News and Notes

Local Cartoonist Offers Up Free Drawing Workshop Thursday

Falls Church resident and cartoonist Kevin Rechin will hold a free cartooning workshop Thursday at ArtSpace from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The workshop is open to all ages. Participants are asked to bring their own materials and everyone must register via email at info@fallschurcharts.org.

Rechin’s work has been viewed in a lot of places over the years. He was responsible for drawing Washington Nationals baseball players for an advertisement for the D.C. Lottery and he designed a superhero for the bedroom of two young boys appearing on ABC’s “Extreme Makeover Home Edition.”

City of Falls Church Recognized as ‘Green Government’

For the fourth consecutive year, the City of Falls Church’s government has been earned the Virginia “Certified Green Government” status.

The city won the honor after successfully implementing environmental policies and taking practical actions to reduce carbon emissions. Of the 25 cities and towns competing in Virginia’s Municipal League’s Green Government Challenge, 20 earned the minimum score of 100 green points.

According to a press release, local governments receiving the recognition earned “green points” by implementing or adopting up to 30 policies and actions from 11 categories ranging from energy efficiency and green buildings to land-use and innovation.  Amassing between 100 and 124 “green points” out of a possible 200 earned certification of a “Green Government.”

Walter Mess to be Honored Saturday

The Walter Mess Plaza will be dedicated with Walter Mess being honored by grateful notables on Oct. 29 at 1 pm. at 400 N. Oak St. on the W&OD Trail in the City of Falls Church next to the American Legion.

In the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority's early years, Walter Mess, a land economist and mortgage banker, hiked each property the new agency considered acquiring. NVRPA now preserves more than 10,000 acres and operates 19 regional parks in the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church and the counties of Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun.

In 1959, he was the City of Falls Church's first appointee to the Board. In 1999, NVRPA honored his 40 years of service by naming the agency headquarters, The Walter L. Mess Building.