F.C., Fairfax in Court Over Water Dispute Today
The City of Falls Church and the Fairfax Water Authority face off in Fairfax Circuit Court today, and the issue is whether or not to stay the trial scheduled for next month pending the outcome of the three-judge panel that the chief justice of the Virginia Supreme Court assigned to the case last month.
Falls Church has filed the motion to delay the case until the three-judge court convenes in Hampton, Virginia, but Fairfax Water has filed a petition opposing the delay on grounds that its interest cannot be fully served by the panel’s rulings.
Fatal Metro Collision At W. Falls Church Station
The man who died from being hit by a moving Metro train near the West Falls Church station yesterday morning was identified as Sangjin Lee, 45, of Arlington, Virginia. Metro officials said that the man was “on the tracks intentionally as the train pulled into the station” at 11:18 a.m. The six-car train was headed eastbound. Service at the station was delayed until 2 p.m.
F.C. Names David Bjerke New General Registrar
The Falls Church City Electoral Board announced this week that David B. Bjerke will be sworn in as the City’s general registrar in a ceremony Monday, Aug. 31 in Council chambers at City Hall at 2:30 p.m. Bjerke comes to Falls Church from Fairfax County’s Office of Elections, where he directed polling place and voting equipment operations for the county’s 239 polling locations and more than 2,000 pieces of voting equipment. He succeeds Deborah A. Taylor, who retired in July following more than 24 years of service as the City’s general registrar.
I-495 and Route 7 Closures in Tysons to Gum Up Traffic
The Virginia Department of Transportation announced this week that it will close the I-495 southbound Exit 46-B to Route 123 North beginning Sunday, Aug. 16 for 45 days. This is in conjunction with VDOT’s “HOT Lanes” construction. Signs will direct motorists to to take an earlier Exit 45-B towards I-66 East and to exit right at Exit 19-B. Also, the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project announced that the ramp connecting southbound Route 123 to Route 7 in Tysons Corner will for the next three years be open to Route 7 westbound traffic only. All southbound drivers on Route 123 seeking to go eastbound on Route 7 will need to turn left to International Drive and left from that road to Route 7.
F.C.’s Chef Tennille Hangs in on ‘Hell’s Kitchen’
Falls Church’s executive chef Tennille Middleton showed some frustration but survived her fourth week on the Fox reality TV show, “Hell’s Kitchen,” despite another close call with elimination, on this Tuesday night’s show. Chef Gordon Ramsey apparently agreed that Tennille’s overruled suggestion of a jambalaya pasta sauce should have been chosen. Middleton is the head chef at the Sweetwater Tavern on Gallows Rd.
Virginia Partisans’ BBQ Event Aug. 20 in F.C.
The annual Summer BBQ Fundraiser for the Virginia Partisans Gay and Lesbian Democratic Club will be held in Falls Church on Thursday, Aug. 20, honoring Democratic Lieutenant Gov. candidate Jody Wagner as a confirmed guest. The event will be catered by Freddie’s Beach Bar and will be held at the home of Ray and Patty Hubbard, 7815 Antiopi Street. More information is available at (703) 835-6615.
American Community Newspapers Files for Chap. 7
The Minneapolis-based American Community Newspapers (ACN) group that owns numerous newspapers in Northern Virginia has petitioned the court to convert its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of last April to a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy. The court hearing is slated for Aug. 21. Among the newspapers owned by ACN are the Arlington and McLean Sun-Gazettes and Leesburg Today.
