06-2023 Hyattsville Life & Times

HPD wellness program reduces stigma

about therapy

By Heather Wright

Hyattsville Police Chief Jarod J. Towers said the department’s 18-month-old mental wellness check-in program has notably reduced the stigma about therapy that previously kept some employees from seeking support.

Before the program started, in December 2021, if Towers or any of his command staff asked an officer experiencing a crisis if they wanted to talk to someone, “the answer was always ‘I’m OK,’ and ‘No, I don’t want to talk to anybody,’” Towers said in a phone interview.

Since the program’s implementation, employees known to have experienced a trau-

Meet the new councilmember for Ward 3

By Sophie Gorman Oriani

Kareem Redmond is the newly elected Ward 3 city councilmember and was sworn in for his first term on June 5. During the city’s May election, Ward 3 Councilmember Ben Simasek decided not to run for reelection, and two candidates stepped up to vie for the role. Kareem Redmond beat Alexander Houck, receiving 171

Grazing goats tackle invasive plant species

By Griffin Limerick

The first thing you should know about Browsing Green Goats is that they are not here to mow your lawn.

“I get a lot of phone calls for that,” said Mary Bowen, owner of Prosperity Acres in Sunderland, home of Browsing Green Goats. “People call: Their lawnmower is broken down in July, and they want the goats to come out.”

Rather, as landscapers, goats are specialists: They work in hard-to-reach or vegetation-dense areas like wetlands, thickets and slopes — what Bowen’s website calls “places

that machinery can’t reach and humans don’t want to go” — where they chew on broad-leaved, invasive vines, like kudzu and poison ivy, working the weeds down to nubs that humans can more easily remove.

“It’s the first tool in a toolbox,” Bowen said. “It’s not the end-all be-all. But it allows you to figure out what’s really going on on your property, so that you can start to map out a management plan.”

It was precisely in pursuit of such a plan that Hyattsville Environmental Coordinator Colin Morrison reached out to Bowen last fall about bringing the goats to Driskell Park.

“We’ve got a lot of invasive plants and a lot of invasive brush,” Morrison said. “The downside to having that sort of problem is there’s really only one of two ways of going through it.”

One is the use of herbicides, which Morrison said the city “would like to avoid doing at all costs.” The other is the deployment of volunteers to systematically tramp through and remove the invasives. The brush, however, often conceals dangers like thorn bushes and poisonous plants.

“These guys are a great counter to that,” said Morrison, indicating the goats.

SEE GOATS ON 10 

pesar del aumento de los costes, nuestro Concejo votó favor impuesto sobre bienes Ciudad en $0.63 por cada 100 dólares Si necesita impuestos de propiedad, le hyattsville.org/ revisar los programas de crédito para los Hyattsville. En el 2021, la Ciudad recibió parte Rescate Americano (ARPA). una parte emergencia, la Ciudad propuso varias para los fondos Según

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

In response to the May Hyattsville Life & Times article “City Proposes Budget with $5.8 million shortfall,” I’d like to provide some clarification on the city’s police department budget. The article notes the police budget is increased for fiscal year 2024, with the majority of the increase allocated to the Investigations

Division. The article also notes, “The staffing shift is not reflected in police department organizational charts submitted with the FY 2023 and FY 2024 budget presentations.” This information is correct, but the phrasing could be misconstrued to appear the department is not being transparent about the use of funds.

As Hyattsville’s chief of police, I want to assure our community that transparency is a top priority for our department. Since I took this role in 2021, I’ve been reviewing departmental policies and procedures to identify areas of improvement. One major focus of my leadership has been correctly staffing the depart-

Meeting your audio-visual needs close to home

ment, so all officers are properly supported in their work and less susceptible to burnout. Law enforcement agencies across the country are seeing talented staff leave for better-paying jobs both inside and out of the profession, and their colleagues who remain end up overburdened and unable to serve their communities to the best of their ability.

The police department introduced several new cost initiatives to attract and retain talented officers in the last fiscal year. This included a streamlined hiring process, financial incentives and salary adjustments, best-in-class trainings, and access to unique benefits like the Mental Health and Wellness Check-in Program.

I am glad to say that we are seeing the results of these efforts, with several well-qualified officers recently added to our ranks.

The FY 2024 budget increase reflects a continuation of the initiatives described above and several others. The organizational charts described in the May article have not changed, but their corresponding cost centers in the city’s budget have been reorganized to better align with the departmental activity in each police division.

I understand this results in a visual disconnect between the named budget items and the staffing charts. As I continue to work at improving our department’s fiscal responsibility and efficiency, I will likely propose additional changes to the rest of our city leadership team to make this more transparent. In the meantime, we are focused first and foremost on getting our staff onboarded, trained and into the community.

I hope this provides some reassurance and visibility into our process. If you have further questions about the department, please email HPDPIO@ hyattsville.org.

Community members are also welcome to join our monthly Police and Public Safety Committee meetings, held on the second Wednesday of each month. Details are at hyattsville.org/ calendar.

Sincerely, Jarod J. Towers

Jarod J. Towers is chief of the Hyattsville Police Department.

Local Hyattsville author fills critical space in children’s media

By Torrence Banks

Yaba Baker’s neighborhood, Edgewood Terrace in Washington, D.C., was forever changed by the crack epidemic of the 1980s. Baker, president and CEO of Just Like Me Inc., said he watched his childhood stomping grounds turn into an environment infested with drugs and violence. Before the epidemic, Baker’s dad became hooked on heroin, leaving him without a consistent father figure until age 17.

Nine of Baker’s friends were murdered between when he was 14 and the start of his junior year as an engineering student at Hampton University. The accumulation of these tragedies left Baker in a daze; he suffered from PTSD, which went undiagnosed at the time. He tried to go to Hampton’s counseling center; however, the center was not equipped to help students with major trauma.

“So when I went to the counselor, she was like, ‘Well, you

know, it'll pass,’” Baker said. “She didn’t give me any techniques or tools or anything.”

Once a student with a photographic memory, Baker struggled to retain information. The students he tutored scored A’s on exams while he would fail them.

He ultimately decided to leave Hampton during his senior year in 1993 to start his own business with a $10,000 investment from one of his mom’s friends. He created a series of personalized books for children through his company DBW Enterprises, which is named after his grandmother’s initials. Baker moved away from creating those books in 1996, and later changed the name of the company to Just Like Me Inc. in 2003. Hyattsville became its main location about five years later.

Through books and animations published by Just Like Me Inc., Baker discusses the mental health challenges Black children may face and provides assistance to help them through it.

Baker said that children who read his stories can point to characters who are experiencing struggles similar to what they face. “So now you can talk about their issue, but not about them,” Baker said.

His most recent work, The Adventures of Super CJ, addresses children’s decision-making choices when they get angry. The main character, 12-year-old Cameron Justus (CJ), attains superpowers to fight evil. However, he loses them when he gets angry. Using the character as a focal point, Baker created a nationwide contest in May to help raise mental health awareness for third- through 12th-grade students. The deadline for the contest has been extended until the end of June.

Baker struggled with his own anger growing up, crediting his move from D.C. to Hampton, Va., to attend college as his “saving grace.” During his junior year, his friends noticed he was becoming suicidal. Baker recounted an incident when he got into an argument with an-

other man that resulted in him threatening to shoot Baker.

“‘Go get your gun, ain’t nobody scared of the gun,’” Baker recalled saying. “‘I’ll wait for you.’”

The incident ended with no one getting hurt, but Baker’s girlfriend at the time was

shocked and concerned about his behavior.

“‘Are you crazy? What is wrong with you?’” Baker recalled her asking. “‘She was like, ‘Do you think your mom is going to be okay with you dying here in college?’”

If you ' ve been holding off on a move because of concerns about mortgage rates, it's time for a new perspective

The advantage you get by waiting for lower interest rates could easily be wiped out by rising home prices.

If you can comfortably afford the house you want at current rates and plan to stay for at least five years, don't wait make the move Prices will continue to rise and you can refinance when rates go down. www.GoBrentRealty.com

Local author Yaba Baker holds three of his books, The Adventures of Super CJ, Just Like Me Series and Princess Briana, at the Hyattsville Branch Library. TORRENCE BANKS

RE-WILDING ROUTE 1

Turtles all the way down

By Rick Borchelt

Testudo, the half-ton bronze University of Maryland mascot outside McKeldin Library, isn’t going on walkabout anytime soon — though he might like to. That big boy is a diamondback terrapin, the state’s official turtle and the only turtle species in the U.S. that lives in brackish water. Not much of that on campus; you can bet Testudo is feeling a bit testy, high and dry up there on his pedestal. But early summer is the prime time for finding Maryland’s flesh-and-blood turtles basking in the sun or ambling across local roads.

Most of the turtles we see out and about are females looking for a soft, often sandy spot to dig a hole and lay eggs. This wandering phase is when turtles are their most vulnerable — subject to being squished on the road by cars or snatched for the pet trade. Raccoons, skunks and foxes eagerly snack on turtle eggs, and hatchlings are on just about everybody’s menu. But if those young turtles make it through the first

few years, they may well live for decades if their habitat isn’t paved over or converted to townhouses. Turtles have been around for almost 300 million years. They have one distinct feature in common: Their ribs grow sideways and fuse together into a bony dome (carapace) and a hard bottom plate (plastron). While the earliest turtles didn’t always have complete shells — and some even had teeth! — turtles from a hundred million years ago would look right at home in a local pond or stream today.

Maryland has 19 kinds of native turtles, plus a couple of nonnatives that have escaped the pet turtle trade and now make their homes in local waters. Five of these native species are sea turtles that come to sandy ocean beaches only to lay their eggs; all of these are rare, at-risk species and receive federal protections under the Endangered Species Act. Five more non-marine turtles are also rare enough to require active state or federal conservation efforts. Of the remainder, the ornately patterned and high-domed Eastern

box turtle, snapping turtles and the various pond turtles we see so often may be the most familiar to you.

Eastern box turtles (Terrapine carolina) may be the most familiar turtle to many of us, but they’re increasingly rare in our area. And while each individual box turtle usually only occupies a home territory of an acre or two for its entire life, that territory needs to be in a rich, mixed woodland-field habitat with some water. Ideally it won’t be near to or bisected by a road, either — adult box turtles are frequent roadkill casualties as they move back and forth in their wild homes. Cars are about the only things besides disease and habitat loss that kill adult box turtles — their habitat is increasingly fragmented and depleted, largely due to residential and commercial development.

The most common native pond turtle in our local patch is the Eastern painted turtle (Chrysemys picta picta); a close look-alike Maryland native is the Northern red-bellied cooter (Pseudemys rubriventris). Both are mediumsized (up to the size of a large dinner plate) aquatic turtles with brightly colored markings on their heads and shells (although their

shells darken with age, which can make identification tricky).

We also have red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans) in Maryland, a semi-aquatic species that looks a lot like Eastern painted and Northern red-bellied cooters. The slider is non-native and ended up in local waterways when some number of them outgrew their small terrarium homes and their owners decided that dumping was easier than upgrading to bigger tanks.

Snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) are our biggest local freshwater turtles. Starting out the size of a silver dollar, these turtles can grow to 75 pounds with a shell the diameter of a basketball hoop and can live for a century or more. Unlike box turtles, snapping turtles are wide-ranging travelers, albeit slow ones, and they regularly go on expeditions over land — and over roads — to new ponds, lakes, rivers and streams.

On land, snapping turtles are famously aggressive, and their large jaws can do serious damage to hands and fingers of the unwary handler. The species name for snapping turtle, serpentina, reflects this turtle’s ability to whip its snake-like neck around and bite

SEE TURTLES ON 9 

An Eastern box turtle soaks in a mud puddle after a long winter of brumation. RICK BORCHELT

LIFE & TIMES LOCAVORE

Th e beautiful business of bees

By Imke Ahlf-Wien

It’s a sunny afternoon in May when I visit Hope Honey Farm’s owner, apiarist Maggie Mills, at her home in the heart of Hyattsville. She helps me put on a protective thick white jacket, which includes a hat and a shielding veil, to visit the beehives in her backyard.

Thousands of honeybees are going about their business here: Some worker bees are flying back and forth to collect nectar and pollen, while others are guarding the hive, caring for the queen and larvae, and producing honey. Male drone bees are also visible in the hive, but their only role is to mate with the queen.

I keep my voice low and avoid any abrupt movements, but these precautions are not necessary. Mills explains that honeybees are docile animals and are not bothered by us. By using a hand-held smoker that puffs cool, fragrant smoke at the entrance of the beehive, she further calms the bees. Spending an hour watching the workings of bees and listening to their gentle humming is pure magic. For Mills, it has a meditative quality, putting her completely at peace.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov), about 4,000 bee species live in the U.S., many of them native, including the widely known bumblebee. But the honeybee, which was brought to the U.S. from Europe in the 17th century, is the only bee that produces enough honey for humans to use the surplus for their own consumption — while still leaving enough for the hive to feed their offspring and get through the winter.

Honeybees and beekeepers rely on each other. The beekeeper provides the hive, including several stacked boxes that allow free movement of the bees. Each box can hold about eight to 10 frames: This is where the bees draw their wax combs to make honey, store food and raise their brood. According to Mills, honeybees that build hives in the wild tend not to survive the winter.

Between March and June, honeybees go swarming. Prompted by an increase in population, ample resources and the desire to reproduce, 50 to 60% of worker bees of a colony and their queen leave their hive in search of a new location. The swarm may cluster on the limbs of trees and bushes, but you can occasionally find them on porches, sidewalks and fences, as well. When swarming, bees are

actually very docile, Mills said, because they are focused on reproducing, rather than on defending their space.

When people encounter a huge cluster of buzzing bees, they may fear for their safety and wonder if they should spray them or call an exterminator. But this is the moment when, free of charge, experienced beekeepers like Mills will come to the rescue.

When she comes upon a swarm, Mills induces the bees into a portable box by shaking a tree branch or guiding them with a stick. Once the bees have moved into the container, she brings the swarm to her backyard where she can start a new hive, making sure the queen is healthy and able to continue the colony.

Mills estimates that there are about a dozen beekeepers in

Honey Mustard Dressing

(yields about 1 cup)

Making your own dressing doesn’t take more than three minutes and will be tastier and healthier than anything store-bought. Use as dressing for a salad (you can find plenty of local salad greens at the Riverdale Park Farmers Market on Thursdays from 3 to 7 p.m.) or as a dipping sauce for cut vegetables.

Ingredients: ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil ¼ cup mustard of your choice (I like Dijon mustard.) 3 tablespoons local honey

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

Directions: Add the ingredients to a medium Mason jar, secure the lid and shake until well blended.

Hyattsville that occasionally get together for meetings.

Honeybees are important pollinators, and it’s crucial to keep their habitats alive and well. The number of bee colonies in the U.S. has been on a steady decline since 2006 because of pesticides, loss of habitat, climate change and disease, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group. Mills cautioned that pesticides destroy not only their intended target (like mosquitos), but also pose a threat to other insects — including honeybees. If you want to fight mosquitoes, she suggests using a natural product like Mosquito Barrier, which is made from garlic extract and does not harm pollinators.

Local honey represents the true taste of a neighborhood. Since honeybees practice floral fidelity (visiting only one kind of flower while it is in bloom), Hyattsville honey is made up of nectar from black locust, tulip poplar, catalpa and linden trees, as well as a variety of wildflowers, according to Mills. You can easily infuse your own meals with this local flavor: Add honey, instead of sugar, to baked goods, drizzle it on plain yogurt for a simple snack, or make honey mustard dressing (see recipe).

Imke Ahlf-Wien, whose name means “little bee” in her native German, is a nutrition educator with a passion for fresh, locally procured foods.

Your Next Address - Without the Stress

I've lived in this area for years and know firsthand just how great this community

I'm committed to making it easy for m clients to buy and sell their homes

My record speaks for itself I've been recognized as a "Top Agent" by GCAA and Washingtonian, and ranked in th top 5% of realtors nationally by HomeSnap.

Want to know more?

Call or email me for a free consultation and let me put my expertise and enthusiasm to work for you!

Apiarist Maggie Mills tends the honeybees at Hope Honey Farm. COURTESY OF MAGGIE MILLS

Celebrating Pride: What LGBTQ+ advocacy looks like in Maryland

By Jessica Arends

So far this year, 491 antiLGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in state legislatures, twice the number introduced last year, with many targeting the trans community (American Civil Liberties Union, 2023). LGBTQ+ students have a higher incidence of being bullied or harassed and are more than five times as likely as nonLGBTQ+ students to attempt suicide (The Trevor Project, 2022).

In honor of Pride month, I spoke with three local advocates to learn about how they support the LGBTQ+ community: Alice Wong, founder of the Gaithersburg chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), middle school teacher Holly Stephens, and policy advocate David S. Fishback.

Alice Wong

proud mother of a lesbian daughter

When her teenage daughter came out in the 1980s, Alice Wong was not happy at first. “My first thought was all those extra battles my child is going to face,”

Wong said. “But I knew enough to know you can’t change this.”

In the 1990s, Wong joined PFLAG, an organization “dedicated to supporting, educating and advocating for LGBTQ+ people and those who love them.” After moving to Gaithersburg, in 2015, to be closer to her daughter, Wong founded a PFLAG chapter.

Wong uses the example of white people marching during the Civil Rights Movement to show why allyship is so important. “The police couldn’t act so precipitously,”

Wong said. “It wasn’t just ‘These people demand their rights,’ it was ‘Why don’t they have the same rights that we have?’” Recently, a supportive grandmother came to Wong’s PFLAG meeting to ask about proper etiquette when attending her gay granddaughter’s wedding. Afterwards, the grandmother returned to share pictures and boast about the beautiful brides. “In this space, family members can speak about things they may be more reluctant to share with others and to

help people not live in a bubble of like-ness,” Wong said.

Holly Stephens middle school teacher

Friends Community School teacher Holly Stephens has a set of shelves in her College Park classroom specifically for middle grade LGBTQ+ literature.

“I have kids that read every single book on those shelves,” Stephens said.

After a lesson on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” and a discussion on representation in children’s literature last winter, Stephens asked her sixth grade students to audit her classroom library. Although students found racial diversity, they found the LGBTQ+ representation lacking, Stephens said.

Together they compiled a list of titles and sent it out to parents, some of whom showed support by purchasing several of the books for their library.

When asked how she would address concerns about LGBTQ+ books in her class if they did arise, Stephens said she would listen to parents and talk through any issues.

“I’d also go back to our Quaker foundation as a school that honors and celebrates kids for who they are and the light within them,” Stephens said.

David S. Fishback policy advocate

David S. Fishback, a retired attorney who lives in Montgomery County, became an LGBTQ+ advocate in 2002, after learning that the Montgomery County Schools (MCPS) system was considering adding a discussion of LGTBQ+ matters in health education.

“The silence had been deafening,” Fishback said. “It was as if gay people didn’t exist.”

The issue was personal: His younger son had come out in

1997, and his older son would do so a few years later.

As chair of the MCPS Board of Education Family Life and Human Development Advisory Committee and the advocacy chair for Metro DC PFLAG, Fishback explained to school officials and the media the need to make the curriculum more inclusive. In 2015, this was finally achieved and documented in Fishback’s PFLAG publication, “Curriculum Victory, Montgomery County, Maryland: A Case Study and Handbook for Action.”

In response to a 2020 lawsuit against the school system, Fishback helped develop a PFLAG brief to defend MCPS guidelines stipulating that staff could only disclose a student's gender identity to guardians with the student’s permission. After the lawsuit was dismissed by the federal district court in March 2023, the plaintiffs appealed; the case, according to Fishback, may reach the Supreme Court. “Most people know someone who is gay, but not everyone knows someone who is trans,” Fishback said. “Sadly, too many politicians believe they can exploit what they see as the weak link in LGBTQ+ support and use fear and lack of knowledge to scare people — and the results are tragic."

Visit the Human Rights Campaign website, HRC.org, for a list of ally resources and check out county Pride events at pgcmls. info.

Jessica Arends writes “The Hy-Life” column for the Hyattsville Life & Times.

The views expressed in this column belong to its author. The Hyattsville Life & Times reserves the right to edit “From Where I Stand” submissions for brevity and clarity.

Families celebrate Pride month during the Hyattsville Pride Bike Ride on June 12, 2021. COURTESY OF JULIA NIKHINSON/THE DIAMONDBACK

The Hyattsville Reporter

your New City Council! | ¡Cononza a su

A Letter from Mayor Croslin

Hello Hyattsville, I feel very fortunate to have been re-elected as your Mayor in the May election. I look forward to serving this wonderful community alongside my colleagues for the next four years.As our newly elected Council prepares to enter a new fiscal year, I want to share a few key budget initiatives you can look forward to in the upcoming months.

Budget Update: My Council colleagues and City staff have been hard at work since the beginning of the year on the City’s 2024 fiscal year budget, which funds City operations from July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024. The final budget was adopted this June. This year we’ve allocated funds to improving public safety, streets, and public spaces; expanding and diversifying community programming; providing support to retain and expand businesses; and to complete the construction of two long awaited projects – the Hyattsville Teen Center and Police and Public Safety Headquarters. Despite rising costs, our Council voted keep the City’s real property tax rate at $0.63 per $100 of assessed value to help residents stay in their homes. If you need assistance with homeowners’ taxes, I encourage you to visit hyattsville.org/housing to review the tax credit programs available to Hyattsville residents.

ARPA Spending Plan: In 2021, the City received $17.9 million as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). After setting aside a portion for emergency relief, City Council proposed several ideas for the remaining unspent funds. Per the Act’s requirements, funded programs must continue to support residents still recovering from the pandemic or build resiliency in the face of future emergencies. The final ARPA spending plan was also approved this June, and will bring improvements to City infrastructure, raise visibility for our business community, support the City’s long-term environmental health, and create program opportunities for community members of all ages.

The final budget and ARPA spending plan documents can be viewed at hyattsville.org/budget. You can also expect a mailed budget guide delivered to your home this summer.

Una Letra del Alcalde Croslin

Hola Hyattsville, me siento muy afortunado de haber sido reelegido Alcalde en las elecciones de mayo. Estoy deseando servir a esta maravillosa comunidad junto con mis colegas durante los próximos cuatro años. Mientras nuestro recién elegido Concejo se prepara para entrar en un nuevo año fiscal, quiero compartir algunas iniciativas presupuestarias clave que pueden esperar en los próximos meses.

Actualización del Presupuesto: Mis colegas del Concejo y el personal de la Ciudad han estado trabajando duro desde el comienzo del año en el presupuesto del año fiscal 2024 de la Ciudad, que financia las operaciones de la Ciudad del 1 de julio de 2023 al 30 de junio de 2024. El presupuesto final se aprobó este mes de junio. Este año se asignaron fondos para mejorar la seguridad pública, las calles y los espacios públicos; ampliar y diversificar la programación de la comunidad; dar apoyo para retener y ampliar las empresas; y para completar la construcción de dos proyectos largamente esperados - el Centro de Adolescentes de Hyattsville y el Cuartel General de Policía y Seguridad Pública. A pesar del aumento de los costes, nuestro Concejo votó a favor de mantener el impuesto sobre bienes de la Ciudad en $0.63 por cada 100 dólares de valor tasado. Si necesita ayuda con los impuestos de propiedad, le animo a visitar hyattsville.org/ housing para revisar los programas de crédito fiscal disponibles para los residentes de Hyattsville.

Plan de Gastos ARPA: En el 2021, la Ciudad recibió $17.9 millones como parte de la Ley del Plan de Rescate Americano (ARPA). Tras reservar una parte para ayuda de emergencia, la Ciudad propuso varias ideas para los fondos restantes. Según los requisitos de la Ley, los programas financiados deben seguir ayudando a los residentes que aún se están recuperando de la pandemia o reforzar su resistencia ante futuras emergencias. El plan de gastos final de ARPA también se aprobó este mes de junio, y aportará mejoras a la infraestructura de la Ciudad, aumentará la visibilidad de nuestra comunidad empresarial, apoyará la salud medioambiental y creará oportunidades de programas para miembros de la comunidad de todas las edades.

El presupuesto y los documentos del plan de gastos ARPA pueden consultarse en hyattsville.org/budget. Este verano también recibirá en su domicilio una guía presupuestaria por correo.

Meet

Nuevo Concejo Municipal! From left to right | De izquierda a derecha Rommel Sandino, Ward 5; Michelle Lee, Ward 4; Joseph Solomon, Ward 5; Danny Schaible, Ward 2; Joanne Waszczak, Ward 1, Mayor Robert Croslin; Emily Strab, Ward 2; Edouard Haba, Ward 4; Kareem Redmond, Ward 3; Sam Denes, Ward 1; Not pictured: Jimmy McClellan, Ward 3

ANNOUNCEMENTS | ANUNCIOS

SERVICE CHANGES FOR UPCOMING HOLIDAYS

Hyattsville’s offices will be closed on June 19 in honor of Juneteenth. There will be no Monday yard waste or compost pick-ups the week of June 19 – 23. Trash and County recycling routes remain the same that week.

City offices are also closed on July 4 for Independence Day. Monday yard waste and compost pick-ups WILL be collected the week of July 3 - 7. The Tuesday trash pick-up will be shifted to Wednesday; all other trash routes will remain the same for the week. The County will shift all recycling routes starting on Tuesday to the following day (Wednesday – Saturday). Details at hyattsville.org.

METRO STATION CLOSURES

WMATA will be closing several Green Line metro stations, including the Hyattsville Crossing and West Hyattsville Stations from July 22 – September 23, 2023, as part of a summer construction initiative. Free shuttle services and parking will be available throughout the closures. Learn more at wmata.com.

SENIOR FROZEN MEALS PROGRAM

The Prince George’s County Senior Nutrition Program offers a free frozen meal delivery service to seniors aged 60 or older with disabilities who are unable to shop and/ or prepare the food for themselves. The meals include perishable items such as bread, milk, and microwaveable foods that are dropped off every other Tuesday. There is no income requirement. Residents can visit hyattsville. org/meals or call the County at (301) 265-8475 for more information.

SIGN UP FOR CITY ALERTS!

Get updates about trash service changes, summer activities, and more! You can sign up to receive City notices via e-mail or text message at hyattsville.org/communications or by texting HVL to (888) 570-3625. We send a weekly Monday e-newsletter as well as occasional notices about upcoming events and resources for residents of all ages.

IT’S EASY BEING GREEN IN HYATTSVILLE!

The City is excited for the roll out of several environmental programs in the coming months!

Canopy Conservation: Did you meet the goats? As part of a multi-pronged approach to restoring our tree canopy, goats helped remove invasive vines from the woods in Driskell Park last month. Now it’s your turn! The City is training volunteers to be able to remove vines from their own trees. Sign up for a free training at hyattsville.org/enviroeducation.

Natural Mosquito Control: The State of Maryland has resumed monitoring for mosquito-borne disease in Hyattsville. They will spray for mosquitoes if certain risk thresholds are met. Reduce the risk and find simple mosquito control strategies that don’t require the use of insecticides at hyattsville.org/mosquito!

Curbside Composting: After a delay, 35-gallon compost toters should be delivered this July to all City residences that receive Hyattsville waste services! Learn about the benefits of composting and what to expect when your bin arrives at hyattsville.org/compost.

CAMBIOS DE SERVICIO PARA LOS PRÓXIMOS DÍAS FERIADOS

Las oficinas de Hyattsville estarán cerradas el 19 de junio en honor a Juneteenth. No habrá recolección el lunes de residuos de yarda o compostaje la semana del 19 al 23 de junio. Las rutas de reciclaje de basura y condado siguen siendo igual.

Las oficinas de la Ciudad también están cerradas el 4 de julio por el Día de la Independencia. La semana del 3 - 7 de julio se recogerá los residuos de yarda y el compostaje . La recogida de basura del martes se trasladará al miércoles; todas las demás rutas de basura permanecerán igual durante la semana. El Condado cambiará todas las rutas de reciclaje a partir del martes al día siguiente (de miércoles a sábado). Detalles en hyattsville.org.

CIERRES DE ESTACIONES DE METRO

WMATA cerrará varias estaciones de la Línea Verde, incluyendo Hyattsville Crossing y West Hyattsville, del 22 de julio al 4 de septiembre del 2023 como parte de una iniciativa de construcción de verano. Habrá servicio gratuito de bús y estacionamiento durante los cierres. Más info en wmata.com.

PROGRAMA DE COMIDAS CONGELADAS

El Programa de Nutrición para Personas de la Tercera Edad del Condado Prince George’s ofrece un servicio gratuito de entrega de comidas congeladas a personas mayores de 60 años con discapacidades que no pueden comprar y/o preparar la comida por sí mismos. Las comidas incluyen productos perecederos como pan, leche y alimentos para microondas que se entregan cada otro martes. No hay requisitos de ingresos. Residentes pueden visitar a hyattsville.org/meals o llamar al Condado al (301) 265-8475 para obtener más información.

¡INSCRÍBASE PARA ALERTAS DE LA CIUDAD!

¡Obtenga actualizaciones sobre cambios en el servicio de basura, actividades de verano y más! Puede registrarse para recibir avisos de la Ciudad por email o mensaje de texto en hyattsville.org/communications o enviando un mensaje a HVL al (888) 570-3625. Tambien enviamos un boletín electrónico semanal los lunes, así como avisos ocasionales sobre próximos eventos y recursos para residentes de todas las edades.

¡ES FACIL SER ECOLÓGICO EN HYATTSVILLE!

¡La Ciudad está entusiasmada por el lanzamiento de varios programas ambientales en los próximos meses!

Conservación de Árboles: ¿Conociste a las cabras? Como parte de un enfoque múltiple para restaurar nuestros árboles, las cabras ayudaron a eliminar las vides invasoras de los bosques en Driskell Park el mes pasado. ¡Ahora es tu turno! La Ciudad está entrenando a voluntarios para que puedan remover las vides de sus árboles. Inscríbase para un entrenamiento gratuito en hyattsville.org/enviro-education.

Control Natural de mosquitos: El Estado de Maryland ha reanudado el monitoreo de enfermedades transmitidas por mosquitos en Hyattsville. Solo fumigan para mosquitos si se cumplen ciertos umbrales de riesgo. ¡Reduzca el riesgo y encuentre estrategias simples de control de mosquitos que no requieran el uso de insecticidas en hyattsville.org/mosquito!

Servicio a Domicilio de Compostaje: Después de un retraso, los contenedores de compostaje de 35 galones deben ser entregados este julio a todas las residencias de la ciudad que reciben servicios de basura de Hyattsville! Conozca los beneficios del compostaje y qué esperar cuando su contenedor llegue en hyattsville.org/compost.

CALENDAR | CALENDARIO

FREE ZUMBA CLASSES

Wednesdays from 4 - 5 PM at Hyatt Park! In the event of inclemement weather, classes are moved indoors to the City Building. Details at hyattsville.org/wellness.

JUNETEENTH-THEMED SUMMER JAM!

Celebrate Juneteenth with us at the first Summer Jam of the year on June 16 from 5:30 - 8:30 PM at Hyatt Park! Come for live music, delicious food and adult beverages, and familiy-friendly activities! Details at hyattsville.org/ summerjam.

BIKE RACK SCAVENGER HUNT

Improve the City’s bike network by participating in a Bike Parking Scavenger Hunt! Identify the most bicycle parking rack locations within City limits using an online form at hyattsville.org/bike by June 16 to win a $50 gift card to Arrow Bicycle!

FRESH PRODUCE DISTRIBUTION

The City and partners are organizing fresh produce disributions on June 20 & 24 at noon ar First United Methodist Church.

CERT SESSION

The next community emergency response team (CERT) organization meeting is on June 21, 6:30 PM, at the City Building. Learn more at hyattsville.org/cert.

NARCAN TRAININGS

Free NARCAN community trainings at the City Building on June 22 at 6 PM and June 23 at 10 AM. Register at hyattsville.org/calendar.

PARKING PERMITS

Residential parking permits for Group 4 (Zone 9B) must be renewed online by June 30. To renew or apply for a new permit if you missed your group’s renewal window, visit hyattsville.org/respermits.

CLASES GRATUITAS DE ZUMBA

¡Los miércoles de 4 - 5 PM en Hyatt Park! En caso de mal clima, las clases se trasladarán al Edificio Municipal. Detalles en hyattsville.org/wellness.

FIESTA CON TEMA DE JUNETEENTH

Celebre Juneteenth con nosotros en el primer Summer Jam del año el 16 de junio de 5:30 - 8:30

PM en Hyatt Park! Venga a disfrutar de música en vivo, deliciosa comida y bebidas para adultos y actividades familiares. Detalles en hyattsville.org/summerjam.

BUSQUEDA DE APARTABICIS

DISTRIBUCIÓN DE COMIDA

La Ciudad y socios están organizando distribuciones de comida el 20 y 24 de junio al mediodía en First United Methodist Church.

SESIÓN DEL EQUIPO CERT

La próxima reunión de organización del equipo comunitario de respuesta a emergencias es el 21 de junio, 6:30 PM. en el Edificio Municipal. Mas en hyattsville.org/cert.

ENTRENAMIENTOS DE NARCAN

Entrenamientos gratis para uso de NARCAN en el Edificio Municipal el 22 de junio a las 6 PM y el 23 de junio a las 10 AM. Registresé en hyattsville.org/calendar.

PERMISOS DE ESTACIONAMIENTO

INVASIVE

VINE & PLANT REMOVALS

The City and Chesapeake Climate Action Network are hosting a vine removal training on June 17 from 9 AM - Noon at University Hills Duck Pond Park. Register at hyattsville.org/enviroeducation.

The monthly volunteering event to remove invasive plant species is also on June 17 from 10 AM - 2 PM at (UPDATED LOCATION) the University Hills Duck Pond Park. To RVSP, email environment@hyattsville.org.

BUSINESS LICENSE RENEWALS

All business located in the City of Hyattsville are rquired to renew their annual business license by June 30! Learn more and renew at hyattsville.org/permit.

FREE MOVIE MONDAY

Seniors are invited to come along and enjoy a classic filmd at the Old Greenbelt Theatre on July 3 from noon - 3:30 PM. Call (301) 9855000 to reserve a seat!

WE’RE HIRING!

The City of Hyattsville is seeking to hire a part-time remote contract position to assist with writing the meeting minutes from recordings of past City Council Meetings. This position will be compensated at a flat rate of $125 per-meeting basis as well as a paid 2-hour onboarding session. To apply, please send your resume and cover letter to cityclerk@hyattsville.org. A writing sample will be requested from qualified candidates.

¡Mejora la red de bicicletas de la ciudad participando en una búsqueda del estacionamiento de bicicletas! ¡Identifique la mayor cantidad de apartabicis dentro de los límites de la Ciudad usando un formulario en línea en hyattsville.org/bike antes del 16 de junio para ganar una tarjeta de regalo de $ $50 para Arrow Bicycle!

REMOVIMIENTO DE VIDES Y PLANTAS INVASORAS

La Ciudad y la Chesapeake Climate Action Network están organizando un entrenamiento para la eliminación de vides el 17 de junio de 9 AM al mediodía en el parque University Hills Duck Pond. Regístrese en hyattsville.org/enviroeducation.

El evento mensual de voluntariado para eliminar especies de plantas invasoras también es el 17 de junio de 10 AM - 2 PM en (UBICACIÓN ACTUALIZADA) el parque University Hills Duck Pond. Para reservar su espacio, envíe un email a environment@hyattsville.org.

¡ESTAMOS CONTRATANDO!

Permisos de parqueo residencial para el Grupo 4 (Zona 9B) deben renovarse en línea antes del 30 de junio. Para renovar o solicitar un nuevo permiso si perdió la ventana de renovación de su grupo, visite hyattsville.org/respermits.

LICENCIAS DE NEGOCIOS

¡Todos los negocios ubicados en la Ciudad de Hyattsville deben renovar su licencia comercial anual antes del 30 de junio! Obtenga más información y renuévela en hyattsville.org/ permit.

LUNES DE CINE GRATIS

Las personas de la tercera edad están invitadas a venir y disfrutar de una pelicúla clásica en el Old Greenbelt Theatre el 3 de julio desde el mediodía hasta las 3:30 PM. ¡Llame al (301) 9855000 para reservar un asiento!

La Ciudad de Hyattsville está buscando contratar una posición de contrato remoto a tiempo parcial para ayudar a escribir los minutos de las grabaciones de reuniones pasadas del Concejo Municipal. Esta posición se compensará a una tarifa plana de $125 por reunión, así como una sesión de entrenamiento pagada de 2 horas. Para aplicar, por favor envíe su currículum y carta de presentación a cityclerk@hyattsville.org. Se solicitará una muestra de escritura a los candidatos calificados.

HIGHLIGHTS | LO DESTACADO

Car theft wave continues

By Kit Slack

Around 5 a.m. on Friday, June 2, Rebecca Malamud’s 2013 Hyundai Elantra was stolen in front of her home on 38th Avenue. According to Malamud, a neighbor’s security footage shows several Elantras arriving on the street just before her car was stolen, suggesting a possible series of thefts.

Malamud has anti-theft software installed on her car by Hyundai, intended to prevent what has been a rise in thefts of Elantras and Kias.

“I didn’t think it would happen to me,” said Malamud. “I wish someone had told me to put on a steering wheel lock.” Cars like Malamud’s get stolen because they use physical steel keys, rather than push-button starts, according to the automotive news site The Drive. A thief can remove the cover of the steering column and start the car with a USB cable.

A viral TikTok challenge has spurred an increase in these thefts, according to reporting by The Baltimore Banner Though many how-to videos tagged “Kia Boys” have now been taken down, the thefts continue.

According to Malamud, the D.C. metropolitan police found her car on June 7 and are investigating the incident.

On May 18, a red Kia or Hyundai was involved in the armed robbery of a stu-

dent at Nicholas Orem Middle School, according to a crime digest on the Hyattsville Police Department (HPD) Facebook page. Also according to an HPD crime digest, at a traffic stop on May 9, the HPD recovered a Hyundai Elantra stolen in Fairfax County, Va.

A city spokesperson said that in Hyattsville, “criminals are using stolen Hyundais and Kias as a mode of transportation to commit crimes such as carjackings.”

The number of stolen vehicles in the first three months of 2023 was 67 in Hyattsville, up from 32 in the first three months of 2022, according to HPD data. There were four carjackings in Hyattsville in the first three months of 2023, up from one in all of 2022.

As of press time, monthly crime reports for April and May have not been published on the HPD website, and updated numbers on car thefts and carjackings for April and May have not been provided to the Life & Times

In early May, AP News published data showing that numbers of thefts continue to rise in U.S. cities despite software fixes like the one on Malumad’s car.

Mid-May, Baltimore sued Hyundai and Kia over the ease with which their cars can be stolen, and the resulting drain on police resources. New York City brought a similar lawsuit in June.

Not long after, Baker’s friends encouraged him to channel his pain and anger into something positive. At Hampton's library, he started conducting more research on violence within the African American community. Baker discovered that the cause of it wasn’t about morality, but rather self-worth.

“Because, in order for me to kill you like that, I can't think much of myself,” Baker said. “If I valued myself, I would see the value in you. So once I realized self-worth was the real issue, I thought ‘How can I create products that provide us self-worth?’”

Baker published his first book in a new series, Just Like Me: How African-American Inventions Changed America, in 1996, three years after leaving Hampton. Each page of the coloring book has information on different inventions created by African Americans. He followed this up with a similar book discussing African Americans’ contributions to early civilization.

Baker said the historical facts he chose to include in the book were intended to make the reader’s head turn. “So, like the fact that the Washington Monument is an African monument: It makes people go, ‘Oh, shoot. I never thought about that,’” Baker said. (Obelisks like the Washington Monument were first built in ancient Egypt.)

Upon releasing his first book, Baker gave a speech in Southeast D.C. After he mentioned his background to the audience, a

girl stood up and told Baker that three of her brothers had been killed in the last four years. Baker’s book showed her that she could make it through this difficult time.

“If I help you understand that you're worth more when you're going through something, then it makes me feel like my pain isn't in vain,” Baker said.

In 1998, Baker started working at a network marketing company while also still creating content for Just Like Me Inc. While working at the company, Baker met his future business associate, Nathan Aferi, who currently serves as vice president of marketing for the company.

“He's seen a lot, which has affected him mentally — but being able to overcome that and being able to share his journey,” Aferi said about Baker’s advocacy for children’s mental health, adding that Baker could teach children some of the same tools he has used after facing similar issues while growing up.

With seven books already out, Baker wants to continue to provide the same information that’s in his books to all kids through other media platforms, understanding that children don’t always receive their information through reading.

Around 2003, Baker started learning about animation and writing scripts, looking to move his company more into animation. During the early years of Just Like Me Inc., Baker’s wife, Asmeret Habteab-Baker, was instrumental in handling press for the company. She has also played a major role in producing “The Super CJ Animated Series,” scheduled to come out at the end of June on YouTube.

Directed by founding Artistic Director Christopher Dwyer, this 1980s-infused tale follows Prospero, who is stranded on a deserted island, as he decides whether to enact revenge on his brother who has just washed up on shore. Complete with magic, faeries, and physical storytelling, this fast-paced 90-minute outdoor adventure is perfect for the entire family. Bring your lawn chair, a picnic, and enjoy the Bard under the stars.

For up-to date information and rain dates, visit pgparks.com and search “The Tempest tour.” For more information call 301-446-3238 or email megan.merchant@pgparks.com.

Sunday, June 25 Fairwood Community Park

Thursday, June, 29 Patuxent River Park

Friday, June 30

National Harbor, Plaza Stage

Saturday, July 1 Fort Washington Park

Wednesday, July 5 Riversdale House Museum

Thursday, July 6 Montpelier House Museum Grounds

Saturday, July 8

Meadowside Nature Center

Sunday, July 9 Brookside Gardens

Wednesday, July 12

North Four Corners Local Park

Friday, July 14 Watkins Regional Park

Saturday, July 15

David C. Driskell Community Park

Sunday, July 16

Prince George’s Publick Playhouse

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council (msac.org)

at arts@pgparks.com or call 301-699-2255; Maryland Relay 7-1-1 for customers who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability. Our front desk staff has access to an over-the-phone interpretation service and can help in over 150 languages. Please ask for assistance when you call or visit us. The Department of Parks and Recreation encourages and supports the participation of individuals with disabilities. Register at least a minimum of two weeks in advance of the program start date to request and receive a disability accommodation.

Prince George’s County Public Schools is not sponsoring, endorsing, or recommending the activities announced in this flyer/material.

MISS FLORIBUNDA

Down with hogging hedges!

Dear Miss Floribunda,

I empathize with the person who wrote to you last month asking for suggestions for a hedge, and, at first, I liked your proposal of arborvitae. However, my backyard is small, so I wonder if you know of shrubs of more manageable size. I certainly don’t want anything so tall that, if it fell over, my house might be hit! I’d like a height of maybe 10 feet, although 8 feet would be OK, and though I want a hedge thick enough to give privacy, I’d hope it wouldn’t be bushy enough to invade my neighbor's space. Any ideas?

Terrified of Tumbling Timber on Madison Street

Dear Terrified,

Although this would entail a little labor, the American arborvitae (Thuya occidentalis) recommended last month can be trimmed into a fairly low hedge. It is quite dense, however, and does take up space extending well beyond a property line — as do the other shrubs suggested.

I assume you prefer an evergreen for a year-round curtain of foliage. I asked my mentor from the National Arboretum, Dr. Betula Bower, for recommendations. She informed me that there is a variety of arborvitae called Forever Goldy that reaches no higher than 12 feet.

As the name suggests, it is not a deep green but a near-yellow chartreuse. This is a color most people love or hate. The Emerald Petite variety, a truer green, grows only 6 feet high — which may be lower than you like.

I then asked Dr. Bower about the English, or cherry, laurel (Prunus laurocerasus). I had recently admired a hedge of it on a visit to a friend, Peter LePeintre, who lives in a row house in Washington, D.C.

Peter’s postage-stamp backyard faces an alley whose dinginess is effectively blocked out by a slim but dense hedge only 10 feet tall. He told me it could reach as high as 40 feet, but he trims it each year to keep it this height. It is easy to prune, and he finds the almond fragrance from the trimmings delicious.

Dr. Bower, however, had some warnings. The English laurel actually comes from a region extending from Albania through Turkey and Iran to the Caucasus Mountains. She advised against it because it can be quite invasive. It is a very fast grower, at 1 to 2 feet a year. Its fruit is poisonous, except to the birds that spread it far and wide. In addition, its root system is invasive and crowds out other plants near it.

She suggested in its stead the Carolina cherry laurel (Prunus caroliniana). Like the alien English laurel, it is a fast grower at 25 inches a year, but its root system is not invasive. Also, its leaves are fragrant, and the beautiful clusters of white flowers that bloom in late winter and very early spring actually smell like maraschino cherries.

The Carolina cherry

berries

important food source for birds, including quail, wild turkey and song birds, at a time of year when there is little else for them to eat. However, as with the alien English laurel, the seeds of its small and untempting black fruit contain some cyanide and are poisonous to humans and some other mammals — including deer, which avoid it.

Other mammals, including raccoons, eat its fruit with impunity. Although it could potentially poison dogs and cats, they are highly unlikely to graze on it.

The nectar of the Carolina cherry laurel’s flowers is a magnet to bees and many butterflies. It is an important host plant for the Eastern tiger swallowtail, the red-spotted purple, the hairstreak, the viceroy, and various spring and summer azures. It thrives in the acid soil of our area, is tolerant of sun or shade, and survives our winters.

Peter also told me of a similarly “manageable” hedge that didn’t need any pruning at all, taking me to see another neighbor who had a hedge of Sky Pencil holly trees (Ilex crenata). It was only 10 feet tall and 2 feet wide. I was pleased to see that the evergreen leaves of this holly are not as prickly as those of most hollies.

I was told that in fall it produces berries of a subdued purple rather than a festive red, but the owner liked them because they blend with the color scheme of her particular decor.

Regarding the Sky Pencil holly, Dr. Bower told me it comes from Japan, and while its root system is not invasive, birds will eat and distribute its berries. It is not easy to grow, however, because it does not like our heavy clay soil nor our harsh afternoon sun. Considerable soil amendment would be needed for it to survive, and you should avoid planting it on the west side of your house. On the plus side, it is pollinated by bees, and so, unlike most alien species, it does support some pollinators. It is a reasonably fast grower at 9 inches a year.

Please check the website of the Hyattsville Horticultural Society, hyattsvillehorticulture. org, for information about when the next meeting will take place.

Miss Floribunda writes about gardening for the Hyattsville Life & Times. You may email her at missfloribundav@gmail.com.

The Carolina laurel cherry's clusters of white flowers actually smell like maraschino cherries.

COURTESY OF HOWARD EDWARD PRINCE

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Our list of events sponsored by local nonprofits, arts organizations and performance venues, occurring between June 13 and July 11; all information is current as of June 9. For events and meetings organized by the City of Hyattsville, see the Hyattsville Reporter in the newspaper’s centerfold.

Please send notices of events that will take place between July 12 and August 8 to managingeditor@ hyattsvillelife.com by July 6.

RECURRING

Busboys and Poets hosts an open mic for poets every Thursday. $5. 8 to 10 p.m. 5331 Baltimore Ave. 301.779.2787. Busboysandpoets.com

Weekly acoustic blues jams, in the Piedmont blues tradition. Proof of vaccination required. Listeners welcome! Free. Saturdays 1 to 5 p.m. Archie Edwards Blues Foundation, 4502 Hamilton St. Acousticblues.com

Sharpen your drawing skills in a relaxed, informal setting at Hyattsville figure drawing group's drop-in drawing sessions at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center. Sessions consist of several short warm-up poses and a single sustained pose for the duration of the session. Bring your own art supplies; drawing boards and chairs provided. $20/session or $75/5-session punch card or $15/session for Pyramid Atlantic members. Tuesdays, 6 to 9 p.m. 4218 Gallatin St. hyattsvillefiguredrawing@ gmail.com

JUNE 18

Celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Hyattsville Family Bike Ride, a family-centered, slow-paced group bicycle ride to parks and other kid-approved places. The group will ride to Bladensburg Waterfront Park. All bike configurations are welcome — cargo bikes,

trailers, training wheels, trikes and so on. Please bring your own bike, drinks, and snacks. Free. Meet at 10:00 a.m. at Driskell Park, 3911 Hamilton St. Twitter: @HVLFamilyRide

JUNE 23

Join the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation for a performance by Hubby Jenkins, a talented multi-instrumentalist who endeavors to share his love and knowledge of old-time American music. As an integral member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and later Rhiannon Giddens band, Jenkins has performed at festivals and venues around the world. Suggested donation of $25. 8 to 10 p.m. 4502 Hamilton St. Acousticblues.com

JUNE 24

Join Hyattsville Aging in Place, Helping Hands University Park, Neighbors Helping Neighbors of College Park, and Explorations on Aging for the next in our series of monthly online Corridor Conversations. Learn about the wild and designed places where you can find native foods growing in our area. Gabe Popkin, one of the founders of the Mt. Rainier Community Food Forest, will talk about the food forest, as well as about food forests in general and foraging for wildgrowing foods. 2 to 3:30 p.m. Register at hyattsvilleaginginplace.org.

Celebrate and enjoy listening to the winners and participants in the Fourth Annual Prince George's County Memorial Library System Poetry Contest! Free. Noon to 1 p.m. Hyattsville Branch Library, 6530 Adelphi Rd. 240.455.5451. pgcmls.info/events

JUNE 30

Raediant Movement presents “Deep in My Bones,” a work aiming to highlight the connections between movements throughout and across the African Diaspora. It showcases

Black American vernacular movements and Black contemporary dance forms while also infusing social and folk dances across the Caribbean, West Africa and Southern Africa into movements. $25. 7 to 9 p.m. Joe’s Movement Emporium, 3309 Bunker Hill Rd., Mt. Rainier. Joesmovement.org

JULY 3

Writer Alana Tyson will take the Busboys and Poets stage to celebrate Black history through its complex lens. With her book My Red, White, and Blue, children can experience complexities and navigate emotions around Black American history, all through the eyes of a young boy in conversation with his grandfather. Tyson will be signing books following the program. Free. 6 p.m. 5331 Baltimore Ave. 301.779.2787. Busboysandpoets.com

TURTLES

FROM PAGE 4

in all directions (except directly above its head). Snapping turtles frequently feast on young ducklings and goslings; a lot of local ducks and geese hobble around on one leg as evidence of that.

Being reptiles, all turtles are cold-blooded, so they need to find some way of handling our winter temperatures. They don’t hibernate, per se; they brumate. Their metabolism slows to a bare minimum, and they burrow into mud or soil, often at the bottom of a pond, to wait out the cold. But it’s a lighter state than mammalian hibernation, and if we get a warm winter day, we might see pond turtles basking in the sun on top of ice. Snapping turtles do it one better; in our region, they can be active underwater all winter long, even under ice, because they don’t need to breathe through their nose. Snappers can directly exchange oxygen through membranes in the mouth and throat, bypassing

their lungs altogether.

Many of the ponds and slowmoving rivers around here give ample opportunity to observe turtles. One particularly fun spot to hang out is the footbridge over Lake Artemesia’s turtle superhighway. On a recent late afternoon, I stood on that bridge and counted six different species, from hatchling painted turtles to behemoth snappers — almost a hundred turtles in all. I could see them moving between the two parts of the lake to find mates and feed among the aquatic plants.

If you’re curious about turtles, too, you can check your ID skills with this handy online field guide from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources at tinyurl. com/2s3tdzev.

Have questions for Rick about the world of nature in and around the city, or suggestions for future "Re-wilding Route 1" columns? Drop him a note at rborchelt@gmail.com.

votes to Houck’s 98. (The Hyattsville Life & Times also tried to contact Michelle Lee, the newly elected Ward 4 councilmember, for an interview but was unable to arrange one in time for June’s print edition.)

Redmond grew up in Albany, N.Y., and came to the D.C. area to attend Howard University as an undergraduate. He has lived in the Hyattsville area for over a decade, he said in an interview with the Life & Times “I moved [here] as a young professional looking for somewhere affordable and accessible, and I landed in Hyattsville and haven’t looked back,” Redmond said.

Redmond’s nonprofit-focused career has landed him at the Association of American Medical Colleges, where he helps provide professional development to people who work in hospitals and medical colleges.

Redmond said his ongoing tenure as president of his homeowners association has given him practice at problemsolving and thinking proactively about residents' concerns. He also serves on the Hyattsville steering committee for the University Town Center Business Improvement District, which has enabled him to learn about business needs, resident needs and the intersection of the two.

Redmond noted that Ward 3 stood out from other Hyattsville wards because it was far from the city center. Ward 3, he emphasized, includes a mix of single-family houses, multifamily units, and commercial properties — as well as the Mall at Prince George’s, Northwestern High School and the Hyattsville Crossing Metro station.

Across the mix, however, Redmond said he soon discovered

consistent concerns, including transportation and crime.

Redmond noted that pedestrian and bicycle safety was a big issue for many residents.

“Crossing East-West Highway, you feel like it’s a game of chicken,” Redmond laughed. “If you bike, you don't ever wanna go down East-West — or Adelphi Road for that matter; it's a little less bad, but still leaves something to be desired.”

Redmond acknowledged that most of the crime in Hyattsville happens in Ward 3, primarily around the mall and the Metro station.

“I'm looking forward to figuring out and advocating for whatever it is we need — whether it’s policy or resources or whatever can come together to address that crime. You know, if it was so easy to fix it, it would have been done a long time ago,” Redmond said. “But I think you gotta keep at it.” Redmond also noted the necessity of addressing the fentanyl crisis

Managing Editor Griffin Limerick griffin@hyattsvillelife.com

Associate Editor Heather Wright heather@hyattsvillelife.com

Layout & Design Editors

Ashley Perks, Valerie Morris

Streetcar Suburbs Web Editor Sophie Gorman Oriani sophie@hyattsvillelife.com

Streetcar Suburbs Webmaster

Jessica Burshtynskyy jessica@hyattsvillelife.com

Writers & Contributors

Imke Ahlf-Wien, Jessica Arends, Torrence Banks, Dan Behrend, Rick Borchelt, Victoria Boucher, Kit Slack Advertising advertising@hyattsvillelife.com 301.531.5234

A goat’s ideal menu is anathema to humans: not only rashinducing plants like poison ivy and poison sumac, but also — according to Hyattsville Environmental Programs Manager Dawn Taft — prickly invasives like multiflora rose and wineberry.

“Goats can knock this back and fill their bellies, opening the way for our routine volunteers to get into those areas and continue our work,” Taft said in an email.

at Northwestern High School to best support its students and their families.

Redmond said serving others is a passion of his.

“I use whatever talent that I have to help others,” he noted.

In the immediate future, Redmond said, he is looking forward to learning more about city procedures and to building relationships with other city councilmembers, city staff and his constituents. “Talking and getting to know my neighbors doesn’t stop now that the votes have been counted,” he said. “I’m excited about getting to know my neighbors on a deeper level, figuring out what their pain points are and how we can leverage city staff or resources to address them and just make life a little easier, if I can.”

Redmond intimated that he wasn’t daunted by the work he had ahead of him: “I know it'll be hard work, and it will be challenging — but you know, I think that's exciting too.”

Business Manager Catie Currie catie@hyattsvillelife.com

Advertising Sales Manager Miranda Goodson miranda@hyattsvillelife.com

Board of Directors

Joseph Gigliotti — President & General Counsel

Stephanie Stullich — Treasurer Melanie Dzwonchyk — Secretary Bette Dickerson, Nora Eidelman, Maxine Gross, Merrill Hartson, Joe Murchinson, Marta McLellan Ross, T. Carter Ross, C. Michael Walls Mark Goodson, Katie V. Jones, Griffin Limerick, Elizabeth Shirley — Ex Officios Circulation: Copies are distributed monthly by U.S. mail to every address in Hyattsville. Additional copies are distributed to libraries, selected businesses, community centers and churches in the city. Total circulation is 9,300.

HL&T is a member of the National Newspaper Association and the Institute for Nonprofit News.

Taft, who is also the city arborist, conceived the project after receiving a $32,000 stormwater stewardship grant from Prince George’s County in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Trust. The main purpose of the grant is canopy restoration through the planting of new trees, the preservation of old ones, and — of course — the removal of invasive vines by the goats, whose efforts will be covered by the grant money.

According to Hyattsville Communications Manager Cindy Zork, Taft “has identified losing a lot of mature trees in the city to the overgrowth of vines.” Chief among those is kudzu, the Japanese invasive first introduced to the U.S. in the 1870s as a decorative plant that — once established — grows a foot per day.

Bowen said kudzu and other vines like wisteria are “choking out good hardwood trees.”

The majority of Browsing Green Goats’ business consists of clearing out these (to the goats, at least) delectable treats — most recently in Brunswick, along the River’s Edge Trail.

“Their beautiful hardwood trees were so heavily pulled down from the kudzu that they had broken off into some of the trail,” Bowen said. “So, there’s a liability: They’re concerned if someone’s out riding their bike or taking a walk, that the tree comes down on them.”

Taft selected a similar location for the goats in Hyattsville, targeting them along the Northwest Branch Trail at the edge of Driskell Park where it meets the Anacostia River.

“I chose this area because residents have expressed the desire to have shade on the walking paths,” Taft said, adding that this

location “allowed the salvage of a few naturally-occurring PawPaw patches and a few young trees, as well as making space for tree planting that will provide future shade to the walking path.”

From May 10 to 19, the goats browsed their way toward the bridge at the inlet stream, munching up high on branches and boughs (rather than grazing low like cattle), while adoring locals photographed them from behind a lightly electrified fence that Bowen assembles at every site to keep the goats focused on a particular patch of brush. A sign on the fence instructed residents not to touch or feed the animals.

Zork said some additional precautions, like social media posts advising walkers to keep their dogs on a leash and their children at a distance, had been taken.

“We didn’t want people to think it was a petting zoo,” Zork said. “They are working goats.”

As the goats feasted, they also tilled the soil with their hooves and left behind fertilizer, in what Bowen’s website calls “the good old-fashioned way,” which will help prime the land for planting saplings.

First, however, the goats will return in the fall for a second treatment.

“Having goats address the same area twice helps to reduce the seed bank and the regeneration of unwanted invasives,” Taft said.

Anyone interested in canopyrestoring activities, like participating in the invasive removal program on the third Saturday of each month or becoming a community steward who trains neighbors on the proper procedures for vine removal, can email environment@hyattsville.org.

Michelle Lee (Ward 4) and Kareem Redmond (Ward 3) are the Hyattsville City Council’s newest councilmembers. SOPHIE GORMAN ORIANI

The goats will return in the fall for a second treatment.

matic event have consistently agreed to talk to one of the program’s clinicians. “The answer in every circumstance has been ‘yes,” Towers said. “And that is completely different from what it was like in the past before this program.”

For fiscal year 2022, the city council budgeted $50,000 to establish the Hyattsville Police Department (HPD) Mental Wellness Check-in Program. The program requires all HPD officers and dispatchers to meet quarterly in 50-minute, one-on-one virtual sessions with licensed mental health clinicians who have experience working with first responders.

A $118,800 federal law enforcement grant extended the program by two years and expanded it to include Brentwood Police Department employees and monthly therapy sessions for interested officers, dispatchers and administrative staff from both municipalities.

According to Hyattsville Mental Health Programs Manager Adrienne Augustus, seven participants took advantage of additional counseling sessions through the program during its first year.

Augustus has been presenting first-year findings of the mental wellness check-in initiative at conferences around the country, including a police conference in Anaheim, Calif., and the National Alliance on Mental Illness conference, or NAMIcon, in Minneapolis.

According to Augustus’ presentation, of the 20 program participants who completed all four post-session surveys, about three-quarters said their sessions were productive

and that they felt connected to, and understood by, their clinicians.

One respondent said, “I like the program. I think that these check-ins are a helpful way to vent about some things that maybe have been kept inside. It’s a safe space within work, and [I] think it’s beneficial.”

Another respondent suggested that the check-in program be made available to officers’ family members, too.

Augustus and Towers, who have both experienced private therapy, as well, said they were surprised and impressed by the quality of, and quick connection to, their clinician. “I came out [of the first session] being

really impressed,” Towers said. On the flip side, some respondents said that the program shouldn’t be mandatory. One respondent noted, “I dislike the fact that I have to attend them when I already have a provider. It is an absolute waste of my time.”

Both Augustus and Towers said that they were open to reducing the number of mandatory sessions. In an email, Augustus said, “Based on participant feedback and the fact that participants can see their clinicians at any time, for free with the grant funds, I have recommended that we scale back the program to three times a year.”

According to Augustus, several factors contribute to the suc-

cess of the HPD check-in program: Sessions are mandatory; they occur during the work day; the program is separate from the human resources department (the HPD program works in partnership with a professor and interns from the University of Maryland School of Public Health to maintain a wall of confidentiality); and clinicians have experience working with first responders. A number of law enforcement agencies and partnering mental health providers have expressed interest in the check-in program, including Arizona State University and a District-based organization that partners with multiple police departments,

according to Augustus. She is currently working on a report about the program that she said can serve as a how-to manual for others interested in establishing a check-in program and adapting it to their needs.

Both Towers and Augustus commented on how the program supports the community as well as the police department.

When officers are mentally fit, Towers said, “your officers are more likely to build bridges and do what you want them to do out in the community: build relationships, get to know people, understand the community, understand their community’s problems.”

Although the grant currently funding the program expires at the end of August, Augustus said she expects that the city will receive an extension on the funds they have not yet used. “The federal grant managers absolutely love what we’re doing,” she noted, “to the point that they’ve invited me to speak about it at a police conference in September.”

Hyattsville has also received a federal community policing grant to fund a mobile crisis intervention program and is seeking applicants for positions with the program. The positions are posted on the city’s employment website, hyattsville. org/Jobs.aspx, and Augustus said the city has begun the interview process.

A Hyattsville Police Department officer meets virtually with a mental wellness check-in program clinician. COURTESY OF THE CITY OF HYATTSVILLE

Jim Chandler leaves city staff for Prince George’s County job

By Dan Behrend

Jim Chandler, a recognizable and longserving member of the City of Hyattsville staff, recently left to start a new job with Prince George’s County.

Chandler worked with the city for 16 years. Prior to his departure, Chandler served as Hyattsville’s assistant city administrator and director of Community and Economic Development.

In mid-May, County Executive Angela Alsobrooks announced Chandler’s hiring as the county’s newest assistant deputy chief administrative officer for economic development.

Chandler began his new position on May 8.

In a social media post announcing the hiring, Alsobrooks wrote, “Mr. Chandler joins the County with extensive experience in development financing, community planning, as well as project and program management.” She added, “He will play a critical role in helping us deliver on our Blue Line Corridor Project.”

In his new role, Chandler will oversee the county’s real estate portfolio. As Alsobrooks mentioned in her announcement, he will be heavily involved in the county’s work on the Blue Line Corridor, an initiative to spur economic growth through strategic investments in the areas around

Chandler will be working on five signature projects for the Blue Line Corridor: a public plaza in front of the county’s Wayne K. Curry Administration Building; an amphitheater; a market hall (a concept similar to Union Market in D.C.); a youth sports fieldhouse; and a library and cultural center.

four Metro stations along the Blue and Silver Lines and Central Avenue, from Capitol Heights to Downtown Largo.

As part of that initiative, Chandler will be working on five signature projects for the Blue Line Corridor: a public plaza in front of the county’s Wayne K. Curry Administration Building; an amphitheater;

a market hall (a concept similar to Union Market in D.C.); a youth sports fieldhouse; and a library and cultural center.

While much of Chandler’s work will be focused on the Blue Line Corridor, there may be times when Hyattsville residents see him in his new role through the county’s work around the West Hyattsville and Hyattsville Crossing Metro stations.

Chandler said that the decision to take a new job after many years of service and investing so much time in the city was very difficult: “When so many projects that have taken years are either under construction or they’re finishing up, you certainly want to be there to celebrate.”

However, he noted that in a place like Hyattsville, which is constantly evolving, there will never be a perfect time when all of the city’s work is finished. “Hyattsville is in a really good position both in terms of realizing success but also understanding that there are ample opportunities for more projects and programs. It is pretty awesome to realize that,” he said. “The reality is, trying to figure out when would be a right time to step away is not obvious.”

Chandler said he was particularly proud of helping Art Works Now and Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center relocate to their current buildings in Hyattsville. He described how it took lots of negotiat-

ing and overcoming hurdles in the county process to complete an adaptive reuse project like the Art Works Now building, where a building has character, “a story” and “good bones” — but is imperfect for the business’s new use. “Trying to strike that balance between that preservation piece and understanding that you have building codes that have to be met and operational and programming requirements in order for these entities to be successful [was a challenge],” said Chandler.

Regarding relocating Pyramid Atlantic from its previous Montgomery County site, Chandler said, “Them coming over and wanting to be a part of Hyattsville, it stuck with me, and it was certainly one of those milestones for the community.” He described how that project had many champions, involved fortuitous, right-time-rightplace conversations, and ultimately resulted in a cultural anchor for the Arts District.

Although Chandler found it difficult to leave the City of Hyattsville after so many years, he said he was certainly very happy about accepting the county’s offer. In addition to the opportunity to work on the Blue Line Corridor — a key focus of the county’s economic and community development work — Chandler expressed excitement about joining a strong Prince George’s County team. “It’s a tremendous job. I get to work with a lot of people who are very competent in their fields of expertise,” he explained. “You get to learn a lot, but I also get to apply my knowledge to a whole bunch of exciting projects that I really think are going to highlight the best that Prince George’s County has to offer.”