F.C. Bulletin, Feb. 10, 2025: Tysons Casino, Black History, Falls Church Arts

Casino Foes to Travel to Richmond by Bus Feb. 11 to Protest Tysons Resort-style Gambling District

You may have seen “No Tysons Casino!" signs around the neighborhood. Wondering what all the fuss is about? 

In an interesting twist, battles over the possibility of a resort-style gambling casino under consideration at Tysons pitches Democrats against fellow party members. 

Proposed Jan. 7 by Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax), Senate Bill 982 on “Casino Gaming” adds Fairfax County to a list of possible resort-style gaming sites in the Commonwealth, stipulating strict requirements that only Tysons Corner could meet. After the Virginia Senate approved the bill last Tuesday, 24-to-16, in the Democratic-majority chamber, the legislation was referred Feb. 7 to the General Laws Committee, which is due to meet on Tuesday, Feb. 11 to further consider the legislation.

Members of No Fairfax Casino will be traveling to Richmond – Virginia's state capital – by bus tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 11 in opposition to the Tysons Casino project, according to Fox 5 News.

Reston-based developer Comstock has “spent more than $1.5 million since 2023 to pass legislation allowing a casino to be built on Metro’s Silver Line outside the Capital Beltway in Fairfax County,” according to the Falls Church Patch.

Currently, the envisioned resort-style casino includes: a 4 million sq.-foot entertainment district in Tysons that “would feature a high-end hotel with gaming floor, convention center, concert venue, restaurants, retail, and workforce housing,” the Patch reported. “In addition, 200,000 sq.-feet of the district would be dedicated to a casino.”

Senator Surovell has minced no words in favor of such a gambling district in Tysons. According to the Virginia Mercury, he “argued that the project would bring economic opportunity and create ‘a lot’ of jobs while keeping gaming revenue within Virginia, instead of losing it to neighboring states.”

“When I read the paper about how much money Maryland was going to suck out of our commonwealth to pay for their schools — in both Maryland and [Prince George’s] County, I thought it was offensive, and I thought that we needed to do something,’ Surovell said Tuesday,” according to the Mercury. A study cited by Surovell also “estimates the casino could generate $1.2 billion in revenue, bringing $232 million per year to Virginia – funding that could go toward school construction, totaling nearly $2.5 billion in over a decade.”

On NBC News 4, Comstock CEO Christopher Clemente argued that a Tysons Casino would be good for the community, the county and the state. “By bringing a casino operation to a development like [this] we can do those other things that are benefits to the community and to the county and to the state for that matter without requiring any public financing of any kind,” Clemente said.

Local labor unions are also generally supporting SB 982 due to its potential for job creation, though the bill has no explicit hiring requirements.

But, opposition to a Tysons Casino among fellow Democrats has been vocal and growing. Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D-Fairfax) has denounced SB 982 for its lack of local input. While Sen. Saddam Salim (D-Fairfax) argued that no one ever asked for such a casino. “... Fairfax County invests in sustainable, forward-thinking development, not a quick-fix like casino gambling,” he said. 

Virginia Assembly Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) re-directed Senate Bill 982 back to the Appropriations Committee of the House of Delegates while criticizing the bill’s passage in the absence of state gaming oversight which he has proposed. 

Meanwhile, on the grassroots level, No Fairfax Casino is growing increasingly restive. They oppose the casino for a multitude of reasons, including that it would “hurt local businesses, increase gridlock and public safety problems, lower property values, and encourage risky behaviors, while forever changing the character of our community.” 

On Fox 5 News, No Fairfax Casino Chair Lynn Mulston raised doubts about the ethical implications of developer Comstock’s failure to disclose community “financial benefit” studies allegedly conducted with George Mason University. 

In a Feb. 2 news release, No Fairfax Casino denounced an "admission" from Senator Surovell during a Town Hall meeting Feb. 1 at Mount Vernon’s Whitman Middle School. According to the grassroots group, Surovell "admitted that 'the $1.8 billion in revenue that the proposed casino in the Tysons area [would generate] is nothing more than speculation by the site developer.” Surovell has also yet to provide the public with a "formal fiscal analysis” of the costly and expansive casino project.

Even national security and intelligence professionals have gotten into the act. One hundred and nine such folks sent "a letter to elected leaders" condemning the Tysons Casino concept, according to NBC4 Washington, saying the project “presents an unacceptable and needless risk to national security,” since it would be so close to [CIA headquarters at] Langley and the nearly 20,000 intelligence and defense employees who live nearby.” 

“I know from experience – from having been in [the intelligence/defense world] – that Russia, China, [and] other nations who would do us ill, are looking for these people,” said Sally Horn, who “spent nearly four decades working in national security.” Such intelligence community professionals “would become targets should they get into gambling trouble,” Horn warned.

To this, Surovell responded: “I think these are just people who don’t want something in their backyard.”

If Virginia's General Assembly approves the casino bill and it's signed by Governor Glen Youngkin (R), the Fairfax Board of Supervisors would then need to approve the plan and put it to the voters of Fairfax County on a ballot referendum. The final decision would then be up to the county's voters.

Black History Month Workshop: The Falls Church Episcopal’s Ties to Slavery 

To move forward, a community has to face its past. Findings of a revealing study on the Falls Church (Episcopal)’s ties to slavery will be presented from 1-3:00  p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22 as the focus of a workshop and observance of Black History Month.

The program is sponsored by the Social Justice Committee of Falls Church and Vicinity and will be held at the Falls Church Presbyterian Church, 225 E. Broad St. Participants will have opportunities to discuss the church’s findings in small groups and explore how they can apply what they’ve learned.

The Falls Church Episcopal has been studying its history for the past two years, including documentation that church officials owned slaves who helped build portions of the current church structure. Presenter Jan Cornelius plans to share methods of the study and encourage other churches and organizations to conduct similar explorations.

Falls Church Arts Accepting Scholarship Applications for 2025

Falls Church Arts is pleased to announce that it is accepting applications for the Excellence in Art Scholarship, a program designed to recognize and encourage those who display an early dedication to making art. High school seniors who plan to attend an accredited post-secondary institution and further their artistic pursuits will be eligible to apply.

In 2025, Falls Church Arts will offer $1,000 scholarships to a limited number of students. April 21, 2025 is the deadline for receipt of applications.

Criteria

A student is eligible to apply for this $1,000 scholarship if the student meets all of the following criteria:

• Exhibits excellence and creativity in the visual arts fields of drawing, painting, photography, mixed media, or sculpture;
• Is in the final academic year of their secondary education at a Northern Virginia high school;
• Plans to attend an accredited post-secondary institution and further their artistic pursuits there.

Special consideration will be given to applicants whose art work and activities have benefited other students, their school, or members of the community.

Applicants must provide five images of their work, an artist statement, recommendations from an art instructor and a general recommendation from a non-family adult, and a transcript of their academic record. Applications, official transcripts, and recommendations must be received by April 21, 2025 at Falls Church Arts, Attn: Scholarship Committee, P.O. Box 6912, Falls Church, Virginia 22040-6912. 

For information on the application process, go here. For additional information, contact: Maureen Budetti (mrbudetti@gmail.com), 202-288-9291; or, Marty Behr (behrmarty29@gmail.com.), 703-975-0762.

By Christopher Jones