MAN ABOUT TOWN: Mulch Ado about Nothing

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Falls Church Times Staff

December 28, 2009

Typically, the week between Christmas and New Year’s is light on news. But not this year – the last two weeks of 2009 will go down in City annals as the Great Mulch Controversy.

Forget the budget crisis, the schools crisis, the condo crisis, the snow crisis, the affordable housing crisis, the property values crisis, the election change crisis — our eyes glaze over. No — if you want to get our attention, try taking away our free mulch.

That’s right, folks, our Little City is taking dead aim at the $7 million budget deficit and has announced – without a public hearing, without a referendum – the end of leaf mulch delivery.

Did they think they could sneak this past our normally vigilant citizens during the holiday period? No way. A look at page “hits” in the Falls Church Times shows the most-read comments of late concern mulch.

If the holidays distracted you, here’s the scoop: Every year the City vacuums up all the leaves that we City chipmunks haul out to the street. Workers “double-grind” the leaves, dump them at the City property yard and wait for Mother Nature to work her magic. A year or so later, voila – magnificent mulch, good for weed control, moisture retention, and soil nourishment. Then those same workers deliver truckloads of mulch to residents who request it.

Until now.  A pre-Christmas announcement from the Office of the City Grinch states:

“Due to budget constraints, leaf mulch delivery has been discontinued by the City of Falls Church. However, beginning in early February, free double-ground leaf mulch will be available for pickup at the Recycling Center (217 Gordon Road). Bring your own container and pitchfork or shovel.” Read more

VIDEO: Marty Meserve’s Plea: Don’t Rush Election Change

December 26, 2009

Falls Church City Council will vote Jan. 11 on a final reading to move City elections from May to November.

During public comment time at Council’s previous meeting Dec. 14, Marty Meserve, formerly the City’s Vice Mayor, urged Council not to make a decision during the holiday season, pointing out that since the earliest date an election change would take effect is 2011, there is no compelling reason to rush a decision now.

In her comment, Meserve summarized the findings of a 2001 study by the Falls Church League of Women Voters on the pros and cons of moving local elections to November. Mayor Robin Gardner subsequently asked Meserve questions about the League’s study.

The League’s paper found that while moving the election to November could increase voter participation and save the cost of a separate City election, it would bring new members of the Council and School Board to office in the middle of budget cycles, and could result in more complex ballots and an end of the City’s nonpartisan elections.

To view Meserve’s remarks, and the Mayor’s questions about the study, click on the “start” triangle below.

FOOD: Eden’s Huong Viet Deserves Spot on ‘Very Best’ List

By JIMMY SCARANO
Falls Church Times Staff

December 25, 2009

This week, Washingtonian’s much-anticipated, always controversial, and never dull “100 Very Best Restaurants” issue hit newsstands.  The comprehensive list of D.C., Maryland, and Northern Virginia hot spots will be the go-to dining guide for many restaurant-goers in the New Year.

No restaurant inside the City of Falls Church boundaries made the top 100, but there were a host of places within shouting distance that garnered acclaim.  Chief among those is the uber-expensive Falls Church destination 2941, whose inventive French fare landed it at #6 overall.   It is the highest-ranked restaurant outside of D.C.  Willow (#39) and Liberty Tavern (#75), two Arlington restaurants that participated in the Falls Church Farmers Market Chef Demonstrations earlier this year, also made the cut.

But from a City of Falls Church perspective, by far the most intriguing aspect of the list is the selection of Vietnamese restaurants.  Present, Four Sisters, and Minh’s are the only three places in the top 100 specializing in cuisine from the Southeast Asian nation.  You may notice that none of those three are in the City’s Eden Center (Four Sisters used to be, but Read more

USA Today Writer Building Falls Church ‘Dream Green House’

USA Today reporter Wendy Koch and her husband are building a “dream green house” in Falls Church. We know this because she is reporting each step of the complicated procedure on the USA Today website, where she writes:

“I live in Falls Church, Va., with my husband and two school-age daughters. Our biggest challenge in rightsizing our life (we recently sold a McMansion): stuff. We keep cleaning out closets. This year we gave away five TVs and said goodbye to cable TV. . . . My family is building an average-size, ultra-efficient home that’s expected to earn the top certification from several green-building programs.”

This is the Falls Church house that will be torn down to build the green house: Read more

4 Days Later: Getting Around in the Slippery Little City

Four days after the blizzard, and with only two shopping days left before Christmas, walking conditions in the center of the “Slippery Little City” remained challenging. These shots were taken around noon Wednesday along Broad Street between Little Falls and Maple. Sidewalks were cleared with the exception of the postal facility and the adjoining parking lot (owned by the City of Falls Church). But intersections were a different story, where pedestrians often had to climb icy mounds created by snow plows.

Happy Holidays!

Happy holidays from your friends at the Falls Church Times.  Thanks for sharing a few minutes of your time with us during the past year.  We wish you a healthy, happy and relaxing holiday period with family and friends.

CITY FOCUS: No Mulch Delivery; Holiday Schedule; Trash Pickup; Final Leaf Collection

Click to read CITY FOCUS for Dec. 24-30, prepared by the City of Falls Church.

SCHOOLS FOCUS: Meredith Johnson Wins Geo Bee; Mason Quiz Bowl Streak; BIE Partners; Sports Calendar

Click to read SCHOOLS FOCUS for Dec. 24-30, prepared by Falls Church City Public Schools.

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