Learn what steps the City’s Public Works is taking to deal with stormwater and floodplain management in a presentation by Bill Hicks, P.E., entitled “Prospects for Stormwater Management.”  The presentation will help residents understand the important local flood control implications and the regional impacts of runoff to the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay.

The meeting will begin with presentation of VPIS Awards and a brief business meeting, followed by a presentation of Excellence in Design Awards in recognition of outstanding  homes, additions and landscaping.

For additional information, see www.vpis.org.

This is your annual opportunity to clean out your attic, basement, closets, garage….and donate to a community cause! This is recycling at its purest. If it works, don’t throw it away, drop it off for the sale!!

Donations will be accepted at the Community Center the day before the sale — Friday May 4, 9:00am-9:00pm.

The following donations are welcome: Baked goods, toys, plants (no trees or shrubs), jewelry, hardware, housewares, antiques, collectibles, musical recordings and instruments, special treasures, antiques and books (that someone would want to read!)

We cannot accept clothing, text books or magazines

Donations must be clean, in good condition and easy to sell in 4 hours. Each item must be light enough for one person to lift.

To donate or volunteer assistance, please contact Marybeth Connelly at 703-237-0604 or mbdoncon@gmail.com. You may also contact villagesociety@vpis.org.  Thanks for your support!

The play is directed by seniors Bryan Ward and Rebecca Thackrey and produced by Theater Arts Director Pamela Ricker.  The Play is set in London’s industrial revolution of the late 1800’s, and tells the story of Joseph Merrick, known as The Elephant Man, who had a bone disorder which caused him to develop terrible deformities.  Merrick was a side show freak until he was rescued by Treves, a surgeon at the London Hospital.  The play examines issues of people’s fear of the unknown and prejudices based on appearance as well as our intolerance of perceived imperfections of all kinds.

The play is a serious drama and will be staged with creative lighting, projections, and short animations to create the settings and communicate the themes. Technical support will be by John Ballou and the George Mason Technical Theater Crew, as well as Mr. Ballou’s classes. Starring roles include Sean Driggers as The Elephant man, Samuel Blagg as Dr. Treves, Emma Pierce as Lady Gomm, Joseph Warren as Ross and Kikki Skotte as Mrs. Kendall.  The supporting ensemble brings the size of the cast up to 40 in all.

This is a very intellectual, symbolic, and challenging script and the George Mason cast is more than up to the challenge of bringing it to life. There should be striking and impressive technical elements to the show as well, which promise to make it a memorable piece of theater.

We have some new plants available this year, so please take a minute to look at the plant list. Native plants benefit our local birds and butterflies and can transform your yard into a watershed friendly environment. They are often hardier and need less water and attention than transplants.

The plants come from native stocks and are grown at a Virginia nursery. All plants are priced at $10.00 and come in mostly 6″ or 7” containers.

All orders must be received by April 30th with payment by either mail or drop-off at this address: 802 Ridge Place , Falls Church , VA 22046 . We have a limited availability of stock – we cannot guarantee we will not run out of a particular plant so order early.

Orders will be available for pick up on May 6th at Cherry Hill Park in the City of Falls Church (behind the community center near the basketball court). Please come by between noon and 2pm. If you need to arrange another time please contact Melissa Teates (703-538-6961 or melanite@verizon.net).

You can also get the order form and plant list using Google Docs:

PDF – https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1qFfaWjvWoUSnBZczB6Ni01VFk

Excel – https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlqFfaWjvWoUdDhQWWp1YmRqbVRzQ2xfblc0T0tZenc

City residents may recycle and properly dispose of many items, including electronics, cell phones, clothing, bicycles, printer cartridges, eyeglasses, medical supplies, and more.  The City of Falls Church Police Department will also hold its semi-annual Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, a no-questions-asked program to help with proper disposal of prescription and over-the-counter medication.

Contact City Arborist, 703-248-5183, arborist@fallschurchva.gov for more information or to volunteer. Info also available on the City’s website, www.fallschurchva.gov/Volunteer.

“Sue Richter embodies the heart of Housing and Human Services: providing service to our City’s most vulnerable residents, such as homeless children and adults, low-income seniors, victims of domestic abuse, the deaf, and those needing free legal services,” said Nancy Vincent, Director of HHS.

A public reception in Richter’s honor is scheduled for Monday, April 23, at 6:45 p.m. at Cherry Hill Farmhouse (312 Park Ave.). The award will be presented to Richter that evening at the City Council meeting in City Hall (300 Park Ave.).

Please contact Seth Heminway, Volunteer Chair Neighborhood TreeProgram at: heminway.seth@gmail.com (no “g” in the last name) with questions and to let him know if you plan to participate.  See: www.vpis.org/trees for more details.

Also, come celebrate the City’s 117th Arbor Day in Frady Park at 3 PM.

Sometimes, you can do ill while trying to do good.   

Such is the case, in my view, with the Falls Church City Republican Committee’s plan to host a candidate forum featuring the seven men vying for City Council. 

Although not a “debate,” according to the FCCRC, the candidates would take questions from the audience and each other, with the members of the GOP organization in attendance.  The public also would be invited to attend.

So what’s wrong with that?  Nothing, were it hosted by a non-partisan organization.  But the FCCRC is a partisan organization — founded specifically for the purpose of electing Republican candidates. 

I am not opposed to partisan organizations.  I’m a Democrat who has worked in elections since college, and I appreciate that partisan organizations play the role of offering contrasting visions.  But Falls Church City has a tradition of non-partisan elections, which I would like to see continue.  Local issues do not lend themselves to partisan solutions, and adding a partisan element will only make it more difficult to find real solutions. 

Moreover, there is a real risk of emulation on the Democratic side, either at the organizational level or through sub-groups.  When one party acts, the other responds.  It is the nature of politics.  It does not appear that the Falls Church City Democratic Committee plans to host a candidate forum – fortunately.  But that doesn’t mean individual groups of Democrats won’t use the GOP involvement as an excuse to act in a partisan manner.   

This becomes particularly problematic as we prepare to move City Council and School Board elections to November in 2013.  In a single campaign season and on a single ballot, we will have some elections which are non-partisan and others which are partisan.  In a small city in which many of the same people volunteer in both partisan and the non-partisan races, it will be tricky enough to maintain a distinction even if the two party organizations try.  When one of those organizations becomes actively involved in the non-partisan races, all bets are off.    

Last week I spoke with FCCRC chairman Ken Feltman, along with FCCRC member Mark Rhoads, to raise my concerns.  While saying they support the non-partisan nature of the City Council and School Board elections, they feel strongly that having the candidates speak to the FCCRC is an important opportunity for their members to interact with the candidates, and that they are doing a civic service by inviting the public to attend.  They point out that they invited the local Democratic Committee to join them in hosting the event, as well as the League of Women Voters. 

But the fact is, they don’t need to do this event in order to achieve their goals.  The public, including FCCRC’s members, will have plenty of opportunities to see and speak with the candidates at events staged by non-partisan organizations, like Citizens for a Better City, the League of Women Voters, and the Village Preservation and Improvement Society. 

And if this particular group of people insists on hosting a forum, they can always do it separately from the partisan organization.  They don’t need the auspices of the FCCRC to have a conversation with the candidates – they can just reserve a meeting room at the Community Center, or a restaurant, or an apartment complex, and invite anyone interested to come.  It’s an easy thing to do. 

I give the FCCRC credit for trying to do a good thing.  But the fact is they’re trying to do a non-partisan civic activity through a partisan organization.  Invariably, that effort will raise suspicion and provide cover to others who want to make City Council races de facto partisan.  As much as they want to offer the resources of the FCCRC for this purpose, they shouldn’t. 

By definition, partisan organizations are a bad fit for non-partisan elections and simply should not be involved.  In the end, however well intended, it’s not worth the risk of undermining our local non-partisan tradition.