F.C. Town Hall Meeting on Budget Feb. 12
The City of Falls Church announced that a town hall-style public meeting to air issues and concerns with the coming budget cycle will be held Thursday, Feb. 12, at the Falls Church Community Center, 223 Little Falls St., at 6:30 p.m.
The meeting will begin with a one-hour “open house” opportunity for citizens to ask questions of City staff about the disposition of specific City programs, in the context of an anticipated squeeze on revenues, and at 7:30 p.m., a presentation by City officials on projected revenue and cost numbers, budget drivers and budget choices will be made. Comments and input will be considered by the City Manager’s office, as it prepares its recommended budget to the City Council that will be unveiled on Mar. 9. The Council will have the final say on the budget, including the tax rate for the coming fiscal year that begins July 1, in its final vote due on April 27. A number of public hearings will also be held during the course of the Council’s deliberations.
Falls Church H.S. Drama ‘The Water Engine’ Opens
Running tonight, Feb. 5, through Saturday, Feb. 7, the Falls Church High School Drama Department’s production of “The Water Engine” is a work rarely performed at the high school level. Playwright David Mamet’s work is among his earliest and rarely performed at any level. But this time, it will be done in the format originally written, that of an old style radio drama. “This was written as a radio play, but has stage directions,” said FCHS Drama Director Reed Meschefska. “The audience will see a great theatrical production, as well as a full fledged radio drama, which for years was the main form of entertainment in America.” The cast includes Eric Holl, Ian Mills, Alex Rock, Malindi Vink, Sam Johnson, Alex Doak, Shanley Culbertson, Erica Taylor, Betsy Ryan, Madison Jennings, Michaele Andrus, Christopher Haumann, Francesca Pilito and Max Kosma. Mollie Driesbach and David Vo will perform original compositions written specifically for the show. All performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the school’s main stage at its 7521 Jaguar Trail campus.
Virginia H.S. Seniors 3rd in Nation in AP Scores
The College Board’s annual Advanced Placement Report to the Nation released yesterday morning ranked Virginia’s high school seniors third in the nation for the percentage of students earning a score of three or higher on the rigorous Advanced Placement (AP) exams. The third-place ranking represents a jump from fourth place for Virginia a year ago. Of Virginia’s 2008 public school graduates, 21.3 percent earned a grade of three or better on at least one AP exam.
F.C. Zoning Rewrite Completion in a Year
A timetable for the completion of the rewrite of the City of Falls Church’s zoning code places its final adoption in early 2010, the City Council was told Monday night. The effort to update and make more understandable the existing, archaic zoning code will be well over two years in the making when completed, beginning with the retention of Clarion Associates consultants and the establishment of a 13-member citizen-based Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee (ZOAC) in October 2007. The rewrite will come in the form of three “modules” from Clarion, each subject to City staff and ZOAC review, with a final ZOAC review and recommendations due by the end of this September. Under the projected timetable, the Planning Commission would complete its review in December, and the City Council in mid-January 2010. Community outreach efforts will occur in late April and May, and again from July into November.
4 Dem Lieutenant Governor Candidates in F.C.
This Friday’s monthly luncheon of the Falls Church Democratic Business Council at the the Fairview Marriott in Falls Church will feature four Democratic candidates vying for the party’s nomination for lieutenant governor in the November election. Jon Bowerbank, Rick Savage, Mike Signer and Jody Wagner are all slated to appear at the 8 a.m. meeting, marking the first time all four will be at the same event in this region. Bowerbank is a member of the Russell County Board of Supervisors. Savage is a small business owner in Richmond. Signer is a senior police advisor and director of the Homeland Security Presidential Transition Initiative from Arlington. Wagner has served as the treasurer and secretary of finance of Virginia from Virginia Beach. All will be on the June 9 Democratic primary ballot.
