PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY Black Restaurant Week, Water Bill Forgiveness, Cannabis Regulations

By Richard Elliott WI Contributing Reporter

BLACK RESTAURANT WEEK IN PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY

Last June, the Prince George’s County Council unanimously adopted a resolution to make the week of Juneteenth “Black Restaurant Week.” County Councilmember At-Large Mel Franklin (D) says the goal of the week is for County residents to buy at least one meal per day this week from Blackowned restaurants.

At the time this resolution was adopted, County Councilmember Calvin S. Hawkins (D- At-Large) said Black Restaurant Week is a wonderful opportunity to support Black-owned food businesses in

Prince George’s County following the challenges of COVID-19 and many business closures.

“The County’s restaurant industry is beginning to show some signs of recovery following two very difficult years, and it is important to keep the momentum going so they are able to thrive post-pandemic,” said Hawkins. Black Restaurant Week, beginning with the commemoration of Juneteenth, is a great time to support a Blackowned culinary businesses and bolster our local economy.”

Councilmember Franklin has a list of Black-owned restaurants in the County on his website.

There’s other work happening to support local eateries. On June 1, One Fair Wage and RAISE High Road Restaurants announced the “Keep Restaurant Workers in Prince George’s County” grant program. The program will award 20-30 establishments with a grant of $5,000-$7,500 each.

WSSC SUSPENDS WATER TURN OFFS, GRANTS FEE WAIVERS

A temporary forgiveness program will give bill credits and waive fees on delinquent water bills to some WSSC customers for June. The “Get Current” program was approved in early May and will help over 80,000 past due accounts, most of which are residential accounts. WSSC will also temporarily suspend residential water turnoff service for the month of June.

Lyn Riggins, a spokesperson for WSSC, said COVID-19 has played a major role in financial challenges.

“Prior to COVID, we never saw delinquent accounts totaling this much revenue and this many customers impacted. And again, we know not everyone can pay their bill in full or even pay half of it right now, but those who can take advantage of this program and those still struggling should reach out to us because we are here to help,” Riggins said.

“There are 83,000 WSSC water customers who are delinquent on their accounts. We need to collect this revenue every single day. WSSC Water needs to deliver water and wastewater services to our 1.9 million customers in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and it takes money to do that,” the WSSC spokesperson added.

WSSSC-eligible residential customers with household income below 150% of the area median income will receive 10% bill credit for payment in full of the delinquent amount, 100% of late payment charges and turn-on fees waived, along with 5% bill credit for 50% payment of the delinquent amount and successful completion of a six-month payment plan. Upon completion of the payment plan, 100% of late payment charges and turn-on fees are waived. The 5% bill credit is also applied after the completion of the payment plan.

For residential customers above 150% of the area’s median income, all late payment charges and turnon fees will be waived. Apply for these financial assistance programs at wsscwater.com from now until June 30.

Cannabis Regulations Announced

In a recent email, lobbyist Darrell Carrington informed interested Marylanders that the Maryland Department of Commerce is now accepting the first round of applications for the Cannabis Business Assistance Fund.

“The primary goal of this fund is to enhance the capacity of small businesses and entrepreneurs, like yourselves, to actively participate in Maryland's adult-use cannabis industry,” said lobbyist Darrell Carrington, one of the leading voices in Maryland’s cannabis legalization. “By providing both grants and loans, we aim to promote equitable economic growth and empower small, minority, and women-owned businesses to have a greater stake in this thriving industry.”

Carrington also sent out a list of pending regulations for the Maryland Cannabis Administration, giving guidelines on what the agency will be doing once created, and the Comptroller’s FAQs for operational and soon-to-be cannabis businesses.

The initial round of assistance available through the fund is the Medical Cannabis License Conversion Fee Assistance grant, which has been specifically designed to offer financial support to existing medical-use licensees and help to cover the costs associated with converting their licenses to adult-use licenses. Processors and growers may qualify for grants of up to $50,000, while dispensary licensees can receive grants of up to $25,000.

Priority consideration will be given to license owners in areas that have been disproportionately affected by cannabis prohibition enforcement.

To be eligible for the Medical Cannabis License Conversion Fee grant, the business must be a small business with 50 or less employees per license as of May 1, 2023, and have at least 51% of the business owners with a personal net worth not exceeding $1.7 million.

More details regarding the second round of applications will be released before Aug. 1. WI