. The Wolves were dominant early, downing the Fairfax Lions 2-0 before doing the same to GarField. The last two games proved tougher, falling 2-1 to South Lakes and 2-0 to Alexandria City. Senior Helen Frankovich led Justice through this busy week, earning

the American Volleyball Coaches Award for Virginia Player of the Week with an impressive 4.31 kills per game. Volleyball will continue their busy schedule this week, hosting Falls Church Tuesday and traveling to Thomas Jefferson Science and Tech on Thursday.

Field hockey (1-5) went 1-1 last week, beating Falls Church High School thoroughly 6-0 Tuesday night before falling to Annandale 2-1 on Thursday.

That victory against Falls Church was their first of the season, which fans will hope helps them build momentum for the rest of the season. The Wolves will face Hayfield Wednesday night.

Cross Country will compete in a meet against Lake Braddock on Wednesday.

Golf (3-2) defeated Mt. Vernon 213-203 in a match on Wednesday. They will have the week off before the District Tournament next Monday.

Church Education Foundation gave a $1,000 check to each of the PTAs. Through the community’s generosity, the FCEF is proud to support the PTAs in the 2022-2023 school year.

Superintendent Dr. Peter Noonan addressed the crowd of parents and shared that this school year is off to a smooth start so far. He talked about

key items in the Strategic Plan and thanked the attendees for being so invested in the community. Before the meeting, Mustang Ambassadors gave a tour of the Meridian Building to curious parents. The Mustang Mug coffee shop, the Vivarium, and the Learning Stairs were a few highlights of the tour.

14th and leading the Girls.

After last week off, Golf will face Justice in a meet Monday night.

Justice High School

THE FALLS CHURCH EDUCATION FOUNDATION awarded a $1,000 check to each of the Falls Church City Schools PTAs on September 14th. (Photo: Chrissy Henderson)

FCNP.COM | FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

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SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2022 | PAGE 9

Your Home: Design & Improvement

How to Banish Bathroom Clutter

BY TIM MCKEOUGH NEW YORK TIMES

Even the most beautiful, spa like bathroom can be defeated by a common foe: the clutter created by bottles, soaps, washcloths, toothbrushes, cosmetics and other toiletries left out on every available surface.

“The bathroom is a space that can set you up for success or failure in the day,” said Marissa Hagmeyer, co-founder of the home-organizing company Neat Method. “If it’s a disaster, it’s hard to get ready for the day, and you’re automatically heading out the door in a rough mood.”

But if your bathroom is neat and tidy — and every object has its place — “you can quickly locate what you need, do what you need to do, and get on with more important things,” Hagmeyer said. And at the end of the day, “you can come in, take a deep breath and relax.”

We asked professional organizers and designers how they banish bathroom clutter.

Take Stock of Storage Space If your vanity drawers and medicine cabinet aren’t neatly organized — and you simply dump in whatever you buy from the drugstore — you may be surprised at how much space you already have. The best way to begin a bathroom cleanup, Hagmeyer said, is to take everything out and get rid of anything you know you’ll never use.

“When we’re organizing, people are really surprised by the number of samples and travel-size things they accumulate,” she said, in addition to expired bottles of lotion, sunscreen and medication.

Keep only the few products you actually use, she advised, and dispose of everything else.

Once the purge is complete, look at how much storage space you have and consider whether the remaining items will fit in a reasonably uncluttered way.

Make More Room

If you conclude that you don’t have enough storage space in the bathroom to hold everything, it’s possible to create more.

During a renovation, one option is to recess one or a couple of cabinets into the wall cavity, between studs. “You’re capturing little nooks to create additional storage,” said Monica Fried, an interior designer in New York.

Many medicine cabinets are designed to be recessed into the wall above a vanity, but that is not the only option. Fried sometimes recesses shallow cabinets into other bathroom walls, with mirrored or painted doors. “Sometimes it’s a flat panel, so it just looks like part of the wall,” she said, but opens like a tiny closet to reveal toiletries.

Jessica Davis, founder of Atelier Davis, a design studio with offices in Atlanta and South Orange, New Jersey, has added armoire-size builtins to some bathrooms and semirecessed cabinets just a few inches deep to others.

“Shampoo and hair products don’t require a ton of space,” she

ORGANIZING YOUR BATHROOM Clutter can set you up for success. (P����: N�� Y��� T����) said. “It’s not like storing books on a shelf, where you need 12 inches of depth.” In the bathroom, 3 or 4 inches will usually suffice.

If you would rather avoid cutting

holes and mounting cabinets to the wall, an easier option is to add a freestanding piece of furniture. In larger bathrooms, some designers install Continued from Page 14

PAGE 10 | SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2022

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Rebuilding/Remodeling Your Home in Falls Church: The Process and Price

by Kylee Toland

Falls Church News-Press

Home prices are increasing to a point where a person may label them as “skyrocketing,” many have turned to rebuilds and remodeling to keep up with these changes. In areas such as Falls Church, a permit must be received by a homeowner before starting to remodel or rebuild their home.

In the City, the permitting process for remodeling/ rebuilding one’s home starts with determining if the work being done is in the City of Falls Church. According to The City of Falls Church website, the mailing address “Falls Church, VA” extends far outside the City limits. For example, homeowners living in Bailey’s Crossroads, Columbia Pike and Seven Corners are technically

FALLS CHURCH has seen many of its homes remodeled or totally rebuilt. These projects come in various forms, like this top floor addition. (Photo: Sue Johnson)

not in the City of Falls Church.

This will allow a homeowner inside or outside the City to determine where to receive a permit.

The next step is to determine if a permit is required based on what a homeowner wants to do with their home. A homeowner does not need a permit for things such as painting or replacing windows in one’s house. A permit is required if a homeowner decides to add/remove/change the height of the walls, adding an opening or changing the size of an opening and anything “involving the framing or other structure of a wall.”

All permits require a signed application form. Maggie Redden, the senior communications specialist and marketing specialist for the City of Falls Church, said it is rare for a homeowner to apply for a permit or inspection themselves; rather a licensed contractor will “lead the permitting process” of rebuilding/remodeling a house.

Redden said there are two types of plans required: grading plans and building plans.

Coming Soon Falls Church City www.greenbuilthomes.net

REBUILDING ONE’S HOME in Falls Church is common nowadays.

(Photo Courtesy: Rob Zimmerman)

Grading plans cover the “site layout, water run-off and landscaping,” while building plans are “for the design of the home itself.” In most cases, the plans are submitted together, with the

Department of Public Works overseeing grading plans while the Building Safety Division reviews building plans.

Continued on Page 13

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FCNP.COM | FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

Kitchen Remodels

Bathroom Remodels

SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2022 | PAGE 11

Home Additions

Exterior Remodels

View Our Work

Visit our projects and view our quality work at the following locations and events:

More About MOSS

October 21

Designin’ for Horizon Fall Open House at Moss Building & Design’s newly remodeled Design Center, staged and furnished

by Ethan Allen Ben Beneficiary: Horizon Day Camp - Metro DC

October 21 - 23

Gather with us in Great Falls!

MOSS is proud to be a sponsor of the Great Falls Studios Art Tour.

Through our work with the Bahadori family and their stunning remodel, we have been able to enjoy and support Parinaz Art and studio work.

Join the tour to learn more about almost 40 area artists.

December 3 Visit our featured homes on the Herndon Holiday Home Tour, hosted December 3 from 10AM to 4PM. Visit our website for more details on our upcoming events and community happenings around the region.

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PAGE 12 | SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2022

Honey, I Shrank the Lawn!

by Sandra Tarpinian

The impacts of climate change on our local weather patterns — more days over 90 degrees and flash droughts punctuated by flash flooding — result in more stormwater flowing into our streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay and carrying with it more fertilizers, pesticides, and debris. We now pay fees for the City to upgrade essential stormwater drain infrastructure to carry that water away. But what if we could keep more of that water on our properties in ways that would help slow, filter, and absorb it into the ground rather than running it into the street?

We can, by adopting landscaping practices that provide long-term, sustainable solutions to stormwater management.

For decades, a green mown lawn has been the standard for home landscapes. Lawns are useful for play spaces, entertaining and pets.

But turfgrass now covers more than 40 million acres in the continental U.S., making it the single largest irrigated crop in the country. Typical turf lawns, often made up of nonnative grass species, do not provide food or nutrition for wildlife (or

humans!) They require enormous amounts of fresh water and chemicals to maintain. They are shallowrooted and absorb very little water into the ground, and the emissions from mowers, leaf blowers, and other lawn equipment contributes to climate change.

Ready to reduce the size of your lawn this year? Here’s how to start: Step 1: Assess your lawn. Do you need lawn for use by the kids or the dog? Are there areas where the turf doesn’t grow well, or a slope that is difficult to mow? Is there a tree that has turf surrounding it where you could create a mulched bed?

Step 2: Track the flow of water onto and off your lawn during a heavy rain. Where is water leaving your property and running into the street or onto an adjoining property?

Is water settling in an area every time it rains? These areas could be ideal locations for a new plant bed or a rain garden to better control stormwater runoff. If water does not drain from an area within two days, the soil is likely compacted. Add more plants to beds uphill from such low spots, particularly in beds that roof downspouts flow into.

Step 3: Plan your lawn removal

project over time. Almost every lawn has some possible place where turf can be removed and replaced with a mulched bed, ideally with a new tree or a few native plants, grasses, or shrubs installed. Remove lawn in manageable tasks that are reasonable for your time and energy. If you plant new trees or plants, you will want to factor in caring for them properly.

Step 4: Remove turf. One simple method is to define your area, lay down thick layers of newspaper, and cover the area with several inches of mulch. Over the winter the grass will die, and the newspaper will decompose. Another method is to dig up the turf, turn it over so roots face up, and cover the upside-down turf with several inches of mulch. By the spring, the soil should be ready to work. Turf is often planted on very compacted soil, so it is best to do a soil test when you are planting a new area. Soil test kits are available at most area libraries. The soil may need to be amended with leaf mulch or compost before you plant.

Step 5: Adopt new habits to maintain remaining turf. The following practices can also help with stormwater retention by improving the soil structure under our lawns.

Set mower height to 3 inches or higher: Taller turfgrass slows the rate of runoff and will produce a deeper and denser root system. Setting the

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

mower higher means mowing less often, too.

Retain grass clippings and chopped leaves on-site: A mulchmower is ideal for retaining and spreading clippings on your lawn.

The clippings decompose quickly, provide important nutrients for your lawn, and settle to create an organic layer on the soil that encourages stormwater infiltration.

Reconsider broadleaf. Clover provides nitrogen to turfgrass.

Including clover or letting native violets take hold in your lawn creates a low meadow for bees and insects.

Step 6: Plant locally native trees and native plants. Tree leaf canopy slows the rainwater as it falls, and tree roots soak up gallons of water.

Trees also store carbon, removing it from the atmosphere. Native plants

build deep root systems that absorb and filter stormwater, build the soil structure, and prevent erosion far more than turf. Native plants and trees are adapted to our climate and require little water, fertilizer, or maintenance once they are established. And they feed the pollinators, who feed us!

In our area, there are now more sources for native plants and a great resource for learning more about native plants and trees is PlantNOVA.org. Learn more about rain gardens by searching rain garden design at fairfaxcounty. gov. And check out the RainSmart program at VPIS.org to find out how to qualify for rebates when you eliminate lawn and install planted mulched beds, rain gardens, and/or rain barrels.

GARDEN BED full of native plants. (Photo: Sandra Tarpinian)

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SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2022 | PAGE 13

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The Zoning Division reviews both sets of plans while the City and the contractor will notify neighbors of the impending work.

Before a permit can be issued, Redden said there are several things required.

These include the grading plans being approved, utilities must be cut off, the site must be prepared for the work and bonds must be posted covering the demolition clean-up, site maintenance and landscaping.

Once those requirements are met, the demolition permit is issued and the house can be remodeled/demolished. If the building plans are ready, the building permit can be issued with the demolition permit, so construction work can begin as soon as possible if the house is being demolished. Redden said the process typically takes “10 to 15 weeks” from application to permit issuance.

Permit fees vary with the size of the house remodeled/constructed, Redden said, with “typical fees” ranging from $12,000 to $16,000. She stated The City will inspect the work throughout the process to ensure “it is safe and correct.”

When the work is completed, the City will issue a Certificate of Occupancy which will allow move-in and use of the new home.

Rob Zimmermann, the owner of Zimmerman Homes, said the rebuilding of homes in the Falls Church has become “very common” as a lot of the original homes in the City are “too small for the modern family.”

He said the process of building a new home has “increased to as much as 16 months from start to finish” so he recommends homeowners to “plan ahead.”

If a homeowner wants more information or has questions about the process or anything to do with permitting, visit fallschurchva.gov/Building or email permits@fallschurchva.gov.

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PAGE 14 | SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2022

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Designing Space for Containers Helps in the Declutering Process

Continued from Page 9

bathrooms, some designers install chests that look as if they were pulled out of a bedroom.

In smaller bathrooms, you could buy a multitier rolling cart that can be tucked under a washstand or in an unused corner, said Wendy Silberstein, founder of the Aesthetic Organizer in New York, who likes models from the Container Store. A rolling cart is “freestanding, and you can put a set of towels on the bottom and everyday items on top,” she said.

For a truly tiny bathroom with no available wall or floor space, Silberstein recommended an Elfa over-the-door rack with baskets.

Design the Inside of Drawers and Cabinets When you’re ready to put your toiletries back into drawers and cabinets, grouping similar objects will help you keep things organized.

“You want to categorize everything — but think in broad categories,” Hagmeyer said. “Face, everyday things, lotion, hair, teeth, travel, vitamins, medicine. The broader you go, the more likely you’re actually

going to be able to keep up with it.”

Then use drawer dividers or small bins to keep each category separate.

Silberstein likes using clear plastic bins, which makes it easy to see things stored in drawers and medicine cabinets. And she often removes products like cotton swabs, floss, bandages and razor blades from the packaging and stuffs them into bins, to minimize the amount of space they take up.

“It’s a money saver, because you can see everything that you own,” she said. “Not only is it easier to use, but you don’t keep restocking when you don’t need to,” she added, just because the box of cotton swabs has disappeared under the washcloths.

Larger items like hair dryers, brushes, toiletry bags and cleaning products can be stored in baskets that fit into a big drawer, cabinet or closet, or stowed under the sink.

Put Daily Items on Display It’s impractical to store every last bottle in a drawer all of the time. Products you use every day — hand soap, shampoo, conditioner — should stay where you need them: by the sink, shower or bathtub.

If you plan to keep soap, a cup, a few cosmetics and perhaps a bottle of perfume on the vanity top, an easy way to make them look organized is to put them on an attractive tray. “That way, it’s all corralled into a single, beautiful small tray,” said Barbara Sallick, co-founder and senior vice president of design at Waterworks, whose latest book, “The Ultimate Bath,” will be published in September.

Develop a Plan for Linens To keep your bathroom looking serene, figure out where you’ll put your towels and washcloths. A stack of clean, fluffy towels can be a beautiful thing, so when they’re freshly laundered, fold them nicely and pile them up in a closet or on a shelf. “They all need to get lined up, whether you sort them by color, by size or by trim,” Sallick said.

Once those linens are in use, you’ll need enough hanging space for every wet towel and washcloth — which isn’t always the case in busy households — to avoid having them left on a doorknob or tossed on the floor.

“It’s essential to buy hooks and

BATHROOM SHELVES allow for clutter to be out of sight and stored away. (P����: N�� Y��� T����) towel bars, sometimes in multiple sizes, so you have a place for everything, and everybody’s towel lives in a certain place,” Sallick said.

If you think you don’t have enough wall space, there are many options that can help. Wallmounted towel racks can hold multiple towels. Freestanding racks can be placed on the floor. You may be able to mount short towel bars on the sides of your vanity. You could add hooks on short walls, or on the back of a door. And

if all else fails, you can drag in a stool or side table.

“Sometimes, when it’s a more modern aesthetic and there aren’t so many places for towel bars, we incorporate a stool with folded towels on top,” Fried said. “It’s a furniture piece that expands where people can keep a towel handy, or drop one.”

By TIM MCKEOUGH © 2022 The New York Times

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A Penny for Your Thoughts

News of Greater I was in early elementary school when Princess Elizabeth became Queen. As a little girl, I didn’t know anything about the British Empire, imperialism, or politics, but I was fascinated by this young woman, only a few years younger than my mother, who acceded to the pomp and circumstance of the British throne.

It was a fairy tale come true, highlighted by lavish pictorial spreads in Life magazine, which arrived by subscription wherever we lived as a military family. I clipped those photos and saved them for years; a glossy cover photo of the young queen was a favorite.

Throughout her unprecedented 70-year reign, Elizabeth II was beloved by many, reviled by some, but seemed always serene, well-mannered and, well, regal. The mystique was managed, most likely, by dozens of staff behind the scenes for every event – hairdressers, wardrobe designers, milliners, maids and valets, most likely even someone who kept track of whatever was in her ubiquitous handbag! If being queen was a role, Elizabeth knew how to hit her mark, utter her lines, and acknowledge accolades. One difference – she never took a bow; others bowed to her.

The formality of court procedures was on view last weekend as the Accession Council, for the first time in 70 years, met to proclaim the queen’s eldest son, Charles, as the new sovereign. In a radical change (although 70 years in the making), the formal ceremony was televised, but also participating were dozens of women – the newest Prime Minister Liz Truss, whose meeting with the Queen at Balmoral was the last photo taken of Elizabeth; former Prime Minister Theresa May, members of Parliament, and Penny Mordaunt, the new

leader of the House of Commons, who had a central role leading the Accession Council, a mere four days after becoming Lord President of the Privy Council. There may not be another Queen as Britain’s sovereign for many decades, but these women, regardless of political bent, are taking their rightful place in the leadership and policy-making of their country, a course that wasn’t available when Elizabeth took the throne.

Congratulations to the Evergreen Heights Community Association, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last weekend. Evergreen Heights was one of the first townhome communities in Annandale when it was built on what had been farmland in 1972. Original resident Sharon Kash recollected that there were no sidewalks or streetlights when she moved in, the K-Mart had just opened, and groceries were purchased at the A & P at Columbia Pike and Gallows Road.

Condolences to friends and neighbors of Marty Bernstein, a longtime Lakeside Plaza resident who passed away after a brief illness. Marty was a terrific civic volunteer, who always approached community challenges with a positive attitude. He often was in touch with my office about improving signalization and line of sight at Powell Lane and Columbia Pike, concerned about the safety of students and commuters at the bus stops there, and enforcing parking regulations. Marty Bernstein was just 70 when he died earlier this month.  Penny Gross is the Mason District Supervisor, in the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She may be emailed at mason@ fairfaxcounty.gov.

C i t y o f Fa l l s C h u r c h

C RI ME R EPORT Week of September 12 - 18, 2022 Larceny of Vehicle Parts, Roosevelt Blvd, between 6 PM, September 10 and noon, September 11, unknown suspect(s) broke the driver’s side window of a 2017 Honda Civic and removed the steering wheel airbag.

Driving Under the Influence, Wilson Blvd, September 14, 12:29 AM, a male, 33, of Sterling, VA, was arrested for Driving Under the Influence.

Trespass, Wilson Blvd, September 14, 11:54 AM, a male, 68, of Falls Church, VA, was issued a summons for Trespass.

Trespass, Wilson Blvd, September 14, 2:46 PM, a male, 51, of Ft. Belvoir, VA, was issued a summons for Trespass.

Larceny, W Broad St, September 15, between 5:55 PM and 6:42 PM, two unknown suspects stole a Cannondale bicycle by cutting its lock. Subject #1 is described as a black male early 20`s wearing a white ball cap, long pants, black shirt, carrying a back pack and riding a black bicycle. Subject #2 is described as a heavy set white or Hispanic early 20`s male wearing a cut off short sleeve shirt, gray pants and walking a black bicycle which was left at the scene. Investigation continues.

Trespass, Wilson Blvd, September 16, 7:52 PM, a male, 32, of no fixed address, was issued asummons for Trespass.

Fa l l s C h u r c h

SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2022 | PAGE 15

Business News & Notes Office Occupancy Increase Likely Kastle Systems’ Back to Work Barometer, which measures card and badge scan data across 10 U.S. markets, dropped by 50 basis points to 43.4percent from the week ending Aug. 31 to the week ending Sept. 7.For the week of Sept. 8-14, office occupancy in 10 major cities was 47.4 percent of pre-pandemic levels, according to Kastle Systems data . This is a new high since the pandemic and a 4 percent jump from the week ending Sept. 7, which included Labor Day. A lack of improvement in worker attendance could signal that remote work’s primacy was no longer tied to pandemicbased caution, rather a more permanent shift. Data from WFH Research shows the average number of in-person days per week companies expect of employees who could work remotely has held steady at about 2.3 for months.

Preparing Your Business for the Holidays Capital Region SBDC is hosting a free online session for businesses as they approach the holiday season on Tuesday, September 27 at 1:00 pm. Topics include preparations for Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, advertisement and marketing, analysis of sale trends regarding inventory, email and social campaigns, and planning holiday promotions. The webinar link will be shared upon registration at https://clients.virginiasbdc.org/workshop.aspx?ekey=40420055.

Kang Joins Washington Business Journal Hall of Fame A new cohort of business leaders were inducted by the Washington Business Journal into its “Business Hall of Fame” this year. Among those recognized was Michele Kang, founder and CEO of Falls Church-area based Cognosante and majority owner of the Washington Spirit.

FCC Grants Lynk License Lynk, the world’s leading satellite-direct-to-standard-phone telecom company has been granted the world’s first commercial license for a satellite-direct-to-standardmobile-phone service by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This enables Lynk to launch commercial services for its global satellites later this year and paving the way for universal mobile connectivity. On April 1, Lynk launched Lynk Tower 1, the first satellite covered by the FCC license, and is scheduled to launch three more, known as Lynk Towers 2, 3, and 4 and Lynk’s 7th, 8th, and 9th celltowers-in-space later in the year towards its global service plans. Lynk has signed contracts with 15 mobile subscribers and is currently testing in 10 countries.

GDIT Awarded Contract General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) of Falls Church has been awarded a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract in the amount of $15,445,423 to provide scientific leadership, traumatic brain injury (TBI) subject matter experts and high-performing subject matter support, including personal and non-personal services staff, to advance the mission of the Defense Health Agency Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence (TBICoE).

Northrop Grumman Wins Contract Northrop Grumman has been awarded a five-year, $75.6 million contract from the U.S. Marine Corps to develop and maintain a software suite for command and control personal computer and tactical service-oriented architecture systems.

Drunk in Public, S Washington St, September 17, 2:10 AM, a male, 27, of  Business News & Notes is compiled by Elise Neil Bengtson, Executive Director Chantilly, VA, was arrested for Drunk in of the Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce. She may be emailed at elise@fallschcurchchamber.org.

Public.

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Community News & Notes Falls Church Chick-fil-A Hosts Fundraiser to Support Kenya From Monday, September 19 to Saturday, September 24, select Washington D.C.-area Chick-fil-A® restaurants will donate half of all proceeds from Chocolate Chunk Cookie purchases to students in Mugaa, Kenya. Donations will provide textbooks and teaching materials for the sponsored community through a partnership with 410 Bridge. Guests can visit the participating restaurants to purchase a cookie and support efforts in Mugaa.

“At Chick-fil-A, we strive to find ways to show care beyond just chicken sandwiches, and we’re humbled to partner with 410 Bridge for this opportunity,” said Rob Herold, local restaurant Operator of Chick-fil-A Bowie Marketplace. “We hope to bring our community together to make an impact in the lives of others wherever the help and support may be needed.”

Senior Olympians Breaking Records The 2022 Northern Virginia Senior Olympics began Saturday, Sept. 10 and so far 13 records have been broken reports Herb Levitan, NVSO chair. Results show two diving records, one in 1 meter, age 50-54, Thomas Blakeman, Falls Church and 3 meter, age 70-74, Carol Mackela, Springfield.

In ERG rowing, records were broken in age 60-64, women, Karen Keith, Gainesville, 55-59, men, John Armstrong, Centreville, 65-69, Marshall Keith, Gainesville and 90-94, William, Wieand, McLean.

Seven track events were held following the opening ceremonies at the Thomas Jefferson Community Center in Arlington on opening day. Records broken were in the 60 meter dash, women, 55-59, Sabrina Tormoen, Bealeton and 60-64, Lee Anne Orndorff, Alexandria.

In the 400 meter run, women, 75-79, Ruth Hamilton, McLean

and men, 85-89, Jerry Bradley, Oakton. In the 800 meter run, women, 75-79, Ruth Hamilton and 80-84, men, Karl Mueller, Alexandria. In the 800 meter walk, men, 75-79, Bill Palmer, Arlington.

Most NVSO events are in five year age groups and by gender. Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded after each event. Full results are being posted on the NVSO website, www.nvso.us ., after they have been processed and certified. NVSO is sponsored by the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun and Prince William and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church. NVSO is also supported by Gold Patrons who contribute $1000 enabling NVSO to purchase and replace equipment and services, promote participation and provide awards of recognition. 100 percent of money donated is used entirely for NVSO activities. It is a nonprofit 501-C-3 organization.

2022 Gold Patrons are Hunters Woods at Trails Edge, Chesterbrook Residences, Advanced Hearing Services, Greenspring Retirement Community, Anthem HealthKeepers Plus, Westminster at Lake Ridge, Goodwin Living, Facial Plastic Surgery Center, The Jefferson, Ashleigh at Lansdowne, Heatherwood Retirement Community, The Virginian, INF Care, Paul Spring Retirement Community, Wellington at Lake Manassas, Koons Arlington Toyota, Chesterbrook Residences and Aarondale Assisted Living.

Bolay Opening in Falls Church Pushed to October Bolay, a fast-casual restaurant opening at the Birch & Broad shopping center in Falls Church, will move its opening from September to October.

Bolay will open on Thursday, Oct. 6 at 1208-D W. Broad St. at the Birch & Broad shopping center. The Florida fastcasual restaurant was founded

by Chris and Tim Gannon, the latter of whom started Outback Steakhouse in 1988. According to the restaurant’s website, Chris Gannon envisioned Bolay as a lifestyle brand with nutritious offerings.

When Bolay opens in Falls Church on Thursday, Oct. 6, the first 100 guests will receive “Bolay for a Year.” That means guests receive one Bolay regular bol once per month for one year through the BolayGo App. Guests are encouraged to line up starting at 8 a.m. before the restaurant opens at 11 a.m.

Prizes are limited to one per household for ages 18 and older.

Guests must have a phone to use the app for the promotion.

This will be Bolay’s first Virginia location as the brand expands out of Florida. Bolay is also opening a Gainesville, Virginia location on Thursday, Oct. 13.

Friends Groups Honored as 2022 Award Recipients

Each year, the Fairfax County Park Authority Board recognizes individuals and groups that contribute time, talent and treasure to help make the Park Authority a nationally acclaimed, professionally accredited park system. The Harold L. Strickland Partnership and Collaboration Award, named in honor of the former Park Board member’s long service and significant contributions to the Park Authority, recognizes teamwork and cooperation necessary to provide state-of-the-art facilities in Fairfax County parks.

There are two Harold Strickland Partnership and Collaboration Award recipients this year. The recipients include the Friends of Frying Pan Farm Park and the Friends of Lake Accotink Park. Both organizations bring long-term volunteer service and financial support to the parks, and each play a significant role in the success and popularity of both unique FCPA sites.

These two awardees will be honored at part of the Elly

UNDER MAJOR RENOVATION on West Broad is a former bank building now owned by the Young Group that will become a drive through Smoothie King, expected to be open for business before the end of the year. (News Press Photo)

PERFORMING A COMBINATION of operatic and show time hits at his cabaret performance at Falls Church’s Creative Cauldron last weekend was local talent Wesley Diener (left) shown here with his dad, local CPA Mike Diener (right). (News Press Photo)

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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

THE WELCOMING FALLS CHURCH ICE-CREAM SOCIAL EVENT allowed participants to enjoy a sweet treat while listening to live music and interacting with each other. The event attracted over 300 people at Mr. Brown’s Park. (P����: G��� M�����) Doyle Park Services Award program. The program will be presented virtually this coming November.

FCC Planning Director to Talk About 5-Year Outlook The Falls Church League of Women Voters cordially invites locals to join them on the evening of September 29 to hear from Paul Stoddard, the Planning Director for the City of Falls Church.

Mr. Stoddard will discuss what is in store for the City from a planning perspective. He will also share his views on the “Great Streets Project,” which proposes to transform Park Avenue from N. Virginia Avenue to N. Washington Street into a lively, attractive roadway that would accommodate all modes of transportation and promote

social interaction, civic activity and commerce.

Join online for a lively evening and be sure to bring questions about planning in the City!

Please register on Eventbrite to receive a Zoom link to the event.

St. Philip Parish Festival: Everyone Welcome Please join St. Philip Catholic Church for the Annual Parish Festival. Come early (9:00 a.m.) for a Pancake Breakfast sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. Stay late for the International Dinner starting at 4:00 p.m.

Events include a white elephant sale with children’s toys and clothes, bingo, a book sale, a bake sale and a silent auction.

There will be lots of kids activities, including moon bounce,

SEPTEMBER 15 - 21, 2022 | PAGE 17

A FALLS CHURCH CHICK-FIL-A is donating half of its proceeds from Chocolate Chunk Cookie purchases to students in Kenya. (C�������: G������� F�����)

pony rides and games. For the adults, a wine and beer garden and the best BBQ in Virginia.

The event will end with an international dinner featuring live music from 4 to 7 p.m. St. Philip’s is located just inside the Beltway off of the Route 50 exit, 7500 St. Philip Court, Falls Church, Virginia 22042.

High Holidays At Shoreshim Jewish Community Shoreshim Jewish Community will be meeting, both in-person in Reston, and online, to celebrate.

All are welcome to attend in whichever manner is best for them.

The service is free, and no tickets are required.

Please call (703) 493-1114 for details. They look forward to celebrating with you.

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THE 2022 SENIOR OLYMPICS may have just started a few weeks ago, but 13 records have already been broken. The recordbreakers include participants in diving, rowing and running.

Full results are being posted on the NVSO website after they have been processed and certi�ied. Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded after each event. (C�������: L���� P������)

PAGE 18 | SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2022

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FALLS CHURCH CALENDAR FCNP Featured Event National Cooking Day SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

THE NORTHERN ALEXANDRIA NATIVE PLANT SALE will allow people to find "native perennials, shrubs and trees. Starting at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 24, vendors from the DMV area will be at the event. Located at the parking lot of The Church of St. Clement (Photo Courtesy: Scott Knudsen)

LOCAL EVENTS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 SUNSET CINEMA. Welcoming Falls Church, a part of the Welcoming America movement, has a full schedule of activities this month. The public is invited to the screening of Encanto at Cherry Hill Park, 312 Park Avenue, Falls Church, as part of the City of Falls Church's Sunset Cinema program. Bring a picnic and the movie will begin at sunset. Cherry Hill Park, 12 Park Avenue, Falls Church. 7:45 p.m.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 HARVEST HAPPENINGS. Celebrate autumn locally. Harvest Happenings is an indooroutdoor festival with live entertainment, a petting zoo, crafts and games. Visit the pumpkin patch and purchase a pumpkin to decorate at the crafts station. Mclean Community Center. 11:00 a.m. — 2:00 p.m.

CLARENDON DAY. Clarendon Day returns to Arlington. Known as Arlington’s “best loved and most diverse” street festival, the event includes several music stages, a large kid’s area, arts and crafts vendors, business and nonprofit exhibitors from Clarendon and the region. Foods and beverages from local and regional restaurants will also be displayed. 2854 Wilson Blvd, Arlington. 11:00 a.m. — 6:00 p.m.

PLEIN AIR ART FESTIVAL. Plein Air Art Festival 2022 has drawn artists from the

region and beyond to paint local scenes.

Everyone can view and vote for the best art - with the people's choice award. It is free and alway fun. Being held at City Hall (300 Park Ave) next to the Farmers Market. Sponsored by Falls Church Arts.

9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

NORTHERN ALEXANDRIA NATIVE PLANT SALE. Come find native perennials, shrubs, and trees for sun or shade. Eight vendors from Virginia, Maryland, & Pennsylvania will be hosted at this event, the largest native plant sale in the D.C. metro region.

9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the parking lot of The Church of St. Clement at 1701 N. Quaker Lane. Masks are recommended.

Free masks will be available.

BODY DYNAMICS OPEN HOUSE. Body Dynamics Inc. is hosting an Open House. They will showcase their services and answer questions. Light refreshments will be served. 410 South Maple Avenue Suite #100, Falls Church. 9:00 a.m. — 12:00 p.m.

CARING FOR A LOVED ONE WITH DEMENTIA. This is an in-person workshop that discusses Teepa Snow’s Positive Approach to Care (PAC) philosophy and training techniques with Tonya Embly, Memory Care Director. The Kensington at Falls Church 11:00 a.m. — 12:00 p.m.

SAINT ANN JUBILEE Come join us for the Saint Ann Parish Jubilee Festival with games, rides, raffle, silent auction, a beer garden, live music and food! Games, rides

and food open at 10:00 am and end at 4:00 SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 m p m ..

ANNUAL CIVIL WAR SHOW. The Annual Civil War Show will be held on Saturday, September 24 — Sunday, September 25 at the Arlington Fairfax Elks Lodge.

THERMOMIX NATIONAL COOKING DAY CLASSES. Whether you're a novice in the kitchen or a seasoned enthusiast, the Thermomix Consultant Community is prepped to WOW everyone for National Cooking Day 2022. Thermomix will be demonstrating and serving up tempting dishes all throughout the day. Please select a ticket for each class that you plan to attend as seating is limited. Culinaria Cooking School, 110 Pleasant Street Northwest, Vienna. 11:00 a.m. — 4:00

IT CAN BE EASY TO GET IN A RUT of constantly ordering takeout, heating-up frozen meals, or settling for a dinner of apples and cheese. But if you want to feel truly nourished, nothing beats a home-cooked meal. It’s nice to slow down and enjoy the process of preparing your own food — and the joy of eating it!

That’s why we’re celebrating National Cooking Day on September 25. National Cooking Day encourages and inspires each of us to discover something new and enjoyable in the kitchen. It’s a time to learn a new skill by preparing something delicious for loved ones — and ourselves. National Cooking Day is a fairly recent creation. In 2016, Potsandpans.com decided it was time that there was a proper celebration and recognition of home cooking, and the flavors and smells of tradition that go along with it. Ways to celebrate the day can be cooking on your own, showing a cook some appreciation and learning fun facts about cooking.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 m p..

BIKE FALLS CHURCH MEETING. Members of Bike Falls Church are expected at City Hall for a meeting. It will change the course of bicycle-friendly infrastructure in the City and to send a message about the importance of all vulnerable road users .

City Hall, 300 Park Ave at 7:00 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 ROCK THE HOUSE HOME BUYER HAPPY HOUR Join ROCK STAR Realty Group for a FREE Home Buying Happy Hour aimed at educating you on how to buy a home in today's real estate market at Northside Social from 4-7 PM.

HARVEST HAPPENINGS AT MCLEAN COMMUNITY CENTER has indoor and outdoor activities for all attendees starting at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 24th. (Photo courtesy: Sabrina Anwah)

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

CA L E NDA R 8333 WICKED JEZABEL. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd, Falls Church, VA). 8:30 p.m. (703) 241-9504

SEPTMBER 22 - 28 , 2022 | PAGE 19

JIMI SMOOTH & THE HIT TIME. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd, Falls Church, VA). 4:00 p.m. (703) 241-9504

BAD DAWGS W/ TOMMY LEPSON. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd, Falls Church, VA). 8:30 p.m. (703) 241-9504

LIVE MUSIC W/ WILLEM DICKE. Ireland's Four Provinces (105 W Broad St, Falls Church) 7:00 p.m. (703) 534-8999 DYLAN LEBLANC. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave E, Vienna) 8:00 p.m (703) 255-1566 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24

BORN IN ALEXANDRIA AND RAISED IN FALLS CHURCH, Bob Hume is a familiar name among local guitar players and other musicians. Over the years Bob Hume has worked with country singers Johnny Lee and Helen Cornelius. Hume will be performing at Clare and Don's Beach Shack with Steve Shartel on Friday, September 23rd at 5:00 p.m.. (Photo: Steve Shartel)

LIVE MUSIC THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 MICHELLE SWAN. Clare and Don’s Beach Shack (130 N Washington St, Falls Church) 5:30 p.m. (703) 532-9283 SOL ROOTS SHOW. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd, Falls Church, VA). 8 p.m.

(703) 241-9504 PICTROLA. The State Theatre (220 N

Washington St, Falls Church, VA) 7:30 p.m. (703) 237-0300

ARVIE AND BUNNY. Clare and Don’s Beach Shack (130 N Washington St, Falls Church) 6:00 p.m. (703) 532-9283 ROCKY & STEALIN THE DEAL. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd, Falls Church, VA). 4: 00 p.m. (703) 241-9504 2'D SOLE BAND. JV’s Restaurant (6666 Arlington Blvd, Falls Church, VA). 8: 30 p.m.

(703) 241-9504

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23

THE STRANGER. The State Theatre (220 N Washington St, Falls Church, VA) 9:00 p.m.

(703) 237-0300

SHARTEL AND HUME. Clare and Don’s Beach Shack (130 N Washington St, Falls Church) 5:00 p.m. (703) 532-9283

ASHLEIGH CHEVALIER. Dogwood Tavern (132 W Broad St, Falls Church, VA) 9:30 p.m. (703) 237-8333

FELIX PICKLES BAND. Solace Outpost (444 W Broad St, Falls Church, VA ). 8 p.m.​​ (571) 378-1469

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24

TOO EXTRA. Dogwood Tavern (132 W Broad St, Falls Church, VA) 9:30 p.m. (703) 237-

MICHAELA ANNE AND JOSIAH JOHNSON. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave E, Vienna) 7:30 p.m (703) 255-1566

THEATER & ARTS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 MCLEAN COMMUNITY PLAYERS "THE SHOW MUST GO ON." McLean Community Players returns to The Alden at the McLean Community Center in September with a gala revue remembering songs from past shows and looking to the future with songs from shows MCP has not done yet. The Alden. 8:00 p.m.

WHEEL OF FORTUNE LIVE! “Wheel of Fortune LIVE!,” an all-new theatrical experience, is going on tour across North America. The all-new live stage show is the one-and-only way fans can experience America’s Game® in person outside of Sony Pictures Studios, right in their hometown theater. One of the greatest game shows of all time wants to give more fans a chance to win at “Wheel of Fortune LIVE!” Guests can audition to go on stage and feel like they stepped into the game show itself. They will have

the chance to spin a replica of the iconic Wheel and solve the puzzles on the tour’s puzzle-board to win fantastic prizes including $10,000, a trip to Paris, Hawaii and more at every show!

Additionally, audience members will get in on the fun with the chance to be randomly selected to win cash and prizes. Capital One Hall. 8:00 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 m p..

DISNEY'S NEWSIES. A musical centered around activism, join the Arlington players as they stop the presses and hear the rallying cry to create, affect, and promote change. A story of student voice and the power of youth, taking you through a turn-of-the-century New York City, where media bigwigs are fighting against youthful groups that make the distribution of their newspapers possible. Come see the amount of power that the collective voice of youth activism had in 1899, and judge how much power that collective voice has in our society today. Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre. 8:00 p.m.

NEWSIES is a musical centered around activism performed by the Arlington Players from the Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre. It will be showing on Saturday, September 24th at 8:00 p.m. (Photo Courtesy: Brian Knapp) KRISTEN CHENEWORTH IN CONCERT. Join Kristin Chenoweth as she takes centerstage as headliner of the 2022 ARTS by

George! benefit.

In this concert, Chenoweth will sing music from her album "For The Girls," a heartfelt tribute to the

great female singers throughout history.

Center for the Arts, Concert Hall, George Mason University. 8:30 p.m.

PAGE 20 | SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2022

PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CITY COUNCIL CITY OF FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA The ordinance referenced below was given first reading on September 12, 2022. A public hearing, second reading, and final City Council action is scheduled for Tuesday, September 27, 2022 at 7:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard.

(TO22-15) ORDINANCE TO AMEND ORDINANCE 2008 TO CONTINUE THE SUSPENSION OF CERTAIN ZONING REGULATIONS FOR SIX MONTHS AFTER THE END OF THE COVID-19 EMERGENCY DECLARATION BY CITY COUNCIL All public hearings will be held in the Council Chambers, 300 Park Avenue, Falls Church, Virginia. Remote participation information at www.fallschurchva.gov/publiccomment. Comments may also be sent to cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov. For copies of legislation, contact the City Clerk’s office at (703-248-5014) or cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov or visit www. fallschurchva.gov/councilmeetings. The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703-248-5014 (TTY 711).

CELESTE HEATH, CITY CLERK NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CITY COUNCIL CITY OF FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA The following, regarding “Founders Row” (110 Founders Ave.), was heard at the August 8, 2022 City Council meeting. A public hearing and final City Council action is scheduled for Tuesday, September 27, 2022 at 7:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard.

(TR22-35) RESOLUTION TO AMEND RESOLUTION 2018-37 TO CHANGE THE APPROVED VOLUNTARY CONCESSIONS, COMMUNITY BENEFITS, TERMS AND CONDITIONS, AMENDED AND DATED FEBRUARY 22, 2021 (RESOLUTION 202107) TO REDUCE THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF THEATER SEATS REQUIRED AND PROVIDE FOR THE WITHHOLDING OF ADDITIONAL RESIDENTIAL CERTIFICATES OF OCCUPANCY UNTIL THE THEATER LEASE IS EXECUTED FOR THE PROJECT KNOWN AS “FOUNDERS ROW” ON APPLICATION

BY MILL CREEK RESIDENTIAL TRUST (FOUNDERS ROW HOLDING, LLC) (TR22-36) RESOLUTION TO ADOPT AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA, THE CITY OF FALLS CHURCH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, AND FOUNDERS ROW HOLDINGS LLC All public hearings will be held in the Council Chambers, 300 Park Avenue, Falls Church, Virginia. Remote participation information at www.fallschurchva.gov/publiccomment. Comments may also be sent to cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov. For copies of legislation, contact the City Clerk’s office at (703-248-5014) or cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov or visit www. fallschurchva.gov/councilmeetings. The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703-248-5014 (TTY 711).

CELESTE HEATH, CITY CLERK

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2022 | PAGE 21

Record Turnout Saturday for Post-Pandemic F.C. Fall & Food Festival

FALL FESTIVAL WINNERS Best Overall Menu: (Tie) Café Kindred and Taco Rock, Best Overall Taste: Island Fin Poke – Falls Church. People’s Choice Award: Harvey’s. Shots from around the Falls Church Fall Festival include Hot N Juicy Crawfish, as well as Owner and Editor Nichols F. Benton of the Falls Church News-Press with Brogan Mutarelli (Photo: News-Press, Sue Johnson, Cameron Whitman Photography, LLC.)

Political System ‘Gives Its Power’ To Party With Most Supporters Continued from Page 5

labor. “We stand for the segregation of the races and the racial integrity of each race, the constitutional right to choose one’s associates; to accept private employment without governmental interference, and to earn one’s living in any lawful way,” reads the States’ Rights Democratic platform, unanimously adopted at their convention in Oklahoma City the next month. We favor, they continued, “home-rule, local self-government and a minimum of interference with individual rights.”

Of course, this meant the maintenance of Jim Crow, the subversion of the constitutional guarantees embedded in the 14th and 15th amendments, and the continued domination of Black Americans by a tyrannical planter-industrial elite.

From its inception in the late 1820s as the movement to elect Andrew Jackson president, the Democratic Party relied on the Solid South to win national elections. Now it had a choice. Democrats could reject their new civil rights plank, accommodate the Dixiecrats and fight with a unified front against a hungry and energetic Republican Party, shut out of

power since Herbert Hoover’s defeat in 1932. Or they could scorn the socalled States’ Rights Democrats and run as a liberal party committed to equal rights and opportunity for all Americans.

They chose the latter and changed American politics forever. And while much of this choice was born of sincere belief, we also should not ignore the powerful force of demographic change.

From 1915 to 1965, more than 6 million Black Americans left their homes in the agrarian South to settle in the cities of the industrial North, from New York and Chicago to Philadelphia and Detroit and beyond.

Their arrival marked the beginning of a tectonic shift in American political life. “The difference in laws between the North and the South created a political coming-of-age for Black migrants,” political scientist Keneshia N. Grant writes in “The Great Migration and the Democratic Party: Black Voters and the Realignment of American Politics in the 20th Century.” “Seeing political participation as a badge of honor and hallmark of success in northern life, migrants registered to vote in large numbers. Northern parties and can-

didates worked to gain Black support through their election campaigns, and the parties expected Black voters to turn out to vote for their nominees on Election Day.” For a Democratic Party whose national fortunes rested on control of urban machines, Black voters could mean the difference between four years in power and four years in the wilderness. With the rise of Franklin Roosevelt, who won an appreciable share of the Black vote in the 1932 presidential election, Northern Democratic politicians began to pay real attention to the interests of Black Americans in cities across the region.

By 1948, most Black Americans who could vote were reliable partners in the New Deal coalition, which gave liberals in the Democratic Party some of the political space they needed to buck Jim Crow. Yes, the Dixiecrats would withdraw their support. But for every white vote Truman might lose in Alabama and Mississippi, there was a Black vote he might gain in Ohio and California, the two states that ultimately gave him his victory over the fearsome former prosecutor (and New York governor) Thomas Dewey.

Not only did the Dixiecrat rebellion fail: it demonstrated without a

shadow of a doubt that Democrats could win national elections without the Solid South. The segregationists were weaker than they looked, and over the next 20 years the Democratic Party would cast them aside. (And even then, with the Dixiecrat exodus, Truman still won most of the states of the former Confederacy.)

There is no equivalent to northern Black voters in the Trumpified Republican Party. Put differently, there is no large and pivotal group of Republicans who can exert crosspressure on MAGA voters. Instead, the further the Republican Party goes down the rabbit hole of “stop the steal” and other conspiracy theories, the more it loses voters who could serve to apply that pressure.

In a normal, more majoritarian political system, this dynamic would eventually fix the issue of the MAGA Republican Party.

Parties want to win, and they will almost always shift gears when it’s clear they can’t with their existing platform, positions and leadership.

The problem is that the American political system, in its current configuration, gives much of its power to the party with the most supporters in all the right places. Republicans may have lost

the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections, but key features in the system — equal state representation in the Senate, malapportionment in the House of Representatives and winner-take-all distribution of votes in the Electoral College (Nebraska and Maine notwithstanding) — gives them a powerful advantage on the playing field of national politics.

To put it in simple terms, Biden won the national popular vote by 7 million ballots in the 2020 presidential election but, if not for roughly 120,000 votes across four states — Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — Trump would still be president.

Which is all to say that someone like Youngkin is only doing what makes sense. To make MAGA politics weak among Republican politicians, you have to make MAGA voters irrelevant in national elections. But that will take a different political system — or a vastly different political landscape — than the one we have now.

By Jamelle Bouie © 2022 The New York Times

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PAGE 22 | SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2022

BACK IN THE DAY

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

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Falls Church News-Press Vol. VIII, No. 27 • September 18, 1997 Council to Re-Write Zoning Ordinance in Development Push

Kaine Opens 8-Point Lead in Poll On Eve of Fairfax Chamber Debate

Catching a glimpse of a professinal economic development consultant’s sense of what could happen in Falls Church with some loosening of the City’s tight restrictions on density and parking, the Falls Church City Council moved at a work session Monday to re-write a key zoning ordinance.

Slated to face off against his GOP rival George Allen in a major debate hosted by the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce and NBCTV in Mclean today at noon, Democrat Tim Kaine has opened a 51% to 44% lead among likely Virginia voters.

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LO CA L

SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2022 | PAGE 23

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC OF THE APPLICATION OF VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY FOR REVISION OF RATE ADJUSTMENT CLAUSE: RIDER US-4, SADLER SOLAR FACILITY, FOR THE RATE YEAR COMMENCING JUNE 1, 2023 CASE NO. PUR-2022-00121 •Virginia Electric and Power Company (“Dominion”) has applied for approval to revise its rate adjustment clause, Rider US-4.

•In this case, Dominion has asked the State Corporation Commission (“Commission”) to approve Rider US-4 for the rate year beginning June 1, 2023, and ending May 31, 2024 (“2023 Rate Year”) •For the 2023 Rate Year, Dominion requests a revenue requirement of $16,503,283, which would increase the bill of a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month by $0.01.

•A Hearing Examiner appointed by the Commission will hold a telephonic hearing in this case on February 7, 2023, at 10 a.m., for the receipt of public witness testimony.

•An evidentiary hearing will be held on February 8, 2023, at 10 a.m., in the Commission’s second floor courtroom located in the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, to receive the testimony and evidence of the Company, any respondents, and the Staff.

•Further information about this case is available on the Commission website at: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information.

On August 2, 2022, Virginia Electric and Power Company (“Dominion” or “Company”) filed with the State Corporation Commission (“Commission”) an application (“Application”) for approval of its annual update filing, with respect to Rider US-4 (“2022 Annual Update”) for the Sadler Solar Facility, an approximately 100 megawatt (“MW”) utility-scale solar photovoltaic generating facility located in Greensville County, Virginia (“US-4 Solar Facility” or “Facility”).

On January 22, 2020, and April 13, 2020, respectively, the Commission approved Dominion’s construction and operation of the US-4 Solar Facility, and also approved a rate adjustment clause, designated Rider US-4, for the Company to recover the costs associated with the construction of the Facility. The Commission’s approval was subject to certain conditions and requirements, including a performance guarantee for the Facility, which were accepted by the Company. On March 18, 2022, the Commission approved the second annual update to Rider US-4 and directed the Company to file its next Rider US-4 annual update on or after August 1, 2022.

According to the Application, the US-4 Solar Facility is generally proceeding on budget. The Company states that the Facility was placed into commercial operations on July 6, 2021. The total forecasted cost for the US-4 Solar Facility remains at $145.6 million (excluding financing costs), or $1,456 per kilowatt at the 100 MW (nominal AC) rating, with cost variances from the original estimates, both upward and downward and within specific cost categories and subcategories. The updated budget forecast included in the Application reflects actual capital expenditures through December 31, 2021, and projected capital expenditures through 2023, with monthly projections of capital expenditures used to determine the revenue requirement for the 2022 Annual Update. The Company states that as part of this 2022 Annual Update, it is requesting that the Commission approve the updated expenditures for the US-4 Solar Facility, subject to subsequent true-up, and find that such expenditures are reasonable and prudent.

In this proceeding, Dominion has asked the Commission to approve Rider US-4 for the rate year beginning June 1, 2023, and ending May 31, 2024 (“2023 Rate Year”). The two components of the proposed total revenue requirement for the 2023 Rate Year are the Projected Cost Recovery Factor and the Actual Cost True-Up Factor. The Company is requesting a Projected Cost Recovery Factor revenue requirement of $12,572,809 and an Actual Cost True Up Factor revenue requirement of $3,930,474. Thus, the Company is requesting a total revenue requirement of $16,503,283 for the 2023 Rate Year.

For purposes of calculating the revenue requirement, Dominion utilized a rate of return on common equity (“ROE”) of 9.35%, consistent with the Commission’s Final Order in Case No. PUR-2021-00058 (“Triennial Final Order”), for the time period after the date of the Triennial Final Order. The Company utilized an ROE of 9.2%, approved by the Commission in Case No. PUR-2019-00050 for the time period prior to the Triennial Final Order.

If the proposed Rider US-4 for the 2023 Rate Year is approved, the impact on customer bills would depend on the customer’s rate schedule and usage. According to Dominion, implementation of its proposed Rider US-4 on June 1, 2023, would increase the bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month by approximately $0.01. The Company indicates it has calculated the proposed Rider US-4 rates in accordance with the same methodology as used for rates approved by the Commission in the most recent Rider US-4 proceeding, Case No. PUR-2021-00119.

Interested persons are encouraged to review the Application and supporting documents for the details of these and other proposals.

TAKE NOTICE that the Commission may apportion revenues among customer classes and/or design rates in a manner differing from that shown in the Application and supporting documents and thus may adopt rates that differ from those appearing in the Company’s Application and supporting documents.

The Commission entered an Order for Notice and Hearing that, among other things, scheduled public hearings on Dominion’s Application. On February 7, 2023, at 10 a.m., the Commission will hold a telephonic hearing for the purpose of receiving the testimony of public witnesses, with no witness present in the Commission’s courtroom. On or before February 3, 2023, any person desiring to offer testimony as a public witness shall provide to the Commission (a) your name, and (b) the telephone number that you wish the Commission to call during the hearing to receive your testimony. This information may be provided to the Commission in three ways: (i) by filling out a form on the Commission’s website at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting; (ii) by completing and emailing the PDF version of this form to SCCInfo@scc.virginia.gov; or (iii) by calling (804) 371-9141. This public witness hearing will be webcast at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting.

Beginning at 10 a.m. on February 7, 2023, the Hearing Examiner will telephone sequentially each person who has signed up to testify as provided above.

On February 8, 2023, at 10 a.m., in the Commission’s second floor courtroom located in the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, a Hearing Examiner appointed by the Commission will convene a hearing to receive testimony and evidence offered by the Company, any respondents, and the Commission’s Staff on the Application.

The Commission has taken judicial notice of the ongoing public health issues related to the spread of the coronavirus, or COVID-19. The Commission has taken certain actions, and may take additional actions going forward, that could impact the procedures in this proceeding. Consistent with these actions, in regard to the terms of the procedural framework established below, the Commission will, among other things, direct the electronic filing of testimony and pleadings unless they contain confidential information, and require electronic service on parties to this proceeding.

Pursuant to 5 VAC 5-20-140, Filing and service, of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (“Rules of Practice”), the Commission has directed that service on parties and the Commission’s Staff in this matter shall be accomplished by electronic means. Please refer to the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing for further instructions concerning Confidential or Extraordinarily Sensitive Information.

Electronic copies of the Application may be obtained by submitting a written request to counsel for the Company, Elaine S. Ryan, Esquire, McGuireWoods LLP, Gateway Plaza, 800 East Canal Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, or eryan@mcguirewoods.com.

On or before February 3, 2023, any interested person may file comments on the Application electronically by following the instructions on the Commission’s website: scc.virginia.gov/casecomments/Submit-Public-Comments. Those unable, as a practical matter, to submit comments electronically may file such comments with the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission, c/o Document Control Center, P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, Virginia 23218-2118. All comments shall refer to Case No. PUR-2022-00121.

On or before November 10, 2022, any person or entity wishing to participate as a respondent in this proceeding may do so by filing a notice of participation with the Clerk of the Commission at: scc.virginia.gov/clk/efiling. Those unable, as a practical matter, to file a notice of participation electronically may file such notice by U.S. mail to the Clerk of the Commission at the address above. Such notice of participation shall include the email addresses of such parties or their counsel. A copy of the notice of participation as a respondent also must be sent to counsel for the Company. Pursuant to 5 VAC 5-20-80 B, Participation as a respondent, of the Rules of Practice, any notice of participation shall set forth: (i) a precise statement of the interest of the respondent; (ii) a statement of the specific action sought to the extent then known; and (iii) the factual and legal basis for the action. Any organization, corporation, or government body participating as a respondent must be represented by counsel as required by 5 VAC 5-20-30, Counsel, of the Rules of Practice. All filings shall refer to Case No. PUR-2022-00121.

On or before December 16, 2022, each respondent may file with the Clerk of the Commission, at scc.virginia.gov/clk/efiling, any testimony and exhibits by which the respondent expects to establish its case. Any respondent unable, as a practical matter, to file testimony and exhibits electronically may file such by U.S. mail to the Clerk of the Commission at the address listed above. Each witness’s testimony shall include a summary not to exceed one page. All testimony and exhibits shall be served on the Commission’s Staff, the Company, and all other respondents simultaneously with its filing. In all filings, respondents shall comply with the Rules of Practice, as modified by the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing, including, but not limited to: 5 VAC 5-20-140, Filing and service, and 5 VAC 5 -20-240, Prepared testimony and exhibits. All filings shall refer to Case No. PUR-2022-00121.

Any documents filed in paper form with the Office of the Clerk of the Commission in this docket may use both sides of the paper. In all other respects, except as modified by the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing, all filings shall comply fully with the requirements of 5 VAC 5-20-150, Copies and format, of the Rules of Practice.

The public version of the Company’s Application and other documents filed in this case, the Commission’s Rules of Practice, and the Commission’s Order for Notice and Hearing may be viewed on the Commission’s website at: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case Information.

VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY d/b/a DOMINION ENERGY VIRGINIA

PAGE 24 | SEPTEMBER 22 - 28, 2022

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