Hubcap Street Art Demolished in Arlington / East Falls Church

Hope you caught the display we reported in March.  The I-66 widening project has since wiped it out.   

Back then:

Washington Boulevard (at 27th St., N.)

Now:

The reticent artist, who goes by the single name, Flaco, told us, "Art is, by its very nature, fleeting and ephemeral, like life.  They are as one."

The Story of the new Easter Seals building on Hillwood Street

Nice to hear what happened behind-the-scenes to get the new Easter Seals facility built.  

An excerpt from Todd Ray's article in the 3 July 2014 Falls Church News-Press:

The City of Falls Church had a problem. It was renting surplus space to the Easter Seals Child Development Center of Northern Virginia, a much needed social services program, but its growing public school system was in need of the space. 

Ending Easter Seals’ lease meant losing an important community service. As municipalities throughout Northern Virginia become larger and more prosperous, non-profits like Easter Seals are going further afield to find affordable space. The City of Falls Church wanted to keep Easter Seals in its borders. A combination of fast-thinking, altruism, and collaboration allowed Easter Seals to not only stay in the City of Falls Church, but to own a beautiful new facility all its own. 

Easter Seals is a non-profit organization providing services for millions of children and adults living with a variety of conditions, from autism to cancer. The Easter Seals Child Development Center (CDC) in Falls Church provides programs for children, with and without disabilities, from six weeks old to five years old. In the area, it is one of a limited number of organizations serving populations with special needs. 

For James Snyder, Director of Planning and Development Services for the City of Falls Church, keeping the Easter Seals Center in the City was imperative, but there was no new space to house the program. Snyder had an idea.

Read the rest of his guest commentary here.  

Not included in the story are the before and after pictures.  

Before:  blight.

(Photo courtesy Google Maps)

After:  New Easter Seals facility.  Nice.

(This photo is copyrighted by the blog owner.)

Ira Kaylin Uses Illiterate Diatribe To Bash Falls Church City Schools

Making clear that we don't play favorites, we have previously defended Ira Kaylin when attacked by the local media mogul.  But Kaylin's recent illiterate rant about City spending on schools, which he insinuates don't provide enough value for the money, is over the top.

Starting from the top, then, we have an author who is unfamiliar with the English-language idiom sleight of hand.  Perhaps English is his second language, but the highly pedigreed lawyers who comprise the Falls Church Post also seem unaware.  Guess there's no spell check on their software?

Seriously?

Despite having served with former Mayor Nader Baroukh on the Council, Kaylin repeatedly is unable to spell his name correctly.  One wonders if he's doing it intentionally for less than noble reasons.

Who is this man next to me?

Malapropisms abound.  Rather than vise grip we get:

Hmm.  Does a city rely too heavily on sin taxes when it's in a "vice grip"?

Clearly, the author did not take the time to re-read before hitting publish, which makes one wonder just how accurate the numbers are.  

The "City Mangers" proposal is aimed at ensuring babies sleep safe when there's no room at the inn. 

Asleep at the wheel.

Problems of logic abound, too.

Setting aside the issue of whatever a "four loan" is, in the case cited, you'd actually get a better interest rate.  What you don't want to do is to take out a 10-year loan on a bus you hold ten years -- the interest paid would be enormous. 

What makes Kaylin's post particularly insufferable is when a buddy chimes in and basically accuses the Falls Church school system of failing to educate our children.  To wit:

No point in commenting about this on the FCP website.  You'd just get Linda N. screaming at you in full caps with exclamation points, and then they'd perhaps finally proofread and fix Kaylin's article, as it should have been done the first time, and then your comment gets deleted.  That's how they roll.

Falls Church: More Development Like This Needed

Before:  blight.

(Photo courtesy Google Maps)

After:  New Easter Seals facility.  Nice.

(This photo is copyrighted by the blog owner.)

Halalco Safeguarding Harris Teeter's Shopping Carts

I love Halalco so much.  What a selection.  Be sure to check out the fresh-baked Afghan bread in the back by the frozen foods.  Mmm.

They also have kindly stored up the local Harris Teeter store's grocery carts, safeguarding them from burglers.  Thank you, Halalco, for your community spirit!

(courtesy Google Maps)

Don't want anyone to steal them while awaiting pickup by Harris Teeter reps.

These are premium carts, with the coffee holder and all.  Very valuable.

Visual Clutter and Eyesores in Falls Church

Signs like this violate several aspects of City code (see section 48), and for good reason:  they are eyesores and visual clutter.  This one, in the 1000 block of Hillwood Avenue, is right at the entrance to the City. Welcome All!

We hope the Post Team will do their part to help improve the City's appearance by getting rid of these unwelcome, dilapidated--and illegal--signs.  Three of the Team members each list "Lawyer" as their leading qualification for their involvement in the blog, so one would think they'd understand the importance of heeding the law.

Another Falls Church Sidewalk Improvement Fail

You really do have to wonder about this one.  The City crew lovingly tore up the old curb and made the new apron ADA-compliant--to the letter of the law, but not the spirit.

Pole?  What pole?

File this under: what were they thinking?

Hubcap Street Art in Arlington / East Falls Church

A guerrilla art display appeared recently on Washington Boulevard (at 27th St., N.).  I believe it's titled, The Existential Struggle of Circles Against Velocity.