(AP) One of the key exit routes out of traffic-clogged Tysons Corner will be severely restricted for the next eight weeks. The heavy traffic in Tysons Corner is always worse during the holiday shopping season due to the presence of Tysons Corner Center and other shopping destinations. And the construction planned for the exit ramp on Leesburg Pike will only exacerbate the problem. On Tuesday night, the Virginia Department of Transportation reduced the exit ramp from eastbound Route 7 onto the southbound Capital Beltway from two lanes to one. The lane closure is expected to last for the next eight weeks. The closure is part of the construction project to add high-occupancy toll lanes to the Beltway in northern Virginia.

AP/Washington Post, November 16, 2011

From the Washington Business Journal, (11/15/11):

Nonprofit information technology contractor Mitre Corp. is apparently moving ahead with a plan first reported here in June to demolish a building adjacent to its headquarters in Tysons Corner and build anew.

Though a spokeswoman said that the company is not yet ready to discuss the project's timeline, a source with knowledge of the project confirmed that Mitre is moving ahead cautiously with the expansion of its headquarters in Tysons. It's being handled by real estate services company Jones Lang LaSalle, the source said.

The Pimmit Hills Citizens Association (PHCA) conducted an online survey for the past few months and input is now closed. The survey asked questions like:

• How long have you lived in Pimmit Hills?
• What would you say are the biggest challenges facing the community?
• What PHCA community events or meetings have you attended in the last year?
• What types of speakers/events would you like to see at PHCA town meetings and/or organized?
• What do you think PHCA should do to help make the community a better place to live?
• Would you be in favor of a pedestrian foot-bridge over Pimmit Run at Redd Road?

From PHCA President Matthew Martz: Thanks to the hard work of our board and our Supervisor, John Foust, we have been granted multiple four-way stop signs for our neighborhood. This is a huge accomplishment for our community and is a major step forward keeping our families safe from speeding and cut-through drivers.

From John W. Foust, Dranesville District Supervisor: Dear Dranesville Resident, Welcome to the latest issue of the Dranesville Dispatch. Hopefully the surprise snow of this past weekend is not an early indicator of a rough winter. I am very pleased with the progress VDOT made last year with the snow removal process but I doubt that any of us are looking forward to putting them to the test again this winter.

In this issue, we report on a great deal of activity on a number of transportation improvements in Dranesville. I have provided a list of projects that were recently completed and those currently in progress. Also, I am pleased to report that VDOT’s temporary repairs to the damaged bridges on Beach Mill and Towlston Road will be completed soon.

Washington Post, October 29, 2011: McGovern Drive looked like the sanitized slice of suburbia presented on television in 1965, the year Wayne and Virginia Cole moved into a tidy brick ranch home just outside the Beltway in Montgomery County. The Coles, and everyone else who lived in the neighborhood back then, were white.

Today their Silver Spring community of Hillandale is home to people of every race and ethnicity undefined the epitome of what one sociologist calls “global neighborhoods” that are upending long-standing patterns of residential segregation.

In September WMATA proposed changes to several bus routes in Northern Virginia as part of "Service Improvements" plan. One of the routes included in the proposal is the 3T, which serves Pimmit Hills.

Metro has proposed eliminating all Saturday service on the 3T and eliminating all weekday service between Tysons Corner Mall and Tysons Westpark.

There will be a public hearing Tuesday October 11 at 6pm at Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School (7130 Leesburg Pike). Information about speaking or sending written statement regarding this proposal can be found at http://www.wmata.com/community_outreach/B11-03_landing/B11-03_landing.cfm

Notificación en Español: http://www.wmata.com/community_outreach/B11-03_landing/B11-03_notice_spanish.pdf

Pimmit Hills resident Elaine Mittleman has started an appeal of the Pimmit Branch Post Office closure. [Petition letter, pdf] Residents can let the Post Office and Postal Regulatory Commission know how this closure will impact them by filing a statement via the Postal Regulatory Commission website at www.prc.gov.

Instructions on filing are available on the website or by contacting the docket section at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via telephone at 202-789-6846. The Docket number for the Pimmit Hills Branch appeal is A2011-90.

Major Redevelopment of the area next to Pimmit Hills

The McLean Citizens Association Planning Committee is going to make a presentation to the PHCA, Tuesday, October the 4th at 7:30pm at the Pimmit Hills Center on Lisle Avenue concerning the major redevelopment of the Magarity/Anderson Road area next to Pimmit Hills. The redevelopment of this area is going to have a huge impact on us and MCA has been following the plans closely and will report on its findings, some of which may possibly include Fairfax County condemning properties to take over for the redevelopment of Tysons.

If you are concerned about how this impacts our neighborhood, please attend this special PHCA meeting:

Tuesday, October 4, 2011
7:30 pm
Pimmit Hills Center on Lisle Avenue

 The George C. Marshall High Class of 2013 is hosting its 2nd Annual Holiday Shopping and Community Expo on Saturday, December 10, 2011 from 10 am to 3 pm at Marshall High School on Leesburg Pike.

This year's event will include over 30 upscale vendors selling cosmetics, handbags, designer jewelry and accessories, clothing, holiday wreaths and florals, and much more!

Entertainment will be provided by the Marshall music department, Marshall students, a local dance group, and more.

We'll have a huge raffle for prizes such as spa gift certificates, hotel stays, restaurant gift certificates, and prizes from our fabulous vendors.