Crime Is Down in Prince George's County /Legislation/Gaza /Community Meetings & News
Crime Is Down in Prince George's County /Legislation/Gaza /Community Meetings & News
Substack crashed earlier, so I was unable to send out this newsletter.
Three Giant stores in South County neighborhoods (20 Audrey Lane Oxon Hill, MD 2074; 4119 Branch Ave, Marlow Heights, MD 20748; 5500 Silver Hill Rd, District Heights, MD 20747) have decided to disallow teenagers 18 years old and younger, if they’re not accompanied by an adult, from entering the store after 6 p.m. Additionally, no one can enter stores with a backpack.
In 2023, during a temporary crime spike in the DMV, the company did consider closing some stores but didn’t. It’s not clear if the company made this decision independent of Prince George’s County Police Chief Malik Aziz and county council members. Over the summer, the county council passed a bill giving the police chief authority "to create more restrictive juvenile curfew zones upon petition of commercial property owners.” A county council member, where the grocery stores reside, would have to sign off on the commercial company’s petition. If the company did submit a petition, it means that the company is using current legislation to implement its policy.
The company has made this decision at a time when crime has declined nationally and locally.
“Meanwhile, property crime [decreased 15.1 percent] in the first three months of this year. Burglaries dropped 16.7 percent, while motor vehicle theft decreased by 17.3 percent,” according to CNN.
DC and Prince George’s County reports weekly crime reports. DC releases weekly updates on its crime data. Here is the recent data. (The negative number on the far right shows the percentage of decrease)
Prince George’s County weekly crime data also shows a decline in crime. It must be stated that the decline of crime in Prince George’s County likely has nothing to do with the juvenile curfew laws. We know that juvenile curfews don’t reduce crime. Crime increases and decreases at various times throughout the year.
Legislation
Bill: CB-064-2024
Status: To Committee
Sponsored: Ingrid Watson
Info: AN ACT CONCERNING THE ISSUANCE OF SPECIAL OBLIGATION BONDS FOR THE MILL BRANCH CROSSING DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT for the purpose of providing that special obligation tax increment financing bonds may be issued from time to time under the provisions of this Act and Sections 12-201 through 12-213, inclusive, of the Economic Development Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, as amended (the “Tax Increment Financing Act”), and consistent with the provisions of CR-062-2024, adopted by the County Council of Prince George’s County, Maryland (the “County Council”) on [__________], 2024 (the “Formation Resolution”), in an amount not to exceed the aggregate principal amount of Seventeen Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($17,500,000), in order for Prince George’s County, Maryland (the “County”) to finance or reimburse, in accordance with the Tax Increment Financing Act, costs related to the construction and installation of certain infrastructure improvements, as more particularly described h...
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Bill: CB-063-2024
Status: To Committee
Sponsored: Calvin Hawkins
Info: AN ACT CONCERNING THE DRUG ENFORCEMENT AND EDUCATION SPECIAL REVENUE FUND for the purpose of clarifying the appropriation of 65% of the Drug Enforcement and Education Special Revenue fund and providing that a certain portion of the monies in the Drug Enforcement and Education Special Revenue Fund shall be appropriated to the Office of the Sheriff for certain purposes.
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Bill: CB-061-2024
Status: Withdrawn/Dismissed
Sponsored: Krystal Oriadha
Status: AN ORDINANCE CONCERNING DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS - PROHIBITED LIGHTING for the purpose of amending the Zoning Ordinance to prohibit light emitting diode (LED) lights in commercial storefronts to reduce the harmful effects of light pollution on Prince George’s County residents and neighborhoods.
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Bill: CB-062-2024
Status: Held in Committee
Sponsored: Krystal Oriahda
Info: AN ORDINANCE CONCERNING CONVENIENCE STORE LOCATIONS AND HOURS OF OPERATION for the purpose of amending the Zoning Ordinance to revise the use-specific standards applicable to convenience stores by adding a minimum distance between convenience store uses; and set reasonable hours of operation for convenience stores in furtherance of the public safety, health, and welfare of citizens and residents of Prince George’s County.
Community Meetings
Holiday Waste Collection Schedule for Labor Day
Date: Monday, September 2nd
info: With the Labor Day holiday right around the corner, residents are reminded of the County's Clear the Curb holiday waste collection schedule for trash, recycling, bulky, compost, and yard trim.
Regular food scraps and yard trim collection for Monday, September 2, slide to Tuesday, September 3.
Regular collections for curbside trash, recycling, and bulky slide one day throughout the week and will occur Tuesday, September 3, through Saturday, September 7.
No scheduled bulky trash pickups for white goods, appliances, or scrap tires on Monday, September 2.
Electronics recycling and scrap metal collections are scheduled by appointment only every third Monday of the month.
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10th annual Green Summit
Date: Saturday, October 19, 2024
Time: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Location: David C. Driskell Community Park
3911 Hamilton Street, Hyattsville MD 20781
Info: 2024 Date Announced
Join your Department of the Environment (DoE) as we celebrate ten years of the Prince George's County Green Summit!
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Announcement: Waste Collection
County Announces Earlier Waste Collection Services Due to Excessive Heat
Beginning Monday, July 15, through Monday, September 30, residents are asked to place their trash and recycling carts at the curb by 5 a.m. on their regular collection day. This time adjustment is for workers' safety to avoid waste collection during the hottest times of the day. Residents should note that services may be delayed throughout the day while workers navigate the high temperatures.
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Life After Release Job Club
Date: Tuesday
Time: 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Location: Suitland-Silver Hill Rd, 20746
We are connecting women impacted by the criminal legal system to local employers. Sharing resources, tips, and leads for finding employment or higher education. Supporting employment offers through mutual assistance and collaboration.
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Big News
National News
DNC 2024: Kamala Harris Accepts the Democratic Nomination
Excerpt: Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination, promising to be a president for all Americans. Here are takeaways from the final night of the convention and a glance at what comes next.
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A Palestinian American’s Place Under the Democrats’ Big Tent?
Excerpt: The host city for the DNC is Chicago, whose metro area is home to more Palestinian Americans than anywhere else in the country. But you would not know this looking at that stage. Despite the appeals of Palestinian American delegates and activists, no Palestinian American is scheduled to address the convention from the main stage. I suspect this is because of what such a speaker might feel compelled to say. In response to the massacre perpetrated by Hamas last October, the state of Israel has killed some 40,000 Palestinian people. The intention behind this carnage has been declared openly. “We are fighting human animals,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said
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Local News
Excerpt: Some parents who tried to get ahead by registering their children early for Prince George’s County schools in Maryland were greeted with headaches the week before classes even started.
The problem: the school system switched to a new system, ParentVUE, a few months ago for registering students, and some parents were not aware. Compounding the problem, as parents resubmit their registration, an old record from the old system was preventing their application from being approved.
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COVID is on the rise this summer. Here's why and what else you should know
Excerpt: f it seems like a lot of people are getting COVID right now, you’re not imagining it.
We’re in the middle of a worldwide summer COVID-19 wave.
A high or very high level of COVID-19 virus is being detected in wastewater in almost every state, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At least 10 other states have a high amount of COVID in the wastewater.
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National Park Service explores ending reversible lanes along Rock Creek Parkway
The National Park Service is exploring eliminating the one-way reversible lanes in place during morning and evening rush hours along Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway in D.C., citing crash data and safety concerns.
In an 81-page Transportation Impact Assessment, completed with the U.S. Department of Transportation, the agency reviewed the possible implications of ending the reversible lanes.
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Israeli society’s dehumanization of Palestinians is now absolute
Excerpt: At 5:40 a.m. on Aug. 10, the IDF Spokesperson sent a message to reporters informing them of an Israeli airstrike on a “military headquarters located in Al-Taba’een school compound near a mosque in the Daraj [and] Tuffah area, which serves as a shelter for residents of Gaza City.”
“The headquarters,” the Spokesperson continued, “was used by terrorists of the Hamas terrorist organization for hiding, and from there they planned and promoted terrorist attacks against IDF forces and citizens of the State of Israel. Prior to the attack, many steps were taken to reduce the chances of harming civilians, including the use of precision munitions, visual equipment, and intelligence information.”
Shortly after this announcement, shocking images from Al-Taba’een school circulated around the world, showing piles of dismembered flesh and body parts being removed in plastic bags. The images were accompanied by reports that around 100 Palestinians had been killed in the Israeli attack, with many more hospitalized. Most of those killed were in the middle of fajr, or dawn prayers, at a designated space inside the school compound.