Falls Church City News Briefs

F.C. Resident Killed in D.C. Shooting

Longtime City of Falls Church resident Barbara A. Carl, 47, of Poplar Drive, was shot and killed in Northwest Washington, D.C., while a passenger in a car in the 2400 block of Ninth Street near Howard University late Tuesday night. According to reports, D.C. Police said the incident may have been an attempted carjacking. The police reported that six men, one armed with a handgun, approached the car around 10:30 p.m. As the driver, a man in his 30’s, began to drive away, several large-caliber rounds were fired at him. One bullet struck Carl on the right side of her torso. The driver drove her to the Howard University Hospital where she died about an hour later. Carl was the mother of two boys. “She had a good heart and loved her boys very much,” said her neighbor, Stacy Hennessey.

3 Shot at Restaurant on Patrick Henry Drive

Three men were shot, one near fatally, at the El Catrin restaurant, 2930 Patrick Henry Drive in greater Falls Church, late Saturday night, and Fairfax Police are looking for the 23-year-old suspect, Vitalino Gomez-Carreto, of no fixed address, who has been charged with malicious wounding. According to witnesses, a man armed with two handguns approached the front door of the restaurant at just before midnight last Saturday and fired several rounds, striking three victims. All the victims were taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital, including a 52-year-old Arlington man suffering life-threatening injuries, a 23-year-old Falls Church area man and a 25-year-old man. The suspect had been seen inside the restaurant getting into a dispute with another customer over karaoke singing and then left, telling a security guard that he would return. He returned about a half hour later with two handguns and opened fire on three men standing in front of the restaurant, one of whom was the man he’d argued with earlier. Gomez-Carreto is Hispanic, stands about 5 ft. 6 in. tall and weighing 150 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information is urged to contact Fairfax Crime Solvers at 866-411-8477 or by e-mail at www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org.

Sen. Webb Sponsors Bill to Rein in Oil Speculation

Virginia Senator Jim Webb announced yesterday he’s co-sponsoring two bills designed to rein in the market speculators who have been able to bid up crude oil prices to unnatural highs. Senate Bill 3134 bans unregulated speculative trading of oil futures and other energy commodities. Senate Bill 3185 closes multiple loopholes that allow energy futures traders to evade federal oversight. According to Webb’s office, “Some experts have concluded that excessive market speculation has driven up energy prices as much as 30 percent. If new regulatory measures were enacted, consumers could see oil prices return to the marginal cost of production, around $60-$70 a barrel, within 30 days.”

F.C. Council Names New Committees, Liaisons

In addition to regional and Council of Governments assignments, the Falls Church City Council, with two new members as of July 1, appointed its members to serve as liaisons to 18 F.C. boards, commissions and councils Monday night, and to seven of its own committees. Mayor Robin Gardner is assigned to the School Board and evaluations, and with Vice Mayor Hal Lippman and Dan Maller to the government operations committee. Lippman is assigned to the legislative committee with David Snyder. Snyder, Maller, Dan Sze and Nader Baroukh are on the economic development committee. Sze and Lawrence Webb are on the appointments committee. Maller, Snyder and Sze are on the rules committee. Sze is the Council liaison to the Planning Commission, with Dan Maller as the alternate, and Baroukh is liaison to the Economic Development Authority.

Protest of Hot-Lane Rousting of Bird Nests

A press conference by Audubon Society advocates was slated to Thursday morning on the Little River Turnpike bridge across the Beltway in Annandale to protest clearing for Hot Lanes construction due to begin this week, in alleged violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The act prohibits disturbing the nests and habitats of song birds, with fines as high as $15,000 per bird. According to Elaine Franklin, a naturalist with the Audubon Society, she conducted a bird survey of the area and identified areas where large numbers of birds are nested. The Little River Turnpike area was identified as among “the most critical.” Ms. Franklin reported, “If any of these areas are cleared now, current nests are doomed to fail as the nestlings will likely starve to death. Bringing in and using clearing equipment will likely cause the adults to abandon the area. These will probably not find a vacant territory in time to try to re-nest this season.” She said the problem is particularly acute for barn swallows. Her survey had been submitted to Fluor-Lanes, TransUrban and VDOT officials.