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Artist educates through illustration By Lindsay Myers
Riverdale resident, Ikumi Kayama, sits in front of the lightboard in her spare bedroom. The tiny space is crowded. Five or six framed paintings lean against the closet door. A large L-shaped desk occupies one corner of the room, a bookshelf heavy with textbooks, the other. A smaller, secondary desk, rounds out the little horseshoe of work space where Kayama sits at the apex. On a computer screen next to the lightboard, a close-up of a macrophage spans the monitor. Kayama glances at it occasionally, carefully shaping the debrieating cell with her blue pencil. A couple of stuffed birds perch on the smaller desk behind her, observing her progress. Kayama is a scientific illustrator. According to the University of Georgia, where Kayama earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2005, scientific illustration is a “visual tool of communication [used] solely for the purpose of education.” Kayama’s illustrations show medical students where to make their incisions or sixth graders where the lionfish lives. “The difference comes from how much detail is needed ILLUSTRATOR continued on page 12
Vol. 13 No. 7
Life&Times & &Times
Hyattsville’s Community Newspaper
July 2016
COURTESY OF MIKE YOURISHIN/PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE Members of the local Curious Moms group and their babies meet with Prince Georgeʼs County Executive Rushern Baker III and his staff members at his office June 21.
Local moms, babies meet with county executive By Krissi Humbard
NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID EASTON MD PERMIT NO. 43
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A chance meeting at a coffee shop in March turned into a unique opportunity for a Hyattsville group of new moms to advocate for issues affecting families. “We were having our regular
weekly coffee at Vigilante earlier this spring with our newborns, and Rushern Baker [III] just happened to walk in,” said Jamila Larson, a local mom and executive director and co-founder of the Homeless Children's Playtime Project. Baker is the county executive
of Prince George’s County. “He came right for the babies and ended up holding them and cooing over them,” she said. Larson noted that the Curious Moms group, a subgroup of the Hyattsville Nurturing Moms, had just been talking about the child care gap before Baker
walked in. She said the group was discussing how lower-income mothers could manage child care expenses. When they mentioned this to Baker, he gave them his card and asked to set up a meeting. Baker added, BAKER continued on page 13
Residents participate in active shooting preparedness training
Hyattsville Life & Times PO Box 132 Hyattsville, MD 20781
By Ben Simasek
In Hyattsville, like in many other communities around the world, our hearts ache for the victims of violent tragedies in Orlando, San Bernardino, Charleston, Newtown, and far too many other places to name. The best response that we can have as a community is one of solidarity, peace, and preparedness. On Thursday, June 30, the Hyattsville Police Department held a "Civilian Response to an Active Shooter Event" community training
at the Municipal Building that was open to the public. Sgt. Mike Rudinski led the training, accompanied by Detective Zach Nemser. Most of the 41 attendees were Hyattsville and University Park residents. Participants watched video and listened to audio of previous active shooter events and other real emergencies. They then assessed the decisions people made in those situations. The training's central message was Avoid, Deny, Defend — in the order that
these actions should be taken if someone has threatened public safety. The Avoid Deny Defend (ADD) program was developed by Texas State University’s Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center. Rudinski explained that when we are overcome by fear, our ability to assess the situation and act intelligently is often SHOOTING continued on page 13
CENTER SECTION: JULY 12, 2016 ISSUE OF THE HYATTSVILLE REPORTER — IN ESPANOL TOO!