Hostage Threat Locks Down West Street; S.W.A.T. Responds

Story and Photos by Andrew Finein

Falls Church City police, Fairfax County Police, and a S.W.A.T. team all responded within minutes Saturday after an unidentified man telephoned police about 2 p.m. claiming that he was holding a hostage and planned to go on a shooting spree.

The man reportedly claimed that he was at the corner of Randolph and West streets in the City of Falls Church. However, police were not able to trace the call to that exact location.

Shortly after police arrived on West Street, authorities said, the man called again to say that his threat was a hoax. Police nevertheless continued to treat the incident as possibly serious and barricaded the area.

After the S.W.A.T. team searched all the houses in the area, police reopened the streets to the public.

No information has been made available on whether police have identified any suspects in the hoax.

See also coverage by:
* Falls Church News Press
* CBS 6 WTVR.com
* ABC 7 News

GMHS Mustang Boys Win Region B Championship

by Jonathan Brooks

The Mustangs Boys Varsity Soccer team brought home the Region B trophy Friday night after defeating Stonewall Jackson’s Generals in Quicksburg.

After a two hour bus ride the Mustangs came out slow and the Generals dominated the first 15 minutes of the match with strong possession in the Mustangs’ defending third. But at the 20 minute mark the Mustangs stepped up and were able to put through several balls between the Generals’ defensive line, creating multiple goal-scoring opportunities.

The Mustangs scored their first goal when the ball was brought up by defender Anthony Andrianarison, who put the ball into the box. When the Generals’ goal keeper was knocked over by his own player, the ball was left undefended in the middle of the box, and Andrew Arias seized the opportunity to slam it into the back left corner of the goal, ending the first half with a score of 1-0.

The game was far from over when, ten minutes into the second half, the Generals brought the ball down the center of the field and broke through the Mustangs’ defense. The ball was shot and goal keeper Tyler Back was able to get both hands on it, but it slipped past him, hitting the bottom left post and rebounding into the goal to tie the match.

The Mustangs soon retaliated, when Nick Smirniotopoulos took on three of the Generals’ defenders, and then blasted the ball into the bottom right corner, giving the Mustangs the lead.

The Mustangs solidified their lead when Mustang freshman Eion Oosterbaan brought the ball down the left sideline and crossed the ball on the ground to Erik Nelson. Nelson beat the Generals’ goal keeper to the ball and smashed it into the bottom left corner of the goal to finish the game at 3-1 Mason.

The Mustangs will play at home on Tuesday, June 2^nd at 7:00pm against Mathews High School, the Region A runner-up. The game will be a double header with the Mason’s Regional Champion girl’s team, which plays at 5:00pm.

The Mason squad is determined to make it all the way to Radford this year, noting their near miss last year. Senior Captain Anthony Andrianarison said, “We won’t let what happened last year in the states quarter final happen again this year.”

Thanks to Tracy Back for the photos.  More of her photos from this game are available online.

GMHS Wins Regional Girls Soccer Championship

The George Mason High School girls soccer team won 3 to 1 over a scrappy Wilson Memorial team.

As a result of this win the George Mason ladies are the Region B champions and move on to the quarterfinals of the Virginia State Tournament.

By defeating the Fishersville, VA school, the girls earned a home field advantage in the State Tournament. Both the girls and boys will both play their State quarterfinals game on Tuesday, June 2, at George Mason High School – girls at 5pm and boys at 7pm.

Hope to see you at the game!

Photos and scores from Steven Stroup. Thanks Steve! More of Steve’s photos from the game are available online.

Politicians Galore

And before we leave the subject of Memorial Day, we can’t resist some shots of the politicians who showed up.  If the presence of candidates for top jobs is an indicator of a parade’s draw, we must be doing well.  Two of the three Democratic candidates for Governor attended in person, as well as two for Lieutenant Governor, one for AG, and a number of state delegate candidates.  Virtually everyone running for anything sent a contingent of marchers.   

Brian Moran, endorsed by Mayor Gardner for Governor, was working the crowd so fast our able photographers couldn’t get a decent shot of him.  Terry McAuliffe, endorsed by Bill Clinton, moved at a more leisurely pace, resulting in the shot below.  Creigh Deeds, endorsed by the Washington Post, spent his day in Southern Virginia.  (Fine, Creigh, go ahead.)  GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell had an impressive group of marchers, although we didn’t see him in person. 

Among Lt. Governor candidates, Mike Signer and Jody Wagner appeared.  Delegates Jim Scott and Bob Hull rode and waved.

An interesting aspect was watching the McAuliffe and Moran campaigns prior to the start of the parade.  The McAuliffe folks were early, organized and loud.  The Moran crowd waited quietly for the show to begin, and then erupted into a frenzy of singing and dancing.  The lead Moran marcher was one of the more entertaining figures of the day, bouncing back and forth, yelling out a cadence that could be heard for blocks. 

All for a measly, what, 2,500 votes?  It must be a close race this year in the Old Dominion.

City Council to Huddle Over Water Litigation Again Monday

The Falls Church City Council will again enter closed session Monday night to discuss the City’s litigation against Fairfax County over the two jurisdictions’ water systems.

Earlier this week, Falls Church successfully drug the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors into the  litigation, joining the Fairfax County Water Authority as Falls Church’s opponents in the dispute.  The court’s decision to include the Board was proforma following Falls Church’s recent counterclaim charging the Board with the use of regulatory power to coerce hookups to the Fairfax system.

Also on the agenda will be the new contract with Arlington County to run the GEORGE bus service and the creation of a Fiscal Affairs Advisory Board.

The session begins at 7:30pm in the Training Room, Level G, City Hall.

The entire agenda appears below.

1. Meals Tax Discount Revision Ordinance

2. GEORGE Contract with Arlington County and Fare Resolution

3. Contract for Collection and Transportation of Household Recyclable Materials

4. Contract to E. R. Lyons Construction Co. for Kent Street Storm Sewer Project

5. Proposed Fiscal Affairs Advisory Board, Discussion of Examples, Charter, and Composition

6. Council Comments and Schedule

7. Closed Session: Pursuant to Section 2.2-3711 (A)(7) of the Code of Virginia for “[c]onsultation with legal counsel and briefings by staff members or consultants pertaining to actual or probable litigation, where such consultation or briefing in open meeting would adversely affect the negotiating or litigation posture of the public body; and consultation with legal counsel employed or retained by a public body regarding specific legal matters requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel. [FCWA v. City of Falls Church]

GMHS Soccer Boys & Girls Continue Victory Run

The boys and girls varsity soccer teams from George Mason High School both continued their winning ways Wednesday night at Nelson County.

The boys finished with a 2-0 victory over Nelson County and the girls won 4 to nil Read more

800 ‘Relay For Life’ Participants Camping at Mason Saturday

by Sara Fitzgerald

The 2009 Falls Church Relay For Life will get under way Saturday night at the track at George Mason High School with what promises to be an even more memorable event than last year.  Some 77 teams and 800 participants have registered for this year’s event, which is designed to remember those who have died from cancer, honor those who continue to live with it and raise money for the American Cancer Society’s ongoing fight against the disease. Fund-raising for this year’s relay has already topped $112,000, a nearly 50 percent increase over last year.

Teams will begin to set up their overnight campsites at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Cancer survivors will be welcomed at a 5 p.m. reception in the Cafetorium at Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School , which will feature entertainment by the Potomac Harmony women’s chorus. Afterwards, survivors will process to the track where the Opening Ceremony is scheduled at 6 p.m. Survivors will walk a special “Survivors’ Lap” immediately afterwards. General laps by participants and the public will begin at approximately 6:25 p.m.  The Luminaria Ceremony, in which those who have died from cancer and those who have survived are remembered with candles, music and a special lap around the track, is scheduled to begin after dark falls, at approximately 9:30 p.m.

Throughout the evening, bands will play, and contests and games are scheduled for persons of all ages. Registered participants remain overnight, trying to keep a team member walking at all times, until the event concludes with a final lap and closing ceremony at 6 a.m. Sunday.

The event is free and open to the general public until 11 p.m. Saturday night.. Donations to the American Cancer Society are accepted and luminaria bearing the names of family and friends can continue to be purchased up until 9 p.m. on Saturday night.  For more information and a detailed schedule of the evening’s events, go to www.fallschurchrelay.org.

Pictures will be posted after the event.

Coming Soon: City Meetings on Streaming Video

Currently there are two ways to watch meetings of the Falls Church City Council, the Planning Commission, and the School Board.

The easiest is to view the sessions on Falls Church Cable Television.  However, not everyone has cable and those economizing due to the recession may be inclined to cancel it, given that a typical bill now is approaching $1,000 a year.

The other way is the old fashioned way — actually attend the various meetings.  But who wants to leave their house on a dark and stormy night?  And even if the weather cooperates, many citizens’ schedules likely will not.

Falls Church soon will offer a third way for people to see their government in action.  On Tuesday evening the City Council appropriated $20,000 for a system that will enable citizens to begin viewing local government meetings via the Internet. 

Not only will people be able to watch a live streaming video webcast, they also will have the opportunity to view the sessions later at their convenience.  They even will have the option of using an index feature to view specific topics, rather than watch an entire meeting.  The system also will facilitate the City clerk’s preparation of the minutes of the various meetings.

In endorsing purchase of the system, Mayor Robin Gardner stated that it opens up a world of possibilities and hopefully will enhance community participation in the decision-making process.

The system’s vendor is Granicus, Inc., a ten year old San Francisco company which provides live and on-demand streaming media for government.  Granicus’ Virginia clients include Arlington and Loudoun counties and the cities of Fairfax, Alexandria, and Charlottesville.  Granicus’ web site provides information on system features and operation, though it is unclear if Falls Church’s contract with the firm will include all features advertised on the website.

The appropriation, which will be drawn from the FY 2009 contingency fund, represents the General Government’s share for the system’s hardware and software.  Minimum maintenance costs will be absorbed in FY 2010.  The School Board will fund their portion of the costs from their FY 2010 budget once the final participation decision is made.

Effective government ultimately depends upon a concerned and informed citizenry.  FCC-TV now provides a useful window into the process.  Streaming video will provide an even sharper view.

Until the “stream” starts to flow cable viewers may tune in on Cox Channel 12, Verizon Channel 35, or RCN Channel 2.  The Council usually meets on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 7:30 pm; the Planning Commission on the first and third Mondays at 7:45; the School Board on the second and fourth Tuesdays at 8:30.

Next Page »