11-2023 Hyattsville Life & Times

INSIDE BUILDING BRIDGES WITH BRIDGE: Explore the game at Mt. Rainier’s The Hut, P. 3 TIRED OF TURKEY? Try out Thanksgiving recipes with local produce, P. 10

VOL. 20 NO. 11

HYATTSVILLE’S AWARD-WINNING COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

NOVEMBER 2023

Mother sues over son’s death in Hyattsville police custody

By Lisa Woelfl The mother of a 29-year-old Mount Rainier man who died in police custody has brought a lawsuit against the City of Hyattsville and three police officers.

Her lawyer, George Harper, filed the complaint on Oct. 13, one day shy of the third anniversary of Edwin Morales’ death. Harper argues that Hyattsville police officers falsely arrested and fatally battered Morales, using “unreasonable and excessive force.”

Harper demands a total of $20 million of compensatory and punitive damages for Morales’ mother, Silvia Loyo, through a complaint filed in Prince George’s County Circuit Court.

The original complaint included multiple references to a shooting, which were removed in an amendment Harper

shared with the Life & Times.

Harper declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The Life & Times obtained documents from the county police this October detailing their internal investigation into Morales’ death. According to the investigators and witness statements, this is what happened on Oct. 14, 2020: A Maryland resident, who we will refer to as AJ, got off his bike at Shepherd Street in Brentwood and sat down to make a phone call. He heard someone mount the bicycle and saw the man, later identified as 29-year-old Edwin Morales, ride away.

At 3:38 p.m., AJ called the police to report the theft. A woman saw what happened and offered Jenkins a ride in her car to follow the man on his bike.

“He was all over the place riding. He was wobbling,” AJ later

Silvia Loyo stands in her Mount Rainier home. Her son Edwin Morales died in police custody in 2020. LISA WOELFL

SEE MORALES ON 7 

Hyattsville distillery expands to Takoma Park

By Emely Miranda-Aguilar Sangfroid Distilling’s owners Jeff Harner and Nate Groenendyk are expanding beyond Hyattsville. The owners bought a vacant and historic bank building in Takoma Park, which they say will provide them a larger space for the production of their fruit brandies, dutch-style gins, rye whiskies and more.

According to the owners, the bank’s

solid and secure structure makes it the perfect place for them to work their magic.

“It’s built like a fortress,” said Harner, who lives in Takoma Park. “It has so much water capacity, so much power capacity, so much gas, and 49-foot ceilings and floors that are 2-feet thick in concrete.”

The artisan distillery’s location in Hyattsville, at 5130 Baltimore Avenue, has

been its production space since Sangfroid opened to the public in December 2018. However, production levels are limited by the size of the current location.

“We’ve been turning people down for the last five years because we can’t keep up with what they would demand us to supply,” Harner said.

With the new and larger space, SangSEE DISTILLERY ON 6 

Sangfroid Distilling’s Hyattsville location on Baltimore Avenue EMELY MIRANDA-AGUILAR

CENTER SECTION: Check out the latest issue of The Hyattsville Reporter, in both English and Español!

THE CITY OF HYATTSVILLE

The Hyattsville Reporter Issue 428| November 2023

and year! Thank you to everyone who attended Treat-O-Rama festivities at Driskell Park this Families went all out to celebrate the City’s dressed up to make our Halloween event successful! que asistieron en Driskell Park este año! ¡Gracias a todos los las festividades de Treat-O-Rama de la Ciudad ¡Familias hicieron todo lo posible para celebrar fuera un éxito! y se disfrazaron para que nuestro evento de Halloween

Be Aware of Phased Street and Road Closures

Esté Atento a los Cierres Graduales de Calles y Carreteras

a los apartamentos Canvas en la Ruta 1 development on Con el fin de conectar de construcción In order to connect the Canvas Apartment los servicios públicos necesarios, el equipo team will Route 1 to necessary utilities, the construction temporalmente secciones de Jefferson Jefferson Street, 44th tendrá que cerrar y la Ruta 1 entre need to temporarily close sections of Street, 44th Avenue, Hamilton Street between November Avenue, Hamilton Street, and Route 1 noviembre del 2023 y mayo del 2024.

2023 - May 2024. y los desvios asociados para la construcción la que espera Se for the first de noviembre. Las rutas The construction and associated closures primera fase comiencen a principios Detour mapas que phase are expected to begin in early November. de desvío estarán marcadas. Puede encontrar outlining the s. routes will be marked. You can find maps describen los cierres y desvíos en hyattsville.org/canva s. closures and detours at hyattsville.org/canva sábado de 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

La construcción tendrá lugar de lunes a biertas ace Monday - Saturday between the

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Hyattsville Life & Times | November 2023

Page 2

FROM THE EDITOR

Giving thanks for community news

By Griffin Limerick

A

t the dawn of electronic mass media in 1922, mindful of AM radio and what it augured for a hyper-informed culture, journalist Walter Lippmann introduced the word “stereotype” to the modern lexicon.

Aware of significantly more than what they’ve experienced personally, Lippman argued, Americans now live in “secondhand worlds,” where firsthand observation becomes secondary to information relayed by “authentic messengers.”

Almost daily, radios pumped stories of Russian revolution into Midwest living rooms. Nickelodeons screened short films of train rides in foreign lands. It was a kind of ethereal magic. Seances boomed in popularity.

To avoid being overwhelmed by all this information, Lippmann posited, Americans need to form a simplified image of each news story in their heads. Sometimes that image derives from an individual’s preconceived impression of a conflict or country. Other times, it’s provided by mass media: A reporter spends three days in, say, Indonesia, jots down some notes from personal observation and interviews, whittles the story down to a specific “angle” for the sake of word count, and summarizes that angle for an audience thousands of miles and multiple language families away.

A community newspaper chronicling the life and times of Hyattsville Mailing address: PO Box 132, Hyattsville, MD 20781

http://facebook.com/ HyattsvilleLife http://twitter.com/HvilleTimes Hyattsville Life & Times is published monthly

by Streetcar Suburbs Publishing Inc., a 501(c) (3) nonprofit corporation. Editors welcome reader input, tips, articles, letters, opinion pieces and photographs, which may be submitted using the mailing address above or the email addresses provided.

Protests, philanthropy, political convictions — all depend on the stereotype.

A century after Lippmann wrote Public Opinion, this phenomenon has only intensified. The internet is an endless carousel of imagery, inundating us with news so frequently — and with such soundbyte simplicity — that the stream is essentially a replacement for thought. If we’re lucky, in our quest to understand, we get a stereotype of a stereotype.

Not so with local news.

The stories you read in the Hyattsville Life & Times come from your own life. The images you see can be confirmed with a simple drive or stroll. Think of the paper as a conversation starter — one Managing Editor Griffin Limerick

griffin@streetcarsuburbs.news

Business Manager Catie Currie catie@hyattsvillelife.com

Associate Editor Heather Wright

Advertising Sales Manager Miranda Goodson

heather@hyattsvillelife.com

Layout & Design Editors Ashley Perks, Valerie Morris Streetcar Suburbs Webmaster Jessica Burshtynskyy jessica@hyattsvillelife.com

Writers & Contributors

Imke Ahlf-Wien, Jessica Arends, Victoria Boucher, Shaun Chornobroff, Chris McManes, Emely MirandaAguilar, Paul Ruffins, Lisa Woelfl

Advertising advertising@hyattsvillelife.com 301.531.5234

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that can be finished at a Vigilante picnic table or on a HOPE listserv discussion thread. The beauty of community journalism is that it operates on a scale the brain can digest, mull over, compare with its own observations.

Our writers live in Hyattsville.

Unlike globe-scattered correspondents who work for corporateowned papers, Life & Times journalists have a vested interest in improving transparency and equity in the community they cover — so much so that they write for free.

The nature of nonprofit publishers like Streetcar Suburbs, however, is that we don’t sustain ourselves. There is no Jeff Bezos, or Henry Luce, or William Randolph Hearst to bestow his billions upon

Executive Director Kit Slack Board of Directors

President: Stephanie Stullich Vice President & General Counsel: Michael Walls Treasurer: Joe Murchison Secretary: Melanie Dzwonchyk Bette Dickerson, Nora Eidelman, Joseph Gigliotti, Maxine Gross, Merrill Hartson, Marta McLellan Ross, T. Carter Ross Ex Officios: Katie V. Jones, Griffin Limerick, Kit Slack 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.

us. The little funding we receive from the city goes toward shipping the newspaper to your door each month — for free. Rather, we depend on donations from our readers (you, specifically) and advertisements from our local businesses to survive.

There are advantages to this model. Those same imperious figures have no say in what we publish. No executive pulls one of our stories, tells us we’ve gone too far. But you, the reader, have to pick up the slack — take ownership of your newspaper. The nature of a community is that it can rival the spending power of a philanthropist, but everyone has to work together — everyone has to pitch in — to do so.

Right now, donations of up to $13,000 will be equalled by NewsMatch until the end of

the year. Donating is as simple as scanning the QR code on this page or mailing a check to Streetcar Suburbs Publishing, Box 132, Hyattsville, MD 20781.

With more money, we hope to start producing Spanishlanguage content to encourage greater community involvement.

We also want to expand distribution to unincorporated Hyattsville and surrounding areas.

Donate, and watch the very definition of your community grow. Donate, and prevent your town — one of the few places in this world you can truly know — from becoming a stereotype.

Griffin Limerick is the managing editor of the Life & Times.

DeMatha runner wins WCAC cross country championship

By Chris McManes Chase Lopez went from having never competed in cross country to winning the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) individual championship. It’s a compelling story, particularly when you consider that the DeMatha senior just picked up the sport in August.

On Oct. 28, Lopez ran the 3.1mile (5K) course at Kenilworth Park in Northeast Washington in 16:07 to capture the WCAC title. He is the first Stag in 14 years to win the prestigious race. His coach, Cory Puffett, won it three times (2007-09).

Lopez held off Gonzaga junior William Buckley by two seconds. Anthony Sarro, Buckley’s sophomore teammate, came in third (16:26).

“It certainly takes a level of natural talent to win the championship,” Puffett said, “but it was difficult when you have so many really strong runners in the conference.” Puffett went on to say that this has been one of the strongest years the WCAC has had in terms of elite individual athletes.

“Particularly Sarro and Buckley,” Puffett clarified. “They have

been excellent all year. So, for Chase to do what he did, this year of all years, is remarkable.

It definitely shows the level of dedication he had throughout the season.”

Gonzaga won the team championship (31 points). The Heights was second (68) and DeMatha third (99).

Lopez came to DeMatha as a soccer player, and played a year on the freshman team and two on JV. He joined Buddy Crutchfield’s indoor track team in January, primarily to improve his speed and stamina for soccer.

He said Stags distance coach Harry Allen recognized his running ability.

“It was kind of weird because as soon as I joined track, [Allen] said, ‘You’re really good at track.

I can get you to where you need to be to run in college,’” Lopez said. “He was like, ‘I don’t recommend you do soccer unless you really want to.’”

Lopez continued with DeMatha’s outdoor track team and ran in 800-, 1600- and 3,200-meter races. In August, instead of continuing his career in soccer — a sport he had played throughout his youth — he SEE LOPEZ ON 4 

Hyattsville Life & Times | November 2023

Page 3

THE HY-LIFE

The game of bridge connects neighbors in Mount Rainier

By Jessica Arends

M

any people drive past the humble dome-shaped building on Eastern Avenue in Mount Rainier with the “Washington Bridge Unit” sign outside — but few know the card-playing club inside has been a cultural, social and political hub since 1938.

Inside “The Hut” on a Monday afternoon, bridge players gather around square tables and quietly focus on their hands. There’s the soft th-th-thwippp of cards shuffling; occasional laughter punctuates the room. Like a church social hall, there is the faint smell of coffee and a community atmosphere wellseasoned by friendly gatherings over the course of many years.

Temple Hills resident Louis Garner has been playing bridge for 62 years and is a regular player and teacher at The Hut. In 1960, a friend introduced him to a bridge club in D.C. “I became enamored with the game,” Garner said. “There were cab drivers, dentists, doctors and education folks. In those days they had on suits and ties — it was an exhilarating experience.”

Garner has been active in the Washington Bridge Unit (WBU) — which is composed of six bridge clubs throughout the DMV area — ever since.

Officially formed in 1938, the WBU is

affiliated with the American Bridge Association (ABA), a national league formed in 1932 for African Americans, who were at that time prohibited from playing the game with whites. Members gathered for games where they could in churches, libraries and the YMCA, and participated in national tournaments.

Bridge leagues started to integrate in 1967, and in 1998 the WBU bought The Hut, where it continues to offer games and classes two to three times a week.

The WBU has also hosted the annual ABA Summer Nationals — a 10-day tournament with three to four hours of bridge-playing each day.

“It’s a thinking game,” Garner said. “It makes you do analysis. You are introduced to a variety of folk and the challenge of being competitive.”

Bridge is played with four players divided into two teams of two. Players start the game by bidding, or saying the minimum number of tricks they think they can take to win. Whoever has the highest card will win the trick. The purpose of bidding is to convey the strengths and weaknesses of your hand to your partner.

If a team meets their bid, they can score a certain number of points; if they don’t, the other team will score points.

According to Garner, bridge competition SEE BRIDGE ON 11 

Bridge teacher Louis Garner leads a Monday afternoon bridge class at The Hut. JESSICA ARENDS

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Hyattsville Life & Times | November 2023

Page 4

LOPEZ FROM PAGE 2

joined the cross country team.

The Glenn Dale resident said it was tough leaving behind the sport most of the world knows as football.

“Yes, because I’ve been doing it most of my life,” he said.

In Puffett, Lopez benefitted by learning from the most accomplished cross country athlete in school history. In 2022, Puffett guided the Stags to the WCAC championship and was elected to the DeMatha Hall of Fame.

“He really pushed me,” Lopez said. “His practices started off easy and had me thinking like this could be a breeze. And then every week it got more challenging. Instead of doing a 30-minute run, we’re hopping up to a good 80-minute run at moderate pace. And I’m like, OK, I’ve got to take this seriously.”

Success came gradually for Lopez. In his first race, Sept. 2 in Leesburg, Va., he finished 28th in 18:24.8. On Sept. 30, he ran a team-best 16:40.

Two weeks later, he and senior Sayid Shakur ran in the MileStat.com XC Invitational in Mechanicsville, Va. Competing against some of the top runners on the East Coast, they both

With approximately 400 meters to go, Puffett told Lopez he could outsprint Buckley to the finish, thinking Lopez would make his kick with about 100 meters remaining.

Instead, Lopez took off right away.

SPRINT TO GLORY

go, Puffett told Lopez he could outsprint Buckley to the finish, thinking Lopez would make his kick with about 100 meters remaining.

Instead, Lopez took off right away.

“He had the confidence to go then,” Puffett said. “He’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m not playing around with him right now. I’m just going to go.’ He made a decisive move, and while Buckley was able to keep it to a two-second gap, just looking at his face I could tell that he knew there was nothing he could do to reel Chase back in. Chase was gone.”

Lopez is planning to run cross country in college. The principal schools he’s considering right now are Indiana Tech, Howard, Marymount, Bowie State and Fairleigh-Dickinson.

He and Shakur are also heading to Cary, N.C., on Nov. 19 to compete in the Nike Cross Regionals Southeast.

“I feel like there’s so much more I can accomplish in college because I’m all new to this,” Lopez said. “So, give me another year, and my times will drop even more.”

At the WCAC Championships, Lopez and Buckley eventually broke away from the pack. With approximately 400 meters to

Chris McManes reports on DeMatha sports for the Life & Times.

set personal records: Lopez in 15:51, Shakur in 16:03.

Gonzaga’s Sarro was eight seconds faster than Lopez; Buckley was a second better.

DeMatha senior Chase Lopez won the individual championship at the 2023 Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships.

COURTESY OF DANA LOPEZ

Hyattsville Life & Times | November 2023

Page 5

SCIENCE OF THE CITY

To save lives, get serious about addressing speeding B

So

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A new roundabout being installed on Chillum Road near the Maryland/D.C. line PAUL RUFFINS

ing every car to slow down and turn, traffic circles reduce both the chances and the impact of crashes, particularly head-on and T-bone collisions, which are the deadliest.

And speed bumps effectively reduce speeding while delaying emergency vehicles by only 10 seconds or less on average. Unfortunately, the Maryland State Highway Administration places many restrictions on where traffic-calming devices like speed bumps can be used, traditionally prioritizing speed over safety.

After a March 2023 crash on Ritchie Marlboro Road in Upper Marlboro killed one high school student and critically injured another, the Prince George’s County Department of Public Works

and Transportation expressed sorrow at the tragedy but stated, “As you know, as this roadway is classified as a collector roadway, speed humps or any physical traffic calming device installation could not be considered as a mitigation effort.” (Collectors, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, are major and minor roads that connect local roads and streets with arterials; they are designed to balance mobility with land access.)

As Curtis noted, the last alternative is to find a way to increase enforcement. This is difficult at a time when police departments are understaffed and traffic stops have become increasingly problematic; many Black and SEE SCIENCE ON 11 

Selling for More on the Route 1 Corridor! ld

etween 2018 and 2022, the Zero Deaths Maryland Fatal Crash Dashboard, which tracks every traffic death in the state and its cause, reported that Prince George’s County had approximately 58% more crashes than Montgomery County (97,094 vs. 61,263), despite having about 100,000 fewer residents. Earlier articles in this series explained that Prince George’s County has more roads that combine high speeds with stoplights, along with fewer drivers and passengers using their seatbelts.

But what turns 58% more crashes into 179% more traffic deaths (578 vs. 207)? It’s not people driving drunk or high. Montgomery County had 64% more crash-related deaths due to impairment (28 vs. 17). “The biggest problem is speed,” said the Rev. Robert Screen, who has spent years fighting traffic deaths on Indian Head Highway. Between December 2022 and March 2023, 58 drivers were clocked at over 100 mph on that route, with one muscle car hitting 170.

“Whether drivers are aggressive, distracted or drunk, speeding amplifies minor mistakes

By forcing every car to slow down and turn, traffic circles reduce both the chances and the impact of crashes, particularly headon and T-bone collisions, which are the deadliest.

And speed bumps effectively reduce speeding while delaying emergency vehicles by only 10 seconds or less on average.

Co Un nt der ra ct

This fourth, and last, article in our series about traffic fatalities in Prince George’s County examines why technically easy solutions are so politically difficult.

into injuries and fender benders into fatalities,” he said. “We just don’t take speeding seriously.”

One proof of this is that Maryland’s speeding laws are much weaker than those in neighboring states. In Virginia, going 20 mph over the speed limit, or over 80 mph anywhere, is considered reckless driving — a crime that can land you in jail. In Delaware, going over 90 mph is deemed reckless, while in Pennsylvania, 30 mph over the speed limit is flagged. But in Maryland, there is no rate of speed that is automatically considered a crime or considered reckless driving.

According to Wayne Curtis, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Architecture and Planning, reducing speeding requires both changes in roadway engineering to calm traffic and increased law enforcement.

“I am a strong fan of roundabouts and speed bumps,” Curtis said. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), properly designed roundabouts, also known as traffic circles, are much safer for motorists and pedestrians (though maybe not cyclists) than stoplight intersections, while handling the same volume of traffic. By forc-

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Hyattsville Life & Times | November 2023

Page 6

DISTILLERY FROM PAGE 1

froid will be able to produce up to seven times more spirits than is currently possible in Hyattsville, according to Harner. More importantly to the owners, they will have the capacity to barrel-age — the process of maturing a spirit within a barrel — 10 times as much.

Prior to Sangroid’s opening, brothers-in-law Harner and Groenendyk were homebrewers and cider makers. Ten years ago, after trying a bottle of Calvados, a traditional French apple brandy, the owners became inspired. Shocked that no one in the U.S. was making traditional fruit brandies, the owners decided to work towards creating a drink of that nature.

“That started us on the path of grafting and growing the kinds of apples needed to make truly great brandy,” Harner said. “We started making grain-based spirits, too, and we’ve carried our same philosophy and approach into that as well.”

The fruit is either purchased from small orchards in Maryland and Pennsylvania or grown in Harner’s orchard (just outside Cumberland), which produces apples, pears and cherries.

Hannah McCann, formerly with GoBrent Realty, now with Feldman Ruel Urban Property Advisors, represented Harner and Groenendyk in brokering the $1.57 million transaction of the Takoma Park Bank, located at 6950 Carroll Avenue.

“Jeff and Nate approached me to discuss options for a second or larger space that would give them more space for manufacturing,” McCann said. “We looked at multiple properties before finding this unique offmarket opportunity.”

Built in 1927, and operated as a bank until 2020, the 16,822-square-foot stone building has a unique BeauxArts architectural style, is considered a Takoma Park Historic District Outstanding Resource, and “has a prominent presence at the entry to Takoma Park’s business district,” according to McCann.

Harner said that Sangfroid Distilling will remain in Hyattsville as a single storefront, while production and distilling are relocated to Takoma Park.

A small still will remain in Hyattsville for experiments and small batches.

Harner and his wife, who own the orchard, are working toward becoming self-sufficient in fruit production. They graft-

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ed their first trees in 2015 and have been working to rehabilitate the orchard to meet their production needs.

“Once we get [the orchard] to the mature trees that produce fruit yearly, I think that would be just the right size for the distillery,” Harner said.

The distillery’s Hyattsville storefront is open Thursdays and Fridays from 5 to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 1 to 5 p.m.

Online ordering is available at sangfroiddistilling.com.

Emely Miranda-Aguilar is a journalism student at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Sangfroid Distilling has purchased a 16,822-square-foot stone building in Takoma Park, at the intersection of Caroll and Willow avenues, which served as a Bank of America location until 2020. HEATHER WRIGHT

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Please email griffin@streetcarsuburbs. news if you can help out.

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THE CITY OF HYATTSVILLE

The Hyattsville Reporter Issue 428| November 2023

Families went all out to celebrate the City’s Treat-O-Rama festivities at Driskell Park this year! Thank you to everyone who attended and dressed up to make our Halloween event successful! ¡Familias hicieron todo lo posible para celebrar las festividades de Treat-O-Rama de la Ciudad en Driskell Park este año! ¡Gracias a todos los que asistieron y se disfrazaron para que nuestro evento de Halloween fuera un éxito!

Be Aware of Phased Street and Road Closures

Esté Atento a los Cierres Graduales de Calles y Carreteras

In order to connect the Canvas Apartment development on Route 1 to necessary utilities, the construction team will need to temporarily close sections of Jefferson Street, 44th Avenue, Hamilton Street, and Route 1 between November 2023 - May 2024.

Con el fin de conectar los apartamentos Canvas en la Ruta 1 a los servicios públicos necesarios, el equipo de construcción tendrá que cerrar temporalmente secciones de Jefferson Street, 44th Avenue, Hamilton Street y la Ruta 1 entre noviembre del 2023 y mayo del 2024.

The construction and associated closures for the first phase are expected to begin in early November. Detour routes will be marked. You can find maps outlining the closures and detours at hyattsville.org/canvas.

Se espera que la construcción y los desvios asociados para la primera fase comiencen a principios de noviembre. Las rutas de desvío estarán marcadas. Puede encontrar mapas que describen los cierres y desvíos en hyattsville.org/canvas.

Construction will take place Monday - Saturday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Overnight work is expected. Roads are expected to be open when construction is not taking place.

No parking signs will be posted at least 24 hours in advance of a road closure. Find more information about the project at hyattsville.org/canvas.

La construcción tendrá lugar de lunes a sábado de 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Se espera trabajo por la noche. Las carreteras estarán abiertas cuando no se esté construyendo. Se colocarán señales de no estacionamiento 24 horas antes del cierre de las carreteras.

Encuentre más información sobre el proyecto en hyattsville.org/ canvas.

The Hyattsville Reporter | November 2023 | Page 1

ANNOUNCEMENTS | COMMUNITY LISTENING SESSIONS

The City is hosting two community listening sessions to address instances of loitering, public drunkenness, and homelessness in the City’s business districts. Residents and business owners are invited to participate in a conversation on November 9 from 6-9 p.m. at Flavors, 6504 America Blvd #105A, in University Town Center. A future session will be scheduled in Queens Chapel Town Center. Feedback from the sessions will be used as the City considers a comprehensive, equitable response to these concerns.

LEAF COLLECTION & BULK WASTE SERVICES

Weekly leaf collection services for residential streets with the City of Hyattsville have begun and will continue through mid-January. Commercial and multi-family properties aren’t included. Leaf collection is weather dependent as heavy, wet leaves can damage the machinery. Visit hyattsville.org/leaves for the collection schedule as well as a guide on leaf mulching to help you avoid raking!

To support leaf collection and snow removal services, the City has suspended bulk waste & large appliance residential pick-ups until early spring. Previously confirmed pickups will be honored. If you have large waste items to dispose of, take advantage of the City’s next bulk waste pop-up day on December 2, from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. (or until containers are filled) at the DPW Operations Center, 4633 Arundel Place.

Find a list of acceptable items at hyattsville.org/bulk-waste.

CITY BUILDING ROOMS AVAILABLE FOR RESERVATION

Public room reservations in the Hyattsville City Building (4310 Gallatin Street) have resumed for City resident groups and non-profit organizations to host meetings and activities. There is no charge for reserving a room, but a $50 deposit is required. Rooms are only available to registered room users. Visit hyattsville.org/room-rental to review the City’s updated room reservation policy and register to become a room user. Contact community@hyattsville.org or (301) 985-5000 for questions.

SIGN UP YOUT LITTLE ONE FOR WINTER CAMP

Bring your little ones from grades K-5 to enjoy a week of fun and educational activities such as arts, sports, games, and STEM learning. The camp will run from Tuesday, December 26, through Friday, December 29, 9 AM – 3 PM, at the Driskell Park Recreation Center. After camp care is also available! Visit hyattsville.org/youth-programs to learn more and register.

ANIMAL CONTROL

The Prince George’s County Animal Services Division is responsible for animal control in the City of Hyattsville. You can report loose animals and animal welfare concerns by calling (301) 780 – 7200, option 1. In case of an emergency, please call 911.

The City has a part-time Animal Control Liaison who can assist residents when additional support is needed.

Contact the Animal Control Liaison by calling (301) 9855000 or emailing animalsupport@hyattsville.org. The Animal Control Liaison does not respond to animal control incidents, please call the numbers above first to report.

Visit hyattsville.org/animalcontrol for more information.

Page 2 | November 2023 | The Hyattsville Reporter

ANUNCIOS

SESIONES PARA ESCUCHAR A LA COMUNIDAD

La Ciudad está organizando dos sesiones para escuchar a la comunidad para hablar sobre la vagancia, embriaguez pública, y la falta de vivienda en los distritos comerciales de la Ciudad.

Los residentes y propietarios de negocios están invitados a participar en una conversación el 9 de noviembre de 6 - 9 p.m. en Flavors, 6504 America Blvd #105A, en University Town Center. En el futuro se programará una sesión en Queens Chapel Town Center. Los comentarios de las sesiones se considerarán a medida que la Ciudad responda a estas preocupaciones de forma integral y equitativa.

RECOJIDA DE HOJAS Y SERVICIOS DE DESECHOS GRANDES

Servicios semanales de recogida de hojas para calles residenciales dentro de la Ciudad de Hyattsville han empezado y continuarán hasta mediados de enero. Propiedades comerciales y multifamiliares no están incluidas. La recogida de hojas depende del clima, ya que las hojas pesadas y húmedas pueden dañar la maquinaria. Visite hyattsville.org/leaves para ver el calendario de recogida y un guía sobre los beneficios de dejar las hojas en su yarda para evitar rastrillar.

Para apoyar los servicios de hojas y limpieza de nieve, la Ciudad ha suspendido las recogidas residenciales de desechos y electrodomésticos grandes hasta principios de la primavera.

Las recogidas previamente confirmadas se mantendrán. Si tiene artículos grandes que quiere deshacerse de, aproveche el próximo día emergente de la Ciudad el 2 de diciembre, de 10 a.m. a 1 p.m. (o hasta que se llenen los contenedores) en el Centro de Operaciones de DPW, 4633 Arundel Place. Encuentre una lista de artículos aceptables en hyattsville.org/bulk-waste.

CUARTOS DEL EFIFICIO MUNICIPAL DISPONIBLES PARA RESERVA Las reservas de cuartos públicos en el Edificio Municipal (4310 Gallatin Street) se han reanudado para que grupos de residentes de la Ciudad y organizaciones sin fines de lucro organicen reuniones y actividades. No hay cargo por reservar un cuarto, pero se requiere un depósito de $50. Los espacios solo están disponibles para usuarios registrados. Visite hyattsville.org/ room-rental para revisar la política de reserva actualizada y registrarse para para poder hacer reservaciones. Comuníquese con community@hyattsville.org o (301) 985-5000 para más.

INSCRÍBE A TU PEQUEÑO EN EL CAMPAMENTO DE INVIERNO

Traiga a sus pequeños de grados K - 5 para disfrutar de una semana de actividades divertidas y educativas como arte, deportes, juegos y aprendizaje STEM. El campamento durará desde el martes 26 de diciembre hasta el viernes 29 de diciembre, de 9 AM a 3 PM en el Centro Recreacional de Driskell Park. ¡El cuidado despúes del Campamento esta disponible!

Visite hyattsville.org/youth-programs para detalles.

CONTROL DE ANIMALES

La División de Servicios para Animales del Condado Prince George’s es responsable del control de animales de Hyattsville.

Usted puede reportar animales sueltos y preocupaciones de bienestar animal llamando al (301) 780 - 7200, opción 1. En caso de emergencia, llame al 911.

La Ciudad cuenta con un personal de medio-tiempo de control de animales que puede ayudar a los residentes cuando se necesita apoyo adicional. Póngase en contacto con el personal de Control de Animales llamando al (301) 985-5000 o enviando un email a animalsupport@hyattsville.org. El Enlace de Control de Animales no responde a incidentes de control de animales, llame primero a los números arriba para hacer un reporte. Visite hyattsville.org/animalcontrol para más detalles.

CALENDAR CERT MEETING

The next Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) organization meeting is November 15, 6:30 - 8:30 PM, at the City Building.

Anyone is welcome. Register at hyattsville.org/cert.

SENIORS ON THE GO! FREE ZUMBA CLASSES Wednesdays from 4 - 5 PM at the Hyattsville City Building! Learn more at hyattsville.org/wellness.

LISTENING SESSION

A community listening session is taking place on November 9, 6 - 9 PM, at Flavors (6504 America Blvd #105A) to address instances of loitering, public intoxication, and homelessness in the City’s business districts. Details at hyattsville.org/calendar.

LEAF BLOWER WEEK!

The City is hosting a leaf blower trade-in week November 13 - 16 at the DPW Operations Center between 8 AM - 2:30 PM. Bring your gaspowered blower and proof of purchase of an electric blower to receive a rebate of up to 50% to help offset the cost of your new blower. hyattsville.org/leaf-blower.

CALLS FROM SANTA

Registration for children to receive a call from the jolly couple runs from November 13 - December 8, with calls being made on December 18 & 19. Sign your child up at hyattsville.org/santa.

DONATION DRIVE FOR VETERANS

The City is collecting donations of high-request items for area veteran homes like socks, undergarments, and toiletries starting November 13 – January 5.

Donation boxes at the City Building and Driskell Park; more sites will be added.

Hyattsville.org/veterans.

Hyattsville’s Seniors on the Go are visiting BK Farms in Clinton MD on November 16, from 10 AM - 2 PM! Space is limited. Reserve a seat by calling (301) 985-5000.

NARCAN TRAININGS

Free NARCAN community trainings at the City Building on November 16 at 6 PM and November 17 at 10 AM. Register at hyattsville.org/ calendar.

| CLAUS APPLAUSE

The annual Claus Applause home decorating contest is taking place November 27 - December 15. Learn more and cast your nominations when registration opens at hyattsville.org/applause.

TREE LIGHTING

Bring the family to Driskell Park on December 1 at 7 PM to help us light the City’s holiday tree!

SHOP LATE NIGHT

Get some holiday shopping done with local businesses participating in the City’s Shop Late Night event on December 2! Details at hyattsville.org/lovelocal.

NIGHT OWLS

Enjoy a Friday night out on November 17 by dropping off your little one(s) at the Driskell Park Rec Center from 6 - 9 PM for an evening of fun! hyattsville.org/nightowls.

TREE CARE COURSE IN ESPAÑOL

Attend a tree care and community science training in Español on November 18, 1:30 - 3:30 PM, at Heurich Park! Register at hyattsville. org/enviro-education.

LUNCH & LEARN FOR CAREGIVERS

The City is offering a free workshop for family caregivers on November 20, 11 AM - 1 PM, at the City Building. Contact (301) 9855000 or seniors@hyattsville. org to register.

FREE PRODUCE

The City is hosting a produce distribution on November 21 at the First United Methodist Church, starting at noon.

Produce is first come, first served.

HOLIDAY WASTE COLLECTION CHANGES

CALENDARIO LLAMADAS DE SANTA La inscripción para que los niños reciban una llamada de la alegre pareja será del 13 de noviembre al 8 de diciembre; las llamadas se realizan el 18 y 19 de diciembre. Inscriba a su menor vía hyattsville.org/santa.

DONACIONES PARA VETERANOS

La Ciudad está recolectando donaciones de artículos de alta demanda para hogares de veteranos del área como calcetines, ropa interior y otros artículos a partir del 13 de noviembre al 5 de enero. Cajas de donación estarán en el Edificio Municipal y Driskell Park; se agregarán más sitios.

Hyattsville.org/veterans.

EQUIPO CERT

Cada miércoles de 4 - 5 PM en el Edificio Municipal de Hyattsville. Detalles en hyattsville.org/wellness.

La próxima reunión de organización del Equipo de Respuesta a Emergencias Comunitarias es el 15 de noviembre, 6:30 - 8:30PM, en el Edificio Municipal.

Cualquiera puede asistir. hyattsville.org/cert.

SESIÓN DE ESCUCHA

VIAJE

ZUMBA GRATIS

Una sesión de escucha comunitaria se llevará a cabo el 9 de noviembre, 6 - 9 PM, en Flavors (6504 America Blvd #105A) para hablar sobre casos de vagabundeo, intoxicación pública y falta de vivienda en los distritos de negocios de la Ciudad. Más detalles en hyattsville.org/calendar.

¡SEMANA DE SOPLADORAS!

La Ciudad está organizando una semana de intercambio de sopladores de hojas del 13 al 16 de noviembre en el Centro de Operaciones de DPW entre las 8 AM - 2:30 PM. Traiga su soplador de gas y prueba de compra de un soplador eléctrico para recibir un reembolso de hasta 50% para ayudar con el costo del nuevo soplador. hyattsville.org/leaf-blower.

City offices will be closed on November 23 -24 for Thanksgiving.

There will be no Monday yard waste or compost pick-ups on November 20. Tuesday and Wednesday trash routes for Thanksgiving week will be picked up on Monday, and Thursday and Friday routes will be picked up on Tuesday. Crews will cover all routes and pick up any missed trash from previous days on Wednesday. NOTE that this is a change from the annual waste collection flyer previously printed in the Hyattsville Reporter.

Questions? Call (301) 985-5032 or visit hyattsville.org/trash.

El grupo de personas mayores de Hyattsville están vistando a la granja BK en Clinton MD el 16 de noviembre, 10 AM - 2 PM. El espacio es limitado. Llame al (301) 985-5000 para hacer su reserva.

ENTRENAMIENTOS NARCAN

Entrenamientos gratis de NARCAN en el Edificio Municipal el 16 de noviembre a las 6 PM y el 17 de noviembre a las 10 AM. Regístrese en hyattsville.org/calendar.

BÚHOS NOCTURNOS ¡Disfrute de un viernes el 17 de noviembre dejando a su(s) pequeño(s) en el Centro Recreativo Driskell Park de 6 - 9 PM para una noche de diversión! hyattsville.org/nightowls.

CURSO DE CUIDADO DE ÁRBOLES

¡Asista a un entrenamiento sobre el cuidado de los árboles y la ciencia comunitaria en español el 18 de noviembre, de 1:30 - 3:30 p.m., en el Parque Heurich!

Regístrese en hyattsvi-lle. org/enviro-education.

ALMUERZO Y APRENDIZAJE PARA CUIDADORES

La Ciudad está ofreciendo un taller gratuito para cuidadores el 20 de noviembre, de 11 a.m. a 1 p.m., en el Edificio Municipal.

Comuníquese al (301) 9855000 o seniors@hyattsville. org para registrarse.

DISTRIBUCIÓN DE PRODUCTOS ÁGRICOLAS

La Ciudad está organizando una distribución de productos agrícolas el 21 de noviembre en la Primera Iglesia Metodista Unida, a partir del mediodía.

CONCURSO DE DECORACIONES

¡El concurso anual de decoraciones festivas Claus Applause se llevará a cabo del 27 de noviembre al 15 de diciembre. Obtenga más información y emite sus nominaciones en hyattsville. org/applause.

ILUMINACIÓN DEL ÁRBOL

¡Traiga a la familia a Driskell Park el 1 de diciembre a las 7 PM. para ayudarnos a iluminar el árbol navideño de la Ciudad!

COMPRA HYATTSVILLE!

¡Haga algunas compras navideñas con los negocios locales que participen en el evento Compra Tarde de la Ciudad el 2 de diciembre!

Detalles en hyattsville.org/ lovelocal.

HOLIDAY WASTE COLLECTION CHANGES

Las oficinas de la Ciudad estarán cerradas el 23 y 24 de noviembre para celebrar el Día de Acción de Gracias. El lunes 20 de noviembre no habrá recogida de residuos de jardinería ni de compostaje. Las rutas de basura del martes y miércoles de esa semana se recogerán el lunes, y las rutas del jueves y viernes se recogerán el martes. Los equipos cubrirán todas las rutas y recogerán cualquier basura perdida de días anteriores el miércoles.

TENGA EN CUENTA que este es un cambio del volante anual previamente imprimido en el Hyattsville Reporter. ¿Preguntas? Llame al (301) 985-5032 o visite hyattsville.org/trash.

The Hyattsville Reporter | November 2023 | Page 3

HIGHLIGHTS | LO DESTACADO

Page 4 | November 2023 | The Hyattsville Reporter

Hyattsville Life & Times | November 2023

Page 7

MORALES FROM PAGE 1

told the police.

Patrick O’Hagan, then a sergeant with more than 20 years of experience at the Hyattsville Police Department (HPD), quickly found Morales biking along Baltimore Avenue.

O’Hagan followed him and ordered him to stop. Watching Morales’ face, O’Hagan suspected he might be on drugs. Morales turned right and rode through a parking lot. He attempted to ride up a steep driveway, but fell off the bike. O’Hagan had left his car by then and ordered Morales to stay on the ground, but the young man attempted to run away.

The county police reports conflict regarding an important detail. In the case files the Life & Times obtained, one report states that O’Hagan drew his baton, hit Morales’ leg, and pushed him. Another document says that O’Hagan attempted to hit Morales’ leg, but didn’t make contact. The county police’s records division didn’t respond to multiple requests for clarification.

Morales stumbled and fell into the trees lining the parking lot. He didn’t respond to any commands. More officers arrived.

“The Officers tried to stand him up. He wouldn’t,” one officer said in her police witness statement.

They brought Morales out onto the parking lot, sat him down and managed to cuff his hands, as Morales was trying to resist. At times, two officers had to stand behind him to keep Morales sitting upright. More than once, he fell over and officers put him into a seated position again, the internal investigator’s report states.

“His lips looked a little pale,” the officer noted in her statement. Morales put his head down. He was acting lethargic, and seemed out of breath.

Another officer told the police that Morales “did not look good,” and that he had a blank stare on his face. Morales had trouble breathing. The offi-

A cross marks the place where Edwin Morales died in a parking lot behind a small business along Route 1. KIT SLACK

cers called an ambulance, uncuffed Morales and started to perform CPR on him. Morales stopped breathing and could not be resuscitated.

At 4:57 p.m. Edwin Morales was pronounced dead.

The autopsy found that Morales died of a drug overdose, and the medical examiners ruled his death an accident.

He had minor injuries on his head, back, arms and legs.

Over two years ago, the county police’s internal affairs division authorized the involved police officers to return to full duty, the case files show.

According to Morales’ mother, he was with her in the morning on the day he died. Loyo says she gave him some money to get his phone repaired, but couldn’t come with him. He said, “OK, mommy, I love you,” she remembers. Morales held and kissed her. When he was done, he would visit his grandfather, he said. She reminded him to do the laundry and that he had work the next day.

Loyo lives in Mount Rainier with her husband and her 16-year-old son. That same night, she remembers, police officers knocked on her door. They told Loyo that her 29-year-old son had died. After the county police concluded their investigation in 2021, Loyo received a letter stating that the officers involved were exonerated.

Loyo’s voice softens when

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she speaks about Morales. She describes her son as a good guy who had lots of friends.

She shares a photo of her late son, printed on a large piece of cardboard. The photo shows him crouching on a step, looking earnestly at the camera.

He wanted to have fun all the time, she says, but didn’t use dangerous drugs.

She believes the police officers who arrested him are responsible for his death. “They killed him. I want justice, and I want to see them in court,” she says.

Her complaint is directed at three officers: O’Hagan, who chased Morales, and police officers Shaun Wesberry and Jonathan Monge, who handcuffed him.

O’Hagan retired from the force in late 2021. All other involved police officers still work for the HPD. Toxicologists found that Morales had 0.4mg/L PCP, also known as angel dust, in his blood, according to the autopsy. The dose could be high enough to kill someone,

though PCP deaths are rare.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tracks overdose deaths, but lumps PCP in with other drugs.

The larger group of intravenous anesthetics accounted for 880 overdose deaths in 2022, according to provisional CDC data. They represent a tiny sliver of the more than 100,000 overdose deaths recorded.

Dr. Avinash Ramprashad, an addiction psychiatrist with the University of Maryland Medical System, sees few cases of PCP overdoses. People high on PCP may experience a feeling of “superhuman strength” while losing sensitivity to pain, Ramprashad explained, which makes them more likely to put themselves and others in danger.

Usually, the drug doesn’t slow down breathing, Ramprashad said, but he added: “Exhaustion from stimulating drugs like PCP could potentially lead to someone not being able to maintain their airway and consciousness.”

The Life & Times presented toxicologist Dr. Andrew Stolbach, who is an associate professor of emergency medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine, with a summary of the county police’s investigation of Morales’ death.

“If you’re really sedated, and you’re not protecting the airway, you’re not holding your posture, you slump over — if they leave you like that for a couple of minutes, that could kill you,” Stolbach said. According to his autopsy, Morales was obese. His weight “would make him much more likely to lose his airway,” Stolbach said.

Without a video or complete timestamps, it is impossible to judge if his posture contributed to Morales’ death, Stolbach added.

In general, intoxicated suspects who have trouble breathing shouldn’t sit down and lean forward, he explained. Instead, they should lie flat on their back, chin pointed up, to ensure the chest can move.

Officers repeatedly sat Morales on the ground, even as he slouched over and dropped his head towards his chest.

HPD Chief Jarod Towers declined to comment on the case or share if trainings address the risks of certain positions when handling intoxicated suspects. Towers joined the HPD in 2021, one year after Morales’ death.

In a prepared statement, Towers said officers receive ongoing training on how to evaluate individuals in crisis and deescalate situations.

Between October 2021 and September 2022, 23 people died in incidents involving police officers in Maryland, according to a report by the state attorney general’s office.

Most of them died after officers shot them. Three people died in police custody after a medical emergency or drug overdose.

This annual report is the first one to be released after Anton’s Law created a division within the Maryland attorney general’s office to investigate all police-involved deaths of civilians. The law is named after Anton Black, a Black teenager who died in police custody in Greensboro, in 2018.

Loyo still has many questions. The one-page letter she received from the HPD said the officers weren’t at fault, but didn’t explain what exactly had happened to her son. She said she never saw the autopsy report. “My son’s life will never come back. It will never come back,” she says. Still, Loyo hopes for her day in court.

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Hyattsville Life & Times | November 2023

Page 8

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Jardinage nouveau Miss Floribunda is currently away, visiting her sister Polyantha in France, and suggested we republish a column she wrote just after such a visit back in November 2008.

Dear Miss Floribunda, I understand that the new city ordinance on grass and weeds permits alternative gardens now, and sanctions use of native plants some of us consider weeds, and even tall grasses.

Ecologically, I admit this sounds very good, but I have aesthetic reservations. It seems to me there’s no way such a garden can look anything but messy and unkempt. I’d like you to weigh in on this.

Mowed and Manicured on Madison Street

Jardin Botanique d’Evreux MISS FLORIBUNDA

Dear Mowed and Manicured, You will be as surprised as I was to find out being unmowed is now the mode in in France, that most horticulturally elegant Eden. Our own native plants, including tall grasses, are very popular there.

Just last month, while visiting my sister Polyantha and her husband Bonhomme Boutonnier in Picardy, I noticed tall grasses such as Miscanthus even in window boxes.

Then Polyantha and I went to

Normandy to visit her daughter Noisette, who took us to the justly celebrated Jardin Botanique d’Evreux, where I was astonished to see our own native plants and grasses featured prominently. In the photograph I took, you may recognize Mexican firecrackers, dahlias, Miscanthus, black-eyed Susans, marsh marigolds, and what looks like a dwarf form of pampas grass.

I think these grasses and fluffy flowers have charmingly loosened the almost uncomfortably formal look French gardens are known for. But even before now, gazons japonais, or Japanese lawns, full of Old World wildflowers were seen in France.

If you have traveled to the British Isles, you must admit that nothing is more enchanting than their “messy and unkempt” cottage gardens. And even if you do prefer the broad expanses of clipped grass that originated in England, the grass is that incomparable — and ( for us) unattainably — intense shade of emerald green because the moist and temperate British climate permits it.

Gardeners over there do not ordinarily contend with our often brutal summer sun, long dry periods and sudden extremes of heat and cold. We do well to design our gardens using the plants that can withstand our own climate and still look fresh and perky.

Going to another extreme, both geographically and conceptually, the Japanese can

work wonders without any grass at all — they create beautiful gardens with just sand and stones and a few accent plants.

If you’ve ever seen Joe Fox-Glover’s garden, you will realize that even in deep shade where grass will not grow, a judicious selection of shade-loving plants and an impeccable sense of composition will result in a harmonious alternative garden. The Minnowhavens’ water garden provides another example of imaginative use of ornamental grasses and aquatic plants, most of them native.

All of this leads me to conclude that any competent gardener with common sense about plant choice, a good eye for color and texture and a flair for landscape design can make any style of garden inviting and pleasing to the eye.

I’m sure your meticulously tended conventional garden is lovely, but so are some more exuberant alternative gardens in Hyattsville.

If you would like to continue this discussion, please come to the next meeting of the Hyattsville Horticultural Society on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 10 a.m. in the Hyattsville Municipal Building (4310 Gallatin Street). A wreathmaking workshop will follow.

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

Hyattsville Life & Times | November 2023

Page 9

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

O

ur list of events sponsored by local nonprofits, arts organizations and performance venues, occurring between Nov. 7 and Dec. 12; all information is current as of Nov. 3. 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 Dec. 13 and Jan. 8, 2024, to managingeditor@hyattsvillelife. com by Dec. 7.

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.

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. 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

ONGOING Pyramid Atlantic Art Center’s gallery is filled with extremes during its exhibition “Big and Little Inks.” Large-scale relief prints selected from past “Big Ink” events across the country are paired with nearly 100 “little inks” curated from an open call for small relief prints.

Through Nov. 26. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Fridays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 4218 Gallatin St. pyramidatlanticartcenter.org.

301.608.9101

NOVEMBER 8 Spend an afternoon at the Hyattsville Branch Library for coffee and a screening of the 1941 film adaptation of Dashiell Hammet’s book, “The Maltese Falcon” (101 min.), starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor. 1 to 3 p.m. 6530 Adelphi Rd. 240.455.5451

NOVEMBER 9

Swing 5 Django Jazz returns to Maryland Meadworks for a night of jazz and swing dancing. Free, although tipping the band is encouraged. 7 to 10 p.m. 4700 Rhode Island Ave., Suite Bee. 201.955.9644

Come see the movie “Sophie’s Love” (2020, 114 min.). When a young woman meets an aspiring saxophonist in her father’s record shop in 1950s Harlem, their love ignites a sweeping romance that transcends changing times, geography and professional success. $5 for ages 60 or better. 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Publick Playhouse, 5445 Landover Rd., Cheverly.

301.277.1710. pgparksdirect.com The Janine Wilson Band performs at the Riverdale Park Farmers Market. Wilson’s awardwinning songs are full of love, heartache and mischief — with vocal styles that range from Blues and Americana to torch songs. 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. 4650 Queensbury Rd. rpkfarmmkt@ gmail.com Prince George’s County Women’s Bureau Toastmasters Club Meeting: Distinguished Toastmaster Julia Musson will be the special guest speaker.

The virtual meeting’s theme is Thanksgiving, and the word of the day is “harvest.” Register and receive Zoom link at campsite. bio/pgcwomensbureau_ toastmasters. 7 p.m. pgcountywomensbureau@ gmail.com

NOVEMBER 10 THROUGH 19 Based on the award-winning book by Debbie Z. Harwell, “Wednesdays in Mississippi” tells the story of interracial teams of women working together in the Civil Rights Movement. General admission $25, students $15. Nov. 10, 16 and 17 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Nov. 11, 18 and 19 from 3 to 5 p.m. Joe’s Movement Emporium, 3309 Bunker Hill Rd., Mt. Rainier.

301.699.1819. Joesmovement.org

NOVEMBER 12 The Baylor Project, featuring Jean and Marcus Baylor, comes to Publick Playhouse. This sixtime Grammy-nominated duo’s enticing collaboration is steeped in the heart and soul of jazz. $40 for all ages. Purchase tickets through pgparksdirect.com.

5445 Landover Rd., Cheverly.

301.277.1710

NOVEMBER 13 Come to the Hyattsville Branch Library for a screening and discussion of National Geographic’s documentary “The Last Ice” (2020, 83 min.).

NOVEMBER 19 Sense of Wonder brings their American covers and folk originals to Maryland Meadworks. Free (again, feel free to tip the band!). 3 to 5 p.m. 4700 Rhode Island Ave., Suite Bee. 201.955.9644

DECEMBER 9 Come to Art Works Now for a joyous afternoon of gingerbread house building and merry mingling, at Barbara’s Gingerbread Bash. Registration for a time slot, at e.givesmart.com/events/ z5V/, is required for this free event. Noon to 4 p.m. 4800 Rhode Island Ave. artworksnow.org In the Arctic, melting sea ice tells two stories: one about the financial incentives to exploit the newly opened waters, and the other of Inuit communities fighting to protect the rapidly disappearing Arctic home. Free.

7 to 9 p.m. 6530 Adelphi Rd. 240.455.5451

NOVEMBER 16 Come listen to the O’McPub Band at the Riverdale Park Farmers Market. Joe Basso and Ryan-Allen McKinney share Irish culture through music and have cultivated a wide variety of pub tunes, rebel songs and Celticinspired pop music. 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. 4650 Queensbury Rd. rpkfarmmkt@gmail.com

NOVEMBER 14 The power of play, childhood fantasy, and unconditional love

all join forces to illuminate this rendering of Margery Williams’ tale of friendship and the passing of time in “The Velveteen Rabbit.” $6.

Ages 5 to 10. Purchase tickets through pgparksdirect.com. 10 to 10:45 a.m. Publick Playhouse, 5445 Landover Rd., Cheverly.

301.277.1710

NOVEMBER 18 Join Route 1 Corridor Conversations online to learn more about The Desks Project, a College Parkbased nonprofit, founded

by Chikondi and Andrew Kulemeka, that is working with local carpenters to support schoolchildren in Malawi. Attendees can join via telephone or Zoom. Free. Talk held from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Register at hyattsvilleaginginplace.org.

DECEMBER 2 It’s that time of year! The Mt. Rainier Holiday Craft Fair is back and ready to bring all the wonderful crafters and shoppers to Joe’s Movement Emporium.

Free. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 3309 Bunker Hill Rd., Mt. Rainier.

301.699.1819. Joesmovement.org Celebrate and shop at Carpe Noctem, a Christmas boutique featuring local artists, food trucks, a white elephant sale, childrens’ activities and photos with Santa! Adults $5, children (12 and under) free. 5 to 9 p.m. St. Jerome Academy, 5207 42nd Pl. carpenoctemsja.com

DECEMBER 9 You’re invited to the opening reception of the “10 x 10” annual invitational. This exhibition/fundraiser has just two rules: All work must measure 10 x 10 inches and be priced at $60. Works will be on view between Dec. 9 and 24. 5 to 8 p.m. Register at pyramidatlanticartcenter.org.

Hyattsville Life & Times | November 2023

Page 10

Red cabbage salad with garlic vinaigrette

LIFE & TIMES LOCAVORE

Celebrate Thanksgiving with seasonal produce

By Imke Ahlf-Wien

A

fter I moved to the U.S., in 2006, Thanksgiving quickly became my favorite holiday. A day focused on cooking, eating and gathering with family and friends? Bring it on! And ever since I started to host Thanksgiving dinner at my place, I’ve made sure to include plenty of local, seasonal foods in the feast.

In Germany, where I am originally from, communities and churches celebrate “Erntedankfest,” which can be translated as “harvest festival,” usually on the first Sunday of October, to give thanks for the recently accomplished harvest. While you may see beautiful displays of fall crops in churches and marketplaces, this festival doesn’t involve the large gatherings of family and friends in private homes with elaborate home-cooked meals found in the U.S. during Thanksgiving.

But it’s easy to combine the two. Until about 150 years ago, seasonal food was all that was available, which means many ingredients for beloved Thanksgiving side dishes and desserts are in-season in November: potatoes and sweet potatoes, pumpkins and apples, turnips and winter squash, kale, collards, spinach and even mushrooms. While these dishes don’t all go back to the origins of Thanksgiving, they do at least

This quick salad is a great starter and adds crunch, color and fiber to your Thanksgiving dinner.

Ingredients: ½ medium head red cabbage, shredded 3 carrots, ends removed, trimmed and shredded 1 cup grapes, cut into halves lengthwise 3 green onions, cut into thin rings ¼ cup fresh dill, minced 1 clove garlic, minced ½ cup extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon maple syrup 1 teaspoon mustard ½ teaspoon salt

Kale and butternut squash bake Ingredients: 1 small butternut squash 1 bunch purple or green kale 1 clove garlic, finely minced 1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon thyme ½ teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg 1 cup heavy cream

½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese ½ cup breadcrumbs

Directions: Preheat the oven to 400 F. Lightly butter a medium-size gratin dish. Peel the squash, cut through the middle, and remove the seeds. Cut into slices, about ¼-inch thick. Remove the stems from the kale and cut into thin slices. Mix the kale with garlic, salt, thyme and nutmeg. Place half of the kale mix in the gratin dish. Place the squash slices on top of the kale mix in one even layer, then place the other half of the kale mix on top of the squash. Pour cream over vegetables. Cover casserole tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for 30 minutes, until tender.

Directions: In a salad bowl, combine cabbage, carrots, grapes, green onions and dill. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the garlic, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, mustard and salt together.

Pour this dressing over the salad mix, and toss well.

Mix the cheese with the breadcrumbs. Remove casserole from oven, discard the foil, and sprinkle the cheese-and-breadcrumbs mixture over vegetables. Return to oven and bake, uncovered, for another 5 to 10 minutes, until golden brown.

(Recipe adapted from “Kale and butternut squash gratin” by Virginia Willis)

reflect many of the foods served at a typical 19th-century feast.

There are several farmers markets in the Hyattsville area that may carry the ingredients for your favorite Thanksgiving dishes. The Riverdale Park Farmers Market is the closest to Hyattsville. It will be open the day before Thanksgiving, Nov. 22, from 3 to 6:30 p.m. You can preorder a turkey from Groff ’s Content Farm a week before, buy bread for stuffing from RavenHook Bakehouse (or Manifest Bread next door), and find seasonal produce

from one of the following vendors: Blue Berwyn Farm, McCleaf ’s Orchard, Cat’s Paw Organic Farm or Fajardo’s Produce Farm. In today’s recipe section, you’ll find some of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes that include plenty of in-season produce such as red cabbage, carrots, kale, butternut squash and potatoes.

Imke Ahlf-Wien is a nutrition educator with a passion for fresh, locally procured foods.

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Heavenly potatoes This dish has become a staple on our Thanksgiving dinner table.

While it takes several days to prepare (in simple steps that don’t take more than 20 minutes each), all you have to do on Thanksgiving Day is put the casserole in the oven. It’s been adapted from Three Rivers Cookbook II by Carolyn S. Hammer (editor) and Susan Gaca (illustrator).

Ingredients: 10 medium yellow potatoes 1 medium onion, grated ½ cup butter, melted ½ pint heavy cream 1 pint half-and-half

½ to 1 cup milk, as needed 1 teaspoon salt or more to taste 1 teaspoon white pepper

Directions: Day l: Parboil potatoes for 20 minutes. Cool and refrigerate overnight.

Day 2: Peel and grate potatoes into a shallow 3-quart casserole.

Mix in onions, handling them as little as possible. Carefully pour butter, cream, half-and-half and milk over the potato-onion mix, and season to taste. The mix should be moist, but not soggy.

Cover and put in the refrigerator.

Day 3: Remove casserole from refrigerator 2 hours before baking. Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes.

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Hyattsville Life & Times | November 2023

BRIDGE FROM PAGE 3

Page 11

“I love the idea of African Americans having a place to go to socialize.

There are not a lot of places that we have. This is a place that is ours, and we can pass it on to our children. It’s like a little granular piece of sand on a tremendous beach, but it is ours.”

SCIENCE FROM PAGE 5

can be fierce, so the club also minority drivers fear that getting offers beginners classes, where pulled over could easily escalate teachers help the less experiinto brutalities. And accordenced develop their game. ing to the University of Illinois, After taking classes at The Chicago, in most years, ordinary Hut, D.C. resident Sharon Smith traffic accidents kill and injure has grown to appreciate the inmore law enforcement officers person teaching. She enjoyed than gunfire does. High-speed playing and observing games chases are so dangerous to poonline, but wanted to develop lice, pedestrians and innocent A sign implores drivers to respect the speed limit in a residential area. her skills further. Getting stepdrivers that the Prince George’s PAUL RUFFINS by-step instruction from a seaCounty police and many other soned teacher opened her eyes departments have severely limscofflaws who park on the street to new ways of playing. ited their use. cense suspension and increased — but still has over $800 million “I was just doing it my way,” One possible solution to these insurance rates. in uncollected fines for moving Smith said. “You know how concerns is automated enforceJoseph Young, an IIHS spokesviolations. many mistakes you make when ment — using cameras to catch person, points out that there are Like Screen, Young believes you actually start playing! So it’s people speeding or running red simple solutions for reducing that reducing speeding isn’t good that I am coming to the lights. Cameras have no ethnic, speeding. “People who are conprimarily a technical problem, class.” racial or gender biases and have victed of drunken driving are ofbut a very tough attitudinal and Wilma Bonner, WBU presibeen proven to reduce speeding ten required to install an ignition political problem which kills dent, learned how to play and accidents. But once again, interlock, so the car won’t start Wilma Bonner and injures thousands more bridge on a post-retirement Maryland’s traffic laws impose if they’ve been drinking,” Young Washington Bridge Unit president people per year in the U.S. than cruise in 2007. What keeps Bononly minimal fines. In Virginia, said. “Well, the equipment to in Europe. “Almost no one would ner coming back to the game is automated speeding tickets can govern maximum speed is even ever tell a stranger that they the competition, the problemreach $100. In Maryland, that simpler and has been used in frequently drive drunk,” Young solving skills and the comradsame ticket would be $40, even if trucking and fleet operations for said. “But in our surveys, a large ery. someone is going over twice the years.” percentage of drivers will hon“I love the idea of African speed limit. Our state’s automatYoung also feels that states estly admit that they regularly Americans having a place to ed tickets further reduce their could deter a lot of dangerous exceed the speed limit. It’s algo to socialize,” said Bonner. deterrent impact with bold letdriving by not renewing a vener at wafbonner@aol.com for most like they feel there’s some “There are not a lot of places tering stating that if you pay the hicle’s tags if an owner has una complete schedule, or stop by American right to drive too fast, that we have. This is a place that $40 fine, your violation won’t repaid moving violations from out The Hut at 3801 Eastern Avenue even though it risks other peois ours, and we can pass it on sult in points and cannot be used of state, regardless of whether NE in Mount Rainier. ple’s lives.” to our children. It’s like a little to increase your insurance rates. they were issued by an officer granular piece of sand on a treMaryland could choose to be or a camera. Right now, neither Jessica Arends is Paul Ruffins is a mendous beach, but it is ours.” much tougher. In California and Virginia, the District, nor Marythe arts, culture citizen scientist Bonner also enjoys knowing Oregon, red-light tickets carry land has an effective mechaand lifestyle and professor of the club helps to enhance and points as well as fines. In Arizonism for enforcing automated columnist for the curiosity. unify the local community. She na, both red light and speeding tickets on out-of-state vehicles.

Life & Times. feels the club brings people tocamera tickets can lead to a liThe District occasionally boots gether and adds value to the neighborhood.

“One of the real points of joy is that we have become a good neighbor in the City of Mount Rainier,” Bonner said. “And we are becoming more diverse. It’s so important to open up in a world that, as we know, is filled with hate and heinous kinds of UNDER CONTRACT behaviors. To understand we Realtor®, ABR, SRS, RENE, AHWD are one — one people.”

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Page 12

Hyattsville Life & Times | November 2023

FUN AT THE ZOMBIE RUN

On a drizzly but festive Oct. 14, the Hyattsville Elementary School PTA hosted its eighth annual Hyattsville Zombie Run at Driskell Park.

COURTESY OF SHAUN CHORNOBROFF