Diocese of Virginia to Limit Focus of Upcoming Trial

The third leg of the on-going legal dispute between the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and 11 congregations who defected to come under the umbrella of the Council of Anglicans in North America (CANA) will begin on Oct. 6, and the diocese says it will focus its defense on the applicability of the earlier rulings to particular properties.

In a statement last week, it said it would not contest the voting procedures used by CANA congregations, including at the historic Falls Church, when they voted to defect.

250 Signed Up to Join “Teddy” at F.C. 5K Run Sunday

Over 250 runners have signed up to participate in the second annual Falls Church Education Foundation benefit five-kilometer run, and one-kilometer fun run, this Sunday at 8 a.m., and more are expected, according to the FCEF’s Donna Englander. A guest appearance by the lovable “Teddy,” one of the four Washington Nationals racing presidents mascots, will kick off the event. “Teddy” has gained national notoriety for never having won one of the races held in the middle of the fourth inning of Nationals home games. But his infectious enthusiasm will spur on runners this Sunday. “Teddy’s” appearance Sunday is being sponsored by the Falls Church News-Press. Registration at $25 per person or $50 per family is still open by calling 703-538-3381 or visiting www.fcedf.org.

Kaplow Leaves F.C. Day Care for Top Arlington Job

Bob Kaplow, a popular Falls Church native and graduate of its school system who went on to direct the system’s day care program for 15 years, has left to accept a position directing the day care program for the much larger Arlington County public school system.

McLean Times Subsumed in County-Wide Edition

As indicated in a page one editorial last week by Paul Smith, executive editor of the Northern Virginia Division of the Times Community Newspapers, the McLean Times, as well as other Fairfax County Times papers such as the Vienna Times, has been subsumed into one county-wide edition, The Fairfax County Times. According to Smith, the move “reflects a major new commitment toward covering local news through a wider lens.” The Times Community Newspapers acquired the long-standing McLean Providence-Journal in the late 1990s and changed the name at that time to the McLean Times.

Sun Gazette Under Fire for Carrying Anti-Islamic DVD

The Arlington Sun Gazette weekly newspaper came under fire for carrying an inflammatory DVD as an insert in its edition last week, considered by its critics as discriminatory and anti-Islamic for subtly insinuating that all Islam reflects the values of its most radical elements. The DVD, entitled “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West,” is produced by the Clarion Fund in New York and was also distributed by the Virginian-Pilot newspaper in Hampton Road, among others. The Sun Gazette, which also has a McLean/Great Falls/Vienna edition, is owned by American Community Newspapers which owns papers in Minnesota, Texas and Ohio as well as Leesburg Today and other Loudoun County publications.

Corrected Web Site Address

In last week’s News-Press, in the article headlined “F.C. Welcomes ‘Gooseberry Glen’ Native,” a web address was published incorrectly. The correct address is: cherylrhoads.typepad.com.