March 2013 Hyattsville Life & Times

CHAIN GANG

WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR WEEDS

NEW PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR STARTS

Arrow Bicycle’s Park Tool School equips riders to handle life’s little bike emergencies. PAGE 4

Two perspectives on invasive plants: Eat them, weed them or do a little of each. PAGES 10 & 11

Former Greenbelt assistant takes the reins in Hyattsville, nearly a year to the day after the city’s last full-time DPW director departed. PAGE 2

Hyattsville filmmaker launches web series

Hyattsville Life&Times

by Ivonne Olguin

Vol. 10 No. 3

Fines to start March 19

by Susie Currie and Nkongho Beteck

An ordinance before the Hyattsville City Council this month would authorize up to 10 speed cameras in the city – double the

number originally approved for the speedmonitoring program.

Hyattsville’s first speed cameras began operation on February 19 with two cameras in each direction along the 3700 block of EastWest Highway, near America Boulevard. In the first seven days of operation, 70 warnings

were issued, according to Sgt. Chris Purvis of the Hyattsville City Police Department.

The city has gotten approval for three more cameras: two in each direction along the 5900 block of Ager Road, and one in the

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit # 43 Easton, MD 21601

FILMMAKER continued on page 12

Hyattsville Life & Times PO Box 132 Hyattsville, MD 20781

March 2013

Police seek approval for up to 10 speed cameras

Y T R A P DANCE

Many of us love the excitement of sitting in the dark watching a movie and being taken to faraway lands or into the lives of others.

But for others, such as Hyattsville native Francis Abbey, the excitement comes from creating those stories. Abbey is an independent filmmaker whose fourth film project, “The Broken Continent,” may be his most ambitious yet.

Described as an “epic fantasy adventure web series,” the series pilot premiered to an invitationonly crowd on March 7 at the Landmark E Street Cinema, in Washington, D.C. On March 10, it became available on www.brokencontinent.com.

Set on the mythical continent of Elyrion, it tells the story of idyllic times ended by a king’s power over magic and the wrath of a god who fractures the land into Five Shards – ever after known as the Heart, the Blade, the Crown, the Eye and the Fist.

Three millennia later, war rages as the struggle for power over the Shards has the various peoples of Elyrion battling for survival.

Hyattsville’s Community Newspaper

KOREY BERG Esther Berg holds daughter Avery at the cityʼs Surfʼs Up! Parent and Child Dance Party, held February 23 at the municipal building.

CAMERAS continued on page 13

Mi Patio asks to host nightly DJ, live music Liquor board, not city, must approve permit

by Susie Currie

Call it a Tale of Two Licenses.

Last month, the Hyattsville City Council rejected a West Hyattsville restaurant’s application for a dance hall license after residents at a public hearing raised concerns about potential noise and public intoxication.

But another restaurant in the same shopping center wants a permit that would allow the same activities and more – and they can get one without ever setting foot in city hall, or even notifying anyone who works there of their intentions.

It comes down to differences in a byzantine licensing system, where the separate responsibilities of city, county and state are murky at best.

Overlapping roles can make it hard to identify where the jurisdiction of one ends and another begins.

NIGHTCLUB continued on page 13

Included: The March 12, 2013 Issue of The Hyattsville Reporter — See Center Section

Page 2

Hyattsville Life & Times | March 2013

FromTheEditor How we talk about our schools, and why it matters

by Rosanna Landis Weaver

The term “school choice” is trendy, but certain socioeconomic groups have made choices about schools for decades. Fantastic private schools in the area provide wonderful options for many of Hyattsville’s citizens.

Yet our public schools also have much to offer, and too often are spoken of disrespectfully.

While my three children attend Prince George’s County Public Schools, I understand that public schools are not always a good choice for everyone. I’m not even sure they will always be a good choice for our family. Every child and circumstance is different.

What I’m advocating is that we

A community newspaper chronicling the life and times of Hyattsville Mailing address: PO Box 132, Hyattsville, MD 20781 Hyattsville Life & Times is published monthly by Hyattsville Community Newspaper, Inc., a 501c(3) nonprofit corporation. Interested reporters should send their e-mail addresses to the editor to be reminded of deadlines and receive internal news. Articles and news submitted may be edited. The deadline is the last week of the month for the following month’s issue. Letters to the editor and opinions are encouraged. For all e-mail correspondence with HL&T: news, features, tips, advertising and business write to hyattsvillelifeandtimes@gmail. com. To submit articles, letters to the editor, etc., e-mail susie@hyattsvillelife.com.

Executive Editor Susie Currie susie@hyattsvillelife.com 301.633.9209 Managing Editor Rosanna Landis Weaver rosanna@hyattsvillelife.com 301.277.5939 Editorial Intern Scarlett Salem Production Ashley Perks Advertising advertising@hyattsvillelife.com 301.531.5234 Writers & Contributors Victoria Hille, Bill Jenne, Valerie Russell, Kimberly Schmidt, Fred Seitz, Hugh Turley Board of Directors Joseph Gigliotti - President and General Counsel Chris Currie - Vice President Susie Currie - Secretary Peggy Dee, Karen J. Riley, Valerie Russell Rosanna Landis Weaver - Ex Officio Circulation: Copies are distributed monthly by U.S. Mail to every address in Hyattsville. Additional copies are distributed to libraries, selected businesses, community centers and churches in the city. Total circulation is 9,300.

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be mindful of how we talk about our public schools, whether we have children or not. The reputations of local public schools are too often built on fear rather than fact, and the reputations build on themselves. Parents make comments, and kids repeat them.

This fall, my daughter, who is thriving at Northwestern High School, ran into an acquaintance who had been with her in public schools through middle school, yet greeted her with a comment like, “So you haven’t been stabbed yet. That’s good.”

County schools are by no means perfect. But my children have had some absolutely wonderful teachers, whose dedication, intelligence, calm and creativity astonishes me. They’ve made some amazing friends, from a rich variety of backgrounds.

None of my kids have experienced the level of bullying that I remember from my surburban childhood. Sometimes I wonder if bullying may be more limited in our heterogenous community: because everyone is different, no

one is so different as to be isolated.

Yes, my kids have had some teachers who are not so stellar, and some administrators who have a “can’t do attitude.” Then again, I’ve had similar bosses.

I’ve worked with good, capable people who were tired and doing a subpar job, because of personal issues or because they should have retired earlier.

And, yes, there are fights at the public schools. These days, the fights show up on YouTube 10 minutes after they happen. This amplifies and exaggerates what is a very real problem. Violence in any form is horrible, but not as prevalent inside the schools as is sometimes implied.

When my daughter told me about the stabbing joke, I was furious. High school is hard enough without carrying extra baggage in your backpack. I am easily spurred to defensive lecture mode.

Why do people who’ve never seen the inside of Northwestern keep talking that school down?

It was easy for me to assume the worst in those people.

Then I had a humbling insight in December, an explanation that had nothing to do with classism or racism or ignorance. It came to me after the senseless slaughter in Newtown. As I talked about that horrific incident with my children I found myself reassuring them by saying, “That was in Connecticut, a long way away.”

“Where we live is nothing like Newtown,” I told my kids, recognizing the irony as I said it. Hyattsville isn’t nearly as affluent.

Parents moved to Newtown for the quality of the public schools.

Sandy Hook Elementary had better security than the schools my children attend – but the shooter shot through the locked doors.

How easy that answer was.

How easy to try to make them feel safer with such phrases. How much harder to tell a child that evil can happen anywhere. So I recognized in a new way an impulse that could lead a parent to reassure their child by denigrat-

ing a different school.

That recognition doesn’t change my frustration with inaccurate assumptions, but helps me feel more sympathetic. It would be easier if the world were as simple as good schools/ bad schools. I don’t think it is, and to me the impulse to simplify can too easily lead to prejudice, gated communities, exclusion and isolation.

Here’s the truth as I see it: There is a little bit of evil everywhere in the world, but there is also a great deal of good. Where adolescents are concerned, there tends to be a fair amount of impulsive behavior. Everywhere we go we’re likely to find incompetence but also kindness; exhaustion and frustration, but also effort and joy.

All we can do for our children – all we can do for our neighbors and ourselves – is make the best choices we can, respect the choices of others, and try to increase in whatever marginal way we can, the positive side of the ledger.

New public works director starts this month

by Josh Logue

On March 18, Lesley Riddle, who has worked in the area for over 25 years, will become the public works director for the City of Hyattsville.

Riddle has been Greenbelt’s assistant public works director for six years.

A number of things attracted Riddle to the Hyattsville job. The change of scenery, she said, and certainly the promotion. But “the fact that Hyattsville has done some pretty incredible things with the Arts District” was part of it too, she said. She also likes the city’s decades-old status as a Tree City USA, conferred by the National Arbor Day Foundation.

Riddle has a particular passion for environmental issues, having received a 2011 award for three organic gardens she helped design and organize. The volunteer-tended gardens demonstrated environmentally friendly techniques for gardening.

She said the first things on her docket after starting her job will be getting to know the staff and the city, but pursuit of new green issues and initiatives will eventually follow.

In that regard, she said, “I think Hyattsville is doing a really good job, but there’s always more you can do.”

In Greenbelt, Riddle headed a number of environmental initiatives. Through an alliance with Baltimore-Washington Partners for Forest Stewardship, she recruited 20 people to become forest stewards, learning how to protect and restore Greenbelt’s wooded

LESLEY RIDDLE Hyattsvilleʼs new Director of Public Works, Lesley Riddle, worked most recently for the Greenbelt DPW.

areas. She also ran a number of projects restoring and renovating streams in area parks.

She has experience resolving residents’ concerns, too. For example, the Greenbelt public works department drew public ire last January when it sent staff to work on gardens near the forest preserve, and they cleared too far into the preserve. Fortunately, there was no

lasting damage because of the time of year, but plenty of neighbors had strong opinions about what happened.

“It was tough to broker ... because there’s a lot of passion in Greenbelt about the woods, and I fully understand and appreciate that,” she said. “Admittedly it was a mistake, but we just worked through the issue. That’s what you do.”

Some good came of the incident as well, Riddle said. In the aftermath, two local archaeologists uncovered some new parts of the historic cemetery and homestead of the Hamilton family, early Greenbelt settlers.

The old foundation and a well are now visible.

Prior to the Greenbelt job, Riddle spent eight years as landscape manager for Melwood, a nonprofit that provides job opportunities to people with mental disabilities.

While there she managed a staff of 100 and oversaw $5 million in projects.

She will join the Hyattsville staff a month after Acting Public Works Director Julia McTague left to take a job at the University of Maryland – and nearly a year to the day since the city last had a full-time, permanent director for the department. That was Patrick Ryan, whose last day was March 16, 2012.

“The City interviewed several outstanding candidates,” said city spokesperson Abby Sandel of the hire. “We’re pleased that we have been able to identify a highly qualified candidate with experience in Prince George’s County.”

Hyattsville Life & Times | March 2013

Page 3

City faces 10 percent drop in total revenue

Retiree health benefits loom as council begins work

by Susie Currie

Heading into the annual budget negotiations, city officials are looking at a 10 percent drop in overall revenue. Most of that is due to the triennial real-estate property assessments, which are down 12 percent in Hyattsville despite new commercial and residential development that expanded the tax base.

Although newer properties kept most of their assessed value, some owners of older homes saw their assessments drop by 40 percent or more. But all residents will see the city’s tax rate remain at 63 cents per $100, where it has been since 2005, according to Mayor Marc Tartaro.

“I have no intention of changing the current tax rate,” said Tartaro.

He has, however, asked city department heads to trim between 13 and 15 percent from their current budgets.

The belt-tightening is part of an effort to address mounting costs of health insurance benefits for retirees, which in legislative language is called OPEB (Other Post-Employment Benefits).

Under the current plan, the city pays employees who retire with at least 16 years of service the same amount per month toward their health insurance as they received before retiring. This includes prescription and dental coverage.

Employees become eligible for some retiree health benefits after five years of service, at which point the city would contribute 8.33 percent of its prior rate of contribution. It increases by the same amount for each year of

service. Spouses who are covered before retirement remain so afterwards.

But Tartaro says the city can’t afford to continue this scenario.

Recent actuarial estimates project that the plan would cost $10.7 million over the next 30 years.

“If we continue the current health insurance at the current levels, it’s 6.3 percent of the city’s annual budget [in fiscal year 2013],” said Tartaro. “It is a significant liability for us.”

That percentage is at least three times that of Bowie, Greenbelt and Laurel, according to City Treasurer Elaine Stookey’s presentation during the March 4 council meeting.

The council heard details about an alternate scenario: the $12.50/$6.25 plan. At retirement, the plan would pay $12.50 per month per number of years in service until age 65, when the worker is eligible for Medicare.

At that time, the payment would be cut in half to help defray the cost of gap insurance.

So a city employee with 20 years of service who retired at age 60 would get $250 a month for five years, then $125 per month afterwards.

This month, the council will consider two variations of the plan – neither of which would cover a retiree’s spouse. Under the first, the employee would be eligible for the $12.50/$6.25 plan at 10 years of service. The second follows what’s called the Rule of 80: Eligibility is reached when the employee’s age and number of years of service adds up to 80.

Once the OPEB decision is made, the council can tackle the

rest of the budget. Tartaro has set the deadline for passing the budget for May 6, the day before the upcoming city election in which at least four of the 10 council seats will change hands.

But that date has already slipped once – an earlier schedule called for passing the budget on April 18 – and at least one council member would like to see it happen again.

“I think it would be more appropriate to wait until after the election to approve the budget,” said Tim Hunt (Ward 3), who added later that he would “most likely” abstain from a budget vote that happens before the election.

But other councilmembers advocated passing it before the new council is seated on May 20.

Council Vice President David Hiles (Ward 2) recalled that “as a brand-new councilmember, one of the very first things I had to do was sign off on a budget. That’s one way to do it. Another way to do it is to actually use the experience that you have on the dais.”

Fellow Ward 2 Councilmember Shani Warner agreed. “It’s somewhat problematic ... to have people come in, new to the process, and just blindly rubber stamp whatever comes before [them],” said Warner, who described a similar vote shortly after she was elected in 2011.

Noting that there were weeks left before the deadline to file as a city council candidate in the upcoming election, she said, “it’s a realistic concern that some people voting on this won’t have been paying attention to every minute of the discussion.”

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Hyattsville Life & Times | March 2013

Bike class turns cyclists into DIY mechanics

by Scarlett Salem

scarlett salem Arrow Bicycle co-owner Chris Davidson gets hands-on during the shop’s Park Tool School as Ryan Moran and Kim Fisher look on.

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Cycling, whether for leisure or competition, can be fun ... unless you face a mechanical problem you can’t solve. What if you have a flat tire in the middle of a long bike ride? Or what if your chain pops off on the way to work?

Arrow Bicycle, located at 5108 Baltimore Avenue just south of Franklins, offers a course that teaches you how to handle these emergencies and more.

Arrow has been serving the community for the past five years under the helm of Chris Militello and Chris Davidson, who have held The Park Tool School twice a year since they opened the shop. It’s the only bicycle maintenance course of its kind in Hyattsville and the surrounding communities.

Taught by both owners along with their head mechanic, Ryan Lewis, Park Tool School is a 12hour course that meets on Monday evenings for six consecutive weeks and costs $175. Most people who enroll are competitive racers or cyclists who go for longer rides, but avid commuters and occasional riders join as well.

The course gets its name from The Park Tool Company, manufacturer of bicycle tools since 1963 and publisher of the definitive Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair. Participants receive their very own copy to keep when the course is over.

The curriculum is loosely based on the book, supplemented by what the leaders see as crucial skills for riders who don’t happen to have a toolbox handy in an emergency. The instructors have experience in this arena; not only have both Militello and Davidson managed other D.C. area bike shops, but they also currently sponsor the Route 1 Velo Bicycle Club and host a 32-mile bike ride every Sunday morning that starts just outside the store.

The class aims to help riders become self-sufficient. “The course is all about maintenance and tips on simple repairs such as what do if your chain breaks and you are out on a ride,” explains Militello.

“You’ll learn tips to help you get home if you are out on a ride and a maintenance issue happens.”

The class meets in the workshop at the back of the store and participants have access to all of Arrow’s tools. A work stand is used for instruction but tips are incorporated into the course that will come in handy when you are stranded and no work stand is available. For example, the instructors note that in such a circumstance you might try hanging your bike on a low branch to help stabilize the bike during certain repairs. Participants bring their own bikes so that they can learn – and perform – maintenance and repair on the vehicle they normally ride.

“If your bike needs a repair, we recommend you buy the part and upgrade it yourself during the class, so you can learn how to do it,” says Militello. The course is generally capped at about seven participants per session so participants have plenty of instructor accessibility.

The sessions are usually scheduled during winter months, and the current one runs through March 18. Davidson said they would schedule a spring session if enough people express interest. (In addition, the shop offers a free tube-repair clinic every second Saturday of the month at 9 a.m.)

Those who have taken Arrow’s course give it high marks.

“I tend to ride without any support and need to be able to fix mechanical problems that come up on the road,” said Maile Neel.

“This class made me more confident in my abilities to make repairs and gave me many tips for diagnosing problems so I can keep the bike maintained.”

Karen Riley estimated that she had logged over 500 miles on her bike, yet “really didn’t [understand] how its various components worked.”

The “very patient” instructors “walked us through a checklist of basic repairs and bike maintenance, first showing us and then watching as we did it ourselves on our own bikes,” she said.

“At the end of six weeks, I felt more comfortable with the mechanical features of a bike and my bike was the better for it too.”

For more information, contact Arrow Bicycle at 301.531.9250.

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Hyattsville Life & Times | March 2013

Page 5

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courtesy of the university of maryland The Lonesome Valley Rangers perform at Maryland Day in College Park. Left to right: Andrew Widman, Curt Lucas, Ben Warner (filling in for regular drummer Paul Withers) and Daniel Rodgerson.

Local band shows versatility on five-song debut recording

by Dan Hart

Can a band mix blues, folk, reggae, gospel, and a bit of country into a base ingredient of straight rock ‘n’roll and make it all work in just five songs?

With their new EP, Like A Freight Train, the Hyattsvillebased Lonesome Valley Ramblers prove that this difficult task can not only be done, but can sound fantastic as well.

Lead singer and songwriter Curt Lucas, who has lived in Hyattsville since 1997 along with his wife and family, founded the band three years ago with friend and lead guitarist Daniel Rodgerson. The two met while playing worship music at University Baptist Church in College Park.

Rodgerson soon brought in drummer Paul Withers, a longtime friend, and Lucas recruited Andrew Widman, a dad he knew from University Park Elementary School, to provide backing vocals. Bassist Kevin Dolan, another member of University Baptist Church’s music ministry, later joined the band.

After performing regularly at venues such as the New Deal Café in Greenbelt and Mulligan’s Grill and Pub in College Park for two years, the Ramblers decided to launch a project on Kickstarter.com to help raise money to record their first album. The band had “a wealth of original material,” said Lucas, and wanted to “expand our reach.”

The Ramblers’ campaign reached its goal of $3,000 last April. The band’s five-song debut was recorded, mixed and mastered at Airshow Mastering in Takoma Park last summer.

The Ramblers’ music is anchored in a classic-yet-modern rock sound, as demonstrated

by the opening cut, “Lose Myself Somewhere.” It features an over-driven rhythm guitar and strong drumming, and as on all the songs, there’s never just one thing happening. Lucas’s vocals are delivered in a folk-style cadence, and the band’s brass section of trumpet and trombone provide backing that fills the song out nicely, particularly during lead guitarist Daniel Rodgerson’s country-twang solo.

The Ramblers’ ability to seamlessly blend styles is further exemplified in the pleasantly haunting “Miner’s Prayer.” Led by a softly plucked banjo, the song’s atmosphere is transformed by the lush echo of electric guitars that seems to conjure the longing and loneliness of the miner in the lyrics.

Rodgerson’s expertly picked guitar solos are especially striking when

The band has carved out its own distinct sound with this recording. It’s a great start to what should be a bright future. bathed in this resonant effect.

“Miner’s Prayer” is also an example of one relatively small detail that holds Like A Freight Train back from reaching its full potential: Curt Lucas’s vocal texture. At times, his voice comes across a bit thin in the recording mix, particularly when he sings solo. But when joined by backing singer Andrew Widman on songs like “Lose Myself Somewhere” and “Broken and Blue,” a fuller sound is achieved.

“Broken and Blue” is the CD’s signature folk number, but again,

there is more here than meets the ear. A banjo leads things off, but drummer Paul Withers falls in right behind it to assure that the lilting beat stays firmly established throughout. Once Lucas’s vocals get going, folk seems to meld into the blues: “Broken and blue since I fell for you / You were not there to pick me up / You took the bottle and left me with the cup.” A mournful slide guitar solo accentuates the mood, suitably accompanying the strongest songwriting on Like A Freight Train.

The CD also features two Christian-themed tunes. The first is the delightful “23,” which the lyrics quickly make clear is a reference to the famous Biblical Psalm. The Ramblers’ musical dexterity is further displayed by the song’s reggae beat and ska guitar licks during the verses, which are later joined by excellent trombone and trumpet orchestration in the chorus, as well as yet another sterling guitar solo toward the end by Rodgerson. The title track “Like A Freight Train” is the second, a straight-ahead rocker that exudes a triumphant feeling of joy to match Lucas’s lyrics: “Your promise stretched across the sky / When the love of God hit me like a freight train.”

With Like A Freight Train, The Lonesome Valley Ramblers display great energy, versatility and talent in five compact and pristinely recorded songs. While its musical influences are apparent, it’s also clear that the band has carved out its own distinct sound with this recording. It’s a great start to what should be a bright future.

The Lonesome Valley Ramblers will perform at Mulligan’s Grill and Pub, on the University of Maryland Golf Course, on April 4 and May 9 from 6 to 9 p.m.

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Hyattsville Life & Times | March 2013

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Deirdre McQuade Matthew Riordan finds the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow at St. Jerome Academy’s Irish Night on February 24.

NEWS BRIEFS City council race spots still open There’s still time to enter the races for six city council seats, which at press time were all uncontested. Registration is open through March 25, and the election is May 7. The field, so far, consists of: Bart Lawrence (Ward 1); David Hiles (Ward 2 incumbent); Patrick Paschall (Ward 3); and in Ward 5, where both seats will be open, Joseph A. Solomon and Clayton R. Williams. In that race, the top-vote getter will get the seat currently held by Ruth Ann Frazier, while the runner-up will finish the two years remaining in the term of Nicole Hinds Mofor, who resigned last month. Ward 4 incumbent Carlos Lizanne will not be running for re-election; so far, no one has registered to take his place. For information, visit www.hyattsville.org/elections or call 301.985.5000.

Local DIRECTOR wins national CASA award Congratulations to Ann Marie Binsner, who was recently named National CASA Program Director of the Year. Chosen from among 900 of her peers, Binsner heads the Prince George’s County branch of the Court Appointed Special Advocate program, based in Hyattsville. She was the lone staffer when she began working there 12 years ago; now, a team of six serves more than 150 children.

Chick-Fil-A wants to come to EAST-WEST HIGHWAY Chick-Fil-A wants to bring a freestanding restaurant, complete with drive-through, to the parking lot at The Mall at Prince George’s.

During a presentation at the city council’s March 4 meeting, a lawyer for the chain said that the site would eliminate 60 parking spaces near the stone wall that borders East-West Highway, on the JC Penney end of the mall. Current zoning there prohibits fast-food restaurants, so the Prince George’s County Council would have to grant an exemption for the project to move forward. The city council will discuss at an upcoming meeting whether to recommend granting or opposing it.

Chillum giant to close In nearby Chillum, the Shops at Queens Chillum has already seen the recent departure of longtime tenants Fleisher Jewelers and Payless Shoe Source. Next month, it will lose one of its two anchors as well. Giant Food announced that the store, which opened on Queens Chapel Road in 1954, would be closing on April 4. The pharmacy will close on March 27. Company spokesman Jamie Miller said that the “very difficult business decision” was made “after a thorough review of the operating performance of our stores.”

City administrator watch At press time, we hear, the council is considering two candidates. In the meantime, City Treasurer Elaine Stookey continues to serve as acting city administrator, a position she’s held since last May. — Susie Currie

Hyattsville Life & Times | March 2013

Page 7

MyTwoCents Rethinking community: Embracing digital media innovation

by Pierre Walcott

What are the possibilities ahead for people and place in Hyattsville?

We are told two divergent stories. On the one hand, there’s a public narrative of Prince George’s County powerlessness in the face of daunting social and economic challenges: high unemployment and foreclosure rates, social misery, failing public schools and low business investment. This narrative inspires disengagement or departure.

But we also hear uplifting stories of a community emerging full of promise and potential. We see longtime residents self-organizing around ideas of creativity (The Gateway Arts District), wellness and ecology (Port Towns), new immigrant communities, smart professionals, and active religious groups. We see educational and cultural institutions beginning to create structures that can allow individual dreams to become real.

When people decide that there is something they can do collectively with others who care; things can change. They stay and help create what does not exist today.

This is the dream of The Creative Edge Studio Collaborative. We came together to make change as filmmakers and artists because we believe that a great community expresses the

radiance and vitality of all of its people and places. We asked ourselves: What is the role of filmmakers and artists at this moment? How can our vital cultural resources help to remind us of our obligations to self and to each other?

How could we develop the capacity to tell our own untold stories of people and place?

The Collaborative brought together filmmakers, creative professionals, community partners and audiences to build a film and digital media community. We want to tell stories that affirm our heritage, remind us of the dignity of difference and celebrate our implacable belief in each other.

As an emerging community of filmmakers and artists, we are a part of a growing ecosystem that is nurturing new growth and opportunity around the ideas of creativity and cultural innovation. Our work is nurtured through strategic relationships with local educational, cultural and commercial institutions. The Hyattsville Community Development Corporation is our fiscal agent and provides leadership on developing the requirements for an economic study of film and digital media. The Prince George’s Arts and Humanity Council is a community partner in launching a new film office. Empowerment Through Technology and Education, a Hyattsville-based

technology services company, provides us collaborative work space.

We believe in the studio model of study and action through experimentation and prototyping solutions. So, we have set forth the following program priorities: Communication Labs: Prepare students, professionals and organizations to experiment, play and communicate using a new visual language and digital technologies.

We conduct interactive film and digital media workshops with local partners. For example, we have partnered with the Arc of Prince George’s County to engage the learning community in a digital storytelling workshop using iPads. With practical love and care, The Arc is transforming the lives of people with differing mental and physical abilities, their families and the extended learning community. Now, we are learning the wisdom of this tenderness.

Film Exhibitions: Present emotionally powerful cinematic experiences that touch the deepest hopes and aspirations of our community. Beginning in 2010 with the screening of TEZA at Regal Royale, we have curated film screenings and community discussions with local partners.

Currently, we partner with Hyattsville Public Library to present the Cultural Exchange,

a monthly film program curated from the library’s vast digital media collection. Libraries are transformational spaces that allow us to meet people we otherwise would not meet, sharing in the common cultural heritage of humanity. Our spring season, to be launched in April, will feature films on the theme “Bloodlines: Music that Connects.”

In addition, we partnered with the Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center to curate and present a film series to complement the “Struggle for Dignity” exhibition, last year.

Innovation Platform: Reinvent cinema as we know it by collaborating with creative talent who bring a passion for great stories, technical proficiency to experiment with new forms of production, delivery and experiencing stories. Later this spring, we are planning to host a conversation among filmmakers and other cultural innovators at Busboys & Poets, Hyattsville Arts District. At the end of the day, we would like to see more productions with the brand MADE IN THE ARTS DISTRICT. Pierre Walcott is the executive director of Creative Edge Studio Collaborative. For more information on the Gateway Arts District organization, see www.creativeedgepg.wordpress.com.

City of Hyattsville 2013 Election Calendar Friday, March 29

• Deadline for candidates to file, 5:00 p.m.

Friday, April 5

• Deadline for residents to register or report address changes to the Maryland Board of Elections to vote in City Election, 5:00 p.m.

• Voter applications must be submitted to the Board of Elections of Prince George’s County, 16201 Trade Zone Avenue, Upper Marlboro, MD 20774

Tuesday, April 9

• Begin processing Absentee Ballot Applications, 8:30 a.m.

Friday, April 26

Tuesday, May 14

Saturday, May 4

Friday, May 17

• Deadline for candidates to file Initial Campaign Finance Report, 5:00 p.m.

• Official Absentee Ballot DropOff at City Municipal Building, 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

Monday, May 6

• Deadline for filing Absentee Ballot Applications, 10:00 a.m.

Applications must be received by the City by this date and time

• Deadline for candidates to file Final Campaign Finance Report 5:00 p.m.

• Deadline for removal of campaign signs

Monday, May 20

• City Council Meeting - 8:00 p.m.

• Certified Election results are accepted by the Council and the newly elected officials are issued the oath of office.

Tuesday, May 7

• City Election, 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.

Questions? Contact Laura Reams at 301-985-5009 or lreams@hyattsville.org

Hyattsville Reporter Page HR1

Hyattsville Life & Times | March 2013

the

No. 260 • March 12, 2013

www.hyattsville.org • 301-985-5000

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Call for judges for May 2013 election Apply now to serve as an Election Judge! Six Fast Facts about Serving as a Judge: • The next City-wide Election is Tuesday, May 7, 2013.

• Judges must be present from early in the morning to after the polls close and votes are tabulated on Election Day. • Judges should be over 18, organized, confident, and friendly.

• A training session will take place approximately two weeks prior to the Election.

• Judges receive $150 for their service.

• Judges also receive our sincere thanks and appreciation for being part of the electoral process.

For more information, please call Laura Reams, City Clerk at 301/985-5009.

Hyattsville Life & Times | March 2013

Come March in the Anniversary Parade!

D o you love a parade? Hyattsville’s 127th Anniversary Parade takes place on Saturday, April 13.

Please consider marching this year.

No group is too small to march! Neighborhood watches, school organizations and clubs, scout troops and youth groups, police and fire, community and civic groups, and more are all welcome. Have a dance troupe, an arts group, a classic car?

You are more than welcome to participate.

Find out more at www.hyattsville.org/parade or call Cheri Everhart, the City’s recreation events coordinator, at 301/985-5021.

The Parade will step off at 11:00 AM from Hyattsville Middle School (6001

The Great Magruder Egg Hunt returns on Saturday, May 23 The Great Magruder Egg Hunt and Pancake Breakfast returns on Saturday, March 23. Uncle Pete will be back to entertain the crowds, and the high school art programs at Northwestern and DeMatha are already working on the 2013 souvenir eggs.

The day’s events are as follows: Breakfast 9:00 to 11:00 AM Join us for a fun-filled breakfast with a visit by a V.I.B. - Very Important Bunny. Cost is $5 per diner. Kids 2 & under eat free! Please RSVP for this event by calling 301/985-5021

or using the link at www.hyattsville. org/egghunt.

Uncle Pete performs at 10:30 AM He’s wacky, he’s zany, and he’ll get us all dancing and maybe even bunny hopping! Free and open to the public.

The Great Magruder Egg Hunt 11:30 AM – 12 NOON Three egg hunts will take place, divided by age group. The event is free and open to the public. Please B.Y.O.B. – Bring Your Own Basket or Bag for collecting eggs.

The Small Town Energy Program – STEP - helps residents lower their utility bills and make their homes more comfortable through energy efficiency. STEP has been running in Hyattsville and the other communities since July, 2012. Since then, almost 400 homes have signed up to participate in the program, over 100 of them from Hyattsville. STEP concludes in July of this year.

Funded by the US Department of Energy, the goal of STEP is to make it easy and affordable for residents in Hyattsville and the other participating communities, to lower their energy bills through home energy efficiency improvements.

STEP helps residents to access rebates ranging from $400 - $4,650 to help homeowners get the work done. One of the most innovative benefits of STEP is free support from Energy Coach Suzanne Parmet. Suzanne makes the energy evaluation and improvement process easy, working with homeowners to answer questions, guiding them through every step of the program, and ensuring that they receive every financial incentive.

More information is available at www.smalltownenergy.org, or to contact STEP Energy Coach Suzanne Parmet at 240/695-3991 or energycoach@smalltownenergy.org.

YARD SALE WEEKENDS FOR 2013

Each year, the City designates two weekends as a Yard Sale weekend in the City. Our permit requirements for Yard Sales are waived, and the City promotes the sale. Residents do not need to register to take part, but if you would like to be included on the map the City produces, please register!

Registration is now open for the Spring Yard Sale weekend: Friday, April 5 through Sunday,

OFFICE OF SENIOR SERVICES: ARTHRITIS ANSWERS

The Office of Senior Services will host an A.G.E.S. (Aging Gracefully Education Series) forum on arthritis on Wednesday, March 27 at 10 AM. A representative from the Arthritis Foundation, Mid-Atlantic Chapter, will be on hand to facilitate the discussion.

The program is free and open to the public.

We meet at the City Municipal Building, 4310 Gallatin Street, in the First Floor Multi-Purpose Room. Refreshments are provided.

For information on this program, or any other Senior Services questions, please contact Emily Stowers, Senior Services Coordinator, at 301/985-5058 or estowers@hyattsville.org.

ARTWORKS COMES TO THE PARENT & CHILD PROGRAM

The Parent & Child Program Winter Semester meets Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM through May 23.

We’ll be closed for Spring Break beginning Thursday, March 28, returning on Tuesday, April 9.

Pay on a drop-in basis, just $3/session, or purchase pre-paid tickets in advance. Payment may be made by cash, money order, or check made payable to City of Hyattsville.

Beginning on March 20, Art Works Studio

MARCh/APRIL 2013 Friday, March 15

Senior Fitness Friday: Ageless Grace Exercise Class, 1 to 2 PM Magruder Park Recreation Center

Monday, March 18 Tuesday, March 19

Board of Supervisors of Elections Meeting, 4 to 5 PM

Wednesday, March 20

Hyattsville Environmental Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Friday, March 22

Senior Fitness Friday: Ageless Grace Exercise Class, 1 PM - 2 PM Magruder Park Recreation Center

Saturday, March 23

The Great Magruder Egg Hunt & Pancake Breakfast 9 to 11:30 AM, Magruder Park Recreation Center

Wednesday, March 27

A.G.E.S. Workshop: Arthritis & You, 10 AM

Friday, March 29

2013 Election: Deadline for Candidates to File, 5 PM

Monday, April 1

Council Meeting, 8 - 10 PM FY14 Budget: Introduction of FY14 Mayor’s Budget

IN OTHER NEWS...

April 7. Call 301/985-5000 or visit www.hyattsville.org/yardsale to register.

The Fall Yard Sale weekend will take place Friday, October 4 through Sunday, October 6, with registration opening on Tuesday, September 3.

Participate one day, two days, or all three! Partner with your neighbors, or set up your own sale. It’s a thrifty, green, fun day for the City – whether you’re a seller or a shopper.

CALENDAR

Council Meeting, 8 PM - 10 PM

42nd Avenue) and follow 42nd Avenue south to Jefferson Street. The parade turns right on Jefferson and follows Jefferson to Hamilton Street, where it will turn left. The parade then continues to the reviewing stage at Magruder Park (3911 Hamilton Street).

More of a spectator? Residents can watch anywhere along the Parade route.

You may want to join us at Magruder Park for two reasons: first, the groups all stop to perform for our judges. But secondly, just as the parade ends, the City’s Carnival begins! A full event schedule will be out in early March, but the day always includes family-friendly fun for all ages.

SMALL TOWN ENERGY PROGRAM HELPS RESIDENTS GO GREEN, SAVE GREEN

Page HR2

Tuesday, April 2

Board of Supervisors of Elections Meeting, 4 PM - 5 PM School will be on hand every We d n e s d a y from 10: 00 AM to 11:00 AM through May 22 for special toddlerfriendly arts and crafts projects!

Learn more about Art Works Studio School at www. ar t work s now. org, or learn about the Parent & Child Program at www.hyattsville.org/pcprogram.

PRANGLEY CLEAN-UP DAY

Known as Prangley Clean-up Day, the twice annual special collection honors Hyattsville’s former Mayor Mary Prangley.

Households served by the Department of Public Works for residential trash collection will receive a special Saturday pick-up on Saturday, April 20. The service is designed for bulk items, but all household trash will be accepted. Our trucks make one sweep of their usual routes, so please have items to the curb no later than 7 AM. Questions? Call 301/985-5032.

MAY 2013 ELECTION

The City’s biennial election takes place on May 7, 2013. Candidate registrations are updated daily at http://www.hyattsville.org/election.

Check the calendar on our website or elsewhere in this edition of the Hyattsville Life & Times for

important voter deadlines. Also, be on the lookout for your special edition of the Hyattsville Reporter, chock full of election information!

ELECTRONICS RECYCLING

All residents are invited to participate in Electronics Recycling on Saturday, May 4 from 9 AM to 12 PM. Simply bring your worn out electronics to the Public Works Yard, 4633 Arundel Place, for safe collection and proper disposal. We’ll accept televisions, computers, VCRs, printers, etc. There is no charge for this service, but proof of City residency may be required. Limit eight items per person, please.

Questions? Please call 301/985-5032.

FY14 BUDGET

The Mayor and Council are scheduled to approve the FY14 City Budget Ordinance during the Council Meeting of Monday, May 6, 2013. Be on the lookout for special Wednesday work sessions devoted to the budget in April. Documents will be available at www. hyattsville.org/FY14 and included with regular Council meeting materials, which can also be downloaded from our website.

HYATT PARK COMMUNITY GARDEN

Looking for information on the Community Garden? The Hyatt Park Community Garden just keeps growing! They now have their own website. For information on the 2013 gardening season, please visit them at hyattparkgarden.org.

Wednesday, April 3

City Council Work Session, 8 – 10 PM FY14 Budget: Budget Book Review Unless otherwise noted, all events take place at the City Municipal Building, 4310 Gallatin Street.

MISSED MONDAY’S MEETING? CATCH THE REBROADCAST

The City’s cable station is now rebroadcasting City Council Meetings at a variety of times. Tune in on Monday at 10 AM; Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 AM, 3 PM, and 10 PM; Wednesdays and Fridays at 7 AM and 9 PM; or Saturdays and Sundays at 12 NOON. We will broadcast the most recent Council Meeting. The City’s channel is 71 on Comcast and 12 on Verizon. Questions? Comments? Please talk to Jonathan Alexander, the City’s cable coordinator, at jalexander@ hyattsville.org or 301/985-5028.

NIXLE

The City is now using Nixle to send public safety alerts and information via both email and text message. This system replaces the SafeCity website previously in use. Many of our neighboring jurisdictions also use Nixle to send out information. Please note that Nixle won’t report on every incident – typically alerts are sent when the HCPD needs to alert the public to a potentially dangerous situation, or when we are asking for your help solving a crime. In other cases, Nixle messages relate to road closures, power outages, etc.

If you have a nixle.com account, there is no need to create a new one. Simply log in and add the City of Hyattsville to your wire. New to Nixle? Register at www.nixle.com or enroll using the widget online at http://www.hyattsville.org/stayinformed.

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

Are you on Facebook? You can now keep up with City events and happenings at www.facebook.com/cityofhyattsville. When you see Vainglorious, the silver metal bird sculpture at Centennial Park, you’ll know you’re in the right place. He is kind enough to serve as the City’s wall photo.

Page 8

Hyattsville Life & Times | March 2013

SCHOOL BRIEFS Sixth graders to join Hyattsville Middle School next year

Northwestern to take first step toward becoming Visual and Performing Arts Magnet

As reported in the December issue of the HL&T, Hyattsville Middle School will indeed add sixth graders this fall. On February 21, the Prince George’s County School Board approved the change as part of the larger Boundary, Grade and Program Improvements plan.

The policy affects all rising sixth graders at Hyattsville Elementary School, as well as about 25 from Riverdale Elementary who would now attend HMS as seventh graders. (The majority of 6th graders at Riverdale feed into William Wirt Middle School.) University Park Elementary School, which also feeds into HMS, is unaffected.

Principal Kimberly Washington says plans are underway for the integration, which will mean “utilizing some spaces differently.” Adding younger students will not affect the school’s wellregarded Center for Performing Arts Program, or change the number of spaces for children outside the boundaries.

For many years, there has been talk of expanding the well-established arts program at Northwestern into a magnet program.

Next year’s proposed budget that would move a step in that direction. The plan, pending approval, would create a Visual and Performing Arts program Clara janzen for in-boundary students, who Members of the Northwestern must audition for it. Additional Choir sing at a February 24 staff would be available during fundraiser held at Hyattsville expanded hours for individualMennonite Church. ized instruction, particularly critical for band and orchestra. as others who have applied since It is hoped that in future years then – being added to a waiting the program will be available list. Families who have received for out-of-boundary students as notification of admittance have well. “The ultimate goal isn’t just until March 11 to confirm wheth- to be the Suitland of the North er they will attend, and then the end,” says Batenga, “but to create school will start notifying those our own mold.” He notes that the Arts District of Hyattsville could high on the waiting list.

Hiring is also moving forward. provide mutually beneficial The board has nearly completed town-school connections.

— Rosanna Landis Weaver the hiring process for the executive director and is conducting final interviews for the principal’s job. The principal will hire College Park Academy the teaching staff during May moves forward and June.

In a meeting for parents on FebAbout 450 students applied to ruary 22 and 23, the school conthe new College Park Academy firmed some basics: Hours will be for the 300 slots (150 each for 6th 8:25 a.m. to 3:55 p.m., uniforms and 7th grade) by the January 31 will be required and each student deadline. The school is scheduled will get a laptop to use both in and to open this fall in the former St. out of school. Classroom teachers Mark’s School on Adelphi Road will cover English, math, P.E. and in Hyattsville. On February 6, 300 science, while online instructors students were selected via lottery, will handle social studies, elec- by Peggy Dee with remaining names – as well tives and enrichment courses.

The Hyattsville Post Office on Gallatin Street is such an interesting place that I often bring my out-of-town guests there to see PICK-UP & DELIVERY it. Located in the historic district OF PRESCRIPTIONS of our city, it remains in its origiOstomy Supplies, Sr. Citizen’s Discounts nal form, dating back to 1935.

Convalescent Aids That year, the price for first-class Sales & Rentals mail was three cents. The average Richard Sabatelli, R. Ph. cost of a home in Hyattsville was $4,000 while automobiles sold for $600. Gallatin Street was 3415 Hamilton St., Hyattsville, MD 20782 known as Spencer Street and

rosanna landis weaver While some of his peers stuck with toast, Hyattsville kindergardner Jackson Yoder was not intimidated by the green ham. The color was intentional, an important part of the Seussian breakfast at University Park Elementary School held March 1 as a celebration of the rhyming doctor’s birthday. UPES and Hyattsville Elementary School, as well as other schools in the area, participated in the NEA’s Read Across America Day, the nation’s largest reading celebration.

Postcards from the Past

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“Architecturally distinguished” post office steeped in history

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Franklin D. Roosevelt was our nation’s president.

College Heights Estates realtor A. H. Seidenspinner negotiated the deal between federal officials and William P. Magruder, who owned the parcel just off Baltimore Avenue that would become the address for the city’s new (and current) post office. Across from it were two large Victorian homes and the Professional Building, which still stands at the corner of Hamilton Street and Baltimore Avenue. It served as a combination police station, jail and courthouse.

Ground was broken for the new post office in March 1935. Architect Louis A. Simon designed the brick Colonial Revival building, with input from Hyattsville resident and Assistant Postmaster General Smith W. Purdum.

Artist Eugene Kingman painted the agriculturally themed murals that still adorn the lobby.

The cornerstone laying ceremonies, held on June 19, 1935, were attended by prominent national and state dignitaries led by Postmaster General James A. Farley, who delivered the principal address. Local attorney T. Howard

Duckett, who helped start the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, served as general chairman for the occasion. .

Previously, in 1912, the Hyattsville post office had been officially designated as a postal savings depository. The service continued at the new location until the USPS ended the program in 1967.

The building has been listed in the Register of Historic Places since 1986. There, it is described as “a central, three-bay block flanked by smaller one-bay flatroofed pavilions,” and named “one of the most architecturally distinguished 20th-century buildings in Hyattsville.”

Former Ward 1 Councilman Doug Dudrow went to primary school on Gallatin Street in the 1950s and has vivid memories of school walking trips that included a stop at this historic Post Office to see the murals and to be educated on the history of Hyattsville.

This is a tiny little gem tucked away in our city that many residents are not aware of. If you have not already done so, please take your family and friends to see our city’s most adorable structure.

Hyattsville Life & Times | March 2013

Page 9

COMMUNITY CALENDAR March 15

The county’s Xtreme Teen program sponsors two free events tonight from 7 to 10 p.m. At the Bladensburg Community Center, youth ages 10 to 17 are invited to a St. Patrick’s Day party, complete with green punch, clover cookies, and more fun. 4500 57th Ave., Bladensburg. And in Hyattsville, a girls-only Henna Activity explains the history and meaning of henna tattoos.

Participants can designing their own tattoos, which will last up to a month. Prince George’s Community Plaza Community Center, 6600 Adelphi Rd. 301.864.1611. For information on these or similar events, visit www.pgxtremeteens.com.

March 17

Seasonal Selections will demonstrate cooking recipes from the 19th century using produce from the garden and orchard. New this month is a storytime with children’s tales related to what’s cooking in the kitchen. Free. Noon to 3:30 p.m., with stories at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Riversdale House Museum, 4811 Riverdale Road, Riversdale Park. 301.864.0420.

March 21

See how many of the feathered residents of Lake Artemesia you can spot on a guided bird walk, conducted by members of the Prince George’s Audubon Society and the Patuxent Bird Club.

Free. The walk, along the Luther Goldman Birding Trail, starts at 3 p.m. from the parking lot at Berwyn Road and Ballew Avenue, Lake Artemesia, Berwyn Heights. 301.459.3375 or mozurk@bellatlantic.net.

March 22

With Easter just around the corner, St. Jerome Academy hosts a Lenten Fish Fry from 5 to 7 p.m. in the school dining hall.

Free admission; full dinners available to purchase, both eat-in

and carry-out. 5207 42nd Place.

301.927.6684.

March 23

Organizers of the semiannual University Park Children’s Clothing Co-op Sale say that this morning’s event, featuring spring and summer items, has more sellers than ever. Free admission; cash only for purchases.

10 a.m. to noon. Riverdale Presbyterian Church, 6513 Queens Chapel Road, University Park. www.universityparkchildrensclothing.com

March 25

This month’s installment of the Hyattsville Branch Library’s independent film series features The Visitor. The award-winning 2007 film, directed by Tom McCarthy, follows a disillusioned Connecticut economics professor whose life is transformed by a chance encounter in New York. Afterwards, local filmmaker Andrew Millington will facilitate a brief discussion. Free.

6:45 p.m. 6530 Adelphi Road.

301.985.4690.

April 5

At Paper Airplane Day, you can build your own paper airplane and then compete in the annual Paper Airplane Derby for prizes.

Free with museum admission of $4 (discounts for children and seniors). Derby starts at 3 p.m.

College Park Aviation Museum, 1985 Cpl. Frank Scott Drive, College Park. 301.864.6029.

April 5 to 7

Learn how to farm in a city setting just in time for the growing season with the Intensive Weekend Certificate Course in Urban Agriculture, a 22hour hands-on course offered

by ECO City Farms and Prince George’s Community Farmers. $550; registration required. Friday and Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday noon to 6 p.m.

ECO City Farms, 4913 Crittenden Street, Edmonston. Contact info@ecocityfarms.org or 301.288.1125.

April 6

If your library card gets as much use as your credit card, consider joining the Friends of the Hyattsville Branch Library this morning for its monthly meeting. Free. 10 a.m. 6530 Adelphi Road. For more information, call 301.312.9170 or find the group on Facebook by searching “Friends of the Hyattsville Branch.”

During DC GlassWorks Spring Open House, see studio artists blow glass vases, bowls, plates, sculpture and more. Instructors will also be on hand for visitors who want to try working with hot glass.

Free. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. DC GlassWorks, 5346 46th Avenue,

Edmonston.

301.927.8271. dcglassworks.com.

On Tavern Night, Riversdale becomes Chanteytown. The Ship’s Company Chanteymen return for the historic house’s popular annual event, which includes age-appropriate refreshments from Franklins Brewery. $25; must pay by March 29. 8 p.m. Riversdale House Museum, 4811 Riverdale Road, Riverdale Park. 301.864.0420.

April 10 & 11

Celebrate the beginning of warmer weather with cool jazz music. The University of Maryland jazz students host backto-back nights of Chamber Jazz where they’ll perform jazz standards along with original arrangements. Free. 7:30 p.m.

Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, University of Maryland, College Park. 301.405.2787.

Ongoing On Fridays through March 22, seniors can participate in Ageless Grace, a fitness and wellness program designed to improve healthy longevity. Almost anyone can do these 21 simple exercises, which can be performed while sitting. $2 per session. 1 to 2 p.m. Magruder Park Recreation Building, 3911 Hamilton Street.

301.985.5058 or estowers@hyattsville.org.

Community Calendar is compiled by Susie Currie and Scarlett Salem. It’s a select listing of events happening in and around Hyattsville from the 15th of the issue month to the 15th of the following month. To submit an item for consideration, please e-mail susie@hyattsvillelife.com or mail to P.O. Box 132, Hyattsville, MD 20781. Deadline for April submissions is March 27.

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Page 10

Hyattsville Life & Times | March 2013

NatureNearby

Edible invaders

by Fred Seitz

From early March through May, the edges of many local woodlands are decorated (some say defiled), by a green invader brought to Eastern North America by early settlers who needed an early spring food stock and medicinal herb to help their survival. Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is a ubiquitous, herbaceous plant that receives contempt from native plant and wildflower aficionados and raves and recipes from foragers and wild food advocates.

Akin to popular vegetables, such as cabbage and broccoli, this invasive brassica was first reported in the early 19th century and has spread through most of the East Coast of the U.S., as well as parts of the Midwest U.S and Southern Canada. The plant is biennial and, in warm winters, it over winters as an evergreen rosette that resembles ground ivy. Ground ivy, also called gill-over-the-ground (Glechoma hederacea), is another invader originally brought from Europe and Asia for its medicinal properties.

Garlic mustard starts small, but may rapidly grow to three feet tall, shading out many native spring plants. The mustard’s arsenal also includes allelopathic chemicals released by its roots which may poison the rhizomes of many native plants, further inhibiting their growth.

Despite its insidious and malicious survival methods, this plant, remains a fascination and fancy of many foragers, with recipes ranging from pesto to salad. Recently, though, research from Dr. Don Cipollini of Wright University suggests that the plant may also contain cyanide, a less desirable addition to any meal. However, the somewhat bitter taste of garlic mustard in most dishes may deter people from eating large, potentially hazardous quantities.

Garlic mustard has been targeted in many invasive removal efforts, some in nearby Magruder and Paint Branch parks by both the Anacostia Watershed Society and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

For the past 15 years, the Friends of the Patapsco Greenway have had annual gar-

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lic mustard removals and recipe competitions with enthusiastic support from people throughout the state. Optimal removal times are in April and early May, when the plant is in flower and before the seeds are ejected. It is important that the plants be bagged after pulling, to prevent the spread of the plant.

Garlic mustard is also the focus of a global survey where researchers are comparing the growth and size of New World garlic mustard with its Old World relatives.

The aggressive spread of garlic mustard and other invasive plants is partially abetted by the lack of native predators. However, recently, it has been noted that the familiar cabbage butterfly’s caterpillars do indeed feed on garlic mustard. (Yes, these are the same caterpillars that consume my backyard cabbage and broccoli). Ironically, the cabbage butterflies who eat garlic mustard are also invaders and have begun to displace our native white butterfly who, interestingly, eats native brassicas such as toothwort.

When the native white butterfly caterpillar eats garlic mustard, it may die from toxins in the plant; poor Momma butterfly cannot differentiate garlic mustard from native mustards. So goes the circle

of life. ”Hope” for limiting the spread of garlic mustard (beyond the removals provided by volunteers) may lie with some of the powdery mildew and weevils that are being introduced to control it (but there’s that circle again).

Briefly mentioned above was ground ivy, far less showy than garlic mustard, but equally widespread. This plant was introduced by colonists for making teas which were believed to have medicinal properties. Ground ivy is in the mint family and has the characteristic square stem, but is far less tasty than its spearmint and peppermint cousins.

There are other local plants (some invaders and some native) that may be carefully and sparingly harvested for edible and medicinal purposes. It is essential that the plants be correctly identified and carefully washed prior to any use. There are some local plants that are very poisonous as well as many that have been visited and claimed by local animals and pets. Additionally, gathering of plants on private and many public lands may be forbidden and yield negative responses from landowners and public officials. There are local organizations, such as Ancestral Knowledge, that offer information about edible and medicinal plants.

RECYCLE YOUR BROKEN OR UNWANTED ELECTRONICS! Saturday, May 4, 2013, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon DPW Yard, 4633 Arundel Place, Hyattsville The City will collect broken or unwanted electronics and ensure that they are safely handled and recycled appropriately.

We’ll accept computer monitors, laptops, CPUs, printers, keyboards and other computer accessories, VCRs and DVD players, copiers, cell phones, and televisions.

A maximum of 8 items will be accepted per household and individuals should bring proof of City residency, such as a driver’s license or utility bill. www.hyattsville.org 301/985-5032

Hyattsville Life & Times | March 2013

Page 11

MissFloribunda Dear Miss Floribunda, A new neighbor of mine is tearing ivy and creeping periwinkle out of her yard and advises me to do the same with my honeysuckle. She says now is the best time of year to get rid of what she terms “invasive” plants. Actually I think her ground cover is pretty, and I love my honeysuckle, particularly the bush honeysuckle. It has not only pretty flowers, but bright red berries in winter when so little else gives any color to the garden. The birds seem to like it, too. Though it’s true I have more each year, in a way that makes gardening easier. What is your opinion?

Happy with Honeysuckle on Hamilton Street Dear Happy with Honeysuckle, While it is true that birds like the berries on bush honeysuckle, pictured at top right, this plant is also a favorite of ticks carrying Lyme disease. (So is Japanese barberry, by the way.) Birds will eat and efficiently spread seeds from the berries of both plants. Once deer and other animals carrying the tick come in contact with the plants, the ticks find a continuing harbor within the plant host – vastly increasing your chance of coming in contact with the tick and the very serious disease it confers.

Lyme disease is greatly on the rise because many animals from wilder habitats, displaced by housing de-

velopments, have moved into our parks and gardens. Although domestic pets can be vaccinated for Lyme disease, there’s no approved vaccines for humans at this time.

You run considerable risk by keeping any plant that would increase your chance of contracting the disease.

I was brought to my senses early one morning a couple of winters ago when I heard a thunderous trampling sound behind me as I walked to my garage. I stopped in my tracks and a large doe whizzed by me. My first thought was that I had narrowly escaped being the subject of a silly song such as “Miss Floribunda Got Run Over By A Ruminant.” Then it occurred to me that Hyattsville was not quite as urban as I had imagined. Now, while I haven’t seen any deer in my own yard since then, within yards of my home I have seen raccoons, a fox, and a hawk. Lately I hear tell of a wild turkey in the area.

As for English ivy, beautiful as it is, it is a tree assassin. It has to be watched carefully and kept in bounds. Since the ground is no longer frozen, early spring is an ideal time to eradicate it and other plants that are termed “invasive” because given the chance, they will happily overstep their bounds to take over the territory of other species – usually smothering and killing them.

It is important to dig up these plants by the roots before they

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start their growing season. I hope you will take advantage of this time to eliminate your honeysuckle. Later in the year, you can replace it with equally lovely native plants that will attract birds and butterflies rather than Lyme ticks. I must add that native plants require little or no care.

My consultant Ranger Marc of the Maryland National-Capital Park and Planning Commission, who coordinates non-native invasive

plant control for our county, suggests that to learn more about native and invasive plants, you attend the free nature tours in Magruder Park this year. The first one of a series will take place on Saturday, March 16. Also that day is the next meeting of the Hyattsville Horticultural Society at 10 a.m. at the home of Heather Olsen, 4915 42nd Avenue, to which you are invited.

Please address further questions to floribundav@gmail.com.

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Hyattsville Life & Times | March 2013

FILMMAKER

continued from page 1

Abbey is a great fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit� and “The Lord of the Rings� as well as the HBO series “Game of Thrones.�

His conception of “The Broken Continent� began with imagining a place. “Geography is important in fantasy in general. In the case of my story, I had several major ideas and started creating the map.

Then ideas started to come from the map itself,� he explains. “You figure out where certain people live and what kind of topographical features the land has, and those things help to fuel storylines Roy Cox and history.�

Much of Abbey’s own history lies in Hyattsville. Now living in the Arts District, he attended both St. Jerome’s School and DeMatha High School before heading to the University of Maryland to study Spanish and Criminology. There, he was bitten by the filmmaking bug; his independent learning began in the college’s non-print media library and continued with a job at the campus TV station.

He went on to study at the Savannah College of Art and Design, in Georgia, earning a master’s degree in film and television. Since then, he has explored all facets of filmmaking. He has acted, lent his voice to narrations and commercial voiceovers, and written scripts.

He added director and producer to his resume in 2008 with his first feature film, “Boxing Day.�

The production has a range of Hyattsville connections, including Matt Creger, a friend, collaborator and fellow De-

francis abbey Filmmaker Francis Abbey, inset, grew up in Hyattsville and sometimes shoots scenes here, like this one from “Chris and Carol,� his nod to the famous Dickens story. For his latest project, a web series that debuted on March 10, he recruited fellow St. Jerome and DeMatha grad Matt Creger.

Right: Creger, at left, helps adjust a helmet for one of the actors.

Matha graduate; stunt performer Chris Niebling; and The Washington Source, an intown vendor of lighting equipment.

Hyattsville has served as location for a number of his projects.

Scenes from “Chris & Carol,� his modern interpretation of “A Christmas Carol,� were shot off his apartment balcony overlooking Route 1. “As an independent filmmaker,

resources are very limited. So I’ve always written my scripts around my limitations,� Abbey noted.

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Hyattsville Life & Times | March 2013

NIGHTCLUB

continued from page 1

For an illustration, look no further than Queens Chapel Town Center, where restaurants Acapulco Spirit and Mi Patio both want to add entertainment options to their menus.

Acapulco Spirit, as the HL&T reported last month, wants to allow customers to dance during its popular karaoke nights. In 2011, the Prince George’s County Council began requiring any business that allows public dancing to have a dance hall license issued by the the county’s Department of Environmental Resources (DER).

So, in December, Manager David Santizo applied for one. As required, DER officials notified the nearest municipality – in this case, Hyattsville. The city then had 45 days to conduct a public hearing and register opposition, in which case DER would defer to the city and deny the license.

On February 19, the hearing was held in council chambers at city hall, and after comments from a series of concerned neighbors, the city council opposed the request.

Less than a week later, on February 25, Mi Patio appeared on a public hearing agenda scheduled for April 3. The restaurant had applied for a Special Entertainment Permit, which in addition to public dancing allows for essentially any live performance, from standup comedy to “exotic dancing performed by a stripper,” as the permit reads.

The Mi Patio application requested permission to host a “DJ playing music from the Dominican Republic” up to seven nights a week, from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., in addition to a live band “once or twice a month,” on Friday nights.

Entertainment permits are issued by the Board of License Commissioners, also known as the Liquor Control Board. Though each county in Maryland has a branch, the liquor board is run by the state.

In Prince George’s County, public hearings on license applications are held at the County Service Building, 5012 Rhode Island Avenue, where its offices are located.

While those agendas are made public at least a month in advance,

Page 13

there is no requirement to notify the city when a local businesses requests a permit.

Indeed, when the HL&T contacted Hyattsville department heads for comment, they were unaware of the Mi Patio application. After receiving a copy of the April 3 agenda, city spokesperson Abby Sandel said that the city would be requesting a 30-day delay in the decision.

Mi Patio already has an Exemption to the Special Entertainment Permit, which the liquor board issued on September 25. In a letter granting the exemption, Chairman Franklin D. Jackson reminded owner Danny Medina that Mi Patio was prohibited from, among other things, charging admission, carding or searching patrons at the entrance, and selling “VIP seating.” Two months later, inspectors found that the restaurant was violating those terms.

Apparently, they have violated other codes as well. When the Acapulco Spirit discussion was underway, councilmember Paula Perry (Ward 4) said that Mi Patio had repeatedly generated after-hours noise complaints and police incident reports.

A public hearing on Mi Patio’s Special Entertainment License is scheduled for April 3 at 7 p.m. in the County Service Building, 5012 Rhode Island Avenue, Hearing Room 200. For additional information, contact 301.699.2770.

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CAMERAS

continued from page 1

7000 block of Adelphi Road, southbound.

Police Chief Douglas Holland told the council at its March 4 meeting that City Attorney Richard Colaresi said that “recent interpretations” of state legislation meant that any additional cameras “may need to be authorized legislatively.”

Holland hastened to add: “That is not to say that we are going to have ten. This is merely placing a maximum number that we can have in the city, and it’s doing it at one time so that we don’t have to change the ordinance each time we add a camera to our system.”

The council is expected to approve the measure before the 30day warning period ends on March 19. After that, drivers will be fined $40 if they are going 12 or more miles over the posted speed limit.

But it’s unclear where any new cameras would be placed in Hyattsville, a city of about three square miles. Speed cameras operate year-round in designated school zones Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Of the 10 spots with the greatest number of violations, according to a week-long study conducted last year, four that are on state-maintained roads are off-limits, including three on Baltimore Avenue.

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Administration also denied the city’s request to monitor the spot with the most violations: the 3300 block of East-West Highway, which recorded 7,851 westbound speeders.

Holland says information on any new locations will be posted on the city website. But the warning period – for both current and future cameras – ends on March 19.

Due to increased speeding, particularly in the University Town Center area, the cameras are intended to “change behavior,” said

Purvis, who believes traffic will begin to slow once they are installed.

Hyattsville resident Helen Knowles has been caught by speed cameras before. She agrees that the cameras will change her driving behavior.

“They make you more aware of your surroundings and what the speed limit is so you make sure you’re always going the right speed,” she said. “Wherever I get caught, I remember.”

Although the measure is intended to encourage safe driving, residents are also questioning whether it is a way to generate revenue.

“I have some problems with the fact that the maintenance and operation of the cameras and the administrative aspects of issuing tickets and collecting the fines are handled by private contractors,” said resident Mark Graham. “Their involvement tends to support the notion that the cameras are deployed as a profit making enterprising and not as a safety measure.”

Still, he said, the “speed camera technology allows a more efficient use of police resources, especially in these times of tight municipal budgets.”

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Hyattsville Life & Times | March 2013

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