News-Press Front PageMoran Scores for F.C.In a suprise development announced last night, a $2 million item was successfully added to a House transportation bill by Rep. Jim Moran to fund an "intermodal transportation station" in the downtown sector of Falls Church. |
With Site Plan OK, The Spectrum Readies to SproutLast Spring, Falls Church's George Mason High School dominated the Bull Run District sports world, farnering state championships in boys soccer, girls soccer and tennis. But even as the players received their desrved praise, another team was generally ignored, despite having tallied state championships two of the past three years . |
Bring on Spring
It was spring-like in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, for our new Washington Nationals major league baseball team, pitted for the first time against their new rival, the Baltimore Orioles in a spring training game. Your crack News-Press investigative team was on hand, willing to endure the hardship of 75 degree sunshine to provide our readers with exclusive first-hand reports, which you can read in the Sports section of the News-Press on-line .
News
Housing Project Still Breathing
The patient was still breathing following the Falls Church Housing Corporation's latest encounter with the Falls Church City Council this Monday.
GMHS Students Get to Hit the Snooze Bar for 15 More Minutes
High school students in the City of Falls Church will get to snooze at home an extra 15 minutes in the morning according to a new comprehensive school start tile revision adopted by the School Board here Tuesday.
Moran Gets Unanimous Support for Anti-Predatory Towing Advancement
By a unanimous vote this week, the U.S. House of Representatives added to a sweeping transportation bill an amendement co-sponsored by Northern Virginia Rep. Jim Moran aimed at reigning in "predatory towing" operations.
F.C. Begins Budget Deliberations On Monday With Big New Costs
Falls Church City Manager Dan McKeever unveils his proposed budget for the coming fiscal year to the City Council this Monday night..
Inner Fire Brings Flinn Back to Battle the Flames Again
Captain (Ret.) Charles E. Finn II, an Arlington resident, began his firefighting career with a four-year stint as a federal firefighter with the National Institute of Health and from there went to work for the Prince George's County Fire Department for 21 years where he achieved the rank of Captain.
Changes Aside, SAT Still Triggers H.S. Student Angst
Here’s a multiple choice question for college-bound high school students: The newest version of the SAT, debuting this Saturday, has done what: A) Create a new level of angst among high school students, B) Sow debate and confusion among college admissions officers, C) Trigger a boom among test-prep companies, or D) all of the above.
Community News & Notes 
The Tysons Club of Civitans sponsored eight local high school students (right) at its "Leadership in Freedom" conference, which covened at Camp Easter Seal in Milford, VA. The week long weekend consisted of workshops and presentations emphasizing the tenets of citizenship necessary to perpetuate a free society. Check out this and other community happenings in this week's News & Notes.
Falls Church City Crime Report
The Falls Church City Crime Report for March 1 -6, 2005.
Local Commentary
Editorial: The FIOS Factor
In case folks in the City of Falls Church haven't figured it out yet, the new "fiber-to-the-premises" technology being offered to City residents, and some in North Arlington, by Verizon is the biggest, baddest Internet access technology there is.
A Penny for Your Thoughts: News of Greater Falls Church
Ten cents. That’s the recommendation by Fairfax County Executive Anthony H. Griffin to reduce the real estate tax rate for the Fiscal Year 2006 county budget.
Our Man in Arlington
The initial shock Arlington property owners suffered when we received our 2005 assessment notices has worn off, and we are now looking at ways we can alleviate the pain.
Delegate Jim Scott's Richmond Report
Although we have extended the session beyond the deadline in three of the last five years, this year’s extension was less acrimonious than the previous two.
Except for the many constitutional amendments passed the House, and largely killed in the Senate, the tenor of the session was relatively peaceful.
National Commentary
Nicholas F. Benton : Will Cheney Go Nuclear?
The countdown to nuclear holocaust begins today, and it will all take place in the U.S. Senate.
Maureen Dowd: A Defense That's Offensively Weak
In sports, the offense is more glamorous. It moves the ball, it scores, and everybody breaks out the high-fives. It’s all about flash and glory.
David Brooks: Giving Wolfowitz His Due
Let us now praise Paul Wolfowitz. Let us now take another look at the man who has pursued -- longer and more forcefully than almost anyone else -- the supposedly utopian notion that people across the Muslim world might actually hunger for freedom.
Nicholas D. Kristof: Homegrown Osamas
Before the “Rev. Dr.” Matt Hale, the white racist leader, was arrested for seeking the murder of a federal judge, and long before the judge returned home last week to find her husband and mother murdered, I had lunch with him.
Helen Thomas: Bush Sends Hawk to the U.N.
WASHINGTON -- President Bush’s decision to send hard-liner John Bolton to represent the United States at the United Nations carries this clear message: Expect more tough talk from the United States.
Congress Moran's News Commentary
The House is set to take up the surface transportation reauthorization bill this week. Nicknamed TEA-LU in honor of Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Don Young's wife Lula, the "Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users" (H.R. 3) looks to be headed for passage in both chambers after disputes with the White House over the total funding level have stalled it for the past few years.
Wayne Besen: Anything But Straight
The Achilles heal of the modern GOP is that it is a “movement” rather than a traditional political party. While this arrangement serves as a campaign advantage because it instills message discipline, it leads to habitual overreaching when the Republican Party assumes the mantle of power.
Arts & Entertainment
Restaurant Spotlight of the Week: New York Deli
The patient was still breathing following the Falls Church Housing Corporation's latest encounter with the Falls Church City Council this Monday.
Roger Ebert's Movie Review: 'Robots'
The thing that struck me first of all about “Robots” was its pictorial beauty. I doubt that was the intention of the filmmakers, who’ve made a slapstick comedy set in a futurist city that seems fresh off the cover of a 1942 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories.
Jody's Jam of the Week: D.C. International Wine & Food Festival
After a weekend of soaking up the sun in Fort Lauderdale, there's nothing like coming back to good ol' DC and being welcomed with an onslaught of rain, snow and ice...
The Editor Recommends...
The Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, MCI Center, Washington D.C., Thursday - Sunday..
Critter Corner
This week, Sweetpea make an appearance.
Sports
Hoover Wins States: Mustang Wrestlers Return With 3 Medals
This past weekend at the beginning of the Virginia state wrestling championships for Single A schools, George Mason High School 152-pounder Willie Hoover stepped onto the mat as an underdog.
Picking Splinters: Hoyas' Season Still Strong
It’s bad for the Hoyas right now. They had lost five straight before winning their first-round Big East Tournament game against Seton Hall Wednesday night. In four of those losses they didn’t break 30 points by the end of the first half, and in two of those four, didn’t even crack 20.
Little-Known Desmond Stars in Inaugural O's-Nats Game
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Remember the name of Ian Desmond. Or don’t.
As temperatures plunged into the teens back in Washington, D.C., this week, the most memorable thing about the first ever meeting between our two regional major league baseball teams, the new Washington Nationals and veteran Baltimore Orioles in Ft. Lauderdale last Saturday may turn out to be the sunny, 78-degree weather.
Rivalry Lacks Heat While on Spring Training Back Burner
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Quite literally it was a tale of two cities. Off the field, this newly-born geographic rivalry has metaphorically resembled some of the savagery chronicled in the Charles Dickens classic.