Dog park for Dog Days of Summer! See story on page 3 Vol. 5 No. 7
Hyattsville’s Community Newspaper
Cyber city
Massive snakehead caught in Hyattsville
What the Internet means for Hyattsville by Sarah Nemeth and Jessica Wilson
phy of an official city listserv that keeps residents informed about events, meetings and other community information. The listserv has been available
cess of the city keeping residents and business owner’s informed,” Murphy said. Another forum for community discussion is the Hyattsville H4X Podcast. Ward 2 residents Chris Condayan, Tim Rogers and Greg Tindale host the show – which has not aired in original form since January – where they discuss local happenings. The site is chock full of interviews and snippets of radio clips for residents to listen to. Condayan and Rogers, next-door neighbors, would toss ideas back and forth over the fence separating their properties. The banter finally morphed into something a bit more “official” with the podcast. “Think of a podcast as radio
Cyber continued on page 15
Photo|Megan Roberts-Satinsky
"We believe those services are important and integral to the success of the city keeping residents and business owner’s informed."
Photo|Sarah Nemeth
I
n the age of the Internet, keeping a community close is just a click away. In Hyattsville, various sources of content online and ways to surf the Web keep residents in touch and technically savvy. For residents, the city’s Web site offers updates on community and government issues, as well as links to send e-mails to the city officials. “The city utilizes many different types and forms of media to communicate to residents,” said City Administrator Elaine Mur-
since August 2000 and currently has 719 members and anyone can sign up by sending an e-mail to hyattsville-subscribe@yahogroups. com. As a member of Hyattsville’s IT committee, Matthew McKnight said redesign of the city’s Web site is top priority. “This is sorely needed,” he said. “The current Web page is difficult to navigate and is based on outdated technology. The city would also like to offer more e-services to its residents - something that I think they have had a lot of requests for - and would like to have a Web-based process in place for tracking citizen requests and archiving old documents.” While vendor requests are being culled for that project, other Web projects are getting on-boarded. In April of this year, the Hyattsville Police Department initiated its Safe City Alert System. This system provides 24/7 member access to important alerts regarding local public safety issues, Murphy said. Alerts can be received by e-mail or text message. “We believe those services are important and integral to the suc-
July 2008
Environmental scientists Justin Reel and Mike Schening display a snakehead taken from the Northwest Branch in Hyattsville.
by Chris Currie
A
sea monster was not what Justin Reel, Lauren Wanzer and Mike Schening expected to encounter during a routine stream survey of Hyattsville’s Northwest Branch on April 30. As part of the Wilson Bridge Mitigation Project, the environmental scientists were electroshocking the Anacostia tributary below a fish ladder at U.S. Route
1 in order to measure the spring runs of anadromous fish such as herring, gizzard shad, alewife and white perch. As they worked downstream into a deep hole under the CSX train bridge, the Potomac Crossing Consultants biologists found themselves nearly as shocked as their electrified prey. A 28-inch snakehead fish - one of the largest ever captured in U.S. waters
Fish continued on page 10
Hyattsville Life & Times PO Box 132 Hyattsville, MD 20781
Tax break offered through city, state by Adam Copeland and Chris Holleman
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t a June 2 meeting, the Hyattsville City Council passed a motion to draft an ordinance that establishes a 15 percent supplement to the state of Maryland’s homeowner property tax credit. If this ordinance is enacted, the City of Hyattsville would provide some tax relief to qualifying Hyattsville homeown-
ers. Because this program is administered by the state, homeowners need only apply for the state’s homeowner property tax relief program to be considered for this new Hyattsville property tax credit. The idea behind a Hyattsville tax credit came out of a Property Tax Task Force. The City Council established this task force to look at “taxes across the board but focus on tax relief for residents, particularly those having fixed income
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit # 43 Easton, MD 21601
BB&T Building Turnvoer
See story on page 10
or limited incomes,” according to council motion #08-01-08. The Task Force met several times over the beginning of this year, mainly looking at different tax relief programs for homeowners with limited incomes. The group quickly focused on tax credits which would be administered by the state, since this approach allows for comprehensive qualifying criteria and because the state does not charge for its services.
Local Historian Moves On See story on page 5
After extensive debate over the scope of the tax relief and whether qualified homeowners would have to be over 70 years of age, the group reached a consensus that age should not be a part of the tax relief criteria. This was done out of concern “for those Hyattsville homeowners, such as teachers and police officers, who have sacrificed material wealth to pursue careers
Tax continued on page 11
Local Summer Secrets See story on page 3
Center Pullout Section: The July 9, 2008, Issue of The Hyattsville Reporter