April 10 – 16, 2008
Gov. Kaine Hosting Town Meeting in F.C. Area Saturday
The auditorium at the Falls Church area’s Luther Jackson Middle School will be the location of a town hall meeting this Saturday conducted by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Kaine will be eliciting public input on proposals for a statewide solution to transportation funding. Area public officials will be present, and the general public is also invited to attend. The location is 3020 Gallows Road, near Route 50.
Restaurant Signs Lease at F.C.’s New ‘Spectrum’ Project
“Not Your Average Joe’s” is the brand of the restaurant that has signed the first retail tenant lease at The Spectrum, Waterford Development’s new mixed use project at 444 W. Broad St., it was announced this week. There are currently 14 restaurants in the chain that was launched in 1994 in Massachusetts by founder Steve Silverstein. It is designed “to bring big city food into suburban neighborhoods at an affordable price,” according to a statement. It is scheduled to open this November in a 6,500 square foot location, facing directly onto W. Broad Street and the Market Square portion of the project.
F.C. Housing Advocates Stress Need for Community Support
Affordable housing advocates speaking at a confab in Falls Church last week stressed the importance of building community support for the Falls Church Housing Corporation and Homestretch, Inc. ambitious plans to build a seven-story, 174 unit affordable housing project adjacent the new City Center in downtown Falls Church. Keynote speaker Melissa Bondi spoke on the importance of affordable housing for “smart urban growth,” enabling employees to live near where they work. Highlighting the need, she pointed out that the average Falls Church home costs $527,000, and based on federal guidelines that housing costs should not exceed 30% of income, that sum would require a household income of $189,000 to afford. Yet, the mean average salary in the region is less then $45,000.
CrisisLink Warns of Iraq War’s Mental Health Costs
CrisisLink, the Northern Virginia-based suicide hotline service fighting to retain its funding from Fairfax County in the current budget crunch, will hold a press conference Friday noting that “several recent studies and reports have highlighted alarming trends in the number of soldiers experiencing mental health problems, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and suicide.” The organization notes, “Efforts undertaken today are critical to preventing future waves of veterans from living at the edges of society and facing the tragic struggles and lifetimes of difficulties that veterans from previous eras have experienced.”
8th District GOP Challenger Kicks Off Campaign
Amit Singh, a small business owner, kicked off his Republican campaign to unseat Rep. Jim Moran in the 8th District of Virginia last Friday with a media reception and rally in Alexandria. He outlined his “Vision for the Future” at the rally, based on principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility and personal freedom. Moran will be seeking re-election to a tenth term in November.
Connolly Claims Wide Lead in New Poll
The campaign of Fairfax Board of Supervisors Chair Gerry Connolly for Congress in the 11th District announced new poll results yesterday giving him a 20-point lead in the race for the Democratic nomination. The poll was conducted by the Lake Research Partners. He is pitted against Former U.S. Rep. Leslie Byrne, Iraq War veteran Doug Denneny and Lori Alexander in the June 10 Democratic primary. Denneny announced he’s been endorsed by a fourth sitting U.S. congressman this week, Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.).
