Council Retreat Anticipates Budget Woes Downstream
The Greenbelt City Council retreat on December 10 was the first of two gatherings to set council’s goals for the next two years. This first session focused on team building and setting up a productive method for tackling the goals. It set the ground rules to, in the words of facilitator Maryland Municipal League Senior […]
Council Moves on Cellphone Coverage and Traffic Calming
At the December 8 Greenbelt City Council meeting, Mayor Emmett Jordan opened the discussion by noting resident concerns about poor cellphone coverage in parts of the city. In response to those concerns, he announced that he would request a January 5 worksession on the topic (which was later approved by council). See our separate story […]
Maryland Politicians Discuss Goddard Campus, Loss, Budget
On Monday, December 15, members of Maryland’s congressional delegation met with NASA officials and stakeholders to discuss Goddard’s workforce and missions. “The NASA Goddard story is part of a larger story where the Trump administration has really eaten away at American leadership in many areas, including when it comes to space and innovation and exploration,” […]
Fiscal Issues Lead to Pilot SAYT Program: Part Two
This article covers the city waste collection budget deficit and the planned use of SAYT revenue. Part One of this report covered the need to address city waste collection budget deficits, how the SAYT pilot and WasteZero were chosen to help address the deficit, WasteZero and city revenue sharing, and other options to reduce waste collection […]
Unionization for Public Works First Reading Approved by Council
At its December 8 regular meeting, the Greenbelt City Council covered three major items: a city charter amendment allowing Public Works staff to unionize, review and approval of a major traffic calming study and a future worksession to address residents’ concerns with cellphone service in parts of Greenbelt. This story covers unionization, with cell service […]
Congress Works to Secure BARC’s Future but Much Risk Remains
On November 25, Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks announced news about the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC). Back in July, the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it would vacate the facility over the next few years. The senators announced in a press release that Congress had allocated $6 million in the […]
Greenbelt’s Peggy Higgins Recognized With Award from County Executive
On December 4, Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy hosted the county’s first Golden Senior Ball, which was a sold-out event held at Martin’s Crosswinds in Greenbelt. Previously there were “red and gold” senior balls in the county but this was the first ball since 2019, after which they ceased due to the pandemic and […]
Fiscal Issues Lead City to Pilot SAYT Program: Part One
Part One of this report covers the need to address city waste collection budget deficits, how the SAYT pilot and WasteZero were chosen to help address the deficit, WasteZero and city revenue sharing, and other options to reduce waste collection costs and expand revenue. Part Two, to be published next week, will cover more on […]
Public Safety Town Hall Addresses Crime Trends and Juvenile Justice
The Greenbelt Police Department held a public safety town hall meeting on Thursday, November 13 at Springhill Lake Recreation Center to discuss crime trends, juvenile justice issues and ongoing efforts to strengthen community engagement in response to the recent Franklin Park shootings in October (see the October 9 issue). Franklin Park representatives were present at […]
Protest Sounds Alarm as Federal Park Police Accused of Aiding ICE
On Saturday, November 29, dozens of Greenbelt residents gathered across the street from the U.S. Park Police Greenbelt Station for an “ICE MELT” protest. Several organizations worked together with one main goal – raising awareness of the station’s involvement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) along the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. The U.S. Park Police is a […]