Annual Utopia Film Festival Coming October 18, 19, 20
From filmmakers in China, Iran and Italy to filmmakers in Greenbelt, Hyattsville and Takoma Park, 39 compelling works from near and far will screen at this year’s Utopia Film Festival, October 18 to 20. Venues include the historic Greenbelt Cinema, New Deal Café and the Greenbelt Firehouse. The Festival, now in its 21st year, is […]
Election 2025: Answers to Question 1
The News Review, as it does for every city council election, asked the candidates to respond to questions. Answers are limited to 150 words. If an answer exceeds the limit, the answer is cut off at that point. Responses will be published in various orders to avoid favoring candidates. Here are the answers we received […]
City Council Candidate Bios
The News Review has received biographies from Frankie Fritz and Kevin Lockhart and incumbents Emmett Jordan and Kristen Weaver. Candidate biographies are prepared by the candidates and published in the order they are received by the paper.
Frankie Fritz
Frankie Santos Fritz is a community organizer and policy analyst for local government who has called the D.C. metro area home since moving here for college in 2013 and has been active in Maryland politics since 2017. Raised by paternal grandparents, a teaching assistant and a United States postal worker, in a union household, Fritz […]
Emmett Jordan
Emmett V. Jordan has served on Greenbelt’s City Council since 2009, completing five terms as mayor. He is both the city’s first African-American councilmember and its first African-American mayor. Since joining council, Jordan has promoted values of unity, cooperation and sustainability in city life. Raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a Greenbelt resident for 25 years, […]
Kristen Weaver
Kristen Weaver is proud to have served on the city council as mayor pro tem since 2021. Beginning amid the pandemic, she immediately saw the importance of bringing together the strengths of the community, and ways that city leadership can guide and support efforts larger than individuals alone, such as the innovative programs funded by […]
Kevin Lockhart (Coach K)
Born in the Bronx, N.Y., Kevin Lockhart, Coach K, is a passionate and loving father, mentor and coach who has devoted his life to serving others. A Greenbelt resident for the past 18 years, he has balanced the challenges of being a single father to his son, Dontay, with his deep commitment to giving back […]
Council Advances Potential Plans For Annexation of Federal Land
On September 24, Greenbelt City Council took its first concrete step toward a potential annexation of portions of large, neighboring federal properties, approving funds and survey work that supporters say will help the city protect green space and gain leverage if the land’s status ever changes. The ordinance for a $70,000 supplemental appropriation to the […]
Ranked Choice Proposition Now on November City Ballot
This November, Greenbelters will cast their votes to decide whether ranked choice voting ‒ the process of ranking candidates based on preference ‒ will be adopted for future city elections. Over the summer, Maryland has seen “incredible momentum,” when it comes to ranked choice voting, according to the advocacy group FairVote. City councils in Rockville […]
Questions Posed to Candidates
Prior to city council elections, the News Review poses questions to the candidates and publishes their responses. Starting this week, we will publish a question weekly and request that candidates send their 150-word maximum responses (per question) to us by the following Monday at 6 p.m. Thus, the responses to the question we ask this […]