Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova took questions from citizens during an online discussion. Here was one of the questions applicable to our area:

"What will be the cost to the taxpayers for each of the projects: the Metro extension and the Tyson's Corner renovation? How will those projects be paid for? At present, the Metro extension through Tyson's Corner represents a major headache for McLean residents: no parking for residents to use the Metro. Why not take over the old Mitre building and build a parking lot there? By adding something like 100,000 new residents in Tyson's corner, an estimated 10,000 more cars will use Rt. 123 each day. How will Fairfax County deal with this traffic?"

http://www.495expresslanes.com/ The 495 Express Lanes, opening on the Virginia side of the Capital Beltway, will provide faster, more direct options for high-occupancy vehicles and toll-paying customers.

There will be two new high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes in each direction, from the Springfield Interchange to just north of the Dulles Toll Road.

Whether you travel by car, carpool, or bus, these HOT lanes will provide greater control over your commute on the Beltway.

From Fairfax County: Fairfax County residents can recycle televisions, computers and peripheral devices -- including keyboards, speakers, printers, external drives and other such materials -- and unbroken fluorescent light bulbs and tubes on Electric Sundays. There is No Charge for Fairfax County residents to participate in Electric Sunday; however, they may be required to show proof of residency. This year's Electric Sunday events are scheduled monthly through November.

For more information please visit: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/recycling/electric-sunday.htm

From Fairfax County: All dogs four months of age or older must be licensed. Licenses are good for one year and must be purchased by January 31st.

• License Fees: The fee to purchase a dog license is $10, for all dogs.
• License tags are issued free of charge to the owners of dogs trained and serving as a guide dog for a blind person, a hearing dog for a deaf person, or a service dog for a mobility-impaired person.

License tags may be purchased by mail, on-line or in person, as follows:

From Fairfax County: Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units responded to a townhouse explosion, Sunday, January 8, at approximately 7:15 p.m., in the Falls Church area of Fairfax County. The townhouse is located at 2852 Pine Spring Road, Falls Church. Firefighters were initially called for a medical emergency at the two-story townhouse; however, an explosion had occurred minutes prior to their arrival. An adult male was transported to INOVA Fairfax Hospital for a non-life threatening injury as a result of the explosion.

SEATTLE, Jan. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Seattle-based Nordstrom, Inc., announced today plans to open a new Nordstrom Rack in Tysons Corner, Va. The approximately 42,000-square-foot, two-level store is scheduled to open during fall 2012.

Nordstrom Rack is the off-price retail division of Nordstrom, Inc., carrying on-trend merchandise from Nordstrom stores and Nordstrom.com at 50 to 60 percent off original Nordstrom prices. Nordstrom Rack also offers a wide selection of apparel, accessories and shoes from many of the brands carried in Nordstrom stores. These items are purchased specially for Nordstrom Rack, with most at savings of 30 to 70 percent off.

From the Washington Post: The largest landowner in Tysons Corner has inked three deals for hundreds of new apartments with major development partners in recent months, signaling continued and possibly growing interest in the suburban city by housing builders from around the country.

Cityline Partners, a crew of veteran Tysons developers, is managing the redevelopment of the Westgate and Westpark office parks for DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, a Credit Suisse company that bought the property in 2010. Cityline recently finalized contracts for new apartment developments with three builders that could mean hundreds of new units for the area in coming years if they are approved by the county. [View map of DLJ’s empire.]

Join the Pimmit Hills Environment Committee on Monday, February 16 (the MLK Holiday) to help clean our local environment with a stream cleanup and invasive plant removal along Pimmit Run. Help beautify the stream that our community is named after! Here are all the details:

When: Monday, January 16, 1-3 p.m.

Where: Meet at the bridge/footpath at the intersection of Pimmit and Paxton Dr.

Who: Everyone! Feel free to bring friends and family members. Children are welcome but must be accompanied by an adult.

RSVP: An RSVP is requested! Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

What are we doing/what should I wear? We will be picking up trash and removing invasive plants, so wear warm clothes that can get dirty.

What should I bring? Bring a water bottle and work gloves. Some extra work gloves will be available, and trash bags will be provided.

From Fairfax County: You are invited to attend an informational meeting to discuss a proposal by the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board (CSB) to develop the Pimmit Barn site at 1845 Cherri Drive as a home for 6 disabled adults. The Park Authority currently owns the site and has decided to dispose of it.
The meeting will be held:

Wednesday, January 11 at 7 p.m.
Lemon Road Elementary School Cafeteria
1720 Idylwood Road
Falls Church, VA.

From Supervisor John Foust to the Pimmit Hills Citizens Association, January 3, 2012:

The Pedestrian Trail Study that examined the feasibility of constructing a trail to connect Redd Road to the WFC Metro station has been completed. My office received numerous requests for this trail.

However, when the possibility of pursuing construction of the trail was raised, we also received strong statements in opposition.

Before conducting a public outreach process to determine whether the opponents’ issues could be addressed and resolved, I asked that staff first determine whether the trail was technically and financially feasible.