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YOUR MOVE
Looney Labs to celebrate world of gaming with International TableTop Day. B-1
Gazette-Star SERVING SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY COMMUNITIES
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Thursday, April 3, 2014
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Parents upset over school plan to leave Upper Marlboro n
Charter officials cite rent, technology challenges as reasons for change BY CHASE COOK STAFF WRITER
An Upper Marlboro charter school is planning to move to Forestville next school year, angering some parents who say the change is too far to travel and the announcement came too late in the school year. “As parents, you want what is best for your children,” said Bowie resident Andrea Ledbetter, parent of two students at Imagine Foundations at Leeland, a public charter school in Upper Marlboro — adding that she may send her children to their neighborhood school if the move occurs. “My children are worried about being separated from their friends,” Ledbetter said. Imagine Foundations, which serves 475 students from kindergarten through eighth-grade, is located
CHASE COOK/THE GAZETTE
Falyn Travers, 5, of Bowie grinds a telescope lens Saturday during an Earth Hour event at Bowie. The event featured a mobile planetarium and an amateur telescope-making lecture, the latter of which featured hands-on time with telescopes and materials.
Bringing out the stars
Earth Hour encourages energy conservation by using mobile planetarium n
BY CHASE COOK STAFF WRITER
Maeve Parker, 14, of Bowie has wanted to see a planetarium since she was in kindergarten. On Saturday, she got her wish. “My grandma didn’t even tell us we
were coming here until this morning,” Maeve said, adding the planetarium was everything she imagined. “Everybody should have been here.” Maeve and about 24 other visitors sat inside a mobile planetarium Saturday as part of Bowie’s first-time participation in Earth Hour, a worldwide movement that advocates for energy conservation. Earth Hour participants shut off their lights at a predetermined time for an hour once a year — from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday — and also
support other energy conservation projects. Kristin Larson, Bowie’s sustainability planner, said the city wasn’t shutting off all of its lights for the event, but officials did want to show how energy usage affects the world as artificial light from manmade sources can obstruct the view of the night sky. Participants also had hands-on time with amateur telescopes, and Lar-
No official decision on move as tenants look for new locations n
Bowie patrons asking for larger gym City officials plan to discuss options as budget talks get underway n
BY
CHASE COOK
STAFF WRITER
The Bowie Municipal Gymnasium will be getting roof repairs this year, but residents and organizations who use the gym said that won’t fix
See GYM, Page A-7
See RELOCATION, Page A-7
Tulip Grove relocation could displace Bowie YMCA and churches
See PLANETARIUM, Page A-7
the gym’s biggest problem: a lack of space. “Some nights I have 8-year-olds and 18-year-olds playing on the same court,” said Donna Hooper, the gym’s manager. “I try to keep them separated ... It can be dangerous.” The city-owned gym opened in 2001 but hasn’t grown with the city, Hooper
at St. Barnabas’ Episcopal Church but plans to move into the vacant Berkshire Elementary School in Forestville, which is about 10 miles away from its current site. Imagine Foundations officials said the move is necessary because its landlord, the church, wants to raise the school’s rent by about 13 percent, and the school needs faster Internet to meet the needs of upcoming online Common Core assessment testing, said Rhonda Cagle, Imagine Foundations spokeswoman. “There is a technology gap in the current building,” Cagle said. “We want to make sure we are prepared for that … so that we can accurately assess students.” Church officials did not return phone calls from The Gazette. Parents are also frustrated that Imagine Foundations officials first told parents about the move March 20, about two months after the charter school lottery ended. Charter schools choose students from a lottery pool, but only one lottery is held each year.
BY CHASE COOK STAFF WRITER
A Bowie establishment for more than 35 years may have to move its office and programs this summer as organizations using the old Meadowbrook school may relinquish their real estate to displaced elementary students. Tulip Grove Elementary officials are looking for a temporary two-year home as their school building will undergo construction at the end of this school year. The $22.9 million proj-
GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
Youths play basketball Saturday at the Bowie gymnasium.
ect will provide the school with new computer labs, art rooms and other changes. Bowie city and Tulip Grove officials have favored moving the Tulip Grove students to Meadowbrook as other temporary school options required the students travel up to 21 mile to Forestville or Temple Hills. This has left the organizations using Meadowbrook — the Bowie Program Center of the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington, the Unity Center of Light and the Bowie Apostolic Church — wondering if their long-time offices will be shuttered. The Bowie YMCA has been at Meadowbrook since 1978. This move could disrupt some
See DISPLACE, Page A-6
Prince George’s adds incentives to get developers on track Effort focuses on five Metro stations in Hyattsville, Largo, New Carrollton and Suitland
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BY JAMIE
ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER
Developers just received more reasons — a package of reasons, to be exact — to bring business plans to five Metro
stations in Hyattsville, Largo, New Carrollton and Suitland. Prince George’s County officials announced the new incentives Monday at the University Town Center, a mixeduse project located near the Prince George’s Plaza Metro, and in front of the site where a $23 million Safeway supermarket project is expected to break ground in May. “It’s really about telling develop-
ers, ‘Come take a second look at Prince George’s County,’” said David Iannucci, senior economic policy adviser for County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D). “We want the private sector to understand Prince George’s County will be your partner. We’ll make it faster, cheaper, more efficient and more profitable to do TOD [transit-oriented development] in Prince George’s County.” The TOD initiative focuses on the
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SPORTS
More than 200 community members get firsthand account of leading schools.
Three county fighters advance to Golden Gloves regional championships.
LEARNING THE PRINCIPAL’S PRINCIPLES A-4
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GIVING THEM A PUNCHER’S CHANCE A-9
Branch Avenue Metro Station in Suitland, Largo Metro Station, New Carrollton Metro Station, Prince George’s Plaza Metro Station in Hyattsville and Suitland Metro Station. Iannucci said the county is prepared to encourage development at all 15 of its Metro stops, but these five were selected based on their development potential. “These are our highest-priority stations, where we are willing to go above
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and beyond the normal incentives,” Iannucci said. The package includes infrastructure improvements; a fast-track regulatory approval process; county land for lease; financial incentives including tax credits, loans and financing; assistance from the county in working with state, regional and federal organizations; and
See INCENTIVES, Page A-7
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