Council Refocuses on Options To Create Affordable Housing
Ten months ago, the Greenbelt City Council received a report on affordable housing prepared by Mary Kovar, an intern with the Maryland Municipal League and a graduate student at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. Kovar made three recommendations: that the city create standards for new housing developments to include affordable housing units […]
Young campers Tour the News Review office
School is out and summer camps have started. Young campers, called the Argonauts, from Creative Kids Camp tour the News Review office on June 19 and react as Editor Mary Lou Williamson suggests they volunteer to work on the paper.
Water Quality Test Finds Indian Creek is Healthy
Most people dislike the idea of searching for insects, worms and other similar creatures. However, that is exactly what a small group of Greenbelt citizens did on Saturday, June 17. They were specifically looking for benthic macroinvertebrates at the Springhill Lake Recreation Center. Benthic macroinvertebrates are organisms that lack backbones, are large enough to be […]
Theater Facing Challenges Due to PEPCO, Legal Fees
Just one day after receiving an emergency loan from the city for $10,000, Executive Director Caitlin McGrath of the Friends of the Greenbelt Theatre (FOGT) met with the Greenbelt City Council on June 7 for the annual review of theater operations. In general, council appeared sympathetic to the theater’s failure to become self-sufficient this year, […]
Presentations, Public Hearings, Petitions and Speed Cameras
The May 22 Greenbelt City Council meeting had a full agenda and lasted for nearly four hours. It opened with three presentations and continued with three public hearings and a new speed camera contract and four projects presented by the Planning Department for approval. Two of these items were reported in the May 25 issue […]
GHI Task Force Educates Public On Reducing Stormwater Runoff
The Greenbelt Homes Inc. (GHI) Storm Water Task Force sponsored an information table at the Greenbelt Farmers Market on June 11. Visitors to the market stopped by the table to learn about stormwater runoff issues in GHI and greater Greenbelt and what homeowners can do on their property to reduce runoff. The basic problem is […]
Can City Catch the Wind At Half the Current Price?
At the June 12 Greenbelt City Council worksession, Assistant City Manager David Moran reported that there is an opportunity for the city to buy wind-generated electric power at a savings of up to 41 percent or more through Constellation Energy. Currently, the city is purchasing wind-generated energy through Washington Gas and Electric (WGE) at a […]
Hour Grows Late as Council Hears Five Planning Projects
Someone in the Department of Planning and Community Development must have drawn the short straw when the agenda was created for the May 22 Greenbelt City Council meeting. It was after 10 p.m. when Assistant Planning Director Terri Hruby and Community Planner Jessica Bellah managed to get on stage to begin presenting five projects that […]
Police, FOP Work to Resolve Issues in No Confidence Vote
So, what has happened since the Greenbelt Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) issued a vote of no confidence in Acting Chief Thomas Kemp? What were the motivations behind the vote? Why had there not been advance notice to the full police force? When will the city have a new police chief? Have […]
Write a Message to Tomorrow To Celebrate Peace Month
What are your hopes for the future? What are you going to do to improve yourself? Your community? The world? These pertinent questions comprise the survey for Message to Tomorrow, a new program created by Chris Cherry, performing arts program director for the City of Greenbelt, and sponsored by the Recreation Department. It was conceived […]