OPINION: How Could Someone Steal the Yield Signs?

By STEPHANIE J. OPPENHEIMER
Falls Church Times Staff

August 11, 2010

Almost 10 years ago to the day, my father decided to take a bike ride to Leesburg via the W&OD Trail. It was a trip he had taken countless times, so when he didn’t return home after a few hours, we weren’t terribly worried; we figured he had just decided to ride a little further than originally planned.

But when afternoon turned to dusk, and dusk turned to night, we got scared. We called every hospital in the region, we filed a police report, we drove repeatedly to the parking lot where he had left his car. Finally, at 10 p.m., we found out that there was a “John Doe” in Fairfax Hospital’s ICU, who had been medevacked that afternoon from Sterling. He had been hit by a minivan as he crossed one of the many roads the W&OD intersects, and he was in bad shape.

John Doe was my dad. He spent two weeks in a coma, nine months in the hospital, and four more months in rehab and physical therapy as a nearly severed leg and a damaged brain healed. He ultimately returned to work, returned to golf, returned to the gym. In my eyes, it’s a miracle he survived at all.

Ever since then, I’ve treated W&OD road crossings as if the railroad were still operating — without crossing gates or ringing bells. I slow and look both ways before continuing through a crossing. I stop whenever I see a walker, jogger or cyclist approaching. Yet even with such caution, I’ve been amazed by the number of times another driver has zoomed around me and nearly hit the very person I was letting cross in front of me.

So imagine my delight last week, when six “Yield to Pedestrian” signs were erected at each of Falls Church City’s six W&OD road crossings. I was happy to see a post on the City’s Facebook page, reminding motorists “to slow down when approaching a crosswalk and stop if a bicyclist or pedestrian is in the walkway, because they have the right of way.” It continued, “Bicyclists must also observe the Stop sign before entering the crosswalk, and everyone is reminded to look both ways before crossing the road!”

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OPINION: Congratulations Mr. Benton – AND Mayor Baroukh

By STAN FENDLEY

July 23, 2010

This week the Falls Church News-Press printed edition number 1,000.  That is quite a feat.  Those of us involved in the Falls Church Times can tell you that it’s a lot of work to put together even an online publication.  A hard copy newspaper is a much bigger operation, and doing it 1,000 weeks in a row is an accomplishment to be proud of.

In this week’s edition, FCNP publisher Nick Benton includes two lengthy pieces about the paper’s history and his reflections on the meaning of a free press.  First, in a story entitled “1,000 Wednesday Nights at the Mighty News-Press,” Mr. Benton relates how the paper began and who helped him along the way.  It’s an interesting story, particularly in light of the fact that newspaper economics no longer work in many cases, causing paper after paper to shutter in recent years.

Mr. Benton started the paper in 1991.  The headline of his first edition was “Rancorous Public Hearing on School Cuts, Tax Increase” – one he could have re-used this spring.

With obvious delight, Mr. Benton writes that when the printer’s wheels began to turn on that first edition, “I began to bellow above the din of the press, ‘Let every tyrant tremble!  The free press is the voice of the people in defense of liberty and freedom everywhere!’”

And he notes that after staying up all night to finish the first edition, he looked outside to see “that the cherry trees lining N. Virginia Avenue [near his office] had blossomed into their full pink radiance.”

“It was a sign,” he said.

Mr. Benton started the FCNP in a small office behind the Exxon station at Broad and North Virginia.  He planned for the paper to be a monthly or bi-weekly publication, but started the second edition immediately after putting out the first one, giving birth to a weekly.

In Mr. Benton’s editorial this week, “A Celebration of the First Amendment,” he speaks to the importance of a free press and his role in it, mentioning a variety of figures including First Amendment author George Mason, White House correspondent Helen Thomas, and recently fired-and-rehired USDA employee Shirley Sherrod.  He goes on to note a number of public officials who accepted his invitation to sign a congratulatory ad that appears in this week’s FCNP, saying “The elected officials have every reason to affirm these things.”

Mr. Benton goes too far, however, when he reports that newly-elected Mayor Nader Baroukh declined the invitation to sign the ad – and pointedly contrasts him with other public officials who did sign the ad.

According to Benton, Mayor Baroukh’s reason for declining to lend his name to the ad was, “As an elected official I should not be in the business of congratulating the media on what it does or does not do.”

I believe Baroukh is right.

Although Baroukh was quickly criticized by former Mayor Robin Gardner and former Vice Mayor Lindy Hockenberry for not supporting a local business, it is important to remember that the media is not just another business.  Its business is reporting news and opining on it — most importantly, the news of government.  The media influences government action, and unabashedly so.

As a result, the media can be extremely powerful.  The adage, “Don’t pick fights with people who buy ink by the barrel” is a wise reminder that the person who controls public information wields great power.  This is very relevant in Falls Church City, where Mr. Benton is the only person whose words touch every doorstep in town.  By the mere reach of those words, he is arguably the most influential person in Falls Church City.  And the fact that he would report Baroukh’s decision not to lend his name to a congratulatory ad indicates Mr. Benton’s willingness to use his influence.

That the press is powerful is not necessarily a bad thing.  Its power is necessary in order to offset the power of government.  But – and here is the thing — in order for the media and the government to work properly, they cannot become too cozy.  Government officials kowtowing to the press or vice versa could be a disastrous thing for democracy.

In my view, the FCNP’s ad has the feel of kowtowing.  It is one thing for community members to congratulate Mr. Benton, but it is another when a group of public officials, who may at any time receive the sting of his lash, line up to congratulate him.  Frankly, it makes me uncomfortable, and I think Mayor Baroukh was wise to decline the offer.    Yes, it is part of his job to promote local businesses, but a much more important part of his job is maintaining the proper relationship between institutions, particularly those upon which a democratic system depends.

Therefore, I believe two congratulations are in order.  Mr. Benton is to be congratulated for his remarkable run of a 1,000 weeks of newspapers.  And Mayor Baroukh is to be congratulated for his mindfulness of the appropriate line between government and the media.  May they both continue to do their jobs well.

OPINION: Should Voters Elect the Mayor?

By GEORGE BROMLEY
Falls Church Times Staff

June 27, 2010

Last month the City of Falls Church held a municipal election.  Turnout was 24%.  Next month it will hold another election.  The turnout will be 100%, but only seven people will be voting.

On July 1, as is required every two years, the City Council will choose one of its members as mayor and another as vice mayor.  The mayor will chair the many meetings and work sessions held during the coming term and represent the City at various public functions.  The vice mayor will perform these duties in the mayor’s absence.

The selection process often requires the Council members to play a game of “Let’s Make a Deal” in order for one of them to secure the required four or more votes to achieve election.  Some critics, including at least one member of the current Council, have suggested that election of the mayor might better be left to the City’s voters.  Indeed, it seems inconsistent to continue the practice of a Council-selected mayor after municipal elections were recently moved from May to November, specifically to give voice to more voters.  If having a greater turnout regarding Council membership is so important, why is it less important for the selection of mayor?

The counter-arguments are that those serving are best qualified to choose their chairman and deputy and that some deal making is an inherent part of the legislative process.  However, deals made in connection with these choices may obligate members to subsequently cast some of their votes more on the basis of loyalty than on principle.   There also is the possibility of the Council becoming less collegial and falling into two distinct blocs, based on the division in the mayoral vote.

Some suggest that the mayor should be the candidate receiving the most votes in the last election.  That is a flawed system, however.  First, it would never be clear if the voters wanted a candidate to be Mayor rather than just a member of the Council.  Moreover, it would always exclude the three or four Council members who were not candidates in the last election due to staggered member terms.

Removing the mayoral election from the Council and trusting the choice to voters clearly would elevate the office.   It also would be more democratic and probably would increase election turnout.  As for the vice mayor, the other six Council members could rotate through the position in order of seniority, each serving four months during the 24 month term. 

Such changes would require amending the City’s Charter.  While the Council has the authority to take such action, the final decision in the matter should be left to voters via a referendum.  Clearly, that is not possible for this year’s mayoral selection, and in that regard we urge the seven members of the Council to choose a person with the vision to lead us forward.  But in subsequent elections, the voters should have the opportunity to decide whose vision they prefer.

The views expressed in OPINION columns are those of their authors.  They do not necessarily reflect the views of other Falls Church Times staff members or of the paper as a whole.

OPINION: Where Have All the (Free-Range) Children Gone?

By VICTORIA KWASIBORSKI
Falls Church Times Staff

May 14, 2010

This week’s story about the loiterer near Thomas Jefferson Elementary School understandably caused alarm for many parents, and I’ll wager that many chose to bring their kids in. But I think the opposite should happen—we should let our kids out.

Most of us can recall the virtues of free-range play we enjoyed as children. You remember—biking to the park with a friend for the entire afternoon (without a helmet!), wandering the neighborhood looking for something to do (without a cell phone!), and dilly-dallying your way home from school on those first warm afternoons of spring.

As a third grader growing up in just-barely suburban Detroit in the ’70s, I walked to and from school with two friends and my pesky younger sister. We crossed three streets, including a busy boulevard—with a traffic light and no crossing guards. Now from my vantage point at home one block from TJ I watch parents walk their third graders home, some of whom live just around the corner or up the street—yet we have crossing guards and no busy boulevards.

After school I freely roamed the neighborhood, too.  Now, nationally, only 15% of elementary and middle school students walk to and from school, and only about a third of elementary students engage in unstructured outdoor play. I’ll guess we’re just about the only mammals that don’t permit our young to frolic anymore. (Frolicking with a coach, a clipboard and pre-approved nutritional snack does not count.)

How and when did we let this happen?

Is it crime rates? Yes, crime rates rose during the late ’80s and early ’90s, but they are now back to 1970s levels. Of course, an astute commenter might point out that because we keep our children inside, crime rates are low. If this strategy were causal, however, there would be an increase in crimes against adults, and that is not the case.

Is it media?  Remember, too, that TV stations in the 1970s, the few that there were, were just beginning to realize that child abductions are ratings gold. Now?  Camera crews pull hard duty in sunny Portugal to follow the story of a girl taken from her hotel room, and hit the beaches in Aruba, where a college student disappeared. Because networks drown us for days, weeks, and even months with these stories, it can feel like children are being abducted 24/7.

Kids need to know how to keep themselves safe, but they also need time to play, to explore, to be kids. So, teach them how to cross the street, teach them not to go off with strangers, and then: let them out.  If your children are already out there frolicking, great!  There’s even a term for them—they’re “free range” kids.

“Free Range Kids” was coined about a year ago by Lenore Skenazy, a Manhattan mom raising her then 9-year old son, who one Saturday asked if he could navigate his own way home from the department store where they were. After a review of the safety rules, she gave him her cell phone, a subway map and tickets, and let him go. He arrived home elated with his newfound independence.

Skenazy wrote about the experience on her blog, and in short time was both lauded and jeered by the media (and commenters) for her actions, and was even labeled “America’s Worst Mom.”  She took it all in good stride and now writes “Free-Range Kids,” her site devoted to encouraging “commonsense parenting in uncommonly overprotective times.” (Disclaimer: I do not know, nor am I being paid by Ms. Skenazy to write about her. I just think she offers a refreshing perspective on common sense.)

We tout our safe community as one of Falls Church’s most redeeming features, we have an abundance of well-appointed parks, and our elementary school could not be located in a calmer area, yet most students do not, or are not permitted to, walk to and from school, and I see few kids out and about on their own. So I’m wondering, how and when did we let this happen?  Are there any free range kids in Falls Church?

POLITICAL ANALYSIS:
Election Wide Open as News-Press Endorses Mixed Slate

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Falls Church Times Columnist

April 29, 2010

Falls Church voters face the most conflicting set of choices for City Council this Tuesday to confront them in this century – and maybe in the last century as well.

Eight candidates are running for four seats, and the usual powers that be have splintered. Of the four candidates endorsed today by the Falls Church News-Press, only two are running on the CBC (Citizens for a Better City) slate. Traditionally the News-Press and the CBC have operated in lock-step.

Even more intriguing is the break between News-Press owner-editor Nicholas Benton and Mayor Robin Gardner and her politically active husband, Mike, who recently began writing an opinion column in Benton’s newspaper. Today, Gardner’s entire column is devoted to reasons why Council incumbent Dave Snyder should not be re-elected. Yet in the same edition, Benton endorses Snyder, albeit not without reservation.

Why the big breakup? My own back-of-the-envelope reasoning is that Benton, who has followed City politics for 20 years and knows which way the wind is blowing, has determined that the CBC slate will not win big. Certainly not in entirety. Even the CBC members don’t have their heart in it. Just look around the City – there are a paucity of CBC campaign signs. It’s really quite amazing, considering how big a race this is.

The lack of enthusiasm for the CBC campaign may stem from the strange way they picked their slate this year. No smoke-filled back room for the CBC – to the contrary, you didn’t even have to be a CBC member to vote at their convention! Just show up.

The results were just as surprising as the unorthodox method of obtaining them. Incumbent Dan Sze, anointed by the CBC four years earlier, wasn’t even nominated. He wisely withdrew from the race a few days later.

But the big shocker was that former vice mayor and longtime CBC loyalist Lindy Hockenberry also failed to win nomination to the CBC slate. This was apparently too much for News-Press editor Benton to bear, as Hockenberry leads his list of endorsements.

The News-Press headline reads:

Hockenberry, Peppe,
Lippman, Snyder

That’s a little misleading, because the editorial itself indicates a slightly different order of preference. The two lead choices are actually Vice Mayor Hal Lippman and Hockenberry, but their combined names were too long to fit on one line. Current School Board Chair Ron Peppe, having the shortest name, was elevated to follow Hockenberry.

If the News-Press applied a litmus test for endorsements, it would seem to be the vote on lending $2 million to the Falls Church Housing Corporation to build the Wilden senior housing project on South Washington Street. Hockenberry (who sits on the Planning Commission) and Lippman were  enthusiastic supporters of the venture, and Snyder voted for it as well, breaking with his oft-time ally, Councilman Nader Baroukh. Meanwhile, Peppe cleverly tiptoed through the hot coals, remaining vague on the question but alienating no one.  Among the candidates who did not receive News-Press endorsement, three of them – Johannah Barry, Ira Kaylin, and John Lawrence, were strongly opposed to the City’s $2 million loan, with only Barry Buschow appearing to mildly favor it.

So – only two candidates have managed to win the imprimatur of both the CBC and the News-Press: Lippman and Peppe. But in a time of potential voter backlash, are these endorsements helpful?

Comments?

OPINION: Lighten Up, George! Things WILL Get Better

By ANNETTE HENNESSEY and STAN FENDLEY
Falls Church Times Staff

March 16, 2010

Our fellow Falls Church Times volunteer, George Southern, has written a series of “the sky is falling and we must cede to Arlington” posts in his Man About Town column.  This week’s was just downright depressing, perfect for a cold rainy Monday morning.  In Why Things Won’t Get Any Better, our school population has exploded and caused a budget crisis.  And on top of that, the City is broke.

Frankly, we think George is yanking our chains so that we will start thinking and talking about what’s going on with the City and its budget. Every community in the United States is facing hard economic times.  But going through hard times can be a good thing.  Now is the time that our community should identify what’s important, make decisions around those priorities, focus on why Falls Church City is a place people want to live.

We’re a long way from having to throw up our hands and give up our independent city status.  As the law stands today, if the City of Falls Church ceases to exist, we get folded back into Fairfax County, not Arlington.  A chat with a local realtor confirmed our suspicions that if the City of Falls Church becomes part of Fairfax County and its school system, property values in the city could fall by as much as a third.  So it benefits everyone, not just those with kids in City schools, to avoid George’s doomsday scenario.

We should be calling on the community—one that is filled with smart, dedicated citizens—to help find the solutions.   Already, hundreds of people are engaged in a discussion about the priorities of the City.  As the discussion continues, people will begin to identify what is important and how much they are willing to pay.

The May elections will continue the conversation, with the eight City Council candidates being asked to define their priorities and outline actions that the city can take in these tight budget years.  This year’s candidates bring a wealth of experience – both in public office and professionally – to the election.  And after all, aren’t elections the ultimate way for citizens to comment on the direction of public policy in their community?  If you believe in the electoral system, presumably Council members will be selected who want to go in the direction the majority of citizens prefer.

The school board has already held conversations about priorities.  The proposed school budget is 4.5 percent less than FY2010, and was created after a lengthy discussion with administrators, staff, and the public.  They looked at every line in their budget, and choosing to keep the cuts as far away from the classroom as possible, made some difficult decisions.

Now it’s time to examine the City budget for efficiencies and some out-of-the-box solutions to our current fiscal crisis.  And as the economy improves, the City should continue to identify its priorities and plan for the future with public input.

The fact that Falls Church City remains a place people want to live is a good thing.  The fact that our schools attract more students is a good problem to have.  Clearly, there are limits to the number of students the schools can serve, but better to live in a community where people are clamoring to get in than one where people want to leave.  Better to live in a community where people want to be part of the solution rather than give up and merge with another county.

OPINION: Stories I’d Like to See in the Falls Church Times

By DAVE WITZEL
Falls Church Times Staff

February 27, 2010

I’m really proud of the work the all-volunteer Falls Church Times team has done. What started out as a civic experiment has become a thriving, valuable enterprise. During the past two months our volunteers have been posting an average of four articles per day. Sometime this week someone on the team will prepare our 1,000th article. This is remarkable production.

That said, I can’t help but wish we were doing more. It would be great to have more volunteers and contributors to broaden and deepen our coverage.

Here’s a few examples of stories I would love to read in the Falls Church Times.

Business

Big Games in the Little City. We have at least three games/comics stores nearby (Compleat Strategist, Anime Pavilion, and the just-opened Victory Comics). This seems like a lot of comics per-capita. Are we #1 in the nation? Do Falls Churchers really like games?  Are we kind of Silicon Valley for gaming?

2nd Hand Falls Church. We have a great set of used-stuff stores in town. We have used CDs (CD Cellar), books (Hole in the Wall Books), clothes (Second Chance, New to You, Rosalin’s Bridal Boutique), and bikes (Bike Club), not to mention antique stores including Falls Church Antique Annex and Olde Habits‎. What else should be on this list? Any particular treasures the community should know about? How can we make or save money (and waste less)?

Sports

Can GM Ladies Basketball Re-peat? The GM’s Girls Basketball team is in the regional play-offs. How are they doing? Who are they playing and when? And, most of all, can we get some action photos and video!

Falls Church Rec Basketball Celebrates XX Years. The Community Center’s annual recreational basketball leagues is one of the grand traditions of Falls Church. How many kids participate in it? How long has it been going on? Who are the personalities that keep it going?

City Hall

Budget, Budget, Budget. You may have heard that Falls Church is facing some budget difficulties. What’s more, this is a problem that won’t go away any time soon. We’ll be wrestling with budgets for years into the future. So what do we need to know to make intelligent choices about changing services, raising taxes, finding new revenue sources? Our budget has increased a lot over the last 5 years – where did we spend the money? How do other cities our size spend their money? Is our mix dramatically different? What tools should we have to do analysis and decision-making? Can the Falls Church Times help provide any of those tools?

Mass Transit Planning and Falls Church. Okay, while we don’t exactly have a metro stop in the city, we do have two of them named after us. And Metro and other area mass transit matters to us. So what’s going on? What’s going to happen to budgets and fares? What about traffic and business opportunities from the new lines that are planned? Do we have the right bus routes? Should we jump on Arlington’s trolley? What about walkability – are we good and how can we get better?

Around Town

There’s Music in the Air. I enjoyed this week’s focus on music in the Falls Church News Press including the article about Sunday’s Wammies. Falls Church has wonderful music venues including The State, Bangkok Blues, and Claire and Don’s. We host amazing events like the Wammies but also the Tinner Hill Blues Festival and the summer music series at Cherry Hill Park. We have delightful school and community groups. There are great shows in town regularly. But what’s coming up? What did we miss? Where’s the Falls Church Times music reviewer to complement our amazing food reviewer?

Falls Church Makes a Difference. One of the many exciting things about this town is its reach -people in this city have local focus and national and international impact. Opportunities to contribute range from supporting the schools and the library to helping in Haiti. What are they? What have we accomplished? Who is leading the charge?

That’s the beginning of my list. What stories do you want to read? Please make suggestions in the comments below.  Which ones are you willing to write? Would you contribute photos or video of events you are attending?  How about reporting sports scores and results?  If you’d like to pitch-in, please let me know.

OPINION: Sharing the Budget Pie

By ANNETTE HENNESSEY
Falls Church Times Staff

February 22, 2010

For the last 10 years, the schools’ part of the budget pie has hovered around 40%, give or take a percent or two (if you include debt service, the piece of pie grows to 44-48%).  With the projected budget shortfall at $9 million, to keep the schools at 40% of the pie would mean a $3.6 million reduction in the school budget.  What will that mean to Falls Church City Schools?

With no target budget given to the schools by City Hall this year, Dr. Lois Berlin, at the request of the School Board, outlined four tiers of budget cuts at the beginning of the budget process.  Her four budget reductions ranged from 1.8% (accounting for all the federal and state budget cuts) to 8.6% (accounting for the almost $9 million budget shortfall experienced by the city).  The Tier 4 reductions came close, but only equal $3.1 million, and the public outcry against such draconian measures included at this tier such as moving to half-day kindergarten; eliminating elementary-level art, music, and foreign language; and increasing class size by as many as five students has indicated the improbability of that scenario.

Let’s face it.  The economy is not going to rebound in one year.  Unless something drastic happens, we’ll be facing, at the very least, a flat budget for FY2012.  Can the schools withstand these cuts this year, and then even identify new budget cuts for a second year?

Most people engaged in the current budget debate seem to agree that strong schools add value to our Little City (except for those who feel the City School System is doomed, doomed, doomed and we should sell out – quick – to our friendly neighbors).  The debate should now be how much more of the pie we give the schools to maintain the quality of the education for our children and retain the staff the school system has worked hard over the last few years to recruit.

The City budget work sessions have been structured to identify citizens’ priorities.  But groups at recent meetings have been given a list of 68 “lines of service” to prioritize.  By focusing on such a large number of options, it’s easy to focus on pet projects and harder to identify the core functions of the Little City that citizens value most.

With such a dramatic budget reduction, hard choices will be need to be made.  The questions we should be asking are:  Where can we let things slide a year or two?  What are luxuries and what are necessities?  Where can cuts be made, and where do we have to meet legal or moral obligations?  By looking at the major themes, it may make it a little easier to identify those areas:

1. Community Outreach
2. Development
3. Education
4. Environmental
5. Human and Community Services
6. Library
7. Public Safety
8. Recreation and Parks
9. Transportation

And then we should ask the experts – the city staff who run these programs. Acknowledging that all decisions are difficult, where could there be cuts and how would those cuts realistically affect your program?  How easy would it be to rebound after suffering those cuts?  What would be your four tiers for reductions?

As Dr. Berlin constructed her four tiers of budget scenarios, she worked closely with the school administrators and staff to identify cuts and how those reductions would affect the education given to the city students, the staff, the infrastructure of the school system, etc.  The process was a painful one for staff and administrators alike.  Departments were pitted against department; staff continue to feel vulnerable and that many of these budget reductions rest on their backs.

Last week, School Board Chair Ron Peppe stated, “We want to keep any budget reductions as far removed from the classroom as possible,” and indicated that the School Board budget request to the City Manager would be in the neighborhood of a $1.1 million reduction.  Those cuts fall within the Tier 2 range, and the principals’ assessments on how those cuts will affect their schools are available online on the Falls Church City Schools budget page (http://www.fccps.org/board/budget/fy11/index.html).

I can only assume that the City Manager is going through the same process with his staff as he formulates the City’s FY2011 budget scheduled to be released on March 8^th.  Clearly a tax increase is in the Little City’s future.  The question now is how large and where will the increased revenue be spent?  Citizens will be more supportive if they know what the funds will be used for, and how City Hall and the School Board arrived at those priorities.  I am hopeful that the city budget presentation will be as transparent as the school budget debate has been. Read more

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