Montpelier ES Lock-Down, Code Red Dec 12

During the afternoon of Dec 12, 2006 Montpelier Elementary School (and possibly other public schools in South Laurel, such as Oaklands E.S and Eisenhower M.S.) apparently instituted "lock-down (code red)" procedures to ensure student safety, possibly related to the double homicide that NBC News reported occurred earlier in the day 3-miles away on Engleman Dr. in South Laurel.

Liquor Licenses Renewal Hearings & Protest Deadline 2007

P.G. County Liquor Board - OFFICIAL NOTICE

Pursuant to Section 10-302 of Article 2B of the Annotated Code of Maryland, Notice is hereby given that all alcoholic beverage licenses in Prince George's County will expire as follows:

Class A, Licenses expire on April 30th
Class B, Licenses expire on May 31st
Class C, Licenses expire on June 30th
Class D, Licenses expire on June 30th

In order to process a protest against the granting of the 2007 - 2008 License Renewal, a protest notice must be submitted to the Board of License Commissioners no later than March 1, 2007.

Protest of a renewal shall be filed on or before March 1, 2007 at the Board of License Commissioners, Room 204, County Service Building, 5012 Rhode Island Avenue, Hyattsville, MD 20781.

Should you have any questions, please contact the Board's Office at 301-699-2770.

BOARD OF LICENSE COMMISSIONERS
(LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD)
FRANKLIN D. JACKSON, CHAIRMAN
SHAIHI MWALIMU, VICE CHAIRMAN
ARMANDO CAMACHO, COMMISSIONER
EARL J. HOWARD, COMMISSIONER
DAVID DAESOK SON, COMMISSIONER
Attest:
Diane M. Bryant
Administrative Assistant
November 13, 2006





P.G. Board of Education Meetings TV Schedule

Beginning, December 15th, 2006 all School Board Meetings will be rebroadcast on Channel 96 on Friday, Saturday, Sunday at 7 PM and Monday at 2 PM.

This is an important change. The new board wanted the citizens of Prince George's County to have more opportunities to monitor their proceedings on TV, soon after each public meeting.

This information was provided by our newly elected Board of Education local District 1 Representative, Rosalind Johnson.

Tony's Liquor License Hearing Jan 23, 2007

No apparent opposition has arisen against this requested liquor license transfer for continued use at Tony's Liquors in the Crystal Plaza.

QUOTE:

BOARD OF LICENSE COMMISSIONERS
(LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD)
HEARING
JANUARY 23, 2007

A hearing on the [below] application [among others] will be held at the County Service Building, 5012 Rhode Island Avenue, Hearing Room 200, Hyattsville, 20781, 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, January 23, 2007, at which time anyone wishing to testify either for or against the application may attend the hearing. Additional information can be obtained by contacting the Board's Office at 301-699-2770.

Eyaya Arega, President/Secretary/Treasurer for a Class A, Beer, Wine and Liquor License for the use of HCH Liquors, Inc., t/a Tony's Liquors, 12637 Laurel Bowie Road, Laurel, 20708 transfer from Edric, Inc., t/a Tony's Liquors, 12637 Laurel Bowie Road, Laurel, 20708, Sung Joo Kim, President/Secretary/Treasurer, Bo Kan So, Vice President.

Atty: Simon Osnos, Esquire

Opposition: [none]

A Public Hearing is also scheduled for Regular Session/Administrative Voting Session on February 7, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. and Regular Session/Administrative Voting Session on February 14, 2007 at 7:00 p.m., Hearing Room 200, County Service Building, 5012 Rhode Island Avenue, Hyattsville, 20781. At the meeting the Board will consider the agenda as posted that day and any other matters taken under advisement from previous meetings.

END QUOTE:

New Passport Requirements in 2007

City of Laurel

Official Press Release

New Passport Requirements for Travelers in 2007

Mayor Craig A. Moe would like residents to know that, [according to changes in federal law] beginning January 23, 2007, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda will be required to present a valid passport, Air NEXUS card, or U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document.

As early as January 1, 2008, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea (including ferries), may be required to present a valid passport or other documents as determined by the Department of Homeland Security.

Applications for passports are accepted at the Laurel Municipal Building, Passport Office on Mondays and Thursdays, from10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and on Tuesdays, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Applicants will need the following items to apply for a U.S. passport: proof of citizenship, proof of identity, and two passport photos. Please call the Passport Information Line at 301-725-5305 for more details and information.

END QUOTE

Anyone can use the City of Laurel passport office -- not just Laurel residents.

Subregion I Living Areas Public Meeting Nov 18

Marylan Park & Planning Commission
Subregion I Living Areas
Summary Session and Open House

November 18, 2006 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission recently conducted three half-day workshops (October 19th, 21st, and 26th) focusing on the living areas within the Subregion I Master Plan Area. This is the final community meeting regarding the all Subregion I Living Areas. This open house will serve as a wrap-up and summary meeting for the October workshops.

Purpose:

· Present issues and concerns regarding living Areas within Subregion I
· Present preliminary recommendations
· Solicit community input on issues, concerns, and recommendations as they relate to the Subregion I Master Plan and SMA

When: Saturday, November 18, 2006
8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Where: Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School

4545 Ammendale Road, Beltsville, MD 20705

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. You can also visit our web page at http://www.mncppc.org/cpd/sub1background.htm

Kierre McCune
Senior Planner, Community Planning Division
Prince George's County Planning Department
The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Voice: 301-952-3211
Fax: 301-952-4121
kierre.mccune@ppd.mncppc.org

Maryland General Election 2006 Results

This Washington Post report of the 2006 Maryland General Election results is updated daily as the final vote counts become available.

Nov 7 Voter Guides PG County, State, & Federal Elections

I've posted links to Nov 7 Voter Guides from the Gazette, Laurel Leader and Washington Post.

These are not endorsement lists -- just lists of candidates for each office, candidate descriptions and explanations of ballot issues.

Click on "News" in Local Candidates (News) in the sidebar menu.

Laurel City Halloween Activities for Kids

http://www.laurel.md.us/pract.htm

Picture of Flying Witch Picture of Haunted HousePicture of Spooky Ghost!

2006

October 20 and 21, 2006 - ALL NEW! HAUNTED TRAIL - Riverfront Park
Join us from 7:00 - 10:00 PM at the Laurel Municipal Pool. Begin your terrifying adventure as you board a hayride that take you into the woods where you must make your way back through a haunted trail. Not recommended for small children! Cost $5.00 per person.

OCTOBER 28, 2006 - Halloween Spooktacular
Join us from 2:00 PM at Laurel Community Center, Co-sponsored by the Laurel Lions. Come dressed for some Halloween fun with entertainment, food, prized and costume judging for all ages. Admission is free.


Citizen Input Sought for County Master Plans

This is your opportunity to contribute your ideas to Prince George's County planning for the next 10 years and beyond for for public safety (police, fire, emergency medical), schools, parks, transportation, etc. Please take the enclosed survey.

In the next few weeks you will see press releases and articles in the newspapers about the Subregion I Master Plan study that is currently being conducted for our area of Prince George's county. A series of public Living Area Workshops will involve county residents directly in updating the county's master plans.

The "Living Areas Workshop" for our area (East of Route 1) is:

Thursday, Oct 19, 2006, 6:30 – 9:00 PM
Corporate Offices of Hope Christian Church
6251 Ammendale Road
Beltsville, MD 20705

Please fill out this survey, and return it by email to
kierre.mccune@ppd.mncppc.org

CTV 76 News Interviews Education Board Candidates in October

Prince George's County cable television (CTV 76 News) plans to feature candidates for the upcoming school board elections from October 9th to November 3rd. These individual candidate spotlight interviews will give the voters more insight into each candidate's platform and vision for the upcoming school board.

The one or two minute segments will be part of the live CTV 76 news (Channel 76) broadcast at 4:40 pm and will re-air at 5:30, 8:30, and 11:30 pm. Following are the air dates for each candidate interviews:

MONDAY OCTOBER 9
Donna Hathaway-Beck (At-large)

TUESDAY OCTOBER 10
Ron Watson (At-large)

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 11
Jeana Jacobs (At-large)

THURSDAY OCTOBER 12
Howard Stone (At-large)

FRIDAY OCTOBER 13
Nate Thomas (At-large)

MONDAY OCTOBER 16-Columbus Day no show

TUESDAY OCTOBER 17
Ken Johnson (At-large)

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 18
Alicia Darensbourg (At-large)

THURSDAY OCTOBER 19
Rosalind Johnson (District 1)

FRIDAY OCTOBER 20
Robin Barnes-Shell (District 1)

MONDAY OCTOBER 23
Amber Waller (District 2)

TUESDAY OCTOBER 24
Heather Iliff (District 2)

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 25
Pat Fletcher (District 3)

THURSDAY OCTOBER 26
Regina Williams (District 3)

FRIDAY OCTOBER 27
Judy Mickens Murray (District 3)

MONDAY OCTOBER 30
Steven Morris (District 4)

TUESDAY OCTOBER 31
Linda Thomas (District 4)

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 1
Owen Johnson (District 5)

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 2
Katie Costello (District 5)

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3
At-Large Candidate (TBA)

ICC Impact on Muirkirk RD & RT 197 Becoming Clearer

Ok. But there are still no plans ("proposed transportation projects") for how to handle predictably much higher traffic volumes and speeds eastbound and westbound along Muirkirk Rd and Rt. 197 between the east end of the ICC and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.Proposed Route Said Crucial to Success of Konterra 'Mini-City' Project
Washington Post article, Sep 26, 2006 A01 http://tinyurl.com/nk9o3

New Emergency Warning System Coming to Laurel

Laurel City Press Release - Sep 25, 2006

Mayor Craig A. Moe is pleased to inform the residents of Laurel that the City has entered into a contract with Code RED to purchase a state of the art Emergency Warning System.

The Code RED Emergency Notification System is an extremely fast communication service available for mass Emergency Notifications. Code RED employs a one-of-a-kind Internet mapping capability for geographic targeting of calls, coupled with a high speed telephone calling system capable of delivering customized pre-recorded emergency messages directly to homes and businesses, live individuals and answering machines, at the rate of up to 60,000 calls per hour.

Mayor Craig Moe envisions using Code Red to notify residents and businesses during natural and man-made disasters, as well as warn residents and businesses in Laurel as to when flooding is possible.

Mayor Craig Moe is pleased that this new technology is now available to help keep the residents and businesses of Laurel informed and encourages everyone interested to visit www.coderedweb.com and check out their capabilities. If you have any questions, please call Emergency Operations Director, Marty Flemion, at 301-725-5300 ext. 203.

Town Center Face Lift - Update















Photo Sep 25, 2006

See July 30 article

Road Closed Under Main St. Railroad Bridge Sep 13

MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF LAUREL
Information Technology and Community Services Public Information Office

8103 Sandy Spring Road ·Laurel, Maryland 20707 (301) 725-5300 ext. 244
http://www.laurel.md.us · E- Mail - jcollins@laurel.md.us Fax (301) 490-5068

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Date of Release: September 11, 2006

For Additional Information Contact: Jim Collins

Road Closure

Mayor Craig A. Moe is advising the public that WSSC is scheduled to repair an underground water leak on Main Street and Lafayette Avenue, located under the railroad bridge, on Wednesday, September 13, 2006, weather permitting.

The road will be closed to ALL traffic, vehicular and pedestrian, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. that day.
The residents and businesses on Lafayette Avenue will be informed of this work.

If you have any questions, please contact Joseph Ajayi, the Public Works Inspector, at 301-725-0088 ext. 208

School Board Candidates on Cable Channel 76

Schedule of School Board candidate interviews on COMCAST Channel 76

According to COMCAST, these interviews will occur in the last half of a P.G. County Community Television (CTV76) 1/2-hour news show, which airs live Monday through Friday at 4:30 pm, and repeats at 5:30 pm, 8:30 pm, and 11:30 pm.

WEEK ONE
MONDAY 07/31
Tammie Page (at large)
Walter Searcy (at large)
Sherry Strother (at large)

TUESDAY 08/01
Carletta Fellows (at large)
Kenneth Fox (at large)
Howard Stone (at large)

WEDNESDAY 08/02
Donna Hathaway Beck (at large)
Jacques Chevalier II (district/circuit 002)
Gloria Lawlah (at large)

THURSDAY 08/03
Deborah Driver (at large)
Tonya Jefferson (district 5)
Steven Morris (district 4)

FRIDAY 08/04
Dennis Whitley III (district 1)
Katie Costello (district 5)
Linda Thomas (district 4)

WEEK TWO
MONDAY 08/07
Minerva Sanders (district 4)
Ron Watson (at large)
Peggy Anne Valentine (district 5)

TUESDAY 08/08
Jeana Jacobs (at large)
Owen Johnson (district 5)
Fred Price Jr. (district 3)

WEDNESDAY 08/09
Tim Pollard (district 4)
Amber Waller (district 2)
Regina Williams (district 3)

THURSDAY 08/10
Alicia Darensbourough (at large)
Ken Johnson (at large)
Nate Thomas (at large)

FRIDAY 08/11
Heather Iliff (district 2)
Judy Mickens-Muray (district 3)
Robin Barnes Shell (district 1)

WEEK THREE - Dates to be announced
Probably Rosalind Johnson District 1
Possibly others

Maryland Sales Tax Holiday: August 23-27, 2006

Read this item on the MH NEWS web site

How the School Board Election Will Work

This year's Prince George's County School Board election will be a little complicated. The following explanation is adapted from campaign literature of District 1 School Board Candidate, Rosalind Johnson.

Here is how the school board election will work:

The new elected school board will have 9 members. There will be one member from each of 5 districts and 4 at-large members

Step 1: Primary Election Voting
On September 12th, your ballot will show the candidates who are running in the school board District 1 race and the school board at-large race. You will be voting for 1 candidate in the District 1 Race and for 4 candidates in the at-large race.

Step 2: Primary Election Outcome

The top 2 vote getters in each District race and the top 8 vote getters in the at-large race will compete in the General Election.

Step 3: General Election
On November 7th, your ballot will show a total of 18 school board candidates: 2 Candidates in each of the 5 school board districts and 8 at-large candidates. You will be voting for 1 candidate in each of the district races and four candidates in the at-large race.

There will be 9 winners, who will become the new school board for Prince George's County.

The communities included in the new School Board District 1 are: Berwyn Heights, Glen Dale, Greenbelt, Laurel, Beltsville, New Carrollton, and a part of Good Luck Road at Duval High School that runs along Greenbelt Road into Lanham/Seabrook.

National Night Out Tuesday Aug 1

23rd Annual National Night Out

On Tuesday, August 1, 2006, the District VI Police Station is inviting neighborhoods throughout Beltsville and Laurel to join forces with thousands of communities nationwide for the 23rd Annual National Night Out. National Night Out brings our community together to:

• Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness
• Generate support and participation in local anticrime efforts
• Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships.

Please join us for this event and cookout from 6pm to 8pm at District VI located at 4321 Sellman Rd in Beltsville. There will be a variety of specialty units such as a K-9 Unit, Helicopter Unit, Fire Department Bomb Robot Unit, Motorcycle and Bicycle Displays, Patrol Vehicle Display and Maryland Park Police Mounted Unit. This will be a night for all communities to stand together to promote awareness, safety and neighborhood unity.

Town Center Face Lift

According to a gaggle of project managers i ran into on the sidewalk in front of the Sapphire Indian resturaunt a few days ago the stores in the Town Center strip mall on Route 197 at Contee Rd. are about to get a "face lift". The encounter was brief, but i assume they meant that they are going to replace or repaint the current blue mansard-style roofs.