New Hire Tyra Smith to Lead Change and Understanding
Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Officer Tyra Smith began work January 17. She is the first DEI officer for the City of Greenbelt. Smith defines diversity as everything that makes a person who they are. Our knowledge and sense of ourselves was developed through lived experiences in different environments, she says, from the clothes we wear, […]
Bilingual Story Time Earns Rave Reviews from Attendees
On the second Friday morning of each month, the ordinarily quiet gym of Springhill Lake Recreation Center jumps to life. The littlest Greenbelt babies take over. With harried moms running behind their young lovebugs, they quickly try to corral the kids to join in the reading circle. The bilingual half-hour program is jam-packed with stories, […]
A Divided Board of Ed Votes Not to Pay Miller’s Legal Fees
Though the February Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) Board of Education meeting was a whopping four hours in length, the most divisive item on the agenda was the payment of former chair and current board member Dr. Juanita Miller’s legal fees. The legal fees have been incurred as she fights her removal from the […]
An All-Woman Community Nursing Team Brings Care
For several years Greenbelt’s Community Nursing Program has brought area student nurses to eligible Greenbelt residents for in-home medical services. This spring a group of six exceptional young women from The Catholic University of America Conway School of Nursing has been coming to Greenbelt each week to deliver community nursing care to senior residents at […]
Council Reschedules Charter Meeting, Supports Police Tech
The Greenbelt City Council meeting on February 27 was short but informative. In attendance were Mayor Emmett Jordan and Councilmembers Judith Davis, Colin Byrd, Silke Pope and Rodney Roberts. A discussion with School Board Member Jonathan Briggs is in a separate story on page 7. Charter Amendment Due to an omission by the city from […]
Women’s History Spotlight on Rachel Zephir
Women’s History Month In observance of Women’s History Month, the News Review will run articles about Greenbelt women of significant accomplishments whose stories are not well known. The series is being coordinated by Anna Bedford-Dillow. Rachel Zephir has been the director of bands at Eleanor Roosevelt High School (ERHS) since 2015. She is a […]
Rally in Greenbelt to Build Schools with Union Labor
On February 15, At-Large County Councilmember Mel Franklin hosted a north county meeting in Greenbelt to discuss the progress of the public-private partnership to build six new Prince George’s County Public Schools (see Deb Daniel’s article in the February 23 issue). The meeting was so well-attended that the 80 handouts prepared reached only two-thirds of […]
Greenbelt Police Compliance With City Reform Resolution
In December, Police Chief Richard Bowers gave an update on Greenbelt Police Department’s compliance with Resolution 2096-2, passed by the Greenbelt City Council on January 10, 2022. Council’s resolution responded to public concern about police conduct, and incorporated revisions of the Fair and Just Policing Act first proposed to city council by then-mayor Colin Byrd […]
Food Pantry Needs Increase As Many Lose SNAP Benefits
Starting March 1, many people currently receiving the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are scheduled to lose extra payments or have their payments stopped completely due to changes in the income guidelines that will make them ineligible. Benefits had been increased and income limits changed during the pandemic, which allowed more families […]
Winter Oasis Concert by Relic Delights Full House at the Café
Winter Oasis, by the Baroque music ensemble Relic, is a wonderful production. Enthusiastically and flawlessly performing works by Handel, Bach, Vivaldi and other composers, this group is entertaining, inspiring and educational. Over 80 people packed the New Deal Café for a lunchtime concert on Monday, February 20 to hear these 10 musicians play. This was […]