Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Concerts, parades, family activities and more will honor the U.S. military.
Memorial Day Weekend 2013 runs from May 25-27 and is the unofficial first weekend of summer. County schools are closed and many offices close to mark this holiday. While swimming pools typically open up this weekend, there are a number of other local activities that may interest you and your family. Washington, D.C. National Memorial Day Concert - Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna will serve as hosts for the annual event which takes place on the West Lawn on the U.S. Capitol building. Dramatic readings, documentaries and a diverse array of musical acts will help the nation honor the military. National Memorial Day Parade - Sponsored by the World War II Veteran’s Committee, the 2013 parade will begin at the corner of Constitution Avenue and …
Monday, May 20, 2013
After a nearly three hour Sunday meeting, the Riverdale Park Town Council voted 3-0 to send a letter of support to the county planning board.
After nearly three hours of review and discussion on Sunday, the Riverdale Park Town Council voted unanimously to send a letter to the Prince George's County Planning Board supporting approval with conditions of the Detailed Site Plan for the Cafritz property. The DSP will got before the planning board on Thursday, just one week after it unanimously approved preliminary plans for the development over the objections of both University Park and College Park. "The Riverdale Park Mayor and Town Council felt confident that after an exhaustive review of the DSP, staff comments/referrals, expert and legal testimony, that the applicant has met the requirements necessary to receive our support," wrote Riverdale Park Councilman Jonathan Ebbeler (…
Sunday, May 19, 2013
What advice did the first lady give graduates? Will electricity rates go up - again? Get all the Maryland news with one click on Patch.
By Patch Staff It was a big news week in Maryland last week, with a visit by the first lady, a commuter nightmare in Montgomery and a heads up for a sixth casino in the state. All the headlines from 48 Patch sites across Maryland: Berliner Calls for Better Electricity Service with 'Utility 2.0' Montgomery County Council Member Roger Berliner asked the Maryland Public Service Commission to require that substantial changes be made to electricity services in the state. Meanwhile, Pepco is asking for permission to raise rates. Michelle Obama to Bowie State Grads: It's Time to Feel Hungry Again In a speech rich with historical references, the first lady reminded the BSU class of 2013 why education is important. Report: Quince Orchard Students…
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The measure passed by the council creates boundaries for a new tax district to fund infrastructure improvements.
Prince George's County Council voted 6-2 on Tuesday to approve the boundaries for what will become a special taxing district to fund infrastructure improvements on the proposed Cafritz development in Riverdale Park. The measure was passed over the objections of the University Park Town Council, which voted against supporting the preliminary plan of subdivision for the new Cafritz development on Monday evening. At the Prince George's County Council meeting on Tuesday, University Park Town Councilwoman Arlene Christiansen (Ward 3), raised concerns that the development could cause property tax assessments to rise for nearby properties in her town. Her University Park Town Council colleague, Councilman James Gekas (Ward 2), urged the county…
Three stations will be closed along the Green Line in Prince George's County the weekend of May 17-19, according to WMATA.
If you were hoping to avoid some of the traffic along Route 1 this weekend, when thousands of University of Maryland students and their families will be on campus for commencement, take note that three Metro stations will be closed along the Green Line. According to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, College Park metro station will be closed this weekend along with the Greenbelt and Prince George's Plaza stations while crews perform track upgrades—"including tie and insulator renewal, interlocking maintenance and work associated with construction of a new test track for 7000-series railcars." The stations will be closed from 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday and will reopen Monday morning. However, if you must use metro to …
The New England College poll previewing the 2016 Presidential primary shows Hillary Clinton with a commanding lead.
Gov. Martin O'Malley finished last among a field 2016 Democratic Presidential hopeful, according to a poll released by New England College. The poll released Tuesday by the New Hampshire-based college found that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led the field with 65 percent of those surveyed saying they would vote for her in 2016. O'Malley finished last among the field of six with zero percent saying they would vote for the two-term Democratic Maryland governor. Rounding out the field is Vice President Joseph Biden with 10 percent, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren with 5 percent, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo with 4 percent and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick with 3 percent. The college surveyed 314 New Hampshire Democratic …
Members recommended, 5-2-1, that county officials reject the developer's preliminary plan of subdivision.
The College Park City Council voted 5-2-1 Tuesday night to oppose the preliminary plan of subdivision put forward by the Cafritz development team. By doing so, the council joined the University Park Town Council in asking the Prince George's County Planning Board to reject the plan—the next major hurdle in the proposed development of the Cafritz property. In Riverdale Park, where the 37-acre mixed-used project would be located, council members voted 3-0 Saturday to recommend passage of the preliminary plan. Councilmember Stephanie Stullich (Dist. 3), who introduced Tuesday's motion calling for disapproval, cited a range of reasons for her opposition, including: "Critical information was not provided to us or others in this process in the …
Managing the influx of cars has multiple answers, but the Riverdale Park council seeks to keep pedestrian safety at the fore.
When talking about pedestrian safety, traffic and Cafritz, it’s pretty easy to get lost in the conversation. The most recent traffic impact study is, according to Councilman Alan Thompson (Ward 2), nearly three inches thick, being about 400 pages long. There are other documents to be read as well, such as a report that studies the effects of four designs of right turn road lanes on pedestrian safety. In short, like the rest of the Cafritz development, there’s a lot to consider. Projected traffic increase due to Cafritz is, as Councilman Jonathan Ebbeler (Ward 1), says, a “double-edged sword.” “Retail and commercial needs [traffic] to be viable yet it is the bane of residential communities,” Ebbeler said. A natural solution would be to …
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Follow along with the Prince George's County Council's agenda for today.
The Prince George's County Council meets today. See what's on the agenda with this PDF, above, and watch the meeting live here. Among the items before the council is a public hearing on legislation which would allow the county to purchase and install 20 "stop arm" cameras on school buses to catch drivers who illegally pass the buses as they are stopped to take on or drop off students. Last year, the Maryland General Assembly passed a law allowing local governments to install stop arm cameras on their school buses. Similar systems are already in use in Montgomery County and Anne Arundel County. The county council will also be considering legislation which would require landlords to report suspected gang activity, like prostitution, human …
Monday, May 13, 2013
Council says several conditions have not been met, though its conclusions are in direct opposition to the county's planning board staff and the Riverdale Park Town Council.
The University Park Town Council Monday unanimously disapproved the Cafritz development preliminary plan, saying several conditions had not been met. The council reviewed its position at a special session Monday night and made more specific its concerns about the development. "Vague objections don't cut it," Mayor John Tabori said. "To simply say we don't like the bridge is not a meaningful objection." The specific conditions the council feels have not been met include: Tabori said several times during the meeting that the council needed to lay out clearly why the council believes the conditions had not been met. The council made clearer its position that the developers hadn't established a funding mechanism for the development even though…
Pachacutec
8:19 am on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Have a great time this holiday weekend, but please - take a moment to say a prayer or think a good thought for those who've given their lives in defense of their country - the REAL reason for Memorial Day. more ›