The Hyattsville City Council agreed to enter into a $310,000 settlement agreement with CSX Transportation, Inc. on Oct. 21, a little more than a year after a CSX freight train derailed near the intersection of Baltimore Avenue and Decatur Street.
One locomotive and more than a dozen rail cars went off the tracks in the September
NEWS BRIEFS
Huncho House owner and companion shot near Kirkwood Place
Former NFL player and local Huncho House owner Tobias Dorzon and his companion were shot on the evening of Nov. 5, according to NBC4 Washington and a Hyattsville Police Department Facebook post. Both were injured in the shooting, which took place in the 2500 block of Kirkwood Place. Soon after 10 p.m. on Election Day, Dorzon and a female companion were returning home from an evening out, according to Hyattsville police. The couple had just gotten out of an Uber at Kirkwood Apartments, close
Hyattsville considers following Takoma Park and the District’s lead, P. 3
Hyattsville Vacuum has been running for 83 years, P. 5
Harrington; Cheri
Renee Harris, Business and Economic
Shortcake Bakery closes as owner embraces retirement
By ETHAN THERRIEN
Shortcake Bakery, a community-beloved dessert and baked goods shop in Hyattsville, has permanently closed, as owner Cheryl Harrington has decided to retire.
In an interview with the Life & Times, Harrington cited recent personal struggles and health scares as the reason for the decision, but clarified that the decision wasn’t easy.
“I have flour in my veins,” she said. “Baking comes kind of naturally to me, and I really enjoy it. Since the passing of my husband and my mom, I just found a great deal of
calmness. So I think that was part of the reason I was so hesitant to come to the decision to give it up.”
Still, Harrington said those recent family deaths had a heavy influence on her choice to retire.
“Once you have that kind of experience, your mortality becomes more of a thing,” Harrington said. “So I decided this was the time to do it.”
The decision to retire coincided with the ending of her lease of the bright pink 4700 Rhode Island Avenue building. While Harrington tried to renew her lease with landlord Stuart Eisenberg, via a short-term ex-
tension, the lease renewal, along with a new health department license, would have been costly — expenses that Harrington did not want to pay given her age.
“I didn’t want to invest that money if it meant my time would be short, so that’s why [the decision] seems sudden,” she said.
In an interview with The Hyattsville Wire, Eisenberg said that he was unable to make the short-term lease renewal work due to his own business needs. With Harrington’s health department license already ending on Oct. 31, Eisenberg agreed to release her from the lease with no penalty.
SEE SHORTCAKE ON 10
Shortcake Bakery closed on Halloween after 13 years in operation. Owner Cheryl Harrington cited personal health, in addition to the ending of her lease, as key factors in her retirement. Here, she poses with members of city staff and council during the bakery’s goodbye celebrations. From left to right: Jim Bathurst, communications coordinator; Jeff Ulysse, city planner; Dr. Dyann Waugh; Robert Croslin, mayor of Hyattsville; Reggie Bagley, emergency operations manager; Cheryl
Everhart, deputy director of Community Services/Civic Engagement; Tracey Douglas, city administrator;
Development coordinator; Joseph Solomon, Ward 5 councilmember and city council president PAUL RUFFINS
Hyattsville needs public-service journalism
By KIT SLACK
Dear neighbors, friends, and readers,
American democracy and American journalism are entwined — this is especially clear during an election year. And yet, in many places across the U.S., communities are losing news sources and the journalists they once counted on.
Without access to reliable information and insights into what local government officials are doing, fewer residents vote and participate in local government, and corruption often increases.
At the Life & Times, since we live in the same community as you, we’re able to provide accurate, nuanced, on-the-ground reporting to help you understand the impacts of elections and legislative actions — and we can tell the stories of neighbors getting together to advocate for our communities.
During this election season, we provided to every home in Hyattsville, as well as to all county voters on our website:
• A voter guide explaining the judicial elections
• Voter information on debt the county is taking on that vot-
ers can approve or disapprove
• An explanation of a county charter amendment on the ballot that seemed like it restricted county staffing flexibility but in fact expanded it
• Coverage of school board elections
• Coverage of real estate money pouring into the special primary for the county council election.
And we will continue to provide this type of public service. When local independent news thrives, so, too, do communities. If this is something you care about, we invite you to support
Former University Park mayor arrested on child sexual abuse material charges
By CAT MURPHY
A former mayor of University Park was arrested Oct. 28 on nearly 30 charges related to child sexual abuse material.
Court records show that Joel Biermann, who served as the town’s mayor until earlier this year, faces 22 misdemeanor counts of possession and six felony counts related to solicitation and distribution.
According to charging documents, law enforcement officials located hard drives containing roughly 45,000 files of suspected child sexual abuse material while searching Biermann’s bedroom. Investigators also discovered abuse materials on his cell phone, as well as a pair of young boys’ underwear in his office.
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The files, which the charging documents show often included the victim’s race and age, reportedly depicted victims as young as 2 years old.
The documents also accuse Biermann of paying an unknown Facebook user hundreds of dollars to produce sexually explicit materials of at least two minor boys. FBI officials said Biermann exchanged more than 4,500 messages with the user between 2021 and 2023, including during his tenure as mayor.
Biermann appeared in court Oct. 30 and is being held without bond pending his Nov. 27 preliminary hearing.
Town officials said the FBI executed a search warrant at Biermann’s residence on Oct. 28.
mann has now been arrested by the FBI on child pornography charges,” Town Administrator Debi Sandlin said in an Oct. 31 email to the Life & Times. “These are serious charges, and the Town is ready to assist as requested.”
Biermann, 46, was mayor from June 2022 to June 2024.
He lost his reelection bid to the town’s current mayor, Laurie Morrissey, in May. Biermann, who received less than 5% of the vote, had campaigned for reelection, in part, on the promise of “protecting our children.”
He previously served a twoyear term on the University Park Town Council.
“He no longer has an official position with the Town,” Sandlin said. “He is a private citizen,
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Miranda Goodson
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Board of Directors
President: Marta McLellan Ross
President & General Counsel: Michael Walls
Treasurer: Joe Murchison
Secretary: Melanie Dzwonchyk Bette Dickerson, Nora Eidelman, Joseph Gigliotti, Maxine Gross, Merrill Hartson, T. Carter Ross, Stephanie Stullich
Ex Officios: Katie V. Jones, Griffin Limerick, Sharon O’Malley, Kit Slack
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the cause. From now until Dec. 31, NewsMatch, a collaborative fundraising movement that supports independent, public-service journalism, will match your new monthly donation 12 times
or double your one-time gift, up to $1,000. This is a big deal, and we hope we can count on you to help us take advantage of this great opportunity to strengthen our nonprofit newsroom. Donate online at streetcarsuburbs. news/donate, or send checks to P.O. Box 132, Hyattsville, MD, 20781.
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Kit Slack is the executive director of Streetcar Suburbs Publishing, which puts out the Life & Times
Former University Park mayor Joel Biermann was arrested Oct. 28 on nearly 30 charges related to child sexual abuse material.
and the Town has no contact with him and cannot comment on his activities.”
Gov. Wes Moore appointed Biermann to a five-year term on the Maryland Veterans Home Commission last July.
Biermann’s arrest comes less than a year after the former
BRIEFS
to the West Hyattsville Metro station, when four gunmen jumped out of a white SUV and opened fire; a fifth suspect remained in the car.
In surveillance video obtained by NBC4, a gunman then proceeded to rob Dorzon as he lay in the street.
“This is a heinous act of violence,” Hyattsville police Chief Jarod J. Towers told the Life & Times in a Nov. 7 email. “We are actively pursuing all leads to find all five suspects and bring justice for the victims and the people of our community. This type of violence is highly unusual in our
mayor of neighboring College Park, Patrick Wojahn, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material.
Cat Murphy is a graduate journalism student at the University of Maryland.
city and will not be tolerated.” Both victims suffered multiple gunshot wounds and were hospitalized in critical condition but are expected to survive. Dorzon played in the NFL in 2011 and then with the Canadian Football League for several years before eventually becoming a celebrity chef and a regular on the Food Network. He opened Huncho House, at 6451 America Boulevard, in 2022, and serves as its executive chef. Earlier this year, Dorzon became the first Prince George’s County native to become the Restaurant Association of Maryland Chef of the Year.
Read more news briefs at StreetcarSurburbs.News.
Organizers make their case for ranked choice voting
By STELLA GARNER
Ranked choice voting has been a topic of much debate nationwide — as well as here in Hyattsville. In late August, Hyattsville City Councilmembers
Danny Schaible (Ward 2), Sam Denes (Ward 1) and Joanne Waszczak (Ward 1) submitted a nonbinding referendum to the council that would allow citizens to weigh in on ranked choice voting in the 2025 municipal election. Takoma Park is the only city in Maryland that uses ranked choice voting, but Washington, D.C., voted on Nov. 5 to implement the system, a large step forward for local advocacy organizations and another incentive for the ongoing discussion of its implementation in Hyattsville.
Silver Spring-based coalition Ranked Choice Voting Maryland hosted a “Ranked Choice Voting Basics” event at the Hyattsville Busboys and Poets on Oct. 30 to spread awareness about the potential for a future ballot measure supporting ranked choice voting. A week later, at its Nov. 4 meeting, the Hyattsville City Council placed
the referendum on the agenda for discussion, though it was later tabled.
The notion of ranked choice voting has drawn both bipartisan ire and support nationwide; at its core, the measure changes election systems by allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference, rather than choosing only one. In this system, whichever candidate wins over half of the first-choice votes wins the election. However, if nobody is able to reach that threshold, the subsequent votes are continuously added in rounds until a candidate reaches a majority.
At their event, Ranked Choice Voting Maryland discussed how implementation of the measure could create higher voter turnout in local elections, which, according to their discussion, peak at 30–40% voter turnout, an impact which the organization says was recorded after Takoma Park implemented ranked choice voting. Hyattsville, by comparison, has had 10–30% voter turnout in recent elections.
But some critics of the measure say that ranked choice vot-
The notion of ranked choice voting has drawn both bipartisan ire and support nationwide; at its core, the measure changes election systems by allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference, rather than choosing only one.
ing has little to no effect on election outcomes. When looking at the record of election results in Takoma Park since ranked choice voting was implemented, an instant runoff to decide an election hasn’t been necessary since 2017; most candidates in Takoma Park run uncontested or only have one challenger. In Hyattsville, however, municipal and mayoral elections historically have had more than two candidates running, though the most recent election in 2023 saw almost completely uncontested candidates.
At the Oct. 30 event, Michelle Whittaker, executive director of Ranked Choice Voting Maryland, described how candidates in the current system
Top-ranked in the DC metro area Top-ranked in the DC metro area
can often have one-track minds when speaking to voters — if a constituent supports another candidate, conversation often stops altogether. “We should be engaging and having conversations, because that goes back to the policy conversations on what issues matter most,” Whittaker said.
Despite its decades-long history, ranked choice voting is currently in use in only 60 jurisdictions across the U.S. Because of its limited use, correctly assessing the impact of ranked choice voting is a challenge. As Ranked Choice Voting Maryland fights to get the measure included on ballots across the state, they must also contend with the labor and technology
costs that come along with implementation of a new voting system, something which can be difficult to estimate.
Councilmember Schaible discussed the idea in his latest newsletter for constituents, The Schaible Scoop, describing how the referendum would need two-thirds of the council’s support in order to be placed before voters in May 2025. The referendum itself lists some positive aspects of ranked choice voting, including that it “empower[s] voters to select their candidate of choice while eliminating the ‘lesser of two evils’ dynamic.”
At the city council’s Nov. 4 meeting, Councilmember Joseph Solomon (Ward 5) motioned to postpone discussion of the ranked choice voting referendum to the next general meeting. Schaible asked that it be recognized as a time-sensitive item due to its potential impact on the 2025 municipal elections. The council’s next general meeting is Nov. 18.
Stella Garner is an undergraduate journalism student at the University of Maryland.
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McClellan steps down from Ward 3 seat
In an attempt to keep citizens informed about how the City of Hyattsville is spending its money and what types of projects are taking place in and around the city, the Life & Times has compiled a list of some of the most important agenda items from the city council’s most recent meeting — Nov. 4, as of this paper’s publication. “Consent items” are routine and typically pass in one motion without discussion. “Action items” are considered individually for a council vote. Video of Hyattsville City Council meetings, as well as the full agendas and accompanying documents for those meetings, can be found here: hyattsvillemd.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx.
McClellan steps down Hyattsville City Councilmember Jimmy McClellan (Ward 3) resigned from his position Nov. 6, at which point, McClellan said, he would no longer be living in his respective ward. McClellan is moving to Ward 4, where he purchased a house in early September. In an email to the Life & Times, McClellan said
he has not decided whether he will run for council again in his new ward during the spring 2025 elections. McClellan has served on the city council since May 2021. City law states that councilmembers must reside in the ward they represent.
Nov. 4 council meeting
Audit review
City auditor Robert Diss, of Lindsey + Associates, completed his fiscal year 2022 audit of the city’s financial statements and presented his findings to the council. As previously reported in the Life & Times, the city completed its FY 2022 audit Oct. 7, nearly two years after Maryland’s Oct. 31, 2022, filing deadline. Hyattsville’s FY 2023 audit, which was due last October, is still outstanding, and the city missed the FY 2024 filing deadline at the end of this October. In answer to questions from councilmembers, Diss said that city audits are easier to prepare thanks to Deputy Fi-
nance Manager Natally Palma, who has worked for Hyattsville since 2022. In the context of a question about the adequacy of staffing, Diss mentioned that many other cities have finance department staff who report to the city council about the budget each month.
COPS Hiring Program Grant (Consent item)
The council approved the appropriation of a $1 million COPS Hiring Grant — previously awarded — into the FY 2025 budget. The grant is intended to pay for the hiring of eight entry-level police officers.
Contracts for installation of INet and public Wi-Fi pilot project (Consent item)
The council authorized the city administrator to enter into two separate contracts for Phase 1a and Phase 1b of the INet and Public Wi-Fi Pilot Project. Phase 1a, to be performed by Nucleus Tech Solutions LLC, involves the construction of an INet fiber backbone from the Hyattsville Municipal Building at 4310 Gallatin Street to the new police headquarters at
3505 Hamilton Street, at a cost not to exceed $247,000. Phase 1b, to be performed by Systems Application & Technologies, Inc., involves the construction of turn-key Wi-Fi networks in multiple park locations along the route of the fiber trunkline, at a cost not to exceed $200,000. Both projects will be covered by FY 2025 Capital Improvement Plan funds.
License plate reader program (Consent
item)
The council approved the Hyattsville Police Department’s purchase of 12 stationary license plate readers for a total of $221,822. City documents do not state where the license plate readers will be located, only that they’ll be “strategically placed around the City.” The police department’s stated purpose for the readers is “to monitor and analyze major crimes, including gun and gang activity.” License plate readers are often used to find stolen cars or identify people with expired licenses or active warrants. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, these readers photograph thousands of license plates per minute,
and the data from each photographed plate, including those of motorists who have no outstanding warrants or crimes, is pooled into a regional sharing system, where the information is often stored for years with few or no restrictions to protect privacy rights.
Accessible parking violation fine increase (Discussion item)
The council discussed a fine increase for individuals who park in accessible spaces — that is, spaces reserved for people with disabilities — without proper placards or license plates. Currently, the fine for such a violation is $250 — the same as it is at the county level. After a motion from Councilmember Sam Denes (Ward 1), the council voted to go ahead and authorize the city attorney to draft an ordinance to increase the fine.
83 years of keeping it clean: Hyattsville Vacuum Service
By RAZAK DIALLO
Nestled between two in-progress developments, The Spot and Hyattsville Canvas Apartments, lies a storefront over half the age of the city in which it resides. While the sound of construction may attack the ears outside, walking into the brick-and-mortar building with vacuums in the window will temporarily transport you back in time.
“I think other than a few funeral homes, we might be one of the oldest businesses in town,” said Bill Scott, owner of Hyattsville Vacuum Service.
Located at the intersection of Baltimore Avenue and Hamilton Street, the store is a cleaner’s paradise: HEPA filters, vacuum bags, belts, towels, and more cleaning supplies line the store’s walls. New vacuum cleaners, mop wringers, and commercial cleaning machines dominate the main floor area, and an interior window on the back wall, crowned with an oldfashioned letterboard listing the prices of belt changes and hose uncloggings, gives a view of the repair area.
During its 83-year history, Hyattsville Vacuum has switched hands between only four owners, the most recent being 56-year-old Scott.
“The first owner is somewhat nebulous,” Scott said. “It’s been so long we don’t know who it is.”
Despite its name, Hyattsville Vacuum’s primary business hasn’t been vacuums for some time. According to Scott, the business switched hands for the first time in 1974 from the mysterious first owner to Tyrus Peele. Then, in 1991, Peele sold to Ron Rhine, who moved the business toward selling cleaning supplies to local churches, offices, cleaning companies and schools.
Rhine owned a cleaning company and consistently came to Peele for vacuum repairs. One day, Rhine went into the store and Peele reported to him that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Scott said that Rhine bought the business the next day. Using his experience from his cleaning businesses, Rhine expanded the store’s niche.
“He knew other people in the cleaning business, and they were coming to him saying, ‘Can you get this, can you get this?’” Scott said.
Scott moved to College Park
from Indiana around the same time the business ownership changed hands. He would be Rhine’s next-door neighbor for over 20 years and routinely helped Rhine with repairs in his house. After Scott found himself out of a job, Rhine enlisted his help around the store. Two years later, in 2017, with Rhine reaching the age of 80 and needing a successor, Scott stepped up.
“Many people ask if I’m Ron’s son,” Scott said. “He was almost like a second father to me be-
cause I lived next to him for so long … we were close.”
For the past seven years, Scott has continued to do what the business has done for years: provide vacuum repairs and accessories, sewing machine repairs, a wide array of cleaning products, and even advice on what products would be suitable for specific jobs.
“Word spreads around … and they [customers] want to be able to come to one place and get all the stuff they need and not have to search through a
Want
whole big store,” he said.
Christian Diaz, the sole employee, has worked at Hyattsville Vacuum for six months.
Diaz works in the back area of the store surrounded by various machines and tools. For Diaz, the store provides something larger retail stores can’t — decades of knowledge.
“People really appreciate us because we know what we’re doing,” Diaz said. The business has become a symbol of nostalgia for longtime Hyattsville residents.
“For the people that have lived here a long time, many of them know the business, and I think that they appreciate that there’s still something left of what they remember when they were kids,” Scott said.
Curtis Lockerman, owner of Lockerman Enterprises Janitorial, has been a customer of Hyattsville Vacuum for 35 years. The location is convenient for Lockerman, providing him with everything he needs only a seven-minute car ride away.
“When I go in there, I feel like I’m part of the family,” Lockerman said. “When I’m with other customers there, we’re able to help each other out like one big family.”
Scott has a few more objectives before repairing his last vacuum. He has been playing with the idea of changing the business’s name to be more representative of their current output: cleaning and janitorial supplies.
“You wouldn’t believe how many people come in the back … and they don’t pay attention and realize we have a store in the front,” Scott said.
Ultimately, Scott says, as he nears retirement age, he hopes to continue running the business until it’s ready for a new owner. But he’s not in a rush.
“I just would like to get it to the point where it’s a business worth passing down to someone else,” Scott said. “Things like that tend to come when it’s time.”
Razak Diallo is an undergraduate journalism major at the University of Maryland.
Hyattsville Vacuum Service employee Christian Diaz works in the back area of the store surrounded by various machines and tools. RAZAK DIALLO
The hummingbirds of winter
By RICK BORCHELT
I was working in my garden on Hallowe’en 2010, consigning spent pepper and tomato plants to the compost pile and seeding winter lettuce and chard in the space they left behind. There was still quite a bit in bloom: old-fashioned red cannas, pineapple sage, cypress vine in the mornings, before it turned warm during the day. One of those perfect October days we sometimes get here in the D.C. suburbs.
I had taken down and cleaned my hummingbird feeder a few weeks earlier; the big push of southbound ruby-throated hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris, our only breeding hummingbird in the eastern U.S.) had come and gone.
Imagine my surprise, then, when a very plain but very vocal hummingbird showed up, scolding me for blocking access to the garden. I retired to the porch steps to watch as it worked over the flowers, figuring it would tank up on nectar to fuel its migration south, and eventually over the Gulf of Mexico, to join its fellow rubythroats in the tropics.
Next morning, though, the bird was back. And kept coming back. A week. Two weeks. I got out the hummingbird feeder and restocked it with
sugar water, and the little avian sprite visited avidly. All this time, it kept up a near constant chatter, so unlike what I expect from our summer hummingbirds.
Thanksgiving neared, and I managed to snag a few decent photos of the hummer to send around to colleagues in the local birding community. The response was almost immediate: While my photos weren’t
definitive, the late date and vocalizations suggested this was decidedly not a ruby-throated hummingbird. It turns out that Maryland hosts a number of other hummingbird species, even in the winter. Who knew?
Many of these appear to be birds that nest in the Rockies, and they mostly migrate up and down that mountain range. Sometimes, though, a few of
suckers and other woodpeckers drill.
While the original purpose of hummingbird feeders was to provide winter sustenance for the birds when no nectar is available, the feeders also draw the birds closer, making it easy for us to spot them.
So I hung my feeder in a sheltered spot, bringing it in after dark so the sugar water wouldn’t freeze solid, and rehanging it at first light. My hummingbird visitor arrived every morning at sunrise.
those western hummingbirds overshoot their mountain migratory route and keep going. There’s not much to stop them as they fly east until they hit the Atlantic — and that drops them right here in Maryland.
While some continue to follow the coast south, a surprising number decide to stick it out here through the depths of winter. Even then, Maryland must seem a balmy respite from the chills in the high reaches of the Rockies.
Every year, a few ruby-throats hang on here for the winter, to be sure. But we now know they are usually outnumbered by visiting species. Of the wandering hummingbirds we’re most likely to see in our area during the cold months, most belong to the genus Selasphorus. Rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) tops the list with many more local winter sightings than any other species, but Allen’s (Selasphorus sasin) and Calliope (Selasphorus calliope) hummingbirds also make the roster from time to time. Another winter hummingbird we occasionally see here is a closer relative of the ruby-throat, the black-chinned hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri). This aberrant migration pattern was probably happening long before anyone started hanging up feeders to tide hummingbirds over during the dearth of flowers. Their winter diet likely consisted mostly of insects and their eggs, with occasional visits to drink carbohydrate-rich sap welling from holes that sap-
Eventually, Bruce Peterjohn, who was head of the Bird Banding Laboratory at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center at the time, heard about my College Park visitor and came to identify it. ID required trapping the small bird in a cage that he hung over the feeder — it took just a few minutes for the bird to fly in. Bruce grabbed it deftly and quickly ascertained (based mostly on the pattern of white on the hummer’s tail when spread out) that it was a first-year female rufous hummingbird. While he had it in hand, Bruce fitted the bird with a tiny leg band with a unique code so it could be identified if it were trapped later at another location.
Unfazed by the trapping experience, the rufous hung around in the yard, alternately tapping the feeder and snapping up tiny fruit flies that gathered around rotting apples and bananas I’d hung up in the trees as fly bait. Christmas came. We had a 6-inch snowfall that my visitor shrugged off as she went about her business. We had a couple of cold snaps; I fixed up a lightbulb to hang next to the feeder to keep it from freezing.
But at sunrise on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, no hummingbird showed up, and that was the last I saw of my visitor. Mid-January is about the time when western hummingbirds overwintering in the tropics start to get restless to move back north toward their summer range in the Rockies. Likely my visitor was seized with the same wanderlust.
Every year since, in eternal optimism, I’ve kept my hummingbird feeder up past Thanksgiving, cleaned and filled with fresh sugar water, in the hopes of snagging another winter hummer. Maybe 2024 will be the year!
Have questions for Rick about the world of nature in and around the Maryland suburbs or suggestions for future columns? Drop him a note at rborchelt@gmail.com.
Male rufous hummingbird, undaunted by a snowstorm COURTESY OF DAVE WETH
The Hyattsville Reporter
Come check out our brand-new facilities and playground at King Park, 4205 Gallatin St! For a complete list of parks and amenities in the city, visit hyattsville.org/parks.
¡Venga a ver nuestras nuevas instalaciones y zona de juegos en el Parque King, 4205 Gallatin St! Para ver la lista completa de parques y servicios en la ciudad, visite hyattsville.org/parks.
King Park is Open!
The wait is over! Enjoy King Park’s new reading garden, nature-inspired playground, picnic area, native vegetation, and shaded seating!
Thank you everyone who provided feedback in the design process to help make this park one of the best places to relax and play in our city. Visit today at 4205 Gallatin Street!
¡El Parque King está Abierto!
¡Se acabó la espera! ¡Disfrute del nuevo jardín de lectura, zona de juegos inspirada en la naturaleza, zona de picnic, vegetación de la región y asientos con sombra!
Gracias a todos los que dieron su opinión en el proceso de diseño para ayudar a hacer de este parque uno de los mejores lugares para relajarse y jugar en nuestra ciudad. ¡Visítelo hoy mismo en 4205 de Gallatin Street!
SHOP IN HYATTSVILLE FOR THE HOLIDAYS!
Let’s ‘hyatt’ up our local businesses! The holiday season is right around the corner…make plans to shop, dine, and love Hyattsville this holiday season. We want you to take your time exploring our local gems, so the city is offering FREE PARKING in City lots between November 28 – January 1! (Parking meters excluded)
Save the Date to Shop Small and Taste Big with the City of Hyattsville and the Hyattsville Community Development Corporation on December 7 from 12 - 5 p.m. Local retailers and restaurants will have pop-up shops and other activities in the Route 1 and Queens Chapel Town Center retail districts. Get your holiday shopping done early and find some new to you favorites! Learn more at Hyattsville.org/lovelocal.
¡COMPRA EN HYATTSVILLE DURANTE ESTAS FIESTAS! ¡Hagamos de Hyattsville un lugar mejor! La temporada festiva está a la vuelta de la esquina... haga planes para comprar, cenar y amar Hyattsville estas fiestas. ¡Queremos que se tome su tiempo para explorar nuestras joyas locales, por lo que la ciudad está ofreciendo estacionamiento gratuito en los lotes de la ciudad, (excepto parquímetros) entre noviembre 28 - 1 de enero!
El 7 de diciembre, desde el mediodia - 5 p.m., la Ciudad de Hyattsville y la Corporación del Desarrollo de la Comunidad de Hyattsville te invitan a comprar en tiendas pequeñas y a probar grandes sabores locales. Los comercios y restaurantes locales abrirán tiendas y realizarán otras actividades en los distritos comerciales de la Ruta 1 y Queens Chapel Town Center. Adelántate a las compras festivas y descubre algunos de tus lugares favoritos. Aprende más en Hyattsville.org/lovelocal.
ANNOUNCEMENTS | ANUNCIOS
HOLIDAY SERVICE UPDATES & CHANGES
Hyattsville City offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 28-29, for Thanksgiving. Yard waste and compost pickup will take place on Monday, November 25. Tuesday and Wednesday’s trash collections will both be picked up on Tuesday, November 26. Thursday and Friday’s trash collections will both be picked up on Wednesday, November 27. County recycling routes will shift from Thursday to Friday and from Friday to Saturday. Learn more and find a holiday waste collection flyer at Hyattsville. org/trash.
LEAF COLLECTION & LEAF BLOWER REMINDERS
Weekly leaf collection services for residential streets has begun and will continue through mid-January. Commercial and multi-family properties are not included. Visit hyattsville.org/leaves for the collection schedule.
Help the crews collect leaves efficiently by placing piles curbside and not blocked by cars. Make sure piles are free of sticks & rocks that can damage the machinery. If you miss your collection day, you can place leaves in paper yard waste bags for Monday compost collection, or “leaf” them alone and mow into your lawn for a natural fertilizer!
Please remember that the City’s gas leaf blower ban is in effect. All leaf blowers used by residents and contractors must be electric. Violators may receive warnings or fines, so switch to an electric blower that is healthier for you and the environment. Learn more at hyattsville.org/leafblower.
CONSTRUCTION UPDATES AT “THE SPOT”
The grassy park at 4505 Hamilton Street known as “The Spot” will close for construction this month. This will include the closure of the section of Hamilton Street between the two sides of the park and ending at the Trolley Trail. The park improvements will begin on the south side of the street, with a pavilion, picnic areas, game tables, and kids’ play equipment! See the park design plans at HelloHyattsville.com.
YARD SALE WEEKEND: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Join the community yard sale on Saturday November 16 and Sunday, November 17. Residents wishing to host yard sales may do so without obtaining a permit from the City.
PLEASE NOTE: Signs or unsold items left curbside for trash collection after November 17 are subject to a waste citation. All regularly collected waste must fit in your City provided trash toter. Bulk waste collection can be made by appointment by calling (301) 985-5032, using the MyHyattsville app, or using the portal at hyattsville.org/requests.
BATTLE OF THE LIGHTS! HOLIDAY LIGHT CONTEST
It’s time to nominate your home, a neighbor’s, or that stunning house a few blocks away for the annual Holiday Light Contest! Visit hyattsville.org/holiday-contest from November 29 - December 13 to complete the nomination form. Online judging will take place from December 20-31.
CAMBIOS DE SERVICIO DURANTE DIAS FERIADOS
Las oficinas de la Ciudad de Hyattsville permanecerán cerradas el jueves y el viernes, 28-29 de noviembre, por Acción de Gracias. La recogida de residuos de jardinería y composta será el lunes, 25 de noviembre. La recogida de basura del martes y miércoles se realizarán el martes 26 de noviembre. La basura del jueves y viernes se recogerá el miércoles 27 de noviembre. Las rutas de reciclaje del condado cambiarán del jueves al viernes y del viernes al sábado. Encuentre un volante de recolección de residuos en Hyattsville.org/trash.
RECORDATORIOS SOBRE LA RECOGIDA DE HOJAS Y EL SOPLADOR DE HOJAS
Los servicios semanales de recogida de hojas en calles residenciales de la ciudad están en marcha y continuarán hasta mediados de enero. Las propiedades comerciales y multifamiliares no están incluidas. Visite hyattsville.org/leaves para ver el calendario de recogida.
Ayude al personal a recoger las hojas de forma eficaz colocando los montones de hojas en el borde de la acera y sin que bloqueen los carros. Asegúrese de que los montones de hojas estén libres de palos y piedras que puedan dañar la maquinaria. Si se pierde su día de recogida de hojas, puede colocarlas en bolsas de papel para la recogida de abono del lunes, o dejarlas en su patio y cortarlas en el césped para obtener un fertilizante natural.
Recuerde que está en vigor la prohibición de utilizar sopladores de hojas de gas. Todos los sopladores de hojas utilizados por residentes y contratistas deben ser eléctricos. Los infractores pueden recibir advertencias o multas, así que cambie a un soplador eléctrico que es más saludable para usted y el medio ambiente. Más información en hyattsville.org/leafblower.
CONSTRUCCIÓN EN “THE SPOT”
El parque en 4505 Hamilton Street conocido como “The Spot” se cerrará por la construcción de este mes. Esto incluirá el cierre de la sección de Hamilton Street entre los dos lados del parque y que termina en el Trolley Trail. Las mejoras del parque se iniciará en el lado sur de la calle, con un pabellón, áreas de picnic, mesas de juego, y juegos infantiles. Mas información en HelloHyattsville.com.
VENTAS DE GARAJE: LO QUE NECESITAS SABER Únete a la venta de garaje de la comunidad el sábado 16 de noviembre y el domingo 17 de noviembre. Los residentes que deseen organizar ventas de garaje pueden hacerlo sin necesidad de obtener un permiso de la Ciudad.
TENGA EN CUENTA: Los letreros o artículos no vendidos dejados en la acera para la recolección de basura después del 17 de noviembre están sujetos a una citación. La recolección de residuos grandes se puede hacer con cita previa llamando al (301) 985-5032, utilizando la aplicación MyHyattsville, o el portal en hyattsville.org/requests.
¡BATALLA DE LAS LUCES! CONCURSO DE LUCES FESTIVAS
Nomina tu casa, la de un vecino o esa brillante casa a unas cuadras de distancia para el concurso anual de luces festivas. Visita hyattsville.org/holiday-contest del 29 de noviembre al 13 de diciembre para rellenar el formulario de nominación. El juzgado será del 20 al 31 de diciembre.
NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
The City is proud to recognize November as Native American Heritage Month! Find upcoming regional events and programs honoring the Native American community and read our proclamation at hyattsville.org/nahm.
MES DE LA HERENCIA NATIVO AMERICANA
La Ciudad se enorgullece de reconocer noviembre como el Mes de la Herencia Nativa Americana! En hyattsville. org/nahm podrá encontrar los próximos eventos regionales y programas en honor a la comunidad nativa americana, así como leer nuestra proclamación.
CALENDAR | CALENDARIO
WARD 5 CHECK-IN
Join Ward 5 Councilmembers
Rommel Sandino & Joseph Solomon and Prince George’s County Council member Wanika Fisher to discuss community issues on Nov. 13, 5:30 - 7:30 PM., at the City Building or via Zoom. hyattsville.org/calendar.
COMMUNITY CULTURAL CONVERSATION
Join us on Nov. 14 from 7 – 9 PM at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 5901 36th Ave., for a discussion on how we can connect with our Latino communities. Register at Hyattsville.org/calendar.
BOARD GAMES FOR GENTS
Older gentlemen are invited to enjoy their favorite card & table games on Nov. 14, 1011:30 AM at the City Building. Register: 301-985-5000 or seniors@hyattsville.org.
NIGHT OWLS
Drop off your little one(s) in grades K-5 at the Driskell Park Rec Center from 6 - 9 PM on Nov. 15! Kids participate in fun activities while you get a night out! hyattsville.org/nightowls.
INVASIVE REMOVALS
Help remove invasive plants from Melrose Park between 10 AM - 2 PM on Nov. 16! RVSP to environment@hyattsville.org.
HEALTHY TREES HYATTSVILLE SERIES
Meet arborists and learn basic guidelines for pruning and tree care on Nov. 16, 10 AMNoon at the University Hills Duck Pond Park. hyattsville. org/enviro-education.
FREE SELF DEFENSE CLASS
Learn the basics of self defense with Capital MMA Team Takoma on Nov. 17, 2 – 4 PM at the City Building. This class is for community members 13 years and up. Hyattsville.org/calendar.
SEATED YOGA CLASSES
Older adults are invited to join a 60-minute seated yoga class led by Bee Yoga Fusion, on Mondays Nov. 18, Dec. 9, 23 & 30, 10 - 11 AM at the City Building. Free transportation is available to Hyattsville residents. Contact 301-9855000 or seniors@hyattsville. org to register.
CALLS FROM SANTA!
Mr. & Mrs. Claus are making phone calls to the little ones of Hyattsville! Phone calls will be made on Dec. 12, 9 AM – 5 PM.
To receive a call complete the form at hyattsville.org/santa from Nov. 18 - Dec. 6.
FREE PRODUCE
A free produce distribution is taking place on Nov. 19 at First United Methodist Church, starting at noon.
CERT MEETING
The next Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) organization meeting is on Nov. 20, 6:30 PM, at the City Building. hyattsville.org/cert.
OLDER ADULT OUTINGS
Enjoy a trip to the Dutch Village Farmers Market on Nov. 21, 10 AM - 2 PM! Reserve by calling (301) 985 - 5000 by 2 PM the Wed. before the trip.
NARCAN TRAININGS
Free NARCAN community trainings are offered at the City Building on Nov. 21 at 6 PM and Nov. 22 at 10 AM. hyattsville.org/calendar.
CARE PARTNER
SUPPORT
GROUP
Join the City’s care partner support group on Nov. 22, 910:30 AM at the City Building. hyattsville.org/calendar.
DEMYSTIFYING MEDICARE WORKSHOP
Attend a free workshop on Medicare’s open enrollment period, types of coverage, costs, and how to choose the right plan., on Nov. 25, 11 AM - 1 PM at the City Building. Register: 301-985-5000 or seniors@hyattsville.org.
BOOK DISCUSSION
Join us for a book discussion on “The Sum of Us,” by Heather McGee. Free copies of the book are available; email equityofficer@ hyattsville.org to request one for pickup at the City Building. The discussion will take place at the Hyattsville Branch Library, on Dec. 3, 6 - 7:30 PM. hyattsville.org/calendar.
WINTER WONDERLAND
Kick off the season at our Winter Wonderland event in Driskell Park on Dec. 6 at 7 PM! Enjoy of musical performances, craft tables and the lighting of the City’s holiday trees! hyattsville.org/ calendar
SHOP SMALL, TASTE
BIG!
Local retailers and restaurants will have pop-up shops and other activities in the Route 1 and Queens Chapel Town Center retail districts on Dec. 7, 12 - 5 PM. Hyattsville.org/lovelocal.
BULK WASTE POP-UP DAY
Get rid of bulky items on Dec. 7, 10 AM - 1 PM free of charge at 4633 Arundel Place. Find a list of acceptable items at hyattsville.org/bulk-waste.
REUNIÓN: DISTRITO 5
Únase a los concejales del Distrito 5, Rommel Sandino y Joseph Solomon, y a la concejala del condado de Prince George, Wanika Fisher, para debatir asuntos comunitarios el 13 de nov., de 5:30 - 7:30 PM, en el edificio municipal a través de Zoom. hyattsville.org/calendar.
CONVERSACIÓN
CULTURAL
COMUNITARIA
Únase a nosotros el 14 de nov., de 7 - 9 PM en la Iglesia Episcopal de San Mateo, 5901 36th Ave., para una discusión sobre cómo podemos conectar con comunidades latinas. Hyattsville.org/ calendar.
JUEGOS DE MESA PARA CABALLEROS
Los caballeros mayores están invitados a disfrutar de sus juegos de cartas y de mesa favoritos el 14 de nov., de 10 - 11:30 AM en el edificio municipal. Inscríbase: 301-9855000, seniors@hyattsville.org.
NOCHE DE BÚHOS NOCTURNOS
¡Deje a su pequeño(s) en los grados K-5 en el centro juvenil de Driskell Park de 6 - PM el 15 de nov! Los niños participarán en divertidas actividades mientras tú pasas una noche fuera. hyattsville. org/nightowls.
ELIMINACIÓN DE PLANTAS INVASORAS
Ayuda a eliminar plantas invasoras ¡de Melrose Park entre las 10 AM - 2 PM el 16 de nov! RVSP a environment@ hyattsville.org.
SERIE DE ÁRBOLES
SANOS HYATTSVILLE
Conozca a los arbolistas y aprenda las directrices básicas para la poda y el cuidado de los árboles el 16 de nov, 10 AM - Mediodía, en el parque Duck Pond de University Hills. hyattsville.org/ enviro-education.
CLASE GRATUITA DE DEFENSA PERSONAL
Aprenda los fundamentos de la autodefensa con Capital MMA Team Takoma el 17 de nov, 2 - 4 PM en el Edificio Municipal. Esta clase es para miembros de la comunidad de 13 años en adelante. Hyattsville.org/calendar.
CLASES DE YOGA SENTADO
Los adultos mayores están invitados a unirse a una clase de yoga sentado de 60 minutos dirigido por Bee Yoga Fusion, los lunes 18 de nov, 9, 23 y 30 de dic, 10 - 11 AM en el Edificio Municipal. Hay transporte gratuito para los residentes de Hyattsville. Póngase en contacto con 301-985-5000 o seniors@ hyattsville.org para inscribirse.
¡LLAMADAS DE SANTA!
El Sr. y la Sra. Claus llamarán por teléfono a los más pequeños de HVL! Las llamadas serán el 12 de dic, de 9 AM - 5 PM. Para recibir una llamada complete el formulario en hyattsville.org/ santa del 18 de nov-6 de dic.
ALIMENTOS GRATIS
Una distribución gratuita de alimentos se llevará a cabo el 19 de nov, en la Primera Iglesia Metodista Unida, a partir del mediodía.
REUNIÓN CERT
La próxima reunión de la organización del Equipo Comunitario de Respuesta a Emergencias (CERT) es el 20 de nov, 6:30 PM, en el Edificio Municipal. hyattsville.org/cert.
PASEOS PARA ADULTOS MAYORES
Disfrute de un paseo al Mercado de granjeros de Dutch Village el 21 de nov, 10 AM - 2 PM. Reserve llamando al (301) 985 - 5000 antes de las 2 PM del miércoles anterior al paseo.
ENTRENAMIENTOS
NARCAN
Entrenamientos gratis de NARCAN son ofrecidos en el Edificio Municipal el 21 de nov, 6 PM y el 22 de nov, 10 AM. hyattsville.org/calendar.
GRUPO DE APOYO PARA CUIDADORES Únase al grupo de apoyo para cuidadores el 22 de nov, 9 - 10:30 AM en el Edificio Municipal. hyattsville.org/ calendar.
TALLER PARA DESMITIFICAR MEDICARE
Asista a un taller gratuito sobre el período de inscripción abierta de Medicare, los tipos de cobertura, los costos y cómo elegir el plan adecuado, el 25 de nov, 11 AM - 1 PM en el Edificio Municipal. Inscríbase: 301-985-5000 o seniors@ hyattsville.org.
DISCUSIÓN DE LIBROS
Participe en un debate sobre el libro «La Suma de Nosotros», de Heather McGee. Hay libros gratuitos disponibles; envíe un correo electrónico a equityofficer@ hyattsville.org para solicitar uno. El debate será en la Biblioteca Hyattsville, el 3 de dic, 6 - 7:30 PM. hyattsville. org/calendar.
EVENTO DE LUCES INVERNALES
Comienza la temporada en nuestro evento de luces invernales en Driskell Park el 6 de dic, 7 PM. Disfruta de musica, mesas de artesanía y árboles festivos de la ciudad. hyattsville.org/calendar
¡COMPRA EN PEQUEÑO, SABOREA EN GRANDE!
El 7 de dic, 12 - 5 PM, los comercios y restaurantes locales abrirán tiendas y realizarán otras actividades en los distritos comerciales de Route 1 y Queens Chapel Town Center. Hyattsville.org/ lovelocal.
DÍA DE RECOGIDA DE RESIDUOS GRANDES
Deshazte de artículos grandes el 7 de dic, de 10 AM - 1 PM de forma gratuita en 4633 Arundel Place. Encuentra una lista de artículos aceptables en hyattsville.org/bulk-waste.
HIGHLIGHTS | LO DESTACADO
The City of Hyattsville and local partners hosted a Housing Fair for first-time homebuyers and renters at the Hyattsville Middle School on Nov. 2. For housing resources, visit hyattsville.org/housing. La Ciudad de Hyattsville y socios locales organizaron el 2 de nov., una Feria para la Vivienda para compradores de casa e inquilinos en la Escuela Primaria de Hyattsville. Para obtener recursos para la vivienda, visite hyattsville.org/housing.
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
Our list of events sponsored by local nonprofits, arts organizations and performance venues, occurring between Nov. 13 and Dec. 10; all information is current as of Nov. 7. 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. 11 and Jan. 7, 2025, to managingeditor@hyattsvillelife. com by Dec. 5.
RECURRING
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
Riverdale Park Farmers Market is open every Thursday — except Thanksgiving week, when it will instead be open on Tuesday, Nov. 26 — starting at 3 p.m. in the parking lot near the Riverdale MARC Station, 4650 Queensbury Rd. Live music, prior to Thanksgiving week, starts at about 4:30 p.m. (Nov. 14: Boyce Thompson; Nov. 21: The Overthinkers) For more information, contact rpkfarmmkt@gmail.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
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
ONGOING
“Mixed Up, Cut Up: Explorations in Screen Printing” by Carlos Hernandez will be on view through Nov. 24. Hernandez’s work reproduces familiar visual images and arranges/collages them into new, layered works, often with added hand-drawn elements. Wednesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, 4218 Gallatin St. pyramidatlanticartcenter.org. 301.608.9101
NOVEMBER 14
Attend a screening of “American Fiction” (2023, 117 min.), a film about a novelist who is fed up with the establishment profiting from Black entertainment; he uses a pen name to write a book that propels him into the heart of the hypocrisy and madness he claims to disdain. $5 for ages 60 and
SEEKING CASA VOLUNTEERS
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), a national nonprofit advocating for children in foster care, is seeking volunteers for CASA/Prince George’s County. Volunteers typically serve about 12 hours per month, meeting with the child they support once or twice and advocating for that child’s care, access to services, and placement in a safe, permanent home. Volunteers are asked to make a year’s commitment, and many continue for as long as the child is in foster care. For more information about the organization and advocacy program, go to pgcasa.org, email volunteer@pgcasa.org or call 301.209.0491.
Five Dollar Fine performs at Streetcar 82 Brewing Co. Free. 7 to 9 p.m. 4824 Rhode Island Ave. streetcar82brewing.com
Tornado Rose returns to the Maryland Meadworks stage! Free. 7 to 10 p.m. 4700 Rhode Island Ave., Suite Bee. 201.955.9644. marylandmeadworks.com
NOVEMBER 17
Join us for an evening of a film and conversation: “Pure Grit” (2021, 88 min.) chronicles three years in the life of a young Native American bareback horse racer. Free. Register at pgcmls.info/events. 7 to 9 p.m. Hyattsville Branch Library, 6530 Adelphi Rd. 240.455.5451
NOVEMBER 20
Create your own fall-themed watercolor postcard at the Hyattsville Branch Library! Materials will be provided. Free. Register at pgcmls.info/ events. 3 to 5 p.m. 6530 Adelphi Rd. 240.455.5451
NOVEMBER 22 & 23
Start your holiday shopping while making a global impact at the annual Ten ousand Villages Craft Market, Bake Sale, and Rug Event. The Rug Event Opening Night features handknotted, heirloom-quality rugs and pillows made by artisans in Pakistan: Nov. 22 from 5 to 8 p.m. The fun continues on Nov. 23 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hyattsville Mennonite Church, 4217 East-West Hwy. 301.927.7327. daroncs@gmail.com
NOVEMBER 23
As part of Route 1 Corridor Conversations, join us to discuss
“Holidays at Riversdale.” Learn about 19th-century holiday customs as celebrated at the Riversdale House Museum. Director Maya Davis will talk about the mansion, the people who lived there, and the site’s new program on the people who were enslaved there. Attendees can join via telephone or Zoom. Free. 2 to 3:30 p.m. Register at hyattsvilleaginginplace.org/ events.
NOVEMBER 30
The Archie Edwards Blues Ensemble performs at Maryland Meadworks. Free. 7 to 10 p.m. 4700 Rhode Island Ave., Suite Bee. 201.955.9644. marylandmeadworks.com
DECEMBER 6
Vocalist Lena Seikaly and guitarist Steve Herberman perform at the Brentwood Arts Exchange. $20. Buy tickets through pgparksdirect.com. 8 to 10 p.m. 3901 Rhode Island Ave., Brentwood. 301.277.2863. brentwoodarts@pgparks.com
DECEMBER 7
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/craft-fair
The National Ballet Company revisits the enchanting world of “ e Nutcracker.” Purchase tickets through pgparksdirect.com. $25 general admission, $20 seniors and students. 7 to 9 p.m. Publick Playhouse, 5445 Landover Rd., Cheverly. 301.277.1710. publickplayhouse@pgparks. com
For details contact facilitator Donna Chacko at 301-277-2970 or serenityandhealthdc@gmail.com
Election Day in Hyattsville
Hyattsville Elementary School and other local sites, such as the Hyattsville Municipal Building on Gallatin Street, hosted voters on Election Day, Nov. 5. A typical poll worker’s day started at 5:30 a.m. and lasted until nearly 10 p.m.
MISS FLORIBUNDA
Fried green tummyache?
Dear Miss Floribunda,
I very much enjoyed the informative talk given by Kathy Jentz, editor of Washington Gardener magazine, at My Dead Aunt’s Books in October. I am sorry I didn’t think to record it or take notes, because there is a lot that I’m mulling over now that I’m not sure I remember correctly. It is worrisome to me to learn that some green tomatoes are poisonous. I don’t remember which ones Ms. Jentz specified. Also, she mentioned green varieties that are not poisonous if we want to fry them. I was also surprised that she recommended soaking tomato seeds in water with scouring powder containing bleach. That seems potentially poisonous to me. Another big surprise was hearing that the “non-GMO” disclaimer on seed packets I always found so reassuring isn’t necessary because Ms. Jentz said that genetically modified seeds are not sold to home gardeners. Please clarify.
Concerned on Crittenden Street
Dear Concerned,
Ms. Jentz’s talk was far-reaching and covered several different methods of seed-saving, among other ways of preserving and propagating garden plants. Let me reassure you that adding a small amount of scouring powder to the water in which tomato seeds are soaked will not have any lingering effect
but will only speed the fermentation process and kill any soil-borne pathogens clinging to the seeds. This is the “wet seed” method that is needed to separate the tomato seeds from their gelatinous sac, which has served to inhibit germination while the seeds were still in the fruit. You, of
course, would want the seeds to be able to germinate, so you need to eliminate the gel. After a few days soaking in a Mason jar or other enclosed container, the gel will break down, releasing the seeds, and you will see some mold that indicates the seeds are ready to be washed in a strainer, dried on a paper tow-
el, and saved for planting. Ms. Jentz also cautioned that only heirloom tomato seeds could be depended on to produce exactly the same plant. Hybrid seeds are often infertile, or they revert to one of the varieties used in their breeding.
Unripe fruit (and tomatoes are fruit) are generally green, bitter and hard to digest. In addition, tomatoes belong to the nightshade (Solanaceae) family. This family contains solanine, a poisonous glycoalkaloid. Solanine protects the tomato from predators while its seeds are developing, and then ethylene gas is produced that sweetens the flavor and changes the color in most varieties; the solanine — as well as poisonous tomatine in leaves and stems — then disappears.
Eating unripe green tomatoes, if you could stand the bitter flavor, could cause severe indigestion. While they can be soaked in vinegar, usually with onions and other veggies, to make a safe and tasty relish, the only method of cooking I know of that makes them palatable is frying, with the addition of some sugar and, of course, the traditional egg and cornmeal coating. Even so, most chefs don’t use extremely green tomatoes but choose those beginning to change color. Ms. Jentz suggested using naturally green but sweet varieties of tomatoes, such as Green Zebra and Cherokee Green. Even these should not be fully ripe, or they won’t
be firm enough to fry without falling apart.
Yes, just as we see “gluten-free” on packages of products that didn’t contain gluten in the first place, it has become commonplace for seed companies to place those “non-GMO” labels on seed packets marketed to home gardeners. It is probably meant to appeal to organic home gardeners who fear the effects of genetic modification. However, as Ms. Jentz pointed out, genetically modified seeds would be prohibitively expensive for any but “Big Ag” factory farms to buy, and they simply are not on the market for most of us.
To refresh your memory of any other aspects of Ms. Jentz’s talk, I would recommend that you make a habit of consulting her award-winning podcast, GardenDC. I am sure they have all been covered in at least one of the more than 260 episodes she has presented so far.
I would also like to invite you to the next meeting of the Hyattsville Horticultural Society at 10 a.m. on Nov. 16 at the Hyattsville Municipal Center, 4310 Gallatin Street. There will be a wreath-making workshop, so please bring any interesting grasses, branches, berries or ribbons to share with others.
Miss Floribunda writes about gardening for the Life & Times. You may email her at Floribundav@gmail.com.
Kathy Jentz is the editor of Washington Gardener magazine and has participated in numerous tomato-tasting events. COURTESY OF KATHY JENTZ
Harrington said that the night before making her decision, she went to sleep not knowing what she would do.
“It rained so hard that night,” Harrington said. “It was just signaling to me, and I said, ‘That’s my signal, time for me to leave.’”
Harrington said the perceived suddenness of closure after 13 years doesn’t diminish the gratitude she feels toward her customers for sticking with her throughout her baking career.
“I have the best customers in the world,” she said.
Her customers had positive things to say in return — including a number of crayonscribbled drawings and thankyou notes written to Harrington over the years by her regular patrons.
Over 200 people showed up at the bakery on its closing day — Halloween — with flowers and hugs for one final goodbye. Hy-
attsville resident Sharon Crowell, a long-time customer of the bakery, said that Harrington’s chocolate cake in particular will forever stand out to her.
“Oh my goodness, so many memories,” said Crowell. “Choc-
olate cake, it’s my husband’s favorite, like ever. She has ruined chocolate cake for him from anywhere else.”
Harrington’s employees felt the gratitude, even as they grapple with the impacts of her decision to close and start to
plan for their own futures.
“I’m gonna get some sort of customer service job,” said Anna Lawrence, who worked at Shortcake up until its closing. “But Cheryl taught us more than just customer service. I truly feel like I could work anywhere. She’s the nicest person I’ve ever known.”
Karina Young, a former employee of the bakery, said that her time and experience working at Shortcake inspired her to open a business selling homemade dog treats.
“I got the idea for my new business, the Blue Basset Barkery in Colmar Manor, from a Shortcake customer who adopted a dog during COVID-19,” said Young. “He came in and wanted to buy his dog treats from the same place he bought his other baked goods, and when I heard that, a light came into my brain.”
Although her bakery won’t have a physical presence anymore, Harrington hopes that she has left a long-lasting lega-
cy and had a positive impact on the local community.
“I hope that 10 years from now, they will say, ‘Do you remember that pink building?’” said Harrington. “‘Do you remember Shortcake Bakery?’” She added, “I feel like I introduced or reintroduced my customers to good baked goods.”
As for her retirement plans, Harrington does not know for sure what she will do yet. But one thing is for certain: She wants to travel.
“I want to reconnect with family,” said Harrington. “I have a niece who lives in San Francisco; she’s been asking me to visit. I have a niece who lives in the Netherlands; she’s been asking me to visit. So I think those are probably two of the first trips I’ll take.”
“I’ll be that auntie who shows up and stays with the niece,” she added.
Ethan Therrien is an undergraduate journalism student at the University of Maryland.
Steel pan musician Dominic Lewis and a young guest play a tune on Shortcake Bakery’s last day, Oct. 31. PAUL RUFFINS
2023 derailment, spilling an unknown number of plastic pellets — otherwise known as nurdles — along the roadway. The accident, which CSX blamed on broken track components, shuttered a portion of Alternate Route 1 for more than a week.
City Administrator Tracey Douglas said the settlement agreement took nearly 13 months because CSX at first offered a one-time reimbursement that would not have allowed the city to receive additional compensation for its pending expenses.
“This one did take a long time, and they really did push back and say, ‘We’re going to pay the expenses, and then we’re oneand-done,’” Douglas said at the Oct. 21 city council meeting.
“They were not interested in allowing us to come back.”
However, city officials said they were determined to keep the door open for further reimbursement negotiations with CSX because, although the derailment has long since been cleared and the tracks repaired, the cleanup itself damaged portions of the road.
The unfinished road repairs were part of the reason Hyattsville officials said the city elected not to pursue litigation for punitive damages. Rather, it sought only to be reimbursed for the actual losses it incurred.
“When we look up other communities that are in litigation with CSX, it’s taken years,” Douglas said. “We’ve got to get that road repaired.”
The ultimate settlement figure — a little more than $310,400 in total — is therefore based mostly on the estimated cost of repairs and the cost of the time spent, plus a “little contingency,” Douglas said.
CSX confirmed in an Oct. 25 email statement to the Life & Times that it had reimbursed the City of Hyattsville for “the cost of infrastructure repairs and personnel expenses” related to the derailment but did not comment further.
“We were deliberate to go after what the city actually lost,” said Reggie Bagley, Hyattsville’s emergency operations manager, who oversaw the city’s derailment response. “We got estimates for the road and infrastructure damage — that was in the neighborhood of $266,000 — and then we compiled the actual personnel-related expenses.”
City documents put the repairs to Emerson Alley at approximately $243,000, with repairs to Alternate Route 1 expected to cost another
$24,000. Personnel expenses were assessed at approximately $43,000.
Ward 1 Councilmember Joanne Waszczak pushed the city to audit its derailment-related expenses down the road to “make sure that we actually went back and asked for every cent that we are owed on this.”
“It does seem rather low that we only spent $300,000 considering all the time and effort that went into this,” said Waszczak, the council vice president, at the Oct. 21 city council meeting.
Some Hyattsville residents were similarly put off by the city’s settlement agreement with CSX.
“We were fortunate in this case, that this was a nontoxic wake-up call.”
Greg Smith Ward 1 resident
“Three hundred thousand dollars — or a little over that — is way, way, way, way, way too little to compensate for the level of environmental injustice that that company has done to our community,” Ward 2 resident Daniel Broder said at the Oct. 21 meeting.
Ward 5 resident Melissa Schweisguth called the settlement “disappointing.”
“The city spent a lot of time and really mobilized, and it just seems like we’re due some more,” Schweisguth said.
However, most everyone seemed to agree on at least one point: that the 2023 derailment could have been much worse.
“The nurdles can cause environmental damage, so I don’t want to diminish that,” Bagley said. “But it could have been a chemical spill. It could have been a radioactive spill. It could have been any number of things that we were fortunate not to have to address.”
This notion is bolstered by CSX’s accident report, which shows that the 158-car train involved in the accident contained 12 cars carrying hazardous materials — two of which derailed.
Several Hyattsville residents voiced concerns about the possibility for future derailments and questioned the city’s emergency preparedness.
“We were fortunate in this case, that this was a nontoxic wake-up call,” Ward 1 resident Greg Smith said. “I wonder if we can get a community update on the discussions … being had by the various parties on understanding what caused this, how we’re going to prevent it going forward and what our emergency response will be given what is rolling up and down those tracks on a daily basis.”
Bagley told residents that the city is “very much concerned” about the possibility of a future derailment, adding that the city is still waiting for the Federal Railroad Administration to issue its final report on the derailment.
Douglas noted that the city will be meeting with county and state officials once the final report is issued “to see if there are any other recommendations that we should adopt.”
“There’s a lot of interest in this, because we are all aware of how much worse this could have been,” Douglas said.
One of the trains containing small plastic pieces, or nurdles, that derailed near Alternate Route 1 in Hyattsville on Sept. 23, 2023 COURTESY OF BILL FRIEBELE
Fisher bill proposes to fix special-election issue
By JOE MURCHISON
Prince George’s County is in the midst of a cascade of special elections to fill political vacancies, and County Councilmember Wanika Fisher (District 2), who represents Hyattsville, wants to fix an election problem.
The county’s existing law permits a special primary election to be held within 45 days of vacancy, and the general election within another 45 days. But the county received a letter from the state Attorney General’s Office in June saying county law violated state law by not leaving enough time for the voting process, including receiving ballots from military personnel serving outside the country.
Fisher introduced two bills in September, one for the county executive and one for the county council, that extend the time between vacancy and primary election to 100 days, with another 100 days between the primary and general election. The council will vote on the bills Nov. 19, in its last legislative session of the year. The cascade of special elections began in the summer, when At-large Councilmember Mel Franklin resigned in June after being indicted for using campaign funds for personal expenses. The special election to fill his seat concluded Nov. 5 with Jolene Ivey, councilmember from District 5, winning. But her victory leaves open her District 5 seat, which needs to be filled with a special
Wanika Fisher introduced two bills in September, one for the county executive and one for the county council, that extend the time between vacancy and primary election to 100 days, with another 100 days between the primary and general election.
election. Also on Nov. 5, County Executive Angela Alsobrooks was elected to the U.S. Senate — the first Black senator from Maryland — so her position needs to be filled. And since Ivey and another at-large councilmember, Calvin Hawkins, have indicated interest in running for county executive, a third special election would be needed to fill their council spots if either won. Whether a special election will be needed to replace Alsobrooks is up in the air. County law requires a special election when the county executive vacates the seat in the first two years of the four-year term. After that, the county council is tasked with
choosing a successor to fill out the term. Alsobrooks’ first two years expire on Dec. 5. She will not be sworn in to the U.S. Senate until Jan. 3, 2025. So, she can decide to resign as county executive before Dec. 5, prompting an election, or remain in office beyond that date, triggering a council appointment. If Fisher’s legislation passes, a special election would leave the post open for about seven months, during which time, by law, Alsobrooks’ chief administrative officer, Tara Jackson, would carry out the county executive’s duties.
Neither Alsobrooks nor a spokesperson could be reached for comment, as of press time.
Fisher’s bills to bring county law into compliance with the state survived a challenge of competing legislation from Councilmember Tom Dernoga (District 1), who represents Laurel.
Dernoga’s bills would have eliminated the primary stage of special elections, leaving all candidates to run in an open general election. He noted that no Republican has even been on the ballot for county executive since 2002, and that only six Republican candidates have run since 2006 in 47 county council elections.
A county council staff analysis of Dernoga’s bills said, “This change would provide multiple benefits to the County, including a reduction in the costs of special elections, a decrease in the amount of time
between a Council vacancy and when that vacancy is filled, and a decrease on the demands of the Board of Elections.”
Dernoga said the cost of a countywide special election for county executive and at-large councilmembers is about $4.2 million, while a district special election is about $660,000. County Councilmember Eric Olson (District 3), who represents College Park, offered an amendment to Dernoga’s bills that would have added ranked choice voting, in which voters rank some or all the candidates for an office and their second-place choices receive a vote if their first-place candidate is eliminated. A majority of the council opposed this amendment. Olson acknowledged one problem was that the county’s Board of Elections reported that the county’s election machines could not support ranked choice voting.
Fisher said Dernoga’s bills raised major issues, without sufficient time to solve them. She said, for instance, that the county Office of Law found that if the general election were open, candidates would not be able to designate their party on the ballot. Also, thresholds for entering a race without party approval would have to be established, such as collecting a certain number of citizen signatures, Fisher said. “What Tom was proposing does not exist in Maryland. … It’s a policy choice, and a really big one.” Fisher said she would be open to discussing other possible changes in the specialelection process next year.
