MAN ABOUT TOWN: A City in Retreat

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Falls Church Times Staff

As I write this on a dreary, wet Monday afternoon, the City Council and the School Board are preparing to retreat. Shakespeare could not have orchestrated more appropriate weather, nor could our elected officials have chosen a better name. Because when conditions are this bad, a retreat is indeed required.

One definition of retreat is “a period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, or study.” Given the financial state of the City, all three options may be required.

Tonight (Nov. 30)  at 7 p.m., City Council and the School Board will retreat to MEH Middle School cafeteria. One item, and only one item, is on the agenda:

1. FY11 Finance discussion

That’s it. Assistant City Manager Cindy Mester’s 1-page cover memo describes the retreat as a time for “a comprehensive financial discussion for the FY 2011 budget development.”  She then injects some tragedy/comedy:

Time: 7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.

That’s the comedy. A combined City Council/School Board meeting will do well to have recited the Pledge of Allegiance by 9:30. Now for the tragedy: Read more

FRIDAY, 12/4: FIRSTfriday in Downtown Falls Church

Falls Church’s FIRSTfriday, held the first Friday of each month, creates business and social synergy in the city of Falls Church. The event attracts people to view local artwork and events, learn about the city’s history, and shop and dine in downtown Falls Church.

Come to FIRSTfriday of Falls Church and join the fun. This month highlights include artists Shaun van Steyn, Liz Day, Hazel Brutsche, Denise Philipbar, and Bill Abel; musical performances by the Dirty Pints and Chris Collat; illustrator Marsha Lederman; and authors Betty Bruce Shepard and The Victorian Society at Falls Church.

See the full schedule of events for more detail.

WEDNESDAY 12/16: Mentor Orientation Meeting

Volunteers are needed to participate in an after-school program created by the Falls Church City Alliance for Youth in partnership with the Northern Virginia Family Service.  Adult men especially are needed to mentor young men; enough women have volunteered to mentor young women. The next mentor orientation is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 16, so those interested should call soon. The 1-2-1 Mentoring program is designed to assist youth with building the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that prepare them to be healthy, productive, and contributing members of their communities now and in the future.

Youth in the program are matched with an adult volunteer mentor who will act as a role model and source of friendship and encouragement. Through the development of a consistent and goal-oriented relationship under the supervision of NVFS’ program coordinator, mentors and mentees will complete school assignments together, practice social and life skills, discuss issues of importance to the mentee, and participate in recreational activities.

Volunteer mentors should be 21 years old and above and be able to volunteer for a minimum of one year. They will receive thorough training and will meet their mentees each Thursday from 4-6 p.m. at the Falls Church Community Center, 223 Little Falls St.

For more information about the 1-2-1 Mentoring Program, contact Monica Arispe, program coordinator, at 703-219-2106 or marispe@nvfs.org.

All About Turnout – Part 1: Two Decades of Decline

By GEORGE BROMLEY
Falls Church Times Staff

The Falls Church City Council is considering moving municipal elections from May, their traditional date, to November, when they would conform with state or national elections.  The stated reason for the move is to increase voter turnout, which has fallen significantly since the early 1990s.

A report prepared by the Falls Church League of Women Voters in January 2001 first addressed local turnout decline, but no active consideration was given to changing the election date until October 2009, when councilmen Daniel Sze and Lawrence Webb publicly floated a proposal.

Virginia cities and towns have had the authority to conduct municipal elections in November for nearly a decade.  That the issue has abruptly surfaced seems surprising, especially as turnout here has been fairly stable since 2000 and remains far higher than in most localities.

Only last year an editorial in the Falls Church News-Press suggested that a low voter turnout was not necessarily a bad thing: Read more