Competition for the next best seller, P.5
Update on maglev trains, P.6
Laurel Historical Society's new executive director,
Fourth of July Committee upping safety measures
By ANDREW MOLLENAUER
Laurel’s Fourth of July Committee intends to host its traditional celebration with a parade, activities and a fireworks show, all scheduled for July 5, and with a clear focus on safety.
Carreen Koubek, cochair of the committee, cited heat, traffic and outside disruption as factors the committee is considering in their planning. This year’s Laurel Main Street Festival, in May, was interrupted by a pair of incidents when a vendor’s propane tank exploded, and a motorist struck a police officer.
READY TO ROLL IN THE BIKE PARADE
“Of course, in the news, with a lot of things going on with parades … people break the barricades,” Koubek said. “Safety is the main thing.”
Eddie Souder, also a cochair on the committee, said the recent incidents stand as a valuable reminder to allow for the unexpected.
Above: Sally Wallace, 7, and her mother, Meta Wallace, decorate Sally's bicycle at the bike parade event June 4.
Left: Riley Radix, 8, and her father, Andre Radix, decorate the handlebars of Riley’s bicycle in preparation for the parade.
More about the bike parade on Page 5. ANDREW MOLLENAUER
Main Street mural to honor top bird scientist
By JOE MURCHISON
Laurel for the Patuxent (L4P), a grassroots environmental organization, is commissioning a 45-by-15-foot mural that will depict world-renowned local bird expert Chandler Robbins along with some of his beloved birds. It is to be painted on the side of the Quick Stop Food Mart at 500 Main Street.
Robbins, who lived on Brooklyn Bridge Road, died in 2017 at age 98. He devoted his career to pioneering research, with the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center as his home base. He was a major contributor to bird conservation around the world, and his work on forest fragmentation informed regulations to protect the Chesapeake Bay.
Cheryl Dyer, a local artist and L4P mem-
ber, said that Old Town resident Ruth Walls sparked the drive for a mural in Robbins’ honor. Curious about his property on Brooklyn Bridge Road, which had become overgrown — appropriately providing excellent bird habitat — Walls investigated. In 2018, she commissioned a young, local artist to create a mural concept. The city-
“Main Street taught us that no matter how prepared you are, things happen,” Souder said. “There’s always those what-ifs. We make every effort.”
Souder said the committee has
Community and council support funding e Laurel Independent
By NANCY WELCH
At their May 12 work session, Mayor Keith Sydnor and Laurel city councilmembers reviewed changes to the mayor’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year, which starts July 1. They focused much of their discussion on the city’s allocation for The Laurel Independent. This line item was also in focus when councilmembers reviewed the mayor’s original proposed budget during their May 1 work session.
The city has held a contract with Streetcar Suburbs Publishing, parent company of The Laurel Independent, since the paper launched in July 2022. Under terms of the contract, the city inserts the four-page “Laurel Ledger,” which includes the city’s monthly calendar and public notices, in the paper’s centerfold. The city’s contract with Streetcar renews on July 1, coinciding with the start of the fiscal year. Funding for paper falls under the city’s Community Promotion account.
(Streetcar, a nonprofit, holds similar contracts with the cities of Hyattsville and College Park for the Hyattsville Life & Times and the College Park Here & Now. Each of these cities also provides a centerfold insert for their respective paper.)
Some Maryland counties burn food waste; others just digest it
By PAUL RUFFINS
This is the third in a series of articles exploring landfills, food waste and methane emissions in Prince George’s County and neighboring jurisdictions. The series is partly supported by an Environmental Solutions Journalism Fellowship from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). While the previous article focused on composting, this piece explores two other approaches to handling Maryland’s food wastes, including the agricultural waste from making the food itself.
Just as the existential threat of global warming has caused many environmentalists to reconsider the possible benefits of nuclear energy, it has also created some new arguments for wasteto-energy (WTE) plants, which burn trash to generate electricity. Currently, Maryland’s two WTE facilities are operated by BRESCO, in Baltimore County, and by Covanta, in Montgomery County. Opponents to WTE plants charge that WTE incinerators are dirtier than coal-powered power plants.
In a February 2025 Maryland Matters editorial, Ashwani Gupta, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland, argued that landfills create methane, a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than the CO2 produced by incinerators when measured over a 100-year period. Gupta also noted that Baltimore’s Quaranteen Road landfill is essentially full and that using diesel trucks to move 700,000 tons of waste — the amount that Baltimore’s WTE plant processes every year — to landfills out of state would, in his words, “have a dev-
Nurturing a sense of curiosity and wonder
By AGNES PASCO CONATY
Now that school’s over and we’re welcoming the emergence of summer, there are creative ways to continue learning — although informally and with less structure. In my family, I try to instill a love of learning by providing a spark of curiosity and cultivating
A community newspaper chronicling the people and events of Laurel, Maryland. Mailing address: PO Box 132, Hyattsville, MD 20781
The Laurel Independent is published monthly by Streetcar Suburbs Publishing., 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. StreetcarSuburbs.News
a sense of wonder.
The creek in our backyard teems with opportunities to explore, no lab required. Nature provides a variety of experiences. After rain, we observe fungi among barks of oak, silver minnows swimming in the stream, frogs darting along rocks and animal prints on muddy grounds.
Have you tried looking un-
Managing Editor
Katie V. Jones
Katie@streetcarsuburbs.news
Associate Editor Nancy Welch
Nancy@streetcarsuburbs.news
Columnists
Agnes Pasco Conaty, Jimmy Rogers, Paul Ruffins
Writers & Contributors
Zayne Ali, Agnes Pasco Conaty, Katie V. Jones, Andrew Mollenauer, Joe Murchison, Nancy Welch
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astating effect on public health and the environment.” Recently, the Maryland General Assembly roundly rejected Gupta’s argument when it voted to make incinerators ineligible for renewable energy credits.
Gupta is not alone, though. WTE facilities are common in Europe, which has some of the highest environmental standards and recycling rates in the world. Desirée Plata, codirector of the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium, believes that stateof-the-art incinerators can dramatically reduce emissions and
produce electricity that reduces the need for fossil fuels.
Plata also notes that Europeans carefully sort out items like batteries, which are a major source of lead and cadmium emissions from incinerators. In contrast, Baltimore has a recycling rate of only 15% and no publicly owned recycling facility, which means there is little sorting. And food waste is relatively wet and hard to burn. “Any effort to remove food waste would be a major boost to the efficiency of the energy generation. However, it is important to note that current WTE facilities are paid based on weight, so their bottom line would be impacted by the removal of wet materials,” Plata wrote in an email.
Incinerators are very expensive but are able to handle a wide variety of unsorted materials, which can reduce a city’s incentive to sort and recycle waste. Dante Davidson-Swinton, who ran for mayor in Baltimore’s 2020 race, argues that the city’s BRESCO incinerator “cannot function effectively without massive amounts of trash, making incineration and
true waste diversion basically incompatible.” Baltimore is locked into its contract until 2030, and Montgomery County must use Covanta until 2031.
Anaerobic digesters, which are also widely used in Europe, would seem to meet all the golden rules of environmental sustainability, particularly in agricultural areas. A digester uses different combinations of microbes and water to break down a wide variety of organic materials (though not wood) inside a sealed vessel and without oxygen. This process produces biogas that is about 55 to 60% methane, but it is captured and filtered to generate heat or electricity. The remaining material is used as compost or liquid fertilizer.
Finding a solution to the solid waste produced by Maryland’s farms and food processors is critical because agriculture is the state’s largest industry: In 2023, the state had 157,000 head of cattle. Dairy farms produce at least 150 pounds — about 18 gallons — of manure per lactating cow
derneath rocks? There, a quiet frenzy of living creatures in a tiny square-inch area coexist to create a rich complex of ecosystems. Plants by the creek lean toward the light, sometimes as if dancing in rhythm with the wind, reaching for the sun. With its many moods and nuances, the West Laurel creek offers some quiet science. Sometimes the water is at standstill, and you can see the sheen of sunlight reflecting a hue, almost dazzling like silver. After a heavy downpour, the water level rises, eroding the banks and giving the creek a different personality.
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Business Manager Catie Currie
Executive Director Kit Slack
Board of Directors
President: Marta McLellan Ross
Vice 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
We get visits from deer, foxes, groundhogs, squirrels, raccoons, chipmunks and rabbits. Sometimes, we just see their footprints or their scat. Last year, all our tiger lilies and hostas became a salad bar for wild animals. This year, we have not seen too many animals explore our yard yet. Perhaps there is enough food in the woods compared to last year?
I observed the late blooming patterns of our lilacs, azaleas and wisterias. Engaging in our garden’s seasonal trends is an informal way of studying phenology, which is the study of patterns in nature.
After the Main Street Festival last month, my husband and I visited Riverfront Park for a peaceful getaway from the crowd. We watched the flow of water that would eventually end at the Patuxent River. When the water is still, you might see mosquito larvae wiggle to the surface. If you have a container, collect a sample to observe. Take pictures of the larvae and identify them with the GLOBE Observer app. By participating in citizen science, you contribute valuable data that may be useful in identifying types of mosquitoes that may bring diseases.
Closer to home, hike through the Rocky Gorge Reservoir area
to skip stones, observe the flight of geese, or to identify birds with the Merlin app.
Looking up the Laurel skies, study cloud patterns and formations, from high stratus, to middle altocumulus and low cirrus ones. My family is interested in towering cumulonimbus clouds which may bring some thunderstorms. My husband, who is a meteorologist, looks forward to observing nature’s grandeur and majestic display of lightning and thunder. My son took after his dad and does not mind walking in the rain. I observe clouds with the GLOBE Observer app, take pictures, identify the type and share my data. There’s endless possibilities in exploring the whys and hows of everyday nature during summer — and all the other seasons too, for that matter. All we need is to have an open mind, be curious and have a sense of wonder.
who
Agnes Pasco Conaty is a college math and environmental science adjunct professor
also works as senior research scientist and science lead for the GLOBE Observer Program at NASA/ Goddard Space Flight Center.
Montgomery County’s infamous waste-to-energy incinerator in Dickerson COURTESY OF PAUL RUFFINS
FOOD WASTE
per day. Farmers have traditionally spread this manure on their fields. However, modern farming has concentrated more animals than ever in smaller spaces, leading to huge amounts of manure, which is often stored in methanespewing lagoons for later use.
Another, possibly larger, problem is the over 250,000 tons of manure generated annually by Maryland's poultry industry. Tightly concentrated on the Delmarva Peninsula, these factory farms send nutrient pollution as runoff into the Chesapeake Bay, where it can lead to excess algae.
Kilby Dairy Farm, in Cecil County, received a grant to evaluate how well their anaerobic digester performed over the span of 13 months. The farm had 750 cows, and the digester processed the dairy’s manure and a mixture of food waste, 75% of which came from processing chickens and 25% from cranberries.
The solid portion of the cow manure (28%) was separated out for composting, and the liquid portion (72%, as much as 120,000
gallons per week) was put into the digester, along with 36,000 gallons of food waste. The resulting biogas was fed into an engine that produced heat to run the digestion process and also generated electricity. The engine was only big enough to handle 72% of the gas produced by the digester, however, and the excess was simply burned off. The remaining liquid was processed into fertilizer and injected directly into the ground to prevent it from running off into nearby waterways.
University of Maryland researchers concluded that on a yearly basis the system would offset the CO2 emissions of 4,000 cars, generate enough electricity to power 190 homes and produce 4,200 metric tons of compost. They also noted that the system released few odors or greenhouse gases and could have produced even more electricity if the generator had been large enough to utilize all of the biogas produced.
The largest anaerobic digester in Maryland is at the Maryland Bioenergy Center, in Jessup; it can handle up to 120,000 tons of organic waste a year. The digester, which is operated by Bioenergy
Devco, was built in 2021 to serve the large food producers operating at the 400-acre Maryland Food Center Authority campus, which is about 10 miles west of Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport. The digester was established, in part, as a response to the state’s requirement that, starting in January 2023, certain businesses and institutions producing more than two tons of food waste (now down to one ton) had to divert it from landfills or incinerators. Maryland Matters reported that when the facility opened, it was the perfect solution for Coastal Sunbelt Produce, a large company headquartered in Howard County that distributes fresh and processed produce throughout the MidAtlantic. Coastal produced about 200 tons of food waste a week and was forced to send 80% of it to landfills until the digester opened.
“It’s been frustrating,” Jason Lambros, vice president of Coastal’s food division, said. “For years we’ve been working with compost facilities, but they generally can’t handle our volume and have been very transient.”
According to Bioenergy Devco,
the facility generates enough energy to “power over 7,000 homes and [abate] CO2 emissions equivalent to removing 19,000 gasoline cars annually.” In 2024, the plant won two industry awards for its work in transitioning towards green energy.
Nevertheless, some environmentalists, including Maryland State Del. Lorig Charkoudian (DDistrict 20), who sponsored the original legislation promoting organics diversion, worry that the digester could lead to what is called greenwashing. Whereas Kilby Farm turns its biogas into electricity right on site, the biogas from Bioenergy Devco’s digester feeds directly to the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company’s (BGE) natural gas infrastructure — a first for the state — and is distributed as renewable natural gas, which qualifies for tax credits as a non-fossil fuel. Charkoudian maintains that adding a small amount of biogas does not make BGE’s natural gas environmentally friendly or sustainable.
Larry Martin, who holds a doctorate in environmental sustainability and cofounded Community Forklift, a nonprofit in Ed-
monston, told Streetcar Suburbs Publishing that “some activists believe we should simply abandon our aging, leaky natural gas infrastructure because it’s delaying the transition to a completely electric future. I feel that we should at least repair and preserve the largest gas mains and use biogas to help power new, smaller generating plants to meet peak demand when wind or solar power isn’t available.” Incineration, composting and anaerobic digestion are all more sustainable when any contaminants are removed before processing takes place. Unfortunately, the “ick factor” makes it nearly impossible to motivate Americans to separate 100% of their food scraps.
As Martin said, “One of the environmental movement’s biggest challenges is not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good.”
The next article in this series will explore local efforts to increase our low rate of food recycling.
Paul Ruffins is a citizen scientist and professor of curiosity.
Head of Class
The following Laurel residents received recognition for their academics:
Bianca Descalzo, Nicholas Usher and Bridget Trebon were named to the spring 2025 dean’s list at James Madison University, in Virginia, and Marina Cohen
LAUREL SQUIRREL
and Camden Thibeault were named to the president’s list.
Daniel Sellin graduated with a B.S. degree in communication studies.
Darryl Villard earned a B.S. degree in electrical engineering and a B.S. degree in robotics engineering from Widener University, in Pennsylvania.
Priscilla Achiaa was named to Missouri State University’s spring 2025 dean’s list.
By Agnes Pasco Conaty
“Sorry, but tailflicks do not count as accomplishments.”
Terrance Dixon was named to the spring 2025 dean’s list and Gary Whichard was named to the spring 2025 president’s list at Vermont’s Champlain College.
Collette Anyiaml graduated with a doctorate in nursing practice from the University of Central Arkansas.
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines, elected the following students as members: Ashley Tyler at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University; Marina Cohen at James Madison University, in Virginia; Elizabeth Corbett, Douglas Dantzler, Shania Foster, Heidy Mendoza, Jennifer Thompson and Ross Wojcik, at University of Maryland Global Campus; Asheka Lawrence-Reid at Syracuse University, New York; Kyle Bauer at Salisbury University; Kiran Adhikari at Hood College; ; Ibrahim Sartaj at University of Maryland, College Park; Christian Cunningham, Forrest Ingram-Johnson and Muhammad Mirza at University of Maryland, Baltimore County: Kevin Wise at National Intelligence University, the District.
Yoshiko Slater graduated with a B.S. degree in marketing communication from Emerson College, in Massachusetts. He was also named to the spring 2025 dean’s list.
Sala Davis was named to the spring 2025 dean's list at Georgia State University.
McDaniel College announced the following graduates: Eric M. Grinwis, B.A degree in business administration; Sean L. Maruschak, B.A. degree in sociology; Sadie K. Shughrue, B.A. degree in health sciences; Audrey F. Beck, B.A. degree in health sciences, magna cum laude. Liping Chen earned a master's degree in teaching English to speakers of other languages.
Carissa Ward was named to the spring 2025 dean’s list at University of Evansville, in Indiana.
Isha Santhosh graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture and Sierra Stronge graduated with a B.A. degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
Heidi Gerondakis received an M.S.N. in nursing from Wilkes University, in Pennsylvania.
David Fair was named to the spring 2025 dean’s list at Angelo State University, in San Angelo, Texas.
Victoria Guillory was named to the spring 2025 dean’s list at Mississippi’s Belhaven University.
Brooke Miller was named to the spring 2025 dean’s list at Belmont University, in Tennessee. These students were named to the spring 2025 president’s list at Southern New Hampshire University: Yakuba Conde, Danielle Fenner, Adela Jazvin, Shainna Medina, Gloria Gardiner and Teresa Wills Elma Jazvin and Kevin Guzman Marquez were named to the spring 2025 dean’s list.
Leah Boardman was named to the spring 2025 dean’s list at Grove City College, in Pennsylvania.
University of Maryland Global Campus announced the following students graduated after the winter 2025 term: Julieta Olive, master of business administration; Jillian Slovick, master of business administration; Titilayo Bello, master of business administration; Lucy Robles Villatoro, master of business administration; David King, master of science cybersecurity technology, president’s list; Maisam Shahzad, master of science in cloud computing architecture; Christina Fumbui, master of science in cybersecurity management and policy, president's list.
Riding into summer with annual bike parade
About 30 children and their parents gathered June 4 at the Laurel Armory for the city’s annual bike decorating event and parade. Organized by Laurel Police and Parks and Recreation, activities kicked off at 6 p.m.
Angela Payne brought her 8-year-old daughter, Skylar.
Payne said this year’s event marked a childhood milestone for her daughter — the first time riding without training wheels.
“She did her bike out here and did a good job, it’s a good experience. She loves coming out here with her friends,” Payne said.
Sarah Branning, a parks and recreation employee who spearheaded marketing for the event,
said watching the children having fun was great.
“I love it — seeing the kids’ faces light up,” Branning said. “Most of them are … learning how to ride a bike, so it’s cool seeing them decorating [and] get all excited about it. This is a very simple, easy, free event to put on and a lot of the participants love it.”
Cpl. J.W. Szalankiewicz was among several police officers on hand to supervise the parade, which took place on Montgomery Street between Fourth and Fifth streets. Before the parade, kids participated in a biking safety exercise in the Armory parking lot.
“We’re always here to help the community out,” Szalankiewicz
said. “It’s always fun to watch the kids go around the course, and especially watch them decorate their bikes to show their own flair.”
Vaun Greer brought his two children to the event for the second year in a row. They met up with friends, and Greer said he was excited to be back for what he called the “kickoff of summer.”
“It’s kind of the way for us to connect,” Greer said. “It’s a good meeting point. And obviously you have the law enforcement and public safety officers here; it’s also a good way to meet them and kind of build trust.”
-Andrew Mollenaur
SCOUTING THE NEXT BESTSELLER
In partnership with the city of Laurel, Quill and Company, a Laurel-based publishing company, has launched Next Bestseller, an innovative book-pitch competition and extension of Mayor Keith Sydnor’s literacy initiative. Residents aged 10 and up in Laurel and neighboring communities could register to compete.
Quill and Company offers tailored services for aspiring writers, and the winner of the competition will be on a direct path to publishing their book with full support of Quill’s team of experts.
The five-week competition kicked off May 24 with tryouts for more than a dozen competitors who had passed an earlier round. During the tryouts, each competitor had just one minute to pitch their book idea to a panel; panels are made up of local educators, literary professionals and community leaders. The competition’s format was inspired by “American Idol,” a popular televised singing contest.
Quill and Company captured the energy of the May 24 tryouts in a video narrated by Dominic “Coach Nic” Col-
bert, whose enthusiasm for the competition is contagious. Robin McCormick, Quill and Company’s founder and CEO, wrote in an email, “[Colbert is] not just the face bringing the energy, laughs, and hype to the competition — he’s also my business coach and a strategic partner in launching this initiative.” The video includes Colbert’s interviews with a number of contestants as well as clips of their pitches. Colbert notes that competing takes courage. “Some will rise; some will fall,” he said, “… but all will grow.”
Next Bestseller’s youngest contender is 13-year-old Xerxes Olaseha. He's up to the challenge: “I have a strong hook for my book,” he said, in an interview not featured in the video.
Following the first battleground round on June 7, two more rounds will take place at 10 a.m. on June 14 and 21 at the Laurel Armory, 422 Montgomery Street. The finale will be at 3 p.m. on June 28 at the Laurel Multiservice Center, 204 Fort Meade Road. For more information about the competition and contestants, and to view the tryouts video, go to tinyurl. com/ycxnmepa.
-Nancy Welch
Children ride their bikes and scooters down Montgomery Street in the parade June 4. ANDREW MOLLENAUER
NEWS BRIEFS
MAGLEV TRAINS UPDATE
There was standing room only for Tom Dernoga’s District 1 town hall meeting May 14 at Montpelier Elementary School. The hot topic: superconducting magnetic levitation trains, also known as maglev trains.
Dernoga made it clear to the more than 150 people in atten-
dance that while there was no real news to report, “the pause is coming to an end.” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore traveled to Japan in April and became a fan of the trains while there.
Traveling at more than 300 mph, maglev trains, supporters said, will reduce travel time and traffic in the region. A number of
plans have been proposed since 1991 to build a maglev line between Washington D.C. and New York City, with only one stop at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
“Really, for Prince George’s County, there is no transportation benefit for us from this train,” Dernoga said. He has been steadfast in his objection to the train.
Members of the community attending the town hall voiced concerns about funding, envi-
ronmental and safety issues, and where and how the train would be built, as it would be underground when it travels through the county. The maglev train is expected to cost $16 billion.
“This was more to say just be aware, we’re seeing things,” Deronoga said, after the meeting. “It’s like fighting zombies. It keeps coming back.”
-Katie V. Jones
SWEDISH EXCHANGE PROGRAM CONNECTS YOUTH
In April, 12-year-old Laurel resident Henry Farmer traveled to Sweden with three of his schoolmates from Mater Amoris, a Montessori school in Ashton, as part of an exchange program. Henry stayed with a host family and attended school; for fun, he went to an amusement park and got to play video games.
“I had an incredible time,” Henry said. “Personally, if I could go again, I would. Yes, it was nice to be home, but when can I go back?”
During the last week of May, Henry welcomed Vincent Strand, whom he stayed with in Sweden, to Laurel. While Vincent was not able to stay with him, Henry was able to spend time with Vincent and Vincent’s fellow exchange
students from Sweden as they visited Washington D.C., went to an Orioles game and enjoyed fast food.
“Everything is so big and the signs. Road signs are everywhere,” Vincent said. “Everything feels like it is from a movie.The school buses. The neighborhoods. So American.”
Both commented on other differences between the two countries, like the relative freedom youth have. Henry said he was surprised when an adult wasn’t required to sign him out at the end of school in Sweden — he and Vincent were allowed to leave on their own, and they often attended events without adults present.
“It is normal in Sweden,” Vincent said. “It is not at all dangerous.” No electronic devices are allowed in Henry’s school and everything is handwritten. In Sweden, electronics are expected. The experience, the youth agreed, was a lesson in independence. Henry’s mom, Alison Farmer, was impressed with the entire experience and is excited for Henry’s younger brother to be able to do an exchange, too.
“The kids handled themselves so well,” Farmer said. “They traveled all on their own.”
-Katie V. Jones
Guiding Graceful Transitions and Preserving
THE LAUREL LEDGER
OFFICIAL NEWS FROM THE CITY OF LAUREL, MARYLAND
BUDGET AND PERSONNEL SERVICES: FY2026 BU DGET COMPLETE!
One of the responsibilities assigned to Budget and Personnel Services is collaborating with City Departments to develop a balanced budget.
The City’s budget process officially starts in January each year, although administration of the budget is a year-round responsibility. Each department is tasked with projecting and entering its operating budget as well as any direct revenues, and Capital Improvement Program (CIP) projects. The Department of Budget and Personnel Services prepares the full-time salary budgets; and then compiles all of the budgets and works with the Office of the City Administrator to balance the budget and submit it to the City Council as required by law by May 1st each year. The FY2026 balanced general operating budget and CIP was submitted to the City Council on Monday, April 28, 2025.
For FY2026, the City of Laurel Adopted Budget was presented without a tax rate increase, maintaining the City's real property tax rate since FY2009 of $.71 cents per $100 of assessed valuation; however, any property owners with increased assessments will receive an increased real estate tax bill.
The Personal Property tax rate will remain $1.69 per $100 of assessed value. The tax rate for the Special Taxing District is $0.03 per $100 of the full cash value assessment. The adopted budget continues all City services at FY2025 service levels.
The largest priority of the FY2026 General Operating Budget – totaling $46,311,958 - is the continuation of services our residents deserve and expect. This requires the complete dedication of Laurel residents’ tax dollars to fund the essential expenditures, compensation, employee insurance, property insurance, the Pension Fund contribution, debt service and a few of the CIP projects , as well as contractual and legislative obligations including, but not limited to the third year of the current CBA with the Laurel FOP Lodge 11 and the second year of the CBA with certain employees in the Department of Public Works. In the past year, recruiting, hiring, and retaining the City workforce has become increasingly robust which is attributed to the City’s revitalized onboarding and orientation program, classification adjustments, and policy improvements. We look forward to a continued upswing in FY2026.
The CIP includes funding of eight (8) street projects; traffic signal upgrades; trafficcalming devices; sidewalk and curb and gutter improvements; vehicle replacements; Anderson’s Corner park project, and technology improvements with a total of $24,752,872. Funding for projects are provided through American Rescue Plan funds; financing, state grants, cable subscription funds, speed camera net revenue and operating funds.
The FY2026 General Operating Budget and Capital Improvement Program was adopted by a unanimous vote of the Mayor and City Council at the May 28, 2025, meeting.
The Laurel 4th of July Committee is thrilled to announce the upcoming Independence Day Celebration, set for July 5, 2025!
This year's Grand Marshals will be the Laurel High School State Champions! Alongside this exciting news, the Committee wants to inform you that this year’s celebration will feature some changes.
Due to safety concerns stemming from rising temperatures and traffic issues related to closing the east and westbound lanes o f Route 198 for the parade, the Laurel 4th of July Committee has carefully considered feedback from parade participants, volunteers, and City employees. As a result, they have decided to shorten both the day's events and the parade route.
This decision was not made lightly. Last year, several parade participants had to step out of the parade due to heat exhaustion. By starting the Celebration later in the day, which will help reduce the amount of time volunteers and City employees are out in the heat, and shortening the parade route by half, the Committee aims to reduce the distance participants must walk, which should help mitigate heat-related issues. Additionally, in light of recent national news regarding safety incidents at celebrations, we want to prioritize the safety of everyone involved, including first responders, managing the traffic on Route 198. While they understand this may cause some disappointment (and the Committee shares in that sentiment), they believe these adjustments are necessary for everyone's safety.
With that said, following is the schedule for the 2025 Independence Day Celebration:
2:00pm - Check In and Parade Line Up begins for parade participants on Marshall Avenue. (Parade will kick off from 4th Street and Marshall; Judge’s Stand at Domer Court)
3:00pm - Parade Begins (Water Stations will be placed along the parade route form Marshall Avenue to Cherry Lane)
Vendors on Gude Park Field
4:00pm - Family Fun Games
5:15pm - Music by Oracle
8:45pm - Welcome from Mayor and City Council
9:00pm - Test Fire for Fireworks
9:15pm - Fireworks Begin
The 4th of July Committee thanks you in advance for your understanding and support. They look forward to seeing you on July 5 th as the City of Laurel celebrates our Nation’s birthday!
It’s Easy B eing Green!
SUSTAINABILITY WARRI ORS!
Congratulations Laurel Students for being committed to change! Check out their achievements below:
• Laurel Elementary School: Elyssa Atkins, Green Team Coordinator - received their 5th Sustainable Bronze Award for 18 years of being a Green School from the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education.
• Laurel Elementary School teacher (and Laurel resident) Amy Dunham: received the Unsung Hero from the William S. Schmidt Center for her work connecting Environmental Literacy with Physical Education in PGCPS.
• Laurel Elementary School Building Supervisor (and Laurel resident) Marcus Comer: received an Unsung Hero award from the William S. Schmidt Center for his work with Composting at Laurel ES.
• Laurel High School: the students won the Envirothon competition for the 3rd year in a row, beating out all the other PGCPS High Schools. Onto regionals they go!
• Laurel High School: Nadisha Clayton, Garrison and Elizabeth Gallagher as co -Green School Coordinators, earned their 3rd Green School award from The Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education.
Public Works is rolling, rolling, rolling out the curbside organics recycling kits , which includes a kitchen countertop container, educational information that makes it easy for residents to sort out what can go into their compost carts, a refrigerator magnet and a roll of compostable bags, along with the locking outdoor cart. All foods, even expired products, paper napkins/paper towels, and pizza boxes are just some examples of what can be put in your composting cart, along with loose leaves and grass clippings. Still have questions? Come to the Laurel Farmer ’s Market Information Tent, open every Thursday, from 3 -7pm, at 378 Main Street, and meet residents that are compost ambassadors to get some fun “hacks” and answer any questions. Click the QR code to go directly to the organics recycling page for more information. Mosquito Control Program begins in June and our spray night is Sunday. As the weather starts to heat up, expect the mosquitoes to start biting! To help combat the spread of mosquito-born illnesses, the City of Laurel will once again participate in the Mar yland Department of Agriculture’s Mosquito Control Program. This program consists of two parts: Larviciding phase is limited to public rights-of-way and areas where there are large amounts of standing water; and Adulticiding phase consists of City-wide evening spraying. Weather permitting residents can expect to see a truck out and about every three weeks. If you find that you are experiencing a large mosquito population around your home or if you would like your property to be e xempt from the program, visit https://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Pages/mosquito_control.aspx for more details.
PRESUPUESTO Y SERVICIOS DE PERSONAL: ¡PRESUPUESTO DEL AÑO FISCAL 2026 COMPLETO!
Una de las responsabilidades designadas a el Departamento de Servicios de Presupuesto y Personal es colaborar con los Departamentos Municipales para desarrollar un presupuesto balanceado.
El proceso de presupuestario municipal comienza oficialmente en Enero de cada año, aunque la administración del presupuesto es una responsabilidad de todo el año. Cada departamento se encarga de proyectar e ingresar su presupuesto operativo, así como los ingresos directos y los proyectos del Programa de Mejoras de Capital (CIP). El Departamento de Servicios de Presupuesto y Personal preparan los presupuestos salariales de tiempo completo; luego, elaboran todos los presupuestos y trabajan con la Oficina del Administrador Municipal para balancear el presupuesto y presentarlo a el Consejo Municipal, según lo exige la ley, antes del 1 de Mayo de cada año. El presupuesto operativo general balanceado del año fiscal 2026 y el CIP se presentaron a el Consejo Municipal el lunes 28 de Abril de 2025.
El Presupuesto Operativo General y el Programa de Mejoras de Capital del Año Fiscal 2026 fueron aprobados por unanimidad por el Alcalde y el Consejo Municipal en la reunión de 28 de Mayo de 2025, por un total de $46,311,958.
LAUREL POLICE MONTHLY CRIME REPORT APRIL 2025
List of Laurel Police Crime Reports can be found at www.cityoflaurel.org/1896/LPDCrime-Reports
Legislation
Listed below are recent legislative actions taken, if any, by the Laurel City Council during the past month of Mayor and City Council meetings. For further information on any of these legislative actions, please feel free to contact the Office of the City Clerk at 301-725-5300 x2121 or at clerk@laurel.md.us. For the full agendas, visit www.cityoflaurel.org
Adopted Legislation:
• Charter Resolution No. 181 and Ordinance No. 2038 - Updating Election Laws. Visit https:// library.municode.com for details.
• Ordinance No. 2041 - adopting the General Operating Budget/Capital Improvement Plan for FY2026; and to authorize the collection of such taxes.
Bid Recommendations:
• Independence Day Fireworks - 4th of July Committee (3-year contract for $108,500)
• Replace Gude Park Fountains - Parks and Recreation ($84,048.80)
• Van Dusen Road Improvement Project - Phase IPublic Works ($246,159)
• Van Dusen Road Improvement Project - Phase IIPublic Works ($299,708)
• Fleet Acquisition - Grapple Truck - Public Works ($134,000 - Remaining purchase price on lease)
Appointments/Reappointments:
Hon. Michael Leszcz (Appointment) - Board of Pension Trustees - 5/12/25 - 5/12/29
Government Meetings
(Dates and Times Subject to Change)
June 2025 Mayor and City Council Meetings
June 4th - Virtual Mayor and City Council Work Session (6:00pm)
June 9th - Virtual Mayor and City Council Meeting (6:00pm)
June 23rd - Mayor and City Council Meeting (CANCELLED)
June 2025 Boards and Commissions
June 10th - Planning Commission (CANCELLED)
June 17th - In-Person Historic District Commission (6:00pm)
June 18th - Master Plan Committee (CANCELLED)
June 26th - Board of Appeals (CANCELLED)
July 2025 Mayor and City Council Meetings
July 2nd - Virtual Mayor and City Council Work Session (6:00pm)
July 14th - Virtual Mayor and City Council Meeting (6:00pm)
July 28th - Mayor and City Council Meeting (6:00pm)
July 2025 Boards and Commissions
July 15th - Planning Commission (6:00pm)
July 22nd - Historic District Commission (6:00pm)
July 24th - Board of Appeals (6:00pm)
July 29th - Master Plan Committee (6:00pm)
City Announcements & Events
(Dates and Times Subject to Change)
Job Fair - June 9, 2025, from 10am - 2pm, Laurel Multiservice Center, 204 Fort Meade Road. Free
100 Father’s Day Breakfast - June 14, 2025, 10am - 12pm, Laurel Multiservice Center, 204 Fort Meade Rd. Register at clerk@laurel.md.us.
Juneteenth Celebration - June 21, 2025, from 3 - 7pm at Gude Park, 8300 Mulberry Street.
Parks and Recreation 60th Anniversary Celebration - June 27, 2025, 6-8pm, Granville Gude Park, 8300 Mulberry Street.
Independence Day Holiday - July 4, 2025 - City/Passport Offices CLOSED. Visit cityoflaurel.org/calendars for adjusted collection details.
Independence Day Celebration - July 5, 2025 - Help the City celebrate our Nation’s Birthday! Parade: 3pm (Kicks off from 4th & Marshall); Vendors: 3pm; Family Fun Games: 4pm; Oracle - 5pm; Mayor & City Council Welcome: 8:45pm; Fireworks: 9:15pm.
City Council Election Candidate Packets tentatively available by appointment beginning July 7, 2025. Contact the City Clerk’s Office at 301-725-5300 ext. 2120, or elections@laurel.md.us, to schedule an appointment.
Music at the Mansion - July 11, 2025 - 6pm at Gude Mansion, 13910 Laurel Lakes Avenue. Enjoy an evening of fun filled with music! 21 and over only.
Touch-A-Truck - July 22, 2025 - Emancipation Park on 8th Street from 6:308:00pm. A variety of vehicles will be on hand to tour.
Scan the QR Code for the online volunteer application!
Public Works Monthly
June is Pet Preparedness Month, which was established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This devastating hurricane highlighted the significant impact natural disasters can have on pets and their owners. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), when Hurricane Katrina hit, 44% of the people who chose to ride out the storm did so because they could not evacuate with their animals.
In an effort to enhance pet safety during emergencies, the City of Laurel Department of Emergency Management urges pet owners to develop a pet emergency plan, build a pet emergency kit, and understand how and when to evacuate or shelter a pet. Pet Preparedness Month is an opportunity for pet owners and responders to gain the knowledge and tools to better protect our furry, feathered, and scaly friends.
A well-prepared pet emergency kit should include:
• Water and portable water dish
• 3-day supply of food in airtight containers
• Medication and copies of medical records
• Cat litter, litter box, and waste disposal bags
• Leashes and harnesses
• Toy and blankets
• Current photos of your pet
• Emergency contact card
Determine how to safely transport a pet, and ensure a leash and/or pet carrier is readily available. Map out multiple evacuation routes and conduct timed evacuation drills. friendly specific term and/or pet carrier is readily available. Map out multiple
Prior to an emergency, identify pet -friendly hotels and shelters. Know and understand shelter-specific protocols regarding pets. Temporary and long -term options should be considered.
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
Find more local events all month long in our new, continuously updated online calendar at streetcarsuburbs.news/events.
Please send notices of events taking place between July 10 and Aug. 12 to nancy@streetcar suburbs.news by June 27
JUNE 13
“Black Comedy.”Laurel Mill Playhouse presents Peter Shaffer’s one-act slapstick comedy. Weekends June 13 and 20. 508 Main St. For dates, times and tickets, call 301.617.9906
Cedric Williams Reception. A photographer, Williams explores how buildings, surfaces and structures change once abandoned. Free reception. 7 to 9 p.m. Montpelier Arts Center, 9652 Muirkirk Rd. 301.377.7800
JUNE 14
Patuxent North Tract Open House. Enjoy various activities including archery, fishing, nature walks, demonstrations and a campfire. 4 to 8 p.m. 230 Bald Eagle Dr. Free. 301.497.5887
Youth Photo Contest: Wildlife and Nature through Young Eyes. Youth ages 5-14 years are
invited to enter original 4-by-6 prints, unmatted and unframed through Aug. 2 Cash prizes.
National Wildlife Visitor Center, South Tract, 10901 Scarlet Tanager Loop. 301.497.5772
JUNE 15, 22 and 29
Summer Culture Hub. Hands on-activities with a different historical theme each week. 4 p.m. Montpelier House Museum, 9650 Muirkirk Rd. 301.377.7817
JUNE 21 AND JULY 5
Public program. Look for dinosaur fossils using surface collection techniques. Dinosaur Park, 13100 Mid-Atlantic Blvd. Free. 301. 627.1286
JUNE 24
“The Comedy of Errors.” Shakespeare in the Parks presents William Shakespeare’s farce about mistaken identity. 7:30 p.m. Free. Montpelier Arts Center, 9652 Muirkirk Rd. 301.377.7800
JUNE 26
Summer Reading Challenge Kickoff: Sign up for the Prince
George’s County/Washington Nationals summer reading challenge and get a prize. 4 p.m. Laurel Branch Library, 507 7th St. 301.776.6790
JUNE 28
Nature Photography Walk. Class explores basic nature photography. Free. 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. Patuxent Research Refuge South Tract, 10901 Scarlet Tanager Loop. 301.497.5772
Amateur Radio Field Day. Members of Laurel Amateur Radio Club set up equipment and talk with other operators around the country and the world. Public invited to watch. 2 p.m. to 2 p.m. June 29. Riverfront Park, end of Main St. 301.498.2805
ONGOING
Monarch Magic at Patuxent Research Refuge. Explore the lifecycle of monarch butterflies. 10 a.m, to 4 p.m, Wednesday through Saturday. Visitor Center, South Tract, 10901 Scarlet Tanager Loop. 301.497.5772
"Laurel Rides the Rails: Tales of Trains and Trolleys." Through December. Laurel History Museum, 817 Main St. 301.725.7975
June at the Hollingsworth Gallery. Watercolor paintings and mixed media pieces by Jamie Downs, whose works focus on wildlife. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Patuxent Research Refuge South Tract, 10901 Scarlet Tanager Loop. 301.497.5772
Butterflies and Flowers- Messengers of the Heavens. An exhibit inspired by the natural world by visiting artists Alla and Milana Borovskaia. Montpelier Arts Center, 9652 Muirkirk Rd. 301.377.7800
RECURRING
Second Friday Senior Book Club. June’s selection is Sonny Boy, a Memoir, by Al Pacino, July’s is The Jackal's Mistress, by Chris Bohyjalian. 2 to 3:30 p.m. Laurel Armory, 422 Montgomery St. 301.452.7700 or email book62worm@hotmail.com
Third Sunday Swing Dance. No experience needed. All welcome. Beginner class 5 to 5:30 p.m.; dance 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Carroll Baldwin Hall, 9035 Baltimore St., Savage. Costs vary. 410.294.3561
Kids’ Discovery Center. June’s theme is reptiles, lizards and skinks. Ages 3 to 10. Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Patuxent Research Refuge South Tract, 10901 Scarlet Tanager Loop. 301.497.5772
Ready to Read Storytime. Mondays at 10:30 a.m. (ages 2 to 3), Wednesdays at 7 p.m. (ages 3 to 5) and Thursdays at 10:30 and 11:15 a.m. (ages 0 to 2). Laurel Branch Library, 507 7th St. 240.455.5451
Family Fun at Patuxent. Learn about birds through hands-on activities, games and crafts.Times vary. Patuxent Research Refuge South Tract, 10901 Scarlet Tanager Loop. 301.497.5772
CRIME WATCH
APRIL 12 - MAY 11 2025
This crime blotter is based on the most recently available month of crime data from the city of Laurel and does not include all police activity for the period.
APRIL 12
14800 blk Willow Run Ln: Multiple vehicles vandalized.
1000 blk Highpoint Trl: Dodge reported stolen by unknown means.
7900 blk Crows Nest Ct: Multiple vehicles vandalized.
8200 blk Harvest Bend Ln: Vehicle broken into.
1100 blk Snowden Pl: Vehicle broken into.
6900 blk Andersons Way: Multiple vehicles vandalized.
13700 blk Baltimore Ave: Multiple vehicles vandalized.
APRIL 13
7600 blk South Arbory Ct: Multiple vehicles vandalized.
300 blk Thomas Dr: Hyundai reported stolen by unknown means.
15100 blk Baltimore Ave: Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
15000 blk Laureland Pl: Infiniti reported stolen by unknown means.
APRIL 14
15100 blk Baltimore Ave: Female observed shoplifting, arrested.
14100 blk Bowsprit Ln: Unknown suspect jumped into idling vehicle, fled scene. 13900 blk Chadsworth Ter: Honda reported stolen by unknown means.
APRIL 15
14400 blk Laurel Pl: Multiple vehicles vandalized.
8200 blk Harvest Bend Ln: Multiple vehicles vandalized.
15100 blk Baltimore Ave: Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
1700 blk Mill Branch Dr: Vehicle broken into.
Unit blk Riverfront Pl: Vehicle broken into.
9100 blk Elaine Ct: Ford reported stolen by unknown means.
Unit blk Second St N: Vehicle broken into.
15100 blk Baltimore Ave: Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
14500 blk Greenview Dr: Ford reported stolen by unknown means.
APRIL 16
14600 blk Laurel Bowie Rd:
Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
15000 blk Baltimore Ave: Money stolen.
15100 blk Baltimore Ave: Group observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
300 blk Domer St: Group observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
APRIL 17
200 blk Stanley Pl: Multiple vehicles vandalized.
9700 blk Fort Meade Rd: Business broken into, items stolen.
300 blk Montrose Ave: Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
300 blk Montrose Ave: Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
7800 blk Contee Rd: Package stolen.
300 blk Montrose Ave: Male observed shoplifting, arrested.
13600 blk Baltimore Ave: Female observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
14100 blk Baltimore Ave: Group observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
APRIL 18
15100 blk Baltimore Ave: Group refused to pay for services, arrested.
Unit blk Sharon Ct: Victim robbed at gunpoint.
8300 blk Ashford Blvd: Registration plate stolen off vehicle.
1000 blk Eighth St: Vehicle broken into.
APRIL 19
7600 blk Brooklyn Bridge Rd: Vehicle broken into.
14400 blk Laurel Pl: Vehicle broken into.
13600 blk Baltimore Ave: Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
200 blk Fort Meade Rd: Multiple vehicles vandalized.
APRIL 20
15100 blk Baltimore Ave:
Group observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
14400 blk Sandy Ridge Ln: Various electronics stolen from vehicle.
Unit blk Second St: Unknown suspects broke into vehicle, stole multiple items.
APRIL 21
7800 blk Contee Rd: Residence broken into.
15100 blk Baltimore Ave: Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
15100 blk Baltimore Ave: Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
800 blk Main St: Multiple vehicles vandalized.
15100 blk Baltimore Ave: Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
14900 blk Silver Trail Ln: Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
APRIL 22
15100 blk Baltimore Ave: Group observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
Unit blk Second St: Business broken into, items stolen.
14700 blk Baltimore Ave: Group observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
800 blk Fifth St: Package stolen.
300 blk Montrose Ave : Male observed shoplifting, arrested.
600 blk Washington Blvd: Business broken into, items stolen.
APRIL 23
14700 blk Baltimore Ave: Business broken into, items stolen.
15100 blk Baltimore Ave: Group observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
15100 blk Baltimore Ave: Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
14000 blk Vista Dr: Acura reported stolen, unknown means.
APRIL 24
14300 blk Baltimore Ave: Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
600 blk Washington Blvd: Two males observed shoplifting, arrested.
600 blk Washington Blvd: Male failed to pay for services.
14700 blk Baltimore Ave: Group observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
14700 blk Baltimore Ave: Female observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
APRIL 25
7900 blk Cypress St: Basketball stolen.
14700 blk Baltimore Ave: Female observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
15100 blk Baltimore Ave: Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
APRIL 26
700 blk Washington Blvd: Male arrested for driving under the influence.
600 blk Washington Blvd: Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
14700 blk Baltimore Ave: Group observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
APRIL 27
7900 blk Braygreen Rd: Medication stolen.
14700 blk Baltimore Ave: Female suspect jumped into an idling vehicle, fled scene.
APRIL 29
14700 blk Baltimore Ave: Female observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
14200 blk Baltimore Ave: Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
800 blk Fifth St: Cell phone stolen.
14600 blk Shiloh Ct: Unknown suspects attempted to break into vehicle.
APRIL 30
1000 blk Phillip Powers Dr: Unknown suspects attempted to break into vehicle.
14800 blk Baltimore Ave: Group observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
14800 blk Baltimore Ave: Music equipment stolen.
MAY 2
14700 blk Baltimore Ave: Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
200 blk Fort Meade Rd: Male observed shoplifting, arrested.
MAY 3
14100 blk Bowsprit Ln: Multiple vehicles broken into.
13700 blk Baltimore Ave: Vehicle broken into.
7600 blk Greenstable Gate Ln: Multiple vehicles broken into, items stolen.
14700 blk Baltimore Ave: Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
MAY 4
14300 blk Rosemore Ln: Multiple vehicles broken into.
14400 blk Laurel Pl: Multiple vehicles broken into.
7200 blk Olive Branch Way: Multiple vehicles broken into.
Cypress St / Oxford Dr: Multiple vehicles broken into.
14100 blk William St: Multiple vehicles broken into.
Yardarm Way / Mulberry St: Multiple vehicles broken into.
7800 blk Contee Rd: Package stolen.
MAY 5
800 blk Fifth St: Items stolen from donation bin.
14800 blk Baltimore Ave: Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
800 blk Karen Ct: Residence window shattered.
MAY 6
9300 blk Player Dr : Audi reported stolen by unknown means.
MAY 7
6900 blk Van Dusen Rd: Food items stolen.
14600 blk Baltimore Ave: Unknown suspects broke into business, stole items.
14700 blk Baltimore Ave: Group observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
14700 blk Baltimore Ave: Group observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
300 blk Domer St: Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
14200 blk Baltimore Ave: Vehicle broken into.
14400 blk West Side Blvd: Registration plate stolen off vehicle.
MAY 8
9600 blk Fort Meade Rd: Wallet stolen.
100 blk Saint Mary's Pl: Vehicle spray painted.
MAY 9
14200 blk Baltimore Ave: Business broken into.
Unit blk Washington Blvd: Dodge reported stolen by unknown means.
6900 blk Van Dusen Rd: Group observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
7800 blk Contee Rd: Electronics stolen.
14800 blk Baltimore Ave: Music equipment stolen.
MAY 10
13600 blk Baltimore Ave: Group observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
14700 blk Fourth St: Vehicle broken into.
MAY 11
15100 blk Baltimore Ave: Male observed shoplifting, fleeing scene.
14800 blk Baltimore Ave: Music equipment stolen.
14600 blk Baltimore Ave: Vehicle broken into.
Kristen Norton leads Laurel Historical Society
By ZAYNE ALI
As the new executive director of Laurel Historical Society (LHS), Kristen Norton plans to use her nonprofit development and historical research skills to create programs and events that strike a balance between accessibility and community involvement.
“We want to educate people about the great history that we have in Laurel,” she said. “The more people we can invite to participate in these webinars or walking tours … the greater chance we have of fostering a better understanding of [the city’s rich past].”
Norton, who joined LHS on April 15, is excited to acquaint herself with the community, whether it’s through face-toface meetings or taking brisk walks around the city. With both the annual LHS gala and the Main Street Festival now under her belt, she’s busy planning the society’s 50th anniversary in November..
Norton is also focused on the society’s role as a preservation advocate. Her ambitions include reviving the organization’s role in nominating state
SAFETY
Kristen Norton COURTESY OF LAUREL HISTORICAL SOCIETY
landmarks and continuing its oral history program.
“There are a lot of significant community members that I think we should interview,” she said. “Just in the last few years, there’ve been so many … historic moments that I think it’s important that we interview the community and kind of start documenting these experiences so … we’re preserving that historical record.”
Norton’s responsibilities include ensuring the historical society’s financial health. Under the current administration, funding through federal and state grants is at greater
met with police, representatives from the Department of Public Works, Mayor Keith Sydnor and city councilmembers a number of times to discuss the potential for such situations.
Souder is particularly concerned about the dangers inherent in fireworks and the possibility that people will ignore regulations.
“There’s always a potential for that 1% of people that says, ‘Hey, if I can get close enough, I’m gonna grab me some of them fireworks and run the other way,’” Souder said. “We have to keep that in mind.”
Koubek said the committee changed the parade’s start time from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and shortened the route to about half its original distance. She noted that the parade will no longer cross Route 198. “It was an extremely long parade, which we loved … but we had to cut that back for safety issues,” Koubek said. “This way … they’re not walking as long, and the heat won’t overcome them,” Koubek said.
The shortened route will start at the corner of Marshall Avenue and 4th Street.
Heat was a factor at last year’s celebration, according to Koubek. She said the committee plans to provide water for participants along the parade route.
Several local student athletes will serve as grand marshals, including members of the 2025 state-champion Laurel High
risk than previously, which increases the need for community support.
“I think we’re really fortunate that we have a group of very dedicated volunteers and members who contribute both financially, but also … their time and talents as well,” she said.
Norton emphasized that the historical society remains committed to telling diverse and inclusive stories.
“I’m really fortunate that my predecessor, Ann Bennett …. and the boards that she worked with … continued on with that movement in general,” she said. “ I’ll just continue on carrying on and building upon it going forward.”
A graduate of Florida State University, Norton focused her master’s thesis on famed African American tennis player Arthur Ashe, whose statue had stood on Monument Avenue in his hometown of Richmond, Va., alongside statues of a number of Confederate leaders, including Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis. Norton reflected on how cultural shifts led to statues being removed from that site following the murder
School Boys Basketball team.
“We’re pretty proud about that,” Souder said of the boys basketball team’s championship, adding that he hopes the high school’s marching band will perform.
Jim Cross, the parade chair, said he looks back fondly on the city’s Fourth of July celebrations during his childhood. As an adult, he enjoys seeing residents turn out for the festivities.
“It’s always been a very fun thing to do and see,” Cross said. “It’s a great thing for the community to be able to come out and see it; it’s terrific.”
Koubek said she encourages those in attendance to make donations toward future Independence Day celebrations.
She said two collection buckets will be on the stage where the group Oracle will perform.
“If everybody would just put $5 in there, we could fund this probably for a couple of years,” she said.
The city council approved a threeyear contract with Fantastic Fireworks, which is based in White Hall. The contract allocates roughly $36,000 per year.
“As long as the weather holds out and makes for a nice day, we’ll expect a good crowd,” Souder said. “We make the effort to do everything we can to keep everybody safe.”
Laurel’s Independence Day festivities are scheduled for July 5 beginning at 3 p.m. and will be followed by games, vendors and entertainment until 9 p.m. in Granville Gude Park. Fireworks begin at 9 p.m.
of George Floyd, in 2020, and the protests that followed.
“The conversations I found myself having were more so about [how] these monuments weren’t necessarily a representation of … our history,” she said. “I had to kind of have the argument that, you know, these are actually more representative of what these communities deemed were worth honoring and remembering.”
Discussions like the one about Richmond’s Monument Avenue have been a crucial component of Norton’s 15-year career of preserving stories in settings across the country, including in Arizona, California and now, in Maryland.
“I think I’ve just always been obsessed with history and the personal experiences of people who’ve lived through, you know, major significant events,” she said.
Norton has extensive experience as a historian in cultural settings, including with the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience, at Florida State, at Tucson's Pima Air & Space Museum, and with the Historic Resources Group in Pasadena, Ca.. While at Pima,
Norton volunteered to catalogue items that had belonged to WWII Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs). One item, a pair of handcrafted glass wings, stood out to her. According to Norton, the women pilots made these wings in response to the not being recognized by the United States Army Air Corps.
“[Cataloging the wings] It was a really unique experience,” she said. “I think Pima was really lucky to have had items like that donated that they could include in their collections.”
The Laurel Museum, which is owned and operated by LHS, currently features "Laurel Rides the Rails," an exhibit exploring the city’s transit history. A temporary exhibit celebrating the historical society’s 50th anniversary is due to open later this year.
“Laurel is a unique community,” Norton said. “Before [my husband and I] moved to Maryland, we were kind of looking at our wish list of places that we wanted to live. And top on that list for me was a town with a lot of historical character and a lot of historic buildings.”
Main Street Festival incidents update FUNDING
By ZAYNE ALI
For Laurel residents expecting a day of excitement and fun at the annual Main Street Festival on Saturday, May 10, the event proved memorable for reasons beyond connecting with the city’s communal heartbeat.
While vendors were setting up along Main Street that morning, a propane tank exploded at the tent for The Ocean Grill & More, a food truck specializing in American fried food. Coowner and manager, Youssef Dechari, was close to the blast.
According to both Dechari and Judy Tabti, a relative, the festival was the six-year-old company’s first time serving in Laurel.
The explosion, which led to the cancellation of the Main Street Festival parade, was caused by a broken regulator on the propane tank. According to Tabti, Dechari had been trying to shut off the tank just before the explosion.
Dechari was hospitalized with first-degree burns on his face and second-degree burns on his arms and legs, the “best case scenario,” according to Tabti. The recovery could take several weeks or more.
Tabti has a GoFundMe set up to help pay off Dechari’s medical expenses.
The safety of festival goers and vendors came under threat again when 28-year-old Laurel resident Kai DeBerry-Bostick attempted to drive her car through the crowded streets. According to body cam footage released by the Laurel Police Department, Bostick was en route to Virginia for work when she came upon the police barricade and attempted to remove a portion of it.
A video of the arrest had gone viral but provided little information about the incident. According to Public Information Officer Laura Guenin, the Laurel Police Department then released the body cam footage to provide context for Bostick’s arrest. Guenin also stated that the arrest followed standard procedure.
Tanya Martin, the manager of Patuxent Place, the apartment complex where Bostick lives, said all tenants were warned of possible road closures via emails and posted notices. An LED road sign was also placed on each end of Main Street.
The Laurel Independent delivers hyperlocal news, free of charge, to every residential address (including apartments) in incorporated portions of Laurel. Through a grant, Streetcar also mails to homes in several unincorporated parts of the city. Total distribution is 30,000. (Distribution of the Hyattsville Life & Times is 11,00 and of the College Park Here & Now is 9,100.)
The city of Laurel has earmarked $60,000 for the Independent in each of the previous three budgets.
The mayor’s original proposed budget for FY 2025-26 slashed that funding by 60%, to $26,000. Support at this level would have forced the paper to fold with the June 2025 issue.
Like print newspapers across the country, The Laurel Independent is facing a number of challenges including rising costs and stiff competition in the marketplace from online news sources. A 2024 report released by Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism reports that on average 2.5 newspapers closed each week in the U.S. in 2023.
The mayor’s revised budget includes an additional $26,512 for the Independent, bringing the total to $50,512 — 84% of what the city has previously earmarked for the paper. Laurel’s budget for the coming fiscal year is $46,311,958, and the amount allocated to the paper is approximately 0.11% of that total — slightly more than one-tenth of 1%.
Every Child Deserves a Voice
(CASA)
Shooting Clinic
June 26, ages 8-17 (boys/girls)
Craig Moe Laurel Multiservice Center
Basketball Camp
August 11-13, ages 8-14 (boys/girls)
Laurel Armory
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The city council and mayor held two public hearings on the budget, one immediately following their May 12 work session and the second on May 28. Councilmembers passed the budget ordinance during the May 28 meeting.
At the first public hearing, Councilmember Adrian Simmons (Ward 1) reported that 96% of respondents to his online poll voted in favor of continued funding for the paper. In an email, Simmons wrote that the community’s response was a significant factor in the council’s push to increase funding for the Independent over the level the mayor originally proposed.
A number of Streetcar Suburbs Publishing representatives, including Kit Slack, Streetcar’s executive director, attended the first public hearing. Slack thanked councilmembers for supporting the Independent: “This is a time when everyone could use a little good news; I want to thank you all for being part of delivering it to everyone in Laurel,” she said.
Laurel residents spoke about the role the paper plays in their daily lives. Michael McLaughlin, a member of the task force that helped bring the paper to Laurel, described himself as a “proud 72-year-old paperboy for The Laurel Independent … who [gets] to hand the news to the people ... and that’s a wonderful thing.”
MURAL
sponsored Laurel Arts Council became interested in the idea, but the pandemic brought everything to a halt in 2020.
Melissa Holland, a member of the arts council, kept interest in the mural alive, working with city officials to enact a change in zoning law, in 2022, to permit murals on private properties, Dyer said.
L4P cofounder, Brian Coyle, approached a number of Main Street property owners with the mural in mind. Nadol Hishmeh, owner of Olive on Main, was enthusiastic about the mural project — and he also owns the Quick Stop Food Mart, which will soon boast the mural on its wall.
“I think it will bring vibrant color and light to the space,” Hishmeh said in an interview. “I think it will be an attraction.”
Dyer said a colleague of Robbins heard about the project and suggested that Jeff Huntington, an Annapolis-based artist, could bring the mural to life. Huntington’s work has been included in more than eighty exhibitions nationally and internationally over
the past 25 years. One of his murals is on the Sprouts grocery in Burtonsville.
After accepting the commission, Huntington submitted a mural concept to L4P that included an image of Robbins holding a pair of binoculars and five birds. The birds, a Carolina wren, blue jay, prothonotary warbler, pileated woodpecker and Eastern towhee, were on a list that Robbins’ daughter had.
In an interview, Huntington said the binoculars were very important. He said he had been told a story that Robbins refused numerous offers by his employer to replace his old, battered binoculars. “A lot of good birds in there,” he said, patting his trustworthy companion.
The mural design includes two circles intended to suggest that viewers are seeing the birds through Robbins’ own binoculars, Huntington explained. Robbins contributed to early studies of the effects of pesticides, including DDT, on bird reproduction These studies helped to launch America’s modern environmental movement and were foundational to Rachel Carson’s
Jimmy Rogers, a volunteer columnist with the Independent, spoke about the paper’s role in the city’s well-being. “Trustworthy, independent news, along with … connecting to community organizations … these are some of the strongest indicators of resilience.”
Melanie Dzwonchyk and Joe Murchison, both members of Streetcar Suburbs Publishing’s board of directors, also spoke at the first hearing. As seasoned newspaper editors, they played key roles in bringing The Laurel Independent to the city.
In thanking councilmembers for their support, Dzwonchyk underscored the value of community newspapers. “I believe that you share our commitment to connecting every resident in Laurel with the news they need to be informed and involved citizens of our day,” she said.
Reflecting on the challenges and complexity of launching and sustaining a newspaper, Murchison was brief and to the point: “Frankly, I consider the founding of the Independent to be a miracle. You have decided to keep that miracle going, and I am very grateful.”
West Laurel resident Sarah Mark, who worked for 30 years at the Washington Post before retiring as an editor, underscored the paper’s value. “The Laurel Independent has the highest standards of journalism … their editing is top notch. I appreciate their care and their conscientiousness,” she said, adding, “I am so grateful to The Laurel Independent for really keeping me apprised of all local news I need to know.I read it much more often than I do the Washington Post.”
groundbreaking and enduring book, Silent Spring.
In 1966, Robbins founded the North American Breeding Bird Survey, which incorporates data from the U.S. and Canada to track common bird species. Data obtained through the survey has been a key factor in international efforts to conserve migratory bird habitat.
In 1966, Robbins also coauthored Birds of North America: A Guide to Field Identification, which is widely seen as the gold standard for birders throughout the country.
Jessica Coyle, Brian Coyle’s wife and president of L4P, said she thinks the mural will be a great addition to Main Street. In addition to honoring a great scientist and celebrating the natural world, she sees it as an important addition to downtown Laurel’s character. “I think it’s going to be really attractive,” she said. “I think it will transform the streetscape.”
Friends of Patuxent, a nonprofit that supports programs at the Patuxent Research Refuge, is partnering with L4P on the project. To donate to L4P, go to laurelforthepatuxent.org.
WITH JIMMY
Can you grow a garden from native seed?
By JIMMY ROGERS
It’s easy to imagine: kill your lawn (or pull out a patch of invasive plants), spread a native seed mix and watch an entire garden spring out of the earth, ready to host birds and butterflies. Recently I’ve been bombarded with online ads promising just this proposition. Friends and clients often ask me whether they can forgo buying plants and throw down a seed mix instead. Let’s untangle the confusing world of native seeds and find some sure-fire options for any garden.
First, we need to winnow out the seed mixes for sale online and at garden centers that native gardeners will want to avoid. Many seed mixes are labeled as wildflower mixes and were around long before native gardening caught on. Typically, they’re composed of popular European and Asian flowers that grow within a range of USDA plant hardiness zones. Sometimes they’re even labeled for a specific state, despite having no relationship to that state’s ecosystem. These plants offer little to our native insects, and sometimes include invasive species in the mix.
A new, trendy product is called a no-mow lawn mix — a blend primarily composed of clovers (Trifolium species) that come from Europe. While some generalist bees will benefit from clover flowers, again, these mixes provide little forage for the majority of our bees and other pollinators. Plus, clover will quickly succumb to taller weeds and have you mowing all over again.
Now that we have skirted around these misleading products, we can return to the hypothetical seed-to-garden scenario I described at the start. Let’s say you have cleared an area of ground, acquired seeds native to Maryland and scattered them. What can you expect?
If you sowed your seeds in the spring, by now I guarantee you would start seeing lots and lots of baby plants emerging. As you would have recently disturbed the soil and told every existing weed seed to spring into action, I would expect a majority of these new plants to be opportunistic weeds. It will be hard to sort the weeds from everything else, though, as almost all baby plants look very similar until they have sprouted their adult leaves.
Another factor weighs in favor of the weeds: Native plant seeds don’t all germinate in the same year, and some have a very low germination rate overall. Even if your seed source stratified your
seeds (a treatment that encourages seed germination), many of them will be content to remain dormant in the soil for several years. Delayed germination is an ancient strategy plants have used over time to ensure that a bad year or bad conditions do not thwart all chances of reproduction. Native seed mixes often include annuals such as partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) so that gardeners will be rewarded with some germination in the first year.
Nursery plants hold a clear advantage over seeds when it comes to survival. Nurseries plant seeds in ideal soil, grow them in ideal conditions and separate them into their own pots. With no competition, each seed has a much higher likelihood of survival. This is especially true for nurseries planting native seeds, which are costly to produce. The seeds you scatter, on the other hand, are an easy meal for predators.
So what good are native seeds to the home gardener? Well, first, you can use seeds the way nature intended, by leaving seed heads on flowering plants to either be eaten by over-wintering birds or to generate new plants throughout your garden. This costs nothing and is the best way to grow more of the plants you already have.
If you’re creating a new garden, buying nursery plants can be expensive, so consider winter sowing. This technique uses an old milk jug and a handful of seeds from a single species to create a miniature greenhouse. You can gather seeds from a generous neighbor’s garden or from one of the many seed savers you’ll meet in the native gardening community. The University of Maryland Extension has an excellent video series, “All the Dirt on Winter Sowing Native Plants,” which you can watch at tinyurl.com/mjv55kpn. You can easily grow hundreds
of baby plants for next to nothing. I do recommend scattering seeds if the seeds will have little competition and the area will not be mowed. A newly planted bed in your own garden meets these conditions. Choose filler plants for the spaces between more robust plants; they’ll reseed themselves readily in the future. You can scatter the seeds of highgermination species like selfheal (Prunella vulgaris) or pickier plants like columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) and butterfly milk-
weed (
Regardless of how you use seeds in your garden, keep a few small paper bags handy so that when your own plants go to seed, you can become the neighborhood’s next seed saver.
Asclepias tuberosa).
Jimmy Rogers is an avid native gardener in the city of Laurel.
