September 3 - 9, 2015
Fa lls Chur c h, V i r g i ni a • ww w. fc np. c om • Fr ee
Fou n d ed 1991 • Vol. XXV No. 28
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week Fall Real Estate Special Inside This Edition The News-Press’ Fall real estate special includes features on future proofing your home, getting the best return on investment for home improvement projects and a look at a former U.S. Vice President’s home up for auction in McLean. See pages RE1 - RE8
City Seeks Input On Park Plan
In Annual ‘State of the City’ Review, Mayor Tarter Upbeat & Optimistic S ummer’s E nd
Interview at FCNP Focuses on Core Downtown Plans by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
between ninth and eleventh grades and pass at least one to graduate, but “no one seems to know a kid who did not earn one pass,” according to Reford. Tuition will be $25,500 for all grades but pre-school which will be $22,000. “Our price point is about 40 to 50 percent below the cost of the traditional private school,” Reford said. And how do you do that?
You would be hard pressed to find anyone more enthusiastic and optimistic about the future of the City of Falls Church than her current mayor, David Tarter. Even though he’s charted an independent course during his first four years on the Council, including the last two as mayor, he was unreserved in this enthusiasm for the Little City and its prospects in what has become a Falls Church tradition – the annual late summer “State of the City” interview with the mayor conducted by the Falls Church News-Press. Tarter sat in the office of the News-Press last week, on the fifth floor of the office building across from City Hall, where the big windows afford a panoramic view of much of the City’s 2.2 square miles, and in particular of the Rushmark Properties’ formidable mixed use project that seems to loom, as it is being constructed, in the 300 block of W. Broad St. and will be home to a major Harris Teeter grocery when completed in about another year. “Falls Church is a great, unique community,” he said. “I’ve grown up in Northern Virginia, and I love Falls Church more than any other area. It’s a wonderful community.” He cited a poll naming Falls Church the 17th “most livable City in the U.S.” In a surprise revelation, Tarter said that in the nine years he’s lived in Falls Church, he’s walked his children to school every day, to three different schools, in fact. One is now at George Mason High and two others are at the
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The Falls Church Recreation and Parks Advisory Board will hold a meeting seeking input on the Master Park Plan for the Howard E. Herman Stream Valley Park next Wednesday, Sept. 9. See News Briefs, page 9
David Brooks: The Great Defender
Hillary Clinton has obviously had a bad summer. She’s losing in New Hampshire to Bernie Sanders, even among women. See page 12
Press Pass with Royal Southern Brotherhood
Cyril Neville of blues rock supergroup Royal Southern Brotherhood, said it was “magic” recording the band’s latest album Don’t Look Back at legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Ala. See page 24
THE CURTAIN DROPPED, so to speak, on the City of Falls Church’s Sunset Cinema last Friday when the annual summer series concluded its run with a showing of “Jurrasic Park” on the lawn at Cherry Hill Park. (Photo: Dan Lehman)
Challenging New Private School To Open in McLean Next Year by Patricia Leslie
Falls Church News-Press
Index Editorial..................6 Letters....................6 Sports....................8 News & Notes.10-11 Comment..12, 21-23 Food & Dining......25
Calendar.........26-27 Classified Ads .....28 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword...........29 Business News....30 Critter Corner.......30
Engineering for three-yearolds? Logic in seventh grade? Economics for eighth graders, and Latin for fifth and sixth graders? Mandarin every school year beginning in pre-kindergarten and, starting in sixth grade, physics, chemistry, and biology? These are some of the student curriculum requirements at McLean’s new BASIS Independent School set to open in
the fall of 2016 in Tysons Corner in 100,000 square feet about a half mile from the Hilton. “The children love engineering,” said Mark Reford, vice chairman for global strategy for BASIS Independent School, who said projected enrollment for the first year at the new school is 400 for pre-kindergarten through grade 10, and, after grades 11 and 12 are added in 2017 and 2018, will total 800. All BASIS Independent School students must take six AP exams
PAGE 2 | SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2015
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2015 | PAGE 3
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
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PAGE 4 | SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2015
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Tarter Sees Bright Future for City of Falls Church Continued from Page 1
Henderson Middle School. Tarter’s remarks to a series of questions about issues before the City focused on a balance between the City’s need for continuing economic development, and its “small town feel” that he thinks its residents value. Asked about the challenges facing Falls Church, he went immediately to this issue, right after commenting about the impacts on the area caused by the federal government, such as the recent sequestration move that had a big impact on employment and resources for development. “Balancing economic development with our small town feel with great schools, moving forward with economic growth while providing for our excellent city services will always be a challenge because as a small community it is not always as cost-effective to provide these as in much larger jurisdictions,” the mayor said. “But we’re on the right track,” he added. Ground floor retail vacancies in the commercial cor-
ridors added with the last decades’ new mixed use developments “are beginning to fill up,” and four of eight small commercial area vision plans have been approved which help to inform developers of what the City wants in given areas. With the adoption of a bike master plan, a “Mobility for All Modes” plan, the City is poised to plug into regional bike share plans, while infrastructure needs are being met with the development of the new West End Park, the Howard Herman Stream Bed restoration and important storm water improvements. In the downtown area, there is $600,000 allocated for improvements in the business district that include new crosswalks, lighting, sidewalk fixes and bike and pedestrian features that will be completed in the next year or so to make the area more inviting to customers. He said that proceeds from the City’s sale of its water system in January 2014 to Fairfax County “have been invested well, saving two cents on the tax rate every year and enabling important
capital improvements. We’ve been good stewards of our taxpayers’ dollars.” He said that among the challenges for the City are to become more integrated with the wider region, including to be able to draw more for economic development from a wider area. “We have two Metro stations with our names on them (East Falls Church and West Falls Church—ed.) and we working on doing more to integrate them with us. Hopefully Arlington will establish a bike share at the East Falls Church Metro and improve sidewalks coming into the City. The notion of shuttle buses into downtown Falls Church is now being mulled, as well. For busses, he said that the City is interested in putting more electronic data on buses and at bus stops to facilitate people coming into town. The mayor was an enthusiastic supporter of the holiday lights that were hung on trees in the downtown business area for the first time last December. “They helped to create excitement about our downtown. With the other
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2016
FALLS CHURCH MAYOR David Tarter spoke with the News-Press last week in the annual “State of the City” interview. (Photo: Gary Mester) improvements we are now putting into place, it signals to people driving through that they may want to park and hang out here. More signage and efficient parking options will also help. “Our downtown has a lot of potential,” he went on. “With the State Theatre as part of its core, it can be developed as an eclectic
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Continued on Page 22
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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
MARK REFORD OF BASIS.ED meets with architects from Perkins Eastman at the new school in Tysons Corner. (Photo: Patr���a Les��e)
New Independent School Coming to McLean in 2016
Continued from Page 1
“The short answer is, we focus on student learning. That’s what matters and where we put our resources with really thoughtful discipline and focus on ‘What do students need?’” Reford said “more and more”
private schools are becoming “financially bloated models,” overloaded with administrative staff. His school will offer no scholarships nor require students (and parents) to conduct fundraising projects during the year, Reford said. There will be no capital cam-
paigns. What about teacher recruitment? Is BASIS Independent School offering fat salaries? Reford said BASIS Independent School received 14,000 applications for 400 teaching positions, which he partially attributes to word-of-mouth about its quality of students, and the independence the organization gives teachers. “We follow the college model,” and give each teacher a private office. “ We allow them to be creative, and we show them respect. We hold teachers accountable but we hire them because they are passionate [about teaching] and they want freedom, too.” Which is one of the reasons the new McLean school is not a charter. Reford labeled Virginia’s charter school law “too restrictive for our very, very particular curriculum” which emphasizes teacher freedom and creativity. Virginia requires teachers to be accredited which, said Reford, “violates our long experience on who can be a good teacher,” and it doesn’t “fit with our learning culture.” Because Virginia lacks a statewide authority to grant a charter, approvals are left to local school
SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2015 | PAGE 5
boards which BASIS Independent School thinks is “highly unlikely” it could gain. One of the new school’s top competitors is Fairfax County’s Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology which Reford described as “an extraordinarily stressed filled culture [with] not much focus on the humanities” which McLean Independent will not ignore. He points with pride to an atrium which suggests an “oldfashioned academic quad” which will provide “a sense of community.” Why Tysons Corner? “Northern Virginia has an extraordinarily educated parent population,” Reford said, “an incredibly vibrant area with a lot of overseas families who really like our programs.” High incomes help. “Tysons was our first choice because it’s becoming a huge hub in the mid-Atlantic region” and “you can get here from 360 degrees.” BASIS Independent School leases the building at 8000 Jones Branch Drive from a Real Estate Investment Trust, and remodeling ($20 million) is underway which will include a theatre, gymnasium, and its new science labs for every
grade. BASIS Independent School McLean will have athletics and will join a league. BASIS Independent School’s students scored in the top one percent of the world’s schools in reading and math, and in the top five percent in science in the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment test given to 28 million students in 74 countries. “We are very focused on student learning and achievement,” Reford said. His background includes teaching English at Georgetown Day School, and he was an academic dean at Sidwell Friends School. BASIS Independent School operates 16 public charter schools in Arizona, Texas, and Washington, D.C. (at 410 8th Street NW, formerly led by Sean Aiken, the new head at McLean). The McLean school will be its third independent, after the group opened its first independents last year in Brooklyn and Silicon Valley. Parent sessions are underway, the office of admissions is open and applications for admission are currently being accepted. More information on the school can be found at mclean.basisindependent. com.
Smart Lil City Theorem Small Schools = Better Schools = Higher Property Values = More Revenue This strategy has made Falls Church special for decades. But recently things have changed. Our student population has grown more than 30% in the last 6 years alone*, outstripping our schools’ facility capacity and driving up the incremental cost to taxpayers of each new student. Our school administrators have been forced to focus daily on facilities issues. v We believe that our bedrock of small, great schools is being hurt by the “residentialization”
of our commercially zoned corridors. v We believe there’s a smarter way. v We are pleased to support Council and School Board candidates who share this belief
and want to keep the Little City a little quirky. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN US, write to smartlilcity@gmail.com with subject “Add Me”. *Sources: FCC Adopted 2009 Budget, FCC Adopted 2016 Budget.
CITY OF FALLS CHURCH Settled 1699
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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
MARK REFORD OF BASIS.ED meets with architects from Perkins Eastman at the new school in Tysons Corner. (P����: P������� L�����)
New Independent School Coming to McLean in 2016
Continued from Page 1
“The short answer is, we focus on student learning. That’s what matters and where we put our resources with really thoughtful discipline and focus on ‘What do students need?’” Reford said “more and more”
private schools are becoming “financially bloated models,” overloaded with administrative staff. His school will offer no scholarships nor require students (and parents) to conduct fundraising projects during the year, Reford said. There will be no capital cam-
paigns. What about teacher recruitment? Is BASIS Independent School offering fat salaries? Reford said BASIS Independent School received 14,000 applications for 400 teaching positions, which he partially attributes to word-of-mouth about its quality of students, and the independence the organization gives teachers. “We follow the college model,” and give each teacher a private office. “ We allow them to be creative, and we show them respect. We hold teachers accountable but we hire them because they are passionate [about teaching] and they want freedom, too.” Which is one of the reasons the new McLean school is not a charter. Reford labeled Virginia’s charter school law “too restrictive for our very, very particular curriculum” which emphasizes teacher freedom and creativity. Virginia requires teachers to be accredited which, said Reford, “violates our long experience on who can be a good teacher,” and it doesn’t “fit with our learning culture.” Because Virginia lacks a statewide authority to grant a charter, approvals are left to local school
SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2015 | PAGE 5
boards which BASIS Independent School thinks is “highly unlikely” it could gain. One of the new school’s top competitors is Fairfax County’s Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology which Reford described as “an extraordinarily stress-filled culture [with] not much focus on the humanities” which McLean Independent will not ignore. He points with pride to an atrium which suggests an “oldfashioned academic quad” which will provide “a sense of community.” Why Tysons Corner? “Northern Virginia has an extraordinarily educated parent population,” Reford said, “an incredibly vibrant area with a lot of overseas families who really like our programs.” High incomes help. “Tysons was our first choice because it’s becoming a huge hub in the mid-Atlantic region” and “you can get here from 360 degrees.” BASIS Independent School leases the building at 8000 Jones Branch Drive from a Real Estate Investment Trust, and remodeling ($20 million) is underway which will include a theatre, gymnasium, and its new science labs for every
grade. BASIS Independent School McLean will have athletics and will join a league. BASIS Independent School’s students scored in the top one percent of the world’s schools in reading and math, and in the top five percent in science in the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment test given to 28 million students in 74 countries. “We are very focused on student learning and achievement,” Reford said. His background includes teaching English at Georgetown Day School, and he was an academic dean at Sidwell Friends School. BASIS Independent School operates 16 public charter schools in Arizona, Texas, and Washington, D.C. (at 410 8th Street NW, formerly led by Sean Aiken, the new head at McLean). The McLean school will be its third location, after the group opened its first schools last year in Brooklyn and Silicon Valley. Parent sessions are underway, the office of admissions is open and applications for admission are currently being accepted. More information on the school can be found at mclean.basisindependent.com.
Smart Lil City Theorem Small Schools = Better Schools = Higher Property Values = More Revenue This strategy has made Falls Church special for decades. But recently things have changed. Our student population has grown more than 30% in the last 6 years alone*, outstripping our schools’ facility capacity and driving up the incremental cost to taxpayers of each new student. Our school administrators have been forced to focus daily on facilities issues. v We believe that our bedrock of small, great schools is being hurt by the “residentialization”
of our commercially zoned corridors. v We believe there’s a smarter way. v We are pleased to support Council and School Board candidates who share this belief
and want to keep the Little City a little quirky. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN US, write to smartlilcity@gmail.com with subject “Add Me”. *Sources: FCC Adopted 2009 Budget, FCC Adopted 2016 Budget.
CITY OF FALLS CHURCH Settled 1699
PAGE 6 | SEPTEMBER 3 - 9, 2015
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Vol. XXV, No. 28 September 3 - 9, 2015 • City of Falls Church ‘Business of the Year’ 1991 & 2001 • • Certified by the Commonwealth of Virginia to Publish Official Legal Notices • • Member, Virginia Press Association •
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T� C������ ��� N���-P���� �����: 703-532-3267 ���: 703-342-0347 �����: ���������.��� ������� ����������� ��������.��� ���������� ��� �������������.��� ������� �� ��� ������ ������������.��� ������������� ������������ � �������� �������������.��� WWW.FCNP.COM The Falls Church News-Press is published weekly on Thursdays and is distributed free of charge throughout the City of Falls Church and the Greater Falls Church area. Offices are at 200 Little Falls St., #508, Falls Church, VA 22046. Reproduction of this publication in whole or part is prohibited except with the written permission of the publisher. ©2015 Benton Communications Inc. The News-Press is printed on recycled paper.
E D I TO R I A L
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Even If the Pope Doesn’t Stop Here
If you think the summer is dragging on a bit too long, you’re right. This year, Labor Day doesn’t come until Sept. 7, and only last year, in 2014, it came on Sept. 1. So we’re having virtually a full extra week of summer right now. Just when we thought summer was all we wanted, we’re getting a little anxious for the new school year and the fall political season to commence, already! Needless to say, there is a lot on our collective Little City plate for the next few months. There is the deliberation process that will restart on some new large-scale mixed-use projects that are queuing up – Mason Row, the Hitt corner of downtown, the big one on the new 34 acres of City land and some others. There is the start of the new school year and the politics that some will try to make on the issue of enrollment numbers, as well as the fate of the Mt. Daniel Elementary School renovation and expansion now at the mercy of the Fairfax County Planning Commission. There is the fall election, and the campaigns that have been gearing up low key all summer and will burst out into the open with five candidates seeking three City Council seats and eight seeking three School Board seats. When the dust clears on these, it will be in time for the procession of yet another annual budget cycle with issues of tax rates and quality of services and schools again taking the spotlight at least through April 2016. But it may be that overarching factors may once again impinge on our Little City efforts to keep the good stuff on a roll here. The stock market is displaying the same exacerbated wobbling behavior – huge drops followed by huge gains and back again – that preceded its huge dive of 2008 when it went from 14,000 to 6,000. This may worsen as the Fed can’t hold on much longer with its decade-long federal stimulus policy of zero interest rates in the face of deflationary pressures it can no longer contain. As China blows its cork, we’re all made witnesses to the hopelessly interconnected global world economy and the U.S.’s particularly vulnerable association with the destiny of China. While America’s military industrial complex rages to subvert President Obama’s resistance to relaunching war in the Middle East, domestic and international U.S. covert psy-ops campaigns escalate terror and racial conflicts and back radical right-wingers tasked with wresting Ukraine away from Russia. The second wave of the Second Great Depression is now ready to take center stage on this heating up, little spinning orb to unleash war, death, chaos and disease on a wider scale than ever yet seen. Many may be hoping that the Pope’s visit to America later this month will mark a way out of all this. If so, more power to him, whether he stops in Falls Church or not.
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Won’t Stick Around If F.C. Becomes Tysons III
Editor, Rational responses to earlier News-Press front page articles gave me solace when your publication served once again as the unofficial propaganda arm of all things development in Falls Church City. The concerns raised about development reflect the growing number of residents who are organizing, taking a stand against steroidal development in our city. Every time we turn around
another practically done-deal project is announced, replete with an increased-revenues-it-will-provide rationale that pays for our schools; and guarantees their demise via burdgeoning class sizes. I’m am for development that considers 1) preserving our current quality of life 2) catering to all residents; not privileging one population at the expense of another, 3) democratic vetting by all residents; especially when
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apartments will be erected 4) traffic control & installation of signage before development to ensure residential areas aren’t invaded by cars and people, 5) planning that isn’t driven by developer ideas about what we need, 6) timely community meetings to vet new projects; meetings not sponsored by developers who sell us on catering to a single age group, 6) not densifying on a prayer we can tax our way out of our financial woes, 7) holding accountable our officials in providing financial transparency, with proper internal auditing mechanisms in place, so we’re not forced to take their word on the need for more development.
The same battle we are in is erupting in every corner of our metro area. Developers have every incentive to get federal subsidies and make their personal fortunes. Councils are grabbing the bait, literally buying into wishful thinking we will apartmentize our way to solvency. If schools go down the tubes with overcrowding our property values will decrease. I and others who will absolutely not stick around when we become Tysons III hope to God we can all still get our money’s worth for homes when Falls Church becomes a density nightmare. Sajeela Ramsey Falls Church
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
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SEPTEMBER 3 - 9, 2015 | PAGE 7
Interstate 66, Metro & the City of Falls Church B� P��� B������
Regarding the News-Press August 20 article about Falls Church’s “1980’s AntiDevelopment Bias,” allow me to dispel a common misconception about how the Metro Orange line bypassed the City of Falls Church. For the record, the city did not fight to keep Metro out of Falls Church. They did, however, fight to keep the fourlane divided Interstate 66 highway from cutting a huge swath through much of the city, obliterating a vital West Broad Street commercial area, and leaving the West End isolated from most of its neighbors. Just imagine what the I-66 – Rte. 7 interchange would like today if it were within the boundaries of the City of Falls Church. I am quite familiar with what occurred during the development of I-66 and Metro as my family’s home in Arlington was purchased by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) in 1963 to make way for the new road. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority had not yet been established at that time, nor had any rapid transit system right-of-way been established. Interstate I-66 I-66 was first proposed in 1956 as a link between the District of Columbia and the Capitol Beltway to the west. Early on, VDOT acquired two sections of the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad (W&OD) right-of-way. W&OD had operated local freight trains and a small passen-
ger trolley between Leesburg and Rosslyn Circle in Arlington. With Falls Church rejecting a highway through town, VDOT acquired additional property around the City and westward toward its planned connection to the Capitol Beltway. The future Metro line was not a consideration in any-
“Falls Church never had a chance, or the political clout, to have the Orange line run through the City.” one’s planning at time. It was during this period that VDOT purchased my family’s home as well as properties skirting the City of Falls Church. Of particular interest was the purchase of the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Pope-Leighey House which sat just outside the western border of the City. The house was moved in 1965 by the National Trust to Woodlawn Plantation near Alexandria. By then, VDOT had acquired most all the right-of-ways needed for the proposed route around Falls Church. Metro Rapid Transit System Congress passed the National Capital Planning Act authorizing studies of regional transportation in 1952 setting off the effort that would establish the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
(WMATA) in 1966. On March 1, 1968, the WMATA Board unanimously adopted a 97.7-mile Regional Rapid Rail Transit System that showed the future Orange line running outside the city boundaries. Bonds were authorized in 1969, and the City of Falls Church was the first jurisdiction to sign their capital contribution contract obligating $800,000 toward Metro construction costs. On April 4, 1972, WMATA held a public hearing at George Mason High School to review the proposed Vienna route and a Storage and Inspection facility to be located on a large tract west of the planned West Falls Church Station. About 200 people attended. Most comments centered on noise abatement, traffic, and the storage facility. The City of Falls Church expressed concern over Haycock Road providing the only access to the station, suggesting that an entry from Leesburg Pike would help ease their concerns. In addition, speakers asked about the impact on Metro of a pending court action against the I-66 highway project. Anti-highway forces led by the Arlington Coalition on Transportation (ACT) had filed the suit to stop the highway project earlier in 1972 citing concerns over air quality, noise and community cohesion changes. The Falls Church City Council gave support to this effort, possibly as friendly support to their Arlington neighbor. A successful court ruling upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court that same year blocked construction. Following years of negotiations address-
ing ACT’s concerns, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation gave final support to the highway project in 1977. Where We Are Today The path of I-66 around Falls Church and acquisition of the necessary right-of-way was completed well before Metro began their effort in the area. Despite its support for Metro, Falls Church never had a chance, or the political clout, to have the Orange line run through the City. The cost of undergrounding the rail line and erecting a major rail station were prohibitive by anyone’s measure, especially after a highway right-ofway had already bypassed the low density bedroom community that existed in the early 1960s. By the time Metro came into the picture, the City had lost any chance to exert influence in making significant changes. The city’s saving grace for not securing a Metro station within the city limits may be offset by the 2014 transfer of the 34.6-acre property adjacent to the West Falls Church Metro Station through a boundary adjustment with Fairfax County. Constructing a new City high school to replace the aging George Mason facility on this property could yield as much as 10 acres for new high density commercial development. Properly planned, new income-producing projects could yield significant economic benefits for the City for years. Paul Barkley is an Emeritus member of the American Institute of Architects.
Q������� �� ��� W��� Do you share Mayor Tarter’s optimism about the future prospects of Falls Church? • Yes
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Mason Fall Sports Teams Gear Up for the Season by Liz Lizama
Falls Church News-Press
While George Mason’s high school fall sports program saw its share of wins and losses last year, the Mustangs have all been hard at work to make the upcoming season a stronger one. The field hockey and volleyball teams already kicked off their seasons. The football and cross country teams will welcome their first matchups within the next two weeks as the theater team looks ahead to its state theater competition in November. CROSS-COUNTRY After placing first at last year’s district and conference tournaments, and second at the state championship, the girls cross county team graduated only one of its top seven runners. Consequently, the fairly young but talented team returns with an experienced roster, including freshman Logan Funk and junior Blaise Sevier who finished third and ninth, respectively, in the state championship last year. “Last season, they were both one and two each race for us,” said head coach Jeff Buck. “They switched off a lot.” Buck said freshman Estelle Timar-Wilcox was the team’s third runner last season. “I think she’ll do a really good job this year,” he said. On the other hand, the boys team placed third in the district, second in conference and sixth at the state championship last year. Though the boys program graduated three of its top seven runners, Buck said the team has a few runners who will step up to the plate like junior Tim Gilmour, senior Kiran Menon, sophomore Griffin Warner and senior James Schneider The Mustangs’ first meet will be Wednesday, Sept. 16, at Clarke County High School. FIELD HOCKEY Entering its third season as a varsity sport, Mason’s girls field hockey team is looking to build upon its success last year. “Our team making it to regionals was huge for the program,” said head coach Amanda Crider. “Our first season we had a losing record, 2-12. Last season, we were 13-5, a huge testament to the hard work the girls put in. Making it to the conference championship, bringing home a trophy and securing a spot in
THE MUSTANG DEFENSE WRESTLES a player from Brentwood High School to the ground during their scrimmage with the Tigers last month. After a 2-8 season, the Mustangs are looking to right the ship in the last year that they’ll have standout running back D’Montae Noble. They open their season tonight against Rappahannock County. (Photo: Gary Mester) regionals was very exciting. We hope to capitalize on that momentum this season.” The team graduated five seniors but return with a talented group of 21 returning players this year, which includes 11 seniors. “We have created a leadership team that is working to make the most of every opportunity this season,” said Crider. The Mustangs opened the season on Tues. Sept. 1 at Foxcroft High School. FOOTBALL As Mason’s varsity football team kicks of the season, the Mustangs hope to turn their 2-8 losing season around from last year. “We have some small numbers, but we have a lot of really good players who are working really hard,” said head coach Tony Green. With eight strong returning players, Green said these seniors and underclassmen are ready to fill the void of the team’s graduating seniors from last year. Junior D’Montae Noble, a three-time All-District running back, will be a key contributor for the Mustangs this year.
The Mustangs will start the season on Thursday, Sept. 3 at Rappahannock County High School. THEATRE In between gearing up for its fall musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, in November, Mason’s varsity theater team will begin preparations for the annual state theater competition. “Though I cannot say what the show will be as we usually do a devised show with the students,” said theater director Shawn Northrip. He said normally his entire International Baccalaureate theater class participates but this year with two classes, he would have to explore options to choose which show advanced to the state competition. Details for the state competition were not yet available at time of press. VOLLEYBALL Mason’s girls volleyball team returns from a tough 9-10 overall record last season with a positive spirit and focused on winning this year.
“The girls have been hard at work this year, while definitely having their fun,” said head coach Hillary Trebels. “They match their t-shirts at every practice to show team unity.” Two of the team’s strong leaders graduated last year, but eight players are returning along with the addition of six underclassmen. While Trebels said the coaching staff wants the girls to be in the mindset that every game is important, the team is excited to make its first tournament appearance in recent years with Raider Rumble on Sat. Sept. 26. The Mustangs kicked off the season on Tues. Sept. 1 at Riverside High School. GOLF The golf team is well into its season, with over half of its matches already in the books. They started off their season with a 12th place finish in the Patriot Invitational at Bristow Manor Golf Course in early August. Sophomore George Gilligan shot the lowest out of all of the Mustangs with an 83 in that tournament. Less than a week later, the Mustangs finished fourth at in
a match against Central, Clarke County, Madison County, Strasburg, William Monroe and Warren County High Schools in the Bull Run District Mini Tournament. Senior Daniel Schlitt shot the lowest round with a 86 in that tournament. The Mustangs lost their first head-to-head match of the season two days later to Clarke County by a score of 167-178. Schlitt and John Goggin both shot 44 in that match. Then the Mustangs got their first win of the season against Warren County on Aug. 20. They beat the Wildcats 142-164 and senior Devin Thomas shot the lowest score for the Mustangs with a 33. The Mustangs lost their most recent match of the season to Madison County. The Mountaineers beat the Mustangs 176-186. Gilligan and Schlitt shot the lowest rounds for the Mustangs in that match with scores of 43. The Mustangs take on another district foe, Strasburg High School, today at Pendercreek Golf Course. The cheer programs declined to participate in the News-Press’ fall sports preview. Drew Costley contributed to this report.
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NEWS BRIEFS S. West Street Work to Begin Sept. 8 Two lanes of traffic will be maintained at all times as work on the S. West Street roadbed reconstruction is due to commence next Tuesday, Sept. 8, and continue for two to three weeks, the City of F.C. has announced. Parking will be temporarily restricted on both sides of the road between Abbott Lane and Poplar Drive. Driveway access will be maintained outside of work hours, which are currently scheduled from 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. According to a City press release, “Roadbed reconstruction will yield a greater return on investment for taxpayers than traditional paving. The contracted construction company will use a method called ‘full-depth reclamation,’ which will help deliver the project in an efficient manner and provide access to driveways more consistently.”
Herring Announces Bid for Re-Election Ending speculation that he may seek to run for governor of Virginia in 2017, Virginia’s Democratic attorney general Mark Herring announced yesterday that he will seek re-election to his current post. This means that Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam will probably be the Democratic front runner seeking the governor’s job in the 2017 election. Herring won in 2013 by less than 200 votes statewide and, among other things, played a major role in the legal process that led to the U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming marriage equality for all citizens, including lesbians and gays. In response to Herring’s announcement that he is seeking re-election, Democratic Party of Virginia Chairwoman Susan Swecker said, “I am so proud that Mark Herring is ready to build upon the progress he’s made as Attorney General and is seeking the office for a second term. There’s so much at stake in the next election; after all, Virginians haven’t forgotten the disastrous results of an Attorney General’s office controlled by Republicans for two decades. It wasn’t so long ago that Ken Cuccinelli brought his right-wing ideology to the job by bullying the state Board of Health, harassing a scientist at the University of Virginia and leading a failed lawsuit against the Afforadable Care Act. Mark has shown a completely different approach, one that prioritizes the law and the people of Virginia.”
Matt Smith & Classic Boats on CBS Sunday Morning Falls Church’s own Matt Smith, CEO of SmithGifford on W. Jefferson St., had pearls of wisdom to share on CBS Sunday morning last week concerning his latest love, the revival of interest in old fashioned wooden pleasure boats. He was interviewed equating the pre-fiberglass boats to “grand pianos on the water,” saying, “When you are out on one of these boats, you’re in the time that that boat existed. You are inheriting at that moment all the history that that boat lived. It lives in the wood. It comes out. You feel it.” That’s the spirit that inspired Smith’s design of the logos for the Falls Church City Schools, the F.C. Chamber of Commerce and the slogan, The Little City, for Falls Church, itself.
Park Master Plan Input Sought The Falls Church Recreation and Parks Advisory Board seeks input on the Master Park Plan for the Howard E. Herman Stream Valley Park (601 W. Broad St. or 434 Sherrow Ave.). Community members are invited to the next Board meeting to learn more and share ideas on Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Senior Center of the Community Center, 223 Little Falls St. The 4.2 acre park was closed until recently due to the Coe Branch Stream Restoration project, which created an improved stream channel, water drainage, and water quality. “Now is the perfect time to consider the next phase of improvements on the park,” Danny Schlitt, Director of Recreation and Parks, said in a statement issued by the City. “We’re looking forward to the community’s thoughts on how they want to use it and what the City can do to make it a beloved community park.” The 2006 Master Park Plan calls for adding educational signage, rain gardens, benches, and landscape beds near the entrances.
Volunteers for 2 September Events Sought The City of Falls Church Public Works Department issued a statement seeking volunteers for two events on Saturday, Sept. 12: the Recycling Extravaganza and the Habitat Restoration. The Recycling Extravaganza is from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Falls Church Recycling Center and Property Yard, 217 Gordon Road. Volunteers are needed to help sort and bag clothing and textiles, inventory bicycles, direct traffic, and break down cardboard. The Habitat Restoration is from 10 a.m. – noon at Cherry Hill Park, 312 Park Avenue. Volunteers are needed to help restore the local ecosystem in Cherry Hill Park by removing invasive plants. They will plant flowers that will benefit the local birds and butterflies.
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Community News & Notes F.C. Resident Receives Award From Alma Mater William Roberts III of Falls Church will receive the Distinguished Alumnus Award from his alma mater, Black Hills State University, the school announced last week. The awards ceremony will take place during a homecoming luncheon on Friday, Oct. 9. Roberts graduated from Black Hills State University with a Bachelor of Science degree, then graduated from Iowa State University School of Law as a juris doctor with honors. He made his way to the D.C. Metro area with his attendance at George Washington University’s School of Law, where he graduated with honors with a Master of Law degree. Following his work in the general council of the U.S. Navy, he was chief counsel for Wang
Inventories Inc., in the Federal Services Division. For the past 15 years he has been a co-chair and senior partner of Government Contracts Practice Group at Wiley Rein, LLP in Washington, D.C.
Fairfax Teen to Compete U.S. Open Tennis Championships Natasha Subhash, a freshman at Falls Church High School, will be the youngest IndianAmerican girl to compete in the U.S. Open Championships this week in Flushing Meadows, NY. She recently achieved the wildcard to compete in a qualifying match at the tournament. Subhash, according to the Tennis Recruitment Network, is ranked first in Virginia and the Middle Atlantic, as well as fifth in the nation, with an overall record of 74-19. She is ranked first in 14 and under, as well as 16 and under,
according to her interview with American Bazaar. Subhash must win her qualifying matches to play in the 1st round of the Women’s tournament, which began Aug. 31.
One More Page Books Announces September Events One More Page Books of Arlington will be hosting a collection of authors throughout the month of September. Events include wine tasting, author talks and book signings, among other events. On Wednesday, Sept. 9th at 7 p.m., Avraham Azrieli will discuss and sign his latest novel, The Bootstrap Ultimatum, about an investigative reporter who researches an Air Force veteran determined to punish America for lessening the meaning Memorial Day. On Friday, Sept. 11, at 6:30 p.m., the store will host a wine
THE AUGUST 20 FALLS CHURCH ROTARY meeting speaker, Daniel Ally, is shown next to his wife Shivanee on the left and the Rotary Club’s newest member, Rene Calandria second from right with the club vice president, Erica Brouillette, on the right. Daniel, whose talk was entitled “Only Do Big Things,” is a personal development coach, motivational speaker and author of You Are the Boss! and The Winner’s Lifestyle. (Photo: Courtesy of John C. Lu)
tasting to celebrate the fall season. On Thursday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m., sports author Adam Lazarus will discuss Hail to the Redskins: Gibbs, the Diesel, the Hogs, and the Glory Days of D.C.’s Football Dynasty with a panel which will include former players and staff interviewed in the book. One More Page Books is located at 2200 N. Westmoreland St., Arlington. For more information, contact 703-300-9746 or visit onemorepagebooks.com.
F.C. Boy Scouts Trek Through New Mexico Wilderness Boy Scouts from Troop 814 and their leaders recently completed a trek through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, NM. Philmont covers 214 square miles of vast wilderness with trails that climb from 6,500 feet to as high as 12,441 feet. During their
trek the scouts hiked over 40 miles in 7 days. The group of Scouts and their advisors carried everything they needed to survive during the trek on their backs while hiking from camp to camp. They participated in backcountry programs along the way including black-powder rifle shooting and blacksmithing. The trek included a conservation project where the Scouts learned and participated in the upkeep of Philmont’s ecosystem. Along the trek, Scouts endured tough challenges including backpacking in bear and mountain lion territory, steep climbs and often-inclement weather. The crew made what amounts to a Scouting pilgrimage with their trip to Philmont. Philmont Scout Ranch is the Boy Scouts of America’s premier high adventure camp and the largest youth camp in the world serving nearly one million participants since 1938.
FALLS CHURCH BOY SCOUTS (l to r) Timothy Gilmour, Walter Zampella, Christian Ross, Michael Ross, Matthew Zampella, Daniel Ross, Marcus Roussey, Joshua Mitchell, Christian Autor, Peter Parker, Thomas Unger and Andrew Mitchell, from Troop 814, recently completed a trek through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, NM. The scouts hiked over 40 miles throughout their seven-day trek. (Courtesy Photo)
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Laveen Naidu is BalletNova’s New Artistic Director
Laveen Naidu began his tenure as new artistic director of BalletNova this week. Naidu succeeds Nancie Woods, who has been the director of the Margaret de Barbieri Conservatory of the Sarasota Ballet since June. A native of South Africa, Naidu entered the University of Cape Town Ballet School on scholarship and received a degree in ballet performance and pedagogy. Following his degree, Naidu earned a scholarship from the Dance Theater of Harlem in 1992 and began his career touring internationally. He became the executive director of the Dance Theater of Harlem in 2004 and enlarged the professional company by 20 percent, forming partnerships across the country with arts centers such as the Kennedy Center. He is credited as being part of the leadership team that turned the Dance Theater of Harlem around, reviving the professional Company after financial crises forced their hiatus for nine years. Naidu has completed professional leadership programs at both Columbia University School of Business and Harvard Business School. For more information, visit BalletNova.org.
Falls Church Arts Seeks Submissions for Still Life Show Falls Church Arts announced its first show of the fall season on Monday, Aug. 31. The show is called “Still Life” and it opens on Thursday, Sept. 17, with a meet the artist reception at ArtSpace Falls Church at 410 S. Maple Street. The juried show is open to all media and all artists.
The entry form is available at FallsChurchArts.org/art-showentry-form. Photos and artist statement and bios are to be emailed separately to info@ FallsChurchArts.org. The deadline for submissions is Monday, Sept. 14, at 11 p.m. Also, the catalog for Falls Church Arts’ 2015-2016 art classes is available. Six new artist/ instructors will be teaching classes this season. Of the new artist/instructors, two will be starting with September classes: Jill Saxton-Smith will be teaching Paper & Ink: Introduction to Printmaking at 7 p.m. on Tuesday evenings beginning Sept. 15; Kate Fleming will be teaching Oil Painting for Beginners on Mondays 1 – 4 p.m. beginning Sept. 28; and veteran Bobbi Pratte will be teaching iPad Art-on-the-Go on Saturday September 26 at 1 pm. All of these classes will be held at the Falls Church Community Center at 223 Little Falls Street. For more information or to register for classes, visit FallsChurchArts. org.
Bob Simpson Wins Lizzie Borden Axe Throwing Contest Falls Church’s American Legion Post 130 held its second Lizzie Borden Axe Throwing Tournament of the year on Saturday, Aug. 29, at the Post’s clubhouse at 400 N. Oak Street. The commander of Post 130 Bob Simpson won first place in the event and was awarded a gold medallion and the battleaxe award. Rick Franklin of Falls Church came in second place and was awarded the silver medallion and Randy Krape, from American
LO CA L Legion Post 180 in Vienna, came in third place and was awarded the bronze medallion. Leslie Dobson, the Fish Lady, was on hand again to sell participants and guests grilled food, snacks and sodas. American Legion Post 130 hosted another axe throwing tournament on Aug. 1, which was won by Charles Mooney of Springfield. For more information, visit post130.org.
McLean Project for the Arts Presents 3 New Exhibits The McLean Project for the Arts presents three new contemporary art exhibits opening Sept.10. All created by local artists and curated by Nancy Sausser, these new approaches to art will stun gallery visitors. The Emerson Gallery will feature An Art for the Future by Robin Rose, an exhibition of paintings as well as interactive “sound drawings” that amplify the sound of pen on paper. Demonstrations are scheduled for Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. and Oct. 15 at noon. In the Atrium Gallery artist John M. Adams has created a series of figures and drawings that play along the walls of the exhibit, capturing those inside it. Paintings by Barbara Januszkiewicz will be on display in the Ramp Gallery. Her vibrant colors reflect American Blues melodies, and soundtrack will be accompanying the exhibit. Exhibition Dates are Sept. 10 – Oct. 24, with an opening reception the night of Sept. 10 from 7 – 9 p.m., free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Monday – Saturday from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. with free admission. For more information, visit mpaart.org or call 703-790-1953.
THE SHUTTERED BURGER KING at 700 W. Broad Street was reduced to rubble after being torn down on Monday morning. The burger joint had been a �ixture of the community since the early 1970s before closing in July. It will be replaced by a Kensington Senior Living building with retail on the ground �loor. (P����: N���-P����)
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The Great Defender
Hillary Clinton has obviously had a bad summer. She’s losing in New Hampshire to Bernie Sanders, even among women. She’s barely leading him in Iowa. In a Quinnipiac poll of potential general election matchups, she’s beating Donald Trump by only four points, 45 to 41, and she’s beating Marco Rubio by only one point. The conventional Democratic muck-a-muck view is that she horribly mishandled the private email server issue. That’s part of it, but the polling shows a much more pervasive personal set of weaknesses. In an AP/GfK poll, only 40 percent of Americans think she is compassionate. Only 30 percent say she is honest. In a variety of polls, many voters say she just doesn’t get people like them, usually the key Democratic strength. Not all of these troubles are her fault. NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE It’s tough to run as a member of the establishment in this time of popular disgust with establishments (ask Jeb Bush). But Clinton’s campaign nonetheless has a distinct aura. Maybe next to Michael Dukakis’, it is the least romantic, poetic and uplifting Democratic campaign in decades . All descriptions of her campaigns have to start with the fact that for most of Clinton’s political career she has been playing defense. Sometimes she’s had to defend herself from critical barrages amid scandal: Whitewater and the Rose Law Firm records straight through to Benghazi and the email server. Other times she’s had to endure emotional and media exposures sparked by her husband’s escapades. Even when she ran for president in 2008, she was on the defense against the Obama tide. She campaigned best when the Obama tide was strongest and she was forced to struggle against it. This pattern of playing on the defensive side of the ball has given her real strengths – she has endured and persevered and rarely bent. But this defensive posture has given her, at least in public, an embattled combative posture, and sometimes an air of reactiveness. In her campaign speeches she describes a political, economic and global world that is red in tooth and claw. The main traits required to survive in this struggle against the contemptible foes are tenacity, toughness and calculation. There is a pervasive us/them assumption in her speeches, and the need for armoring up. The defining verb in her political campaign is “fight.” In speeches she is at her best when describing people who have been pushed to the wall by circumstances – the single mom who is trying to find a way to pay for day care, the college student deluged with rising tuition costs. She can be quite funny in her speeches, but her humor is the humor of the counterattack – mostly sarcastic humor aimed at Republicans, the press and her critics. The ironic fact is that she now bears the subliminal weight of scandals more heavily than Bill. That’s in part because he at least gives the appearance of putting any resentments he might have about them in the past. He seems emotionally loose, open and trusting. She often does not give that impression. Even the campaign posture bears signs of this defensive mindset. The walls around her inner circle are high. Gov. Martin O’Malley is certainly right when he says it is shocking that the Democratic primary process will feature a mere four debates before the first four states complete voting – a wall of protectiveness to seal off the front-runner. This linebacker mentality means she is strong when she talks about defending, say, Social Security, and she has no illusions in foreign affairs. But there is little of the high-minded earnestness of the Adlai Stevenson campaigns, the futuristic aspiration of the John Kennedy campaign, the grand ambition of the Lyndon Johnson campaign, the new generation emotionality of Bill Clinton’s campaign or the uplifting hopefulness of the Barack Obama campaign. We live in anxious times. You can respond to those times with a more radical political program, as Bernie Sanders is doing. You can answer with an anti-establishment burn-down-the-house campaign, as Donald Trump is doing. Or you can create a resurrection story, a creative narrative that builds a working majority on new grounds. When Clinton was secretary of state it wasn’t clear whether she could go on offense and define a creative initiative in an open field. She hasn’t done that yet in this campaign, either. She hasn’t given voters a sense of an epic quest, an exodus to some promised land. She’s still the prohibitive favorite to get the nomination, but we have yet to see if she can play offense. Campaigns do have to have some creative romance to them, an uplifting mood if not a new agenda. So far Clinton has not creatively defined a new field in front of the country. Instead, she’s left a void others are filling.
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
David Brooks
Crash-Test Dummies Will China’s stock crash trigger another global financial crisis? Probably not. Still, the big market swings of the past week have been a reminder that the next president may well have to deal with some of the same problems that faced George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Financial instability abides. So this is a test: How would the men and women who would be president respond if crisis struck on their watch? And the answer, on the Republican side at least, seems to be: with bluster and China-bashing. Nowhere is there a hint that any of the GOP candidates understand the problem or the steps that might be needed if the world economy hits another pothole. NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE Take, for example, Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin. Walker was supposed to be a formidable contender, part of his party’s “deep bench” of current or former governors who know how to get things done. So what was his suggestion to Obama? Why, cancel the planned visit to America by Xi Jinping, China’s leader. That would fix things! Then there’s Donald Trump, who likes to take an occasional break from his anti-immigrant diatribes to complain that China is taking advantage of America’s weak leadership. You might think that a swooning Chinese economy would fit awkwardly into that worldview. But no, he simply declared that U.S. markets seem troubled because Obama has let China “dictate the agenda.” What does that mean? I haven’t a clue – but neither does he. By the way, five years ago there were real reasons to complain about China’s undervalued currency. But Chinese inflation and the rise of new competitors have largely eliminated that problem. Back to the deep bench: Chris Christie, another governor who not long ago was touted as the next big thing, was more comprehensible. According to Christie, the reason U.S. markets were roiled by events in China was U.S. budget deficits, which he claims have put us in debt to the Chinese and hence made us vulnerable to their troubles. That almost rises to the level of a coherent economic story. Did the U.S. market plunge because Chinese investors were cutting off credit? Well, no. If our debt to China were the problem, we would have seen U.S. interest rates spiking as China crashed. Instead, interest rates fell.
Paul Krugman
But there’s a slight excuse for Christie’s embrace of this particular fantasy: Scare stories involving Chinese ownership of U.S. debt have been a Republican staple for years. They were, in particular, a favorite of Mitt Romney’s campaign in 2012. And you can see why. “Obama is endangering America by borrowing from China” is a perfect political line, playing into deficit fetishism, xenophobia and the perennial claim that Democrats don’t stand up for America! America! America! It’s also complete nonsense, but that doesn’t seem to matter. In fact, talking nonsense about economic crises is essentially a job requirement for anyone hoping to get the Republican presidential nomination. To understand why, you need to go back to the politics of 2009, when the new Obama administration was trying to cope with the most terrifying crisis since the 1930s. The outgoing Bush administration had already engineered a bank bailout, but the Obama team reinforced this effort with a temporary program of deficit spending, while the Federal Reserve sought to bolster the economy by buying lots of assets. And Republicans, across the board, predicted disaster. Deficit spending, they insisted, would cause soaring interest rates and bankruptcy; the Fed’s efforts would “debase the dollar” and produce runaway inflation. None of it happened. Interest rates stayed very low, as did inflation. But the GOP never acknowledged, after six full years of being wrong about everything, that the bad things it predicted failed to take place, or showed any willingness to rethink the doctrines that led to those bad predictions. Instead, the party’s leading figures kept talking, year after year, as if the disasters they had predicted were actually happening. Now we’ve had a reminder that something like that last crisis could happen again – which means that we might need a repeat of the policies that helped limit the damage last time. But no Republican dares suggest such a thing. Instead, even the supposedly sensible candidates call for destructive policies. Thus John Kasich is being portrayed as a different kind of Republican because as governor he approved Medicaid expansion in Ohio, but his signature initiative is a call for a balanced-budget amendment, which would cripple policy in a crisis. The point is that one side of the political aisle has been utterly determined to learn nothing from the economic experiences of recent years. If one of these candidates ends up in the hot seat the next time crisis strikes, we should be very, very afraid.
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
FALL 2015 | PAGE RE-1
RealFallEstate 2015
Local Architects & New Home Builders Talk Future Proofing by Drew Costley
Falls Church News-Press
Mark Coupard, architect and founder of the Falls Church-based Coupard Architects & Builders, said, with a chuckle, that he spent a couple hours in front of the TV watching “The Jetsons” when he was a kid. But he says, despite not being able to predict what’s coming in the future, his clients don’t have Jetson-like expectations for their home when it comes to future proofing. “Rather than the Jetson-like pieces on site, you know where a conveyer belt comes and a chair picks you up and ferries you
around, what clients are aware of and they’re expecting is more of the ability to control things from afar,” Coupard said. “And then putting systems in [homes] that control themselves, you know, [like being able to] program your thermostat to work efficiently while you’re away from the house. “So, it’s not automated physically, but it’s more of a control thing. That’s what’s available now. That’s what I think will become even more available...the ability to run your house and monitor your house and control your house from afar.” Future proofing, when it comes to real estate, is the designing and building of structures while antici-
pating the future and attempting to minimize the shocks and stresses of future events. And the concept has become considered increasingly by homeowners, home builders and architects over the last decade as technology has allowed for homes to become more energy-efficient, convenient and secure. In fact, Coupard Architects & Builders is currently renovating a house on the corner of Park Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue in Falls Church that will serve as a demonstration house for Alarm. com, a security and home automation company based in Vienna.
Continued on Page RE-3
THIS LAKE BARCROFT HOME, designed by Falls Church’s Moore Architects, is wired for home automation. Controlled with super thermostats, it also has an automatic shading system, which the owner can control from their iPhone. (Photo: Courtesy of Anice Hoachlander Photography)
MORE INSIDE: Former VP’s McLean Home at Auction page RE-2 | Home Improvement ROI page RE-4 | Top F.C. Home Sales page RE-7
Questions about local real estate? Ask the Market Leader and Top Producer,
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Bethany Ellis
Realtor ®, e-Pro, SRES Long and Foster Real Estate #1 Agent in Sales in Falls Church Office. preferred (703) 307-7003 bethany.ellis@longandfoster.com www.buyandsellwithbethany.com
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PAGE RE-2 | FALL 2015
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Former VP Dan Quayle’s McLean Estate Up for Auction BY KATE KARSTENS
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
On Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 6 p.m., the estate of the former Vice President, Dan Quayle, will be the item for purchase at an on-site auction. The 4,500 sq. ft. home sits on 1.84 acres of land on a corner lot, surrounded by the wooded hills of McLean and numerous estates. The five-bedroom brick home at 1013 Union Church Road played host to the Quayles for 17 years, serving as a retreat house during the presidency of George H.W. Bush. The house was placed on the market over three weeks ago with a list price of $1,595,000. With no offers, the Quayles looked towards auctioneer Anne Nouri of Prime Auction Solutions to sell the house so the family could move on to their new residence in Phoenix, Arizona. “In order to attract a large group of buyers, the starting bid will be $850,000,” said Nouri. “This will encourage any possible buyers to stop shuffling their feet and make a decision upfront.” Spectators are welcome to attend the auction, however interested buyers must register with Prime Auction Solutions and
bring funds for 10 percent of the purchase price. A guaranteed deposit must also be made in the form of a Bank Cashier’s Check for $35,000. Those interested may attend the last open house on Saturday, September 12, from 1 – 3 p.m. The first, however, on Aug. 28, saw few visitors. “So far, we’ve had a couple people in,” said Nouri during the first open house. “We do expect a large group of buyers for the auction, though. A couple homes in the area have recently been sold for around two or three million.” The price of the home is credited to not only a celebrity owner, but the addition Dan Quayle made to the side of the house. A great room, 27 by 30, with two sides covered in glass windows, one overlooking the pool in the backyard and one with a street view. The yard of the house is extensive, with a pool in the backyard, as well as a space for a sport court to be added. The front yard is host to a winding driveway leading to the side of the house and a manicured lawn. Location of the Quayle estate is convenient as well, only 15 minutes to Tysons Corner and Wolf Trap is under three miles
THE FORMER VICE PRESIDENT DAN QUAYLE’S McLean home, which goes up for auction on Sept. 16, features a wood stove in the living room. (P����: K��� K�������/N���-P����) away The buyers will have access to McLean schools and reside 30 minutes from the Capitol. “When the Vice President would come for the weekend, the Secret Service would guard just over there,” said Nouri, pointing over the large hill that the house rests on to the street.
The house was built in 1977, and Quayle bought it just following his election as the Vice President for H.W. Bush. He added many amenities: the pool, great room, and a wood stove to add to multiple fireplaces scattered in the home. These additions have led to great expectations for the auction attendance.
The heated political season is opportune for the auction, which is open to both buyers and spectators. “Any property that has celebrity status plays into the selling of the house,” said Nouri. “Especially during the primaries, there is even more interest and we’re expecting a great turnout.”
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
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SEPTEMBER 3 - 9, 2015 | PAGE RE-3
Future Proofing One of the Latest Trends in Home Building Continued from Page RE-1
“I’ve learned a lot by working with them,” Coupard said. “Basically, everything is moving towards being connected in the house. We can’t know completely all of the products that are going to be available to us, but we know that we’re moving towards being able to control the systems that are in there to make them more efficient. “For instance, if you want to have your heat run low during the day and then you realize that you’re going to go home, you can switch the heat on from your cell phone.” While no one will live in the house that Coupard’s firm is renovating for Alarm.com, the house will showcase the company’s services, such as interactive security, video monitoring, access, energy management, home automation and wellness. Coupard said the project should be done by the end of 2015. “It’s to inform the general public about their services, but also to show potential clients their technology,” Coupard said. “And they’re going to use it as a lab of sorts and film demonstrations there. It’s going to look and feel like a house, but it’s still going to be a commercial property.” Charles Moore, founder of another Falls Church-based architecture firm, Moore Architects, said that pretty much every house that his firm works on has some level of smart technology. “It depends on the house. We do a lot of renovation work, full house renovations, but we also do new houses as well,” Moore said. “So...the size of a project and the complexity and the value of the project kind of determines how far folks go into the weeds for future technology.” He said that clients of his who are building new houses definitely have an interest in future proofing their homes, which encompasses more than just wiring homes for automation. “Smart technology, I would suggest, covers a lot more than just putting a Cat6 wire in the house,” Moore said. “It includes all of the LEED Standard issues as well, including insulation and non-off-gassing materials. It’s not just making it so that you can monitor the thermostat from China, which most of our houses do.” Moore said that Moore Architects has several different levels of “coverage” when it comes to designing, renovating and building homes for the use of smart technology and cost is a
determining factor in what clients decide to put in their homes. “Doing a boatload of smart house technologies costs more money,” Moore said. “And while everybody wants the technology of a smart house...a lot of people, I would suggest, can’t afford that.” He offered thermostats for an example. The Nest Learning Thermostat, which learns the temperatures the homeowner prefers and controls the climate of a room based on those preferences and the weather outdoors, costs between $200 – $300, while a Honeywell programmable thermostat costs much less than that. “The Nest is smarter in the sense that you can control it from your iPhone; the less expensive thermostat may be something that you can control by programming it, but not necessarily from your iPhone,” Moore said. Some of the future proofing projects that Moore Architects do for clients include wiring the house for thermostat, lighting, window shading, security and media control systems, geothermal heating and cooling systems and hot water radiant floor heating systems. Unfortunately, Moore said, a lot of these projects have higher upfront cost, although they save homeowners money in the long run. “All of them are great ideas,” Moore said. “But they also have to be balanced with the cost of construction. So there are lot of new houses in the market right now, even looking at the City of Falls Church, which don’t really employ any of those things or employ few of those things.” One of the houses that Moore Architects designed that has several smart technology features is in the Lake Barcroft neighborhood of Fairfax County. “We did that house about five years ago, so even in five years, the level of smart house technology has changed,” Moore said. “But that house is totally wired for with Cat6 wiring, it’s controlled with super thermostats, it has an automatic shading system that allows the owner to open and close blinds with their iPhone whether they’re there or not. “The owners are a couple who spend a lot of time travelling, so they want the house to look totally lived in and active even when they’re on the West Coast.” One innovation that is only starting to be introduced to the market and has gotten architects and home builders excited is the Tesla Powerwall, which was announced a product launch in late April 2015. It’s a lithium-
COUPARD ARCHITECTS & BUILDERS, a firm based in Falls Church City, is renovating this house on the corner of Park Avenue and Pennsylvania house so that it can serve as a demonstration house for Alarm.com, a Vienna-based company that specializes in installing security and home automation systems. According to Mark Coupard, founder of the company, the project will be done by the end of 2015. (Photo: Drew Costley/News-Press) ion battery manufactured by Tesla Motors and it stores electricity for home use, load shifting and backup power. “All of the new houses and major houses we do have generator backups, so...we have a lot of discussions about the new Tesla battery,” Moore said. “We can’t wait to try it out….We think that could be a big game changer to giving homeowners the ability to have backup power.” He said that currently most of his clients use natural gas and generator backups for energy, so to be able to disconnect from that would be great. “So we’re watching [the Powerwall],” Moore said. “It’s a great potential technology.” Coupard said that the Tesla Powerwall, in combination with homeowners that generate energy through solar collecting, will make a lot of the other future proofing features affordable for mass markets. At least one of the solar collectors who Coupard Architects and Builders has worked with sells power back to the power company. “I think it’s really promising and we knew that it was coming,” Coupard said. “We didn’t know that Tesla was going to do it, but people are working to make the [solar] collection and the battery systems work better and the better they work the more they’ll be useful and more people will be able to afford them.”
Another aspect of future proofing homes is designing and building homes so that families and couples young and old can age in place. Coupard said he sees accessibility as part of the concept of future proofing homes. “A lot of people at least consider that when they’re building a home. It’s pretty straight forward. You want to make the space big enough if they use a walker or a wheelchair and you make doors wide enough,” Coupard said. “That’s pretty easy to do on the front end. It’s a lot harder to retrofit a house to make that work. Sometimes you might have to arrange a whole floor so a resident can live their whole life there if they need to. “Sometimes you suggest that to people and sometimes that’s what people are coming to you for. They don’t see themselves moving and they want to be independent as long as they can and because of that they want to make that house work, even if that’s not what they need at the moment.” Single-family home builders and architects aren’t the only ones future proofing the structures that they build. The Alexandria-based Cooper Carry works on commercial and multi-family structures and also considers future proofing when designing new structures and retrofitting older ones. “There’s at least four of five things that we look at when working from a ground-up per-
spective,” said David Kitchens, principal architect of the MixedUse Specialty Practice Group at Cooper Carry. “And with all the smart technology out there, from a multi-family perspective, almost everything can be performed from your iPhone or from an app or something like that. “So we see a lot of our developer clients making their facilities smarter related to security, lighting, HVAC operation and that could go to everything from parking your car to getting in the front door to getting into your apartment….It’s all becoming more digital from that standpoint and therefore there’s a lot of considerations going on in relationship to wiring technology, wireless technology and also making [buildings] energy-efficient and eco-friendly.” He said that the other consideration when it comes to future proofing structures is water management. “We’ve been using the low flow toilets in our buildings for several years, but now we’re getting into tankless water heaters, the ventless dryers and those kinds of things,” Kitchens said. “Because those kinds of things not only are more energy-efficient, they also save space. If we can design an apartment that doesn’t have to have as much room for a water heater and a washer and dryer, we really save a lot of square footage and kind of throw it into the living areas.”
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PAGE RE-4 | FALL 2015
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Steel Front Doors Offer Best Home Improvement ROI BY PATRICIA LESLIE
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
DENNY + GARDNER, a home improvement company based in Sterling, remodeled the kitchen in the photo above. According to the Cost vs. Value Report, 80 percent of the cost of the average major kitchen remodel job in this region brings is recouped by homeowners. (P����: C������� �� D���� + G������)
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Ask a Falls Church Realtor, builder, or contractor about the best things homeowners can do to get higher prices for their homes, and nine of ten will say “kitchen and bath.” In the Washington region, an average “minor” kitchen remodeling costs about $20,000 and will bring about 82 cents in resale value for every dollar spent, while a bathroom remodel is $17,500 and returns about three quarters for every dollar. These average costs and projects are listed in this year’s Remodeling publication’s Cost v. Value Report found at remodeling. hw.net/cost-vs-value/2015. The best return or the biggest “bang for your buck” is a new steel front door. Average Washington cost: $1,241. How does a return of $1.13 sound for every dollar invested in a new door? Jim Lynch of Foxcraft Design Group says a new front door has “curb appeal,” and if the old door “is hard to open or is leaky,” it
makes sense to replace it. He and Merelyn Kaye of McEnearney Associates have other, cheaper ideas for home sellers: declutter and clean, clean, clean. For the yard “the best things you can do, trim the bushes, mulch, and make sure nothing is peeling,” Lynch said. Bethany Ellis of Long & Foster Real Estate said about $2,000 is enough to update a kitchen “as long as the cabinets are okay.” She said granite or stone counter tops, stainless steel appliances, paint, and new floors can make a huge difference in a sales price. Jason Denny with Denny + Gardner who was at 2119 Westmoreland directing a remodeling job, agreed. “A new state-of-the-art kitchen, bathroom, new wooden floors sell it quick,” Gardner said. The owner of the Westmoreland house chose new cement siding for her house which the reports considers an “upscale” improvement (average area cost, $14,300, with an 84 percent return), but “in this neighborhood” in Falls Church, it makes sense, Denny said, and
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
he pointed to a neighbor’s house with less expensive vinyl siding ($12,500 cost and a 79 percent return). Remodeling for a home office (almost $30,000 in the region with a 55 percent return) may not make financial sense to sell a home, but “if a house has an office, it’s a good thing,” Ellis said. Especially in this area where a huge number work from home, “an office is a benefit.” Kaye agreed: “People do like offices,” but if’s it’s a remake from a bedroom, turn it (and all rooms) back to their original uses to sell the house. “Is it my home or my bank account?” is a question Lynch said sellers need to ask themselves. “Am I selling my house next week or next month?” Do I want to live in it or sell it? The answers make a difference. Organizing does, too. “Re-do the closets so you can find your shoes,” to avoid buying new ones which you can’t find in your own house, Lynch said. Do not neglect the little projects, the ones many avoid since they are not that hard, but “one little thing becomes three big things,” Lynch said. Ellis said an area trend is to bypass “fixer-uppers” because
FOR SALE!
R EA L E STATE
buyers are so busy and don’t have the time to do it themselves. “It’s better to invest in the house rather than reduce the price,” she said, “Things that can done so that the buyer doesn’t have to do anything” accelerates sales, and $10,000 invested is a good sum “to get it ready.” Kaye said professional home staging is absolutely critical to selling a house. “Anyone who doesn’t have a home stager is making a serious, serious mistake. An interior
decorator is different from a home stager” since stagers “know what appeals to the public.” Money for a wooden deck ($10,000 and 96 percent return) “would be money well spent,” Kaye said. She has sold plenty of homes without a deck, but most houses “need one or a patio.” It’s rare for someone to demand a screened-in porch. Forget about sunrooms to sell (60 percent regional return), and backup generators dropped 15 points nationally in one year to second to
ACCORDING TO THE COST VS. VALUE REPORT, deck additions, like the one done by Denny + Gardner (above), have somewhere between a 95 – 79 percent return on investment. (Photo: Courtesy of Denny + Gardner) FOR SALE!
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erator was important” in buying a home, and over the 45 years she has spent in real estate, Kaye has “not had anyone ever ask me about one, but we are thinking about it” for her own home.
JASON DENNY OF DENNY + GARDNER, the company remodeling this house at 2119 Westmoreland St., says the home’s owner is investing in a new front door and siding, among many upgrades to her house. (Photo: Patricia Leslie/News-Press)
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last on the ROI list, after weatherrelated issues (Hurricane Sandy) boosted them in previous years. Ike Jariri of All Remodeling and Construction said he has “never heard anyone say a gen-
FALL 2015 | PAGE RE-5
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PAGE RE-6 | FALL 2015
R EA L E STATE A Falls Church News-Press Advertorial
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Meet Falls Church’s Real Estate Experts B����� D����� B����
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Proudly, Bowers Design Build, Inc. is a family-owned and operated business. Bowers was formed in 1990 by Bruce Bowers. Since that time, the firm has completed hundreds of residential projects in the McLean, North Arlington, Oakton, Vienna, Falls Church, Fairfax and Great Falls areas. Bowers is one of Northern Virginia’s most respected, design/build firms, inside and outside the industry. Lots of firms say they offer full-service. But when we say full-service, we mean: • Architectural design services at competitive prices with a proven track record of functional, beautiful and uniquely custom designs. • Interior design services. With hundreds of product choices, we offer interior design services to help you make the best overall selections of plumbing and lighting fixtures, tile, cabinetry, flooring, and more. We guide you to the best products within your budget range. • Detailed budgets (no surprises) and dedicated timelines. We do absolutely deliver on-time and on-budget. • On-site project management, 24/7. Your dedicated construction project manager is on your project every day of the job. He manages your job and only your job and handles the management of every tradesman on the project. • Safe and clean job site. Your safety and comfort are priorities. • Highest quality craftsmanship by courteous professionals. • Full warranty on all work performed in addition to the installed product warranties. Together, our architects, designers, carpenters, suppliers, subcontractors, and the entire Bowers staff share a pride of workmanship and respect for the homeowner that is second to none. Whether you want a new home, whole house remodel, major addition, a new master suite, or rejuvenated kitchen, Bowers has the time tested processes and relationships it takes to make your experience the best in the business.
From Concert Halls to City Hall and through the Halls of Your New Home, Tori McKinney moves with purpose, energy, and positivity: “When you put your heart and soul into everything you do, you get more out of life!” Tori moved to Falls Church City in 1998 and, initially, owned a concert promotion firm where she worked with New Orleans bands to produce shows throughout the East Coast. In 2005, Tori transitioned into real estate, but she brought the ROCK’N ROLL with her as she promises “ROCK STAR Service” to all of her clients. As a resident of the Little City for nearly two decades, Tori believes a sense of community requires active participation and she leads by example. Tori actively supports: Falls Church Chamber of Commerce, Creative Cauldron/Falls Church Arts, Falls Church Education Foundation, FIRSTFriday/Art-a-Lot, Tinner Hill Blues Festival, and Taste of Falls Church. She also is Vice Chair of the Housing Commission, Chairperson for the Business in Education, named Pillar of the Community by the Falls Church Chamber, named one of the Top Producing Real Estate Agents by Washingtonian Magazine, and for the fourth consecutive year, has been voted Best Real Estate Agent in the Falls Church News-Press’ Best of Falls Church. As a tireless Falls Church advocate, Tori has helped countless families buy and sell homes over the past 10 years. Tori puts her heart and soul into the Falls Church community and gets so much in return.
Bowers Design Build 6715 Whittier Avenue Suite 200, McLean, VA 22101 703-506-0845 • bowersdesignbuild.com
B������ E����, L��� � F����� Bethany is a hard-working, ethical and detail-oriented expert in Northern Virginia real estate. For the past four years, she has been the Top Individual Sales Agent at her Falls Church office where she continues to own and operate a highly successful business. And the trend for 2015 continues! Bethany is a full-time agent who will communicate with you and do whatever it takes to ensure a smooth transaction. Throughout the entire process, she will deal with any hiccups while valuing your input. From your first meeting until closing, Bethany will ensure your experience is enjoyable and seamless. Bethany’s goal is to build a long-term relationship with her clients so she can help you, your friends and your family, for years to come. Bethany also has direct access to lenders, home inspectors, settlement groups and many various vendors. If you are looking to find a new home, sell your current home, or need answers to any real estate questions, please contact her. Bethany Ellis, Long and Foster Real Estate 6299 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22044 703-307-7003 • buyandsellwithbethany.com
Tori McKinney, Keller Williams Realty 2101 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201 703-867-8674 • torirocksrealestate.com
RE/MAX �� ���������� RE/MAX by invitation is committed to providing the highest quality real estate services to buyers and sellers in Northern Virginia, D.C. and Maryland. Our exceptional customer service sets us apart from other real estate companies. Our team-based approach ensures that every client gets detailed attention and understands each and every step of the real estate transaction. RE/MAX by invitation agents pay attention to the details, and manage each home sale or purchase from start to finish and beyond! Agents receive the most current training to stay abreast of the ever-changing real estate laws and expertly advise our clients on any real estate needs. Simple, effective, honest communication is the cornerstone of every home purchase or sale at RE/MAX by invitation. RE/MAX by invitation, 4784 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA 22207 703-677-8730 • byinvitationrealty.com
K���� S��������, F������ R����� Are you considering buying or selling real estate this year? If so, give Kathy Szymanski a call and benefit from her 25 years of personalized service and keen knowledge of the local market. See what some of her clients are saying: “Thank you again, and again. I just can’t say enough about what an excellent adviser you have been. It will be a real pleasure to recommend you to anyone
seeking to buy, sell or rent. Working with Kathy was the smartest move we’ve made in a long time.” “Your expertise, professionalism, patience and understanding of this market fit my needs perfectly! I appreciate your response to every detail whether it was curiosity or a serious financial decision. Your integrity, honesty and character make you stand out in this market.” “Thank you for your patience. As first time home buyers, we needed our hand held. You seemed to know when to hold it and when to let go so that we made the decision on our own, but with valuable input and background gained from all the houses we looked at!” “Kathy is an exceptional Realtor. We’ve worked with her three times, buying and selling. She’s an expert. She works superbly in a time crunch, which is helpful to those – like us – moving overseas, or just returning from overseas.” “I used Kathy when I was looking for an investment condo in Arlington...Kathy provided me with more due diligence than I’d even hoped for. I love her way of presenting information and asking questions to lead me into making the right decision for me. It was a joy working with Kathy and I’ll call her again in a heartbeat.” Give Kathy a call. You, too will be glad you did. Call 703-534-4630. Kathy Szymanski, Fairfax Realty 7611 Little River Turnpike, Suite 101, Annandale, VA 22003 703-534-4630 • kathysellsvirginiahomes.com
T���� W�����, K����� W������� If you’re looking for a Realtor with enthusiasm, upto-date market knowledge and marketing savvy, Terry Worley is the one to call. She is skilled, experienced, and takes the stress out of the buying and selling process. “I put my clients’ needs first. Whether buying, selling or investing, I’d love to help you!” As a Realtor in Falls Church for over 10 years and a lifelong volunteer, Terry loves selling Falls Church. Here are a few of the things her past clients have to say: Terry Worley is an exceptionally skilled realtor with a kind heart who cares deeply about her clients. With her MBA, decades of experience and dedication to excellence Terry is the consummate expert in her field. Our recent home purchase was simplified by Terry’s knowledge of the market, use of technology and swift analysis of our specific situation. Honest, trustworthy, of the highest integrity and with a deep concern for a ‘perfect match’ our Beyer family highly recommends Terry to you for your next real estate need. – Mike and June Beyer “We have worked with Terry Worley to sell, buy and rent our homes. Her knowledge of real estate and the Northern Virginia region were invaluable. She offered great advice, connected us with expert resources to move through the process quickly, and helped us to find our perfect home. She made the experience of selling and buying a home much less stressful. She gets to know her customers and then delivers exactly what they need. We highly recommend Terry as a Realtor to our friends and family!” – Claire & Mike Gill
Terry Worley, Keller Williams Realty 6820 Elm Street, Suite 100, McLean, VA 22101 703-615-3415 • terrysellshouses@gmail.com
R EA L E STATE
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
FALL 2015 | PAGE RE-7
Real Estate
Top Falls Church Home Sales
June-August
#2 $1,595,000
#1 $1,750,000
#4 $1,525,000 #3 $1,550,000 Top 5 F.C. Home Sales June 1, 2015 - August 31, 2015 Address BR #1 6331 Waterway Dr. 4 #2 2233 Van Buren Ct. 5 #3 6501 Overbrook St. 6 #4 2143 Royal Lodge Dr. 4 #5 2128 Haycock Rd. 5
FB
HB
5 6 5 4 4
0 1 1 1 1
List Price $1,875,000 $1,697,377 $1,550,000 $1,545,000 $1,525,000
Sale Price $1,750,000 $1,595,000 $1,550,000 $1,525,000 $1,500,000
Zip 22044 22043 22043 22043 22043
Date Sold 7/15/15 7/27/15 7/31/15 6/23/15 8/12/15
Source: MRIS, Inc.; Photos: Falls Church News-Press
#5 $1,500,000
R EA L E STATE
PAGE RE- 8 | FALL 2015
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Falls Church Area Housing Market — 2nd Quarter 2015 Report Zip Code
Area
Average Price
Number of Homes Sold
Average Days on Market
22046
Falls Church City
$708,253
75
47
22041
Bailey’s Crossroads
$374,599
91
47
22042
Sleepy Hollow
$483,151
125
36
22043
Pimmit Hills
$668,989
90
32
22044
Lake Barcroft
$529,265
43
42
Home Sales Vs. 1 Year Ago
Home Prices Vs. 1 Year Ago
Change in # of Homes Sold: 2Q ‘15 vs 2Q ‘14
Change in Average Home Price: 2Q ‘15 vs 2Q ‘14
-6.25%
Change in Falls Church City (22046)
+4.51%
Change in Falls Church City (22046)
+16.67%
Change in Bailey’s X-roads (22041)
+0.63%
Change in Bailey’s X-roads (22041)
+8.70%
Change in Sleepy Hollow (22042)
+2.91%
Change in Sleepy Hollow (22042)
-6.25%
Change in Pimmit Hills (22043)
+12.05%
Change in Pimmit Hills (22043)
+16.22%
Change in Lake Barcroft (22044)
-0.38%
Change in Lake Barcroft (22044)
Source: Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. Copyright © 2015 Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc.
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
NATI O NA L
Humanity’s ‘Quest For Meaning,’ Part 1
One value of a print newspaper, compared to online, is that as you leaf through the pages and skim headlines, you expose yourself to new things beyond your previous range of interests. So, when watching an all-news TV channel you think you’ve just about had your limit of Donald Trump and hope you are about to get some brief relief and who comes on, but Dick Cheney (ugh! how is he still out of jail?)...when things like this happen, turning to a nonstressing section of the paper sometimes turns up something that can change your day for the better. For me this week, it led to the Washington Post’s weekly “Health and Science” section where a seemingly simple “self-help” article caught my attention. As I glanced at the sub-topics, I FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS found myself impressed by the author’s list of things to do to “give your mood a tune-up with some do-ityourself steps,” as the headline read. The tips, under the byline of Stephanie Pappas, senior writer for LiveScience.com, included the following: set goals, but don’t overdue it, go outside, give meditation a try, get some exercise, be generous in relationships, use social media wisely, aim for meaning, not pleasure, worry (some) but don’t vent and don’t sweat the small stuff. Now, don’t write off my column this week as irrelevant fluff. It needs to be emphasized that to my surprise, one of those tips struck me, in particular, as cutting to the quick of what needs fixing most profoundly in our current culture. In fact, it was a central point of my collection of 100 weekly columns that were published in my recent book, Extraordinary Hearts (Lethe Press, 2013). Here’s what Stephanie Pappas had to say about it: “Aim For Meaning, Not Pleasure. Imagine a life of lounging by a pool, cocktail in hand. Paradise? Not so much. A 2007 study found that people are happier when they take part in meaningful activities than when they focus on hedonism. University of Louisville researchers asked undergrads to complete surveys each day for three weeks about their daily activities. They also answered questions about their happiness levels and general life satisfaction. The study found that the more people participated in personally meaningful activities such as helping other people or pursuing big life goals, the happier and more satisfied they felt. Seeking pleasure didn’t boost happiness.” I was schooled in this perspective while in a very progressive Berkeley, Calif., graduate theological seminary and the source of the wisdom was by the German concentration camp survivor Dr. Viktor E. Frankl and his famous work (more than 12 million copies in print a 1992 edition reported), Man’s Search for Meaning (1946). I wrote about this in my book, “(Frankl’s) is a short work that embodies the essence of Frankl’s theory and work as a therapist, even among the most despairing facing extermination in the concentration camps. As Rabbi Harold S. Kushner wrote in the introduction to the 1992 edition, one of Frankl’s key ideas was that life is not primarily a quest for pleasure, as Freud believed, or a quest for power, as Alfred Adler taught, but a quest for meaning.’ “Frankl saw man, as a ‘meaning-seeking creature,’ having three possible sources for meaning: ‘in work (doing something significant), in love (caring for another person) and in courage during difficult times.’ He believed that ‘forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess, except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation.” I added that Jonathan Sacks, the chief rabbi of Great Britain, in a book entitled The Great Partnership, God, Science and the Search for Meaning (2011), drew heavily on Frankl and added to the notion of man as a “meaning seeking being” with a supplementary notion that “man is a culture-producing animal.” Moreover, pleasure and happiness are hardly the same. Such are vital concepts today in an age when an unfulfilling pursuit of hedonism and “pleasure” has corrupted the national psyche. Trump, Limbaugh, porn, Ashley Madison and rude potty mouths are objects of infantile hedonistic pleasure, not serious nation building.
SEPTEMBER 3 - 9, 2015 | PAGE 21
Nicholas F. Benton
Nicholas Benton may be emailed at nfbenton@fcnp.com.
Bush, Clinton Dynasties Hit Trump Bump WASHINGTON – Pity Poppy. When I went down to Houston a few years ago to eat pizza with the former president, he was his usual gracious self, speaking fondly about President Barack Obama and his new pal Bill Clinton. But there was one person who got dismissed with a brusque obscenity: Donald Trump. It was at the height of Trump’s birther madness and Bush was disgusted by it. So I can only imagine 41’s dismay and disbelief – and acid flashbacks to spoiler Ross Perot – now that Trump has popped up to block the path of the son who Poppy desperately wants to see as 45, restoring the family name after 43’s spiral. The New York wheelerdealer, who held a fundraiser at his Trump Tower apartment for gubernatorial candidate Jeb at Poppy’s request back in 1997, has had a devastating and disorienting effect on Jeb’s presidential candidacy. In a Washington Post story last week about the fractious relationship, Trump ridiculed Jeb’s investment banking work at Lehman Bros. and later Barclays. NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE Trump suggested that the millions Jeb was paid were a reward for steering Florida state funds to Lehman. “Why would you pay a man $1.3 million a year for a no-show job at Lehman Bros. – which, when it failed, almost took the world with it?” Trump asked. In a bank shot, Trump dragged in the Democratic front-runner, noting, “That’s a Hillary Clinton kind of situation.” It’s deeply weird, but the jeering billionaire reality star seems authentic to many Americans. Trump is a manifestation of national disgust – with the money that consumed politics, with the dysfunctional, artificial status quo and with the turgid return to a Bush-Clinton race, with a less adept Bush and Clinton. “The prospect of Hillary and Jeb as the nominees created a huge opening for something like this,” said former W. strategist Matthew Dowd. “The American public looked at it and said, ‘I do not want that.’” Dowd said Friday that everyone should stop being in denial and start accepting that Trump could be the nominee. “Do I think that Trump should be president?” Dowd asked. “No. Do I think he can be the badly needed match that burns down the status quo? Yes. Do I think he could precipitate an advent of a real third party? Yes.” He thinks the other candidates don’t know how to deal with Trump. “They should treat him like an alien
Maureen Dowd
visitor,” he said, “and, like judo, use his own weight – in this case, his self-absorption and hair-trigger reactions – against him. He doesn’t care if you say he’s not a real conservative.” Trump’s “gusto,” as he likes to call it, has thrown into sharper relief the grinding-it-out, impatient entitlement, the overthinking and overcorrecting of Jeb and Hillary. Both campaign like they are owed, not because of their great national achievements, but because of their byzantine family dynamics. Jeb feels he is owed because his brother sneaked in and snatched the presidency that his parents had designated for the Good Son, and because he was pressured to help W. purloin Florida in 2000. And Hillary feels she is owed because she moved to Arkansas and then stuck it out with Bill through an anachronistic first lady job and Monica; because she was a team player and bided her time in the Senate and as secretary of state; because a whippersnapper named Barack sneaked in and snatched the presidency that should have been hers. Funnily enough, the biggest narcissist in the race – and possibly the universe – has the one slogan that refers to the desires of voters: “Make America Great Again!” Hillary has “Hillary” with an arrow pointing at it. And Jeb has “Jeb!” with an exclamation point that represents the only fizz in his campaign. Each one of this trio has a dilemma. Because she is seen as domineering and distant, Hillary is most popular when she is brushed back. But how can she win if she can only convey authenticity when she is losing? She is so coiled about losing again that she screws up and starts losing. Her server, meant to shield her image and protect her from investigation, ends up sparking an investigation and damaging her image. Jeb has to avoid the towel-snapping tone of his brother, because that overcompensating testosterone led to tragedy. But how does he convey strength to voters fretting that America is weak and prevent Trump from painting him as a milquetoast? Trump knows he has a dilemma as well. His hyperbolic style and instinct for the jugular have propelled him to the front of the pack – a fact that has stunned even him. But how does he keep the colored lights going while conveying requisite dignity? Even Joe Biden, padding around the edge of the campaign, has a dilemma: How does he honor the wish of his late son, Beau, to run when the death of Beau has left him so depleted he may not be able to run? Matt Dowd thinks Biden would do well in this field: “Trump’s the only one who can make Biden seem disciplined.”
PAGE 22 | SEPTEMBER 3 - 9, 2015
CO MME NT
A Penny for Your Thoughts
News of Greater Falls Church By Supervisor Penny Gross
Why was Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe smashing walnuts in his stately Richmond conference room this week? The answer is simple, yet intriguing. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and the governor’s action came after he signed a proclamation and announced that the Governor’s Mansion would be bathed in gold light, the signature color of childhood cancer awareness. He also took the opportunity to discuss health care, and the need for Virginia to expand its participation in Medicaid, so that 200,000 more Virginia residents would have access to health care. Attending the proclamation were parents and families of young cancer victims. Ellen Miller’s daughter, Gabriella, was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, the size of a walnut. To help Gabriella and others understand and fight back, Ellen gathered walnuts on their Loudoun County deck, and Gabriella smashed them with a frying pan, symbolically destroying the tumor. Sadly, Gabriella died at the tender age of 10 after a year-long battle. But Smashing Walnuts, the foundation she and her parents started, to raise money for research and a cure, endures. Cancer kills more children than any other disease in the U.S. Children’s brain tumors are not the same as brain tumors in adults, and require specific research and different treatments. When the governor was asked by Ellen if he’d like to smash some walnuts, remembering Gabriella’s struggle, his was an enthusiastic reply. I suspect that Capitol staff were picking up walnut shells the rest of the day! Draft language for a proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment for the PDC/PRM (Planned Development Commercial and Planned Development Residential Mixed Use) Districts and Revitalization and Redevelopment Areas was circulated by county staff last month, with comments due tomorrow. The draft language applies to the county’s Zoning
‘State of City’ Continued from Page 4 becoming improved and now very vibrant. “We would not want it on the same scale here, but the same idea,” he said. So far, he said, he’s supported two of the four large scale mixed use projects that have come before the City Council in recent years. He voted for the Rushmark (Harris Teeter) project on W. Broad and the Lincoln Properties project on Tinner Hill, but he voted against the Kensington Senior Living project that nonetheless was approved by a 4-3 Council vote going onto the site of the former Burger King on W. Broad and the Mason Row project at N. West Street and W. Broad, which is still under Council
Ordinance (ZO), and would provide the implementation tools necessary to achieve the recommendations of the County’s Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan). There have been a number of Comp Plan amendments, including Seven Corners, adopted in areas across the county, but many of those plan changes cannot be implemented without a change to the ZO language. Changes to the Zoning Ordinance do not override the language of the Comprehensive Plan. Previously adopted Comp Plan recommendations are not being changed as part of the proposed draft language. Actual development of any specific location in the county is constrained by the local area’s Comp Plan language. For instance, the extension of the Silver Line in Reston is governed by the Comp Plan for that area, but that long-awaited development cannot be achieved without ZO language changes. However, a change to the Reston Comp Plan does not affect other area Comp Plans. No re-zoning in Seven Corners would be approved above the density levels called for in the Seven Corners Area Plan. Nor would the elements supported by the community and recently adopted in the Seven Corners Plan – green space, parks, buffer areas, transportation improvements, and provision for a school – be overridden by changes to the Zoning Ordinance. The Comp Plan governs redevelopment opportunities, the Zoning Ordinance provides the tools for those willing to invest in the Comp Plan vision. The rigorous public process for community review and input on any rezoning is unchanged. Making sure that all those elements work together, and are correctly acknowledged and implemented, is a responsibility I take seriously. Penny Gross is the Mason District Supervisor, in the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She may be emailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov.
review despite the mayor’s “No” Even things like snow removal may not be perfect, but are better vote on first reading. With numerous changes made compared to larger jurisdictions. The mayor said that continto the Mason Row plan, which will come back to the City Council ued economic development should later this month or in October, the continue to replicate the mixedmayor told the News-Press, “I will use model that have been so suchave an open mind on that.” The cessful in Falls Church to date, Kensington, he said, he opposed adding such value to the City and because he didn’t think it is the right offsetting real estate tax burdens on individual citizens. location for that kind of project. “It is before us to consider The beauty of being an independent City, Tarter said, “is that new types of housing for Falls we control our own destiny.” It Church,” he said. Growing discusis a small population that can sions regionally and nationally, for ensure it retains top schools and example, of “micro unit” housing the quality of life it wants, and in a should be on the table. They serve bigger community, “others would the needs of young professionbe making decisions for us.” In als without children, seniors and Falls Church, there are personal- those in need of more affordable www.fcnp.com options for housing.” ized services and it’s walkable. This type of housing addressed “You can walk in and talk to the City Manager and Superintendent the needs of all generations, he added, of Schools,” unlike other places. including the need for workforce and affordable housing. Discussions of it are “at the cutting edge” of new approaches and need to continue. The mayor and his City Council colleagues will be back in their saddles starting next Tuesday at the Falls Church City Hall after their August recess.
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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Senator Dick Saslaw’s
Richmond Report Recap of Richmond Special Session This past month, as many of you are aware, there was a special session of the General Assembly. Regrettably, these meetings proved to be a waste of time and taxpayer money. We showed up on Monday and it was obvious that the Republicans were unprepared to do the job. Not only were they unwilling to interview Justice Jane Marum Roush, a courtesy she more than deserved, they also did not bring any plans for how to deal with the court-mandated redistricting. It is because of this obstructive attitude, that we decided to adjourn the Senate, rather than waste our time and your money. This decision was not reached easily, but ultimately proved necessary. Justice Roush will see out the rest of her 30 day term, and then most likely will be reappointed by Governor McAuliffe. This new appointment will be good until the General Assembly reconvenes in January. Regarding the redistricting, the Courts will now have the opportunity to draw new lines, creating less gerrymandered districts and a more accurate depiction of the Commonwealth. Education & Improvements in SOL With September underway it is time for another school year to start. This year Virginian students will attempt to continue their progress on the Standards of Learning examinations. Last year students statewide posted a five-point overall gain in mathematics and reading, and a twopoint overall increase in writing, science and history. Additionally, Governor McAuliffe announced a new partnership with Georgetown University’s Center on Education and Workforce. This is a part of the Governor’s plan to help boost Virginia’s Economy via the creation and attainment of workforce credentials. The Governor’s initiative calls for 50,000 STEM-H workforce credentials to be awarded by the end of his Administration, and 460,000 by 2030. Investing in our children’s education is something I champion at every opportunity. A world class education system is good for them, good for business development and overall
good for the Commonwealth’s economic health. Virginia Economic Improvements Last week Governor McAuliffe addressed the General Assembly, offering his year-end financial report. This year’s report highlighted massive improvements as compared to last year. Across the board we have made huge progress in our Commonwealth. Virginia now has the lowest unemployment rate of any state in the Southeast, part of the reason is the 16 consecutive months of economic growth that have translated into 40,700 additional jobs created since July 2014. Additionally there are now more employed people than at any other time in the Commonwealth’s history. Not only have we created more jobs, the average weekly wage for private employees is 4.6 percent higher than it was at this time last year. Since taking office last year, Governor McAuliffe has helped create a smarter and more targeted economy, one that has helped make Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads numbers one and five in the nation respectfully for government contracting. While we are not out of the woods with another round of sequestration looming, we remain vigilant in our stewardship of the Commonwealth finances. Stay tuned as we wait for the federal government to get its act together and take a more thoughtful approach to tightening its belt. Fall Happenings As we start school I encourage you to be more mindful of our students on the road and in school buses. Be alert and may safety come first. I look forward to visiting with you at the upcoming community events and civic association meetings. I remind you to make sure your voter registration is up to date (with any change of addresses or new residents to the area). We are now two months away from the November 3 election for the State Senate, the House of Delegates and many local offices. If you would like more information pertaining to the elections, please visit www. dicksaslaw.com. Senator Saslaw represents the 35th District in the Virginia State Senate. He may be emailed at district35@senate.virginia.gov.
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
A nyt hing
b ut
S traigh t
A Charlatan Shyster
In the same way that the rise of Donald Trump is the logical conclusion of a Republican Party that has lost its way, it is only natural that the most notable faces on the Religious Right in 2015 are Josh Duggar and Kim Davis. Duggar, one of the children on TLC’s canceled reality television show, “19 Sins and Counting,” is infamous for molesting his sisters, allegedly hiring prostitutes for rough sex and creating an Ashley Madison account to cheat on his wife – all while acting as a paragon of moral virtue for the Washington, D.C.-based racket, The Family Research Council. Davis, the elected Clerk of Rowan Country Kentucky, refuses to give marriage licenses to gay couples because she is following “God’s Law.” As with Duggar, her holier-than-thou act is betrayed by her actual lifestyle. U.S. News has revealed “Davis divorced three times, first in 1994, then 2006, and again in 2008. She gave birth to twins five months after divorcing her first husband. They were fathered by her third husband but adopted by her second. Davis worked at the clerk’s office at the time of each divorce and has since remarried. Far from a wholesome defender of the family, it would take Jerry Springer to sort out Davis’ unseemly maze of marriages. Adding to the “Springer Effect” is her fourth husband, Joe Davis, who sounds like he was cast for a new reality show, “The Biblical Beverly Hillbillies.” He told the Associated Press that his wayward wife is “standing for God.” He says that he believes in the Second Amendment and, “I’m an old redneck hillbilly, that’s all I’ve got to say. Don’t come knocking on my door.” Given her tawdry track record Davis is not just a hypocrite – she is an apostate. While Jesus never mentioned homosexuality, he was quite explicitly against divorce. Yet, Davis has cynically used her clerk’s office as a personal marriage license mill, while denying gay couples their constitutional right to marry. It is an indictment of the modern conservative movement that they continue to recruit and promote right wing riff raff like Duggar and Davis, while spotlighting weirdoes like Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson and Ted Nugent. Thanks to the company so-called Christian conservatives keep, the faith they claim to cherish is becoming more associated with chicanery than charity. For years, sleazy conservative organizations have relied on gay bashing as a cash cow. With this issue losing steam, they are desperate to create new wedge issues to fill their coffers. This is why the Liberty Counsel is facilitating Davis’ rebellion against the rule of law. They are egging Davis on, in her dead end quest, because they are in desperate need of fake victims and phony martyrs to fulfill their overheated, trumped-up, direct mail prophecies that predict marriage equality would lead to the “criminalization of Christianity.” Both charlatan Davis and the shysters at Liberty Counsel are avaricious phonies and an affront to actual, principled Christianity. Their real God is greed and they bow at the altar of mammon. How else does one explain Liberty Counsel embracing a woman married four times to act as the great defender of traditional marriage? Right wing talk show host Bryan Fischer tweeted: “Kim Davis is an American Hero. Standing on timeless truth against politically correct tyranny.” He then compared this bigot to a modern day Rosa Parks. At best this is a hilarious hoax; at worst it is a conniving con to bilk people of faith out of their hard earned money. The ACLU has filed a federal motion asking that Kim Davis be cited for contempt of court. The motion declares that the ACLU is not seeking to have Davis arrested – because this entire case is really about the Religious Right strategically acquiring video, so they can market this footage for money. A Christian arrested for supposedly upholding the faith – even if it’s based on a lie – is as good as gold. Indeed, prejudice pays dividends. Owners of an Indiana pizzeria that refused to cater gay marriages on religious freedom grounds exploited a Go Fund Me campaign that raked in $842,387. No doubt, Davis could surpass this number, perhaps riding her religion into a comfortable retirement. She is also likely to be handsomely paid on the right wing speaking circuit, as well as have numerous job offers from various family values groups and think tanks. In terms of substance, what Davis is promoting is not religious conscience – but a slippery slope that would lead to anarchy and chaos. Of course, the slipperiest part of the slope is the oozing slime that emits from right wing spokespeople like Josh Duggar and Kim Davis. This is the inevitable result of a movement where wedge issues are created as wealth issues, money has substituted morality, and finances have replaced faith.
Wayne Besen
CO MME NT
SEPTEMBER 3 - 9, 2015 | PAGE 23
Our Man in Arlington By Charlie Clark
I’ll forgive the planners of Arlington’s spiffy new Discovery, our state-of-the-building-arts elementary school set to welcome a fresh student body next week. This wondrous structure sits on (and under) a hill that is the front yard of Williamsburg Middle School, where in 1968 I was photographed joining hands with fellow class officers in front of a now-vanished school sign. Impressively, the Williamsburg building is still visible (barely) in the sight line on Harrison Street from Williamsburg Blvd. The county’s bow to the march of time offers a great new adventure for a fortunate few. The LEED-certified tan and grey 21st-century facility will (temporarily) ease the school crowding problem with 28 classrooms and a capacity of 630 students. It was inspirationally named Discovery by a community committee, a discreet nod to astronaut John Glenn, who in the 1960s lived across the street and frequented the grounds with his children. Protocol forbids naming a school for someone still living. Discovery’s branding began earlier this summer, I noticed, with black-and-white bumper stickers appearing on North Arlington cars of families whose children last year attended nearby Jamestown, Nottingham or Taylor schools. There’s lots of enthusiasm, I was told by Erin Russo, Discovery’s inaugural principal, whom I met last
month in her temporary conference room office inside Wi l l i a m s b u rg overlooking what then was a construction zone. (Her team moved into the newly completed building Aug. 29.) The redrawn boundaries at first drew skepticism, says the 10-year veteran of Arlington Schools (most spent at Williamsburg). But soon the rare opportunity to blaze the Discovery trail won them over— “even some previously privateschool parents,” Russo said. The school’s PTA already has its website populated. For faculty, Russo enjoyed “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pick our entire team.” Last April, the designated Discovery School staff organized prospective students (including kindergartners) to offer online suggestions and vote to choose the school colors and mascot. Ninetyseven students sent ideas, ranging from Rockets to Explorers to Astronauts. The results announced in June: Explorers, decked in red. An architect is now designing said Explorer. The $32.8 million building, Russo stressed as she showed me artists’ renderings, is built with open spaces and multiple cascading staircases (“story steps”) that lend themselves to collaborative learning and impromptu study sessions for shifting groups of students using mobile devices. As one of the few Net Zero Energy buildings on the East Coast, the 97,000 square-foot complex folded into the hillside contains an interactive energymonitoring dashboard and photo-
C i t y o f Fa l l s C h u r c h
CRIME REPORT Week of August 24 - 30, 2015 Residential Burglary, 200 block W. Columbia St. On Aug. 24, entry was made and personal items were stolen from the victim’s residence. Public Drunkenness, 400 W. Broad St. (Exxon) On Aug. 24, a male, 44, of Alexandria, was arrested for Public Drunkenness. Larceny from Vehicle, 6700 block Wilson Blvd. On Aug. 24, electronic devices were stolen from the victim’s vehicle. Driving Under the Influence and Domestic Assault, 400 block Sherrow Ave. On Aug. 24, a male, of the City of Falls Church, was arrested for one count of Simple Assault and one count of Assaulting a Family Member, and Driving Under the Influence. Vandalism to Property, 804 S. Washington St. (7-Eleven) On Aug.24, an unknown suspect broke a glass panel.
Public Drunkenness, 116-B W. Broad St. (Unity Club) On Aug. 26, a male, 32, no fixed address, was arrested for Public Drunkenness. Larceny from Building, 300 block W. Broad St. On Aug. 26, police received a report that medication was stolen from a residence sometime on Aug. 24. Larceny from Building, 400 block S. Maple Ave. On Aug. 27, police received a report a bicycle was stolen. Residential Burglary, 300 block Riley St. On Aug. 28, an unknown suspect made entry in the victim’s residence and stole a wallet.
voltaic panels. Observation decks in gardens are organized for butterflies, vegetables and capture of stormwater. To the grounds of Williamsburg laid out in the mid50s, the county’s crews are still at work adding two synthetic soccer fields. (Get ready for neighborhood fight over whether to add night-time lights.) The 538 kids, I suspect, will be drawn to the high school-sized gym floor, glassed-in cafeteria that affords a panoramic view, and an overhanging roof that will permit outdoor playing when it’s raining. Principal Russo thinks students will be especially fond of the colorful Twizzler-shaped slide they can ride to a lower floor (and make class before the bell). Congratulations to the VMDO architects and the construction firm Sigal for pulling off the rushed project – $2 million under budget and on time after the groundbreaking in March 2014. Welcome, first generation of the Discovery Explorers. *** Remember the Journal newspapers? The dailies circumscribed the Beltway in five jurisdictions from the early ‘70s until 2004, when the nationwide empire of the Examiner bought them out. I had a previous column in the Journal for two years and published dozens of freelance pieces in its pages during my younger days. Hence I was startled last week to spot, on a sidewalk on Fairfax Drive in Ballston, a brown metal Journal vending box with the familiar JOURNAL logo still intact. Is some hearty soul there still awaiting delivery of a fresh edition? Smoking Violation, 6757 Wilson Blvd. #15 (H2O Café) On Aug. 28, a male, 39, of Washington, DC, was cited for Smoking In a Non-Designated Area. Urinating In Public, 110 N. West St. (7-Eleven) On Aug. 29, a male, 26, of Arlington, was arrested and released on summons for Urinating In Public. Liquor Law Violation and Public Drunkenness, 100 block Pennsylvania Ave. On Aug. 29, a male, 18, of Falls Church, was arrested for Public Drunkenness and Underage Possession of Alcohol. Driving Under the Influence, 100 block Little Falls St. On Aug. 29, an officer responded to the area for a report of a motor vehicle crash. One of the drivers, a female, 60, of Falls Church, was arrested for Driving Under the Influence and Refusal to Submit to a Blood or Breath Test.
Larceny from Building, 111 Gordon Rd. (Dixie Sheet Metal) On Aug. 28, police received a report that copper was stolen sometime after Aug. 14.
Narcotics Violation, Obstruction of Justice, and Public Drunkenness, 300 block Hillwood Ave. On Aug. 30, a male, 36, of Falls Church, was arrested for Possession of Cocaine, Obstruction of Justice, and Public Drunkenness.
Larceny from Building, 800 block W. Broad St. On Aug. 28, police received a report of a gaming system stolen from the victim’s residence.
Smoking Violation, 6757 Wilson Blvd. #16 (Le Mirage) On Aug. 30, a male, 54, of Annandale, was cited for Smoking In a NonDesignated Area.
PAGE 24 | SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2015
A RTS&E NTE RTA I NME NT
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Sept.
4
y
Frida
Beauty Pill with Redline Graffiti Black Cat 9 p.m. 1811 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.
202-667-7960 • blackcatdc.com
6
ay
Sund
Shongoband Clare and Don’s 6 p.m. 130 N. Washington St., Falls Church
703-532-9283 • clareanddons.com
Rodrigo Y Gabriela Wolf Trap 8 p.m. 1645 Trap Road, Vienna
703-255-1900 • wolftrap.com
9
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BY DREW COSTLEY
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
Cyril Neville, founding member and percussionist of the blues rock supergroup Royal Southern Brotherhood, said it was “magic” recording the band’s latest album Don’t Look Back at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Ala. “When we found we were going to be [recording] there it was a special thing because you know a lot of the music all of us grew up listening to was recorded there,” Neville said. “The soundtrack of my life, half of the songs were recorded at that studio.” A number of hit songs have been recorded at FAME Studios, founded in the late 1950s by Rick Hall, Billy Sherrill and Tom Stafford, like “I Never Loved a Man” by Aretha Franklin, “Tell Mama” by Etta James and “Mustang Sally” by Wilson Pickett. “Wilson Pickett recorded there and Etta James recorded there and all my heros and sheros. It was really special,” Neville said. “And that kind of came across in the record because we did it like they did it back in the day. We did everything live in the studio and all of that came across on the record.” The group initially went into the recording process at FAME expecting to record ten songs and ended up recording 14, Neville said, because the process was so pleasurable. “Everyone in the band had songs that came out of there that touched their lives in a meaningful way,” he said. “So it was a real special thing for all of us to get a chance to record there.” Neville, who has a storied, legendary career of his own with stints in The Meters, Galactic and The Neville Brothers, said that he’d never gotten a chance to record at the FAME Studios, so he was excited to finally get to work there. He and the rest of the Royal Southern Brotherhood will be playing songs from their first two albums, Royal Southern Brotherhood and Heartsoulblood, at The State Theatre on Wednesday, Sept. 9.
ROYAL SOUTHERN BROTHERHOOD (C������� P����) Don’t Look Back is the first album that Royal Southern Brotherhood has recorded and released since vocalist and guitarist Mike Zito, a founding member of the band, left in August 2014. Bart Walker, who was brought in to replace Zito, came in with what became the title track of the new album, which was released in May with Ruf Records. “The song ‘Don’t Look Back’ was the first song that me and Bart worked on together when we knew that he was coming into the band and we needed new songs,” Neville said. “And then it wound up being the title track to
the record because at that point, we knew we were going to keep on going with this, we just didn’t know how. “So when I got those lyrics from Bart, first I saw the name of it and kinda laughed because I thought it was [a funny coincidence], but then when I read the lyrics and saw what he was talking about ‘There’s a better way, we just ain’t found it yet,’ I busted out laughing and said this is an omen.” • For more information about Royal Southern Brotherhood, visit royalsouthernbrotherhood.com.
Royal Southern Brotherhood State Theatre 9 p.m. 220 N. Washington St., Falls Church
703-237-0300 • thestatetheatre.com
These singles whet the appetites of the FCNP editorial team this week: Nicholas Benton – The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down by The Band
Jody Fellows – Hurt Me Tomorrow by K’Naan
Drew Costley – Steal My Sunshine by Len
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Another Juicery Now Open In Falls Church Area Barely a month after the micro-juicery South Block Co. opened a cafe on N. Westmoreland St., another juicery has debuted in town with JRINK now open in Falls Church. The cold-pressed drink company offers close to 20 flavors of fruit and vegetable juices with names like Fuel Me Up (kale, romaine, pear, cucumber and lemon), Freshen Me Up (watermelon, hibiscus and fresh mint) and Wake Me Up (orange, carrot, grapefruit and ginger). There’s also a selection of nut milk drinks. The newest store is the company’s fourth D.C.-area retail location – first in Virginia – and located off Rt. 29 on Fallfax Drive. The retail store is in the front room of JRINK’s commissary where juicing takes place daily for home and retail deliveries. JRINK is open from 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.,
FO O D &D I NI NG
SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2015 | PAGE 25
Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. JRINK 2824 Fallfax Drive | Falls Church jrinkjuicery.com
Open Road Celebrates 2 Years With Cheap Beer, Live Music Merrifield’s Open Road Grill & Icehouse is celebrating its two-year anniversary today, Thursday, Sept. 3, with an all-day party featuring drink specials and live entertainment. The birthday festivities start at the Falls Church restaurant and bar when doors open at 11 a.m. with two-buck pints and then at 4 p.m., D.C.’s-own singer-songwriter Levi Stephens takes the stage before Ted Garber and performs his blues Americana rock at 7:30 p.m. Open Road Grill & Icehouse is part of the Metropolitan Hospitality Group which also owns and operates its Merrifield neighbor TRIO Grill as well as three locations of
OPEN ROAD GRILL & ICEHOUSE celebrates its second birthday Thursday with $2 pints and live entertainment. (P����: �������� O��� R��� G���� � I�������) CIRCA Bistro in Clarendon, Dupont and Foggy Bottom. Open Road first opened on Rt. 29 in Merrifield in 2013. Open Road Grill & Icehouse 8100 Lee Highway | Falls Church openroadmerrifield.com
Mad Fox Names Ryan New Lead Brewer It’s been a busy few weeks for Mad Fox Brewing Company. Just weeks after opening its second location in Washington, D.C.’s Glover Park neighborhood, the Falls
Church restaurant has announced Matt Ryan as its new lead brewer. Ryan, former lead brewer of Capitol City Brewing Company, takes over for Brad Hulewicz who left to head up a new brewery in Crozet, Va. Ryan joins Mad Fox CEO and executive brewer Bill Madden who, coincidentally, also worked at Capitol City, spending close to 10 years as executive brewer of the Shirlington brew pub. “I like beers that surprise people, and make them smile,” Ryan said in a press release. “I look forward to working with Bill, as I am well aware of his success and stature in the industry, particularly coming from one of the ‘houses that Bill built,’ at Capitol City.” – Jody Fellows
CA L E NDA R
PAGE 26 | SEPTEMBER 3 - 9, 2015
Community Events
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
Preschool Storytime. Stories, finger plays and songs for children ages 3-5 with adult. City of Fairfax Regional Library Meeting Room A/B (10360 North Street, Fairfax). Registration required. 10:30 – 11 a.m. 703-293-6227. Thursday Evening Book Group. The Thursday Evening Book Group will be discussing All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Mary Riley Styles Public Library (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). Free. 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. mrsplbookgroup.blogspot.com. Ballston Fresh Farm Market. Just across from the Ballston Metro Stop is a Welburn Square, the host to this farmer’s market. Vendors sell goats’ milk cheeses and yogurt smoothies, tree and field fruit, vegetables, honey and beeswax beauty products, crab cakes and dips, eggs, meat, pies, preserves, cut flowers, breads, pastries and more. Welburn Square (901 N. Taylor Street, Arlington). 3 – 7 p.m. 703-644-1194.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
1-on-1 Computer and Internet Tutoring. Learn how to download eBooks and eMagazines, search the Internet, use social media, and more. Personalized sessions by appointment. Mary Riley Styles
Public Library (120 N Virginia Ave, Falls Church). Free. 10 a.m. – noon. 703-248-5034. Dragons and Damselflies Campfire. The whole family is invited to the Gulf Branch fire ring for lots of oldfashioned fun-including s’mores – while learning about some fearless flyers! Register adults and children; children must be accompanied by a registered adult. Gulf Branch Nature Center & Park (3608 North Military Rd, Arlington). $5. 7 – 8 p.m. 703-228-3403.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5
F.C. Farmers’ Market. Vendors offer fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables, cheeses, meats, baked goods, plants, and wine. City Hall Parking Lot (300 Park Ave., Falls Church). Free. 8 a.m. – noon. 703-248-5077. Neighborhood Plant Clinic. Master gardeners will lead a clinic on horticultural tips and tricks for adults. City of Fairfax Regional Library (10360 North Street, Fairfax). 10 a.m.—1 p.m. 703293-2113.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6
Mary Riley Styles Public Library Closed. The library will be closed today and Monday for Labor Day. Mary Riley Styles (120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church). All Day. 703-
&
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Send community event submissions to the News-Press by e-mail at calendar@fcnp. com; fax 703-342-0347; or by regular mail to 200 Little Falls St., #508, Falls Church, VA 22046. Please include any photos or artwork with submissions. Deadline is Monday at noon for each week’s edition.
248-5034. Mosaic Central Farm Market. Enjoy offerings of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats and other local products. Mosaic District (District Ave.). 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. 703992-7765.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
Government and Services Closed. The Falls Church City Government will be closed for Labor Day. City Hall (300 Park Ave., Falls Church). All Day. fallschurchva.gov Ice Cream Social. The Falls Church Democratic Committee will be holding their annual Labor Day Ice Cream Social. The event is free and will be held rain or shine. Cherry Hill Park (312 Park Ave., Falls Church). 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. 703-403-1421.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
Great Books Discussion. The bimonthly discussion concentrating on literary classics takes on Plutarch’s Lives by Cicero. Mary Riley Styles Public Library (120 N. Virginia Ave, Falls Church). Free. 7 – 9 p.m. 703-248-5034. Author Panel at the Library. The latest installment in the Shut Up & Write panel series features Dhonielle Clayton, author of Tiny Pretty Things, co-authored with Sona Charaipotra. Author Jon Skovron moderates this bimonthly
series of young adult fiction writing workshops. Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street, Arlington). 7 – 8:30 p.m. 703-300-9746.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 History Roundtable. Back from their summer break, the History Roundtable convenes again on second Tuesdays. Andrea Bauman facilitates discussions on themes sure to stimulate thought and discourse. September’s topic is The Influence of Natural Disasters on History. Lee Community & Senior Center and Park (5722 Lee Hwy., Arlington). Free. 11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. 703-228-0555. Community Meeting. The Recreation and Parks Department and the Advisory Board of Recreation and Parks is inviting the public to a discussion about updating the Master Park Plan for Howard E. Herman Stream Valley Park. The City will present some information on the stream daylighting and construction that has taken place over the past year but we are primarily interested in receiving feedback from citizens, the community, about how citizens would like to use this space. Falls Church Community Center (223 Little Falls St., Falls Church). Free. 7 – 9 p.m. fallschurchva.gov.
Theater Fine Arts THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
“The Fix.” When a popular presidential candidate dies in his mistress’s arms, his ambitious wife, Violet, immediately declares that if she can’t be the wife of the president, then she’ll be the mother of the president – and thrusts their lackluster son Cal into the spotlight in Dempsey and Rowe’s outrageous musical comedy “The Fix.” With the help of her strategic brother-inlaw, Violet transforms her son into the perfect citizen and ideal politician. Through Sept. 20. Signature Theatre (4200 S. Campbell Ave., Arlington). $40 – $72. 8 p.m. sigtheatre.org.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
“Night Falls on the Blue Planet.” Renee has had a rough couple of years. Screw that: Renee has had a rough life, shaped by alcoholism and
estrangement. All that changes when she gets a massage and discovers that her body is a world unto itself. With help from her younger sister she starts to map and explore a lifetime of trauma: but is she healing, or is she vanishing into her own world? Will her exploration heal her relationship with her older sister, or widen their divide? Through Sept. 27. Anacostia Playhouse (2020 Shannon Pl. NE, Washington, D.C.). $20. 8 p.m. theatrealliance.com.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5
“The Importance of Being Earnest.” SCENA Theatre’s presents a hilarious production of Oscar Wilde’s classic. The wildly successful farce is back by popular demand featuring cross-gender casting. This production of Wilde’s play is reset in the decadent, roaring ‘20s. The mischevious Jack and Algy have it all thanks
to carefully crafted double lives...until love and marriage enter the equation. Through Sept. 12. Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H. St. NE, Washington, D.C.). $25 – $45. 8 p.m. atlasarts.org.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
“Chimerica.” This epic play tracks two decades of US-China relations alongside lives forever changed by the crosswinds of politics and history. In 1989, Joe, a young American journalist, photographs a protester facing down four tanks in Tiananmen Square. In 2012, with election season bringing US-China relations into the spotlight, Joe decides to seek out the subject of his most famous image – just as an old friend from China reaches out with an agenda of his own. Through Oct. 18. Studio Theatre (1501 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $49 – $65. 7:30 p.m. studiotheatre.org.
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
CA L E NDA R
live_music&nightlife THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 A� E������ ���� E��S�������. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $10 – $12. 6:30 p.m. 703255-1566. B����� ���� M.H. � H�� O��������. Black Cat (1811 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $10. 7:30 p.m. 202-667-7960. T�� S������ ���� C��. Iota Club and Café (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $12. 8:30 p.m. 703-522-8340. D����� W����. Dogwood Tavern (132 W. Broad St., Falls Church). 9:30 p.m. 703-237-8333.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 S������� W��� W�� – T�� U������� B�� J��� T������. The State Theatre (220 N. Washington St., Falls Church). $12 in advance; $15 day of the show. 7 p.m. 703-237-0300. M���� M���� L��� B����� ��� A��� F����� ��������� S������ G����, T�� G���� S���, M������ G�� P�������� ��� T�� S������’ N����� B���. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $15 – $20. 7:30 p.m. 703-255-1566. #YASQUEEN Q���� D���� P���� ���� DJ D�����., K����� V��������, F������ � B����, DC K���� ��� M����� W���. 9:30 (815 V St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $15. 8 p.m. 202265-0930. B����� P��� ���� P�������� ��� R������ G�������. Black Cat (1811 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $12. 9 p.m. 202-667-7960.
E������ S����� S��������. Black Cat (1811 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $12 in advance; $15 at the door. 9 p.m. 202-667-7960. M���’� M������ M������� ���� L����� C���� ��� C������ S������������. Iota Club and Café (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $10. 9 p.m. 703-522-8340. T�� D���. Dogwood Tavern (132 W. Broad St., Falls Church). 10 p.m. 703237-8333.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 B��� �� S����� N���� ��������� A��������, B��� ��� B�������, A���� A� L��� ��� I��������. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $10 – $18 in advance; $15 – $18 day of the show. 5 p.m. 703255-1566. C���� � F��� T��� 2015 ��������� D����� “J�. G���” M�����, S������ “R����” M�����, M����� H������� ��� T����� R����. Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Road, Vienna). $35 – $50. 8 p.m. 703-255-1900. 1�� A����� “VA E��������” ��������� J������� B���, B���� D���, S����� ��� M����� C��������. The State Theatre (220 N. Washington St., Falls Church). $32 in advance; $50 day of the show; $100 VIP. 7 p.m. 703-237-0300. T�� D���� R������ ���� S����������� ��� N�� B���. 9:30 (815 V St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $15. 8 p.m. 202-265-0930. P�������� 2015. Black Cat (1811 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $15. 8
p.m. 202-667-7960. A������ S��...��� ��� C��� ��������� N������ W���, E��� H���������, M����� O’M����� ��� B���� H��������. Black Cat (1811 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $12 in advance; $15 at the door. 9 p.m. 202-667-7960. A��� S���� B���. Dogwood Tavern (132 W. Broad St., Falls Church). 10 p.m. 703-237-8333. T�� L���� L��� S��� ��������� C���� A���, P��� B��������, A��� T�� B����, D����� S��������, C�������� M�Q���� ��� N�� R�����. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $5 in advance; $8 day of the show. 10 p.m. 703-255-1566.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 T�� R��������� ���� M����� ��� T����� A�� B�� F�� H�����. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $10 – $18 in advance; $15 – $18 day of the show. 6 p.m. 703255-1566. S���������. Clare and Don’s Beach Shack (130 N. Washington St., Falls Church). 6 – 9 p.m. 703-532-9283. T�� W�����’� P���� ��������� K����� S���� S�����. Black Cat (1811 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). 7 p.m. 202-667-7960. D�� C��� R��������. Iota Club and Café (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $10. 8 p.m. 703-522-8340. R������ Y G������� ���� T��� P��� M���. Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Road, Vienna). $35 – $65. 8 p.m. 703-2551900.
SEPTEMBER 3 - 9, 2015 | PAGE 27
3�� A����� A�� W���� E�� �� S����� J�� ��������� B������� B���, TCB ��� TOB. 9:30 (815 V St. NW, Washington, D.C.). $40. 11 p.m. 202-265-0930.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 T�� W�����’� P���� ��������� DJ J S�����. Black Cat (1811 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). 7 p.m. 202-6677960. F�������� M�� T������ ��������� M������ �� E�� B����� O��������, A���� W�����, T�� B����������� ��� T������ B������ C������. Iota Club and Café (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). $12. 7:30 p.m. 703-522-8340.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 R����: D������ A�� M������� T��� 2015 ��������� A S���� �� T������, D���� P������ ��� T�������. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $15 – $20. 6:30 p.m. 703-255-1566.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 T��� L���� ���� H�� M���� ��� C����� C����. Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E, Vienna). $17 – $25 in advance; $20 – $25 day of the show. 6 p.m. 703-255-1566. R���� S������� B����������. The State Theatre (220 N. Washington St., Falls Church). $23 in advance; $25 day of the show. 7 p.m. 703-237-0300. B���� C�� A���������� P���� ���� DJ� T�� K����, D���� F������� ��� F������. Black Cat (1811 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.). 7 p.m. 202667-7960.
P������� A����... Saturday, September 12 – Recycling Extravaganza. Recycle electronics, computers, eye glasses, medical equipment, sewing machines, bikes, clothing, textiles,
batteries, paper shredding and more. Recycling Center (217 Gordon Road, Falls Church). Free for city residents. 9 a.m. – noon. fallschurchva.gov/RE.
Saturday, September 12 – Concert for the Community with the Howard Gospel Choir. The First Congregational United Church of Christ is celebrating its 150th
anniversary with a Concert for the Community with the Howard Gospel Choir. There will be a reception following the concert and children are welcome to attend. First Congregational UCC (945 G. St. NW, Washington, D.C.). Free. 7 p.m. firstuccdc.org.
Saturday, September 19 – Taste of Falls Church and The Fall Festival 2015. Features include live entertainment, pony rides, children’s amusements, crafters,
businesses and civic organizations and cuisine from city kitchens. The children’s activity tent will offer face painting and craft projects. Falls Church Community Center (223 Little Falls St., Falls Church). 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. fallschurchva.gov/fallfestival.
C������� S���������� Be sure to include time, location, cost of admission, contact person and any other pertinent information. Event listings will be edited for content and space limitations. Please include any photos or artwork with submissions. Deadline is Monday at noon for the current week’s edition.
Email: calendar@fcnp.com | Fax: 703-342-0347; Attn: FCNP Calendar Mail: Falls Church News-Press, Attn: Calendar, 200 Little Falls St., #508, Falls Church, VA 22046
PAGE 28 | SEPTEMBER 3 - 9, 2015
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CITY OF FALLS CHURCH FALLS CHURCH, VA BOARD AND COMMISSION VACANCY
For Sale
VOLUNTEERS who live in the City of Falls Church are needed to serve on the boards and commissions listed below. Contact the City Clerk’s Office (703-248-5014, cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov, or www.fallschurchva.gov/BC) for an application form or more information. Requests for reappointment must be made through the City Clerk. Applications are accepted until the end of the month. Vacancies advertised for more than one month may be filled during each subsequent month before month’s end.
PLOTS, at National Memorial Park, Falls Church, VA at ¼ of current cost. Offering at $1500 per plot. Will consider monthly payments. Call 540-436-3611.
KILL BED BUGS! Harris Bed Bug Killers/ KIT Complete Treatment System. Available: The Home Depot, homedepot.com, and Hardware Stores
Help Wanted F ULL-TIME SALES POSITION open at German Gourmet Grocery Store. English required. Good people skills, salary commensurate with skills and experience. Fax Resume to 703-379-6117 or email info@ GermanGourmet .com. DRIVERS: NO-TOUCH! Get
Home, Get Paid! Excellent Pay Per Week! Strong Benefits Package Including Bonuses! CDL-A 1yr experience. 855-454-0392
DENTAL RECEPTIONIST and DENTAL ASSISTANT: General Dentist
Office in Falls Church, VA, near West FC Metro. Computer and Math Skills Required. Hours: M,T,Th,F. 9-4 PM. Send Resume to: jobs122@yahoo.com
fcnp.com
Board of Equalization Board of Zoning Appeals (alternate) Economic Development Authority Environmental Services Council Girls’ Home Advisory Board Historic Architectural Review Board Historical Commission Housing Commission Human Services Advisory Council Library Board of Trustees Regional Boards/Commissions: Fairfax Area Disability Services Board Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board Fairfax Partnership for Youth Long Term Care Coordinating Council Workforce Investment Board
classads@fcnp.com
ABC LICENSE Myanmar Restaurant Corporation, Trading as Myanmar Corporation, 7810-C Lee Highway, Falls Church, Virginia 22042-7721. The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) for a Wine and Beer On and Off Premises license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages. Than Dar Aung, Owner, Lin Lin Aung, Director. NOTE: Objections to the issuance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Objections should be registered at www.abc.virginia.gov or 800-552-3200.
Hire Local! Use News-Press Classifieds for your Help Wanted Ad! Email
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A RTS&E NTE RTA I NME NT
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Crossword
ACROSS
By David Levinson Wilk 1
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© 2015 David Levinson Wilk
Across
1. Word in many Spanish place names
1. Word in many Spanish place names 4. First name in crime fiction 10. It may be cruel 14. Hardly 100% 15. Rubik’s Cubes and troll dolls, once 16. Turning point 17. Novelist Tolstoy 18. William Penn, to Pennsylvania 19. Dial competitor 20. Akira Kurosawa or Ichiro Suzuki, e.g.? 23. Where things may be heating up 24. 60 minuti 25. Miracle-____ 28. Beech house? 29. Purplish shade commonly found in Oslo? 33. It’s a wrap in “Slumdog Millionaire” 34. Greek ____ 35. What Jaden Smith saw when his dad was visibly upset? 39. Trap at a ski lodge, say 41. Its letters are aptly found in consecutive order in the name of Broadway’s Eugene O’Neill Theatre 42. Really fearful Egyptian snake? 45. Pop group with a backward “B” in its name 49. Schumer or Shaheen: Abbr. 50. Opposite of ‘neath 51. Direction indicator 52. Traditional pre-Christmas activity ... and what’s affected 20-, 29-, 35and 42-Across 56. “Brandenburg Concertos” com-
SEPTEMBER 3 - 9, 2015 | PAGE 29
poser 59. Wrestler-turned-actor ____ “The Rock” Johnson 60. Memphis-to-Nashville dir. 61. Cookie in cookies-and-cream ice cream 62. Tribal emblems 63. “Down with thee!” 64. Gucci contemporary 65. Burdens 66. “Oh yeah? ____ who?!”
DOWN
1. “Get Low” rapper 2. Take ____ of absence 3. Calculus calculations 4. Chorus from the pews 5. Rubberneck 6. 2015 y 2016, por ejemplo 7. Fork part 8. Upper part of a barn 9. Capital of Eritrea 10. Throw for a loop 11. Firefighter’s tool 12. 1999 Frank McCourt memoir 13. Contractor’s fig. 21. Bug in “A Bug’s Life” 22. Puts away for future use 25. It soars over shores 26. Elvis’ label 27. Ref. with about 22,000 pages 29. Power ____ 30. “Either he goes ____ go!” 31. Lisa of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” 32. Close one 33. 12th grader
CHUCKLE BROS BRIAN & RON BOYCHUK
4. First name in crime fiction
35. Withdraw by degrees 36. Apt. feature, in the classifieds 37. Some fridges 38. “Doo ____ (That Thing)” (#1 hit for Lauryn Hill) 39. Mensa figs. 40. Pool player’s stick 43. Must 44. Gradually appealed to 45. Outfielder’s asset 46. Bill Clinton’s famous answer to an intimate question posed in 1994 47. Clyde’s partner 48. “Dang!” 51. Make ____ of things 52. Sif’s husband in myth 53. Duo with the 2003 hit “All the Things She Said” 54. Jim Beam and others 55. “By the power vested ____ ...” 56. Gymgoer’s pride 57. NPR’s Shapiro 58. Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer, beginning in 2012
10. It may be cruel
Sudoku Level:
Last Thursday’s Solution
Y A D A
V C H I P
F I A R D A
L O E W
B I R T H
E L I S E
S U N H A T R S E F O K E A V Y I G T U E Y
A M A S P A X I V E N I C T A K A T S I L O S E A L V A M L O C K E O R A E A T F L A T R I C H E A T I S N O R H A N D
S I L D S E E A V E Y E M S I O E R L M E P A M A J S O N O R E C S A
N I T R O
S N A F U
T O T S
W A N O L E E L T O D O U L
R O U T S
I T S O
By The Mepham Group
1 2 3 4
14. Hardly 100% 15. Rubik's Cubes and troll dolls, once 16. Turning point 17. Novelist Tolstoy 18. William Penn, to Pennsylvania 19. Dial competitor 20. Akira Kurosawa or Ichiro Suzuki, e.g.?
1
23. Where things may be heating up 24. 60 minuti 25. Miracle-____
LOOSE PARTS
28. Beech house?
DAVE BLAZEK
29. Purplish shade commonly found in Oslo? Solution to last Sunday’s puzzle
NICK KNACK
1
© 2015 N.F. Benton
9/6/15
Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit www.sudoku.org.uk. © 2015 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. All rights reserved.
LO CA L
PAGE 30 | SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2015
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Critter Corner
BACK IN THE DAY
laz y The dog. c k q u i fox sly p e d jum e r o v lazy the g . d o is Now time the all for o d g o to cows
20 s Yearo Ag
e c o mthe to of aid i r t h e re. pastu w N o the is e t i m all for o d g o to cows e c o mthe to
20 & 10 Years Ago in the News-Press
Falls Church News-Press Vol. V, No. 25 • September 7, 1995
Breaking Ground Classes will begin at the Falls Church site of the new University of Virginia/ Virginia Tech Graduate Center in January, 1997, if the current timetable for construction is met, following Tuesday’s festive ground breaking ceremony at the nowforest-like site behind George Mason High School. The presidents of both universities were present with large delegations from their respective institutions....
It is no the timw e for g o all o cows d to go to the aid of the pa stu ir re. *** **
Falls Church News-Press Vol. XV, No. 26 • September 1, 2005
10 Year s Ago
Thr ow it up. Pour it up It now is the time for all go od cows to go the to aid
F.C. Police Union Goes to Post With Pistol Grievance Leaders of the police officers union representing 17 members of the 29-member City of Falls Church Police Department once again went to the region’s major newspaper to air a grievance on its pages in a move that Falls Church City Manager Dan McKeever called “a terrible disappointment.” Yesterday, a story by Tom Jackman appeared on the top.... THIS IS JULIUS CAESAR KRACHMAN, a Portuguese Water Dog who was born on May 3rd of this year. The newest addition to the Krachman family loves to play tag, fetch and dig in the mulch.
Fa l l s C h u r c h
Business News & Notes
Just because you’re not famous doesn’t mean your pet can’t be! Send in your Critter Corner submissionsT:5.7” to crittercorner@fcnp.com.
Space Available for More Taste of F.C. Participants Space is still available for restaurants interested in participating in the Taste of Falls Church at the Fall Festival on Saturday, September 19. Twelve restaurants are signed up to date: Argia’s, Café Kindred, Clare & Don’s Beach Shack, Famous Dave’s, Flippin’ Pizza, American Grille, Plaka Grill, Sfizi Café, Sweet Rice, Taco Bamba, Whole Foods and Zinga. For information about participating in the Taste of Falls Church or the Fall Festival, contact Amy Maltese at amaltese@fallschurchva.gov.
You’re worthless.
G Street Fabrics Closes in Seven Corners G Street Fabrics & Home Decorating in Seven Corners has closed. The store known for its fabrics, window treatments, upholstery, slipcovers, bedding, cushions, table linens and decorative pillows is still open in the Montrose Shopping Center at 5520 Randolph Road in Rockville. For more information, visit www. gstreetfabrics.com.
New & Longtime F.C. Businesses Taking Part in FIRSTfriday
T:10.5”
You don’t see bullying like this every day. Your kids do.
Several new businesses are participating in FIRSTfriday of Falls Church on Friday, September 4. The Front Porch, at 920 W. Broad Street, will offer wine tastings from 4 – 6 p.m, L-say Designs, located at 907 W. Broad Street, will debut new gift items and art by local artists, have retail discounts, and a free dessert bar from 6 to 8 p.m., and The Gun Dude, at 412 W. Broad Street, will offer a free spaghetti dinner from 6:30 – 8 p.m. with raffles and more. Additional events are being hosted by Allstate-GHG Insurance Company, Art and Frame of Falls Church, Beadazzled, Brits on Broad, Clay Café Studios, Creative Cauldron, Jefferson Street Artists, Red, White & Bleu, Stifel & Capra and Stylish Patina. Dining specials will also be available with Argia’s, Clare & Don’s Beach Shack, Famous Dave’s, Ireland’s Four Provinces, La Caraquena, Mad Fox Brewing Company and Maneki Neko. FIRSTfriday of Falls Church is sponsored by Beyer Automotive and Tori McKinney. For more information, visit www.firstfridayoffallschurch.com.
Teach your kids how to
be more than a bystander. Learn how at
StopBullying.gov
Kensington Groundbreaking Set for Sept. 10 A groundbreaking ceremony for the Kensington of Falls Church at 700 W. Broad Street will take place on Thursday, September 10 at noon. The Kensington of Falls Church will be an assisted living development with ground floor arts space to be managed by Falls Church Arts and a food establishment. The event is being held on the former Burger King site by the Kensington of Falls Church and Forrester Construction. For questions about this event, email marketing@forresterconstruction.com. Business News & Notes is compiled by Sally Cole, Executive Director of Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce. She may be emailed at sally@fallschurchchamber.org.
28950 E To Contact Us regarding this Job, Scan this QR Code. For best results, please have the Job Number and/or Project Manager name available.
Ad Council MMYBRPP2005 everybody hates you 5.7 X 10.5
100% None 5.7” x 10.5” None
T.Bartolucci Kim Oetting Kim Oetting
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Black
SEPTEMBER 3 - 9, 2015 | PAGE 31
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Directory Listings: Call Us at 703-532-3267
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ACCOUNTING
Diener & Associates, CPA. . . . . . . . . 241-8807 Eric C. Johnson, CPA, PC . . . . . . . . 538-2394 Mark Sullivan, CPA . . . . . . . . . . . 571-214-4511 Hahn & Associates, PC, CPAs . . . . . 533-3777
Business Directory n
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ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES
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ATTORNEYS
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Falls Church Antique Company . . . . 241-7074 Antique Annex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241-9642 Mark F. Werblood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534-9300 Sudeep Bose, Former Police Officer. 926-3900 Janine S. Benton, Esq. . . . . . . . . . . . .992-9255
AUTOMOTIVE
Beyer Volvo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237-5000
BANKING
CLEANING SERVICES
Maid Brigade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 823-1922 Acclaimed Carpet Cleaning . . . . . . . . 978-2270 House Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571-235-4295 A Cleaning Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 892-8648
COLLEGES
American College of Commerce and Technology . . . . . . . 942-6200
CONCRETE
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DENTISTS
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EQUIPMENT RENTAL/SALE
Family Dentistry, Nimisha V Patel . . . 533-1733 Dr. William Dougherty . . . . . . . . . . . . 532-3300
BOOK BINDING
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FLORISTS
CHIROPRACTOR
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FRAMES
Dr. Solano, solanospine.com . . . . . . 536-4366
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HANDYMAN
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HEALTH & FITNESS
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Point of View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237-6500 Falls Church Florist, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . 533-1333 Art & Frame of Falls Church . . . . . . . 534-4202
GIFTS
Chris & Barb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571-830-6630 Handyman Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556-4276 Your Handyman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571-243-6726 Energy Healing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447-9767 Vantage Fitness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241-0565 Jazzercise Falls Church . . . . . . . . . . 622-2152
HOME IMPROVEMENT
FC Heating & Air Service . . . . . . . . . 534-0630 Joseph Home Improvement . . . . . . . 507-5005 Picture Perfect Home Improvements 590-3187 One Time Home Improvement . . . . . 577-9825
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INSURANCE
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LAWN CARE
VA Outdoor Power Equipment . . . . . 207-2000
EYEWEAR
BCR Binders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534-9181
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CRJ Concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571-221-2785
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Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. . . 519-1634 BB&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241-3505 TD Bank/www.TDBank.com . . . . . . . 237-2051
3 months - $150 6 months - $270 1 year - $450
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Allstate Home Auto Life Ins. . . . . . . . 241-8100 State Farm Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . 237-5105
1 Line Maximum
(30 characters + Ph. #, incl. spaces)
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MUSIC
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OPTOMETRIST
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PET SERVICES
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PHARMACY
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PHOTOGRAPHY
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REAL ESTATE
Lawn Enforcement Services, LLC . . . 237-0921
MASSAGE
www.healthybyintention.com. . . . . . . 534-1321
MEDICAL
Dr Gordon Theisz, Family Medicine . 533-7555
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Academy of Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 938-8054 Foxes Music Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533-7393
Dr. Alison Sinyai, Family Eye Care . 533-3937 Feline Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 920-8665 Broad Street Pharmacy . . . . . . . . . . . 533-9013 Gary Mester, Event, Portraits . . . . . . 481-0128 Mary Sandoval Photography . . . . 334-803-1742 Merelyn Kaye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .790-9090x218 www.helpfulmortgage.us . . . . . . . . . . 237-0222 Casey O’Neal - ReMax . . . . . . . . . . . 824-4196 Rosemary Hayes Jones . . . . . . . . . . .790-1990 The Young Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .356-8800 Tori McKinney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 867-8674 Shaun Murphy, Realtor . . . . . . . . . . 868-5999
TAILOR
Tailor Lee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534-8886
Stifel & Capra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407-0770
All numbers have a ‘703’ prefix unless otherwise indicated.
Healthy Smiles Begin Here Family, Cosmetic and Implant Dentistry
Now Offering Dental Savings Plans!
PAGE 32 | SEPTEMBER 3 – 9, 2015
Falls Church - Under Contract!
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Happy Labor Day! For Sale
2300 Grove Ave | FC
New Construction! 6 BD/5.5 BA. Huge Lot! $1,499,000
For Sale 3 BD/3.5 BA townhome with great views! $879,000
Charm abounds! 1936 Cape, lovingly updated & exquisitely maintained. SS & Granite Kit, 3 gorgeous BAs, 5 BRs, hardwood floors, Rec Room, Huge sun-drenched family room with FP. Radiant heat, Hardiplank siding, Architectural slate roof, stunning mouldings. Absolutely beautiful gardens, enchanting views from every room. Garage. $895,000.
Merelyn Kaye
Meeting Real Estate needs since 1970. There is no substitute for experience Home Office: 703-362-1112 e-mail: merelyn@kayes.com
158 Rees Place | FCC
For Sale
For Sale
710 Villa Ridge Rd | FCC 1272 S Washington St | FCC
Broadmont! 4 BD/3.5BA $1,175,000
For Sale
3 BD/3.5 BA 4-level townhome $674,900
Under Contract
6990 Falls Reach Dr #401, 2305 Locust Ridge Ct | FC 5 BD/2 full/2 half BA Colonial Falls Church
2 BD/2 BA Condo. $454,900
Under Contract
403 Timber Lane | FCC
4BD/2BA Cape $749,000
$779,000
Under Contract
1104 Jackson Ct | FCC 3 BD/2 BA Rambler $699,000
Louise Molton NVAR Top Producer Phone: 703 244-1992 Email: louise@moltonrealestate.com
www.LouiseMolton.com
EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY
®
REALTOR