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 […]
Three Dead from Gun Violence Including Local 14-Year-Old
A 25-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy were fatally shot in separate incidents in Greenbelt over the weekend. Meanwhile, another man died Sunday after succumbing to injuries from an earlier shooting. Juan Gonzalez, 25; Carltin Bayong, 14; and Mancel Johnson, 49, were all fatally shot in the Franklin Park area of the city. Gonzalez was […]
Some Goddard Employees to Vacate Buildings Beginning This Week
On Monday, September 22 at 2:12 p.m. a memo from Associate Center Director Raymond J. Rubilotta was sent to all Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) employees advising them that the center had been working for months on areas of transformation and now had the green light from agency leadership to move ahead in one of […]
ERHS Graduate Tramell Tillman Wins Emmy Award for Severance
Eleanor Roosevelt High School (ERHS) graduate Tramell Tillman has won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance as Seth Milchick in the Apple TV+ series Severance (for more on Tillman and that role see our May 8 issue). Tillman makes history as the first Black man to […]
PGCPS Urgently Seeks 135 Bus Drivers to Cover Routes
A week-two update from Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) said some bus routes are still experiencing delays, but they are making progress in getting additional drivers on the road. Staff is also working to “optimize” routes to increase efficiency. Initially, calls to the district’s transportation hotline were averaging 6,000 a day but the volume […]
Public Works Employees Seek Charter Change for Unionization
At the start of the Monday, September 8 meeting of the Greenbelt City Council, during petitions and requests, Michael Canavan, a 39-year resident of Greenbelt and an employee of Public Works for five-and-a-half years, read a letter from Public Works employees. The letter requests a change to the city charter (section 3, paragraph 22) and […]
PGCPS Report Flags Payments To Absent Board Member, More
Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) Office of Integrity and Compliance (OIC) has released its first report, flagging a handful of significant findings. They include “wasteful” compensation of close to $10,000 to former school board member David Murray, who stepped down after it was discovered he was living out of state and working full-time for […]