Testosterone Replacement Therapy in Falls Church, VA

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — A group of neighbors in Falls Church, Virginia are working to speed up the transition to clean energy right in their own backyards. They’re part of the Falls Church Climate Action Network, and they want to encourage people to make more informed decisions when it comes to buying major items like a car, heat pump or induction range.

Call it show-and-tell for new home updates, but these small updates can make a huge difference to the environment.

"There are other things that are beneficial besides the environment, whether it be cost savings, time savings, I no longer have to buy gas. I don’t have to go to a gas station anymore," said Justine Underhill of the Falls Church Climate Action Network.

These neighbors in Falls Church want you to know it’s not hard to switch to clean energy, so they formed the new Falls Church Climate Action Network, and held an open house to show you how.

"My first thing was I want to get into solar, rooftop solar but it’s a really scary purchase and its kind of daunting to make that," said Underhill. "That’s why I wanted to get involved with this event, helping people understand what its like to make these big purchases and maybe its not so scary after all."

A 30% federal tax credit means you can quickly recoup some of the costs of installing solar panels. Homeowner, Dave Gustafson says since switching to solar, his electric bill most months is $7.00, and his panels catch enough sun to help power the rest of his neighborhood.

"Going electric it’s a process, everybody needs to start somewhere but we do need to start," said Gustafson. "So with that, some of the easier things we've done adding insulation, converting to an induction range for cooking, took out a gas stove so we feel good about the air quality inside our house too."

Going electric can make a big difference when it comes to getting rid of an old leaf blower, or replacing your lawn mower and it’s quieter too.

"The equivalent of miles and miles and miles of car driving, same pollution there from just running your lawn mower for a little bit," said Jon Ward.

The City of Falls Church is currently working on its Community Energy Action Plan and this climate group wants to be involved in helping the city cut its greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible.

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Daily Covid-19 admissions in the Falls Church area

About the data

Data is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hospitalization data is a daily average of Covid-19 patients in hospital service areas that intersect with Falls Church, an area which may be larger than Falls Church itself.

The number of daily hospital admissions shows how many patients tested positive for Covid in hospitals and is one of the most reliably reported indicators of Covid’s impact on a community.

Nearby hospitals

Share of I.C.U. beds occupied

About this data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Notes: The hospitals map shows the average I.C.U. occupancy at nearby hospitals in the most recent week with data reported. The data is self-reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by individual hospitals. It excludes counts from hospitals operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Indian Health Service. Numbers for hospitalized patients are based on inpatient beds and include I.C.U. beds. Hospitalized Covid-19 patients include both confirmed and suspected Covid-19 patients. The C.D.C. stopped reporting data on cases in May 2023.

How trends have changed in Falls Church

About this data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Notes: Weekly county death data prior to Jan. 2021 was not reported by the C.D.C. and is sourced from reporting by The New York Times. Hospitalization data is a weekly average of Covid-19 patients in hospital service areas that intersect with Falls Church. Hospitalization numbers early in the pandemic are undercounts due to incomplete reporting by hospitals to the federal government.

Historical trends in Falls Church

The data in these charts has been archived and they are no longer being updated.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data in these charts has been archived and they are no longer being updated. Weekly county case data prior to Jan. 2021 was not reported by the C.D.C. and is sourced from reporting by The New York Times. The C.D.C. stopped reporting data on cases in May 2023. Test positivity data is based only on test results reported to the federal government and is a seven-day average.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (7News) — The Eden Center is home to 115 businesses, most of them owned and operated by someone from the Vietnamese community. But plans for new development have people concerned about its future.

That’s because the City of Falls Church has been working on its East End Small Area Plan. According to the city’s website, it’s a vision for redevelopment or reinvestment in about 10 blocks of the city.

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“It's a project that's been going on for several months now, and a large part of it is the community conversation about what is the desired future for the east end of the city,” said Falls Church Planning Director Paul Stoddard. “Which obviously includes the Eden Center and thinking about, what is the future of that? And how do we preserve and promote the culture that's there and what are the tools we need to put in place to make sure that that can survive for the long term?”

Denise Nguyen and Victor Nguyen-Long are Vietnamese American and live in the D.C. region. They go to the Eden Center at least once a week and first heard about these plans last year at a community meeting.

“What we realized was that there was a total lack of engagement with the Vietnamese community, which ultimately is the very thing that makes the Eden Center Eden Center,” Nguyen-Long said.

So the two, along with a few others, helped found Viet Place Collective, an organization working on bridging that gap.

“We're very accustomed to translating the outside world for our parents or our grandparents and then translating their world to the outside world,” Nguyen-Long said.

This is kind of a continuation of that, making sure business owners here understand what’s happening and are a part of the conversation. Viet Place Collective has been reaching out to shop and restaurant owners, passing out flyers in Vietnamese and speaking to them about the plan and pop-ups. They’re concerned new development will price out the Vietnamese businesses currently here.

“We don't doubt that the Eden Center sign over there and the archway is going to in tack, said Nguyen-Long. “But what about the Vietnamese businesses that make Eden Center, Eden Center? Because without them, we're just going to end up with Sephora and Safeway and Subway with Vietnamese translations underneath it.”

The city is aware of these concerns that have been brought up through three of the four pop-ups it held. The last one is on Saturday, April 22.

“How can you provide for protections against those kinds of increases? There are concerns about sort of landlord-tenant relations, and so what we're looking at is a suite of things whether they're infrastructure investments, you know, the solving for the basics, lighting safety, security, pedestrian facilities, park spaces,” said Stoddard. “But also can we provide for ongoing business support, whether that's business training, entrepreneur training, can it be marketing to help brand the area and really solidify its position as a little Saigon, in Northern Virginia.”

“As we lose our parents' recipes and our traditions and our language as those things fade,” said Nguyen-Long . "Places like Eden Center and the Vietnamese community are sort of the last remnants of our roots and our heritage.”

In May of 2022, Vietnamese Immigrants were honored at the Eden Center with a historical marker.

“People from all over drive hours and hours and make the pilgrimage here,” said Nguyen. “It means it means so much to so many people, not just in this area.”

The historical marker talks about how this site is the largest source of Vietnamese goods along the East Coast and that rising rent prices in the 80s actually pushed out many of the businesses from Little Saigon in Clarendon to this spot. Denise Nguyen and Victor Nguyen-Long are worried history will repeat itself.

“When development comes, which brings so many incredible amenities,” said Nguyen-Long. “Eventually the people that have been waiting around for those improvements for the longest end up not getting to benefit from it because they get priced out of the area.”

“Everyone wants to parks and clean our sidewalks and more security, but it doesn't prompt you to ask about, well, what does this mean for rent,” urged Nguyen.

Alan Frank is the Senior Vice President of the Eden Center. He’s been here since 1995, and said in a statement:

“Capital Commercial Properties values its 115 small family business tenants, values the cultural significance of Eden Center, and plans to keep Eden Center as a home for the Vietnamese community and Vietnamese small family businesses.”

Frank also said the Eden Center is not going to be redeveloped.

Meanwhile, the City of Falls Church says plans for redevelopment on city property will come from feedback from community members.

“Organize everyone around a single vision and then get everyone pointed in that same direction in terms of investment,” said Stoddard. He said part of the plan now includes considering reinvesting some of the tax revenue generated from the site back into the area. The city council would also consider these factors when reviewing applications for new development.

“Whenever you see a new development proposal, they've got a marketing plan, and one of the things we would ensure is that marketing plan has space for mom-and-pop and independent and local retailers,” said Stoddard.

“It's important that the legacy of the Vietnamese be a priority here,” said Nguyen.

“Intentionally build anti-displacement policy directly into the mission and some plan,” said Nguyen-Long. “Otherwise, it's a non-negotiable.”

You can find out more about the East End Small Area Plan and final pop-up from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Eden Center on Saturday here.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Inside the Banh Cuon Saigon restaurant at the Eden Center, the delicious aroma of Vietnamese cuisine mingles with the sound of the Vietnamese language.

“It’s like my home, it’s like my country,” Suong Nguyen said. “I can smell, I can see the Vietnamese people every day.”

It’s been more than 30 years since Suong Nguyen and her family came to the United States. With the help of her friend, Denise Nguyen, she tells the story of how she came to Eden Center.

“She was a refugee who escaped Vietnam because her husband was a prisoner for 14 years, he had been a fighter pilot in the war and was captured,” Denise translated.

“Suong arrived here and she said it felt like heaven,” Denise continued. “One of the first jobs she applied for was here at Eden Center and, six years later, she opened her restaurant right here.”

Nearly 30 years later Suong continues to serve her native country’s cuisine at Eden Center. She is just one of the hundreds of stories like this at the Eden Center. People who fled their homes and built a new life at the shopping center. Denise Nguyen knows so many of these stories and she loves to tell them.

“It means a lot to me and it’s the closest way to connect to my heritage,” Denise said.

The Eden Center hasn’t always been the hub for Vietnamese culture. That used to be Little Saigon in Arlington. In the late 1980s, the redevelopment of the Clarendon section pushed the people and businesses out. That's how Eden Center became the hub.

This year, the city of Falls Church began to look at a future Small Area Plan around Eden Center. That got Denise got concerned.

“It would impact the businesses and the Vietnamese community most and yet they’re not there to represent themselves,” Denise explained.

But what is a Small Area Plan?

“A Small Area Plan is to take stock of what’s there, what’s working well, what do we want to support and what do we think might happen over the next 20 years, 30 years, and so on,” Falls Church city planner Paul Stoddard explained.

Stoddard explained the new Small Area Plan will look at the needs of the area. What does that look like for new housing, roads, infrastructure, and other vital parts of growth for the area. He believes a large focus will be on preserving Eden Center.

“The Falls Church intention is that Eden Center will be there long term, so the plan needs to show how it’s going to support that,” Stoddard said.

But not everyone is convinced. Some worry the history of Little Saigon will repeat itself.

“I was shocked, you know why? Because this will impact everyone,” Suong Nguyen said back at her restaurant.

To help Suong Nguyen and the other business owners get a seat at the planning table, Denise and a group of young Vietnamese Americans formed the Viet Place Collective.

“We see ourselves as a facilitator and translator to try and better explain what a Small Area Plan is to business owners and then better explain to the city what the needs are of the community,” Denise said.

The group has spent the past few weeks engaging with the city of Falls Church. The hope is that as plans go forward, so does Eden Center, as a place where all Asian cultures can find home away from home.

“What makes Eden Center is the Vietnamese people — so what our demands focus on is preserving the people,” she said.

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