A Brief and Ridiculous History Of a World-Famous Utility Pole
A Greenbelt utility pole and its claim to worldwide fame has had residents scratching their heads and at times dancing with delight, posting and sighting stickers, noting the landmark on Google Maps, leaving reviews, cautioning against its worship and a myriad of things in between since March 2024. In this year’s Labor Day Parade, the […]
Affirmation, Passion, Few Details At Goddard All-Hands Meeting
On Wednesday, November 19, an all-hands meeting was held for NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) with Associate Administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate Nicola Fox and Goddard’s Acting Center Director Cynthia Simmons. They spoke to their professional trajectories and backgrounds, Fox calling Goddard “home” and Simmons speaking of her 26 years at the center. […]
GSFC Leaders Deny Lost Capabilities While Union Attempts to Document
On November 6 we reported that federal workers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) were being recalled during a government shutdown to clear offices. On November 13 we reported that Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), ranking Democrat on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, sent a letter on Monday, November 10, ordering a halt to […]
Greenbelt Anticipates Return Of Career Firefighters in February
This month Berwyn Heights Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad will be fully staffed with career firefighters for the first time since they were pulled on June 30, 2024. City officials now anticipate Greenbelt will also celebrate the return of career firefighters, likely in February. “Fire and EMS services remain a top priority for the […]
NASA Warned to Halt Goddard Closures; But Building 11 Is Next
On Monday, November 10, Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), ranking Democrat on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, sent a letter to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Acting Administrator Sean Duffy demanding that NASA “halt any and all laboratory, facility and building closure and relocation activities at Goddard as well as the relocation, disposal, excessing […]
The Shutdown’s Impact on One Greenbelt Family, 41 Days In
On Monday, 41 days and two-and-a-half missed paychecks into the longest government shutdown on record, a Greenbelt resident and single mother described how the current political stalemate has been impacting her. She is a federal employee, and she asked that we withhold her name out of fear of reprisal for speaking to the press. She’s […]
Furloughed Workers Recalled To Clear Buildings at Goddard
The shutdown is supposed to pause all non-essential work by government employees but while NASA usually furloughs 80 to 90 percent of its workers, Greenbelt’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) continues to hum with activity, including executing controversial directives critics say are illegal. Clearing of buildings on the campus and “divesting” of labs and equipment […]
Frankie Fritz Elected; Rodney Roberts Ends 34 Years on Council
On Tuesday, November 4, Greenbelt elected the next city council. Challenger Frankie Fritz has earned a seat on council, knocking incumbent Rodney Roberts from the seat he has held for 34 years. Preliminary results show Fritz, who campaigned hard, garnered more votes than three incumbents: Roberts, Silke Pope and Amy Knesel. Emmett Jordan was again […]
Federally Employed Greenbelters Miss Their First Full Paycheck
It’s been four weeks since the federal government shutdown ‒ 22 work days at publication time. For many Greenbelters who are federal workers, that means one fully missed paycheck and one partial one. “Disorienting” was how one Greenbelt resident who works for NASA described the experience of being furloughed. It’s his fourth furlough since 2010. […]
Landon Gets Life Without Parole For Murder of Greenbelt Teacher
On Friday, October 17, 35-year-old Harold Landon III was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of first-degree murder in the death of 59-year-old Mariame Toure Sylla, a Greenbelt resident and longtime teacher at Dora Kennedy French Immersion school. Sylla disappeared during her regular evening walk in Schrom Hills […]