August 2013 Hyattsville Life & Times

Included: The August 14, 2013 Issue of The Hyattsville Reporter — See Center Section

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HyattsvilleAugust 2013Hyattsville’s Community NewspaperVol. 10 No. 8

Life&Times

BATTLE continued on page 9

RESTORING THE LOST ART OF ARCADE GAMESHow did a code-compliance o� cer end up on a video-game trading card? PAGE 4

OFFICER DOWN...IN THE DUNK TANKWith city police o� cers in a dunk tank, National Night Out proves a hit in West Hyattsville. PAGE 3

IT WAS THE TRIP OF A LIFETIMENorthwestern High School’s choir travels to South Africa. PAGE 12

by Susie Currie

When Safeway le� Hya� sville in February 2012, ending a pres-ence it had had here since 1928, it seemed to be the end of an era.

But a new partnership has jump-started the long-dormant plan to build a new store at University Town Center (UTC) – just 1.3 miles from the proposed Whole Foods site in Riverdale Park.

Both chains hope to open here in early 2015, said sources fa-miliar with each project. But Safeway may beat Whole Foods to the ribbon-cu� ing, in part because developers intend to

Safeway, Whole Foods race to the � nish line

amend the site plan rather than submit a new one.

When that plan was � rst ap-proved in 2006, UTC o� -cials announced that a new 56,000-square-foot Safeway would open in 2008. But � nan-cial pressures, which have since led to foreclosures at the strug-gling shopping area, prevented the build. In the meantime, the existing store on Hamilton Street languished and eventually closed amid pleas from residents to renovate it.

Now, the original architects of

Two grocery stores will be built 1.3 miles apart

by Megan J. Brockett

On August 24, Kathy Norvell will wake up and start ge� ing ready to go back in time.

Norvell, a veteran War of 1812 re-enactor, will be one of several people in costume for the 18th annual Ba� le of Bladensburg Encampment at the Riversdale House Museum.

� e event, free to the public, will run from noon until 4 p.m. and will include gunnery drills and cannon � rings, a special pro-gram by the Fort McHenry head ranger and a skirmish between re-enactors dressed as American and British soldiers.

� e annual Riversdale encamp-ment has grown in recent years as the region, rich in War of 1812 history, gears up for next sum-mer’s big bicentennial celebra-tion. (� e war ended in 1815.)

“[� e encampment] is kind of important now because [2014] will be the 200th anniversary of the British invasion, the Ba� le of Blad-ensburg and the burning of Wash-ington … and the whole episode at Fort McHenry with the creation of the Star Spangled Banner,” said Ed-ward Day, director of the Riversdale House Museum. “It’s a way to get acquainted and familiarize yourself with that whole story.”

And the story is an important

Re-enactors prepare for epic ba� le

by Rosanna Landis Weaver

Mention the Prince George’s Pool (commonly known as the PG Pool) to some locals and the superlatives � y. Tamara Embrey says, “I couldn’t love it more than I do.” “It saved my marriage,” says Rozanne Wijesinghe. “We plan

our summer around it,” says Rebecca Gi� er. � e pool, located on Buchanan Street in

Mount Rainier, counts 113 Hya� sville families among its members. But many more have been shut out since a membership cap was imposed during the summer of 2011. � e next season, the few open slots sold out in six minutes.

As of August 1, there were 820 names on the waiting list for individual or family member-ships. With a current turnover rate of 7 per-cent, it could take 15 years to move through the list.

CHARLES STECK

A� er years in the red, Prince George’s Pool now has more people on the waiting list than on the membership roster

POOL continued on page 6

MARKETS continued on page 10

CHARLES STECK

Page 2 Hyattsville Life & Times | August 2013

A community newspaper chronicling the

life and times of Hyattsville

Mailing address: PO Box 132, Hyattsville, MD 20781

Hyattsville Life & Times is published monthly by Hyattsville Community Newspaper, Inc., a 501c(3) nonpro� t

corporation. Interested reporters should send their e-mail addresses to the editor to be reminded of deadlines and receive internal news. Articles and news submit-

ted may be edited. The deadline is the last week of the month for the following month’s issue. Letters to the editor and opinions are encouraged. For all e-mail

correspondence with HL&T: news, features, tips, advertising and business write to hyattsvillelifeandtimes@gmail.

com. To submit articles, letters to the edi-tor, etc., e-mail [email protected].

Executive Editor Susie Currie

[email protected]

Managing EditorRosanna Landis Weaver

[email protected]

Editorial InternScarlett Salem

ProductionAshley PerksAdvertising

[email protected]

Writers & ContributorsVictoria Hille, Molly Parrish,

Valerie Russell, Fred Seitz, Hugh Turley

Board of Directors Joseph Gigliotti - President and

General Counsel Chris Currie - Vice President

Susie Currie - SecretaryPeggy Dee, Karen J. Riley,

Valerie RussellRosanna Landis Weaver - Ex O� cio

Circulation: Copies are distributed monthly by U.S. Mail to every address

in Hyattsville. Additional copies are dis-tributed to libraries, selected businesses, community centers and churches in the

city. Total circulation is 9,300.

HL&T is a member of the National Newspaper Association.

FromTheEditor


One of the many pleasures of this editorial gig is the opportunity to dig into local topics and ques-tions that are of particular inter-est to me. As a longtime mem-ber of the Prince George’s Pool, which is known as PG Pool, I’ve been fascinated by its evolution and recent population explosion, and this month I was able to spend time looking at that.

A� er all, MBAs devote great e� ort when a� empting to mar-ket products, to understand the strange alchemy of tipping points and popularity. � e astronomi-cal increase of folks interested

in joining the PG pool, from less than 200 families a decade ago to over 1,400 now (current mem-bership combined with waiting list) intrigues me.

Like some of the old-time members I interviewed, I have fond memories of the days when everyone knew your name, and parking was never a problem. Yet at the same time I’m delighted by the people I’ve met more re-cently, the increased racial diver-sity, and the amazing amenities the new members and their dues have brought us. (� ere was NO shade by the toddler pool when my children were toddlers.)

While crowding causes some day-to-day inconveniences, of more concern to me is whether the larger membership can main-tain the welcoming and accept-ing culture I’ve always found there. � e members of the co-operative pool, knew it fondly as “the Cool Pool.” � e increased membership and associated lo-gistics has now inspired some to call it “the Rule Pool.”

But my experience has been that the spirit remains largely unchanged, through the good e� orts of many people with gen-erally shared ideals of what com-munity should be. When spats � are on the list serve, members step in to restore the focus to larger values. For example, in a recent discussion of the lap lane

etique� e one member chimed in, “Civil discourse should take precedence at the Cool Pool, lest we lose our right to that title.”

� e struggle to maintain warmth in a time of growth is instructive for citizens of Hya� sville who may be on a similar trajectory of being “discovered” and are begin-ning to experience the changes that brings. � ose of us that have been here for a while love the new restaurants and stores but some-times hate the tra� c.

But the logistics are again less critical than what size does to

spirit. � ere’s a balance: com-munity requires a certain level of knowing and being known which may be impossible a� er a certain population is exceeded. Hya� sville as a town has already exceeded that number, but still allows its residents to experience “small town” moments in neigh-borhoods, schools and even on listservs.

How do we preserve what drew us here in the � rst place? How does Hya� sville remain fun and funky? In urban neighborhoods, gentri� ers may alter the diversity

that a� racted them to a neigh-borhood by their very presence. Given our housing stock, among other things, that’s unlikely to happen here. � e challenge of growth is accommodating more young single condo buyers, retir-ees and all of us in between while maintaining a feeling of commu-nity.

As the city grows, we will need to graciously accept the bad with the good, and continue to try to preserve the best. In my opinion, PG Pool is a pre� y good guide for that.

I read with interest Hugh Tur-ley’s column “A� er 25 years, is it time to reopen Queens Chapel?” [ July 2013]. Over 25 years ago, I formed Citizens to Reopen Queens Chapel Road, an IRS 501(c)(3) non-pro� t corporation. John Hamme� e of University Park, John T. O’Leary of College Park and Nelson Minnich of Hya� sville were o� cers of the corpora-tion and I served as secretary-treasurer. We had many brain-storming meetings in an e� ort to reopen the closed portion of Queens Chapel Road.

� e road was constructed as the original MD-210 from Washing-ton to Hya� sville in 1910. MD-500 was built from Hya� sville through University Park to U.S. Route 1 in the early 1930s and then assumed the course of MD-

210 in the mid-1940s. MD-500 was truncated at MD-410 when University Park took over the highway prior to the construc-tion of the Metro Green Line through the town in the late 1980s.

There was an outpouring of support from the Hyattsville community and beyond to reopen the closed portion of Queens Chapel Road. Numer-ous public hearings were con-ducted. I recall one in particular where a resident of University Park said, “You can’t reopen Queens Chapel Road — my children play in that road!” The level of arrogance demonstrat-ed by the “road closers” was over the top.

As secretary-treasurer of Citi-zens to Reopen Queens Cha-pel Road, I received hundreds

of heartbreaking le� ers (many from senior citizens) plead-ing that the closed section be reopened due to hardships ex-perienced by having to travel so far out of the way to access U.S. Route 1. Many of the let-ters included checks of vari-ous denominations in support of reopening the road to help cover costs incurred by the or-ganization which lobbied long and hard to reopen the road. Over 90 percent of Hya� sville residents were in favor of it and ironically there were some Uni-versity Park residents who also wanted the road reopened along with residents of College Park.

The bottom line in the trun-cation of Queens Chapel Road was politics. Property values were projected to increase with the road closure due to less traf-

fic. University Park politicians and residents saw dollar signs by closing the road to traffic and staged a major coup d’état. In the end, the politicians won and the overwhelming major-ity of area residents in support of reopening Queens Chapel Road lost.

It didn’t matter how many hundreds of signatures were on the petitions, nor how many gut-wrenching letters and checks were received by area residents, or how many local residents spoke at public hear-ings in support of reopening Queens Chapel Road. It wasn’t a fair fight and as a result the people lost to power-hungry and greedy politicians.

Barbara J. RunionHya� sville

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

� e perils and pluses of popularity

CHARLES STECKLocal band Doublethink plays at Poolapalooza, an all-day music event held at PG Pool in June.

Hyattsville Life & Times | August 2013 Page 3

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Whatever doubts there may have been about mov-ing National Night Out to Hamilton Street seem to have been swept away by the sounds of the Positive Vibrations Youth Steel Orchestra playing, and by the sun finally appearing on an overcast day.

The mood of the 500-plus Hyattsville residents gathered for the August 6 event was jubilant. There was cotton candy and popcorn. There were fruit-flavored snow cones, though the most popular fla-vor seemed to be the one called “Sky Blue.” There was a moon bounce and a slide and something called the Extreme Air Jumper that allowed bounc-ing children to perform astonishing acrobatic feats.

The annual National Night Out, held in thousands of communities on the first Tuesday evening in Au-gust, is designed to strengthen police-community ties. What better way to do that than by putting the city’s chief of police in a dunk tank? Chief Doug-las Holland did several sessions in the tank, despite unseasonably cool temperatures in the low 70s, and got dunked countless times.

“It’s usually 105 degrees and 98 percent humidity when we do this event,” noted Community Servic-es Director Abby Sandel. “That’s probably what he was expecting when he agreed to do this.”

Holland seemed to enjoy himself, taunting ball throwers such as Councilwoman Paula Perry. Af-ter she successfully dunked him, the chief came up for air and jibed, “If you were on target like that at council meetings we’d get a lot more done.”

Thirteen-year-old Daryl Page smiled broadly after he, too, downed Holland. “All the other times I saw

a dunk tank they were on TV,” he noted, “I thought, ‘Here’s my time to shine.’ It felt great.”

The police also conducted a K9 unit demonstra-tion, where the sight of a police dog “attacking” an of-ficer in a big, puffy protective suit awed the audience.

Traditionally held in Magruder Park, the festival marked its debut in West Hyattsville this year. One reason for the move was to bring new people to the event, and Sandel believes that goal was met, noting that often at town events she sees the same people. “I look around tonight and I see someone from every ward in the city.”

Juan Ogando, 21, has lived in Hyattsville his whole life, but had never been to the event before. “This is great,” he said. “I wish I’d brought my niece.”

It was the first National Night Out for Regina Per-ez as well.

“I have never seen so many people here on this street,” said Perez, who lives right around the cor-ner from the National Night Out’s home base of Queens Chapel Town Center.

While she found the event to be amazing, and her niece could not take her eyes off the police horses, she had one minor complaint: “I’m looking for some food.”

The formal program ended with a concert by Hy-attsville’s own Samba Trovão, a Brazilian group whose samba music includes reggae rhythms. The police then led a large group in a crime-prevention walk through the neighborhood, fulfilling part of the mission of National Night Out to promote safer communities and send a message to criminals that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back against crime.

Annual National Night Out a success

valerie russellClockwise from top: The city’s annual National Night Out, held on August 6, featured face-painting and a juggling police officer. Sgt. Suzie Johnson of the Hyattsville Police Department and State Delegate Alonzo Washington (D-23) catch up during the festival.


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by Woody Wilder

Most men enjoy their man caves. Joe Brewer enjoys his mancade.

Brewer, a code-compliance o� cer for the City of Hya� sville, has a fully function-ing arcade in his base-ment that is sure to make 10-year-olds everywhere (and their dads) jealous. � e collection that started in 2008 with a roach-infested Ms. Pac Man he found on the side of the road has grown to include 20 old-school video games and pinball machines, many restored to their original condi-tion.

And now, Brewer’s hobby has landed him a spot on a trading card, part of the limited-edition Twin Gal-axies Video Game Set. It’s named for the organization that has been tracking video-game world records since 1983.

On August 10, Brewer and others were honored during an awards ceremony at

the Iowa Contemporary Art Museum (ICON) in Fair� eld, Iowa, where the trading cards made up part of a Twin Gal-axies exhibit. � e cards, said Twin Galax-ies founder Walter Day, showcase people who have made “important contributions

to the worldwide video game industry as competitive gamers or in-dustry celebri-ties.”How did a Hy-

a� sville busi-ness - l icensing inspector man-age to � nd his way onto a video game trading card? “I was always a

musician,” he said, “but I picked up one machine o� the side of the road” and it snowballed from there.� at was Ms. Pac-

Man, and it had de� -nitely seen be� er days.“It was completely

faded and torn apart,” Brewer recalled. A� er six months of elbow grease – and a

few bo� les of roach killer – his � rst piece of ’80s lore was � nished. Among the oth-ers that have joined it over the years is his

pride and joy: a 1981 Nintendo Donkey Kong machine that “was pre� y beat when I got it.”

He restored it using original parts, from the marquee down to the joystick, and now, the teal-painted machine replicates its iconic ’80s self.

“It’s the epitome of a true, classic arcade machine,” said Brewer.

� e oldest game in his collection is a 1970s Space Invaders system, which is older than he is.

� e 33-year-old enjoyed playing arcade games as a boy, but never imagined own-ing one.

“As a kid, you assume they’re $1,000 and you’ll never be able to a� ord one,” Brewer said. “Who would’ve thought I’d have 20 in my basement one day.”

Brewer isn’t much concerned with the powers of entertainment these machines hold. His arcade isn’t over� owing with kids with change to spare; rather, it’s a retirement home for Galaga and Ms. Pac-Man.

He opens his Mount Rainier basement to the public each spring for the Gate-way Arts District’s Open Studio Tour. Otherwise, the arcade operates privately for his friends and family, wife Stephanie and sons Sam, age 5, and Lucas, 2. Oc-casionally he’ll hold a private party for his friends, plug in the machines (all set to free play), crack open a few beers and play the night away.

While Brewer does enjoy this occasional reliving of his childhood, he admits that he’s more into refurbishing and restoring the games than playing them. He sees it as an art form, which makes his art-gallery debut this month especially meaningful.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “I’ve always been an artist in some shape or form, so I’m glad to see the public appreciate the art as-sociated with the machines.”

Arcade games land man on trading card

JOE BREWERHyattsville code-compliance officer Joe Brewer has turned his basement into a re-tirement home for old arcade games and pinball machines, which he refurbishes. His hobby earned him a spot on a limited-edition Twin Galaxies Video Game Trading Card (left).

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HL&T WINS TOP NATIONAL AWARD

For the third year in a row, the Hy-a� sville Life & Times has captured a National Newspaper Associa-tion award in the annual Be� er Newspaper Contest. First place for Best Serious Column goes to Hugh Turley’s “A Resident Evil,” a piece that came out in July 2012 shortly a� er the Jerry Sandusky verdict. Turley writes of the unse� ling experience of living next door to a man who had won acclaim in the 1970s as a founder of D.C.’s punk scene, but turned out to have criminal tendencies that were investigated only a� er a 10-year-old boy went missing. Contest judges said: “Turley implores us to be a� en-tive to the signs of trouble around us and holds us accountable – as he did himself – for the evil that we, in our discomfort, choose all too o� en not to heed. It is an insistent wake‐up call that we ignore at our own peril.” In case you missed it, please take a look: www.bit.ly/11FnP14.

BOOK CLUB REVIVED

� e Bridging Cultural Gaps book club, start-ed by longtime resident Robert Croslin about 15 years ago, ran for about seven years. Croslin, now a Ward 2 representative on the Hy-a� sville City Council, is ge� ing it started again with a meeting on Wednesday, August 14 at 7 p.m. in the municipal building, 4310 Gallatin Street. Croslin said that the club’s pur-pose is “to talk about and, hope-fully, dismantle all man-made barriers that divide communi-ties.” � e � rst book: � e New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander.

MAYOR AVOIDS CENSURE

Mayor Marc Tartaro avoided being censured by the city council on August 5. At its pre-vious meeting, on July 15, Ward 3 councilmembers Tim Hunt and Patrick Paschall made the unprecedented motion that al-leged the mayor “violated Council Meeting Policies and Procedures” in two ways. First, the motion says, he added mo-tions to the June 13 agenda based on budget proposals that Hunt and Candace Hollingsworth (Ward 1) had made months ago, when the budget was still a working document, listing them as sponsors “ without their knowledge or approval.” Second, it continues, he failed to disclose to council members “within the speci� ed time frame” that he had met with developers (from the Safeway project on our cover, it turns out). In the discussion that followed, Tartaro made a public apology, saying, “My mis-take was having them put in the form of a motion so that council could move it if they so chose. It was meant to give the frame-work of that particular meeting

which was about amendments to the proposed budget.” He defended the meetings by saying that the developers had asked him not to share the “pro-prietary and highly confidential infor-mation” at that stage. He added that he “be-lieved he was acting in good faith” because the businessmen were

presenting a plan and not en-tering into negotiations with the city. On August 5, Hunt said that he had decided to take the mayor at his word. He and all the other councilmem-bers voted to table the motion indefinitely, with Tartaro the sole vote against it. “I thought it should have been an up-or-down vote,” he said later.

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How is that possible, when as recently as 2004 the pool’s finan-cial situation cast doubts on its very survival? The maintenance, management and insurance ex-penses associated with neigh-borhood pools has forced others in the area to close, including the University Hills pool.

PG Pool members have several explanations for the population explosion: an influx of young families to surrounding neigh-borhoods; rising fees for locals to swim at D.C. hotels; the increas-ing appeal for staycations as the economy soured. Wijesinghe, who served on the board from 2000 to 2006, notes that the pool has plenty going on on its grounds (sandboxes, play equipment, vol-leyball, ping pong, foosball) for children who are not natural fish.

“I have two very different kids,” notes Wijesinghe. “One of whom hasn’t set foot in the pool all year, but goes every day.”

The phrase that comes up again and again in a discussion of what distinguishes the pool is the sense of community found there.

“When I came to Maryland in 2007, I didn’t know a single soul,” said Embrey. When she came to the pool, “I immediately felt at home and my life changed.”

The family-like atmosphere is something that older members can recall from the pool’s early years. Irena De Carlantonio, who joined in the late 1960s, fondly remembers the crab feasts mem-bers shared. Her reflection on the pool’s history is a reflection on her own: “There was a time I could do 22 laps,” she notes. “Now when I go to the pool I sit in the shade.”

Peggy Dee, another longtime member, recalls the time when “there were so many families from St. Jerome’s that we called the place where they sat ‘Catho-lic Row.’” But, she adds, “a lot of

people stopped coming when their kids grew up.”

Joe and Pam Bellino, whose seven children all participated on swim team over the 30 years they were members, urged members of their Hyattsville babysitting co-op to join and then families affiliated with Christian Family Montessori School, as well as introducing the co-operative work structure that helped save the pool money and increased member participation.

The Bellinos also worked to foster ethnic and cultural diver-sity there. Prince George’s Pool opened in 1956, and like many of that era was founded, at least in part, as a private alternative to

integrated public pools. The char-ter created a structure of lifetime membership, with a requirement that to become a member one had to have a sponsor and be vouched for by current members.

But the sponsorship structure be-gan to create a sense of exclusion, especially since D.C. residents were prohibited from joining. The Bellinos recall that the ban was, for part of the old-guard membership, explicitly intended to keep the membership largely white.

Eventually a new charter, changed in part under pressure from the NAACP, removed the sponsorship requirement and the ban on members outside Prince

George’s County, and allowed in members from D.C. This made increasing membership easier at a time when it was sorely needed, as people from Brookland began to join immediately.

“Economics has a way some-times of changing policy,” says State Delegate Doyle Niemann (D-47), who served on the pool board from 1983 to 1997. “By the time I joined in 1980, the focus was on what we can do to keep it open. There were not enough members to support the pool ”

The physical structure of the pool was becoming increasingly run down. The gutters were col-lapsing and the pool was leaking large amounts of water. To pay for some repairs, Niemann and other board members secured a loan and sold an unused lot next to the pool to M-NCPPC.

Through the late 1990s, the finan-cial health of pool was somewhat “touch and go” according to Nie-mann and others. In 1997 the pool operated at a loss, in 1998 the pool made money, in 1999 the pool op-erated at a loss, and then for a few years it operated in the black.

At around that time the board had paid off its 1980s loan, and recognized the need for some ma-jor work. The plan was for work to be completed off-season, be-fore the pool opened in 2004, but construction delays prevented the pool from opening until July 19.

That year there were only 134 members, and even that num-ber largely because families were required to maintain member-ship to be part of swim team. The swim team practiced at Trin-ity and other locations, and held many “land practices.” Nearly half of the members asked for a partial refund when the season was over.

The pool stayed open until the end of September, holding its first annual “Oktoberfest” and the following year the pool upped its communication and outreach, with advertisements, open houses, “Countdown to Splashdown,” and co-op credit for referring members. Board member Ken Carter introduced the practice of having live bands

play regularly, which drew in ad-ditional guests and spread the word of mouth. Current board member David McCandlish notes that that year’s upgrades to the facilities were also a draw.

Wijesinghe said that in the fol-lowing years, there were approxi-mately 160 members, then 200, then 300 – and then the growth became exponential. In June 2011, at their first meeting of the year, the members called for a cap. So the number was frozen at the then-current level: 675 memberships, representing ap-proximately 2,400 people.

The new memberships allowed for improvements, including expanded hours, a slide, and more grills on the property. Yet longtime members are wistful about the time when it seemed like all the members were from Hyattsville and Mount Rain-ier. “I liked it better when we were in the red,” jokes Hyattsville’s Judy Kendall. “My favorite thing was green space with just a few picnic tables, and I just saw the green space getting eaten up.”

Whatever the factors behind the exponential growth, dealing with it became something of a challenge. The cap created a sense of scarcity. Now, according to Membership Director Tanya Renne, instead of approximately 30 percent turn-over each year, turnover is down to seven percent.

Renne is hopeful that the wait-ing list will decrease, in part as swimmers discover other nearby pools, including the Adelphi Pool on Riggs Road, less than five miles from Hyattsville.

Dawn Nichols, a Hyattsville resident since 2006, joined Adel-phi Pool in 2008 for the shady toddler pool and the friendly faces she found there. As her children have grown, she’s come to appreciate “the vintage metal slide that has become a rite of passage when young swimmers pass their swimming test.”

The Adelphi pool is in a differ-ent phase in its demographic trajectory, and is actively seeking members. The number of Hy-attsville memberships alone has climbed to 50 at last count.

charles steckThis season PG Pool’s swim team, the Killer Whales, won four of their five meets, and won the division championship.

pool continued from page 1


Senior Fitness FridaysAgeless Grace Exercise ClassAgeless Grace is a fitness and wellness program that consists of 21 simple exercises designed to improve healthy longevity. The exercises are designed to be performed in a seated chair and almost anyone can do them, regardless of most physical conditions.

Fall Semester starts September 6!Fridays, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.Sept. 6 through November 22, 2013NEW LOCATION!Magruder Park Recreation Center, 3911 Hamilton Street

Only $2 per session! For more information or to register, please call Emily Stowers, Senior Services Coordinator at 301/985-5058 or [email protected]

SummerJam 2013

presents

Admission is free; delicious food for sale

The second Friday of every month, May through September, 6:30 to 8:30 PMCity Municipal Building, 4310 Gallatin StreetRain or Shine!

September 13 - Just UsPLUS the Police Department’s Open House - tour the station!

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

calendar continued on page 8

August 15Parents, ready for school to start? Cool off with Popsicles with the Principal at Hyattsville El-ementary School. You can also meet your child’s teacher, sign up for before- and after-care, and take part in the Uniform Sale. Free. 5 to 7 p.m. in the school cafeteria at 5311 43rd Avenue. 301.209.5800.

August 22Watch the film October Sky un-der the evening sky, part of the College Park Aviation Museum Summer Outdoor Series. You can also enjoy hands-on activi-ties inside the museum and pop-corn and snowcones will also be served throughout the evening. Free with regular museum ad-mission of $4 for adults ($2 for children). 7 to 11 p.m. College Park Aviation Museum, 1985 Cpl. Frank Scott Drive, College Park. 301.864.6029.

August 24Bring the family and spend the afternoon building and deco-rating your very own kite. $8 workshop fee covers museum admission and one kite kit. All

ages welcome. 1 p.m. College Park Aviation Museum, 1985 Cpl. Frank Scott Drive, College Park. 301.864.6029.

The 18th annual Battle of Blad-ensburg Encampment comes to Riversdale House Museum. See our cover story for more in-

formation. Free. Noon to 4 p.m. Riversdale House Museum, 4811 Riverdale Road.

August 27The Prince George’s County Po-lice Department offers a Senior Safety Course for ages 60 and up. The course will cover such topics

as personal and financial safety and how to recognize health problems. There will also be safe-ty whistle and rubber jar-opener giveaways. Free. 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Prince George’s Plaza Com-munity Center, 6600 Adelphi Road, Hyattsville. 301.864.1611.

August 30 through September 2Held every year since 1955, the Greenbelt Labor Day Fes-tival is still going strong with four days of fun, including a carnival, sports events, art and photo shows, the Miss Green-belt Pageant, and, of course, Monday’s Labor Day Parade, which begins at 10 a.m. For a full schedule and more details, visit www.greenbeltlaborday.com.

August 31 through September 2 Another local tradition this holiday weekend is the National Capital Trackers’ exhibit of miniature trains, villages, tun-nels and depots, running dur-ing regular museum hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Free with

museum admission of $4 (dis-counts for children and seniors). College Park Aviation Museum, 1985 Cpl. Frank Scott Drive, College Park. 301.864.6029.

September 7 At DC GlassWorks’ Fall Open House, enjoy free glassblowing demonstrations and, for a fee, try your hand at making a glass paperweight. 4 to 8 p.m. DC GlassWorks, 5346 46th Avenue. Edmonston. 301.927.8271. www.dcglassworks.com.

September 14The Friends of the Hyattsville Branch holds its Annual Used Book Sale Extravaganza, with books priced to sell. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 6530 Adelphi Road. Dona-tions welcome; call 301.312.9170.

The 6th Annual Downtown Hyattsville Arts Festival re-turns to the intersection of Route 1 and Jefferson Street, with offer-ings from local artists and res-taurants. Free. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. www.hyattsvillearts.com or call 301.683.8267.

Hyattsville CDCFace-painting was a big hit at last year’s Downtown Hyattsville Arts Festival.

Hyattsville Reporterthe

No. 268 • August 14, 2013www.hyattsville.org • 301-985-5000

Page HR1 Hyattsville Life & Times | August 2013 Hyattsville Life & Times | August 2013 Page HR2

IN OTHER NEWS...

August-september 2013

CALENDAR

Wednesday, August 28AGES Senior Workshop: Arthritis Foundation, 10 AM Monday, September 2HOLIDAY - Labor Day. City Administrative offices closed. No Yard Waste pick-up, City-wide.

Tuesday, September 3Board of Elections Meeting, 4 - 5 PM

Friday, September 6Ageless Grace Fall Semester begins

Sunset Movie Series, 7:30 PM, Heurich Park

Wednesday, September 11Environmental Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM

Friday, September 13Outback Steakhouse Summer Jam Summer Jam featuring Just-Us & Police Department Open House, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

September 15 - October 15Hispanic Heritage Month

Monday, September 16City Council Meeting, 8 PM

Tuesday, September 17Planning Committee, 7:30 PM

Friday, September 20Sunset Movie Series, 7 PM, Heurich Park

Wednesday, September 25A.G.E.S. Senior Workshop, 11:30 AM to 1 PMWelcoming Grandmothers Against Poverty and AIDS

Unless otherwise noted, all events take place at the City Municipal Building, 4310 Gallatin Street.

LABOR DAY TRASH COLLECTION CHANGESThere will be no Yard Waste collection the week of Monday, Sep-tember 2nd due to the Labor Day holiday. The next Yard Waste collection takes place on Monday, September 9th. Questions? Call the Department of Public Works at 301/985-5032.

SUNSET MOVIE SERIES COMES TO HEURICH PARKThe City will show family-friendly flicks at Heurich Park on the fol-lowing Friday nights: September 6, September 20, and October 4. September 6 movie starts at 7:30 PM; September 20 and October 4 begin at 7:00 PM. Free and open to the public. Bring your own blanket or lawn chair. Movie titles coming soon!

AGELESS GRACE SENIOR EXERCISE CLASSES BEGIN SEPTEMBER 6The fall semester of our Ageless Grace Senior Exercise class begins Friday, September 6. It runs through Friday, November 22. This low-impact, seated exercise class is offered at 10:00 AM on Fridays at the Magruder Park Recreation Center, 3911 Hamilton Street. $2 per class. Ageless Grace is a proven technique to develop both body and mind, with an emphasis on healthy longevity.Intrigued? Learn more here: www.agelessgrace.com. Ready to

register? Call Emily Stowers, our Senior Services Coordinator, at 301/985-5058.

FINAL OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE SUMMER JAM OF 2013 TAKES PLACE SEPTEMBER 13The Outback Steakhouse Summer Jam series comes to a close on Friday, September 13th with the musical stylings of Just-Us, plus the Police Department Open House. The event starts at 6:30 PM and lasts through 8:30 PM.Special thanks goes to Gregory Kithcart of Outback Steakhouse

Hyattsville, located at 3500 East West Highway at the Mall at Prince George’s Plaza, for once again serving as our signature sponsor.The Outback Steakhouse Summer Jam Series has become a favorite

Friday night event throughout the summer months. This event includes delicious food (burgers, chicken and hot dogs) provided and prepared by Outback Steakhouse of Hyattsville, a beer and wine garden, musical entertainment, the ever popular moon bounce and Mandy the Clown and her very talented face painter. Our thanks to McDonald Auto Body Towing Division for their sponsorship of Mandy’s performance! Join us at the City Municipal Building at 4310 Gallatin Street, rain

or shine! We’re outside on Gallatin Street if the sun is shining. In the event of inclement weather, the Jam moves inside.Attendance is free and open to everyone. There is a charge for food

and beverages.Find out more at www.hyattsville.org/summerjam or call Cheri

Everhart, the City’s recreation events coordinator, at 301/985-5021.

PARENT & CHILD PROGRAM RETURNS SEPTEMBER 10The City’s best play date is back at Magruder Park beginning Tuesday, September 10. The Parent & Child Program allows parents and other caregivers to bring preschoolers to the Magruder Park Recreation Center for playtime and crafts. The program features both free play and structured activities. Children must be accompanied by an adult. The program meets on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays during the school year. Registration information will be available later this month. Visit www.hyattsville.org/pcprogram or call 301/985-5000.

COUNCIL RECESS & HCTV NEWSThe City’s cable station is now rebroadcasting City Council Meet-ings at a variety of times. Tune in on Monday at 10 AM; Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 AM, 3 PM, and 10 PM; Wednesdays and Fridays

at 7 AM and 9 PM; or Saturdays and Sundays at 12 NOON. We will broadcast the most recent Council Meeting. Please note that the Council is currently on summer recess. Meetings resume Septem-ber 16, 2013. There will be no meetings rebroadcast in late August/early September as a result. The City’s channel is 71 on Comcast and 12 on Verizon. Beginning

in September, residents will be able to watch Council Meetings on-line, too. Look for the link at www.hyattsville.org/meetings.Questions? Comments? Please talk to Jonathan Alexander, the City’s

cable coordinator, at [email protected] or 301/985-5028.

FOURTH ANNUAL HYATTSVILLE COMMUNITY MULTICULTURAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS FAIR The First United Methodist Church of Hyattsville will host their fourth annual Multicultural Health and Wellness Fair on Saturday, September 21, 2013 from 10 AM to 4 PM. The event will take place on the church’s campus, 6201 Belcrest Road. There is no charge to attend!More than 40 providers will be on hand to help residents to make

better health choices. This year’s fair will emphasize the role of tech-nology. Questions? Call 301/927-6133 or email Dorrett Carroll, carroll-

[email protected] or Dr. Mary Carter-Williams [email protected]. The church’s website is www.fumchy.org.

HYATTSVILLE FARMERS MARKET CONTINUES INTO FALLThe Hyattsville Farmers Market is back! Find fresh produce and more on Tuesday afternoons, 2:00 to 6:00 PM, at 3505 Hamilton Street (behind the former BB&T Bank building). Free parking is available on site.

WELCOMING GRANDMOTHERS AGAINST POVERTY AND AIDSOn Wednesday, September 25th, the Department of Community Services will host a meet and greet with the Grandmothers Against Poverty and AIDS, a South African organization compromised of mostly grandmothers who, in responding to the AIDS epidemic in their country, have come together to facilitate the resources needed for grandparents as they find themselves in their later years becom-

ing the sole providers for their grandchildren.Please join us as we celebrate this group and learn from their ex-

periences as both caregiver and seniors experiencing a variety of challenges in the face of an epidemic in their country.The event takes place from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM on Wednesday,

September 25th at the City Municipal Building, First Floor Multi-Purpose Room. Please RSVP to Emily Stowers, Senior Services Co-ordinator, at 301/985-5058 or [email protected].

ELECTRONICS RECYCLING DATEThe City’s next Electronics Recycling event will take place on Satur-day, October 5 from 9 AM to 12 NOON at the Public Works Yard, 4633 Arundel Place. City residents may bring in up to eight items, such as computers and components, televisions, VCRs and DVD players, printers, cell phones, etc. There is no charge for the pro-gram, but we may request proof of residency. Questions? Please call 301/985-5032.

MARY PRANGLEY CLEAN-UP DAYResidents served the by the Department of Public Works’ solid waste division will receive a special trash pick-up on Saturday, October 12. The collection is designed for bulky trash, but we will accept regular household trash, too. Please have all items curbside no later than 9 AM. City crews will make one sweep of the City.

A.G.E.S. WELCOMES THE ARTHRITIS FOUNDATIONThe Arthritis Foundation will return for the next A.G.E.S. (Aging Gracefully Educational Series) workshop on Wednesday, August 28 at 10 AM at the City Municipal Building, in the First Floor Multi-Purpose Room. Questions? Contact Emily Stowers at 301/985-5058 or email her at [email protected] to learn more or RSVP.

VOLUNTEERS WANTED FOR MAGRUDER WOOD RESTORATIONJoin us for non-native invasive removals in Magruder Woods Re-movals take place on the third Saturday of every month, year-round, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Work is led by Dr. Marc Imlay, Mary-land-National Capital Park and Planning. Upcoming dates include Saturday, September 21st and Saturday, October 19th. Please dress for the elements – long-sleeves, long plants and sturdy boots or shoes. Questions? Contact Colleen Aistis, [email protected] or 301/985-5057.Participation helps to satisfy State of Maryland Student Service

Learning requirements.

UPDATES FROM WSSC – IS WORK PLANNED FOR YOUR STREET?Looking for updates on WSSC projects in your neighborhood? Use their maps to see the status of current projects. Maps can be ac-cessed on WSSC’s website: http://gisweb.wsscwater.com/InYour-Neighborhood/

HYATT PARK COMMUNITY GARDENLooking for information on the Community Garden? The Hyatt Park Community Garden just keeps growing! They now have their own website. For information on the 2013 gardening season, please visit them at hyattparkgarden.org.

CAR SEAT SAFETY CHECKSGot kids? Then you’ve got car seats!Maryland law requires all children under the age of eight to ride in

an appropriate safety seat. But the seat alone is not enough - proper installation is the key to keeping our littlest passengers safe. Despite

Summer has sailed right by and school is back in session later this month! Mark your calendar now for the rest of 2013.

September9/6 - Sunset Movie Series at Heurich Park9/6 – Fall Semester, Ageless Grace Senior Exercise class starts9/10 – Fall Semester, Parent & Child Program starts9/13 - Outback Steakhouse Summer Jam – last of the 2013 season! – and Police Department Open House9/20 - Sunset Movie Series at Heurich Park9/25 – AGES presents: Grandmothers Against Poverty and AIDS

October10/4 - Sunset Movie Series at Heurich Park10/4 – 10/6 – Fall Yard Sale Weekend10/6 - Hyattsville Cyclocross10/9 - International Walk to School Day10/19 - Senior Swing!10/26 - SpookyFest

December12/6 - Magruder Park Tree Lighting12/7 - Breakfast with Santa12/7 - Lunch with Santa12/18 - Claus Applause Awards Judging12/19 - Senior Holiday Celebration12/26 – 12/27 – Winter Break Camp

Look for details in future editions of the Hyattsville Reporter, or online at www.hyattsville.org.

our best efforts, estimates suggest that as many as seven out of ten kids are not buckled in properly.The City of Hyattsville’s Police Department can help. To schedule a

safety seat check, please contact Officer Christine Fekete at 301/985-5060 or via email to [email protected]. She’ll be happy to help parents install a new seat or improve the fit of your current equip-ment.Car Seat Safety Checks aren’t just for new parents, either. Consider

calling when your child transitions from an infant to a toddler seat, or when you buy a new vehicle and transfer your seats from your old car.Checks are free of charge for any City of Hyattsville resident.

NIXLEThe City is now using Nixle to send public safety alerts and informa-tion via both email and text message. This system replaces the Safe-City website previously in use. Many of our neighboring jurisdic-tions also use Nixle to send out information. Please note that Nixle won’t report on every incident – typically alerts are sent when the HCPD needs to alert the public to a potentially dangerous situation, or when we are asking for your help solving a crime. In other cases, Nixle messages relate to road closures, power outages, etc.If you have a nixle.com account, there is no need to create a new

one. Simply log in and add the City of Hyattsville to your wire. New to Nixle? Register at www.nixle.com or enroll using the widget on-line at http://www.hyattsville.org/stayinformed.

FIND US ON FACEBOOKAre you on Facebook? You can now keep up with City events and happenings at www.facebook.com/cityofhyattsville. When you see Vainglorious, the silver metal bird sculpture at Centennial Park, you’ll know you’re in the right place. He is kind enough to serve as the City’s wall photo.

Fall & winter 2013 Planner

October 4 to 6: Fall yard sale weekend; Sept. 3 open registrationCalling all bargain hunters! Our annual City-wide Yard Sale is now an entire weekend. The 3-day event begins on Friday, October 4 and continuing on Sat-urday, October 5 and concluding on Sunday, October 6. Sellers can participate for as much time as they like - one day, two days, or all three! Operate your sale during any daylight hours. Peak traffic is usually Saturday morning between 9 AM and noon. There is no charge to participate. Registration is voluntary. Resi-dents who do register will have their addresses listed, which will be published to the City’s website and listed on craigslist under their Yard Sale section.Registration will open for the Fall Yard Sale weekend on Tuesday, Septem-

ber 3rd. To register, email India at [email protected] or call 301/985-5000.Our Spring 2014 Yard Sale weekend will take place May 4, 5, and 6, 2014.

Registration will open in late March.

Ongoing� e Hya� sville Farmer’s Mar-ket sets up shop in the parking lot of 3505 Hamilton Street, adjacent to Bestway and across from the Hya� sville Commu-nity Garden. Stop by to sample the bounty of Southern Mary-land. Free. Tuesdays, 2 to 6 p.m. 301.985.5000 or 301.627.0977.

At the producers-only Riverdale Park Farmer’s Market, fruits

and vegetables are only the be-ginning. Depending on the week, shoppers may � nd baked goods, wine, soap, herbs and more. Free. � ursdays, 3 to 7 p.m. Riverdale Park, 301.332.6258.

� e Health Ministry of St. Mark the Evangelist Church o� ers an ongoing yoga class on Friday mornings. All ages are welcome; class is gentle enough for active seniors. $6 per class. 9 a.m. 7501 Adelphi Road. 301.422.7026.

A group bike ride starts every

Sunday at 9 a.m. at Arrow Bicycles, 5108 Baltimore Avenue. � is is a 32-mile, moderately paced ride that emphasizes group-riding tech-niques. New group riders welcome. 301.531.9250.

Community Calendar is a select list-ing of events happening in and around Hya� sville � om the 15th of the issue month to the 15th of the following month. To submit an item for consid-eration, please e-mail susie@hya� s-villelife.com or mail to P.O. Box 132, Hya� sville, MD 20781. Deadline for September submissions is August 23.


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MissFloribundaCOMMUNITY CALENDARCALENDARcontinued from page 7

Dear Miss Floribunda,

I don’t need help gardening at the moment because I am up to my ears in tomatoes, beans, peppers, squash, greens and corn. I have mini-cherry trees full of � uit. I have so much that I don’t even mind sharing with the squirrels, birds and raccoons. I can’t share any more with neighbors be-cause I suspect they are starting to avoid me for fear of having more pro-duce forced upon them. I do recall that in my childhood old ladies would can things for the winter. It was hot work, and I thought it unfortunate that tasks that make you uncomfortably warm, like ironing and canning, were most necessary in the summer. I have a small � eezer, but am not sure what to � eeze. What do other gardeners around here do to preserve summer bounty so as to enjoy it in the winter?

Overwhelmed on Oglethorpe Street

Dear Overwhelmed,

I checked with my friends Ivan and Capability Green Grozni, who are as knowledgeable about cooking as they are about gardening. � ey tell me that green beans, lima beans and greens (especially spin-ach) freeze quite well. Tomatoes, peppers and squash can be frozen but it changes their texture. � ey are � ne in soups, however, and the tomatoes and peppers can be made into salsa at a cooler time of year.

Aunt Sioux reports success roasting sweet peppers before freezing them. She strings up her li� le hot peppers to dry and hangs them from the raf-ters in her basement. My neighbor Herr Huber Krumelschicht dug him-self a root cellar, and swears by it for storing onions, winter squash, cab-bages, beets, potatoes, turnips and carrots through the winter, as well as his pickles and jams. Many kinds of beans dry well, as well as most fruit.

Cherries, by the way, are easily dried in the sun. Wash them, remove the pits, pat them dry and spread them on a cookie sheet outside when rain is not expected. Cover with cheesecloth to keep the birds away, and secure the cloth by tying a string around the container to keep out ants as well. When you bring them inside a� er two or three days, put them in the oven at low heat to kill possible bacteria. (Or you could just dry them in the oven to start with.) � ey could be used wherever you would use raisins. My Cousin Tipsy likes to soak them in grain alcohol for a number of weeks and then use them in Christmas tri� es. � e grain alcohol, by the way, becomes a really delicious cordial.

You might want to bring your cherries to the next meeting of the Hy-a� sville Horticultural Society, where Dr. Agronomosky will bring his food dehydrator and Herr Krumelschicht, his pressure cookers. � e meeting will be a workshop on food preservation of all kinds,

Gardener chefs will compare notes on the di� erent preservation meth-ods they use, including the techniques’ suitability to di� erent varieties of fruit and vegetables. Also under discussion will be their convenience, consumption of time, and their nutritional advantages and disadvan-tages. � e alternatives to canning, freezing, and drying — salting, can-dying, and pickling, to mention a few — will not be neglected.

Aunt Sioux, ever the traditionalist and apparently impervious to hot temperatures of any kind, will bring a panoply of antique and near-antique canning implements whose uses she will explain. She mentioned the following: a graniteware canning ke� le, long wooden spoons, jar li� ers, various types of po� ery and glass jars, canning fun-nels, strainers, water bath canner, and food mill. Of course, there will be lots of books and a recipe swap, which should include Aunt Sioux’s famous apple sauce.

So mark your calendars now: Saturday, August 17, at 10 a.m. at the Hya� sville Municipal Building Further questions can be directed to � [email protected].


MissFloribunda

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one, Day said, especially for peo-ple living in Maryland and the surrounding area, where much of it occurred. Riversdale seemed like a natural se� ing, since the house was only a few years old when the war began.

Also, he said, “Nobody else was doing [1812 re-enactments], and I thought … that this story need-ed to be told.”

Day said most people know

relatively li� le about the War of 1812 compared to other histori-cal events like the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. Among other people working to change that is Aaron Marcavitch, the ex-ecutive director of the Anacostia Trails Heritage Area (ATHA).

A program ATHA started last year, Maryland Milestones, is helping educate local residents about the history around them by promoting events like the Riversdale Encampment. � e

organization is also helping to cover the cost of mansion tours, making them free for the day.

“� ere were 7,500 people tromp-ing across this place that is now a shopping plaza and houses,” Mar-cavitch said. “� ere’s not a lot there that will tell you that there’s a ba� le� eld, so this is the way that you can make a connection to that particular moment in history.”

At the center of that connection are the re-enactors. Norvell, who lives in Mount Rainier, said it takes a lot of research and preparation to make the era come to life. For her role as a gentlewoman, the research involves � nding out as much as she can about the period – everything from what people were wearing to what they were reading.

For the men who portray sol-diers, she said, the research cen-ters on the uniforms, weaponry, o� cers and strategy of the par-ticular unit and the time period.

“In doing living history, you kind of have to immerse yourself in it,” said Norvell.

If everything falls into place, re-enactments can create the perfect window into a particular period of time. � is unique portal o� ers reenactors and viewers the chance not only to learn about history, but to get as close to living and ex-periencing it as possible.

“Certainly it doesn’t reach ev-eryone that way, but I think that when you’re here and in a site that’s … over 200 years old, it’s conducive to that,” Day said. “If you squint your eyes a li� le bit, you think, ‘Wow that must’ve been what it was like.’”

SARAH L. ROGERS/ATHAMembers of the Shipʼs Company get their cannon into position during last yearʼs Battle of Blad-ensburg Encampment. The event has mounting significance as the battleʼs bicentennial approaches in 2014.

“There were 7,500 people tromping across this place that is now a shopping plaza and houses. There’s not a lot there that will tell you that there’s a battle� eld.”

— Aaron Marcavitchexecutive director, ATHA

BATTLE continued from page 1


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the plan from MV+A are work-ing with the commercial de-velopment � rm Echo Realty to tweak the plans and begin construction early next year. Amendments have already been submi� ed, said Jack W. Hollon, principal of the Bethesda-based architecture � rm.

� e biggest change is removing the 11-story, 176-unit residen-tial component that was to be built atop Safeway. � e devel-oper wants those o� the table, especially now that the Kiplinger property, less than a mile down East-West Highway at Editors’ Park Drive, recently won county approval for rezoning that allows up to 870 apartments and 34,000 square feet of retail space.

� e grocery store’s design has changed, too, from “more deco” to “more modern,” Hollon told the Hya� sville Planning Com-mi� ee at its July 16 meeting. Most notable in the brick, glass

and steel design is a two-story glass storefront, which he called “a departure for Safeway.”

A new roo� op parking deck adds 210 spaces, with another 77 spots at ground level. � at is signi� cant because the building site is currently a 190-spot park-

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ing lot that runs along East-West Highway between Democracy Avenue and America Boulevard.

“Right now, University Town Center is more or less an isolated island,” said the developer’s at-torney, Ma� hew Tedesco, during an August 5 presentation to the

Hya� sville City Council. “It’s missing an anchor and an en-trance. � ere’s nothing on East-West Highway that signals desti-nation retail.”

� e planning commi� ee unani-mously approved the revised plan, with conditions, at the July 16 meeting. � e city council seems poised to do the same.

“I liked what I saw and I’d like to move forward with it,” said Councilmember Tim Hunt (Ward 3), whose ward includes the shopping center.

Mayor Marc Tartaro agrees. “I think it’s going to be a wonder-ful opportunity for UTC and the city,” he said. “� ere’s a vacant lot now, and [this plan] will create a front door o� East-West into UTC. � is will jump-start that whole area.”

� is o� cial support contrasts

UTC Site SafewayHyattsville, Maryland 712097.00

7.26.13 East-West Highway Perspective

NOT TO SCALE

with that received by Whole Foods’ proposed opening in Riverdale Park as the centerpiece of a mixed-use project. In May, af-ter months of lengthy and some-times contentious public hear-ings, the Prince George’s County Planning Board unanimously approved the site plan for the 37-acre Cafritz property. � e plan calls for nearly 1,000 residences and about 187,000 square feet of commercial space on what is now a largely forested tract.

But three appeals were � led, in-cluding two from nearby munic-ipalities. Acting as the District Council, the Prince George’s County Council will consider the appeals on September 9. County Councilmember Eric Olson (District 3), who rep-resents the Cafritz property’s district, has been unwavering in his opposition to the develop-ment. Olson and others oppose the plan because of its projected environmental and tra� c con-sequences.

� e University Town Center project is in District 2, and has the support of its representative, County Councilmember Will Campos.

“I’m sure the community would appreciate a project that would help revitalize UTC,” said Cam-pos.

Local resident Cynthia Finley is one such community member.

“Between a new Safeway and Whole Foods, I may actually start grocery shopping again, rather than just sending my husband to Target three times a week,” she said.

MV+A ARCHITECTSDevelopers hope to replace a University Town Center parking lot that faces East-West Highway with a 56,000-square-foot Safeway. Featuring a two-story glass storefront, the supermarket would serve as both entrance and anchor for the struggling shopping center.

MARKETS continued from page 1


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by Hugh Turley

In May, just 25 miles from the Florida town where Trayvon Martin was shot, 27-year-old Ibragim Todashev (pronounced Ih-brah-HEEM To-DAH-shev) was killed in his Orlando apart-ment during an interrogation by federal and state law-enforce-ment o� cials.

Reni Manukya, Todashev’s wid-ow, has said the FBI arrived at 7:30 p.m. on May 21 to question her husband about a possible link to Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev. In the wee hours of May 22, Todashev was shot seven times, including what his father, Abdulbaki Todashev, called “an execution-style” shot to the head, by an FBI agent.

� e father plans to � le a civil suit against the FBI. Good luck. My friend Patrick Knowlton tried to sue the FBI for grand jury wit-ness intimidation and he could not � nd a judge all the way to the Supreme Court who would allow his case to proceed.

On July 22, the ACLU called for an independent investigation. Since law-enforcement o� cers from Massachuse� s and Florida were present at Todashev’s death, a� or-neys asked state o� cials to launch investigations. � ey declined.

� e other o� cers present, as well as myriad o� cial sources quoted in news reports, and the shooter have not been named. Senior law enforcement o� cials have leaked to the press “facts” to assassinate the character of the victim say-ing he was “the aggressor,” ready to confess to a triple murder, and was once charged with road rage. � e public has a right to know the name of the shooter, in case he would come to other homes to “ask questions.”

� e FBI, which is handling the only investigation into To-dashev’s death, has blocked the Florida Medical Examiner’s Of-� ce from releasing the o� cial re-port on the cause of death.

Quoting anonymous senior law enforcement o� cials, news out-lets reported that Todashev was being questioned about Tsarnaev, who he apparently knew from working out at the same Boston gym. Some law enforcement of-� cials reported that the interroga-tion concerned an unsolved triple homicide in Waltham, Mass. on September 11, 2011.

Depending on which published account you read, at some point during the questioning Todashev a� acked the FBI agent with an object, a knife, a sharp object, a metal pole, a broomstick, an over-turned table, a samurai sword, or some kind of weapon. In other reports, he was unarmed.

CBS News senior correspon-dent John Miller said, “accord-ing to people I’ve spoken to,” moments before the shooting, Todashev was “writing out on a pad his involvement in the triple murder.” Before joining CBS, Miller was an assistant director of public a� airs for the FBI. Why should anyone believe John Mill-er’s unnamed sources?

Michael German, senior policy counsel in the American Civil Liberties Union’s legislative o� ce, spent 16 years as an FBI agent. Now, he says, “what needs to hap-pen, because so much contradicto-ry information has been released, is an independent investigation.”

We might consider: From what, exactly, should an independent investigation be independent? � e answer: the government.

� e U.S. Constitution provides for an independent investigation in the Fi� h Amendment, which states that “No person shall be held to answer for a capital crime or otherwise infamous o� ense, unless on a presentment or in-dictment of a grand jury ... nor shall any person ... be compelled in a criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, with-out due process of law.”

� e original grand jury panel of

citizens was truly independent of the government, without any federal prosecutor in the grand jury room. But in 1946, the Fed-eral Rules of Criminal Procedure placed the grand jury under the government’s control. Only by restoring its original indepen-dence can an independent inves-tigation by citizens determine if Todahshev was being compelled to be a witness against himself and deprived of his life by gov-ernment agents.

Could Americans be the most uninformed people on earth regarding their constitutional rights and responsibilities?

Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Hya� sville Life & Times.

� e other Florida shooting


by Sharada Weaver

“It was a miracle,” were the four words on the lips of many North-western High School students after learning late this spring that enough money had been raised for choir members to perform in South Africa in July. Many of us had never been out of the coun-try, or even on an airplane. This journey will be remembered in the hearts of current students, parents, teachers, families, friends and alumni.

When our choir director, Leona Lowery Fitzhugh, applied to the Ilhombe Music Festival over two years ago, no one really expected to go. Even after we learned we’d been accepted, many hurdles loomed before us – the biggest of which was the cost. The trip would consist of 10 days visiting and per-forming at some of the country’s most historic sites. As many of you know, all of us went through more than our fair share of fundraisers to make this trip possible.

But on July 10, when we stepped into Dulles International Airport, it hit us all: It was really happen-ing! As we were driving for the first time from Johannesburg to Pretoria, in a tour bus with the steering wheel on the opposite side, it was riveting to see how everything seemed so similar but somehow so different.

It was truly amazing to have the privilege to sing outside the Pretoria hospital where Nelson Mandela, or “Tata Madiba” as South Africans call him, was stay-ing. There were crowds gathered around, cameras and signs every-where, and letters strung up on the fence from well-wishers of all ages, reflecting the reverence the people have for Tata Madiba. The ambiance made performing there even more emotional for us.

Visiting Freedom Park was an-

other awe-inspiring experience. Seeing the beauty of the place, hearing the stories, reading the quotes and seeing the list of peo-ple that were killed during the struggle against apartheid filled our minds with even more emo-tions. It was one of many things

on our journey that helped us see how lucky we are, even if we don’t always feel it.

We certainly felt lucky to be performing in the music festival, with participants from all over the world singing their national an-thems. Among the groups we met

and had the privilege to sing with were the Toronto Children’s Cho-rus, New York’s New Amsterdam Singers, choirs from Australia, Trinidad and many South Afri-can choirs. It was so neat hearing music coming from people of dif-ferent nationalities with unique voices. That will always be a mem-orable part of this trip.

Our sightseeing gave us many memories, too. We visited the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum. Hector was a 13-year-old who was killed by police in 1976 during a protest against Afrikaans. Outside the museum were rows of tables of beaded an-imals, jewelry, paintings, clothing and bags, with young men trying to sell them to us. It was very hard trying to bargain with them, especially when they called us “brothah,” and “sistah.” One told me, “I’ve been waiting for you, my sistah!” – making it even harder to resist the urge to buy too much. The attention made us feel honored, but sorry for them. Throughout the trip, the South Africans made us feel at home

A different type of memorial we visited was the Amy Biehl School, named for a 26-year-old Caucasian-American who was killed in 1993 by four Cape Town natives. A Ful-bright Scholar, she had been working in South Africa to end apartheid. Her parents launched the Amy Biehl Foun-dation Trust to dissuade oth-ers from violence.

The trip there brought a spec-trum of smiles for us and for the children we met. In one class-room, the little preschoolers sang to us, and we taught them

“If You’re Happy And You Know It.” Then, as a group, we sang the well-known South African song “Shosholoza” and the country’s national anthem. It warmed my heart to meet a sweet little girl who wouldn’t let go of my hand and who felt comfortable in my arms, even though I was a stran-ger to her.

We met more children in Soweto, where the heartbreaking shanty-towns made a lasting impression on us. This time really made us grateful for what we have. Many people there do not have electric-ity (although shops and restau-rants do) and some people use car batteries for cooking. It opened up for us ideas and ways of living that we may have never known. The children of Soweto made me feel special, and it felt important to be there to hug them. As we were leaving, we gathered water bottles and extra money and gave them to the kids.

But we also got to experience the beauty of South Africa. We went up Table Mountain on an aerial cableway that rotates so you can get a good look at ev-erything ... and WOW! The view was picture perfect. The day we were at Table, we had the right artsy dimness sitting on the sun-shine, fogginess coming in like a storm cloud in the distance, wa-ter shimmering like silk cloth, and buildings in perfect contours and silhouettes standing tall. It was unreal.

And staying in the Heia Safari Game Reserve was fascinating. Waking up to a giraffe outside our “hutel,” as my friend and I called it, was eye-out-of-socket shocking! The view was so sur-

“It was a miracle”1

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Ken Carter

Leona Lowery fitzhugh

sharada weaver

sharada weaver


Announcing the

Save the date for:Friday, September 4th at 7:30 PMFriday, September 20th at 7:00 PMFriday, October 4th at 7:00 PM

Titles coming soon! All movies will be shown at Heurich Park, at the intersection of Nicholson Street and Ager Road. Free and open to the public.

www.hyattsville.org/sunsetBYOB - Bring Your Own Blanket (or chair)!

real it could have been a painting. We saw mountains way out in the distance, the serene waterfall and lake, and, wandering around the preserve, zebras, antelopes and zonkies (animals that are a cross between a zebra and a donkey). Yep, it was Africa.

Having all our meals at the Heia camp brought us closer together as a community. And throughout the trip, we were thinking of the wonderful and generous supporters back at home and all around the world who

had made this trip possible. They were with us in spirit as we toured around the sites in South Africa, sang our hearts out in con-certs, and came together as a choir family. We will remember them as one of the most important parts of our journey.

I’m so happy this dream became a real-ity, especially for our choir director, Ms. Leona Lowery Fitzhugh. She has a gift for making our choir stand out as a unique and beautiful choir.

Another high point was during our five concerts, and while we loved the heartfelt standing ovations, the best part was when everyone got up and started dancing and singing along. The songs, “Shosholoza,” “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika,” and “Total Praise,” were the three well-known songs that got everyone up on their feet. It’s Africa, and so singing, dancing and music in general, is a way of bringing people closer together and feeling adoration towards each and

every person. From singing trains that traveled around

City Hall to standing as a rainbow of choirs on red-carpeted stairs of churches, the people in Africa, really knew how to make us feel at home, even though we were thousands and thousands and thou-sands of miles from home.

Sharada Weaver is a rising sophomore at Northwestern High School.

1. Choir Director Leona Lowery Fitzhugh and several of her stu-dents proudly display the flag of Hyattsville on a rainy day at the Cape of Good Hope.2. At the hospital where Nelson Mandela was staying, the fences were covered with cards and let-ters.3. Sharada Weaver and a young girl she met at the Amy Biehl school.4. A group shot of the North-western Choir with other choirs at Signal Park.5. Students were struck by the poverty they witnessed in Soweto.6. A puzzled penguin at Boulders Beach. This protected colony of African penguins established in the early 1980s, is one of the very few mainland penguin colonies.7. The choir sings at St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town.

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sharada weaver

ken carter

sharada weaver ken carter


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August 2013 Hyattsville Life & Times