Creating a Jubilee County: Prince George's Co., MD

Mixed-Use zoning in Prince George's Co.

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:49:54 GMT

This is forwarded from activist Lourene with permission. She's done a lot of research and provided specific information, whereas I didn't find time to read the Mixed-Use Legislation. Apparently the hearing already took place on June 15, but hopefully amendments could still be made:

...the proposed Form-based Code Mixed-use Zone legislation (MUZ legislation), now before the County Council. The MUZ legislation allows for the creation of mixed-use zones throughout much of the County. Though many elements of this
legislation are good and could facilitate transit-oriented development,
other elements are problematic.

Under the guise of enabling "certainty", the MUZ legislation removes the
right of the public (including residents, civic associations, environmental
organizations, and municipalities) to have input on site plans. It also
removes their right to appeal to the Planning Board and to the County
Council.

And the County/District Council will lose oversight power. Most power will
be vested in the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
(MNCPPC) Planning Director.

Though the claimed goal of the MUZ legislation is to create transit-oriented
development, the MUZ legislation does not mandate that these large
developments be located at or near transit centers. Potentially all of the
County's 26 designated centers and 7 corridors would be eligible for these
fast-tracked large developments. And the MUZ legislation does not prohibit
non-transit-oriented development from being located at transit centers.

Once a site plan is approved (with no public comment or review by elected
officials), deviations of up to 10% for building height, architectural
materials, and parking spaces can be granted at the staff level. Significant
modifications to the site plan can be granted by the Planning Director AFTER
site plan approval.

The MUZ legislation allows the MNCPPC staff to deviate from the Landscape
Manual (which governs buffering and screening) and also changes the common
law definition of "accessory use" potentially enabling developers to add
unauthorized uses to their properties without even going through the site
plan amendment process. Text amendments are also authorized.

In addition, though repeatedly requested to do so, the MNCPPC has refused to
incorporate into the legislation a MANDATE to protect residential zones from
adverse impacts, relating to traffic, noise, lights, smells, trash, or
shadows, caused by adjacent mixed-use zones.

And while the site plan applications must submit a LEED Scorecard, and are
exhorted to meet LEED standards, the legislation does not require the
buildings to actually be LEED certified. Nor does the MUZ legislation
prohibit adverse environmental impacts.

Even if a form-based code and a mixed-use zone are things we might like,
this legislation has great need of amendment before being made law. We need
to convince the County Council members of this.

Please email ALL the Council members and ask them to amend this legislation
to address these concerns!

************************
Sample email: Please edit this email to reflect your own opinions.

************************
Subject: Amend the MUZ Legislation!

Honorable Members of the Prince George's County Council:

I am very concerned about Section 27A, the proposed legislation to adopt a
form-based code and create new mixed-use zones throughout much of the County
(MUZ legislation). While this legislation has the potential to bring the
benefits of transit-oriented mixed-use developments to the County, it is
flawed and needs to be amended.

Though this legislation is touted as a means to bring "certainty" to
developers, it is not being used to provide "certainty" to municipalities,
civic associations, environmental groups, and nearby residents. "Certainty"
is used as a basis to eliminate public participation in the process, but
"certainty" is not being used to eliminate deviations, variances, and text
amendments.

The MUZ legislation needs to be amended to ensure environmental protection,
to ensure preservation of family-oriented neighborhoods, and to ensure that
proposed developments are truly transit-oriented developments.

The MUZ legislation needs to be amended to incorporate the same basic
administrative procedures that federal and state government agencies have
been using for years to effectively ensure that the public has a "voice" in
the process (e.g., input, consideration, appeal, and reopening). The public
"voice" will serve to alert the Planning Director and Planning Board of
issues that unscrupulous developers and landowners may not alert them to.

The MUZ legislation needs to be amended to ensure that the District Council
remains in control, to ensure that the Planning Director and Planning Board
will be responsive to concerns raised by the public, to ensure that the
Planning Director and Planning Board do not abuse the powers granted to
them, and to ensure that the Planning Director and Planning Board do not
exercise powers that they don't even legally have. The District Council's
oversight is crucial!

Proposed Amendments:

(1) (a) Mandate LEED certification of all buildings.
(b) Prohibit adverse impacts on the environment.
(c) Prohibit adverse impacts on residents in adjacent single-family
detached residential zones.
(d) Identify which of the County's 26 designated centers and 7
designated corridors that 27A will apply to.
(e) Mandate that mixed-use developments be located at or near
transit centers.
(f) Prohibit non-transit-oriented developments from being located at
or near transit centers.

(2) Incorporate the right of municipalities, civic associations,
environmental groups, and nearby residents:
(a) to have input on site plans, as well as regulating plans, before
the Planning Director, and have their concerns addressed,
(b) to have the Planning Director reopen and reconsider site plans
and regulating plans to address unaddressed and unanticipated
adverse impacts,
(c) to have the right to appeal site plans and deviations to the
Planning Board, and
(d) to have the right to appeal site plans, deviations, and
variances to the District Council.

(3) (a) Preserve the right of the District Council to review, and have
ultimate decision-making authority over, site plans, deviations, and
variances.
(b) Eliminate the authorization of text amendments.
(c) Eliminate the codification/definition of "accessory use".

Please amend the MUZ legislation to ensure that it will result in mixed-use
development that will be good for the residents of Prince George's County!

Sincerely,

************************
Email addresses:

Marilynn Bland <mmbland@co.pg.md.us>
Sam Dean <shdean@co.pg.md.us>
Eric Olson <eolson@co.pg.md.us>
Tom Dernoga <tedernoga@co.pg.md.us>
Camille Exum <caexum@co.pg.md.us>
Will Campos <wacampos@co.pg.md.us>
Ingrid Turner <imturner@co.pg.md.us>
Andrea Harrison <acharrison@co.pg.md.us>
Tony Knotts <tknotts@co.pg.md.us>
Clerk of the County Council <clerkofthecouncil@co.pg.md.us>

************************
For information on the Form-based Code Mixed-use legislation, see:
http://www.pgplanning.org/Projects/Ongoing_Plans_and_Projects/Community_Plan
s/Mixed-Use.htm

************************
Please forward this email to other civic activists!

Prince George's Co. Public Hearings in June

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:44:40 GMT

I received this notice from the county:

MON., JUNE 22, 2009 7:00 PM

COUNTY COUNCIL OF PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, MARYLAND AND
THE PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY PLANNING BOARD OF THE MARYLAND-NATIONAL CAPITAL PARK AND PLANNING COMMISSION

JOINT PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE ADOPTED MASTER PLAN
AND ENDORSED SECTIONAL (ZONING) MAP AMENDMENT TO SUBREGION 6

Tuesday, June 23, 2009 1:30 P.m.

The County Council of Prince George's County, Maryland, will hold the following public hearing:

CB-11-2009 (dr-3) - an act concerning vacant residential property registration and maintenance for the purpose of providing for the registration of vacant or unoccupied residential structures with the Department of Environmental Resources; providing civil penalties for failure to register; and providing criminal penalties for failure to maintain such properties.

CR-28-2009 - a resolution concerning housing and community development neighborhood stabilization program amendments for the purpose of approving a revised administration budget and staffing plan for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program

You can search on bills by number at the Legislative Information System

Those wishing to testify at this hearing and comment, or to receive copies are urged to telephone the office of the Clerk of the Council, Room 2198, County Administration Building, Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Telephone (301) 952-3600.

All hearings located:

Council Hearing Room
County Administration Building
14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive
Upper Marlboro, Maryland

Homeowners assistance & preventing foreclosure in Prince George's Co., Maryland

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:37:02 GMT

Thanks to Mel Franklin:

Here are a number of important government and non-profit resources for homeowners needing assistance to stay in their homes:
MD Home Owners Preserving Equity (MD HOPE): (1-877-462-7555)
Federal "Making Home Affordable" Program: (1-888-995-HOPE (4673))
Prince George's Co. Homeownership Center: (301-883-5570)
Civil Justice, Inc. (see Foreclosure Defense): (410-706-0174)

Also check out the latest Prince George's County blogger posts and news here.

Get email notices with the posts from this blog:

Cat needs home asap

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:17:27 GMT

The following message is not the usual kind of thing we post here, but I have allowed it this time. It lacked a subject, though, and I can't edit it since it was posted by someone else, so this serves as a topic for the Blog News feed and email.

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:12:07 GMT

One of my cats needs a new home ASAP. He's a male Blue Russian breed mixed with Bombay. There's a $50 rehoming fee, but I'll probably waive it. We live in PG county, but we can bring him to you. He comes with pet taxi, flea medication, and a bed. He is 10 months old and well-behaved, very cute and snuggly. Gets along well with other animals and children. Read about his breed on wikipedia if you are curious about its other attributes. He needs to be neutered.

New Mixed-Use Zone Planning in Prince George's Co.

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:28:43 GMT

Mon., June 15 7-9 PM in Landover (more information here)

The goals of this project are:

* to develop a mixed-use zone to implement the policy recommendations of the 2002 General Plan for select centers and corridor nodes,
* to streamline and standardize regulations and processes, and incentive development in and around the county’s most important transit resources, and
* to offer an alternative to the existing mixed-use zones, design-oriented overlay zoning tools, and comprehensive design zones currently legislated in the county’s Zoning Ordinance.

Also check out the latest Prince George's County blogger posts and news here.

Get email notices with the posts from this blog:

"Coping In Extraordinary Times Conference"

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:53:26 GMT

"Coping In Extraordinary Times Conference"
Sponsored By: Prince George's Women United To Help Others Another Livable Communities Initiative

Prince George’s County First Lady Leslie E. Johnson to host “Coping In Extraordinary Times Conference.” The conference is designed to provide women and men with mechanisms and resources for coping with the special issues confronting them during these unusual and challenging times in our county and nation.

The conference will include workshop in the following areas:

1. Managing Your Finances – Developing and Managing A Budget
2. Improving Your Physical Health – High Blood Pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, obesity, exercise, and nutrition
3. Emotional and Mental Health – Stress and Depression Are Real. How to Cope In Difficult times
4. Parenting Issues - Strengthen your parenting skills, family communication, and support groups/resources for families
5. Preparing To Work – Earning An Income
6. Recreation and Having Personal and Family Fun – Finding time and opportunities to have fun in Prince George’s County

Resource Vendors from the Prince George’s County Departments of Health & Humans Services, Family Services, Social Services and the County Police will be on-site the day of the event to facilitate workshops, assist with questions and provide resource materials.

Prince George’s Women United To Help Others (PGWUTHO) was the vision of First Lady Leslie E. Johnson. and is another Livable Communities Initiative of Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson.

To learn more about Prince George’s Women United to Help Others log on to http://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov (click the Prince George’s WUTHO logo) located in the upper left corner of the county’s homepage.

Please call (301) 301-883- 4707 to RSVP for the Coping In Extraordinary Times Conference. This is a free and public event.

WHEN:
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Registration: 7:30 a.m.
8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

WHERE:
Dr. Ernest Everett Just Middle School
1300 Campus Way North
Mitchellville, MD 20721

Environmental concerns in Prince George's Co., Maryland

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 18:46:30 GMT

It has just come to my attention that there's a Piscataway Wastewater Treatment Plant that's located (not on the Piscataway River, but on the Piscataway Creek) which feeds into the Potomac River and is between two national parks - Fort Washington & Piscataway National Park (where the Colonial Farm is where we take kids on field trips). Apparently every time there's a great deal of rain, it overflows and raw sewage goes into the creek. Reports of overflow by WSSC is on their home page. How do they clean it up? They clean out pipes of clogs and put lime on the spill. Here is their report. One advocate said that you can experience the creek by sticking your foot in the toilet.

Learn more about the environment while having fun on June 7 at the GREEN County Picnic, 2-5 pm. Social with food co-hosted by County Councilmembers Harrison, Olson, Campos, and Dernoga and the Sierra Club/Prince George's. At Kentland Columbia Community Park, 2411 Pinebrook Avenue, Landover.

See the latest Prince George's County blogger posts and news here.

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Notes from MNCPPC Zoning meeting May 28, 2009

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:26:11 GMT

Zoning & subdivision regulations become law. Most states have a different process. Most policies are fairly broad. Trying to find ways to rewrite regulations readable to general public. Regulations/planning policy is a bridge to what actually happens - the outcome of development.

Zoning Ordinance (Subtitle 27) & Subdivision Regulations (Subtitle 24) - latter includes impacts on public facilities, transportation, etc.

Summary is on web site www.pgplanning.org and click on "Comprehensive Amendment to Zoning and Subdivision Regulations".

Next public mtg will be on streamlining. They have 3 mos. after that to rewrite from feedback. Feb. it will go to Council for approval.

Should correlate to 2002 general plan: 108 pages. Pamphlet gives summary. 207 pages of master plans are also summarized on web.

Other challenges besides new development are neighborhood preservation, parks & open space, urban form & design, housing types. Amendments over the years have been piecemeal - over 1,000 pages & more of planning policy which are sometimes contradictory.

This won't get rid of zoning, but it should make it more predictable. Over 200 pages explaining zoning process. They hope to consolidate & make them transparent. Developers could be made to go to communities before development is approved.

66% (6900 cases) were approved by planning board, others by council, or other body. R55 has most property owners. Most land area is ROS. R20, 55 predominant in developing tier. Series of maps in report on web shows zones.

PGSpring, a new web site by the Sierra Club, has list of lawyers for zoning.

Separate efforts in Parks & Planning for Preservation master plan. Mixed-used zoning may limit citizen comment, but will have another meeting about that - unclear what is going on. Dernoga commented that 180 pages was voted on with little time for review (different set of consultants than in attendance). On June 3rd Council will have overview, on June 17th will discuss bill that is supposed to go into effect in July.

Comment from participant: Only 5 members on Parks & Planning Commission (PPC) - doesn't represent best for county. Seems to be disenfranchising residents.

Dernoga said this is 3rd time to reform zoning process over ~15 yrs.

They can't tie the hands of future Commissioners; they can change policies.

New resident from Montana commented that in Montana with less population, all towns are incorporated & citizens have much more representation.

Call Councilman about conflicting plans. Safety & Transportation Master Plan are trying to reflect General Master plans. Water master plan is required by state. PPC has looked at zoning implications of those plans, but are not tasked to reconcile them.

Enforcement is done by DER. This is a vision plan, not enforcement plan.

Input available via web - Comprehensive Amendment to Zoning and Subdivision Regulations Feedback Form

Dernoga says there's a process to reconcile all plans, but it hasn't been implemented yet. In the mean time, some of the items in them are being implemented, such as firehouse in Brandywine being built where there will be a culdesac, according to the transportation plan. Must call Councilman about these issues.

Healthcare Forum Notes for Prince George's County

Thu, 28 May 2009 03:01:41 GMT

County Council Vice Chair Tom Dernoga said, "If you don't do politics, politics will do you." It is definitely not my favorite thing to do, but I want to live here, possibly for the rest of my life, so I need to do politics and I hope you do, too.

This forum was hosted by Prince George's Democratic Central Committee member, Mel Franklin who heads the Greater Marlboro Democratic Club.

The panelists were: Tom Dernoga, Vice-Chair of the County Council
Dr. Donald Shell, Health Officer, Prince George's County Health Dept.
Vinny DeMarco, President, MD Health Initiative - MD Health Care for All
Marshall Spurlock, Health Care Consultant, Marko & Associates LLC (who provided us a hand-out: "Health Information Technology: Most Frequently Asked Questions")
Pete Baron, Legislative Director, SEIU MD-DC State Council

I arrived a little late, but here are my notes:

We have universal health care. You either have health care or you go to the emergency center at the hospital, usually Prince George's Community Hospital. Other counties don't fund hospitals, but we're doing it because the system is broken due to a change in laws in the '90's, which caused our hospital to lose money. 50% of care there is uncompensated & we all pay for it. We have the 19th lowest per person tax rate in the state. 2/3 is spent on schools, 27% on police, & we're still paying for the hospital - little money left for other health care services (animal shelters, road repair, etc. not being properly funded). If we had a better universal health care plan, the county would not spend it on the hospital and have more money for other things.

The Rand Corp. study about Prince George's Co. shows what we need - local federally qualified health centers - we don't have enough.

There's $2B from the stimulus package, $36B altogether for Health Information Technology. Having data electronically will make it easier to find medications you're allergic to during an emergency & helps consolidate information about many health providers. Security is an issue. Could information be given to employers? FAQs provided by markohealth.com.

HIPPA law covers security of medical profession. New law covers everyone that handles their record.

SEIU & others are having lobby day. June 25 on Capitol Hill. Contact pbaron[at]seiumddc.org

www.healthcareforall.com is Maryland's plan which is similar to what Obama wants. A public plan will work better on federal level. Good health insurance companies don't go away. Pools buying power keeps costs down. They will propose a payroll tax.

Medicaid expanded & will expand more.

There was a lot of question & answer, so some statements were by participants:

Mr. Laroush (sp?) says it restricts care. If you're over 65, you won't get dialysis. Restricting care kills people.

This is not rationing healthcare. We're killing people today by not covering them.

Plan includes self-employed - they'd be part of small business buying pool. Everyone would be required to buy insurance if employed. Currently healthcare omits people without children, but new law includes unemployed without insurance who have no children.

Non-profits willing to work with county to provide clinics, but needs help from county. Health Dept. gives special care, but not general care. There's not enough money to go around. Current facilities are 60% grant supported (state & fed. primarily). Primary care is last thing funded, but is also preventative so should come first. Eliminating services, eg. maternity clinic, causes a problem for their patients.

Non-profits provide special one-day screening events. County helps promote it. Co. does food & fitness conference, too.

In new MD law, seniors are helped with prescriptions. Under new plan (not passed) would provide non-Medicare part of plans - reducing costs. Seniors would continue to get Medicare. Obama's law will allow for lower cost drugs. Cost of pharmaceuticals & doctor fees keep costs high. Bush administration blocked MD law for lower drug prices, but we're trying again with Obama administration. Can't require a doctor to accept plan, but old Medicade plan paid doctors too little & now pays higher.

The current Maryland plan is due to a lot of feedback from people in forums & worked on by Univ. of MD. Many family doctors support it.

2 things we can do: 1. make sure everyone who is eligible for new healthcare law ($25,000 under with kids) is enrolled. 2. sign resolution & get your group (civic associations, churches, etc.) to endorse Healthcare plan.

AND: Many county residents go outside of county to spend healthcare money. Only uninsured come here. To strengthen county, spend your money here. It's a catch 22, but you need to demand that resources here are good-quality.

The next forum hosted by GMDC is July 15 - Creating Jobs in Prince George's County at Surratts library in Clinton, MD. The flier states President Barack Obama is working to end our current recession by helping create the jobs of teh 21st century. Here in Prince George's County -- with most residents having to work outside of the county, with rising unemployment in our region, and with many of our youth unable to find work -- we must do more to promote strategies that create good-paying jobs in our county, support and strengthen locally owned businesses, and improve wealth-building in our community.

Also I posted a forum tomorrow night about our county zoning that appears on Newsvine in: the latest Prince George's County blogger posts and news here.

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American Recovery & Reinvestment Act Allocation Summary for PG

Tue, 19 May 2009 20:27:48 GMT

Thanks to Tamara Brown for passing on this information:

Local Highway allocation: $7,397,000 (less than Montgomery & Baltimore by ~$1M, but more than all other counties)

Local Transit System & Transportation Funding:

Heavy Duty Transit Bus Replacements $6,900,000
Southbound Platform Rehabilitation for Laurel Marc station $2,100,000
MARC Muirkirk Sidewalk Retaining Wall Repair $200,000

Washington Metro Transit Authority (WMTA) - 27 projects - $201.9M supporting ~493 jobs

Many other projects, but too many to list individually copied from image PDF.

Here's a web site that tracks the Recovery funds by state, county, and city, but this link goes to a search for Prince George's County.

Ms. Brown also suggests we check out http://statestat.maryland.gov/recovery.asp, www.problemsolver.maryland.gov, and www.maryland.gov.

See the latest Prince George's County blogger posts and news here.

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Support helping the hungry in Prince George's Co.

Fri, 15 May 2009 18:21:20 GMT

A group of people will be walking in support of the Oxon Hill Food Pantry on Saturday, May 16. They hope to raise money, awareness, and collect food for the Pantry. It starts at the Oxon Hill Lutheran Church on Brinkley Rd. and we're walking the Henson Creek trail for 2 miles and back, meeting at 9 AM to noon. You can donate to a walker or go there & walk yourself.

I'm walking; would you like to donate to it through me? I have PayPal & you can send me funds through my email if you have an account (info[at]pgcares.com or any other email of mine you know). I'll make sure they get it & you get credit for your donation. Thanks!

Tues. morning important hearings in Prince George's!

Wed, 13 May 2009 16:54:05 GMT

If you can't make it to the Prince George's County Administration Building in Upper Marlboro at 10 AM on a Tues. morning, then write your representatives about this. Important if you are a Tax Payer!:

Tues., June 2, 2009
CB-7-2009 AN ORDINANCE CONCERNING THE VALIDITY PERIODS FOR DETAILED SITE PLANS AND SPECIFIC DESIGN PLANS for the purpose of temporarily suspending or tolling the validity period of all approved applications for Detailed Site Plans and Specific Design Plans that were in a valid status as of January 1, 2009.

CB-8-2009 (SUBDIVISION BILL) AN ACT CONCERNING VALIDITY PERIODS FOR PRELIMINARY PLANS OF SUBDIVISIONS for the purpose of temporarily suspending or tolling the validity periods of all approved applications for Preliminary Plans of Subdivision that were in a valid status as of January 1, 2009.

- In other words, if they didn't build last year when they had the old building application rates, developers don't have to reapply & pay a higher rate which went into effect more recently. This is money the county could use, because we have a deficit. Developers, who have money and lawyers, are putting pressure on our legislators & they need a good reason not to listen to them & to show they why they couldn't knuckle under to their desires. Of course, who would want to pay higher fees? But this is not unreasonable considering other jurisdictions' fees. Further history of this situation, as a fellow active county civic leader (Kamita Gray ) put it:

"In 2005, there was an influx of applications due to the fact that Surcharge Fees where about to increase and ...the State placed a grandfather rule on the public safety surcharge so that it does not apply to subdivision plans filed prior to 7/1/05. The development community filed a lot of plans just prior to that date to avoid the surcharge. They did the same thing in 2003 or 2004 when the education surcharge increased from $5,000 to $12,000...

"For that reason, we did not collect any surcharge until recently, to date for the last 18 months a total of $794, 000, for 2008 and $22,700 for 2009. Now, we are collecting a little, but the plans in the pipeline are exempt. A similar issue also arises with Conservation Subdivision Plans in the Rural Tier to promote better development of farms. Those also had a grandfather rule that led to filing of a lot of regular subdivision plans in the Rural Tier to avoid the requirement.

"So, while the purpose of CB-7, CB-8 and CB-9-2009 is to waive surcharge fees, one possible consequence of the extension of the validity period is that grandfathered plans that would otherwise lose their protected status will be able to live on with the grandfather. In addition they are asking that."

This Public Surcharge fee, which these developers are presently not paying, is meant to go to our police department which could really use the funds.

Another active county civic leader said, "The Prince Georges County Association of Realtors submitted a letter in support of CB-7-2009 and CB-8-2009. Remember these are the same Developers that sold us these inflated houses made the profits...now come back to us the community and cry wolf."

Montgomery Co. did pass a similar bill, but it was only for small developers, not all developers as PG is trying to do.

TUES., JUNE 9, 2009
CR-17-2009 A RESOLUTION CONCERNTING THE 2008 WATER AND SEWER PLAN (DECEMBER 2008 CYCLE OF AMENDMENTS) for the purpose of changing the water and sewer designations of properties with the 2008 Water and Sewer Plan.

- An active county civic leader stated, "CR-17-2009 will undermine significant portions of the Rural Tier. It is an amendment to the 10 Year Water & Sewer Plan and it proposes taking numerous parcels from outside the Water & Sewer Boundary (i.e., the Rural Tier) and giving them new W&S Category designations for development purposes. This is the first step in taking these properties out of the Rural Tier."

TUES., JUNE 16, 2009
JOINT PUBLIC HEARING ON THE NEW CARROLLTON PRELIMINARY TANSIT DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND PROPOSED TRANSIT OVERLAY ZONING DISTRICT MAP

- I don't anything about this one, but if you care about the New Carrollton Metro, you might want to check into it.

Write to your Council member:

The Honorable Thomas E. Dernoga
Vice-Chair, Prince George's County Council
District 1, Democrat
14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive
County Council
2nd Floor
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Phone: (301) 952-3887
Fax: (301) 952-4801
TTY: (301) 925-5167
TEDernoga@co.pg.md.us

The Honorable Will Campos
Council Member, Prince George's County Council
District 2 - Democrat
14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive
County Council
2nd Floor
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Phone: (301) 952-4436
Fax: (301) 952-5554
E-mail: WACampos@co.pg.md.us

The Honorable Eric Olson
Council Member, Prince George's County Council
District 3, Democrat
14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive
County Council
2nd Floor
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Phone: (301) 952-3060
Fax: (301) 952-4904
Email: EOlson@co.pg.md.us

The Honorable Ingrid M. Turner, Esquire
Council Member, Prince George's County Council
District 4 - Democrat
14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive
County Council
2nd Floor
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Phone: (301) 952-3094
Fax: (301) 952-4910
Email: IMTurner@co.pg.md.us

The Honorable Andrea Harrison
Council Member, Prince George's County Council
District 5
14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive
County Council
2nd Floor
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Phone: (301) 952-3864
Fax: (301) 952-5885
councildistrict5@co.pg.md.us

The Honorable Samuel H. Dean
Council Member, Prince George's County Council
District 6, Democrat
14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive
County Council
2nd Floor
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Phone: (301) 952-3426
Fax: (301) 301-952.4351
TTY: (301) 925-5167
SHDean@co.pg.md.us

The Honorable Camille Exum
Council Member, Prince George's County Council
District 7, Democrat
14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive
County Council
2nd Floor
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Phone: (301) 952-3690
CAExum@co.pg.md.us

The Honorable Tony Knotts
Council Member, Prince George's County Council
District 8, Democrat
14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive
County Council
2nd Floor
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Phone: (301) 952-3860
Fax: (301) 952-4821
TTY: (301) 925-5167
TKnotts@co.pg.md.us

The Honorable Marilynn M. Bland
Chairperson, Prince George’s County Council
District 9, Democrat
14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive
County Council
2nd Floor
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Phone: (301) 952-3820
Fax: (301) 952-5275
mmbland@co.pg.md.us

See the latest Prince George's County blogger posts and news here.

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Video of the Donnell Explosion

Fri, 08 May 2009 04:06:07 GMT

http://tinyurl.com/q9fame

9 were injured, including 8 firefighters.

Schools will reopen - flu update press release

Tue, 05 May 2009 21:05:19 GMT

I just got this press release:

BALTIMORE, MD - (May 5, 2009) - Maryland DHMH Secretary John M.
Colmers, Deputy Secretary Frances Phillips and State Epidemiologist Dr.
David Blythe will discuss the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC)*s new school H1N1flu guidelines and the opening tomorrow of all
formerly closed Maryland schools. An overview of Maryland cases will be
provided.

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Rabies Vaccination Clinics only $5 per pet - 3 locations & dates

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:01:54 GMT

Bring your Cat, Dog and Ferret to the Spring 2009
Rabies Vaccination Clinics
State Law requires that all cats, dogs and
ferrets be vaccinated against rabies by four
(4) months of age, and be kept current.
The best thing you can do to protect yourself,
your family and community from rabies is to
vaccinate your cats, dogs and ferrets against
this fatal disease.
• Only cats, dogs and ferrets over three (3) months
old will be vaccinated.
• A responsible adult must bring the pet.
• You must bring proof of prior rabies vaccination.
• All animals must be secured: Dogs on a leash,
cats and ferrets in a carrier box.
• There will be a $5.00 fee per vaccination.
BRING EXACT CHANGE!
For more information about these clinics
Call 301-583-3782
All clinics are on Saturdays | 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Held rain or shine
Clinic Date Location Address of
Rabies Vaccination Clinics
May 9, 2009 GREENBELT Greenbelt Community Center
15 Crescent Road
May 16, 2009 TEMPLE HILLS Crossland High School
6901 Temple Hill Road
May 30, 2009 BOWIE Bowie High School
15200 Annapolis Road
Z-10 (3/09)
We need our
Rabies shots!

Maryland General Assembly has ended!

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:11:37 GMT

Key Bills Approved at WBALTV, includes budget, early voting, death penalty, domestic violence, global warming, immigrant license, inheritance tax, SWAT reporting, medevac, military children, police surveillance, preakness, sewage disposal, smart growth, speed cameras, tax amnesty, text message ban, & unemployment insurance.

Additional stories:
Curtain Drops on Busy Session Dominated by Financial Woes at Southern Maryland Online

EDITORIAL: A Wrap in Annapolis: Facing a Recession, Hot-Button ... at istockAnalyst.com

Legislation seen as a boost for the Chesapeake at Baltimore Sun

County has little to show from session at Gazette

Over 1500 bills fall by wayside at session's end at Washington Times

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Ages 13 - 18: FROM COLLEGE TO CAREER Seminar

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:26:15 GMT

Mission of Love Charities Inc.’s Youth Development Program invites youth ages 13 - 18 to FROM COLLEGE TO CAREER - An Informative Seminar with Local College Admissions Offices and Career Services Representatives from Art Institute of Washington, Strayer University, Prince George’s Community College And More!

Thursday, April 23rd
4:00 – 5:30 pm

Come join us and learn how to prepare college applications, write college essays, and be ready for job interviews.

To RSVP, call (301) 333-4440 ext. 410 or
e-mail to aanderson@molc-inc.org.

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Do you use bus service in Prince George's?

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:49:51 GMT

Proposed Service Cuts in Prince George's County

Elimination of five (5) lines - B27, B29/B31, C12/C14, R3, W15
Peak headway adjustments (longer period of time between pick-ups) on two (2) lines - A11/A12, J11/J12
Turnback (trips will not go into DC) two (2) lines at the Southern Avenue Metrorail Staion - P17/P19, W13/W14
Increase fare on one (1) route - W19

Attend a Public Hearing Scheduled by WMATA

The Maryland hearings are at 6:30 pm

Monday, April 13, First United Methodist Church, 6201 Belcrest Rd, Hyattsville, MD
(Across from the Prince George's Plaza Metrorail Station)

Tuesday, April 14, First Baptist Church of Wheaton, 10914 Georgia Ave, Wheaton, MD

The Department of Public Works and Transportation will provide shuttlebus service from the New Carrollton, Greenbelt, and Branch Avenue Stations beginning at 5:30 pm for the April 13th Public Hearing.

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Education Public Hearings on Boundary Changes

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:45:21 GMT

According to School Board member Heather Illiff:

The Board of Education is currently receiving input on the first phase of a proposal that changes the boundaries of more than 70 schools in Fall of 2009 The purpose of the boundary changes is to address the fact that we have more than 10,000 empty school seats in some areas and serious overcrowding in others. The first phase of the boundary review is underway and covers from Seat Pleasant south including inner-beltway communities, continuing south to Fort Washington. In addition to these geographic areas, several schools outside the phase one zone will also be affected:
Arrowhead Elementary
Charles Carroll Middle School
Ernest Everett Just Middle School
Stephen Decatur Middle School
Thomas Johnson Middle School

Information is available at :
http://www1.pgcps.org/pasb/index.aspx?id=81180.

The Board of Education will hold two more hearings on these boundary proposals:

Tuesday, April 14 at Barnaby Manor Elementary School at 6:00pm (2411 Owens Road, Oxon Hill, MD)

Saturday, April 18 at Sasscer Administration Building in Upper Marlboro (time approx 10:00am - visit http://www.pgcps.org for exact time closer to the hearing.)

Also, further cuts may be made by both the General Assembly in their budget and at the State School Board due to "maintenance of effort" waiver. We are asked to contact our representatives and the school board not to cut education in Prince George's Co. The county school board has already cut 900 jobs and $106 million from their budget - further cuts could affect our children's education.

See the latest Prince George's County blogger posts, discussion, and news here.

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Support summer reading programs April 19 in New Carrollton

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 20:01:14 GMT

(Sent to me by the Prince George's Co. Public Library)

SPECIAL LIBRARY BOOKSALE !!!

Support summer reading programs! Proceeds from this special sale will benefit
summer reading programs for children and teens.

Tens of thousands of books, CDs, videos, reference material, furniture,etc.

Sunday, April 19
Noon-5 pm

New Carrollton Branch
Lower Level
7414 Riverdale Rd.
New Carrollton MD 20784

REMEMBER!! Proceeds from this special sale will benefit
library summer reading programs for children and teens.

Just minutes from Beltway: take exit 20B (Rt. 450/Annapolis Rd. West).

For information, please call 301-459-6900
or visit our website at http://www.pgcmls.info

Join our email list for news of programs http://www.pgcmls.info & services by visiting http://www.pgcmls.info

56th Blog Carnival of Maryland

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 03:24:58 GMT

The Blog Carnival of Maryland is hosted by Maryland Blogger Alliance of which Creating a Jubilee County is a part.

Note: I believe the Blog Carnival of Maryland should be about Maryland and/or obviously by a Marylander, so all other submissions have been omitted. I also don't like names that start with lower case letters, sorry if it seems petty of me to capitalize them. Since categories don't always describe the post well, I'm listing the posts without categories this time.

Doug Smith presents Solomon's Island Tea Party Video, Part 1 posted at Faster, better.... This event was sponsored by the Calvert County Republicans, though I was unable to get the video to come up in my Firefox on Mac OSX 10.3.9 (I guess I need to upgrade - maybe with my tax returns).

Robert V. Sobczak presents Forever young posted at The South Florida Watershed Journal. Here's a story on Maryland's Winter Run ... a tributary to Deer Creek. Some really nice photos are included.

Ron Miller presents No Kool-Aid ? Tea, Please posted at Ron's Reflections. Ron says, "Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to stop drinking the Kool-Aid. There are plenty of Tea Parties planned for our region in the next several weeks. Annapolis and Washington DC are next on April 15th – Tax Day. And after you’ve had a taste of tea and your vigor is renewed, don’t forget to act. 2010 is an election year, after all." A Republican candidate gives his take on Annapolis politics during this General Assembly. I do admit that I also believe there were several non-essential proposals for spending that make no sense in this economy - many politicians on both sides are talked into some unreasonable ideas by their constituents (and campaign funders). You can see several issues that were brought to my attention in Annapolis this GA concerning Prince George's in Creating a Jubilee County.

Soccer Dad presents The colts move - 25 years ago posted at Soccer Dad. This is a little sports history: "One of the things that gets Baltimore sports fans up in arms, is the departure of the Batlimore Colts for Indianapolis 25 years ago."

OM presents I Have Too Stop! posted at Insane Baltimore. In Sun's Talk Forums there was a little irony, not to mention some racism.

Jim presents Maryland Homestead Tax Credit Application on Blueprint for Financial Prosperity posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. Some helpful advice for homeowners if you don't know about and haven't received your Homestead Tax Credit.

Michael Swartz presents No shortage of material posted at monoblogue & talks about proposed laws in General Assembly, including those by "the environmental do-gooders".

The last submissions are my own "PG" a racial matter? from Race Matters in Prince George's Co., MD & the USA. I do a regular search on racial issues in Prince George's, as a student of anti-racism, and am finding fewer posts than I used to. I hope that is a good sign. And The Ecomony is NOT that simple! posted at UU Mom.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Maryland using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on Blog Carnival of Maryland index page.
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Testing new news feature

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 23:17:49 GMT

I saw this on the bottom of someone's web page and decided to add it to the Prince Georgians Care web site on the home page and Blog News page and now I'm going to see if it works on this blog. If you see my blogger post sentence below, then you can't see the Google news-show, though you can click the link to the blogger news to see it on that page. Let me know what you think.

See the latest Prince George's County blogger posts and news here.

NOTE: I published this message and couldn't see it, so it probably won't work on LiveJournal.

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Truth iN Taxation Press Release

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:52:41 GMT

Yesterday 5 members of the Prince George's County Council (Tom Dernoga, Eric Olson, Tony Knotts, Ingrid Turner, Andrea Harrison) voted for their constituents and against taxpayer funding of DC United Soccer stadium by voting down HB1282 (original and amended). These members are to be congratulated for their courage and foresight in defining the cost and risk to taxpayers of funding a stadium in this economic climate. (See Washington Post Article)

Melony Griffith, Chair, House PG Delegation and Marilynn Bland, Chair, PG County Council, with total arrogance and disregard for their own council members and constituents, have indicated that the actions of these courageous council members make little difference to the effort and that they will continue to fight for the stadium.

Every person in Prince George's County who doesn't want to fund a stadium needs to call or email Ms. Griffith / Ms Bland and let their wishes be known. Please pass this message on to as many lists as you can. We will continue to lobby the House Appropriations Committee, (Norman Conway, Chair; James Proctor, Vice Chair) on this issue as HB1282 has little chance of progressing if the majority of the Prince George's County Council has turned it down!

Griffith, Melony G.
Legis. Dist. 25 (D)
Prince George's Co.
APP
207 House Office Bldg.
6 Bladen Street
Annapolis, MD 21401-1991

301-858-3557
melony.griffith@house.state.md.us

The Honorable Marilynn M. Bland
Chairperson, Prince George's County Council
District 9, Democrat
14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive
County Council
2nd Floor
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772

Tel: (301) 952-3820
Fax: (301) 952-5275
mmbland@co.pg.md.us

Support Senate Bill 447 & House Bill 1267

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:57:02 GMT

SWAT Raids Are Violating Our Civil Liberties | Make Maryland Great
Rather than reserving SWAT raids for unusually dangerous situations, many police forces are using these traumatizing tactics against people they suspect of recreational drug use and other much smaller crimes.

Write your legislators to support Senate Bill 447 & House Bill 1267 more info

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