Mild Weather Expected for ‘Watch Night’ in F.C.
Organizers of “Watch Night,” the 11th annual New Year’s Eve celebration in downtown Falls Church, are buoyed by advanced weather forecasts indicating mild temperatures and no precipitation in the forecast for the celebration.
Barbara Cram, key volunteer organizer of this year’s event, said she was hopeful that the forecast of mild weather will encourage many in the region to stay closer to home and bring in the New Year in a family-friendly, hometown environment. In addition to entertainment and amusements in the blocked-off 100 block of W. Broad Street, beginning at 6 p.m. New Year’s Eve, there will be entertainment and special offerings in many of the City’s restaurants located in or near the block. Early reservations are recommended for the many eateries. People often use their dinner locations as “home bases” for forays into the wealth of music and fun offered out of doors. The Irelands Four Provinces, Dogwood Tavern, Hunan Café, Pilin, Argia’s, Natalia’s, Pho 88, Maneki Neko, Claire and Don’s and Applebee’s are among the restaurants in the immediate environs of “Watch Night,” with others such as Anthony’s, the Italian Café and La Cote D’Or, Hoang’s and Bangkok Blues are just a hop-skip-and-a-jump away.
Council Meeting Rescheduled to Dec. 30
The special meeting of the Falls Church City Council called for purposes of making new appointments to the City’s Planning Commission was rescheduled this week from Dec. 22 to Tuesday, Dec. 30. At the meeting, Council members will fill four seats on the seven-member Planning Commission with new appointments. Two commissioners have filed for re-appointment, while nine others have filed seeking appointment for the first time. The Dec. 30 meeting will commence at 7:30 p.m. in the Council chambers at the Falls Church City Hall.
Moran Petitions Bush for Metro Relief Funds
Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) led a group from both the U.S. House and Senate sending a letter to President Bush urging him to incorporate relief for Metro and 31 other transit agencies as part of the President’s auto rescue plan. “Metro and 31 of the nation’s largest transit systems are on the hook for as much as $12 to $14 billion in losses, due to the credit crisis and through no fault of their own,” Moran said. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) spearheaded the effort with Moran. They noted relief to public transit agencies is called for in Sec. 18 of the House-passed Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act (HR 7321). Van Hollen said in a statement, “Now that President Bush has indicated the Administration intends to provide temporary assistance to our ailing auto industry so that it can chart a course towards long-term viability, it’s critically important that he also act to protect WMATA and the rest of our nation’s public transit systems from becoming collateral damage due to troubles they had nothing to do with at AIG.”
Dominion Power Collects for Food Bank
Dominion Power employees in Northern Virginia were dispatched on Monday to help families in need by collecting non-perishable food and money along Prosperity Avenue in Merrifield. They lined the street from 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday, dressed in Dominion caps and safety vests, and then came to the Food for Others warehouse in Prosperity in Merrifield to sort and distribute food. At a press conference there, State Del. Jim Scott, Fairfax Supervisor Linda Smyth, William Hall, Jr., president of the Dominion Foundation, Dominion volunteers and representatives from the Capital Area Food Bank and Food for Others were all slated to appear. More initiatives by Dominion Power to help fight hunger are also slated, according to Le-Ha Anderson, Dominion’s manager for media and community relations.
