[RP TownTalk] Council Member Eric Olson April E-News Letter
Alan Thompson and Sarah Wayland
twacks at his.com
Fri Apr 3 03:19:31 UTC 2009
Community E-News
Together Strengthening Our Community
April 2009
Eric Olson - District 3
Prince George's County Council
News You Can Use
Internet Access to Crime Data in the County
Interested in knowing more about crime in your community? Visit
crimereports to see a map of your community with details on
incidents in your neighborhood. Note: The easiest way to use the
system is to type in your zip code.
Lanham Boys & Girls Club Fundraiser
The Lanham Boys and Girls Club will hold a fundraiser at the Silver
Diner (6040 Greenbelt Road in Greenbelt) on April 22, 2009 from
6pm-8pm. For more information please call the restaurant at (301)
220-0028.
Maryland Day 2009
Maryland Day 2009 will be held on April 25, 2009 from 10:00am-4:00pm
rain or shine on theUniversity of Maryland Campusin College Park.
Join UMD in a fun-filled family day event with plenty of free
activities and entertainment. For campus directions or more
information, please visit their website at
Maryland Day
Summer CampOpportunity: Expressions: Talk Up, Not Down
Expression: Talk Up, Not Down is a seven day, six night summer
program for teens sponsored by MNCPPC. Students will learn how to
compose and perform poetry to express themselves. This year’s
program will be held from July 12-18, 2009. To apply or acquire more
information, please call (301) 454-1459.
Berwyn Heights Day
Join Berwyn Heights in celebrating their community at a series of
family-oriented events on Saturday, May 2nd. Events include: Fun Run
at 8:00 a.m.; Seniors' Bake Sale at 8:30 a.m.; Pancake Breakfast from
9:00-11:00 a.m.; Craft Vendors from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.; and Parade,
Performances & Awards from Noon-1:30 p.m. For more details, please
visit
Berwyn Heights
Riverdale Park Arts Fest and Riversdale Mansion Children’s Day
The Riverdale Parks Arts Council will be hosting their 2ndAnnual Arts
Fest Sunday, May 3rd 11am-6pm at the Riverdale Park Town Center/MARC
station. Artists who are interested in participating can find out
more details at
Arts Festival
The event will feature live music, free hands-on art activities for
kids, food by Mike’s Southern Café, and artist works for sale.
Three blocks away, the historicRiversdale Mansion will be hosting
their annual Children’s Day on the same day starting at 12pm. More
details at theRiversdale Mansion can be found at
Riverdale Mansion
Kingswood Association Yard Sale
The Kingswood Civic Association will host their 2ndAnnual yard sale
in front ofLamont Elementary School(7101 Good Luck Road in New
Carrollton) on April 4th, 2009 from 8:00am-2:00pm. For more
information please contact Kingswood Civic Association President
Hakim Muhammad at (301) 345-1788 or Sheila Reid at (301) 552-8383.
Proceeds from this yard sale will go towards the Kingswood Student
Scholarship to assist High School Seniors entering College.
Prince George's
County Council
14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive
Second Floor
Upper Marlboro,Maryland 20772
Phone: (301) 952-3060

Dear Friends,
I hope everything is going well in your community and with you. As I
mentioned in the last enews, the County Council has begun its formal
budget process and will be holding committee hearings to review the
budget in April. Dates for the public hearings have tentatively been
set and are as follows: April 28th, MNCPPC Budget; May 4th and May
12th County Budget, Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) and Board of
Education Budget. All hearings are in Upper Marlboro in the Council
Hearing Room at 7pm. Please feel free to check with my office as
those dates get closer to confirm them. A summary of the
CountyExecutive’s budget proposal is also available here
In addition, I wanted to share with you more about my approach to the
proposed DC United Stadium which I have outlined below. If you could
please distribute this to your community members and encourage them
to directly sign up for the e-newsletter, I would greatly appreciate
it. Previous e-newsletters are posted on mywebsite .

Eric Olson
Council Member District 3
District 3 Website
(301) 952-3060
Back to top
A note from Councilman Olson on the DC United Stadium—
Many of you have contacted me about the proposed soccer stadium. At
this time, I am very critical of the proposal, and on Tuesday, March
24th, I voted with a majority of my colleagues to oppose legislation
in Annapolis that would facilitate the pursuit of the DC United
Stadium. I say this as someone who has played a lot of soccer in my
life, and as someone who has a love of the game.
I am not necessarily opposed to public investment in ventures that
are proven to produce significant returns and I am not opposed to DC
United coming to Prince George's County. Rather, it is the terms
under which they might come that is part of the larger issue, and I
have significant doubts that a soccer stadium will produce revenue to
cover the cost of bonds for the project. They expected a $47 - 51
million investment of some kind from the county and many millions
more from the state. In this economic climate, a risky soccer stadium
should not be the top priority. They want a Cadillac stadium at no
risk to DC United, the only risk is with the taxpayers. If the owner
of the team were to use his own money (as he once told DC he would),
I would be open to the team pursuing a stadium here. If he were even
to put a significant amount in, we could have a discussion. I do not,
however, believe they will host many high revenue events beyond their
15 games per season and it is difficult to create a true mixed use
center around a stadium that is rarely used.
In addition, it now appears that the Maryland National Capital Park
and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) is involved in the project, and
that part of the deal would be for M-NCPPC to build itself a new
headquarters at the stadium site. I question the need to spend
public dollars or bonds on a new Park and Planning Headquarters,
particularly in this economic recession. Unless there are
substantial changes to take the risk and burden off the residents of
Prince George’s County, I will continue to oppose the soccer stadium.
Back to top
I T E M S OF I N T E R E S T
Riverdale Park Farmers Market Opens—April 9th
The Riverdale Park Farmers Market is starting early this year with
even more vendors. The market is every Thursday, April 9 to Nov. 19,
from 3pm to 7pm at the Riverdale Park Town Center adjacent to the
MARC station. Some of the new venders who will be at the market
include: J-Wen Farms & Dairy providing milk, butter, and farmstead
cheeses; Chesapeake Greenhouse with hydroponic lettuce; Shlagel Farms
providing fruits and vegetables; Neopol Savory Smokery; and
Chesapeake Gardens providing soups and sauces made from local
produce. To find out more about the location of the market and all
of the venders, please visit Farmers Market . To subscribe to the
market’s weekly list of vendors and find out about special events,
which can help you plan your visit, please visit Riverdale Park to
subscribe.
Grow it Eat it: Gardening 101
The University of Maryland Cooperative Extension in coordination with
the Maryland Master Gardener program has launched a program to assist
Marylanders in growing fresh vegetables, fruits, and herbs using
sustainable practices. Horticultural consultants will answer food
gardening questions via a toll-free hotline (1-800-342-2507) and e-
mail Q&A service. A dynamic, interactive new Grow It Eat It website
(and blog will provide a wealth of information and resources for
residents across the state and around the globe.) The program's
vision is to see 1 million Maryland food gardeners producing their
own affordable, healthy food - much like previous generations did in
their wartime and Depression-era Victory Gardens.
Master Peace Community Garden
If you do not have the space to grow a garden in your yard, consider
the Master Peace Community Garden, a half-acre urban farm, youth
garden, and community garden operated by the University of Maryland
Cooperative Extension Engaged University program at 2600 Sheridan
Street, Riverdale, MD. Small plots are available and volunteers are
needed to assist with the program and harvest the vegetables.
Vegetables are sold weekly at the Riverdale Park Farmers’ Market.
For more details, visit Community Garden .
Earth Day Events—April 18th
1. Free Mulch Giveaway: The Prince George’s Department of
Environmental Resources will give away free mulch to county residents
on Saturday, April 18, 2009 from 8:00am to 2:00pm. This event will
take place at the Western Branch Composting Facility (6601 S.E. Crain
Highway in Upper Marlboro). For more information please call (301)
883-5045.
2. Anacostia River Earth Day Celebration and Cleanup: The
15thAnnual Anacostia River Clean-up and Earth Day Celebration will be
held on April 18, 2009 from 8:30am- 12noon. Please join other
volunteers in cleaning up the river at various sites in the County
and Region and for a post-clean up celebration from 12:00pm-2:00pm at
the Bladensburg Waterfront Park (4601 Annapolis Roadin Bladensburg).
For more information on the event and site locations, please visit
Earth Day , or call (301) 699-6204.
3. Livable Communities Event-Annual Spring Clean-Up: Clean up
your community in the morning and then join the CountyExecutive for a
Thank You Celebration in Watkins Park (301 Watkins Park Drive in
Upper Marlboro) at the rear Ball-field Pavilion. The event will be
held on April 18, 2009 from 12:30pm-2:30pm. For more information and
to set-up a community clean-up, please call (301) 883-5600.
4. New Carrollton Earth Day Festival: New Carrollton will be
hosting their 1st Earth Day event on April 18th from noon-5pm at
Beckett Field. The event will include workshops and a yard sale.
For more details, contact Katrina at kdodro at new-carrollton.md.us,
301-513-9239.
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Scholarship Opportunities
State Delegates and Senators are currently offering scholarships to
residents of their Legislative District who are attending or will
attend college in Maryland. For more information, please contact
your Senator or Delegates office. Each member has different
deadlines in April, so act now if you are interested.
District 21:
Senator Jim Rosapepe Delegate Ben Barnes
http://senatorpinsky.org/site/ http://
benbarnes.us/news/
Delegate Barbara Frush
http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/06hse/html/msa12225.html
Delegate Joseline Pena-Melnyk
http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/06hse/html/msa14629.html
District 22:
Senator Paul Pinsky Delegate Justin Ross
Delegate Tawanna Gaines Delegate Anne Healey
District 23A:
Senator Douglas J.J. Peters - Call (301) 858-3631 to request an
application.
Delegate Gerron Levi - Call (301) 858 3103 to request a scholarship
packet.
Delegate James Hubbard - Call (301) 858-3103 to request a scholarship
packet.
District 47:
Senator David Harrington Delegate Victor Ramirez
Delegate Jolene Ivey Delegate Doyle Neiman
Foreclosure Prevention
The Department of Housing and Community Development is providing
residents with three new brochures, one from the Department of Labor
Licensing and Regulation to assist with foreclosure prevention.
Links to all three brochures are provided below.
Foreclosure Laws
Foreclosure Worksheet
Foreclosure Worksheet - SPANISH
Foreclosure Tri-fold Brochure
Foreclosure Tri-fold Brochure - SPANISH
These periodic email updates are sent to public officials, town
managers, civic association leaders, and residents upon request. If
you are not interested in receiving this update, please email Thomas
Mayah attsmayah at co.pg.md.us.
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