Rewatch Hogan & Alsobrooks Debate/ Community News & Important Community Meetings
Rewatch Hogan & Alsobrooks Debate/ Community News & Important Community Meetings
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Discussion Topics:
Crime in Maryland/ Prince George’s County
Reproductive Rights
Foreign Policy
Marijuana Legalization
Federal Government Work at home or office
Alsobrooks’ Tax problems
Maryland’s Inflation
The Supreme Court
Local Legislation
Bill: CR-092-2024
Status: To Committee
Sponsors: Wanika Fisher, Jolene Ivey, Sydney J. Harrison, Ingrid S. Watson, Eric C. Olson, Calvin S. Hawkins, Thomas E. Dernoga, Krystal Oriadha, Wala Blegay
Info: A resolution concerning creation of a regional service director pilot program for Langley Park for the purpose of encouraging the establishment of a PILOT program that would explore the creation of the position of a Regional Service Director for Langley Park, Maryland
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Bill: CB-106-2024
Status: To Committee
Sponsors: County Executive
Info: An act concerning county real property for declaring certain parcels of County-owned real property as surplus and no longer needed for County use.
Background
This legislation will declare certain parcels of property contained in the County’s Inventory of Real Property and Improvements as surplus, and facilitate the County Executive’s plan for Disposition of such parcels. Subsequently, a plan of disposition will be administered via the Redevelopment Authority as authorized under CB-61-2023 and will require County Council approval before parcel disposition.
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Bill: CB-088-2024
Status: To Committee
Sponsors: Thomas E. Dernoga, Krystal Oriadha, Eric C. Olson, Calvin S. Hawkins, Wala Blegay, Ingrid S. Watson, Wanika Fisher, Sydney J. Harrison
Info: An act concerning minimum wage indexing for the purpose of indexing Prince George’s County’s minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index.
Community News
How a ‘climate of chaos’ went unchecked at Maryland’s max-security psych hospital
Excerpt: Tension had been building inside Maryland’s maximum-security psychiatric hospital when the news began to circulate among employees: Scott Moran, their CEO, had been banished from the facility.
Moran’s boss at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center, which houses people diagnosed with serious mental illnesses who have been accused of violence, hadapplied for a restraining order against the doctor in February, accusing him of sending “racially suggestive messages” and making violent threats.
The doctor was suspended and later fired.
Since then, a Washington Post investigation into Moran’s tenure found that the allegations outlined in the restraining order petition were not isolated, but a culmination of years of well-documented but unaddressed complaints about hospital mismanagement and safety that had prompted staff departures and, at times, left employees and patients vulnerable.
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Officer will not face charges for killing man inside his home
Excerpt: SUITLAND, Md. — The video attached is a previously released body-worn camera video from the shooting.
A Prince George's County police officer will not face charges for shooting and killing a man inside his home.
On Tuesday, Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced he will not seek charges in the Feb. 1 fatal shooting that resulted in the death of Melvin Jay.
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Prince George’s Co. teacher faces life in prison for allegedly sexually abusing former student
Excerpt: A Prince George’s County, Maryland, teacher accused of sexually abusing a former student was indicted by a federal grand jury for coercion and enticement of a child.
Mark Edward Cobb, 44, a former teacher at Cooper Lane Elementary School in Landover Hills, Maryland, faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, according to a Wednesday news release from prosecutors.
The federal grand jury returned the indictment on Sept. 26.
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Some Prince George’s County Council Members Want to Index the Minimum Wage
Excerpt: The fight to provide Maryland citizens with a livable wage continues. On Monday, Oct. 7, members from activist organizations stood alongside Tom Dernoga (District 1), and Krystal Oriadha (District 7) at The Wayne K. Curry building in Upper Marlboro to publicly advocate for a bill that would index the minimum wage in Prince George’s County.
“We now have a majority of the council to sponsor this bill,” said Dernoga, who co-sponsored it with Oriadha. “To me, getting a fair wage – I am not even sure this minimum wage is fair enough – should be a human right for people to make enough money to feed and take care of their families. When you look at the history of wages in this country and this state, that’s not always been the case. I'm not sure it will be the case today.” He said most of the people making minimum wage today aren’t “students, but people with families.”
“They're working two jobs or more, and struggling to make ends meet,” he explained. “ So it’s great that the state has moved the minimum wage to $15 per hour, but just like back in the day, there is no indexing,” he explained.
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Moore Announces $2.2M in Aid for Businesses
Excerpt: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) announced $2.2 million in financial assistance to support small, minority, and veteran-owned business growth to help make Maryland more competitive.
The funding, which includes loans, loan guarantees, and equity investments from the Military Personnel and Veteran-Owned Small Business Loan Program and the Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority, will help the businesses create 36 new jobs and retain 131 workers in the state.
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Labor secretary warns state is ‘dependent’ on federal workforce development funds
Excerpt: The state needs to be “smarter” about how it funds workforce development programs after a $4.7 million cut in federal funds this year with more cuts expected next year, Maryland Labor Secretary Portia Wu told lawmakers Tuesday.
“We’re very dependent on the federal funds,” Wu told a virtual meeting of the legislature’s Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee. “So we are in a situation where state investments in workforce are going to be critical in the coming years.”
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Tens of millions pour into Maryland Senate race in past three months alone
Excerpt: Millions of dollars continue to pour into Maryland’s Senate election between former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D), new campaign finance reports show.
The candidates themselves reported big hauls over the past three months in the tight race to replace departing U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D). And those efforts have been supplemented by secondary fundraising committees and robust outside spending — including a pro-Hogan political action committee that has raised an eye-popping $27 million so far and has spent almost $11 million.
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‘Forever chemicals’ found at Maryland plant, sparking investigation
Excerpt: Tests showing elevated levels of PFAS in the groundwater at Perdue AgriBusiness’s soybean processing facility in Salisbury, MD, have triggered a wider investigation in the surrounding community and a class-action lawsuit.
The company, a subsidiary of poultry giant Perdue Farms, has coordinated with the Maryland Department of the Environment to notify residents of 550 homes within a half-mile radius of the facility. The letters, dated Sept. 30, seek permission from property owners to allow an independent contractor to sample their well water. Perdue is also offering free bottled water to any affected home.
Events/ Meetings
Life After Release Job Club
Date: October 22
Time: 10:30 am - 12 pm
Location: Creative Suitland 4719 Silver Hill Road Suitland, MD 20746
Info: 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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Prince George’s Lynching Memorial Project
Date: Oct. 19
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: virtual ( https://uuma.zoom.us/j/97074136562)
Info: We are excited to have a special presentation about the work of the White Marsh Historical Society/ Sacred Heart Cemetery Restoration Project from Mr. Irving Gaither, Treasurer and Board Member, WMHS. He is a direct descendant of involuntary founders of Georgetown University, and a Prince George's County resident. Join in to hear about and discuss the historic marker for Thomas Juricks, our research into the lynching of Mr. John Henry Scott in Oxon HIll, the upcoming public hearing, o and our 2025 racial justice student contest.
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Prince George’s County Board of Education
BOE: Academic Achievement Committee Meeting
Date: Monday
Time: 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Location: virtual ( https://us06web.zoom.us/j/98524000661?pwd=MGRmZWVJbjVmN3Y1V3Y0SzZEdHlFUT09)
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Prince George’s County Board of Education
BOE: Policy and Governance Committee Meeting
Date: Tuesday, October 22, 2024
Time 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Location: virtual (https://us06web.zoom.us/j/95855684348?pwd=V3h0QXBzQlRJV3ZkVFFzNFBKcHRYQT09)
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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: You're invited to join YOUR Department of the Environment (DoE) as we celebrate ten years of the Prince George's County Green Summit! We have a fun-filled, family and pet-friendly day of activities and resources for your environmental education.
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Surratt House Museum
We invite you to share your thoughts and insights on a proposed public art installation at our location. Your feedback is invaluable to us! Currently, the project is in the early stages of planning, and it is important for us to gather input from you.
A few weeks ago, we hosted a community discussion about this public art project, and now we want to ensure that those who couldn't attend in person, as well as those who are not local to the museum, have the opportunity to contribute their perspectives. Your voice matters!
Please fill out this Google Form