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 …
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
County council seeks feedback on FY 14 budget proposals.
The Prince George's County Council will be holding a budget hearing tonight at 7 p.m. to gather feedback on the proposed county FY 2014 operating budget, six year capital education program, and the Prince George's County Board of Education budget, as well as the proposed budgets for the redevelopment authority, revenue authority and industrial development authority, according a press release. The proposed FY 2013 county budget totals roughly $3.24 billion, an increase of 0.6 percent over the current budget. The public hearing will be held in the Council Hearing Room of the Prince George's County Administration Building in Upper Marlboro. Revenue Overview The proposed budget projects a 1.4 percent, $38 million increase in General Fund …
Monday, April 22, 2013
Application period opens for four new Board of Education seats created by recent county schools restructuring.
Prince George's County elected leaders are now accepting applications from county residents interested in serving on the Prince George's County Board of Education. The appointments come as part of a recently approved law which changed how the county school system is administered. Now, the county executive and the county council are able to appoint a total of four members to the board. The three county executive appointees are required to have significant experience in either education, business, higher education, or organizational management skills. The county council appointee is required to be a parent of a student current enrolled in the county school system. All appointees must be residents of Prince George's County. If selected, …
Monday, April 15, 2013
Motorists would face $150 fine if caught illegally passing a stopped school bus in Prince George's.
Prince George's County officials are considering starting what they describe as a "pilot program" to test the use of bus mounted cameras designed to catch motorists who illegally pass school buses which have stopped to load and unload passengers. The bill, before the Prince George's County Council for consideration tomorrow, would allow county officials to install up to 20 of the stop arm cameras on county school buses as part of a pilot program to evaluate the technology. Drivers caught by the cameras would face a $150 fine. With cameras already allowed to catch speeders and red light runners, how do you feel about another automated camera traffic enforcement system being deployed on county streets?
Friday, March 15, 2013
County Executive Rushern Baker's $3.2 billion dollar proposed budget represents a 0.6 percent increase over Fiscal Year 2013.
Prince George’s County employees could see five-day furloughs, a reduction in workforce, and incentivized early retirement if County Executive Rushern Baker's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2014 is approved by the county council. Facing a $152 million budget gap, Baker said that this was the county’s toughest fiscal year yet. “In order to continue to move our great county forward, we had to address and begin looking at how we would focus our resources in a new and different way,” Baker said in a statement. The county executive's $3.24 billion dollar budget also increases funding to the state’s attorney’s office to support the gun and drug unit and includes money to add more than 100 new public safety employees in the police and fire …
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
One county councilman was surprised by the vote, after he believed he had enough support for the job.
Council Member Andrea Harrison (District 5) was reelected as chair of the Prince George’s County Council Tuesday morning by her peers, although Council Member Eric Olson (District 3) thought he had enough votes to be elected to the position. “Until late yesterday, at least six colleagues on our nine-member body had committed their support to me. Today, however, I received four votes. I want to thank Council Members Mary Lehman, Ingrid Turner, and Obie Patterson for their unwavering support,” wrote Olson in an email to constituents. Had Olson been elected, it would have been the first time in 20 years that the county council was chaired by the representative from District 3. Harrison expressed her gratitude to the county council for …
Monday, November 26, 2012
Patrick Ricker of Bowie is sentenced for his part in former County Executive Jack Johnson's wide-reaching corruption and bribery scheme.
Bowie resident Patrick Ricker has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his part in former Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson’s extensive Greenbelt Station corruption and bribery scheme, according to The Washington Post. Ricker, 53, is charged with “conspiring to provide gifts and services to public officials in exchange for favorable official action, and for tax evasion,” according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland. He also was ordered to pay $250,000 in restitution. Through his business, Ricker Brothers Inc., Ricker and co-conspirators used a variety of methods of bribery to obtain approvals for Greenbelt Station, a mixed-used project near …
Monday, November 19, 2012
Failure to meet proposed targets could bring about mandatory recycling in the county.
The Prince George's County Council is set make a final decision Tuesday on a plan that would raise recycling targets over the next eight years, the Washington Examiner reports. The proposal would fix the county's waste diversion rate at 45 percent for 2015, 55 percent for 2018, and 60 percent for 2020. The rate measures how much of the county's total collected refuse is recycled. Failure to meet those targets could bring about mandatory recycling for county residents and businesses, according to the paper. Prince George's is well above the state-imposed minimum of 20 percent for a county of its size, the Examiner writes, but behind neighboring Montgomery County, whose mandatory program has helped lift it to a 47 percent rate. Read more at …
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Toles told police she was distracted using her phone and putting on makeup while driving close to 105 mph.
Prince George’s Councilwoman Karen Toles has been found guilty of reckless driving and fined $402 after being caught speeding along the Capital Beltway earlier this year. A judge found Toles guilty of the charges on Wednesday. In addition to the fine, she must also pay $33 in court fees and was given probation, according to NBC Washington. The charges stem from a February incident when Toles was caught speeding along the Capital Beltway close to 105 mph while driving a county-issued vehicle. In court this week, police testified that Toles told them she was distracted using her phone and putting on makeup as her vehicle cruised 50 mph above the speed limit. Toles will not have points added to her driving record and will be given a chance to…
Monday, June 11, 2012
The Prince George's County Council unanimously adopted "Buy Local Week" to encourage residents to support local businesses.
In an effort to support local businesses and encourage county businesses to spend their tax dollars close to home, the Prince George’s County Council adopted a resolution last week establishing “Buy Local Week” in Prince George’s County, according to a press release issued by the council. “Buy Local Week” will take place annually the second Sunday to the following Saturday of each August, and will coincide with Maryland “Tax Free Week.” During “Tax Free Week,” the state sales tax does not apply to clothing or footwear purchases of $100 or less. “Locally owned businesses are the drivers of our economy, creating jobs, generating revenue, and providing environmental benefits for our communities,” said Councilmember Mel Franklin in the press …
Red White and Blue
12:13 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
This county is the result of the people that are voted into office, the county cares about minorities only, if the federal government was not as close to the PG county it would look just like Southeast Washington D.C. and the slums of Detroit. It is a shame what the citizens of the county have become. 90% bust their rears everyday to take care of their families etc... but 10% are nothing but … more ›