Can You Spread The Word About The Intersection?/ Community Meetings/ Big News
Can You Spread The Word About The Intersection?/ Community Meetings/ Big News
Local media and communities have to work together.
Thank you all for your support. Keep up the great work.
The Context Newsletter has received numerous new email sign-ups over the last few months. Thank you for taking the time to read this weekly newsletter. But I want to ask something of you. Can you all help share this newsletter with residents in your communities?
Why? I am glad you asked.
The Intersection Magazine values community. Community is central to journalism. In fact, journalism doesn’t exist if you don’t have community participation. For example, The Intersection is able to publish stories because community members share ideas and provide tips about what happens in South County, and other areas. Residents’ participation in journalism helps to make journalism better. Journalism is a community project.
If you believe this newsletter is informative and helpful to you, participate with me in telling more people about it. Encourage your friends to sign up.
What’s the purpose?
The goal of the newsletter is to get more people to participate in local democracy. This is done by informing you about community meetings. This newsletter also introduces you to ideas and reporting. The Intersection provides original reporting about institutions in Prince George’s County that highlight the problems as well as solutions.
When you get someone to sign up for our newsletter - you're helping to provide them with more information about their surroundings.
The future
I want to hold some virtual listening sessions for you all. In these sessions, I will communicate the genesis of The Intersection Magazine, and what I hope to accomplish in Prince George’s County. Look out for a virtual sign-up sheet in the weeks going forward. Thank you in advance.
Legislation
Bill: CB-083-2023
Status: Presentation and referral
Sponsors: The County Executive
Title: AN ACT CONCERNING TRAINING REQUIREMENTS FOR VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS for the purpose of updating the training requirements for volunteer firefighters, volunteer line officers, and volunteer chief officers according to the national standards and to streamline the process of updating the standards to Fire/EMS General Orders
Bill: CB-082-2023
Status: Presentation and referral
Sponsors: The County Executive
Title: Title:AN ACT CONCERNING GROCERY STORE TAX CREDITS for the purpose of increasing both real and personal tax credits for eligible grocery stores within the designated healthy food priority areas.
Bill: CB-081-2023
Status: Presentation and referral
Sponsors: Krystal Oriadha
Title: AN ACT CONCERNING POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD AND ADMINISTRATIVE CHARGING COMMITTEE for the purpose of providing that the Police Accountability Board may conduct its own investigation independently from, but concurrently with, the law enforcement agency of complaints of police misconduct; providing that the Police Accountability Board shall be entitled to certain evidence and shall have certain investigatory powers; providing for a certain review of the findings of the Police Accountability Board’s own investigation independently from, but concurrently with, the law enforcement agency of both external and internal complaints by the Administrative Charging Committee; and generally regarding the Police Accountability Board and the Administrative Charging Committee.
Bill: CB-079-2023
Status: Presentation and referral
Sponsors: Krystal Oriadha
Title: AN ACT CONCERNING BETTER BAG BILL - REVISIONS for the purpose of establishing a maximum charge for certain paper and reusable carryout bags provided by a retail establishment, with certain exceptions; establishing a certain supplemental nutrition exception for a maximum charge for certain paper and reusable carryout bags provided by a retail establishment; establishing certain exceptions for a maximum charge for certain reusable carryout bags provided by a retail establishment; and generally relating to the better bag bill revisions.
Community Meetings
Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland Prince George's County Town Hall
Please RSVP to join the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland's Prince George's County members for a Town Hall discussion about the 2023 Legislative Session and bills passed that impact Black Marylanders on Wednesday, September 6 from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm at the Bowie State University Student Center.
The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland's 2023 Legislative Priority Areas Include:
Increasing Black Wealth
Improving Health Outcomes
Access to Housing
Education Equity
Advancing Justice Reform and equitable Cannabis Legislation
The Maryland General Assembly (House and State Senate) convenes for 90 days starting in January to introduce and consider legislation.
The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland comprises elected Black members of the Maryland General Assembly, and at 65 members, is the largest Black Caucus in the country. Attend this event to meet and connect with Black Caucus members who represent Prince George's County and learn about what the MD Black Caucus accomplished for our community!
6:00pm: Refreshments
6:30 pm: Program begins
Sign up here: t.ly/pMnqV
Labor Day
Monday, September 4, 2023
County government offices (except public safety) will close on Monday, September 4, 2023, in observance of Labor Day. See the following list of facilities that will be closed.
Closed/No Collection
Animal Services Facility & Adoption Center (3750 Brown Station Road)
Brown Station Road Public Convenience Drop-off Center
Brown Station Road Sanitary Landfill
Bulky Trash Collection (White goods/appliances and scrap tires, by appointment only) (Regular scheduled collections resume Tuesday, September 5)
Curbside Composting and Yard Trim Collections (No collections; Regular collections resume Monday, September 11)
Electronics Recycling Acceptance Site (Located at the Brown Station Road Sanitary Landfill; (Only open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday)
Household Hazardous Waste Acceptance Site (Located at the Brown Station Road Sanitary Landfill; (Only open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday)
Missouri Avenue Solid Waste Acceptance and Recycling Drop-off Center
Prince George’s County Materials Recycling Facility (1000 Ritchie Road)
Prince George’s County Organics Composting Facility
Open/Regular Collection
Curbside Bulky Trash Collection in County-Contracted Areas (Regular collections occur Tuesday, September 5 through Friday, September 8)
Curbside Recycling Collection in County-Contracted Areas (Regular collections occur Tuesday, September 5 through Friday, September 8)
Curbside Trash Collection in County-Contracted Areas (Regular collections occur Tuesday, September 5 through Friday, September 8)
TheBus, a public transit service operated by the Prince George’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPW&T), will not operate on Monday, September 4, 2023. Regular operations of TheBus will resume on Tuesday, September 5, 2023. In addition, the County’s Call-A-Bus and PGC Link services, including dialysis transportation, will not operate on Monday, September 4, 2023. Regular operations of the Call-A-Bus and PGC Link services will resume on Tuesday, September 5, 2023.
The Prince George’s County Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement (DPIE) will be closed on Monday, September 4, 2023. Regular business hours resume on Tuesday, September 5, 2023.
Also, PGC311 will be closed on Monday, September 4, and will resume regular operations on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. However, residents can still submit service/issue requests online at PGC311.com.
Commission For Individuals With Disabilities Listening Session Town Hall
Personal testimonies will be used to help the County plan, implement, and enhance its actions on behalf of its disabled residents.
Date and time: Thursday, September 7 · 5:30 - 8pm EDT
Location: Prince George's Sports & Learning Complex, 8001 Sheriff Road Landover, MD 20785
Sign up here: t.ly/N8KWD
Big News
New FBI headquarters announcement expected soon: Sources
Excerpt: A three-member voting panel, comprised of two General Services Administration employees and one FBI employee whose identities are secret, are evaluating three suburban sites: Greenbelt and Landover in Maryland, and Springfield, Virginia.
Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks she believes her county has the clear advantage.
"The commander in chief of our country has said that he believes that equity ought to be a part of all of these selections, including this one,” Alsobrooks told News4, pointing to President Joe Biden’s two executive orders on “advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities” through federal agencies.
Man arrested, charged with murder of missing Prince George’s County teacher
Excerpt: PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — Police said Friday that officers arrested a man in connection to the murder of a Greenbelt teacher who disappeared in July.
The Greenbelt Police Department said Mariame Toure Sylla, 59, last was seen at her home in the 6500 block of Lake Park Dr.
During a news conference on Friday, Prince George’s County Police Chief Malik Aziz said that Harold Francis Landon III, 33, of University Park faced charges related to Sylla’s killing.
Cyberattack on Maryland school district compromised 4,500 user accounts
Excerpt: A Maryland school district said Friday that personal information of school staff may have been leaked online after a cyberattack hit its network servers earlier this month.
The Prince George’s County Public Schools district, located outside of Washington, D.C., said that it identified the malicious activity on its servers on Aug. 14. The attack impacted about 4,500 out of 180,000 district user accounts, and those impacted were primarily staff accounts.
Mental health nonprofit to soon provide round-the-clock services for Marylanders in crisis
Excerpt: With doors missing doorknobs, miscellaneous construction supplies scattered here and there, and newly painted walls that had just finished drying before the ribbon-cutting celebration began, renovations are not quite done yet at the soon-to-open 24-hour Walk-in Crisis Care Center in Frederick County.
“Please excuse the mess,” Rebecca Layman, director of development and marketing for the Mental Health Association of Frederick County, asked the room full of county officials and mental health community partners at the event Wednesday.
With Labor Day approaching, Moore worships with union members at Silver Spring mass
Excerpt: The working class neighborhoods near St. Camillus Church in Silver Spring are some of the most polyglot in the state. And the parish, just south of the Capital Beltway off of congested New Hampshire Avenue, serves as a hub of the community, with a school, a seminary, after-school programs, a food pantry and senior housing in addition to the church itself.
In 1995, as the neighborhood was struggling with gang violence, then-Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D) used the church parking lot to unveil a gun control package that he planned to push through the General Assembly. A year later, Glendening traveled just a few blocks up the road to the campus of the AFL-CIO’s George Meany Labor Education Center — now gone — to announce the state was starting a labor education program with local community colleges.
White Christians think too many people see racism when it’s not there, new survey finds
Excerpt: Three years after a national racial reckoning that followed the death of George Floyd — and 60 years after the March on Washington — Americans remain divided on issues of race and discrimination. That’s especially true for religious groups, according to newly released data from the Pew Research Center.
In April, Pew asked Americans which was the bigger problem facing the country when it comes to matters of race: People overlooking racism when it exists or seeing racism in places where there is none.
Overall, just about half (53%) of Americans said people not seeing discrimination where it does exist was a bigger problem. Just under half (45%) said people seeing discrimination where is does not exist is the bigger issue.
Black Muslims will play a big role in the next election. Join us.
Excerpt: In the 2020 presidential election, President Joe Biden won the swing state of Pennsylvania by a margin of 80,555 votes, only barely outdoing Donald Trump’s hair’s breadth 2016 Pennsylvania victory with fewer than 45,000 votes. My city of Philadelphia has long been recognized as crucial to landing Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes, but within that truth, there is a story about faith and political power that needs to be remembered as we head into the 2024 presidential cycle.
Philadelphia and Pennsylvania have some of the highest per capita Muslim populations on the East Coast, most of them avid voters. Pennsylvania has 168,000 registered Muslim voters. Philadelphia alone has 50,223 registered Black Muslims. These numbers are vastly undercounted due to issues with the way Muslims are tracked demographically, but even with faulty counting, it’s clear that Muslims in Pennsylvania, with a voter turnout of about 75% in both 2016 and 2020, have the power to swing elections.