Study Ranks F.C. No. 1 In Virginia Wealth Growth

A new study from the Smart Asset financial advisory firm released last week shows that the City of Falls Church ranks Number One among all jurisdictions in Virginia in “experiencing the most wealth generation over the last 10 years.” The study measured increases in median income, investment income and home values.

This is most reflected in numbers showing a $360,152 median home value “raw growth” in that period, far ahead of the next highest $257,164 for Loudoun County, $245,817 for Fauquier County and $239,031 for Arlington. Other categories evaluated in the study are median income and investment income growth, leading to an overall wealth income growth index.

The top 10 in the overall growth index are City of Falls Church, Loudoun County, Rappahannock County, Manassas City, New Kent County, Arlington County, Poquoson City, Charlottesville City, Fauquier County and Abermarle County.

According to the firm, its methodology involved the following: “We started the analysis by calculating the Investment Income for each county by evenly weighing the Ordinary Dividends, Qualified Dividends, and Net Capital Gains. From there we calculated the change in Median Home Value, and the Median Income for each county, and ranked them on all three metrics. We calculated a Wealth Index for all U.S. counties based on a combination of these three metrics and ranked them accordingly to provide a holistic view of which areas of the U.S. are accumulating the most wealth. We then took the raw change of the three metrics as well as the Wealth Index to rank the counties with the greatest increase in wealth over a 10-year period.”

Selby Honored With Special Plaque From Meridian H.S.

Marian Costner Selby, the first African-American student to attend and graduate from Falls Church’s George Mason High School (now Meridian) was feted with a special commendation last month when she appeared at a public event there for the first time since she graduated in 1964.

Selby spoke at an instrumental music concert, where she introduced a piece called “The Nine,” written to recognize the nine students who integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1954. As recounted by Falls Church Schools’ Superintendent Dr. Peter Noonan, “She spoke about her own experience integrating GMHS as a sophomore in 1961, which was challenging, but in the end more good than bad. She used her speech as a call to action to everyone to be better at working together.”

Earlier that day, Ms.Selby visited with students and enjoyed a tour of the school with students from the Black Student Union.

Associate Principal Peter Laub presented her with an appreciation plaque from the F.C. Schools which read as follows:

“Marian Costner Selby, George Mason High School, Class of 1964. Presented by the Falls Church City Public Schools with gratitude for your courage as a tenth grade student faced with integrating George Mason High School in September 1961. Through your actions, you paved the way for generations of students to attend school together. You persisted, despite unfathomable challenges, Meridian High School is proud to recognize you as a trailblazer – the first African American graduate of the Falls Church City Public Schools.”

N.Y. Times Sues A.I. Giants for Content Theft

The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement last week, opening a new front in the increasingly intense legal battle over the unauthorized use of published work to train artificial intelligence technologies.

The Times is the first major American media organization to sue the companies, the creators of ChatGPT and other popular A.I. platforms, over copyright issues associated with its written works. The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, contends that millions of articles published by the Times were used to train automated chatbots that now compete with the news outlet as a source of reliable information.