City Acts on ICE, Recognition Funding and Staff Authority
This article focuses on the September 14 City Council discussion of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the county, funding of recognition groups and a clarification of authority in managing the city’s relationships with local homeowners’ associations (HOAs). Another story in the October 1 issue discussed city reports and other actions for this council […]
Greenbelt Embraces Its Hispanic Culture with Brand New Festival
Through dance, music, food and more, Greenbelt Unidos, meaning United Greenbelt, brought together residents to celebrate the city’s Hispanic community on Saturday, October 3. “I put this together because the city has never hosted an event for Hispanic Heritage Month,” said Gizelle Alvarez, the City of Greenbelt’s constituent services coordinator and organizer of the event. […]
Election 2026: Five County Charter Amendments Among Ten Questions on Ballot
This November there will be 10 questions from the county on the ballot for voters to consider. Five are charter amendments that range from “harmful business” taxes on liquor stores and self-storage units, for example, to eliminating at-large county council members, to redistricting, purchasing and arbitration. A further five deal with bond issues and will […]
City Council Votes to Establish New Tenant Advisory Board
The Greenbelt City Council met on September 28. A major item on council’s agenda was the second reading and adoption of a resolution creating a Tenant Advisory Board. (Other discussions and actions at the meeting will be reported in a separate article.) As the resolution’s title states, the purpose of the board is to “provide […]
2026 Fall Pumpkin Festival Is On, with Future Uncertain
Pumpkin Queen Stacy Stewart has spent the past three years coordinating the Greenbelt Pumpkin Festival. This year’s Pumpkin Festival will be her last as an organizer, and without potential coordinators to take over, the nearly four-decade-old tradition could end sooner than expected. “We’ve been looking for someone to take over; so far, no takers,” Stewart […]
Braveboy Won’t Respond to Questions; District 2 Still Has No Representation
District 2 families, including Greenbelt, began and continue this school year without representation on the Board of Education despite an application period that was concluded even before the vacancy was announced. Board Chair Branndon Jackson requested that County Executive Aisha Braveboy initiate the process to appoint a replacement in a letter dated June 27. The […]
What’s New at the New Deal? Volunteers, Menus, Hours …
The beloved New Deal Café is dealing with some changes in funding and hours since the board’s decision not to renew the last vendor’s contract, which ended in July. However, the community behind it stays strong. “It’s run by the people who actually spend money here,” said bar manager Renea, who has been with the […]
City Mulls Fire/EMS Support, Indian Creek and Annexation
The Greenbelt City Council meeting of September 14 covered a lot of ground. Extended in two increments of 30 and 5 minutes, respectively, it was still mercifully shorter than many past meetings. An article in the News Review issue of September 24 covered the topic of unionization of Public Works staff that was raised […]
Lambright-Davis Lives a Life Of Intentional Service: “Be About It”
Greenbelt’s 2026 Outstanding Citizen, Carolyn Lambright-Davis, may be small in stature, but the energy and passion she displays when talking about her life, volunteerism and love for Greenbelt seem to burst from her frame. It makes one wonder where she finds the energy to nurture the community’s young people, dig in the dirt and promote […]
Reprieve for BARC Employees Just Ahead of Decommissioning
The deadline to shutter operations at Beltsville Agricultural Center (BARC) loomed large this month. On September 1, a federal judge declined to rule for an injunction on the reorganization of BARC, finding it wasn’t relevant to the initial case. However, on September 8, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), along with a coalition of […]