PAY HIKE Hyattsville mayor, council in line for increase. A-4
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NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNT Y DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Thursday, February 26, 2015
25 cents
After 30 years, florist rooted on Main St. Laurel street
could ‘widen’ in parking fix
Laurel flower shop beat out competition, brings in new customers
n
BY
KIRSTEN PETERSEN
W
STAFF WRITER
hen Debbie Zook opened her Laurel flower shop in 1985, she gave herself three months to see if she could compete with the 10 other florists on Main Street. Thirty years later, Zook’s shop, Rainbow Florist and Delectables, is the last one standing. “I could have given up like all of the other flower shops because of the economy, but I still have a passion for the business and after 30 years I still love coming to work every day,” Zook said. Zook, 60, of Laurel said she had been working for another florist on Main Street for three years when her father encouraged her to open her own shop. Although she was apprehensive about the endeavor — some of her competitors had been open for more than 40 years — her father told her, “You’re never going to know until you try it,” Zook said. Rainbow Florist and Delectables, located at 370 Main St., now makes 25 to 30 deliveries daily and 250 on Valentine’s Day, Zook said. “You can always find someone who’s working there who is always willing to help you put together a nice arrangement,” said 25-year client Cindy Frederick, 50, of Bowie. “You don’t find that
n
Residents say speeding concerns remain BY
KIRSTEN PETERSEN STAFF WRITER
“They’re paying customers but they’re family. You know them by name,” Zook said. “Laurel is still a small town to me because I know my customers.” She’s also introduced new marketing strategies to get clients through the door such as all loosecut flowers are 50 percent off daily when customers pay in cash and carry them home, Zook said. She
Laurel resident Brian Shurman said he and his wife have lost six side mirrors — some were broken, others gone completely — after parking their cars outside their home on 9th Street. But Shurman said something more than the condition of his car — the safety of his family — is at risk if the city does not find a way to slow drivers down. “Our safety is in jeopardy as long as the problem on that road is not remedied,” Shurman said. Currently, cars can park on both sides of 9th Street, which residents and city officials say makes the road a tight squeeze for two-way traffic. To improve safety for residents and emergency response vehicles, Laurel’s Transportation and Public Safety Committee voted Feb. 19 to draft an ordinance that would restrict parking on the east side of 9th Street, starting at Assembly Street South and continuing less than a quarter of a mile through the 100 and 200 blocks. If approved, the ordinance would prohibit parking from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The policy also would be revisited after a year so public safety officials and residents can see if the restriction resolves their concerns, said City Council president H. Edward Ricks (Ward 1). If problems persist, Ricks said the policy could be reversed before a year is up. “We have very narrow streets and no way to really make them wider for the most part,” Ricks said. “I think we need to be cognizant that the people are there and they need parking and we need to take the
See FLORIST, Page A-6
See STREET, Page A-6
Debbie Zook stands Monday at her store, Rainbow Florist & Delectables, on Main Street in Laurel. anymore really, no matter what you’re trying to buy.” Over the past decade, Zook said she has watched more than five Main Street flower shops close their doors. In addition to losses from the recession, Zook said brick-and-mortar florists have suffered from industry changes. Customers no longer need to visit a shop if they want to purchase flowers — they can
order online and have bouquets shipped to their door, Zook said. There also are “order gathers” — marketers that purchase floral arrangements for their customers by making deals with flower shops, a transaction that can be detrimental to florists, Zook said. Zook said these factors have caused her to lose half of her business in the past seven years. What’s kept her shop afloat, she said, is her loyal customer base.
BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
Auction rule measure stirs concern Sunday liquor sales Critics cite impact on those struggling financially n
BY
DANIEL LEADERMAN STAFF WRITER
Lawmakers in Annapolis want to change the way sales and auctions at self-storage sites are advertised, but some nonprofits say the measure could mean trouble for the poorer and more vulnerable users of those facilities. Currently, a self-storage facility can sell or auction off the property in a storage unit if the renter is in default for more
than 60 days and the sale is advertised in a general-circulation newspaper at least three days ahead of time. The new bill would give facility operators the option of either putting a notice in a newspaper or advertising the sale in “any other commercially reasonable manner specified in the rental agreement” — such as online listings — as long as the sale drew three “independent bidders.” Those bidders must not be related to or have a shared financial interest with each other or the facility operator, according to the bill. Lawmakers say the bill will
make the process more affordable for the self-storage businesses. State law currently requires renters to be notified of the time and place of the auction and given at least 14 days to pay what they owe before the auction proceeds. But changing the rules for advertising the sale is concerning to Marceline White, executive director of the nonprofit Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition. “More notice in a variety of places is better,” she said. People often put items in storage facilities because they
are struggling financially and would then have to repurchase items if their property is sold, White said. But Prince George’s County Del. Dereck E. Davis (D-Dist. 25) of Upper Marlboro, chairman of the Economic Matters Committee and the bill’s lead sponsor, said the bill is just about advertising, and that moving from printed notices to online notices was more costeffective for the self-storage businesses. The Maryland Self Storage Association did not respond to
See AUCTION, Page A-6
brewing in county Store owners say measure helps competition with surrounding areas n
BY
DANIEL LEADERMAN STAFF WRITER
Prince George’s residents could soon be able to buy liquor in the county on Sundays, thanks to a legislative proposal that store owners say will help them compete with neighboring jurisdictions that already al-
low Sunday sales. Efforts to allow Sunday liquor sales have failed in the past, but some delegates who previously objected to the proposal, such as James W. Hubbard (D-Dist. 23A) of Bowie and Aisha N. Braveboy (D-Dist. 25) of Mitchellville, are no longer in the legislature. Those delegates raised concerns about the general proliferation of alcohol in the county and the proximity of
See LIQUOR, Page A-6
County, hospital roll out mobile clinic Van outfitted with exam room, equipment to visit underserved areas n
BY JAMIE
ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER
Health care may soon be closer than the hospital for underserved populations in Prince George’s County, following the unveilling of a new mobile health clinic. “I am so excited about this van, because now we can make sure that anyone, anyone will be able to get the health care they desperately need,” said Maria Gomez, executive director of Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care, an Adelphi nonprofit that provides
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health care, education and social services to underserved communities. The clinic will be able to provide blood pressure and diabetes screenings, as well as mammograms and colonoscopies, said Robyn Webb-Williams, vice president of the Doctor’s Community Hospital Foundation. “We’re trying to take health care out of the hospitals and into people’s homes,” WebbWilliams said. Paul Grenaldo, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Doctors Community Hospital, said medical professionals will be able to see to eight to 10 patients a day in the van. “You will be getting the same kind of treatment you would be getting as though you were
visiting a doctor’s office,” Grenaldo said. Grenaldo said the mobile clinic will visit remote areas of the county and neighborhoods where studies have determined the highest concentration of emergency room users for chronic conditions reside, such as the Capitol Heights area. “Working with the Health Department, the question has been, what can we do to provide health care to more people?” Grenaldo said. “It’s important to bring health care to more people in their homes and in their communities.” The mobile clinic will operate three days a week, Grenaldo said.
See CLINIC, Page A-6
NEWS B-8 A-2 B-6 B-3 A-9 B-1
OUT OF THE RUNNING
Chavez Elementary knocked out of Science Bowl competition.
A-3
WINTERIZE YOUR HOME
Volume 18, No. 9, Two sections, 20 Pages Copyright © 2015 The Gazette Please
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JAMIE ANFENSON-COMEAU/THE GAZETTE
Betty Hager-Francis, deputy chief administrator for Prince George’s County’s Department of Health and Human Services, tours the diagnostic room of the “Wellness on Wheels” mobile clinic on Feb. 19 in Adelphi.
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