Jul
30
2010
The Gazette has published this piece in this week’s edition on the College Park Day (Thanks Gazette). I’m reprinting the article here:
College Park to host city festival this fall
Inaugural event to highlight community groups, diversity
Last fall while writing on his blog, College Park resident Joe Smith lamented that his city had many festivals and events hosted by the University of Maryland, College Park, but had very few activities showcasing what the city and its nearly 28,000 residents had to offer outside of campus.
Resident Fazlul Kabir, also an active blogger, agreed that the city should have an event celebrating its diversity.
With the help of city officials and other residents, the two have since run with their ideas, helping to plan the inaugural College Park Day, which will be held Oct. 9 to highlight the people, businesses and community groups that call the city home.
“The idea here is to celebrate everything that the city has to offer,” Smith said. “[We want to] hopefully show people that College Park is more dynamic than they think and that there’s more to the city than the University of Maryland.”
Residents have been actively planning College Park Day since March, said City Councilman Patrick L. Wojahn (Dist. 1). Initially, just a handful of people began organizing the event, but now about 25 residents are working on several planning committees.
“We have a couple of staff members involved on staff time, but for the most part it’s being organized by residents,” Wojahn said. “I think there’s a certain amount of buzz being generated now. People seem to be excited.”
Attractions will likely include food, games, music, dancing, city culture and history exhibits and representatives from community groups, organizers said.
The city allocated $5,000 to College Park Day, Wojahn said, adding that he expects the funds to cover the event’s full cost. Any additional funding would likely come from private donations or local business sponsorship, he said.
“I like it when the city of College Park has a fun, family day,” said resident Kim Lugo, who is not involved in the event’s planning. “It does provide a way for new and older residents to meet up and we’re also able to provide information on what [public services] the city offers.”
Part of the event’s inspiration comes from the now-defunct Taste of College Park — an annual festival in the mid-2000s where residents sampled food from local restaurants. Wojahn said the event provided an opportunity for fellowship, but struggled because it was often overshadowed by the university’s Maryland Day, which was often held on the same weekend and drew more than 50,000 people.
Kabir said he hopes College Park Day will become a longer-lasting tradition than its food-oriented predecessor. He added that he expects the event to help bring together an increasingly diverse city, which includes young professionals and retirees, and has seen increases in Hispanic and Muslim residents.
“Things have been changing. A new generation of people are coming in,” Kabir said. “We decided to do something which could actually bring everyone together.”
College Park Day will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. on Oct. 9 at the College Park Community Center and Paint Branch Elementary School, located at 5051 and 5101 Pierce Ave. in College Park. The event also has a website at http://www.collegeparkday.org
Jul
29
2010
The Maryland State’s Department of Education has recently published the student report cards for all of our State schools.
While most of the local area elementary schools have improved in their performance compared to other schools in the county, the overall county school performance remains poor in the State.
Though not surprising, one striking trend in the report card is the student demographics of the Hollywood Elementary school, the only public elementary school in our district. Over the past 10 years (from 2000 to 2010), the Hispanic student enrollment has gone up from 35 to 235, while the white student enrollment has gone down from 172 to 73. The student population of African American origin has also taken a hit during this period (from 198 to 88), the Asian population has made a modest gain (from 26 to 43).
See the detailed statistics below.
This change in student demograpics may also reflect a similar trend in area’s overall population – we’ll have to wait for the 2010 census report to find more about that.
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| Year | American Indian / Alaskan Native |  |
Asian / Pacific Islander | |
African American | |
White (not of Hispanic origin) | |
Hispanic | |||||
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| 2010 | 5 | |
43 | |
88 | |
73 | |
235 | |||||
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| 2009 | 3 | |
35 | |
95 | |
70 | |
216 | |||||
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| 2008 | 2 | |
34 | |
70 | |
61 | |
231 | |||||
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| 2007 | 2 | |
28 | |
75 | |
68 | |
178 | |||||
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| 2006 | 2 | |
30 | |
84 | |
84 | |
144 | |||||
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| 2005 | 3 | |
32 | |
86 | |
100 | |
128 | |||||
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| 2004 | 4 | |
37 | |
90 | |
119 | |
144 | |||||
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| 2003 | 3 | |
33 | |
90 | |
131 | |
99 | |||||
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| 2002 | 3 | |
22 | |
110 | |
152 | |
44 | |||||
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| 2001 | 6 | |
28 | |
203 | |
174 | |
36 | |||||
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| 2000 | 4 | |
26 | |
198 | |
172 | |
35 | |||||
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| 1999 | 3 | |
21 | |
207 | |
191 | |
29 | |||||
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| 1998 | 3 | |
23 | |
205 | |
200 | |
23 | |||||
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| 1997 | 4 | |
24 | |
211 | |
211 | |
19 | |||||
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| 1996 | 1 | |
28 | |
219 | |
229 | |
14 | |||||
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| 1995 | 1 | |
26 | |
188 | |
230 | |
11 | |||||
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| 1994 | 0 | |
18 | |
184 | |
250 | |
13 | |||||
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| 1993 | 1 | |
14 | |
177 | |
226 | |
12 | |||||
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Jul
28
2010
Just a short note to let you know that the Candidate Forum from July 15 is scheduled to air on Greenbelt’s Access Channel on the following schedule:
Thursday, July 29 – 11am, 4pm, 9pm
Saturday, July 31 – 11am, 4pm, 9pm
It is a long program, clocking in at a bit over 2 and a half hours.
The first segment covers the Sheriff’s office candidates.
The second segment covers the County Executive candidates, appx 48 minutes into the program (Th,S – 11:48am, 4:48pm, 9:48pm).
The third segment covers the State’s Attorney candidates, appx 1h 45m into the program ( Th, S – 12:45pm, 5:45pm, 10:45pm).
Greenbelt Access is available on Verizon Fios 19 in the College Park area. The channel is not available on Comcast in CP, unfortunately.
Please pass along to anyone you believe may be interested.
(Thanks to NCPCA member Matthew Byrd for this message)
Jul
27
2010
The College Park Day’s official website is finally up. Here is the link:
So far the site is fairly simple. We’ve added the following items to the site:
- A message from the City mayor Andrew Fellows
- A brief description of various committees who are working on the event
- An online signup form for volunteers and vendors.
- A link to download the Save the Date flyer
- A link to the event’s FaceBook fan page.
Jul
26
2010
Michelle's damaged van (Washington Post)
Clay Gump and Michelle Humanick
The Washington Post is reporting that a woman was killed by yesterday’s storm.
The woman who died in her vehicle on Rhode Island Avenue, near Odessa Road in College Park, was described as being in her 40s. Mark Brady, a spokesman for the Prince George’;s fire and EMS department, said the woman’s mother, who was also in the vehicle, was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. .. Rescue workers had to cut the top of the vehicle off to pull out the injured person. (Washington Post)
Later, I came to know more about the woman from Dist 1 councilman Patrick Wojahn.
“The woman’s name was Michelle Humanick. Some of you may know Michelle – she was active in the Neighborhood Watch in College Park Estates and Yarrow, and was married to Clay Gump, who has long been active in the City. This is such a tragedy – in addition to her husband, Michelle leaves behind two young girls. Michelle’s mother was also in the car and was taken to the hospital with serious injuries”
True, this is such a loss for our entire community. Michelle’s husband Clay Gump runs popular RethinkCollegePark website.
The storm also caused a massive power blackout in the area, cutting off power from roughly 53,000 people in our county. The storm has also made quite a bit of damage to several Seven Springs apartments located in Cherry Hill.
Jul
26
2010
The next Experience and Enjoy College Park event will be held on Tuesday, July 27, at 7 pm at the Jungle Grille, 8145 Baltimore Ave.
The special guest speaker for the July event will County Councilman Eric Olson.
I attended the last month’s event at Plato’s, the owner was tehre to greet and give $5 gift certificates to everyone in attendance! Among the guests were MD State Senator Jim Rosapepe, Mayor Andy Fellows and other city council members.
Come join for this one and enjoy good food and good conversation, and meet other people from College Park!
Jul
25
2010
I’ve been assigned to chair the history and multiculturalism part of the upcoming College Park Day event. I think this will be a great area we can work together to showcase the long and rich heritage and diverse cultural groups in our great city. Here are a few ideas we’ve brainstormed so far. If you’ve further ideas, please feel free to let me know:
- Language Exhibits: We’ll work with Gary McCone of the Language Museum on exhibits. something similar to this will be exciting:
http://languagemuseum.org/menu/index.html - Poster Display Contest: we’ll be working with local schools to prepare posters with pictures and descriptions of their culture, language, heritage, etc.
- College Park history, local heritage – We’ll get in touch with various residents and the Lakeland Community Heritage Project about presenting pictures of local history, as well as other people who have lived in College Park, and Lakeland community. We’ll also get in touch with the University’s archive project.
- “Today is History” display – have computer and webcam available for people to take pictures of themselves at the event, and to submit pictures of the event to the Facebook page
- Possible use of cardboard figures to take pictures, or to digitize images of people’s heads on bodies of historical figures
- Push-pin display of countries/cities/states where people come from
Jul
24
2010
The College Park Day is only about 9 weeks away and here is the *official* version of the letter we’re sending to all community groups. In case it hasn’t reached you, please spend a moment to read and let us know where you can help out. Thank you.
The City of College Park is organizing its first ever College Park Day, an event that will act as a showcase for the diversity our City has to offer, on Saturday, October 9, 2010, from 1-5 pm. This event will draw together dozens of community organizations to provide entertainment, activities, and fun for the whole family to enjoy.
We are looking for community members to volunteer and help plan this effort. This effort will be volunteer-driven and run, and we rely on volunteers to help make the event a success! We are seeking volunteers to help out for approximately 15 hours between now and October 9.
We are looking for people to help out with the following committees:
Food Vendors: Help find local food vendors interested in selling food at the event, including helping them apply for temporary food sale permits and setting up the booths. Contact: If you are interested, please contact Morgan Gale at morgangale@comcast.net or (240) 481-7010.
Activities, Events, & Entertainment: Help recruit local organizations to provide entertainment and help set up activities for children and families at the event. Contact: If you are interested, please contact Becca Lurie at becca.lurie@gmail.com or (215) 808-4050.
Heritage, History & Community Organizations:Help recruit local organizations and put together displays on local history and our local community. Contact: If you are interested, please contact Fazlul Kabir at faz.kabir@gmail.com or (301) 659-6295.
Publicity & Media: Help publicize the event to get more people to come and attract local media to cover it. Contact: If you are interested, please contact Joe Smith at smitty5358@gmail.com or (301) 910-2433.
Welcome Committee/Logistics: Help arrange logistics for the events and help recruit volunteers for the day of the event to direct people attending the event and help people around. Contact: If you are interested, please contact Cheryl Moran at cheryl.moran@pgparks.com or (301) 345-2808.
Fundraising:Help get donations from potential corporate sponsors and other potential donors and help keep the total costs of the event down. Contact: If you are interested, please contact Patrick Wojahn at pwojahn@collegeparkmd.gov or (240) 988-7763.
Jul
23
2010
Enjoy the outdoors at a summer community BBQ picnic! All are welcome. There will be hotdogs and hamburgers with all the fixings, and you’re requested to bring a side dish to share. (Such as chips, salad, dessert, pasta, fruit.)
Date: Saturday, July 24, 2010
Time: 4pm – 7:30pm
Location: Acredale Community Park, 4200 Metzerott Rd, College Park, MD
(Near the intersection of Rt. 1 and 193/Greenbelt Rd.)
RSVP optional but encouraged.
This event is sponsored and organized by members of the Faith Community Network of College Park, which is a recently-formed community group dedicated to improving the quality of life in College Park and surrounding areas. Leaders of diverse faith traditions are represented in this organization. The mission is to advance residents’ quality of life through coordinated action. Member congregations work together to address the environmental concerns and social needs of the people in the local area.
I attended a cleanup event back in April organized by the group.
Map powered by MapPress
Jul
22
2010
[The following message was sent by City's public service director Bob Ryan]
Please let your constituents know that they may request random premise checks when they are away from home. An email to me [Bob Ryan ( bryan@collegeparkmd.gov )] or Lt. Keleti ( jskeleti@co.pg.md.us ) will add their address to our premise check list. A request may also be forwarded through your neighborhood watch coordinator or COPS officer.
Jul
21
2010
Methodist Church on Rhode Island Ave.
Meals on Wheels volunteers (The Gazette)
So many good things are happening in our neighborhood that we often don’t notice.
The Gazette did a good job in publishing an article on the work of Meals on Wheels (MoW) right here, in north College Park. MoW works off the the Methodist Church on Rhode Island Avenue.
I personally know a few volunters and organizers of the program and much appreciate their hard work and years of services.
As the Gazette report says, the program’s fund has been down for the past few years. Please help them continue their work in any way you can.
Jul
20
2010
- Video Plus
Officer Melanie Sarita, the PG COPS Officer for the North College Park has this report for us.
The video Plus store on Rhode Island Avenue was robbed by gunpoint on 07/18/10 (Sunday) by a black male who is approximately 6’3. After the incident a canvass was done in the area with negative results. The suspects face was covered and cash was taken from the store.
Officer Sarita has spoken with the manager of the Video Plus and he is in the process of getting video surveillance together from the incident.
A number of residents have also reported that they heard gunshots in the Hollywood commercial area around 10:30pm of the same night. It’s yet to find out if the sounds of gun shots were anyway related to the VideoPlus robbery incident.
Later in teh day, the District 1 PGFD Police Chief Robert Liberati gave us a bit more details about the VideoPlus robbery incident. He also said there was one more armed robbery in another store a few days ago:
On Friday, July 16, 2010, at 11:15 PM a lone suspect robbed the Pizza Hut located in the 9000 block of Baltimore Ave. On Sunday, July 18, 2010, at 9:00 PM the Video Plus located in the 9900 block of Rhode Island Ave. was also robbed, possibly by the same suspect.
The lookout is for An African American Male, 5-06, with a black shirt or sweater over his face. In one robbery the suspect also was wearing a Blue Washington Nationals hat.
Anyone with any information please call the PGPD at 1-866-411-tips
Jul
19
2010
-
- Rushern Baker
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- Samuel Dean
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- Gerron Levi
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- Henry Turner
In case you could not attend the past Thursday’s county wide candidate forum at NCPCA, you have missed this political drama. The drama began during the Q&A session with the County Executive candidates when someone from the audience (thankfully) asked the candidates about a recent Gazette report that heavily criticized most of the candidates for their lack of experiences and competencies. Mr. Sam Dean, 74 was criticized for his old age.
Candidate Gerron Levi shrugged off criticism by saying: “I’m running for the first time, but in no way, by far a new person”. She touted her experience as the District 23A Delegate at the State MD legislature. She also said “I‘ve been Senior staff at Capitol Hill , lawyer for lobbyist for 15 years. I’ve seen government for 20 years in addition to serving in elected office now. I’ve racked up a distinguished record in that period of time. I’ve received recognitions such as legislator of the year and public servant of the year. My initiatives have made front page of the Washington Post at least twice. During the period of time, I’ve helped to get a million dollar project on the ground.”
Rushern Baker tried to lighten the criticism against him by cracking this joke: “They could’ve used a better picture of me (in the article)“. Responding to the criticism of him running twice unsuccessfully, he said: “I gave up a very good job at Annapolis to run for this position. I was on fast track to chair appropriation and go the Senate. But I think our county is not living up to its full potentials. It’s still at the bottom of our education systems. I came very close in 2002. In 2006, I could’ve won if I had one more week to campaign” – Mr. Baker joked further. Responding to the criticism that his most generous donor is the owner of the largest apartment complex in the region, Mr. Baker said “People want to give me money, because I tend to be leading..”
Henry Turner said he thought the article was a very good one and he doesn’t have any problem with this at all. Responding to the criticism that he did not have any political experience, he said: ”I’ve served in the military for 21 years, Majority of that career, I served for 1, 3 and 4 stars general as well as admiral, also highest political appointees in our nation. I think I’ve more political experience than anybody else sitting at this table. When they (the generals) were on the jet to make sure the nation is safe and command that nation , I was there with them. I may have held the bag to deliver the paper and coffee for them, but I saw how they ran this country” – said the retired Army lieutenant colonel who attended the United States Military Academy at West Point in New York. Responding to the criticism that he is the brother of District 4 county council woman (who is yet to endorse him), he said ”I looked at that and I think that’s the greatest advantage. We have an unique opportunity to make a history that a brother and a sister can work on two different branches of our government – both the legislative and the executive.”– He reminded the audience.
Samuel Dean defended his record by saying ”I’m capable of leading. I’ve been in this business and every position I’ve ever held. I’ve delivered and I’ve proven results.”Responding to criticism on his old age, he said it’s all about experience. “I know many people much younger than me (who is now) in the grave.” – boasted the eight term county council member.
The fifth County Executive candidate Michael Jackson could not attend the forum due to an engagement – his campaign representative told the audience.
Jul
18
2010
A very few would have ever thought that our area would be hit by an earthquake. Fortunately, no significant structural damage has been reported and there hasn’t been any injury due to the quake. However, similar quake may again happen, and thus the UMd’s police chief Paul Dillon is sending the following tips. Please call him at 301-405-5762 or email at dillon@umd.edu if you have further questions.
- During an earthquake if you are indoors take cover under a desk, table, or bench. If none is available, use an inside wall or doorway.
- Stay away from windows, outside doors, walls, and anything that could shatter or fall on you.
- If you’re sleeping, stay in bed and cover your head with a pillow. If your bed is under a heavy light fixture or you have a large mirror or painting over your headboard, move to the nearest safe place.
- Stay inside until the shaking stops. Most injuries during an earthquake occur when people enter or exit a structure.
- If you are outdoors move away from buildings, streetlights, and overhead utility wires.
- If you are in a Motor Vehicle stop as quickly as safety permits and stay in the vehicle. Avoid stopping near or under buildings, trees, overpasses, and utility wires.
Jul
17
2010
My day usually starts very early – I typically wake up early morning before the dawn. So like many, I too felt the 3.6 magnitude earthquake that rattled the area yesterday early morning (around 5:05am) . My first thought was that it was a strong storm shaking the building. So I went to the windows, looked outside, but strangely enough, everything looked calm and quiet. I then thought there could be an attempted break-in (we just had one in the day before in the neighborhood) – so I went downstairs, checked all the doors. And again to my surprise, there was no sign of attempted break-ins.
Later, a number of neighbors who were also up early in the morning shared similar experiences with me. One neighbor told me that they thought the shake was probably caused by a train running on the nearby track (we live close to Greenbelt station).
Jul
16
2010
Last night, the NCPCA hosted county-wide open candidate forum. Some 100+ folks attended the forum. Most candidates running for county executive, sheriff and State’s attorney spoke at the forum. More on NCPCA website.
Jul
15
2010
Just to remind you all that the NCPCA will be hosting County wide Candidate Forum tonight at Davis Hall.
The meeting will start at 7:30pm.
Almost all of the candidates running for County Executive, County’s State Attorney and Sheriff have confirmed to speak. They include:
County Executive
- Rushern Baker
- Samuel Dean
- Michael A. Jackson
- Gerron S. Levi
- Henry Turner, Jr.
State’s Attorney
- Angela Alsobrooks
- Thomas E. Dernoga
- Peggy Magee
- Mark Spencer
- Joseph Wright
To know more about the candidates, please visit this PG-Politics’ candidate profile link:
http://pg-politics.blogspot.com/p/candidate-profiles.html
See you all tonight.
Jul
14
2010
WSSC is conducting a comprehensive sanitary sewer evaluation study and work will take place in certain areas of College Park from July 15th through September 30th. Please review the attached flyer for additional information and share this information with your neighbors.
If you have any questions, please call the telephone number on the flyer or Alexis Revis Yeoman at (301) 918-8418 x 102. WSSC Smoke_Testing_Flyer
Jul
13
2010
Late last month the City published the draft strategic plan for the year 2010-2015. The City had a public hearing on the strategic plan back in early March, this year.
Based on the strategic plan, the City came up with a draft implementation action plan, which you can view here on City’s website. The strategic plan includes five broad goals:
- Consistent high-quality and cost-effective public services that contribute to a safe, welcoming community for all.
- Convenient transportation options that improve local travel and reduce traffic congestion.
- Lead the community in environmental conservation, protection, restoration, and energy efficiency.
- Neighborhoods that are safe, peaceful, attractive and retain their community character.
- Expand the local economy and tax base through socially responsible development.
There will be a public hearing on this on July 13, 2010, at 7 pm at City Hall.
Jul
12
2010
- From Left: Valerie Cunningham, Sam Epps, Fred Smalls, Mary Lehman and Crystal Thomson
Some 10-12 north College Park residents gathered at Davis Hall yesterday to listen what 5 Dist. 1 County Council hopefuls to offer to make their neighborhood a better place to live. The rest of the attendees included the organizers of the event and a number of campaign workers.
Mayor Andy Fellows conducted the forum.
The candidates answered 8 questions – 2 of them were given to them before the meeting started.
Q1. Would you actively support a Community Center in Hollywood Commercial district?
Q2. What will you do to improve congestion on Rt 1 and transportation in the area?
Q3. What you’ll be doing to improve the image of the county police?
Q4. How can you enhance the economy of College Park without adding additional density?
Q5. Do you think school funding is too much, or too little . What would you do to get more funding?
Q6. What will you do to protect environment and preserve / develop green spaces?
Q7 What will be your priority of remedying the increased crime in North College Park?
Q8. What will you do to alleviate the foreclosure problem in North College Park?
Valerie Cunningham: She will not pursue a community center at the Hollywood district – will rather pursue mixed use development like in Roslyn or Pentagon City. She would create a transportation czar who would report to the county council. Will advocate trolley system which she thinks will be less expensive. She thinks there got to be partnerships between citizens and the police. Will also work to make the police work in a safer environment. She advocates mentoring children more at home to take load from the schools’ classrooms. Will seek more volunteers. Will work for coalition building in preserving green space. On crime, she would first look into root causes of these crimes such as gang activity etc. Will enhance the neighborhood watch programs and seek more police visibilities. She would like to coordinate various programs in different local and Federal governments.
Sam Epps: Sam will pursue community center which he thinks will serve the seniors and children and revitalize the community development. However he would seek citizens’ input in this. On Rt. 1 development, he wants to bring businesses back so that residents can enjoy these facilities close to their homes. He would work with the state’s elected officials to get the fair share of the transportation dollars. He will also work towards more efficient WMATA and UMD for better transportation. He said the county has close to 1600 sworn police officers, but would seek more. He would seek to increase the number of classes in police academy and thus will improve the quality of fresh cadets. He would invest in training the police officers and invest in Neighborhood Watch program. On transportation, he thinks zoning is the key – will advocate mixed use zoning. He would remove duplication of services in the education services and will get fare share from the State’s budget. He will look into development that prioritizes green spaces. He will work to educate public on crimes and will engage with the Fed to educate the citizens who to call when they are in trouble with foreclosure issues.
Fred Smalls: Fred would support a community center at Hollywood. However he wants to revitalize the commercial district. and both sides of Rhode Island Avenue. He advocates mixed use zoning in the area. He wants a transit oriented development. and will work with the SHA on the Rt 1 development. He will work with the police chief to raise the bar of Police quality. He doesn’t think additional density is not necessarily a bad thing. He however advocates smart growth in the area. On environment, he wants to see pocket parks and will buy properties to use them as green spaces. On crime, he would collaborate between different police departments in the area and will seek community involvement. He would seek to strengthen Neighborhood Watch program. He will work to offer residents education and support on foreclosure issues.
Mary Lehman: Mary would support a mixed use facility at the Hollywood Commercial district. She wants to have a satellite type city facilities in the district and also would like to see revitalization with businesses such as a commercial bank. She like to have a nice entryway to the neighborhood on both ends of Rhode Island Avenue. She will work with Police Sheriff to improve the image of the County’s Police force. She would also work with the state rep on Rt.1 transportation. She would expand shuttle services similar to what UMd currently has. She would also advocate bike sharing program, satellite Parking. She said she is strong proponent of mixed use and transit oriented development. She would revitalize local Metro stations to create more jobs. On education, she mentioned she is the only candidate with children going to the county schools. She said she worked with the current Co. Council candidate Tom Dernoga for 4 years on local school systems. She said PG currently spends the lowest dollars on in-class instructional programs. 60% of its expenses are spent out side of the class room. She said she would oppose land in-fill developments with negative impact on the community – such as developments with no side walks etc. On crime, she said the County currently has only 1450 uniformed polices; she would seek that number to go up to 1800. She would also work to reduce dependencies on contract police which currently supplement the county police. She would work to have Nixle service sending crime alerts on local crimes. She said sites like the crimereports.com will be listing local crimes from next month. She will seek direct intervention from the banks in support of residents struggling with foreclosure problem.
Crystal Thomson: Ms. Thomson advocates a separate budget from that of PG MNCPPC budget on local development. She advocates better public transportation from Laurel to Metro to alleviate clogging on Route 1. She would also seek shopping areas along Rt.1 so that residents don’t have to drive a long distance. On crime, she wants more education related classes for children and residents. She would stop furlough of police departments. On local economy, she will advocate remote working, so that no more additional density is added to the community. On education, she would seek a complete audit on the expenses in county schools. She’d ask for more funding for school programs including lunches etc. On environment, she wants smart development – she commented that the county has a lot of lease space , but that needs to be used wisely. On crime, she will find more money to pay additional police officers. She advocates having bicycle cops in the neighborhoods. On foreclosure, she said she actually recently went through the issue herself. She will seek a czar and will help introduce a free number for the residents seeking help.
Jul
11
2010
[The following was sent by Stacey King, City's Admin. Assist./Recycling Coordinator]
This City of College Park has had some recent changes to our recycling program, which affects all of us in City buildings as well. I am sure everyone LOVES to recycle correctly, so here is a synopsis of the changes:
New additions to the program:
1. Metal items
a. Aluminum foil and aluminum cooking/baking trays – please make sure they are clean. If these items are really contaminated with food, please wash them off first, or throw them away.
2. Paper items
a. Aseptic packaging (soy milk and juice boxes)
b. Moisture resistant boxes (frozen food and soda boxes)
c. Shredded paper (must be contained in a plastic bag – no loose shredded paper, please!)
3. Plastic items
a. Cling wrap and plastic bags – everything must be contained securely in one plastic bag, no loose pieces or loose bags.
Some things don’t belong in the blue cart, including:
1. Any items with heavy food, grease, or other contamination. Please give your containers a quick rinse before recycling them, or throw them away.
2. “Clamshell” or hinged food containers – including plastic salad bar containers (this is a new change!).
3. Foam – in any shape or form –takeout containers, cups, plates, or packaging material. There are ways to recycled foam peanuts and expanded foam packaging, please let me know if you need to find a place to recycle these items.
4. Food and most food wrap like waxed paper (think sandwich/sub wrap), chip bags, candy bar wrappers, etc.
5. Laminated paper, thermal fax paper, and carbon paper.
6. Loose plastic bags and cling wrap – these must be contained in one single bag otherwise they cause equipment jams at the sorting facility.
7. Loose shredded paper – creates potential for litter and introduces dust in the air at the sorting facility. Please contain it in a tied bag!
8. Paper clips – these can really cause problems at the recycling facility (stapled paper is ok).
9. Paper plates, paper towels, napkins, and tissues.
10. Utensils – plastic or metal. Reuse them or throw them away.
Jul
10
2010
The City of College Park, The Boys and Girls Club of College Park, and the Maryland National Park and Planning Commission are sponsoring a Family Fun Day at Duvall Field on Saturday, July 10, 2010.
There will be carnival amusements from 12 to 4 and concession stands will be open for purchase of food and drink. The Prince George’s County Police Jazz Band will perform a free concert at 7 p.m. Following the concert, the Maryland National Park and Planning Commission will be providing a free outdoor showing of the movie “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.” The movie will start at dark.
This event is weather permitting. Concessions will close between 4 and 7 p.m. but will reopen for the concert and movie showing. The event is held on Duvall Field, located on the 9200 block of Rhode Island Ave., north of 193, between Blackfoot and Delaware. For more information please contact 240-487-3570.
Jul
9
2010
The Gazette is reporting that the city has seen increases in assaults and burglaries this year, but decreases in stolen vehicles and total thefts, according to Prince George’s County Police data released at Tuesday night’s City Council work session.
While assaults in the city also rose from 25 to 35, Liberati said the increase could simply be due to a few extra fistfights at downtown bars. Citizen robberies remained relatively constant — 14 last year, 16 this year — while vehicle thefts decreased from 46 to 34 and total thefts were lowered from 292 to 242.
Here is the statistics summary for the period of June 2009 to June 2010:
Homicides – DOWN from 1 to 0
Assaults – UP from 25 to 35
Commercial robberies – DOWN from 10 to 5
Citizen robberies – UP from 14 to 16
Stolen vehicles – DOWN from 46 to 34
Burglaries – UP from 75 to 87
Total thefts – DOWN from 292 to 242
Please see the complete statistics here: 2009-2010_Jan-June_crime_stats
[Source: The Gazette, NCP list serve]
Jul
8
2010
Following the recent sexual assault incident at the Metro entrance, Aqabah Karate, a local Martial Art group is offering a free self-defense course at Davis Hall.
The course is called RAD – Rape Against Defense – an internationally recognized self defense course.
The registration is completely free, however prior registration is encouraged.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
2:00pm – 3:30pm
Davis Hall, 9217 – 51st Avenue
Update [July 9, 2010]: The venue has been changed to The Clarion Inn, located at 8601 Baltimore Avenue College Park, MD 20740.
Jul
7
2010
According to WSSC website, General Manager Jerry N. Johnson has announced the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) is lifting the Mandatory Water Use Restrictions, effective immediately. WSSC serves customers in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.
“Our pipe is back in service. I want to thank our customers who were unavoidably inconvenienced by these water restrictions,” said Johnson. “We made the right decision and took the proper precautions when we decided to immediately repair the pipe. The restrictions were unfortunate, but necessary. We needed to be proactive to prevent what could have been a very serious situation.”
Customers were directed to cut their water use by 30 percent Thursday when a corroded 96-inch water main in Potomac was shut off. The restrictions were expected to be lifted Monday, but they were extended after bacteria were detected in water samples.
[Source: WSSC, Washington Post]
Jul
6
2010
This Saturday – July 10 – the CP Committee for a Better Environment (CBE) is hosting an interesting—and FREE–workshop about edible wild plants (yes, including dandelion leaves in your yard!). The flyer attached explains more about the workshop and the speaker, Linna Ferguson, who is really quite informative and entertaining; she did the CBE workshop on vegetable gardening in the spring, and everyone had high praises for her.
When: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, July 10
Where: 4711 Knox Road, College Park, MD 20740, Old Parish House
To register, email CPCBEworkshop@gmail.com or call Janis Oppelt at 301-474-5358. You also may just show up without registering but they would rather prefer you to let them know so that they can buy enough refreshments and free plants.
Please see the attached flyer: edible_plants_workshop_flyer
Jul
5
2010
The Washington Times is reporting that former MD Governor and Republican candidate Ehrlich is leading the current Governor and Democratic candidate O’Malley in a poll on Gubernatorial election in Novembor this year.
According to the Magellan poll, Mr. Ehrlich was preferred by 46 percent of state voters to 43 percent for Mr. O’Malley, a close political ally of President Obama. About 4 percent of those polled preferred another candidate and 7 percent were undecided.
Mr. Ehrlich this week tapped former Maryland Secretary of State Mary D. Kane as his running mate in November.
Jul
4
2010
The water restrictions that was imposed last week by WSSC still continues. There has been some progress made by the WSSC crews however they are saying it will take at least two more days to fix the problem. In the mean time, WSSC has sent 138 warnings to residents for violating the restrictions. The residents may face up to $500 for such violations.
ABC News has also found a Montgomery County school violating the restriction order.
According to WSSC website, its goal is a one-third reduction in overall water use. As od 5:00pm yesterday, customers have cut back by only about 8.5 percent. You may want to read the following FAQs about the water restrictions:
http://www.wsscwater.com/home/jsp/content/mand-water-restriction.faces
http://www.wsscwater.com/home/jsp/content/conserv-tips.faces
Jul
3
2010
With 4th of July approaching, the Prince George’s Fire Department (PGFD) is reminding its citizens that ALL consumer fireworks from the smallest to the largest are illegal. It is illegal for any person to manufacture, possess, store, offer for sale, sell, discharge, use, burn, or explode any fireworks in Prince George’s County, Maryland, except that an authorized display may be conducted by a licensed pyrotechnic professional. Penalties for violations of the law include a fine of up to $1,000 and/or six months in jail.
Prince George’s County Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Department responds to several calls for injuries related to fireworks each year. The Fire/EMS Department is concerned about the potential for injury and property damage from fireworks. Every year, near the Fourth of July we see and hear of thousands of people injured and sometimes killed due to accidents involving fireworks in the United States. Sadly, many of these injuries and deaths involve children.
Each year, thousands of people are injured and some killed in accidents involving the use of fireworks. These primarily involve those fireworks classified as 1.4g explosives by the U.S. Department of Transportation, commonly referred to as “consumer fireworks.” Prince George’s County has banned the sale, use and possession of these fireworks based on the danger to our citizens caused by the misuse of these products.
In Prince George’s County, citizens may turn in fireworks without fear of being arrested or fined. Those desiring to take advantage of this amnesty may contact the County’s Fire/Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Department Operations Center at 301-583-2200. A member of the Fire/EMS Department will come to your home or business and remove your fireworks, without you risking arrest and/or fine.
The amnesty will remain in effect until July 14, 2010. Citizens may also call the same number to report illegal use of fireworks in Prince George’s County.
This is the eighth year that the Fire/EMS Department has offered an Amnesty Program. Thousands of pieces of dangerous fireworks have been turned over to authorities during this period. Fire Chief Eugene A. Jones stated, “I encourage everyone to take advantage of the numerous public fireworks displays offered throughout the County on this festive and patriotic day. Celebrate safely and within the law.”
For ore information, please contact: Mark E. Brady, Chief Spokesperson, 240-508-7930 www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/FireEMS/ (Homepage) www.pgfireems.com (Newsroom)
Jul
2
2010
About 1.8 million people in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties have been ordered to stop watering their lawns and washing their cars and limit their use of toilets, dishwashers and washing machines through the Fourth of July weekend after officials shut down a huge water main in Potomac on Thursday.
WSSC officials say the utility has re-routed water away from the problem main, which was detected using a fiber-optic cable system running inside the pipe.
All customers will still have service, WSSC officials say, but they ask everyone to conserve water to ensure there is enough for emergency needs, including fire hydrants and hospitals.
“The water pipe, which normally goes through a 96-inch main, is now going through a 48-inch main, so you can’t move as much water,” WSSC spokesperson Lyn Riggins said. ”We need our customers to cut consumption by a third. If there’s a fire and we don’t maintain adequate pressure, we could be in trouble.”
[Source Washington Post, ABC News]