May 9 - 15 , 2024
Falls Church, Virginia • w w w . fc n p . c o m • Free
Founded 1991 • Vol. XXXIV N o . 13
The City of Falls Church’s Independent, Locally-Owned Newspaper of Record, Serving N. Virginia
F.C. Council HORSEHIDERS ON A ROLL Poised to Cut 2¢ As Budget Vote Looms Major Relative Savings Compared to Neighbors by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
The Falls Church City Council is poised to approve a FY25 fiscal year budget at its meeting this Monday that will reduce the real estate tax by 2 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, from $1.23 to $1.21. This will make the City of Falls Church the only jurisdiction in the region to achieve a tax reduction in the current budget cycle. Tuesday, the neighboring Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted 9-1 to increase the tax rate there by 3 cents, neighboring Arlington County Board members voted to increase their tax rate by 2 cents, and neighboring Alexandria moved to raise its rate by 2.5 cents. The increases in the neighboring jurisdictions amount to an increase in the average real estate tax bill by about $450. By contrast, if the Falls Church Council goes ahead to vote a 2 cent reduction as planned, the average tax bill increase in F.C. will be about $156 in the face of increases in assessed values. That means that those living in Falls Church will be paying taxes (starting in December) of $300 less than presently if they lived in the wider region on either side of the City. Moreover, the Falls Church budget of $138 million for its tiny 2.2 square mile jurisdiction will be providing a full six
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SUCCESS IS FOLLOWING the Meridian High School Mustangs baseball team, The ‘Stangs picked up two wins last week, defeating Warren County 3-0 with a Greiner brother effort: Luke got the win on the mound and Grant belted a home run. Ben Kozbelt successfully closed the game and James Teague had two hits. On Tuesday, April 30th the team beat Wakefield 6-3. Mason Duval (3 for 4) and Zander Greene (2 for 4) led the offense and Alessio Azimipour got the win on the mound. (Photo: Cayce Ramey)
F.C. Davis Siblings’ Documentary Draws 200 by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
“We reject the view that more freedom necessarily entails less equality and community, believing instead with Alexis de Tocqueville that individualism rightly understood is perfectly compatible with community and equality.” So remarks Robert D. Putnam, author of the bestselling “Bowling Alone,” in his new book, “The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again.” Putnam is the principal focus of a new video
documentary, “Join or Die,” by Falls Church natives, the brother and sister team of Pete and Rebecca Davis, that drew over 200 for a viewing at the Meridian High School auditorium in Falls Church last Sunday. The Davis sibling team, both graduates of Meridian (being known as George Mason at the time, Rebecca in the Class of ‘01 and Pete in ‘08), were on hand to introduce and take questions about their creation, which has already toured locations around the U.S. in the last year, but which not surprisingly enjoyed its biggest audience right here. The film drew extensive applause
and an enthusiastic response to an offer by the hosts for community organizations to identify themselves in appeals for new participants, which was, after all, the primary point of it all – to get the public to come out of its shells and get more directly engaged in groups that do good work. The idea is that engaging in groups “is good for you” in a multitude of ways, Pete Davis told the audience. “We have been in a social recession and need a revival, a moral change.” He challenged the audience to “imagine being together differently” and to address the question, “What kind of legacy do
you want to leave behind?” Representatives of groups in the audience who spoke up to identify themselves and to welcome new people to their work included Falls Church Arts, Welcome Falls Church, the Climate Action Network, the Cable Access Corporation of Falls Church, the American Association of University Women (AAUW), Citizens for a Better City, the Tinner Hill Foundation, the F.C. Homeless Shelter, F.C. Democratic Committee, the Appalachian Trail Club, the Pokemon
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