FROM THE EDITOR
Leaders say thank you to Principal Walter Reap. P. 2
Storm-blown tree crashes through Hyattsville home By Mark Goodson
When Denise Knutson stood at the door of her daughter Sarah Curran’s Hyattsville home and saw that hail was pelting the house at a horizontal angle, she said, “We should take cover.” No sooner, a tree — uprooted from a neighbor’s backyard — crashed through the window two feet from where Knutson stood. A limb bruised her arm. The black oak, three feet in diameter, would have split the home in two were it not for the load-bearing wall that bisects the first floor of the residence. Knutson grabbed the family Chihuahua Ringo but couldn’t see her daughter who, moments earlier, was sitting on the couch that lined the opposite wall, watching the Washington Capitals play game three against the Penguins with her three-and-a-half-yearold son, Finnian. Three sides of the plywood roofing in the room had fallen, trapping mother and child in a triangulated nook. After the initial shock, Curran thought of her husband in the other room. She said she thought to herself, “Michael’s going to be really worried. I couldn’t see any-
TEEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE Local teens want to be part of the solution. P. 3
AMENDING AMERICA
Local residents create new exhibit at the National Archives Museum. P. 7
Life&Times & &Times
Vol. 13 No. 6
Hyattsville’s Community Newspaper
Black & Red Block Party shows partnership, community By Scarlett Salem
CURRAN continued on page 12
NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID EASTON MD PERMIT NO. 43
June 2016
COURTESY OF SCARLETT SALEM Vendors and residents gather outside Vigilante. Despite a passing storm, visitors stayed to see D.C. United Coach Ben Olsen.
A few hundred people showed up — despite the threat of rain and eventual downpour — for the Vigilante Coffee Black & Red Block Party held all day on Saturday, May 14. The block party featured the limited edition Black & Red Cold Brew coffee created by Vigilante Coffee in partnership with local Major League Soccer Team, D.C. United. The coffee is a blend of Indonesian, Brazilian, and Ethiopian beans that were hand-selected by United’s coach, Ben Olsen. “Chris [Vigilante] has fostered a friendship with Ben over the years, with Ben liking coffee and us being in the industry,” said Austin Reddington, Vigilante Coffee’s Director of Retail and Marketing. “We [Vigilante Coffee] started in my basement. … We are the underdog. D.C. United is the same way. They are often overlooked in the area because they are in a more rundown stadium. We are two local organizations that like to hustle VIGILANTE continued on page 13
Local artists open studios to art lovers Hyattsville Life & Times PO Box 132 Hyattsville, MD 20781
By Lindsay Myers
On Saturday, May 14, the Gateway Community Development Corporation (CDC) launched the 12th annual Gateway Open Studios Tour. Over 120 artists opened their studios to the public for the DC region’s largest behind-the-scenes tour of creative spaces. A large after party featuring a fashion show sponsored by the Prince George’s County Arts and Humanities Council concluded
the event at the 39th Street Gallery in Brentwood. The tour spanned the two-mile stretch of the Route 1 Corridor known as the Prince George’s County Arts District, including Hyattsville, North Brentwood, Brentwood, and Mount Rainier. Anthony Henderson, the chief administrative officer for the Gateway CDC said, “We have somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 to 500 artists that live, work, or play in the area. [The Open Studio
Tour] gives the general public a behind-thescenes look into the projects the artists have going on, so maybe they will become potential new art lovers and clients.” Artists ranged from painters, sculptors, and printmakers to photographers, book binders, and jewelry makers. Many offered live demonstrations throughout the afternoon. DC GlassWorks ran glassblowing demonstrations STUDIOS continued on page 4
CENTER SECTION: JUNE 14, 2016 ISSUE OF THE HYATTSVILLE REPORTER — IN ESPANOL TOO!