Big News ( council members revisit virtual voting)/ Community News
After this week’s newsletter, I will be taking a short break. The next full newsletter will not be emailed until Oct. 6. However, I am working on some articles. When they are published to the website I will send you a newsletter that entails the story. You will receive it a day before it is published on The Intersection’s website. Again, thank you for your support.
Voting Virtually
On Sept. 19, Council member Krystal Oriadha ( District 7) held a press conference at the Wayne Curry Administration Building. Oriadha, Wala Blegay (District 6), Edward Burroughs (District 8) as well as others spoke candidly about their disappointment with other council members’ vote that resulted in not allowing Oriadha to participate in remote voting. (Listen to above clip to hear Oriadha speak in her own words).
Oriadha is pregnant. It is alleged that it is a high risk pregnancy. The region has a high maternal mortality rate for Black women. Voting remotely, she said, would give her a chance “ to get some rest.”
Council members are allowed to vote virtually under certain circumstances. For example, during the pandemic council members were allowed to virtually vote. According to The Diamondback, a news publication that covers College Park and sometimes local government, virtual/remote voting was reversed after the county’s Covid-19 state of emergency was terminated.
“The council allowed virtual participation as recently as January and February of this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the Diamond Back. “But its attorneys said it could not continue virtually without adjusting its current rules, according to council chair and District 1 council member Tom Dernoga.”
“None of us were physically present, and we voted all through 2020 and 2021 and 2022,’” Dernoga said. “We still had this requirement of being physically present to vote. That’s where the Catch-22 came in.”
During the press conference, attendees loudly chanted for the council to revisit the vote. Recently, local reports say that the council could revisit it. If passed, the legislation would allow Oriadha, and others in similar situations, to vote virtually/remotely.
Big News
Politics
Biden speaks on economics at Prince George’s County Community College
Excerpt: President Joe Biden spoke on the state of the country’s economy while visiting students at Prince George’s Community College (PGCC) on Sept. 14. While Republican lawmakers wrangled over the appropriations process late last week, Biden reached outside Capitol Hill’s fiscal fight and spoke to community college students, faculty and staff less than 20 miles from the White House. Biden discussed his economic vision, branded as “Bidenomics” by the media.
Political Notes: Ivey endorses Alsobrooks, Trone releases new ads, a potential 6th District move
Excerpt: Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks received more support Monday in her run for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.
According to the Alsobrooks campaign, U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-4th) represents the county executive’s 100th endorsement.
“I’m really excited for her to have the chance to do this, and it couldn’t come at a more important time,” Ivey said at Alsobrooks’ campaign headquarters in Largo.
LEADING DEMOCRAT IN MARYLAND SENATE RACE ONCE BLAMED MURDERS ON DECRIMINALIZED POT
Excerpt: EIGHT MONTHS BEFORE Maryland voters will cast their ballots in a rare U.S. Senate primary, the bulk of the state’s Democratic machine has already consolidated behind one candidate. Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks emerged as a front-runner shortly after announcing her candidacy, garnering endorsements from major Democratic officials and organizations before her campaign had any issue platforms listed on its website.
The race presents a unique opportunity to fill a safely blue seat with a new candidate for the first time in 16 years. If Alsobrooks is successful, she would become Maryland’s first Black senator. While Democrats have embraced Alsobrooks’s historic campaign with enthusiasm, however, her record on criminal justice has largely gone overlooked.
Shutdown inches closer as U.S. House GOP fails to pass defense bill, lawmakers exit D.C.
Excerpt: U.S. House Republicans were unable for a third time Thursday to begin debate on the Defense funding bill, throwing another wrench into Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s leadership tenure.
The 212-216 vote that rejected the rule for the $826 billion Defense spending measure was unexpected, coming less than a day after House GOP lawmakers gathered in a room in the Capitol basement to broker a path forward.
Opinion:‘The People’s Council’ must allow independent review of police misconduct
Excerpt: After new members were elected to the Prince George’s County Council last fall, the council dubbed itself “The People’s Council.” While this is encouraging to hear, as residents of this county, the actual litmus test for whether this new council is genuinely dedicated to the concerns of the people, and in particular, the needs of residents from less affluent, over-policed communities, is the passage of CB-81-2023, a bill to give the county’s new Police Accountability Board independent investigatory and subpoena powers. In other words, we’ll believe it when we see it.
In Prince George’s County, the journey toward achieving police accountability and reform has been tumultuous, marked by a persistent struggle for transparency and justice. One of the obstacles has been the subtle indifference within more affluent and less policed communities regarding issues of police accountability. This indifference stems from a false sense of security, limited exposure to the negative consequences of aggressive policing, and a lack of personal experiences with systemic injustices.
Tech
Inside the debates over Maryland Gov. Moore’s modified Beltway widening plan
Excerpt: After years of backlash against former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s Beltway widening plan, in August the Moore administration introduced a modified proposal to address congestion. The new plan nixes the controversial public-private partnership, which would allow a private company to profit from tolls decades into the future. Nonetheless, it still entails road-widening, which critics point out induces more traffic demand. They argue the state should improve transit instead.
Takoma Park’s vacant hospital campus could become new homes…one day
Excerpt: Four years ago, Takoma Park’s Washington Adventist Hospital moved away, leaving vacant buildings and a 15-acre site in its wake. Montgomery County planners soon began examining ways to bring new homes, shops, and usable green space. And soon enough a handful of neighbors in the famously lefty town are trying to block it by making some pretty wild claims.
This amendment to Montgomery County’s master plan has two basic goals: upzone the site of the former Adventist hospital, which opened in a new facility in White Oak in 2019, and tweak zoning requirements along Maple Avenue. That street is home to much of Takoma Park’s affordable housing, so that the rules match the high-rise apartments that are already there and to encourage re-investment in some aging buildings. Also, Maple is a key connector between the former hospital site and the rest of Takoma Park.
Freeway frenzy on I-395 persists amid yearslong delay in updating DC signs
Excerpt: In the District, an interstate numbering discrepancy is contributing to a daily derby of swerving, crashing and even drivers throwing their vehicles into reverse on the Southeast/Southwest Freeway.
Now, the Federal Highway Administration is getting involved.
It has been nearly three years since the District Department of Transportation began the process of renumbering the Southeast/Southwest Freeway and 3rd Street Tunnel.
The Blue Line and the Burgundy and Gold
Excerpt: Washington Commanders fans are psyched for the opening game of the football season Sunday at FedEx Field in Landover.
They may not agree on whether the team will be competitive this year. But there is undeniably a new vibe in the fan base, thanks to the recent departure of one of the most detested owners in professional sports, Daniel Snyder.
Excerpt: From the growth of small businesses to the proliferation of tech startups, the economy of Prince George’s County has shown tremendous evolution in the past four decades.
Religion
Excerpt: Georgetown University and the Jesuits have pledged $27 million in money and land donations to the descendants of 19th-century enslaved people who were sold to fund the highly prestigious institution.
According to CNN, the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation confirmed the gifts of $10 million from Georgetown and an additional $17 million from the Jesuits in the form of financial retribution and plantation land.