Penny Gross

Annandale

Local Contributor, Vice Chairman of Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at Falls Church News-Press

Representing the residents of the Mason District as Vice Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors

Featured in: Favicon

fcnp.com

Articles

A Penny for Your Thoughts 5-8-2025

1 week ago | fcnp.com | Penny Gross

Are there any adults in the Trump White House? Media photos show adult humans coming and going, but the missives issued by Trump, his Cabinet members, and the White House press operation appear to belie any adult thought processes. It’s no secret that Trump’s personal values focus on himself and ostentation, the gaudier the better. What he and his vice president call the “cherished” Oval Office has become a gilded stage set for televised gatherings, the flashier the shiny gewgaws, the better.
A Penny for Your Thoughts 5-1-2025

2 weeks ago | fcnp.com | Penny Gross

This week marks the end of the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s second term as president. Has it only been 100 days? Seems like the national and international chaos created by the Trump White House has been affecting economies across the globe for much longer. Shortly after last November’s election, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay warned that Trump’s election would have a devastating effect on the county’s economy.
A Penny for Your Thoughts

3 weeks ago | fcnp.com | Penny Gross

Nearly 50 years ago, my husband and I purchased property on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and had a small cottage built at Avon, a village on Hatteras Island about six miles north of the iconic Cape Hatteras Lighthouse (which currently is surrounded by massive scaffolding for restoration in time for the nation’s 250th anniversary). At Eastertime, we would make the 600-mile round trip to open the house for summer tenants.
Our Man In Arlington 4-17-2025

4 weeks ago | fcnp.com | Bill Fogarty |Nicholas F. Benton |Penny Gross

National Volunteer Week runs from April 20 to April 26 this year, which provides an opportunity to celebrate the importance of the role of volunteers in our community. Let me highlight one story, which seems simple on its face: it starts with a high school student who volunteered with a reading program for children, but it reveals a thread of connections over many decades, within the local community, and beyond.
Beyer Warns of Trump Policy Impacts on Region, U.S. & World

4 weeks ago | fcnp.com | Nicholas F. Benton |Bill Fogarty |Penny Gross

U.S. Rep. Donald S. Beyer Jr., came before the group that he was president of 45 years ago as a Falls Church businessman this Tuesday, cautioning the monthly meeting of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce about the dire consequences of the Trump administration’s current tariff policy.
A Penny for Your Thoughts 4-17-2025

4 weeks ago | fcnp.com | Penny Gross |Bill Fogarty |Nicholas F. Benton

Donald Trump finally told the truth! In one of his rambling “lectures” – you know, the kind where he starts out focused on the topic and ends up terming Joe Biden as the “worst president in the history of the United States” and repeating his contention that other countries have emptied their prisons and asylums to send the worst people to “invade” our country – Trump bragged that “No other president would have done it.” “It” was his decree that imposed exorbitant tariffs on every other...
Together, We Will Prevail

4 weeks ago | fcnp.com | Nicholas F. Benton |Bill Fogarty |Penny Gross

The Falls Church City Council’s action to adopt a reasonable plan to allow and even incentivize affordable dwelling units, so-called “granny flats,” in the City by a unanimous 7-0 vote was a commendable and hopeful development. The process took almost a year, but with some singular exceptions, it was not as contentious and hostile as the years’ long tortured process that led to a transitional zone modifications which, as we are discovering, has not yet led to an armageddon.
Did DOGE Help Moscow Hack Into NLRB Files?

4 weeks ago | fcnp.com | Nicholas F. Benton |Bill Fogarty |Penny Gross

Tuesday’s whistleblower revelations are stunning concerning the raid by Elon Musk’s DOGE phalanx into sensitive files of the National Labor Relations Board, the evidence of a massive theft of data and the acknowledged attempt from a Russian IP address to extract it at the same time. Two Virginia lawmakers, U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly of Fairfax County and U.S. Senator Mark Warner, are in the forefront of efforts to address the issue.
Trumpism Calculus: Less Freedom, More Babies

1 month ago | fcnp.com | Nicholas F. Benton |Penny Gross

The Trump cult’s wholesale assault on women that has been an ongoing feature of America’s turbulent domestic life since the overturning of Roe Vs. Wade in 2022 has as its objective a falsely-perceived national security need to increase the birth rate. This can be concluded from the April 6 Washington Post article by Kelsey Ables under the headline, “Governments Want More Babies. Are Reproductive Freedoms At Risk?” and more, especially from sources related to the “manosphere” male reboot movement.
Penny Gross 4-10-2025

1 month ago | fcnp.com | Penny Gross |Mark Dreisonstok |Bill Fogarty |Ryan McCafferty

Discussion and debate have been the hallmarks of American college and university campuses for more than a couple of centuries, until now. Where different philosophies and points of view could be examined and expounded, usually safely despite raised voices in sometimes tense surroundings, today’s public and private institutions of higher learning are under attack by the Trump Administration.